THEME: Let's all meet at the BAR. Each of the six theme answers abuts the three square bars which are joined in the middle of the puzzle, adding the word BAR to the beginning or end of the fill. We had a wonderful Don Hard-G's L-Bar themed puzzle, LINK last January and this puzzle goes another step in integrating visual as well as verbal clues. Really creative, as we have become accustomed with our second double dose of Marti, blog Thursday, construct Friday. I have added her note at the end. This seems a departure for M., with some very hard fill and the focus not on puns and giggles. Well let us see if the prayers for Friday clarity were answered. The SIX (6) theme answers plus unifier:
30A. Hiker's chewy snack: GRANOLA (BAR). I keep them in my desk drawer, not much hiking going on.
32A. Chart used for comparisons: (BAR) GRAPH. I like Pie charts better, especially Cherry.
41A. Steakhouse section: SALAD (BAR). They were introduced in steak places but abound now.
43A. Coming-of-age ritual (BAR) MITZVAH. This is where I got the theme, as I knew M. knew what the ritual name was. We all live by Mitzvah but that is another story.
7D. Trendy place to get gas?: OXYGEN (BAR). We have had reference to these places before, though I never been to one, unless you count my time in ICU. LINK. Dennis, you going to take a drive down there?
48D. Maine resort: (BAR) HARBOR. I will see if our Mainiac will tell you all about the place. I love it there, in August.
30A. Hiker's chewy snack: GRANOLA (BAR). I keep them in my desk drawer, not much hiking going on.
32A. Chart used for comparisons: (BAR) GRAPH. I like Pie charts better, especially Cherry.
41A. Steakhouse section: SALAD (BAR). They were introduced in steak places but abound now.
43A. Coming-of-age ritual (BAR) MITZVAH. This is where I got the theme, as I knew M. knew what the ritual name was. We all live by Mitzvah but that is another story.
7D. Trendy place to get gas?: OXYGEN (BAR). We have had reference to these places before, though I never been to one, unless you count my time in ICU. LINK. Dennis, you going to take a drive down there?
48D. Maine resort: (BAR) HARBOR. I will see if our Mainiac will tell you all about the place. I love it there, in August.
And the unifier,
62D. Row of black squares preceding or following six puzzle answers, thereby completing them: BAR.
Across:
1. More than irk: ENRAGE. I am always very pleased to blog Marti's efforts, but they also take me so much longer because I become so distracted with tangents from her cluing. Ah well, let us see how you all do.
7. Ending with neur-: OSES. Better than Psych-----
11. Ring leader?: REF. Boxing ring, my first thought was the old EAR Ring. Thought too much, nice clue.
14. "Take it easy!": COOL IT. Easy there pardner,
15. Bonus, in adspeak: XTRA. read all about it.
16. Actress Lupino: IDA. Was she married to Howard Duff?
17. Wichita-based aircraft company: CESSNA. But now they build planes all over the world to save money.
18. Accordion-playing satirist: YANKOVIC. Weird AL.
20. Soft spreads: OLEOS.
21. Pact: AGREEMENT.
22. Idaho crop: RUSSETS. I bet you did not KNOW.
24. Santa __: West Coast winds: ANAS. Anyone watching the golf fro Torrey Pines?
25. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer: SEGA. They fizzled when Dreamcast was blown away by X-Box, Wii and PS2.
28. Western symbol: TIN STAR. Were you Marshall Dillon or Wyatt Earp fans?
36. "I didn't need to know that!": TMI. Too Much Information, not to be confused with its cousin TMJ, or its step sister TMZ.
37. Family leader?: DON. Knotts? Adams? Rickles? Oh. Don Corleone!
38. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU. Fifth Beatle, quit to be an artist, but died young mysteriously. Rumor is Sir Paul was jealous.
62D. Row of black squares preceding or following six puzzle answers, thereby completing them: BAR.
Across:
1. More than irk: ENRAGE. I am always very pleased to blog Marti's efforts, but they also take me so much longer because I become so distracted with tangents from her cluing. Ah well, let us see how you all do.
7. Ending with neur-: OSES. Better than Psych-----
11. Ring leader?: REF. Boxing ring, my first thought was the old EAR Ring. Thought too much, nice clue.
14. "Take it easy!": COOL IT. Easy there pardner,
15. Bonus, in adspeak: XTRA. read all about it.
16. Actress Lupino: IDA. Was she married to Howard Duff?
17. Wichita-based aircraft company: CESSNA. But now they build planes all over the world to save money.
18. Accordion-playing satirist: YANKOVIC. Weird AL.
20. Soft spreads: OLEOS.
21. Pact: AGREEMENT.
22. Idaho crop: RUSSETS. I bet you did not KNOW.
24. Santa __: West Coast winds: ANAS. Anyone watching the golf fro Torrey Pines?
25. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer: SEGA. They fizzled when Dreamcast was blown away by X-Box, Wii and PS2.
28. Western symbol: TIN STAR. Were you Marshall Dillon or Wyatt Earp fans?
36. "I didn't need to know that!": TMI. Too Much Information, not to be confused with its cousin TMJ, or its step sister TMZ.
37. Family leader?: DON. Knotts? Adams? Rickles? Oh. Don Corleone!
38. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU. Fifth Beatle, quit to be an artist, but died young mysteriously. Rumor is Sir Paul was jealous.
