Ludicrous to put these stupid gimmicks making solutions impossible. All driven out of Trump hatred. By the way, it is fact that Dems wiretapped Trump and sought federal powers to tip election scales. NYT is fake, delusional, hate driven.
1
I was unable to complete the puzzle as half the answers were wiped out after the "Congratulations..." message was displayed. This has not happened previously or subsequently. Has anyone else experienced this?
There seems to be a mistake in the answer to 49 across: “Cartagena” means letter in Spanish, not “map.”
Clearly not suited for completion in app.
Will Shortz need to do a better job of making sure puzzle work well on paper and digitally.
I challenge Mr. Shortz to write any of the acronyms in the app!
1
Dear Seymour of Berlin - I think the solution to your criticism is to use the extended keyboard in the app. Click on “More” in the bottom left and then “Rebus” on the bottom right to enter more than one letter in a square, e.g. CIA.
3
Very enjoyable! How y'all think of these things is kind of amazing.
1
(I know this is late, so nobody will probably read this, but have to say this nonetheless.)
Deb -- I appreciate your desire to be objective in your role as Xword columnist, but sometimes statements are not "opinions" but simply *fact*. It is a *fact* that Trump's accusation that Obama wiretapped him is "unsubstantiated." Neither he nor his supporters have provided *any* evidence of such actions. We have truly descended into a "post-fact" era when we insist on equal voice to both sides of an issue. Sometimes there is only one side.
22
@juliac,
You asked about an early TV show that included rebus-solving. I'm thinking that was Concentration, where if you made a match you could ask for which part of the rebus you wanted uncovered, whichever one you thought would help most with the solve.
I liked the puzzle a lot, but I’m a bit troubled by the overuse and I think misuse in crossword puzzle clues of the term “portmanteau”. I don’t think “skort” qualifies as a portmanteau word. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
"Skort" = "skirt" + "short" = portmanteau
5
"Skort" seems like a portmanteau to me, a combination of "skirt" and "short[s]" ...
2
Loved this one. My puzzling partner is my 90-year-old mother , who has Alzheimer's, and I usually dread rebuses because explaining how they work (repeatedly!) requires more patience than I can muster. Honestly, Saturdays are easier for us. But today we finished in under three hours, and she amazed me by getting GLADEYE before I did and insisting on DEN rather than PEN.
My one complaint: how does "Ain't right?" become ARE? How could it be anything but ISNT?
Anyone?
12
Way to go, Darcy and Mom!
"Ain't right?" wasn't right, and our columnist passed along apologies from the editors.
3
Sorry, I don't see it.
If some things ain't right, you fix that (so they ain't wrong no more) and then they ARE right.
Have I just met myself coming around the corner?
1
I typically like a rebus puzzle. This one was okay, but not up to the level of some former ones.
I may just be testy due to the late night fireworks in our neighborhood. Quite illegal, but teens will be teens. Our three dogs were very disturbed, therefore we were as well. I’ll quit whining now.
ALERO the “successor” to Cutlass. I had a 1976 Cutlass Supreme, with factory installed CB radio, cassette player, and white faux leather interior. That car was great! I was stylin’ hard in that car. I loved that car.
After marriage, we traded my 76 for a 1984 Cutlass. These cars were some of the best looking cars on the road. Then came kids and minivans and other unappealing but safe vehicles. I did get an ALERO in my late 40s. Hated it. It may have come after the Cutlass, but it was not a successful successor to me.
Yeah. It’s probably the fireworks and barking dogs. Forgive me y’all.
6
Top-five worst puzzle of all-time for me. Zero chuckles, a rare clue error, overly-cute clues and an app-entry bug. Please don't publish another puzzle from Mr. Ross. I hate having my hard-earned money and time wasted when im sure there are other constructors worthy of a chance. (Yes im bitter for having my record streak broken on such an unentertaining puzzle.) Reading Ms. Amlen’s comments and warnings validates the poor choice of puzzle, and leaves me perplexed as to why this puzzle was approved.
