Great Friday! was lost in SE region tbqh.
Respectfully, I want to say that I felt a little weird about AUTISM being clued as "special education challenge"-- felt a bit ableist to me. I am neurotypical and cannot speak for anyone, but my instinct is that Autistic people might resent being referred to in terms of the challenges they might pose to other people. I think there is a lot of stigma surrounding Autism and from what I have read and learned many Autistic people are made to feel like a burden on society and those around them every day; to me this clue reinforces this harmful idea.
1
An elegantly constructed and clued Friday. I had RATPACK from the get go but thought it too easy. That actually made it more fun to realize I had outsmarted myself.
1D One gong against the grain--REAPER. That made me laugh.
3
An interesting Friday puzzle.
I didn't have too many difficulties, with some time spent on DAFT and SOUPED, but the crosses were a great help. I liked some of the clues/crosses: AUBADE/EURASIAN; JAM/JINGOISM; XRATED/EXOTICA/HAREM, but was initially stumped and then highly amused by NIGHTMAREFUEL. Had never heard of it before.
Aubade has special meaning to me. Years ago in Maryland I lived with two cane corso dogs. The male would come down to my apartment very early in the morning and sit in front of the window and begin singing -- long, extended notes that varied in tone and volume -- until the first hint of morning light would begin to appear. He'd then turn to me and give me such a soulful look as if he was trying to express something secret and rare and wonderful. After a few moments, he'd give a short bark, and I knew it was time for his morning walk, and I'd better be ready! Really can't explain it, his salute to the coming day colored my day. And he had a beautiful voice.
6
I'm sure he didn't sing this way, but here's a beautiful hymn to the dawn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhiAulHKaIg
3
Would "O what a beautiful morning" (keeping to the Oklahoma theme) count as an AUBADE?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNi0NJ1dfeE
What about "Morning has broken" (Cat Stevens, recently mentioned)?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0TInLOJuUM
"Frere Jacques"? (reminded by suejean's french class)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2_oWshsRM
2
Or, the final scene from Black Orpheus.
1
Lots of nice words to find, but over all I thought this was easy for a Friday. It seemed like nearly every guess I made was right, and that’s not usual at all. Two EDSELS in a week makes the puzzle EDSEL a bigger success than the namesake. 8A’s clue is a GROAN indeed. But I don’t get 49A DAFT as a reply for “touched”. I thought something was up there and was surprised when the happy all done sound played with that in the puzzle.
1
Mark, “touched” is a bit of an oldie-but-a-goodie in that it’s a shortening of “touched in the head.” I remember my grandparents using it, often about their oldest grandson (guess who.)
This was a fun, well balanced puzzle. A smooth solve with no lookups and few pauses. I’m still finding my footing with the NYTimes crossword, so my time probably isn’t fast (33:03), especially compared to the rest of the group, but I’m satisfied.
1
There is an old expression that someone could be "a little touched" in the head, and that would be a clue for being DAFT.
2
"...but I’m satisfied."
And that's what matters!
2
I really wondered what SUTISM is before changing EXOTICS to EXOTICA.
3
Just enough work, because just enough no-knows: NIGHTMARE FUEL, NBA JAM, RUSSIA as clued, GROMIT, AUBADE, ASH as clued, SID as clued. Especially MONTANA as clued; "Comeback Kid" doesn't help if you didn't notice he was gone, which you wouldn't if you never knew he was there (wherever) in the first place! I gather from other comments he is/was a football player, so I cite my unsportsed status as an excuse for not knowing it.
I did know that a HAREM was a group of female seals because I've always been amused by the mental image of the animals dressed in HAREM outfits and lounging odalisque-style on the rocks.
Nice seeing JINGOISM in the puzzle for once, instead of being drowned in it.
Knew RAT PACK instantly, although I have never seen their film, or the remake, or any of the succeeding variations.
Plenty of tasty longies made for a very enjoyable Friday. Thanks to all.
