I'm grateful that I was introduced to the mythological NEREIDS before I took that excess of invertebrate zoology courses in college. Sadly, after 50 years, the first thing 18A brought to mind was still polychaete worms. [I recommend consideration prior to link-clicking willy-nilly]
https://www.google.com/search?q=nereid+worms&client=firefox-b-1-ab&a...
Debate, anyone?
@R/Elke, sorry I came to these boards too late to make reasonable response. Thanks -- and a dozen longSTEM roses -- for hoisting the banner. Looks like a trend to Nobelle as well as Nobel prizes.
PS: One of my fave scientistas headed up the Strangeways Labs in the time of RFranklin. Can you think of a more evocative name than "Dame Honor Fell"?
2
@myself
Those NEREID marine worms? Seems that some can frequently be found in TIDE DAHL pools.
Who says the UNIX EXAMINEd life is not worth living?
Really, really enjoyed today's Xword. Thank you!
About the constellation of X's, though. Is that purely conceptual, or can one color it in on a hard copy to see? On my iPad, I was hoping that upon solve (along with the happy music) an animation would play — and I know this was a big hope — where all the other squares darkened and the constellation shone through. Or something. I'm tempted to take a wax marker to my iPad screen, but UH NO.
TIL the president used to have a yacht. Of course it was Carter who got rid of it! Did any other president keep the WH thermostat at 68 degrees and wear a sweater at home like Mr. Rogers?
Speaking of Edith Hamilton... (and yesterday, Judy Garland) Did anyone else ever look at that little black-and-white author photo on the back of "Greek Mythology" and think she looked exactly like Margaret Hamilton, who played the (wicked) Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz"? Of course this was waaaay before the internet, so for years I got to believe they were sisters. But rats, apparently not.
3
@kelpurnia
And a round of applause for President Carter, at least for his refusal to treat his high office with some degree of humility.
1
@Deadline: Hear! Hear! But I think you mean something like "for his insistence on treating"?
@kepurnia: This is what happens when you post before reading the entire comments trail. :^( Ages below, @Lewis posted this link where you can see a constellation animation: https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/3/2018 <reco!>
And right before him, @BillKos noted a connection between those Hamilton women. <reco!>
Huh? He did seem pretty humble...
Starry, starry night... Lovely puzzle. The mythological fill was very well done. I wish the Xes had been lined as was the PIPE last week. IMHO, CASSIOPEIA is not so huge it couldn’t have been lined.
Hubby and I traveled to Monument Valley a few years ago. It’s in the Navajo Nation in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Simply beautiful.The night is so black there that the stars are amazing. Just imagine living in a time when the stars were all the light you had at night beyond a fire. No wonder such wonderful stories were created from ancient star watchers.
Re other parts of the puzzle, I’ve never heard of SNARF before, but there it is. I liked AUSTERE as an architectural term, and KNEE and YACHT as clued. Nice change from typical xwd cluing.
Very enjoyable Wednesday puzzle.
:-D
3
@Just Carol
Belatedly......PuzzAzz is a free app for xword solving. They had a blue line you could highlight....
An EXPAT is an American LIVING abroad, not an American abroad. I'm not an expat when I visit, say, Canada. Though I can think of a bunch of Americans I wish would live up to their threats and do just that. Eh Alec Baldwin? Michael Moore? Babs?...
1
@tensace If clues were always precise definitions rather than hints, I think crosswords would be kind of boring.
1
I thought that requiring the 1s in the First Man puzzle was a bit unfair. However, I was delighted by the inclusion of mon hero, Asterix. Ils sont fous, ces Romains!
2
It's not like we've never seen SNARF before, folks. Bruce Haight used it earlier this year (Tuesday, February 13). There was some snark about it then too.
@Barry Ancona
Maybe I was too busy getting ready for Valentine's Day to notice, but I have no recollection of ever having seen the word before.
Kiss kiss.
A clever little gem of a puzzle. Felt like yesterday’s and today’s should have been swapped, but then again it’s fun to romp through a Wednesday puzzle after galumphing along the past two days.