1
Is it me or are Thursdays getting tougher? Last week's Thursday puzzle killed a pretty long streak, and today's took almost 1/2 hour more than my average! I did solve today's though... Loved the Rebuses! I'm a big rebus fan... one of my favorite moments in solving are when it hits me.. "Rebus!". Once I got the first one (CIA) it helped thinking about the other 3 letter agencies that would possibly wiretap me. All in all a really fun solve!
6
A very satisfying rebus, which I caught onto when I stopped trying to fit BAY_OF_[BIS]CAY (again!), and took the novel approach of actually looking back at 4D, and seeing that moving the rebus one square to the left would solve the problem of how to complete DATE_OF meaningfully with three letters. Delighted that we had a spectrum of agencies, and fairly anticipated ENUNCIATION in order to close out with the CIA.
Some temporary fillandering with DULL/DRAB and CEDE/CAVE. Some of THE MOST entertaining clues for THE MOST DRAB fill, like TOE, ANS and EMT. Lettuce not forget ROMAINE, and I usually find some TOOLS at a GARDEN SALE.
I wonder if Mr. RRoss had thought of working in a QUILT, a DUVET, a SHEET or a QUILT above his rebusses? You know, to make them be Truly 'under cover'. No worries, as it was, it definitely earned the blanket statement: Oh, whAT Fun!!
9
Somewhat OT, loosely related to ROMAINE-ia having another go by the gummint to reduce the penalties for graft and corruption within the gummint. Last time they did this, the popular revolt made them back down; this time... who knows?
I wonder whether there's something in the water.
1
I confess to an interesting technical blooper: my first entry for 37D was MORAINE. Close but no cigar. :-)
1
That would need some high-octane dressing, Dr W!
btw, 40A showed me why youprefer to go by Dr W, instead of W, MD.
5
Thanks for that chuckle ... that had not occurred to me. Also the degree is real -- but not in a medical field.
I had GLACIER first, and then MORAINE, which all kinda are related in iciness to iceberg, before ROMAINE.
2
Late, as usual, and short on time, so am writing this without looking at the other comments (sorry). Later ...
Another terrific and difficult Thursday puzzle! First realized rebuses (rebi?) were involved when confounded by 11D and 22A. Wanted BEANSALAD for the latter and that's when the rebus NSA came to mind. (Had looked earlier at the revealer clue 40D, which made no sense at the time.) The entries for 4D and 27A then followed. I was expecting CIA and DEA for the remaining rebuses, which helped finish the puzzle. As last week, slower than my average and way off my best.
My final struggle was with the cross of ROMAINE and EMT. Had EnT (ear, nose, and throat) for the latter and erroneously interpreted the clue for the former as a type of ice formation! Mentally scanned the alphabet till EMT dawned on me, then I slapped my head about ROMAINE. Was also slowed down at 53A thinking of J. K. *Rowling*, and at 44A by having ENUN(CIA)TIng.
Questionable clue for ARE, but clever ones for BUDGET, MABELL, LIL, DEN, AMEN, DEER, CARTA, TOE, and PST. Never heard of the terms GLADEYE, ONEALL, or ALLELES. (The cross of the latter two could only be an "L", I thought.)
Don't understand why WIRETAP is a revealer ...
1
all of the rebus entries (CIA, FBI,NSA and DEA) have been known to wiretap people every now and then... :-)
2
Whew!
I knew 32D had to be MARCIACLARK so figured out the theme early on. But I really had a hard time with the NE corner. But I did finish it!
I also didn't like SNEERY, but I loved ROMAINE.
3
I agree on SNEERY. It sounds/looks like a made up word.. LOL...
5
“SNEERY?” Give me a break.
5
Nice puzzle but I do confess having to look up the OJ clue.
I don't know how old 23A is but I remember hearing it in the 1940's.
The theme gave me a chuckle, because the three black square diagonals with their rebi lineups suggested wires tapped into. Clever!!
