Re Spelling Bee:
Please, no more repeats. Ok? It's very disappointing.
I knew that a Friday "First name in ERotICA" had to be ERICA, until it wasn't. :(
4
Thank heavens for the comment section - I am not the only one that found this puzzle unusually difficult and had to resort to turning on the autocheck. Just got my clue to 25A thoroughly kicked.
2
@Chat Cannelle
But it didn’t stop you from making a very funny comment!
Cheers!
2
From BAH to AHA in *mumblemumble* minutes.
I definitely needed a TURBOJET MG or perhaps a Bugatti since I was slooooow to navigate this one and got completely high-centered in the SW corner. Had to resort to Googling ETTORE and peeking at Deb's column for DATASET else I would be permanently jammed.
My only meh was the pairing of ring and LOBE, the rest were tough but fair, IMO.
I like to be challenged like this on a Friday; rather have a gristly steak than watery porridge.
3
Anyone look at OBJ and first and foremost see Odell Beckham, Jr.?
2
@Steve L
Yes!
Boy, the NE was a bear!
Favorite entries: TRUEDAT and SEXPERT!
"Festival display" = POMP? Anyone?
Ron,
Looking up POMP in the dictionary should help.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pomp
1
@Barry Ancona
Circumstantial evidence.
4
I always enjoy every puzzle. For a Friday, this rated +6 to 7ish.
1
Finally made it to the blog--arising at 5:30 a.m., did the puzzle with breakfast (including the evil NE corner. TIPPY CUP or SIPPY CUP? Big games seen via TAPING? Do HAITIANS spend Kips? ) It was a doozie!
I'm not even mentioning the Spoiler caption on the photo, because I don't come to the blog until I've solved (and sometimes not even then.)
BUT....MOON PIEs have never been a dessert that any Southern hostess would serve. When I was coming up (the few years we were actually in the Southland), iced tea (mint, lemon, and possibly sugar) reigned supreme. Coca Cola was THE COLA in ATLANTA. RC COLA and a MOON PIE would be a considered good ole boy snack. (For all I know, they might be tasty--I've never had either--but I doubt it.)
1
This was toughie and I went way over my average time. Some really fun clues, though. But count out of the “this was too easy and fast” group!
3
Now this was tricky but fun!
A fun but quick Friday. Wish I could have wasted more time. 😃
The only automaker whose first name I know is Henry Ford.
After reading the favorable review by Steve Faiella, I tried to find "I, ZOMBIE" in the listings on my TV, but it's not there. In fact, I can't find CW, but I thought it was a non-premium channel so I should have had it. Hmmmph.
SKI POLE before PASS (I guess that's some sort of credential that gets you into whatever it is you have to get into in order to ski).
Didn't know ALI BABA was a woodcutter; thought maybe a carpet seller. Or some sort of fly-by-night merchant.
TRIMSPA sounds more like one of those overpriced exercise machines than those overpriced diet pills.
I know I played Clue once or twice when it first came out, but the only character I remember is Colonel Mustard.
Liked the clues for DOG BITE, DATA SET, DROPOUT, SAFARIS.
Nice moderately crunchy Friday. Thanks Trenton et al.
3
@Deadline
The CW is channel 11 (WPIX) in New York. The show is IZOMBIE, I think it's supposed to be analogous to IPAD, etc. Someone who actually watches would know better. Next episode will be on Sunday, May 12 at 6 pm.
2
@vaer
iZombie/iPad.
2
The name references the Issac Asimov story, now better known as a Will Smith movie, I Robot.
5
Including "the" in front of "big game" was a bit of clever misdirect, dontcha think? Couple of DOOK's for alternative cluing snuck in: ADS PACE and LO START, for instance. 64A is an instance where the clue and answer SWITCH SENSES!! And Then 64A seems to lead into 65A! This was one of those straightforward solves, for the most part, with as much time spent afterwards dissecting the resulting puzzle. Fun for a Friday!
2
This one was tough. Festival display = Pomp?
That was a killer.
5
I will often resort to the web for pop culture and classic literature (although I ignore any result that goes to crossword solver sites). Today when I searched for "medical examiner that eat brains" the search engine suggested "medical examiner that eats brains near me." Okay then! I wonder who would buy that ADSPACE?
14
I meandered around this puzzle, but basically solved it north to south and west to east. The M in MRS/TRIMSPA was the last letter I filled in, and brought me back to 3D--I SUSPECT MRS Peacock was the BADAPPLE, perhaps doing the dirty deed while on SAFARI(S) with a MOONPIE....
I was amused by a lot of other things in the puzzle as well--the LOST ART of conversation positioned below TRUE DAT, the record clues, which led in completely different directions, SEE HERE leading to EYE SPOT.
