Deb, your comments on 15D...so spot on! Grateful for your voice, always.
2
Thanks, @Mrs. King! Kudos on this one go to our surprisingly dangerous weekend columnist, Caitlin Lovinger.
This was a hard one for me, so help appreciated! I didn't happen to see the answer to these, but I've apologize if I've missed them.
Can someone explain "Dessert Menu" for "frozen assets?"
And "Parent" for "one raising an issue"?
@Sarah
From Jeff Chen at xwordinfo.com
Loved the play on "frozen assets" to clue DESSERT MENU.
One raising an issue] is a PARENT? Yes, when "issue" takes the legal definition of "child of one's own." This could have used a question mark in the clue.
Letter Boxed
S-S (9), S-N (6)
Yesterday same as Letter Boxed solution:
TELEGRAM MAWKISH
1
@Lou
Think types of tuna for the first of the two
Relatively quick solve (for a Saturday), but no happy music. After beating my head against the wall for about 10 minutes, I put it aside. Soon after coming back to it, I flashed on 15A -- CAROLINA, of course! I had CAROLItA (Spanish?) because of OtT (Ottawa) at 12D. đ¤¨
Fairly smooth solve for me, unlike some Saturdays. CROTONRIVER was a tough area, made trickier by WORST, which did not spring easily to mind but in retrospect makes sense. I thought the best misdirection was the âSomething Capân Crunch hasâ. Since my rules allow reading Wikipedia articles, I spent way too much time reading about the Capân and was astounded that there was SO much to say about a cartoon character on a cereal box! Having a degree in linguistics, I was ashamed that I didnât see the ELISION right away. đ¤Śđźââď¸
5
@ Madeline Gunther & Everyone else working on the Sunday Variety Spelling Bee--
It's official: The C8 Caribbean dish so loved by Sam Ezersky does not make Frank Longo's list of "common" words.
It "should" be an easier Sunday Bee for those of us who play daily. The same 7 letters appeared online in Mid-October --
1
Would the Tech Team please stop playing around with access to AcrossLite?
I really prefer it to the NYT app and resent being forced to it when presented with a slitty little .puz popup that does exactly NOTHING
I thought everyone had finished playing in that sandbox last week.
I would have liked for follower of Marx to be IST rather than ISM. Would have felt like a more clever clue/answer pairing.
4
@JulieinTexas
That would have been an earlier in the week answer. There is more misdirection in the late-week puzzles.
@JayTee I get that and the answer didnât hold me up for long. Just saying that the double meaning of âfollowerâ would have been more enjoyable to me :)
Man, I had a major logjam in the CROTiN RIVER. Kept wondering what kind of fork youâd raise with only one TiNE.
;-)
3
I enjoyed this puzzle, and I am not ashamed to admit that Chef Boyardee and Cap'n Crunch were two of my favorite guys to dine with when I was a kid. I still get the occasional craving for Crunch Berries.
3
Did anyone else get stuck on 1D/18A? It took me the longest time to figure out that the answers were RAGA/ADS, because it seems that RAGI/IDS are also perfectly fine answers.
24
@Keith Yeah, that's what I had too. Couldn't figure out what else was wrong, and when I was ready to give up and cheat, here's the answer. Thanks, sort of.
3
me too. my last correction for the gold star. thanks!
4
Same. I had begun fearing the end of my streak
5
This is about the Spelling Bee controversy that I probably stoked yesterday by asking Kevin Davis to please not put SB data immediately below the words SPELLING BEE THREAD. Kevin was resistant, and several others jumped to his support.
Let me say at the start that while Iâm a very good crossword solver, Iâm not that good a Spelling Bee solver. I can often do a crossword in under 10 minutes, but the SB can take me all day. And Iâm still not done. And I donât want help. And as they say, âitâs my puzzle (and yours), solve it however you want.â To me, getting to Queen Bee with a bunch of hints isnât very satisfying. Still I can get there once or twice a week, and very close most of the rest of the time.