4
On 8A, classic arcade game with a lot of shooting - I first thought of Space Invader of course, then Galaxian. Then I settle on GALAGA because it fits. And I had a lot trouble in the NE corner as a result. I never played NBA JAM but I did play the other three games. Too clever by half on my part on knowledge of classic arcade games. (Yes, I also though of centipede, defender, gradius)
2
I also was thinking Galaga at first but the easy cross BEEN quickly ruled that out for me. Of course, the game with the most shooting from back then was Robotron 2084, which obviously doesn’t fit. :)
Very enjoyable, even if I got hung up in the SW with the cross of an unknown toon and some kind of rap. Took a break and GANGSTA came to me, although I'm not sure from where. Never heard of NIGHTMAREFUEL. I like the metaphor, and it's clear from the crosses, but has anyone said it, or is this X-word COINAGE?
1
I looked it up, it's used! Not sure since when, though.
I had erotica before EXOTICA. Totally could've worked since 30D would have been R-rated instead of X-RATED.
1
I hadn’t thought that direction when doing the puzzle, and while I think you’re right that RRATED is a Schrödinger here, the problem is with EROTICA for 29A, because the exotic is by definition strange, but the erotic is by definition sexy. Now, many are quite strange in their taste for erotica, but that’s not a definitional thing, that’s something else indeed.
almost went that way but "exotic animals" came to mind and just because a thing is strange doesn't make it erotic. . . even if some erotic things are strange. X marked the spot!
1
Found this on the easy side for a Friday, maybe just on the right wavelength. RATPAK and ADOANNIE were early gimmes, and everything flowed smoothly thereafter. Got KABLOOEY off the initial KAB, even spelling it right. Indeed, not a single write-over, rare for an end-of-week puzzle.
"(Don't Fear) The REAPER" by Blue Oyster Cult was a surprise Top 20 hit in 1976. Certainly grim subject matter for a pop song--"Romeo and Juliet/are together in eternity/we can be like they are/greedy for their happiness/come on baby/don't fear the REAPER..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy4HA3vUv2c
More cowbell.
2
Excellent puzzle! I am stating to recognize the styles of each week day and so enjoy them. Great clues, full of surprises! Just the right amount of challenging clues. My favorites were like Istambul, special education and first capital alphabetically ( we considered Ankara, then Abuja! So it had to be AB OR AA. For some reason we thought ABUDHABI was a country but had to accept the fact after crossings). Had to ask husband why would MARSH be a center for a rail ( twitch!). Fun.
5
Although my time was slower than usual for a Friday, I really enjoyed this one, because there were a few twists and turns. I started 33D with Rated R and 29A became EROTICA but soon saw the light thanks to NEMESES and then DAFT. And a GIANT competitor just had to be a supermarket, but which one? AANDP was the only one that could fit. I finally gave up and looked up Ocean's 11 and after than, everything fell into place. Thanks for a fun Friday frolic!
1
I sing the puzzle electric.
This is a very resonant puzzle. I mean this in the musical/acoustic sense - when something vibrates, something else nearby also comes into vibration, if it is resonant. I was impressed by the resonances during the solve and now I've taken a moment to look the grid over for them:
Abu Dhabi and Ado Annie. Same word structure, same letter count, both proper nouns in two words.
Truism / Autism / Jingoism. How many resonances among these three? It's kind of amazing and takes everything away from any complaint about the triplicated -ism suffix.
Giant(s) from NYC; Buffalo in NYS.
"Yes I Do" crossing Ado Annie, who "cain't say 'no'".
Ebenezer (Scrooge) crossing Nightmare Fuel.
These kinds of internal resonances, that have nothing to do with "theme," can really make a puzzle sizzle.
18
Well said, David.
I do note that the GIANT of the puzzle left NYC for the west, and that the Buffalo (bison) is much more comfortable west of NYS.
2
Here are some "revised" connections to help clean up the NFL-MLB-NBA JAM:
Giants (baseball) in San Francisco; MONTANA (football) in San Francisco; PADRES (baseball) competitor of the Giants; PADRES AAA team once located in TUCSON.
