My kinda puzzle. I love wordplay (and Wordplay) and especially puns.
At first I thought, sadly, that the theme might have to do with cars, when I saw 5 and 6D. But the rest of the middle north gave me VERNE, leading to JEWELS, and a revelation and a whoop of joy.
Also loved MSG, although I got it right away.
Agree that there were a lot of names, but this time I knew most of them -- no rappers or sports figures -- so it didn't bother me. The only one I wasn't sure of was ARLEN. And ABU, but we had him with the same clue fairly recently, so the memory was sort of near the top of the pile.
Slightest of pauses at LITER/LITer.
Much fun. Many thanks.
4
That was a fun fill, nice job! Some really funny puns in the comments as well.
2
As threatened:
Nickname for an early explorer in Canada?
***SHOCK Cartier
Nickname for a "gutteral" cabaret singer?
***EAVES Montand
Nickname for a returning operetta king?
Jacques OFTEN BACK
What's a problem bears have getting to wild honey?
***It's BEES, EH? [for Canadian bears, anyway]
Nickname for nudists with August birthdays?
*** BARE LEOS
Sometimes, these things go in reverse:
Parisian catchphrase from "Jerry MacGuire"
***Show me the MONET!!
Gallic for "Scram! Get outta here!!"
***PIAF, will you?
Now let's see what the solving community can suggest for Honoré Balzac today.
About the most fun you can have for free.
9
I was sure we'd get at least on trilingual offering from you, like TOO LOOSE LA DRECK ("Diarhhea").
Too classy, I guess.
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Leapy, words are obviously just toys for you. For others they may be precious icons, never to be trifled with. But you - you play with them, bend them, tear them apart, mix ‘em and match ‘em; in the end they are none the worse for the wear.
I’ll grab a hold of one of your comments and try to hang on for the ride, even if I’m occasionally zinged off tangentially at some hairpin curve.
I always look forward to your posts, so keep it up!
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Martin, I actually kind of trilinguated in my initial offering with "Frenglishkeit", but thankfully had to pare down to slide under the 1500 ceiling. As for your suggestion -- who knows, had I thought of it, but as I didn't, I guess there's still a difference betw you and I
;D
MikeR, that's most exceeding kind of you to say, as well as just beautifully put. I'll view it as opinion rather than fact, but because of my appreciation, I will from this time 'going forward' think of you not just as MikeR, but most definitely as MikeST.
Je vous remerci mille foi.
I like the digital Spelling Bee very much. But does its dictionary lack words from zoology? It rejected willet and milt in recent days.
2
It's told me that stipe and chacha[cha]* weren't words, also, (some others that are definitely words) but I still am hooked on it, esp like it when a pangram pops up. In genious!!
*otoh, cancan was acceptable, go figure
1
Today it rejected tilth.
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I smiled at JEWELS VERNE but I laughed out loud at CLOD DEBUSSY. Did not realize they were all French till I got to the reveal. I really enjoyed the whole solving process.
I did get stuck in a few places before I figured things out. The one that amused me most was 62D -- "Item above a kitchen stove." "Shelf" didn't fit, nor "cupboard," nor "clock." I got it by crosses, which was lucky, as I cannot think of one person I know in Manhattan with a FAN above their stove!
It reminded me of: "New York City -- the one city in the country where having a washer and dryer means you've made it!"
5
It's fairly common to have a microwave above a stove, and a fan is usually a part of the microwave.
I also can't think of anyone I know whose microweave is above the stove. In fact, given the general shortage of counter space, we all keep our microwaves in some pretty strange places.
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Here you go, Deadline:
https://amana.com/content.jsp?pageName=clever_combo
(We don't have a microwave above our stove...or anywhere else, for that matter.)
There is no alt key on a Mac. Today’s puzzle, 29 across. Either command or option, but no alt anywhere.
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Alt is the uppercase of the option key. It shows “alt” on my wife’s Mac but maybe all keyboards don’t show it.
My Mac has the "alt" in fine print on the Option key. I do not need to shift it when using it as an alt function.
