Comment curling. It's the new sport the Times has invented. When the number of responses on a comment gets to a certain point, it seems that a new response "bumps" an older one off. It needs some work before it's ready for the Olympics. Like a way to aim. We need a comment broom.
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The Sunday comments managed to sustain a thread with 16 replies, all in chronological order. Can we reset the program to Sunday? I'm really not interested in comment curling...or comment shuffleboard...or comment bocce...
Fun with one quibble. I have never thought of loping as anything graceful. It's the bounding that characterizes loping and I usually think that's because the person is kind of big, awkward, and...not graceful. I've checked OED, my ultimate authority, and not a mention in their characteristically numerous entries of anything graceful at all. " a. To run with a long, bounding stride. Also with along, away."
But remotes is better. When I was a boy and not in home ec, Zenith had the first remote and it worked with a kind of tuning fork that was hypersonic. Being a teen, though, I could hear it. Also imitate it and I would go through department stores changing channels.
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3:30 CDT, and only 40 comments?! Still a problem with the site, or people are out enjoying the day, I guess.
I got the theme entries without understanding the bracketed hints until PEARLRIVERDELTA, then needed the hint to get BRUNOMARS (I'm not very hip to current music). Still, never understood the revealer 60A until I read Deb's column!
Had a Natick at the intersections of IONA and GORAN. Just guessed at N since Iona sounded familiar. Like brutus, had some problems with the SW, mostly because of ADJ and RODEO (even though I live in Texas!) Also, had some trouble with 47D since I'd never heard of the game "I Spy." (Had ISAY and ISEE for a time.)
Have to agree with Patty: No "s" needed for a plural "okra." BTW haven't we seen PRE and PSHAW very recently!?
A contribution related to my past career: "Transfusion fluid [state of matter]" Answer: BLOODPLASMA
Happy Fourth all!
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"3:30 CDT, and only 40 comments?! Still a problem with the site, or people are out enjoying the day, I guess."
Ron,
A closer reading of the comments will reveal what -- other than the holiday -- suppressed the comment count.
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In the South, more than one piece of okra is still okra.
In the North too, Patty.
(The region that calls them OKRAS is crosswordia, where any plural clue requires a plural entry, no matter how much of a reach the plural might be.)
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Agree, Patty.
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The clue is the plant, not the veg.
I'm not a gardener, but maybe that makes a difference????
Had problems all over with short mistakes that shared a letter with the right answer e.g., SKY for 19A instead of SEA and HOT for 58A instead of KIT. Had a mistake at 39A that didn’t help either. Eventually it all worked out.
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The SW delivered a slightly temporary stall as I was having problems sizing up things in that corner. The aha moment was well worth the wait...Speaking of waiting's worth, I was unable access the comments earlier but STAYED ON line long enough to finally open the page...Not wanting to disturb to emus, I will leave this Drake/Keyes duet at a mention. Check out "Fireworks" if you so desire. Rap, as a rule, rarely keeps my boat afloat, EVEN NUMBERS that might be construed to be ballads. Drake's lyrics generally do not MEAN to offend but a couple of his terms combined with the heat of the day might ruffle the emus feathers. Discretion over valor so here is the Grand FINALE from The Last Waltz, "DON'T DO IT." It is a cover of the Marvin Gaye song and came to mind right away when I filled in 41d.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feEBEpDLTKI
Go FOURTH & Multiply,
Bru
PS, add subtract & divide if YOU'D be so inclined.
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At first Prime time threw me because 4 is not a prime number. After reading Deb’s take on the theme I realized time is the fourth dimension.
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I wonder what's replaced being your father's official channel changer, especially if facebook can be believed and dogs now fetch beer from the fridge (*and* close the door.) I was my father's official flashlight holder when he worked on the car. I was happy when I was elevated to gopher. Played a lot of I SPY, too. Families... Happy Fourth!
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Hi K,
My father now has a universal remote and has never been happier.
Happy FOURTH, everyone!
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I can't think of much to say about the puzzle other than it seemed quite perfect for a Wednesday and for the special day, and providing a satisfactory AHA moment. Pity about the delay of comments.
Back to the tennis.
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Kinda obscure.
I got it.
You apparently got it.
N. C. Wyeth got it.
Possibly perfect? [music]
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It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. The minor fall and the major lift...
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I wondered why there were only 14 comments when I arrived here at 10:30, but thought everyone was either busy with Fourth of July stuff or had succumbed to the heat. But I see it was the NYT IT guys at it again.
