GASCAP is clever but slightly dishonest because a gas cap closes the filler pipe that leads to the tank. I was too clever by half, trying to make "tank" refer to the military vehicle, but TURRET just wouldn't fit.
Does Nabisco sponsor these puzzles? Oreo Thins comes up a lot!
@Mary B. The secret to getting a product into crossword puzzles is to give it a name with a low average scrabble-tile value.
1
Hated the clue for MSG, just perpetuates the myth, also hated the clue for sextoy, which just seems completely out of place and strange.
6
@Debbieann I really agree. In addition, this is two days in a row where I felt there were unnecessarily gendered or gender insensitive clues. "Comeatmebro" evoked this in my mind: fight --> bro is logically equivalent to (not bro) --> (not fight), which then ascribes a particular characteristic to women, which simply bothers me. Yesterday it was (not brave) --> (not man).
@ckh Hilarious! (That was satire, right?)
5
@ckh That objection to COMEATMEBRO seems contrived. It's one invitation to one kind of fight. I don't see the validity of inferring the converse.
2
Things keep happening that demolish comments-in-progress, so I'm giving up on full-fledged attempts at reconstruction.
Will repeat that edginess beyond my capacity created problems between SHIM and SEXTOY that required Miz Check's help to THRASH the METAL out of the ZAX. Also took a wile to make the COCOA MOCHA, but my real regret was "Tank top" not being TURRET. I was really pleased to have thought of that, which was likely due to watching "Saving Private Ryan" too many times.
Cute coin cidence that we have SUSAN at 52D, while at 43D TIS SUE. Perhaps something she re torted?
Couldn't find a Harry Belafonte cut of the SLOOP John B, but you can pet the Beach Boys did a decent job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJXTdCVsKI
Thanks, DavidS etalii
5
My theory concerning the Comments counter is that the number now displayed is the number of original comments and does not include replies. At least right now at 48 it is very close to the number of postings without including replies.
@Andrew checking your theory now.
Andrew,
Those of us who came back earlier after the end of the hiatus found single digit counts, clearly invalidating your "counting thread starts only" theory.
1
Overall good puzzle, but I thought wimp was rather weak sauce for “wet noodle”.
1
I'm hopeful that the comment-counter is out of whack because they made a change to the software, which entailed a major enough restructuring to have reset some things. I also note some threads are fairly long, possible evidence of the emus being retrained.
Or maybe I'm just Pollyanna.
1
Martin,
This is the third day of a more or less functioning comments system, but the comment counter only went out midday today.
@Barry Ancona
Yes, I know, but it still could be related. Fixes are often installed in a phased manner.
Or it could just be another bug.
If failing to accurately count comments is the only failure in the comments system, I hope we can count on living happily with it.
1
I suppose the little balloon that says there are 27 comments when there are clearly over a hundred is a small breakdown in the sea of breakdowns that is the NYT comments mechanism.
Alas...
Liked ELHI and ELI in same puzzle. Was going to whine about MSG clue not having an abbrev in it and then I remembered it is Friday. Two CA CA clues for ukes. . . and such a rainy Friday in the southeast.
@Robert Michael Panoff ELHI/ALBS was my last fill. And I grew up in the church. WINESTORE was my one favorite; sad to say OLIVEGARDEN was too easy.
1
Finished the puzzle and couldn't get to Wordplay through the link on the puzzle page so used my bookmark. Read Deb and Jeff. Tried to go to comments. The balloon link had just a "+" in it, and the blue bar just invited me to comment. Tried both but there was no one home.
Tried to knock at the door in the comment box, but never got an acknowledging email. After several hours and attempts, the little balloon said there were 22 comments, and I got in. Lots -- and I do mean lots -- more than 22 comments. So welcome back everyone.
Maybe they shut down the comments section for the better part of a day in order to fix it once and for all? D'ya think? Dare I hope?
I've never been to either an OLIVE GARDEN or a BOOZE CRUISE, but the former was a GIMME and the latter almost was. (Guess which of those two I am more likely to go to, eventually.) GAS CAP was a near GIMME, since I don't think militarily.
