Not sure this was the right day to try to come back, but, hey, it's only Monday.
I haven't seen any of the flicks in the puzzle. I may have seen part of "DIRTY DANCING," but I may be confusing it with "Footloose." In any event, I onlyu lasted about five minutes.
So I just wen through and solved the puzzle. Every now and then I looked at what I figured were the themers, and figured the theme was movies I've avoided. Or most famous movies starring people I've avoided. Or something.
Somehow hair never occurred to me. Just as well.
Anyway, I'm trying to come back. Maybe later in the week I'll get more excited.
But, still, it was great to read all y'all's comments, even though I don't know much about Job aside from "J.B."
2
Hi all. I'm back. (I think.) I got so frustrated with the problems with the Comments going all wonky and out of order, plus some problems that are possibly in my own computer, that I just gave up and went away for a few days.
But I missed all y'all, so I'm trying to come back. I've done the puzzle and read Deb and Jeff. I'm now going to read the WP Comments and possibly chime in.
If I'm not cut off at the knees again.
4
Well, there you are! Post posted. See you later.
1
Glad you're back.
1
Hey! Welcome back. The problems aren't fixed yet, but maybe you can get used to the new situation. It seems like there's always one reply that ends up out at the left margin, for no apparent reason.
1
Breezy Monday!
1
Fun Monday!! I usually take ~8 minutes to do a Monday, but today was a shade over 10, due to my lack of knowledge of 1980s cinema, haha. Guess I was too busy chasing MULLET-coiffed boys to spend much time going to the movies in the lated 80s :D
4
This puzzle reminded me of a sad time in my youth, for
I had no friends other than my sister, and she encouraged me to sport a mullet well into the 1990s. I was the only student at my university with a mullet. If I could do my whole life over again, I would. I’m just glad so many of you found happiness in this puzzle.
1
Oh, CrossNerd!! I bet you were so handsome with that mullet. I appreciate a fella who can veer left while everyone else is shifting right. :D
So, this was a tough puzzle for someone who hasn't seen any of the films or heard of the haircut. I had to ask my son for a couple of the crosses to have enough letters to guess the movies, 49 & 51D for example. None of this kept me from enjoying the puzzle.
2
Read the title. Knew it was a mullet. It - the puzzle was fun and my fastest solve - but it's still an ugly haircut. And with a mustache...........no words.
2
CONAIR in my book rates as the single worst movie of all time. If a movie is uber awful - my take on virtually every Mad Max/MEL GIBSON flick - it takes on a comedic air. CONAIR fell well short of that and simply sucked. My "favorite" really bad scene: some evil guy slams into a building at about 60 mph - and I'm talking the guy, not a guy in a car or a guy wearing some sort of protective gear, just A guy - and he hops up ready for another round. Not even ROCKY could have pulled that off. So no ROCKY II,III,IV... One more comment. If you've ever read the Book of Job (I have, it's short), you'll scratch your head wondering how the "patience of Job" ever came about. He kvetches nearly non-stop and only stops when God berates Job - hysterically I might add - for his supreme impertinence.
1
Gee, I thought Canadians invented mullets (see skater Elvis Stojko, who had an iconic mullet). Also, hockey players, and to this day, young lacrosse players are rocking them at our local high school. Has it something to do with wanting to show some hair while wearing a helmet? I notice many NFLers doing that now, but those are definitely not mullets, some look like hair extensions!
2
Every year there are "lists" for lacrosse's best all flow team:
http://brobible.com/sports/article/college-lacrosse-all-flow-team-2017/
1
So it was a mullet! The one thing that I disliked about Elvis Stojko!
He was still a wonderful skater, and the injury that basically cost him that championship was truly sad.
You're right...Stallone rocks the mullet.
And the mullet wearing anti-hero in the Walking Dead wears it well, too.
I love mullets. This one hangs in my dining room:
herbach.dnsalias.com/Mullet
It's by Hiroshige and dipicts a bora (stripped mullet), camellia and asparagus. The inscriptions read:
The shore of Tago!
