Bussing = PDA?
Not even Urban Dictionary helped there.
I’m generally skeptical when the NYTimes Crossword puzzle makes a “slang” claim entry, and this one makes me want to organize a slang picket line!
4
@Maeve Quigley
You just need the urban dictionary of a century or more ago ;-).
Buss = kiss, and if it's in front of anybody then kissing = Public Display of Affection
3
@Maeve Quigley -- PDA = Public Display of Affection. Surprised google was not your friend here ... seems very common to me (but perhaps a little long in the tooth).
PENPAL?
i had one from england when i was in elementary school
PENNATE?
i teach a drawing lesson about leaves, and the different types of veins
PENTATHELETE?
i am not one, only a genius who cannot get the crown tonight
see you tomorrow!
3
I'm here to complain about "rices". 1) why use 'chop' in the clue? 2) I don't know painters, much less Dutch ones so this one hurt extra. 3) I've never commented here so I think the bruins pushed my saltiness over the edge hence, here I am *grumble grumble, whine*
4
Tough Wednesday - longer than my Friday average. I still don't get 15A - how is it comparative? It seems as if simply NAIVE makes more sense here. I'd echo others' sentiments toward RICES and WATT, too. The fill was pretty good overall, but the unnecessary difficulty of some of the cluing took some of the fun out.
That said, I really enjoyed the theme! The twinned clues (30A and 57A particularly) added a fun non-theme element to the puzzle. This one was a great construction, but I'd wait for a Friday to post it or ease up on/correct some of the cluing.
3
@Nancy, I went absolutely starkers when I saw you were constructioneering for us again today. And of course I recognized you in the DowHgts vid, Kid: you were the one in the frame then the crawl read Nancy Stark, Lyricist. 'Pologies for not having a C-in-C before this -- Interior demolition was begun on my little home-sweet-home today, and I had to make sure I was there to see that the sump pump was pumping, and to decide the fate of the last unearthed treasures, including a stack of newspapers from (Gawd help us) 1990.
Thought you-all's puzzle had a lot of kick and a REEL WARM beginning. You fooled me good with the 1st themer: Thinking that 19*38* was significant, my matching crosses suggested THirtyninesteps, a perfect fit. Hah! Got that fixed up, till the RUNAWAYBRIDE told me it was going to be "Disappearing feMALES", till it wasn't. Have to admit I was sorry to see the INVISIBLEMAN, as he was kinda the odd MAN out. Maybe he could've used THELOSTBOYS for company, since keeping it unisex with LITTLEGIRLLOST would've brought in a troublesome 14 count. But I'm rambling among deeper weeds now...
There was no help for NAIVER, without making it NAIVite... and maybe then echo the new 'ite' with "CRUDite" and "CLAMite Jane", for a mini-theme. Just trying to help, here!
Superbly clever to have Mathematician NAPIER with his discovered LOGS overhead.
Still SLAVering over PRURIENT
Ans spelling it PRURIANT for someone who laughs in bed.
Thanks, you guys! VERMEER bist du schoen.
5
HIDDEN FIGURES! We could have had HIDDEN FIGURES, with 3 more feMALES INVISIBLE, no odd MAN out, and with a workable 13 letter entry.
[subsides in background, murmuring to self]
5
Been on the railroad and now in the Berkshires with not much opportunity to respond but did the puz a couple of hours ago. Much chewier than the usual Wednesday. And a good one!
1
@Dr W
Tanglewood?
rice (verb) from Lexico.com: "Force (cooked potatoes or other vegetables through a sieve or ricer." Stretching things a bit to consider finely chopped veggies as being riced.
3
@steven kenzer
I agree! Riced potatoes are smoother than mashed, and they are not at all equivalent to chopped or diced potatoes.
I have never heard "riced" to mean "diced;" however, it was pretty obvious from the puzzle what was meant and probably somewhere someone uses it that way.
1
Argh! it's after 10 pm in Portugal, but I have to wait 5 more hours until the new puzzle is posted! SueJean how do you do it?
3
@Robert Michael PANOFF
She goes on frequent wine tours.
1
Yes, and there are many fine wineries to tour in the Algarve.
1
@Martin
And in California...
1
It is probably my LACK OF CHARACTER but I have a PRURIENT interest in knowing, if the LADY who Vanishes meets THE INVISIBLE MAN, would we be able to see them if they had a PDA.
10
@ColoradoZ
I was going to late-respond to you about “the Big O” but now is probably not the time.
