Title: No "IT" girl here!
Karen makes a speedy return for her second 2022 LAT puzzle, not long after her February 25, 2022, debut here. In her initial offering she added an "H" to phrases and clued them with wit and charm. Now we have a classic Friday grid that removes the two letter word "IT" from phrases and then clues the resulting new fill. She has a reveal, and uses a symmetrical 10/12/12/10 pattern. The majority of the fill is 4 or letters, leaving me no long fill to highlight. Since the difficulty in the puzzle does not come from long fill lets address the theme and then talk about why this a late week puzzle.
21A. Former spouse who never lets things get awkward?: GRACEFUL EXIT. (10). How nice if you can end a marriage and still get on, even if it is just for the sake of the children. Removing the "IT" in this case does not change much as the understanding ex must have also left nicely.
46A. Luring an academic to the dark side?: TURNING A PROF
And the reveal, for real
52A. Taylor Swift hit song about defying the haters, and an apt title for this puzzle: SHAKE IT OFF (10).
On to the rest.
19. Trellis growth: IVY. More plants. When I was teaching briefly in Gainesville I had a student named IVY CREAM. Were here parents progressive or mean?
20. "Freeze!": HALT. Hands up!
23. Serpentine fish: EEL. A CSO for C.C.
25. Streisand film based on a Singer story: YENTL. Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Nobel Prize winning author who wrote in Yiddish. The story was published in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).
32. Holy __: OIL. I don't think this combination has been used before. COW and SEE are much more likely.
33. Cleared for takeoff?: DEICED. The PROCESS.
34. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run Averages. Baseball ace pitchers.
38. Many Egyptians: ARABS. Did you know about 1% of the world's population is Egyptian?
40. Domino dot: PIP. "Pip" has been used not only to denote the dots on dominoes, but also the dots on dice, as well as the marks on playing cards and sometimes as a synonym for "dot" in morse code. Information.com.
41. Day of the Dead drink: ATOLE. A coffee and cornmeal combination part of the TRADITION.
42. Arizona locale for spring training fans: MESA. The city. Hi Lucina and Moe.
43. Suits: BEFITS.
45. Silent communication sys.: ASL. America Sign Language.
49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA. I no longer read science fiction nor graphic novels, so the author and the book are complete unknowns. LINK.
51. WSJ news topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering.
56. Cause of inflation?: PUMP. Oh, how fun, not a tired old saw, but and old tire needing air!
60. "Nailed it!": YES. Another CSO to C.C.
61. Miyazaki's genre: ANIME. A master.
62. Binge: SPREE. When you sit at your tv, do you think of it as a spree.
63. Snare: NET.
64. Four-time Australian Open winner: SELES. Monica. She appears often not only because of her tennis but also for being stabbed on court.
65. Piano part: PEDAL. I must stop looking at every 5 letter word as a possible WORDLE
66. Weep: CRY.
67. Utopias: EDENS. The name Eden is of Hebrew origin meaning "place of pleasure." It brings to mind this DISCUSSION.
68. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.? And, 29D. Mature: RIPEN a clecho.
Down:
1. "Hurt" singer: CASH. "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from its second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. Why did he record this in 2002?
2. Dance for a lei person: HULA. Ha ha!
3. TV competition, familiarly: IDOL. This year's superstar find quit mid-season after signing a lucrative deal.
4. Kitten caboodle: LITTER. One of the clue writers really has some home runs today. Kit and Kaboodle is a fun phrase.
5. Apple platform: iOS. No pesky capital is here.
35. Have a good laugh: ROAR. Yay!
36. Besides: ALSO.
37. Mirror image: SELF. Mirrors reflect backward images; is that how you see yourself.
39. Dyeing art: BATIK. Another clue with a pun to amuse.
41. PDQ: ASAP. As Soon As Possible. PDQ is an abbreviation of the phrase “pretty damned quick.”
43. Clocked: BRAINED. Apparently this is BRITISH to hit (someone), especially on the head. "someone clocked him for no good reason."
44. "What a long week" sigh: TGIF. An appropriate clue.
47. Trepidation: UNEASE.
48. Burst: POPPED. My balloon? Bubble?
49. Pull (for): CHEER.
50. Impulsive: HASTY.
52. Out of __: SYNC. I order mine from Amazon so I never run out.
53. Bananagrams piece: TILE. Bananagrams is an anagram puzzle built for speed — think of Scrabble with no board or complicated scoring. It was developed in Rhode Island.
54. Sign: OMEN.
55. Own (up): FESS.
57. Lahore tongue: URDU. This Pakistani CITY has a very long and complicated history. If you take some time to read the entire wiki article you will understand my comment. I hope our resident expert will stop by and give his input. I learned much I did not know from a Sikh gentleman who worked in a store I frequented.
58. Repast: MEAL. English is so rich from stealing from so many other languages. Re-past is just from the Latin word repascere, which means "to feed."
