Kind of expected someone here to bring up Stairway to Heaven. That was the one of the standards in my teens -- the cuddle-up song at dances. My favorite, trippy lyric:
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now. It's just a spring clean for the May queen."
It's up there with "There's a Bathroom on the Right" for misunderstanding potential.
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now. It's just a spring clean for the May queen."
It's up there with "There's a Bathroom on the Right" for misunderstanding potential.
1
I brought it up obliquely in my original comment, though I met the requirement for misunderstanding.
I always thought it was 'bustard' in your hedgerow. That actually makes sense. Well, depending on where your hedgerow is.
I always thought it was 'bustard' in your hedgerow. That actually makes sense. Well, depending on where your hedgerow is.
Not quite OT aside to Deb, regarding the missing copy editors:
You state, "The center theme entry is ELEVATOR CLAUSE ...." No. It's ESCALATOR CLAUSE.
You state, "The center theme entry is ELEVATOR CLAUSE ...." No. It's ESCALATOR CLAUSE.
Thanks, Deadline. It's been fixed.
That's the Santa who takes the elevator in high rises without chimneys.
1
As usual, didn't notice anything about the diagram until I got here. Grid art is always lost on me.
The clue for ICE-CUBE TRAY was brilliant. I was surprised to find so many people think the TRAYs are really old-fashioned. Then I thought about it. I have several friends who have nice fancypants new refrigerators--the kind with three doors, and the freezer compartment in a drawer on the bottom, and that they never have to defrost, the kind I truly truly envy--and not one of them has an automatic ice dispenser. They all use ICE-CUBE TRAYs.
The clue for ET CETERA was almost as good.
Never heard of STAIRCASE WIT, or its French equivalent. Interesting to learn.
OTOH, I have heard of COSPLAY, I think from a puzzle. Certainly not from real life. And SCRY I know from reading.
Loved the gif, as I've always been amused by dogs' and cats' fascination with the movements in the TV. My late beloved Maggie especially liked to go after the little tiny ice skaters. One day she was on top of the (pre-flat-screen) TV, batting at the skaters. She took one particularly great swat at Surya Bonaly while the latter was in mid-jump. Simultaneously, Bonaly fell down and Maggie overtipped herself and fell off the TV. I really wish I had a gif of *that*!
Thanks to all for the fun. Try to stay cool everyone.
The clue for ICE-CUBE TRAY was brilliant. I was surprised to find so many people think the TRAYs are really old-fashioned. Then I thought about it. I have several friends who have nice fancypants new refrigerators--the kind with three doors, and the freezer compartment in a drawer on the bottom, and that they never have to defrost, the kind I truly truly envy--and not one of them has an automatic ice dispenser. They all use ICE-CUBE TRAYs.
The clue for ET CETERA was almost as good.
Never heard of STAIRCASE WIT, or its French equivalent. Interesting to learn.
OTOH, I have heard of COSPLAY, I think from a puzzle. Certainly not from real life. And SCRY I know from reading.
Loved the gif, as I've always been amused by dogs' and cats' fascination with the movements in the TV. My late beloved Maggie especially liked to go after the little tiny ice skaters. One day she was on top of the (pre-flat-screen) TV, batting at the skaters. She took one particularly great swat at Surya Bonaly while the latter was in mid-jump. Simultaneously, Bonaly fell down and Maggie overtipped herself and fell off the TV. I really wish I had a gif of *that*!
Thanks to all for the fun. Try to stay cool everyone.
5
Particularly liked this Tuesday puzzle for its fill. CHALLAH, TRICORN, ESCALATOR CLAUSE, ON THE UP-AND-UP (← should that be hyphenated?), COSPLAY, REUNES, ICE CUBE TRAY, ROCK OPERA, FROWNED UPON. Not scrabbly, but definitely more interesting than the average Tuesday. Can the post-Tuesday fill be why the clues came off as pre-Tuesday — so on average, it's Tuesday level?
