Many years ago, while visiting Sparks, NV, I was behind a pickup truck with a bumper sticker that read ...
“Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks”.
I filed that one and got to put it to use with 55 across.
1
IMO The expression "bushwa" (to describe nonsense) seems more likely to have derived from the expletive used to describe the excrement of male cattle than anything associated with the "bourgeoisie."
3
For the forty years I've been doing NYT crosswords I've continually noticed the consistent omission of diacritical marks. But when it results in misspellings I get annoyed. In German, an umlaut is an alternative for "e"; thus, either Möbius or Moebius, but never Mobius. To a German that would be like entering "Gothe" as the author of Faust.
4
Resisted PUN for 52A "cause to groan", then near the end I had IRS for obvious reasons.
3
If my second child had been born a few hours later, his APGAR would have been determined by a Dr Apgar. She was even related to Dr Virginia Apgar, the one who invented the assessment, but I forget how - niece or great-nice maybe?
4
Fun, but 14 minutes. I need a harder puzzle. Any other crossword ideas for this retiree who has more time than the Saturday NYT puzzle seems to require?
1
@Joan Sapinsley
Because Sunday’s puzzle comes on-line at 6:00 p.m. ET, you might not get a lot of responses, as many of those who’d know have probably moved on to Sunday already. People have recommended doing puzzles in the NYT archives, which are accessible through the Wordplay main site. Others have recommended free and difficult puzzles at Bennett Emmett Quigley’s (a prolofic constructor) website. Still others have suggested on-line puzzles from the New Yorker magazine, LA Times, Wall Street Journal. I’m sure there are other sites out there that might help quench your Xword thirst.
6
@Puzzlemucker A great feature for the archive would be: I pick a day of the week, they give me a puzzle with a relative difficulty corresponding to my daily averages. They have lots of data on how fast puzzles are completed.
2
@Andrew
Maybe there’s a way for you to suggest that. Seems doable and a great idea. Any late-week puzzle is usually challenging enough for me, but I understand that everything is relative.
Solved it, a rarity for me. Feels fine to MEASURE UP on Saturday. The bottom half was a bear. That’s where the fear from watching helplessly while the whole enchilada PLUNGES into oblivion rattled for a bit. It never did get UGLI; a subsequent check showed no problemos. I knew ALL ALONG that I had this one in the pocket. You SEA, ‘twas a BREEZE...Not the GONZO, but the Bonzo Dog Band weighs in on BUSHWA and QUORUMS:
https://youtu.be/CjJLTslWp_Q
Sans AUSTER(E)ity,
Bru
2
Haven't been to the American midwest in 60 years, never heard of the beanbag game. I have, however, heard the word that is used to name it - as a vulgarity. You can imagine my surprise to see it in the NYT xword puzzle....
3
@Diana, perhaps other people noticed that, but you and I seem to be the only ones who even mentioned that as an issue.
??
That game has been around for years in the south as well. Since I first heard of it, I have been surprised at that name. So it’s not a NYT crossword phenomenon, particularly, to use the gross-out name.
Loved the clues for Reno and Urban and learned a new word in Bushwa.
2
FYI: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration is a backronym for the first infant rating scale developed by Virginia Apgar in 1952. The use of the backronym first appeared in the 1960's.
6
Lynn,
Thanks for alerting any recent arrivals to the comments. This was also the subject of first comment last night.
2
@Barry Ancona
This was a backrocomment. With further embellishment, it could have been a backrocococomment.
2
I put this puzzle down last night positive that Apgar somehow was wrong or an acronym that stood for something unknown. Surprise, surprise when I checked the answers and then went right to Google to find out the 2D origin.
Loved 23A but in truth living in Texas I think getting bitten by vampire-like mosquitoes here may be as bad as it gets.
Very entertaining challenge and surprisingly easy Saturday considering all the stumpers I've struggled with over the years.
Thanks Debbie Ellerin/Will Shortz for a fun puzzle.
6
Challenging, difficult, yet I finished in about 2/3 my average Saturday time, so go figure. The NW corner filled in easily; other sections more slowly. I never even noticed DEVO or DRIB fill in. I had GREEN and GOBLIN seemed like either a lucky guess or inspired or the only possibly choice; I'm not sure which (I had the G and the N).
I visited OSTIA Antica on my recent trip to Rome. Fascinating! Enough of it is preserved that you get a real sense of what the town must have looked like, albeit what it looked like several centuries before the battle. Also saw Raphael's painting of the battle in the stanze at the Vatican Museums.
