Saturday Themeless by Julian Lim
My last themeless Saturday Julian Lim puzzle was one day short of two years ago - July 4, 2020. Dr. Lim got his B.S. in Psychology from Duke and a PhD from The University of Pennsylvania in the same discipline. Today Julian presents a beautiful grid that sent me in search of footholds - CHUNK OF CHANGE provided just that!
From Julian: Glad you enjoyed it :) I made this one when I was tinkering around with grid art: I liked how the pattern was visually striking but that the grid still offered a lot of flexibility because of the way it segments. Hope the puzzle doesn't stump too many people, I know that there's quite a bit of dread on this blog when my name shows up later in the week!
I am teaching and doing research in the National University of Singapore -- I've been back here since 2010.
No dread from me - HG.
Across:
1. Decompression chambers?: SPAS.
5. Image problem, for short: BAD PR
10. New Balance competitor: PUMA - Running shoes
14. "__ Terrace at Night": van Gogh work: CAFE - In oil and in actuality
14. "__ Terrace at Night": van Gogh work: CAFE - In oil and in actuality
15. Honda line: ACURA.
16. Like some unresolved NBA games: IN OT - The NBA's highest scoring game took three OverTimes
17. Yamuna River city: AGRA - A very famous building on the Yamuna River in AGRA, India
18. Duran Duran lead singer Simon: LE BON - Picture of and an interview with Simon
19. Chunk: GLOB.
20. Foment: ROIL.
21. Plain, in Spain: LLANO - A treeless plain in America as well
22. Actress Condor of "To All the Boys" films: LANA
23. Outbreak of spots?: AD CAMPAIGN - TV ADS (spots) during a campaign get tiresome
25. New user's need: Abbr.: ACCT - Then you have to generate yet another password.
26. Kids' rhyme starter: BAA BAA.
27. Argentinian aunts: TIAS - Mi TÍA Norma me puso el nombre de Gary. (Pretty easy to translate!)
28. Decision-making conformity: GROUP THINK.
34. Tidy sum: CHUNK OF CHANGE - My pivotal breakthrough fill
37. Is in contention for: HAS A SHOT AT - During spring training, everyone HAS A SHOT AT winning the World Series
38. "Rock and Roll All __": Kiss hit: NITE - Here ya go
39. Again and again?: THRICE
44. Linear: ONE-D - This math peep put FLAT first as in a linear equation
45. "Last Night of the World" musical: MISS SAIGON - I'd like to hear that
49. Dessert request always filled: TART
51. Madeira cousin: PORT - If you're an oenophile you'll know which is which - Answer
52. 2004 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Aoki: ISAO - ISAO plays our Crossword Course quite often and below we see him chipping from the 53. Difficult: ROUGH.
54. Foment, with "up": STIR
55. Start to cure?: PEDI - When I walked in for my first PEDICURE, there were 23 women in the salon and I was the only man in sight.
56. Asian country that's the seventh-largest in the world: INDIA.
57. Magazine founder Eric: UTNE - Eric UTNE and his "far out" life
58. Note in a proof: STET - An editor will put in a STET if he decides to keep the original text. All right, leave in "Four score and seven" and take out "Eighty seven"
59. Circus prop: STILT - They are also used in less glamorous jobs
57. Magazine founder Eric: UTNE - Eric UTNE and his "far out" life
58. Note in a proof: STET - An editor will put in a STET if he decides to keep the original text. All right, leave in "Four score and seven" and take out "Eighty seven"
59. Circus prop: STILT - They are also used in less glamorous jobs
60. Turned item: PAGE.
Down:
1. Ancient Egyptian amulet: SCARAB - Search for"Scarab Attack" from The Mummy on YouTube at your own peril
2. Storied Asian structure: PAGODA.
3. Guinea's home: AFRICA.
4. Research site for deep thinking?: SEA LAB.
5. Places with bases: BALLPARKS.
6. Fast Amtrak option: ACELA.
6. Fast Amtrak option: ACELA.
7. UAE's most populous city: DUBAI - A night in the iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel in DUBAI will run you anywhere from $600 to $24,000/night8. Point of eating?: PRONG - or tine
9. Wouldn't shut up: RAN ON - "I asked what time it was and he told me how a clock works"
10. Language in which most words rhyme: PIG LATIN - It'syay ayay eatgray ayday orfay olgfay. (Another easy, albeit silly, translation)
11. Loosening, in a way: UNLACING
12. Round bakery snack: MOONCAKE - A MOONCAKE is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid- Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is about lunar appreciation and Moon watching. C.C., have you ever had one?