Like many, I had my most trouble in Texas. Never heard of THRASH METAL, THE ZAX, CHO. May have heard of OHS, somewhere. Dredged up TED from somewhere.
Minority opinion: liked the clue for WINE STORE, although it didn't come easily, what with TIER and RATED R making problems. (And I love the word SHIM, and the thing itself.)
HEATH BARS and BRAZIL NUTS were yummy. Never had OREO THINS, and don't intend to if they taste anything like the fat ones.
Did know SLEEP DEBT, once I thought of it.
COOLIO was a total no-know.
Mixed reaction from me: Not David's best, but OK.
1
@Deadline
Never been to an OLIVE GARDEN or on a BOOZE CRUISE?
Whatever have you been doing for fun?
Steve,
In re: OLIVE GARDEN
Some of us like to have Italian food when we have Italian food.
5
@Barry Ancona
Absolutely! And I live very close to some of the best restaurants in the country, including some of the best Italian ones. (I'm also close to an OLIVE GARDEN, but why would I go there?)
And, Steve, I have a whole lotta fun, in a whole lotta ways. Best not to ask.
After so many similar entries, 32D finally convinced me that there should be a warning on the puzzle page - "This site uses cookies".
6
I didn’t stick with this answer for very long, but I really wanted tank top to be TURRET. Any other ideas outside of clothing?
2
@Joe Olson
That was my first guess, too. Made more sense than GASCAP...
1
I thought TURRET was a 'xtrordinarily clever answer for a very subtle clue. Was pleased to have thought of it, and even more to learn I had good company.
1
Last entry was I was missing the __I_ in what turned out to be SHIM, but it took me forever because I thought RATEDM was RATEDT. You can perhaps see why I LOL’d!
2
came late to the "game" and nly 9 comments and/or replies (it is 17:22 eastern time)
RMP,
There are so many comments that the comment counter lost count. Wade in!
2
@Barry Ancona
how many of the comments were self-referential comments about comments or comments not working or counting correctly? :)
Very few, actually.
P.S. It appears that my Replies are not registering. Anyone else?
Ron,
Which of your replies are not registering?
@Barry Ancona
How's that again?
@Barry Ancona
One was to Lewis very early, liking his phrase
"Thus Texas became the Black Hole of Megadeth." I never received acknowledging emails from NYT. I just reposted the one to Lewis, but also haven't received an email. Am waiting ...
(Why does Deb's column show only 8 comments?? Not true.)
What a coincidence -- presently sipping a 1D!
Like quite a few others, Lewis' Texas (to Florida) was the last to fall. Even though a rabid Seuss fan as a child, I'd never heard of THE ZAX, nor the cross TED. Had eAtS at 50A and DOh instead of DOI. (?) Struggled with BOOZECRUISE (favorite entry and clue) and IDEST (language and parsing), but *did* get OHS and CHO, both rememberances from prior puzzles. Final entry was TISSUE, which ilicited the happy music.
Like Deb (and probably others), started with TNT at 36A, but at least considered the other interpretation of "explosion."
How many times have we seen OREOTHIN(S) recently!?
Surprisingly (for me), more enjoyable than yesterday's.
1
@Ron I was trying to think of some kind of copycat oreo. A big eyeroll when I saw it was OREOTHINs ... again.
2
not able to post comments last night or this morning!! enjoyed the puzzle though!
judy d,
Not *able* to post, or couldn't find the comments?
1
This says 3 comments, but I see more. It's after 2:30 CDST and I couldn't get WordPlay--Page not Found-- until Deb came to the rescue.
This was very challenging! So many Unknowns...balanced, however, by the trickery and Aha moments. The Most Cruel Disappointment, for me, was having to remove SIBELIUS at 44A and put in the TONE POET. Since GRIEG was too short and HOVANESS would not work with MEL'S, I was delighted until....the stupid OREO THINS ruined everything.