1
In my book, this puzzle by Randolph Ross is one of the all-time great Thursday puzzles! The theme, while not highly unusual, could not be more tightly carried out. And the rest of the puzzle is filled with lots of tough and interesting (if not Scrabbly) entries, like NODULAR, ALLELE, SKORT, WIRETAP, GLAD EYE et al. It took me about twice as long as my average Thursday time, ending up to the exact second at a power of two number of minutes.
3
P.S. I wasn't crazy about the clue for ALLELE ("Gene mutation results"), the last word to fall, because who normally thinks about ALLELEs with respect to *mutations*? Even if that's how variants of genes arose in the first place. (For what it's worth, the Wikipedia article for ALLELE does not mention "mutation" even once.)
polymath, I'm not quite getting what you're saying about your time. If X is the number of minutes of your average time are you saying:
X-squared = 60 * X?
Or is it something else? the only other possibility I see is that your average solve time is 2 minutes (X-squared = 2X) and I'm guessing that's not it. Actually I'm guessing neither of those is the case.
No no no -- power of two is 2 raised to a presumed integer power. So he's saying it's 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 etc minutes. My money is on 32.
Very nice -- clever, clean, and economical.
With FOOL before TOOL, I wasn't getting very far at first but started thinking rebus at 4D. Was pretty sure there was a rebus, or rather several rebii, at work when 22A had to be GARDENsomething and 11D had to be BEANsomething, but nothing occurred.
Followed my nose down the east coast, turning SW at MODES. Finally MARCIA (not Marsha) CLARK/ENUNCIATION gave me one rebus and where to put it. It also led directly into the revealer, which gave a further clue to the others. I'm kinda sorry about that, since I'd rather have seen it for myself.
This puzzle was so good that I'll overlook SNEERY. But you owe me one, Randolph.
Some disappointing panda news. It has been determined that Mai Xiang experienced a pseudopregnancy, a very common occurrence among our panda friends, and there will be no cub this year. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/giant-panda-mei-xiang-will-not-give-birt.... I am sad, but I'LL LIVE.
The weather people say the heat wave is over, just because the actual temp has dipped below 90 and in spite of the fact that just the thought of ducking out to the deli feels like a death wish.
Everyone stay cool.
2
Excellent devious, tricky, underhanded and sneaky Thursday.
Well played, Mr. Ross. In response to your question, the "helper" clue for 40D was very much appreciated by this solver. I knew it was a rebus but didn't get the covert nature of the solution until I was tipped off by the WIRETAP.
Not sure I would have gotten my star without your assistance!
2
and Elke
Has the Spelling Bee been registered with the DEA ?
After two days at it , I am seriously addicted to that game-- so much that I delayed doing this clever rebus (my favourites) puzzle...
3
This was a cracker of a puzzle, and I probably wouldn't have finished if it weren't for the rebus. The clue for 40D was enough to tip the theme - I knew at least FBI, CIA, and NSA were embedded, probably as rebuses.
Because they were included consistently via the longer across answers, I knew sort of where they were. Even so, the cluing was really tricky and it took me quite a bit longer than an average Thursday to polish this up.
All in all, an enjoyable and rewarding solve. The block of Ls in the NE gave me a chuckle.
3
"This was a cracker of a puzzle, and I probably wouldn't have finished if it weren't for the rebus."
Dan,
I think you can be quite sure you would not have finished the puzzle if not for the rebuses.
Haha, you know what I meant.
ALLELES?? Someone may have explained it. If so, I didn't see it. Enjoyed this one.
I have only posted here a couple of times, and thought I might let everyone know how much I enjoy (for the most part) the conversation, the links, and crucially the free answers! Except for the early week puzzles, I rely on this blog and comments to get me through. Sometimes just one reveal will allow all others to fall.
And thanks for being the convivial group that you are. It's inspiring.
17
I looked it up:
One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome. (Oxford Dictionary)
From Wikipedia: An allele (/əˈliːl/) is a variant form of a given gene. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation.