Delightful. Thanks!
1
@Puzzledog MRS Peacock was a SUSPECT in Clue.
3
I am guessing that some regulars here know the band NRBQ. I immediately knew the RC Cola and a Moonpie answer from their cover of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvZmtkbtD58 Great to see it in the NYT crossword puzzle!
2
@Robert Danley great song!
BRAYS be!! A lovesome Friday! and with a nice bit of POMP, eh?
Remembered Birmingham figuring in 'Driving Miss Daisy', so had ALABAMA in there for a while. Also knew the Bugatti name less common than Ernesto, but had to winkle it out one letter at a time. Most waylaid in the TREE ring, ABCTV, TURBines area, but what's a Friday for?
Quite a sight to have SEE HERE next to EYESPOT, si?
Can't think why yesterday's ART became today's LOST ART. It probly wasn't the LAOTIAN kip exchange rate, but likely the LOST ART Euro Toss-panini market. You know how all that international dough stuff is conducted in the same bread basket. It's ACCRUAL truth, is it not?
[Income-ing!!]
Just wanted to let the peeps know that nothing today made me IMP LOBE, and that I TRUED AT 90 degrees just like I was sposed to. I thought this FriPuzz proved, as always, that VALUE STICKS.
Thanks for the T's in ATTILA, man, and I'm very glad to see the Wandering R/Elkes back!
7
and Elke
Leapy- it's good to be back-SAFARI SEE I missed my regular punfix ALA Leapy.
1
Not sure that MOONPIES can hold a candle to a classic Mae West. I believe it is a local tradition with an RC Cola, but I've only seen the interesting alternative of pouring a Cello-pack of Planter's Peanuts into an open PepsiCola bottle. The rationale for that is it let's you eat and drink with one hand while the other hand on the steering wheel keeps you out of the ditch.
Given the HUNdreds and HUNdreds of hours (and $$$) invested in Thomas train paraphernalia all those years ago, you'd think I'd be able to think of a Tank Engine besides HENRY a tad sooner than I did. A big tad...
The self-same Grand-boy who'd spend hours narrating his ongoing train-set scenarios will be graduating college in Charleston next weekend.
Yikes.
2
@Leapfinger
I think that you betray your Québécois roots by mentioning the May West (please note the spelling). This round vanilla cake, (sold by the previously referenced POM bakery truck at my school's recess - no appointment necessary). These were stereotypically eaten with a Pepsi and not an RC. In fact in my childhood day the expression "Pepsi May West" spoken with a faux french accent was a less than favourable depiction by us Anglo brats of the other solitude. It seems from the discussion here, that a Moon Pie and RC Cola had the same general function of stereotyping one segment of society from another. How intriguing!
On a completely unrelated note, thank you for teaching me a new word today. I refer of course to "winkle". Would it be fair to say that while Americans are more inclined to "wangle" things out, the much more civilized Brits merely winkle?
(Asked with a winkle in his EYESPOT.)
2
There's an office building in Mobile, Alabama, with a big Moon Pie on the side. I was told that they lower it at midnight on New Year's Eve. Here's a picture from several years ago: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bezera/47765271301/in/dateposted-public/
I kinda of liked the appearance of ATTILA and TURBOJET on the same line. It gave me an interesting mental image.
4
I love Latin as a language, as an area of study, as a way of expressing, writing, speaking. And I love English - in the same ways.
I wish we could understand what happens when "areolae" and "aortae" are used as simple English plurals whatever their case may be - and what an abuse of language it represents.
The English plural of the English word "areola" is "areolas"; the English plural of the English word "aorta" is "aortas". When you use the Latin nominative plural "aortae" in a construction that should require the form "aortarum" - you annoy everyone - those of us who speak the Latin and those of us who speak the English.
Pick a language, and speak it.
9
@David Connell - as we near the Cinco de Mayonnaise - let me be clear...the word "tamales" is an English word, with a singular form "tamale". Spoiler alert - English and Spanish are two different languages!
Ditto Japanese
Korean
Thai
Chinese
German
Yiddish
Hungarian
etc
etc
2
@David Connell
You just threw Hungarian in there because of ATTILA and fear of reprisals if Laszlo returns on his Hundering Third.
Personally, I see nothing wrong (and occasionally much to be gained) by straddling linguistic borders.
Un deux trois cats sank
TUCKS Edo Junction
etc etc et cetera
5
@David Connell
Cinco de Mayonnaise? Looks like someone got an advance copy of the Sunday puzzle.
3
Got in under avg. but the northern corners made me work. Didn’t help that I was confusing BUGATTI and Ducati for a little. I know very little about luxury vehicles. Nice designs though.