Late to the puzzle today--my mother-in-law had cataract surgery yesterday and needs to have drops put in her eye every 2 hours--and 4 times a day--and 3 times a day (5 different Rx). And she can't do it herself. So that's what I've been doing, and will be doing for the next few days.
4
Difficult puzzle, I thought, with a few stumbling blocks. At one point I considered breaking my rule of never looking anything up, but plugged away instead and first the SE and then the NW corners fell into place. Don't know how long it took me; I hide the timer.
3
Isn't A STAR IS BORN a 2019 nominee?
Year of release is 2018; it was nominated in 2019
1
@bkrad
Here we go again...
5
Austin,
You're not missing anything.
It’s been a while since I’ve solved a Saturday without any Googling or cheating. I happily thought this was going to change the tide until I hit ERTES/BIZET, argh! Guess I’ll brush up on my French arts history today to ease this ENNUI. Great puzzle otherwise though, very clever cluing and clean fill throughout!
6
I am happy about any day that offers even the mild tribute of a crossword shout-out to my heroine, the NOTORIOUS RBG.
TIL that the operative word in the clue for BEANBAG is also the name of a game. I wonder if Mitt Romney has ever pondered its comparison to politics.
TIalsoL that there's a city in Nevada called Sparks. And that it's near RENO. I wonder if I'll ever use that knowledge. That was a toughie, too, since I wondered about basketball player(s) named O'NEAL and if I was missing something, or misspelling it.
Near Natick where the Iraqi whose last name I couldn't remember crossed the actress I've never heard of.
Never was a fan of comic books or odd superheroes, so 4D was tough. I was pretty sure the GREEN HORNET was a hero, not a villain, and the GREEN LANTERN was a 1940s kids' radio show and besides didn't fit. Who's this GOBLIN guy?
I've always had a rather peculiar fascination with the MOBIUS strip.
Hard time getting past trying to squeeze SEURAT in at 50D, and it wouldn't have fit the clue anyway.
No-knows IVAN and DEVO were at least short enough to be gettable from the crosses.
Much fun today, Debie. Thanks for a terrific puzzle. And especially for NOTORIOUS RBG.
6
@Deadline, I know someone who pronounces it Sewer-rat.
Have I already mentioned I thought of Georges Sand as well as BIZET, but it turned out (as a surprise to me) that she spelt her name 'George', so both her names are too short for present purposes
3
@Leapfinger
In case it ever comes up again, Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin may have been French, but her pen name was GEORGE Sand.
@Leapfinger - I worked with a descendant of the family - not spelled exactly the same - you know, the ones from Ford's Theater - and he pronounced it exactly that way.
1
Super fast Saturday (10:14). Took 2:22 off my prior PB. But I enjoyed the cluing - some cute puns and wordplay which is my favorite. The comments today were really interesting as well ( although during the week I often don’t have time to read many, so it may not be a fair evaluation). If this were put up on a Wednesday I might have said “great Wednesday, maybe a little on the tough side. But definitely not a Thursday.”
Can't be Thursday, no real theme....
If you go back many decades in the crossword, RENO usually has a clever clue about divorce. My maternal grandmother would chuckle over it; that's where she took the train for hers. I've never been to Reno (for any reason) by train or otherwise, but I do know Sparks from knowing a bit about railroads.
http://sparksmuseum.org/a-brief-history-of-sparks/
4
@Barry Ancona
I guess one would go to RENO when the Sparks stopped flying
8
Andrew,
Or started?
3
Some clues I had to look up and still don’t make sense to me are KALE, IRK, ERTES, and RUN TO. I now know that Erte was a person.
I meant to say RAN TO. The last pair does make sense now, but I never would have gotten them without looking them up or solving the other clues.
1
@Kevin Davis
The name ERTE represents the initials for Romain de Tirtoff, his real name.
If you Googled "Erte" and looked at Images, you might well recognize his artistic style. I would have linked it, but my Copy/Paste has decided not to offer me Paste anymore for a couple of days.
1
Leapy,
Try using crossword glue.
5
I liked the “mini-theme” of OPERA, BIZET and ARIA.
And I could’t agree more with H. L. Mencken! Just the thought of “Ode to the Moon” from Rusalka - in English - makes me nauseous. Renee Fleming would never have included that aria among her many “trademark” selections had it been translated into the murderous tongue we play with in our daily puzzle diversions.
2
Anyone from Nevada will tell you that Reno is so close to Hell that you can see Sparks!
5
@Michael L
Great minds not only think alike, they think alike at exactly the same time!
1
In California there’s a joke that helped: RENO is so close to hell you can see Sparks
4
@John Frenz
Great minds not only think alike, they think alike at exactly the same time!