1
@ColoradoZ
Only if they had the screen turned off on the PDA...
2
@Puzzlemucker
Oscar was the Big O in simpler times. Now you have to distinguish between the O's
1
Very pleasant solve, with creative clues, and a delightful, funny theme. Thank you, Nancy and Will. I wonder if women - or at least me- feel more comfortable when the creator is a woman? (Paired with a man who defends Ginger Rogers). Not a single potentially offensive clue! Exception all you gentle funny considerate male comment writers.
Favourite pairing: OCHRE and ECHRU
Favourite clue: Dangerous when split, ATOMS.
I don’t have a clue: PDA?
Looking hard for glue: NAIVER, EXALLY.
missing another movie with no character clue: SHE
The four corners*
Art : REEL, TELEVISED, NORA, VERMEER
Science : VALID, EXACT, AXIOM
Devotion: AMEN, BLESS, Sta CLARA
Hankypanky: PRURIENT, NERO, CRUDE, SHOE (oh! )
*of course they overlap, it’s complex
THE LADY VANISHES: Movies, both original and remake are fine, but the book on which they are based is a small delight!
https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Vanishes-Ethel-Lina-White/dp/0743493060
4
@Laura Rodrigues In London
PDA public display of affection
2
@Laura Rodrigues In London
PDA = Public Display of Affection
(To buss = to kiss)
In Montreal it would be Place des Arts.
2
🙏🏼
Wowzers, there was some tricky fill in there. A few that I still don’t know even after Googling and that apparently didn’t qualify as “Tricky Clues.”
DTS (the shakes)? What does that stand for?
JEEPS (conveyances on and off base). Huh? Jeeps like the car? 🤨. Crossing with JIVE (already discussed elsewhere in these comments) really threw me.
CPA doesn’t seem to fit the clue, no hint of abbreviation and is it referring to “help” as a noun? Like “the help?”
PLUM was also unknown to me but I guess I see now a definition of it meaning a good job. TIL. Same with PRURIENT and the definition of “bussing” in the clue.
3
@Matt Dodge
DTS stands for delirium tremens. CPA stands for certified public accountant, who can be a help in filing your taxes.
3
@Matt
JEEPS as in military vehicles that take you on and off military bases. That's how the Jeep brand started. Most any WWII movie will have Jeeps all over the place. Or MASH, the TV show. Usually w/o a top.
3
@Matt Dodge DTS - short for Delirium Tremens, an affliction of the alcohol-addicted, and familiarly known as The Shakes.
Jeeps were originally military vehicles.
A CPA is a Certified Public Accountant and can be a big help in filing one's taxes.
You seem to have found your own way to getting PLUM and PRURIENT.
3
NAIVER may be grammatically correct, but it is decidedly awkward. It'd get a red circle in my English class.
10
@tensace
If they had clued NAVIER instead of NAPIER it would have justified the pairing. But I agree NAIVER gets added to the list of weak "-er" sound-like-made-up words we've seen!
5
@Robert Michael PANOFF
The list of weak "_er" sound-like-made-up words is becoming curiouser and curiouser.
6
We need a version of the crossword that works like Zen Mode in Tiles: As you work the puzzle, completed sections sprout new clues and the grid itself forms new symmetries.
4
I took a flyer at playing in Zen Mode and discovered the two paths it offers are (a) an endless continuum and (b) failure. Either alternative can significantly affect the player's will to live, especially if curiosity and distant memories led the player to also have chosen the New Haven tile pattern.
This player saw nothing in the so-called New Haven pattern that suggested any relationship to the eponym. (Thank you, 2D clue)
Suggestions will be welcomed.
5
@Leapfinger
I took a look at Tiles in New Haven Zen mode and quickly turned away. For a moderately colour blind person like myself there is not much there to help maintain whatever sanity one has left. Disturbing.
I am not quite sure what Tiles is doing alongside the reassuringly black and white cruciverbal challenge of the crossword, Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed. I do not like Tiles. I do not like them Sam I am.
3
@Leapfinger
Rothko went to Yale. They resemble Rothkos. That’s all I can come up with.
2
Was not fond of the solution to the “former friend” clue. Not quite clever and not a term found in most contexts. Not even fun.
2
@Desert Rat
I am not sure what bothers you hear. EX means former, and ALLY is generally a friend. I don't think it was meant to be particularly clever and whether or not it is a term found in most contexts, it means what it means.