13. Times up: AT BATS - Baseball players often call them AB's.
13. Times up: AT BATS - Baseball players often call them AB's.
24. __ cum laude: MAGNA - Not Summa
29. "Holy cow!": OOH - Harry Carry's famous catch phrase
29. "Holy cow!": OOH - Harry Carry's famous catch phrase
30. Radar anomaly: UFO - A fascinating scene built around this. Nobody wants to report having seen a UFO.
31. Poll fig.: PCT.
32. "We're done here": THAT'S THAT.
33. Yoga type: HATHA.
34. Spode offering: CHINA SET - Spode is an English brand of pottery that finally came to my mind
36. Not surprised: USED TO IT.
38. Restaurant policy, at times: NO TIPS - Discouraging tipping is common in Japan as their wait staff is paid a good wage.
40. Shreds: RIPS UP.
41. "Ain't no choice for me": I GOTTA.
42. Prepping for pie, as apples: CORING.
43. Heart of a meal: ENTREE.
45. He blasted 61 in '61: MARIS - The M & M Boys of 1961. Roger Maris hit 61 HR's and Mickey Mantle hit 54.
45. He blasted 61 in '61: MARIS - The M & M Boys of 1961. Roger Maris hit 61 HR's and Mickey Mantle hit 54.
46. Flat refusal: I WON'T.
47. Jeddah native: SAUDI - Now if you want to drive to Dubai from Jeddah to stay in the Burj Al Arab...
48. Magic symbol from the Latin for "seal": SIGIL - Sigillum is Latin for "seal"
54 comments:
Chuck came into a CHUNK OF CHANGE,
It came from writing an AD CAMPAIGN.
A GLOB of BAD P.R.
Made him a star,
For thinking an emu would entertain!
There was a PIG who spoke in LATIN.
"MAGNA CUM LAUDE," he said in his fashion.
What that meant
He had no sense.
Understanding Greek was his passion!
If, on an AFRICAN safari
You see a PAGODA, then I'm sorry,
Someone's G.P.S.
Has made a slip,
Or else he was drinking too much Campari!
{A-, A-, B+.}
Good morning!
Wow, I've spent more time on a Monday puz. This one was quick. No theme, no reveal, nothing not to like. Only misstep was TIED/IN OT. Thanx, Julia and Husker.
HAS A SHOT AT: Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale is once again offering free furniture. Buy a mattress set for $3,000+ and if the Astros win the World Series, it'll be free.
ENTREE: Didn't we learn recently that it's the "heart of the meal" only in English.
DUBAI: I've visited three of the emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. It was in Sharjah where I learned you can't buy underwear at the suk. Pan Am, bless 'em, had left my bag in Houston.
Oops...JuliaN. Thanx, otto-correct.
-T --- We open at 1000. I'll be there a little before 1000. That would probably be good, and we might beat the rain. I'll be the one in the light blue polo shirt.
If you cannot make it that early, just come when you can. If you can't make it, that's OK too. We can do it some other time.
FIR, but never heard of sigil.
DNF, losing P&P and looking up "spode."
Didn't know about MOON CAKE, but in Eastern Kentucky an RC Cola and a MOON Pie was our soul food.
I knew HATHA yoga from working at the PBS affiliate at Marshall U. Weeknights, just before signoff, we played an episode of Lilias, Yoga and You. One result was my crush on Lilias Folan, although she's about 15 years older than I am.
When I see "modern lingo" in the clue, I know I will have no clue.
Chunky puzzle today, with CHUNK as clue and fill.
Hope -T has a great time at the aviation museum, and that he has fun trying to fix the microwave before getting a new one. Sounds like a bad power supply to me, maybe caused by a shorted magnetron.
ONE D(imension) was a puzzler. Got it late after solving.
Holy cow! was the Scooter
LHF of the day was MARIS. How obvious was this? 50%?
Owen #1 is A++. Fabulous
Yep, I wanted MOON pie(s) but rechecked and clue not plural
Re. -T 's taser. It could literally be bugs. Maybe a new one eg. An upgrade to multipurpose
It wasn't easy for first half hour but then the squares started falling. Ended in NE when PIGLATIN popped and tie/LAC
WC
For a Julian Lim puzzle this was faster and then slower than usual.