@Puzzlemucker.....erm, maybe both comments were released from Emu H*LL at exactly the same time
2
@Leapfinger
Could well be, although that raises (but does not beg) the question: do emus release comments from purgatory systematically? If so, our theories could both be correct. But given the recent appearance of Chief Quahog’s August 2018 benign bovine comment in April 2019, if I were a betting person and if RENO had “emu book” to go with its “sports book”, I’d probably lay down a C-Note or three on your theory as the winner.
1
I clicked the Apgar link, expecting to learn more about Virginia Apgar, creator of the Apgar score. Nary a word about her. She was a no-nonsense crusader for newborn care and deserves better!
4
Skippyreader,
I provided a link to her bio last night; go to the first thread in these comments.
2
Answer: A fly-by-night contractor.
Question: What do you get when you cross a vampire bat with a carpenter ant?
7
@Etaoin Shrdlu - ha ha ha
https://youtu.be/JJQWtGm3eIs?t=280
2
Good one, DC! I worked it out with a pencil :/
Then there's the man who was cooled down to absolute zero but don't worry, he's 0k
X: How do you make six into nine?
Y: I don't know. How?
X: Take away the S.
Y: I don't get it.
X: Six without the S is ix, which is Roman numerals for nine.
Z: I don't get it either. Can you explain it in Latin?
1
@Leapfinger it's easier in Greek, just so long as you are in Australia:
Ξ
Ξ
Ξ
1
Looking at DELIMEATS and trying to figure out if I think it's a dook.
3
@Steve L
Almost delineate ?
@Robert Michael Panoff
See adjacent, closing para.
Great minds
@Steve L
Semordnilap/palindrome-ish too. STEAM I LED ERE DELI MEATS.
2
That is some twisty firewood they grow in TRANSYLVANIA.
Despite the EVIL QUEEN and UGLI PROFS this was a real DREAM TEAM. Have known a GITA or two in my life, but pleased to have here linked to Bhagavad. Delighted with BUSHWA and GONZO (though Hunter T brings shivers), TRANSYLVANIA because family, APGAR & MOBIUS just because. I'm just another LEO IV NOTORIOUS RBG, long may she pound her little gavel.
(Overheard in TRANSYLVANIA) I VAN to be alone
Where GYRO don't fit, maybe a NERO HERO
One small grouse: am I too AUSTERE when I ASK if a few more minutes couldn't have been taken... just to find a different clue for BEANBAG? As @AlanJ said yesterday, that's about the sighs of it.
Thank you, Debbie Ellen! I love how you DELIMEATed your construction, and the DEVOtion with which you LADLEd it out for us. It were a lovely Saturday.
7
Hallway jargon in academia, when referring to a very good student: "she's been in the 99th percentile since her APGAR scores."
Enjoyed this puzzle very much, not too hard but consistently interesting. No ENNUI in this solve.
4
@archaeoprof
Is GAR a college course? Did she take APGAR in high school?
10
Bob,
See 37 Across.
2
@Barry Ancona
Is that where she got HER B?
4
“Where one may go out to get a bite?” LOL
5
@MP
Agreed, a bloody good clue. neck and neck with :Hula hoop".
4
Thank you, Debbie, for a Saturday puzzle that did not IRK and cause long periods of groaning. I don't think your puzzle was easy, in a general sense, but today I experienced that unexplainable sense of being "in the zone". When I was a sportswriter covering big-league baseball, hitters would often try to explain their hot streaks by saying, "I'm really seeing the ball well." Today I was seeing the ball well.
Completion time on my iPad was less than half of my Saturday average, and it gave me a 29-day streak.
Best of all, after completion, I learned about the life and career of Romain de Tirtoff while consulting Wikipedia for a filled-by-crossings entry that had remained a mystery. Thank you, Debbie and Will.
9
Thank you for that, Granpa Brian from Arkansas!
I have recognized his work and tossed off his professional name without having a clue about his background or where his name came from.
1
Erté is the phonetic sound in French of his initials, (R.T.)
3
366 for me today. I thought about not hitting ENTER on the last letter in the northwest corner to leave it at a year's worth. I've got some travel coming up and I don't want to spend precious time in Toledo or Lisbon looking for a hot spot to keep things going. I'll just have to trust myself to let it happen.
6
@Larxol I have come to think of situations like these as "The Tyranny of the Streak". I'm only at 225, wonder how I'll feel if I get to 365.
1
What a lazy, uninspired clue for TRANSYLVANIA.
"The first European domain to officially decree freedom of religion (1568)" would have been more Saturday-worthy, not to mention historically accurate.