So when I wake up, when the night owl west coasters have already completed SB, I want to read the crossword comments. I donât mind an SB thread being there, but when I see
SPELLING BEE THREAD
93 words, 499 points, 4 pangrams
Iâm seeing a major spoiler. Someone suggested I should just skip the thread. Itâs impossible not to see both lines at the same time. By the time it registers that itâs the SB thread, Iâve seen the runs, hits, and errors.
So I asked Kevin to let the person with the grid post first. At least with that post, you can see the grid peripherally and avoid it. I think thatâs fair.
Or I could just give up SB altogether. It seems that that community doesnât want to solve on their own. Iâm not like that.
7
Since you solve the xword so quickly and easily, why donât you avoid the comments until youâre done with SB? I love the hints so please excuse me for not really seeing your issue.
4
@Seigs
Because I would never get on Wordplay at all. My problem is that there is no separation between
SPELLING BEE THREAD
and the info that follows. Which are spoilers.
Why should I have to see that stuff when Iâm trying to discuss the crossword?
2
@Seigs
Also I requested that he should let the one with the grid to post first, because itâs easier to see the grid peripherally and skip past it.
3
Showing my age: An early, possibly accidental, misdirection cost me a lot of time, early ... did anyone else notice that SOCIETYPAGES and ROTOGRAVURES have the same number of letters?
7
JANELLEMONAE was today's TROMPELOEIL.
5
An old joke:
PROFESSOR TO STUDENT: Can you tell me who wrote âCritique of Pure Reasonâ?
STUDENT: Professor, I canât.
PROFESSOR: That is correct.
13
@Paul Frommer thanks for the great laugh.
A half a minute less than my average time, but twice as long as my best time. Not the easiest puzzle, but not the hardest.
Fellow iOS NYT Crossword app users (and maybe Android, too, I don't have one of those), has anyone noticed that the network activity status spinner is constantly running when the Crossword app is in the foreground? Anyone figure out what's going on? Is it just me? I don't have this issue with other apps, just the NYT Crossword. I'll pull out Wireshark if I have to, but I thought others might know before I go there.
1
@Jamie Gruener
Looked and mine is too. Anything you find out would be appreciated.
Jamie Gruener, itâs not just you. I have noticed that for a few weeks now, and canât figure out why. I have tried all the usual tricks, closing the app, shutting down and restarting, making sure iOS is current, etc, to no avail. Doesnât seem to be happening with other apps, just this one.ďżź
I had no idea what that little spinning thing was called, but yes, it does the same thing on mine.
2
Funk rap is not a thing people say.
5
@Ned Szumski
Maybe if you move the K from the end of the first word to the beginning of the second.
..
7
Lots of good stuff in here. Held on to dubstep for a while, and Iâll post this:
https://youtu.be/2NbnQZrK8xA
5
I really wanted it to be dubstep!
1
I did the research so you don't have to:
Aretha's gospel recordings in church from 1956 were released as singles, and not compiled as an album until 1965. The NYT is correct.
3
Oliver Pig, Olivia Pig? How did the copyright lawyers miss out on this one?
1
It appears that Iâve managed to live my whole life (and thatâs a loooong time) never knowing that WORST is a verb. BARBER as well, but easier to get. Also noting that Capân Crunch may not make for a great bowlful, but BOYARDEE is probably the WORST. Thanks for a satisfying Saturday solve, nearly sweet enough to be on the DESSERT MENU
4
âSkortâ is a portmanteau, but itâs a horribly sexist one. Honestly, itâs a ridiculous one too. Shame for perpetuating it.
Also second others who pointed out that the word is abate, not BATE. Terrible clue.
Otherwise not a bad puzzle. The PARENT / âissueâ clue took me a minute to figure out. The âspotsâ clue was kind of meh, I had no idea what RAGA is so I basically had to brute force it because I thought âspotsâ was IDS.
4
@Mike
What is sexist about skorts? They seem to be very functional. Please explain your disdain.
7
Mike, how is a portmanteau of skirt and shorts "sexist"? Are you saying the word itself is prejudiced?
7
Mike,
I hadn't noticed other posts saying BATE was incorrect for the clue, but if there were, they're wrong too:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bate
I hope no BABES were harmed in the making of the BEEFHOTDOG clue.
