There is an error in 108 Down for Aug 6 2017. The Women’s Open is a USGA event. Not an LPGA event.
The theme clues and entries today were outstanding. A tip of the sailor hat to Mr. Berry.
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A regular GEM of a SunPuzz, and WARSHIPS_AT_THE_ALTAR set the stage nicely for a marry time theme. It seems my brain has gondola lately, as I spent precious time looking for some unifying vowel shifts. I think the A's in 'Anchors Away' are what dunnit, but since LizB also mentioned it, perhaps it's something in the Durham water. (I think it's the Durham water, since I also had trouble making sense of ----ROUNO, and know BOORstin but not BOORTZ. Once I stopped worrying about vowels, I was free to enjoy the themers properly, WARSHIPS_AT_THE_ALTAR and DIRTY_DOUBLE_CRUISERS the most, I think.
I liked AINT_SEEN_NOTHING_YACHT for an ancillary reason: my little mum spoke English quite well, considering that she learned it relatively late in life and under rather difficult circumstances. One of the things she never overcame, however, was saying YACHT as if the Y preceded the German 'eight'. So that spoiled the wordplay for me, but added GOBS of warmth in memories. Say la VIE.
In non-theme fill, this would have been a good time to have EULER. Neither NOAH's Ark nor EASTER distract from the theme, and there's strong background with FOGG, SUB, and BLOCK (even without TACKLE). For crew, we're out of SALTS, but if you want to hAVATAR, there's GOBS of TARS.
'We're going to need a bigger boat', ie, TBCont'd
I liked AINT_SEEN_NOTHING_YACHT for an ancillary reason: my little mum spoke English quite well, considering that she learned it relatively late in life and under rather difficult circumstances. One of the things she never overcame, however, was saying YACHT as if the Y preceded the German 'eight'. So that spoiled the wordplay for me, but added GOBS of warmth in memories. Say la VIE.
In non-theme fill, this would have been a good time to have EULER. Neither NOAH's Ark nor EASTER distract from the theme, and there's strong background with FOGG, SUB, and BLOCK (even without TACKLE). For crew, we're out of SALTS, but if you want to hAVATAR, there's GOBS of TARS.
'We're going to need a bigger boat', ie, TBCont'd
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Have to add kudos to the blog commentariat. URAL so clever in building see-worthy puns in PBerry's shipyard that this sloopy-time gal has to praise all y'all to the rafters. Fun!! Nothing I dug out comes near, so don't scowl if I draw attention the newest grain food being marketted for your [non-POLE] pet -- CATAMARANTH. Such are Armada times...
PS: One of our long line of blue-points was named DINGHY (this is true); her laundry skills were infamous for DINGHY WASHDAY WHITES (not so much)
"My hovercraft is full of eels"
PS: One of our long line of blue-points was named DINGHY (this is true); her laundry skills were infamous for DINGHY WASHDAY WHITES (not so much)
"My hovercraft is full of eels"
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Good afternoon Mr. and Ms. Wordplay and all the ships at sea.
I cruised through this nautically-themed puzzle without bailing. My only slip was BRICK before BLOCK when playing Tetris. I harbor no ill will toward Mr. Berry for the punny theme entries, nor will he be docked for any junk fill--indeed, it was a pleasure to spar with the grid today. Caught the drift with ROCKEMSOCKROWBOATS which practically had me swabbing my eyes.
Yesterday we had PETSOUNDS in the grid, so it's only right that we should ship out on the "Sloop John B" today with the Beach Boys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJXTdCVsKI
And I can't resist a bonus pick, "Epistle to DIPPY" by Donovan, because how often does DIPPY appear in the puzzle?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39grPU-qKk
I cruised through this nautically-themed puzzle without bailing. My only slip was BRICK before BLOCK when playing Tetris. I harbor no ill will toward Mr. Berry for the punny theme entries, nor will he be docked for any junk fill--indeed, it was a pleasure to spar with the grid today. Caught the drift with ROCKEMSOCKROWBOATS which practically had me swabbing my eyes.