4
@Laszlo
Thank you for that. You’ve made me re-think my praise for the clue while educating me. One of the many reasons I love Wordplay.
4
"Freedom of religion" is a charged phrase. Religion in European states (before modern-era democracy) was determined by the ruling authority (cujus regio ejus religio); those who lived and worked under a (say) Lutheran prince were perforce Lutherans, those under a (say) Catholic were perforce Catholics. In that sense, the Edict of Torda gave freedom within Transylvania for citizens to confess a different faith from their prince - provided that it was one of the four approved in the Edict (Roman - Lutheran - Calvinist - Unitarian). Outside of that, forget it. And no individual was given power to confess according to their own lights, only according to local authorities. Religious tolerance - yes, it was a breakthrough edict, arrived at under pressure from the Ottoman attacks. Religious freedom? That's a fraught question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Torda
6
@David Connell - (in case it isn't clear, this one hits near my heart of hearts)...
The pilgrims came to America because their religion was _not_ the state religion (thanks to the relatively liberal Netherlands for hosting them along the way). The first thing they did when they came to America was to make _their_ religion the state religion: meaning, you couldn't vote in public elections unless you were in good standing at the local church of _their_ approved religion. (Notable and laudable exceptions: Rhode Island and my own Pennsylvania.)
When the "founding fathers" wrote "no state religion", they did so in response to, in reaction to, both the situation of the England they had left behind AND the America that it spawned. They said, "the franchise, the right to vote, will not depend on whether you go to church, or which church you choose to go to." It was a radically modern idea. An idea we are in grave danger of forgetting these days. The "founding fathers" knew the evils of tying the franchise to attendance at church services and paying of tithes; it would be good for more Americans to remember that today.
Tolerance is not the same as freedom. Ask members of the US armed forces who are non-gender-conformist. Tolerance and freedom are far, far, far apart from each other. In many ways, (speaking from the opposition side [obviously]): tolerance is the _enemy_ of freedom.
7
Helpful hints for novice solvers:
*All comic book heroes and villains are GREEN something-or-others.
*All NBA players are named O'NEAL.
*Every fairy-tale character is a QUEEN, a witch, or a princess.
From the You-Must-Be-Kidding Dept: "La Boheme" has only five ARIAs? What kind of OPERA is that?
This felt like a real trivia-fest while I was solving it, but now that I look back at the grid, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I kept thinking I would Natick, but I managed not to. So I guess it was fairer than it seemed while solving. But despite the wonderful NOTORIOUS RBG answer and the lovely Mencken quote (14A), it was too pop-culture-y for me to find it especially enjoyable.
1
@Nancy
" "La Boheme" has only five ARIAs? What kind of OPERA is that?"
BOHO chic, of course.
4
BOHO? We could have moved it to the East Village and called it "Rent," but by now it would probably be in Bushwick.
6
Until I got to our old crossword friend UGLI at 44A, I had nothin', and then, gloriously, NOTORIOUS RBG at 46A! Entering a 12-letter answer is a great BOOST to the morale on Saturdays!
5
Tough in some places. I got most of the framework done, but had holes in the SW, NE, and west. I was slowed down by having V__I instead of AMAS, LITMUS instead of MOBIUS, IRIS before HERB, and LEEK and OKRA instead of KALE. The only proper name crossing that bothered me was AZIZ/UZO. Nice clue for TRANSYLVANIA.
Thanks!
1
Once again, and now and always, I am grateful for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. May she live forever! Thanks Ms. Ellerin for a faster than usual, fun accompaniment to my Saturday morning coffee!
18
@Amy
May she live *and work* forever!
12
Today I learned -- or observed in the context of the puzzle -- without slowing a smooth and speedy (untimed) solve:
*What to call a Cape Codder (h/t D.C.) with grapefruit juice
*The name of Spider-Man's archenemy
*That APGAR and AMNIO both have five letters
*That CASH and KALE both have four letters
*The first name of yet another OITNB actor
*The name of the pope during the Battle of Ostia
I'm not sure *when* I will use this new-found knowledge (or these reconsidered observations), but I suspect the *where* will be in yet another crossword.
9
@Barry Ancona - The one thing I'd add is in regard to grapefruit juice. I don't understand the chemistry of it, but many prescription drugs come with a counter-indication for grapefruit juice. I hope anybody who wants to try a Sea Breeze cocktail will check their labels first...
(I know this because grapefruit is one of my favorites, but I've had to avoid it from time to time...)
3
@David Connell
Saw this just a few minutes after I posted something similar.
@Barry
A Cape Codder with grapefruit juice, or a Greyhound with cranberry juice.
I'm starting to get ideas for Sunday brunch.