Something a non-sportsed person knows about sports: any team will move anywhere to make more money; any player will move anywhere to make more money; any owner will do whatever makes him (and I do mean him) more money. Nobody who doesn't care about sports cares about sports, and the above notes relate directly to the reason why. Who can get exercised about a Brooklyn team that plays in California? Not me, not us.
There are Giants all over the place. Clearly, I join many others in not caring a) where they are and b) what they are playing.
I enjoyed the puzzle even though there were sports teams in it.
7
I managed to finish this before my French class,(very rare on a Friday but no time to write a comment.
I enjoyed this more than most non theme puzzles, perhaps because I knew most of the names ( ADO ANNIE story to follow)
I thought of AUBADE right away, but was afraid I was making it up.
I wasn't fooled by 1D, but thought of scythe first. That didn't last long.
Neville and Doug are NO SLOUCHes.
2
Ive changed my mind about the Ado Annie story; it wasn't that good.
3
4D A competitor to a player on the San Francisco Giants baseball team is PADRE, as in a player for the San Diego team. Not New York Giants football team.
2
Thanks, fonebill3! I've corrected it in the article.
2
let's see if this gets stopped. My posts are showing up minutes to hours after submitting. Most show up eventually. not sure what the issue is.
Random space/time / OUT of ORDER appearance of comments. Makes following threads hard. Pity cause the quick back and forth of comments ( when we can find them) shine like NEON!
3
EDSEL bombs two days in a row! GRRRRille.
1
12 hours almost to the dot!
RMP, you must not have offered the appropriate sacrifices at the Altar of the Emus.
Could be, Wen. Right now 2 or 3 posts are still missing, some from an hour ago, some from last night. I don't get it. If it is something specific they should tell us.
10 whole minutes faster than our average Friday. Was that because Tucson was in the puzzle? or because we both knew aubade from literature and music. Interesting to note that the government of New Spain established a presidio here in 1775, under the leadership of an Irishman named Hugo O'Connor.
1
Well, I don't think the missing comments are coming back. No worries. They seemed much more astute late in the evening, to me at least! Here are reconstructed (more or less) versions plus a few more. First, I agree with several that "Rail Center" was a great clue.
NIGHT falling crossing DAY breaking seemed well constructed, with "Spring Forward" coming up on Sunday, we're losing an hour to work the variety. EDSEL two days in a row ended the EELS two day run. EBENEZER is back after a few days, too.
BON AMI (she pronounced it BO NAMMY) was the only cleanser my grandmother would use. NYS as an abbrev for N. Yk. State? Really? Can you really get that much stone from A SWAN? We had NO MAS recently, so it's only right we now get some MAS back.
ORDER OUT vs. ORDER IN? Do people really call a restaurant, request for delivery, and refer to it as an ORDER OUT? Must be a regional thing.
I am touched/worried that I got DAFT just from the D.
3
My first try blew up (or posted before I was done). Again...
RMP,
(1) We do use "New York State" and "NYS" up here (not just New York and NY), especially for state "things," as in "New York State Department of Taxation and Finance" or "Leaving NYS Thruway Authority's Website."
(2) I'm not sure it's a regional thing, but I have no problem with order out for order in. The food will be "to go," right? To go out.
(3) Keep out of the daft.
3
EDSEL, EELS, EBENEZER... Seems to be a double E theme this week. Does that mean that tomorrow we are in for some EURASIAN EXOTICA?
BA: Nice to have folks from all over help explain regional variation or custom; I just thought NYS was strange and the S was only there because of the 3-letter minimum rule... I guess Order Out is what you are doing wrt to the restaurant, and Order In is what you ask your colleagues if they want to have a working lunch. Ok. More coffee helps see.
2
A good week, with all times below average and no lookups for the first time ever. Of course tomorrow is another day. Now if only my luck will hold until after the Carolina Duke game...