2
@Desert Rat
Plenty of contexts where EX-ALLY has been used, I think. If only there were an easy way to check.
Oh, wait...
https://www.google.com/search?q=ex-ally&rlz=1C1FGUR_enUS808US810&oq=ex-ally&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.2607j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Not saying this as a way to choose up sides, but I experienced a major qualitative re-adjustment between reading the clue and [via the crosses] seeing what the fill was finally turning into. 'Former friend' was a little sad, a tinge of wistful:' Oh, we lost touch, too bad!' But with EX-ALLY: Hey, they turned against you!!
Bummer.
3
"Tougher than the average Wednesday, eh Boo Boo?"
12
Three methods of ricing broccoli. (Hint: a potato ricer isn't one.)
https://greenhealthycooking.com/broccoli-rice/
@Martin
I wasn't going to jump in to this debate as this is far from my area of expertise. I was willing to go along with the idea that perhaps "ricing" could be another way of finally chopping. However, after looking into this, every definition I can find, including the OED describes the verb "to rice" as "To press (food, esp. cooked potato) through a coarse sieve or ricer to produce granular shapes or thin strings."
What I notice in the link that you provided, is that nowhere does it say "how to rice broccoli" but rather "how to make broccoli rice".
Until I see it employed as a verb I will have to stay on the other side of the debate.
7
@Andrew
"I find a food processor is worth the price when it comes to ricing cauliflower. "
https://lowcarbyum.com/how-to-make-cauliflower-rice/
A search for "riced cauliflower" also gets lots of hits with that phrase. Same for "ricing cauliflower."
Use the quotes to force only hits with the exact phrase.
https://www.google.com/search?q="riced+cauliflower"&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS781US781&oq="riced+cauliflower"
Sorry. I forgot the pitiful URL parser. Here's a functioning link.
https://tinyurl.com/ricetheverb
Some delightful misdirections! Very tricksy, Ms. Stark and Mr. Nedinger. Very enjoyable puzzle! Clever theme. I didn't know all the theme movies, but it was possible to figure them out between the revealer and the crossings.
2
Does anyone other than xworders and the "Hi, kidders" know Nick, Nora, and Asta? Those movies came out before I was born and I'm 68.
5
@Martin
I’m ahead of you by 8 years - and I don’t know about the movies - but I think there are books I’ve come across.
I think I had a peek at one of the movies - - but found it “lacking”- - - in color, plot and interest.
2
@Martin
From older late night movies watched with my grandma. And from The Thin Man books. But I must admit I am more reminded of these from the crosswords.
2
@Martin The Thin Man was on tv 1957-1959. Peter Lawford was Nick. I vaguely remember seeing that; I've got one year on you.
2
When done I thought, "Well, this puzzle may lack CHARACTER, three to be EXACT, but it most definitely doesn't lack smarts."
Very clever theme. Nancy, your original idea for cluing would certainly have upped the difficulty level and enhanced the aha moment, but I wonder how many of would have the smarts to figure it out! Especially on a Wednesday.
Thank you, Nancy and Will! And, Will, loved your Ginger Roger's comment!
5
@Johanna, it's a great line, which I had to look up to find it's origin.
Surprised to find it was a 1982 cartoon, and not surprised that Ann Richards used it in her keynote speech at the 1988 DNC
http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ginger/ginger-article2.htm
Lovely Wednesday, Nancy! Right in the pocket.
2
"Platen" is not on the word list. Shame on you, NYT!
1
Platen? That word, along with many other worthies, has been placed in mothballs for the Bee.
1
@Chris Atkins
I agree. Very frustrating to have the Bee not recognize so many words that are valid especially for crossword enthusiasts!
@Chris Atkins
Or the should-be 2nd pangram: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene
1
"Naiver" ??? Really ???
11
@Nikallez
Oh Mellie - - I just wouldn’t possibly know whether that’s a good word or not.
1
@Nikallez Just about as legit as "funner" (a word my girlhood chum used frequently, despite my objections).
2
I am so grateful to all of you for your positive and WARM comments. And I thank Will Shortz and the NYT for publishing this puzzle. But there was one humongous switcheroo in the themer and revealer clues that Will N. and I originally submitted-- and I'm interested in what all of you solvers will think about it. That is today's Topic For Discussion.
