Hi!
The two central across lights read
PAPERY MOONIE
Intentional? It reminded me of Petery Bogdanovichie's delightful 1973 movie starring Tatumy O'Nealie and her father Ryany.
IndiraKareT
1
Boy, first time in a month I went to the movies on a Saturday, and come home to 127 comments. Now that I'm done reading, I'll REVOICE what some others have said: impressive layout, solved like 4 mini-puzzles, at least one helpful gimme in each quadrant to get started, some iffy fill. Like Leapy, my first thought for 31A was SHOVELS, but I held off. Only write-over was HEART before STENT. Finished in less than average Saturday time.
Mentioned elsewhere, but nobody's posted Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye performing "The Ballad Of CAT BALLOU" from the opening of the movie, so here 'tis. Awesome stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Hcl2zFMoU
2
Wide swaths of white always challenge me, even when broken into (hmm) manageable quarters. The NW really gave it to me in the neck, and GOITer ALONE don't explain it. It was A FATE worse than death [apparently] to have SEEDS for ARILS, or to expect HWT for a hundred-weight. Also, I've never seen the odd spelling for Reeboks. The NW finally took twice as long as any other section, but I still think the whole puzzle was very RASIVE.
I'm surprised more people didn't mention MARIA for TRAPP, though my biggest holdup in the NE was MENNONITE? [no] MORMON? [no] before I of-COURSED with MOONIE. I blame it on the Unitarians.
The most endearing bits were remembering (a) UGO Tognazzi, a figureof admiration since seeing The Ape Woman [mid-60s]; and (b) Lee Marvin with his Tycho Brahe nose in CAT_BALLOU. His fine comedic turn (plus Nat King Cole & Stubby Kaye) made the whole film 'real Tintoretto'.
The passing reference to every extensor CARPI ulnaris I've ever splinted was also ir-wrististable.
'Smore bits:
With another RE RELET above ELEVE, I can see 10-year old me in a tutu, and the ballet mistress saying "RELEVE, RELEVE, RELEVE!"
https://img0.etsystatic.com/114/0/11832049/il_570xN.871078746_bdbm.jpg
Si, Amigos! I'm all in favor POR_TWINE to TITAN the grip on the PORstrings!
I'm IMPRESSED with how little was INANE in the grid and cluing, so a Huge TY to Roland, who knows how to ELEVE8 a Saturday puzzle. Now, back to missing Blanche and John from Chicago.
(APPLIES TART Tatin)
5
This ain't the place to go into it - but suffice it to say that Unitarian Church and Unification Church are as far apart as it is possible to get with two confusable names - followed closely by Christian Science and Scientology. All four have nothing to do with each other outside of the broadest application of the term "religion."
4
umm... DC, I kind of knew that.
Linking Unification and Unitarian came to mind simply from looking at my list of Mennonite, Mormon and Moonies. Of COURSE, your reply might not have been directed specifically at me.
Shoulda known not to WP with religions. Sorry.
2
Nothing personally directed, Leapy! Merely a reflex after a lifetime in the biz, dealing with a public that's content with sketchy understanding of these distinctions.
A Natick killed me. I couldn't get the T in AGATE vs. PAPETERIE. Oh well.
2
With nine answers outside my wheelhouse, this provided me with good friction. In general, I'm a non-friction fan, but I do like it in my puzzles.
I struggled to remember the Lee Marvin movie and got excited when "Paint Your Wagon" emerged, but no. With a couple of letters the cat finally balloued by.
I liked the STENT/TENT cross, and while someone earlier here saw a swastika in the grid design, what popped out at me afterward were the two ASSes and a MOONIE.
Yes, a puzzle like this will not be very Scrabbly and thus short on zing. But there is something here to be IMPRESSED about, seeing all these letters melding together in such huge expanses of white, with only an ANTAE here and an ARILS there. And for me, it's a good feeling, solving something like this. I'm grateful to have puzzles like this in the mix.
1
Lewis, maybe this comment was delayed because of the A word in the third paragraph??
I believe that's correct, Liz B, since he doesn't enjoy Green Check im-Moon-ity.
No doubt, Liz. For some reason, I thought the a-word was legit, but now I know!
Nine answers outside of my wheelhouse, so there was good friction. In general, I'm a non-friction fan, but I do like resistance in my puzzles.
Yes, a puzzle like this will not be very Scrabbly and thus short on zing. But there is something to be IMPRESSED about, seeing all these letters melding together in such huge expanses of white, with only an ANTAE here and an ARILS there. And for me, it's a good feeling, solving something big and empty like this. I'm grateful to have puzzles like this in the mix.