3
There will be ZERO traffic on the Durham and Chapel Hill streets tonight, believe me. Especially at 9:30.
1
Congrats on the no lookup milestone! Especially on a Friday!! Root "blue" and you win either way!
1
Ha! I just looked it up: KAFLOOEY is a word!
4
Careful, you will give Will ideas on using confusion in a future cluing scheme! :)
Nah-uhn. That's really 'kerflooey', a variant of 'kerfuffle'.
Google it. They are two separate words.
Nice near end-of-the-week puzzle. It filled slowly for me until I bogged down completely in the SW. I had GROMIT and ATHENA and nothing else. It took a dive into browser land to find TUCSON which let me figure out the rest. I liked DAFT, NO SLOUCH, and TRUISM.
Many thanks to all who mentioned Philip Larkin. I was unfamiliar with him but checked out AUBADE and will follow up on others. All of you who link to things that strike you bring much pleasure and discovery to the rest of us. Thanks again.
9
Today these two devilishly talented constructors were my NEMESES. But in a totally good way. What a puzzle! It's packed with fresh, unexpected answers. Just a joy to solve!
My mistakes were: NBA JiM/iDO ANNIE, ArUDHAfI/KAfLOOEY (I swear I've heard the word KAfLOOEY!) and SOUsED/LAsSE. Now I should have changed that one. I just equate "Juiced" up with liquor, not soup. However LAsSE makes no sense except as a Scandinavian name.
Regardless of my mistakes I rate this one dreamy as opposed to NIGHTMAREFUEL (another great entry!).
Bravo guys! This was pure gold.
1
I also had NBAJiM (iDOANNIE), don't know why. Got my gold star after realizing "JAM" sounded better.
Great puzzle! I don’t understand NAGAT?
That would be two words, NAG AT.
1
I was thinking, "This is awfully easy for a Saturday," and then I realized it's Friday....but it was still a very quick and fang-free solve. New word is AUBADE. I spell 7D thusly: KABLOOIE!
For 31D's Special-education challenge I wanted PAPERWORK but No. I graduated in 1969 with a BSEd ....it was a new major back then, but the important laws regarding rights to a free public education were still in the future. AUTISM was still being blamed on the mothers in many circles. Don't get me started.
EBENEZER has been making the rounds lately, has he not?
5
I had a very negative reaction to "autism" as a "special education challenge." Perhaps "monies" as six-letter "answer." Given the spectrum aspect of autism, there are students with ASD who are not in special education. For example.
The only acceptable clue that comes to mind related to "special education" is "category" rather than "challenge." I'm sure that there are even better clues than my example, perhaps a definition.
So if a clue fits the grid, but doesn't have a definition that works, change the clue, eh?
And now they're blaming vaccinations.
Is this supposed to be progress?
I meant to say "answer" rather than clue, above. Or do we say entry? Still learning the jargon.
A challenging Friday for me. Worked my way around the puzzle one clue at a time finishing in the northwest. Resisted RATPACK when I started and wanted AUR - something to be a poem about dawn. EURASIAN was one of my first entries and ABUDHABI was the last. TIL among other things that the threads in these comments are easier to follow if you read them from oldest to newest. I hope some day to have the time to click on the interesting links provided.
2
An uncommonly quick and unassisted Friday. Some of the harder clues were simply in my wheelhouse, and crosses revealed a couple of words that I still don't think are really words but are just inventions of mean puzzle editors.
4
Thank you for sending me to The Poetry Foundation (See, big pharma [Lily] does some good after all) for Larkin's Aubade and this: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/philip-larkin
Now I won't rest till I read Jill and A Girl in Winter.
Great puzzle, for so many reasons,
5
What a great find! I will be spending significant time on this site Many thanks to the original poster.
1
Well we have a different perspective on the golden age of television... hint it preceded the laugh track.
Had to look up the N for NONA and ADOANNIE (last name Carnes) although the song from Oklahoma will not go away.
