29 across isn’t literal, so it should have a question mark.
If I may be granted some leeway and permission, and in all seriousness:
Hats off to the TUSKEGEE AIRMEN
https://images.app.goo.gl/9riAEcpMSGKnHGVv6
2
Spelling Bee food for thought just in case any hive members are still reading comments. I gave some thought today to Liane’s comment about using Bill Shunn’s work without his permission. I think that merits consideration. I had never been to his site before today. It’s worth a look, including his interesting FAQ. I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile to provide a link to his site when someone posts the grid using his work, which would at least recognize his work and perhaps direct some CLICKBAIT traffic his way: https://www.shunn.net/bee/
5
@Puzzlemucker I’m all for giving credit where credit is due. As a programmer myself, producing the grid isn’t terribly hard once you have the results. Neither is generating the results for that matter, but that just removes the puzzling part out of the equation.
I wish the actual puzzling was the focus, though, even over finishing. Don’t get me wrong, I liked having the hints when I got stuck. But I also liked the friendly competition to be the first to post the result grid generated by the sweat of your brow.
I also liked coming together when no one has posted to find our gaps. I’m not interested it matching my mettle to some computer program though.
If the first to finish fetches the grid from that page they should give credit.
1
@Puzzlemucker For that matter the NYT could make these hints available themselves if it added enough value. But again, this shifts away focus from the solving and the diminishes the positive community effects of discussions in the comments.
2
@Doug
Thanks for your perspective, Doug. I found today’s discussion fascinating. On the one hand, yes, a low stakes issue. On the other, it goes to fundamental questions about human nature.
Here’s Bill’s response to my email about whether he would be OK with having his grid posted:
“Thanks for asking. It was the comments section of the Wordplay blog that gave me the idea for the grid in the first place, so I’m totally fine if people cut and paste it. I’m not above hoping for the occasional shout-out, but no attribution is necessary. I’m just happy that people are visiting the Solver and finding it useful.
Feel free to quote this email in the comments, if it’s helpful.”
6
Hotrod no good???
2
@Tom A - it's two words, so Spelling Bee doesn't take it.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hot%20rod
@Tom A
No HOTROD
No HOTTY
No DOXY
No HYDROXY
No DRYROT
No ROOTROT
No HOODY
No Howdy DOODY
A habit for NUNHOOD
But none for the TOYHOOD
Step up with a dogTROT or foxTROT
But steer away from the ponderous OXTROT
And you'd think that after the old Brexit story
The Hive would give us a game with TOY TORY
[phoo]
1
DEBITs are not subtractions in accounting. They are movements to the left. If the account lives on the left (such as an Asset, Expense, or Dividend Declared), the debit will increase that account.
A better clue would be "On your bank statement..." since that's probably what the writers were thinking of.
-CPA, CMA, Accounting professor for 20+ years
1
Hi Dave,
Thanks. Our in-house auditor reported to us earlier.
2
@Barry Ancona Thanks for the reply Barry :)
Hi @Dave,
It's late and I started reading at this end, so your comment was news to at least me.
I've only ever taken one course in accounting for Health Policy, and debits sure seemed like subtractions to me then. I'll believe you if you say they're movements to the left, but is sure is odd how politics seems to get into everything these days.
It's a day late but I didn't read comments on Monday's puzzle until late Monday p.m. so figured no one would see it if I commented then. I got Etonic easily because my youngest sister worked for Etonic in Brockton MA as an accountant for a few years. I think it may have been her first job, probably in the mid to late 1970's. Unfortunately I can't confirm the time period as she passed away at too young an age due to complications from MS.
I've been doing crossword puzzles for many years, following in my dad's footsteps. He made his own handwritten crossword dictionary many, many years ago! I can't always read Deb/Caitlin's columns and the comments every day so I often play "catch-up". I figure you're never too old to learn and I've certainly learned a lot from solving and ingesting knowledge from such an eclectic group of people who contribute to this blog.