Nice puzzle, Freddie Cheng. A novel approach to the FOURTH.
Enjoy everyone. Jessica and I are staying indoors, where it's cool and (so far) quiet.
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No comment.
(Sorry, couldn't resist).
Thought this was a quite clever theme idea, though it provided just one 'aha' moment and that fairly early on. I filled in EVENNUMBERS from the clue and a couple of confirming crosses. Wasn't quite sure about any of the other theme answers, but when I got the reveal (again with just a couple of crosses), it all dawned on me and I went back and filled in the others. Well, almost. Wasn't quite sure of the name of the RIVERDELTA so needed more crosses to get that. Would never have known BRUNOMARS from the clue, but at least I'd heard of him.
Beyond that, I thought this was a quite enjoyable workout. Some nice entries and I did need to work the crosses both ways in multiple places.
Streak's at 6 days. We'll see tomorrow.
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Good going, RiA!
Just make sure that dog don't bite yew.
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We'd been discussing the Wednesday puzzle -- or, more precisely, the delay posting the Wednesday Column and no access to Wednesday comments -- in the Tuesday comments.
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Sometimes I complete the puzzle and still don’t get the theme. That’s when I turn to the blog. I do enjoy reading others’ comments as well.
Happy Fourth!
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Clever clever theme, cleanly executed -- Very im_____ive [estate]!
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... and here I thought someone was playing a late ____ Fool's [month] with the comments.
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Today *is* ______ {day of the week]....
Ah, well, that depends on which calendar you use. On a German calendar it's the third day.
Solved the theme revealer first and confirmed it with 48-D. That got me off to a quick start.
I didn't figure out how to apply the revealer until I was almost done (as usual!), but it was an enjoyable solve nonetheless.
Happy Fourth!
Oops, make that 46-D, not 48.
I had a similar experience to Deb’s with the theme. I noticed the bracketed note in the PRIME TIME clue and wondered how “dimensions” made any sense and then when I’d finished, I understood how the others were fourths but couldn’t see how TIME was a fourth until I remembered that note. I blame Einstein.
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Slowed up today by my unconscious insistence that it's SABRE not SABER. That left finding PRIME TIME totally impossible. Patience got me through. Happy 4th to all.
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It's SABRE in Buffalo and England.
... and in the GM Buick lot.
Isn't it LESABRE in the Buick lot?
What an unique and welcome approach to a 4th of July theme! It took me a while to "get it" which is always appreciated, making the aha moment that much more fun.
Kudos to Freddie Cheng for his originality and patience, too, waiting a full year to see this published. BANGUPJOB, indeed!
HAPPY FOURTH everybody!!!
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....and magically, the Comments appear at long last.
I did not 'get' the theme (FOURTHs.....but then, it was 4 a.m. and I didn't have my glasses on, so what do you want? Clever and fun. Also fun: going to Yesterday's Comments and seeing notes left last night and early today about the absent link.
Spelling Bee won't take COIR...I'm a bit beyond Genius, but today is likely too busy to entice me to return for another round.
Stay cool, everyone, and don't blow yourselves up!
I Queen Bee'd it today, but recommend you enjoy your day instead.
2 of the words should really be hyphenated (although I looked it up and unhyphenated is acceptable informal usage, so I'm wrong (but I'm not, and if I had a dog, he'd agree)).
And my last word was a thing that I guessed at, got, looked up and said "who knew?"
Not really a fun one in terms of words in regular usage -- or at least my usage.
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MOL, I've decided SpellB doesn't like coconuts: today is the 2nd time COIR was rejected, and once it also refused COPRA, both of which I knew fom Grade School Geography class.
The reject du jour was COCKCROW, traditional for dueling at dawn, and uite surprising in view of what combination of 4-letter words turned up accepted. It's like one skate said to its partner, "Go figure!'
Thanks for the hint, since I'm not quite at Queen Bee yet; but I noted for [at least] the second time that we had a pair of compound words that switched the order of their elements (and had related but distinct meanings). I wonder how many there are out there.
My major regret was that BROCK was not accepted [aka BADGER]. It's a fine old word of Celtic origin that came to us through Old English, but did not survive over here following the Great Pond Linguistic Divide, whose origins we celebrate today.
Happy 4th everybody! Sorry for the comments delay. Gremlins.
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I'll alert them on the Tuesday comments, where we've been hanging out since last night.
You've been hanging out yesterday even though it was already today. Barry? That's TIME travel; PRIME use of the fourth dimension!
Hi Amitai,
We learned a lot at Stuyvesant High School.