I was getting interested in that Collaboration Directory until I got to "on F*ceb**k". Over my dead body! What's a nice bunch of people like you doing on a site like that?
2
Of all the Nobel Prize recipients you chose to show OBAMA?? He received it for 2 reasons: 1. As a thumb in the eye of George Bush and the US 2. For what the committee presumed Obama was going to do, and didn't. He actually escalated the war in Afghanistan. You're sycophantic fawning shows no limits and continues to show the overt bias of your paper.
1
I had to say something as soon as I saw the clue for 1 down. The answer, a small Air Force base in Oklahoma, is my birthplace. Not the town, which is Enid, Oklahoma, but the air base itself. My father was training to be a pilot (he went on to a 35-year career with United) and the wives of the pilots got to use the base facilities, included a maternity ward. I won’t give away the answer, but I bet most will only get it through crosses (I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat over this one.)
Thanks to the constructors for the memories!
6
More “tor":
Another meaning of “tor" is a rock outcropping, a term commonly used in England and Scotland. Poet Robinson Jeffers built his house on a granite outcropping in Carmel, California, and called it Tor House. He also wrote a beautiful poem called Tor House, which you can find online on poemhunter. Robinson Jeffers was born on Jan 10, 1887 and it is his birthday today!
4
I really like the clue about the river that only uses the last eight letters of the alphabet. I must say that I solved the puzzle (with a little bit of cheating) but would never have understood what the theme was if I hadn’t read the blog.
2
Sorry to derail... twice in the past year I've had a nice long streak of solved puzzles interrupted by... nothing. It's showing this puzzle as solved, but it's not "connecting" with the existing streak of solved puzzles. I haven't used the hints or the solve feature.
Same thing happened early last Fall. Am I doing something to cause this? Can anyone enlighten me?
@Richard Best thing to do is write to [email protected] for technical help.
I am still not sure I understand the answer to the clue "elates." I got the answer SENDS from the crosses, but the only possible sense I could think of that fits this answer is the Sam Cooke song, "You Send Me." I cannot find that meaning in the dictionary. Am I missing something?
6
Amy,
You are not missing anything. I'm sure you and I are not the only ones who thought of Sam Cooke.
2
@Amy
It’s definition 4, although the emotion in the example sentence is not the right one.
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/send_1
In the song, the particular emotion is not specified, but rather understood, to be a bit more positive.
But also see def. 8:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/send
TOR-AH theme was fun to find. Congrats to the new puzzle constructor!
I use an iPhone to do the puzzle, so we’ll see if my post posts. Had more trouble eking out ON BUTTONS and GOFER than any other fill. Thought the cluing for NSYNC, NOBEL, STYX, and LARYNX was pretty darned clever.
Nice one.
:-)
2
I wouldn’t have been able to figure out GOFER and GIGECONOMY on my own, so thanks. Both terms were unfamiliar to me. It was my last block.
2
Can someone shed light on the answer to 43A (EACH)? It was easy enough to deduce from the Down clues, but I still don't see how it fits the clue. Thanks ...
1
Is that $100 all together, or each?
1
@RichardZ
altogether definition - in total
not altogether - not in total or in a cryptically a piece, or each
1
So glad to see a bunch of comments come in today after the technical glitch. Last night it felt quite lonely with just a handful of us (Puzzlemucker, Brian, L.A. Sunshine, PaulSFO, Jason, Rodzu, Xwordsolver). The glitch definitely underscored for me how much our Wordplay community is enriched by the presence of so many voices and views.
5
@Henry Su
It also showed how few people use the app, which ironically was the only format that worked, when most of the time it’s the least desirable format, due to the three-reply issue.
@Steve L,
I don't much like the app either, and imagine typing anything longer than a sentence or two. But that's how I was able to get "on the board" last night.
@Henry Su
Unfortunately, I had a nice comment to post but couldn't post it from the computer. I have a different problem on the iPhone or iPad - the Crossword app is on my account, but the NYT app is on my wife's. When I go to the app, and then go to comments, it opens the NYT app, and I cannot post as me, and I can't post as my wife as she doesn't subscribe to the crosswords - a perfect catch 22.
1
My longish comment of 8 hours ago was lost during the NYT computer glitch and I find I can't retrieve it. But as Scarlet O'Hara says: Tomorrow is another day, Suffice it to say I enjoyed today's puzzle a lot.
I will, however, re-type my message to Andrew from Ottawa. Yes, it was you that "geographically challenged" me was referring to yesterday. I have a very close friend who lived both in Toronto and Ottawa, so that may help explain my mistake. Also I'm one of the world's most forgetful people. But the mistake is unforgivable. And that's because "Andrew from Toronto" is not a Double Dactyl.
