More challenging than your typical Monday puzzle, but probably much easier for tennis and golf aficionados.
Nice Monday in that it was easy but the word play was mostly new. Good job.
I imagine some of these discussions fell on deaf ears, but it also laid the groundwork for further trekking. Digging up the dirt on exactly why some profess they 'do not like Dr. Fell' unearthed this most satisfactory treatment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfCE_d0cy8
L.Finger: Keep on trekking
2
Nice tennis theme. Quickly done. Still trying to get through Saturday and Sunday puzzles. Busy weekend, but I’m determined. Too bad most of today was spent on the road.
Thanks to Bruce Haight for an eminently doable Monday.
:-)
6
I know that others besides me have reported to the "help" folks about not getting the email notifications when our comment post.
Has anyone had any luck? Is anyone else started getting the notifications again? Are we all still just left hanging, or is it just me?
3
Deadline,
It is not just you.
3
@Deadline Oh yeah, so it's not just me. I knew I didn't swear or insult anybody or anything but nothing popped up in my mailbox this morning. Hmmn.
@Deadline
I’m convince that the EMUs have various electronic filter settings.
I once referred to a certain “Spanish Religious Investigatory Organization” and the Third Reich (by a shorter name) when arguing that elimination of “sensitive” words is a form of censorship.
My comments were - flat out - shut down - until I started making noise about “First Amendment Rights”. Then I was moved to an automatic one-day delay. Now, I seem to have graduated all the way to a one-hour delay.
But the notifications are still delayed by a full day.
Either there is a malicious mind at work - or an incompetent one. These are supposed to be real-time DIALOGS here.
1
I have been absent from the comments until just now simply because I didn’t find there was much to say about this puzzle—not bad, not terribly interesting, either.
And judging by the comment total—133 when I started writing this comment—many people agreed with me. A number similar to the days when the comments opened 12 hours late last week.
1
Steve,
I can think of a number of reasons more likely than the quality of the puzzle to account for a lower comment count today. I'm sure you can too, if you try.
2
It's getting on towards late, so I thought I'd add a music link - this one inspired by 54 down. Country music trails somewhere behind jazz, blues, R&B and plain old rock and roll on my preference list but it's still there and there are some songs that I quite enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpBEBV1wkq4
Yes, I'm aware that the Beatles covered this, but I still prefer this version.
3
@Rich in Atlanta
Don’t even have to open the link to know what it is. As soon as I realized what 54D was, I muttered to myself “-LY!”
1
@Rich in Atlanta
I'm with you about where country ranks on my preferred listening scale -- except you left out my preferred show tunes/standards. And I wasn't aware, or had forgotten, that the Beatles had covered this. But, in fact, I remember quite liking it.
Thanks.
1
Blesh your boots and buttons, RiA, that's what popped in my mind when I filled in ACT NATURAL(-E). And I didn't know the Beatles had covered it, so that's what I was hearing, twangy voice and twangy guitar.
NOW, All you gotta do is....
convince me that Buck Owens was ever that young.
1
Crossword and tennis at the same time; was a good start to the day, and then got to play, too!
2
Hello there, Bruce Haight! Nice little Monpuzz, but short Constructor Notes. Cat gut your tongue?
9
@Leapfinger
LOL - I'll try to do better next time!
3
Never mind, Dr H.
You just made my day!!
;D
1
Does anyone else remember Victor Borge and his humor? (He was an accomplished pianist too.)
He did one bit called something like “Inflationary Language” - in which every number or homonym had to be replaced by the next highest number. The skit started out with (and/or was titled) “Any Two for Elevenis?” (i.e. “Any One+1 for Ten+1-is?) I don’t remember the rest - but I’ll have Siri check it out for me.
And he had another bit performing his “Phonetic Punctuation” which was a hoot.
This was a “smooth” Monday puzzle for me. No “research” and almost no do-overs. Considerably less than average but not a new PB. (How does one get rid of a previous solve time one doesn’t believe in??)
6
@PeterW
Victor Borge, definitely a great Dane; no doubt about it.
6
@Leapfinger
The punctuation routine was always one of my favorite things. I don't remember the "Inflationary Language" one though. I can't imagine I'd have forgotten it, so I must have missed it somehow.
