I disagree about Thursday. Maybe I can't think outside the box as much as I should. But love Friday and Saturday. Go figure. PB
1
Had a good time with this Friday puzzle which usually I find really tough. Today though, IINSIST and EMPHASISMINE came out magically and after guessing ALI, a whole swathe of answers came through (including ELDON which I have never heard of), until I had all but the NE to finish. Had trouble with AVIATOR because I had GEOID for OVOID till it struck me that the clue was about a circle and not a sphere..but staring enough at it seemed to work as after I went off and did something else, the words fell into place. Felt good when the music came up, and for not loading it up with little known trivia, and giving somebody like me a chance to get through, thank you BEQ!
Great Friday — I had LAZEABOUT over LAZYBONES for a while, which tied up the southeast corner (as did SAME for SANE), but was happy for the challenge — I still don’t understand OPART...off to Google!
Opart = op art , which is sort of maze-like
2
I think I give up.
I was writing a comment -- quite a brilliant one, sizzling bright and marvelously humorous -- but it went Poof! In fact, the filled-in puzzle itself Poof!ed too.
If it comes back somehow, please not that somehow its brilliance might have disappeared. But anyway, I give up.;
2
How disheartening! I’m going to trust that it will, deadline...
Boy, did I almost blow this one! I first had difficulty in the NW, where I started, so I proceeded in a clockwise direction and ended up getting it.
However, I was left with a lot of white space in the SW corner. Couldn't figure out 55A until I remembered the cardinal rule that a clue with French expects a French answer. I didn't know what "mots croises" meant, but I simply filled in a well-known French newspaper.
59A threw me for a long time. Because the clue reminded me of the Ides of March, I thought "When" referred to a Roman month. Googling "Roman months" gave me nothing that would work. Somehow I flashed on SCENEII. I allready had TOHELEN, so that did the trick.
BTW, what's 50D's ONEL??
5
One L
First year of law school.
1
Thanks, Barry. Never heard of that ...
First year law students are referred to as “one L”
1
Deb (or others in the xwordsphere) - couple of queries unrelated to today’s puzzle:
- where are Cryptic Crosswords (e.g. Sunday Jan 28 ‘18) commented or discussed, if anywhere?
- what is equivalent difficulty level ranking for a Cryptic: Thursday? Wednesday?
Thanks, in advance!
if you go to nytimes.com/column/wordplay you can get back columns.
for instance:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/crosswords/variety-cryptic-crossword....
is linked to from that pages. You need to look for the titles because the column may be posted on a different day than the puzzle.
hth.
1
Thanks... found the column. Now wondering why the Cryptics do not show up on the iPhone NYT Crossword app - do I need to look elsewhere to solve on this device?
The "?" in "Gangbusters, for short?" threw me off because I didn't (and still don't) see anything tricky or punny in the answer.
Just a guess: maybe the ? replaces cluing it as Gang busters? (without a space)
1
The clue "Gangbusters, for short" without a "?" should lead to the entry PDQ. (I agree, RMP, that the "?" covers not having it be two words.)
This puzzle totally lives up to all the hype BEQ gets. Just beautiful ...plain beautiful ... from beginning to end.
2
I haven't done the puzzle yet, or read Deb or the comments, but wanted to come here first to thank all the people who wished me a happy birthday yesterday.
Actually, I'm kind of embarrassed. On reading my own comment, it sounded as if I was trying to milk Wordplay for birthday greetings. That really wasn't my intent. My remark was just stream of consciousness. And it was nice to get the greetings anyway.
BTW, Leapy: My remaining roommate is Jessica, the calico. My late beloved Hazel died about a year and a half ago, age 17. I still miss her. But Jessie takes good care of me.
6
Deadline,
I hope you enjoyed the cake and Jessica enjoyed the crumbs.
1
I wasn't here yesterday so happy birthday, Deadline!
1
Heck, DL, I doubt any of us thought it was bragadocious of you...
meow
1
Satisfying solve. I was stuck for a while. East half done. Then the answers slowly dawned in the West!
