The Spy who Came in from the Colby.
1
I got this done fast for a Wednesday but stalled at the end because I had filled in CRUSH for 50D, which made the bean clue rather impossible, and IDing MUENSTER a real challenge, and figuring MUENSTER was the cheese got me to see the error. Other mistake was MEH for FEH. That I missed until the finish, when DEMECT was rather obviously wrong.
2
Did nobody notice the self-referential AL DENTE?
1
Did nobody notice the self-referential AL DENTE?
Yes. Hope you'll enjoy reading the comments.
1
But soft! What spite through yonder window breaks?
No criminal intent there, right, BA?
3
There's one more cheese allusion in the puzzle. It's been said that John Cleese's birth name was Cheese! (I can't verify this but Dick Cavett once assured his tv audience that it was true.)
2
Hi Rick,
You'll find Cleese/Cheese discussed in these very comments!
Really? I did not know that.
Don't know what I enjoyed more, the puzzle or the cheesy comments.
2
One last link. I've been thinking about this song since yesterday and I had absolutely no idea why. I didn't connect it to finding out that Weird Al was going to be the co-constructor. And then about 10 minutes ago it dawned on me.
I used to think that Al was Frankie's son. He's not, but he did (I believe) play on this recording with him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCFBef0NhDY
I heard a lot of polka music on the radio growing up. Frankie's band has always been my favorite.
1
Been away from the XWP and WP the last couple of days, but this was a great day to return.
I'm not terrific on movies, but I knew all of the themers by name, and I'd even seen one of them!
Only thing I 100% didn't know was LEGOLAS. I must read LOTR someday. Got HYENAS because of the Y from the bean.
OT: I have spent part of today reflecting on the life of MLK, the civil rights movement in general, and the gains and setbacks of the last half century. That part of the TV coverage that deals with the assassination itself brings memories that are still raw of that terrible day in that terrible year.
10
Glad you showed up, DL. Was a bit worried about you.
Same here in regard to MLK. As you can imagine, local stations have been doing extensive coverage on it all day. I've listened to this several times today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oehry1JC9Rk
To me it's his most powerful moment (among many). I think that somehow, he knew.
5
Read and heard a number of things also. With no intention to downplay, one thing that struck me as fraught was Robert Kennedy's talking in Indianapolis, in the immediate aftermath. Considering, you know.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/king-rfk-speech.html?&moduleDe....®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article
3
Loved it! It was fun trying to guess the theme entries.
FEH?? I was so unsure of this, and not 100% sure that LEHRER was right, that I felt certain that my mistake(s) lie there. After trying a couple of other ideas, including questioning DEFECT (!), I gave up and searched elsewhere for the error(s). Turned out to be SMASH/APN. Although SMUSH seemed awfully colloquial, UPN sounded familiar. Happy music and congrats ensued!
1
Can someone tell me where I can find good online acrostic puzzles?
Just Googling "acrostic puzzles" will supply you with a whole bunch of sites -- too many for me to link here, but you might try acrosticsbycyn and/or americanacrostics. Also, commenters on the NYT and other acrostics often provide links.
I've tried twice to post this and it hasn't come through. What is wrong with the emus today? The NY Times acrostics are archived here:
https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/archive/acrostic
Will this be allowed to show this time??
1
Will this be allowed to show this time??
Yes.
John CLEESE's father changed the family name from Cheese.
In unrelated trivia, John Cleese's middle name is Marwood. Marwood is the I in Withnail and I.
2
and Elke
I thought this puzzle was to roquefort...:))
2
Well, I'm obviously not tuned in. I never heard of either Weird Al or Tom Lehrer. Did know my cheeses though and was surprised at how many types of cheeses I knew that John Cleese spewed out in the "Cheese Shop" skit. I've come a long way from the American and cream cheeses of my childhood.
Good fun, Al; glad to make your acquaintance.