The revealer LACK OF CHARACTER (53A) was clued: "Moral sleaziness" -- with no cross-reference to any of the theme answers. The cross-references were instead all in the clues to the theme answers. Which read:
17A Hitchcock's 53A-sounding movie title
25A Garry Marshall's 53-sounding movie title
41A Ralph Ellison's 53-sounding book title
Solvers were meant to look at the clue to the revealer and wonder -- once the answer came in, that is -- why the lady in THE LADY VANISHES was "morally sleazy"? And why that RUNAWAY BRIDE was "morally sleazy"? This was supposed to make you extremely curious and a bit baffled. And then, when LACK OF CHARACTER finally comes in, you were supposed to have a really big "Aha" Moment at the pun. I think this would have made the puzzle must crunchier and provoked much more mid-solve curiosity.
But in any event, thank you all for your warm and positive comments. I really do appreciate them! And Deb: that is so, so nice of you to have gone to the DOWAGER HEIGHTS website and put the video up on the blog. Above and beyond, really. What a thoughtful and lovely thing to do. Thank you!
11
@Nancy
Loved the puzzle. I think your other idea would have made the puzzle way too hard for a Tuesday.
1
@Nancy
Loved the puzzle’s wonderful clues!
Re your post: Nice idea, & I generally appreciate more mystery in a puzzle. But I think your structure doesn’t quite work because LACK OF CHARACTER is a noun phrase & your original clues use it as an adjectival phrase, don’t they?
:-c)€
@Nancy
Loved the puzzle. I think your other idea would have made the puzzle way too hard for a Tuesday. Oops, I meant Wednesday. How time flies.
Daily Mini: Strictly speaking, apps are receivers of push notifications. They may take actions that cause push notifications to be sent to other users of apps and indeed itself, but they are only capable of receiving notifications.
Re 4-Down Clue: August but not May or June. Answer: Male name. My grandfather's name was Junius, and everyone called him June. (His full name was Junius Brutus, but nobody every called him Brute. He was the sweetest man ever.)
4
@Lynn Marble
He sounds like quite an august man!
4
@Lynn Marble
And apparently, Mark Zuckerberg named his daughter August.
And Johnny Cash sang a song in which he was a boy named Sue.
Does any of that invalidate the clue?
1
Just to chime in: my dad was the 5th son born to his parents, but HE was the one named for his father. He was nicknamed JUNE, (for Junior), sometimes 'JuneBug', and otherwise 'NB' (his initials.) Just sayin'....
4
An oldie re: FAX:
(During a phone conversation:)
Client: "Could you FAX that document to me?"
Clerk: "Yes, but please FAX it right back. It's the only copy we have."
8
@Alan J
GROAN!
@Alan J - Just the FAX, Ma'am.
Alternate clue for EX-ALLY:
Calista, since 2002
4
Thanks, Deb, to the shout out to Gay Pride Month & the LGBTQ puzzle’s.
I’d like to give a related shout-out to PBS’s episode of the American Experience (aired last night in NC) about the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in NYC. I was born that year. As awful as it was growing up gay in the 1970’s & 80’s, I know that already things were better then than had been, in part thanks to the courage of LGBTQ people who came before. There was much I learned about that era. For example, the energy released in the uprising in the streets for several nights was harnessed to organize the first Pride parade... which the participants described as more of a run. They were terrified.
11
@Floyd Did you find the LGBTQ puzzle pack? I feel silly but I can't find it! I'm glad it was mentioned
@Molly
I didn't see it either. Perhaps Deb was misinformed as to when it was going up.
@Molly
I work on paper so I can’t say anything about newly downloadable puzzles. But about a year ago I got the puzzle packet (printable pdf) at the address below. Lots of fun, I recommend them!!!
https://queerqrosswords.com/
:-c)€
Great puzzle! Enjoyed the many misdirections. Hand up for OASIS, BRA, CONFESS, and DICES, since RICES, as our colleagues point out below, does not mean chops.
Enjoyed learning about John NAPIER, the 16th century Scottish mathematician who is said to have dabbled in alchemy and necromancy.
One final possibility for the theme: "HER", the very creepy 2013 Spike Jonze film where the title character never appears...
1
@Chungclan
Neither a hand up nor a hand down for BRA. I would be interested to know which clue led you in that direction.
@Andrew
Chungclan is joining others who made the same errors. 16A “Top of an outfit” led some to think of BRA.
(I myself am in the TEE group.)
:-c)€
2
@Floyd
Oh, of course. I too had TEE at first but hadn't considered BRA due to LEEKS.
LETTER BOXED
B-S-Y (9,6)
(I'm trying a new notation.)