It's obvious, I was born and bread for this type of CROSS ON Frenglish, it's just how I roll. Slid down the West side and saw my old ami, whom I've thought of as TOOLOOSELAUTREC/ LOWTREK since I first herd of the little guy. So, Old Home Week in this part of NC. If those who snub my brand of inanity look back at the "Open Fire" puzzle, they'll see I closed my C-in-C with /BLAZE PASCAL. Could have been a leg-up in the solve, oui?
Was fooled by MSG and thought some clues & entries were GRReat. Caught a whiff of horse-racing with the 'sunken track' and 'the bay in the fifth', which I thought a BET more than a TIP, but no hope to pin to. Overall a nice array where some crosses were ABYSS'll NiXoNian, but not enough that anyone Panned it, I wouldn't think.
While casting no ASPERjeunes, I think if it can be said that someone 'swanned off', you could also say that someone 'GOOSED OFF', um., maybe even FLOW BARE. A MWAH, this puzzle demonstrates a charming SUV-VERNE ear, and qualifies as an ODE to and a JEWEL of bilingual punditry. No speaking with forked tongue, I found it A MOS' AUDRAcious attempt. Without Russian anything else (cf the PUTIN/STALIN exchange), I'm glad the AllSchmalz BrightBachs dusted off the mothballs and found each other again.
Wednesday time was ABYSmal, as I kept stopping whenever another idea CLAUDE at my mind. Results to be posted under separate cover, for easy avoidance by the wary.
Thanks to all y'all for a top-drawer Wednesday.
8
I'm not one who cares much about how quickly I finish the puzzle (or anyone else's speed record either, although I do congratulate those who do and are pleased with their accomplilshments).
But I do wonder, Leapy, how long it took you to compose this masterpiece of a comment.
Anyway, brava.
1
Aw shucks, Deadly! Hard to say, bec I jotted a few notes during the solve. (One reason my "solve time" isn't my solve time.) Maybe 10- 15 min to organize and type up? and some things emerge/change as I'm typing cuz my typing's terrible and my thinking runs ahead. Then it took about 5 minutes to pare down and tighten up the language, since I went way over the 1500. Et viola!!
You make a good point that it's a self-indulgence in time that's becoming more rare for me these days. Glad if it brought you some enjoyment, DeadlineML!
This completes my first-ever 9 day streak. I have been studying the frequent commenters here and had to enlist a well worn rule regarding no-doubles. Stubbornly sticking to a HIGH FAN setting, I had trouble with 62D.
6
Congratulations on your streak. Speaking of FAN, I gather you don't favor your local pro teams.
(BTU)
1
Excellent I just finished 11 for the first time and still going.... I am fairly confident this is all psychological. It all depends on your personal life for me. Anything can throw a monkey wrench into a particular puzzle.
1
HIGH setting on ACS was where I began;
The way I solved was your inverse.
It wasn't till now that I saw the FAN.
I guess that's one way of keeping it terse.
I love a good bilingual pun, and today's puzzle delivers handsomely in that regard. Got a good chuckle out of each and every FRENCHTWIST. After uncovering JEWELSVERNE, the rest of the themers came pretty easily with a few crosses. Congrats to our longtime and first-time constructors.
A boyishly young Harry Nilsson singing "Good Old DESK" on "Playboy After Dark" in 1968. Speaking of wordplay, note that "Good Old DESK" = GOD. Do the lyrics hint at a higher power? Nilsson played coy on the subject. See what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUD1SCGYcK4
2
Interesting choice of music today, Jimbo. But I would have bet the farm that we would be listening to URIAH Heep today!
2
URIAH Heep was on my short list today, Andrew.
Here's a live performance of "Stealin'" from 1973, when the group was at its hairiest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqLh3OcwvyI
Pas difficile pour mercredi.
M'as-tu-vu (il fallait le rechercher. C'est nouveau pour moi)!
Quite an enjoyable Wednesday, although the puns are funnier if one does not speak French, as the names all have somewhat different pronunciations in French than their corresponding "pun" words.