2
First time commenter here, but avid week day solver:
PORTRAITGALLERY was my anchor in the middle after a few crosses, but is arguably my favorite Smithsonian museum as well. I had the pleasure of visiting DC last fall and found my visit there to be the most enjoyable out of all the museums (courtesy of a great recommendation from a notable politico and DC resident).
While the well-known Air & Space, Natural History, et al in the National Mall deserve both their fame (and their crowds), I think the National Portrait Gallery is well worth the visit. The building is also connected to the American Art Museum, so you can go floor-by-floor switching from portraits-to-art if you want to mix it up. As always, every Smithsonian is free entry too.
Regards,
Matt from Dallas
8
Welcome to our little corner of the world!
4
Welcome, Matt.
I envy you your museum tour.
Please come back soon and join our Wordplay playground.
1
Late call here, but speaking as a grammar stickler I heartily endorse the singular “they”. It has joined the language by acclimation, not by prescription.
I see and hear it not so much for non-binary people as Deb suggests but rather for situations where we don’t want to specify a sex: When I choose my brain surgeon they will have to be highly skilled.
3
What are you having them do, Charlie?
Is anyone else having difficulty opening the comments? I could not do so on Wednesday or Thursday.
I get to the comments eventually but sometimes I have to try a couple of different paths.
Nnonamamo: looking at time stamps, it appears that starting about 3 hours ago, there was a gap when nothing was posting.
1
Struggled with this last night...
Maybe it was the CABS fault.
This morning was better.
Loved the pairing of TROMBONE and LAZYBONES.
Perhaps because I used to play one and was the other.
8
‘Britishism’?
Hello from across the Pond, Brian!
The majority of solvers are American and we call flats 'apartments.' So we distinguish between the American terms and the British ones.
3
Hi Deb,
Since you wrote "...the Britishism “flat” for apartment..." I'm sure Mr. Tilbury understood you were noting the different words used in the two countries. I suspect his comment was intended to suggest that "flat" was the correct word in the English language and "apartment" an Americanism.
3
Barry—Rational people understand that both are true. As the great philosopher Simon said, “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.” But based on the Brits I’ve known, their version of the language is always correct, and anyone else’s belongs in the dustbin. Even when our word (apartment) is gaining currency in their country.
I thought his complaint was that the correct word was “Briticism”.
BOLA or bolo? I've always liked this one:
http://www.alansilvestri.com/video2-romancing-the-stone-elaine-adbucted-...
2
I thought of this scene from the James Bond film "Moonraker." (Fast forward to the 45 sec. mark.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdXshjACQx8
2
Enjoyable puzzle, with different, unexpected words.
Personally, I prefer flowers in lapels and flags in cocktails!
4
I thought cocktails at first, too, then realized I was thinking of umbrellas.
1
Yes, flowers in lapels.
But why would you put a flag in a cocktail?
A fruit flag cocktail garnish consists of bits of fruits skewered by a stick and placed on the rim of the glass
https://www.supercall.com/how-to/how-to-make-a-fruit-flag-cocktail-garnish
Or flags instead of umbrellas in international solidarity....
Not much on my first pass besides TROI (and even she was a 'probably'). But then the SW filled in off of LEMONDE/LST, and the rest filled in at a steady rate. Avoided the 1A dilemma when STEAMER led to IMEAN @5D. I too remember suffering through SQUAT thrusts in gym class; are they called JUMPS now?
I think I'll pass over Frank ZAPPER in favor of "BE TRUE" by Bruce Springsteen. Originally the B-side of the "Fade Away" single (1980), it has since shown up on several Springsteen compilations over the years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeS1VNecyGQ
2
Big Difference:
Squat Thrust: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fysU2ldlXSY
Squat Jump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72BSZupb-1I
3
19A hung me up for the longest time--partly because it took me awhile to get off of DATA for 7D. TROI put the right crosses in place.
Deb, I agree with you about 17A. Seems to me a better clue would have been "takes a flat fee from."
For 12D I initially put FBI, but I was pretty sure it was wrong. ATF made sense once I got 18A, ROOT FOR. I liked that clue a lot, by the way.