2
The STEPPES clue instantly evoked my dream of one day taking the Trans-Siberian Express. Preferably in winter. Just the stark beauty of open space and a notebook (okay, laptop) on that little fold-out table you get under the train window.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming, which will involve a/c on this fine February day in Austin.
Happy Saturday, all.
5
@Sam Lyons
Iâm sure Canada has its own version of your dream. Plus the train would probably have WiFi. Plus, you know, not Siberia...
5
@Newbie - There's a lovely train ride to be had north from Sault-Ste. Marie to Hearst. Right up into the wilds of Canada. Great for a little getaway!
4
The Canadian winter expanse would satisfy my inner Jack London. The Russian winter scape would feed my inner Gogol, Tolstoy et al. All of them are hungry. Egad, life is short, isnât it?
1
In the spirit of enjoying the cultural references in the NYTXW, I've started a to build a playlist on Spotify of songs referenced in the daily puzzle. The Playlist is https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vxpMh06oxbZz1YCwGfiic?si=ZV1yMHw6SRawTMJGujeasw
Today's additions: "Won't Be Long" by Aretha Franklin and "Yoga" by Janelle MonĂĄe.
I've also set up a spreadsheet that anyone can comment to add a new song, following the template I've set up. I think it'd be fun to see what kind of list each year puts together. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Ld8gVTHnIOMN0ePvgmPue7lyYi054TSPnkgd2e275A/edit?usp=sharing
7
Darn. Just lost my post.
Meh...not hard enough for Saturday, no Leap-Day theme, but some clever clues that made it fun.
In my book, it's Tennessee-style BBQ that has the vinegar base. What do they know about BBQ in the CAROLINAs? (Ducking and running)
Went on to the Saturday Stumper and *nailed it!* in one sitting.
Chef BOYARDEE is still around? Yikes. How well I recall Mom's cooking with his flavor-free sauces and that boxed 'pizza pie' kit. She would pile on leftovers, including canned peas....then sift on the sawdust, oops, Parmesan 'cheese' and pop it into the oven. You can make up stuff like this.
3
@Mean Old Lady We would be happy to challenge you to a BBQ-off. Although, we only do vinegar-based BBQ on the eastern side of the state.
4
@Mean Old Lady You can't imagine the disdain for Chef BOYARDEE in my Italian family!
3
Memories of Appian Way pizza! Inspired by Adele Davis, we chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms, our own cheese, and whatever other leftovers needed to depart with pride intact.
We lived on Appian Way in Los Angeles in Laurel Canyon when the children were young, adding to its cachet. Shopping at the Ralphs on Sunset â where my idol Joan Didion shopped â made me think I was cool.
Alicia
1
Well that was fun! Weâll salute Mr. Ries with a BEEFHOTDOG and a shot of JAMESON this afternoon. Thank you!
2
Can someone please explain why the answer to 28A is CEL? What am I missing? Does it have something to do with animated movies?
Luckily I was able to get it from the crosses, as there was no other possible letter to fill in JANEL_EMONAE (whom I had never heard of). Otherwise, it was a smooth solve â I knocked 5 whole seconds off of my average Saturday time!
1
@maestro Bugs refers to the Bunny.
1
Bugs=Bunny
Cel=unit of cartoon animation
1
@maestro
Oh, Bugs BUNNY! (Cue sound of hand slapping forehead) How did I miss that? All I could think of was A Bug's Life and Antz, but they didn't quite fit the clue.
Fun fact: those two movies were released within a few weeks of each other in a real movie-studio one-upmanship (one-upbugship?) move.
1
This was my fastest solve time for a February 29th Saturday puzzle in 28 years
15
@coloradoz This is the best post on a February 29th Saturday blog ever.
5
@Tony S
I agree. So far.
1
I live OLIVIA!
I also love Mr. Ries' themeless puzzles and today's didn't disappoint.
It may have lacked a tiny bit of his lively wit, but there were many clever clues and delightful ahas. My favorite was BEEF HOTDOG for "Frank type." Great misdirection there.
So, thank you again, Andrew! I so look forward to your next.
2
A big day at our house today: non-puzzle wife actually sat down with me at the kitchen island and worked on the puzzle with me! She got KOALAS. This could change everything. Thank you, Andrew Ries, for a Saturday that she and I both could enjoy!
