Love the SEASONOPENERS puzzle and the four seasons when spoken Never expected OTTOMANEMPIRE and WINDTURBINES to come in so elegantly. Is the last mentioned, "instruments" of renewable energy or "generators" of renewable energy? And shouldn't 33a answer ITT be clued to reveal one of the first diversified industries but also deeply enmeshed in political scandals..
2
Interested to know if any of our "cross-the-pondants" put rased before razed?
3
No, straight to Razed! As an Americanism...
1
Enjoyable puzzle! My last holdup was having JUDO instead of SUMO and TSP instead of TSA (I didn't catch the 3-1-1 allusion at first). I got the correct entries just trying to make sense of the revealer.
Welcome TORII! I actually learned something from a previous puzzle!
I also duplicated Deb's journey to EDINBORO.
1
Not a good season for the unsportsed, what with basketball going in one ear and baseball the other.
Didn't get the theme until the revealer. I guess I'm not bothered by the pronunciation thing, but I'm not thrilled by it either. Still, a clever thought, and (I guess) timely.
My first thoughts about a theme had to do with round things, or things that go around, or something like that, but farfetched as that was it only even semi-worked for only three of the four.
STUNT SHOW? Is that A Thing? I know what it's talking about -- I believe there's a TV show called "Jackass" that is aimed at the audience its named for -- but didn't know the genre actually had a name. Or is the term a borderline green paint?
When I see a clue like [Critical cluck] for a three-letter entry, I always fill in the T and wait to see if it's TSK or TUT.
GOLD STARS made me think of the solvers who use whatever app it is that awards them. I always feel so sad for them when I read that they have missed out on one. All we AL solvers get is Mr. Happy Pencil, but it is nice to see him pleased.
Anyway, a pleasant Tuesday, even if it didn't quite hit it out of the park.
1
"Anyway, a pleasant Tuesday, even if it didn't quite hit it out of the park."
This from one of the unsportsed?
1
I wondered if anyone would pick up on that, Barry. Thanks. You hit a home run, and no one else even claimed to have got to first base.
Obviously, though, I'm not only unsportsed but (at least in the above comment) unproofreadered.
2
SPRING: I didn’t see any comment on Stravinsky “The Rite of Spring”?
Here is a link to a BBC programme, with some of the music and dance, interviews of participants, commentary and reconstructions of this groundbreaking piece. Don’t riot!
https://youtu.be/mhlorzZ4RTA
2
So because I went with OSU rather than ORU (both valid) for 40 across, I lost because I did not know the name of a Japanese gate? Sorry, but not fair, especially on a Tuesday puzzle...
Even beginners who follow the NYT puzzle should have known it wasn't OSU; a recent puzzle reminded us that Stillwater runs deep.
2
For my taste, CONSTANTINOPLE just sounds better than Instanbul; evokes romance, history, and mood.
Great puzzle today. I enjoyed the seasonal clues (pronunciation notwithstanding) as they reveal a constructor with a vivid and playful imagination. Thank you, Andrew.
We elided the "t" and "l" out of SOMERSAULTS to come up with SOMERSAUCE.
Looks like the avatars are making a comeback. Huzzah!
4
Just going to post that.
Welcome back, avatars!
2
Back in college, I had a huge crush on a guy in Sigma Epsilon (a.k.a. Sig Ep). He could pound two beers at once and then crush the cans on his head. For some reason I found that impressive. Who knew that 20 years later, this bit of knowledge would help me solve a NYT crossword? (And James, if you're out there, I hope you're doing well!)
3
I hope James is doing well too. In fact, I hope he's improved.
3
Re: 60A—As baseball fans will know, a NO-HITter is not necessarily a perfect game.
THREERINGBINDER seemed very seasonal to me ... always reminds me of going back to school in the OTTOM.
Any kind of BINDER makes me think of Mitt Romney.
1
Nice Tuesday puzzle! I award it three GOLDSTARS.
PS: GoldStar is the best brand of Cincinnati chili. Skyline is a distant second.
ORU/TORII cross got me :(
Me too! Grrrrrrr.
to CS: your son is a fiancé and his intended is a fiancée.
Merci boardoe.
Unless his intended is a man, in which case they are both fiances. (Sorry about the lack of accent mark; too lazy.)
3
You are right, Deadline. For lack of a pronoun from CS, I was thrown off by "Susan", may she rest in peace.
3
EDINBORO- what?
Is this just american spelling for EDINBURGH ,or am I missing something?
