i was a bit thrown off by CMON because the clue was "Get Serious!". So there was no abbreviation in the clue but CMON is obviously shortened. Thanks for any comments. I thought abbreviated answers were always indicated by the clue. Guess not.
A fun solve and, as usual, much intriguing reading in the WP comments section.
Thought that later in the week, " ___ a banc" would be a wicked clue for CHAR. A CHARleston CHAR a banc is touristy, but fun. And educational, to boot.
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=512x10000:format...
Just noted an interesting coincidence, in that my Recommended Reading below WP includes an item that relates to MIDDLEAGE SPREAD in an odd way: The Beloved French Practice of Body Contouring Spreads to the USA.
(see below)
Funny that, until now, I've never heard of the BODY CONTORING SPREAD!
Will close with a mild reminder to be gentle in making comments: I have a PREMONITION that a heavy dose of adMONITION could lead to postMONITION.
Y'all be good now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/t-magazine/body-contouring.html?mabRe...®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article.
3
Am I the only one who struggled with LOD? I was informed online that I had a “miss” and started looking. LOD wasn’t doing it for me. I refuse to use the crossword solvers offered up by various websites. Instead I looked at El Al’s website and was rewarded with... nothing, nil, nada, zilch.
On to Wikipedia where I learned ever so much trivia about El Al but still nothing to elucidate me as to how LOD was an El Al hub.
Finally found my puzzle error with a misspell over in the SW. So LOD was correct but why? Found the answer here but think this was too obscure for a Tuesday.
On the other hand I seem to be the only one complaining.
Babs, you're right in that LOD is probably obscure to the general population, but it crops up as a useful fill just often enough in NYT puzzles that it has become known/acceptable over time.
Let us know if you ever plan on being in 27705 territory. Or if you want to host a skiing party!;)
2
Tough one for a Tuesday! I still enjoyed it though, I guess I just got more minutes of enjoyment? Haha -
Thanks for the puzzle :)
2
What an exceptionally nice and fresh puzzle, perfect for a Tuesday!
2
I can't believe I had to end my longest streak yet on a Tuesday puzzle!! I could not figure out my error after I completed the puzzle and proofread it six times so finally had to use check puzzle because it's late and I've lost way too much time on this already!! In case it helps anyone else out there--It was the crossing of OKED and ABRADE. "Abrase" seemed logical, as in "abrasion" and had no idea what to make of "green-lit" so why not OKES?--there are often sorts references I don't know (like UTES) but manage to guess--I get it now but couldn't think of anything but a room lit green or maybe something to do with being inexperienced? Sigh.. nite.
3
A little bonus music clip today. I don't know that anyone has ever dedicated one to the mini before. Here are the Jackson 5 to explain it quite succinctly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e5qLfeDJmk
..
3
Buried at the bottom is a 1962 version of 123
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhxFKwUyGsA
3
I'd forgotten about that song, RMP - a better choice than mine.
But... while we're up - here's a brief scene from one of my all-time favorite movies. Haven't seen this in ages; I guess they're not showing it any more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot8pnqeHYU4
One thing I remember about watching it for the first time is that I learned that Coca-Cola was based in Atlanta.
2
Admittedly I have no savior faire, but regarding the picture of the cheese spread, what's the creamy smear at the lower right? I see a bleu cheese of some sort, a cheddar of some sort, a goat of some sort a jelly/jam of some sort and a whattheheckisit.
2
The Pete Wells NYT review of Racine's NY, in which this photo appeared, did not specify the components of the cheese plate, nor does the restaurant menu. I found one Yelp reviewer who described three wonderful cheeses, tomato jam, and honey, but the creamy smear doesn't look like honey to my admittedly untrained eye. I haven't been to Racine's (in either NY or Paris); can anyone else help?
I think that honey would be the most likely answer, especially given the Yelp reviewer's report. Certain strains of honey can be white, particularly the more natural ones.
1
Bees that feed on kiawe (a type of mesquite) pollen produce white honey. There's a picture in the kiawe Wikipedia article that looks very similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopis_pallida
This is directly from the home office's 'Back SO SOON Department.' The ODDs SPREAD in Hallandale FL for this Saturday's Pegasus World Cup will have more than its' share of long-shots. Day after tomorrow, also in Hallandale, the annual equine Oscar winners will be presented. The favorite, for 2017 Horse of the Year, is World Cup entrant Gunrunner. His challengers on the track Saturday far outnumber those he is expected to best at the ballot box Thursday.
https://www.horseracingnation.com/race/2018_Pegasus_World_Cup#
This too from the office's 'I'm a fighter, not a lover' subdivision:
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/225061/toast-of-new-yor...