1
Great puzzle. Had all the makings of a streak breaker, butt came satisfyingly together in time. Like LizB and Wen, I tried IMEANIT at 1A and soon suspected that Mr. Quigley had SLAYED me. But I rose again from the slain. Tried every position in football before getting ROOTFOR. A writers' mini-theme, with BOOKPROPOSAL, EMPHASISMINE and shout-outs to Neruda, Nabokov and Poe. Thanks and LOLZ.
Solved the puzzle, but still don't get atom for bond collector?
Think molecular bonds.
6
Thanks! I never have.
1
Always like me some BEQ in the morning!
I thought it was BOLO but this puzzle corrected me.
PhysicsDaughter has WIRE for chicken and news....clever answer, and no doubt what Will and Brendan intended...
I was so sure the long phrase in NW would end in SMILE....finally noticed the crossing did not work. I am guessing this is a first for that phrase!
I love that someone below suggests visiting Iowa....to watch the corn grow, I presume. (Juuuust kidding! We watch the soybeans, rice, and cotton grow in these parts.)
1
No sheepish feelings here with my result despite straying from a correct answer three times. I can live with an occasional Friday tendency to ERR, to an extent...Hand up for mace before BOLA and SQUAT thrust (no fit) before JUMP...I also gave fleeting consideration to pot head for the high minded sort...With Jimbo in mind, this Stones' JAM is from the Goats Head Soup album; "100 Years Ago" will connects to the puzzle at 2:10. Wait for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17OkEeTxgCA
FEED The FOODIE,
Bru
4
The song started playing in my head as soon as I filled in 35D, Bru.
2
Needed some help on this one; there was just too much blank space staring back at me. Like others I had I MEAN IT before I INSIST, which I really liked. Do-nothing began to fill in as DAVY JONES which obviously wasn't right. I was searching in my mind for the FREER which I could only recall as beginning with F and then finally got PORTRAIT after looking up APOLLO.
I used to use NY Times desk calendars and often didn't even attempt Friday, let alone Saturday puzzles. Also I never looked up anything I didn't know so I didn't learn a lot.
2
PAYRENT fits at 17A with DATA for 7D ("Star Trek: T. N. G. role). And there they sat for what seemed like an eternity before I finally solved the rest of the puzzle and returned to the NW. I actually like when a puzzle has the feature of a crossing like that, with two different, perfectly logical entries. For me it ups the fun factor and this one was most definitely fun. I groan every time I see LST is a puzzle but it is forgivable today.
And (possibly fun fact)...ELDON clued as it is today made my day, but it was also the location of a half-finished mansion for Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold (who hails from my hometown of Ottumwa, IA which is near ELDON) back when they were tabloid fodder. They also bought an ELDON diner so they could always have a place to eat when they were in residence there. As the half-finished part above suggests, they split up before occupying the house.
2
TROI has been clued 45 times as a character from Star Trek: TNG, and never as anything else.
DATA has appeared 355 times, but never clued as the Star Trek character.
I think the reason is that TNG is borderline obscure for the puzzle audience, but TROI is a very handy letter combination, so it gets by when needed. DATA, however, can be clued as "information" or some such, so it always is.
I'm a 50-year Star Trek fan, and can name every character from TNG, but when it says "TNG character" in 4 letters, it's going to be TROI, not DATA.
7
4-lettered character could be WORF too, though it has only appeared 11 times.
1
Wen--But almost always as a Klingon.
This puzzle is so beautiful, it could hang in a PORTRAITGALLERY.
Or next to "American Gothic."
First toehold was ZAPPER and it went slow and steady counterclockwise from there, finishing at 1A: how often does that happen?
2
Didn't start the puzzle until this morning - I always dread doing them in the morning because I seem to do better the night before.
This was quite the puzzle. A Friday/Saturday for sure. Had to go back a change and re-change a few entries. Originally had I MEAN IT before finally getting I INSIST from the crossings. SHUFFLE before COLLATE, PAY RENT before LEASE TO (I'm with Deb on this one). Had MEME before LULZ before LOLZ (I think LULZ is more prominently used than LOLZ). Thought at first the Shakespearean reference was ACT____. But it had to be MEH.