Expanding, there is no official name for people from Edinburgh, as for example those from Glasgow are called Glaswegians . Crossword clues “Edinburgh native?” often aim for “Scots”; a trivia site may suggest Edinburger, a joke site may say “Glaswegians called them gits”.
2
Hi Laura, no Americans don't spell Edinburgh that way, it's a college in Pennsylvania.
2
And we generally pronounce it as Edinburg or Edinboro(ugh) instead of the way it is supposed to be pronounced.
Who's "we," Wen?
It's a three-syllable word.
Enjoyed this puzzle. Notice the blue dripped in from yesterday’s.....
Despite being the first day of SPRINK, the NE is expecting its fourth nor'easter of the month, with snow totals predicted to be anywhere from 1"-12". So I am eagerly anticipating the Yankees' SEASONOPENER and the return of the boys of SOMER. Longtime Yankee fans will remember that they played their home games at SHEA Stadium during 1974 and 1975, while Yankee Stadium was being renovated.
Alternate clue for 31D: "Spelling and Amos?"
From 1972, here's Carole King, talkin' 'bout "Sweet SEASONS" on her mind (released on ODE Records, no less):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-8HYbYYW1U
6
I'm not usually unhappy about winter weather, since the only thing I really mind is heat. But this one's different.
My primary care doc likes to see me every three months. The current, long-scheduled appointment was for tomorrow. Since it is more important to my health not to fall on a slippery sidewalk and break some part of myself, I had to cancel and couldn't get another appointment until late April. Plus, I have to fast before the appointment. Tomorrow's was for 11:00 a.m., so that was okay, but the new one isn't until 3:30 p.m. I will be very, very hungry. Grrrr.
Very sorry to hear. Hope it works out with little discomfort!
Like the caterpillar!
1
MSU and ALA, as well as LOU, all made the big dance, but not under the DISCO ball. Is ORU allowed to dance?
1
Kudos to Andrew Zhou who today is most certainly a man for all seasons! I loved the quirkiness of this theme, SPRINK for spring being my favorite.
Deb, when we bring home a pizza my dog, Riley, thinks it's for him. He goes nuts for the crust!
Thank you, Andrew ... and Happy Sprink!
4
Sorry. Not very happy with today's theme words. While I got SPRINKLER HEAD, mostly because I was forced to install them in my house, I see a spelling relation but not a pronunciation connection; I see and hear no relation of OTTOMAN... to Autumn (or Fall). Again I can accept the opening of WIN(TURBINE) but missed the pronounce pun until now. In the end, though, it was SOMERSAULT, crossing EDINBORO that led to my downfall.
1
The standard American pronunciations I see in my I-dictionary are:
| spriNG |
| spriNGk(ə)lər |
| ôdəm |
| ädəm ən |
| səmər |
| səmər sôlt |
| win(t)ər |
| win(d)tər bīn |
... which point to 2 perfect and 2 near-perfect homonyms in "standard pronunciation".
2
Guess I'm not from Standard America.
2
Finished in record time and lost two minutes figuring out it was ORU - not OSU! Did anyone notice Rahm Israel Emanuel, Oral Roberts, and the Ottoman Empire all peacefully coexisting in one crossword puzzle?
6
I lost a whole lot of minutes with that OSU-ORU mistake. I went way over my average time today.
Cute.
Fun puzzle, but I *really* appreciated the shout out to my home town in 29D: Ste-Foy, Québec!
I'm now left to ponder why THAT particular town was chosen for the clue to "STE," given that there are quite possibly hundreds of other possible towns in my home province that could have been used.
My current theory is that, because Ste-Foy is one of the largest suburbs of Québec City, perhaps that was enough for it to show up on Google Maps at a relatively high zoom level, making it easier to spot in a cursory scan for a suitably-motivated puzzle builder?
I may never know ...
1
Hi Nic,
Sometimes it's just a search for a fresh clue on the parts of the constructor or editors, but cheers to Ste-Foy!
1
Bonjour, Nic! As a long-time player of the board game "Québec 1759", I'm quite familiar with where Ste-Foy is!
Ste.-Foy is no longer a suburb of Quebec City. From Wikipedia:
On 1 January 2002, the 12 former towns of Sainte-Foy, Beauport, Charlesbourg, Sillery, Loretteville, Val-Bélair, Cap-Rouge, Saint-Émile, Vanier, L'Ancienne-Lorette, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and Lac-Saint-Charles were annexed by Quebec City. This was one of several municipal mergers which took place across Quebec on that date. Following a demerger referendum, L'Ancienne-Lorette and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures were reconstituted as separate municipalities on 1 January 2006, but the other former municipalities remain part of Quebec City. On 1 November 2009, the Quebec City re-organized its boroughs, reducing the number from 8 to 6.