Mount Fuji reflected in the waves
and fish rising and falling.
and
Thunder.
The mullet that sees in a whirl
the lightening flash of a hook
is frightened to death.
3
おいしい魚, maatin-san.
(I believe all mullets are stripped...hee hee.)
Sigh. I really hate that this software was striped of the ability to edit typos.
2
One of those days I'm glad I'm still a dead tree solver. Saw the photos, and wondered where they would lead. When I put the first picture and clue together, I was able to jump on the rest of the themers just from the photos. Just delightful.
I like to joke that I haven't changed my hairstyle in 40 years, but in truth, I get it cut only 3 or 4 times a year--not very short, and just let it grow. My motto could be "every day is a bad hair day." It's still all there, but 90% gray now. And I couldn't grow a decent beard if my life depended on it. Never wore a MULLET.
Loved the Pink Floyd clue @51D.
The most notorious MULLET in pop music history most certainly graced the pate of Billy Ray Cyrus (father of Miley) who hit big in 1992 with the inescapable and maddening country-novelty song "Achy Breaky Heart":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQIPdHMpjc
Sorry about that.
2
Makes me want to jump up and line dance.
Apology accepted.
1
I have to admit, line dancing looks like fun.
By way of making amends, here's Weird Al Yankovic with "The Achy Breaky Song," which actually references the very song it's parodying. Very meta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CT5NZd3ZiU
1
It’s truly depressing to see that the Comments section has become just another opportunity for some people to indulge themselves in vitriol-spewing diatribes about all the real and imaginary heinous crimes committed by persons well-known enough to be answers to clues, or un-PC references (in their opinions), blah, blah, blah. I think Jonathan Swift would have a field day with the idea that something as innocuous as a newspaper crossword puzzle would become the battleground in the great culture wars. I feel sorry for all the extremely clever constructors who now have to make sure they are not committing blasphemy when they devise a puzzle. I will continue to subscribe but will no longer read the Comments.
5
But there are several commenters - DC, BA, etal - that make wading through, and ignoring, the other comments worthwhile.
2
I am like you, and have on a few occasions "sworn off" the comments, only to return. The editors often come in for a far greater tongue-lashing usually, since they failed to use their royal powers to ensure all whiffs of stench were removed. I come back because to leave would be to "let the terrorists win." Such comments as you rail against here are actually pretty uncommon so can be easily ignored.
2
We've seen 65 comments so far today, PWS, and only one that I saw would fit in the "un-PC" complaint category. I'm wondering where else you go on (or off) the internet that has a lower percentage of culture wars references.
5
My five favorite clues from last week:
"A new one is nearly invisible" (4)
"Chip maker" (6)
"Brave person, typically" (8)
"Entertainers for whom lines quickly form" (9)
"Does his name ring a bell?" (10)
MOON
CHISEL
ATLANTAN
SLAM POETS
IVAN PAVLOV
5
Didn't, and still don't, understand the clue for ATLANTAN.
1
Re ATLANTAN, a sports team in Atlanta (not sure what sport) is known as the Braves.
2
Millenial here. I just want to say the older generations had some of the strangest fads and boy am I glad to be a 90's baby.
*rearranges her chia pet collection in order to better display her 30 participation trophies and the straight As awards her parents earned for her by yelling at all of her middle school teachers*
15
Kayla m'luv, I hope you come back (soon) with something else you 'just wantto say'.
#11
1
Nice to see LOESS again. I solve via the app, so didn't see the visuals (and thus didn't get the thematic connection) until after finishing, but "much derided hairstyle" didn't really admit of another possible answer. Oh, and count me among those who agree that what you "put up" are your DUKES.
2
Who knew MULLET could be such a hilarious punchline? Thank you, Kevin Christian, for your sense of humor and ability to make me laugh on a Monday morning. MULLET was a true aha reveal and one of the funniest I can remember.
3
Like Mean Old Lady I had no idea what a mullet was and had I seen the pictures it would have made no difference. Nonetheless I enjoyed this 'different' Monday.
Interesting that LATCH has appeared twice in the last few days. Can't remember seeing it before then.