59. Hide: PELT. No, I am here with my skin still on.
62. Après-ski option: SPA. Also a choice one can make after, or during solving an LAT Friday crossword. It did not work for me as I kept falling asleep. I trust none of you wonderful people did as you anxiously solved this dynamic, distaff dish. The world continues to spin. Thank you Patti and Karen. Lemonade out.
Across:
1. Frito pie ingredient: CHILI. Does anyone make/eat this TexMex dish? Fritos® Pie. I wonder if puzzles will become like game shows where money is paid to promote products...
6. Percussion-based theater troupe: STOMP. They are quite famous.
6. Percussion-based theater troupe: STOMP. They are quite famous.
LINK.
11. Back in the day: AGO. It is not easy to make a three letter fill hard but this not jump into my mind.
14. TV signal part: AUDIO. Video fits as well.
15. SAT prep help, often: TUTOR. We return to education, I taught an LSAT prep course back in the day.
16. Like beach volleyball players: TAN. Another three letter fill that took thinking to fill.
17. Casino array: SLOTS.
18. See 6-Down: ANISE. 6D. With 18-Across, ingredient in five-spice powder: STAR. Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. wiki.
11. Back in the day: AGO. It is not easy to make a three letter fill hard but this not jump into my mind.
14. TV signal part: AUDIO. Video fits as well.
15. SAT prep help, often: TUTOR. We return to education, I taught an LSAT prep course back in the day.
16. Like beach volleyball players: TAN. Another three letter fill that took thinking to fill.
17. Casino array: SLOTS.
18. See 6-Down: ANISE. 6D. With 18-Across, ingredient in five-spice powder: STAR. Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. wiki.
19. Trellis growth: IVY. More plants. When I was teaching briefly in Gainesville I had a student named IVY CREAM. Were here parents progressive or mean?
20. "Freeze!": HALT. Hands up!
23. Serpentine fish: EEL. A CSO for C.C.
25. Streisand film based on a Singer story: YENTL. Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Nobel Prize winning author who wrote in Yiddish. The story was published in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).
32. Holy __: OIL. I don't think this combination has been used before. COW and SEE are much more likely.
33. Cleared for takeoff?: DEICED. The PROCESS.
34. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run Averages. Baseball ace pitchers.
38. Many Egyptians: ARABS. Did you know about 1% of the world's population is Egyptian?
40. Domino dot: PIP. "Pip" has been used not only to denote the dots on dominoes, but also the dots on dice, as well as the marks on playing cards and sometimes as a synonym for "dot" in morse code. Information.com.
41. Day of the Dead drink: ATOLE. A coffee and cornmeal combination part of the TRADITION.
42. Arizona locale for spring training fans: MESA. The city. Hi Lucina and Moe.
43. Suits: BEFITS.
45. Silent communication sys.: ASL. America Sign Language.
49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA. I no longer read science fiction nor graphic novels, so the author and the book are complete unknowns. LINK.
51. WSJ news topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering.
56. Cause of inflation?: PUMP. Oh, how fun, not a tired old saw, but and old tire needing air!
60. "Nailed it!": YES. Another CSO to C.C.
61. Miyazaki's genre: ANIME. A master.
62. Binge: SPREE. When you sit at your tv, do you think of it as a spree.
63. Snare: NET.
64. Four-time Australian Open winner: SELES. Monica. She appears often not only because of her tennis but also for being stabbed on court.
65. Piano part: PEDAL. I must stop looking at every 5 letter word as a possible WORDLE
66. Weep: CRY.
67. Utopias: EDENS. The name Eden is of Hebrew origin meaning "place of pleasure." It brings to mind this DISCUSSION.
68. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.? And, 29D. Mature: RIPEN a clecho.
Down:
1. "Hurt" singer: CASH. "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from its second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. Why did he record this in 2002?
2. Dance for a lei person: HULA. Ha ha!
3. TV competition, familiarly: IDOL. This year's superstar find quit mid-season after signing a lucrative deal.
4. Kitten caboodle: LITTER. One of the clue writers really has some home runs today. Kit and Kaboodle is a fun phrase.
5. Apple platform: iOS. No pesky capital is here.
7. Fish in salade niçoise: TUNA. A French delight, which probably does not delight most.
8. Ear-relevant?: OTIC. This is from the mid 17th century: from Greek ōtikos, from ous, ōt- ‘ear.’
9. Sauntered: MOSEYED. A popular word in the old westerns on TV but its origin is unknown.
10. Want more: PREFER.
11. Listing: ATILT. An "A" word; do not worry she is just getting started.
12. Chairperson's hammer: GAVEL.
8. Ear-relevant?: OTIC. This is from the mid 17th century: from Greek ōtikos, from ous, ōt- ‘ear.’
9. Sauntered: MOSEYED. A popular word in the old westerns on TV but its origin is unknown.
10. Want more: PREFER.
11. Listing: ATILT. An "A" word; do not worry she is just getting started.
12. Chairperson's hammer: GAVEL.
13. Black stone: ONYX. It is a variety of layered chalcedony that belongs to the quartz family. As indicated by the name, this semi-precious gemstone is characterized by its dramatic black body color. Angara.