For 21A I went from PLATA (which I remembered later meant silver) to PLANO (like the city in TX- don't we just add an "o" or an "a" to our words to make them Spanish - bzzzzt!) and finally LLANO.
My last fill was the SW - never heard of HATERADE - so started out with HATE RAGE. Also had NO TEES before TIPS because I can never remember if Aoki's first name is ISAO or ESAO.
In the SE I had to change PARING to CORING when the perps started filling in. I love to watch musicals - but I have never seen MISS SAIGON - just clips from it. I love Lea Salonga in Les Miserables and her voice in Aladdin and Mulan.
Thanks HG for the fun blog and Julian for the puzzle and stopping in - I did notice the unusual layout!
Good Morning:
I really enjoyed this solve, from the visually fresh grid to the sparkling fill to the possibly record-breaking only three, three letter words! Most of all, though, I enjoyed the globe trotting adventures to Dubai, Africa, India, Agra, China, Saudi, Saigon, and the pleasures thereof, Moon Cakes, Llanos, Scarabs, Pagodas, Tias, Hatha, and some Latin for good measure. The few unknowns were easily sussed: Haterade, Sigil, Lebon, and Lana. CSO to Moe at Port. I finished in 24:04, not as fast as DO, but a below average Saturday time for me.
Thanks, Julian, for a most enjoyable solve and thanks, HG, for the always entertaining and informative review. Lincoln, NE was highlighted on the news last night for being the first stop on a tour of the American Ballet Theater company performing in outdoor venues. I believe they’re visiting 13 cities and finally landing back home in New York City.
Owen, A+ on all three.
Have a great day.
Like Inanehiker, the first 75% went smoothly, and then, well, then came the last 25%.
Finished in 12:41. Good puzzle and good Saturday level puzzle.
Didn't know: sigil, Spode/China set, Jedda, or Yamuna, but the crosses all were fair.
I've found plain to be an accurate description of plains.
Yikes! My streak exploded with a FIW today. I waffled on NO hAtS/NO TIPS/NO caPS. Had doubts but left it wrong, being unsure about ISAO and what restaurants always have available for dessert (ice cream didn't fit). However, I also didn't notice I put I GOT To so it was FIW in any case. Didn't think to check the perp and the need for the casual I GOTTA! I GOTTA do better....
But I am proud of finally getting the PUMA corner section where the most WOs are plus the ROUGH/THAT'S THAT crossing after remembering MARIS. We have had lots of filming in our area so THAT'S A wrAp first came to mind, but didn't fit. So that's a wrap for me now. Hope you all HAve A SHOT AT a fun holiday weekend!
It took a while to suss out ONE D, but it eventually fell into place. Visually stimulating Xword. Enjoy your 4th!
Good morning everyone.
Many vague clues as is Julian's wont, but most of the fill is common and known to LAT solvers. So it wasn't too hard for a Saturday. Grid layout turned it into 7 mini puzzles with a few weak connections by lengthier fills. Only had to wite out 2 cells; I had Pol before PCT. One of my neater Saturday puzzles. FIR.
Mini baseball motif with BALL PARKS, MARIS, and AT BATS.
I've worn New Balance for many years. Order them direct from the Tampa store. Since the model names keep changing, I talk to an advisor there to make sure the last is the same.
Thanks Husker for another fine re-cap and sharing the note from Julian. Very interesting.
Just got a nuisance call from someone with a foreign accent, ostensibly named 'Victor'. I asked him if his mother knew he was playing with phones. He cursed. I told him he needed to work on his phone manners. And THAT'S THAT.
I finished this puzzle NW to SE today. Six unknowns filled by perps, three I'd never heard before- HATERADE, SIGIL, & HATHA. MISS SAIGON was a WAG after MISS was in place. MOONCAKE was an unknown that has been in earlier puzzles. LANA Condor filled by perps.
The NE too the longest to sort out. NIKE or AVIA or PUMA? UNTIEING or UNLACING and the unknown MOONCAKE.
The clues for PIG LATIN and THRICE were great and when somebody solves Saturday level puzzles they get USED TO IT. As for finishing it correctly, everybody HAS A SHOT AT it. Julian received a CHUNK OF CHANGE from the LA Times for his work, and since he has a steady job at Duke he said NO TIPS were necessary.