The SE corner was the last to fall and I spent a long time staring at it. I wanted it to be BOOK PROMO___. It wasn't difficult now that I look at it fully solved, but getting my mind receptive to something other than promoting the book (I suppose you don't promote the book until a publisher has actually accepted the the proposal). MERINOS took way too long to get, and OP ART also didn't come easily.
Like the clues for ATOM, SANE, ZAPPER, BOO.
5
LULZ before LOLZ, surely. LOLZ strikes me as the uninformed version.
2
LULZ was new to me. A brief Google made me glad of that.
1
A lot of interesting entries made this fun to do, but I certainly didn't find it easy, more Saturdayish for me.
I'm glad EMPHASISMINE was explained.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
1
Please join me in welcoming ELDON, Iowa, back to the NYT Crossword for its first appearance in the Shortz era. The last time ELDON was in the puzzle, two railroad lines crossed there; today they are both gone.
3
I take it you once lived in Iowa, Mr. Ancona, as you sure do know a lot about it. :-) ELDON is not the proto-typical small town (with a square and a gazebo and a quilt shop, etc.) but is sits on a beautiful bend of the Des Moines River and is home of course to the "American Gothic" house, which is now part of a museum complex, which I would highly recommend as a side trip to anyone visiting Iowa.
2
I spent five years in Iowa, Michael, but I don't know every town of less than 1,000 population. I know Eldon because during part of my time in the state I worked for the railroad whose two lines crossed there. At the time, your "Boone & Scenic" was still the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern, and another line of "my" railroad went through Julia's town of West Branch.
1
So ELDON is a river city? And in the puzzle it's crossed with TROMBONEs.
Seems like there could be some connection there.
5
A thoroughly entertaining puzzle that I did not find easy. Although I lived on Mt. CARMEL for most of my life, I did not get a good toehold in the NE and had to work my way up from the SW, where TO HELEN, SCENE II. (of Act I, but we are supposed to know that) and LE MONDE were gimmes. I finished in the NW, where I had to Google the TNG cast for TROI.
Only the first Battle of Soissons was fought in GAUL. There were several later ones, all in France.
I enjoyed the misdirected clues, particularly those for EMPHASIS MINE, ROOT FOR and ZAPPER.
1
Amitai, when I read the clue asking the setting of the Battle of Soissons, I thought "You're kidding, right?" but was fairly confident they didn't want a 4x2 rebus pushed in there. I did figure it out, but wasn't GAUL still GAUL in Chas Martel's time? Counting Clovis, would you allow GAUL for two of Soissons six?
PS: I always root for whichever side Aquitane is on, bec Eleanor.
5
Big fan of Eleanor here as well, Leapy
2
Leapy, Suejean.
I am not a history buff and, with my nonagenarian memory, I play it safe and look things up before I post; even then I have been known to.get them wrong.
In today’s puzzle, when GAUL keyed itself in, all I was sure of that more recent battles also go by that name, so I turned to Wiki an this is what I found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Soissons
Battle of Soissons (486), A battle between the Franks, under Clovis I, and a Roman successor state, under Syagrius
Battle of Soissons (718), A battle between the Neustrians, under Chilperic II and Ragenfrid, with the Aquitainians, under Odo the Great, against the Austrasians, under Charles Martel, who won
Battle of Soissons (923), A battle during which King Robert I of France was killed, possibly by Charles III, and the latter was defeated and imprisoned by Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy who succeeded Robert I as French monarch
Battle of Soissons (1814), A Napoleonic Wars battle
Battle of Soissons (1915), an alternative name for the First Battle of Champagne
Battle of Soissons (1918), A World War I battle, waged from July 18–22, 1918, between French-American and German troops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Soissons
2
Fine Friday offering, we say (using the editorial we, which, like the royal we, is an example in English of a longstanding "singular plural." With nothing much to dispute in the puzzle (h/t's around and thanks to BEQ), Steve has offered two corrections for the column body copy, and I will weigh in on the cutline (which I gather Deb doesn't do): Ms. Earhart has turned her head *away* from the cockpit window to look into the rear of the aircraft.