Did not know but am happy to learn STAIRCASE WIT, SCRY, (SCRY?!?!). Or the down word ANTEHALL, which as a compound word is like wearing black tie and tails with bathing trunks. (And does this suggest there is such a thing as a POSTHALL?)
Did not know but am happy to learn STAIRCASE WIT, SCRY, (SCRY?!?!). Or the down word ANTEHALL, which as a compound word is like wearing black tie and tails with bathing trunks. (And does this suggest there is such a thing as a POSTHALL?)
Also — I can never remember TCBY. Maybe Y stands for yogurt, but TCB? No idea. (Otoh, I don't forget xkcd, but then again, tend to consume that a lot more often then TCBY.)
I had to Google xkcd, and I still don't get it.
1
TCBY reportedly began life as That Can't Be Yogurt, but had to change due to a lawsuit, so they chose new words to fit -- the extremely clunky The Country's Best Yogurt. I wonder whether TCBY was trying to grab onto the coat tails of TGI Friday's, which was wildly popular in the early 1980s?
Frozen yogurt was a big thing back then. People thought it was a healthy alternative to ice cream...even when topped with M&Ms.
Frozen yogurt was a big thing back then. People thought it was a healthy alternative to ice cream...even when topped with M&Ms.
1
Had fun with this one. Loved the grid, including the Escher-like upside-down steps.
I knew the concept of STAIRCASE WIT and its French origins and nearly went to look it up to include in my comment, then realized that *of course* someone among us would actually already know it and post it...and sure enough, David C!
Aside: here's a fake French expression I picked up hanging around dancers years ago and always hoped would pass into the language because it's so good. It describes that thing that happens when two people on a sidewalk or in a doorway try to get out of each other's way and both end up moving in the same direction and back again: that's a “faux pas de deux,” (a "pas de deux" being a two-person dance in ballet).
I knew the concept of STAIRCASE WIT and its French origins and nearly went to look it up to include in my comment, then realized that *of course* someone among us would actually already know it and post it...and sure enough, David C!
Aside: here's a fake French expression I picked up hanging around dancers years ago and always hoped would pass into the language because it's so good. It describes that thing that happens when two people on a sidewalk or in a doorway try to get out of each other's way and both end up moving in the same direction and back again: that's a “faux pas de deux,” (a "pas de deux" being a two-person dance in ballet).
7
I like the "faux pas de deux" but I've also heard this as "doing a Willie Pep" after the featherweight boxer. Someone wrote an essay somewhere years ago giving names to things like that--everyone knows them, but there's no official name for them--and that's the only one that's stuck with me all these years.
2
I love "faux pas de deux" but have also heard that very thing called just a "pas de deus" (no doubt after the ballet thing).
38A: It can go for a buck.
Loved this clue - made me laugh out loud!
Loved this clue - made me laugh out loud!
1
And the "it" makes the clue gender inclusive and non-binary ;-)
Name 3 inventions that have helped people rise up in the world.* (Old playground joke.)
Clever construction, definitely tougher than the average Tuesday. We had CHALLAH French toast for breakfast on my weekend trip to NH, and my friend's daughters are both into COSPLAY. Who know that my inexplicable fascination with ghost-hunting TV shows would pay off with SCRY someday? About the movie version of the ROCKOPERA "Tommy": great music, terrible movie. Whose idea was it to let Oliver Reed sing (not to mention Jack Nicholson?)
80s rocker Robert Hazard's main claim to fame was writing Cyndi Lauper's big hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," but he scored his own mid-chart hit with the propulsive "ESCALATOR Of Life." The video got a lot of airplay on MTV in 1983:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIT2DpdcPzI
*The elevator, the escalator, and the alarm clock.
Clever construction, definitely tougher than the average Tuesday. We had CHALLAH French toast for breakfast on my weekend trip to NH, and my friend's daughters are both into COSPLAY. Who know that my inexplicable fascination with ghost-hunting TV shows would pay off with SCRY someday? About the movie version of the ROCKOPERA "Tommy": great music, terrible movie. Whose idea was it to let Oliver Reed sing (not to mention Jack Nicholson?)
