Themeless Puzzle by Matthew Stock and Christina Iverson
This challenging puzzle was a collaboration with our new Florida 8th grade math teacher Matthew Stock and Patti's assistant puzzle editor from Ames, Iowa, Christina Iverson. Names and modern slang might have made this a "37. Tough going: SLOG" for some.
1. Sign of shock: GASP.
5. __ shop: MALT - Sandy, Danny and the crew at one
9. Pottery and printmaking: ARTS.
13. World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena: OCHOA.
15. Jelly that may be added to boba tea: ALOE - What does ALOE jelly taste like?
16. Device with threads: LOOM.
17. Skirt: SHIRK - Liza Doolittle's dad Alfie's philosophy in My Fair Lady
18. Dark days or long days: SOLSTICES - The day is the same length on the Winter and Summer SOLSTICES but the amount of daylight is the least around December 21 and the most around June 21 for those of us north of the equator.
20. Woman whose immortalized cell line was used in developing the polio vaccine: HENRIETTA LACKS - The amazing story of her HeLa cells
22. "I feel seen": IT ME - Recent slang for "It's me".
23. "RuPaul's Drag Race Live!" regular O'Hara: ASIA - Here ya go
24. Taxing time?: MID APRIL.
28. __ bar: TAPAS - Last Saturday we had 54. Patatas bravas, por ejemplo: TAPA - "Spicy Potatoes" in a TAPA bar
31. Big finish: BANG - You certainly know the classical musical piece that uses these for its big finish
32. Go for the win, in Clue: ACCUSE - Matthew and Christina at their desks with a computer
34. "__ Luna": Allende novel: EVA - A Chilean author
36. Inseparable: THICK - THICK as thieves
38. "Awkward Black Girl" creator: RAE.
39. Insolent: CHEEKY - Add to the list
40. French dip?: PLIE.
41. Traditional Islamic garment: BURQA.
45. Trick: DUPE.
47. __ noodle: POOL.
48. "That's what you're bragging about? You do you ... ": WEIRD FLEX BUT OK - Weird (or odd) flex but OK is a snarky, mocking internet slang response to when someone brags about something deemed unusual, bizarre, baffling, or questionable.
55. Japanese mushroom: ENOKI - In many crossword dishes
56. Smudge: BLOT.
57. Emily Oster's subj.: ECON - This professor of ECONOMICS also writes books on this topic
58. Court apparel: SKORT - A portmanteau of SKirt and shORTs
59. Bonus rooms: DENS - Sometimes a byproduct of "empty nest syndrome"
60. Disallow: DENY.
61. Shutter part: SLAT.
Down:
1. "Goodness me": GOSH.
2. Heating pad target: ACHE - I prefer ice on my back ACHE
3. One guarded on a soccer pitch: SHIN - They're usually worn as a pair
4. Fabled food that's bear-ly eaten?: PORRIDGE - Fun
5. Competition series that features Mystery Box and Pressure Test challenges: MASTER CHEF - You've got 45 minutes to make a dish out of what's in this box. Go!
7. "Mozart in the Jungle" star Kirke: LOLA - Based on a true story of an oboe player trying to get into the NY Philharmonic.
8. Electric company?: TESLA.
9. Keys on a piano: ALICIA.
10. "She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima" singers: ROCKAPELLA - Another portmanteau - ROCK and A CAPELLA
11. Low digits: TOES.
12. Texting inits.: SMS - We set up Joann's mother's 100th birthday via texting (Short Messaging Service). It makes for a lot less phone tag.