My favorite answer was JUST IN CASE.
1
I guess the Comments are still screwed up, because I haven't been able to find a post by MOL.
I had to have MULLET explained to me some years back by a quilting friend who is my cultural consultant. I had never heard of this as a hairdo; it's a fish. The hair style does not resemble the fish, so why did it get that name?
Life's mysteries.
Nice workmanlike puzzle; I must have missed the hair styles in the movies, though. Next time they're on, maybe I'll say, "Oh, look at his MULLET; what a ridiculous do that was!" (However, I note that PhysicsDaughter's cut, which is very flattering on her, looks suspiciously like said MULLET.)
4
MOL: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, use of the term mullet to describe this hairstyle was "apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys", who used "mullet" and "mullet head" as epithets in their 1994 song "Mullet Head".
1
17A, 39A, and 47A definitely represent the MULLET theme well: "business up front, party in the back." 24A a little less so, though a certainly classic 80s coif. As for 1A and 58A, well, those strike me as less representative of the MULLET and more like two balding men trying to compensate by slicking back their hair. Nice puzzle, though!
Absolutely correct, Zain. 1A and 58A are definitely not mullets. Both are just long hair, albeit with receding hairlines. There must be short hair in front to make it a mullet.
But I also agree that it's a nice puzzle!
2
Couldn’t agree more. Vicent has hair in a pony tail and was way too cool to mulletize.
Thanks, ever so, for your clever inclusion of color photos of Mel Gibson, that paragon of racism, anti-Semitism,and every vile "ism" extant. It was a pleasure to use up my computer's color ink on such a paragon of virtue. Maybe less of this in the future, Mr...Christian. Having to pay for the privilege of this is like having to watch dRUMPf on a tv, while being waterboarded.
2
You left out sexism. And some other stuff.
Ohhhh... I thought the theme was white male actors -- but that would've been *so* last year.
4
Thank heavens I was born in 1950. My generation (cue the Who) was fashionably attired in bell bottoms along with jackets and boots resplendent in fringe. Barbers were going broke. None of that new fangled MULLET stuff for me.
Puzzle and comments made the morning.
Thanks KC minus the Sunshine Band
7
Yes, I did laugh out loud at the reveal. Never had a MULLET, but how about those clothes and shoes from the disco era...
2
There was no resistance today. I came close to my best recorded time, which is skewed anyway due to the software glitch of several months ago, so it is probably my best Monday time in the 2.5 years I have been solving here.
Speaking of which--editors, can we get a control to allow us to 'reset' our personal stats?
I am the exact age as our constructor, but missed out on the mullet due to joining the Army in 1982. Now that I am retired from the military I threaten my wife with a mullet or pony-tail. She counters by wishing me well with a chaste lifestyle should one ever appear.
6
No comment.
7
Well that was different. A tribute to a haircut? Couldn't quite decide how I felt about this one - I couldn't have identified a MULLET without the pictures, but I guess the constructor notes make it all worthwhile.
As to my solve - considerably slower than a typical Monday. I've seen at least parts of all those films (I think I turned off the first RAMBO film after about 30 minutes), but the only one I filled in on first pass was 39a - and I entered ROCKY. Worked it all out in the end.
Was never much into hairstyles. My own hair is very thin and oily. I let it grow long when I returned to college in the early 70's as that was the thing back then. I happened to come across my college graduation photo recently. I shuddered.
PULPFICTION is by far my favorite of the theme films. Pursuant to the discussion of the book of JOB: Samuel L. Jackson's character recites a biblical quotation a couple of times in the film, which he references as Ezekiel 25:17. When I first saw the film, I thought - "that doesn't sound right." It wasn't. Most of the quote is a complete invention and does not appear anywhere in Ezekiel.
2
Oh, I realized I could use 29a as an excuse to link an old Paul Simon favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Eoax6I-O4
"I would not be convicted by a jury of my PEERs:"
2
Superman sported a mullet for four years. President Polk had one, as did Paul McCartney and Rod Stewart. And Iran formally banned the mullet in 2010. Furthermore, the Wikipedia article on the haircut comes before its article on the fish in Google. Certainly the mullet is theme-worthy (thank you, Kevin!), but may it be relegated to just being an answer for at least a score of years to come.