PORT, UTNE, & NITE were WAGS.
THAT'S THAT (We're done here)
Hi Y'all! Thank you for an enjoyable puzzle, Julian. As one of the solvers whose life experiences have not prepared me for the brilliance of your puzzles, I do indeed dread to start on one of yours. However, I wade in with hope every time rather than throwing it aside. Lots in this one that I didn't know, but there was enough amusement to keep me going. Took me 40:35 minutes, but that's much less than over an hour like usual.
Doughnuts before MOONCAKES. I know C.C. has mentioned these.
Didn't know PIGLATIN is accepted as an actual language.
PeelING before CORING my apples.
Gary, thank you for your good work in bringing in the constructors to the comments.
Wow ! What a puzzle. Esoteric clues, filled with an insider's slang and argot, with inexplicable answers.
Even HG's blog reading required a lot of head scratching.
And the geometry, of the setup. was the devil's pinwheel, which, horrors, gave us absolutely no hint as to the next section.
These, the life's serious challenges, is what separates the Men from the Boys.
Girls and Sissies need not apply.
Created by a para psychologist who devises devious mind games for a living, in far off Singapore.
If you havent spent your life stuck to baseball Tv with one finger in the Merriam Webster, you wouldn't stand a chance.
As for the regular die hards who finished anything, anywhere, this is their chance to crow to the morn, and run on as to how easy it was, and cackle, ad nauseam, on how their occasional, but predictable, bolts of brilliance allowed them to plow through the under currents of despair, to eventual glory be.
The rest of us, retirees, stuck in eras, long forgotten, can slink under the biggest stone nearby, and suck and sulk, praying for a Monday, that will, hopefully, arrive not later than 72 hours from now.
Thank you Julian. I loved this puzzle because it was a Saturday FIR for me, but more so because it was good, AGAIN and AGAIN, THRICE even. And thanks Gary for another out of BALL PARK review!
21A It's rumored that it RAINs there in SPAIN. MAINLY.
22A When someone scores a high PCT on Rotten Tomatoes, does that mean they're really, really BAD. Oh wait, that's MODERN LINGO for really, really GOOD.
27A That's easy for you to say Gary, but all I have is CWD Spanglish, to which I just added "NOMBRE = NAME, NOT NUMBER".
28A GROUP THINK could bring this country down if we're not careful.
39A Got this mainly on perps. As THRICE means 3 times, I didn't quite grok how it was the answer to AGAIN and AGAIN, but then saw that the 1st AGAIN is actually the second time.
44A Clever clue. Before being ONED, were there TWO?
55A Bet your feet were cleaner than ever, before you set foot in that salon door, exceptin' maybe when the priest was gonna' wash your feet at the Holy Thursday service. Or was THAT the reason you went to the salon in the first place?
57A Great article on UTNE. He must have lived up the road a piece from C.C. and Greg. So his name has been in the NYT CWD > 50 times. A CSO to our CWD statistician Lemony for the LAT count?
10D My breakthrough was PIG LATIN, but I think I speak a slightly different dialect than you do Gary.
34D I've actually visited the Spode China factory in Stoke-on-Trent. And we've got that set, with wine glasses to match.
Cheers,
Bill
Made it through somehow so like Peter Pan (cross-dressing Mary Martin) sang "IGOTTA Crow!" 🎵
AGRA easy common answered but clued in a difficult (typically Saturday) way. I forget Aoki's first name every time!! HATERADE? huh?..Inkovers: avia/PUMA, tough/ROUGH, rail/ROIL, paring/CORING (like InaneH)
Guinea's home..HEYYYYY!! (who just said it's north of AFRICA, I heard that)😡
So if again means it's already been done twice, another again would be three times, THRICE...Times up, great clue....Eric who? 😳 (I guessed at the "N" in UTNE) ..I wanted a radar anomaly "blip" which could be a UFO from yesterday's cult 👽
Saw "MISS SAIGON" about 20 yrs ago, helicopter gimmick and all....meh ...plus the racism and misogyny. One Asian scholar added "The fact that the Vietnam war impoverished many Vietnamese people, and forced many women to turn to prostitution in order to survive is not mentioned"
THAT'STHAT was a WAG with just perps. Misread poll as pol and put "sen". So it's ONEDimensional (1 D like 3 D, I guess).