Yesterday we had PETSOUNDS in the grid, so it's only right that we should ship out on the "Sloop John B" today with the Beach Boys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJXTdCVsKI
And I can't resist a bonus pick, "Epistle to DIPPY" by Donovan, because how often does DIPPY appear in the puzzle?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39grPU-qKk
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Bravo Jimbo.
You are a treasure.
You are a treasure.
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Thanks DL, that means a lot to me.
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As close to perfect as a Sunday NYT puzzle can get, this one was a real pleasure to solve. ...My highest compliments to the chef.
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ROCKEMSOCKEMROWBOATS is one of my favorite answers ever. Bravo PB!
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Very nice Sunday puzzle with more resistance than usual. Enjoyed many fine clues, and struggled in several places in the diagram, especially the George Burns book (MR. ACID?) and at the end around the Libertarian pundit, but the end was nigh when it became clear, finally, that _ _ O K E probably had to be COOKE or HOOKE. RIPOFF and REMAKE before REHASH after guessing the flood survivor was not likely to be Chomsky. Didn't recognize the ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM entry but expect the unfamiliar phrase will end with ROBOTS. Fun!
I'm a newbie to the NYTimes Crossword, and this is the first Sunday one I've solved. I loved the puns, and they helped me along a great deal. I had misspelled KARAT and was unsure in a few spots, but finally made it through.
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Welcome, Marcy! Kudos to you for doing a Sunday.
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Stick around, Marcy
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Welcome aboard, Marcy.
We'll be looking for you in the lounge.
We'll be looking for you in the lounge.
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Recommended reading for the day: "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float," by the late, great Canadian author, Farley Mowat.
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What a great puzzle! Loved AINT SEEN NOTHING YACHT and all the puns, really (except the LEI and CURB clues; those were kind of a stretch). Fun Sunday.
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My CinC is missing.
What did I do now???
What did I do now???
108 down a bit off. The USGA does the Women's open not the PPGA.
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You're closer to a golf course than I am, loganre, but please consider that both USGA (your suggestion) and LPGA (the puzzle entry) are correct for the 108D clue "Women's Open org."
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Loved the puzzle, but "USGA" is the only right answer. The USGA has total control over National Open and National Amateur tournaments -- who gets in, where it's played, course setup, prize money, etc. If"LPGA" is the answer, the puzzle needed a different clue.
'Not needing a cane' should have been ABLE.
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Great wordplay observation, jf, but with all the puns in the theme entries, adding that one for cane might have caused a mutiny.
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I hereby declare Patrick Berry Captain of the Crossword ship!
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It should be noted that he had the perfect editor for this puzzle: Themeboat Williie
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Huge amounts of fun trying to figure out the theme answers; I'm still laughing about AINT SEEN NOTHING YACHT.
The little 3 letter fill at 104D, ICE for "Nonpermanent sculpture medium brought back memories that I've seen of some great examples of that, but also butter and sand. I'm sure there are others.
The little 3 letter fill at 104D, ICE for "Nonpermanent sculpture medium brought back memories that I've seen of some great examples of that, but also butter and sand. I'm sure there are others.
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Enjoyable and challenging solve for me. The puns were real groaners for the most part, but I'm fine with that. Caught on with WARSHIPS and then made every effort to figure out some of the others with as few crosses as possible. ROCKEMSOCKEM was about as close as I came. Didn't understand APPLEFREIGHTER until I came here.
Lots of good, tricky clues in this one too. Lots of nice 'aha' moments as various things dawned on me (including memory blips).
Deep sigh when I saw the clue for 122a. More on that (a personal note) in a reply.
Lots of good, tricky clues in this one too. Lots of nice 'aha' moments as various things dawned on me (including memory blips).
Deep sigh when I saw the clue for 122a. More on that (a personal note) in a reply.
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Personal note with apologies, but I've gotta gripe to somebody.