4
It's been so long since I've seen ONAGER. One of my favorite wild-ass crossword words!
4
... Deserves more love.
Weird Wednesday, as I don't normally have to do any lookups, but ONAGER, LEGOLAS, SARA and CALLA, all together, stumped me in the end and I had to employ Google to find my way out.
The quality of the puns struck me as rather disappointing for someone of Weird Al's ingenuity, and I wondered if that was in keeping with the definition of cheesy as "shabby" or "cheap". Someone has already commented on the authentic pronunciation of GOUDA. Yet even the anglicized pronunciation doesn't really sound like "good". FETA ATTRACTION I found poor, due to the double A which changes the flow of the words. It also made one inevitably consider the hypothetical FETAL ATTRACTION, which was altogether too disturbing. THE PELICAN BRIE suffers from a missing final consonant. It bothered me less, although I did wonder whether PELICAN BRIE might taste anything like Venezuelan beaver cheese... MUENSTERS INC was my favorite, although the plural form was inconsistent with the others.
I will resist the temptation to find a cheese pun to finish with, as many of them have already been taken... And I loved the Weird Al clips which I did not know, especially the Jeopardy and Bob clips. Such a wit!
2
"The calla lilies are in bloom today." I'll never forget that.
1
For a Grammar Nazi (and I am one) Word Crimes rules. But do school schools still teach rules either in or out of the English class? They surely don't teach sentence diagramming. Way too old school. And ironic that Weird Al parodied Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines". Robin is a convicted plagiarist of Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up. It's nearly a plagiarizer plagiarizing a plagiarist.
3
"But do school schools still teach rules either in or out of the English class?"
Can't say. Not familiar with school schools.
(op. cit.?)
3
Nice puzzle, definitely on the hard side for Wednesday. Not one but two natix for me today (SMUSH/UPN and LEGOLAS/SARA). And it's nice to see Tom Lehrer, a hero of mine, in the grid.
1
I believe the proper plural is Natices.
4
NETIXI?
What’s wrong with “Naticks”? Like, say, “upticks”. No need to complicate matters.
1
Not yucky enough, or too yucky? Hard to say. I'll stick with gjetost.
1
Hi Weird Al. Loved this.
1
A NYT XWP co-constructed by Weird Al Yankovic. I've got a case of the vapors. I've been a fan from the very beginning ("My Bologna"). Just saw him play live on his current Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour. Recently bought the limited edition CD box set of his complete recorded output in an accordion-shaped package.
So of course I loved the puzzle. Cheesy puns crossed with movie titles, right up my alley. Tom LEHRER, John CLEESE are the icing on the cake. Thanks Al and Eric for making my day.
Tying in with the Monty Python angle, another great song parodist, Neil Innes, wrote the Lennonesque "Cheese and Onions" for the brilliant Beatles parody The Rutles. The clip is from the Rutles' classic animated film "Yellow Submarine Sandwich."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePaHG6g7uFw
P.S. Big news for Beatles fans breaking today: "Yellow Submarine" will be back on the big screen this summer, for its 50th(!) anniversary.
7
That's exciting, Jimbo, and I agree with your (!) on that 50th! Still, with no disrespect intended, there's only one number I could possibly choose for today. All I have to do is hear that minor-key instrumental bridge and I'm 17 again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziLagAgoPCE
And I wonder, wah wah wah wah wha-ah-hunder
Why, wah wah wah wah why
She ran away
OK, not exactly Sondheim, but can't argue with 17!
4
Leapy, in case you drop by again, thought I'd mention that Del Shannon rerecorded the song to be used as the opening theme to the late-80s TV show "Crime Story." The new version got some radio and MTV airplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4OOG_NnIOE
"It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
I had the radio on, I was drivin'.
Trees flew by, me and Del were singin' little Runaway
I was flyin'..."
--Tom Petty, "Runnin Down a Dream"
1
Terrific, Jimbo! Yes, I dropped by again, and need to thank you for bracketing my day with smiles!