I can't believe I blew a pretty good streak on a Wednesday! FUCHSIAS did me in. I couldn't for the life of me remember how to spell it, and when I finally had to check it looked wrong... LOL Also thought that CASSIOPEIA was spelled with an "E" after the double S. I always thought I was a fairly good speller, but today was a spelling Natik for me!
@Steve Faiella
Loved that you misspelled Natik!
1
@Johanna: Hah!
@Steve Faiella: Dunno if this will help you, Steve, but I use a mnemonic for that consonant sequence. It involves saying (to myself) a "rude" word that begins the same way and following it with "see-uh". Indelicate, perhaps, but I no longer stumble when spelling that poppable flower.
@kelpurnia i will have to remember that!
Elegant little Wednesday puzzle, nicely done.
1
I was quite interested in mythology as a young kid, but never encountered the book that everyone else seems to have had. Wish I had, and maybe I will check it out now.
I never really followed through on that interest, though, and never knew much (anything?) about astronomy. Nonetheless, the themers were pretty gettable.
THE NEREIDS was a gimme. POSEIDON was gettable with only a couple of key letters, despite not knowing the myth. Same with CASSIOPEIA. ETHIOPIA was a little more elusive, since I was looking for some mythical place, but finally had to admit that ETHIOPIA was inevitable.
But SNARF? Never heard of it. Ever. When I noticed ANC I knew it couldn't be right, but got distracted and neglected to change it until MHP didn't appear.
(The other word I learned for the first time today was from the column: "overwinter.")
Also re the column: I wasn't clear if you keep your dogs LEASHED or not during their walks, Caitlin. I hope you do. If you have some kind of fenced-in backyard, they can run free there, or you can go to your local dog park for play dates. But even the most well-trained and obedient pooches can forget sometimes, and it only takes one small mistake to put the dog in danger. End of rant (but I get so scared when I see people walking off-leash dogs near streets and highways).
2
Just my personal preference, but am not so fond of clues like "Hoodwink" for HOAX and "Gives comfort to" for SOLACES, where the words HOAX and SOLACE are usually used as nouns, not verbs. Or clues like "Sea nymphs, in Greek mythology" for THE NEREIDS, where the word THE is not indicated in the clue.
2
The clue to 71 across also showed up in another puzzle very recently. Can someone explain how Upscale = TONY?
Thank you
Larry
@Larry Rosenthal
Wealthy people are also referred to as ‘upscale’ and if they also happen to be fashionable then they are TONY. Hope that helps.
@Larry Rosenthal
My dictionary defines TONY as a North American informal word meaning "fashionable among wealthy or stylish people", and derives it as an adjectival form of the noun TONE (which has an informal meaning of "an atmosphere of respectability or class"). First used in late 19th Century.
1
@Larry Rosenthal
It's like "high-tone."
As others have pointed out, a belated Tuesday puzzle! Even though I knew none of the answers to the theme clues per se, I was able to guess them once I had a few letters from the crosses. (THENEREIDS was a total unknown so I needed all the crosses.)
Kudos to Ms. Nutt for being able to come up with five X entries located in the proper alignment -- no trivial feat, I would guess. (I wish the software guys would have connected the X's upon completion, like for the pipe two Sundays ago.)
One of the X's came from SXSW -- a gimme for me. We longtime Austin residents have come to dread the event: too many people and cars crowding the central city, noise from outdoor concerts, and recently, boisterous partiers housed in short-term rentals in otherwise quiet neighborhoods. Get off my lawn! :)
P.S. SNARF came to me immediately. Maybe a regional thing?
2
Snarfed the puzzle quickly but the Bee not so much . . . finally got to G after much effort (thanks to an unpleasant but cleansing little 5 letter E word), a definite pattern of late after a brief two-day reign as QB last month.
4
@audreylm
I had a similar experiences with crossword and the Bee. For the latter I limped to Genius and then quit. There are in fact 55 words, a few of them quite obscure. Far too many for a busy Wednesday.
1
@NICE CUPPA
Hear! Hear!
Me too on the B. I’m at 41/175 and calling it a win. Was surprised that PENTANE and PENNATE were rejected. The occasional xword puzzle is pennate.
a very good puzzle. i do wish puzzle makers would stick to words and not actors in tv shows. i read a lot and haven't watched TV since Frazier went off the air, the last show for folks over 12.