1
I thought the grid was awesome, and a little slack should be permitted, in view of its stacks. This was a tremendous ego booster, after I printed out our two copies and said "Behold!" to DH. We are still on our streak of no lookup completions. (But there are 2 of us with very different educations.)
4
Hmmm. My comment got nixed. Can someone please remind me who I need to notify to get it restored? Thank you!
*a sigh of sympathy*
*emus with flaming swords*
...flaming SWARDs
asper today's grid...
Has anyone seen my wheelhouse? It seems to have rolled away today.
7
P.S.: The actual name is Von Trapp, no? Is "Von" not actually part of the name for some reason?
P.P.S.: (I'm aware that a wheelhouse wouldn't actually roll.)
1
It's not unusual to shorten the name in conversation (said with van Beethoven's Fifth playing in the background).
Even Maria did it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_the_Trapp_Family_Singers
My understanding is that "Von" in Germanic names is an optional attachment rather than part of the names. A search came up with the wonderful term "nobilary particle" to explain that, but in essence what it does is denote aristocratic heritage. Some people drop it. Some people add it to a surname as an aspirational move. A man I know dropped the Von from his name when his father died. I think the father had added it to the family name as an affectation.
1
It didn't _feel_ easy, but when it was all over I had solved it correctly with only one writeover: maria/TRAPP at 18A. Certainly it held my interest all the way through. Merci, Roland.
1
Wanted IMPLEASED and couldn’t see IMPRESSED. Got the rest in some minor miracle as I started with next to nothing and nearly threw in the towel.
2
Wow! I'M_PLEASED is a terrific bit of alternative interpretation!!
2
A challenging and fun solve for me, it paced away like a normal Saturday until I got lost in the NE weeds. CATBALLOU, PAPETERIE, MOONIE, ABEAM, were all new terms to me. I figured ABROGATOR but did not know that was a thing someone could be. That section just seemed like word salad to my brain.
2
Can someone please explain to me how "M" = "NASAL" ? I've been wracking my brain but I can't figure it out. I would very much appreciate it!
1
Yes, my question too!!!!
"M", in phonetics, is a letter called a "nasal." As in "N"
1
Look up "M bilabial nasal."
Good challenge especially in the SE portion.
What Deb said, practically in its entirety.
I look forward to Saturday crunch, so my first thought on seeing the grid was delight at all the white space and stacks. My second thought was disappointment at the lack of connectedness, and the four mini-puzzles.
Went clockwise. In NW, EXCELSIOR was a gimme, and the rest of puzzle #1 solved in a whirlwind.
Tried to enter puzzle #2 with the only letter showing there, thinking SNOWsomething. But the next thing I looked at in that sector was 10A, and CAT BALLOU was a gimme. Goodbye SNOW, hello SALT. Another whirlwind, with a slight pause as I learned a new word in PAPETERIE. (Nice word.)
Entered puzzle #3 with COARSEN/UGO. Then my first thoughts for the rest of the sector turned out to be right (I already had enough letters at 48D to rule out TONYS and OBIES.) Whirlwind #3.
With only a terminal E and a terminal S to work off of for puzzle #4, had to look elsewhere. But ELEVE and ESTES were gimmes, and ... whoosh!
Puzzle done.
A masterpiece of construction, and pleasurable enough, but four Monday-ish little puzzles do not, for me, equal a nice chewy Saturday. So I admired, and I enjoyed, but I was disappointed.
EXCELSIOR made me think of Thurber: http://tinyurl.com/yau5qukm
OT: Celebrate! Today is National Chocolate Day!
3
Every day is chocolate day in my little corner of the world.
1
ThankYou for the Thurberesque link. I shall look for the unicorn in the garden now.
In my experience very low word count puzzles often tend to be unpleasant to solve because many of the answers and clues are quite contrived. I think Mr. Huget managed a great balancing act using very little arcana and inviting solvers into the puzzle with friendly points of entry. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think that the practice of criticizing a puzzle should be confined to reader comments; it is strangely out of place, and grating, in the NYT's accompanying commentary.
17
I'm on the fence on the latter part of your comment. If Deb points out things in a puzzle that she considers flaws or shortcomings, that joins her to the rest of us as solvers, yes? It also educates those who (like me) do not know the finer details of puzzle construction. But it can also come across as not very kind toward the constructor. I suppose one must ask what is the intended purpose of Wordplay? Is it critique, analysis or celebration? I think this would get awfully boring if everything was deemed awesome and fantastic every, single day.