11
I was pleased to WORST my WORST Saturday solving time
11
I had a harder time with Friday's puzzle than today's which I finished after two morning coffee transfusions. Chef in a grocery store was one of the funniest and Cap'n Crunch was a head-scratcher until 17A caused the light bulb to go on.
Fun puzzle on a bright, warm and sunny day here in Texas.
Waiting for rain which has been scarce. I have my bird cam set up to watch for wrens to move in but they need a good shot of warm, wet weather and insect breakout before they start building their nest.
5
A plague on my ignorance of New England waterways! And ELISIONs as well.
2
@Dennis B. New England waterways?
Chief,
Didn't I see Kennebec or Penobscot in there?
I'm glad you got here before David (with a New York linked to New England.)
N.B. When asked if we want bottled or tap water, we request "Croton Reserve."
3
@Barry Ancona - Did you mean moi?
The TIticus of northwestern Fairfield County feeds into the Croton River system; otherwise it belongs to you all. I'll bet the Titicus does not provide enough water for the Connecticut residents who spend all day in Manhattan...
2
The clues were great and the fill
Lots of great clues, my favorites being for LPGA TOUR; DESSERT MENU; ELISION; SIRI; PARENT and MAST. And nice long answers -- many of which I bet are new to crosswords. Plenty of opportunities to go astray, and I did:
GOLF TOUR before LPGA TOUR. This gave me Paul gYNDE, which I vaguely knew was wrong. I remembered Paul as the most unwatchably obnoxious member of an obnoxiously unwatchable show, but I couldn't remember his last name. Forgetting him was wonderful...but not today. Eventually he gave me LPGA, so there's that.
I don't know my pop music genres, so I had pUNK RAP. Sounds right, doesn't it? But that gave me that famous frank, the BEEP HOTDOG. Nathan's doesn't carry it, I knew. Maybe it's lurking somewhere in the Midwest? Eventually I thought of BEEF/FUNK RAP.
The only Irish whiskey I could think of was BAILEY'S. It took me forever to get JAMESON, even when I had the -SON.
This puzzle would have played a lot easier had I known JANELLE MONAE who almost ran the length of the grid. But I didn't. And I thought the word for "reduce in intensity" was ABATE, not BATE. I only know BATE as in BATEd breath. But other than those two clue/answers, I thought this was a well-crafted and enjoyable puzzle.
5
@Nancy BAILEY's is an Irish Cream Liqueur, NOT a Whiskey - although it does contain whiskey!
JAMESON is the most ubiquitous brand of Irish Whiskey.
2
@Nancy
Different strokes...
"Paul LYNDE regularly topped audience polls of most-liked TV stars, and was routinely admired and recognized by his peers during his lifetime. Mel Brooks once described Lynde as being capable of getting laughs by reading "a phone book, tornado alert, or seed catalogue." Lynde once said that while he would rather be recognized as a serious actor, "We live in a world that needs laughter, and I've decided if I can make people laugh, I'm making an important contribution."
The reason Mr. Lynde was always in the center square of that silly game show was because of his lightning quick wit. He bravely skirted with propriety with his broad hints about his sexuality at a time when Liberace was still fooling women that he was really wasn't looking for just the right woman to take as his wife.
1
Ennui, who cares lamented Tom languidly.
May I say, again, how valuable my two years of HS Latin is in solving these little devils.
FYI: MONK is a rather clever TV show. I used to try to watch it when holed in hotels.
As a young dk we spent a week in a cabin near CROTON NY and the headwaters of todayâs river. The tannins from the Hemlocks gave the water a lovey shade of brown. Awoke one morning to a strange sound, and saw snakes coming into the cabin over metal wanes coating next to my bed..... mostly I am over that....
Lastly, my symbol for a rebus is a cel: Pepe La Pew.
Thanks Andrew. Think of you when I drive by a certain NYC housing complex.
4
dk,
If the cabin was near the headwaters, I suspect it was closer to Croton *Falls* than to Croton (on Hudson).
. . . âmetal wanes coatingâ . . . Autocorrect at its finest!