40. Lower land?: LEA. Where the lower lows? (Parse "Lower" as Low-er.)
45. Medium: PSYCHIC. No, but I wear a large now.
49. Grub: EATS. Gabby Hayes anyone?
50. Italian bubbly source: ASTI. They have given up the SPUMANTE.
53. The Dike Kokaral divides its two sections: ARAL SEA. More learning.
45. Medium: PSYCHIC. No, but I wear a large now.
49. Grub: EATS. Gabby Hayes anyone?
50. Italian bubbly source: ASTI. They have given up the SPUMANTE.
53. The Dike Kokaral divides its two sections: ARAL SEA. More learning.
55. Earth's life zone: BIOSPHERE. SCIENCE. (2:28) Also a movie so bad, it has no trailer on You Tube.
57. Float __: A LOAN. Be careful.
61. Where many shop: ON THE WEB. Be careful.
62. One making big bucks?: BRONCO. Not Tebow? I kept trying to think of the name for a female moose.
63. Payable: DUE.
64. Default consequence, for short: REPO.-session.
65. They're often distinguished by degrees: ALUMNI. E.G., BA, MA and JD.
66. Slalom curve: ESS. I knew she would sneak in a skiing reference.
67. God of lightning: THOR. Ladies?
57. Float __: A LOAN. Be careful.
61. Where many shop: ON THE WEB. Be careful.
62. One making big bucks?: BRONCO. Not Tebow? I kept trying to think of the name for a female moose.
63. Payable: DUE.
64. Default consequence, for short: REPO.-session.
65. They're often distinguished by degrees: ALUMNI. E.G., BA, MA and JD.
66. Slalom curve: ESS. I knew she would sneak in a skiing reference.
67. God of lightning: THOR. Ladies?
68. Fix, in a way, as a lawn RESEED. It is sodding easier to sod, right Steve, Nice Cuppa?
Really behind schedule, so we must pick up the pace:
Down:
1. Danish shoe brand: ECCO. Latin for behold, who knew about this SHOE?
2. Seasonal number: NOEL. No not FOUR, the singing kind.
3. Obeyed a court order: ROSE. All rise, and give a shout out to our ARBAON.
4. One who didn't get in: ALSO RAN. E.g. Rick Perry.
5. Infomercial knife: GINSU. "But wait, there's more!" The precursor to all infomercials. LINK.
6. LAX listing: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
8. Kicks off: STARTS. You think from Bicycles, or Motorcycles?
9. One of the Gallos: ERNEST. With brother Julio the purveyors of lots of wine, some very good, some very cheap.
10. Drink with sushi: SAKE. Cold or hot?
11. Torn asunder: RIVEN. A nice $10.00 word from the Old Norse.
12. Minneapolis suburb: EDINA. Fancy part of town? C.C.? Jeannie? (C.C.: Some rich folks like Twins' owner live in that area. Quite a few nice golf courses as well, including Interlachen, which hosted US Women's Open a few years ago. Also Solheim Cup in 2002.)
13. Things to face: FACTS. What does this mean, and why do I hear the theme to The Facts of Life in my head now?
19. "My World of Astrology" author: OMARR. Grew up reading the newspaper horoscopes of Sydney.
21. Turkey diner, probably?: ASIAN. Not nibbling a leg, but the country. Nice clue.
23. WWII invasion city: ST LO. Is there a ST. Hi anywhere in France?
25. Certain NCOs: SGTS. Many served at St. Lo.
26. "Forever, __": 1996 humor collection: ERMA. Bombeck, a CW staple, and a funny lady.
27. Author Sheehy: GAIL. I have heard of but not read her BOOKS.
29. Bust __: A GUT. Laugh very heartily so the jelly belly gets rolling; you will not bust a gut reading Gail Sheehy.
31. Ironically, they might be even : ODDS. Cute clue/fill. Loves irony.
33. Inventing middle name: ALVA. Finally an easy one; thanks Mr. Edison.
34. Three-__: sports portmanteau: PEAT. Winning an event three years in a row. Never in Super Bowl History.
35. Derisive cries: HAHS. Dangerous habit.
38. Prepare to be shot: SMILE. What happens to you after the derisive laughs. Be careful.
39. Some twitches: TICS. Well I already used up my Clouseau and Dreyfus clip. How many recall Herbert Lom did not appear in the original Pink Panther movie?
42. Like copycats: APISH. Free pass.
44. Enthusiastic: ZEALOUS. When his girlfriend kissed another girl, he did not get jealous, he got zealous.
46. G-d, in Judaism: YAHWEH. Boy is this a complicated topic, but yes and no.
47. Sleazeball: CREEPO. Nice Webster's word.
50. Humble place: ABODE. Welcome to my....
51. Skull cavity: SINUS. I guess it really is a Friday.
52. Popular rubbers: TOTES. Not Trojan, but she must know DUREX fits in this space? Oh, that kind, I have not worn rubbers in a long time. I SEE.
54. Canadian poet Birney: EARLE. Egads, they know how to rhyme in Canada? My learning moment. All perps. LINK.
56. Saucy: PERT. When I see these words, I now think of two things; shampoo and our own Heart Rx.
58. Pub offer: ON ME. Okay, a Beer reference, sort of. I tried that line in a BAR, but she did not get on.
59. Trouble spots for teens: ACNE. How many proactiv users are there? And are they all pretty women?
60. Reason for being denied a drink NO ID. My first thought was this old Domino's AD. (0:32). Anyone else? Well don't get annoid with me, trivia does stick to my brain.
Answer grid.
Well another Friday puzzle in the record book, another wonderful time with one of our own, and time for me to go back to reading the Game of Thrones books; halfway through the 1125 page book 3. Enjoy all, and here is Marti.
"I was playing around with grid designs, trying to make a puzzle theme from the different shapes. I thought of crosses, x's, squares, and finally came up with this one, with "bars". I thought it would be fun to incorporate the bar shapes into the theme answers. I hope you enjoy the result!"