1
And how do you feel about praising a puzzle in the NYT's accompanying commentary?
Thank you.
Different strokes, you know?
1
Three of the four minis went quickly for me, but alas the SE had me going in circles. 'Tonys' before ESPYS really did me in and I was thinking 'side' before SUB. OVEN READY finally appeared and then the corner fell into place. Surprised at all the RE--- answers. Liked APPLIES crossing APPLETART. I wonder if APPLE might name one of its sour devices an APPLETART. Also neat is that the homophones COURSE(D) and COARSE(N) cross.
1
A 27D SUBPLOT? The NYT cooking section features any number of apple recipes today. The link may not work for non-subscribers but here it is anyway:
http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2017/10/28/cooking/cooking-email/index.ht...
1
A Mercury was no more a Ford than a Dodge was a Chrysler.
I always thought the Mercury was made by Chrysler.
The clue was "[s]ome old Ford cars," not "Fords". Since MERCS are old Ford Motor Company products, I would give 53A a pass.
4
Which is to say, a Merc is a Ford as in FOMOCO.
Started the puzzle with a several second stare of dread and admiration of all the white spaces. Then, as I began to fill in answers, I got this odd sensation of connectedness with all the solvers working on it at the same time. Answers that I wouldn't have expected to know came floating in. It was a strange feeling.
Jack of the trump suit in euchre took me back to childhood when my parents and my older brothers would play a game called 500. How proud I was when they finally deemed me old enough to join them and felt the thrill of having a right bower in my hand! Thanks for the memory prompt, Roland.
6
My card-playing family had a basic framework: no game would ever be explained. Children could stand by the table, silently watching, until they understood everything they needed to understand, at which point they could join the game at their own risk.
The card game I was taught was Canasta (its popularity had long faded by the time I was a kid) - and I've never really enjoyed it. Most likely because I was taught it!
2
My childhood memory is of my mother playing MahJong with her friends. I never understood the game, but the sound of the tiles cilnking in the next room is still with me.
1
Aww. David. One of my fond memories about my late father is when he taught me to play the card game Hearts. We played that game (with my sister and mother making up the four) all summer one year. Years later, when I was older and he was less patient, he tried to teach me to play Bridge. We both gave up in frustration. We settled on Cribbage.
Obviously this puzzle was not easy to construct, so Mr. Huget definitely gets an A for effort from me.
The NW corner (the last part I finished) was the best. Wicked hard, but very satisfying fill. GO IT ALONE and EXCELSIOR were definitely my favorite entries to unravel. I would also count ARILS as being fair game for a crossword since I'm sure there are a lot of pomegranate lovers who are familiar with the word.
I wasn't too crazy about PAPERY and PAPETERIE being in the same puzzle though. My sources tell me that PAPETERIE derives from the French word for "paper", so... it's sort of like using PAPER twice? I think?
2
Which just goes to show that one person's "tough to unravel" clue is another person's gimme: New Yorkers learn "Excelsior" in grade school.
1
Interestingly, New York's state flag is the state seal on a blue field, just like Kentucky's flag. So if you ever forget the mottos, just look at the flags. :D
Kentucky's motto is "United we stand, divided we fall", which is what I was taught as a Kindergartener. Not too long ago we also adopted the motto "Deo gratiam habeamus". Not as pretty as EXCELSIOR but it is Latin so I'll take it.
1
Having trouble cracking the way to solve the "Winding Down" variety puzzle. I can't make the A answers mesh with the B answers to form words going in both directions. That IS the goal, right?
The A answers mesh with the B answers where they overlap - the turning letters on the left and right edges are only part of one or the other. Keep at it, Lucille!
Thanks! I will.
1
I couldn't help but see a swastika in the puzzle design
2
I think that's a stretch.
People see what they want to see.
Harry Nilsson, The Point! (1971)
1
I agree with those who thought this was on the easy side for a Saturday. I attribute that to the fact we had four separate puzzles to solve with some gimmes in each quadrant: AFATE, CATBALLOU, APPLETART and SUBPLOT.
Thanks for that, Roland, and also for your time and talent in creating this interesting, low word count grid. I always love finishing a Saturday puzzle, it never gets old!