Never heard of the word either.
It's pretty common for biology students, I would guess. I was not a bio major, but I'm pretty sure that my Human Zoology class covered this. That, or just reading about the advances in periodicals, gave me the term and its meaning. But now you know! and it could come in handy in Scrabble...
1
Rebuses should be outlawed.
1
Maybe in Canada....
3
They do say that all fun things are probably illegal!!
OT, that's the first time Ive seen 'Ambeault' without the 'Arch' to precede it.
(I had the two cousins Archambeault in my grade school classes; obviously, the name made an impression on me.)
MARCIA CLARK was pretty easy for me since I admittedly watched FX's "The People vs. OJ Simpson" mini series last year. Since it was on FX, they were able to push the envelope considerably, which made it more interesting. FYI, Sarah Paulson does a fine job of playing Clark.
1
I watched the original. Marcia Clark really nailed Marcia Clark. But not OJ.
9
Sterling K. Brown as Chris Darden was perfection.
4
I really enjoyed this puzzle though it took me a long time to do it. It had a high satisfaction factor for me.
About the rebus puzzles...I like them a lot but they can be really tricky. I know the word rebus from childhood when a picture illustrating a word or a play on words, was inserted into a short story, maybe in a comic book, probably to help kids learn to read, but they also had a kind of wow! factor. Figuring out a rebus was a little like finding an egg in a nest at my grandmothers. So, in a grown-up crossword puzzle they are a treat.
8
Whatever helps the Witch Hunt....
5
I finally caught on at MARCIACLARK after which I happily went back to find the other "squished letters" (my term for rebus) at the places in the puzzle that hadn't made sense to me. So much fun!
Thank you, Randolph Ross. I really appreciated that you used four different agencies as it added to the fun. However, I'm not sure the reveal was needed. It really didn't reveal anything to me that I hadn't already figured out. Regardless, great puzzle!
4
I caught on to the fact that there was a rebus with MARCIA CLARK as well. However I appreciated the revealer which helped me figure out where exactly to place the rebus in her name, and also to help me search out the other rebuses.
BTW I like your term "squished letters" much more than rebus!
3
Johanna,
I had suggested here (a year or so ago?) that the term "squish" be used for two or more letters in one square, with the term "rebus" reserved for actual rebuses (things that are *not* letters).
Maybe we call them "Squished Squares" instead of rebuses?
I was feeling so smart about the Bee when I entered GIGILO...and guess what?
You are close, but I entered it as GIGOLO. However, it is not accepting HOROLOGIC.
4
That annoyed me too.
Agree re: horologic. This is a killer Bee; I'm still not a genius after getting the pangram and 20 0thers. I may have to spend July 5 as simply Amazing.
I loved it. Caught on to the rebus early, but didn't know how it would work. It wasn't until TAB (sadly, a gimme for me) that I saw the CIA and then realized where FBI would go. I really wanted 'gepetto' before ALI BABA but never on paper. Like others, I was a 'fool' before a TOOL and I had 'cede' for some time before I CAVEd. Thought chest thumpers a great clue for EMT, but SNEERY?!
3
Clue of the month for me is 52D "Grace period?". Terribly clever.
24
Quite agree.
3
Amen.
2
Today's time was well above both my Friday and Saturday averages. Although I was sort of looking for a rebus, I was getting hung up in other areas - the NE specifically. If BAY OF BISCAY had been more retrievable for me, I would have caught on sooner; DATE OF BIRTH wasn't enough.
MARCIA began as MARTHA, then MARSHA. And the ARK didn't send me to CLARK for ages. I really enjoyed a number of the clues and think it was an especially good puzzle even though I was awfully slow to get it.
1
On the flip side, I remembered the MARCIA part, but my mental screen went rather black/blank on her last name, till I was able to YANK out some crosses.
Every time I see the byline "Randolph Ross," I hear the crowd in "Blazing Saddles" singing out--at the mention of his name--"RANDOLPH SCoooooT!" which works equally well with the surname of our constructor.