14. Breed from Honshu: AKITA.
19. Work with one's buds?: TASTE - Fun cluing
21. Mantis of "Guardians of the Galaxy," for one: EMPATH - More
24. Gambling mecca near Hong Kong: MACAU.
26. More aloof: ICIER.
27. Change of fortune?: LUCKY PENNY - Find a penny, pick it up...
29. Skirt: AVOID.
30. Mint family herb: SAGE - So is catnip
33. Stadium suite: SKYBOX - One from which you can watch the Dallas Cowboys
37. Goes underground: SPELUNKS - No Way!
39. Three-time Best Director of the 1930s: CAPRA - Frank also got three other nominations
42. Mollifies: QUIETS - HUMORS and QUELLS at _ U _ _ _ S? Nah.
44. Court apparel: ROBES.
46. Having clear boundaries: EDGED - Sidewalk/lawn grooming
48. Soyinka who was the first Literature Nobelist from sub-Saharan Africa: WOLE.
49. Head space?: FACE.
50. Sword-wielding animal on Sri Lanka's flag: LION - Your assignment: Find it in this group of 20 Asian flags (answer at bottom of write-up)
52. Cajun staple: OKRA.
53. Catwoman player: KITT - Here are the players
54. Oil in some pet treats, for short: CBD - Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active ingredient in cannabis that is derived from the hemp plant, but it does not cause a high and is not addictive.
I'm sure you saw the Sri Lankan flag is second from the left on the bottom row.
Nope.
ReplyDeleteThis one was tough but simply AWESOME. "WEIRD FLEX BUT OK" has to be one of my favorite crossword answers of all time. I didn't know HENRIETTA LACKS and filled in HENRIETTA via WAG with the crosses I had. Having PATE instead of PLIE (though that's a "spread", not a "dip" and the clue was more ingenious than I thought) tripped me up because I was very confident about TAPAS, SLOG and SAGE. Luckily I got past the potential 10D/20A Natick by WAGing the K in "ROCK".
ReplyDelete"Work with one's buds?" had me thinking gardening until the (quite satisfying) a-ha moment.
I forgot to follow my Saturday rule "read all the clues and consider the amount of 'stoopid stuff' before printing it". So about halfway through the across clues I remembered, and called a strategic retreat. DNF, but should have been DNS.
ReplyDeleteFLN:
-T, I should have known you would have done a power-off reset. Thanks for the bloody good video.
TTP, I had a '67 Mustang that looked nearly identical to the Bullitt Mustang. The '67s didn't have the side reflectors, and mine just had the 289 with the 2-BBL carb. But I did have the dark-center mags. I was stylin'.
On to Sunday.
Weird flex but ok is the most obscure answer I think I’ve ever had
ReplyDeleteIt took a long time to realize that burka is really burqa. Once.that was figured out, quieted came through. Proper nouns are getting more and more obscure.
ReplyDeleteProper English is getting more and more obscure!
DeleteTo call it a SLOG is an understatement. For my DNF I filled the NW, SE, TAPAS, ICIER, ARTS, LOOM, CAPRA, DENY ACNE, and MACAO (not MACAU). I even WAGged HENRIETTA but not her last name. Never heard of her or:
ReplyDeleteROCKAPELLA
WERDFLEXBUTOK
WOLE Soyinka
Ru Paul's regular ASIA
frybread
IT ME
Emily Oster
LOLA Kirke
Mantis or what that character does on a show I've never seen.
I've seen many women in SKORTS that could be called a little too CHEEKY and I'm not referring to the British definition.
I dare not ACCUSE Matthew and Christina's work but maybe an INNER DEMON might make it out with another unworkable puzzle from them. Just kidding as I know they are the devils who put this tough puzzle together.
You can't finish with a BANG if you don't finish. Not enough toeholds to even guess at most of the fills.
Maybe I have an unfair advantage. You see, I usually do the puzzle on my phone and when I don’t get the “turnover “ that means success, I keep going, even through “hell and high water “ until I get it. That said, it was another three hour “slog” just like last Saturday. Would it be “spot” or “blot”? And of course, I had no idea about “CBD” or “Wole.” But I was familiar with the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. That helped me get through this very challenging puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy, if exhausted.
ReplyDeleteJinx, back in 69 or 70, one of my friends had a Boss 409 Mustang. Sitting at a traffic light I could feel the engine shaking me. When he took off I could feel the front end wanting to lift up, even though he wasn't speeding. I'm sure he got about 6mpg @ $.30/gal.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteIt’s taking every ounce of restraint I possess to defer to Thumper this morning, but defer I will.