3
Fabulous Friday. Not familiar with SQUAT JUMP, as they were always SQUAT thrusts to me (and hated! --- EMPHASIS MINE!!), but TIL. The NW fell last because of that pesky double i. And never having heard the phrase EMPHASIS MINE. But I like it and I will use it. Thanks, BEQ.
That was fun and a real challenge. I had a few early gimmes - CARMEL (Hi Viv!), LOLITA and some others; and then some reasonable guesses. Chipped away and got a few more things and then I was left with multiple areas where I had some crosses on almost everything and just had to sit and ponder and run the alphabet until something finally dawned on me. Can't remember another puzzle with so many instances of that.
That second I in IINSIST was one of the real challenges as others have mentioned. EMPHASISMINE was one of the last things I filled in and probably my favorite answer.
Excellent puzzle. I generally don't enjoy themeless puzzles all that much but I really liked this one.
2
Treasures all over the place -- I INSIST, LAZYBONES, LATE CALL, "Back in the stadium" for ROOT FOR, "All together, so to speak" for SANE, "Give a flat fee" (which I have no problem with) for LEASE TO, lotso' double letters (17), the contrasting BOO and SLAYED, and ROAM/ROME.
Just as I like it -- A scattershot start, answers transforming into blobs of words, a staccato of aha!'s, all leading to tada! You are a prince of puzzledom, Brendan -- thank you!
9
This went down pretty quickly for a Friday. I got hung up a little on 36A assuming it ended in museum, not GALLERY. I noticed that LEMONDE is just an A short of lemonade.
4
" I noticed that LEMONDE is just an A short of lemonade."
In French, of course, that would be Le Monade.
I have no idea what that means. I need to go les down.
7
RiA.
I looked it up for you.
Monade in English is monad, which has different meanings in various sciences. Unfortunately, it would be la monade not le monade
1
[snort]
Les doeuns sallées.
1
Enjoyable Friday puzzle ... finished faster than average, though.
All sections were of equal difficulty (or ease) ...
Given the football season just ended I thought it would have been timely to have LATEFLAG instead of LATECALL..., no?
1
I had real trouble with the upper left corner. Now I don't feel so bad about that. Sorry, 17A doesn't work. Lease to does not mean GIVE a flat fee. it means TAKE a flat fee. I also initially had pay rent, but nothing else fit with it. Fridays are tough enough without you guys throwing in a bad clue.
11
I initially had DEA instead of ATF for "gangbusters", which fit with POTHEAD for "high-minded sort". I figured out pretty quickly it wasn't right, which was disappointing.
8
and Elke
Wish I could say that I SASHAYed through this puzzle, but I had to ''consult''.
Wanted to 'pay rent' rather than LEASE TO.
Did notice not only I INSIST but also SCENE II.
BOLA led to LOLITA, and BOO to BOOK PROPOSAL.
Mt. CARMEL reminded me of Viv's previous avatar, which I recall showed her in Haifa, which is on it. There is also the CARMEL Wine Co., which I think makes some CABS.
Nice picture of the pioneer AVIATrix , Amelia Earhart. Liked the clue for ATOM- i.e. 'Bond collector'.
I MEAN , I have ROAMed enough.
2
I was married in CARMEL, but possibly that would have been too obscure for a clue. ( different Carmel)
5
California, not New York, right, Suejean?
(bi-coastal)
1
Right, Barry
1
NATIONAL fit nicely once I got the GALLERY part, so I had to cross it out when I realized my error. Even though it's full name is the National Gallery of Art, in DC we always just called the museum that has the only Leonardo painting in the Western Hemisphere, the National Gallery. https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/da-vinci-ginevra-de-benci.html
The formal name of the correct answer to 36A, however, is The National Portrait Gallery, and its full name is the way I remember it always being called, which I'll use as an excuse for my erroneous first fill. It is a bit off the mall, but well worth a visit, by the way.