(That still beats NYC by one, although NYC's boroughs are much bigger. And Edin-borough isn't one in either city.)
For me, the pronunciations are spot on. And it's not that spring is pronounced SPRINK. We pronounce INK as "ingk", so SPRINKLER is pronounced as spring-kler. That's where the spring is hiding.
Anyway, I think I wrote the word SOMERSAULT today for the first time in my life. Somehow had never contemplated its spelling before now.
I enjoyed THREERINGBINDER. Since I got it long before I discovered the theme, the lack of connection didn't bother me.
1
That's exactly the way I was seeing it too, Bess. Spring-kler head, Summer-sault, and Autumn-an all work perfectly. If there's one that stretches it at all it's Winter-bines, because the stress that should be on Tur ends up getting lost. But that didn't bother me in the slightest.
And I too enjoyed THREERINGBINDER, as for some reason my mind went to three ring circus. I could imagine a clue being "It has three rings" and only having the I and not knowing whether it was BINDER or CIRCUS.
1
Sprink
Somer
Windur
Razed
A puzzle for all seasons.
6
Slow beginning for me. I think my first fill may have been TSK - not a good start for a Wednesday. With the top nearly blank, the bottom half filled nicely and eventually all was in except the middle letter of the traditional Japanese gate. I actually knew all the other letters and thought the word might be TOJII. And of course I wanted the Tulsa university to be OSU. Eventually I had to resort to googling the gate. I think I'll remember TORII now. Sayonara.
1
Meg, I hope it's not Wednesday or I've missed my Tuesday night wine tasting.
Actually I don't know what day it is half the time.
I also struggled with the spelling of TORII in spite of living in Japan for 6 months.
4
Uh oh. Right you are, Suejean. But the puzzle was not typical for Thursday. Where has the wonderful pesky rebus gone?
This does not bode well. Yesterday was Monday. Today is Tuesday. I'm OK. Really.
2
Deb, my crusts used to be saved and carefully wrapped to take home for my much missed Scottish Terrier MacBeth. Due to a sensitive stomach it was one of the few human foods I could give him and he loved it. When filling the answers in, therefore, CRUST made me think of him and EDINBORO (although spelled differently than the Scottish city) reinforced my reminiscing. He had to be put down a year ago.
I did not get the theme even with the reveal. Duh. Cute puzzle and theme. Perfect for a Tuesday and first day of SPRINK.
A very good source of the UMAMI flavor are anchovies. Even for people who don't like them. When smashed, they dissolve into a sauce imparting the UMAMI sensation.
6
"A very good source of the UMAMI flavor are anchovies."
Which is why vegetarians don't use Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. (And no wisecracks about "What would they put it on anyway?")
3
Hi Ken,
When the terriers take over the planet -- and I, personally, will welcome our scruffy overlords -- I believe that the new currency will consist of pizza crusts and whatever food drops on the floor.
5
I got stuck because we call them pizza bones, which we also give to the dog, and that fit in the puzzle.
2
iBooks run on OSX, not iOS.
3
iBooks was on iOS before it was on OSX.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBooks
Dick, it runs on both.
https://www.apple.com/ibooks/
But actually came out on iOS first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBooks
1
I like the puzzle better in retrospect than while completing. Even though I saw the SEASONs immediately, I thought it was a bit of a stretch (and not a seventh inning stretch).
But, the best part for me was the inclusion of ROSS, as it ties in to yesterday's activity. I spent the entire "working" day addressing and licking envelopes for the wedding of my wonderful son and his equally wonderful fiancėe (ONE e or two?). At about the one hundredth envelope, I remembered the Seinfeld episode where Susan (sadly) is poisoned doing the same task and I wondered aloud as to her last name. It came to me immediately, but I still take this as a SIGn.
5
I just realized I enjoy ALL the puzzles more in retrospect! Of course there are the ah moments during solving - a couple each day? But while solving me and son engage in interpreting clues, exploring possibilities, looking at the crosses - it’s exciting. But the examined post Deb enjoyment, appreciation of the clueing, looking at patterns, for me, happens after it’s done. Maybe this will change when I am a grown up solver?
I certainly needed the reveal with the instructions, and like Viv when I said the theme answers I had my AHA moment straight away. I'm not bothered by the inexactness of the pronunciations.
Nice variety of entries along with the fun theme so a GOLD STAR for Andrew today.