I admire the density--if that's the right word--of white space. Blocks this big (5x9) are wickedly hard for a constructor to fill. It is unfair to call them minis. As Deb notes, the fill is marred by some padding with RE-. As another sly padding trick, each block contains a double-S word to enable crossing plurals. Overall, though, I am impressed by the sparsity of plurals, the absence of double padding via -S-sharing plurals, and the almost total lack of abbreviations and crossword chestnuts like I DO and ENO.
The technical virtuosity isn't matched by wit in cluing. A low point is LOSE A STEP. Huget succeeds, however, in his kind intent to provide SALTERS--either gimmes or easy lookups (for me, element #56, Tognazzi, CAT BALLOU)--to start each block with a couple of words on which to build. The puzzle took about half the usual Saturday time to solve, despite its forbidding look.
1
SALTERS was my third choice, following SAndERS, but I wasn't 100% pleased, since both are more appropriate for ice. My first choice was ShovElS, because snow.
Saving grace was SALTERS Path, with memories of Outer Banks camping.
https://www.uark.edu/staff/dksander/public_html/travel/plans/crystalcoas...
1
I'll sign on your last sentence, Speede.
This was a fun and tough puzzle. I have a bone to pick with 16A though. ABEAM does not mean 'Crosswise', it means 'Beside'. The correct answer to the clue would be ATHWART.
10
I don't see anything wrong with having a relaxing Saturday, for a change. But not so relaxing as to be unchallenging. What was relaxing about it was the realization that, as Roland implied in his notes, misdirection figured to be minimal because of the unconnectedness of the quadrants. So I could trust that AFATE was as easy as it looked.I needed that F to figure out 15A. Until then, I was afraid I'd have to look up state mottoes. But no, I completed this unaided, which made it an easy puzzle. I guess.
1
Disagree with 25D. It is "the time" for those of us obsessed (Hi Deborah!) with x-words.
For your puzzle solving gift needs I recommend two place mats: Periodic Table and Star Chart. This morning I only needed to lift my coffee cup to fill 3D.
Most challenging fill was 35A for reasons known only to the puz-gods.
Reading Nicholas and Alexandria many lost steps ago I and my sibs learned that Russian nouveau riche would use French words and phrases to describe everyday items. It was an affectation and often the word usage was strained or incorrect. Enter young dk and siblings as we began to refer to our pencil boxes as a..... drum roll.... PAPETERIE. Also Rocky and Bullwinkle forever cemented the NY State motto in our eager minds.
Lastly, I love it when puzzle solvers reveal parts of themselves in posts. Even more fun is when you actually meet them.
Thanks Roland.
5
"Reading Nicholas and Alexandria...."--couldn't let this one pass, sorry. Popularizations of history have a lot to answer for, in this case: there was no nouveau riche class in old Russia, only a sliver of 5xvery wealthy old riches and freed serfs. The uppers spoke French, but not en passant. They learned it from their governesses, tutors and parents. They learned Russian from the servants. Their French was top-notch, no mistakes. Read Tolstoy.
I do a crossword first thing every morning with my coffee. My partner in life says it's an obsession. I solved this one in faster than my usual Saturday time, staring in the East and finishing in the North West. Had MARIA before TRAPP and wanted LOSESTEAM before LOSEASTEP and had TONYS before ESPYS. When I first saw the expanse of white squares, I didn't think I would be able to finish
3
Props for coming up with LOSE STEAM though.
2
First, to complete the other day when my content-free comment was posted: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2017-10-27.ht...
As to today – wowser! I stared at the grid in admiration for a few moments and expected to spend half the morning filling it in. Instead, I filled in the top left, then the top right, then the bottom left, all with no erasing and little hesitation, just staring and weighing the clues and thinking.
It was such an *astounding* feat of construction that I tamped down a little disappointment that it would be over too soon…which just goes to show you, because the lower right stopped me dead in my tracks.
Did you ever notice how SUBPLOT and SIDEBAR can mean the same thing? Well, they can and thus, on the way to completion I got my wish -- to spend some more quality time with Roland Huget’s masterpiece of a puzzle.
Nice work, all involved!
1
That was nothing compared to what happened to this commenter outside of the Wordplay Crossworld:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/reader-center/nyt-comments-section.ht...®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=16&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F10%2F26%2Freader-center%2Fnyt-comments-section.html&eventName=Watching-article-click
3
Steve, that is a hoot! I bet the poster was thanking the gods that she didn't say anything too embarrassing. I hate to think what would be transcribed if that happened to me. Some silly conversation with my dogs, or maybe cursing?
For the record, aimhate the green-check thing. I wish the Times would drop it.