2
@Nancy
Sweet! Happy to have inspired your Double Dactyl, just as your comment yesterday inspired my pun of today - irritable vowel syndrome.
3
Couldn't get to the comments. Glad it wasn't just me. That's how I always feel when technology fails me -- or when the power goes out. And while there is now no time now to read them, I would note that (although it was fun) it felt more like a Wednesday, but would've been more appropriate on the Sabbath. I got my Thursday fix, though, in the WSJ.
Hi Jeff,
Sorry you debut fell on a partial eclipse of the comments, which limited the congratulatory (or other) greetings. I hope you return soon with another one -- with Derek or alone -- when the comments and government are fully functional. Meanwhile, we can all go for an appropriate hike.
https://www.nynjtc.org/hike/high-tor#hike-exp-detail
4
Unusually "bland" for a Thursday -- I was expecting more of an "aha" moment, but nevertheless 'twas a good one. And a 16 x 15 'er too ....
Got stuck for a while with UNIFORMS for 9D.
Got a chuckle form the almost symmetry of fills for
6D and 47D
5D and 41D
A bit surprised nobody noticed TOR is also a high point.
7A ads are plastered all over NYC buses -- a gimme here.
Wonder how good sales for 63A were ...
BTW can someone explain 50A? Tnx.
@Dr W
" I was expecting more of an "aha" moment"
And all you got was an "ah" moment...
4
BTW can someone explain 50A? Tnx.
Dr W,
I thought Deb did a good job explaining it. Get back to us if that isn't sufficient.
@Barry Ancona
I saw that but still don't see the connection. I associate gigs with performances.
Compared to the early struggle to get past the roadblock at the Comments intersection, the puzzle was a walk in the park. I caught on at the REAL-TOR, and I thought the Reveal was more of a TOR-ment/groaner than an AH/AHa moment....but on the other hand, the SANDRA Oh! clue/entry was a delight.
Anyone else cringe at the lame Golden Globes intro? But then the adorable parents, so thrilled for their daughter, redeemed it for me!
3
@Mean Old Lady
Now you got me wondering how many words there are that contain "tor" .... starting with English.
Excellent puzzle! I knew RAPTOR had to be somewhere in 29A because of the reference to Toronto, but the light bulb went on with KEEP IT REALTOR. A+ for the SANDRA Oh clue, too.
3
WordPlay always needs more Cat People! Come back often!
I wanted a BlueJay for TORonto....finally figured out that I was barking up the wrong sport (not my strong suit...)
2
@retired, with cat
Love your handle! Hoping that will be me in a couple of years! (Though cats - plural).
3
Fun puzzle. I was very happy when I had the "*** Ah!" moment!
2
"...if you want to learn how to make a puzzle in the most efficient way, join the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory on Facebook..."
Does anyone have a non-facebook alternative to suggest?
5
@Old Yeller Constructors have stepped up to volunteer their time, but we understand that not everyone has a Facebook account.
I can ask Erik Agard, who runs the page, for permission to reprint the list here on Wordplay.
Stay tuned.
2
@Old Yeller
Patrick Berry's "Crossword Constructor's Handbook." Very helpful. Here's a link:
http://aframegames.com/store/?download=21
..
2
@Deb Amlen. "Not everyone has a F*ceb**k account" is a serious understatement of the revulsion some of us have.
A fun theme that definitely elicited a chuckle when I discovered it! A bit easy for a Thursday; I finished in under half an hour with no help from Mr. Google. Not a complaint though, as sometimes these Thursdays are TORtuous and TORpedo my streak.
Here's hoping today's puzzle was the first in a TORrent from Mr. Slutzky!
4
TIL a new meaning for ESSAY. That northwest corner was a bear for me. Kept keying in VESPA, clearing it, re-keying it. The dam broke once I figured out AWCOMEON after a lot of mental gyrations. What an odd week it's been so far! Yesterday's uni-vowel (TM) theme, Monday's vowel run theme, and today, a themed Thursday without any tricksies! What kind of hijinx do you have in mind for us for the weekend, Will?
4
Any crossword that starts out on a VESPA is all right by me. And 40D made me think of that scene in "The Sound of Music": "There isn't going to be any baroness..."
4
I loved the puzzle yesterday, to my surprise, and hated the "Snap...." that happend when I wanted to post or recommend any comments.
The vowel"i" limit really helped me find answers, thank you Deb, for including it in wordplay. It's exciting to look forward to the end of the week, especially because a few months ago, I liked Monday most. This week I couldn't finish Monday but did Tuesday! Who knew it could be so fun.