Toast REIGNS as the sole SIRE in Saturday's contest. Stallions rarely EMERGE from a breeding campaign to resurrect another racing pilgrimage. In this case, the veterinarian evidently SENSED, sans PREMONITION, Toast's condition and OK'ED an outline affecting the 6-year old's revival...With a sentimental feeling, I will TAKE TWO speculative units each to win, place and show on the hometown favorite's chances Saturday.
3
Not at all a SLOG today. I let the clues TAKE me WHERESOEVER they would. Got the revealer early on, which actually helped with the themers. Not long before the grid was full rather than EMPTIER. Always like to see a puzzle by a fellow Jim.
About that UNPAIDBILL--do you TAKE OBOLI?
Ex-CCR frontman John Fogerty released the live album "PREMONITION" in 1998, following his return to the concert stage the previous year, after a long self-imposed exile. The album's title track was a new rocker--sounds somewhat like Neil Young on this one, if you ask me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyAdqiWK9UM
2
Nice puzzle. I do have a cavil, though: I detest alphabet strings. Why not use that fine old acronym for the United Mine Workers instead?
Umm, wouldn't that have to be the United Vine Workers in this case?
Fla-to-Cal may be I-10, but Cal-to-Fla is via "the ten"
4
Except in those places where it's the I-X, or I-Claudius.
(Ooh, that was a such long way to go for that one, even for me. Anyone care to split a cab on the way back? Or maybe a white zin?)
2
Good point, Frank. Thanks for reminding us back east of the paradox of there being "No I in California."
3
Seems every month or so the subject here turns to Interstate highways!
2
What is a middle age spread? I've never come across that one before.
It's like the freshman "15" . . . it's the slow transformation of men into the Michelin Man . . . think of a more evenly distributed beer belly. . .
2
It's when you hit middle age and start to expand around the middle. Just a shade. Just a smidge. Surely I haven't done that...
3
Adding to the above, it's just result of a sedentary office lifestyle. I've heard it also called secretarial spread.
My only...misgiving?...isn't a knock against this puzzle in particular, but just in general: "ZED" comes up fairly regularly, and I would love to see someone come up with a clue for it that doesn't just combine a reference to "end" with an allusion to England/the British.
2
What other meaning besides the letter Z in the UK does ZED have?
How about anything with this reference:
The robotic comic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0FBGrtAicY
or
Master of Shadows, League of Legends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DFtlNGzMIA
1
I posted an alternative clue for ZED not too long ago:
An "unnecessary letter". King Lear, Act 2 Scene 2
I could make it a bit more specific, but then the emus would block it.
2
This says it all (for me):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBcIWhEUbPY
2
Ok. So I went to check out the Mini after reading a few comments. 1A Easy as_____. Aha! I thought. Instead of writing in PIE I wrote in 3.14. That gave me 3AM, 1PAC, and 4HOLE. FAIL!
6
CMON, surely your comment is less (than) sincere?
Quite sincere, I assure you! When I read that there were numbers involved in the mini, that is where my mind went. Just a case of overthinking methinks.
3
If I owned a big SPREAD in New Mexico, just off of ITEN, I would retreat there from the cold and ice farther north, plant a grove and produce ORANGERIND. Stay warm, fellow puzzlers.
1
From one was born with a MIDDLE AGE SPREAD and have been spreading ever since, I rather enjoyed this puzzle, glue and all.
For me, IMP is a timely reference, as I have been bingeing my way through episodes of Game of Thrones (just finished season 2), in which Tyrion Lannister, aka the IMP, is a standout character, thanks to the bravura performance of Peter Dinklage (assisted by some rather outrageously provocative dialogue from the series writing team). I tried to find a safe-for-work clip on YouTube to link here, and this is about as close as I could come (if you don't mind a P-bomb thrown in rather gratuitously). If your taste runs more to unsafe-for-work, search YouTube for GAME OF THRONES IMP. There are boatloads of examples.
https://youtu.be/1K467eTpmBU
2
Can someone explain why "It doesn't get returned" is a hint for ACE?
Think tennis.
1
Tennis anyone?
In tennis, a winning serve is called an ACE.
I had filled in ITEN via crosses and stared at it trying to make sense of it. And then I remembered I-10 the highway we took in the 90's from Florida to California. I remember being appalled at the incivility of the Texas road signs, "Don't mess with Texas" which I learned later meant "Don't litter."