Sue from Detroit
7
Spelling Bee: does anyone know or understand what they use as their definitive source? Yoohoo, hotdog are acceptable as one-word answers, but yoho, hotrod are not. And while we're at it! So lacking in zoology words: oryx, brant, langur, nuthatch, willet. End of rant.
5
@Petaltown
This is one of the world's great mysteries. You will see on pressing "help" that you can suggest missing (or offensive) words my emailing [email protected] or more general questions at [email protected]. Presumably the game editor, Sam Ezersky, can provide insight.
However, having played the Bee since its outset, the word set has changed very little. The choice of allowable words is indeed arbitrary/hand-picked, but the total but must be finite and pre-defined as per the rules of the game. The choice of fauna and flora is particularly arbitrary, and for scientific words and scientific words severely limited. After doing it for a while, you will pick up on the funky slang words such as those you mention, which come up very often, as well as recall the common disallowables.
The selection of allowable compound words that are more often seen in hyphenated form can be particularly irritating/laborious, but after a while you will get a feel for those too.
At least the bar for "genius" is set quite low though, at 70% of the total allowable score, so it's an early morning ego-booster and check that our aging brains still retain some capacity and plasticity.
3
@N.C. Well stated.
Sam does sometimes add words to the list. RAITI now accompanies NAAN as acceptable, but forget that RIATA. It could change at any time, so you have to keep trying it.
I find food words taken and rejected most annoying. BARBACOA is good but TAMARI is not, etc. Forget the mother sauce MORNAY.
I too have played since the beginning. Accepting these quirks, I am now less obsessive about achieving Queen Bee. Not only am I not a mind reader, but I figure the rejected good words equalize for those other ones accepted. As Patrick Berry says in the Variety Puzzle version of the Bee (which may be the original), count any legitimate word accepted in the dictionary in your score, not just the ones he lists the next week.
2
@Liane, et al.
Sam apologized recently over on Twitter for omitting CLICKBAIT. He also insists that feedback is appreciated. I have never minded an omission or addition. It’s a silly, fun game to me that has become quite addictive. But I don’t begrudge those with bee grudges.
Sam Ezersky
@thegridkid
Jan 31
WHOA!! Two pangrams mean nothing when the third (and coolest) pangram isn’t being allowed. Follow the link to find out what DEFINITELY should have counted in today’s Bee: https://bit.ly/2vvNuld
(Seriously ... sorry, #HiveMind! My jaw’s kinda on the floor as well 🐝)
As a reminder, I encourage all to write buzzwords [at] nytimes [dot] com with your feedback. Hearing from you there gives insight (in both words and numbers!) to the entire
@NYT_Crossword
team, which continues to shape #SpellingBee into the wonderful game it is today.
2
POPO for the police was a new one for me. I got it on the crossings then looked it up. First time use here?
Jim,
Sixth time since 2014 debut as clued. It showed up once, pre-Shortz, clued as a river.
1
@Jim in Forest Hills
My first time seeing it, but I know it's a common term for the police in parts of Texas.
@Jim in Forest Hills
POPO was one of a POtPOurri of answers I only got from the crossings
1
Easy and fun. I had heard the term GLITTER BOMB, but was amazed to see the lengths that guy in the video went to for revenge 😂.
3
regardless of day of the week, this was a great puzzle.
5
Relative newbie here - but not a noob, a word I never heard of until I started doing the puzzle. Can the community please help with another word I never heard of until now - what is a Natick? I get the impression it’s mildly negative. Thanks!
@Linda Kirwan -- Natick, a MA town evidently known to very few people who aren't from Natick, was at some point in crossword puzzle history crossed with another proper name that few people could be expected to know -- leading to almost all solvers that day having a 1-letter Did Not Finish. Some puzzle wag dubbed the DNF "a Natick" -- I'm not sure who that person was -- and since that time, the unfair crossing of two obscure proper names that produces an ungettable and unguessable letter, has come to be known as a Natick. It is often used as a verb, as in "I Naticked on that bleepin' square."