90 comments:
Morning, all!
I wasn't expecting this sort of trickery in a LA Times puzzle, so it took me awhile to realize what was going on. Strangely enough, it's exactly the type of trickery I have come to expect when solving the NYT puzzle, but I guess it's all about context.
Once I did figure out the trick, the puzzle went by pretty smoothly. I did think it was a bit jarring, though, to have so many other "bars" in the puzzle that weren't part of the theme (e.g., the bars before 21D and 28A). Once I understood the theme, I started thinking every bar was special, which slowed me down a bit.
I've never seen (or heard) CREEPO before (just CREEP) and the clue for ARAL SEA was impossibly obscure, so that section took awhile to unravel. It didn't help that I somehow misread the clue for 39D as "Like some twitches" and wanted an adjective (TICKY?).
Great clues for LEAS, ALUMNI and ACNE!
good morning all!
i know i'm up way too early when i am only the second poster for the morning.
loved the puzzle, marti!! had a great time with it - and quite a few giggles :) and thank you lemon for the nice write up as well!
favorite answer was TMI - i am often the victim of TMI. it seems i have "tell me your life story" written on my forehead.
wierd al and i went to the same college (cal poly, slo) but not at the same time.
i do most of my shopping ON THE WEB. my hubs calls me the amazon queen.
off to work - happy friday!!
Good Morning, Lemonade and Friends. This was quite tricky. I finally caught on to the gimmick with the BAR MITZVAH, since, as Lemonade pointed out, a Mitzvah alone is not a rite of passage.
I knew that Idaho was famous for its Potatoes, but wasn't thinking about the specific variety.
It was on this date in 1880 that Thomas ALVA Edison was granted his patent for the incandescent light.
Although G~d goes by many names in Judaism, Yawheh isn't technically one of those names.
QOD: Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target on one else can see. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
Thanks for the kind words, Lemon! You really made me chuckle at your comments to 52D...
Barry G., My original unifier was "Shape that appears three times in the center of the grid....", but I guess that would have been too easy. Rich seems to be kicking things up a notch lately!
Morning CC, Lemonade and All,
Failed at my first attempt to post. Been awhile.
Great puzzle Marti! Once I fixed potatos (duh), one of the many miscues, I got footing in the middle, moved north then south and got the theme with Harbor. Finished a Friday grid finally, with much perp help and a number of erasures. Wicked Fun!
Thanks for the shout out Lemonade. If your ever in the neighborhood look me up. Timing didn't work out for Hahtool's last visit but that's how things go in the Hahbah!
Bizarre karma. Read yesterday's blog early this AM before going out to plow. Did the puzzle during a break and had to pay a visit. I've missed this and I'm going to do my best to get it back into my routine.
Kids are out of school due to the storm. Not much snow but it changed to freezing rain and rain. Typical this winter.
Have a good one.
I actually got through this although I struggled. Several unknowns but mainly perped them. Gotta run today so no need for details. I wasn't sure about the BARs since I was so glad to fill the last blanks I just ran here to comment. Never heard of OXYGEN bars. I thought Thor was god of thunder, I found Agni and Jupiter for lightning in my Cw dictionary, but wasn't on the computer to double-check at the time.
Clever one, Marti!
Lemonade,
Fun blog too!
TGIF, fellow Friday folks. Wow! Marti, for someone that doesn't know baseball, you threw a lot of curveballs at us in this one. There were a few places I was saying to myself "I got NO ID what goes there". I finally got the V8 moment when I realized that it was the three BARs in the middle and not the ones around the edge that held the key.
I had all of the other theme entries but couldn't figure out the Maine resort town until I got the BAR. Then HARBOR was pretty obvious. LW has a set of Tourmaline jewelry in a beautiful shade of teal that we got in BAR HARBOR.
It wasn't particularly tough for a Friday, but it took some effort and a few write overs to get it done. Thanks for a great puzzle Marti and thanks for the excellent write up Lemonade.
This puzzle had so many great clues, I don't know where to begin.
I loved all of these:
Turkey diner, probably: ASIAN
They might be even: ODDS
Prepare to be shot: SMILE
Trouble spots for teens: ACNE
One making big bucks: BRONCO
Ring leader: REF
All great clues! My favorite answer? Bust A GUT! Now that's funny!
Happy Friday to All
nice puzzle. always thought ECCO was an Italian Company. (because the salesperson who sold me my ECCO sandals told me so. Live and learn.
never been to an oxygen bar either but their used to be one not far from where I live but i think it was closed due to Mafia involvement.
Lemonade I am at just about the same the same point in that series.
Meh. Liz did this theme last year for NYT.
http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/20/2011&g=89&d=A
I wonder if the constructor was inspired by Liz Gorski's 2011 puzzle? (http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/20/2011)
I agree, the cluing was very witty in several spots.
Hi all - thought I'd attempt a Friday puzzle again...ouch!
As Barry G said some of the clues were very obscure (for me) as in 53A and 21D (that was a true mystery). I had to read the explanation even after the perps gave me the word (ASIAN). Somehow I never associate the country Turkey with Asia.
Never heard the word CREEPO or RIVEN before either.
I have a pair of ECCO shoes. They are very comfortable. They do run a bit short in length i.e. if you wear a 7 1/2 you'll need an 8.
Mainiac: so good to see you again, I was going to ask where you'd been, and here you are...PSYCHIC???
Morning, all.
Clever, clever puzzle today, Marti, which went right over my head until I came here for help with theme answers. The inclusion of the grid into the answers didn't reveal itself to me until I found put which were the theme answers and realized they were in pairs in the same rows/column. So clever!