3
During one particularly elky summer, I saw some SUMO wrestlers SOMERSAULTing at SAULT STE Marie.
Thought this was a nice follow-up to yesterday's discussion on pronunciation. I had all the theme answers filled in and I didn't get it. And then I got it. And then I furrowed my brow. And then I started chuckling. I liked it.
Did pause over the central down 15, wondering if it could be theme related. Might have been nice if THREERINGCIRCUS had worked (it fits). Seems vaguely appropriate.
Pretty easy for the most part though I ended with OSU instead of ORU. At least I found it without doing a check. I wonder if Verbal Kint ever met Oral Roberts. Unlikely, I guess. Happily anticipating comments from all the usual suspects, but especially Leapy.
3
Say hey, RiA! Had you herd that elky summer sues Anne?...A floral argument over some thyme aster.
[Will have to return later with my magnum opus; right now I'm being sent out for some eggs and pignoli]
2
Again, RiA and Leapy should be sent to their (respective) rooms.
After Leapy makes dinner.
2
I stared at the finished puzzle for a few minutes, said the themers aloud as instructed, and - nothing. And then suddenly I got it. What a delightful concoction. I have a feeling reactions will be divided in this crowd.
I vaguely recall a conversation here quite a while ago about regional variations on SOMERSAULT. As a child in the Bronx I'm pretty sure we said tumblesalt and sometimes tumblesauce. These may have been how our immigrant mothers heard and pronounced it.
6
Viv, I absolutely heard tumblesault. Probably from my grandparents from the old country. Takes me back.
Tumblesauce in Brooklyn, too. It made so much sense - you tumble over, right?
I wonder if they got it from "tummler?"
(Route 17)
For the first time in 50 years every MLB team will open the season on the same day--March 29 (assuming no weather-related cancelations). In anticipation of that, I had dream last night in which the Nationals lost their first two games of the season on walk-off grand slams.
1
As a long-time baseball fan who remembers opening day on a Monday starting with a Reds match-up, this year's change is welcome in the extreme. I think MLB realized the contrived nature of last year's Eastern Hemisphere two-game set went too far. Of course they still won't schedule double-headers as a way to shorten the season, but that genie is likely out of the LAMP forever.
Vive les Expos!
1
A cute puzzle but what about our young solvers? Are they going to understand the odd spellings? Are some ot the older solvers going to understand them? I believe that xwords should educate. This one, well its not exactly in the speak and spell league. Ottoman? Oh that's the school bus driver on the Simpsons or Sgt. Snorkel's dog, right?
And what's with the baseball business? What happened to the boys of summer?
Okay, this curmudgeonI, for one, misses Mr. Maleska every now and then.
3
Ottoman Empire is good for old folks like me who know some history but have no clue about pop groups, recent actors, and other “cultural” icons.
5
Well, Dfk, you may be "old folks," but you're young enough not to mind the Constantinople clue. My father spent his [early] childhood in the [late] Ottoman Empire, and he certainly would have objected.
(I think it's fine as a clue but not as a definition.)
1
So near the vernal equinox, it arrives around here lunchtime Tuesday, you can almost taste it. "It Might As Well Be SPRING."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXMEVTtAZkI
That Rodgers and Hammerstein song of SEASON OPENERS is followed by a ballad to CLOSE out the waning quarter in our PRESENCE, Gordon Lightfoot's "A Song For A Winter's Night."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVG2eF40hzE
Dominus No DISCO,
Bru
8
I'm not far northeast of you and it doesn't feel very springlike here, Bru - but you did remind me that I'm looking forward to hearing this when our local high school musical opens Thursday night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmsOaip-YE8
the classics
3
and Elke
Bru- I wish I could give more than one recco for the Gordon Lightfoot....
1
David, don’t forget a good luck flower for the cast, maybe some daffodils that have poked through the New England snowcover.
and Elke
Despite being temporarily taken in by the OTT- and baseball references , no need to feel BLUE, I did get my GOLD STAR in the end.
The TORII answer reminded me of the art installation by Christo in Central Park some years ago ,which was called The Gates :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates
Does one talk of UMAMI in pizza and/or its crust ? Or even in the marinara sauce used in it ?
I'll go back MEEKly to my NOOK and await discussion.
4
I think of UMAMI as the taste soy sauce would have without salt, if that were possible. Or the taste wasabi would have if it didn’t set your mouth on fire. I find it at a popular local restaurant, the Sushi Den, which is packed to the gills every night of the year.