Yesterday JONGS STARCHIER
@Andrew
I am embracing the notation despite an intrinsic suspicion of Northern conspiracies. What’s next, a medical plan (insert emoji for gently teasing irony here)?
I have P-H-S (9,6) which I find wonderfully topical, somehow.
I've pared it down to:
B-S-Y (9,5)
@Andrew
I have the same.
When I weaken and yield to dietary temptation, I belly up to the frozen foods aisle and grab a pint (an EXACT fit for my car’s cup holder) of Fro-Yo Cherry Garcia; no Fro-Yo, no problemo. The real deal (ICE cream version) will do in a pinch...A lesson learned today in cruciverbal CHARACTER building as ANEMONE, NAPIER & VERMEER are welcome additions to my word bank. That is, of course, if I can remember them...You do not reckon my ability in getting PRURIENT is an indicator of a LACK OF CHARACTER, do you?...I missed the flick. Was the RUNAWAY BRIDE doing an exit stage left from the altar.......or eloping. I PROFESS the former. So did Lloyd Price, Harold Logan & John Patton when they collaborated on “Where Were You (On My Wedding Day?) back in ‘58. Billy Joel covered it with aplomb in the movie.
https://youtu.be/p8agvN7oii8
BLESS You,
Bru
2
Pardon the misnomer; heeeeeere’s Billy:
https://youtu.be/ZCEtxMUFIzY
No disrespect to Lloyd Price et al, but the kid from Levittown nailed the oldie but goodie. Can I get an AMEN?
2
@brutus
Hicksville, but I’ll still give you an AMEN.
The solve: Top half came together with reasonable effort. Couldn't get going in the bottom half (and there wasn't much connection between the two halves) and had to cheat - a couple of failed checks and one look-up.
Other stuff - mostly 41a. Didn't know what specific film the clue was referring to. Maybe I should have figured it out from the connection to the other two theme answers, but I focused on working it out from the crosses. But... I would have gotten it immediately if the clue had been "1952 Ralph Ellison novel." So, what's more awkward - having two films and a book as your theme answers (instead of three films)? Or... having to note the omitted definite article in the clue?
Anyway, thinking about that got my mind drifting in a different direction, and then the clue for 31a made me think of "Get on the Bus," and... well, I'll be off googling and pondering for some time to come. Maybe I'll go do the Wright thing first.
1
@Rich in Atlanta
I wholly concur RiA, the upper half was a breeze, the lower, not so much.
Well, maybe DL will feel well enough to stop by. At least she'll know what I was talking about.
I'll just say that I would very highly recommend the works of both Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright for any who haven't read them.
1
@Rich in Atlanta
Is this where I drop an Amen to that?
(understudy to DL)
I was happy to see Deb open her column by remarking on the thick use of misdirection rising from multiple meanings. I hadn’t put my finger on why, but as I worked this puzzle, my appreciation for the clues kept growing.
Even little oldies (e.g. CEO) were given thoughtful, clever, novel, informative, funny, or even charming (e.g. 30A Cabin-building items) clues. What a difference it makes! Thanks, Nancy & Will, for a delightful puzzle! & to my mind, spot-on perfect for a Wednesday!
31A Bussing on a bus—Ha!
:-c)€
4
June Jones, former football coach and mentor of coaches at several colleges (Hawaii, SMU) and pro teams would be surprised that June is not a MALE NAME. Top of outfit: I fell for it with BRA before CEO. CONFESS before PROFESS. I "SAW" the theme early on!
7
@Robert Michael PANOFF
I would be very surprised if any man named JUNE, or May, or Sue, didn't realize they had a female name hung on them. In fact, I can see a classmate coming up to him in the schoolyard, saying, "How come you have a girl's name?"
@Steve L
Big Bang Theorists aside, if he thought it was a girl's name he could have opted for mis middle name. . . wait for it . . . SHELDON.
1
@Robert Michael PANOFF
Or he could have claimed to be Japanese; in that language, JUN is a common man's name, and is pronounced like the month.
1
Really enjoyed this puzzle- but assumptions got the best of me when I wrote down "VAN" after getting the V of VERMEER. Still- quite a bit below my average.
This has probably been brought up before, but ricing is not chopping. To chop something fine, you mince it, and to rice something you press it through a mesh, or other implement with holes. Potato ricers are a thing.
It’s easy to get the answer from that clue, but it’s inaccurate and I thought the NYT prided itself on accuracy.