1
Having both PAPETERIE and PAPERY in the grid is a bit of a dupe, no?
2
Very happy that it didn't require as much SPARE TIME as usual to finish today's puzzle--I was able to improve on my average for Saturday by nearly a half hour. Not that I didn't have concerns at the outset that it would end the little streak I'm on (Fridays or Saturdays often being streak killers). But thanks to good guesses to come up with LOSE A STEP, CAT BALLOU, and a few others, I was able to manage to crack the much harder nuts--ABROGATOR, TAPE LINES (huh?), and BOWER (Euchre, really??). Thanks for a rewarding start to the weekend.
bower (from the German word Bauer, "farmer", denoting also the jack)
BOWER should have been at 24A.
The meaning "farmer" for Bauer is correct, but not quite right for its use in playing cards. Gentleman Farmer, or Minor Noble Landholder, would be a better interpretation, since "farmer" doesn't usually convey that in English. But Bauer is why bowers (in card games) are bowers, that's true.
Euchre has the special feature that the Jack of the other suit of the same color is borrowed into the trump suit (right and left bower, respectively), so the trump suit is two cards longer than the normal suits.
Well, I got one of the four puzzles (NW) entirely on my own. At least two of the others seem doable in retrospect, so I figured that many would find this easy. One of my sons mentioned Nat King Cole on the phone last night and I had mentioned CATBALLOU in response. Didn't even have to wait for my usual memory lapse on that one. Toss in LAKES, MOONIES and SALTERS (a guess) and I should have had that one too, but ARIAL before AGATE brought me to a halt. If only I'd thought of TRAPP; like suejean I was trying to think of every other name in that film and never considered it.
Didn't really mind this despite the segmentation. I had a fairly enjoyable time working out what I could get.
I've lost more than A STEP, so I'll say 'Hi Viv' now. Don't trust myself to remember at the right time. See you later ABROGATOR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0bidd0Uhvk
..
2
Deb Amlen's commentary is more useful when the focus is on the puzzle and not on her.
4
I respectfully disagree.
11
Yes: I am astounded that she has been able to write fresh, helpful, and amusing copy every day for *years*, and no small part of that is the personal voice she uses.
She's a writer. She does it on purpose.
9
Yes, she is the type of writer who undoubtedly does it on purpose.
1
Quite an impressive sea of white squares, so some less than great fills, but overall a fine puzzle. I don't mind the 4 minis. I had a brain freeze with one of the easiest fills, Sound of Music name starting with a T, ( I got CAT BALLOU straight away, very unusual for me with a film question) as Von was stuck in my mind and I was running through the kid's names. As usual on a Saturday, needed help, but enjoyed it, and I have nothing but SPARE TIME.
2
What RiA said.
Others too.
Having LOST A STEP or two in my day, I occasionally have enough SPARE TIME to engage a Saturday puzzle. Surprisingly, I solved this one with two look-ups and no recourse to “check” or “reveal”.
There is almost no connection between the four quarters, so each had to be tackled separately. I remembered EXCELSIOR from my school days, BARIC was one of my two chemical gimmes (the other was LYE) and SEAFARERS was a lucky guess, so the NW quarter fell easily. The SW and SW were solved with more difficulty but without external assistance, whereas I had to look up both Lee Marvin’s filmography, and Unification Church to fill the NE quarter.
Bad initial guesses: arial before AGATE, resound/redound before REVOICE, emmys before ESPYS The clue to the last isa clever misdirection of “play. The only other misdirection that I could find was “theater” in the clue to TAPELINES.
CARPI, ANTAE and BOWER (as clued) are new to me
1
Wow, four threes and no fours. Four small puzzles -- yes, but it's hard to say why that's troubling. The lack of small fill, which, much as one may sniff at it, often gives [me] entry point(s) for one, perhaps, but also the lack of a sense of solving one big puzzle. Being theme-less doesn't bother me. Themes are overrated, unless they're really clever.
Speaking of which, someone here may remember a puzzle (in the past several years) in which the first half of an answer would run about half way, then dive into the paper and reappear as the finish of a different answer, with that answer behaving symmetrically to finish the first answer. Wanted to show it to someone and could never find it. Ring any bells?
2
Thursday, January 9, 2014.
1
" Themes are overrated, unless they're really clever."
Agree.
1
Thanks!
1
I rarely get a Saturday perfectly. This was my fastest ever.
2
I’m glad it wasn’t just me. Lose a step? Lost interest long before I completed it. Spare time wasted.
