I knew that reading the history of the DUMONT Network was going to pay off one of these days. Got me my fastest Thursday finish.
Glad I'm not the only one who saw TOOT, but not TOOTH. Didn't matter, because I had to get DIASTEMA from crossings. As a sportswriter, OROSCO was a much-needed gift.
2
Had some difficulties with this, didn't know DIASTEMA, and didn't see the fullness of the theme until I came here and read the column.
Difficulties in NW stemmed mostly from having BLOW before TOOT, which left a LOOSE END dangling. Another was in the middle. I know NUTRIA, but didn't think of it. Had OEO before EEO. So I was left with 27A that read MADDO?. All I could think of was MAD DOG, which sounds sort of footballish to me.
Never heard of OROSO, and didn't remember NESSUS. I've never been to Twitter, but with ?EST I remembered the little bird logo and went with NEST.
Like others, I had SHIEST and RIDELL.
In answer to The Question, I didn't notice the lack of grid symmetry, and may or may not have noticed if the tense had not been symmetrical. I usually don't notice the grid design much unless it's something really outlandish, or if the symmetry helps me get the theme.
Confess I did look for, and miss, the usual Thursday trickery, but I learned a new word.
2
Nit-picky question re 20A for Lawyers Who Solve: Can settling be an alternative to suing (or being sued)? Or does a suit always need to be brought before a settlement can happen?
Not a lawyer, but I played one on tv. Just kidding. I would say yes to your question, based on the fact that large corporations (airlines, for instance) as well as individuals (a landlord, an employer) commonly offer to pay damages as "settlement" before lawsuits have been filed. You take the money and sign away your right to sue.
1
Settling *is* the alternative to suing, and you don't need to bring suit in order to settle. The person in the clue who "Wouldn't settle [,say]" and SUED did not sue until after failing to reach a settlement.
2
You can settle without suing. You can also settle if you do sue. You can even sue without settling, though not that many people do so these days.
1
Weird puzzle. I filled out all but the SE corner in about 7 minutes. Then, half an hour of solve time later, completely stumped, I had to ask my wife about (shudder) Grease. I also knew that the answer was diastema as I had gotten the clue, but didn't know the term itself. Since my wife is a doctor, she helped there too, and it came together.
DIASTEMA was brand new to me and will make me more conscious of gap-toothed people for awhile.
Had DIASPORA and ALSO first so I struggled over whether Fagin could possibly have been a pagan, albeit a secret one, but then Dickens would have mentioned it, wouldn't he?
Enjoyed the puzzle even though its completion had an eight hour DIASTEMA due to today's schedule.
1
Funny, I had the same words, DIASPORA and ALSO, and was also wondering whether Fagin was a pagan.
I didn't do well on this one and needed the explanation to get the theme. For my first few years of solving I felt that I steadily improved; for the last several months I feel like I'm getting worse. Maybe I'm getting a bit long in the TOOTH.
Impressive construction and even more so after a bit of research. All of the theme answers are debuts, but more than that a search on Xword Info shows that there has never been an answer in a Times crossword which embedded the string TOOTH, where that didn't mean 'TOOTH.' Same with TEETH, by the way and it's pretty challenging to come up with anything in the language that works with that. Something like 'THE LATE ETHEL MERMAN' is the best I could do - maybe someone can up with other options.
Oh, and he divided them all in different places. Well done, Mr. Guzzetta.
3
I can't think of any good anaesthetics that PREDATE ETHER.
[Remembering the gallon can of ether that caught fire at the vapor escaping the outflow spout still gives me the willies. The explosion could have levelled half the building...]
1
Got the theme easily enough, but crashed on a double misfill -- not a Natick, but worse; here are the gory details:
fill for 3D: GROWUPTO
fill for 20A: OWED
Worth a tooth gnash or two...
Doesn't happen often ...
Very interesting, novel, fresh Thursday puzzle. A rather slow solve that was all over the map, with letters in one place unexpectedly leading to letters far away. Eventually noticed TOOT, TO OThers and TOO Thin all contain TOOT — is this the theme? When I look up DIASTEMA, I guess I will know.
[lookup is happening]
Ha!!! As everyone else probably knows by now, it's a gap in TOOTH in each theme entry. The punch line fell a bit short by requiring a lookup. DIA- tending to mean "apart."
Never heard of OROSCO, MADDEN, or NESSUS. Not wild about the clue with the wurd "sumthing" in it. Favorite clue: "Rising notes?" for REVEILLE. Altogether a very enjoyable puzzle!
polymath, what about DIA-mond? What's the "apart" in that instance? Something about a fool and his money?