80s rocker Robert Hazard's main claim to fame was writing Cyndi Lauper's big hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," but he scored his own mid-chart hit with the propulsive "ESCALATOR Of Life." The video got a lot of airplay on MTV in 1983:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIT2DpdcPzI
*The elevator, the escalator, and the alarm clock.
4
Nothing makes better French toast than inch-thick slices of day old, poppyseed encrusted CHALLAH. Ample amounts of organic ground Saigon cinnamon whisked into the batter is more a requirement than an option; that and an appurtenence of rivers of maple tree extract. Table syrup is only acceptable when eating tables. (-;}
4
A pretty tough puzzle for a Tuesday (though I did manage to solve it in 11 minutes [not Rex Parker worthy]). Never heard of SCRY - I would have thought I should have seen that 4 letter fill before. I was bent on solving "Cleverness thought of too late to use" and had again never heard of ESCALATOR WIT though I've often experienced it (and will no doubt as soon as I finish this comment). Toss in TRICORN another word I hadn't heard of and I'm thinking it really should be a TRICORN-Y because they are so dumb looking. COSPLAY was yet another new word actually portmanteau I'd never heard of. So altogether 4 new words ON A TUESDAY for me. One more thought: Michael Hawkins and Joe Fagliano must have shared a brain for today's puzzles. Both had ROPE & DOE for fills.
3
er STAIRCASE WIT.
the afterglow from finishing yesterday's puzzle without any "Google help" carried me much further into this one than I'd normally have gone, but I was determined not to search for any answers.
Alas, bonnets couldn't fit for "TRICORN," and while I could picture the three-pointed hats, I didn't know they had a name. Neither was I aware that "STAIRCASE WIT" was a phrase, even though I experience it any time I attempt to talk to a handsome guy. Finally for lack of knowing ESCALATORCLAUSE, SORDID (I had "horrid" entered), I finally caved and Googled.
Progress is progress, I suppose!
Alas, bonnets couldn't fit for "TRICORN," and while I could picture the three-pointed hats, I didn't know they had a name. Neither was I aware that "STAIRCASE WIT" was a phrase, even though I experience it any time I attempt to talk to a handsome guy. Finally for lack of knowing ESCALATORCLAUSE, SORDID (I had "horrid" entered), I finally caved and Googled.
Progress is progress, I suppose!
5
Yes, it is, Kayla.
You keep on keepin' on!
You keep on keepin' on!
1
I spell 16a with an 'e' at the end; I'm sure both forms are acceptable...For only a moment, I gave the pair of truncated terms, RE-UNES and COSPLAY the EVIL EYE as they both seemed iffy, bordering ON THE UP AND UP...Regardless, I found this puzzle most enjoyable. It reminded me of this ballad of STAIRCASE WIT and the emerging 'puppy love' ROMANCES that bloomed in Woolworth's and Newberry's aisles. This is a swell piece of FOLK MUSIC, "Love At The Five And Dime," by Nanci Griffith. Throughout the song, each impeccable pick of the ELEVATOR CLAUSE, one very familiar note that signifies the arrival of the conveyor, brings me right back to those vanilla Coke summers of yesteryear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GK462XnRjQ
Going UP?,
Bru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GK462XnRjQ
Going UP?,
Bru
2
I thought this was pretty challenging. I learned four new words/phrases: staircase wit, cosplay, asyla, and scry. I did know Toby Keith, however!
2
I agree with you 100% re: how challenging it was and the new words learned. I guess asyla is the plural of asylum.
Proud to say this little doozy marks my 100th consecutive solve with no outside help. Yay, me!
Hadn't heard of, but love, STAIRCASEWIT. Like many, I had HORRID before SORDID (which makes it an excellent clue, IMHO.) ESCALATORCLAUSE rang a faint bell so fell into place. Loved Freeze frame? for ICECUBETRAY.