21. Series set at McKinley High: GLEE. A jinxed series? Glee Stars That Have Died · Cory Monteith – Drug Overdose · Mark Salling – Suicide · Naya Rivera – Accidental Drowning?? · Nancy Motes – Suicide and Robin Trocke who died of alzheimers at age 63.
22. Not fulfilled: UNMET.
24. Winds down: ENDS. Meh, winds down is a process.
26. Rich soil: LOAM. And a famous song, Loam Loam on the range.
27. Word on some European postage stamps: EIRE. A touch of Irish trivia too late.
28. "That's a shame": ALAS. Alack. It applies to author...
30. Octavia Butler's genre: SCI-FI. I used to read lots of sci-fi but in the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s I never knew this AUTHOR.
31. "Fast Food My Way" chef Jacques: PEPIN. A French chef other than Julia Child. Below is a video from when he was younger, he is now 86.
21. Series set at McKinley High: GLEE. A jinxed series? Glee Stars That Have Died · Cory Monteith – Drug Overdose · Mark Salling – Suicide · Naya Rivera – Accidental Drowning?? · Nancy Motes – Suicide and Robin Trocke who died of alzheimers at age 63.
22. Not fulfilled: UNMET.
24. Winds down: ENDS. Meh, winds down is a process.
26. Rich soil: LOAM. And a famous song, Loam Loam on the range.
27. Word on some European postage stamps: EIRE. A touch of Irish trivia too late.
28. "That's a shame": ALAS. Alack. It applies to author...
30. Octavia Butler's genre: SCI-FI. I used to read lots of sci-fi but in the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s I never knew this AUTHOR.
31. "Fast Food My Way" chef Jacques: PEPIN. A French chef other than Julia Child. Below is a video from when he was younger, he is now 86.
35. Have a good laugh: ROAR. Yay!
36. Besides: ALSO.
37. Mirror image: SELF. Mirrors reflect backward images; is that how you see yourself.
39. Dyeing art: BATIK. Another clue with a pun to amuse.
41. PDQ: ASAP. As Soon As Possible. PDQ is an abbreviation of the phrase “pretty damned quick.”
43. Clocked: BRAINED. Apparently this is BRITISH to hit (someone), especially on the head. "someone clocked him for no good reason."
44. "What a long week" sigh: TGIF. An appropriate clue.
47. Trepidation: UNEASE.
48. Burst: POPPED. My balloon? Bubble?
49. Pull (for): CHEER.
50. Impulsive: HASTY.
52. Out of __: SYNC. I order mine from Amazon so I never run out.
53. Bananagrams piece: TILE. Bananagrams is an anagram puzzle built for speed — think of Scrabble with no board or complicated scoring. It was developed in Rhode Island.
54. Sign: OMEN.
55. Own (up): FESS.
57. Lahore tongue: URDU. This Pakistani CITY has a very long and complicated history. If you take some time to read the entire wiki article you will understand my comment. I hope our resident expert will stop by and give his input. I learned much I did not know from a Sikh gentleman who worked in a store I frequented.
58. Repast: MEAL. English is so rich from stealing from so many other languages. Re-past is just from the Latin word repascere, which means "to feed."
59. Hide: PELT. No, I am here with my skin still on.
62. Après-ski option: SPA. Also a choice one can make after, or during solving an LAT Friday crossword. It did not work for me as I kept falling asleep. I trust none of you wonderful people did as you anxiously solved this dynamic, distaff dish. The world continues to spin. Thank you Patti and Karen. Lemonade out.
Here's the grid:
59 comments:
FIRight, though I don't know how. The center and center-S had me stumped. But letter by letter I filled them.
I filled in the fist themer and had no idea what was going on. But combined with the second one I filled in, I sussed it. Yet even with that knowledge, and being a Star Wars fan, I still had a heck of a time getting that last themer!
The licorice flavor of ANISE
May send addicts to their knees.
At a movie
It could be groovy,
Especially while watching ANIME!
The B-baller could hit the NET
With GRACE so great that fans wept!
But going under the hoop
To knock it loose,
Scored no points, a need UNMET!
{C+, C+.}
Good morning!
D-o veered wrong coming out of the chute at 1d with YURO. Johnny Cash never occurred to me...until he showed up. I've got both versions on my music server. Noticed the CSO to Bill G with TUTOR, and to the AZ contingent with MESA. Not familiar with holy OIL. I'll bet it doesn't mix with holy water. Got 'er done, but it took almost 13 minutes. Figured out the theme early, and that helped me fill in the "reveal" with that unfamiliar song title. Thanx, Karen and Lemonade.
PDQ: Could be clued as "___ Bach" Per Wiki -- "P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer invented by the American musical satirist Peter Schickele, who developed a five-decade-long career performing the 'discovered' works of the 'only forgotten son' of the Bach family."
We have to finish our morning march through the 'hood early today. A plumber's coming over to install a new throne in the master bath. I thought of tackling it myself, and then I thought about the cramped closet space and the one-piece toilet's almost 100-pound weight. Talked myself out of doing it.
