With a different clue. HOSEA would have fixed the problem. SOY VEY.
1
The first sense in the M-W for "soy" is soy sauce.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soy
They don't always list senses chronologically (as the OED does) but this time they did. Soy comes from "shoyu," brought to Europe by the Portuguese traders of the "Shogun" era. Only later did the bean ("daizu" in Japanese) inherit the name.
I find "soys" to be the natural plural for the sauce. I have 7 soys in my refrigerator (Japanese dark or koikuchi shoyu, the regular one that Kikkoman sells in big jugs brewed in the US; Japanese light or usukuchi shoyu, preferred for the restrained cuisine of Osaka and Kyoto; Chinese light soy (somewhat analogous to Japanese dark); Chinese dark soy (molasses-like); tamari (a bit like Chinese dark); shaishikomi shoyu (a very rich Japanese soy sauce made by brewing with koikuchi shoyu instead of water); and tosa-joyu.)
That last one is my homemade sauce for sushi, made with shaiskikomi shoyu, tamari, kombu kelp, bonito flakes, and mirin (sweet rice wine), and aged for one year. A good sushi bar is proud of their sushi-soy, usually made with a closely guarded formula. It's called "murasaki" ("purple") in sushi-bar argot to distinguish it from the regular shoyu used to flavor foods. The murasaki is only used as the dipping sauce for sushi and sashimi.
I find it completely natural to refer to my seven soys (please, no "Seven Little Soys"). I'd say "soybeans" if I were talking about them.
4
Please pass the edamame.
(Immaturity)
1
Today's puzzle left me ROTFL, but only after I had Googled to find out what the heck it meant. Now I know why my grandfather could only scratch his head when ha listened to a conversation between my sister and me. Two generations is an eternity in the evolution of kidspeak.
For a change, I was familiar with all the names in the across clues (although I needed some down crosses for each one because I was unfamiliar with their identifying works. Never heard of John TURTURRO; so the cross with ROTFL was a pure guess.
I am not much of a themester; so I had to read Deb's column to discover that there even was a theme. But all in all, this was a truly enjoyable Tuesday puzzle.
1
Don't know how hep a cat you are if you don't know "Jesus" from "The Big Lebowski"...."You said man, nobody..........."
1
The term 'hepcat" goes back to the 1940's,tom S, when I was a teenage jazz fan. I suspect that this was a little bit before your time.
After epic fails Fri. and Sat., and all the time it took to complete the long Sun. puzzle, this one was a joy! Blazed through even faster than Monday. Only entry I was completely unfamiliar with was TURTURRO. Fortunately, I had all the crosses so no lookup or guessing required.
2
if you are running out of dream theme listening:
Princess Bride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bY0fdgpISc
Dream Weaver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKuzwPOefs
Gomer Pyle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5KeGccP9Jk
3
FOr a Tuesday, I felt it was a very fast fill, and even surprised myself. Thanks to Wordplay to so wonderfully weave the Dream theme .. I was quite oblivious... Finally, the puzzle taught me you spell SALVADOR DALI without an "e".
2
another simple fill today, thanks
2
Langston Hughes, Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Salvador Dali, and the brothers Everly. What's a culture vulture not to enjoy? Thank you, RT.
3
I enjoyed the puzzle but had a problem with the Vicodin clue. It is a bit loosey-goosey to have opiate be the answer for vicodin, which is properly defined as an opioid. If the plan was to have opiate and not opioid be the answer, why not use a real opiate, like codeine, instead?
6
5 Down is incorrect. Technically, Hua was successor to Mao not Deng.
3
Did the clue say “immediate successor “?
2
I'm among those who found this puzzle extraordinarily easy, even for a Tuesday. Perhaps it was because all four of the themers were gimmes.
I started off on a different wavelength, though. somewhat like RiA, I saw LANGSTON HUGHES, crossed by PLESSY, then with TURTURRO clued with reference to Spike Lee's masterpiece, and thought we were going for a wrap-up to Black History Month. I was quickly disabused of that notion by the other themers, and I did see the DREAM connection. I can see that DREAM WORKS as a theme is great but as a revealer would have been a nightmare.
For those who want something contemporary on the theme, I recommend this from "The Book of Mormon":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nprQuskzP80&t=0s&list=PLVLICYoWp...
Really liked the non-theme semi-longies: ARISTOTLE, APPLE PIE, PARADIGM, TAMARIND.
Nice diversion for a Tuesday morning. Thanks to all.
3
Easy Tuesday, outside of the OPIOID/OPIATE conundrum. The theme didn't register until I went back and checked the clues--ad me to those who wondered how ARISTOTLE fit in.
I'll skip the TUNAROLL and go straight to the APPLEPIE, please.