There are oxygen bars in Breckenridge, where we ski every year. I haven't frequented them yet, but the older I get, the more trouble I seem to have adjusting to the altitude... If I check one out when we go in March, I will think of this puzzle and all of you.
Off to see Girl with Dragon Tattoo today. Trying to make it to as many Oscar nominees as possible. Have checked off quite a few already.
Fun blog as always, Lemonade!
Enjoy the day.
Great puzzle today. As always, I enjoyed your asides, Lemonade. Nice sensa humor about the totes. I could think of at least 5 clever repartees, none printable here.
Can anyone direct a poor landlubber like me to a site that explains web acronyms and webspeak? TMJ? I thought that was a dental condition. Oi need elp.
Hahtool.what would be a good clue for Yawheh?
I like a puzzle with a BAR.
Got the themes at SALAD (BAR) but thought if you're going in that direction it should have extended to all the places with "3 black squares."
Quite a slog today.
OMARR, GAIL, EARLE and ARAL SEA all "perps".
EDINA, the Minneapolis Suburb I learned from CW's. Now it's a gimmie.
Lemon, Hahtool:
Is there a reason you type God as G~d?
Am I going to hell (in a handbasket) because I typed it God?
Oh, Hurry Sunset. I think I need a pinch.
Cheers!
We don’t need a CSI unit to find this constructor with wine, skiing, clever clues (Asian diner e.g.), a fun theme and DF fancy rubbers! It’s our Girl Friday! Fun time Marti!
Musings
-Theme was a fun “cherry on top”
-Salad Bars can make me nervous but then I don’t know what the waitress is doing with my rabbit food
-The one Bar Mitzvah I went to showed me Jewish ceremonies can be as boring as Christian ones. He was a great kid though!
-Is there enough liquor or oxygen in the bar to make me look good?
-Ida had it goin’ on
-My accordion playing satirist
-Sorry you missed the gravy train, Stu
-Repo man is an interesting line of work
-Need to cut a tin can? Ginsu!
-ON ME are hard words for some to utter
No, Lemonade probably doesn't believe in Him.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Marti, for a swell Friday puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the review.
Well, got started easily in the NW for a change. Did not know ECCO, but it came with perps. Familiar with CESSNA, as I used to work at an airport as a teenager.
YANKOVIC came easily, but I kept thinking of Frankie Yankovic, the polka king, from Cleveland. I wonder if he is still around. Probably not.
I did not get the theme. I did not look hard enough. I was focusing on the six three-letter blank squares around the border. Because the clue said six answers, I equated that to the six blank squares. I got all the theme answers, but did not match them correctly. Oh well.
I did make some errors. For 38D I thought of SMOKE, as in the last cigarette for a person about to be shot by a firing squad. Since several letters matched perps I figured it was right. I thought PSYCHOC was maybe a word and ARAK SEA was maybe correct. Missed on ABODE. Had ADOBE. An ADOBE hut is a humble place.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Forgot to mention. Liked ON ME for 58D.
Abejo
noseeum: TMJ is a jaw thing, TemporoMandibular Joint disorder, and the acronym TMZ stands for Thirty-Mile Zone, referring to the "studio zone" within a 30 miles radius of the intersection of West Beverly Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. My mind often takes off on flights of fancy when writing these up.
Fascinating how posts overlap; I personally no longer do the Sunday NYT (one long puzzle a week end is all I have time for) but see much originality in today's puzzle, even if Hearti was familiar with Liz' work. Thanks for stopping buy Mr. St. John, we have anything new from you coming our way?
Musings 2
-I have sung, To You Yahweh I Lift Up My Soul on my guitar at mass for years and now the new books have made it “To you Jesus, I lift up my soul”. It seems that Rome feels their biggest problem today is semantics! Consubstantial? Really?
-Lemon, I wondered where your rubber link was going to go. Nice write-up my friend.
Jews do not type any name which might be the actual name of the divine presence, as it would be disrespectful to have the name sullied, since the rule makers did not address English words, we are just being cautious. I certainly believe in the divine and Mitzvah.
PSYCHOC the candy bar you have to feel better when you are down.
I didn't pick up on the theme until the end since the fill was overall easy. I just kept on avoiding the middle subconsciously until MITZVAH popped up and I realized what was going on. Actually an easy puzzle with a curve thrown in that many haven't seen.
I am so tired of people discussing another puzzle that used the same idea and then dismissing a new one with that "idea" outright. If the span between puzzles is a year old, in a different newspaper, and the feel is different from the original then it gets judged on its own merits.
Lemon:
Isn't YEHWEH the Hebrew name of God in the Bible?
The "New World Encyclopedia" said that Jews normally do not pronounce this name, considering it too holy to verbalize.
As such, wouldn't YEHWEH be typed Y~HW~H?
Damn, I'm going to the store ... and get me that handbasket.
(Always knew my "Final Destination" would be warm).
Wow! I had a terrible time with this one! Loved the write-up and I suspect I would have liked the puzzle if I'd been doing this longer, there was some good stuff here.
Had the same potato problem as others and the entire Sw area was Greek to me.
Andrea, Dragon Tattoo is really great! Maybe even better than the book as it avoids all that obscure governmental stuff. Roomey Mara IS Lisbeth Salander!
With apologies to Liz Gorski fans (she happens to be one of my favorite constructors, too), I did not realize that this theme had been run in the NYT last year. I do check the Criciverb database when I come up with a puzzle idea, but that site does not allow you to search for “black squares used as part of the theme entries”.
Having said that, I have solved many puzzles with themes that have been used before (sometimes “to death”), but that doesn’t make the experience any less pleasurable, because each constructor has a different “take” on it.
