A fine puzzle with a good Monday reveal. I look forward to a future entry featuring DAIQUIRIDAIQUIRI.
Agreed with others that it's unusual to order a double ALE. But a good Belgian duppel ale can be a little piece of heaven.
Can't comprehend why I (and others!) entered CARIES instead of the much more obvious CAVITY. I guess that's a Friday reading of a Monday clue.
@Doug
... CARIES more weight, is all.
I loved the puzzle, what a fun (if somewhat easy)reveal!
But my real reason for commenting for the first time ever was my pure joy at seeing my hometown girl Chantal in the photo for the column! Anyone who loved the crossword and this community will love the Reading Room in DC. Her cocktails are created with a weekly literary theme in mind. And they are delicious and interesting every time!
2
The charismatic bartender made me search https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/dining/drinks/low-alcohol-session-cocktails.html
I don't necessarily agree with the sentiments in that article. The fellow who recommends a "well-mixed drink" to "pure alcohol" is wearing "a motorcycle jacket and a fedora". Enuf said. Usually I come down on the side of mixed anything, especially mixed blood.
My daughter just watched Wonder Woman again with her friend. WW's flashback to Steve's departing words: "Steve, whatever it is, I can do it. Let me do it." "It has to be me. It has to be me. I can save today; you can save the world." There must be a Latin phrase in rhetoric for when the expectation of repetition is interrupted to fine effect.
2
I must agree with the ALE nit wits but GIN, RUM and RYE pretty much exhaust the list of liquors one would typically double in a traditional (excuse my French) cocktail. The only alternative I could come up with is
JFK school uniform piece?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
JACK JACKET
I had quite a battle with myself, thinking the reveal needed to be MAKE THAT A DOUBLE. but seeing no way to make peace with the Dutch cheese EDAT. Also had CARIES before CAVITY, probably on account of Cary NC: I'll bet a body would feel like A SAP living in CAVITY instead of CARY
I gather there's some backlash against allowing ALE into the theming ring? If any hardy soul really pining for a slug o' the hard stuff, I'm happy to offer the old gametogenic axiom:
OVARY EGO VERY EGGY
Y'never know if someone will like it -- de GUSTO BOT non disputed tandem, and all that
Damon, you did a Monday proud; thanks for the TREAT
5
@Leapfinger
Cary NC might explain why you had CARIES, but I live in Seattle and made the same mistake. Incomprehensible.
@Doug
Perhaps you and I have experienced some kind of extra-sensory dental bonding
Other than to note that the transition from Sunday to Monday is kind of like reaching into the cupboard for what you think is a full bottle of something that turns out to have only wee dram left in it, I don't have a lot to say about today's puzzle (though it was a nice amuse-bouche).
Instead, I want to add my two cents' to Deb's comment about community. I've played word games - and crosswords especially - for as long as I've been literate; I've been enjoying the app for a few months now, finding it an ideal diversion and deterrent from toxic Twitter threads and Facebook rabbit holes. But discovering that there's a blog AND a comments section peopled by simpatico word-nerds has truly elevated it to the level of social-media METHADONE.
22
I'll drink to that! I'll drink to that!
Fun Monday puzzle. Only now I'm thirsty, and it's too soon. Of course it's five o'clock somewhere. Hey that would make a good country music song. /websearching/ Oh... never mind.
Nothing like crossword puzzles and that on-the-tip-of-the-tongue feeling to make many of us wonder if we are developing memory issues. Today only one clue did that: the eponymous rock band's drummer. "Yeah there is one," I thought. Needed some crosses to see it and then was embarrassed. Van Halen's my favorite rock band!
2
@Clutch Cargo
Drummers sometimes don't get their due respect. I hear a lot more about his brother Eddie... If they'd clued it as guitarist whose last name is the same as the name of his band I might have gotten it a bit earlier. And now the band is ¾ Van Halen and ¼ Roth.
1
Good puzzle and much appreciated the Alzheimer's callout in the text -- a worthy focus.
Started off on the wrong tooth -- I mean, foot: initially had CARIES for 48D.
71A microquibble: with "Midler," why bother with qualifiers?
@Dr W
My sister was just diagnosed with "sudden onset dementia"; neither parent lived past 60 or so, so we don't know if it runs in the family, but doing the mini's in less than a minute is my personal check. . .
5
@Robert Michael Panoff
My very best wishes to your sister for whatever improvement can be made possible; I think I can speak for all of us in this blog.
Mrs W and I keep up with nonspecialist neuro news and find some encouragement there.