14
@Linda Kirwan
It’s two entries (generally proper nouns) crossing and at the crossing an ambiguous letter, named for the crossing of the Massachusetts town of Natick and N. C. Wyeth. Coined by Rex Parker, who has a blog on the puzzle read by many.
3
If memory serves, Natick was clued in an xwp as one of the towns on the route for the Boston marathon. Some older-timers in this blog would know more specifically.
With this Tuesday quickie, the backwards week is complete. Disappointing Tuesday time on Monday, and good Monday time on Tuesday. Looks like someone got those two puzzles in the wrong boxes on Will’s desk. 😉
GLITTERBOMB 2.0 is a thing of beauty, even though it’s extremely anti-beauty to the porch pirates.
https://youtu.be/a_TSR_v07m0
1
A-mazing!!
A very Solid “Solve” - in all respects. Would have had a new PB except for a couple of stupid typos that had to be dug out.
Might have qualified as a Monday puzzle excepting only 2 or 3 answers - such as JOHN MUIR and IT’S A BIG IF. The theme popped out after several passes and helped with completion of a couple of answers. Well done!
But - YO! Neil!! - the clues you describe as “Thursday-ish” would have qualified an otherwise satisfying, early week puzzle for the waste basket. They’re just “psychedelic” - - or worse. BAD ideas.
1
A fun, cheerful fill. And TIL that I've been misspelling my pasta...
3
Rachel,
How did you spell it nine days ago (in its debut)?
I too.
I too.
GLITTERBOMB added a real burst of brillance to an already sparkly theme and grid. I love that the decoy packages also deliver a F__T blast ... phew! ... double whammy!
I enjoyed this HUGELY!
Thank you, Neil Patrick and Jeff! You guys shine!
4
Typing GLITTER BOMB gave me joy, but not as much joy as not being responsible for cleaning up after one!
4
@Liane - thanks for your little note in the other place - I appreciated it! I'm not welcome there anymore for saying exactly the same thing...
1
@David Connell
I'm well on my way to not being appreciated there either! I used to think going to that site was last resort, when you were so frustrated at missing a last word or two and just wanted to get it out of your head for the day. Now, it's a copy and paste thing (without looking at the answers, apparently). Everything evolves. I can't say I miss hand making the grid. Maybe Bill should demand royalties!
2
@Liane - I've never visited Bill's site, never seen it. Don't care to see it.
We get this on Thursdays, too. Lots of people don't want the puzzles to be puzzling. So it goes.
3
I've always preferred chatty cluing to terse, laconic cluing, so I enjoyed this puzzle. I'm thinking of the clues for ALIBI, AGING, FOG, FRESH AIR, ABSENT, and JOHN MUIR. It'a not that the clues were especially hard, but many had real personality and sort of said: "Why not pull up a chair and we'll talk."
The theme was cute and a bit unusual. Not just the fact that the colors were FLYING, but that each themer was composed of so many different COLORS. Nothing was just blue or red or yellow; instead they were RAINBOWs and LASERs and GLITTERs. (I wonder if there's any GREEN in a PAINTBALL.)
Moral of the day: Don't go around stealing packages. You may be unpleasantly surprised by a GLITTER BOMB. Or not. IT'S A BIG IF.
This was fun.
11
LETTER BOXED THREAD
W-R (8) R-G (9) is my best today. Had given solution yesterday.
1
@Liane
I had yesterday’s Letter Boxed solution: JEALOUS SPRITZ
and the longer JALOUSIES SPRITZ
@Liane
Got it with your help. Thanks!
I realize that there is no way that I know of to access past letter boxed puzzles. I am thinking that we should do something similar to the Spelling Bee thread and post the daily letters, in case one wants to look back the next day. Today would be:
IAW HGV CRP NKE
@Andrew My solution was one letter longer. W-R 9 R-G 9. I thought I remembered seeing a Letter Boxed archive. I’ll get back to you.