@As I remember the Victor Borge bit, it was,"Any two five elevenis?" Loved his humor.
PeterW
3
So wanted LOVEHATERELATIONSHIP for 37A. But too big for a weekday puzzle.
46A Things for cleaning dishes NOT SPONGE. I’ll pass on eating at your place. Today’s word F-O-M-I-T-E
What’s a HAMUP? Pork hanging at the butcher’s? If what was meant is “overdo, as a stage role” it’s HAMITUP.
1
tensace,
You may prefer HAM UP served with the pronoun, but some are fine without IT.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ham+up
1
@tensace
Is a "dishrag" (such an ugly word) somehow more sanitary than a SPONGE?
2
It was easy to FALLINLOVE with this Monday puzzle. My last clue was 27D which I kept thinking should be VICE and I always have a tube of ALOE vera in my fridge for a burn, et al.
O/T: Anyone looking for a fun, but stiff, challenge should try the "Spiral" puzzle published this weekend on Wordplay. You do have to print it out (at least I did) and I suggest using a pencil rather than pen, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite enjoyable. There are some (helpful) Comments on the puzzle in the "Spiral" Wordplay blog, along with excellent commentary by CAITLIN.
4
@Puzzlemucker
Where is the puzzle? I tossed the magazine so I'd like to find it online.
@Puzzlemucker This week's Spiral was a tougher one than usual. It is definitely recommended.
Louise: To find these puzzles, just go to the front Crossword page and scroll down to the Variety Puzzles section.
https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords
In the hard-to-find Comments section for yesterday's Spiral, I asked a question about one of the other variety puzzles. I don't think anyone has seen it, so I'm asking again here.
Here is what I asked, edited to remove errors in the initial posting:
I believe there is no solution to the puzzle titled "Going Halfway." The grid is 9X9, so it contains 81 squares.
There are n=11 circled numbers in the grid. The total of the numbers is 39.
Each circled number will encumber 2X+1 squares, where X is the number in the circle.
For 11 circled numbers totaling 39, this would require 2X39+11 squares. This comes to 89 squares needed to compete the puzzle.
81 < 89, so there are not enough squares, unless I misunderstand the rules.
Can someone post a solution?
1
@Chief Quahog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_yc231bMIk
1
Ah my favorite sport and great timing, what with Barcelona and Stuttgart this week and all, as Mr. Haight remarked. (Vamos Rafa! - Oops, he lost in the semi's at Monte Carlo)
I personally would liked to have seen the "Paris Hilton-Room Service" clue instead of the "Pop Singles" clue. (Maybe because it confused me!) I knew it was something 'pop' (um, I'm not THAT much of a novice, LOL) but even when I figured it out, I 'got' it but I still didn't like it.
Oh well. Maybe another tennis-themed puzzle on a Saturday or Sunday around, say, Wimbledon or the US Open would be good? (Maybe I can look cool on the 7 Train out to BJK-Arthur Ashe filling it out....)
1
Color me confused.
When I got 17A I read POP SINGLES as a play on Popsickles. So I was looking for something similar throughout. But no. The only thing that entry had to do with the rest of the themers was that they were all tennis-related.
Thinking maybe POP SINGLES was some sort of tennis LINGO, I asked Mr. Google. He was no help. Maybe someone here will be.
Other than that befuddlement, I enjoyed this. The rest of the themers were quite clever. I could have lived without either of the cross-references, but SARA LEE was okayish.
INSERT COIN reminded me of the annoying fact that the vending machines in my building do not have any indication anywhere of the price of the thing you might want. You have to keep INSERTing quarters until they decide to cough up the whatever.
Tried to enter ACT NORMALLY before NATURAL.
I enjoyed the puzzle a lot more than I ever did my attempt a few decades back to take up tennis. A friend of mine was a very good teacher, but I'd have liked it a whole lot more if we could have just played hitting the ball to each other, sort of like kids play catch. I didn't like the part about trying to make the opponent miss the return (and especially the vice-versa part). Also, the place with the courts was not sufficiently air-conditioned. But I was told I looked really cute in my little white outfit with the short skirt.
2
@Deadline
The clue is Tennis with dad? POP - another name for a dad; SINGLES - type of tennis.