I just noticed that the center horizontal reads PAPERY MOONIE. That's funny!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndxAZfJxfy8
15
everyone’s so picky! i thoroughly enjoyed and found it quite difficult.
14
Everyone who recco'd this comment: don't ever visit Rex Parker! If you do, don't open the comments!
I was intimidated at first by all that white space, but soon realized this was just four minis stitched together. I filled the grid NW (easy), SE, SW, NE (hard). I would have liked the structure better if that black square at the center was left open -- to be filled with a letter, rebus or symbol that joined the vertical and horizontal crossers. I realize that would be a huge feat for the constructor, but it would have lifted the whole thing to a new level.
Quibble: At 50A, PORTWINES are not so much "dessert go-withs" as drinks taken after dessert, or sometimes with a cheese course.
I thought LOSEASTEP was an odd answer for 52A. Not a phrase I have seen used that way.
2
In my world, I'm also more likely to 'miss A STEP' and 'LOSE A turn'.
Not a grouse.
1
I've heard LOSE A STEP all my life, although (I think) not necessarily having to do with age. Maybe it's regional.
1
When to do this crossword? Not this morning. It just got on my nerves. Very clumsy and forced. I am not sitting back and saying "wow!" More like "why?"
2
UGO Tognazzi was one of the great comic actors of Italian cinema, in the genre that became known as Commedia all'Italiana. He was also a gourmet and cook. Good to see him in the puzzle.
As for the puzzle, I groaned when I saw four mini-puzzles, which always makes it more difficult, but it turned out not to be that bad. Thank you RH.
3
I found it plodding and yet easy. The construction trick wasn't worth it.
1
I agree. Difficult and sufficiently boring that, despite my iron rule not to look at this section until completion, I didn’t care enough to comply. Never heard of several words here.
Tough but doable. I could have done with easier clueing for BOWER, though. Pretty arcane, imho.
1
UGO, I go, we all go egad. BARIC CARPI ANTAE indeed.
3
I found this to be fairly tough going. If I didn't know it, I just didn't know it. I've never played euchre, in fact I'm terrible at all card games, and even after reading a description of euchre, I'm still at a loss on BOWER. And I felt like I was making up the word PAPETERIE, but it made the NE work, so I took it. At least I knew CAT BALLOU.
The answer APPLE TART seemed like a very specific thing for the clue as written. Or maybe the clue seemed like a very specific thing for the answer as given. At any rate, I was disappointed that the answer wasn't an obscure French pastry term.
There are puzzles where I'm really glad that I majored in art history, and this is one of them. ANTAE at 46D would have been a total unknown otherwise. That SE corner was the last to fill in, with only TENT DRESS at first until I came up with BRASSWARE. Then ANTAE glued them together and I was able to fill in the rest. I just did an old puzzle that had GROOVED meaning the same thing as here, but I didn't get it until it filled in.
5
In the Euchre family of card games, there is a trump suit that beats the other suits, and it has a peculiarity - the Jack of that suit is the highest card in the deck, called the "right bower" (from German Bauer), and the Jack of the other suit of the same color is the second-highest card, called the "left bower." These two Jacks beat all the other cards in the deck, while the two Jacks of the opposite color take their usual places between the Tens and the Queens.
3
David Connell, you seem to know everything, and/or really enjoy enlightening us plebes. Either way, I thank you.
2
Eeek, mymymimi, far from it! But of the things I have at heart - music, language, religion, and, today, card games - I'm happy to celebrate the quirks and lovely back-alleys that connect to the puzzle. But I hope readers know I'm celebrating the thing, not the happenstance that I have it in my brain.
I have an aunt Mimi, by the way. "Il perché non so..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGqTwL792g
(Anna Moffo was the niece of my first flute teacher.)
2
Wow, Deb, your opening paragraphs completely mirror my experience of this puzzle. I haven't got much to add.
Papeterie is a real stretch for consideration as an English word, and in any case is a real duplication for the "papery" 31 Across. Agate is a size or measure of type rather than a type of type.
0.65 of my average for Saturday puzzles.
2
It's even more of a stretch if you wind up with PAPErERIE, on account of thinking it *had* to start with PAPER__. There are so many oddly named types of type that I was willing to accept AGArE until the final hunt for the Happy Pencil.
1
My father and I once ran to a Gare in Paris, to catch a train. We made it in the nick of time.
hee hee
1
liked it a lot. in my wheelhouse for the most part. Puzzles like this help us to ward off the time when we LOSE A STEP!
3