2
You’re missing a lot of good stuff, though mostly elsewhere than the big four networks.
I, too, got stuck because I was confident that SCARF was correct. Had the whole puzzle completed and then finally noticed that ANC looked a little funny (though not impossible) for a name. But SNARF, ugh!
3
Solved more like a Monday for me, even if Greek mythology is not my strong suit. Never heard of SNARF. SCARF is the phrase we've used.
2
Wow...Rex Parker outdid himself today...there are hardly words...
http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/
This is the place to be, and today is about the best example we've seen as to why.
@David Connell
If you think Rex's today was remarkable, take a look at the previous day. Oh my.
@David Connell - all Rex does is put his own ego and ignorance painfully on display. I stopped going there months ago once I discovered the witty and informative comments here.
2
@ConnieRock
I think I've posted this before, but just in case:
"Good critical writing is measured by the perception and evaluation of the subject; bad critical writing by the necessity of maintaining the professional standing of the critic."
- Raymond Chandler
At first I thought the theme was going to be similar word endings as I had filled in ETHIOPIA and CASSIOPEIA, okay so those aren't so similar and Ms. Nutt's idea is so much better. Loved the appropriately placed X's symbolizing the constellation. Brilliant touch!
Thank you, Jennifer Nutt, your puzzle truly shines!
2
THE NEREIDS and CASSIOPEIA challenged me with the placement of all those E's and I's. Since mythology never particularly intrigued me, I had no idea of the connections among these unspellable characters. SXSW was totally unknown to me but available through the crosses.
So, don't cry for me, Edith Hamilton; I solved this with the down clues.
1
@Meg H. SXSW is short for South by Southwest.
1
and Elke
Today it's another Woman Scientist with a Nobel Prize. This one in Chemistry, Frances Arnold of California.
Looks like it's the Year of the Woman.
What sayeth Wordplay's avatar -Woman of the Year ?
(looking for you Leapy)
3
39A has gotten a lot of exposure here recently. Is that simply coincidence?
So has 68A.
Juxtaposition of 5A and 9A is amusing.
So is 56D and 72A (ouch!)
@Dr W
How about you write the words out? The constant clicking back and forth from comment to grid to see what 39A and 46D refers to is making me seasick!
8
@Dr W
The TRICK KNEE was something I hadn't noticed! Very cute.
1
@Steve L
Because I don't like creating possible spoilers.
In the meantime, perhaps dramamine might help.
Loved this puzzle! The theme is so elegant. Also, I solved it which always improves my view :-) Makes me want to read Hamilton but also Ovid.
2
SNARF? Not knowing Ann Beattie made this my Waterloo. Clearly an editorial slip.
2
@PKC
My preference would have been "scarf" as in "scarf down". I've seen only the "c" version in print.
@PKC
It has been my experience, that we who consume use sCarf, though puzzlers seem to prefer sNarf.
@Mary Ellen
I SNARF.
Extra words.
My telescope, study of mythology and star chart place mat along with former GF who lives in Austin saved the morning. Many Austinites leave town during SXSW renting their homes for much monies.
Mr. Epps in Luther remains a favorite. Watch the last show and note the sound track from The Black Keys "Band of Brothers."
Off to Moab in a few weeks.
Thanks Jennifer
2
While you're in Moab, dk, please saunter over to the Canyonlands Needles for me. TYIA
@dk
I just submitted a comment addressing SXSW.
Well, this was a nice surprise--a stellar puzzle! Workmanlike construction and a story to boot! What's not to like?
Wee Bee in the wee hours--47 and 195. Genius + ...but the elusive QB is unlikely. I've dredged up every word I know (or so I think...)
Must rush for now...
6
Cassiopeia is a good friend for getting oriented in the northern night sky. Usually described as a "big W" (some of us might smile, remembering Jimmy Durante's cameo in "Mad, Mad, Mad World") - the fact that she spins in a tight circle around the North Star makes her go from W to 3 to M to ∑ all through the night. So she can serve (after a bit of study) as a very accurate clock. The three stars that form the top of the W happen to lie very close to the celestial meridians for 2h, 1h, and 0h, and the latter pair lie very close to 60° North, which makes them excellent guides to the invisible grid of the sky.