2
Deadline,
All of the themers use tennis words in non-tennis phrases.
3
DL, Not sure if you're confused about the tennis meaning or alternate meaning. In tennis, think of 'doubles' tennis vs. 'singles.'
As to non-tennis meanings 'POP SINGLE' could be term for any single in popular music, and... it could be a baseball term also: referencing a pop-up that drops between the infielders and the outfielders. That is more commonly called a 'bloop single,' but I could imagine someone saying 'pop single' in that context.
1
My five favorite clues from last week:
1. Non-prophet foundation? (7)
2. Pay for play (5)
3. One after another? (6)
4. They serve a function (8)
5. Something that might be packed with juice, informally (6)
ATHEISM
RHYME
ELEVEN
CATERERS
PBANDJ
16
@Lewis always enjoy this list!
2
@Lewis
Non-prophet foundation may be the clue of the year! I am still chuckling over that one.
3
This weekend I ATE HAM UP. Now I see SARA LEE, FAMOUS AMOS, CHUG PEPSI... I better take up tennis or something before I have a massive CLOT.
5
I thought that the clue for 38d was just wrong, because I understand a moor to be an uncultivated upland. The online dictionary says that the meaning "fen" (the boggy wetland) is dialect or US. So reading too much English literature made me unhappy with this answer. (I put in "mere" before correcting via crosses.)
1
@Gail and Bill Ah, but there are upland bogs (raised bogs) that are quite common in moorlands around the world. When you have hilly terrain with little soil over a relatively unfractured bedrock, and depressions will form bogs, even high on a knoll in the moorlands.
In fact, I believe the etymology of the word "moor" derives from a Germanic word for bogland.
2
[Paging David Connell]
3
@Gail and Bill
The fen is mightier than the sward.
15
One of the most enjoyable Mondays in many moons! I do LOVE a theme.
4
You really served up an enjoyable puzzle today, Bruce, replete with many winners for this admitted tennis nut. Most shots were straightforward groundstrokes, but you occasionally threw in an unexpected dropshot like BIGAMY. And you even threw in a sop -- BACK NINE -- to those who have the great misfortune to play a lesser game than ours. (Just kidding, Jimmy!!! Jimmy's my golf-nut brother.)
The only theme answer I questioned, as clued, was WHAT A RACKET. Then I remembered my friend and erstwhile tennis partner, Geri. If she lost to someone, she always thought it was because that competitor had a superior racket. More often than not, she would buy one of those rackets for herself. Rumor had it that her apartment was a veritable warehouse of different rackets. Whereas I was stayed loyal for decades to the Yamaha YFG50. I purchased many backups so that when it was discontinued -- as it inevitably was -- I would never be YFG50-less.
Loved this puzzle, Bruce!
6
@Nancy wrote "Whereas I stayed loyal for decades to the Yamaha YFG50. I purchased many backups so that when it was discontinued -- as it inevitably was -- I would never be YFG50-less."
LOL, Nancy. I still play with the Wilson Pro Staff 6.1. Hopefully my sticks will last me a few more years, until Wilson decides to reintroduce this classic--again. You must admit, though, the manufacturers have a nice RACKET going on here, introducing "new" models with "new" technologies to entice players to trade up in hopes of improving their game.
1
@Henry Su
Reading Comments oldest first, and that's at least the second time I've seen RACKETs referred to as "sticks."
Is this some kind of inside LINGO?
@Deadline,
That's been my understanding. I picked up that term from fellow players and teaching pros on tennis blogs and listservs.
1
Since it depends on the translation, I'm not sure how the first biblical reference to tennis could have been one of the themes, but it would have been nice to figure out a way to acknowledge how Josephtook up the game as a young adult, since he was thirty when he first served in Pharaoh's court (Gen 41).
9
@Robert Michael Panoff
Go to your room, Bob.
4
@Robert Michael Panoff
What Liz B is saying is that your idea is clever and edgy enough to be sent to your room. I think you should see this as a backhanded compliment!
4
@Andrew
GTYR is WordPlay shorthand for a ROFL sandwiched between 2 groans. Usually offered as a high accolade, and I’m here to second LizB’s
Extra themer at 26D for those who know the LINGO:
My wife worked for years as a ballperson at the U.S. Open, always as a BACK (my younger daughter worked as a "net").