Well, somehow 2D (Kind of test for a baby) came from somewhere out of the recesses of my mind, but with one very sad mistake. I believed it to be AGPAR instead of APGAR (apologies, Virginia). This had me trying to rationalize AGORA and SPIES for 14A and 17A respectively. Needless to say, that corner was my last fill with the exception of one square.
Yes, I am ashamed to admit that my very last square and a Natick for me was the cross of NYT and GITA. You see, as soon as I saw Big Apple in the clue I had confidently entered NYC. When the happy music refused to play, I decided to do an alphabet run on that square. When the T triggered the music my reaction turned from "Hmm, that's weird" to "Doh!" very quickly.
Despite the humiliating alphabet run, I am still considering this a successful solve and my streak continues. Please don't tell anybody...
6
25D Canadian Clue: Tyler Seguin, 31 Jan 1992, Brampton ON
@Morgan
Excellent clue! The Dallas Stars were formerly the Minnesota North Stars, and for some reason(!) they decided to take North out of the team name when they moved.
1
@Andrew
That's odd! After all, Dallas is in northern Texas.
Thanks Debbie and Snailly thanks you as well.
3 extra minutes to get RBG, even tho my SIS has an RBG doll on her desk. She claims the best thing about being a judge is banging your little hammer and everyone shutting up.
The rest of the fill came as it often does on a Saturday morning... slowly. Laughed at the thought of Hose or Hoer for a gardeners name but decorum prevailed.
Return to WI next week. Sure hope the snow is gone.
2
@dk
Moving back already?!
2
@dk, I also thought of HOER.
Decorum ain't what it usta be.
3
@Leapfinger
Ditto.
(Didn't MOL just recently lecture us on the proper use of a hoe? As a non-gardener, I've already forgotten.)
Since signing up for the online puzzles back in December, I think this is the first Saturday puzzle where I didn't have to look anything up or employ the "check puzzle" feature to help me complete it. It took a while, but I got there and had fun getting there. Lots of enjoyable clues and answers. The southwest was the last to go. Had "pun" instead of IRK for a long time as did many, and pinkMEAT instead of DELIMEAT (don't ask, it kind of works). Of course there was nothing I could really look up on the internet in that corner, so that helped keep me honest, and I managed to keep my resolve to not use check puzzle.
There's sometimes discussion about whether the puzzles have gotten easier. Sometimes it seems that way to me, mainly because I can now consistently complete Friday and Saturday puzzles, whereas twenty, thirty years ago, not so much. But I do think that solving on line makes it easier for me. I'm not as reluctant to commit to something I'm not sure of, because it's so simple to take it out if it's not working. And it's much easier to read. That's my two cents' worth for today.
25
After reading Caitlin's columns (even more so than Deb's) I always want to just post "ditto"; we often seem to have the same stumbling blocks (e.g., QUORUMS), the same smileys (e.g., LEI--hula hoop, Ha!), the same TIL's (e.g., APGAR, Sparks), and the same appreciations (e.g., NOTORIOUS RBG) and today, even the same first-thing-that-comes-to-mind (the Great GONZO).
So: ditto everything Caitlin said, except that I did grow up in, and still live in, a place where cornhole is popular. On a related note, a new place of business opened in my neighborhood recently where you can pay to throw hatchets at wooden targets. This is next to a barcade (bar + retro arcade, a great portmanteau). I assume the hatchet business has bouncers to keep out those who've had a few too many. (However many that is when it comes to hatchet-throwing, I don't know.)
In addition to Caitlin's clue shout-outs, I had smileys next to 14A (OPERA, in a great H.L. Mencken quote) and 45D ("Result of a meltdown?" GOO). I am always grateful when a constructor has taken pains to come up with a clever new clue for a common entry.
I had one scar today (cold MEATS for DELI MEATS) and one "makeup smear," where I accidentally wrote in DRIB at 33D instead of 32D. lower-case "oops".
Wow, wow! Thanks for a really great Saturday puzzle, Ms Ellerin! I hope you've got more coming!
Happy Saturday, Everyone!
:-c)€
3
@Floyd
Ditto!
2
@floyd
"a new place of business opened in my neighborhood recently where you can pay to throw hatchets at wooden targets. This is next to a barcade..."
What could possibly go wrong?
7
@vaer
Hahaha!
1
SPELLING BEE
ALRTVY-I
51 words, 238 points, 3 pangrams
A x 11, I x 2, L x 7, R x 8, T x 14, V x 9
4L x 19, 5L x 14, 6L x 6, 7L x 7, 8L x 3, 9L x 1, 10L x 1
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tot
A 4 3 3 1 - - - 11
I 2 - - - - - - 2
L 5 1 1 - - - - 7
R 3 2 1 2 - - - 8
T 4 5 1 2 - 1 1 14
V 1 3 - 2 3 - - 9
Tot 19 14 6 7 3 1 1 51
29
@Ron O.
