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Happy-sounding advocacy grp. / WED 8-26-26 / Enhancing "blemish" (3x) / Teach, playfully (3x) / Nut in Sausalito cookies / Word that can precede cry or baby / Instrument associated with beans and salsa? / Capital city known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" / Modern lead-in to quit or bait / Pinocchio's tell
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Constructor: John Kugelman and Lance Enfinger
Relative difficulty: Easy
 |
| [39A: Sci-fi pilot ___ Solo] |
Theme answers:
- BEAUTY MARK (17A: Enhancing "blemish" (3x)) (Beau, Ty, Mark)
- EDUMACATE (25A: Teach, playfully (3x)) (Ed, Uma, Cate)
- SALTED CARAMEL (35A: Sweet popcorn coating (4x)) (Sal, Ted, Cara, Mel)
- MACADAMIA (46A: Nut in Sausalito cookies (3x)) (Mac, Ada, Mia)
A beauty mark or beauty spot is a euphemism for a type of dark facial mark so named because such birthmarks are sometimes considered an attractive feature. Medically, such "beauty marks" are generally melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. Moles of this type may also be located elsewhere on the body, and may also be considered beauty marks if located on the face, shoulder, neck or breast. Artificial beauty marks have been fashionable in some periods.
• • •
And yet it didn't take long for EDUMACATE to come to me, though that turn from the upper middle into the NE was probably the hardest bit for me, as I wasn't sure about EDUMACATE, blanked on the South American capital, didn't know that a [Housemother] was a MATRON (I thought those were just for prisons), and, as usual, could not come up with the "word that can precede" answer at 22D: Word that can precede cry or baby. Is a "WAR baby" one conceived during wartime? Or just a very bellicose baby? Anyway, I wanted FAR for a second, but couldn't rationalize "far baby." "What's a far baby?" "That baby over yonder!" Otherwise, the only other answer I tripped on in his puzzle was, ironically, related to my own teaching. [Units of verse]? Starting with "F"? I had STEAM instead of SWEAT at 51D: Result of a hot pursuit? at first, which meant my [Units of verse] ended -EM and so I was like "that's gotta be POEM ... doesn't it?" But that "F" would not budge. When I finally saw that STEAM was in fact SWEAT, I got FEET and had quite a "D'oh!" moment (speaking of Homerisms). I literally taught the meaning of poetic FEET on Monday, and will revisit the topic today. Sigh. SOME PEOPLE would forget their own head if it weren't attached to their body.
Bullets:
- 47D: da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, for example (IAMBS) — unstressed/stressed, that is an iamb. IAMBS are metrical FEET. I tend to use actual words as examples ("today" "again" "above" "below"), but ominous da-DUMs will also do the trick
- 28D: What cards with circles, stars, plauses, squares and wavy lines test for, in brief (ESP) — these are called Zener cards. Spoiler alert: no one has ESP.
- 10D: Instrument associated with beans and salsa? (MARACA) — I wrote this in without much trouble but a few seconds afterwards, as I was like "wait, what? I know there might be dry beans inside a MARACA, but there can't be salsa in there. Salsa's ... wet. The beans won't rattle right!" You'll be glad to know it didn't take me too long to realize that the salsa in question was a dance style, not a condiment.
- 42A: Fred Flintstone's boss at the rock quarry (MRS. LATE) — she was always late. Drove Fred crazy, as he had to punch in and got in trouble if he wasn't on time.
[prehistoric surveillance culture]
- 7D: Happy-sounding advocacy grp. (GLAAD) — The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Here's GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis, yesterday: “[Dolly Parton's] support for LGBTQ people spans decades, from the 1990s with her track ‘Family,’ where she expressed that all should be welcome regardless of religion or sexual orientation; to the powerful ballad ‘Travelin’ Thru,’ which Parton penned for the film TransAmerica and earned her an Oscar nomination; to her early support of marriage equality in 2009, well before its legalization. [...] Parton‘s warm spirit, kindheartedness and joie de vivre deeply resonated with the LGBTQ community, cementing her as a global queer icon whose art always held space for outsiders, no matter the risk. Parton‘s entire career was built on love and respect for all, and her unwavering allyship is a legacy that will last forever."