I'll go out on a Lim and suggest the following is the result of a neuroscientific behavioral disorder 😳.
Restaurant policy: full steaks only, _____ NO TIPS.
Marine mammal belly muscle.....SEALAB
Removing a crocheted hem......UNLACING
Trivial....PEDI
Incorporate cabin discomfort...ADCAMPAIGN
Don't foment trouble with the Queen, she's ____ ROIL.
Could someone give Puzzled in Preoria (girls and sissies) a dose of Haldol.😬
Hope the weekend weather is nice somewhere...it definitely ain't here.⛈🌩
As was intended by Julian, the grid was striking. We FIR but did not find it easy going. The initial toehold was in the NW and that came only after toying with KEDS, NIKE, VANS and AVIA before settling on PUMA/PIG LATIN. SIGIL was unknown but figured that it "had to" be correct when all the perps were filled. THRICE opened up the SE and the clue for that was great.
Thanks, HG for the wonderful recap. The graphics and commentary were both spot on,
Musings
-Welcome, “Puzzled from Peoria”, I actually enjoyed your rambling discourse. This is a welcoming place and it is sad that in the universe of all knowledge that you feel only what you currently know is fair game.
-BTW, we’d love to have you stay, contribute and continue to grow with the rest of us!
-Spitz, I got a phone shill who used a very western name in a very heavy East Indian accent. I answered with something rude referencing his obvious lie and did not wait for a response but then wondered if I could be accused of racism. How civil am I required to be to an unsolicited, unwelcome phone call?
Puzzled in Pretoria: well said.
Husker, you could just say, "Wow, I'm so happy for you. Have a nice day. [Click]. You can always change things up with that second sentence. A) May you rot in hell. B) Does your mother know you're such an a$$h_le? C) Have you ever heard of the g____amn don't-call list?
Whether from Pretoria, Preoria or Peoria
"Created by a para psychologist who devises devious mind games for a living, in far off Singapore."....
I guess "personal attacks" are scratched off the No No list.
Making a statement that "Girls and sissies" are unable to do difficult puzzles must be OK now too.
I didn't get the memo
Fun puzzle that went fast because, and this is extremely rare for a Saturday, my first thoughts proved accurate generally. And the fun Husker write-up makes for double pleasantry.
Husker: a couple of memes for unsolicited phone calls:
1 Welcome, and you're on the air!
2. It's done, but there is blood everywhere!
Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe.
JB2
Great comments today, starting with Irish Miss, followed by a twist from Puzzled in Pretoria, and definitely well stated comments from Husker Gary.
Late to the puzzle today - slept in.
I almost gave up on the NE and SW until I got PIG LATIN. My favorite clue!
But in the recap, I thought you only moved the first letter so thusly->
It'syay ayay eatgray ayday orfay olgfay. -> It'syay ayay reatgay ayday orfay olfgay.
THRICE was a great one also.
JB2, and there's the ever-popular, "Hello, is Frank there?"
I get many many unsolicited telephone calls ostensibly from home repair/construction solicitors. I always respond with "Great. Are you're a licensed contractor"? The rely is always in the affirmative. I then say "What, please is your CSLB number?" The rest is silence.
For those who do not know: CSLB = Contractors State License Board
For Ray-O-Sunshine at 11:50 am
For a brilliant word wizard like you, ( not sarcastically meant ) you should be able to distinguish between hateful intentions and merely jovial sarcasm. Para psych and girls and sissies are generic terms for humor. You, of all people, should be able to read between the lines, and not take everything so literally. If there were any "girls and sissies", they sure wouldn't be reading this blog in the first place, especially on a Saturday.
So, lighten up, and be an Mac Apple. ( Not so pc, get it ?). Peace.
Hola!
Oh, so late to the party! But it's not even noon here. I have to say I struggled with this one. Julian had me in a stranglehold with MISS SAIGON which I finally LIU. I hate to do that!
But I AWAIT the day I can finish one of his puzzles without my grid looking like rifle range practice. All the top filled okay and quickly. PUMA fell right after PIG LATIN and the rest like a waterfall.
SUMMA cum laude held me back for too long but once changed to MAGNA it all came together. CHINA SET easily filled, too, as I am familiar with Spode. Some of my Christmas dishes are Spode.
I don't do HATHA yoga because it is hot. I prefer asana.