Wen, good question. Turns out "diamond" and "adamant" (from Greek unconquerable, hard steel, diamond) share an Indo-European root with tame, daunt, and indomitable. The root is demə- and it means "To constrain, force, especially to break in (horses)." Who knew?
1
I had a great time with this puzzle until I created a major cross-crash at upper left; not a Natick, but worse. This is what I filled in part of the way through:
for 3D GROWUPTO
for 20A OWED
and this while I also had correct fills for 17A, 31A and 35A ....
Took me a while with a peek at Mrs W's answer to get out of it. :-(
1
Delightfully clever theme. The late, brilliant documentary filmmaker Les Blank would have loved it, as he loved Gap-Toothed Women, and made a wonderful film about them ( https://youtu.be/OT3_8wSgyIY ) where I first heard the term DIASTEMA.
3
I thought this was really interesting. But I would liked a lighter, not so scientific reveal like MINDTHEGAP. (Hi, Paul!)
I've always found people with a gap in their smile interesting, too. Doesn't it mean good luck?
Thank you, John Guzzetta for this very clever Thursday puzzle. It's full of holes but still works beautifully.
1
The gap in their "grids" signals a genetic affinity for crosswords.
Or sexiness:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BilnXlqQy6w
2
Got my best Wednesday and Thursday times this week! Nothing much else to say, I'm just really happy about that. My diastema is showing.
3
Mark Diehl must be gnashing his teeth in envy, wishing he'd constructed this one.
4
I finished filling the grid just as my train pulled in at Penn Station this morning. With no obvious rebus or other trickery, and unfamiliar with DIASTEMA, I didn't give the reveal much thought until I read Sam's essay and put it all together. Clever idea.
Pleased that I RUSTLEDUP DUMONT from the cobwebs. I've seen enough nature shows to know NUTRIA; plus, I remember a news report some years ago about the critter infesting the US gulf coast now, and how NUTRIA recipes had become a fad in Cajun cuisine. I'll pass.
Steely Dan (including the recent deceased Walter Becker) recorded "Your Gold Teeth" in 1973, and followed with "Your Gold Teeth II" in 1975. The songs have little in common besides their titles. Have a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQ1MLA_FG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMOjv-VVxAY
3
Two things to celebrate today:
1) this very clever and challenging puzzle, with a theme to make us all smile; and
2) at 8am this morning the power came back on in our house, which has been dark and hot and humid since Irma came through. Feeling human again!
21
You were missed, ap. Glad to have you back.
2
Good to hear from you, archaeo-p. Was starting to worry.
1
Jumpin' Jupiter that's good news archaeoprof. Here's hoping that your losses AMOUNT TO nothing more than a few minor setbacks; be well.
1
ALAS and ACH!
I got the TOOT, but couldn't see what the H was going on. Seems I was hung up on the flat you lent, John Guzzetta. I probably don't shop enough at The Gap. Shall just have to wrap up that LOOSE END.
Aside from that, I was pretty sure Hercules didn't slay NESTor instead of NESSUS. (I think there's a CHIMEra somewhere in there, too.) OTOH, I did have a go at DUPONT replacing DUMONT. (Margaret, really?)
The odd part of the grid (pour moi) was the idea to CACHE in by having a double funeral REHEARSED. That's just grisly, if not downright EeRIE.
A fun solve, even for those in the DIASpora who missed the punch line. Perhaps if Terry-Thomas had been in the grid to buck us up.
9
I was wondering how to address the gaping space in terms of TOOT, thinking along the lines of a rest. Then I saw the 'H' in the three phrases prompting a my flashing a TOOTHy grin...I had to hazard a guess of the letter 'A' where NUTRIA crossed the dental anomaly. Dentistry and South American burrowing beasts (what are those critters up to, root canals?) are not exactly my strong suit...REVEILLE was a tough spell...Here's another dental term, 'low bridge,' everybody down. This is Bruce Springsteen's cover of "ERIE Canal."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koj5yGigFNU
TA TA,
Bru
2
I had a good laugh at myself when I realized I could stop wondering about the Porsche mechanic's aspirations in 39D.
4
Eileen, funny you chose the word "aspirations". From your usage it doesn't appear you meant it as referred to the engine, but some Porsche engines are are indeed naturally aspirated. Oh, but this was the mechanic's aspirations you're referring to, not the engine's.
1
Didn't know Nessus but was able to get it from the crosses. However when I looked it up in Wikipedia to confirm theat my answer was right, it said Nessus was killed by Heracles, not Hercules.
2
Same person, different spelling, (I think)
1
suejean's right that it's the same person. Hercules is the Roman name for Heracles.