Downton Abbey came to mind again - when Mary recalls the story of Andromeda, Perseus, Cepheus (and Cassiopeia) to make a point about not liking Cousin Matthew.
13
@David Connell - and - following up after visiting "Rex Parker" - the diagram of the principal stars of the constellation Cassiopeia is incredibly well done, accurate as far as a crossword allows, care-filled, and careful. Stargazers will appreciate it, those who don't follow the stars will accept it - those who idolize Rex Parker will denigrate it. Chacun a son gout, with or without diacritical marks.
2
A very good puzzle from a construction viewpoint, but not much of a solving adventure, notwithstanding POSEIDON's inclusion.
4
Easy for Wednesday, but what is so bad about that? Those of you who enjoyed Edith Hamilton might want to try Mary Beard, her worthy successor. Start with _The Triumph_, a lively examination of Rome's biggest parade.
5
@archaeoprof
Oops, the full title of Beard's book is _The Roman Triumph._
I did remember YACHT being a former POTUS perk. But I at first went with SCARF rather than SNARF. Also misspelled FUSCHIAS a couple of times until the across clues clued me in. Good puzzle, went fairly quickly.
4
Named for (or by) someone named FUCHS. That’s how I remember the spelling.
When it comes to the theme at hand, I guess you could say I never got the MEMO. For more on said theme, I will defer to the Airplane in honor of recently and dearly departed Marty Balin.
https://youtu.be/RK3Js9yo5qY
Is that 41d up there in the clip’s starscape?
Agaze,
Bru
2
Thanks for the mention and the link, Bru. Reading the obit in The Times took me back a few years.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and learned a lot. As a curiosity, the answer to the 42D clue (Year abroad) shows the importance of the tilde, that squiggly line that goes above the n in Spanish (ñ).
Año in Spanish is "year". Without the tilde, the word turns into ano, which means "anus".
3
@Avi
....as we've been endlessly reminded every time it appears.
...but we're not usually reminded from Spain!
(Cue "Waltzing Matilda")
@Mean Old Lady
True! But the missing tilde does not always create a real (and in this case, comical) word.
Very nice puzzle. I read a lot of Greek mythology as a kid, but most of it has faded from memory so needed some crosses before each of the theme answers finally emerged (and needed some crosses to confirm the spelling in a couple of cases). Didn't recall ETHIOPIA at all in that context but worked that out. Did finish with an error as I mentioned in a reply to suejean below, but that's no biggie for me.
Also didn't scroll right on the clue for POSEIDON (solving in Across Lite), so didn't notice the reference to the grid art and was briefly puzzled by references to that here and at XWord Info. Nice touch.
YACHT gives me an excuse to link this old favorite by the Kinks, which describes the travails of men of wealth and privilege. Might just be a topical reference in there somewhere (lyrics are below the video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKsHh3BFPI
..
2
@Rich in Atlanta
When solving with Across Lite, just click the print button and it will show the info that appears in the print edition. You do not need to actually print. And then go back to solving.
1
For those wishing to see a visual of the constellation formed by the X'es in the puzzle, click here: https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/3/2018 . (Xword Info's page on this puzzle.)
The puzzle is very clean, even with the rendering of the constellation on top of the theme. I would have liked some trickiness/wordplay in the cluing, as I've grown to look forward to on Wednesday. My favorite clue was for KNEE, where I was looking for a location rather than body part.
And what are the chances? Last week, one of the Jeopardy answers was Pleiades, and I incorrectly called out "Casseopeia!" And here she is again, twice in less than two weeks, after being EXILED from my consciousness for many a decade.
8
Read Edith Hamilton many moons ago. Why did the "Wizard of Oz" movie come to mind? Oh, that was melting Margaret.
Coincidence: earlier tonight watched "On Chesil Beach," the film based on the IAN McEwan book. (Saoirse Ronan also appeared in "Atonement.") So happens he narrates the audio book, which I have on hold from my local library.