Want to take a field trip and return to Tucson. The lightning research center on the edge of town makes you wonder if the residents are DAFT.
Great puzzle gentlemen. Happy to see the revival of The EDSEL in puzzles of late.
2
With you on the Golden Age of Television, dk.
"Omnibus"; "Studio One"; "Robert Montgomery Presents"; "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"; "Kukla, Fran & Olllie"; "You'll Never Get Rich"; etc.
(Wasn't a fan of Milton Berle.)
1
This one turned out to be workable for me, just because there were key answers in each section that were enough to work out the rest. Rare that I get 1a right off the bat, so that was an encouraging start. Didn't know AUBADE or NIGHTMAREFUEL and had KABLOOIE initially at 7d, but managed to get past all that.
Thought of ANNIE immediately for 12d but then just couldn't remember which ANNIE. It wasn't until I saw that ANNIE had to be at the end of the answer that it finally dawned on me.
Noticed a bit of a coincidence in the clues for the crossing EURASIAN and PADRE. PADREs opponents? Well, they might be Giants. I'm guessing about three people will get that and I could name two of them.
4
I’m with you. Why did Constantinople get the works?
3
Rich help me! Help me! I don’t get it.
1
NY Giants often compete against the PADREs. The singular is just trickery meant to throw you.
AUBADE crossing ABUDHABI and Istanbul, reminiscent of the old Pan Am 001 round-the-world route when one could welcome several dawns.
Lovely words and novel clues!
PS Thanks, Amitai, for the Philip Larkin poem reference. Powerful.
4
Lots of lovely roll-off-the-tongue answers: EBENEZER, JINGOISM, ABUDHABI, KABLOOEY. Had SOUsED before SOUPED, and my mind went juvenile thinking for answers to "Bottom line". Didn't know AUBADE, ADOANNIE (and I'm usually good at Rogers and Hammerstein) or NIGHTMARE FUEL. Thought "DAVID" at first for "Giant competitor". I expected and hoped for some devilish cluing with this PAIR of constructors, and man, did they come through, and I am tres grateful.
4
I also had souSed for a long time I knew it was wrong but it took a while to get it.
We can't let AUBADE go by without this joyous bit of mandolin-plinking:
"Aubade" from the ballet Romeo and Juliet, by Sergei Prokofiev
https://youtu.be/EaH9l6PTf2c
Being an R&H geek since high school, ADO ANNIE was a gimme for me. (I've been Will Parker and Jud Fry in various productions. The latter is much more fun to play.)
Lots of other familiar territory from the old long term memory. RAT PACK, GROMIT, EBENEZER (should be a gimme in any generation), among others.
JINGOISM seems to have originated (as a new COINAGE) from this 1878 war song by G. H. McDermott and George Hunter with its "by jingo" refrain, sung here with great comic spirit by Robin Hunter.
https://youtu.be/h1ZFzs7hL5g
5
Thanks for the Aubade from Romeo and Juliet - lovely way to start my day !
The NY Philharmonic played an all-Prokofiev program a few weeks ago, including Selections from Romeo and Juliet. Magical.
I was there at the Friday afternoon performance! Indeed wonderful.
This puzzle was less difficult than I thought it would be. It came smoothly enough for the most part, but I had to look up the characters of Oklahoma to ascertain the first letter of ADO ANNIE, which I thought might also be I.
I almost met my NEMESIS in the Southwest, but SCRAPEd by after a scan of all the six-letter cities in New Mexico (first) and Arizona, whee I finally hit upon TUCSON (Doh!). The rest of the corner fell and I was saved from going KABLOOEY.
AUBADE is the title of a powerful poem by Philip Larkin that I will not cite in order to offending sensitive correspondents.. Braver souls can look it up, preferably on Youtube.
3
Correction: ... to avoid offending ...
Amitai, thanks for mentioning Larkin's poem. I checked it out and found that it contains a famous line of his that I thought was the final line of another short poem of his (which I can't find now). The line, which in the other poem is rhymed with a line ending "my window sill" and which of course is also about fear of death, is:
"Most things will never happen. This one will."