3
and Elke
Seems that the i-phone did not have enough i's on Wednesday.
Am expecting some people to SCOFF at the puzzle as 'too EASY', to which I say ''AW COME ON, it has OOMPH''. And SANDRA Oh.
The CANTOR OF CORN whom we know, drives a car with the license plate K 9 HORA (''no evil eye''). He does indeed have hokey humour. Will have to ask him whether it has helped him ever BEAT A speeding RAP...
The fun in this puzzle outlasted the aggravation of not being able to post until now. Really want to share my pearls of wisdom.
5
@Robert
And I'm glad you did, Elke.
2
and Elke
suejean- it's been suggested to me to explain for yiddish-pun challenged '' K 9 HORA '' :
=canine hora = keyn ayin hara= no evil eye.
2
One thing I notice about my solving: I sometimes go through the puzzle so focused on each word that I miss the cleverness in the theme. "TOR" was pretty easy to see today, but yesterday's puzzle that used "I" as the only vowel was a surprise that I only found by reading Wordplay. Maybe I need to stop (or at least slow down) and smell the roses sometimes.
4
@Michael Dover, As a theme lover who never bothers about time, I always pause to work out and enjoy the theme.
4
There's always the middle road of reviewing the grid *post-solve* to see if you missed anything (as in yesterday's case, a theme on a day when there is supposed to be one).
2
This one was fun and fit in with the weekly themes. I definitely noticed that my solving time was faster than my average Thursday!
2
Aha, I can post, not that I have anything all,that exciting to say
I needed the reveal to get the theme as I'd been trying to make sense of the theme answers by eliminating the last 3 letters; my eyes just hadn't pick up the TOR, so fun to go back and re-read all of them ( and wonder how I missed it). Although I never tire of the rebuses, I enjoy a change as well, and welcome our new constructor and hope to see more from Jeff who seems to have chosen an excellent partner.
5
Hi Andrew,
With the posting issue, I couldn't add this onto the thread late yesterday, so here it is now:
"...but I want to know for sure."
@Barry Ancona
Ooh. I was hoping no one had read my confession to Steve last night...
1
@Barry Ancona - I find it rather interesting that I read your quoted words and instantly heard them most distinctively half shouted/half sung well before I processed the reference to yesterday's puzzle entry.
1
(second try; hope it goes through)
Diana,
"You move me."
1
For many of us, yesterday's Irritable Vowel Syndrome has given way to *Post* Traumatic Stress.
13
I hed a bad code in my node yederday, doh I took some meds and slept through solving, so my streak is nada. Pass de kleenex.
3
@Robert Michael Panoff
a little clearer after 20 hours sleep. Streak now 1! :)
3
Very enjoyable Wednesday puzzle. Thursdays are the new Wednesday, don’t you know?
Theme was charming. Clues were very fair. Loved SANDRA oh and love Sandra Oh. A nice blend of the old and new, sports, music, names, etc. All in all, a sweet debut!
Done in nearly half my Thursday average, which means my attempt to delay the cleanup now that all the visitors are gone must end too soon. It’s a personal problem!
1
Testing to see if the system-wide failure has been fixed...
OK, those of us who don't use the iPhone app can post once again.
@Barry Ancona
Glad to know that but for once, I don't have anything to say.
1
A veritable tor de force!
7
@Lewis
AH! I see what you did there!
2
@Lewis
I should add that the theme was fun to figure out and helped me on two answers. The reveal keeps growing on me, and I believe that very soon I'll be calling it brilliant. I loved the clues for TWICE, AMENS, and LARYNX, and especially OH. In several areas my brain had to shift into working-hard mode, its favorite place. So this puzzle gave me a grand old time.
3
Hoping not to crosspost while someone else is starting a Bee thread...
44 words, 233 points, no bingo, THREE (?) pangrams.
4 5 6 7 8 9
A 8 2 4 2
I 1 1
L 3 1 1 1
R 5 1 2 2
T 22 7 8 3 2 1 1
V 5 1 1 3
Y 0
Will those with more wit provide clues, please?
7
@Lorene Lavora I have a T 10
1
@Lorene Lavora
Three pangrams, yes.
One pursuit will lead you to four words. You will feel quite healthy and hail when you finish this. Not that you will feel this was less an ordeal. A meme describing word may trip you up, but you’ll be singing at least two ways by the time you’re done Take heart, and remember to slap those common endings on words even if you have never heard them before.
7
@Chris Atkins As do I. But no T 9.