Very good construction and clueing. I really like when wordplay and misdirection doesn’t devolve into inaccuracy, which has happened, even at the NYT.
1
Suitably challenging for a Friday puzzle -- much of the misdirection approached the cryptic level -- I had problems in the NE corner since I was unfamiliar with The Bottle IMP and IZOMBIE; I also had SEXguru instead of SEXPERT for Dr. RUTH until I realized that the crossings were not going to end in the letter "U." I'm not complaining, however; I save my complaints for puzzles I quickly complete without any real thinking.
2
The quotation marks around "bones" threw me. I thought quotation marks indicated the answer was something said. Isn't bones just slang for dice?
3
@Natalie
It made me think of Star Trek, and Capt. Kirk talking to the ship's doctor, "Bones".
5
@Leapfinger,
My first thought too but I knew only SULU would fit comfortably in the four squares.
1
Yeah, well, this one kicked my rear end. Epic fail. Tomorrow's another day!
2
@K Barrett Me too! I turned on autocheck after 15 minutes and still had to google a few clues. Some puzzles just don't click for me.
2
ADSPACE or ADSPOTS? Answer: just know CAROB AND ETTORE and be happy with TRUEDAT. Is it DICE or DOCS? Answer: Thank goodness we all remember TRIMSPA and the ___Peacock isn't NBC but MRS, plus we all know PERCY right?
@Babel64 I started wit AIRTIME. Duh.
3
@Babel64
I semi-wanted AD SPOTS too. ETTORE? Are you kidding? And certainly didn't know PERCY; almost entered NANCY.
2
It's funny that Deb's peacock pic on Wednesday could've been today's pic, too.
Sign of great construction: when a solver can successfully suss out the answers he doesn't know.
Thank you, Trenton! You made me feel smart this morning. Plus your puzzle was really entertaining, too!
3
@Johanna
Today's picture was taken by Jada Yuan, last year's 52 places traveler. A beautiful shot of a beautiful creature and timely, as the Times reported this week that the US is considering putting the giraffe on the endangered species list.
3
Notwithstanding the dog bite, and in the absence of any bee sting, this puzzle counts among my favorite things.
9
@Etaoin Shrdlu,
You forgot to mention NADIR ("feeling low").
I couldn't have been the only one trying to squish MCCOY into 56D. But a rebus on a Friday? OY! Sorry, no DICE.
NOES was a no-know; now a new know. Took me a while to sniff out.
TRUEDAT? Say it ain't so... Sounds more like a Canadian prime minister than a legitimate part of speech.
Is SKIPASS a DOOK?
AREOLAE and AORTAE? I couldn't believe my AEs.
Usual Friday challenge. Faster than my average but not by much. Thanks, Trenton! (capital of NJ by the way. TORN NET if you are still stuck on Wednesday.)
10
@Andrew
McCoy was my first thought when I saw ["Bones"].
Had no Internet connection at my house yesterday - and ad to drive about five hours - after packing the car. So whatever my streak was - - - it’s BUSTED. (I’m not unhappy to see it go.)
How can one get rid of what the STASTICS function shows as a BEST time? There are two days for which my BEST is just not believable. I have NEVER solved a Thursday puzzle in just over ten minutes!!
@PeterW
Click on Send Feedback under Support at the bottom of the Crosswords page. I think they can reset things for you--maybe eliminate the unrealistic time. At least, you can ask about it.
I have a couple of ridiculous times--like 1:02 for an early-week puzzle--from a time when the statistics went crazy with incorrect timings. I figure I've balanced it out by forgetting to pause puzzles from time to time. But it would be nice to know what my actual fastest solves were!
1
@Liz B
Judging by your very early posts, I'd say that 1:02 sounds about right! ;-)
I wish you two could send me your statistics. I'd love to brag to my friends!
2
Super hard for me today somehow preserved my streak at 180 + . Really wanted NBC Peacock , until I realized NBCTV had to be right - so then...MRS Peacock ? Not something I am familiar with - but loved the cross with EYESPOTS .There was so much clever misdirection in this puzzle -CAROB chips and SEASALT ; Fall guy - wanted PRAT , got ADAM . And of course the already referred to big game -SAFARI , and DATASET plus RADIO DJ referring to records.
VERY LONG solve time for me- but worth it in the end (BRAYYY! )
2
@Cathy P
Mrs Peacock is a character in the game Clue. The others are Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mr Green, Professor Plum, and Miss White.
4
@Floyd
I always insisted on being Colonel Mustard. I have no idea why...
1
I got things confused with Are You Being Served, but the saleslady with the BLEU/green/purple hair was MRS Slocombe, and the Peacock was Captain.