I was reminded of this Monty Python sketch. If you can sit through the whole thing, Toulouse-Lautrec makes an animated appearance at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4anNb2jS4Q
1
"No-Time Toulouse: The story of the wild and lawless days of the post-impressionists."
You won't be too surprised to learn that MP was my immediate association too, Andrew.
O..M...G!!
I *knew* what would happen when he drew, and still burst out laughing.
At some point today, probably in an important meeting, I'm going to remember TOOLOOSE LAUTREC. At that moment I hope I can keep a straight face.
3
Salut, Mssrs. Albright and Schmalzbach!
2
Ooh la la! Loved the puns. CLOD DEBUSSY and TOO LOOSE LAUTREC were my favorites. First time my husband I went to Paris, I came back with a new coat and a French twist!
3
I like it when the old Gray Lady gets all silly. I actually groaned at the first pun: how great!
However I wasn't crazy about all the names: URIAH, ABU, EDIE, NED, MEL, AMOS, AUDRA, ARLEN, EAMES, NEHRU, CELICA, OTIS, REGIS and ASPER. (I know, I know, don't write!)
Thanks, Jonathan and Bill, for brightening my morning!
2
Why did the French train derail?
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39A
10
10D: “Miss identification?” is a play on the word “misidentification.” I might have liked this better if it had been “Ms. identification,” even though the sound is a bit different.
One might well "miss identification" (fail to see it), Deb, so it's a real thing and a misdirection; "Ms." doesn't work.
P.S. Wanted to post this at 10:15 p.m. EDT, but Comments weren't working.
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My initial entry for that clue was SIR as I read it both as a pun AND literally. Crosswords are messing with my brain!
2
Pas difficile pour mercredi.
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Comments: 2
One comment showing.
Click on Oldest
Two comments showing.
Click on Newest
One comment showing.
Sigh.
1
as xwElaine would say, comment posted at 10:20 pm Tues., not 8:40 am Wed. as time-stamped.
The. Comments. Are. Broken.
System. Must. Be. Trashed.
*Soupir* (bis).
David, just remember that 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. Think how strong you're getting to be.
Seriously, things are always better in the morning. I think the ghoulies are out at night.
DC -- I don't understand what's your problem. The comments are perfectly fine to me. ??
What a lot of fun this was! I got the theme quickly with JEWELS VERNE (bringing back fond memories of a 40 anniversary dinner in the Jules Verne restaurant in Tour Eiffel )
Impossible to choose a favorite; they were all great.
Only one name I didn't know at all in the non theme fills, AUDRA, and I did have to get out my Atlas to get DULUTH. My second Wednesday with no checks.
Please come back, Jonathan and Bill!
5
suejean: If you ever have the opportunity to see AUDRA McDonald, do it! She is one of the most incredible talents of our age. If you 've never seen one of her performances, you have missed a great joy.
I don't know if you would ever have the chance to see her on TV. She doesn't do that a lot. The only thing I can think of is that she once appeared at a White House gala during the Obama administration, and that's been televised a few times here.
1
suejean: I know you sometimes come back to the previous day's comments to see what those in the U.S. time zones had to say, so I thought I'd take a chance that you'd see this.
After posting about AUDRA McDonald, I wanted more, so went to YouTube. There are many, many clips of this wonderful performer, displaying not only her prodigious talent but her incredible diversity. Anyway, I thought I'd share the White House performance that I mentioned in my earlier reply: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audra_McDonald
1
As long as we're on this paranomasian kick, I would be derelict to not point out that you can catch 12D in 19A.
Also that acronym in 19A is a gimme for anyone who's ever trod the 7th Ave 34th St subway station platform.
Fun workout. The entries are not so fanciful as one might think: when I was on the west coast during the last century my morning "must-haves" (along with the cup of Joe) were the comics (especially Farley) and Herb Caen's column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Herb enjoyed presenting a favorite theme of place names guaranteed to raise eyebrows. One such was a watch and gemstone purveyor in Hamilton Ontario (Canada) with the actual name clued by 17A.
2
"Also that acronym in 19A is a gimme for anyone who's ever trod the 7th Ave 34th St subway station platform."