This puzzle was nice to wake up to, and I was happy to be reminded of the beautiful Muir Woods on this dreary East Coast morning. We were able to visit a few years ago, and on the advice of a local friend, arrived a little bit before the park officially opened to get a head start onto the trails and experience the giant sequoias in peace.
6
@Kate
I haven't been there in over 30 years, yet I can still smell it.
2
@Ann Yes! It really is a sensory delight.
Adding my appreciation for the place. There are woods like the ones I know well in Pennsylvania that make you look down - and others like in western North Carolina that make you look out far - but those Muir Woods - they just make you keep looking up, and up, and up.
2
So first I learn from the credit list that Jeff Chen is also involved and then I'm looking at the clue for 4D for the first time and wondering -- do Wilson and Chen mean "2D for 44D?"
And thus -- is CAUSE the fill for 4D?
Nope. Have to stop thinking so much.
Great Tuesday puzzle -- kudos!
CPA side note: was not aware that 20A can be singular -- I've always seen it with an S appended. Can't wait to use that to inform people I know.
1
@Dr W
In 50 plus years of accounting, i have never heard it referred to without the S - at least as it relates to accounting. I have heard some accountants refer to a rear however (and not just male accountants)
1
Nice puzzle and a smooth solve. Wasn't really familiar with GLITTER BOMB, so needed a few crosses for that. Otherwise the theme answers came pretty smoothly. And I actually remembered some things today (RODIN and RIYADH, e.g.) without having to stop and ponder or wait for some crosses to jog my memory.
A couple of music links today. First, I thought of this last night as a possible theme song for discussions that seem to occur frequently here (thought not yet today). Hi kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAD1xFaRhm0
And then this, inspired by the clue for 55a. We had a lot of big band albums when I was a kid. Can't explain why I have always liked this tune so much:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_muFwwTSMs
..
@Rich in Atlanta Whoops. Pulled up the second link and didn't listen to it all the way through. Realize now that it's missing one of the best parts. Here's the 'complete' version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OUkNOwpXtc
..
1
IT'S A BI___? Anyone else get to that point and raise their eyebrows?
Fun puzzle.
2
@ad absurdum
I think I can suss the alternative fill you were considering. Surely not an eyebrow raiser. Urban dictionary has this: one of the most versatile words in the English language; it is used to express a multitude of emotions; anger, anticipation, despair, endearment, envy, excitement, fear, horror, joy, shock, surprise, warning; all achieved by one's enunciation and intonation.
1
@Dr W
I hope it didn't sound like I was clutching my pearls as I prepared to send a scathing letter to the editor. I have no problem with it appearing in an x-word, I just wouldn't expect it to be used this way. Which it wasn't.
1
@ad absurdum
I didn't think you did, but -- I haven't heard of that metaphor in ages. Thanks for a big chuckle that made my morning.
1
Here is a Glitter Bomb idea to prevent package thefts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoxhDk-hwuo
1
@msk This was Glitter Bomb, the predecessor to the new and improved Glitter Bomb 2.0, which was linked in the Wordplay column.
What a clever theme, with lively and, indeed, colorful answers! Looking at or hearing the phrase "flying colors", then thinking to come up with varied examples, and actually succeeding, that's the art of theme creation, resulting in something new, never seen before. Bravo!
Two more things I liked:
* That THUD at the bottom to balance off all that flying, satisfying my Libra sensitivities.
* The puzzle's flying echos -- SKEET, GNAT, WING, and AVIS (Latin for "bird").
Definitely got my day off the ground. Thank you, gentlemen!
9
GLITTERBOMB! Gushed Tom gleefully.
Sister’s house was a sparkle with glitter after Krewe du Vieux.
Had umpires as strike callers until I did not.
Thank you Neil and Jeff.
1
@dk Glitter is New Orleans herpes: it never goes away. (I sit outside the Orange Couch cafe on the KdV route every non-rainy day doing the xword.). The best line from this year's parade? "The Moon Landreau was a fake."