SIGIL stumped me. If I've heard of it, it's been long forgotten. ROUGH helped with that.
Thank you, Julian, for reminding me that I still have so much to learn especially from the younger generation.
And many thanks to you, Gary, for keeping us in the loop with Julian and for your treasured narrative.
Owen: you are in great form!
Happy Independence weekend, everyone!
Loved the puzzle and am mesmerized by the grid. Thank you, Julian and Gary!
This Saturday stumper got solved, but it took 2 sessions, ran out of time with session one, came back to get the solve on the return.
But hardly an easy go.
Write-overs…NIKE/PUMA, SLAB/GLOB, OMG/OOH, TWOD/ONED, RILE/STIR, IGOTTTO/IGOTTA.
I like to be current in slang, that being said HATERADE was new to me. As was SIGIL.
Have a great July 4th weekend.
See you Monday.
Puzzled on Preoria just wants to rant. Some people can't stand it if others succeed. The only complaint I ever have is when some constructors put in too many proper names or foreign words. As for baseball I haven't seen a pro game on TV in 30 years. But I do like his comment that sissies need not apply. Our press seems to think they are what normal people should be.
How civil? ZERO.
poohmark, CanadianEh, AnonT, LEO III, Irish Miss Thank you for the additional good wishes ahead of my surgery. It must have gone OK because I did not hear anything from the surgeon afterwards. It will take awhile to get back to my usual things. No swimming or biking for at least a few weeks. I haven't eaten much or slept much yet. When my guts start up again I hope that helps.
FIW today with HATE RIDE instead of HATERADE. Seemed just as good as did ISIO vs ISAO. Learning moments. Learning moment that India is smaller than Brazil and five other countries. It always looked so big on a map. But it will soon be the most populated country. Surprised that some found this as fast as a Monday. Wanted EPICURE but too few letters. Quite a challenge for me, but the drugs probably don't help. Mostly enjoyable and fair despite the FIW.
I can ride a six foot unicycle with no fear, but STILTs scare me. I recently paired up with another Robert who was on STILTs to lead off our Virtual version of Summer Solstice. It was stitched together with an hour of performances and shown at the largest theater in Santa Barbara last Saturday.
Here is the full film and at 20 seconds in you can see me on my unicycle and the other Robert on his STILTs dressed as President Lincoln.
You have to look fast because they only gave us about three seconds! I also appear briefly near the end of the film in a segment that was filmed about a month earlier. No unicycle riding for me for quite a while to come now!
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Julian and HuskerG.
This “regular diehard” does not want to “crow”, but I thought this filled more quickly than a usual Saturday for me; I won’t “cackle”, because I FIWed at my personal Natick cross of LABAN and ACELA. I can never remember that Amtrak train and I guessed an E instead of the A.
Perps were needed for HATERADE. Hand up for Avia before PUMA.
I had to come here to parse ONED correctly. We had Oner yesterday. Is that another dimension?
Spitzboov beat me to commenting on the mini- baseball theme. Jinx beat me to noting CHUNK in an answer and a clue. My chunk at 19A started as a Slab; somehow I don’t think of GLOB as a chunk (rather something more circular and viscous).
I also noted the AD CAMPAIGN and BAD PR.
We could visit a CAFE (do they have ENTREEs?) and have a TART or MOONCAKE (on a CHINA SET?). We might need a PRONG. But NO TIPS?!
I knew Spode and have been to Stoke-on-Trent too (and AFRICA, but not the other locations on Irish Miss’s list).
My Dad loved to rhyme off the PIG LATIN verse “ arber-bay arber- bay ave-shay ig-pay” etc. (Spellcheck hates this!). No BAA BAA in this one.
Wishing you all a great day (and Independence Day tomorrow if I don’t have time to get here).
Once again I am stumped by a Julian Lim puzzle. Lots of typical "cutesy poo" cluing, done, it seems, solely to make otherwise standard answers impossible to suss. Yeah yeah, "Times up" is cute as a play on "Time's up" and "Decompression chambers?" is cute, but only in hindsight. And clues like "Point of eating?" and clues that include caveats like "in a way" and "at times" and "Like some..." are just, to me, unguessable. Might as well write a clue "Some sort of something, sometimes, maybe."
So, in spite of some nifty fill such as AD CAMPAIGN, GROUPTHINK, and CHUNK OF CHANGE, this puzzle was not my cup of tea. By the way, the word "Chunk" was also used as the clue for GLOB (which I first entered as CLOD.)