I'll claim that right for the wrong reason still counts...
I don't gamble. I don't take weight-loss pills. Chinese is my least favorite cuisine. Did I have problems in the SE or what?
First I had to change DoCs to DICE (56D). "Bones" was a weird clue to me and I finally decided it had to be a stand-in for "sawbones", slang for doctors. This left me with SYS-P-T for the peacock feature. Something had to be done. I realized my mistake and corrected. But I still had to cross the unknown weight-loss brand with the unknown spicy Chinese dish. So I started to guess...
TRIMS?A. What would I call a weight-loss pill?
*TRIMS LA? The official weight-loss pill of Hollywood.
*TRIMS HA? You really think this pill's gonna work, sucker?
*TRIMS MA? So she doesn't have to wear "Mom Jeans" anymore.
*TRIMS PA? No more "Dad Bod". Oh wait -- TRIM SPA. That's a good one to put in your AD SPACE. Giving me KUNG PAO. Finished!!!
A crunchy puzzle that I enjoyed.
5
@Nancy
You don’t gamble?! I vividly recall you betting recently that a particular themer had been the seed for that puzzle, and winning that bet. If I took memory pills I might actually remember the themer and the puzzle (it is very close but I can’t quite recall). As for diet, my new one is rereading Steve F’s I ZOMBIE “meal” description. Better than TRIM SPA.
@Nancy
It was the March 3rd (Sunday) "Math" puzzle: ROOT OF ALL EVIL. If I didn't look I wouldn't sleep tonight.
@Puzzlemucker -- I did make a *bet*. But I didn't make a BET. (That is, anything that would actually cost me money. ) I hate losing money. But I am also cursed in gambling. Literally. When I was 16 and going off on a cross country train trip that included Las Vegas, I showed a bit too much enthusiasm for how much fun the casinos would be. My father said to me: "Casinos don't offer you all that glitz and free food to give you their money. They offer it to you in order to take YOUR money. What I'm hoping is that you lose at their tables, because if you were to win, you might be deluded into thinking that gambling is a smart way to make money and it's really dumb."
I allowed myself $15.00 to lose over two nights. (It was 1958; I was 16; I'm frugal; that was plenty). It didn't take two nights. It took 20 minutes, betting at the blackjack tables and betting 25- cents a hand. Never in the history of blackjack has anyone drawn such miserable cards. And I had no better luck in the ensuring years on those rare occasions when I gambled on anything. So I stopped entirely. There's no arguing with Fate or a father's curse :)
1
I loved the two references to the game Clue, including “___ Peacock,” which of course also connected to “Peacock feature.” Nearby was NBCTV, whose slogan is “Proud as a Peacock”.
And while I loved all the clues Deb noted in her column, I want to also praise 10A (“Get on”, for FARE) and 26A (“Ring site”, for LOBE). They didn’t make me smile in the same way that, say, 8A (SAFARIS), did, but they were so ambiguous that they were really tough!
Thanks, Mr Charlson!
:-c)€
3
What a great puzzle!
How interesting not just to see IMP clued as it was, but also to learn that Deb is familiar with the story. I read “The Bottle Imp” in high school and it has stuck with me ever since, although I never realized that it was a well-known story. The most intriguing thing about the titular cursed bottle (this isn’t really a spoiler; you learn it early) is that the only way to get rid of it is to sell it to someone who is informed about the curse, and who willingly buys it *for less than it was sold for previously*. That creates the following interesting PARADOX: No one will buy it for a penny because they wouldn’t be able to resell it. But knowing that no one would buy it for a penny, no one will buy it for two pennies, either, because they won’t be able to sell it. And so on. Where does it stop? It’s akin to this other PARADOX: You will not live to be 200 years old. You will also not wake up one day knowing you are certainly going that day. Work backwards, and you’ll see that under those two assumptions you can’t die on any day.
Happy Friday, Everyone!
:-c)€
5
@Floyd
Correction to end of the paragraph: "You will also not wake up one day knowing that you are certainly going to die that day."
1
@Floyd
"going" worked just as well for me!
2
The semester is over, and I am done with all my grading, but I give this puzzle an A .
5
There seems to have been a mistake in the registrar's office. The grade that I entered for this puzzle is A plus.
2
@archaeoprof,
lol, what with all the on-going stories about calls and letters pleading for a few points' adjustment to fine-tune a boost to the next level!
@Leapy: Isn't that the beauty of CrossWorld:: each letter is either right or wrong, but either way, it's all just for fun.
2
A solid Friday puzzle. No-knows were ETTORE, IZOMBIE, PERCY, and TRIMSPA.