3
Original idea, open grid, fun entries, only one (world-known) brand-name, what's not to love.
Greetings from the other side, from BURIED COLORS, if you will. I'm on Lanzarote now, famous for its Cueva de los Verdes (Greens' Cave). And while the green in its name is owed to the shepherd family's name who discovered it, this lava formed cave (more of a tunnel actually) is now wonderfully and colorfully lit and really a unique experience. Visit if you can.
3
@Bojan
Googling it now!
1
@Ann That's a great first step :-)
1
Dear NYT,
I get that you have to make money, and I only pay for the crossword subscription within your official app and not the actual paper, but three (!!!) auto-playing video-ads (thankfully with muted sound) on the same page won’t make me change my mind.
The daily reminder, that this would be my last article for the month (and I only read the daily column here) is easy to dismiss. The fact, that I can’t do any of the other puzzle offerings you have stin(g/k)s but such is life.
But seriously, three video-ads, top, center, and bottom of the page? There has to be a better way to disgruntle your casual customer.
(For the folks suggesting a technical error on my side: I am logged into the same account I use for the app. It actually shows my current streak (two tuesdays in a row; yay me) and that I solved the daily Mini on the NYT Crossword page but still suggests that I subscribe to do the crossword online.)
4
@KMBredt
Open the link at the bottom of the column that says “Trying to get back to the puzzle page?” and you can access all the Variety puzzles, the Spelling Bee, and the other ones. You may have to link your subscription, but you can do that in the app, click on the icon that shows you at the top of the page and you’ll find instructions.
If you have slow WiFi, like me, those ads don’t bother to load.
Also, you are aware aren’t you, that you have the whole archive to play with? I’ve had the app for over five years and I’m only now just using it up.
2
Definitely in my wheelhouse today and I’m glad the clue at 15A was changed.
As I’ve said in the past, I’m always happy to see JOHN MUIR, will whom my grandfather ,Sam Merrill, climbed (and also has a trail named after him) .i don’t think I’m related to Dina Merrill, but nice to see her in the puzzle. All this and a great theme; thanks Neil and Jeff.
8
suejean,
I enjoyed reading this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Merrill_Trail
3
@suejean -- Oh, joy! Oh happiness! I just went to You Tube, typed in "Virtual climb Sam Merrill trail" and got to enjoy one of the most spectacularly beautiful nature trails I've ever seen. Awe-inspiring vistas. Thrilling drop-offs into the abyss on one side. Plenty of room for your two feet on the narrow dirt trail, as long as they're placed no more than two inches apart. A smooth, climber-friendly dirt path -- at least until the uneven and slippery-looking small rocks and pebbles emerge about a mile up. An ascent that isn't too steep...until it suddenly IS too steep.
I enjoyed it all from the safety of my chair -- my chair sitting comfortably on terra firma. Surely this is one of the great climbs I've ever taken. I highly recommend the virtual experience to everyone on this blog -- not the least in honor of our celebrity granddaughter, @suejean. As for the real thing: not so much.
4
What a nice comment! I have climbed it as a preteen with my father, as has my son.
2
The priest married so many couples, he has an altar ego.
(Speak now or forever hold your puns.)
20
@Mike
I do.
5
Enjoyable! I wish the CRIT clue could’ve gotten in; D&D has been experiencing a huge boost in popularity lately, so it’s always nice to see more on that! :)
2
SPELLING BEE
February 11, 2020
words: 29
score: 95 pts
pangrams: 1
D x 5
H x 5
O x 3
R x 4
T x 11
Y x 1
4L x 17
5L x 6
6L x 4
8L x 1
9L x 1
4 5 6 8 9 Tot
D 4 1 - - - 5
H 2 1 2 - - 5
O 1 - - 1 1 3
R 3 1 - - - 4
T 7 3 1 - - 11
Y - - 1 - - 1
Tot 17 6 4 1 1 29
(to be clear, i haven’t reached QB yet! i’m 1 word away. copied this over from wm shunn’s site in the hopes that it might help others reach QB and then perhaps post a first 2 letter list and/or hints. :-)
64
source, for others who might want to post it in the future: https://www.shunn.net/bee/
5
Grrr... Spoils the fun of trying to be first.