I have a big nit to pick at ONE D being a technically correct answer for "Linear." A linear equation is two-dimensional, the archetype being ax + by = c, in which x and y are the two dimensions. One the other side of the coin, a line, which could be described as one-dimensional, can very well be squiggly or even a circle, not straight i.e. linear.
Names I did not know include New Balance and PUMA, Duran Duran lead singer Simon LEBON, actress LANA Condor, and magazine founder Eric UTNE (as clued). I am also totally ignorant of the "modern lingo" term HATERADE. By the way, is it said like "hate rade" or like "hater ade" (rhymes with Gatorade)? If the former, what the heck does RADE mean?
I hope this helps to explain to y'all why I did not particularly like this puzzle.
Here's wishing you all a celebratory weekend. And I hope we don't have any more fires caused by careless and/or illegal use of fireworks.
Okay, I just read Gary's terrific explanation and now know that HATERADE rhymes with Gatorade.
C.C. has mentioned, and shown pictures of, moon cakes several times.
Ta ~ DAH!
Fun to have a tough but do-able PZL on Saturday. Thank you, Mr. Lim!
PIG LATIN was always fun to try as a kid, but I could never do it fast enough. Couldn't think and speak at the same time.
The one that really amazed me was the jargon my parents could do--"Double Dutch"!
Anybody else come across that one?
It's where you insert "op" before each vowel. Actually, just before each vowel phoneme.
My name Keith would become "Kop-eeth." Sounds very staccato--and funny--when done right.
Oh, as for "Puzzled in Peoria," sorry this seemed so ROUGH for you. This truly wasn't that hard a challenge. I honestly don't mean to gloat, just to give you a relative reading, comparing this to other Weeknd PZLs.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, near side.
In the old days in Hollywood, the Keystone Kops were a favorite farcical mob, a satirical vision of clumsy police falling all over one another as they pursued folk by auto and on foot. The actors often damaged themselves doing pratfalls and getting hit in the face with pies and various other items, causing "Bam," "Splat," and "Pow" injuries.
Throughout the Los Angeles area, the studio kept a number of rooms and flats where wounded actors could be swiftly removed for rest, recuperation, and recovery.
Today's anagram (14 of 15 letters) memorializes these units as the...
"SPLAT APARTMENT[s]"!
I'll second that, Jayce.
"Might as well write a clue "Some sort of something, sometimes, maybe."
My other gripe is concerning exclamations, which could be anything from Ack! to Zounds!
"Some sort of something, sometimes, maybe."
That's a great idea for a clue! Now, we just need to come up with a reasonable answer with which to pair it. Perhaps, "Huh?" or "Say What?" or "Mkay"
Picard,it's wonderful to hear that all appears to have gone well.
Jayce, your comments reflect mine perfectly though much better iterated. Thank you.
Picard:
Poohmark was my comment while I was using Mark's computer. I love the parade and especially the dancers! I repeat what I've said many times: residents of Santa Barbara have more fun than anyone else I know of. You also celebrate the most unusual occasions.
Puzzling thoughts:
A pretty pristine Saturday puzzle, despite FIW with one wrong word in a phrase, and in one of the 3 three-letter’s: HAS A SPOT AT/ OOP
I had one W/O: NO KIDS/NO TIPS
Two unknowns that were filled by perps: LEBON & SIGIL
Picard, I at first misread your comment and saw the word “nuts” instead of “guts”. 🤡 And having had the same type of hernia, well, despite the minimal procedure (robotics), there’s still drainage afterward … and it goes … well, maybe Ray-O can chuckle!
I’m much earlier to the blog today than yesterday. Not sure I ever posted that late before …
Happy Birthday USA 🇺🇸
Although I often believe I understand why clues are often mitigated, as Jayce says with, "caveats like "in a way" and "at times" and "Like some...", his remark that "Might as well write a clue "Some sort of something, sometimes, maybe" is the quip of the year (so far) for me.
Unravelling the Puzzle@1:33 PM For a brilliant word wizard like you, you should be able to distinguish between hateful intentions and Ray-O's merely jovial sarcasm.
(BTW, I enjoyed Puzzled in Preoria's comments also, and the "devil's pinwheel" grid design!)