That's all for today. I'll leave you with Dolly ... at the OPRY (54D: Grand Ole ___) ... 1969 ... the year I was born ... just leaving people slack-jawed. R.I.P. to an irreplaceable force of goodness in the world
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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109 comments:
Easy. Solved it without reading the theme clues. Okay, I did need the 25A clue to convince myself about EDUMACATE.
* * * _ _
One overwrite, I misremembered the 7D advocacy group as GLAdD, instead of GLAAD.
No WOEs.
I agree - a weird little theme but obviously well conceived and implemented. I like the revealer and SALTED CARAMEL right in the center.
Making Plans
The MR SLATE x SARAJEVO cross is epic. I liked OVERACTED, AVERSE and SIESTA. Overall we get good fill here with some sneaky cluing - ATM FEE sticks out. Limited trivia and glue.
Jeannie’s Afraid of the Dark
Enjoyable Wednesday morning solve.
Tomorrow Is Forever
I think you mean Mr. Slate?
Uhhhh….mrs late?? Mr slate.
My experience was similar to Rex's. I solved the puzzle only after changing "melted caramel" to SALTEDCARAMEL, and without ever understanding the theme during the solve. But it made sense in the end. I agree with Rex's 3-1/2 star rating.
If it makes you feel any better, I had the same reaction to the clue for MARACA.
One of my favorite scenes in Ghostbusters is Peter testing the pretty woman for ESP where she gets every answer wrong.
R.I.P. Dolly. A true American hero.
Nunca he...
I think all these people are known for a series of erotic films in the 70s, right?
I had MOPEY moments as a teen I suppose. I want to believe it was an annoying flood of hormones coupled with a highly undeveloped brain and the existence of adults assuming control over me. I fear the same is true for me today.
❤️ EDUMACATE ❤️ Some days on this blog we get to see the result of edumacated folks bein' such dern smartypants.
To scrunchie: I scrunchie, we scrunchie, they scrunchie, you will have been scrunchied while scrunchiing.
I sent my Bailey over the rainbow bridge to bark at Dolly Parton yesterday. She was almost 17. Let all dogs be jumpy today.
Gunkometer--
People: 7
Places: 4
Products: 5
Partials: 3
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 20 of 76 (26%)
Funny Factor: 5 😄
🔥 Ooh-la-la! 🔥 ANAL. PEW.
Uniclues:
1 What the "tough on crime" wonks plan to do.
2 Where cheerleaders come from.
3 Peacenik quality.
4 Why the pivotal scene in The Garden of Eden movie needed to be reshot.
5 Girl fight!
1 REPO SOME PEOPLE
2 TRYOUT ADS
3 WAR AVERSE
4 APPLE OVER ACTED (~)
5 PONYTAIL MELEE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Sassy songs from a fair haired youth. BLONDE IMP AIRS.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Humor man, even OFL has that sense
As soon as I laughed as Mrs Late I wondered how long before someone commented that it was an error. Not long it turned out.
The Spice Girls-a quintet-Had two people named Mel.
Thank you for a beautiful tribute to one of the most beautiful souls to ever grace this earth. RIP Miss Dolly
There we go!
Beautiful write-up today. Thanks for the gift…and the humor as well. Much needed.
Easy, except for the revealer, which I never got. D’oh!
First, I smiled at [Wait for it!], for TIP.
Then, I laughed at the super-silly EDUMACATE.
That primed me for one of the best solving moments of the year, when, after unsuccessfully trying hard to crack the theme, I finally unveiled the revealer, then saw the theme answers with new eyes. Not only did I get gotten good, but I was amazed -- amazed! -- as I saw the names in the answers.
That was a huge wow, followed by a how-did-they-think-of-this, followed by a how-did they find these answers-at-all-not-to-mention-have-them-fit-symmetry‽‽‽
That’s a big bang for my buck today. Chuckles, plus sweet riddle-cracking effort, plus jaw-dropping amazement, brought me spontaneously to wild inner applause. This was terrific, John and Lance – thank you!