You say ARGUS, I say ARGOS.
(Greco-Roman wrestling)
5
So what IS the Latin word for weary?
Lassus, as in our old friend Orlando de Lassus.
2
It's the source of our word "lassitude".
1
Mind the Gap.
Thanks John,
1
A very clever theme.
I did end with everything correct, but for quite a while I had DUPONT -- made sense to me! -- and I was using the OEO version of EEO, so had PADDO_ at 27A. When I finally remembered to try EEO, PADDE_ finally reminded me of one of the, like, six football names I know, and it worked!
Sam Ezersky, to answer your question, I am always kind of surprised when the Wordplay blogger (usually -- always? -- a constructor) wishes for a more felicitous placement of an answer, or that all the theme answers were plural, etc. I always figure the constructor tried to achieve whatever it was six ways from Sunday and just couldn't make it work. It's a very strict and unforgiving set of limitations, a crossword puzzle!
I prefer a clever theme to strict adherence to the conventions. (On the other hand, I bet lots and lots of people are attracted to crosswords looking for just that!)
2
I was familiar with DIASTEMA, being one of those people blessed with one. But I was always under the impression that the word was DIASTHEMA, since my father, who also had one and was a health care provider, told me so. Upon further investigation, I see web support for the TH spelling as well (although much less). But a lot of that support is from dentists.
Perhaps people with DIASTEMA pronounce it DIASTHEMA? :)
11
Which side of the DIAST(H)EMA do you fall on?
I believe they say DIASTHEMA in Kathmandu.
5
This being Thursday, I did GET myself SET for more difficulty in solving, but the difficulty in today's offering lay in gleaming the theme rather than in completion. Fun nonetheless. I fell into the same trap as suejean, stuck on the growing gap in TOOT, as opposed to TOOTH. Unlike suejean, I didn't GET it until I read the blog. ALAS, at least I learned the technical term for the gap. Loved the clue for MISADDS and SLIMNESS crossing THIN.
Wow! Finished 15 minutes faster than my usually Thursday time. I found this puzzle more like a Tuesday/Wednesday level. I didn't see the gap tho until reading the blog. Got the revealer from the crossings. Fun!
2
Didn't remember DUMONT as a network, but as an early manufacturer of TV sets...sometimes with a huge magnifying lens in front of the screen....
DUMONT Technologies owned the DUMONT television network (see also, for example, the long ago RCA and NBC). The Dumont O&O (sorry, owned and operated) station in New York was WABD (Dumont, get it?), Channel 5. I remember it (if not well).
Back then DuMont was a major source of oscilloscopes. That was when electronic devices used vacuum tubes.
Channel 5 — yeah! Captain Video and Magic Cottage!
1
Sports often lead to my downfall, but are not entirely to blame for my troubles here. I didn’t know OROSCO and put “NFL” for NFC, and I never could figure out CACHE with the “L” mistake. Plus, I never heard of DUMONT and put “censored” for CENSURED, and I put “lee” for LEA. I liked the theme and was pleased that I was able to dig up RYDELL and NESSUS from old memories.
2
Did not know DUMONT, RYDELL, DIASTEMA, SEEDPEARLS, NESSUS, and NUTRIA. They are involved in three crosses, and this proved fatal for me, causing some lookup. I did have a lovely aha after looking the reveal up, and realizing that it was TOOTH with the gap, not the TOOT that I was seeing.
I'm thinking that had I known the above words except for DIASTEMA and seen that it was TOOTH being gapped rather than TOOT, I would have figured out the meaning of "diastema" with a huge flood of an "aha!". I'm sure that was John's and Will's intent, and I just fell short.
Nonetheless, I had a blast figuring out so much of this difficult (for me) puzzle that I'm leaving it on wonderful terms.
2
Another variation of "mind the gap" of recent vintage. I had no idea what DIASTEMA meant until I came to Wordplay. A nice workout.
4
An interesting, enjoyable puzzle. I found it hard, but Thursdays usually are for me.
The theme entries came easily enough, though I was held up for a while by BLOW before TOOT. I had to google for the meaning of the revealer, DIASTEMA, which came out of the crosses, before making sense of the graphic theme. I did not see the three TOOTH’s.
I confess to two look-ups: NESSUS, which – in retrospect – should have come out of the crosses, and MADDEN, which could not have, as the DUMONT/MADDEN crossing was a Natick.
My failure to look up RYDELL cost me a perfect solve: I ended up with SHIEST instead of SHYEST.
1
Maybe that's so that SHYEST not be pronounced to rhyme with PRIEST?