1
This is not the first time the exact same clue and answer UPN has appeared, but it may have been a while ago.
Last time was Jan 31, 2017. Looking at xwordinfo.com though, at the history of UPN usage, you could see a bit of history and I didn't know that UPN merged with the WB to form CW.
Wed Apr 4, 2018 58A The CW superseded it
Tue Jan 31, 2017 27A Predecessor of the CW
Tue Jul 29, 2008 36A It merged with the WB to form the CW
Mon Aug 29, 2005 32A The WB rival
Mon Aug 9, 2004 58D WB competitor
Good puzzle, but what's the deal with YO-YO => ASS ???
6
Third definition:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/yo-yo
noun, plural yo-yos.
1. a spoollike toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player's finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion.
2. something that fluctuates or moves up and down, especially suddenly or repeatedly.
3. Slang. a stupid, foolish, or incompetent person.
1
Just a general dumdum, doofus, or dork.
1
Great video content today - thanks! The Word Crimes video could warm the hearts of word nerds any day, but perfect for Weird Al’s construction. Did anyone notice the reference to Cheese Whiz in the “I Lost at Jeopardy” video? I was half-waiting for that to be the punch line in the Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch. OK, stopped to look up “punchline” after watching Word Crimes. Apparently it can be properly spelled as either one word or two!
2
Rompecabezas con queso!
I had a lot of fun with this one -- and perhaps the placement on a Wednesday -- when the Food section comes out -- was no accident? :-)
2
PS forgot to ask: could someone explain 39D?
1
Cheesy, CORNy and tacky are not quite synonyms, but have similar connotations. I am not sure whether or not they are similar enough to be crossword clues for one another.
1
CORN as in something corny -- trite, eyeroll-inducing, i.e. cheesy
1
Good work Mr.Yankovic!
I got stumped by the Smush , UPN clue!
Guess what? Spell check doesn't think Smush is a word! Underlined it both times!
2
This story of this puzzle wasn't aged long enough. It slipped out in the middle of the day on Tuesday tipping solvers to the theme before the puzzle was even released. That actually helped me on only one of the theme answers though. A very delightful puzzle and a sparkling debut for Al.
Before I go off writing to the Times techies about this problem (I know it's not your department, Deb), is anyone else using Firefox not finding the posts? Suddenly, yesterday and today, gone! I am writing this on Safari, but FF has been my access forever...
Also, does anybody else find it incredibly annoying that they changed the notification email so the link to your post is no longer live? I'm having to copy and paste it into the browser. Really &^#!*@! irritating!
Yours,
Ms. Grouchy Today...except for the great, funny puzzle! :-)
speny, yesterday, I connected via my cell (Safari) and had to log in 3 times: to access, to recommend, and to comment. Since I stay logged on, this was unusual.
With Firefox, on my laptop, I've had none of the issues you describe, sorry.
I sometimes have trouble finding the comments on Firefox. Not lately though. About three weeks ago the problem lasted almost a week. very frustrating.
I love Weird Al.
5
Agree with consensus. Fun without being scintillating. I was hoping for EDAM-BUSTERS. But 2 British comedians in one X-word. I was surprised to see COACH as part of a train; I though that was the British word for it, and that Americans used CAR.
• But pity the poor Dutch, part of the Germanic family of languages, like our own, but with mostly irreproducible pronunciation. GOUDA cheese is now such an international brand that its pronunciation has been mutilated, by degrees. Thus:
GOUDA in Dutch is pronounced (roughly) "HOW-DU" (with a hard H) – in IP it's |ˈɣʌu̯daː|.
Brits give it their best try with "GOW-DU", maintaining a diphthong but unable to handle the hard H - in IP it's |ˈɡaʊdə|.