For the record, I DO use the word EDUMACATE. Generally ironically, as in "He EDUMACATED himself on the facts about the lizard people in the pizza parlor..."
Combine a puzzle that is off-the-charts easy (for a Wednesday) with a terrible theme, and there is not much fun to be had today. I have liked a bunch of other puzzles by these constructors, both together and apart, but this felt like a throwaway.
Also, I hate SALTED CARAMEL. Caramel was perfect; why ruin it?
Love, compassion, goodness, vivacity – the essence of feel-good wrapped up in one person, brightening the world. Dolly, you showed us what really counts. Thank you.
What a fun puzzle with a killer revealer! At first I thought it was a blah phrase, then my brain gave the words the right emotional emphasis and everything fell in place. I also quit the puzzle and came to the blog before I realized just how many names were in the themers—great job! Due I think to the lack of proper names in puzzle answers I finished this in record time (for me) despite having to go back and change a number of letters as crosses cleared things up.
Oh Dolly 💕
Hey All !
SOME uneducated PEOPLE might say EDUMACATE. SOME might say it in jest. (Was going to make this into a mini poem, but alas, the brain says no.)
The two Long Downs are stuff that SOME PEOPLE do also, although they aren't made of names. (MANS-CAP-ED? OV-ERAC-ED?)
Wondering the inspiration for this puz. Did one of the constructors happen to see names in a long word, and say, "Hey, this would make a dandy theme"? (Does anyone say dandy anymore?)
Liked it, went through it at an easy pace/time, but the NE corner did hold me up a tad. Looking at it now, unsure why. Interesting idea.
CARACAS, CARA-CAS, MELEE, ME-LEE (that ones a stretch), MATRON, MAT-RON,
Nice WedsPuz, ID SAY.
Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
RIP Dolly ❤️ But I didn’t enjoy this puzzle. It was mostly easy but the intersection of EDUMACATE (I’ve never heard this), GLAAD, which I spelled GLAdD at first and RAFAEL’s nickname (RAFf, RAFi, oh RAFA!) was a train wreck for me.
Thanks for the Dolly Parton tribute, Rex. I've only come to appreciate her in the last decade. Growing up in NE Wisconsin, our "country" music was German polka bands, like Frankie Yankovic and the Yanks, or the Six Fat Dutchmen--so I didn't think much of C&W, or pay much attention to it. But my Dolly awareness has gradually built up. I'll go back and play your clips later today.
As for the puzzle--I spent way too much time trying to figure out who that IA was, hanging out with MAC and ADAM. I finally thought of Byron's daughter ADA. I did think while solving that almost anything can be a name, and I can make a case for several of the non-theme answers being SOME PEOPLE--but requiring a minimum of three names makes it tougher.
Along with ATM FEES I thought SIESTA for "Day break?" was pretty good (30-D).
@Gary J., my condolences for your loss of Bailey.
I wonder if Dolly and Lewis are related?
I believe Popeye is the originator of “edumacate.” At least, that’s where I know it from.
Made me think of the great Dr. John song "Qualified".
"Your edu-ma-cation ain't no hipper than what you understand."
EDUMACATE? Really? What the heck is that?
Never would have figured out the theme without Rex's explanation.
Anyone else for MANSPLAIN before MANSCAPED?
I think you will find that "edumacate" was from Popeye, not the Simpsons.
I didn’t find the puzzle that easy but I loved it.🎈🎈🎊🎊
So sorry to hear that Gary - rest easy Bailey.
Before I ever logged in, I KNEW you were going to say that nobody has ESP. So what now!?
Also, I automatically typed in ESL and spent way too long trying to find the error in my solve.
I am so smart SMRT. ~Homer
So sorry about the old Bailey. All dogs go to heaven.
Woosh!
Beautiful tribute to Dolly!
I guess MATRON was pretty upset about not being highlighted as a themer. Should have added AL.
Tourist: Is what you're doing called a SIESTA?
Local: SIESTA una SIESTA
The key to Spain's strategy in the WC Final was to get Lionel MESSY and keep him that way.
Thanks for the Dolly tribute, @Rex. She was a genuine and loving person as well as a wonderful performer. And thanks for bringing us some fun with SOMEPEOPLE, John Kugelman and Lance Enfinger.