2
Viv. While we are on the subject, are you familiar with John Updike's poem "Requiem"? I translated it to Hebrew; it is my only non-scientific publication.
Iton 77, Vol. 344, P.21, Jan-Feb 2010.
7
Once I had 1A, I was sure that 1D was RIPSAW. :)
Because CROSS CUT SAW didn't fit?
Solve time was faster than Friday average ...
Enjoyed the puzzle - though the number of clues connected to the entertainment industry were more than on other days. Had to get 1A, 12D, 39A via crosses, also 47A, 55D, 59A for proper nouns seemed excessive. Agree?
I guess this was a perfect Friday puzzle; it certainly was a mighty struggle for me. I was, however, able to correctly fill the entire grid—right up to the SW corner. From 38A on down, I couldn't come up with a single letter! Finally I gave up and Revealed one square, which allowed me to bludgeon my way to the finish. Phew!
5
Fun puzzle! Loved "rail center."
3
and Elke
Worked my way from the NW down towards the SE. EURASIAN, EDSEL (great clue, but did not fool me ), short alphabet run for ABU DHABI ; and REM and PAIR meant I did not have to know AUBADE , but it is TIL today.
ONE DAY AT A TIME is one way of learning to tackle NYT Xword puzzles- starting with Mondays.
In the NE, the clue for buttons led me to either 'missing' or 'loose' , not SEWN ON,,,
Cute to have HAREM (though of seals only) bisected by X-RATED and EXOTICA.
Just read that Will S. had a say in that. By the way , he was an answer on Jeopardy today. So were the DardaNELLes .
GANGSTA rap may be au courant soon.
Lots to like in this. Will now listen to 'Oklahoma' and ADO ANNIE and why she can't say 'No'.
CIAO.
2
and Elke
Just consulted mr.google re GANGSTA rap, and ,GROAN, have to add it to my list of TIL today.
Here's someone else learning "gangsta," the hard way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvoZho3xbLw
3
Sorry, Deb but the GIANT in 1D is a SF baseball player. I had my biggest problems in the SW corner. I had SWEAT instead of GROAN, which made pretty much all of the down answers a problem. Otherwise things went pretty smoothly. Rail center was a stumper for awhile, too.
10
What's not to like about this one? If you've put KABLOOEY in a puzzle for the first time, you've got a winner.
On the Giants issue, I was trying to think of another supermarket chain. But I finally figured it out.
2
Wasn't KABLOOEY the sound El Kabong made (the alter ego of Quick Draw McGraw)?
3
I too was trying to find another supermarket chain. Sports teams never occurred to me. Duh!
Pretty sure he just said "Ka-Bong!" while cracking somebody over the head with his guitar, RMP.
1
Nice puzzle today. Pretty smooth sailing. I was pleased that got several of the answers on the first time through, which is not usually the case for me on a Friday. Never got stuck for long, although I did stumble with NEGATIVEVIBES before NIGHTMAREFUEL, and OMAN and ADEN prior to SUEZ at 54A. Thanks!
1
If one of you youtubers could find this: the funniest 12 seconds in modern television: On Laugh-In, Picture a scene from Oklahoma, big stage set, barn, fence, bales of hay, a horse, and as Joanne Worley enters, the music swells, as she sings, "I'm just a girl who can't say ne-ne-ne-ne-ne..." (trying to get the word "no" out, of course!
(fifth attempt to post anything?)
5
A long time ago I performed "I'm just a girl who..." with my high school girlfriends and I still remember the lyrics. Earworm for today. Sigh.
I remember that Joanne Worley piece, and my father’s reaction - it was the hardest I’d ever seen him laugh. I think there’s one important visual you omitted - she was about 10 months pregnant.
Great memory!
Sigh. . . three comments so far, this being the fourth, not one e-mail (usually instantaneous) and none have shown up here. Reminds me the old poster, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." Seriously, is something up?