6
@Barry Ancona Didn't know that! And I've been working for years around tournaments albeit as an usher/greeter/ticket scanner. Never heard that term but it makes sense!
1
6D reminded me of a quip attributed to Oscar Wilde (perhaps inaccurately):
Bigamy is the state of having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.
13
@Kevin Sparks
I appreciated the wry humour. (My wife did not).
5
Andrew,
Your wife might enjoy Erica Jong's 1973 flip of the quip, or consider if she had been married to Oscar Wilde she might not disagree.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/07/16/bigamy/
3
@Barry Ancona
Your wit is worthy of Wilde himself!
Sorry but I cannot resist this (yet another) favourite Python clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uycsfu4574w
LOL'ed at every one of these puns, especially 37A. Long ago I tried tennis, once, and only once. That ball wouldn't hold still long enough for me to hit it. Took up golf instead. Didn't always know where the golf ball would go, but at least I could hit it.
5
@archaeoprof
When I hold a stick with webbing at the end, we catch the ball and hit people (Lacrosse), we don't hit the ball. I never could get the idea of tennis as it is a different reflex. In lacrosse, when the ball comes towards you, you meet the ball and give way to catch it in the netting smoothly. The idea of hitting the ball with the netting is the opposite. . .
3
@Robert Michael Panoff And when you and I played, it was a heavy wooden stick, not one of these wimpy plastic ones kids use now.
@Robert Michael Panoff
Analogus to the difference between straight and pocket billiards. Which ball gets the player's full concentration, the cue ball or the target?
Happy birthday, Deb!!!
And thanks to Mr. Haight for a Monday Puzzle we can all LOVE.
10
@Johanna OOOOOH I am GROANING!!!! Good one!
Thanks, @Johanna!
1
Tennis anyone was one of the first bits of film dialogue spoken by Humphrey Bogart. I know you want to know that. When i first came to the Midwest tennis nets were stolen to be used for fishing. Popular opinion was Native Americans were the culprits, little was said when two “good ol boys” were nabbed with a truck bed full of.... nets. Now public course stolen nets are metal and serve only as a way to reinforce concrete.
Speedy solve today.
5
@dk
I don't suppose anyone who blamed the Native Americans ever got around to apologizing!
2
Enojyable Monday.
Today, not much glue
so that i had to include
quite aceptable clue (s)
OH MY, ALICE, I SEE
AMANDA SNARK AMOS
SARA BANALLY
2
LETTER BOXED THREAD
Late start today, no time to look for a shorter answer.
A-S(10), S-P(5).
Yesterday I had BIGHT TROUNCES.
I had BOUCIER-ROUGHEST which I was stoked about since I finally got one without clues or help (it had been several weeks!). But I liked the elegant solution of NEIGHBOR-RUSTIC and wish I had seen it.
@Kevin Sparks
Haven't started today's yet, but yesterday I BOUGHT TINCTURES.
1
@Kevin Sparks
I've got three different solves using the same first word, but time to get moving so nothing shorter for now.
P-S (7) S-N (9) or S-A (9) or S-E (9). I suspect a shorter second word is probable.
As a non-tennis player, this one left me a bit bemused. The crossings were kind and several clues made me smile, but the theme includes references I still don’t get. I know love=zero, but how does “Fall in love” mean 59D? 23A means nothing to me but the usual meaning, even after reading the clue. & I think “POP SINGLES” must be hit songs in normal English, but I got hung up there (at the start!) because I’ve never heard that phrase, I don’t think.
Still, I liked the 26D/28D pair (everyone to his own wheelhouse), & a big smile for the clue for YETI (Hairy Himalayan humanoid).
Paris Hilton as a room definitely has a place in a future Thursday+ clue, that will be great! But if that clue/answer pair had been in this puzzle, I’d have never known what it meant.
:-c)€
1
@Floyd,
For 59-A, if you understand that LOVE means zero in tennis LINGO, then FALL IN LOVE could mean losing (falling) to your opponent without winning a game (e.g., 6-0, 6-0) (referred to "love sets")
For 23-A, a BREAK in tennis LINGO refers to winning a game on your opponent's serve (called a "break of serve"); if a losing player is only one game behind her opponent in a given set, she can get "back on serve" with a BREAK of her opponent's serve.