I'd say DREAMs rank third on the list of inspirations for popular songs, behind "love" and "hearts." So pardon me if I indulge in a twofer Tuesday.
In the US, Sir Cliff Richard's popularity peaked in the late 70s-early 80s; in the UK, he's arguably bigger than Elvis, with unequaled chart success stretching nearly 60 years. "DREAMin'" reached the Top 10 in both countries in 1980:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_thFKjQOZt4
From their 1977 masterwork "Rumours," "DREAMS" by Fleetwood Mac remains the group's only #1 single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrZRURcb1cM
2
Here's my favorite Gilbert & Sullivan patter song, the Nightmare Song from Iolanthe, sung by our own Durham Savoyards patter specialist, Stuart Albert. The recording was made ad hoc during the understudy rehearsal (he was the Lord Chancellor's understudy that year), so the sound quality is not ideal. But it's never been sung better, IMHO.
https://youtu.be/nprDXpuSOO8
(If you're wondering why the women in the background had pieces of cardboard sticking out from their backs, those were their practice fairy wings, so they could get used to not bumping into each other with their wingspans.)
3
Brilliant. Wish I could see the whole show.
1
Wow! Fabulous!
1
Viv & Lewis, it was a delightful production!
1
According to Google dictionary, the plural of soy is soys and soya is the British version of soy.
1
Our family members still call the sauce "shoyu".........we lived in Hawaii way back when, and picked up other vocab like 'lanai' and 'ajinimoto' (a brand of MSG which our mom used liberally. The ads had a catchy tune that I much later sang to my children in their infancy.)
The plural SOYS may theoretically exist (perhaps for a group of different types of soy?). The question is, would it be used to refer to a bowl full of soybeans?
"What kind of beans are those?"
"Oh, those are SOYS."
Another name for soy sauce is tamari.
Even when all the nits have been picked, I remain impressed by the work of our constructors. A tip of the hat to all of you who give us these minutes of pleasure every morning. It ain't easy. I know. I've tried it.
15
Allow me to give a plug for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain, where I saw, last spring, Dali’s “Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening”, an unforgettable name. Be sure to schedule time for Prado and Sofia Reina as well.
8
The puzzle went smoothly but the theme escaped me: ARISTOTLE, LANGSTON HUGHES, SIGMUND FREUD, SALVADOR DALI, and the EVERLY BROTHERS???
Getting stubborn, I marked (paper solver) the apparent them entries and discovered that Aristotle the Dreamless was the outlier.
Sometimes the answer is in the clues! Actually, *most* of the time... :)
1
A rare gem for art lovers who know poetry too..did it so fast with such pleasure and pride! .thank you!
6
Yes this was a lovely puzzle. No sports, no current slang, no words full of consonants like CTHULHU. I didn't really know ROTFL but was able to translate it immediately. I shall dream on.
2
Ditto for ROTFL. I am usually highly suspicious of any internet acronyms containing the letter F.
Then you wouldn't like ROTFL's expanded version:
ROTHFLMFAO
Back in the pre-emoji era, it appeared quite frequently on Internet comment boards. That's when people had to make do with 8^) and suchlike.
From what my research tells me ROTHFLMAO was succeeded by ROTHFLDENG (or was it ROTHFLHUA?) :)
Deb writes:
63A: I would call SOYS a bit of crossword glue. I had SOYA for a long time, until I solved the crossing and realized that “Sprays (down)” could not be HOSEA.
Hi Deb,
No throwaway complaints from you, please; where is the link? All of us -- newbies in particular -- await your latest special post "Crossword Glue," which will include such topics as adding an "s" to a word which nobody (except maybe Martin defending the entry) would ever use with an "s" on the end.
4
Crossword glue - getting too much of it for a prolonged period can lead some solvers to submit seemingly deranged posts. Q.E.D.
2
P.S. - Q.E.D. was referring to my own post(s).
2
Quick, easy solve today, although I was also momentarily tripped up by SOYA instead of SOYS (which seems a little odd to me.) Thanks for the Hamilton video!
Very easy puzzle as others have noted. Thought it was a nice assortment of people from different fields. R&E already mentioned MLK, which also occurred to me. Would have been a nice addition, but the full name just doesn't fit well in a daily puzzle and in fact has never appeared in any Times puzzle, though it does pop up as MLK or MLKJR.
On that note, my mind ended up drifting to other areas. First, between LANGSTON HUGHES, 'Do the Right Thing' (and toss in PLESSY vs. Ferguson), I went first to Harlem (renaissance) and then to the famous photograph 'A Great Day in Harlem.' There was a 1994 documentary about that photograph which I would highly recommend.