This puzzle struck me as being easier than the puzzles of the last couple of days. The only word that was a total WAG was "atole" and the perps made that clear. As you folks know, I don't keep track of my time, but this cw went pretty fast. FIR, so I'm happy.
FIR, but erased LEARNER curve for LEARNER SPERM, er, LEARNERS PERM, cow for OIL, ones for RBIS, and nab for NET. I agree with Sub - MUCH easier than yesterday.
I haven't heard of STOMP, but I engineered the "Bluegrass Woodstock" STOMPin '76 in Galax, VA for the PBS station where I worked. And I loved Riverdance at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta, which featured no dialog, only a lot of STOMPing.
I wonder if TV signals still have separate audio and video signals. When I was at the PBS station, we had separate aural and video transmitters feeding a single antenna, but I'll bet that digital broadcast TV only uses one composite stream.
I declared war on our IVY yesterday. I cleared about two square feet, so only about 500 square feet to go.
Johnny Cash's "HURT" is a very dark song about his drug addiction:
"What have I become
My sweetest friend?
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt"
Thanks to Karen for the fun, doable Friday challenge. And thanks to Lemony for another fine Friday tour.
FLN: -T, you should play "Louie Louie" for the tyro techie, then watch her mind blow when you tell her that it was banned on many radio stations and investigated by the FCC for obscene content.
Just LIU - Cash's version of HURT was a cover of NIN's song.
DNF. SW corner did me in. Never heard of China Mieville.
Jinx, I am puzzled by your comment. I guess you did not read my write-up which explained Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails wrote the song in 1994 and Cash recorded it in 2000. Humbling.
What does FIR mean in the comments?
I inked chips/SLOTS; CASH was all perps but not Johnny nor Lynda apparently. I was thinking of "I'm Hurt". I was in the wrong genre . Oops, Jinx just straightened me out, it was Johnny. It's similar to Brenda Lee's kind of song. And…
I should have followed lemony's link as it explained how a C&W guy would "Nail" a Reznor song.
"I PREFER not" said Bartleby the Scrivener
Remember who said "I can't wait to get up and see myself in the mirror because I get better looking every day "
WC
A Friday FIR (filled in right) super puzzle by Karen Laurie. Yay! Come back soon, Karen. OK, I admit I struggled in the SE and was tempted to give up before the eight words started filling in. SPREE led the way and PELT and MEAL soon followed. Whew!
Thanks, Lemonade, for your witticisms and clarification of my unknowns and questions: ATOLE and ERAS. Perps were solid in both cases so I FIR. Plenty of WOs like Nab/NET, eLSe/ALSO, and copts/ARABS. I too got the theme by the second one, which helped, OwenKL.
TGIF, everyone. Hope you have a fantastic day!
Not as difficult as yesterday. Didn't know China nor Anima or Pepin or Atole.
FIR, Finished it right.
I recognized Fess Parker's picture right away.
40 years ago I found an anise star in my food at a Chinese restaurant. It looked like a little wood carving of a star. The proprietor had to explain what it was.
I am often out of sync with puzzle writers. I didn't know I could order sync from Amazon - Thanks Lemonade!
I remember when movies/tv shows would take pains to conceal the brand names of everyday products that were used as props. Then "product placement" took over. Lemonade, you might be onto something but I, for one, hope it doesn't happen (says the guy who yesterday blogged a puzzle with six copyrighted game names and a "shipload" of other proper nouns).
Lemonade said:
8. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.?
(You want my opinion?)
Well, I can't post the racy stuff,
but science is a serious business!
TGIF and Onward!
Musings
-MESA, AZ really suffered when spring training was cancelled last year
-I PUMPED my sprinkler system full of air and then opened each station one at a time for the winter. Today I reverse the process
-A SLOT machine BINGE can relieve you of a lot of cash
-Simon’s blunt evaluations on American IDOL opened the gates for other shows with rude and frank criticisms.
-Last night I got a file that would not open on my MacBook’s OSX but did on my iPhone’s IOS
-An 18-yr-old boy just asked me what my favorite movie of all time is. Hmmm…
Wilber, that'd be Mac Davis It's Hard To Be Humble. More recently, Willie Nelson included it on his 2019 Ride Me Back Home album.
There is a whole glossary of acronyms commonly used at the Crossword Corner but I can't remember what the website is. Can someone familiar with this site clue in Unknown@8:44 about it?
Unknown@8:44 AM
and Subgenius@11:12 AM
Just below the Publish button is the site in blue "Comments Section Abbrs" which takes you directly to it.
(Sorry, I keep thinking of FIR as Filled instead of Finished It Right.)
Subgenius @ 11:12am: You can find the Acronym page at this site. There is also a link to it along with other sites of interest under the OLIO section on the L.A. Times Crossword Corner website.
Thanks for your help, ATLGranny and oc4beach. As the saying goes "if it had been a snake, it would have bit me." I hope Unknown logs in again sometime so he or she can become acquainted with these useful acronyms, as I myself did when I was new at the Crossword Corner. Now I can wield a FIR or P&P with the best of them!