Despite my best effort, I was unable drop by for a comment yesterday. Therefore allow me to express my enjoyment of Trenton Charlson's monovowel extravaganza a day late. It would've been even neater if the diagonal row of "I"s continued uninterrupted from the NE corner square to the SW one.
I still fondly remember another monovowel puzzle dedicated to the letter "O" from a few years ago.
As for today's TOR...AH!, the theme fell flat for my taste.
I thought the expression was "hat in hand", at least that's how I always use it (but HATTOR is not a word). I don't remember ever seeing habitual cap wearers having "cap in hand." In fact, they almost never take it off, not even while eating dinner at a fancy restaurant. Perhaps they take showers and go to bed with it on. Their CAP LOCK key must be stuck in the "on" position, or the cap is stapled to their scalp. Who knows?
Happy Thursday everyone.
2
I've heard HAT IN HAND in the U.S.A more often than CAP IN HAND; the latter seems to be favored in the U.K.
Not a TORRID AFFAIR though, IMO.
1
@Laszlo
Here's to "hat in hand." I also feel that the theme fell flat. A better revealer (IMHO) would have been TOR...NO!
Very impressive to debut with a Thursday puzzle! Congrats! Enjoyed the clues . Faves: SOME COURT WEAR and NEED TO SPEAK.
Saw the TORs, ( initially PTORs) but took sometime to see the theme.
Did not know GALOOT, and raced to google as I like big apes ( orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, us) but turns out it’s just a term for an oaf. So gone to explore,and apparently was first used by sailors looking down on soldiers.
Two nice suggested potential origins: GALUT, Sierra Leone creole for of GALEOTO, a go between or a slave ship ; Or from
“Quranic Arabic جالوت (Egyptian pronunciation: Ǧālūt) for of GOLIATH.
2
@Laura Rodrigues in London
Galoots are right up there with Palookas and Bums....
1
@Laura Rodrigues in London
Here's to BIGoaf!
1
I kept asking myself, “HOW do that do that?!?!?” Then Deb provided a very concise answer - i.e. “With HELP!”
Then I asked myself, “WHY do they do that?!?!”
Finally, I said to myself, “DOH? They do that for ME and my amusement.”
All the same, I think this is one hobby (or form of self torture) that I will leave to others. There are only 365 or 366 days per year and there have to be WAY more composers than that - - and I’ve had enough “competition” for one lifetime.
My thanks to those that DO write these brain twisters.
But why the hell are SANDRA and it’s clue a logical pair?!?!
Your question refers to actress Sandra Oh, who cohosted the Golden Globes and won Best Actress in Drama TV Series.
3
It seems that the only way to get posted today is through the usually problematic iPhone app.
This seemed rather unThursday-like to me. Qoite a straightforward solve.
Canadian clue for 10D: Oh from Ottawa!
I still don’t understand this clue/answer pair - - even with help from my northern neighbors.
@Andrew, the problem started last night. I sent an email to NYT tech reporting the bug with the comment box.
(posted from my smartphone, please excuse any typos)
D OH!!! NOW I get it. (Can you tell I don’t watch much television??)
1
Seems like a fitting way to cap off what I'm calling "Theme Week", since most of the themes were harder to get than the puzzle entries themselves.
I moved pretty smoothly in my usual fashion, NW to SE, noting that the longer horizontal entries fit their quirky clues but not really sensing a theme. It wasn't until TORAH that I got my TOR AHha moment. So I just had to laugh. At least today I got it, unlike Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
Pretty solid debut by Jeff Slutzky.
What does ‘Hokey humour” mean?
Why is Oh what an actress SANDRA? Is it just because Sandra Bullock is a very good actress?
Thanks!
Sandra Oh is also a very good actress.
6
Corny humor. I agree, this one was a bit of a stretch.
@Audiomagnate
Oh, really?
[PS: Oh was one of the highlights of Grey's Anatomy also, back in the day when I watched that]
Xword excellent fun but I didn’t suffer nearly enough for a Thursday. But ... a new word game!! I got a five word solution but was met with silence ... is there only one correct solution? How do we know when we’ve succeeded? Sam, need more info. Also, thank you!!! Always room for one more obsession.
1
@Audreylm. You have to hit Enter after each word.
1
That’s an interesting new game. I played twice and solved it with 6 and then 4 words. The message said something like “Congratulations, you solved within 6 words.” I wonder what the minimum number of words is?
1
@Steve H, I played yesterday and found at least three three-word solutions. Each time all I got was the message that I had solved in six or less words. One accepted long word that connected most of the letters was NEWFANGLED.