Got off to a bad start in the NW with ALABAMA for ATLANTA, PIKES for TUCKS, and RAREART for LOSTART and BIT for APP.
Gave up on the NW and moved to the NE, with SEXPERT PARADOX, NADIR, LOBE, and TURBOJET coming quickly. This led to IZOMBIE and the rest of the NE filling in.
Got the SE and SW with some effort but no missteps. Then finally went back to the NW and got SUSPECT to start cleaning up the errors. PIKES became TUCKS, BIT became APP, and everything else started to fall in place.
A challenging and fun Friday puzzle. More please!
4
@Ron O I had ALAMBAMA also. I guess I'll have to re-watch DMD. Great movie!
@Ron O.
I was sure 1D was GEORGIA for quite a while. I was right, yet I was wrong.
Hi Deb,
Absent the question mark after "Recess appointment" in the 36D clue, I would have joined you in a parent protest of PLAYDATE, but a Friday "?" made it fair (if not big) game.
I was expecting some pushback from a marketing major on 1A, since the term "sponsor" comes from broadcast (not print) media, where one buys "time" (not --SPACE).
(Go Orange!)
3
@Barry Ancona
I was hoping the answer to "Recess appointment?" would be "you're it" -- but, sadly, it didn't fit.
9
@Barry Ancona
While solving, I found that the question mark on 36D made for an appropriate clue. Discovering after the solve that a recess appointment is a real thing in American politics sealed it for me. This seems like a textbook misdirect clue.
For 1A I had AIRTIME for a long while before ADSPACE.
1
@Barry Ancona
"Go Orange!"
Here's hoping that's not your rallying cry for the 2020 election...
4
Random synaptic sparks.
Decidedly Southern feel here. MOONPIE go with is pronounced "Our C" and TRUEDAT may be heard or read at any Saints game.
NOLA tragedy was the closing of an Uptown Praline and Sno-Cone shop (actually institution) due to rising rents on Magazine. Of course the building has been vacant for nearly a year, something about a hex.....
I have been considering acquiring a MG Midget. Owned one in the early 70s, nicknamed the roller skate for its style and the fact that it often rolled without the benefit of a working engine.
The status symbol once awarded by our SYSOP was a green check mark. Those, along with the Dodo, seem to be extinct.
Diet aide in the 60's was a White Cross. So named for the indentations on the little white pill. Cue Little Feat (Lowell George) and Willin.
Off to the Salt Mine.
Thanks Trenton
4
@dk
Nice Southern loop to Lowell George and Little Feat! Here’s “Dixie Chicken” from 1977 (really, vaer) on Burt Sugarman’s “Midnight Special” TV show, Little Feat with Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and Jesse Winchester:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3z-GwdaKrn8
3
@Puzzlemucker/dk
That was great. I was thinking the other day the comments needed some Little Feat.
1
@Puzzlemucker
Wow, never saw that one. Bonnie Raitt, Jesse Winchester and Emmylou with the late Lowell George and Little Feat. Just great stuff, thanks for that.
1
I had DOCS for DICE ("Bones") before I realized peacocks don't have EYSSPOTS. Great Friday puzzle!
4
Ann,
I had exactly the same thing. Was wondering why anyone would name their product “TRoMSPA”, anyway!
I so wanted GO COMMANDO for [Boxer rebellion?].
23
@Lewis
Ha!!!
:-c)€
1
Would love to know how those @Lewis recos are broken down by SEX [no PERT]
5
@Leapfinger,
Or if any have ANAIS as their first name.
Too many things not in my wheelhouse today - not just the NE, but multiple places. NBC was one of my early entries, but in the wrong place (61d - peacock). No sense going into detail, will go this way instead:
RC and a MOON PIE has a bit more specific association for those of us who actually live in the 'south.' That's explained in more detail by this old favorite joke from a noted ATLANTA based humorist:
A man walks up to a clerk in a store and says, "I'd like an RC and a Moon Pie."
The clerk says, "Oh. You must be from Alabama."
The man shakes his head and says, "you know, I hate that kind of stereotyping. If I'd asked for lasagna, would you think I was from Italy? If I'd ordered chow mein, you wouldn't have concluded I was from China, would you? So why do you assume that I'm from Alabama just because I asked for an RC and Moon Pie?"
The clerk says, "because this is a hardware store."
32
Rich,
My very brief reply is probably in the emu filter, so I'll pad my response of TRUEDAT with the hope that your joke will play on the other side of town.
1
@Rich in Atlanta When I lived in Alabama, the customer was from Mississippi.