And then I stirred in a little MOS Def, who is also a fine actor (though he's never been clued that way). Most notably he appeared in a wonderful film called 'Something the Lord Made,' in which he portrayed Vivien Thomas, a pioneering heart surgeon who was paid (and treated as) a janitor. Again, I highly recommend it for anyone who's not seen it.
My own little mini-theme; maybe a reminder that there are some not so pleasant things that are as American as APPLEPIE.
4
Thanks Deb for the videos today.
2
I was also highly doubtful of SOYS. SOY is classified in Oxford online as a mass noun (not normally pluralized). Furthermore, soybean seems to be commonly referenced as one word rather than two. So this entry would seem to make as much sense as referring to "certain types of nuts" as "peas" or "hazels".
4
Somebody shake me, wake me when it's over! How could I miss the theme? I must have dozed off...This is the theme as penned by Johnny Mercer and crooned by Roy Orbison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23Ci2Oo50U
SPACEd Out,
Bru
1
Don't overlook Roy Orbison's performance of "In Dreams," featured in David Lynch's dark dreamscape Blue Velvet.
1
Agree with many that this fun, dreamy Tuesday was spoilt by the plural of soy.
2
Arts and Sciences. I should have been awarded a BA rather than some stinking STAR.
Also had opioid agreeing with BearsUp, although I appear to be a better spiller...err... speller.
Also found SOYS to be a bit lame. But I nit pick as usual. Fine puzzle with clues that made me think.
Thanks Ross
1
Nit to pick: Vicodin is not an opiate, it is an opiod. It is not derived from opium but it does have similar effects.
8
You are correct. I posted a similar comment in another blog. Opiates are derived from the opium poppy and the ones people are most familiar with are codeine and morphine. Vicodin is an amalgam of hydrocodone and acetaminophen (generic Tylenol) and is therefore a "partial" opioid. Opioids are synthetically produced. Hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl are all opioids (opiate-like substances).
5
Thanks for the explanation.
Nice to know what I've had to take, what with all the hoopla.
A lovely puzzle. Thanks for the amazing clip, Deb. Might I point out another tie in to Hamilton with RISE (up)!? APT to have TURTURRO and LAWYERS, with the actor's superb performance in The Night Of. In case anyone missed it -- find it!
2
Help please: why are MOVERS busiest at the ends and starts of months?
That is when most people here tend to move, (due to lease dates).
1
Because many housing rental agreements start or end on the first of the month, and MOVERS are the folks with vans you hire to get your furniture from one house to the other. I suspect it's a North American-ism. What do you call them in the UK?
1
Flat leases, home sales, evictions and the like usually transpire on or about the first of the month; it is when MOVER'S services are most in demand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-6A4IGRrw
1
What a dream puzzle!
2
Very nice that the theme answers came in four flavors: Poet, writer, artist, singers. PLESSY popped right in, I do not know from where. I submit that IDI is not a good puzzle centerpiece, and could have been avoided (turn FDA into FHA, DIVE to DAVE, and AHI at 49A to ALI).
My recurring dream is of tsunamis -- what does that mean? Then my dadblasted mind started finding related works by the theme answers: HUGHES (The Negro Speaks Of Oceans), FREUD (Tides and Taboo), DALI (The Persistence of Moisture), and EVERLY BROTHERS (When Will I Be Saved?).
2
Tolkienesque, Lewis. The overwhelming wave was the single dominant image of his lifelong dreamlife, often woven into his writings.
Atlantis
1
Lewis, was it not you who also gave us that DEEP THOUGHT yesterday "Raging waters run shallow"?
2
It was.
Agree with you Deb on SOYS. I had soya and til the last. No one says soys.
2
Had soya as the last one standing too!
2
A lovely puzzle that might have been entitled pseudo-biblically: “By their dreams shall ye know them”.
I have often complained about puzzled heavily loaded with names, Not this time, when the names are memorable and each represents another art or social science. I might have welcomed a more classical representative of musical art, say Robert Schmann (Traümerei) oe Edward Elgar (The Dream of Gerontius) or Stephen Foster (Jeanie with the Lght Brown air), but have no valid objection to the EVERLY BROTHERS, who certainly fit the theme.
OTOH it was not The Right Thing IMO to include John TUTURRO, whom I had to get letter by letter from the crosses
5
To bridge to the nowadays, two popular works came to mind. There is Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series with Dream as protagonist and the nightmary "Requiem for a Dream" by (lemme google that spelling) Darren Aronofsky.
2
For once I'm not discouraged by the chorus of "easy puzzle" as I knew this would suit many of us. No crosses needed for Aristotle and hardly any for the others, nice to see such a variety. However, when the theme is in the clues I seem to have a blind spot, so didn't notice it, wish I'd tried a little harder.
Loved it!