2
Meg, if I may be so bold as to reply to your interesting comment by quoting and linking Lyle Lovett: "That's (all)Right, You're Not From Texas."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLU_IYflUkQ (-;]
1
What a relief! Texas wants me anyway. Thanks, Brutus.
Nice theme and enjoyable solve. Very easy in some areas - not so much in others. I've said before that I'm not generally a fan of circled letters, but I do like it when there is interaction between understanding the theme and solving the puzzle and this one was that way for me. I had all the circles in two of the theme answers (33 and 42a) filled in when I started pondering the reveal. With the last couple of letters filled in, that was enough to get it. That in turn allowed me to go back and fill in the empty circles on the other two themers, and those turned out to be key in working out some areas where I'd been stuck.
One real dumb thing for me today. I didn't know LOD and somehow after I read the clue for 37d I managed to skip over 'software', so I was thinking of some medically related anti-virus brand (NOR-TAN?). Thought I was doomed, but finally re-read the clue and got it.
Obvious link for today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sl4XCVmoXg
..
8
Thanks for the clip RiA, loved it. About that name change; do ya think Constantine signed off on it as a Great idea?
1
That popped briefly into my head with my answer then right back out. Now the earworm is stuck!
1
As a January thaw in the NE continues to ABRADE the LOAD of ice and snow that has accumulated on account of the recent deep freeze, I TENuously sally forth aboard the good ship cruciverbia. Today's shaky sojourn is partly on account of 19d, a word that seems to have crashed the Tuesday party. More akin to a Saturday term, 19d made for a frosty solve. All things Greek, even those of garden variety ilk, usually leave my solve in ruins. Invoking the grey cloud silver lining cliche, the dire OBOLI spread merry thoughts of this music all around my brain. On this clip, Sir Paul shares the lyric with the stadium crowd, dexterously plucking the three note bass line on his patented Hofner,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyVWV-2xCJU
And now, for something completely different, Greenlander Julie Berthelsen lovingly and succinctly CRADLEs her TAKE on the same Lennon-McCartney White Album classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE6Gme921u8
Start SPPREADing The News,
Bru
1
Cheese spread, sure. Bed spread, absolutely.
Wing spread, maybe.
But middle age spread? What is this? That's not a thing, is it?
Better go check a mirror ASAP.
Thanks for an excellent Tuesday, Mr. Hilger.
1
I'd post a picture of mine to demonstrate, but in the interest of not grossing out the Internet, I shall not. :-)
2
Little League has an AGE SPREAD of 8 thru 12, 10 being the MIDDLE of said SPREAD. What with all the trendy '40 being the new 30' jazz, maybe an accurate MIDDLE AGE SPREAD might be, say, 45 thru 50?
Last time I looked (down) middle age spread meant a thickening midsection.
I started at the top very easily and got a little bogged down as I descended. It would be interesting to hear which circled word gave each of us SPREAD. In my case it was MIDDLE AGE.
I was stumped in the east because I had DRYER for 32 down and UVD made as much sense to me as anything else for what I assumed was some sort of electrical connecting cable. I much preferred the original "TX separatists" clue, and don't know why it was nixed, not that I would have been any more successful because WRYER just didn't dawn on me.
I didn't realize it was a rebus in the mini. Don't daily features typically have today's date at the top?
Why do you think there's a rebus in today's (1/23) mini? There are numerals, but no rebuses (rebi?).
1
Ha! I see your man spread and raise you one woman drool. Early AM flight. Woman next to me proceeds to fall asleep, head lolls to my shoulder: LAVA flowed.
Misspelled OPRY and WRYER so my Gold Star was denied. I know the Athenian coins as owls in Latin ibis and Italian igufi. I was asea. Rescued by luck.
My third attempt at getting the correct cable to link my MacBook to a monitor. Perhaps Acme could drive over to Apple and suggest consistent naming. I had to ask the young Applet three times if USB-C and Thunderbolt were the same thing and if I had a Thunderbolt 1 or 2. I also brought a picture of my monitor connector as I do not know from VGA to HDMI. I liked it better when these things were color coded.
Snowbound in WI
1
"Snowbound in WI"
Snowbound is a pleasant change for the crossword comments, dk. As a rule, we get ICEDIN.
1
dk, did you try a UVW connection?
1
What a variety of words one can put before SPREAD. That's my excuse for not getting it until the reveal. I agree with those who suggested the Monday and Tuesday puzzles could have been swapped, but I suppose that must be hard to decide.
As always, crosswords trigger memories, in this case our fascination when in ISTANBUL of being able to cross from Europe to Asia whilst staying in the same city.