Had something happen yesterday that used to occur with some frequency when I was much younger, but that I don't think has happened in over 30 years: muscle spasms in my lower back (basically, the muscles just tighten up and stay that way). The effects are (a lot) different now than they used to be.
I am very comfortable sitting down, but I what I discovered yesterday (quite painfully) is that the longer I sit, the more difficult it is to stand up and the longer it takes to get completely straightened up and able to walk without something to lean on.
So, what I've resigned myself to is five minutes sitting down and then five minutes standing up. I still need some support for the first couple of minutes after I stand, so, for the first time in my life I'm using a cane (I borrowed my wife's). So, I'm a bit more than 3 hours into my day and I've been up and down about 20 times already with half of my time essentially devoted to 'recovering' from sitting down.
I'm sure many of you have been through (or may even be going through) much worse. This is just so irritating. That's it.
Had something happen yesterday that used to occur with some frequency when I was much younger, but that I don't think has happened in over 30 years: muscle spasms in my lower back (basically, the muscles just tighten up and stay that way). The effects are (a lot) different now than they used to be.
I am very comfortable sitting down, but I what I discovered yesterday (quite painfully) is that the longer I sit, the more difficult it is to stand up and the longer it takes to get completely straightened up and able to walk without something to lean on.
So, what I've resigned myself to is five minutes sitting down and then five minutes standing up. I still need some support for the first couple of minutes after I stand, so, for the first time in my life I'm using a cane (I borrowed my wife's). So, I'm a bit more than 3 hours into my day and I've been up and down about 20 times already with half of my time essentially devoted to 'recovering' from sitting down.
I'm sure many of you have been through (or may even be going through) much worse. This is just so irritating. That's it.
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This happens to me periodically. If I sit for too long it is very painful when standing up. The only good part is that it usually resolves in a day or so. I definitely sympathize.
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Right now I'm sitting and leaning back against a vibrating pillow. (The backstory--ha ha--is that I left the DHubby unsupervised at the quilt show, and when I circled back to where he had been sitting, Lo and Behold, he had purchased the massage pillow. We take turns.). I am told there is nothing to be done about spinal arthritis.
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Superlative clues for SEQUEL and TAPE DELAY. The grid, of course, was PB clean. I thought for years that FOGG's first name was Phineas -- but it's not! My holdup came for putting in MOLE_RAT instead of POLECAT.
With a couple of apologies to @barry:
Canoe hear me now?
Ferry Godmother
Naked Launch
Tanker Bell
Sloop 'N Slide
Punt of no return
B.F. Schooner
Hop, skiff, and a jump
Ketch ya' later!
With a couple of apologies to @barry:
Canoe hear me now?
Ferry Godmother
Naked Launch
Tanker Bell
Sloop 'N Slide
Punt of no return
B.F. Schooner
Hop, skiff, and a jump
Ketch ya' later!
16
B.F. Schooner??
The others i get, and admire! Lewis, you are a treasure!
The others i get, and admire! Lewis, you are a treasure!
2
MOL: B. F. Skinner.
Lewis: No apologies needed!
Lewis: No apologies needed!
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Thanks. Of course, BFSkinner is one of my long-time honorees for his work on conditioning (much of which I used in my career) but it was too much of a leap for me today. If he had said 'Psychologist BF Schooner' I think it would have tickled the right synapse...
and Elke
A wonderful punny puzzle that PB created.
The comments by many of you are at least as funny and creative.
I cannot LEI, after reading them all, I can only sail straight into dry dock .
Thanks; now to watch 'On The Town'- three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra) on liberty in NY.
A wonderful punny puzzle that PB created.
The comments by many of you are at least as funny and creative.
I cannot LEI, after reading them all, I can only sail straight into dry dock .
Thanks; now to watch 'On The Town'- three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra) on liberty in NY.
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excellent Patrick Berry puzzle. Just finishing grade school in 1957 and did remember Sam COOKE's You Send Me. Just got a photo from a friend of me speaking at high school graduation in 1961. Those were the days!