2
@Mean Old Lady
My first thought was Richard Strauss (RSTRAUSS?) but alas not even close...
Also couldn't get to WordPlay except through the main blog page. Comment posted a few hours ago has disappeared. Guess it's karmic payback for my post yesterday.
"Guess it's karmic payback for my post yesterday."
LWK,
Undoubtedly.
This one was too clever by half, for me. Not enjoyable when the clues are so off-center and no theme emerges to clarify.
2
Tom,
N.B. Friday and Saturday puzzles are almost always themeless.
1
@Barry Ancona
Not to mention off-center (if by off-center you mean challenging).
Wow. I flew through this puzzle until I crash-landed in the Southwest corner. It usually takes me 20-25 minutes to do the Friday puzzle. Today it took me over 30! It was fun and challenging with a lot of clever clues. Great work.
I'm getting tired of those cookies, BTW.
2
The SW corner blocked me out too well. I tried TNT and WHO IS IT, tried pushing some letters around here and there but couldn’t get past SLEEP DEBT and WET NOODLE ... sometime after trying to get HYDROXES to fit I had a look at the Wordplay blog, and most everything fell into place.
There was a TED worthy moment when SHIM was rated T for Teen, quickly censored for content.
Thanks Deb, great blog. Fun puzzle today.
2
I really didn't enjoy it. The theme words were fun, but the crosswordese was more than I'd expect from NYT. ELHI crossed with ALBS, ID EST (who says "I'd est"? Nobody I know), MSG (which doesn't give you a headache), AGT and worst of all VEEDUB. I figured it out, but it made me feel unclean.
Not being American punished me further as I didn't know MELS, ESE, THE ZAX or MATZO, but that's normal anyway! Luckily I had heard of Olive Garden before, although a bottomless pasta bowl seems extremely luxurious to my ears.
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
6
@Rich
Well, I'm not a Brit, but I didn't know THE ZAX (and I have read most of Dr. Seuss to tons of kids) nor MELS...and OLIVE GARDEN is to be avoided at all costs....
If you have a sensitivity, MSG can indeed cause a headache. My uncle got headaches from chocolate-- now, THAT was serious!
1
@Rich
It’s ID EST, or i.e., the Latin phrase used for clarification. Not I’D.
4
@Steve L
Still , never heard of id est. some egghead stuff?
Also had “COCOA” before “MOCHA”; “TIER” before “SHIM”; and “RATEDR” before “RATEDM”.
But can we take a moment and honor a young man who includes “NOMEANSNO” in a puzzle? We have enough comments about politically incorrect clues and entries. Hands together for someone who really gets it?
11
The SE corner really slowed me down. I began with BLOWNCRUISE for the wasted vacation and EMOJI as the text clarifier. Then thought of The Cat in the Hat to use THINGS (1 and 2) for the Seuss pair. Needless to say, it took quite a while to straighten out the mess. Not one of my better days.
2
I hope someone deploys "spot remover?" as "DOGCATCHER" someday. That would be poignant.
9
@Andrew
That would be good! Here I had the opening AD_L and started to fill in ADOLESCENT. Unfortunately.
Can someone explain 49D (IDEST) to me?
1
@Diana Bowers-Smith ID EST, or i.e. What tricked me was "texts," since it wasn't referring to texting at all.
3
@Diana Bowers-Smith
The common abbreviation used for clarification, i.e., stands for the Latin phrase ID EST (that is).
5
Can I just say, what is up with OREOTHINS? Why so popular these days? (Both in puzzles and in life, I suppose...)
4
I read "Classic TV diner" ad "Classic TV dinNer" about 20 times and just couldn't figure out what a "mels" was.... Maybe I should take a nap.
5
@Elyse Mel's Diner (proprietor played by Vic Tayback) was happily my first thought and dissuaded me from entering SANG or SANG at 47D, and the crosses helped me find OREOTHINS and LETMEIN. The diner was in a TV series titled ALICE (title role played by Linda Lavin). Another trivia item: it's the program that provided the classic "Kiss my grits" sassy putdown uttered by Flo, the waitress played by Polly Holliday.