It's a form of entertainment for me....
Well, this had me frustrated for a while. My license info has EYE COLORrats and YARD SALE *seemed* to fit at 22A, and so forth....until I figured out how to shoe-horn BAY OF BISCAY into the available space. Whew!
Too bad we couldn't have FISA in the puzzle, too, in order to authorize the WIRETAP!
Yesterday COCCI was again rejected, and today GOGOL finds no room at the inn. What an ugly collection of letters, I must say!
MOL, isn't GOGOL a Russian author, and therefore a proper name? Try adding more Os!
3
That may be where I missed out, Liz. Thanks! (And I used to be such a good Speller!)
Got me good! Congrats!
1
SNEERY: Apple operator in a snippy mood.
8
Last night I posted a reply in the thread about "Ain't right"/ARE, in which I pointed out that the above clue or something equivalent has paired with ISN'T or AREN'T about a dozen and a half times, but with ARE only once (today).
I said someone ain't paying attention at the NYT crossword department.
That comment ain't there anymore.
3
Hi Steve,
I had to go to the permalink to find your reply. As you might have noticed on returning to that thread, I kidded Deb for referring to earlier explanations that weren't there. I also read her note to support your [missing] contention.
Please, please write a note to the crossword Feedback or [email protected].
My reporting this is not half as effective as getting letters from subscribers. In their defense, the new community managers are obviously dealing with a lot right now, but they might reprioritize this issue if they hear from enough people who are not me.
They are hearing from me, Deb. Believe me, they are hearing from me.
“Ain’t right” ain’t right.
4
You ARE correct, Andrew. The editors apologize for the mistake.
1
Whew. I got my 7 day streak (unofficial, since I solve in Across Lite).* I guess I can retire now (but I won't).
I actually guessed rebus when I looked at the grid. Two 9's and two 8's are the longest across answers? That's not common. Anyway, I still slogged through section by section, filling in what I could until I got to the reveal. DATEOFBIRTH had crossed my mind for 4d when I read the clue so that was the first one to fall. MADEASCENE was next and I knew I was still looking for CIA (NSA didn't cross my mind at that point). Needed the MAR at 32d before Ms. CLARK's name finally popped into my memory.
Still had a tough time all long the east side. Took a lot of pondering and considering possibilities before MABELL, RANDD, ONEALL and others finally popped up. And I was still doubtful about that section.
Did a bit of TOE TAPping before I filled in the last letter, which was the T in that cross. It wasn't that I had any doubts about that, it was ALLELES up above. Never heard of it. Turns out that the singular version of that has popped up in 3 puzzles during my tenure, but evidently I never stored it in my memory bank. So, I spent a while looking at that again and pondering all the crosses.
Was really afraid that this was going to be a case of 'ALL ELES fails' (chortle). But it didn't. As I said above: Whew.
*If any one wonders - my rules are no look-ups and no failed checks (and of course no reveals).
6
what is a 'failed check'?
insufficient fun
MOL, it's a feature of Across Lite. You can 'check' a square, an answer or the entire puzzle and it puts an 'X' in any square that's incorrect.
..
1
My solve took on a life of its own after reading the reveal's clue. Only then was I able to understand how to fit the name of the failed D. A. from the trial of the century. From that point on, in a counter-clockwise direction, I completed a sweep of the grid, laying bare the rest of the usual suspect agencies hiding out in the puzzle...I was concerned with ALLELES (a what the hock is that candidate) but all crosses insisted so I went with it; ALBEIT with some trepidation...Missing you in your aftermath Jimbo. Here is another one in your honor that fits like a glove today. It's the title cut, track 1, from the '83 LP, Undercover. Has it been 35 years already?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvbuRgFty34
Covertly,
Bru
5
Good choice, Bru!!
I also have Jimbo looking over my shoulder when I think of some musical accompaniment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCwxjSrS2Q4
I first put ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat Doctor) for EMT. And I first put SCABS for SCARS. Those were the trickiest clues in the puzzle for me.