2
There are ongoing tech issues. I had a comment, that was replied to, disappear. The reply is still there, though, making for a puzzling segue. Sigh.
Auckland is not the capital of New Zealand (Wellington is). Only one M in GROMIT (who knew?). Aside from those speed-bumps in the NIGHT it went fine, if slowly. Slow is good for a Friday. If it goes fast I need to find an old acrostic, and I've worked my way back to 2002 - ONE (SUN)DAY AT A TIME - which is how I know that the Washington Post used to publish Newsweek (for instance). But I digress. Very nice Friday puzzle.
3
I also thought 2 M's but that's 'grommet'.
1
Would have had a chance at a best time if i hadn’t jumped on I DID SO instead of YES I DO.
oh well.
A fun play.
I had R RATED, which made it EROTICA (kind of appropriate but wrong). Realizing that EROTICA is not necessarily strange, I switched it with X to make EXOTICA, but now have X RATED. So there is no escaping the adult material - swapped EROTICA for X RATED.
New to me were - AUBADE, NBA JAM, ADO ANNIE. Interesting and pretty lively entries for sure.
EDSEL back to back. Deb, time for "crossword car makers"?
10
The version Doug and I submitted had an R for R RATED and EROTICA, though we noticed that an X would work there. In the end, Mr. Shortz decided to go with the X words. A you point out, in either case the puzzle doesn't get a G rating.
9
Wen, I made the same mistake (EROTICA/RRATED).
We could tame down the puzzle with a G instead. EGOTICA: writing that feeds one's sense of self-importance. I can think of a prime example . . . YESIDO mean a certain twitter account.
3
*Of course* Will would go with the X words!
I SWAN
3
not too much trouble. just saw A Christmas Carol on TV with George C Scott as EBENEZER Scrooge. An excellent actor in a meaty role!
2
RATPACK was a gimme, but I delayed myself wanting ripsaw before REAPER (if I were a carpenter?). Other than that self-misdirection, I was tracking on the rails here (through the MARSH and everywhere else). Others have alerted Deb to the sports error; perhaps someone will tell me what toon I didn't watch so as not to know GROMIT. Luckily, the toon was not set in Natick. Strange that when we ORDER OUT we order in.
4
Not a toon but claymation's Wallace and Gromit. They like cheese.
2
Only a gimme if you were thinking of the actors—I tried for a few minutes to remember what branch of the service that the characters had been in together.
Which brings up the question of whether the clue is correct. Is Wallace and Gromit an animated film?
I didn't find this to be especially complicated or difficult (especially after last Friday's puzzle!). My first thought for 17A was ADDIS ABABA, which didn't fit. So I looked at the Downs and thought AUBADE, maybe, which gave me the B which led to the ABU which gave me ABU DHABI. Tried spelling KABLOOIE like that at first. Somehow I feel like JINGOISM is a little more serious than just "flag-waving," but I can accept that it's just a clue. And I've never heard the phrase NIGHTMARE FUEL, but it's certainly evocative.
4
I personally think KABLOOEY is the right spelling. But, Calvin says otherwise and I must defer to him: http://calvinandhobbes.wikia.com/wiki/Hamster_Huey_and_the_Gooey_Kablooie
2
Rhymes with UEY...UIE??
1
Umm, for "Giant competitor" we're probably thinking of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, who would be more likely to play the San Diego Padres baseball team.
Oops.
15
Hi Liz,
Thanks to all who wrote in to tell me about my sports oops. It's been corrected in the article. My apologies for the error.
3
I wasn't led astray by the capital letter on the first word of the clue, and I knew that there were at least a couple of sports teams called Giants. There was no indication in the clue which sport we were dealing with, but that wouldn't have helped me (or, apparently, Deb).
But got the team from the crosses and the sport from the blog.
1
I think that for "Giant competitor" you are not thinking of a competitor to the NY Giants football team, but rather to the San Francisco Giants baseball team. That would be a San Diego Padre. Nice smooth solve for a Friday.
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