The best part of this puzzle was reuniting Aretha and Janelle Monae from their 2014 White House performance, âWomen of Soulâ.
https://www.pbs.org/inperformanceatthewhitehouse/shows/performance-white-house-women-soul/
11
@G I really miss those White House performances. Oh to have a prez with taste and style again.
9
@jude The current occupant won't go to the Kennedy Center Honors nor host the traditional reception at the White House. It's just as well, really. He couldn't sit through an entire evening's entertainment unless his name was inserted every four minutes (or less).
1
After some premature gloating over what I was certain was going to be my best Saturday ever, I was pun(k)ed by RAGA. Like many, I had RAGI and IDS as well. What a groaner! A tip of my hat to the constructorâyou GOT me good!
8
@Kate Ditto!
2
Unusual to associate STEPPES (57A) with Siberia- itâs better known for tundras and taigas, while Steppes are found more in Mongolia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
4
@Clara Shen
There are steppes in many places. The word is actually Russian. Perhaps we think it refers to Central Asia because of this beautiful piece by Borodin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq4bOmxKVQQ
good puzzle! lots of ESPIRIT, little ENNUI
3
I had EWE before EYE. I must learn to be more egocentric.
That gave me BOWARDEE and never thought about the canned "chef". I just figured it was a TIL.
Final area for me was the Grammy-nominated singer crossing the Easter activities. EGG ROLLS have nothing to do with Easter for me, though maybe some people paint them with bright colours. I was looking for a potential surname for JANE and LLEMONAE did not make my list. I finally changed YET to YEN and triggered the happy music, (or would have if my sound had not been off).
1
@Andrew - different kind of roll, not the bread but the competition:
https://youtu.be/7BPB_Aut5G0?t=55
5
@Andrew
EGGROLLS has only appeared 3 times in NYT history, and the other times it was clued as the Chinese/American appetizer. Today's is a "debut" clued with an Easter twist.
1
Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Every answer was like opening a small gift.
9
PUNKRAP gave me BEEPHOTDOG and I'm ashamed to say that I believed it to be correct. My grandfather was a Kosher butcher, so I just assumed it was yet another delicacy we weren't allowed to have.
25
@Sheri -- I made the same exact mistake, but I didn't write about it as amusingly as you did. I laughed out loud when I read your comment.
4
Nice, fresh and challenging puzzle. I didn't quite get there, but had fun working out the bulk of it and having various things finally dawn on me from a few crosses.
In terms of 'fresh' - there are 7 answers of ten letters or longer. 5 appear for the first time and the other two only once before. And even of the 8 eight-letter answers, only CAROLINA has appeared more than 3 times previously.
Lastly, vaguely inspired by 17a, I went and did some google searching and discovered that there is an island called Nomans, or more properly Nomans Land. It's off the coast of Massachusetts, not far from Martha's Vineyard. And nobody lives there.
What's really odd about that is that the name does not derive as one might expect, but rather was named for a native American chief named 'Tequenoman.' At any rate, I almost got to what inspired me to do this search and learned that Noman(s) is indeed an island.
9
Never knew that name origin. Having spent summers on the Cape I always believed it was so called because it was used as a U.S. Navy practice bombing range starting in WWII. Not a great selling point for real estate.
3
Nice puzzle. Wasn't so sure of myself as dropped in the final letter, but yay! A solid solve. Definitely not the WORST way to wake up!
2
I have very little time today to comment, but I'll at least say this: My favorite part of this puzzle was the wordplay in many of the clues -- those for DESSERT MENU, BABES, CIG, GAS LEAKS, MAST, CEL, ELISION. Even before tomorrow's puzzle, it's been a most lovely week for cluing!
5
NAAN for RAGA.
EGG HUNTS for EGG ROLLS.
DUBSTEP for FUNK RAP.
NIT for IMP (I really should know better at this point.)
No wonder it took me so long to hear the happy music...
6
@Ian Carrillo
I had 3 of those. Never heard of dubstep
@coloradoz My daughter went through a dubstep phase in high school. As hard as I tried I could not recall that genre today. If you've ever been in traffic and heard the car next to you vibrating at almost subsonic (sub-bass) pitches you've encountered dubstep.