2
I sure hope no ENT doc starts thumping on my chest. I'd demand to see the diploma.
I think an EKG will be better reading ....
EnT for me too. And point taken, DL!
Just a good, straightforward Thursday rebus puzzle. I do agree with others that the answer for "ain't right?" seems a bit off.
3
This was a grand old entertaining puzzler for me with enough I didn't know plus smile-engendering tricky cluing (i.e. BUDGET, LIL, REIN, TOE, AMEN) to forcibly shift my brain into its highest-competency mode, which is utopia for me when I solve. I love that the rebi are not only in symmetrical answers but are symmetrical themselves. And I'LL LIVE is such a lovely answer -- I'm surprised it's a debut.I ended the solve thinking yes! Great experience! Truly, when the puzzle rings my chimes like this one did (thank you, Randolph!), one SNEERY doth not a puzzle spoil.
The cross of CAVE and I'LL LIVE made me immediately think of those boys trapped underground in Thailand, the thrill of learning that they were alive down there, mixed with heartfelt sympathy and concern for what they've been through, and that finding a way out for them is seeming so elusive. They are in the back of my mind, with prayers and wishes...
14
I'm very much with you, Lewis, in thinking about those children in Thailand, the ordeal they've survived, and the one they still face.
My thoughts are wishes are with those children, and all others in peril, wherever they are.
2
There does seem to be a bug in the online version of this puzzle. After I completed it correctly I was told I’d made a mistake - when I ran ‘check puzzle’ the system identified the ‘a’ at the crossing of ‘MARCIACLARK’ and ‘ADAM’ as an error.
2
Yes! I double- and triple-checked my answers and couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's a bug, indeed! Plus, no matter what you put in that square, it doesn't recognize it as correct. Someone fix this! My solve time is already way overinflated due to all the time I spent searching for the mistake that wasn't there.
Thank you. I re-entered MARCIACLARK after over an hour of stressful re-checking and it finally accepted my answers.
This puzzle "was not right." ARE you looking forward to a better one tomorrow? I am!
Thank goodness it's not just me. I finally solved a rebus puzzle with no errors and can't get the credit? That ain't right.
2
I still don't really agree with "undercover" to describe these organizations (especially the FBI). And again, in the constructor's notes, organizations don't "go undercover" to wiretap someone. I think it's just the wrong word.
3
It's good to have a "for sure" early on to discover a rebus, and today it was BAY OF BISCAY. Luckily the FBI sort of leaped out, and like Mickey D, I thought of CIA and NSA to keep an eye out for. When I came across what appeared to be DEA, checked to see if that was a thing as it was unfamiliar to me.
A couple of iffy fills already mentioned, ARE and SNEERY, but otherwise a really good Thursday puzzle for us rebus lovers. All four worked for me with the 3 letters, so it looks good. Thanks Randolph.
2
NYT crossword app wouldn't allow me to enter in remus for DEA or CIA. So frustrating!
1
Yes!! This turned it into a colossal waste of time playing on the app and it should have been tagged as unsolvable for us. And THIS is the puzzle I decided to subscribe for!! Booooo!
2
Sorry to hear of your frustrations. I managed to solve this with no problem on the NYT iPhone app. Strange that it works for some and not for others.
Not strange, Andrew. For this particular puzzle, solvers needed an appropriate level of clearance and a need to know.
1
I was fairly well out to pasture before reading the blog and “seeing” the rebus clues and adding some of the fill; even then I was fairly well stuck on the SW corner.
So kudos, you really got me.
But ... “SNEERY?”
Really?
Covefe?!?!
15
I'm with you on SNEERY.
7
It's not among the most widely used per M-W, but unlike your comparative, it *is* a word, and one that might well be applied to the tweeter of the comparative.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneery
I'm with Michael re "SNEERY" but was finally desperate enough to use it.