So just enjoy this one for what it is: a Friday puzzle with a theme that you either “get” right away, or tear your hair out trying, with a few V-8 moments sprinkled in between!
Hugs,
Marti
Noseeum, I think you mean TMI which is Too Much Information.
There is a web site that has too long an address for me to type here but it is about what is chat abbrev. and what the letters stand for. You can just Google for the web site, I did.
Very Cute and ingenious (Sp.?) puzzle by MartiHeart and of course, just as cute a commentary by our local juice drink. Lemon, you didn't even give out your name, in the main blog commentary - I guess all the regulars 'know' you by now. ( BTW, that's not 'know', in the biblical sense ... ).
The puzzle was rather difficult for me,a DNF ...... but once you gave me the answers, I realized how clever and punny it was, and I enjoyed it just the same.
As for the Jewish people's aversion to the actual writing of the word, God or G-d, because of the awe and sanctity of the Higher Being, .... there are other religions who follow similar practices. My attitude would be, ' To each, their own' and 'Live and let live'.... and avoid the subject altogether, especially on this blog.
Have a good weekend, you all.
ALT QOD:- Ivy is a rapidly growing plant with the remarkable ability to make any college fifty percent more expensive. ~ The Daily Show.
The unifier clue was inaccurate and confusing. It said "row" of black squares, which implies left to right, not up and down. I wasted a lot of time looking for the fifth and sixth across puzzle answers. The clue should have said "group" of black squares.
Wonderful freaking puzzle!
Anon @ 10:13, see my comment 7:37. I originally used the word "shape", but editors always have the last say.
Premature post-ulation! If you write BAR in the black squares, it all works perfectly and even crosses twice.
Any and ALL religious stuff leaves me rather cold in puzzles. Source of all conflict at one level or another, oh the irony!
A portmanteau is a suitcase - how does it relate to a "three-peat"?
Well I enjoyed the puzzle. It may have been rehash to some, but as a newbie the theme was fresh and the clues were great.
Interesting about The Big Guy in the Sky. Thank G~D it's Friday!!=
I am really busy, and I thought I had ended for the day, but I felt strongly enough, on this matter, to respond (again.).
To 'them', that are miffed about the originality of this puzzle, I would like to say this. Many of us do not do other xwords, from elsewhere, hence our pleasure ( in solving them - ) is undiminished from the fact that similar puzzles may have appeared somewhere else at different times or centuries. Boo-hah, who cares ? As far as I am concerned, the only original ideas were by Adam and Eve .... if that. Although your due diligence in such matters, is noted, if not exactly noteworthy, it is my personal opinion, it is entirely unnecessary. IMHO.
A galactic wow for this puzzle!
Beautiful work, Marti!
PSYCHIC crossing YAHWEH and CREEPO,
it doesn't get any better than that. Throw in OXYGEN, YANKOVIC, MITZVAH, and ZEALOUS, a six themer, great clues and a crazily clever idea and we've got one of the best puzzles of the year... bar none from any publication!
Take that!
Friday is a busy day for me, so i went straight to the red letters. Shame really, i would have loved to see me go nuts after i confidently inked in "potatos." (no typo, me, and i think Dan Quayle spell it that way)
The clue for 4D had me looking for some extinct animal that did not make Noahs Ark.
I did not like 58D, probably because i'm so cheap it never occurred to me.
Also did not realize that 62D was the unifier. Thought it was just a clue for some obscure crossword reference. really messed up my day!
And finally, i had NO IDEA that the answer to 60D was "no id." I rushed to the Blog to find out what a "noid" was, because i would not want to be one and be refused a drink.
I may be alone in this, but I didn't figure out the theme until I got to the unifier. Even then I had to look pretty hard to find those 6 theme answers. I guess some of the theme fill seemed a little off without that assistance (especially Mitzvah), but with perps I was able to get it done, and in that inimitable state of bliss only ignorance can provide. Overall, the experience was quite a lot like yesterdays puzzle for me. A lot of fun yet a real challenge. Thanks Marti and Lemon!
10:42, you obviously do not read uis every day because we have had many discussuions of PORTMANTEAU / M., you do not need to respond to such criticism. Mr. St. John was merely commenting and the other A- non was showing off. Should there never be another rebus because someone has done one? By having all the theme spinning out from the middle (meeting at the BAR) you have crafted a new and fun look.
ciao chow
Greetings, Lemonade, Marti, et al.
Short on time today, but had to tell Marti how much fun this was and almost a speed run but I misspelled MITZVAH with an S and that gave me all sorts of trouble until it was corrected and ZEALOUS emerged.
Thank you, Lemon, for the BAR explanation. Love it.
Didn't know YANDOVIC but sussed it. My cousin lives in Wichita so I knew CESSNAs are made there.
Great fun. Now I have a eye doctor appointment and I need it.
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!
This was a fun Friday puzzle! Once I gave up APER, PINT and CHEAPO - ASTI, ONME and ARALSEA filled right in.
Many fresh clues. Loved the theme Marti. In my case where I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, a puzzle from a year ago? Or even last week?....Come on!
Sunny skies expected for the weekend. Enjoy!
Late to the party today. My puter picked yesterday to come down with a case of Alzheimers. Had to perform brain surgery and remove half its memory to resurrect it.
Very clever, Marti. I didn't get the theme until all the theme answers were already in place. It was a nice Friday challenge.
Well, I got almost the whole puzzle without getting the theme. I kept shaking my head and thinking 'I've heard of Bar Harbor, Maine, but not Harbor; and shouldn't that be 'Bar Mitzvah' instead of just 'Mitzvah'? Duh! Or is it Doh! I don't watch enough 'Simpsons' and have no V-8 in the house. To be honest, Marti, your original unifier would really have helped. Please tell Rich to cut us a little slack on a Friday, and save the killers for Saturday.