My condolences on Bailey…wow 17! It will be hard for a while, I’m afraid. We went through it 2 1/2 years ago with our Tess who was 15, and a lovable athlete until the very end.
I thought the Maraca answer related to music played at a Mexican restaurant where you eats beans and salsa...
Hard to believe Trump outlived Dolly - so unfair
Wow. You might have nailed it!
I was convinced I had made a complete mess of this one when I couldn’t make EDUMACATE go away. I really didn’t want WAR baby to be a thing, and my brain wasn’t very enamored of the MARACA / beans / salsa situation either.
The point made by the reveal totally escaped me until post-solve. It would have been more fun if I had realized what they were getting at while I was mid-solve, but it was still a nice way to tie the whole thing together.
It’s too bad, the world lost a once-in-a-lifetime generational talent and a very special person as well. She was genuine to the core and her sense of community and concern for the welfare of others was pretty much ingrained in her DNA (and please, no snarky comments about the amount of work she had done - this isn’t the time or place for that. Not that she would care. Once, after a critic called her a “dumb blonde”, her response was something along the lines of “why would I care, I’m not blonde and I’m not dumb.”. You were special Dolly, RIP.
I guarantee Rex threw that out without explaining to see who didn’t get that he was kidding and corrected him. Looks like we have a few takers.
Hey kitsch, hope your day goes better!
Agree, the revealer made the puzzle--till then it was just an easy zip-through. I admire the people who can figure out such a theme as they go along
IA is a woman’s name in Georgia (the country). My siblings and I were fortunate to have a woman named IA as our mother’s loving live-in caregiver during her last few months.
Easy solve. Clever theme, but one where I had to read the explanation in Wordplay to understand it. Call me crazy, but a theme that is so obscure that you need to read an explanation later to understand it is a bad theme.
Stunt theme. The only thing I learned was that Popeye said EDUMACATE. That's funny? A total dud.
There's a song about Mr. Late by the great 90s band Jellyfish: https://youtu.be/thlcnch8A9Y?si=N93TOKcLx4r44r3U
I read it as Mr. Slate which would be apt.
I first had mALTED CARAMEL, thought it was similar to malted milk. Sounded tasty.
From Mad Dog Cryptics #33: "Born with twisted foot" from a poem that's a source of childhood trauma (5)
Mistake for me too there, thought it was "Raffi" hence "Glaid". Didn't know either one unfortunately.
I saw MARK, CATE, MEL and MAC and decided there had to be more to it than that, based on the revealer clue. It wasn't until I saw TED in SALTED CARAMEL that I went back and re-parsed all of the theme answers into their respective names. And I let out a sort of groany OHH, not the happy AHA one might expect. It's clever certainly, but exciting?
EDUMACATE, I've heard it, never said it, not sure why it's amusing. I'm sure it's supposed to be ironic but...
For a moment, I thought 32D was going to be MAN-Splain - the clue almost worked, the past tense of the clue meant it was wrong.
John and Lance, thanks for a Wednesday that required some thought.
One huge WOE - EDUMACATE followed by MRS LATE. Getting used to MANSCAPE. A nice Wednesday & thanks to you both :)
Gary, I'm so very sorry about Bailey. I lost my Cinnamon when we were both hit by a reckless driver - it will be 5 years in January. It's so very hard to lose your best friend ❤️ 🌈.
I hope they're playing together at the Bridge :)
MRS.LATE 🤣
Ha for Mrs. Late!
I enjoy puzzles when my first thought is, "Where in the world could this thing be going?" and then have to work a bit to figure it all out. That happened today. The main reason that I was in the dark for so long was that I found the SE corner very thorny so the revealer took way too long to fall for me. Looking back, I'm not sure why, those are all common enough words. I did throw in *tick* (??) instead of the correct FLEA and those four letters really held me up. I just could not think of any alternate for Bug on a pug. I also threw in *sit* instead of the correct OFF, that only added to my problem. FEET was also not front of brain as clued.
I think it was SWEAT that finally came to me convincing me that *tick* could not possibly be right and then everything else came in a satisfying whoosh.