Thank you, HG, for your indomitable positivity and good humor.
Have a great day.
Jinx @ 7:39... Ditto. I counted 13.
ReplyDeleteMaybe when younger people are creating more puzzles, us older people will not be able to survive the ongoing language. “Idioms For Idiots” could be a bestseller!
ReplyDeleteThis was a challenging puzzle - harder then the usual Saturday for me.
ReplyDeletefor the court apparel clues I had put ROBES in the SKORT slot but had to erase but then it came in handy for the down answer.
I did have some help opening up sections - like SubG I have read "The immortal life of HENRIETTA LACKS" excellent book and if you are more of a movie watcher, the 2017 is on Hulu. I just get DVDs from our library if there is something I want to see. I had known about HeLa cells in medicine for a long time before her story came out.
Halle Berry was also a Catwoman in a movie.
Also 10D was a line from the kids TV program "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" which my kids loved and the studio band for that show was ROCKAPELLA. They learned a lot of geography while having fun watching that show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1EIUP8tvbE
the line is at the 1:00 mark
Thanks for the blog HG and for the puzzle Matthew & Christina
I had a 1968 Mustang for 2 years of high school (red body, black top) which I loved, but none of us took cars to college so it got handed down to the next kid when I went off.
Big E - At the same time frame my buddy had a non-fastback (notch back?) 390 that he equipped with headers, a bigger carb, a high lift, long duration cam, and an "unbreakable" Hurst shifter. One night his girlfriend broke up with him. He got drunk but didn't feel like going home, so he asked me to drive him around IN HIS CAR! We tooled around our little town for about an hour until he saw her parked at Jerry's drive-in (like a Shoney's or Bob's Big Boy, or Arnold's from Happy Days). He made me stop the car, but I talked him out of going over to her by agreeing to talk to her myself. I put the car in neutral, set the brake, and was telling Carla how upset he was, when I heard the engine rev WAY up. He was too drunk to get into the driver's seat (thank goodness), but had draped his left leg across the hump and floored the gas pedal. That magnificent engine ran for a couple of seconds, then blew up with horrible noises.
ReplyDeleteThe tow truck came, and I drove him home. IIRC, his aunt (his guardian) bought him another new car, but not one that was a likely candidate for souping up.
What is a “soccer pitch”? No hands allow ed.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzles have changed. Now the challenges are to see if we old-timers recall the new fill or if we get tired and quit. Good luck to us.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
DeleteProbably the highest percentage of obscure clues that I’ve encountered this year.
DeleteAnd yeah…I’m an Old Guy too!
ITME is not English.
ReplyDeleteWEIRDFLEXBUTOK is a word salad communicating nothing. FLEX is not generally understood as meaning "braggadocio." And what does "you do you..." mean?
CBD is not known as anything unless one works in a food lab. Same for FLYBREAD.
What HENRIETTALACKS lacks is name recognition.
"Change of fortune" for LUCKYPENNY should be "Fortunate pick-up" because bad luck had not necessarily been the case.
"A crow's twig" is not a tool though some crows are said to have used a tool.
There were a few good entries, but on the whole this offering is not up to par.
Anon @9:59, "pitch" is British English for "playing field". I use it when referring to field hockey, because I don't want to say "Field Hockey field"
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I agree with much of the criticism. Slang should be around for a couple of years to make sure it will stick, before being used in a xword.
Hi Y'all! GASP! SLOG! Patti's & Christina's INNER DEMONs are working overtime to bring us these monstrosity puzzles!
ReplyDeleteBless you, Husker!
I did know FRYBREAD from reading Southwestern Indian novels.
WEIRD FLEX BUT OK kinda describes publication of these puzzles that someone thinks we would like but are not really okay with us.
"Good luck to us all", indeed!
ReplyDeleteWhile perseverance and keeping an open mind are always good TOOLs for a solver, The IT ME and WEIRD FLEX clues/answers have me thinking, despite an ultimate FIR, that "on the whole this offering is not up to par."