"Only" since 1968. Those of us who rode the subway before then might have seen signs for "The Garden" (I don't recall using the initials back then) at the 50th Street station on the 8th Avenue IND. I don't think anyone posting here went to Madison Square Garden when it was located at Madison Square.
1
No Barry, I don't think any of us ever went to one of the two MSGs that were located on MS.
I did go to the one on Eighth Avenue at least once though. And I've been to the current eyesore several times. Dog shows, cat shows, figure skating.
1
I wonder if Leapfinger had 51A cold. Said poster published said pun here last week.
https://nyti.ms/2HYtlcV
1
Leapy also highlighted the surname of the poster.
1
Thank you, Both! I feel vindicated now.
That was a good day, and today I can be somewhat certain that A.A.Flaymer did not assume the name just to play with the FIRE theme.
[smile]
Today's theme brought to mind this old (and dreadful) joke:
A museum employee, accepting condolences when a delivery of priceless paintings was driven off a bridge into the river, said, "I hated to lose the truck but that's the way the van goes."
I did say it was dreadful...
11
Hello, Dali!
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(Miro, Miro, on the wall...)
5
Monet Monet Monet .... !
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[lol] Sign I added to our lab door collection at 333 Cedar St, New Haven, long ago:
Where did Van Gogh?
I don't know, Cezanne
I've had no shame for decades.
One of my easiest and most enjoyable Thursday puzzles in a long time . The themers came trippingly off the keyboard, even though FRENCH TWIST and two or three other unknowns had to be elicited from the crosses
Nit: The current flows from the ANODE (i.e., the electrons flow to it), not through it.
3
Agreed! Another Wednesday pretending to be a Thursday with its punny answers.
1
ummm... if electrons keeps accumulating in the anode do they stay there? Just asking.
1
Is this plasm physics?
(retro)
Grand Cru? 63d - help!
That's one of the designations permitted to qualified vintners to label the wine they make if it is of superior quality.
Grand cru is an official designation for the greatest wines of Burgundy. The oldest listing of great growths ("crus") was the 1855 Bordeaux Wine Official Classification. The top category was Premier Cru ("first growth"). (An exception was made for Yquem, which received "Premier Cru Supérieur.") There is no Grand Cru in this classification.
Burgundy copied the idea in 1861, reserving Grand Cru ("great growth") for the greatest vineyards. There are 37 designated Grand Crus in Burgundy.
Somewhat confusingly, the wines of Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux were not covered by the 1855 classification and received their own in 1955. Their system designates the top growths as Premier Grands Crus Classés, with the second tier being Grands Crus Classés.
Alsace also has an official Grand Cru designation. Outside of these specific cases, "Grand Cru" on a wine bottle is meaningless marketing hype.
1
I smiled at the theme answers and had great fun guessing the last three with few letters in them, loved trying to come up with other theme answers (CUCKOO CHANEL, ORNERY MATISSE, A NICE NIN), enjoyed the cross of RUMOR and TOO LOOSE, and am very fond of the word ABYSS, but what I adored most of all, was the clue for NYC ("It contains M.S.G"), which, I believe, is world class.
4
M.S.G. got me for sure, but then I've been thinking of dim sum lately. Anyway, I don't think anyone really needs glu ta mate.
1
HA! Current does so move through "awire."
A few years ago my Halloween costume was four Ken dolls along with an iPod and a small set of speakers mounted on a small (small is the operative word here) stage strapped to my chest. I was a boy band. This year I am thinking BLAZEPASCAL.
Jonathan and Bill, thanks for the puzzle and the costume TIP.
2
Nice puzzle and fairly smooth solve. Got all of the themers with relatively few crosses; didn't note that they were all FRENCH until I got the reveal, which took a lot more work than any of the themers. There were some obscure (to me) answers but everything worked out from the crosses.
Note to Deb: ATLanta is not a state. Just for future reference, Georgia is the state. You might know it from many songs about how much happier people were when they were there ('Dock of the Bay'), or will be when they get there ('Midnight Train to Georgia') or how much they miss it ('Georgia on My Mind').
New York, of course, can be either a state or a city, but ATL is just a city. Though, like New York, it can sometimes be a state of mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol0dPJdzm1M
..