10
@Robert Michael Panoff
@Dr W
My dear mother was thought to have early onset dementia, but after she died, an autopsy done showed she had Pick’s disease. There are many ways to keep awareness: music and food are two which brought my Mom back reliably. It was magical to hear her sing!
4
MINE
MINE
OK, now what?
1
It seems that if hem is the correct fashion line clue 23A, then seamy does not fit for run down 7D. Is should be seady for rundown but then hedis not a fashion line. What’s gives?
@Jobster
SEAMY has a main definition of "sordid or disreputable." It is a bad Monday pun perhaps (?) that a seam runs down the leg (for men, anyway). But as clued, it fits.
2
@Jobster
Which is 23A?
@Dr W
23A is 21A for large values of 21.
3
Fun Monday puzzle, as always!
New app ‘leaderboards’ feature on my iPhone 8? Not so fun. Errors and auto-hides name entry behind the keyboard. Never got off first page. Beta test or clunk fest? Yeesh.
I feel like Mr. Gulczynski is mocking my extended weekend hangover this morning. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the theme.
1
(I went on a hunt for other drinks in the puzzle and found four...
Tang
Evian
Beer (all three of those are upside-down)
and the Ron in irony is Spanish for Rum.
4
@David Connell
"bottoms up" for Evian and Tang?
2
Dr W,
Upside-down, Evian is NAIVE, Tang is GNAT, Beer is on tap in NOSIREEBOB.
[Nice finds, David; I'll have the Ron]
3
@David C
In the Seek & Ye Shall Find Dept:
Besides ALEX VAN HALEN, there's also another less-famous DRUMMER UMBERTO Buono
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35WThKSAMio
[6 minutes may be optimistic for the casual listener]
Rum-rum
My five favorite clues from last week:
1. Printed slips (5)
2. Tipping point? (9)
3. Suits, briefs, etc. (8)
4. Is a willing participant? (8)
5. A cobbler might use one (6)
TYPOS
COAT CHECK
MENS WEAR
INHERITS
PIE PAN
11
@Lewis - It seems to me there ought to be a way for wordplayers to lay wagers on Lewis's Favorite Clues.
Obviously, the odds would shift dramatically throughout the week.
It would lend a new dimension to "playing the words."
1
This was a cute theme and I enjoyed the puzzle. But I have a nit to pick. I don’t think anyone has ever ordered an ale (or any other kind of beer) and said ‘make mine a double’.
2
Al (et al),
I think you'll enjoy some of the earlier comments here on that very subject. Cheers!
2
@Al Zimmermann
Unless it's a double pale ale. Ale, ale, the gang's all here.
6
@Al Zimmermann
I didn’t order it, but a bar tending neighbor asked only $4 for two tall dark ales. Was that a double?
It's not often we get to get drunk on a Monday morning, as vicarious as it is.
MAKEMINEADOUBLE could be my Monday mantra!
What a delightful reveal! Perfect for this equally delightful puzzle.
Thank you, Damon. And, oh, go ahead.
It's your day to celebrate!
3
Technically, ALE isn't a liquor. But who cares? A fun, breezy puzzle.
Deb - Lest you have any doubts, Wordplay is a delight, every day. Of course I love doing the crossword every day, but I also look forward to reading Caitlin's and your commentaries after I finish - and occasionally for help in finishing. You two DOUBLE the fun.
12
@Michael Dover
I agree. I usually do a Sunday crossword from the archives every day, and what I miss is the commentary about the puzzle. Just not quite as fun.
5
@Michael Dover and all who commented on my sentimental note: On behalf of the Wordplay team, thank you. We enjoy the conversation here in the comments as well.
3
@Michael Dover
Agree wholeheartedly. Although do object to being called a lurker. Perhaps observer? Thanks for the daily fun.
I got stuck on DSL! Had URL
1
HEAR YE, HEAR YE, HEAR YE,
I am eager to proclaim
That today I love the circles
Which I normally defame.
You have filled them full of liquor.
Better yet, you've filled them twice!!
So today I've learned my lesson:
Tiny circles can be nice.
38
@Nancy -
Your lines have mostly three beats,
and the first line's spoken thrice.
Here's an appropriate musical interlude:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh-KEYAN9dg
1
LETTER BOXED THREAD
Another day with multiple possibilities, but I stopped quickly with this catchy one: H-C (12) C-B (3).
I guessed half wrong about yesterday's given answer-- I thought CHAINS SOLIDARITY was a fabulous phrase that Sam could not resist. Oh well, often wrong, never in doubt is my self-mocking catchphrase.