3
The inspiration for White Rabbit was psilocybin mushrooms, not LSD. Just sayin.
1
Slick had stated the composition was intended to be a slap to parents who read their children such novels and then wondered why their children later used drugs.[8] Characters Slick referenced include Alice, the White Rabbit, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, the White Knight, the Red Queen, and the Dormouse.[9] Slick reportedly wrote the song after an acid trip.[10] For Slick, "White Rabbit" "is about following your curiosity. The White Rabbit is your curiosity".[11] For her and others in the 1960s, drugs were a part of mind expansion and social experimentation. With its enigmatic lyrics, "White Rabbit" became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. Even Marty Balin, Slick's eventual rival in Jefferson Airplane, regarded the song as a "masterpiece". In interviews, Slick has related that Alice in Wonderland was often read to her as a child and remained a vivid memory well into her adulthood.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_(song)
4
Didn't the white rabbit have a problem keeping appointments?
2
All right! Numbers in a mini! Refreshing!
5
The mini was, indeed, not exactly as easy as pie; si o no?
1
I usually do the mini first, as this time, and the first entries were numbers. In the main puzzle the first entry was TWO. Fun.
2
I saw your comment before I did the MIni and still went for the pie.
1
Good puzzle that got the job done -- woke my brain up and spurred it further with a few precious stumbles. Good clues for SESAME and ACE, and nice answers PREMONITION and CMON. Pretty much solved like a themeless, but I believe I used the theme to fill in a couple of letters. Impressive that the circles are in every word of the rows they show up in.
I believe LOD and LOAD are homonyms. Regarding "U-turn form SSW": too easy and would be so even on a Monday, IMO. WING SPREAD is a thing, but not nearly as well used (if you believe Google hit results) as WINGSPAN.
The theme tripped off that unpredictable button in my head, and now all day I'll be hearing Sinatra singing, "Start spreading the news..." You're welcome.
3
Just commenting on the mini, is that 1A kosher?
3
Lately there have been puzzles with numbers I think it’s confusing considering it’s a cross WORD puzzle.
2
Hmm. Think about it this way. Read your original question, catpet. Is your post kosher?
1
Guess I don't get the joke here.
1
Just right for Tuesday. An amusing theme, which I ignored until I had filled the grid, and then took my time to enjoy it.
There were two tricky entries: I was held up briefly by the first and longer by the second.
1. LOD. Although I had EMPLANED (sic!) and landed there many times I first automatically entered TLV, the code for Tel-Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport.
LOD (Lydda) is the nearest town and was the airport’s name until 1973.
2. LOAD. I entered LOAN. LSN looked funny, but the only white rabbit I knew was Harvey, so I let it stand. When the app failed to sound, I reconsidered, substituted D for N, and the music sounded.
2
Amitai,
Here's the white rabbit that isn't Harvey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0
3
Thanks, Barry. I hadn't bothered to look it up but now, after hearing the song, I completed my education by looking up the lyrics and its history as well. I didn't realize that it was written way back in 1966.
2
My pleasure, Amitai. It was also my great pleasure to hear and see it performed live way back in 1966.
and Elke
Will ECHO the suspicion that the Monday and Tuesday puzzles were switched at birth or at least in the CRADLE ?
AnyHOO- will let others deal with that giant EGO that REIGNS and RAGEs from WHERESOEVER (first time I've used that word).
Re: MIDDLE AGE , as a member of the 'silent generation', (not GEN-Xer) , I've noticed that MIDDLE AGE seems to be a movable era. When I was in my thirties ,I thought 'it' started in the 50's. When I got to the 50's, I thought it started in the 70's. Anyway, you get my drift....
Two types of fish : GARS and CHAR. Don't know about GARS, but had for the first time in the early 70's, in a Toronto restaurant (called 'three little rooms'), a meal with CHAR. Canada was introducing this salmon/trout species and it was (and still is, when you can find it) delicious. *
Cue Martin : bet you have a recipe and we will all drool. I am ready. We have had supper, which included some ORZO (spelled with a ZED ).
C'MON, I ACED this puzzle , she said WRYERly.
*For those who want to know more about CHAR (the fish):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_char
2
I first had arctic char in Toronto too. Forgot the restaurant, but I remember wondering if the fish (omble chevalier) was Maurice's brother. I kept that to myself, wisely I suspect.
I've had it since a few times. The best way is simple Japanese "salt-grilled," shio-yaki. There are few fishes that aren't wonderful that way. Like much Japanese cuisine, it's very simple but experience is necessary to get it just right.