For non-fiction, I'd heartily recommend the audio book of Doris Kearns Goodwin's "The Bully Pulpit" about Teddy and Taft, which also includes IDA Tarbell's contribution to investigatory journalism.
Speaking of women Nobelists, I have vivid memories of my personal conversation with Rosalyn Yalow, a pioneer in the field of radioimmunoassay. She visited my medical school in Brooklyn on a mission to calm the public's fear of the word "radioactivity" in clinical diagnosis. This is analogous to the omission of "nuclear" when magnetic resonance imaging became widely available.
5
Second the recommendation on "The Bully Pulpit". Excellent read!
Bully Pulpit one of DKG’s best works. I knew the front story, this really helped with the back story. To be a fly on the wall when Taft and TR bumped into each other shortly before TR’s death.
Another fun puzzle even though it did seem quite easy for a Wednesday. I always wonder what the constructor had in mind for the best day.
I also had scarf first; in fact that little section was the last to fall as I didn't know either of the names.
It was also fun to see the constellation show up on Jeff Chen's site, XWord Info.
2
@suejean ScARF before SNAR, too. I figured ANc Beattie had to worng.
2
Another SCARFer here. In fact that doomed my solve, as I didn't know the writer at 28d either. I thought maybe SKARF was an alternative, but never thought of SNARF, even though I see that it's been in puzzles a couple of times in the last year. I guess it didn't register with me.
That was going to leave me with ANK or ANC at 28d and I knew that was extremely unlikely, but never thought to try the N in that last square and so finished with an error. Probably should have thought that through for a couple of minutes before filling in that square.
1
Definitely found this easier than yesterday’s! I too, expected to see the ‘X’s joined in the shape of CASSIOPEIA once the puzzle was complete, but alas it seems that special effects in the app are saved for Sunday puzzles...we certainly are spoiled! Will have to print it off and play connect the dots. Ce n'est pas une constellation.
@Robert & Elke - I also was chuffed at Donna Strickland’s great honour. Many of us have benefited from her wonderful development without even knowing it!
4
Spelling Bee!
Words: 55
Score: 236 pts
Pangrams: 1
A x 7
E x 8
M x 8
N x 11
P x 14
T x 5
V x 2 = Bingo!
4L x 21
5L x 12
6L x 11
7L x 6
8L x 5
12
Two of the words are extremely obscure.
@Judy R
I'm three words short, an E, an M, and an N. So, I hope there are three obscure words?, as opposed to a certain brain being obtuse. (mine, of course.)
Re: Spelling Bee
I’m five words away and finding this very hard. Could someone give more hints? Knowing there are two very obscure words is helpful, but one man’s obscure is another man’s stately dance.
Glad to see the yucky “e” word added to the accepted list, in an older Bee it was rejected. Puzzle staff do listen to word suggestions.
Too easy for a Wednesday. Feels like a Monday. And I am not a crossword whiz or anything.
2
This was so fun! I assumed I would not get much, but each clue fell like stars from the sky, and there I was, all done! SNARF was new to me, though, and so I finished with the name of ANc, and believed I had learned a new thing. Which I had, but across and not down. Very excellent puzzle.
3
Oddly, I was able to breeze through this puzzle even though I have little knowledge of and no interest in either mythology or astronomy.
2
paulymath,
I read the comments before yours (and after), and I don't your "Oddly" is accurate. (Themes aside, easy clues.)
...I don't *think* your...
Crosses made the theme moot. As often happens, got the theme only from reading the blog. This was a Monday type puzzle, about 2 sigma harder from average Monday.
I kind of thought the X's would change color or get connecting lines once the grid was filled. Oh well...
2
and Elke
This ELKe did not need this celestial puzzle to be sent over the moon. That was achieved by the news today that a Canadian female scientist, Donna Strickland, has WON the Nobel Prize in Physics. (She shares it with two men). In an interview on the CBC , she related how, when the 5 a.m. came, she initially thought it a TRICK or a HOAX and hung up . The call was not from OSLO (that would have been the Peace Prize), but Stockholm. The self-described ''laser jock''was asked to ''hold''. After 15 minutes she got impatient. E-mail and another call confirmed that she is the third woman to get the Physics prize, ever.*
She is still 'only' an Assistant Prof but at the news conference, the President of her University told her she should re-submit her application with a one-line c.v.