7
"Note to Deb: ATLanta is not a state."
Another case of "Miss identification?"
3
Billy Joel began his ongoing residency at MSG in NYC in January 2014, playing one show per month. 50+ shows later, still selling out.
In concert these days, he often substitutes "Oceanside" for "Riverside" in the lyrics to "NYS Of Mind."
1
Barry: Miss is a state. I know; I used to live there.
At first I was grateful to Deb for the link to the "trap music" explanation, which I figured save me the Google. But the explanation was written in some strange language, and I had no idea what they were talking about.
Jimbo?
What would we do without URIAH Heep--surely the YUCKiest name for a SLEAZy character in all of Dickens' works? The J and a few North Central entries tipped me off to the theme, and the rest was a romp....though I did find it painful to label the composer of such ethereal music a CLOD.
In a college drawing class I took, one assignment was to render a copy of a work by a major artist; I chose a pen and ink sketch by Toulouse-Lautrec.... that was a great class, as I look back. The teacher took the methodology from Kimon Nikolaides' _The Natural Way to Draw_....still a classic.
6
That sounds like a delightful class, MOL.
i appreciate the reference to that great greek, johnny otis, (ioannis alexandres veliotes), who immersed himself in african/american culture and mastered the art of rhythm and blues. not only a wonderful musician (hand jive) and terrific producer (esther phillips, etta james, jackie wilson, among others), he was a dominant radio presence for many years here in l.a. leapy: thanks for the 'yuge' link; i hadn't realized that the incredibly imaginative senior mr. trudeau had such a rich, deep, and long-lasting understanding of the shmegeggie in charge.
deadline: you were right; my elusive sunday comment was indeed embedded in a thread originated by mol.
mickeyd: i feel like a schmo (but not quite like a 'lil abner' shmoo!) for ferreting out this comment, but here it is:
'remembering my late ‘lefty’ mom on this mother’s day, with deep gratitude for her infectious adoration of those same three god-like progressive politicians, (you'd referred to henry wallace, adlai, and fdr), as well as turning a five year old chicago boy into a lifelong dodgers fan, due to their courageous, if terribly overdue, breaking of the infamous ‘color barrier’ in ‘47. if only wallace had not been betrayed, and replaced on the ‘44 ticket at the last minute by truman, what a different world we’d have. oh well, sorry, don’t get me started!'
5
I think I replied to you but it's not here. I appreciate the sentiment. I remember my visit to Ebbets field with my only Italian uncle (he enlisted in ww1 because his brother was drafted and wanted to be with him. Brother was posted to NJ. Uncle Dom went to France and was gassed). It was a night game and you walked straight in at street level I believe and I was overtaken by the extraordinarily glowing bright green grass. Memorable.
Laurence, I hit the reco button just for seeing your name here. Now that I've read your comment, thanks for evoking the politicians I grew up on. I campaigned for Adlai the first time and voted for him the second time he ran, which was the first time I voted. I saw FDR in motorcades on the Grand Concourse out of our living room window in the Bronx - he was idolized by my family of immigrant aunts and uncles. I would hate to tell you who their grandchildren voted for this time...
1
This is perhaps the most unsettling post I've ever read here. I envy your seeing FDR. Same background with me. I'll never understand my brother's vote this last election....
I had Eliza down for Beth’s preceder until it proved untenable. I would have guessed aleph immediately had the clue been spelled “bet”, as Deb helpfully points out, as that’s how we learned our aleph bet in Hebrew school, never referred to it as aleph beth.
11
Fun workout, and surprisingly, the solve cane through faster than I expected. Didn’t know many names (OTIS, AMOS, AUDRA, ARLEN, EAMES), but somehow my guesses and crosses worked. Hadn’t heard of Toulouse Lautrec too but the clue helped! And I loved the pun on DEBUSSY! Never associated jigsaw with a tool till POWER came up but hey, doing it way under my usual time has perked me up for the day!
3
*came through!