1
@Elyse I meant "SANG or SUNG"
Difficult Friday; took me over an hour. Difficult to get to the Wordplay comments, too.
Had to scroll through letters at the ALBS/ELHI crossing, seemed a little nasty there to me.
2
@Blue Moon Yeah ditto on that intersection.
1
OLIVEGARDEN was for me a GIMME, so I had a good time getting started, but it took a lot of reveals to finish. A few entries I liked: GASCAP, LOWBLOW (but the ? was inappropriate), LETMEIN, ADBLOCKER, and NOMEANSNO. A few entries I didn't like: VEEDUB because unfamiliar, SLEEPDEBT because is that a thing? and WINESTORE because without the provided explanations I'd still be wondering what the heck? I usually enjoy DS puzzles more than I did this one.
2
As a former student of sleep researcher Dr. William Dement, I can tell you that SLEEPDEBT is definitely a thing. TONEPOET, on the other hand...
3
@Diana Bowers-Smith
Tone poet is also a thing, in LITCRIT.
1
@PuzzleDog - I can't say one way or the other regarding lit crit - but the clue was for a composer - and the composer of tone poems is a composer, not a tone poet. It's not a phrase a musician would have used. I wasn't going to cry "foul" but other posters here and elsewhere have emboldened me...tone poet, tsk tsk.
8
I had to let this one sit overnight with some blank squares in it and then enlist Mr B's help this morning to find the problems. Didn't know the video game rating or the Seuss character. We got that straightened out but still no solve. Turns out I had clung to COCOA for way too long while I went down THE ZAX's wormhole. But I managed to get the 9- and 11- letter entries, so I was happy with that.
2
Fire ANT was an early indicator of the trouble looming down below. Off to a smooth beginning, I was shaken AND stirred by the lower section. No surprise there, as Steinberg Friday’s usually throw me. I had no prob with this one until I hit the bottom third of the grid’s midsection where I reeled from the gut wrenching LOW BLOW...I got stuck on blues; BOOZE CRUISE never came to mind. I’d rather ride along on the former or maybe a puzzlers port hopping tour; perhaps even a Shakespeare at Sea stagefest...I found this timely clip, satirical commentary on SUSAN Collins, mildly amusing. The song is a cover of The Buckinghams song from ‘67.
https://youtu.be/KkXb0tcYJn4
Grinding GEARs,
Bru
3
Steinberg at his very worst. The plethora of pop culture clues was soul-crushing, and my soul was duly crushed. Then there was the godawful COME AT ME BRO and COOLIO. Add to that the beyond ridiculous VEEDUB. The tortured clues for WINE STORE and CASE, among others. I had less of this puzzle completed than any puzzle this year, I think, when my crushed soul and I at last departed the scene. About two-thirds. Not fair and not fun.
23
Was there always an Edit capability in the comment section or is that new? Either way... cool!
In a response below I had fat fingered Crosswordese as Crosswowdese, but was able to change it. There is something oddly appropriate about the latter, though.
1
@Steve Faiella - where did you ever encounter an "edit" function?
1
Steve Faiella,
As you may have noticed by now, you didn't actually edit your comment, it posted twice: once with the typo and once without.
My thoughts on today's puzzle:
1) Fun, and pleasantly challenging
2) Yeah, we all get the clue, but the MSG thing has been widely debunked (pet peeve) https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/
3) Why are Oreo Thins SUCH a crossword favorite?
Oh, and the app link to the Wordplay blog is broken.
7
@bdgnirps "Why are Oreo Thins such a favorite . . .?
Here's my one word(?) answer: ETOAINSHRDLU.
4
Didn't think I'd be able to finish this one. Really tough for me. But somehow, I done it.
Fantastic puzzle!
2
I usually get mad at the ones that take me an extra long time (almost 10 minutes above average), but this one was just too good to hate. "COME AT ME, BRO!" indeed.