But Yanks and Yankovics apparently pronounce it "GOO-DU" (actually that doesn't sound too appetizing), with no attempt at the diphthong or hard H - in IP its |ˈɡo͞odə|. But of course the pun doesn't work without this mutilation. That's progress, ah gis.
3
I may be the only one who made the connection, but COACH in the "part of a train" sense made me think of a WAGON TRAIN of stagecoaches, as in that old TV show about the Wild West. I agree that the other use of COACH is more British than American.
"I was surprised to see COACH as part of a train; I though that was the British word for it, and that Americans used CAR."
In American usage, [passenger] CAR covers all types. The car may be a COACH (less frequently chair car), a sleeper, a diner, a lounge, etc.
1
A very minor point, but the column should say, "HE'S dead, Jim," not "He's DEAD, Jim."
Quite right Rick, (although the second version emulates Dr. McCoy's emphasis much better!)
3
The cheese theme was great as were most/many of the clues!
The intersection of trivia at 8-down and 35-across (and 31-down/35-across) however was a flaw. If you don't know either trivia answer you can't really even guess without looking things up, which is especially weird for a Wednesday. Systematically [note to the editor] I would look for this sort of thing because it makes the puzzle less fun and has no compensating advantage.
Perhaps it is my punishment for not being LOTR fan though.
4
I agree. I randomly tried lARA, mARA, and cARA before finally looking it up (mARA gave me LEGOLAm for the Down answer, which I thought was especially appropriate for Easter and Passover!). The NYT crossword blogger Rex Parker coined the term “natick” for this kind of answer:
http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-jul-6-2008-brendan-emme...
3
A Weird Al collab that starts out with the EVERLY Bros, Tom LEHRER *and* DEL Shannon?? Shoot me now.
Sooo many leftovers on the Cheesy Tray:
Cheesy thing the Butler said to Scarlett Johansson?
*Frankly, my dear, I don't give EDAM
Cheesy actress in role of Hotlips Houlihan?
*Loretta SWISS
Cheesy thing Emilia said to Othello?
*ASIAGO, so go I
Cheesy thing the farmer does?
*First TILSIT, then sows it
Cheesy thing per Neil Simon at recording session?
*HAVARTI sing that
Cheesy thing needed at Wimbledon?
*A tennis RACLETTE
[Considering there are some 500 varieties of cheeses, perhaps we should CALLA halt. Or there'll be hell TOUPEE]
ONAGERmane (but slightly assinine) note, does anyone remember what the Old Latin farmer liked to drink?
[ba dum pum]... AGRI Cola
After all is said and done, DEFECT of de matter is: I'm STUCCOn you, Weird Al, and I just LAVA collaboration this , um, gouda. W.A.Y. to go, you guys.
23
"Goat, Tell Aunt Rhody."
6
Suzy, See the USA in your CHEVRE-let!
7
Suzy, Cream cheese?
(Wake up...)
5
I'm a big fan of Weird Al, so I think my expectations may have been over the moon when I saw his byline. Still a fine puzzle; I agree with others that it might have been better with punny clues for the theme answers, with the film connections only evident after one worked them out. I finished with one error. Never heard of either UPN or The CW, so had SMASH instead of SMUSH.
My favorite Weird Al clip. I know I've linked this before, but maybe some haven't seen it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQDzj6R3p4
Honk if you love cheeses.
5
I am reminded of Emile Zola's sister Gorgon, you know, the one with the wild hair?
16
Fun and punny. I could 'edam' all up! Thanks to WAY and EB.
2
If not for the Red Bar of Embarrassment, I'd have never known I had a wrong letter....SMASH (no, I never looked at the crossing) made perfect sense, while SMUSH is....well, it may be "in the language," but is it a real word? Meh.
GOUDA...over-rated. MUENSTER...feel the same way about it. BRIE, yum. FETA, mmmmm! Chevre, Havarti, Edam, not to mention all of the Gorgonzola/Stilton/Roquefort/Bleu cheeses.... Great. Now I'm hungry.