She got it for work published in her first scientific paper describing 'chirped pulse amplification'. Practical application is Lasik Eye surgery.
Yeah for girls/women taking STEM .
* Rosalind Franklin was deprived of the Chemistry Prize.
NB Amitai-One of the awardees this year is 96 yrs. old.
RAH RAH
17
@Robert and Elke I understand she now has a Wikipedia page.
@Robert
Elke.
Arthur Ashkin lived long enough to get the prize, but it should have be awarded to him at least 20 years earlier for work that he had done a dozen or so years before that.
2
@Amitai Halevi
I lost my respect for the Nobel committees a long time ago after I learned how their choices are actually made. They require a lot of outsider input.
The last straw for me was the denial of the prize to Chein-Sheng Wu of Columbia University who should have shared the accolade with Chen Ning Yang and Tsung Dao Lee. She provided the experimental verification of Yang and Lee's theoretical speculation that parity was not conserved in nuclear beta decay.
Personal best Wednesday despite being a couple (?!) fingers deep into the bourbon.
Well under half of yesterday's time.
Fun nightcap.
(I mean the puzzle.)
3
Originally had ScARF before SNARF, couldn't figure out if ANc was a real name or not. eventually it clicked.
I enjoyed this puzzle, though solving on mobile didn't reveal any kind of constellation so I didn't get the full experience.
4
Tyler,
It seems you *did* "get the full experience."
This was a fun and nostalgic puzzle, for me.
Some years ago I lived within walking distance of an actual observatory owned by University of Texas in Austin, and regularly went to star parties there, including being there to watch Comet Shoemaker-Levy smashing into Jupiter. During that time I bought my own telescope and started a stargazing hobby that lasted a few years. Cassiopeia was always one the easy constellations to pick out, so the puzzle brought back those pleasant memories. Sadly, I can't even see stars at night where I live now.
Then, the column reminded me of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. My goodness, how many kids have toted that book around for a year or two in Junior High or High School, and maybe even read some of it. I seem to associate it with eighth grade, myself.
So, to both Jennifer Nutt and Caitlin Lovinger - thanks for the memories!
9
@David
Thanks for relating your memories. As a kid, I was an astronomy nerd who built my own telescope from scratch (including grinding the mirror). Having worked at UT Austin for many years, I'm well aware of their refracting telescope on the roof of the physics building and the star parties, although I never attended one, sorry to say.
2
I enjoyed this one.
Maybe twenty years ago I was in a marina somewhere here on the west coast, and there was the Sequoia, in a slip like any other boat, looking run-down.
1
@Benjamin Teral youre thinking of the USS Potomac which was in dry dock alongside the freeway in Oakland back in the early 80s. It's now berthed off Jack London Square and does weekend tours, decked out as she was for FDR.
Much easier than Tuesday's puzzle. This was pretty fun.
2
I wish the app had shown the shape of the exes! Super easy for a Wednesday
1
Maybe it was just my wheelhouse in this case, but I found this one almost twice as easy as this week’s Tuesday. Just the kind of confidence over-boost needed to calibrate me for utter devastation come Thursday.
7
I didn't know the story of CASSIOPEIA--or if I did, long ago, I've forgotten it--so it was fun to learn about her. It's one of the constellations that never quite made sense to me--how did anyone ever see a woman in a chair out of those five points of light? I was kind of wishing the puzzle would illuminate those 5 X's when it was done.
Caitlin, I also had/have a copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology--a paperback bought when I was in fifth or possibly sixth grade, illustrated by Steele Savage (I loved his name!). I read it to death for years. And since I never throw anything out, I still have it. Will have to reread this story--and others!
9
@Liz B
The constellation is shown two different ways over at xwordinfo.
Good news, I've found the Tuesday crossword ;-)
10
@mprogers
I got to it through the Archive page.
Very quick and easy. Not my best Wednesday time, but close.
1
I had this puzzle by heart -- I KNEW it! enjoyable, none the less!
1