Welcome back BEQ, it's been too long.
8
Just moved from DC. I made the same error with NATIONAL for PORTRAIT.
Saw the long Smithsonian clue and thought, “Hope it’s the Portrait Gallery.” A storm caused my flight home to be cancelled a few years ago in DC over the 4th of July weekend. Spent several enjoyable hours in the Portrait Gallery, reading the piece at each President’s portrait - a great way to get the sweep of American history in one afternoon.
I also “slapped my forehead” at ATOM as Bond Collector.
2
Heart-breakingly beautiful, Wags.
Thank you.
2
Are we supposed to not like Ayaan Hirsi Ali? I, for one, like her.
10
Me too. But readers come from all walks of life, and some object to her opinions about Islam.
2
excellent Friday. We read Julius Caesar in high school. memorable lines: "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look... He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus."
2
Judy D,
The speaker changes during your ellipsis.
1
I don't want to speak for everyone, but it appears to me that all the answers belong, and everything is properly crossworthy. Is it Friday tough? Seemed very gettable, though I ran into some crunch here and there. All in all, a prim and proper, quiet and easygoing Friday. Good in my book.
If there is any grammar stickler out there waiting to pounce on the "they-is-always-plural" hot button, they should just join the rest of us in the real world. "They" works a lot better than "s/he" as far as I'm concerned. (Three usages in this paragraph, none plural...heh heh!)
9
Alan J, you raise an interesting issue.
In the English language, the only third person singular pronouns are “he” and “she” and the corresponding possessives “his” and “hers”. It’s as if our language, and therefore our culture, considers a person’s gender is so significant it must be acknowledged. But the most important thing, of course, isn’t the person’s gender. It’s the fact that that they are, first and foremost, a person!
It seems to me that English could use a dedicated gender neutral third person singular pronoun to perform the function that “them” and “they” do in the PLURAL. Apparently there are no good candidates at present. But this word should probably a neologism, not just a repurposed “they”.
Surely this deficiency will one day be resolved. I just hope I live to see how.
2
I have advocated using perchild. If one uses person, as we learned the other day, should not one also use perdaughter?
2
Of course, one could say "one."
1
I started out confidently with I MEAN IT at 1A, until I hit 3D and couldn't come up with a tide that started with E. So out it went, only to resurface in altered form with I MEAN at 5D.
When I saw GALLERY as a possibility in 36A, I wanted it to be FREER ART GALLERY, and it took a while to see PORTRAIT as the actual word there.
I agree with Deb about 17A; it seems backwards. And I did like all the J-Z-Q stuff in the middle.
3
Or how about this explanation: the word LEASE can be used either way. A renter leases the apartment from landlord or landlady or non-gendered landperson, or that person leases it to the lender.
As you can see, I too can stick in a gratuitous plug for that particular agenda. Not that it has anything to do with leasing.
I think the issue is with the TO... not the LEASE. IMO the clue should read “get” not “give”.
4
Challenging, especially the northeast. The bottom half came fairly quickly. I have always thought that I have never been to the Smithsonian, but I have been to the Portrait Gallery, so that must count. Lots of Js and Zs. Enjoyable.
1
For me, it went pretty easily till I got to the SE... and then was stymied for a while... had the LAZY and the BOOK... but couldn’t finish the phrases. Finally I spotted the question mark after “quotes”... and then it all fell in place!
Al in all a very exhilarating ride!
Also, BOLAS are not medieval weapons.
9
How about maces?
Nutmeg
4
Steve: how are you defining "medieval" to make this distinction? I was thinking of a time when I was in Heidelberg, Germany and noticed a building with a cornerstone with the date 1413. My comment was, "What a wonderful example of pre-Columbian architecture!" My host objected saying it was not at all primitive. I said, "I didn't say it was primitive, I said it was pre-Columbian. We don't have any buildings in the US that are marked '1413'."
2
It’s DOlores. Dolores Haze, to be exact.
The puzzle does have it right. Unless they’ve changed it.
3
Exactly! Dolores is also the more common spelling, anyway.
1
???
Was it misspelled somewhere?