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you, Matthew and Christina, and thank you, Husker Gary
I threw in the towel at 93 % completed. Could not work out the top center. Did a check grid, and two letters went red. The M in 18A and the first D in 43A: Saturday Aug 20, 2022
Hand Angus before AKITA. D'oh !
Ticked at myself for not getting MASTER CHEF.
For all I knew, the answer to Kirke could have been CAP'N.
Oh well.
Husker Gary, your tactful review softened the ache for me. I also use ice for my back rather than a heating pad.
PK, you have my vote for "Best Bon Mot if the Year" award for "WEIRD FLEX BUT OK kinda describes publication of these puzzles.."
Big Easy, I think you meant Boss 429.
Jinx, those 289s were still cool. Great pony car at a great price point. That story about your buddy is just sad. One of those ones you'll never forget.
One of my brothers had two Mustangs. He bought one of originals. He said it was a "64 and 1/2" He totaled it. Got a second, which would have been a '67. He was letting a friend drive on I-10 outside of Beaumont. Rolled it at high speed. Totaled it too. My brother was in the hospital for over a week. They both were very, very lucky.
When I was 16 or 17, I got a summer job as a pump jockey for gas and diesel at a service plaza on the turnpike. One day, all day long, there was a steady stream of Shelby Mustangs that were coming from an owner's convention in Cleveland. It was the best day of work on the turnpike I ever had.
I actually enjoyed (most of) this Saturday stumper.
ReplyDeleteI got all of the consonants, (with the exception of the Q in Burqa) but had to play the red letter Wack-A-Mole with a bunch of the vowels.
Especially enjoyed the Bullit car link last night, thanks TTP!
My daughter had a '87 Mustang which she loved and was still driving ten years later. A guy ran a red light and T-boned us in the front fender. I had a cracked sternum and dislocated upper ribs. Daughter was broken-hearted to lose her 'Stang which was the first car she owned.
ReplyDeleteTTP: Thanks.
First rule of communication is using language understood by those with whom you are conversing. That isn't happening with some of these puzzles.
In response to Anthony Gael Moral:
ReplyDelete"Change of fortune?" fits perfectly and I find it a brilliant clue... a penny is "change" after all.
Boomer, of interest to you: https://www.uwhealth.org/news/unexpected-ally-in-cancer-treatment
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCrossEyedDave, that was a very well written and interesting story on Bullitt, wasn't it ? Mecum sure knows how to build interest in the special cars they are about to sell. Day 2 live coverage of Mecum Monterey 2022 is just about to start on MotorTrend TV and on one of the Discovery channels.
You are welcome, PK. You are such a wit. I try to be some times, but it doesn't come across. Maybe 50 % of it does, so that would make me a ... Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly.
I thought WEIRD FLEX BUTTOCK was what made Elvis famous.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteWhew! I thought it was just me but I see that most of you agree on the weirdness of this puzzle. My granddaughter helped me with EMPATH but otherwise I struggled to the end. It wasn't so much the fill as the cluing.
Never having seen RuPaul's Drag Race, I did not know ASIA but perps filled it; EVA was also unfamiliar, and I thought I had read all of Isabel Allende's books. In fact, I just finished VIOLETA.
ALICIA Keys I know and with that clue, too.
If the goal of these new puzzles is to attract younger solvers and protract us older ones, it may be working. I have puzzle books I can turn to. I'll keep on plugging away as long as I can.
Have a sensational Saturday, everyone! Grateful for the rain these days!
Hand up quite a challenge with so many unknown proper name crosses. And bizarre slang. Hand up had to correct MACAU/BURQA to FIR.
ReplyDeleteI find the slang quite annoying, but I will take it as a learning moment that this is now part of the language of Shakespeare:
IT ME
WEIRD FLEX BUT OK
HuskerGary Thank you for including "With a Little Bit of LUCK" from My Fair Lady. It was my favorite song as a child and the way I learned SHIRK.
I will take SOLSTICES as a CSO.
Here we were with our FRY BREAD at a Pow Wow in the mountains here.