A fun puzzle, but yes, a bit tough for a Tuesday.
Hadn't heard of, but love, STAIRCASEWIT. Like many, I had HORRID before SORDID (which makes it an excellent clue, IMHO.) ESCALATORCLAUSE rang a faint bell so fell into place. Loved Freeze frame? for ICECUBETRAY.
A fun puzzle, but yes, a bit tough for a Tuesday.
4
Tuesday is often a disappointing or even frustrating day in crossworld, so when I sit down with a Tuesday puzzle I try to adjust my expectations accordingly. Maybe that's why I found this one a delight, and an enjoyable surprise all the way through. Clear theme, clever grid, interesting fill, and some new words that I thought at first might be some language other than English.
5
Yes, it was delightful.
I'm sure the constructor was very self-impressed that the "grid art" (i.e. the black blocks and the stacks of entries) seem to indicate steps, but the average solver (i.e. me) doesn't care about these aspects. So the fact that the "steps" are there does not do anything to increase my enjoyment of this puzzle.
I can't see how Jeff Chen called this Puzzle of the Week. Must be a slow week.
I can't see how Jeff Chen called this Puzzle of the Week. Must be a slow week.
2
I like grid art, but then I'm not average.
11
I take notice of the grid pattern before lauching in. Sometimes it's a clue, and sometimes it becomes one part way through solving, when the penny drops. That was true for me with thus puzzle. I saw the stars when I got the first stairway fill.
Should be ...I saw the stairs. But I see the stars when I fall down the stairs. Which happens occasionally.
SueJean, your funny comment dredged up a memory of my imperious, glamorous mother announcing -- pertinent to what I cannot remember -- "I'm an above average person."
SueJean, your funny comment dredged up a memory of my imperious, glamorous mother announcing -- pertinent to what I cannot remember -- "I'm an above average person."
2
A lot of rare words for a Tuesday.
1
Toughest Tuesday in a while
1
Loved this one, although I must admit I totally missed the visual impact of the squares. SCRY: if you were a fan of Charmed, you are definitely familiar with this word. However, I filled it by the across clues, because on Charmed, the sisters scried (sp?) by dangling a pendant over a map to locate someone. I also have never heard of staircase wit, and I don't understand how it fits its definition. Anyone?
2
This is a translation of the French phrase esprit de l'escalier. It describes this situation: someone makes a joke, but you can't think of a comeback. You leave the house/apartment and, as you're on the stairs out, you think of the perfect comeback - far too late.
2
Otherwise known, on this side of the pond, as, "I shoulda' said."
1
ANTEHALL???? Well, la-Di-dah, la-la!
8
I only knew about Grammy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3GlYml4ZiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8TSvMx2wPI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3GlYml4ZiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8TSvMx2wPI
1
What do you call an inmate walking down stairs?
Anyway, like suejean I thought this was a lot harder than yesterday's puzzle. Worked out most of it gradually. Really have no idea what COSPLAY is but I'd at least heard it somewhere before. There were some other slow spots but tumbled to clues or saw things from the crosses eventually.
But then I went all over the place in the NE and mid-east sections. Didn't know STAIRCASEWIT and TRICORN wasn't (exactly) dawning on me. I had HORRID before TORPID, which in turn made me doubt CLAUSE (not a terribly familiar phrase either). That all had me going in circles for a while but eventually got it all with one failed check.
Looked at the grid after I was done and my first thought was - gee, that's a lot of cheater squares (14). And then it finally hit me. Very cleverly done.
I see a lot of musical possibilities today. No bustards in my hedgerow, so I'll take a pass on that and go with this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9zsf7reJTo
ELLA is always MUSIC to my ears.
Anyway, like suejean I thought this was a lot harder than yesterday's puzzle. Worked out most of it gradually. Really have no idea what COSPLAY is but I'd at least heard it somewhere before. There were some other slow spots but tumbled to clues or saw things from the crosses eventually.