3
TRUEDAT
1
I really liked this one! Normally, themeless puzzles are challenging and satisfying to solve, but not "fun". This one was fun (for me anyway) because of the mini "themes" (Chip ingredients, peacocks, records, latin medical terms ending in AE), and some really great clueing! It didn't hurt that lots of this was in my wheelhouse. IZOMBIE is actually a well done crime mystery show, and the main character isn't a mindless drone zombie who just cracks people's skulls open and eats. In this zombie universe, zombies are normal people who have been bitten as usual, but they retain their minds, memories, etc. The main character only eats the brains of people who have shown up in the local morgue, and she then helps the police solve the murder of that person, because when she eats their brains (usually sauteed with some garlic and veggies) she experiences their memories of their demise. It's actually a smartly written and engaging show!
7
@Steve Faiella
NoW I understand what that recent “Breakfast Test” hoopla was all about. Thanks Steve!
(STALE CEREAL didn’t make a dent in my appetite. Your description did).
3
@Steve Faiella
IZOMBIE was my way into the NE corner. I tried to watch the show, because it was created by the same people who created Veronica Mars, but I just couldn't get past the zombie part. Glad you're enjoying it. Agree that the puzzle was fun, but challenging.
1
@Steve Faiella,
Long time gone, I read a book by Gregory Bateson (the first MR. Margaret Mead), and there was an interesting chapter on cultural difference in who one is allowed or forbidden to marry, what foods are allowed and forbidden. So there was an interesting combination thereof looking at rules governing cannibalism, where it exists: who you're allowed or expected to eat. The bits I remember dealt with eating certain parts of a vanquished foe to acquire their courage, and so on, which indicates some tenuous connection to I-ZOMBIE.
Still fairly sure I won't be watching.
1
LETTER BOXED
H-L(8),L-E(8)
3
@Leslie
I went long for the unity of theme:
H-T(7),T-E(8).
I bet there is a 13-letter solution in there.
@leslie
H-D(4), D-E(10)
@Leslie I had D-E (10) and E-L (7)
Spelling Bee: 41/160. 1 pangram, no bingo.
4 5 6 7 Σ
C 3 5 1 4 13
O 0 2 2 0 4
R 4 4 2 0 10
T 8 2 1 1 12
Y 2 0 0 0 2
No Ns, Us, or surprises.
31
@Ben I thought the pangram today was a bingo? Isn’t that when it uses one of each letter?
@Meredith
No, that’s a perfect pangram. In our usage, Bingo is when each letter starts at least one word.
5
@Ben Thanks Ben!
Missing one 5LC that doesn't make one groan, require a lawyer, be a buddy or describe a Thai specialty. I'm sure it will be a d'oh but a hint would be welcome.
1
Nice to see a clue at 46A, "Stopped lying", associated with the correct verb meaning "to rest" or "to assume a horizontal position". Have homonym connotations of "lie" become such trigger words that the perfectly good verb "to lie" (past tense "lay", past participle "lain") is hardly ever used correctly? "Yesterday I laid outside for an hour to get a suntan" should always just trigger the absolutely correct reflex response of "you laid WHAT in the sun? Eggs? You mean you LAY in the sun?" This link should be passed around more often: https://getitwriteonline.com/articles/lie-or-lay/. Thanks for a nice Friday puzzle, and the opportunity to rant a little about lying around. :)
9
@Jeremiahfrog
Thanks for the link. I’ll lay my cards on the table: I find lie/lay and lied/lay/laid/lain tricky. An article entitled “What Does It Mean to ‘Beg the Question’” is a featured link on the page with the “To Lie or To Lay?” article. “To beg the question” misuse was recently discussed on here. I considered reading that article as well, but on second thought I decided to let it lie.
3
@Puzzlemucker
I've been known to scream at the TV when a witness or detective in a murder show says that the victim was laying on the rug, or elsewhere.
I don't get it. It's just not that hard!
@Deadline
What did they give you for an excuse?
Which reminds me the old golf joke:
Golfer 1: "Hey, you never read Joan Didion? You've got to play it as it lays!"
Golfer 2: "Shouldn't that be, 'Have you never read Joan Didion'?"
Probably only funny to golfers.
1
and Elke
SEE HERE the potato chip bag on the table bigly proclaims SEA SALT and thus I was off to the solve.
RiA provided the ATLANTA (thanks, how's the U-Haul going? ) The EYESPOT was in a recent picture, the peacock also gave me NBC TV.
But the answer that resonated most was 14D SEXPERT i.e. Dr. Ruth Westheimer. There was a recent article in the NYT about her and it reminded me that she is an "elfin yekke" (MTF -where are you?)
By coincidence she is in today's puzzle which is dated here (the West Coast) still May 2 2019 which is Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Westheimer
Interesting puzzle-with ACCRUAL in VALUE (but am not an accountant).