3
In today's mini a clue was "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" The answer, of course, was war. The clue is a lyric from the song recorded in 1969 by Edwin Starr and 1970 by The Temptations. Even here it Canada it had a powerful impact on me. Today, it has an equally powerful impact when I realize we have learned "absolutely nothing" when it comes to war.
13
Here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-2pNCZiNk
1
Will someone please fix the website bug that keeps the puzzle from giving you a completed message? I have to go to a different page, come back, delete a random letter and put it back in to get the message that I'm either done or I have an error. It's not a huge deal, but the extra few seconds cost me a Tuesday PR today - I missed by three!
1
Cheer up, Dave. When you have reached your nineties, you won't care how long it takes because you have nothing better to do.
and Elke
This puzzle had something for the omniscient omnivore : from ARISTOTLE to the EVERLY BROTHERS ,and from APPLE PIE to AHI TUNAROLL.
When I saw PLESSY and LANGSTON HUGHES I thought of another 'DREAMER', spec. Martin Luther King Jr., and his 'I have a DREAM' speech.
Went to the fridge for the ingredient in the Worcestershire sauce- TAMARIND.
Reminded me when, as a high school student working a summer job waitressing (at Murray's on Yonge St. Toronto) , a customer asked for the 'Wooster sauce' ,which he could see on the counter. I told him we only had 'wor-cest-er-shire sauce', carefully enunciating each syllable. Fortunately, he did not ROTFL.(Actually left a nice tip.) That job left one with tired DOGS ,but nice colleagues and customers.
Nothing to CRAB about in this puzzle.
6
and Elke
Addendum to yesterday's long thread re 'pocketbook/purse/handbag/wallet ':
this being the week of Purim- have been busy with another type of 'pocket'- to wit- the Hamantash (not HEMEN ):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamantash
our favourite are poppy seed, lekvar ,apricot , raspberry, date .....
Chag sameach- Wednesday/Thursday.
4
I love it—what a brilliant segue (or as my students insist on writing, segway... aaauuurgh). And, now I’m hungry!
2
I thought it was "what's this here" sauce.
4
Wow, one of the easiest puzzles I can remember doing. Now, for a few moments, I can actually feel smart! I read “Interpretations of Dreams” in college, yet this is the first time it has come in useful. I Could have come in under 10 minutes, if I hadn’t used “roared” for 46A, and “heman” for 43A. Oh, well.
3
Solved like an easy Monday. Theme answers were too easy though I wasn’t familiar with the specific titles. As usual, I didn’t understand the theme ‘til Deb, as usual, hit me over the head with it.
(Deb, how come you are so smart?)
4
(I’m usually not so usual.)
1
That is so sweet, thank you, Babs. I don’t know about smart — yesterday I pushed the wrong elevator button to go to my office — but it definitely helps that I solve every day. Keep up the great solving!
3
Does SOY have a plural?
6
Yes. SOYBEANS.
4
Somos!
8
Just needed a few letters in each of the themers to promptly get them filled in. Having lived in Kansas City, Ks. with a daughter in school, Langston Hughes was a familiar name, as he grew up in the state, and the schools were big on "local" talent. Grew up listening to the Everly Brothers, and Dali was an interesting (to say the least) individual. Very quick solve.
3
Don't people sometimes write their own OBITs?
3
Billy Graham is said to have written his own.
1
They may have written their own OBITS, but didn’t read them after they were published. Mark Twain did not write his own OBIT but did read it, and famously commented “"The report of my death was an exaggeration".
His wasn’t the only case: There is a long list of premature obituaries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_premature_obituaries
6
Woulda coulda shoulda beat my best, but I spent too long looking for the plural at 33A. Rats.
2
I had a pretty smooth time of it, too.
The dream sequence from Spellbound combines artistic elements designed by SALVADOR DALI with psychobabble derived from SIGMUND FREUD.
https://youtu.be/gnqyCM42fOU
(But no Hughes or Everlys.)
6
not much resistance today -- in same wheelhouse. SIGMUND FREUD thought dreams could be interpreted as "wish fulfillment." Not so much in my experience. I hope not!
3
Lovely. But easy.
This is really more of a Monday than Tuesday. Easy but still enjoyable. This was my fastest Tuesday ever (ROTFL!)
6
Here's a little something to accompany or follow a smooth solve:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4T3tMkjRig
5
Thank you, Barry. She made me appreciate that song.
One of the easiest puzzles they have published. I didn’t have to read any hints at all to solve this one. And completed it in 9:32 !!!
3
A nice smooth solve. I tried ROARED before BOOMED, but that was the only detour. I think I would have preferred a revealer, too, but not having one meant that I did eventually think to look at the clues, and realized what was going on. I didn't recognize the titles of the LANGSTON HUGHES or SALVADOR DALI works, but it was easy to get from the crosses. So I learned something.
3