10
@Frances I had the same thought and was trying to cram MINCES into the spaces. Not only did it not fit, however, the artist is VERMEER, so no. Just rebelled against RICES, because, as you correctly observed, ricing is not chopping. At the end of the day ...erm... puzzle ... one had to accept RICES, albeit grudgingly.
4
@Frances
It has been brought up before and it's not inaccurate.
Posting without scrolling down to check is punishable by serving you a large plate of riced cauliflower.
2
@Cynthia
I had dices.
1
I liked this puzzle a lot! It was perfect for a Wednesday (I solved it within 20 seconds of my average) and the amount of "crunch" was just right.
I also love puzzles that have you thinking about the theme as you solve, because the revealer is tantalizing enough to capture your attention.
Thanks Nancy and "The Wills". This was a standout grid today!
4
Liked the interplay of VERMEER and light.
Surprising number of people out and about at 4AM, think I shall go back to bed.
Thanks Nancy and Will.
I am INDEBT to our constructors for a really delightful Wednesday romp. Stubbornly held on to OASIS far too long for desert shade, as I was possibly meant to. Very clever theme. Yum.
5
I found this more difficult than the past few Wednesdays, though still very enjoyable. Was hung up in the OCHRE/CEO corner, couldn't get past tEe as the top of an outfit. Excellent theme. Lewis could easily find his favorite five of the week today.
4
Spelling Bee
67 Words, 320 points. 2 pangrams, bingos for every season.
4 5 6 7 8 9 11 Σ
A 2 1 1 1 1 2 - 8
E 1 2 1 1 1 - - 6
H - 1 1 2 - - - 4
L 3 2 2 - - - - 7
N 4 2 3 - 1 - - 12
P 5 7 3 2 2 - 1 20
T 4 3 3 - - - - 10
An absolute slog. Get sporty, go to court, light up and cool down, call your mother, then sail to Puerto Rico behind schedule.
36
N 6 2 3 - 1 - - 12
6
I think this is the one to make up for the alkane incident from last week where 2- and 7- were accepted but not the 5-.
7
Thanks! Love these clues which are like a separate puzzle!
2
Ok. I give up. "AIMS"?
1
@Adam Smith
A synonym for GOALS, What do you want to be when you grow up? I AIMS to be President
3
@ColoradoZ
More: I AIMS to to be President so I can make an EX ALLY of current ALLY
3
@ColoradoZ
Some say that I might have a LACK OF CHARACTER, and at times can be quite CRUDE. Unfortunately when I'm finished, the country will be significantly more IN DEBT.
5
From the Agatha Christie coverage: "If I do not leave Sunningdale soon, Sunningdale will be the end of me,’ she once said to a friend." Make that Sunnyvale.
2
Isn't Sunnyvale the place where everyone keeps smiling all the time?
Well I deserved that, frankly.
“Humble bragging about a streak is a good way to immediately suffer from hubris”, said Icarus as he started swimming home.
Not too challenging, but I tripped up over TEE before CEO, NAPIER before MAPIER and DEDAS before DOSAS ... I guess I thought OTHRE was a desert tree I don’t know much about, like the BAOBOB.
Anyway, picking and hunting for a few minutes to get it right.
Very clever and fun cluing, even with the NE corner’s salty “Top of an outfit, for short?” next to the vanilla “Antiquated.”
Cheers!
4
@Michael
NAVIER (-Stokes fame) before NAPIER.
Oof.. I was tuned in to a different wavelength today. I’d say all the clues were fair but I just couldn’t get into a rhythm even after I sussed out the theme. Last fill was “list for forward thinkers”. With IMS filled in I still drew a blank.
3
I don't get JIVE for "Don't you believe it!". ????
1
@Steward
As in “Don’t give me that JIVE! I know where you were last night.” See https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/jive
“A clue in quotes that is something someone might say has an answer that is a synonym for that verbalization.”
From “How To Solve The New York Times Crossword” by Deb Amlen.
3
@Puzzlemucker The clue, however, wasn't in quotes.
@Puzzlemucker
But this clue wasn’t in quotes (Steward was simply quoting it). Precisely because it wasn’t in quotes, the answer was the “it” in “don’t you believe it!”. An equivalent, but far less delightful clue, would have been “Something one shouldn’t believe”. JIVE is that something.
(Not to be confused with “jibe,” a verb meaning agree.)
:-c)€
5
Favorite parts of puzzle:
MALE NAME upon a TRIPOD of females: THE LADY VANISHES, NORA Charles, and RUNAWAY BRIDE.