That led to grocking the revealer which I thought was brilliant, not so much as a revealer, but the phrase itself as clued. It mis-directed just enough to make me scratch my head a bit and when it came to me, huge smile.
I had to come here to find out what all the parentheses were referring to because as soon as I figured things out, I just looked for one name and moved on. I wish I didn't rush things this time! I'm with @Lewis in the "how did they think of this?" camp. Wow, this was fun stuff!
All the themers are great words for a grid even though I don't think I knew EDUMACATE, but the crosses were fair. Some nice non-theme long fill with OVERACTED and MANSCAPED.
Other than the themer, there was some cute cluing with ATMFEE and MARACA.
Thank you John and Lance, I enjoyed this workout!
Me too.
As a total slave to cartoons as a child, I agree with others above that it came first from Popeye. And yes, it isn’t not THAT ironic or amusing but I’ve heard it used-or a form of it-like EDUMACATion during my adult life.
There ya go. A perfect example. I’m here with you on the “vulgar” appearance of EDUMACATE.
Condolences. We're taking our almost 22 year old cat to the vet this PM for what probably will be the last time. Never easy.
Well, I guess I’m just here to report that I didn’t particularly enjoy the puzzle or the theme but also to say I am a little shocked at the reaction to EDUMACATE, which actually might have been my highlight. I guess I run with a more slangy/jokey crowd (or more vulgarian?).
I’m glad Rex gave tribute to Dolly. There are few celebrities that are as loved as she was-even if country music isn’t your thing. She had a beautiful soul.
Was it Weird or Wacky? I guess the former, since the latter is what Rex typically ascribes to puns, which today's themers were not. Potato, po-tah-to.
Did not get the theme until coming here; it wasn't necessary for solving. But after understanding it, and reviewing the plethora and variety of names, we were impressed!
I feel Rex may have shortchanged the rating by a 1/2 point. "(W)eird is good". "Revealer was perfect". Both high praise. Minimal junk. "MRS. LATE"🤣 And above all, some tributes to iconic Dolly Parton; much appreciated (if bittersweet). The world is a little less good today as a result of her passing. RIP
I think the quote was that the remark didn’t bother her because she knew she wasn’t dumb and she knew she wasn’t blonde. I often thought she could have been our first woman president if she had wanted to.
Bill has 2 Ls, Matt has two Ts, ask me why I care. When I order stuff on the phone I have to "spell it out" Matt with 2Ts or I'll get Mack which Wrecks already Q'd as uncommon, most often like Mack, bro, buddy, pal, chief, boss generic dude names if name is not known. Tho, just ordered Thai takeout and they heard Pat with 2Ts so pickup was complicated, oh heck (with 2Ls!!!)
Thank you, Anon 8:05. I was trying to figure out why I knew that silly term. I thought maybe my parents or some weird uncle used it. But Popeye! Of course!
Easy, although it took a fair amount of post-solve staring before the A HA moment arrived (and explained the numbers at the ends of the theme clues).
I did not know SARAJEVO.
Costly erasures - GLAdD before GLAAD and tracking down a typo.
No junk, subtle theme, liked it a bunch.
Same, on all counts.
Way too many names! 1 Star.
Ha, great puzzle. EDUMACATE was my fave entry. BEAUTY took a while to parse. BEA UTY? Forgot about Beau Biden, son of Joe (died of brain cancer in 2015).
Great writeup today, TY Rex.
Even easy for me, using this solve as a distraction from a personal issue.
RIP Bailey. Very tough.
Very sorry to hear about Bailey.
I don't understand EDUMACATE. Or why it's funny.
English has very few infixes (mostly expletives inserted between syllables), but linguist Alan C. Yu coined the term Homeric infixation to refer to Homer Simpson’s pattern of inserting -ma- to make words sound more sophistimacated.
I expected OFL to be all over this one. Because (in my substandard brain) a letter was reused across names—I.e., AdaM and Mia. The ADA possibility hadn’t occurred to me.
EDUMACATE can often be found in its nominal forms, used by irritated edumacators in the field of K-12 edumacation.