Fish is almost always salted before cooking in Japan. The amount of salt (light dusting through completely covering), time in the salt (from a few minutes to 6 hours) and post-salt treatment (heavy rinsing, light rinsing or just wiping with paper towel) is determined by the type of fish, the season, how fatty it is, how fresh it is, how thick it is, the air temperature and a sixth sense. Japanese recipes say "enough salt" for "as long as needed."
A char filet will get a medium sprinkling of salt over all surfaces, for 30-60 minutes depending on freshness and fattiness, followed by a quick rinse and thorough drying. The salting draws a lot of water from the fish, and a lot of unwanted fishiness. It becomes a lot firmer and the umami is concentrated.
Then it's grilled. Charcoal is best but even a broiler will work. For saltwater fish, you grill the skin side first until it blisters, flip and do the meat side until done, and flip and give the skin a few seconds. (Freshwater fish go meat side first.) How long? As needed. Don't overcook!
1
Speaking of ORZO, I always thought it came from an Italian word for rice. It looks like rice and the Latin genus of rice is Oryza. I never bothered to look it up.
Recently, we were invited to a dinner of the Italian Academy for Cuisine (an organization of mostly restaurant and wine professionals). Amazing meal. The theme was truffles, and each dish had truffles that had been dug in Italy the day before and jetted to San Francisco for the dinner. One dish had barley and the only other non-Italian besides me and Elaine inquired what the Italian word for barley is. Someone answered, "orzo," and before I could stop myself I said, "isn't that rice?" In a roomful of Italian restaurateurs. Worst Martinsplaining ever.
Turns out orzo comes from the Latin for barley, Hordeum, and not Oryza. I will never forget that orzo is Italian for barley. It looks like rice just to troll me.
6
First Arctic Char for us: Reykjavik, where another restaurant had whale on the menu,
By golly, the Utes are indeed a Pac-12 team! I shouldn’t have doubted for even a moment.
Speaking of Utes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6qGwmXZtsE
4
knew it before clicking. Thanks!
1
I always thought OpEds were derived from Opinion...something or another (because that's what they always seemed to be) and I never bothered to find out where it actually came from. Today I learned how wrong I was...again.
4
"Opposite the editorial page" (I had to look it up). Now I've learned something new too!
3
I knew this from days of yore but had forgotten it. Since I seldom see a paper newspaper now, its literal meaning is less obvious. Thanks for reminding me.
..."An op-ed (originally short for "opposite the editorial page" although often taken to stand for "opinion editorial")..."
I didn't attempt to figure out the theme until I had finished the puzzle. But that was fine, it's a Tuesday. I really liked the longer answers like PREMONITION and ORANGE RIND--I'm put off by too many 3- and 4-letter words in the early-week puzzles. Didn't even notice some of the Down clues, as most of the puzzle filled in from the Acrosses. And what weird corner of my brain now automatically knows that EZRA comes after Chronicles? That's got to be from crossword puzzles.
2
I definitely cannot remember many things like what Bible book follows Chronicles, but given it's four letters I might guess EZRA.
1
Exactly so, pm. Me 2.
very fast. I said to myself: C'MON. SO SOON! LOL!
3
First time I have ever seen a rebus on the mini. Nice touch, well played. Took a little bit to recognize this welcome twist.
8
And a "real" rebus, not a crossword rebus!
Agreed -- welcome and well done.
3
Do numbers count as rebus? Is that the right terminology? I'm not sure. I guess in the symbols way it kind of does. It is a pretty nice mini either way.
1
Wen,
Yes, numbers, in the symbols way, count. 2 true.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebus
2
Nice puzzle. Felt like this was the Monday puzzle, and Monday's was the Tuesday puzzle. Now that the Federal government has been turned back on, I'm sure the puzzles for the rest of the week will be in order. Also, can I interest anyone in a bridge?
3
"A clinical narcissist actually has little to no self-esteem, and therefore requires an insatiable need for validation."
Thinking of anyone in particular??
6
Are ORANGE RIND and UNPAID BILL hints?
(Certainly not 1D)
4
Do you mean the guy who said the 45A clue and flies into a 45A answer? Who had plenty of high valued 30D's that he got away with not paying, and causes heightened 20A 18A including 56A and whose tweets 22A? Whose skin resembled 3D and whose 27D is "yuge"? That guy?
4
Could've done better on the previous one, like he 68A 20A 18A including 56A and 34A and lacks 1D and is a complete 43D too. And who may take us to the 31D of WW3.
3