Growing up, My Mommy was no help in teaching me about this so-called fifth flavor. I had to learn about it from less authoritarian, I mean authoritative, sources.
Now I’ll kick back, too, and await the verdict of more erudite commenters . Isn’t this blog is a great forum for having your wrongs righted?
2
Mushroom pizza, perhaps. And there was a trend some time ago of adding fish sauce to marinara to heighten umami. So yes, there are talks...
Umami is in tomatoes and parmesan cheese.
Usually, when I don’t get the theme even when I’ve solved the puzzle, I feel pretty dumb. This time, not so much. OTTOM = autumn, really? My parents were immigrants, too. Let’s stop blaming them for everything (joke!).
David — maybe the seeming different standards for the pronunciation of different languages is because ‘quisling’ and ‘munchausen’ (or his syndrome) have slipped into English vocabulary. Kahlo, however, can only refer to the incomparable Frida. IMHO, of course.
2
I don't disagree, Margaret - the first two were in a category about eponyms and were clued clearly as English words. Even though the contestant clearly mispronounced her name, I still feel that he was robbed - he named both artists in full.
4
Pedantry arise: To be perfect a pitcher must not allow any base runners. In a no-hitter there can be base runners, and in fact scores, A pitcher can lose a no-hitter e.g. Ken Johnson in 1964 (thank you Wikipedia). So a no-hitter was not necessarily perfectly pitched.
7
Before anyone says it, I know a perfect game is also a no-hitter, but a perfect game is so much more.
4
I knew someone else would get to this before me, but allow me to illustrate just how poorly pitched a no-hitter can be. You could walk 15 batters, hit six others, throw nine wild pitches, balk a few runners in and give up 20 or so runs and still be credited with a no-hitter. Assuming of course that the manager decided to leave you in the game to work out your kinks.
That said, most no-hitters are pretty impressive.
6
This is why I came here as well. Sports terms have distinct meanings. A no-hitter is a different thing than a perfect game, and is not in fact “perfect” as that word is defined in the context of baseball, so the clue is incorrect.
Andy Hawkins of the Yankees once pitched a no-hitter against the White Sox in 1990 and lost 4-0. Hardly perfect.
1
Almost my fastest Tuesday. Are these getting easier, or is it me? Well constructed puzzle! I enjoyed it (but it didn’t last long enough.) Thanks for the clever construction. Love “sprink.”
My mother’s been gone for a few years. She and I used to do crosswords on long car trips - I would drive and she’d pitch me the clues. Since I started doing the Times puzzles about a year ago, I feel her here with me. Thanks to everyone who brings these to us!
27
I also got started solving with my Mom. Quite a rich trove of good memories there.
3
Pizza crusts are *not* leftovers, as far as I’m concerned. They’re the best part!
14
My daughter loved to gnaw on pizza crusts when she was a toddler. She called them ‘pizza bones’. How cute is that?
17
An order of mussels usually accompanied our pies as the crusts were the ideal adjunct for mopping up the gravy those sumptuous mollusks were soaking in.
7
The history and naming is complex, but Constantinople is not normally thought of as the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
There are many less ambiguous yet challenging clues that would work. E.g., “World War I was the end of this empire.”
4
The Ottomans changed the name to Istanbul. Easy enough to clue it as "formerly Constantinople," or just as "Istanbul."
3
I thought the Ames Brothers changed the name so they could make a song of it.
"Take me back to old Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Now that Istanbul is Constantinople.
"Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks!
The exercise of finding the Utube recording is left to the reader.
2
But the fact is ... 'you can't go back to Constantinople'
Somehow all those GOLD STARS I have been aspiring to receive seem less meaningful tonight.
4
Headed for a record, but stymied by Oral Roberts University.Nice puzzle!
4
I am guessing there will be some "pronunciation makes variations" comments on this as on other recent puzzles. Interesting link to tonight's Jeopardy!, where a contestant was not credited with "Frido Kahla and Diego Rivera" (clearly mispronounced as such), while the same contestant was given credit in the same round for "Munch-hausen" and "Quisling" (instead of /kvisling/) At least it was the same guy on all three. We seem to have different standards for mispronouncing different languages...
One interpretation of Three-ring Binder might be the three circles that girdle the earth, at least in terms of the noonday sun: the two Tropics and the Equator, which define or are defined by the passing of the seasons, depending on one's viewpoint.
7
Addendum re: TORII - think of it as two words, tori = bird (as in yakitori, skewer bird, yum!) and i = gate. Tori-i. A little bit of beauty, just google for images.
9