1
@coloradoz We learned all about the throbbing agony that is dubstep several summers ago when our house was painted by a group of college students. I donât recommend the musicâor the painting contractor.
2
I finally had to peek at the answer key to figure out that while BEER HOT DOGS might be a thing, RUNK RAP is not.
Having corrected that error, I read Wordplay. My only comment is that if I were @Caitlin I'd check urban dictionary for the slang definition of "tube steak" before tossing that into the column. Gave me a good chuckle, but I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old.
12
Rob,
Half the words in the English language have "off-color" or "inappropriate" slang definitions in Urban Dictionary. Now run along and toast your buns.
7
Glad I wasnât the only one. I thought âI canât believe she said that!â Unfortunately, thatâs more of a statement about me than it is her. *sad, embarrassed, face*
2
@Rob
I blame ZZ Top.
We had tube steak often when I was a lad. Before it was co-opted by the slang monsters, it was a fun way to refer to a hot dog dinner as something "fancy", like a nice steak! :-)
2
Excellent puzzle. Learned a few things.
3
No ENNUI with this Saturday puzzle which went very fast for me. First one I was able to do with no help at all. Yay!
Whole lot of food between chef BOYARDEE, BEEF HOT DOGS, and EGG ROLLS and all except for RADISH quite on the unhealthy side.
1
Worst was a lousy answer. I was tripped up by Raga and Ad since Ragi is a grain used Indian cooking and spots could be IDs.
10
@Jeff Mintz Agreed. My only nit to pick with the cluing today. While WORST can mean "to get the better of; defeat" according to Merriam-Webster et al, it certainly does not imply a trouncing.
8
@Rob I completely agree, felt WORST was a bit of a STEPPE.
4
@Jeff Mintz
Agreed as well. Strongly dislike this clue for WORST. With _O_ST, I filled in "toast," which gave me a wrong answer for 24D, and I couldn't see the fix for 29D.
SPELLING BEE GRID
R A B L O T Y
WORDS: 54, POINTS: 232, PANGRAMS: 1
First character frequency:
A x 9
B x 6
L x 3
O x 4
R x 17
T x 15
Word length frequency:
4L: 19
5L: 17
6L: 9
7L: 7
8L: 1
10L: 1
Grid:
4 5 6 7 8 10 TOT
A: 1 6 2 - - - 9
B: 5 - 1 - - - 6
L: - 2 - - - 1 3
O: 1 - 2 1 - - 4
R: 4 5 2 5 1 - 17
T: 8 4 2 1 - - 15
TOT:19 17 9 7 1 1 54
Two letter list:
AB-1 AL-1 AO-2 AR-4 AT-1
BA-1 BO-2 BR-3
LA-2 LO-1
OR-4
RA-4 RO-13
TA-7 TO-3 TR-4 TY-1
50
@Doug thank you so much for grid and two letter list. It got me to one word before Qb and then I miscounted the Râs and was looking for an RO when I should have been looking for an RA. Then looked at @Kevin Davisâs lovely hint list and immediately realized I had forgotten the often appearing machine gun sound. Yay QB. Time to get back to sleep!
9
@Doug
Thank you! Finishing this without help from Kevinâs hints made me feel smugger than finishing the Xword. Last to fall were the related R7/R8, which weâve seen here recently and which now go together in my mind even though I have yet to see the R8 in the wild.
5
@Doug Thank you Doug! Many 'old favorites' in the Bee today, with ROTA still missing.
2
**S P E L L I N G B E E H I N T S**
54 words, 232 points, 1 pangram.
8
Please keep doing what you chose to do. I look for your hints as soon as I get stuck. Thank you.
72
@VicJane
Me, too. Thanks, Kevin Davis.
23
@Kevin - Please keep doing what makes you happy. This is all a diversion anyway. Part of the day to pass the time enjoyably. If you enjoy the dialog with people commenting on your posts, by all means engage. If you donât, then feel free to ignore them. I will say that I personally enjoy and appreciate your posts and would miss them if they went away. But this shouldnât be received as an obligation on your part.
49
When I was in college, Chef BOYARDEE prepared meals for me and my roommates quite often.
11
I'm back, sort of. As peevish as ever, or more so. . . .