It is not actually a traditional Native American food. It was invented from ingredients given to them by the US government after their Native foods were taken away. It is delicious, but high in fat and sugar.
From Yesterday:
desper-otto Thanks for the amusing guess about Wilbur Charles and BC. Still waiting to hear his reply!
Anon at 11:00AM today My father was a runner and he called his outfit a SWEATSUIT.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteGASP! I FIWrong! What a surprise! Not ...
I was thinking it might take me until MID APRIL to solve today's puzzle, but with a look up here and there and a final "reveal the complete solution", I had just a few red-letters
BURKA/BURQA; COD/CBD; EVERY VOWEL in ROCKAP?LLA before the E fit
I submitted a couple of themeless Saturday puzzles for the LA Times earlier this year. Both were rejected due in part to "not being fresh or exciting enough" - I guess I will have to check out Urban Dictionary (or a similar site) for the latest, hip phrases. "WEIRD FLEX BUT OK?" Who actually uses this in everyday language?
As a few of my fellow "baby boomers" here have said, we may all just get tired of this sort of puzzle, and quit doing them
Not that I would ever do this, but would it be "OK" for one of us bloggers to put just the word "Thumper" into the introduction part of the blog?
Yes, it was definitely a challenge today and I had to look up some answers (cheat?). At first I wondered if I, too, would give up on the slang and new names. But, like a recent constructor told us, this is a game, not a test. And I like a fun way to keep up with change and learn. That said, I’m sure happy to hear that I was not alone in my struggle!
ReplyDeleteNicely constructed and some well imagined clues. But not possible to be solved. Not by me. Not fun.
ReplyDeleteA few brilliant clues in a challenging puzzle. I am open to learning new “lingo” as our language is always evolving. However our editor seems determined to “tune out and turn off” the displeasure of the regular puzzle solvers. I hope her style of obscure names, foods, and slang phrases attracts the younger crowd because the older generation is getting turned off by her style. (IMHO)
ReplyDeleteDitto
DeleteWeirdflexbutok? Really?
ReplyDeleteI've done Saturday puzzles for decades. They aren't fun anymore.
John Lampkin, where are you? We need you! Fred Piscop, come back!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI didn’t think there could be a worse puzzle after last week’s terror show.
I now stand corrected.
Hard to combine bad clueing with equally bad fill, but here it is.
Congratulations.
Agree with the above comments. Not fun! More obscure than the NYT xword!
ReplyDeleteDNF. Should not have started. This CW was far too difficult for me, especially with “itme” which perped but I was sure was wrong as it makes no sense. Too many DNKs to list. After about 30 minutes I was less than half way through the CW, and even THAT was with several Google assists, aka cheats. I did know HenriettaLacks but only able to dredge it after getting several perps. So I threw in the towel, but only after W/Os SWAP:MALT, MACAO: MACAU. Never heard of Rockapella or the song. MS & CI I’m sure this is a fine CW for expert solvers, but I’m not one of those. You got me. HG, thanx for all the time and effort you put into your excellent write-up.
ReplyDeleteI did manage to finish this puzzle with plenty of Google and red-letter help but did not enjoy it. Several times my mind kept thinking, "What the hell is that?" I did like some of the entries such as MID APRIL, SOLSTICES, HENRIETTA LACKS, and FRYBREAD. Hand up for putting ROBES in at 58 across and then having to "relo" it to 44 down. All told, however, I got very little satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to stop doing the LA Times puzzles, at least not for now. But I don't think I'm going to invest as much enthusiasm or mental involvement as I used to. I'll slog along and shrug off junk with a soft sigh. I just don't give much of a damn any more. However, I still value all of you and your contributions as much as ever and do not contemplate any situation where I will stop reading what you all have to say.
Good wishes to you all.
Forgive me,
ReplyDeleteBut you know i had to turn "fry bread" upside down...
I just had to share this because I just tried it, and it was (gasp!) awesome!
easiest bread ever...
Note, that with the oil on top, it makes it upside down fry bread...
Note, note: (PPs ? )
I am going to make this every day, no sugar, just
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Been using 1/8 teaspoon yeast, as I was trying to get rid of old stock.