When every other clue seems to be Trying sooo hard to be tricky,it gets old quick. Over-reliance on trivia, esoterica, foreign words, abbreviations,slang etc. can really turn the puzzle into a complete slog-fest.
I actually thought of HATE (ti)RADE . No ACCTing for modern slang
Picard, fascinating. SB sure know how to have fun. Glad you're recuperating. I had inguinal hernia surgery in 78. They suggested no alcohol for awhile. Haven't touched it since.
As Peoria alludes, we take for granted a fairly unique ability to solve an LATIMEs Saturday. Julian did give us a break with a lot of perps to help us grok some of the clever clues.
WC
Right on, Jayce.
You gotta remember who constructors consider first, I guess. They have to make it smart, intriguing, and unique enough to interest Rich into publishing their puzzle. Wonder if Rich does the puzzle himself firstly or just reads through it with the answers already filled in to make a decision. DO constructors submit their puzzles with the grid already filled, ye who have constructed?
I collaborated with C.C. several years ago to construct a puzzle and I can say from experience that the grid is laid out and filled first and only then are clues created (dreamed up). That is exactly the reverse of the solving process. Thus it’s a different story to have an answer already in place then sit back and think what a cool clue you came up with and to see a clue and try to suss what an answer to it might possibly be.
Hi All!
Close but no cigar. I had (and in good time, too!) everything TART and above & everything to the right of THAT IS ALL (which IS wrong) but had to cheat by looking up ISAO and MISS SAIGON (Hi Lucina!) to finish.
Thanks Julian for a Saturday Stumper (I got more than I normally do on a Saturday so There's THAT) and your note to Gary.
.
Wonderful expo, HG. Thanks for Gene, Ace, Peter, & Chris' tune re: NITE #KissArmy
I also enjoyed the link to UTNE's story.
WOs: THAT is all | Nepal (only Asian country I could think of ending in L), eraT (math Proof) -> STET
ESPs: LLANO, LANA, HATHA, SIGIL, HATERADE (wanted Rage too, inanehiker)
Fav: Love double-meaning of Kids' for BAABAA.
{A, B+, A (China's Belt and Road my lead to a PAGODA in AFRICA :-))
OMK, the back story is worth the anagram :-)
My (CEO) Bro was such a big Duran Duran [Rio - 5:04] fan, he'd try make his hair like Simon LEBON's.
Jayce said, "[clue:] Some sort of something, sometimes, maybe," LOL! Like TTP said, quip o' the year. And, (@8:35 Jayce) that's what good editors are for - telling you "it's too cute by half." I consider Rich having a pretty good pulse on what will PO solvers (totally unfair) and what will make them just groan or smile.
Re unsolicited callers:
LOL JB2! I gotta use the "blood" one followed by "Send the cleaners, Frank. My part's done."
I like to go Airplane on them; "You ever seen a grown man naked?" "Do you like gladiator movies?" In certain cultures these calls come from, questioning someone's manhood really makes them mad. :-)
Speaking of Airplanes...
LeoIII and I met at 1940 ATM. Leo took BIL and I around the museum -- even behind "No Visitors Allowed" signage! and through the archiving room! It was loads of fun and Leo is a real swell guy IRL.
Thanks for the fun day LeoIII!
Cheers, -T
Love the Airplane references. There's orange juice in the fridge, you can let yourself out.
Even though I DNF, I was not discouraged. I either know or do not know. Don"t use nits as an excuse. Sometimes, even with some perps, it's not enough. I look forward every day to doing the puzzle. I usually FIR but on some Fri., Sat.,and Sundays that'a not always the case. I think once or twice I used the "Thumper". Anyho, enjoyed todays discourse very much and agreed with most it. When some air their greivences, so be it. I hope it's mostly in fun, and that's how it should be,IMHO. Now, I'll see myself out. TC
God sends an Angel to Earth to check on his experiment...
Angel returns and reports, "Lord, only 5% down there is Good and Wholesome."
God can't believe his ears, so sends a second Angel to confirm the data.
She returns and reports, "Only about 5% of Humans are Good and Wholesome, Lord."
God sighs. Now he wants to assure those 5% to stay on the straight and narrow for the Glory of Heaven awaits.
He sends the 5% a letter via the post.
.
Do you know what the letter said?
.
.
.
No? So, you didn't get one either. :-)
//Stolen From CarTalk
Cheers, -T
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