Hola!
Not much tme as I am due at the dentist soon. Finished Karen Lurie's puzzle in good time. I don't know any Taylor Swift songs but SHAKE IT OFF filled with perp help.
It's been a very long time since I saw or heard ATOLE. It's something my mother would make if we had a sour or hurting stomach. It's basically flour and water with some cinnamon sprinkled in and heated to a simmer.
I hope you are all well today. I'll read you all later.
CHEERs!
Thanks Lemonade for the fun review. Atole, China Mieville, and brained were new to me. Enjoyed seeing pic of Fess Parker, aka Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett.
Years ago, The Ray Kroc Baseball Complex in Yuma, AZ, was the training home of the San Diego Padres, and the Yakult Sallows from Japan. Now, the teams spring training is at one of the 10 Cactus League stadiums around Phoenix, AZ.
We are having another windy day in AZ, please send a few prayers to those fighting the fires.
Lemony - I always read the narratives but don't click all the links. Without clicking, your comments implied that the question was why Trent recorded HURT. I would have never interpreted them as you explained @ 7:44 without the link.
HG - I think Chuck Barris' "Gong Show" paved the way for Simon's frank appraisals, G.S. just saved a lot of words. Also, I would have guessed Mohammad Ali for that comment, but I guess he actually said "look at me, ain't I pretty". My second guess would have been Joe Namath, whose 1969 book was titled "I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow ... 'Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day".
Friday toughie, but still enjoyable--many thanks, Karen. And always enjoy your commentary, Lemonade, thanks for that too.
That top northeast corner is always my blessing: IVY and GAVEL started the fill-in.
No problem remembering YENTL.
Southeast corner too filled in pretty easily, with MEAL, SPREE, SPA, and PEDAL taking care of it.
In the end, ADULTS don't CRY if they plan to end up in EDENS.
Owen, I would have given you at least B+ for your verses, maybe even A-.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
CED you never disappoint, lol
Gary, the Mario(and Luigi) movie is one of my favorites. That would score points with the youngster. Also.. Midnight Run is a favorite movie of mine.
D-O, I was thinking of Joe Namath as Jinx pointed out.
WC
Whew! I hope that is my last visit to the dentist for a long, long time. It wasn't too bad, just to replace the fake one which was a place holder and insert the real one.
I forgot to say that mentioning Bananagrams made me laugh. I have the game but it's high up in the closet and long forgotten. Time to take it out and refresh ourselves with it as it used to be a favorite pass time.
Hi All!
I must admit, I had some unintentional out-side help today...
I was listening to the radio on the way to the Dr.'s office and they were discussing the millipede named after Taylor Swift - the segment's outro music was SHAKE IT OFF.
//I only had the K and final F filled at that point
Thanks for the puzzle, Karen. Cute theme that helped with the fill.
Fun informative re-cap, Lem. Though, I'm still confused how "want more" == PREFER.
Re: Frito pie - a staple at HS football games in Texas & Louisiana but much simpler than the recipe you linked; Dump bag into a paper tray, cover with chili & top w/ cheese, and onion and hope your date still kisses you.
WOs: Jinx & I were on the same wavelength: one->ERA, Nab->NET
ESPs: CASH (as clued), CHINA, ATOLE, TILE (as clued - thanks for the link Lem, I've seen that game b/f)
Fav: I'll go w/ Jacques PEPIN. Pop & I would watch him on PBS before (after?) This Old House, The Woodwrights Shop and The Joy of Painting in the winter time.
{B+, C+}
HG - my all time favorite movie is Python's Life of Brian closely followed by Brook's Blazing Saddles. Then there's War Games and Dr. Strangelove :-)
So what did you say?
Jinx - you made me think of Murray Langston, aka The Unknown Comic.
CED - LOL re: the 7th orb from the sun. Folks tried to change the pronunciation prior it being probed.
Y'all have a wonderful Friday afternoon. After SCI FrI, I'm getting a nap.
Cheers, -T
Anon-T -- "prior it being probed" -- funny.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with a few more write-overs than usual
I'm having a hard time with clues lately. Maybe it's my getting used to how the new LA Times editor edits
*Spoiler Alert* Next Friday's puzzle won't be any easier; just letting you know
Jinx, I saw the same @ 26-across. Had I been blogging this I probably would have pointed that out. But Lemonade is far more mature than I 😀
Speaking of which, Jason, I too always look for "new" 5-letter words for my WORDLE choice. I think I'm going to try what follows LEARNER tomorrow, as it contains some very useful letters!!
Happy weekend, all ...
Thank you Karen for helping me SHAKE OFF the FIT I had with yesterday's puzzle. This time I didn't have to call in my Ace reliever Teri and I FIR all by myself. I found the theme to be helpful with the solve, which is a good thing.
And TGIF that we had Lemony here to explain it all.
Some favs:
6A STOMP. DNK this group. Now I do a little.
18A ANISE. Glue a STAR ANISE bud to a short dowel and you get a great tool for patterning clay surfaces.