1
The key to muenster cheese - especially in a great grilled cheese sandwich - is a sprinkle of salt. It transforms it.
I have no similar idea for lifting gouda above pencil-erasers.
3
Most gouda is indeed not so goud. But Beemster makes a seasonal spring gouda using milk from the cows who are enjoying the first tender fresh grass of springtime, and it's quite tasty.
Too much young GOUDA around. The super-aged stuff is super-good. Just needs a dab of mustard.
But BRIE is the best. The older and runnier the better.
1
I saw "Weird" Al perform with his band Saturday night in Des Moines, so this is a welcome surprise to see his byline on today's puzzle. My third time seeing him perform live, and each time has been a treat. This puzzle also was a treat (mmmmm...cheeeeese). I appreciated Mr. Berlin's notes in the column as well.
4
Thanks for the Word Crimes link! I never heard/saw it before and it's delightful. Will no doubt have an "ear worm" of it all day.
I loved seeing Tom LEHRER make it into the puzzle. So many good musical selections makes it hard to choose one. Here is something for the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
8
“Vatican Rag”! “Lobachevsky”! “Fight Fiercely, Harvard”! “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”! One of my best friends in high school had all of his albums and we listened to them endlessly. Fabulous stuff.
5
Memories of seeing Tom Lehrer in the mid fifties on Cape Cod
5
Alex, re*member* this one? (**So to speak)
'I hold your hand in mine, dear
I press it to my lips.
I take a healthy bite of
Your dainty finger-tips...'
I've looked Tom Lehrer up in the pages of Wikipedia to see what he had gone on to. Rather sad, and I would've wished better for him.
The only imperfection in this puzzle is at 1A.
6
Hi, Deb -- in the Star Trek reference, it's HE'S dead, Jim.
A fun, enjoyable puzzle.
2
Thanks, dlr and all who wrote! It's been fixed in the column. To be fair, I was writing it with Dr. McCoy's typical dramatic cadence, and goofed it up. Sorry!
2
Reminds me of the old joke from school.
"where does Dr. McCoy workout?"
"At the He's Dead Jim"
2
I agree with Deb that the clues could have been punnier and more fun, both with the themers and the rest of the clues. While the puzzle was serviceable, I don't feel like enough of Weird Al showed through.
I could see another potential collaboration befitting the skills of parodist, where Weird Al redoes the cluing of an ordinary crossword where both versions could run, as hohum clues versus Weird Al clues.
I also think Mr. Yankovic's tribute to his comic peers and predecessors probably also merits a second look. Clues in the style of these peers and predecessors would have made for an interesting puzzle - a celebrity roast of Weird Al perhaps?
1
This was fun. I spotted the fragments GOU and FET and thought of cheese, and then noticed it in all the theme clues. Loved the Weird Al clip - that man is really funny, and his tip of the hat to colleagues was a fine gesture. I don't know how the tasks were divided between the co-constructors, but Weird Al's craziness was felt heavily throughout the clues - with the exception as mentioned by others that the theme clues could have been less straightforward.
3
SMUSHed this one. Weird Al is a favorite of number one son, who lives in NOLA. Sending him a copy of this puzzle.
A good cheese plate has something hard, soft and blue. "Not sure if MUNSTER counts as hard," curdly crabbed Tom
Thanks boys, cheesy and fun
4
Very funny. Not usually a fan of puns, but these made me laugh. Each one of them! I had not heard of Muenster cheese, got from crosses and TIL today with help from Google. Although - if I got it right - it’s name is derived from Monster cheese so possibly not completely legal by crossword customs?
I also liked the CLEESE/cheese implicit rhyme, and the alliteration TRIVE/TROVE/TUNE.
1
Laura, I'm not finding any support on the Internet for "monster cheese". The cheese is named for Munster in France, and the extra E is in there because, like Champagne, the French make the world call products produced elsewhere by some other name.