6
@Elke
MTF kind of got out of the social media business some time ago. He was on Facebook for a while but quit that. Don't know if he's lurking here or not.
1
and Elke
Liz B- thanks for the update on MTF.
@Robert
I wanted SEX GURU, but didn't like a terminal U for the TURBO- thing.
1
Hand up for struggles in the NE... So kids are saying TRUE DAT now? I heard it years ago from a boyfriend from Metairie, Louisiana. He also said "For true?" which was kinda cute, and "Let's went" - which drove me nuts. "SEE HERE!" I would yell at him (or words to that effect). I actually have two ex-boyfriends in Louisiana, now that I think of it... Oh, the puzz: liked it.
7
@Suzy M.
Maybe two ex-boyfriends in every State of the Union? OK, maybe just the Lower 48.
I wouldn't be surprised.
@Suzy M.
I can see why these boyfriends are ex.
1
@Suzy M. I haven't heard anyone say TRUE DAT in 20 years.
3
Got off to a wrong spot with Alabama before ATLANTA, but got DROPOUT and SUSPECTS right away, which led to correctly filling out the NW except I only had ATT for 31A. Then got a few down the diagonal to the SE, where I got KUNG PAO and CLAMS UP, and then EYE SPOT (how could I NOT get that after posting the peacock picture). And then there was MRS Peacock.
After moving slowly westward across the bottom, the SW started filling in. I decided on AREOLAE because the clue said biological, not botanical. I started working on the remaining areas intermittently, and finished everything but the NW; and when SAFARIS filled in I guessed I ZOMBIE (don't watch much TV) and finally finished with IMP and LOBE.
I did watch a few Orange County Choppers episodes, and one I remember was the bike they did for TRIM SPA.
I liked the "paired" clues... 3D/61D, 12D/62A; and the misdirection in 46A, 49A and 54A.
2
@JayTee
I started with Georgia before ATLANTA. Put me in a bad state of mind
3
@JayTee
I thought the SE corner was a (prescient) tribute to your recent post. Your post helped me with EYESPOT, if not with MRS.
My experience in the NE was as follows:
SAFARIS PARADOX BRAYS and NADIR on the first across pass. Then SIPPYCUP ANAIS FARE SEXPERT and AHA.
Eventually I had TURBO—T but was baffled by R-D—D-O and I-O—I-. I tried IN A HAZE but it didn’t seem to help. Got LOBE from L—E only by trying all possible vowel/consonant pairs and then it was smooth sailing.
Oh geez that NE corner though ... for a laugh, here is what I had before checking the blog for a lifeline; “ALL BEAST” before TURBO JET, “TRICYCLE” before SIPPY CUP, “NAGS” before FARE, “TOP” before IMP, “LP SLEEVE” before RADIO DJ, “YAY” and “OHO” before AHA ... I just couldn’t find traction with NADIR and SEXPERT.
“PARADOX”, “LOBE” and “MOONPIE” seemed infeasible so I didn’t bother plugging them in.
PACT / IMP / LOBE / ANAIS / FARE were distracting enough to throw that whole corner off.
The NW was not simple either.
Girding my loins for the weekend.
2
NE was last for me, too. By a long shot, though not a LOB.
2
Because I don't watch TV, I ZOMBIE was a no-know. But when the Z came into view from IN A HAZE, ZOMBIE was a reasonably safe guess given the cluing. I did ultimately wait for SAFARIS to emerge (great cluing, BTW) before filling in the missing I, but I probably could have guessed it because I had just completed an archived puzzle with I ROBOT as one of the entries.
All in all, Mr. Charlson's puzzle was the kind of workout I expect for a Friday. I finished under my daily average but there wasn't a section that didn't have some entry or clue requiring mental effort (e.g., TRIM SPA, LAOTIAN, DOG BITE, LOST ART). In retrospect, I probably should not have overtaxed my brain by working on several archived puzzles right before this one came online.
1
Liked seeing 61D in the same puzzle as Professor Plum and Lady Scarlett anonymized in 3D....
2
Had SPEARS for STICKS and NONS for NOES for a while.
Didn't take long to straighten them out. 20% below avg.
Loved the repeated letter pairs, especially in the SW.
BADAPPLE, BALLADS, ALIBABA, DATASET, SEEHERE, AREOLAE, CODERED. Well done.
When it comes to “RC Cola and a Moon Pie”, NRBQ delivers:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vvZmtkbtD58
6
@Puzzlemucker Beat me to it!
1
@Chief Quahog
Tried to find a live version because NRBQ is at their best live, but no luck. Tempted to link to “Ridin’ in My Car” in honor of @dk’s old MG (“the Roller Skate”) but it can wait for another day.