1
Not quite as tricky as Thursdays can be, but a fun, clever theme. I liked the very first clue/fill ( I always start at 1A)
I got the first 2 theme answers quite quickly, but only noticed the TOOT, not TOOTH at that point. I had most of the NW but was stuck on square 26. I ran the alphabet for the clue clue. --- what a lot of 3 letter words end ET, none of which made any sense to me, nor did CGI ( which I've since looked up, so don't need an explanation)
Finally noticed the H on the end of TOOT and then looked up DISASTEMA, very vaguely familiar to me.
Great puzzle and comment from John. ( I notice he's not flashing a toothy smile in his photo.)
4
Shame that the gaps weren't in the middle of TEETH instead of being in the middle of TOOTH.
4
My wife is a dentist and that was the *first* thing she said after I showed her the solved puzzle (actually, it was the second thing she said; the first was "Clever..."). I certainly forgive Mr. Guzzetta because it was a great puzzle, but dentists can be a nitpicky bunch!
6
The three themers taken as a group give you TEETH.
2
James, they just get snappy once in a while.
Famous gap-toothed smiles (from top of mind only)...
Michael Strahan
Lauren Hutton
David Letterman
Flea
Others?
2
Mike Tyson, Madonna, Woody Harrelson.
Terry-Thomas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrKMJ8u94gc
2
AARON JUDGE!!!
Today's DIASTEMA theme reprised the recent eclipse for me as it went right over my head and I couldn't see it.
7
I see the RASTAS are back, mon. Jah bless.
Good clues and entries today, and nice construction. Toothy, in fact. DIASTEMA is new to me, but I loved the constructor's note on that...condition. I had to take a guess at the N in NEST/NESSUS and had to get DUMONT from the crosses, but otherwise everything was gettable. Oh...I had BABY in for COMA for a bit because I keep hearing very young women talk about having "food babies" after overindulging. (Imagine an eye roll there.)
Generally speaking, I dislike cross-referenced clues. They worked well in today's grid, though.
THIN and SLIMNESS cross catty-corner from (food) COMA and TOOT!
3
PfP, why should DIASTEMA be considered a "condition"? Why not simply a physical trait like eye color or dimples, etc.? I mean I suppose it can go either way, but how we see it and speak about it shapes to some degree our opinions of those who have these traits. Although I guess some people may see themselves as being "afflicted" by said "condition" if there is especially negative attitudes in the society at large about it.
I'm just busting your chops a bit because you often dislike the negatively connoted entries and clues, and yet this... :)
3
Wen, you just missed the joke. See the ellipsis? They signal an "ahem" that means a wink, or a joke.
And don't "bust chops" followed by a punctuation smile. That's awfully snarky for you.
1
PfP, I saw your ellipsis and matched with my own, right before the snarky smile. Yes, my entire comment was meant to be be snarky, I guess, and doesn't necessarily apply only to the last sentence. The smile was only meant to indicate I wasn't being serious.
I agree with Barry on the ellipsis usage - that's often how I use it too - as a pause, or perhaps an indication of, in the case of your usage, searching for the right word, but settled for a word that seemed best under these "conditions" but that you know wasn't the best choice?
I have no recollection of the term DIASTEMA, but I was able to guess it from crossings. I thought that the theme was very clever, and mercifully the non-theme entries were not horribly difficult.
NESSUS, by the way, shows up briefly in Dante's Inferno, which is why I knew that answer.
1
I had ALSO before ELSE as well. A bit more challenging today than yesterday. The theme is pretty nifty, I liked the puzzle quite a bit.
All those multi-word puzzles make it difficult for me. But maybe not to others.
Didn't know, DUMONT, NUTRIA, REVEILLE, NESSUS (well, I know of a network security software tool called that), DISATEMA. Didn't know Jesse OROSCO had that record.
7D - MISADDS clued as Does Sumthing wrong..."sumthing?" "MISADDS?" These gave me pause.
Good to see 8D clued as nothing to do with Mr. Musk.
Overall pretty happy with the puzzle and the entries were certainly crunchy. Well done and thank you, Mr. Guzzetta, for an enjoyable Thursday puzzle.
Done but for a wrong guess at 26A. Meaning, anyone?
what comes before "a clue" - though the clue itself doesn't have the quotes. Sam explained it in his post - it's "GET" that comes before "a clue". So you end up with "GET a clue"
1
Weak IMO.
6
NM, it is weak, especially when you consider the possibilities for a good "clue" clue in a clued puzzle.
1
had no trouble doing the puzzle. did not know diastema (got from crossings) and thus did not associate the theme words with tooth! finished quickly anyway. What does that mean?
4