Mari, all your favorites were my favorites too and there are probably even more. But I do hope somebody explains that 'peat' to us--or did I miss it in Lemon's great write-up.
Anyway, have a great Friday, everybody!
PEOPLE! It`s just a puzzle...it`s supposed to be fun. Do it or don`t...take it or leave it...there is no need for criticism, especially if you`ve never constructed or blogged.
(Good job Marti and Lemon!)
That's why Rex Parker rocks.
Good aftrnoon to all and happy Friday. Thanks lemon for the write-up and hope all is well in your recovery. Thanks Marti for a fun friday solve. The only writeover I had was on 42D had apers at first then aping, finally got apish whew!Lemon, I also had the same memory about the Noid having worked for Dominos back in the 80's. Have a great day to all. RJW.
Great puzzle. I love doable Fridays. As I usual only do one or the other (NYT or LAT) Sunday puzzles, I must have missed Liz's "bar" puzzle. Looks like it would have been fun.
Like others, got the theme with (BAR)HARBOR, wondering what OXYGEN meant just standing there by itself. Like @Tinbeni, I had to spot Marti the pop culture answers, OMARR, GAIL, and EARLE, as well as YANKOVIC. New ERNEST 'tho.
Had Boeing at first, even though I knew their main headquarters are in Seattle, and the N in GINSU "confirmed" it... not. Also, as Boeing has recently announced that they are moving out of Wichita, knew that this would only work if this puzzle had been long in the works.
What is it about obscure places in Minnesota? Knew EDINA from some long ago crossword. I've never even been to Minnesota, although it sounds like my type of place.
Morning all,
Marti , I thought you did a wonderful job, regardless of originality , you perfected it with fresh clues.
DNF, couldn't come up with the " V " in Riven and Yankovic
AsIan food can be found in any country between Israel and Japan ..
Y'all have a great Friday
I don't recall having a brain transplant, so I'm guessing the experience of working all these puzzles is finally jarring things awake between my ears! To finish a Thursday and a Friday puzzle in the same week with no red letters and no lookups is really special for me. The theme - well that gives me something to work on.
I knew Marti wouldn't use potato(e)s as an answer, so I waited for a couple letters and russets magically appeared. Had ON THE NET at first, but knew Hartor wasn't right. Marti, I loved this - very clever clues and a lot of fresh fill. Thanks also to Lemon for a terrific write up.
Tomorrow no doubt will do me in, but I'm feeling pretty smug right now!
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Good afternoon everyone.
What I love about these puzzles and the blog is the learning. I missed many because I am so literate that I don't see what I should. But I did read 1A as More than ink, which meant I couldn't figure out an answer. But the attempt was fun today.
In answering the question about Jews not writing God, etc. the answer was just that. An answer, not religion as such. Let's ease up.
And let's have a great weekend. I'm sure we all deserve it.
Cheers
P.S. I also read it as turkey dinner, not diner. So it's good that I have an appointment with ophthalmologist next week.
Armed with the complete theme answers and clues, and knowing for sure that there is another BAR theme @ CRU database, I could not find it through a legal search. Even seaching clues the minimum word length is 4 characters.
Marti's due dilly couldn't possibly have sussed out the other puz. And it doesn't even matter because there's no crossover on theme answers anyway.
I think its a great theme and execution - nicely done!
Hello Puzzlers -
A clever and doable Friday spectacular from my neighbor! I'm squarely in the "I don't do any other puzzles, so the theme is new to me" camp. Keep up the good work, Marti!
Somehow I just knew some of the obscure answers, including YAHWEH. Seems like we had some discussion about that ancient name last year, no?
CESSNA was a gimme of course. All the airplanes I've ever owned have been Cessnas.
Never been to an OXYGEN bar - the concept seems kind of silly to me - but as with most aviators, I've often used pure oxygen as a supplement at high altitudes. I've never noticed any huge difference, but I suppose your cognition is better when your saturation is at a nominal level.
Entertaining writeup, Lemon - I suspect you enjoy that part of a Friday challenge!
Marti - very nice, thoroughly enjoyed this. Super write-up, Lemonade.
You'd be sodding right it's easier to sod in the UK, but you can't buy sod, you buy turf, turf being sod, not turf of the astro variety.
Similarly, if you ask for a rubber you'll get something to erase pencil marks with.
Durex used to sponsor a Formula 1 racing car, until the car blew all four tires at the Australian Grand Prix and the newspapers pounced on the photo of the car at the side of the track, rubber flattened.
Oh - and if you ask for Durex in Australia you'll get a roll of scotch tape. All mightily confusing.
Good afternoon all. Thanks to Lemon for a great write-up and especially for the potato link.
I had 'potato' before settling on RUSSET. The person on board ship who peels the potatoes is the 'spud cox'n'. Never fully got the BAR theme but got all the theme fill in due course. Loved the arcane clue for the fill, ARAL SEA, which we frequently see . Also liked the clever clueing for ROSE, ASIAN, ODDS, and SMILE. Kudos to Marti on a great job. BZ
Maniac, good to see you.
I didn't care for APISH but I really enjoyed this puzzle otherwise. I wasn't clever enough to figure out the theme right away even when I got BAR in the center. That's because of the two three-square rectangles in the middle of the top and bottom that would have produced BAR ASIAN and SMILE BAR.
I've felt stressed this morning because a neighbor is having some tree work done and the howl of chain saws and a big wood chipper is abrading my brain. It just stopped so peace has been restored for a while at least. (I just remembered the ghoulish wood chipper scene in Fargo. Gaack!)