I also doodled around with the alternate spelling of "staunch"yesterday using "STANCHLY". When I saw no short words from the given letters, I typed in DORIS, lacking a "e" for the boat, and lo and behold, it was taken. I still am not certain that the word is not a proper noun and otherwise am unclear about its meaning if it isn't.
I look forward to seeing everyone's nice 13's from yesterday using words I actually know.
2
@Liane
B-H (4), H-Y (11). I thought the first word was a proper noun, but it flew. Lots of alternatives for the second, and I had no idea this was even a word when I tried it. So a serendipitous Monday morning.
@Liane
P-C(11), C-E(5)
Yesterday I had HAIRDOS SCANTLY, and with@Colorado Z's help the 13 CHARDS STONILY.
@DD
So I have B-H(5),H-Y(11), which I think goes well together.
What's not to love about a puzzle that has RUM, RYE, ALE, and GIN in it. Twice.
The quantity and length of themers made this a somewhat crunchy Monday for me, coming in at around 2 minutes above what my more recent average has become (my actual recorded average is still higher due to slower solve times in my early years). NO SIREE BOB is something my mom used to say when I was a kiddie. Does anyone say it anymore, I wonder?
Great Monday with a light dose of crunch. Thanks Damon and Will!
6
@Steve Faiella I believe my mom said "no siree jim bob" I'm pretty sure she still says it
2
I think this would have been on the tough side for a Monday for me, but I'll never know. I always go back and read any late comments on the previous days puzzle before I go to the new puzzle and someone had posted about today's puzzle there - including the reveal and what probably would have been the toughest theme answer for me (ALEXVANHALEN). I'm not upset about that - it was a mistake, as the commenter noted in a reply.
Tried to ignore all that as I solved but it just didn't work out that way. Seems like a nice puzzle.
Some notes on Deb's other comments. My father had early onset and was five years younger than I am now when he passed away. My mother tended to him at home for much longer than she probably should have and I know it was just an awful time for her. She was diagnosed much later in life and I remember her glaring at the doctor when he told her the diagnosis and saying "Why in the world did you have to tell me that." Earlier this year, my older brother was formally diagnosed. So, yeah - it's something I worry about frequently.
8
@Rich in Atlanta. How frustrating about the spoiler!
Best wishes for your health, Rich.
GLOMS - ??? Is this slang? Maybe clue it as such? Another tiny nitpicking point: the clue at 46A is "élan", WITH THE ACCENT, which is a French word (so one logically looks for a French equivalent, maybe?), and it does not mean "gusto" in French - it more generally means "momentum" (it's the action of leaping forward, actually). The proper clue should have been "elan", probably? But the most opaque clue and answer today has to be DQS - I still do not understand how this is "gives a red card, in short" - an online acronym search brings up e.g. "domain queuing system", "dragon quest swords", "disinfectant quad sanitizer", etc. Still at sea on that one.
Jeremiahfrog,
GLOM(S) is in the dictionary:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glom
As discussed earlier, DQS is "short" for disqualifies, as in a (football) red card. I don't use it either.
[I leave the French clues to the French speakers.]
2
@Jeremiahfrog
Surprised that your internet query didn't bring up my favorite DQ, whose blizzard treats are irresistible.
5
@Jeremiahfrog
I was ready to second your point about "Élan". However both Merriam-Webster and the OED retain the acute accent in the English word, so I guess it passes muster.
You made the mistake of searching DQS instead of DQ. However the acronym seems to stand for "Disqualification" the noun. In that case the clue is not correct as it is calling for the verb form "Disqualifies". Perhaps the clue should have been "Red card results, in short".
A perfect puzzle for a Monday morning! (Except that, as Mr Gulczynski noted, it is a wee bit early in the day—and week—to be downing doubles.)
How can DQS be debuting today?! Really? It feels like familiar fill. I guess I’m associating it with HQS and QBS and such.
(A question from the trivia game Ubi: Ubi be CIA HQ? That is, where is the headquarters for the CIA?)
HARUM SCARUM was a great entry. Liked seeing ALEX VAN HALEN find a purposeful role in a theme puzzle.
Thanks, Mr Gulczynski! Happy Monday, Everyone!
:-c)€
4
@Floyd
If memory serves, McLean VA (sp?) (can spelling DQ an otherwise correct answer in Ubi?).
1
@Puzzlemucker
Langley, I believe.
I think this could have easily been a Tuesday puzzle, with some difficult entries but that certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of a great theme.
LAKE GENEVA and a couple of others led to MAKE MINE A DOUBLE, and so the fun theme was soon obvious. My doubles tend to be starting with white wine and moving on to red, although not while I'm solving the puzzle early in the morning.