1 cup water
That's it!
(Make sure you use glass container, avoid metal poisoning!)
Tomorrow daughters are coming to visit, so I thought, Garlic Knots?
(A whole stick of butter? No wonder I love knots. There has got to be a way to dietize this...)
Anywho,
this guy did all the testing for me!
FIW. I did know Henrietta Lacks's amazing story but could not remember her name today. Grateful for the reminder. Perhaps I will remember next time....
ReplyDeleteFav clue: Change of fortune
A challenging PZL from the Stock/Iverson team, 'splained for us by HuskerG...
ReplyDeleteI got off to a slow start, but then (after one, two, er... four or six cheats) I managed to--well, not exactly finish, but I filled all the squares.
I learned about HENRIETTA LACKS. Made the XWD worth it!
(Now, Polio is re-emerging. If only those *#@! anti-vaxxers would stop endangering the rest of us! )
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals, all on the near side.
The central diag gives an anagram (12 of 15 letters) to remind us of the Queen of England's fascination with her special breed of pet.
"Ooooh, they're so CUTE!" she's been heard to exclaim.
Indeed, she often reaches down to pinch this departing part of canine anatomy,
a dear little...
"CORGI BUTTOCK"!
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteNope - I needed a few Googles and a peek at HG's NCentral grid (not wood-Shop).
Thanks Matthew & Christina. The slang was certainly for a younger crowd and I don't know how many Conerites paid attention to the lyrics in the Carmen Sandiego theme (much less read the credits for the 'band') if their Grands watched it.
//inanehiker beat me to the link but this one is clickable
Thanks for the nudge in the North (Iron CHEF just didn't fit!) and your fine expo, HG.
Googles - spelling of SPuLUN, spelling of ajus (40a wasn't 'Au jus'), ASIA as clued.
WOs: Had TIMEs at the end of SOLSTIcES, Peney [sic], BURkA, HENRIETTA LoCKs
ESPs: OCHOA, IT ME (? - Um, No.), RAE, WOLE, most of PLIE
Fav: COME AGAIN?
LACK's family is suing biotech co for profiting from HeLa. [NPR - 2021]
FLEX is short for flexing as in your biceps at the beach - you're bragging; 'You do you' is a the new "to each their own."
Re: DR, OMK: The Queen is amused.
TTP - Thanks a) feedback b) the correction on McQueens car and c) sparking memories of American Muscle cars. Thanks to the Oil Embargo of the '70s all the muscle cars I loved from TV were gone by the time I could drive ('87). The Mazda GLC hardly screams "speed & power." ;-)
Cheers, -T
Got about 90% of this puzzle, but TITT after foundering in a SW Sargasso Sea of white. I never got the V8 on the Q in BURKA and couldn't make anything work down there.
ReplyDelete48A WEIRD FLEX BUT NOT OK wouldn't fit.
20A HENRIETTA LACKS. Knew the cell line derived from her blood, as it was developed at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. In October of 2021, her family sued Thermo Fisher Scientific for commercializing the cell line, giving no compensation to her descendants. Not sure whether it has been resolved.
Excellent review Husker. It wasn't your fault.
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. Today after 3 months of traipsing all over auto dealerships the B/W area, I we finally bought a new car (last one was in 2008). It's supposed to arrive by 9/23/22, Teri's birthday. I told her it would be her birthday present. She wasn't amused.
Perhaps the many DNF's in today's commentaries may provide our esteemed editors a clue to the angst of older solvers. We who have solved LAT puzzles for decades feel lost when glitzy "mod-phrases" are the keys to solving puzzles. "Wierdflex butok" isn't found in ANY REFERENCE BOOK in my library. I had to break down my abhorrence of using the internet to provide the phrase ...and even there it wasn't to be found! Some day I will submit a puzzle to the LAT filled with obscure phrases from the distant past just to see if it's accepted. Odds on, it will be rejected as "too archane"!