Now, if you beat your opponent 6-0, 6-0 and eliminate her from the tournament, do you get to sing "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free"?
4
@Henry Su
Thanks!
SPELLING BEE Cefilty
26 words, 140 points, 1 pangram
C x 10, E x 5, F x 3, I x 4, L x 3, T x 1, Y x 0
4L x 5, 5L x 8, 6L x 7, 7L x 3, 8L x 2, 9L x 1
4 5 6 7 8 9 Tot
C 4 4 2 - - - 10
E - 1 2 1 1 - 5
F - - 2 - 1 - 3
I - 1 1 1 - 1 4
L 1 1 - 1 - - 3
T - 1 - - - - 1
Y - - - - - - 0
Tot 5 8 7 3 2 1 26
33
@Ron O.
Thanks!
1
@Ron O.
Any hints for non-repeating 6L-C?
Also, I think 5L-T is a stretch.
1
@Ron O.
Today's Bee truly got under my craw for the omissions, some of which are extensions of accepted words. One is a variation of the pangram and two others relate to a five & 6 letter C. Neither are that obscure, as opposed to the 5 letter T, which I got by trying letter combos, not by knowing the word. And of course, who doesn't enjoy a nice crusty FICELLE? Mr. Beekeeper needs to eat more French food and less Tex-Mex!
4
Really nice Monday puzzle, an entertaining theme and a smooth solve. The only place I got hung up at all was in the BANALLY BACK NINE area. The fact that I had somehow mistyped LISA instead of PISA kept me from seeing that theme answer immediately and contributed to that slow down.
Every time I go back and review the answers, I smile. This is just really, really good.
5
What a lovely offering for a new solver. That new solver will see that puns can be part of a crossword, that a puzzle needn't be hard core serious. And, because the answers in general are so in the language and the cluing easy, that novice solver has a good shot at experiencing the thrill of success.
This is an excellent Monday puzzle, tailor made for that Monday solver (and also enjoyable to more experienced solvers -- myself and, based on the comments, others here), with no unforced errors and nothing over the line from Bruce, who held serve as a quality constructor, IMO.
What my eyes can't AVERT from is the POPSI starting line three echoing the PEPSI at the bottom. Pepsi-Popsi. Pepsi-Popsi. Pepsi-Popsi. It's kind of what a tennis rally sounds like.
7
This great puzzle couldn't be any more in my wheelhouse. My interest in tennis goes back to the days of Panchos Segura and Gonzales. I have too many favorite matches to mention, but the 1975 match between Jimmy Conners and Arthur Ashe ( crossword favorite) is right up there, and of course as a U.K. resident seeing Andy Murray winning Wimbledon was a real treat.
Oh, the puzzle. All the puns made me laugh. I would have liked Bruce's Paris Hilton/ ROOM SERVICE idea. I liked ACT NATURAL and INSERT COIN and thought the clue for HUNG @ 34D was cute.
My favorite Monday puzzle ever.
10
@suejean I thought of you as soon as I caught on to the theme.
2
@Rich in Atlanta
I wondered if some of the "old timers" would remember my frequently mentioning my love of tennis, Rich
2
Deb, I meant to add that the chosen photo is one of my current favorite players.
3
Nice easy, breezy Monday puzzle for me! I LOVEd the puns and wordplay. Nice and refreshing after a challenging weekend.
1
This seemed more of a Tuesday level to me. Usually Mondays are entirely straightforward obvious clues. Today the longer theme entries needed a little extra help from the crosses to be solved. At least that was my experience. It took me about twice as long as last Monday. Very enjoyable.
3
An entertaining Monday puzzle. Not sure if I was just slower than usual, or it was crunchier than usual, or if I was distracted by television while solving--I'm not going to attempt to do standard deviations, but it was substantially slower than my recent Monday times.
My earliest reliable memory is of "helping" my grandfather SLOP the hogs. I can date it pretty closely to under three years of age because my parents & I had just moved across the country and were staying with the grandparents until we had our own house, and those grandparents moved from that place to a hog-less one later that summer. It's funny what sticks and what doesn't.
I loved the clue for BIGAMY.