3
Dukes or fists, whatever. I am with the youngster standing in the background.
6
Constructor's notes made this for me, especially how the mullet disappeared because stylists just wouldn't leave it long in back. Reminded me of how, in 1991 or so, my college boyfriend went to have his mullet trimmed and the stylist straight up told him "we won't cut hair like this." He came back with a nice short cut.
Otherwise quick Monday puzzle. I got FISTS without difficulty but my sensibilities also agreed that it should have been DUKES.
5
The constructor notes made me laugh out loud, which may have something to do with my being a white American male in my mid-fifties and having similar hair adventures.
As for the puzzle, it was entertaining, though something about the theme and the cluing made this seem not quite Times-ish. I agree with those who thought that 43A should have been DUKES, and that the clue to ID does not belong in a puzzle designed for adults.
2
Hey!
CATS are wonderful! And I am decidedly above the age of consent.
1
On the theme of hair mistakes: I had a mustache when I first met my wife. She never stated any opinion about the mustache one way or another.
Then one Sunday morning, after we'd been together for about 5 years, I shaved the mustache off in the shower, just for a change. When I came out of bathroom she glanced up from reading the the Sunday Times, said "Thank God you got rid of that thing,", and went back to reading the paper.
21
Oh, dear! My husband has sported a beard and mustache since the 1970s (apart from a few years when the Navy reserve prohibited facial hair).
Now and then I quote the old saying to him: "A kiss without a mustache would be like an egg without salt!"
3
Gotta admit, this theme was over my head.
7
Business in the front, party in the back. . . .
2
and Elke
A SASSy friend loves her jeans with bumBLING....
3
Re 11A: The “patience of Job” may be proverbial, but it’s a misconception promulgated by readers who haven’t gone beyond the first two chapters of a 42-chapter book. Starting from Chapter 3, when Job’s “friends” have arrived, he’s anything but patient. He curses the day of his birth; he cries out against what he sees (with justification) as God’s injustice; he demands to know what he’s done to deserve the horrible treatment he’s received. As the Princeton philosopher Walter Kaufmann put it, “[Job] never questions either God's existence or his omnipotence; but God's justice, mercy, and goodness he not only questions but denies outright.” Job is not the passive, pious, patient milquetoast of myth; he’s heroically defiant.
6
The "patience" in the phrase "patience of Job" originally meant the "suffering (experiences)" of Job, reflecting the original word as it was used at the time of the King James translation and earlier (c. 1600) - from the Latin "pati / patior / patientia" etc., meaning "undergoing or experiencing suffering." This is why medical patients are called "patients" -- it doesn't mean they are "patient" (as we understand the word) any more than Job.
I'm not challenging your point that "patience of Job" is totally misused in popular speech, to denote "cheerful acceptance" or "perseverance."
"Suffer the little children..." shows that both "suffer" and "patience" have drastically changed meaning over the past 4 or 5 centuries.
6
Thinking more about your post, Paul Frommer, I wonder if you are Hebrew Bible based, and thus excusably unaware of the phrase not as a popular idiom but as from the Greek Bible. Here is the source of it, James 5:11, in two translations to show my point.
King James Version (1611):
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
New International Version (1978):
As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
As brief as this passage is, it shows several instances of lexical change such as I meant in my earlier post ("the end of the Lord"; "the Lord is very pitiful")
4
David.
I have always wondered about Job's "patience". Thanks for clearing it up. Admittedly, my familiarity with the New Testament is limited.
1
I laughed out loud when I got down to 68A and realized it had to be MULLET. Even without seeing the pictures, although I had peeked at the newspaper version to see what the fancy visual element was.
One of my cousins was absolutely in love with the DIRTY DANCING-era Patrick Swayze. I enjoyed the film but didn't quite see the attraction.
I also enjoyed the constructor's notes.