A good start to the week from Damon.
6
This was pitched just right for a Monday NYT puzzle. Not embarrassingly easy, with words like ASADA, DONEE, AGAR, GLOMS, and even SVELTE, but gettable even for a tyro, IMO. Several clues that weren't dead-on obvious. A theme with a bit of wit to instill the concept of "clever theme", along with circles to help see the theme (it would have been cool without circles, but then in would have been too hard for Monday, and, at 78 words, I don't think that even with tougher cluing it would have worked for a Wednesday). Finally, a grid sans junk and with some interesting answers -- that is, an exemplar of quality in a puzzle.
7
Felt a little harder than a typical Monday, but still fresh and fun, like a good Monday ought to be.
Is CrossWorld the only place on earth where Monday is easier than any other day??
8
Fun 🧩 puzzle.
3
Spelling Bee
31 words, 139 points, 1 pangram, no bingo
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Σ
D 4 6 2 2 - 1 1 16
G 2 1 1 1 - - - 5
I 2 2 - - - - - 4
L 2 - - - - - - 2
T 1 1 1 1 - - - 4
Perhaps the familiarity and the interface will overwhelm you with joy. An easy transition into Monday!
47
@Ben, thanks for the grid. It helped find the last two words.
Familiarity is right. Sheesh!
1
@BenThanks, as always for the grid. I may be mis-remembering, but I think it was the NYTimes Crossword where I learned the word ADIT, yet it's not allowed here!
10
@Ben
I struggled mightily to find an "a" word and your grid convinced me I was acting futiliously. Even though we JUST had it, I was missing one of the I4's. Thanks for gridding. We who are about to QB salute you!
3
"I ain't seen my baby since the night before last; I wanna get drunk, get off of my mind - two RUMs, two GINs, and two ALEs." I'll tell John Lee Hooker to make the change.
Fun Monday!
11
@Ann Came here with the same song in mind, but the George Thorogood version.
3
@Rich in Atlanta
Also recommended!
2
I thought I was done for when Disney snow queen and ___ Jam records failed to give me a hint at Broadband letters. "DSL" sounded familiar but when I googled it, no reason I would have ever heard of that. My real problem turned out to be my guess at Paul Logan for Paul Hogan. Ended up googling "Paul Logan crocod" to keep my phony streak going.
2
@kilaueabart
I happened to know these, but generally proper nouns are my bane, especially pop culture from the last (ahem) 20 years or so.
:-c)€
2
I really wanted MOTE for wee bit ! Good puzzle. Nice work there!
1
Seeing DOUBLE again after last week's BANANA BANANA, PLACE PLACE, etc.
5
@ColoradoZ
I'm with you. I'm laying off the DOUBLEs until the problem is resolved!
7
Hal likes this puzzle. He sensed that it is a scosh harder than most Monday's but that may have been due to his inebriation.
Hal says if he were in charge here he might have waited a few days because there is nothing like having a fifth on the fourth.
A bit off-topic: Yesterday's puzzle generated a fair amount of Q & A regarding some unfamiliar fills. While the constructor is to be applauded for pushing the envelope and the solvers too for investigating and not just accepting same, Hal would just like to remind everyone that the Hal method, now in its 30th year of letting MHP get some rest, is still a viable means to complete any puzzle. It can also absolve the solver of any residual guilt.
Do you remember when June was followed by September?
4
@HALinNY - oh yeh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGKd6m4Pksg
5
@David Connell ... Ahh, Kurt Weil. As good as any of his contemporaries and better than most but success in the USofA eluded him.
This song, from Knickerbocker Holiday, was originally sung by Walter Huston and, sorry to say, Ella's cover (or anyone else's) simply cannot compete with the original.
This is all IMHO and YMMV and thank you for the link.
1
and Elke
July 1 is Canada's National Day.
The first line of Canada's National Anthem is:
O Canada, Our Home and NA(t)IVE Land......
Happy Birthday , Canada !
Cute puzzle.
13
@Robert
Happy Canada Day. 🇨🇦
3
@Robert...What acute waif to characterize your country; not obtuse, but are you sure it's right?
2
@Robert
Happy Birthday Canada!!! Eh?