41A ATOLE. DNK know this drink. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
67A EDENS. As clued I think they really are intended to be "places of pleasure", but you do have to watch out for the creepy crawlies.
7D TUNA. We first had Salade Niçoise for lunch at Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillway estate outside of D.C. and loved it. She really knew how to eat.
Cheers,
Bill
Word of the Day opiniastrous
Pronunciation: ê-pin-yæs-três
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Rigidly opinionated, tightly controlled by one's own opinions
Notes: It is quite possible that this word was never uttered since none of the few dictionaries that list it gives a pronunciation. The pronunciation above is, therefore, absolutely unique speculation. It comes with a remarkable family. An opiniaster is rigidly opinionated person and opiniastry has been suggested as an abstract noun.
In Play: Should you choose to use this word, it fits sentences like this: "The current impasse in US politics is ultimately brought on by opiniastrous blocks of voters." In other words, opiniasters who vote. Be careful whom you call opiniastrous: "Noam Knott believes the world is flat and is so opiniastrous that there is no point in trying to persuade him otherwise."
Word History: My immediate impression was that this word was a blend of opinion + disastrous. The spelling and the meaning(s) work for this origin. But this word was used only once in the history of English. It was used by John Milton in 1645 in a work ("divorce tract") called Colaterion.
For more info see Word of the Day
Bill's comment: A lot of this seems to be going around. Some people are actually dying from it. And there doesn't seem to be a vaccine, so be sure to mask yourself from it!
I am constantly amazed at my own ignorance. DNK PEPIN, STAR (as clued), SALADNIÇOISE, MAYAZAKI, ATOLE, or CHINA. No wonder it took me 39 minutes to FIR. D-O did it in 13! Wow! Thanx for this (for me) toughie, KL. And thanx too for the great write-up, Lemonade. Johnny Cash really looked old in that video, and puffy. TGIF, everyone! 🍺
A tough Friday PZL, do-able, but a slow slog for yrs trly.
Don't know why I didn't think of removing the "IT" to get the theme answers. I got the fills all right, but didn't understand the gag.
I only focused on the front of the words, so had to wait for Lemonade's excellent write-up to learn what I was missing.
Thank you, good sir!
~ OMK
_____________
DR: Two diagonals, one per side.
Both sides are overloaded with vowels.
The best anagram I can find (12 of 15 letters) is on the near side, with just the names of a couple of freshwater fish...
"TOGUE, CRAPPIE"....
Lemonade, the mature (ADULT) form of D.plexippus is commonly known as the Monarch butterfly.
Dash T, it's late and you're hungry. The hotel's room service is closed. You see a McDonald's, a Burger King and a Taco Bell just across the street. Which do you want more (PREFER) ?
Chairman Moe, I ALWAYS pick a 5 letter answer from the crossword puzzle to start WORDLE. Got it in 2 today with one of those words. I hope that next Friday's crossword is easier than today's.
I had something really unusual happen today with 7 Little Words. I've mentioned before that I scroll down to where I can't see the clues or lengths of the answers. Then I solve it by assembling words from the letter groupings. After the grid of letters is empty and the success message has appeared, I scroll back up to read the clues.
Look at this image capture from today. Weird. Really weird.
TTP - The penny dropped re: PREFER. Thank you.
For the record, how drunk am I returning to said hotel room sans food service?
Not so much (drunk) but incapable of rational thought? Why not Taco hell?
If my stomach needs some bread & fake cheese, Mc-y-D's.
Burger King is right out.
Or, I just save my tummy & money, say no to grease, down some H2O, and get some rest b/f I start a new day doing whatever it is that's on my tomorrow-list.
That was my life consulting :-)
Cheers, -T
Oh, and TTP / Wordle fans, I use'ta start with STAKE.
You have an A and ending E w/ an S & T. DW pointed out that STALE does the same but w/ the more oft used L over K.
Got today's [Wordle] in 3 -- Good on you, TTP, getting it in 2!
//I only have 6 2s out of 44 won [I'm only at 95% win; two stymied me (w/ 3of5 right!)]
#FOYER :-(
Cheers, -T
At the end of the day (is that on the overused and banned list) I continue to enjoy the comments here as much or more than many of the puzzles we discuss. You all are such a diverse and open group. TTP, the "coincidences" in fill in different venues on the same day is an ongoing mystery. As others have said there is no way the NYT staff commiserates with the LAT staff or the USA people or 7 little words, but...and we all know LJG taught us -There are no coincidences!
I am also at 6 2s in Wordle in 52 tries with so far (knock on Formica) no busts. Today was a real 2 possibility, but I got creative and had 3. PLATE is a great starter word and S seems to be a disfavored letter, especially as they never seem to end in S. My average is exactly 4.
I FIR but definitely missed IT when it came to the 'missing IT'. Thanks for explanation on ERAS because even after it was filled by perps; I couldn't grasp why. And being above the unknown ATOLE, I'm glad the perps were solid.
"49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA." is CHINA the first or last name? Both are unknowns.
CASH & 'Hurt" - I went to the Johnny CASH museum two years ago but the song? No clue.