Ain't right = ARE?!
I don't get it...
Someone, anyone, PLEASE?!
1
I believe that it means "how would you say "ain't" in the right (correct) way?" Of course the answer would be "are not" (or "is not") instead of just "our", so ...
I look at it as the very basic argument, stripped down: “You’re (insult of choice)” “(I) am not!” “Are so!”
In this case, “ain’t”-“are” succinctly summarizes the basics of the argument, with no further words needed:
“(You) AIN’T (properly qualified to offer an erudite opinion on this this matter.”
“(Yes we) ARE (due to our extensive experience and training in the issue).”
“Ain’t” places you in the wrong, so the flip side of “are” is right!
1
Try this:
"Them there clues just ain't right"
"Yes they are."
6
Lost a streak today because of a glitch in the app, I think. Finished and got the "almost there" message. Couldn't find the mistake for the life of me so I finally did a check puzzle. It told me the mistake was the NSA rebus (and only that one). I deleted it and replaced with just an N and got the congratulations, but streak over.
But I'll know the truth in my heart.
6
I often find the rebuses finicky that way too.
I'm up to 86, but I wonder if I should start deliberately throwing a puzzle once a week so the streaks don't become an obsession.
5
To avoid excessive focus on streaks, I am solving M-S, skipping Sundays.
Less stress ... more fun
Hi Anuj,
Please hit the crossword Feedback button and send a note to the customer care team. If there was a glitch, they should know about it and sometimes streaks can be restored.
1
Really enjoyed this one. BAY OF BISCAY and MADE A SCENE illuminated the revised quickly, but I wasn’t perfect. I hung onto JORTS before relenting to SKORT. Good fun tonight.
2
Deb, you have a typo: DATE O[F BI]IRTH should be DATE O[F BI]RTH.
1
Back in the day MaBell (AT&T) was known as the stock of widows and orphans because it was so safe - price never fluctuated and dividends were consistent. If you reinvested the dividends, you could purchase it at a 5% discount. I bought 20 shares in 1975. When they broke it up, I got shares in all the baby bells with the same option to reinvest the dividends at a 5% discount. Then as the baby bells merged I ended up with only AT&T again. Except now I own 900 shares. Only in America.
5
A very nice puzzle. Caught the theme of undercover organizations right away, immediately looked for places that CIA, FBI, NSA fit and the puzzle almost did itself. Someone commented they didn't know where the other rebuses might be, after finding one. Since almost all puzzles are symmetrical along one or another direction (axis?), the second should always be easy. Nice puzzle.
1
I hadn’t noticed the symmetrical placement of the rebuses. I don’t think it’s a general rule that they be so placed, is it? Now that you point it out, I think it’s a bonus that they’re placed that way.
3
I don't know if it's a rule but I usually count on it and I'm seldom if ever disappointed. Somebody else can tell us more, perhaps.
Kudos to Mr. Ross for working under this elegant constraint. Rebuses too often look like random pockmarks in the grid.
A collection of Persian tales known as Hazar afsaneh (“A thousand tales”) was translated into Turkish and the original “thousand” replaced by 1001 (Bin bir, a Turkish commonplace for “large indeterminate number”). The Turkish version was then translated into Arabic, retaining the Turkish title. A version of that produced in Mameluke Egypt was in turn translated into French by Antoine Galland and published under the title Les mille et une nuits (“1001 nights”) in 1704. (It’s called that in every language into which it has been translated except English, where it is for unknown reasons called “The Arabian nights”). The French version went beyond translation. Galland had to bowdlerize the stories — literary taste in Mameluke times ran to the bawdy (when Richard Burton published a literal translation of the same MS. in the 19th century, he had to sell it by private subscription to avoid prosecution for violation of the obscenity laws); Galland also incorporated into his version the Sindbad tales, which until 1704 had constituted a separate body of literature, and from somewhere unknown he came up with the stories of Aladdin and Ali Baba, neither of which has any known antecedent. There is a school of thought which holds that both of the latter stories were made up by Galland himself, which would make them exemplars of French, not Middle Eastern, literature. In any case, Ali Baba cannot be said to be a figure of folklore, since he does not appear anywhere in recorded folklore.