2
The puzzle gives us BETTE clued as Midler of Beaches. On this day (still Sunday as I'm posting) perhaps Midler of the Continental Baths circa 1971 is more apt. The video quality is not great and some might find her intro a little racy, but it's the beginnings of the Divine Miss M.
https://youtu.be/zWAYICZulJQ
10
@vaer
That was great! Felt like watching a cell phone video. Just for kicks, here’s the Andrews Sisters from 1941 with Boogie Woogie BUGLE Boy (watch for the “Bugle hands” midway through):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wUSeqE5Lw6c
5
@Puzzlemucker
There's also a fifty some odd minute video, which I assume is the entire performance, but I haven't watched it.
Weirdly, my first fill was ALEX VAN HALEN, not that I was or am a particularly big fan, but my boys were born during the early MTV years when music videos ran all night. I watched a few during the wee wee hours.
MAKE MINE A DOUBLE was a very clever reveal. ALE ALE was my first hint then RYE RYE, but when I hit the theme revealer I HAHAed.
After having SIREE yesterday, I kinda liked having NOSIREE BOB today.
:-)
8
@Just Carol
And I always thought it was NO SIREE BUB
2
Perfect for a Monday - not too hard, not too easy, just right!
5
"Make mine a double" was a variation of what our first-base coach would yell if he wanted us to stretch a single into a double: "Take two, they're small!"
8
Did anyone else go: "Red, white, and blue." And I'm not even that religious! or Oxfordian!
7
@Andrew
My opinion on the Oxford comma is strong. And not represented in the clue for 6A.
2
An entertaining start to the week, although as a bartender I must point out that while you can get a double GIN, RYE or RUM drink, ALE is served one pint at a time.
6
@Michael Regan
Shore and ye kin git two pints at once, one fer myself and one fer my cousin Shamus, who couldn't be here but hated to drink alone. . . .
20
@Robert Michael Panoff
Then I'd guess you've heard this joke:
http://jokes.cc.com/funny-walks-into-a-bar/1t5cy2/walks-into-a-bar----beer-brothers
11
@Michael Regan
Thanks for that one!! A literal LOL. My neighbors must think I'm crazy (I'm outside on the patio, taking advantage of this beautiful New England summer morning).
3
One of the better revealers in recent memory. Flyspecked far, far, far past my Monday PB to finally find the A in OPAL (and LAKA) and make it an E. Some things are incapable of rational explanation, like how I could check all of my entries at least three times without seeing LAKA! I could use a DOUBLE but I no longer tipple, so make mine a CRANky CRANium. Actually, not cranky at all. Beautiful Sunday evening, good Monday puzzle, life is good good.
7
Speaking of GUSTO, Julia Hawkins is 103, took up competitive running at 100, and recently ran the 100-yard dash in 45 seconds (6 seconds off her record, set at 101) in the National Senior Games:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/sports/julia-hawkins-running.html
8
@Puzzlemucker - I believe it is spelled Opa-Locka anyway.
(^_^)
2
@David Connell
Good point. Of course, I had to check to see if OPA LOCKA has been in the NYT XWP. Yes, in a puzzle by the former wunderkind, David Steinberg, on 3/11/15 (“Miami suburb”).
A fun start to the month! I'll just stick with my glass of sangria with dinner.
3
@Liz B
Glass or goblet?
1
I'm afraid "dekes" isn't short for "disqualifies," as DQS is. A deke is a misleading move in baseball or hockey intended to deceive as opponent, as in faking a throw to draw a runner off base in order to tag them out.
8
@Tony Fitts Thanks, Tony! I've corrected it in the column.
2
@Tony Fitts - Also Dairy Queens.
9
"Deke", which originated with Canadian ice hockey, is the abbrev for "decoy", as is nicely illustrated in Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deke_(ice_hockey)#/media/File:Ice_Hockey_Deke.gif
1
Pedantic hair-split here: July 1 is the 182nd day of the year. Halfway comes at noon Tuesday, July 2nd, halfway through the 183rd day (i.e., 182.5). Which takes nothing away from the sentiments expressed, which I heartily ditto.
Unusually for me, I spotted the theme as soon as I noticed the RYE's beginning to fill in on the second themer. I was able to compete the central revealer without reading the clue. Still, fun, fast, and frisky.
I get a personal shout-out once again, this time cliued with Turing as the ALAN du jour.
I had a great time with the Durham Wordplayers today. Liz B posted photos, which she linked in a late comment on Sunday's post.
9
@Alan J
Always good to have a little more time.
2
@Alan J love seeing all of you faces! And I see you in that Wordplay t-shirt, Alan!
7
@Deb Amlen
In case folks have trouble "backing up" to earlier wordplays, here is the link to Liz B's pictures from the Durham/North Carolina/y'all come get together (with historical photos from previous meet ups, too!):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bezera/albums/72157705314411154
9
Cute theme!
3