Sea ANEMONE crossing VERMEER: Nature’s art crossing human-made art.
EX-ALLY: I can’t say why EXACTly.
THE LADY VANISHES: One of my favorite Hitchcocks, made before he left England.
The Crayola pair: OCHRE and ECRU. I PROFESS and AVOW to enjoying repeating/resonating clues. They can give a puzzle coherence and jazz up less than jazzy fill.
The first-rate cluing, e.g., BLURRY, ATOMS, UTAH.
At times, “hearing” Nancy react to one of her own entries, e.g., “I may be OK, but I’m not OK with ‘I’M OK’ in my puzzle. And does anyone FAX anymore?” Just kidding, Nancy (and Will). Loved the puzzle. Keep ‘em coming.
13
@Puzzlemucker
Well actually.......
You still have to fax EIN applications to the IRS for certain categories of entities, which I will not go into. And then they will fax you back when they're good and ready.
@vaer
I was channeling Nancy (probably mis-channeling her, esp. since it was her puzzle and FAX did appear). I still have occasion to use faxes. You get to listen to the machines connect. You get a physical fax receipt with “OK” on it. You can’t take the fax machine home with you and get urgent faxes at midnight. What’s not to like?
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@vaer
I'm going to still be laughing at 'Well, actually...' for quite a long time.
Cute theme, great misdirection on several clues. I had CEO, then fell for the OASIS trap and said "Darn it! CEO would have been a great answer for that clue!" :)
The 'clogs and pumps' clue reminded me of CROCS from April 20th. Fun!
4
Great fun, Nancy! I always enjoy your comments here, and your puzzle (with Will) today was almost as much fun as the Black Hat gem. I say almost because I always believed that one could lack character but retain one’s morality. On the flip side I have seen people with very strong characters whom I would consider to be the most amoral people alive!
Keep ‘em coming!
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and Elke
Hey Andrew- you think we have a LACK OF CHARACTER GATE in the making ?
4
A WATT is not a light amount. A lumen is. A watt when referring to light us the amount of power consumed by the bulb. But as most people know, a 60 watt incandescent light puts out a different amount of light than a halogen, and way less than an LED. Terrible clue.
3
@Mitchell Ross
1. Hi
2. It's always a good idea to read what's been posted, in case others have addressed your point.
3. A question mark in a clue signifies wordplay. It means "don't take this clue literally." In this case, it's a reference to WATT appearing on a light bulb. Without the question mark it would be worse than terrible; it would be wrong. With the question mark it means, "Thursday's just around the corner."
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@Mitchell Ross I agree with you. The question mark indicates there's some kind of misdirection; in this case, the answer isn't "iota" or "mite" or something other small amount of something. The tricky part is interpreting it as "an amount of light." A watt is not an amount of light, it's a unit of power. I wouldn't say it's a TERRIBLE clue, just inaccurate.
Ref 46D chops finely: to rice means to push through a sieve, and as far as I know only refers to boiled potatoes. It's not anything like chopping.
5
@Margaret
No on both accounts. To rice simply means to reduce to the size of rice. The potato ricer does it one way. Riced cauliflower is all the rage:
https://tinyurl.com/ricedcauliflower
6
I have to agree. I've never heard the term used in any other way other than to push food through a sieve or ricing tool. And I don't find any definitions in any dictionary to say otherwise. I don't see how ricing could be considered the same as a fine chop.
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@Margaret
There was a long and laborious discussion of the technique and use of implements of ricing, riced, rices etc about two months ago. When I saw the clue I said to myself, “ just put down the R because you know it is the R and you will never, never win this one. “. I advise you to do the same.
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Having never heard of DOSAS, I didn’t know whether THE LADY VANISHES or THE LADY VANISHED.
Good misdirection with oasis / OCHRE!
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@Tom Kara
Mmmmm, go get you some delicious DOSAS and then Netfix The Lady Vanishes. Great movie, a little hokey there at the end. But you'll have the DOSAS to comfort you.
6
Sounds like a nice Friday evening plan!
Technically, a WATT is a unit of power, not light....in its use describing a light bulb, it represents the power consumed by the bulb in producing light...
5
They were hoping you would be NAIVER.
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@BK
Did you notice the question mark in the clue? That means it's being playful, as in the unit marked on a light bulb.