3
@DYT - I have a near-1200 day streak going, with all the data that goes with it - and this puzzle took me _three_times_ my average. So I'm definitely in the "wow, that was tough" contingent"! Several commenters have addressed how tough the lower center/left parts were, and that definitely was my experience.
Fisticuffs...
11
This one made me feel both clever and totally uninformed. I blithely filled in GIMME, LET ME IN, and HEATH BARS (yummy). The answers others have commented on flummoxed me too.
My 'solve' turned out to be; see Deb's answers and then go back to the puzzle to see where they fit. Not always as easy as you'd think. And, of course, there was COCOA before MOCHA.
3
Well, having tier where SHIM is supposed to be destroyed my chance for seeing that STORE followed WINE. Not to mention that insane clue for WINESTORE. Insanely good, but impossible for me to get! Plus RATED r makes sense.
That and the fact that I only know heavy METAL and am totally unfamiliar with BOOZECRUISE (although I could use one of those after this puzzle!), you can see where I dnf. I also don't think of a SEXTOY as a gag gift.
When I see David's name at the top I think COMEATMEBRO and he'll put up a fight but I'll still win. Not today.
Talk about a LOWBLOW.
7
ELHI?
ELHI?
ELHI???
11
ELementary - HIgh school. I know, I didn't like it either.
8
@Lauren R. - ELHI appears fairly regularly, so first response is, get used to it. Second, it comes out of textbook publishing in-house lingo, where it is especially important that High School textbooks continue to deny science right along with Elementary textbooks. See: Texas Dept. of Education...
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/06/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbooks-on-us/
9
@Lauren R.
ELHI--Sounds more like a Mormon prophet, but it's a staple of crossword puzzles, like it or not. There's a minimal amount of support within the academic bookselling trade, but as a retired teacher with 40 years' experience, it's a term I've never seen outside of crosswords.
Merriam-Webster defines it online as "relating to or intended for use in grades 1 to 12." But what exists that can be used by a first grader as well as a twelfth grader. The building itself, I suppose, perhaps in a rural district, but I've never seen it used that way. Most top Google hits are for definitions and wordfinder sites, with an occasional person with ELHI as a surname, including an Estonian soccer player named Trevor ELHI. The first school-related hit is for ELHI Hill High School Program in Sumner, WA, which would seem to be an oxymoron, but ELHI Hill is apparently a geographic location, since there's also an ELHI Hill Baptist Church in the next town over.
Strangely, since the word has dictionary cred, it's fair game. However, it really doesn't seem to be out there in the wild.
Get used to it, because someone in crossword thinks it's a "thing," and will continue to use it in the future.
3
Ran through the Across clues and got quite a few and thought I'd have a fairly quick day. Not so fast. Lower center was a natick nest for me. Had METAL at the end of 62A but wasn't familiar with THRASH. THEZAX finally dawned on me. SEXTOY finally fell out. TED seemed logical but too obvious. Had CRUISE and finally connected wasted with BOOZE. Had RATEDR instead of M before I realized it was a cable movie.
Anyway made it through without assistance from Google.
Enjoyed it.
@jtmcg
Same here. Maybe I was just overly tired. I dozed off a few times while doing this puzzle and it took way long. But it was the lower center that gave me the hardest time. Similar issues with the clues and entries.
Wen,
It was probably the MSG.
1
3 things
Link to here from the NYT app is broken.
I am not sure if VEEDUB is a real word.
And, I wanted whoopie cushion for 64A.
Thanks David
9
reco
reco
reco
Thanks dk
@dk
VEEDUB is a word (loosely, it's actually a nickname, not a word, right?) like ADORBS is a word.
It's like calling #43 DUBYA, right?
4
I think VeeDub was more common in my youth (the 70s), when the (original) Bug, the Bus and the Type 4 were all much more common than they are today.