Thanks, Ron!!! It's an amazing tool to get there. Still don't understand why RIATA not allowed but its synonym is.
4
@Ron O.
This letter set and its pangrams seem very familiar, which allowed me to get all 3 of them quickly.
1
@Ron O. If the soprano is coughing herself to death in the last act, wouldn’t she be expiring traviatally? La la la.
6
BLESS ALL UZOs
Born in Boston, a BU grad,
“Crazy world” her mother said,
UZO’s now Crazy Eyes.
From RENO to TRANSYLVANIA
BLESS ALL UZOs
Let their Sparks fly.
For all the EVIL QUEENS
Left off the DREAM TEAM
UZO’s now Crazy Eyes.
She’s a symbol of change
A DELTA with range
A SEA BREEZE, an entire sky.
BLESS ALL UZOs
BLESS ALL UZOs
And all Crazy Eyes.
7
That is really good! Thank you!
@Laura Rodrigues In London
Thanks, Laura. You inspired me to *try* to rhyme. Doesn’t come naturally to me. I love your rhymes and meter.
Nice, solid Saturday puzzle and a good challenging workout. Had to look up two things and had a failed check, but that's pretty much a given for me.
NOTORIOUSRBG and TRANSYLVANIA were definitely the highlights as I got enough crosses to make them evident, but there were other nice 'aha' moments. Ended up filling in RENO completely from the crosses and never noticed it. Would have been completely baffled by its connection to the clue.
1
As so often a memory is triggered by a clue and answer, and today it was 15A. My Aunt and I used to sit on her balcony overlooking Megansett Bay in North Falmouth sipping Vodka and cranberry juice. No grapefruit juice and we didn't have a name for it, but SEA BREEZE sounds great. I pretty much got that from 12D, AZIZ which I was sure of.
Just a couple of the nice variety of answers today making it more enjoyable for me than many Saturdays, although I still needed help along the way.
4
@suejean - with just the cranberry juice in it, it's a Cape Codder. Very nice.
2
With orange juice instead of the grapefruit, it is a madras. With pineapple instead of the grapefruit, it is a bay breeze.
4
When the weather picks up here, I may just try these; I like all the names.
2
nice smooth Saturday. I got stuck on georges and deco crossing. i should go look those things up. there are some definite holes in my knowledge due to my relative lack of education.
without WFC's commentary i am tempted to list good and bad fill but I will stay in my lane :)
i did like a lot of them, i just watched the Tom Holland Spider-man last night with my son so it was cool to see Gobby make a appearance here even though he wasnt in that flick.
2
New best for a Saturday! Stuck with DOUG for HERB and PUN for IRK too long though.
5
@MJ
Doug would have been funny!
:-c)€
3
@Floyd
I loved DOUG Funnie and Patti Mayonnaise!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhaMT0funj8
P.S. I also had DOUG at first.
1
Why does a gardener have to be a guy? My first thought went to ROSE (both ways).
I'd have gone with MOL if it wasn't a letter short.
2
Unusual for Saturday, for me, nothing stayed white for very long. The puzzle has a bright, breezy feel, IMO, a lovely way to introduce the weekend.
The cross of A STAR IS BORN and THE NOTORIOUS RBG fits my concept of the world. This puzzle has a mini-theme of double E's (5), a fresh clue for OGLES, AIR neighboring BREEZE, a slimy trio of LARVA, ROE, and GOO, and a shiny trio of BADGE, SATEEN, and GLOSS.
My favorite clue was that for RENO [Sparks can be seen at its edge] -- wish I had thought of that! I was misdirected by the clue for BIZET [Georges of the Romantic era], wondering what surname went with more than one George.
Nothing to IRK, much to BLESS -- Thank you very much, Debbie!
7
Pretty quick solve despite some missteps: AWARD, MEDAL before BADGE; EVIL WITCH for QUEEN, ANNEX for ADDON, and PUN for IRK (that cluing was perfect for pun!).
Loved the clue for TRANSYLVANIA though!
1
LETTER BOXED
J-T (6) T-D(9)
Yesterday there was a (13) Clone Epigrams
NYT solutions must not be shortest. Maybe most unusual?
1
@ColoradoZ
Same solution. I don't think there are many options out there today.
My assumption is that the constructor starts with two words and builds the puzzle around their word choice. They may check to see what other solutions show up, but they stick with the date they brought to the party.