I don't mind a whit if this theme has been done before. First, I wasn't aware of it and second, anything that's good and clever is worth seeing more than once.
... wouldn't YEHWEH be typed Y~HW~H? My understanding is that Hebrew doesn't have vowels, so it would be spelled something like that in Hebrew, but in English we put in the vowels unless we are looking for a more "letteral" translation. Jehovah, BTW, a made up word, takes the vowels of ADONAI ("master") and the consonants of YHWH.
Good puzzle, but I wouldn't call it great.
TMI--no clue that it's an abbreviation? Anyone ever seen TMI used? I guess Twitterese is fair game now.
Turkey in Asia? Well, after researching the ambiguity of Eurasia, I'll avoid a MINOR dustup over this one.
"Lower land" was my favorite clue. Easy one since we've seen this theme so often recently.
CREEPO seemed a stretch. Had CHEEPO, but finally finished when I saw the obscure perp was ARALSEA (shoulda had that sooner).
A snoring, hibernating dormouse.
Quite a challenge but doable and fun. Actually, two of the Jewish traditions that are believed to be sources in the Torah/ Bible utilize their own words for The Almighty. One uses " Yahwey" ( the J source) and "Elohim" ( the E source). Many people simply use YHWH to avoid offending G.d.
Oops, that should have been Yahweh.
Anon @1:18
(My typo @9:47 notwithstanding)
re: "... wouldn't YEHWEH be typed Y~HW~H?"
Thanks for the explanation.
Hahtool said @6:33
"Yawheh isn't technically one of those names."
Which got my curiosity up.
If YAHWEH isn't a name for G~d, is the answer
at 46-D, G~d in Judaism, incorrect?
Just curious ...
Bill G, I almost lost it when I saw that dormouse clip…I think that little guy needs a
C-PAP machine!!
And this is the last I'll say about duplicate themes:
“…like snowflakes, you see -- even the ones that look a lot alike are still unique.” (Matt Gaffney)
Piece of cake.
Hello everybody. Thank you, Marti, for giving such pleasure to us today, and to you, Lemonade, for enhancing it.
I had much the same reactions as some of you did. Like Lucina, I spelled MITZVAH with an S at first, and like Misty, I wondered for far too long what MITZVAH, HARBOR, and OXYGEN were doing out there all by themselves. Duh :)
After I figured that out, then I wondered what the heck BAR RUSSETS, SMILE BAR, etc. were. Double duh :)
Damn clever constructing.
I thought Jehovah was an Anglicization of Yeshwah ...
Best wishes to you all.
Hi All ~~
Wow, Marti ... you really made me work today and I loved it! I didn't get the theme until I got the unifier, finished the puzzle, and spent some time studying the whole thing. Like Grumpy, I was confused by the side bars at first but finally saw all the theme answers around the middle "shape." Amazing job! Lemonade ... a really good write-up. You cleared up my many foggy areas!
~~ Complete unknowns: EARLE, ECCO, and OXYGEN bar.
~~ Soo many great clues, but I really liked those for SMILE, ODDS, ROSE and ALUMNI.
~~ I was familiar with a "three-peat" because of a UCONN basketball championship streak.
~~ Husker Gary ~ I, too, thought of Judy Tenuta with 18A.
Enjoy the afternoon and evening!
I have 2 pairs of ECCO shoes and love them. They are very comfortable. Interestingly, the salesperson also told me that Ecco is an Italian brand, and I didn't doubt it because "ecco" sounds like it could very well be an Italian word. Live and learn.
It's hard to categorize this video except that I really enjoyed it.
Bill G
Great Video, i think i broke my mouse rewinding over and over...
And the sleeping doormouse, now i understand all those nature films of the fox in the snow listening, and then digging up dinner.
Hi gang -
70 comments, so I probably won't read them at this late hour. Need to pick my brother-in-law up at the airport. At midnight. Then take him to Toledo.
Enough whining. Well, not quite. Holy lock-me-up-and-throw-away-the-key, Marti. You really put me behind BARS today.
Brilliant creative puzzle, and really hard. Eventually forced my way through, but it felt more like brute strength than intelligence.
Did the puzzle early, then forgot to post. In honor of that, enjoy this. I probably did . . .
Cheers!
JzB
Thanks a lot, Bill G.
I had a comment but that video drove it clean out of my mind. (I know, it was a short drive.)
Ah, Jzb...
i am going to send the link to everyone i know,,, (if i can remember them)
This may be telling, but i always do Saturday using "red letter", then afterwards, i find the hard copy, and try to do it again in ink. The sad part is it is almost as hard as the first time...
(try it sometime, i dare you!!!)
Nice theme, but was SMILE BAR part of it? I take it, not part of the six, so that's a weakness.
Wanted Bangor until I got the bar.
BAR Harbor is where in America Grampa Fritz first sailed into when WWI was declared. His captain was a true hero, unlike the one we recently heard about.
Also, very Googly, and, thus, educational.
@Tawnya - you must have a nice face.
@Hahtool - Bye bye incandescent light.
TOTES as rubbers are difficult to find. TOTES has some other products, and the rubbers did fall apart. The common brand now is Tingley, more expensive, but sturdier.
Accordian playing satirist put me in mind of Judy Tenuta, whom I haven't seen much lately.
I believe STU died of a brain hemmorhage.
@Jayce - ECCO means "here" in Italian.
@714 - Thanx for TMZ, since my son has just moved to W. Hollywood.
REPEAT - do it twice
THREEPEAT - do it three times
TMI "Ugh! I don't want to hear the gory details of your bowel operation. TMI "
Hi All:
I'm very late today as I had guests for lunch, followed by a mean game of Scrabble. By the time they left and I cleaned up, it was almost 5:00 before I sat down with the puzzle.