2
I didn't mind that "Tank top" (4A) did not have a question mark, even though[, Deb,] the GAS CAP is at the end of the filler neck, not on top of the tank. (On a semi, the cap might well be on top of the tank, but it wouldn't be a gas cap.) It's Friday, it's a clue, and turret wasn't going anywhere.
2
SB Thread!
47 words
235 points
Bingo
1 Pangram
A x14
L x6
M x13
N x5
O x3
R x5
Y x1
4 letters x9
5 letters x22
6 letters x6
7 letters x7
8 letters x3
A 3 4 4 2 1 (14)
L 0 4 1 1 0 (6)
M 3 7 0 3 0 (13)
N 1 2 0 0 2 (5)
O 1 1 1 0 0 (3)
R 0 4 0 1 0 (5)
Y 1 0 0 0 0 (1)
(9) (22) (6) (7) (3) (47)
No true clotburs, but a few toughies including short ones.
10
@David Connell - adding that there is a special disappointment when a perfect pangram (a word which uses each letter just once) "almonry" is on the rejected list...
1
@David Connell - and, again following up - lest anyone think of cheatery - I work in churches that properly care about people in need, people in desperate straits, people who seek refuge. So, "almonry" is not only a normal word, but an important word to me...
In other words:
VOTE.
10
@David Connell Today's BEE was a slog. I would never have gotten "almonry", but yes, we all have backgrounds that give us special insight into certain words.
On today's list of the missing for me were: mornay,
lolly, moany, nonary, nonyl, and still missing from the other day, mononym -- which in light of a sort of similar word accepted today puzzles me.
Now about some of the less common words above: I love to cook (mornay is one of the 5 mother sauces), love math (nonary - relates to the number 9) , know basic chemistry (nonyl) and recently traveled to Portugal to tour gardens with a friend legally named Simple (mononym). Simple is a fabulous garden artist and designer -- please look him up -- simplegardenart.com -- and check out his hysterical youtube videos, especially the Xmas ones.
Let me assure you, however, if you are not Pink, Sting, Madonna etc., getting through passport control with a mononym is an event!
3
The whole SW was a mega-natick for me. Things I've never heard of include: THEZAX, BOOZECRUISE, THRASHMETAL TONEPOET, SLEEPDEBT and Harry Potter's girlfriend. Also didn't know TED as clued, nor that SEXTOY was a 'classic' gag gift (still baffled by that one). Oh yeah - and RATEDM.
And beyond that, without TONE and DEBT, the little SW corner - CHOSE, CASE, TOLD, AID, ESE etc. was just a pile of ambiguities. Might have worked that out with more patience than I possess, but I knew I was already doomed slightly in the area slightly to the east, so just left it.
Never heard anyone say VEEDUB either but did manage to work that out. Yay me.
Not my day.
9
@Rich in Atlanta Me too; haven't given up on a puzzle in a long time till today--I did get booze cruise but was otherwise way overnaticked in the middle west. Since plenty of other folks including Deb found it doable, I can only lament my clearly detrimental lack of exposure to thrash metal.
5
@audreylm and Rich, definitely not my day either, and I'm not lamenting my lack of exposure to TRASH METAL.
4
I tooled along at normal Friday pace -- not a dash by any means, more like whacking through a medium dense area of vines -- until I hit Texas, the area between the SE and SW corners, where the vines seemed impenetrable. I didn't know THE ZAX, OHS, CHO, didn't know what Black Ops was rated, wasn't sure what kind of METAL Anthrax played, and wanted PARTY CRUISE. Thus Texas became the Black Hole of Megadeth. Man, I tried hard there, pounding and pounding, with my brain yelling LET ME IN! No success. When I resigned myself to the fact that things would never look up there, I ended up looking up, online. Never heard of BOOZE CRUISE or THRASH METAL, but I love both answers, and SO adored the clue for WINE STORE (along with those for SCRABBLE, LILT, and AD BLOCKER. Lots of spark and spunk in this one, and made with the confidence, polish, and constructing art that the talented Mr. Steinberg consistently produces. Don't quit this, David!
11
MSG doesn't cause headaches. This has been verified in multiple controlled trials. It's a myth.