6
@a. QB with no hints, two in a row! Yay!
First 2 frequency:
DO x 5
HO x 4 HY x 1
OD x 1 OR x 2
RO x 4
TO x 6 TR x 4 TY x 1
YO x 1
30
and Elke
I wish that AGING would introduce those apparently inevitable new wrinkles to my ALTEREGOS...
Re POPO- am awaiting Bojan's from Stuttgart comment ...(teehee)
Anyway, I won't FRET-
Good Night- hope to dream in technicolour.
3
@Robert I'd certainly be vary to use that word when addressing German police :-)
1
Also, a teammate of mine had a neighbour from Serbia, whose sign on the door said "POPOVIC". As V and F are phonetically identical in German, as in this case are C and CK, it made for some awkward pronunciations.
That's why some same-named Germans switched to spelling it POPOWITSCH, or in America, as Gregg of San Antonio Spurs did, POPOVICH, to get that ć sound in it.
@Bojan
Americans wouldn't blink at POPOVIC for the same reason that a German would, but of course they might pronounce it wrong without a final H.
The New York Jets have a placekicker named Sam Ficken. I chuckle every time he comes into the game, but I doubt many others have any idea.
5D feels contrived,
or at least a phrase not uttered 'round me.
Would the editors allow
"ILLPINIT" ?
Good build, everywhere else.
@jnathanj
Not familiar with your suggestion and it's a letter short. I usually hear the line as "that's a big if" rather than "it's…"; but that's because I usually hear someone speculating about someone else's proposal rather than a person speculating about their own.
4
5 minutes faster than an average Tuesday. I didn’t have to look up a single clue.
6
Well well, two PBs in one week. Either my fingers are getting faster or I’m getting better. Loved the theme! Thanks and congrats to the collaborators!
2
Not much difficulty with this one... I passed with FLYING COLORS in about ⅔ the time yesterday's took.
I think SKEET shooting with PAINTBALLs could be as messy as GLITTER BOMBs.
5
50 across, "Letter flourishes", is incorrect. Serifs and flourishes are completely distinct entities, and they are definitely not synonymous.
- Your friendly typography snob
21
@Anna This is a classic example of a field having specific terms for things that differ from everyday usage.
If you asked someone without any typography expertise they would 100% sign off on the clue.
ethan f.,
A "flourish" is an "ornamental" stroke; a serif is functional, not ornamental. This isn't about snobbery or insider terminology; if you call a serif a flourish you either don't know what a serif is or you're misusing the word flourish.
That being said, since clues are hints, not definitions, facts may not be relevant (except to people who like facts with their puzzle).
2
@ethan f. - "everyday usage" - there is your problem. Serif is not used in "everyday usage." Flourish has several meanings and could be considered a normal, everyday word - but serif is not a multiplexed word and only has meaning in typography.
A serif is not a flourish - Anna is correct, the clue was incorrect. It's not about insider information. It's about words enjoying some modicum of reality.
"Shareable" PC file as opposed to?
@pmb
It didn't say the 'only' shareable file (type)—there are several, and PDF is one of the most common other than picture-type files.
Also the P stands for “portable” so you can think of that caveat as a hint.
@JayTee All files are shareable. “Commonly shared” would have perhaps been better
I like the grid design.