1
Another themer found on the cutting room floor (because it was simply too long for a 15x15 grid):
"Gregarious puzzle maker trying to meet revision deadline?"
RACE AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTOR
2
Okay, I goofed because CONSTRUCT needs to keep the "T." Well, I tried.
1
@Henry Su
This would fit:
“A nasty creature with winning ways”: VICTORIOUS BEAST
8
@Amitai Halevi,
Nice job picking out VICTORIOUS as a candidate word! As you probably also discovered, many words ending in TOR aren't themselves words (e.g., NARRATOR, SPECTATOR) and therefore don't work for this theme.
Might I suggest, though, the following modification of your themer so that there is a well-known base phrase with a different meaning:
"Location for photo opportunity with Secretariat?"
VICTORIOUS CIRCLE
(well-known base phrase: VICIOUS CIRCLE)
4
Enjoyed today’s puzzle ... was going for ATC Air Traffic Control instead of ATF
1
Great puzzle! Tough enough for a Thursday, with a theme that was engaging and helpful for solving. No "crosswordese" to be seen. Excellent debut! Keep it going!
5
Brilliant debut! More, please!!!
For me, this was straight up fun! A few twists and turns. e.g., had YNC on the crosses and momentarily thought something must be ASKEW, but was rescued by Lance (rhymes with VANCE) Bass. Similar battle with the very cleverly clued LARYNX. Heck, just the fact that NSYNC, LARYNX and STYK, so well clued, were all in the grid is truly a feather in your CAP.
Loved the clues for TWICE and EACH. Stacking AMENS (great clue) on TORAH was a nice touch too!
Given the recent commentary from wordplay nation on the abundance of baseball terms, I smiled to see one show up quite indirectly in the grid.
I'm sure there will be some comments about the fall of the grid at a hare's RATE rather than at TORtoise pace, but don't GNASH your teeth over it. This was great!!!
5
@Jason....GNASHing my teeth in search for indirect 'baseball term'.
@michael
Not sure, but I'm guessing Jason was referring to one of the (modified) theme entries. "Can of corn" -- an easily caught fly ball.
Lula,
That is an excellent baseball term to include in the puzzle, since baseball term haters will not have known -- and will not need to know -- that it is a baseball team.
2
Minor quibble but I don't think that TWICE is a "way" to think.
"Don't Think Twice, it's Alright" Bob Dylan
4
@PaulSFO "Think twice before you leap"
"Think twice, Act once"
1
@shm46234
Mu son is a machinist. He introduced me to his favorite personal guideline:
"Measure twice. Cut once."
1
I got the revealer (TORAH) pretty easily after a first pass through the across clues. Still, I didn't fully understand the theme until I was about three-quarters done with the grid. I readily recognized TOR in each of the themers but I kept thinking that the other letters of the revealer (AH) were also somewhere in, or somehow involved with, the themers. Once I understood the gimmick, however, the rest of the puzzle came together quickly.
A couple proper names were no-knows (NSYNC - knew the band but not its members; O'CASEY - deduced that it was an Irish name) but I solved them with the crosses (enjoyed seeing OTTO make an appearance!).
Regarding Deb's advice that budding constructors find mentors, by chance I came home today to the latest issue of my college alumni magazine, featuring "a crossword wunderkind," Caleb Madison '15. The interview mentions that Caleb got his (very) early start as a constructor through his internships with Will and Ben Tausig, and his friendship with Brendan Emmett Quigley.
Finally, I share Mr. Slutzky's disappointment in not being able to keep MENTOR AT WORK as one of the themers. The base phrase certainly has a different meaning for those of us who are fans of the band from "Down Under," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s.
3
I loved this puzzle
Thank you Jeff and Erik!
It made me smile and changed a challenging day.
5
Found it a GRIND but got there after flyspecking. SOFIA not SOFEA = Happy music. Thanks @Henry Su.
(Should all comments to this puzzle be preceded by “OT”?)
1
@Puzzlemucker, I also misspelled IRINA during my first pass and had to correct it when I realized the capital in question was SOFIA. Don't you just hate that? :-)
@Henry Su. Not as much as realizing I should have left a “better” comment a few seconds after leaving the first. In this case:
I kept waiting for the Rebus monster to jump out at me but it never did. “tor” ... “ah” (my reaction exactly). Very nice, a puzzle and revealer as sweet as honey.
2
@Henry Su
I, on the other hand, tried to shoehorn OKSANA (OXANA?) into those ice skates...
Was today Tuesday ?
2
@Brian
Nooooo ... but think "Tor's day".
4
Nice one.
1