1
@ColoradoZ
Yesterday, also rigmarole encamp
@Phil P
Never thought of that. Your answer makes sense
This was a very enjoyable solve! It went quickly, but it didn't feel that way. I was surprised to finish well under half my Saturday average.
1
@Paul
I thought maybe there was some display of giant sparklers.
Easy for me today. YMMV. Bushwa amused me. I just assumed Sparks was the name of a casino on the edge of Reno.
1
Good evening, Cru. Hal is here with his mumbo-jumbo take on the most excellent puzzle of the day. This one was, for Hal, a bit of a doozie. Big fills are always tough and when the crossings are above average difficulty, problems ensue. This one is very eclectic with a wide ranging knowledge base. You newbies gotta get used to this kind of thing. There isn't always a unified theme suitable for a puzzle and that's when you need to know it all. You long-time solvers, like Hal, you have to keep up with the times and be in touch with the current argot. Wait .. isn't argot a corn disease? Well, you know what Hal means. Rap music, hip hop, Harry Potter, etc. Live and learn.
No special guest tonight due to the rain and inability of Hal to induce anyone to work for free. (Pikers!)
All right Cru! Mission accomplished. As you were. Carry on. Dismissed.
4
@HALinNY
I thought argot was a corn starch.
1
vaer,
Silent t?
1
@Barry Ancona
Correct. From the French.
1
That was not so bad, compared to other Saturdays.
I liked the NE stack and its subtle lack of nuclear disarmament betwixt Korea, Romania and Rocky IV.
Kudos
Great start tonight, very slow finish. Not sure why KALE is considered long, but it was the only way to spell IRK, so in it went. (I really wanted the "cause to groan" to be PUN, alas).
However, not knowing Latin, AMAS wasn't going to arrive - I eventually put it in thinking, well, maybe there's a Latin music category for the American Music Awards, and maybe there's a sort of trio of award shows for music? I also wasn't sure if Oliver Twist was a WAIF or NAIF, so I eventually - and I mean eventually - ended up with the nonsense word BUSHWA in my grid.
So (a) I now know a new word and (b) is BUSHWA perhaps an East Coast term? Just never encountered it in any context...
3
It’s not that kale is long, it’s that “long green” is a slang term for cash, as is “kale.”
10
"...is BUSHWA perhaps an East Coast term?"
Adam,
I don't hear it here these days either, but when it was heard, I hear it wasn't regional.
3
@Adam Smith
BUSHWA has a sort of Colonel Potter sound to me...so maybe dated by 70 years?
5
You know a clue is brilliant when you've lived in Reno AND in Sparks... but still couldn't figure out the answer!
12
Tried “bunkum” before BUSHWA, and spent several minutes glaring at the SW corner getting nowhere because I wouldn’t let go of “knows” for 63A. But all eventually became clear. Count me as another vote for “sparks at the edge” as an all-time favorite clue!
5
TIL that in TRANSYLVANIA A STAR IS BORN if his APGAR score is zero.
4
@Henry Su Though I'll bet the teething thereabouts is pretty UGLI. Not to mention the nursing!
4
My sister was BORN in Oradea in TRANSYLVANIA, but that was before Dr APGAR started to score.
And yes, she really does have prominent eye-teeth but that wasn't till she got past the LARVA stage.
4
I put ACTE for 39A, figuring that a five act opera would have more than one aria per act. What a surprise.
1
@Alan Young
Sounds like you fell into a trap made just for OPERA fans. As an ignoramus, I never thought of Acte, and just plopped down ARIA. it pays to be dumb, sometimes.
:-c)€
2
Floyd,
Perhaps not; Boheme has only four acts.
3
Each of the four stars gets one aria, plus an extra for the star star, Mimi. Four acts, five star moments.
1
Nice puzzle with some fun clues. The SW cost me about 5 minutes, largely because “film site” could refer to lots of things, though not many of four letters. I had MEASURE UP, KALE, and saLt MEATS down there, the third of which didn’t help. Then BLESS dawned on me, which led to IMDB; DELI replacing saLt; REEL; and SIS.
3
A fun Saturday puzzle, with inventive clues and lively answers. This turned out to be an “in my wheelhouse” puzzle, despite the no-knows (APGAR, LEOIV, REN, AZIZ, ONEAL, UZO). Fortunately, many of the other answers came to mind almost immediately and I got most of the no-knows from crossers.
NOTORIOUSRBG elicited a big smile, as did BUSHWA.
Best clues: “Sparks can be seen at its edge” for RENO, “Subway fare?” for HERO, “U people?” for PROFS, “Where one might go out to get a bite?” for TRANSYLVANIA.