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Or perhaps he does...
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674545052
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Trust me. At my age, it's definitely folklore.
Yet another addition to required reading!!
I love Thursday puzzles. I wish that I could purchase more Thursday puzzle packs for the app. As far as I can see, there is only one available. If there are more, please, someone, guide me to them.
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Try the archive!
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Kenny, that's actually what I meant: I only see one in the entire archive.
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Cindy, I think what Kenny meant was that you can just go through the Archive’s calendar and just do past Thursday puzzles that way.
Enjoyed the different but related rebuses. Found the cluing on the easy side. No complaints about the theme; I'm glad we didn't have to deal with ICE.
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Anyone parse 59A?
ans. = answer to a question on a True/False quiz.
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True or False are Answers (all abbr.).
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Thx. So easy when you can see it.
30A: Usually when you see a clue like “Ain’t right?,” the puzzle is looking for a correction to the grammar (or, AIN’T the “right” way), so the answer would be ISN’T. Today, the answer is ARE.
Hi Deb,
I discovered from the crosses that "Today, the answer is ARE." I was hoping that in citing 30A in the column you might offer a thought about *why* it is ARE.
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I too was puzzled (ha ha) about why for 30A the correction for "ain't" is "are." You might think it should be "are not," but that answer ain't the right number of letters.
"Ain't right" or a variation such as "Ain't fixed?" and "Ain't the way it should be?" has been used 5 times as a clue for ARENT, and about a dozen times for ISN'T. It's only been a clue for ARE once (today); I think someone ain't paying attention at the editor's desk.
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Yes, I was going to comment on ARE, too. I don’t got it yet.
At first I couldn't tell if I just wasn't on Mr Ross's wavelength, or if there might indeed be rebuses going on here. MARCIA CLARK made it clear that it was a rebus day--but then trying to find the other rebuses was a challenge! I had lots of blank squares for a long time.
DULL before BLAH before DRAB, and FOOL before TOOL, and CEDE before CAVE. But then FBI dawned on me, followed quickly by DEA. So the last one had to be . . . NSA. I don't think I realized that's what ALLELES actually are. So all in all, this felt on the tougher side for me.
At least the neighbors' fireworks had ended before puzzle time rolled around!
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I too had BLAH and CEDE, though I wasn’t really happy with the latter.
LizB, saying that ALLELES are the result of mutations is true in a strict sense, but needs qualifying since it directly relates an event at the molecular level with an observable expression at the organism level. Loosely speaking, that's pitting molecular genotype vs organismic phenotype. However, if (f'rinstance) the mutation occurs in some neutral area, or for any other reason doesn't change the stereoscopic configuration of the coded protein in a critical way, the mutation could have no phenotypic effect. Also if the mutation just prevented a gene from being read, that wouldn't be an ALLELE, since the absence of expression can't be considered a gene's allele.
Mendel was just lucky when he did his GARDEN experiments with his wee peas, in picking characteristics with alternatives that are determined by a single genetic locus, eg, the colour alleles (green vs yellow} and the shape alleles (smooth vs wrinkled). Had he picked traits determined with a multigenic inheritance, his results would have been a lot more complicated. (OK, I don't know for a fact that pea plants have shown any multigenic inheritance, as humans do.)
The timeline is another factor. Apparently carrots were purple when first discovered in the wild, and the orange carrot must have arisen by mutation. Selective crossing has long made the orange variant predominant in the carrot gene pool, and it would be odd to still refer to orange carrots as mutants.
Aa x Aa --> 1 AA: 2 Aa: 1 aa
Quiz at 11:00
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But, Leapy, you can get purple carrots at Whole Foods and Fresh Market, in li'l old Durham! (Have not done so myself.)
Well done, nicely done. Good challenge.
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