This was a very clean and entertaining puzzle with a funny theme, but I felt it was just a tad Tuesdayish, as far as difficulty is concerned. The only entry I had to rethink was 60D, where I started out with SPAR, which eventually made no sense with three of the four crosses.
1
I need help. Earlier today y’all were talking about some back door ways of reaching Wordplay when iOS and/or The Emus fail us. Pray illuminate those of us who remain in the dark.
Also, not that I would ever leave Deb, I’ve seen reference to other blogs/chats over the NYT Crossword. Anyone with a link to share?
12:37 AM 5/16/18
I like this one
http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.co.uk/
Not sure why it has a .co.uk address; I used to use it in the USA and now I solve in the UK, but he is definitely American!
1
Not sure if this is what you mean, Babs, but here's a link:
https://www.nytimes.com/column/wordplay
Just tap the title (Wordplay) and it should open up....
61A can’t find the state abbreviation, Deb. Help!
Pandit preceding NEHRU is like Reverend or Swami, implying depth of knowledge related to a subject. In this case, probably his family profession or connection to temple priests.
It’s a honorific, but Hindus from Kashmir (Nehru was from Kashmir) are generally known as Pandits, and that is where this is probably coming from. But “Pandit” also means a very learned / knowledgeable person, and Nehru was certainly that in addition to being a very fine leader and Prime Minister.
6
There is no ALT key on an Apple keyboard. Am I missing something in the cluing of 29A?
1
The key below the Z on my MacBook Air has both “alt” and “option” on it.
11
ALT shares two keys with OPTION on my MacBook Pro.
Should you look down and suddenly see this, I totally relate!
So it does!... in tiny letters. Thanks for pointing that out.
Figured out the theme idea pretty quickly as I worked my way down the grid and got to JEWELS VERNE. Then it was just a matter of trying to anticipate the rest of the theme answers. M.S.G. almost got me until I noticed the punctuation - it's been 50+ years since I left NJ for the midwest, so the "familiar" landmarks aren't so familiar anymore. Fairly smooth and quick solve. Fun!
1
Thanks, JayTee, for M.S.G.,
MadisonSquareGarden, in NYC. Didn't "get it" until I came to your comment.
3
I enjoyed the theme immensely, but sort of wished there was one more in there...
Me too! Each one was better than the other. BESTEST???
2
Wonderful Wednesday, thanks to Jonathan and Bill.
So Lautrec gets arrested by the Paris cops, but they know he's famous and are deferential, so when they put on the handcuffs they ask him: Too tight, Toulouse?" I thought of that old one when I filled in 39A.
A jigsaw doesn't have to be a POWER TOOL. I had a little manual one when I was a kid, also called a coping saw.
13
I used to think jigsaw=coping saw too. But they are not the same. I thought that the coping saw is obviously how they make jigsaw puzzles because no other saws can do the job, right?
But it seems that jigsaw as defined tend to be a mechanized and basically synonymous with scroll saw.
1
I used one in wood shop to make the infamous doggy lamp. Are we back to the home ec discussion?
3
Doggy lamp?
"Infamous" yet?
Is this what I missed by being excluded from shop?
19A: Manhattan, Staten Island, the Gronx?
1
That was 10:30’ish pm EDT 0515.
I didn't figure out M.S.G. until everyone here was talking about it, and I went back and looked at it again.
2
Patrick, am I missing some comments? This is still the only thread talking about M.S.G.? Is everyone here=you and xwElaine?
Fun puzzle! I enjoyed the theme. Like the clue for 19A but had no idea what it could mean and ended up filling it by crosses. When I went back to look at the completed puzzle and got to 19A, it was still a mystery, followed by a “duh”. Overall a very smooth solve.
1
easy peasy! I think it skewed old! I laughed at TOO LOOSE Lautrec. Big fan of the Jewel in the Crown mini-series and books that featured Pandit NEHRU and others during the British Raj.
1
Easy enough that this article wasn’t posted after I finished the puzzle. The tech staff having some troubles the last few days? :D
1
Stu don’t tease the emus. Your down for two at this point.
10:39pm EDT 0515
2
Big name puzzles take longer to post. They insist on final cut. Show biz.
3