ReplyDeleteWell, I wasn't even going to bother to check in here, after struggling with this bear of a puzzle this morning. But all of your comments make me feel so much better--thank you all for that. Now I'm glad I checked in.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous --- one of you. Thanks for setting me straight on the LUCKYPENNY. I missed the term "change" which has two meanings.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteJinx, I meant to mention that I knew of Jerry's. I took my Army basic training at Ft Knox. My parents drove down for "Family Day" towards the very end of that training. We went to a Jerry's for lunch. My mother and I both ordered their Hot Fudge Cake for dessert. I'd never had anything like that before. It was so good. I had a second one while we sat at the table and talked.
Dash T, people like Jinx, Moe, Malo Man, Jayce, Big Easy and your pops, and so many of us were there when the pony car wars started and evolved into the muscle cars. Perhaps Ford started it with the Mustang, and Chevy responded with the Camaro. Pontiac had the GTO. Olds had the 442. Plymouth / Dodge raised the bar with an entire line of cars. Even AMC tried to get in the game with their Javelin. Then '71/'72/'73 happened. Everything changed. That's my revisionist history.
Bill, congratulations to you and Teri on your new car purchase.
Are we still playing the "guess CanadianEh's real name" game, or did she reveal it and I missed it ? If not, today I'll go with Lucretia, and guess that she goes by Lucy.
You know it's a clunker when Our Dear Irish Miss yells out, "Thumper, thumper!" Her motion has been seconded, and carried by acclamation.
ReplyDelete(BTW, 'manel' has an origin sometime in 2015, so, yes, it has a dictionary pedigree (of sorts), but notice that there is no ladies' equivalent, such as 'feminel,' or 'femsplainin.' If we are going to go for polarization, it's gotta be balanced and fair.)
How'd I miss S??TICES. And, MASTER CHE? I had abee* /ALOE and abiT/ALOT. One night's sleep and I might have worked it out but it's going on wordle time.
ReplyDeleteI did grok BURQA replacing sooths(sic) with QUIETS after BLOT dropped V8 can style as did CBD(Oil)
To rope someone in is to DUPE them. That slowed me down
Such an attractive lady you wed, Picard. She photos so well. Merlin, had to think.
Re. C-eh.. Hilary?
I was getting nowhere. Left, came back, got some more. This morning SLOGged on. Napped, went out and fiddled online. I was getting a square here and there. LACKS seemed an odd last name. I actually filled the SW.
Before xword corner I would have kept at it all week. Mustn't be hasty but midnight approached (c. Above)
One sports answer, OCHOA. I see some familiarity with unknown properties names a already listed..
Got much closer than I thought
WC
DNA -- Did Not Attempt.
ReplyDeleteHad the red on from the start. I'm on the fence on too hard/too young. I often wonder how younger solvers know obscure things from TV shows or actors before they were born, so turnabout seems fair play.
I wish there were a marker for slang like there is for abbreviations and joke questions. Maybe slash for both slang and outdated, like "Attractive parts of bees/ "
You're the bee's knees if you know that one!
TTP - Pop had a '74 Dodge Dart. I don't think it was in the same class as the Mustang, but it looked cool.
ReplyDeleteFor the usage record: I checked with soon to be 20yro Youngest (who started doing crosswords with me last Monday waiting for our flight at DCA) and...
she wasn't so keen on IT ME,
she didn't know ASIA (as clued),
and was totes 'really?!?' at WEIRD FLEX BUT OK.
"I don't think we say that" was her final verdict.
//She did LOL at HG's Twitter example while shaking her head muttering "some people's children." :-)
OKL: she (Youngest) did 'guess' knees at bees -- so there's that :-)
Cheers, -T
Usually just lurk around here when I have tough time with a puzzle, but I know sometimes the creators read the comments and I wanted to say -- as someone under 40 -- I thought it was a great (and not terribly difficult!) Saturday edition. I mostly struggled with BURKA/BURQA and some of the more obscure last names of people, but figured it all out eventually. I know someday time will come for me, too, and I will be stumped by a clue about a BTS song or a Twitch streamer, but that's life -- and not a bad way to try and keep up with the kids, really.
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