The Greek letter H was originally called heta, and it had the same phonetic value as Roman H (as in “hat”). Over time, Hellenes dropped their aitches, beginning in Ionia. At the same time, long E was represented in writing by double epsilon (EE). Around 800 BC, some clever Ionian got the idea of repurposing the now superfluous heta by using it for long E, and it was renamed eta. This resulted, among other things, in a saving of writing materials. Historical aitch in Ionia and actual aitch in other regions was replaced by a diacritical ‘ called a “rough breathing.” Homer’s name, spelled HOMEEPOC in his lifetime, was now spelled ‘OMHPOC. This innovation took place at least 200 years after the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, so eta would have been unknown to Homer. Around the same time that eta was invented, so was omega, which replaced double omicron (OO) in the representation of long O. Both were added to the Athenian alphabet by law in 403 BC, about 400 years after they were introduced into the Ionian alphabet.
23
@Fact Boy - (supplement) the rough breathing and its opposite smooth breathing signs are derived from the left half and right half of the H in their own turns. They were originally written that way, not in the little curly quote style we know now. And the H as an H sound designation survived for centuries in the acrophonic numbering system, standing for hundred.
The alternate system of numbers was based on three enneads (for 1-9, 10-90, 100-900) of alphabetic symbols, which forced the retention of three otherwise obsolete letters (fau, sampi, qoppa).
10
@Fact Boy
Thank you! I loved these facts, especially as I read a lot of classical Greek texts once upon a time and I do not remember ever learning this.
2
@Fact Boy
Sure glad I didn't skip the comments tonight!
2
Can somebody help me understand the proposed clue for 32A
"Flower child?" as a clue for Aries?
1
@David Connell
My laptop shows 32A as "Sign before Taurus". Hope there isn't a glitch with the app.
2
David,
Spring birth?
RAH,
In the Constructor Notes, not the puzzle.
2
ARIES being a spring (March/April) sign, there would be many flowers blooming when the child was born.
3
Very fun. I also loved seeing JOHN MUIR among the WEEDS. And thanks for the reminder on this day, which has been personally challenging, that rainbows often follow storms.
16
DINA Merrill and PIA Zadora in the same puzzle both clued as actresses....
From the sublime to the ridiculous.
4
I don’t know these people, why are they funny?
1
@Zoe
Commentary on their acting abilities (in order).
@Zoe The only reason I know Pia Zadora is from her guest appearance as herself in the Leslie Nielsen flick The Naked Gun 33 and 1/3. I believe she ends up getting her head stuck in a tuna.
Technical note: in accounting, debits decrease liability and equity accounts, but they *increase* assets.
5
Jeremy,
The editors are not CPAs, but, on the other side of the ledger, the clue does not say *always* a minus.
@Barry Ancona I would never accuse anyone of being a CPA
9
@Barry Ancona
In my book, they should then modify with "sometimes". I can't give them credit for a partially correct clue
2
(Excuse me if this posts twice)
Loved the theme, and it was a smooth solve for me, but my favorites were three of the long downs:
Thank you JOHN MUIR for our national parks.
Thank you Terry Gross for FRESH AIR and 40-plus years of great interviews.
Thank you LINGUINE with clam sauce: my last meal if I get a choice.
12
We need all the RAINBOWs we can get these days. Courtesy of Lisa Sanders, accompanied by Steve Poltz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnsT5QAyWrc
1
@Puzzlemucker
One of my favorite rainbow songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOLg7Y1vLio
2
@Puzzlemucker How did you get the pen in the icon to the left of your name? I can't find account settings for this or any help on Google.
Super Tuesday
10
Once again with a Monday puzzle on Tuesday and a Tuesday puzzle on Monday? I liked them both, but I'm expecting fewer cries of Natick for this one ... and, crosses notwithstanding, MUIR should be more familiar than MOIL.
12
...and, unless I missed some, only two brand names, and not crossing each other. HUGELY better on that score.
7
@Barry Ancona -- I completely agree. Today was a breeze. Yesterday a stiff breeze.
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@Barry Ancona I agree. I think this was a personal best for a Tuesday for me. Yesterday the puzzle gave me fits with so many odd things like an unknown golf and bowling shoe company. This seemed Monday easy. I had not one problem area.
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