But maybe it's a British thing?
1
UE is the way to spell the U-plus-umlaut........
1
My bad! Thank you for correcting it
1
CORN: Julius Epstein, who co-wrote the screenplay for Casablanca, once commented it contained "....more corn than in the states of Kansas and Iowa combined. But when corn works, there's nothing better."
8
Solid puzzle. I agree with Deb that the theme clues could've been punnier.
1
Way out of my wheelhouse but enjoyable nonetheless. The cheesy theme was Edam GOUDA.
I solved the puzzle with reliance on the crosses, much guesswork and one or two name look-ups. Sadly, I was so sure that SMaSH was right for 50D that I did not bother to google CW and neither aTP nor UTP meant anything to me.
For want of a square the star was lost --- for the umpteenth time.
3
Same here! I carefully read through all my answers and SMASH didn't even cross my radar as one to question. Is SMUSH even a word? Also for me just as for you, CW was an unknown. Looking it up now, I see it's a television network (as was, apparently, UPN).
1
Since SMASH is at least as good as SMUSH for 50D, I think the UPN cross at 58A is a trifle too obscure for a Wednesday puzzle.
(I knew it, but then I'm also a trifle too obscure)
3
In my mind there is a distinct difference between SMUSH and SMASH, even though the dictionary seem to have them as synonyms. SMASH implies a likelihood for violent action, SMUSH, less so. SMUSHED and SMASHED also seems different.
You might SMASH something with a hammer or mallet (Gallagher, watermelon), but I don't think you SMUSH something with a hammer or mallet.
Am I wrong?
1
An appropriate "music video":
https://youtu.be/B3KBuQHHKx0
2
T hank you for the CHEESE SKETCH!
Mr Wenslydale
Thank you for the Monty Python Cheese sketch. Did you choose your name in honour of the Michael Palin character, Mr Wenslydale, the cheese shop owner, or maybe the sketch made in your honour? ;)
Apologies sent mid writing. Is there a way of removing this?
This was a fun puzzle with some interesting double meaning.
as is your screen name....
2
Lots of fun in this puzzle. The tone of the clues was very "Weird Al," I thought, just enough "off" to be "right on" (if you'll excuse the dated phraseology).
Upon typing in LEGOLAS (and with the idea of Yankovickian parodies activated in my brainpan), I at once conjured up Harvard Lampoon's classic Tolkien parody, Bored of the Rings, and thought in passing of the elf LEGOLAM who accompanies Frito and Spam, along with (among others) the wizard Goodgulf, the Lone Ranger Stomper, aka Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt, rightful king of Minas Troney, and the dwarf Gimlet son of Groin, on a perilous quest to cast the Great Ring into the Zazu Pits of Fordor.
8
I still have my copy of Bored of the Rings. Hadn't thought about it for years. Some of the punny names you mention probably mean nothing to the younguns. Good Gulf was a grade of gas at Gulf stations. Arrow was a prominent brand of shirts. Legolam was a cut of meat. ;-)
Following on the food puns, if 35A had been clued to reference Beef Wellington and the NFL, 8D *could* have been LEG O LAM.
1
I'm pretty sure leg of lamb is still a cut of meat.
1
Best cheese pun I've seen so far was a tweet by a Craig Mazin that was repeated in Rex's column. Craig asked for people to hold off on puzzle spoilers, because "havarti solved it, but others might not have."
2
I liked the DEFECT/ERRATA and ATEMPO/SPED crosses, and the double-E mini-theme (5). The clue for ACTS (John follower) could have worked for CLEESE, and ASS could have been connected with ONAGER. There was an opportunity to clue SARA as a comic, with Silverman. That sure would have helped me, because I was simply guessing at the SARA/LEGOLAS cross. Also guessed at SMUSH/UPN.
Overall, the puzzle provided satisfying brain exercise, and thank you to Eric and Al for that. Possible puzzle title, considering the famous co-constructor: Ham and Cheese.