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Because a Wind and the Willows clue came up here not too many days ago:
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
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I had SKYCAM before getting SPYCAM and GRINCH before GROUCH. A hesitation fill was waiting for a cross to make sure it was SEARS and not KMART. Patrick Berry is always a welcome name to see credited at the top.
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Hand up for GRINCH.
My first guess for bellyacher was CRUNCH
AVAST, ye mateys! If ever there was a time to talk about wheelhouses, and whether you are in or out of one, this is the day. I was fairly swinging from the spars on this one. I like puns, I like boats. It was smooth sailing and calm seas.
I did get caught on a reef momentarily, however, on the alternate spelling of Houdini's real name. It can be spelled with a Z or a double s. Grumble.
I tried to fit my dog's name into "malodorous mammal" but it didn't fit. He's stinky, but still nice to HUG.
I thought the punning theme fills were clever and funny. Peaches over and out.
I did get caught on a reef momentarily, however, on the alternate spelling of Houdini's real name. It can be spelled with a Z or a double s. Grumble.
I tried to fit my dog's name into "malodorous mammal" but it didn't fit. He's stinky, but still nice to HUG.
I thought the punning theme fills were clever and funny. Peaches over and out.
3
Please never make me eat OREO Os. I get nauseous just thinking about it. I think you would have to be a kid to want those.
Great puzzle with fine puns. Mostly, I solved the puns than filled in around them. Using a C for carat instead of a K cost me give minutes of searching at the end.
Another great PB puzzle. Thank you.
Great puzzle with fine puns. Mostly, I solved the puns than filled in around them. Using a C for carat instead of a K cost me give minutes of searching at the end.
Another great PB puzzle. Thank you.
4
Agree on Oreo cereal, but I consumed a lot of Cap'n Crunch when I was wee. Sugar coma.
Ditto on that. I used to like Frosted Flakes, but Cap'n Crunch sounds horrible...
My family never had sugary cereal when I was growing up, so of course I always longed for it. One day I had the chance at a friend's house and discovered . . . it is terrible. It's not the sweetness that's bad -- I have a huge sweet tooth and can eat sugary concoctions that disgust my friends. But every time I've tried a sugary cereal, there is a vile chemical flavor that overpowers everything else. No, thank you. Maybe it's the sort of thing you have to eat as a child to develop a taste for.
2
Patrick Berry + puns = pleasure.
I got what was going on -- at least pretty much -- with my first themer, WARSHIPS AT THE ALTAR. But then I climbed back up to look at the rest of the topmost segments and got confused. I've heard of Cap'n Crunch and was thinking of some kind of cereal for the pun. But eventually I saw the GALLEONS part and realized that the pun would be in the sailing vessel part of each themer.
It also gave me my first choke, at 21A. I seriously hoped there was no cereal related to the OREO cookie, and held out against it. But COOKE and BOORTZ were gimmes, and URN and RESOLES were inevitable, and I had to cave. (And on top of everything, this abomination is actually named OREO Os?! Yuck!)
I didn't get ROCK 'EM, SOCK 'EM ROWBOATS at first, but finally figured the pun was "robots" and took it on faith that there was such a kids' game.
My final, and toughest, problem was figuring out the pun in DIRTY DOUBLE CRUISER. I really had to play with my vowel sounds to get "crosser."
Didn't understand the clue for LEI until I read Deb's column.
Altogether, and as always with PB, a wonderful, enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to all.
I got what was going on -- at least pretty much -- with my first themer, WARSHIPS AT THE ALTAR. But then I climbed back up to look at the rest of the topmost segments and got confused. I've heard of Cap'n Crunch and was thinking of some kind of cereal for the pun. But eventually I saw the GALLEONS part and realized that the pun would be in the sailing vessel part of each themer.