But then I went all over the place in the NE and mid-east sections. Didn't know STAIRCASEWIT and TRICORN wasn't (exactly) dawning on me. I had HORRID before TORPID, which in turn made me doubt CLAUSE (not a terribly familiar phrase either). That all had me going in circles for a while but eventually got it all with one failed check.
Looked at the grid after I was done and my first thought was - gee, that's a lot of cheater squares (14). And then it finally hit me. Very cleverly done.
I see a lot of musical possibilities today. No bustards in my hedgerow, so I'll take a pass on that and go with this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9zsf7reJTo
ELLA is always MUSIC to my ears.
6
ELLA is always MUSIC to my ears.
Mine, too.
Mine, too.
3
Enjoyed the riddle!
2
I'd probably enjoy the riddle too, if I could figure out the answer.
3
Unusual to learn so much from a Tuesday offering. Like many before me, I never heard of STAIRCASE WIT, but it makes perfect sense, and the same for COSPLAY and SCRY. BTW, my spell check apparently never heard of SCRY either. Very thoughtful Tuesday. Thank you Mr. Hawkins.
1
Did not know SCRY and had HORRID before SORDID. STAIRCASEWIT was also new to me and I really like David C's translation esprit de l'escalier.
The mention of It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, world brought back memories of giggling through last period algebra class with my two friends the day after seeing it. WE thought that we were being very clever and discreet by sketching the funniest scenes in the margins of our notebooks. It had to have been a supply teacher that day, otherwise we never would have gotten away with it.
The mention of It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, world brought back memories of giggling through last period algebra class with my two friends the day after seeing it. WE thought that we were being very clever and discreet by sketching the funniest scenes in the margins of our notebooks. It had to have been a supply teacher that day, otherwise we never would have gotten away with it.
2
TIL (I think?) that in Canada, a substitute teacher is a supply teacher...
2
Yes, Barry, that is correct.
Thanks, Barry.
I was thinking maybe there was a teacher who took care of supplies, such as notebooks, and maybe that teacher had a great appreciation for "Mad, Mad ...," but I couldn't make it all hang together.
I was thinking maybe there was a teacher who took care of supplies, such as notebooks, and maybe that teacher had a great appreciation for "Mad, Mad ...," but I couldn't make it all hang together.
"Scry"? Never heard of it. Thanks!
1
Scrabble word.
Excellent Tuesday. While staircase wit, escalator clause, cosplay, and scry were all new to me, they fell easily with the crosses, as a good Tuesday should!
Had horrid for sordid, but eventually got it sordid out.
Had horrid for sordid, but eventually got it sordid out.
6
This seemed a giant step up from yesterday, but I managed with just the one google, TOBY. I'm not sure what TCBY is. I also looked up the STAIRCASE WIT after filling it in and loved reading all about esprit d'escalier. It does lose a bit in translation.
I started with rustles for "Takes stock". That didn't last long thanks to HAN Solo.
Lots of very lively entries made this a great Tuesday puzzle.
I started with rustles for "Takes stock". That didn't last long thanks to HAN Solo.
Lots of very lively entries made this a great Tuesday puzzle.
4
suejean, I believe that TCBY stands for The Country's Best Yoghurt. You get a pass on your side of the pond.
1
I remember the TCBY craze of the 90's. Lines out the door for softserve frozen yogurt. We all thought it would make us thin and healthy!
I believe it's an acronym for The Country's Best Yogurt. They are still in business in a few cities in the US.
I believe it's an acronym for The Country's Best Yogurt. They are still in business in a few cities in the US.
2
suejean, I had the same though about 'rustles.' I already had HAN in place by the time I read that clue but it made me stop and reconsider that.
1
Yes! This one made me work and taught me things. Thank you for this, Michael.
* Beautiful stair step grid.
* Lovely answers: (SATIATE, EVIL EYE, ASYLA, ROCK OPERA).
* Clever clues: (BANK, ICE CUBE TRAY, DEW).
*I learned COSPLAY, SCRY, and STAIRCASE WIT, which were all fairly crossed.