PEPIN & "Fast Food My Way"- ditto
TILE & "Bananagrams piece"- ditto again
Holy OIL- another ditto. Who and which person could make oil sacred?
Cause of inflation PUMP because THE FED or CONGRESS was too many letters.
26A. Jinx & Chairman. The 'LEARNER SPERM' only gets one shot. The LERNER'S PERM can be applied on another head of hair. Remember Toni and Lilt perms?
Tony- you should see the line at the Taco Bell Drive-thru close to my house about midnight. Always at least 10 cars waiting.
With those comments I'll make my GRACEFUL EX-IT.
A crossword game of tag where the guy who is IT is nowhere to be found. 😯
Hadda leave the beach this AM for the 7 hr drive back north and was too tired after picking up the mess of downed tree limbs we found all over the lawn after Monday's storm...and...yes..also just plum too lazy to finish..😓
Anywhoo...
Saw STOMP off-Broadway years ago. 🦶🦶🦶
Ticketed after being "clocked" going 60 on 45mgh rd....or BRAINED someone by hitting 'em on the head with a "clock" ... MEAL, repast, (ital. pasto) 🥘
"want more", PREFER?.. ATOLE? It certainly took ATOLE on many of us...😅. (but I assume pronounced a-TOH-lé?🤔)
Inkovers: practical/GRACEFULEX, cow/OIL, hearts/BEFITS, else/ALSO
Not yet performed at Lincoln Center...UNMET
make "neat"...DEICE
Just what are you trying to____ and _____ ? ......PEDAL/SELES.
Moses said, Holy Cow!! Stop worshiping an ___....IDOL
Drug delivery system...IVY.
Expecting another iffy weekend weather wise...🌤☔🌧??
Wow, the clues in this puzzle are exceptionally imaginative. Much appreciated. I had a nice time working through this puzzle little by little and managed to eventually solve it all without having to look anything up. Didn't know CHINA Miéville at all; it took all 5 perps to fill her name. It took all 5 perps to get ATOLE, too. I say again: it seems to me that good puzzle construction enables a solver to fill unknowns via the perps and this puzzle fills the bill. And not too much reliance on just plain memorization of trivia.
Dash T, I didn't know being drunk was part of the equation. :>) So I shoulda used Denny's, IHOP and the Waffle House ? Consultant's life on the road, eh ? I thought it was all about short work days, great restaurants and big paydays.
Speaking of drinking, I just opened my first beer in over a week. Slept off and on during most of it. All the symptoms of a bad, bad cold.
I haven't lost in Wordle since # 232, and today was # 307. On # 232, I entered STILL, SHILL, SWILL and SPILL on the last 4 tries. The answer was SKILL. That was my second loss all-time.
AFAIC, the idea of using an ideal starter word is fun for conversation, but it really doesn't deliver, especially when you play in Hard Mode. I just pick a good 5 letter word from the current day's LA Times crossword answers. Must be a standalone; can't be a portion of a word, or part of a compound word. Never pick a word that ends in S. Avoid words that have a vowel or consonant more than once. Hey, it works. Sometimes there are very few 5 letter words to choose from. I chose scalp one day as the best bet, and got AMPLE in 3. My second word was maple.
IMO, getting Wordle in 1 is pure luck. In 2 is almost always a lucky or well-reasoned guess, unless you got 4 of 5 correct in the first guess. The skill comes in at getting them in 3 or 4.
It's been pouring rain all day. I'd previously rolled, fertilized, and put down Grubex. Then top-dressed and seeded the bare sports in the yard before I caught that cold that put me out of commission. Can't win the singularly competitive homeowners association for best lawn and gardens with bare patches in the lawn. Was concerned about that seed not being kept moist. All that seed has probably pooled to the low spots.
Lemonade, I don't understand how you got to cross-platform coincidences in different venues from anything I wrote. Not sure that I want to understand. You must have been thinking about something someone else said.
The point about my weird happening with 7 Little Words today is that you can't have an empty grid below and also have unanswered clues. That's impossible, yet as my image shows, it happened for me. Looking at the clue after the fact, the answer would be NIKOLA. Since I don't look at the clues before solving the answers, I review them later. That's when I noticed the oddity.
TTP, you exactly echoed my WORDLE understanding. It is fun to pick a new word each day, 1 or 2 is 99% luck, 3/4 are the skilled finishes and 5/6 and beyond are the ones like SKILL, SPILL, STILL, SHILL, SWILL which also require luck.
BTW, I do solve the Jumble daily and enjoy Owen's blog but wonder if it helps or hinders WORDLE solving? Thoughts?
On WORDLE, if I get into a situation like your SKILL, SPILL, STILL, SHILL, SWILL where I'm missing one letter and have at least a couple of attempts left, I've learned to write down all of the letters that could be my missing letter and then try a word that has all or most of the missing possible letters. That has saved me several times from getting a bust.
Brian,
My #2 entry was SmILe. 3 of 4 correct. Then:
#3: StILL (4 of 5 correct)
#4: ShILL
#5: SwILL
#6: SpILL
The answer was SKILL.