Can someone explain the WINESTORE pun to us? We don't get it and are feeling dumb.
3
@B and R Years, meaning certain years for wines.
1
@B and R
This is already explained in the column.
MSG doesn't cause headaches. This has been verified in multiple controlled trials. It's a myth.
B and R:
Would you provide a source, please?
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9648-headaches-and-food
Like Deb, the M in 29D was the last to fall for me. I didn't know THE ZAX but got it from the crosses despite never being given a SEX TOY as a gag gift. I enjoyed this challenge.
1
@Paul
I don't think SEX TOYs are actually gag gifts. They are presented as gag gifts in order to give the illusion that once home, the recipient isn't going to actually use them.
But I think very often, the recipient does use them, taking them out of the realm of actual gag gifts, like the can of nuts with the built-in surprise.
What "Gave me a headache" was this puzzle by David Steinberg. Oy vey! I'll turn seventy next week, and I'm sure that I would have been too old grok all the post-Boomer cultural references required to complete it. As it was, I just made it under the wire.
Of course, there is always much to admire in a D. S. puzzle. VEE DUB was great; I had a '63 Beetle in my college days. Also NO MEANS NO, AD BLOCKER as clued, LOW BLOW, TONE POET and BOOZE CRUISE all added sparkle.
But a CAPO on a ukulele? Hardly a thing, although I reluctantly took a flier on it to jump start the barren NW, where GIMME was no GIMME for some reason. Love Dr. Seuss, but didn't know THE ZAX. Is that a pair? Hmmm. Outta my wheelhouse completely were TRASH METAL, COME AT ME BRO and COOLIO. I'm not too sure I'd want any of the oxymoronic OREO THINS, but they've been haunting Xwods recently.
Looking back at this puzzle, I have to ask myself what was so hard about it? But that's not the feeling I had while clambering over the roadblocks. Good to get to the finish line today, but more of a relief than a thrill.
7
@Mike R
Agreed, Mike R—this was not much fun as puzzles go, because of all the oddities that don't really add up to good fill.
I like the idea that puzzles can keep us up to date with new slang, but when you also load a puzzle with obscurities (ZAX? CAPO? COOLIO? ) and iffy clues (Who among the Times puzzle-solvers gets SEX TOYs as gag gifts?), the puzzle seems obscure and no fun. Makes one want to go on a BOOZE CRUISE, but hey, it's early morning!
5
@Mike R
From a uke player - a capo is very much a thing! Most avid uke players will have one. ;)
1
@mmm
Perhaps we're all wrongly assuming that gag means joke.
11
Well that was good & gritty. Great fun, but happy to finish tonight over a glass of wine & not with my granola in the morning. One of my boys both wears and ALB to serve at church and uses a CAPO to play the mandolin, which quickly got me to ADBLOCKER (brilliant clue), so he gets all the credit for helping me to an early solve. ELHI was new to me - big thanks for that. Had Cocoa for MOCHA until the bitter end.
4
The link from the hub is not working.
3
@Steve L
Seven hours later, the link is still not working.
I know, they'll fix it after Nov. 6.
2
I started off positive that the six letter answer for "tank top" was TURRET. Moved laterally, but in the wrong direction.
16
I also had turret!
@Irene & Craig, my first thought was also turret. Great misdirect with that great clue!
I'm so used to hearing "rated T for teens" in video game ads that I just assumed it for 29D and that cost me mucho time. Not the easiest crossword for me, overall, but yes, a really enjoyable one. Reward for thinking.
5
I would think that BELT is a noun in the clue "Belt below the waist," since the answer, LOW BLOW, is a noun phrase.
5
@Steve L
I read the clue with BELT as a verb. Works for me.
@Steve L Agree they're both nouns. A belt can be a blow so what's the issue? Must be missing something.
@Mike R
I agree that BELT can be a verb, but LOW BLOW can't be a verb. BLOW can be a verb, but not LOW BLOW, which can only be a noun phrase.