* It was a hybrid puzzle, that is, Tuesday theme, Wednesday difficulty.
* I saw ON THE UP AND UP as the reveal, with the two UPs referring to STAIRCASE and ESCALATOR.
I also liked the adjacent HESITANT ROCK OPERA ROMANCES, which sounds like a Jeopardy category.
* Beautiful stair step grid.
* Lovely answers: (SATIATE, EVIL EYE, ASYLA, ROCK OPERA).
* Clever clues: (BANK, ICE CUBE TRAY, DEW).
*I learned COSPLAY, SCRY, and STAIRCASE WIT, which were all fairly crossed.
* It was a hybrid puzzle, that is, Tuesday theme, Wednesday difficulty.
* I saw ON THE UP AND UP as the reveal, with the two UPs referring to STAIRCASE and ESCALATOR.
I also liked the adjacent HESITANT ROCK OPERA ROMANCES, which sounds like a Jeopardy category.
6
Love the a GIF! My dogs play soccer like pros.
Sometimes I get stuck on the tiniest things in puzzles. I had no idea who Kieth TOBY is, and what was holding me up at the end was that lonely B. Otherwise, getting the fills here was like falling down a flight of stairs.
Sometimes I get stuck on the tiniest things in puzzles. I had no idea who Kieth TOBY is, and what was holding me up at the end was that lonely B. Otherwise, getting the fills here was like falling down a flight of stairs.
2
PfP—Either you're joking, or you still have no idea who "Keith TOBY" is. If the latter, TOBY Keith is a very popular country singer.
1
Doh! Got it backwards. I should have looked at the puzzle again. But I still don't know the name. And I kinda' like me some country music.
1
Continuing the alternate reality theme from a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kGEhX_s2_g
2
and Elke
GEE , MAN Michael , with this puzzle you are really ON THE UP AND UP.
I am SATIATEd with CHALLAH (leftover from Shabbat), TCBY , DOVE icecream bars, ETCETERA.
TRICORNs made me think of hamentaschen (? made by SARA LEE ). Sorry, no PORK on my menu. All washed down with ALE or REMY cognac ?
When I saw the ESCALATOR---- down the middle of the grid, I started looking at the letters ON the rungs. I thought of an example of STAIRCASE WIT . But no t's, r's , u's , m's , p's , so "kein ayin hora " or EVIL EYE. But cannot get that picture out of my head....of riding down a certain ESCALATOR in NYC.
Great clues for ICE CUBE TRAY , BANK and DEW. New words learned: SCRY and COSPLAY.
A bit more challenging and a lot of fun.
GEE , MAN Michael , with this puzzle you are really ON THE UP AND UP.
I am SATIATEd with CHALLAH (leftover from Shabbat), TCBY , DOVE icecream bars, ETCETERA.
TRICORNs made me think of hamentaschen (? made by SARA LEE ). Sorry, no PORK on my menu. All washed down with ALE or REMY cognac ?
When I saw the ESCALATOR---- down the middle of the grid, I started looking at the letters ON the rungs. I thought of an example of STAIRCASE WIT . But no t's, r's , u's , m's , p's , so "kein ayin hora " or EVIL EYE. But cannot get that picture out of my head....of riding down a certain ESCALATOR in NYC.
Great clues for ICE CUBE TRAY , BANK and DEW. New words learned: SCRY and COSPLAY.
A bit more challenging and a lot of fun.
3
SCRY was new to me, but I'm sure I'll be seeing it in the future.
7
ANTEROOM before ANTEHALL(even spell checker doesn't like it) really messed up the southwest for a while...
1
ANTEROOM eliminated immediately due to the word "room" in the clue.
good point...
Michael Hawkins is a common name, but the clues reminded me of what a wordsmithy former classmate of that name may have used. He's moving to Seattle but is he moving from South Carolina by chance? That'd really be a mad, mad, mad world if true! Enjoying the puzzle!
Different one almost certainly, though I did most recently live in North Carolina!