It wasn't that I didn't know of the 5 possible letters. It was that there were only 5 possible answers left, and only 4 chances. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, skill should have been entered before swill or or shill.
TGIFriday. Thanks for the fun, Karen and Lemonade.
I worked on this CW this morning, but had blanks in the SW corner and mid-East. Plus I did not see the theme, although I knew it was the missing ITs.
After a long break to do chores and shopping, I FIRed and found those missing ITs. YES.
Hand up for Nab before NET, cow before OIL.
My “want more” was Ask For (think of Oliver Twist’s “please sir, I want some more”), but PREFER perped.
Are beach volleyball players TAN or Tanned?
This Canadian did not know the British expression “clocked”. I was trying to time the race.
I am not familiar with a Frito pie. Did I hear here about a CHILI recipe using ANISE STAR?
I smiled at POPPED crossing PUMP.
Wishing you all a good evening.
Brian, I now understand what you meant. In Hard Mode, you MUST USE all correct and/or present letters. You can't just use a different set of letters.
Re WORDLE - AnonT- your DW is correct, that L is more frequently used than K, but R has an even higher frequency of use. I often start with STARE or STEAR.
ADIEU was suggested by somebody here to reveal vowels. For variety, I sometimes open with MOIST or BASTE.
I’m 98% on 85 attempts with 6 in two, 25 in three, and 28 in four.
But those rhyming ones can really spoil the record.
Brian suggested a a Wordle strategy I've used. On TTP 's example PHASE and WACKY on 4 and 5 would have saved it
BTW, I lucked out with a two. I use any word I see to start.
As I mentioned yesterday I prematurely solved Saturday thinking it was Friday. Not necessarily impossible hard but clueing is fun In a V8 way 1
This is back to becoming a Wordle blog. Why not take it off to the side like you did Jumble?
Musings2
-I told the boy that the funniest movie ever made was Airplane
-My favorite? To Kill A Mockingbird had so many wonderful elements! Among my favorites are ones that combine science and history with just enough poetic license to make them interesting - Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, Jurassic Park, Back To The Future 1, well you get the idea.
YR, with all due respect, decisions as to what is appropriate here is solely the domain of C.C. She requested Owen to create a Jumble blog; and, when and if she does so with Wordle it will be done. Many of us see a parallel in the puzzle, Wordle rather than the simple anagrams of a Jumble. Time will tell. We talk often of the NYT puzzle, the USA Today, Universal, etc. We talk of our lives. Maybe this blog is as diverse as the real world.
HG - Oh, I loved Back to the Future too. Airplane is funny but predictable one-liners (except for Jive talk - that's just fall our of you chair funny). To Kill a Mockingbird takes on racism but not as in-your-face as Blazing Saddles.
I knew one of the guys / engineers who helped get Apollo 13 (the guy with reams of print outs is based on him) home. He knew all the early astronauts and oft played golf with Buzz.
Jayce - YES! Perp-able unknowns provide learning. E.g. today I learned Lucina had to drink ATOLE flour & water (a liquid tortilla? :-))
BigE - Holy OIL is for anointing. I'm fairly certain it came from Jewish traditions* and certain Christian sects use it to get their kids to speak in tongues (Mom was into that back then).
C, Eh! Ooo, I'll try STARE. And of course she's right; DW ain't just a pretty face.
YR - sorry if it (Wordle) bores you. I bet if you try a couple, you'd get hooked too. Even my boss-man, who's not a word-nerd, loves it. And, hey, all I know about squaredancing, I've learned from you.
TTP - LOL short work days -- I didn't work for the Big Five (um, Four post Enron).
We were a boutique consultancy that strove to give clients real value for our time / expertise. >60 hour weeks to deliver the best we could. We were 1/2 the cost of the Bigs but still made bank.
Cheers, -T
*Lem? Hahtoolah? Some help here. I'm out of my element. [Big Lebowski]
BigE - here's something I found on Holy OIL if you're so inclined.
Cheers, -T
Anon-T @1:31pm re Frito Pies: 60 years ago, our local yokel Friday Night Football concession stand ladies would just split open a Frito’s bag sideways, slop in the chili and chopped onions (maybe cheese upon request), and there you go! We loved those thangs! Nothing better on a "chilly" night sitting in the bleachers. Skipped the waste of paper trays.
TxMS - there's no 'heart' emoji to reply to you...
Splitting the bag in two, cattywampus, [there's an ol' time-y word for ya!] is how DW does it.
She's North Louisiana "cool kids'" HS. #Cap'nShreve
//I was at C.E.Byrd
-Nite!, T
The JumbleHints blog is sort of low on participation, so I've offered it before as a place to discuss Wordle, and do so again. All those colored squares would brighten up our blog!
Back when I was a Mormon Elder, we used HOLY OIL for anointing the sick, combined with laying on of hands. Most of us carried a small metal vial of it as a neck chain or key fob. It was IIRC ordinary cooking oil which we had prayed a blessing over. That was 3 or 4 decades ago, so I wouldn't swear to the details.
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