3
Sorry to nitpick, but it's saraH silverman.
1
Arrgh! The apology is mine; you are absolutely correct!
1
hahaha
Can you just imagine telling SaraH Silverman to get the H out of there?
Another funny punny puzzle. I thought I might have trouble getting the films as that's a weak area for me, but NO PROB; I recognized all of them with about a third of the letters filled in. It helped that I love cheese perhaps.
Hopefully Weird Al will be encouraged to contribute again. I really enjoyed the clip as well, Deb.
5
I assumed that John Cleese was included as part of the theme. Who can forget ‘The Cheese Shop’ skit from his Monty Python days?
7
Weird Al, what a brilliant choice!
My brain insisted on GOYA for bean (maybe because I just made a big pot of lentil soup), but of course, I couldn’t figure out what GMUSH might mean. A fancy new food processor that works in zero gravity? Common sense prevailed. Otherwise, pretty easy for Wednesday.
6
I had the A in bean first - so I assumed it was LIMA, but then realized that didn't fit with 46D and 47D.
All in all, though, a fun puzzle, as someone who has enjoyed Weird Al's work for many years. His "Word Crimes" certainly fits here, but I guess my all-time favorite is his "I Lost On Jeopardy," if for no other reason than to hear the voice of the late, great Don Pardo, and see the late host Art Fleming in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUZijEuNDQ
2
Hand up for working off the A, fist with LIMA, then possibly FAVA. I also thought of GOYA, but that's a brand, not a type of bean. Either way, the Y made me guess at HYENAS, which was a big help in that sector.
But I had SLUSH instead of SMUSH for the longest time. I still think it's spelled SMUUSH.
People who resort to cheesy puns should be drawn and quoted.
18
After being convicted at a word crimes tribunal.
3
And they are sentenced to the....
...punitentiary.
4
sentenced?
Fun puzzle. Breezed through pretty quickly.
I find it funny that Deb linked Weird Al's Word Crimes video with this puzzle, which includes all the cheesy puns. Some people consider puns word crimes (not me, of course). Some people may object to certain crosswordese similarly, calling them word crimes (again, not me, of course).
Does LAVA really roll? It's spewed and it flows and oozes, but I don't know if it ever rolls. If anything, LAVA is one of the forms of rock that doesn't roll, right?
I thought in particular the clue for TRAIN was pretty clever.
4
TRAIN clue is one of those perfect shifts in thinking I love in crossword clues.
I also thought 'roll' wasn't a word I'd use to describe LAVA -- except perhaps "The lava rolled over everything, burning the town to its foundations" or such. [And 'flowed' still works better in that example.]
It "rolls" in the same way that waves "roll."
4
Bruvver, I guess if I visualize LAVA flowing over a surface, the bottom is cooling down and becoming more viscous and the hotter top portion keeps flowing over the top of it, you could call it rolling. In general though, LAVA and rolling just don't go together in my mind.
1
I know some authors quote-unquote sign their work, but c'mon:
AL dente, c AL LA (AL reversed), AL i, s LA p (rev.), no LA (rev), lego LA s (rev), LA va (rev).
16
Also SLAP and LANCES. Self referential entries may also include ASCAP (is he a member?) and TUNE (he wrote and performed a few).
2
I wonder if yesterday's puzzle wasn't a preveal, RMP. It had nine ALs (including ALS) without counting reversals.
1
reversALS?
And I believe I once heard John Cleese say that his surname rhymes with Cheese and not with peace.
2
The family name was originally Cheese (as it turns out, appropriately) but John's father changed it when he entered the army.
3
Sorry, I read the comments before reading the column.
1
A wonderful ambiguity: Did you (this time) read the comments before the column, or do you always? Are you red or are you reed?
3
definitely "easy-peasy" tonight. Favorite clue: "wake up Little Susie" -- brings back treasured high school memories!!
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