It also gave me my first choke, at 21A. I seriously hoped there was no cereal related to the OREO cookie, and held out against it. But COOKE and BOORTZ were gimmes, and URN and RESOLES were inevitable, and I had to cave. (And on top of everything, this abomination is actually named OREO Os?! Yuck!)
I didn't get ROCK 'EM, SOCK 'EM ROWBOATS at first, but finally figured the pun was "robots" and took it on faith that there was such a kids' game.
My final, and toughest, problem was figuring out the pun in DIRTY DOUBLE CRUISER. I really had to play with my vowel sounds to get "crosser."
Didn't understand the clue for LEI until I read Deb's column.
Altogether, and as always with PB, a wonderful, enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to all.
6
Very similar experience for me. Didn't understand LEI, and actually typed in DIRTYDOUBLECROSSER at one point, think that CROSSER referred to crossing the ocean. Took me a long moment to recognize that that didn't fit the pattern.
I did know about the robots game, but had the same reaction to OREO O's. I wonder who thunk that one up.
I did know about the robots game, but had the same reaction to OREO O's. I wonder who thunk that one up.
2
Okay, puzzle done now. The puns were funny and groan-inducing, and I won't attempt to come up with any more of them, so you can thank me now. For a while I was trying to make the vowel sounds agree, but then realized that wasn't the point, so I gave up on that. NUMERO UNO gave me the most trouble--I had ----ROUNO and puzzled over it for a long time. Was thinking doves before sheep for the cote.
Nicely entertaining.
Nicely entertaining.
2
Haven't done the puzzle yet, haven't read the blog, haven't looked at comments--but I'm watching "Anchors Aweigh" with Gene Kelly & Frank Sinatra on TCM, and just sat down to start the puzzle. What a coincidence!
10
Fantastic Sunday puzzle as I groaned my way through it, faster than my average time. Had HANDSITIN (as in resignation, though I've never heard of the expression) before realizing that with SEQUEL, it's gotta be HANGSITUP (DPA didn't make sense as a number recruiters cared about either).
Took a long time to figure out the punny nature of the puzzle. Had to go back and fix up a few things. Overall challenging but doable. Impressive crossings on top of it all too.
With the Z and Q in the puzzle, I thought it was a pangram, but I didn't find a J or X - so missed by two letters.
The Times Journey cruise on QM2 sounds pretty interesting. I feel sorry for poor Deb who has to go on the cruise and..suffer at the Champagne bar.
Took a long time to figure out the punny nature of the puzzle. Had to go back and fix up a few things. Overall challenging but doable. Impressive crossings on top of it all too.
With the Z and Q in the puzzle, I thought it was a pangram, but I didn't find a J or X - so missed by two letters.
The Times Journey cruise on QM2 sounds pretty interesting. I feel sorry for poor Deb who has to go on the cruise and..suffer at the Champagne bar.
4
It's a very tough job, Wen. But I'm willing to take one for the team.
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They haven't told you yet, Deb, but these are your accomodations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q
8
Greatest Marx Bros. scene ever!
1
Perhaps the best Sunday puzzle of the year. Every clue perfectly clear and every answer perfectly lucid, with a wry sense of humour in the wings.
We all owe an enormous debt to Mr. Berry for preserving the form and demonstrating how compilation can be done by a master (in Mr Berry's case probably a more august noun other than "compilation" is in order).
We all owe an enormous debt to Mr. Berry for preserving the form and demonstrating how compilation can be done by a master (in Mr Berry's case probably a more august noun other than "compilation" is in order).
14
Since there is no apparent vowel patterm to the puns in this puzzle, I would retitle it "Anchors Awry."
21
Ferry pleasant puzzle, if you ketch my drift. Canoe think of other entries? If you see Deb, tanker for the shipshape column.
(All ashore that's going ashore.)
(All ashore that's going ashore.)
22
That's adoryble.
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Hi, yawl, from down here in Virginny. Schooner or later I'll tire of this junk, believe or knot.
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Boat really, you guys. Tub be honest, I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend than making puns. Canoe?
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