11
@Liz B
I was slower than usual for a Monday, too, with no distractions.
1
This puzzle marks my 100 day streak! Reading this column (and especially the comments) is the highlight of my day. Thank you for being such open & welcoming ambassadors of the crossword community!
42
@Hannah Wilson
Way to go, Hannah!
3
@Hannah Wilson Congratulations, Hannah! Keep up the great solving!
2
@Hannah Wilson
Congrats! It's nice to reach a milestone.
3
This was an enjoyable puzzle. Now that I've tried a few of Bruce's crosswords, looking for the puns made it fun to solve.
37 across was a hoot.
7
This puzzle was a tad OUTside the lines in terms of timing, but to no ones FAULT, I LOVEd it noNETheless.
12
Nicely done, @Joshua Eisenman! As the Hamlet of Hartsdale, I spose you’re not only the one who declaims in ENGLISH, but also the one who sTOPS PINing away.
I can’t quite get the word “banally” out of my head. I’ve never used it before and probably never will. But it’s the pronunciation of the word that keeps lingering. Sounds more like an exotic drink or locale, no?
4
@Diane Schaefer I think I said it once in Alaska by mistake.
Beth,
For Denali, I presume?
3
@Barry Ancona Ah yep! (Hanging head in shame for bad pun LOL) But thanks for getting it anyway!
As a tennis player myself, I can't help but show extra LOVE for this puzzle. Like Jeff Chen, I grew up in the John McEnroe era and so CONTEMPT OF COURT has added meaning for me, as does WHINE.
In addition to CALLS, bonus theme fill includes SKILLS and AID -- a player needs to draw on the former but can't have the latter while on court. And BILL makes me think of "Big Bill" Tilden, who still holds a several all-time records, including 51-match win streak at the Grand Slams from 1920-26.
9
@Henry Su
My clue for whine mentioned John McEnroe but Will spared him
26
@Bruce Haight haha!🤣
@Bruce Haight,
Ha! I knew it. ;-)
S S S S S S S S S S N E 1?
12
@Robert Michael Panoff
Took me a bit but I get it (would have been almost right at home in the April Fool’s puzzle). Well done!
@Puzzlemucker Well, I sure don't.
3
@Diana Count the S's. 10S anyone?
1
Nice puzzle! It would have been really amusing if it had appeared during Wimbledon or some other big tennis tournament.
2
@LindaR,
Mr. Haight noted that the original plan had been to release this puzzle around the time of the U.S. Open.
1
Liked the puzzle, but it felt more like Tuesday degree-of-difficulty (at least if my solve time was any indication).
2
My first under-five-minutes puzzle!
18
Way to go, Frankie!
9
Can’t fault Mr. Haight for serving up a nice easy Monday puzzle. Aced this one! :)
12
I liked the puzzle. Liked both INSERT COIN and ACT NATURAL. Liked the theme as well. A bit of other sports - golf with BACK NINE, basketball with NBA and HOOP, baseball with AAA.
Liked the GLEE and GIMME A BREAK crossing - both TV sitcoms.
Other observations - men's names = LEE, LES, , ELMO, AMOS. Women's names - SARA, ALICE, NINA, BESS, and I suppose LEE again too.
PEPSI being referenced as an old blind taste test made me feel old. Didn't seem that long ago.
7
@Wen
Great memory to recall the TV show “Gimme A Break”. I had forgotten all about it. Here’s its star, Nell Carter (who won a Tony for her performance in the Broadway Musical “Ain’t Misbehavin’”) singing “Our Day Will Come” in the TV show:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydxv6y4g2vw
1
Great Monday. Five great themers. FALL IN LOVE was my fave but I fell in love with all five. Just enough resistance for a Monday (e.g., BANALLY actually took me a bit to fill). All around, a GRAND SLAM.
12
@Puzzlemucker,
Thank you for the creative PAN'S LABYRINTH/BLACK PANTHER mashup. I read your comments and Andrew's after being out much of the day with family. We went to a garden conservatory where there is an exotic butterfly exhibit.
1
@Henry Su
Very fitting considering Thursday’s theme. Hope your family enjoyed the exhibit. I imagine that seeing hundreds of butterflies in real life is even better than seeing a crossword puzzle butterfly.
1