I didn't actually get the theme until the revealer! The puzzle went pretty fast -- no typeovers that I can remember -- and by the time I saw SOME PEOPLE and looked back at the long acrosses... nice cute Wednesday theme!
Lots of A's today. MARACA has 3, MACADAMIA has 4, and GLAAD has two in a row. EDUMACATE and GLAAD were total Unknowns for me.
I was driving yesterday when I heard on the radio that Dolly was gone. Right after the news, they played "I Will Always Love You"... Whitney Houston's version! Of course Dolly wrote it and recorded it first. But Whitney really made it memorable. Thanks for the music, Dolly.
Look, I've never really been a fan of country music. It was the only genre allowed in my childhood home and I despised it. It seemed so phony. After escaping, I came to appreciate some country artists: Kris Kristofferson, Willy and Waylon, and a few others. I could relate to them. Then I heard Dolly Parton and she seemed, at first, just as corny as the stuff I grew up with. But the more I learned about her, the more I liked her and her music. Especially liked her openness. Still a lot of sappiness in the tunes - it is country music, after all - but beautifully delivered by an apparently sweet, honest, and accepting person. And smart! Here's a favourite quote:
An interviewer once asked Dolly Parton if it bothered her when people called her a dumb blonde. She responded why would it? I know I’m not dumb, and I know I’m not a blonde.*
Pretty impressively self aware.
*I only vaguely remembered this quip and had to do a search for it.Thank you Surefire on Facebook.
I thought this puzzle was far easier than yesterday’s and didn’t get the theme at all. Had to come here to get an explanation; I hate when that happens. RP says no one has ESP, but my mother came close. She knew things, and sometimes it was downright eerie.
RP: Thank you for the heartfelt and generous tribute to the Queen of Country Music. As many have said, you didn’t have to like country music to love Dolly. She was truly a national treasure, and I don’t think we know the half of all the good she did.
MAUI Wowie was not a cocktail when I enjoyed it ... it was not something to drink.
Someone may have already said something like this but I have ESP. I knew @rex would say nobody has ESP.
I once knew a dude who said EDUMACATE all the time, but I never heard if from anyone else.
Solved as a themeless. Not being a Homer Simpson fan, ever -- and I surmise that it came from that -- I was able to easily cobble EDUMACATE from the crosses.
SOME PEOPLE
D’oh
Only the good die young. Dolly you left us too soon
“Wait for it” was just brilliant. Made me laugh. The fill, though easy, was more engaging because the clues weren’t just plain vanilla, get the job done and make it easy, they had some creativity which I sincerely appreciate for a Wednesday. A favorite example is the clue for MAGMA. A tougher clue if you don’t know what hydrothermal vents are, but the intro “heat source” in the clue makes it inferable. Elegant construction.
And a revealer that was a true Aha moment!I got all the way through without guessing . I did notice ED and CATE in EDUMACATE probably because it took me a minute to remember hearing the word before. When one of us kids would do something unbelievably dumb when we were old enough to know better, my mom, in total exasperation would say “We give you books to get youEDACATEd, and all you do is eat the covers.”
And then there’s Dolly. I learned of Dolly’s passing when I turned on the radio at noon for my hour-long drive to Napa to see my back specialist. Her humanity, generosity and love remind me of my Gran - who of course was a fan. She didn’t like Country music, but she put Dolly in a class by herself. Gran was cut from the same human cloth
Dolly’s dedication to the importance of literacy grew from the fact that her own father couldn’t read. Her dedication to making sure all kids had access to books touched me deeply. I worked for several years through the Bar Association to help promote and get kids statewide enrolled Dolly’s “free books” program.
Listening to the radio yesterday on the way home, I had to pull over for a weeping break to listen to a clip of a superb Gay Men‘s Choir (and I’m sorry I didn’t catch where they’re from) singing “I Will Always Love You.” After the clip, the person being interviewed summed up his hope for the world as “Fewer Jolenes, more Dolly.” Can I have an Amen!
TIL EDUMACATE which I love. Very nice puzzle. Had to look up RAFA because 6D was a tricky clue. I did not understand 3x, 4x until I came here. Thank you!