2
Good Tuesday.Liked TRICORN, CHALLAH AND EVIL EYE. never heard of STAIRCASE WIT but got it anyway!
1
Good Tuesday. Those are nice medium length entries - CHALLAH, TRICORN, COSPLAY, EVILEYE, ROCKOPERA and even ANTEHALL was ok. The longer ones like FROWNEDUPON and ICECUBETRAY were good.
I thought it was some kind of ESCAPE__CLAUSE. Have no idea what an ESCALATOR CLAUSE is...Google...Google...
Never heard of STAIRCASE WIT either. Looked at STAIR____SEWIT for the longest and wondered what sewing had anything to do with it.
Had COSPLAY first, then second-guessed myself because the clue had "dressing" and I thought I needed a matching gerund for the answer, so I briefly had LARPING before coming to my senses and put COSPLAY back in.
Looked at ASYLA...logically I know it makes sense, just didn't LOOK right as a word.
Loved the clue misdirection GIF.
I thought it was some kind of ESCAPE__CLAUSE. Have no idea what an ESCALATOR CLAUSE is...Google...Google...
Never heard of STAIRCASE WIT either. Looked at STAIR____SEWIT for the longest and wondered what sewing had anything to do with it.
Had COSPLAY first, then second-guessed myself because the clue had "dressing" and I thought I needed a matching gerund for the answer, so I briefly had LARPING before coming to my senses and put COSPLAY back in.
Looked at ASYLA...logically I know it makes sense, just didn't LOOK right as a word.
Loved the clue misdirection GIF.
1
Great puzzle. RH Macy drove me nuts for the longest time.
Good pacing and wit for a Tuesday.
Good pacing and wit for a Tuesday.
1
Hey, that's what Gimbel said...
hee hee
hee hee
13
When I was a mainframe programmer, Macy's (later Federated Department Stores) was one of our biggest customers. We never used them as a beta site, but we did try to make sure they were among the first customers to get a new release of one of our products, because if anyone was going to try something that we had never anticipated in our development, it was going to be Macy's.
I will try to refrain from echoing your second sentence, William, but let me just say that over a period of 25 years I spent a LOT of time on the phone with the techs at Macy's and learned a lot about providing EXTREMELY precise directions as to how they could provide the information we needed.
I will try to refrain from echoing your second sentence, William, but let me just say that over a period of 25 years I spent a LOT of time on the phone with the techs at Macy's and learned a lot about providing EXTREMELY precise directions as to how they could provide the information we needed.
I'm glad you explained bank branches and deposit tickets for the youngsters, Deb, but you forgot to explain ICECUBETRAY. Or did you not SCRY that?
4
I had the same thought when I read Deb's comments, Barry.
1
Hey, I still use ICECUBETRAYs! I used to have a snazzy fridge with ice, water and crushed ice dispensers on the door. One day I came home to find water all over the kitchen floor. Ack! Then I noticed the fridge water dispenser was stuck in the on position. The ice making mechanism jad piled up cubes in such a way that they had lifted the water lever, and water had been pouring out for a couple days. Never again! Plus, the ice cubes tend to taste of refrigerator. So trays it is.
1
Hey, PfP, just to be clear on the analogy, I don't use a smartphone for bank transactions.
2
Broke my Tuesday record!
4
It took me a while to figure out what English words they would use for the proper expression "esprit de l'escalier."
2
I knew you'd be here with esprit d'escalier, one of the best expressions in any language.
1
I've always heard the expression as "argument d'escalier."
I generally see that translated as STAIRwayWIT, not stairCASE. I guess you use what you can make fit?
I finally managed to see "Mad mad etc world" earlier this year--was too young to see it when it came out and was glad that I finally got a chance. There may have been a lot of short words in this, but I really liked a lot of the medium-length ones--CHALLAH, TRICORN, COSPLAY, EVIL EYE. And a great clue for ICE CUBE TRAY. J. Geils, always a favorite.
3
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Sy6oiJbEk
Be well all!