And what a puzzle it was! Started out on a tear but was soon down to a crawl. I didn't see the theme until the unifier and I DNF because I had Bahs instead of Hahs for 35 D.
Also didn't know Omarr and hadn't filled in 34D so
32A read G- a-B. Came here to solve mystery word which should have been obvious but in my hazy state, it wasn't.
Great clues and a fun, clever puzzle, Marti and a super write-up, Lemonade.
Happy Friday, what is left of it.
Hi all,
Hard puzzle, I am always amazed how people can construct these puzzles. I really admire you and others Marti! It was a day of learning.
Temp almost to 40 degrees today. I do like this kind of weather in the winter.
Have a good weekend all!
Marge
Link Yahweh
Hi all,
Loved the whole package, clever and fun! Glad I wasn't the only one who had apers for a bit.With asti in place, biosphere came to life,which helped spell yahweh.
Like many, I wondered why mitzvah was alone. Ding Dong...are you home?
Had smirk instead of smile, but finally filling in Aral Sea fixed that. Very tricky clue Marti.
Creepo got a BIG laugh.
Tawnya, my DH must be the Amazon King!At C'mas it is so much fun, because even though we are giving the gifts, we never know which gift the truck is delivering.
sidebar: Lemon,loved your write up.
Hola Everyone, Technically this was a DNF for me as I had to look up the clue for Aral Sea. I didn't know The Kokaral Dike.
This was a great puzzle, Marti, and a great writeup, Lemonade. I especially like the clues for Turkey diner, Lower land, Rind Leader, Prepare to be shot, and One making big bucks. All were ahas or ones that made me smile.
I wear a pair of Ecco oxfords every day. Very comfotable and they wear a very long time--well made.
You've got to love a puzzle with the words, Creepo, Cool it, and Grub in it.
Have a lovely evening, everyone.
I would not part with my Ecco's for anything. They are great for back and leg sufferers, expensive, but they last forever. I have one pair that is going on 12 yrs old. Nice to see the name in a CW!
Jayce - never believe what your salesman tells you!
This was the first Friday puzzle that I was able to solve without making any mistakes. It took me a long time, but I stuck with it. Unfortunately, not knowing what "bar" meant as far as black squares, I did not see the theme until I read the blog, but to me, this was nothing short of genius! I never could have constructed such a thing. I knew something was up when I got to Mitzvah, but still did not fall through.
Favorite clues were Bronco, Tin Star and Russet! Nice misdirection there because potato fits too. Thanks Marti, this was a fantastic creation!
Good afternoon, all!
Got through a Friday puzzle w/o cheats. Thanks Marti! Thanks Lemon!
Funniest answer, CREEPO. Was too tired last night to suss out the theme. Should have tried again today before coming here.
My latest bottle of Pradaxa was either not sent or filed in an underwear drawer or worse. Rather than take rat poison (warfarin) again, I am relegated to a whole aspirin/day for two months.
Santa ANAS have been pretty wicked here. Ersarz gardener is outside scooping up downed branches.
Have a great weekend.
Husker, thanks for the link to the "To You Yahweh, Lift up my Soul". I enjoyed listening to the song and looking at the pictures.
Bill G, I couldn't begin to classify your video, but it was fun to watch. Loved the giggly baby!
Maniac, I appreciate you stopping by, and all the comments from all the newbies.
The video links add another level of fun to the always entertaining work of Ms. Rx.
Thanks Steve for educating me on sod, and all the other stuff I learned today.
Hey gang - just got a chance to do the puzzle, between looking at properties all day and going out for the night.
Marti, screw the naysayers - this puzzle was absolutely fantastic! Who gives a rat's ass if it was done before? Just a brilliant effort.
(I hope the above wasn't too subtle.)
Have a great night; extremely nice here in Boca this evening.
Great puzzle.
Thanks Marti.
Nothing to do with the puzzle:
I've linked this sports writer before. He has been retiring for years. I'm going to miss him when he stops writing. For now, there's this.
Doc Martin again. Well, Louisa has just had their baby. We'll see how the old curmudgeon reacts to being a father.
Good evening, puzzlers. I could not return to read the comments because my eyes were dilated and no surprise, I have cataracts!
Then I went to dinner at my daughter's home as her DH's grand parents are visiting.
Marti, I reiterate, this puzzle was brilliant and great fun to solve. I agree with Mari and others who mentioned all the clever clues.
Can't wait for Saturday's.
Hi CC, Lemonade and folk!
@Marti, fantastic job on your puzzle today Marti! Visually and intellectually stimulating...I enjoyed it.
@Lemonade714, really fun, upbeat and informative write up! Very clever!
@Dudley, finally success today! I am getting the LATCP on my iPad! It's awesome! I'm so happy. Thank you for helping me along.
@Barry G., I hadn't heard 'creepo' specifically, but I have noticed my daughter Annie and her friends use 'creepers' in reference to guys who come and hover around them at parties and clubs. She and her friends take a lot of photos of each other It becomes obvious when the creeper shows up in one photo after another.
@tawnya, I like your amazon queen designation! Funny!
@sfingi, my son lives in West Hollywood too!
@BillG, racket like that is unnerving. Yesterday I had plumbing, drywall and various other things being done in my house and I ended up feeling so stressed I took a Xanax. Aargh!
I'm out.
i have been using this Crossword Corner for over a year now and decided to say hi. not an expert like y'all and often just cant get that final one or two to fit in. thanks to all contributors.
and naturally you're reading Game of Thrones. i also just discovered the series a year ago, and read all 5 straight through. something about "great minds"......
thanks again, geni
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