3
The attraction for me was Jennifer Grey, pre-nose job.
3
Just FYI:
In the October 15, 2008 puzzle, Kevin G. Der put BABY in a corner.
6
In the printed version there are pictures of the stars of each movie with their mullets.
This was a fast one, which was nice after a tough week.
1
solved with Across Lite. Did not grasp Mullet as theme. Looked and just saw lots of movies! Quick solve anyway.
1
Separate thoughts:
1D was a bit too easy a clue even for a Monday.
Having the pictures was a clever way to help novice solvers since others could use a different version to make it a tad more difficult.
43A: Come on. The two guys in the picture are putting up their dukes.
5
1D was *so* easy, even for a Monday, that I hesitated before entering it, thinking it was a misdirection. It took almost as much time as putting down fists after putting up dukes.
2
I had to have a few letters before I got 1A.
Didn't see the pix except through the link, so I don't quite understand the 43A comment.
I never had a mullet. I was too young, then too old. I'm not sorry I missed that fad. I didn't miss anything in my on-line version, as mullet was my last entry. I'd forgotten that all of these movies featured a star with a mullet. I always think of "pro" wrestlers when I think of that haircut.
Fun puzzle. I can't stand my whiskers after 4-5 days, so no beards either except a very grey goatee for a short time. Thanks for the entertainment.
3
I had a beard for many years, but never a mullet. I'd gladly sport a mullet today, if I only had the hair. I did have a beard for over 30 years. I shaved and nobody noticed.
3
I remember only briefly seeing that haircust, without knowing its name, but noticing its ugliness. It passed, without my particularly taking note.
As to beards: I really quite like facial hair on my men, but only as real beards. Those scruffy-looking, three-days-unshaven things are just icky. Grow a beard, or shave, guys. But please don't just walk around looking like you don't know how to find a place to wash.
1
Medium Nit:
As to 29 down: In an American trial today, with the requirements for the composition of the jury pool, the last thing you might get is juror who is one of your peers. I know there has been an attempt by some to distort the meaning of the word "peer" to mean just another american, but that is not its meaning. And as the crossword is supposed to be for word lovers from word lovers, a little precision could be expected.
Not sure what you're getting at here, Bruvver. The *original" meaning, as I'm sure you know, is that nobles will judged by other nobles, not by the King of England, but I think we're past that. I've been serving on State juries (New York county) and Federal juries (SDNY) for 44 years with people I consider my peers. What are you suggesting I've overlooked?
1
I believe in modern American usage "peer" still connotes a sense of specific "equality." I.e. academic peer review. Not just a fellow citizen. The sense that all person are equal obviously has a very long social history, i.e. parts of Christian dogma (although cheese makers, being the sons of God seem to have a special place), and the American Declaration of Independence. But, as i indicated, the bandying about of the phrase "jury of ones peers" with the false belief that it is in the Constitution, is to me a minor annoyance, but one I have come to accept.
It's not found min the Constitution, but "jury of one's peers" does have legal meaning. The first definition in the M-W 11C is
"one that is of equal standing with another : EQUAL; especially : one belonging to the same societal group especially based on age, grade, or status"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peer
Accordingly, while a defendant cannot demand particular members of any societal group, the prosecution may not exclude a juror because of race or gender. This result of the Supreme Court case of Batson v. Kentucky does confirm that the Constitution weighs in on the notion of a jury of one's peers.
2
Fine Monday, but bad hair day.
(Can't imagine what the "clues" look like in online versions!).
2
17A definitely wore it worst.
1
I beg to differ. He was a vampire goth kid and the fashion rules did not apply!
I would say 58a wore it worst. That isn't even a mullet.
2
Solving on line, took too long before I "got" that the derided hairstyle was seen in the actual movies named, not in the names of the movies. Sigh. What does it look like in the printed version?
2
Go to the Print icon on the online version, and choose "Newspaper Version". It's just 6 thumbnail photos of the actors in those films, so you get a good picture of their hair.
2
Or click on the link in Deb's column.
(Comment)
3
Thank you, Barry. :)
1