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@BK
Since LUMEN, CANDELA, and CANDLEPOWER didn't fit, the light bulb quickly popped with the desired fill. The question mark gives the constructors some cover, I suppose.
2
The Vatican has one museum, which surely must give it a higher per capita figure than Israel?
3
@Pete So long as Israel's tourist bureau makes the claim, it's fair game in a crossword!
This was probably the quickest Wednesday puzzle ever for me. Not that I found it easy, it was more ... Well I'm not sure. I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The movies were known, and the revealer made me smile when I realized the theme. LACK OF CHARACTER!
:-D
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Hi, Carol!! I'm alive!
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@MOL,
I’m missing you... ate at Stoby’s today and wished you were there. I do enjoy your FB posts. Beautiful orchids!
C.
The VERMEER clue reminded me of the exhibition at the Frick Collection in NYC in 2013-14 of four of his paintings including Girl with a Pearl Earring, in a room by itself, on loan from a Netherlands Museum undergoing renovation. Also shown were three Vermeer works from the Frick Collection: Officer and Laughing Girl, Girl Interrupted at Her Music, and Mistress and Maid. Also on loan was the tiny work, The Gold Finch by Fabritius, the inspiration for the best-selling novel. I'm looking at the souvenir refrigerator magnet right now!
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@judy d
I think I saw a very similar exhibit at The Trick in 1983? Not the goldfinch, though.
@Ann
The Frick has three Vermeers in its permanent collection. Perhaps you saw those in the early 80s? There was also a huge Vermeer show at the National Gallery in ‘95:
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/references/vermeer_exhibitions.html#.XQElTIoo-hA
p.s. Today we visited Sintra outside of Lisbon. A perfect day.
@Puzzlemucker
Oh, the FRICK! I was going nutso trying to figure out what the TRICK was (found some sites on museums of illusions) and eventually gave up. Should have just looked up at the previous comment. FRICK it!
Wasn't hard, but wasn't straightforward. Took a few passes to get them all.
Like Deb, TIL about ISRAEL as clued, had VEDMEER before changing DICES to RICES.
I don't know what it says about me, but Clogs and pumps led straight to SHOES. Liked the clues for OCHRE and CEO.
Had BOYS NAME before MALE NAME, NEAR before WARM,
There was A SEA, A SHE and then another SHE.
NAIVER and EX-ALLY weren't my favorites.
Also, OCHRE and ECRU in the same puzzle, should there be some kind of rule against that?
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@Wen
"I don't know what it says about me, but Clogs and pumps led straight to SHOES".
Ditto! For me (and probably for you as well!) the more grids I solve, the more I will think of a wordplay answer for a clue first rather than a more straightforward one...
2
@Steve Faiella/Wen
And then you're afraid to put in the simple answer because it's too obvious even when it's the right answer.
3
@vaer - naw. Since I'm doing it online and not pen on paper (or chisel to stone like Barry), corrections are easy. Although it's a little hard to see the screen afterward with the liquid paper on it.
6
Had CEe for a while at 16A because I remembered that Trivial Pursuit used to always refer to the CIA as an “outfit.”
2
I'll focus on VERMEER tonight! The choice of this particular painting for the clue is interesting, because that painting is in the process of being restored. The painting originally had a painting of Cupid on the back wall, but it was painted over, so it vanished. The restorers have discovered that the hidden Cupid was not painted over by Vermeer but by someone else decades later, so they are slowly removing it. The painting was on display this month with Cupid half visible--eventually he will be completely visible. This website is really interesting if you like Vermeer or want to know more about him: https://tinyurl.com/yybtfh9n
If you mouse over the reproduction of this painting, more info is available on 11 "hotspots" including the invisible Cupid. Here's an update on the restoration process, with the half-visible Cupid: https://gemaeldegalerie.skd.museum/en/research/vermeer/
I won't talk about the RICES/DICES issue since we've covered that recently!
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@Liz B
The restorers are removing the overpainting, not the Cupid itself. The Cupid is being un-vanished.
@Liz B Thanks for including that page with the hotspots. Fascinating stuff.
@Liz B
Hi Liz! What a great observation!
The second link to see the restoration update is broken, unfortunately. It appears to be a 404 (page not found). Here is the message for you speakers of German:
Seite nicht gefunden
Die gewünschte Seite konnte leider nicht gefunden werden.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Quick solve for a Wednesday. The theme was, well, subtle.
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I know what you mean. Almost didn't see the theme.
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@Wen
I thought I had seen it, but then it disappeared...
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