Husband broke his upper femur in a fall this fall, age 92. After weeks of caring for him, I had a TIA. We have both been so fortunate in health that we never had to understand "rehab" or OT / PT, CNA / LPN, or even how to file medical claims. We have stepped into a different world for quite an adventure.
But we are still fortunate, we remind ourselves daily.
Back to peevish. It seemed to me that 1D and 18A were ambiguous enough to allow 18 to be an "I". Comments ???
Otherwise, the crosswords have offered a terrific week -- which means I was able to complete a few and smile.
25
@ADeNA
My thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery!
10
@ADeNA Yes! It took me too long to find that in an otherwise correct grid.
6
@ADeNA
That cost me a gold star. A Saturday gold star! Iâm salty...
1
I know when you trounce someone you can "best" or "WORST" them, depending on the number of squares in the answer. In non-crosswordese, I think it is rare for someone to say " I really worsted my friend in our tennis match today". Trounced has a nice ring to it -unless you are the trouncee- so bragging about it in front of your trounced friend might be the WORST thing to do
10
True, but I've never heard of bested wool.
4
I know the subject of streaks can be a touchy, and yet to some extent meaningless one, but with this puzzle, my streak reached 500. Some of you may recall that a while back, I had a streak snapped at 474 in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, on losing power and cable (and thus internet access) for most of a week. Since I noted at that time how tantalizingly close I had come to the 500-mark, I thought I'd make it known that I got there finally.
I echo Liz B's remarks on Eastern NC barbecue. Some time ago I linked a YouTube video highlighting Wilber's Barbecue in Goldsboro, NC, showing how Wilber Shirley and his staff made his signature barbecue. Unfortunately, I learned not long ago that Wilber himself had since retired, and some time afterwards Wilber's Barbecue Restaurent went out of business, after decades as a regional legend in the barbecue business. It is much missed.
28
@Alan J
When we first moved to your area in the 1970s, my husband brought home some grayish-colored meat labelled "pork barbecue" from the grocery store. I tossed it out, thinking it must have gone horribly wrong somewhere. Eventually I learned to love it.
3
@Alan J
Congratulations! Well done.
Iâm right behind you at 7, my longest.
âş
13
@ADeNA hopefully you also learned not to buy Carolina Q from the grocery store. It should not be gray colored.
2
1D is strictly not an accompaniment, rather the melodic foundation to an accompaniment.
Shared the clue with a few friends and most were thinking food
3
@XWordsolver
Yes, and the RAGA may be playing in the background while you enjoy the buffet, accompanying your meal!
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XWordsolver,
We were all supposed to think of food; gentle Saturday misdirect. I think I understand your "strictly," but in informal use, I hear "raga" used as one might use "rock."
2
In Western music, listening to a composition is D Minor (say) is the analogue to an (North or Carnatic - like âRockâ) Indian composition in a named âRagaâ. What accompanies the meal is, therefore, the composition - not the Raga or âD Minorâ, strictly.
Took me a few seconds over an hour which I am pleased with. Only two gimmes (KANT and PHI) but the rest filled in nicely from there. I had ONETENTH for a long time and BEERHOTDOG which led me astray for a while. A good puzzle with a lot to chew on.
6
@Andrew Same here - ONE TENTH and BEER DOG bogged me down to. Finally had to give in and check the answer key to find out the RUNK RAP isn't a thing. Then I was finally done.
Usually on a Friday or Saturday I'm all the way to the bottom of the puzzle before I feel confident enough to drop in an answer, but this time I had the entire NW corner filled before moving on. My pleasure in seeing ARETHA was somewhat diminished by seeing her crossed with AROD. Can't he be banned from puzzles for steroid use, too? But then seeing JANELLE MONAE helped me get over it. She was also in the movie Hidden Figures.
Favorite clue/fill combo is a tossup between Bugs used to be seen on it/CEL and Tree huggers Down Under/KOALAS.
Not an overly difficult Saturday, but enjoyable nonetheless.
16
@vaer
MGM before CEL (I dunno), and KANGAS begore KOALAS (insert shrug emoji here). TENTH before NINTH (I'm not alone). Otherwise, quick yet engaging for me, too.