The only sticking point was UZI for UZO (I was wondering what were the circuses of NERI in ancient Rome?). Fixing that gave me the Happy Music in almost my best Saturday time.
Challenging but ultimately very doable and lots of fun!
1
Ms. Ellerin's puzzle gave me a mental workout as I moved around the grid but there wasn't an entry or clue that stumped me, and I therefore finished in half my Saturday average time.
My favorite clue has to be "Sparks can be seen at its edge." I didn't know O'NEAL but RENO came into view as soon as I filled in AUSTERE, and an "AHA" balloon popped above my head.
Bring on Sunday.
2
A happy Saturday. Besides being one that I finished, it conjured up not just things I didn’t know I knew, but also things I didn’t know but managed to figure out. All the “bite” I wanted on a late Friday night, including a great clue at 23A for TRANSYLVANIA.
2
Re: 6D, A tadpole is a larva and a spider might well be called "creepy-crawly".It also would be nice to have the clue and the answer agree grammatically.
1
@Backup Correction, 8D
@Backup,
"Creepy-crawly" can be a noun. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creepy-crawly.
And if we think of a Venn diagram with the set of all larvae and the set of all creepy-crawlies, an overlap is all the clue requires. Wouldn't you agree?
7
@Henry Su
I believe I agree with your point, but is it OK if I don’t “think of a Venn diagram (at least not an illustrated one) with the set of all larvae and the set of all creepy-crawlies” just yet?
Maybe after breakfast.
6
Best Saturday in a long while, and the Sparks clue was the best in months. Brava Debbie.
6
Enjoyable, though it took me a while to crack into it. Then it gradually gave way. Good Saturday workout.
Here's the first of those five ARIAs from the OPERA La Boheme, with Jose Carreras as Rodolfo, and Renata Tebaldi as Mimi.
https://youtu.be/eiTHjfmSyQU
And the last of the five, a bass aria in which Colline (James Morris), a friend of Rodolfo and Mimi, decides to pawn his coat to buy medicine for Mimi. This is his farewell to his coat.
https://youtu.be/ArYceMAJiH8
They're both sung in Italian and subtitled in English, but it ain't baseball.
7
@Alan J
Oops! Teresa Stratas, not Tebaldi.
Alan,
We forgive you; they would not have.
3
@Alan J
That's OK. It's only strike one! I appreciated the correction however, if only to draw attention to the Canadian content! Of course Tebaldi was no longer active in 1982. Since Stratas didn't get much to do except to offer Rodolfo her cold hand, I thought I would follow up with this. The audio and video is not great, but she still hits it out of the park!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNKV_ZXve2g
1
Both today and yesterday’s puzzles were good and chewy. I went through once on each puzzle and could only fill in five or six words. I was convinced I’d never get farther than that, but I kept going and was able to complete each. My favorite kind of Friday and Saturday puzzles.
The SW was the last to be filled for me. There were many answers I enjoyed, which have already been mentioned.
I liked the RBG documentary shown recently on CNN. I didn't realize her early life was so impressive! definitely a HEROine!
5
If you drew a diagonal line from the NW to the SE, I flew through the half on the N/E side, and then the S/W half took me twice as long.
Not that the second half was that much harder; rather, I was just a little less willing to commit to many of the answers. And a few, I plain didn’t know. (I’m looking at you, DEVO.).
And “Long green” didn’t evoke KALE for me, even though I realize they are both old-time slang for money.
My final square was dALE, vALE, wALE, um, sALE (because maybe the IRS makes people groan?)...
2
How is AMAS part of a Latin “trio”? The present tense indicative active has a plural number, too: the complete paradigm is amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant. Cf. “Third of a Latin sextet” = AMAT (4/22/06)
2
@Fact Boy
In crosswords there are two Latin trios which have existed pretty much forever amo, amas, amat and veni, vidi, vici
26
I'm reminded of how my Yiddisha bubbe declined that verb: amo, amas, amat, amamus, atatus, akint. YMMV.
3
@Fact Boy
I believe that beginning Latin students (I never was one) often recite "amo, amas, amat," right off the bat, but save plurals and more complex conjugations for later. Don't they? Or didn't they once?
2
The APGAR score was developed by Virginia APGAR. The “acronym” was actually a backronym.
36
And here is a brief article on Dr. Apgar...
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_12.html
(My children were both 10/10, and haven't slowed.)
6
I did not see this mentioned! Thanks!
1
And Dr. Virginia Apgar was an eminent anesthesiologist! Not a pediatrician or neonatologist. You’re welcome. Fun fact for the day.
14