Boy, that was tough. First pass (across then down) the only things I had were PARADOX, DROPOUT after thinking about it, and then BAH. First pass was eye wateringly (i.e. oh NOES, I might not finish this one) disappointing
Then had SEE HERE. But then I had ANNULAR instead of AREOLAE (also had made up ANNULAE, but with ANNULAR, changed my mind about SEE HERE. Of course, changed my mind again much later.
Then had FEATHER before FANTAIL before EYESPOT.
Had DEAL before PACT. GTO before MGS. NONS before NOES. UPC before APP.
SAFARIS and PARADOX and IN A HAZE allowed me to get SIPPY CUP, AHA, FARE and really slowly the rest of the NE corner. I then solved the rest of the puzzle in a clockwise direction, finishing in the NW corner.
Liked RADIO DJ and TURBOJET crossing on the J. Liked the clue for ADAM, DOG BITE, SIPPY CUP (it wasn't that many years ago when we had those in the house)
Didn't know ETTORE, TRIM SPA, that ALI BABA was a woodcutter. A little iffy on NBC TV (similar to the "THE [anything]" discussion yesterday), the clue for PLAYDATE.
Hard won completion, enjoyed the satisfaction of getting this one finished in pretty good time, even if it seemed PARADOXically ploddingly so.
3
Went slowly but smoothly until I reached the NE, but NADIR and eventually SAFARIS gave me a foothold.
Fresh fill without much glue or esoterica, and I liked the similar pairs of clues. I loved the cluing!
And now the SE is making me hungry!
1
Much longer than usual for me. I *think* the puzzle was tough but it could just be me. Usually, if the NW comes up mostly dry I can get a run going in the NE, and if both of those stymie me, I can get going in the SE . . . But tonight I had to make basically a full pass before returning to the NW and starting in earnest. But lots of errors along the way and a lot of staring, thinking, staring. Should have walked the dog for some air but she’s sound asleep. Oh well, I finally put it all together, after several revisions, including stuff I was pretty sure of, like SKI MASK before PASS. Overall, not in my wheelhouse, not in my boathouse, not in ski lodge. Just a good crunchy puzzle (I ZOMBIE notwithstanding) with some tough cluing and slippery fill.
Favorite moment: finally getting the M in MRS Peacock. AHA! I had not SUSPECTed a consonant. Touché, Mr. Charlson. Good CLUE.
8
Longer for me than usual, too. But a hard-fought and enjoyable 32 minutes.
1
@Puzzlemucker
Same on MRS Peacock. Actually ran the vowels twice before trying the M. Surprised when happy music played. I played Clue 70 years ago and forgot MRS Peacock
2
@Puzzlemucker
I recently played CLUE so MRS Peacock was a gimme.
In 1704, Antoine Galland (1646-1715) published a collection of Oriental tales under the title Les mille et une nuits (“the 1001 nights”). The bulk of the content is a bowdlerized translation of a Mamluk-era Egyptian manuscript in Arabic, which in turn derives from a Turkish translation of an original Persian work. Galland added to the mix the corpus of Arabic tales about Sindbad and two stories about a Chinese character named Aladdin and a Persian woodcutter named Ali Baba. The source of the last two stories is unknown; the first time they appear in the record is in Galland’s work. Sir Richard Burton published an unbowdlerized English translation* of the same MS. in the nineteenth century, and Sindbad, Ali Baba, and Aladdin are conspicuously absent from it. There is a school of thought that holds that both Aladdin and Ali Baba are Galland’s original creations; if that is true, they are exemplars of French, not Oriental, literature. There is no folkloristic record of either.
*Burton’s translation had to be sold by private subscription because public sales would have exposed him to criminal prosecution for violating the obscenity laws. Literary taste in Mamluk Egypt was raunchy.
9
ATTILA is an early Verdi opera with often-unrecognized VALUE.
I went three times when the Riccardo Muti (my favorite conductor) led it at the Met a few years ago -- I loved it!
1
@judy d
Always like it when the bass gets top billing.
2
"Our champagne and caviar is an RC Cola and a Moon Pie." (At 2:11.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osiNI2Y6wA4
6
I always thought it was a Mountain Dew and a Moon Pie. Also have heard it described as a rebel breakfast.
@Brian
Maybe it's just a question of are you a red wine or white wine person?
1
@vaer - I think that should have been
a yellow wine
or
a brown wine
person?
2
Tough one. Had to use calculatus eliminates on 13 down to get the happy music to play. Now I know.
@Brian I'm with you. The NE was a bear.
3
@Brian
I didn't know that one either.