RIP Dolly Parton, truly the most wonderful human being - my grandchildren love her books!
Oh darn it! I’m so sorry, Gary. They each leave a paw shaped print upon our hearts forever.
Yeah, I'm not sure why I got down on this puzzle so much today. Just grumpy, I guess.
Perhaps I did first hear EDUMACATE from Popeye - I watched plenty of cartoons in my childhood. Bart's Clubhouse, based in Mankato, MN, was on at 4 PM every weekday. And they called my name once on TV on my birthday. I ran up and told my mom and was she surprised. I don't think she over-acted :-).
Anonymous 9:03 AM
I had the same reaction about the MRACA clue.
9:39 AM Anonymous
It is not a question of being crazy. But just because some people (like me) didn’t quite understand the theme doesn’t mean it is a bad theme. For me to say that is unfair to the constructors and is way too subjective. Objectively, most people here got it so the theme worked
PH
Ty Rex.
Good one
happy to see folks appreciate this gem
Dogs are the best. Sorry, Gary.
About the Dolly Parton song, I Will Always Love You. Here is one story from the NY Times obituary::she had just broken up her long term music partnership with (was it Wagoner?). She was becoming more famous than he. Which lead to his ego problems. Yet she strove to remain friends And wrote the song partially to say that. Not to placate him but because that was who she was.
And she has continued like that on a national even political scale . And she gave away half of her great wealth to charity.
I liked the puzzle. I was a bit dense and didn’t get the whole theme until I came here.( I saw the double meaning of some people but I gave up after anagrams didn’t work! )
Mrs. Late was also always stoned.
Les S More. I also was never a fan of country music.( but when young was never forced to listen to it!) . Over the decades I began to appreciate some of the songs especially ones closer to the folk roots. I really haven’t listened to much of Dolly’s work but I have noticed she had a huge range of styles and not just country One of her last records was a rock based one! Also much of her writing was about where she came from. (Coat of many colors for example) Not at all second hand. So while much of the Nashville popular product can be artificial, she never was even at her most country.
Beautiful post. Amen.
Sorry, but I couldn’t let the Spanish error pass. Thought Pablo would do it. The local’s reply should be SIESTA es una SIESTA. (Changing esta from a verb to a pronoun and using the permanent ser instead of the temporary estar for the verb to be). I do like the way you re-parse answers. Keep it up.
Gary I'm so sorry about Bailey... it's a tough deal abd try to think about all the good times..all the best
Same. I was so sure it was two DD in the name. Never heard of the tennis person, so even though I could tell it was probably wrong it took me a while to get it.
Solved it in tandem with my PuzEatinSpouse at a breakfast place, late this mornin. I solved in the upside down puz position, so the puztheme didn't register with m&e at the time.
Different theme idea. Like different a lot.
staff weeject pick: UMA, the first 3-letter name lurker.
By the ways, I am real late gettin to here, sorry. I was given the assignment of comin up with our copy of "9 To 5", amongst 1000s of DVDs, so we could tribute-watch Dolly tonight. Some day I really need to alphabetize all that there stuff ...
Thanx for gangin up on us, Mr. Kugelman & Enfinger dudes. We kinda did the same, on our joint solvequest. Nice Jaws of Themedness, btw.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
p.s.
Runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
I have never heard of edumacate either and it makes me grumpy. Not fun at all
Same. Two Ds. Even though I was pretty certain it was Rafa
I am not skilled at crosswords, so your blog is incredibly helpful. I could not make sense of the theme until reading your post, which is often the case, so thanks for that.
As for your bullet point for 28D, your assertion that “no one has ESP,” you might discover that listening to Ky Dickens’ podcast The Telepathy Tapes could shift your perspective on whether that assertion is still true.
Same hiccup here: I had MELTED CARAMEL first and spent a solid minute wondering if two MELs in one grid were legal. SALTED sorted it out. And the revealer is exactly what a weird theme like this needs to click. EDUMACATE holding ED, UMA and CATE was my favorite of the four.
My late dad used to use edumacate ironically with some regularity. People do in fact say it, even me, in the right humorous context.
Pretty sure it was the Beverly Hillbillies.
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