@Ann
We had ROO yesterday, so Kanga was probably on your mind.
2
TIL TIL DEATH was a TV sitcom ;>) . For me there were several tricky clues, but I enjoyed them. My favorite was One raising an issue-very clever. At first I had MarxIST instead of MarxISM which led me to TEST (as in supersonic plane test) for origin of boom. Sadly my childhood did not include Olivia. I know itâs come up before, but it still strikes me as odd that to âworstâ an opponent means the same as to âbestâ them. I suppose there are other such oddities in English. Thanks for a good challenge.
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Never would have gotten the spellings the central word without the crosses. Two Eâs in a row?
2
EGG huntS caused me problems for a while, but after HAGAR filled in I ROLLed on, and that led to finishing the long downs in the middle. I prefer Kansas City BBQ over CAROLINA, but they're both good. Speaking of KC, that's the home of JANELLE MONAE.
Among the WORST of my problems were CROTON RIVER and OLIVIA, which were gettable from the crosses.
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Three PR days in a row. What does this mean??!
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@Irene It means you're in for struggle tomorrow, or at least that has been my experience lol.
4
I'm sure JANELLEMONAE is very good at what she does, but I had never heard of her until tonight. Likewise, I've never come across ELISION ... until tonight. Hell, ELIDE would have never entered my readily available lexicon if not for this passion/obsession. I still have a lot to learn, and in my book, the NYT Crossword (and its accompanying daily blog and subsequent comments) is the most enjoyable place to fill in the knowledge blanks.
4
I was thinking tennis rather than golf for the skorts, but at least I was thinking of *a* sport circuit.
Faster than yesterday, and yesterday was quick.
2
Fine puzzle. Less trouble than usual for a Saturday for me, but well-constructed.
4
Feels like we just had a Saturday puzzle from Andrew Ries, but I see that it was several weeks ago (1/11/20). Crossword time flies even faster than real time.
No ENNUI with this puzzle. Nothing inaccessible but enough that was at the edge of my conscious knowledge that it was a Saturday-level challenge, with some great clues, including for the BABES/PARENT side-by-side. Loved the old-fashioned SOCIETY PAGES crossing with new-fashioned GIG ECONOMY.
So, with a nod to JAMESON, an Irish-flavored joke. Mrs. OâMalley, in her golden years, is reading by the fire when her cantankerous husband, Mr. OâMalley, enters the room and asks her, âWhat do you think will happen to you when I die?â Mrs. OâMalley pauses and thinks a moment before answering: âI think Iâll be acquitted.â
30
I thought ONE NINTH was a high proportion of islanders. Then I thought of NYC. The Bronx is home to its only mainlanders.
2
@Kiki Rijkstra
...and Indonesia
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@Robert Kern
And Great Britain. Ireland. Japan. Taiwan. Hawaii. Madagascar. Sri Lanka. Hong Kong.
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@Kiki Rijkstra In reality don't we all live on islands? Some are just much, much larger than others.
2
Hmmmm. CAROLINA is an awfully general answer for the clue about vinegar-based barbecue sauces! It ought to be eastern North Carolina, at least! But I'll let it go this time.
I had ONE TENTH to start with, until I got stumped for MONK and ELISION. But that was really the only place that slowed me down. EGG ROLLS certainly makes me think of something other than the clue. Lots of food in this one--the DESSERT MENU, the barbecue, the BEEF HOT DOG, and Chef BOYARDEE. (All in all, maybe not the healthiest in the world). LPGA TOUR was pretty obvious for me, especially once I had the LP to start with.
It didn't feel easy, but it all came together without too much trouble.
13
@Liz B
Same problems with MONK and ELISION and ONE NINTH in that corner until I got CAROLINA. I know enough about barbecue to know that there are many many regional variations, but not enough to know what variation goes with which region.
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@Liz B I agree, I tried to fit âeastern ncâ into that spot!
2
@vaer - Oh, thank you for the invitation for me to repost the Barbecue Song from Rhett & Link!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY
3
I really wanted 19a "Main issues?" To be mutinies
28
Fresh fill, minimal crosswordese, some cool misdirection, overall fine puzzle.
11