Which is not to be confused with, "Bye Bye, Boobies"
Puzzling Thoughts:
Well, as if on cue, a Friday "play-on-words themed puzzle" once again showed itself here at the LA Times Crossword du jour. And today's was crafted by the daring duo of Matt Forest and Shannon Rapp - aka 'Norah Sharpe'. Shannon/Norah was featured just a couple of weeks ago at the Crossword Corner, as well as in late August.
I searched for "Matt Forest crossword puzzle(s)" at other venues, and I couldn't locate any (other than the link I provided to his website). I know that Shannon is not bashful so I hope she will stop by and give us some insight to their collaboration
Today's fun-filled grid involves removing 2 "T's" from the entries to get a punny phrase. And for this Stooge - who is known for his simple and sophomoric double entendres - this puzzle was "teed up" for him. Beginning with the second one @ 24-across!! So let's explore and see where the "h e double hockey sticks" the T's went!
18-across. *Haymaker's agenda?: BALE PLAN. Right off the bat, Matt and Shannon/Norah hit a home run. Haymaker has two meanings, methinks: First (for the clue) is a person who bundles hay; which leads us to the BALE PLAN. The second meaning for "haymaker" is a forceful blow, which might be part of another agenda when two T's were removed from "BATTLE PLAN". Get it? Good!
24-across. *Major uptick in swimsuit sales?: BIKINI BOOM. Ok, Cornerites; just close your eyes and picture a BIKINI. Got it? Good. I swear I inserted a picture here but it vanished. Give me a few moments to get to the BOTTOM of this ...
37-across. *"The whole team has earned happy hour!": WE DESERVE BEER. Didn't we recently have a puzzle that used BEER ME as an entry? Yes? Well, if so, WE DESERVE BETTER!! C'mon Patti, don't be so lazy!! ;^)
52-across. *Hungry hawk's polite request?: PREY PLEASE. Ha Ha!! And when the hungry hawk didn't get the PREY straight away, it probably followed up its request with "PRETTY PLEASE"
And the unifier: 60-across. Untangle carefully, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues?: TEASE OUT. True to the puzzle, the reveal also has a dual meaning, as the phrase "TEASE OUT" means: "to try to get information or understand a meaning that is hidden or not clear". [dictionary dot com] The phonetic meaning is what I used for the theme: "Ta Ta, tee tees"
But if you really want a stretch here is a short video clip of a different kind of untangling:
Here is the solved grid, and then on to the rest of the clues/entries!
Across:
1. Absolute: UTTER. Well, it looks like we found out where the "T's" went!! Both of them landed in this word. Otherwise the puzzle would've started out with the word "UER"
6. Short helper?: ASST. ELF didn't fit
10. IG or FB post: PIC. Instagram or Facebook post, briefly = PIC ... recall when you took photos with a camera and had to wait days or even weeks to get the prints back?
13. Breastfed: NURSED. This is what we did as babies; now, I use the term "NURSED" to refer to how I drink alcoholic beverages ... I can make a 2 oz. neat pour of whisky last almost as long as it takes me to write my blog!
15. Fruit cocktail fruit: PEAR. I think this one was in the puzzle I blogged a couple weeks ago ... oh, wait, that was PARE
16. Reddit tell-all session, for short: AMA. We older crossword puzzle solvers would understand this if the clue were: "Dr.'s Org." But today's generations know it as: "Reddit AMAs (which stands for “Ask Me Anything”)—whether they're timed around the news cycle or simply focused on a topic of great general interest—are Q&As designed to bring an authority on a subject to a community of interested people. And now you know
17. Facial hair, casually: STACHE. GOATEE fit; BEARDS fit; STUBBLE, not so much. Once upon a time the Chairman sported a "STACHE"; now, it's a full beard - neatly trimmed
20. West Coast sch. with more than 100 NCAA championships: USC. For anyone who follows College Football, this year's USC Trojans team had a chance to play for the National Championship. But the Utah Utes would have nothing of it, and clearly embarrassed them in the Pac-12 Conference Championship. FUN FACT: USC has the most NCAA championships in what sport? Check here for the answer...
21. Crispy Crunchies! fries maker: ORE-IDA.
23. Karate level: BELT. Here is a picture of their order:
26. Footprint maker: SOLE. Moe-ku:
A cobbler started
New business. Of course, he's the
SOLE proprietor
27. Fancy foot work: PEDI. Cute clue. This, maybe?
28. Vinaigrette ingredient: OIL. FUN FACT: according to [fine dining lovers dot com] "For a traditional vinaigrette, you'll need to mix about 3 tablespoons of OIL to 1 tablespoon of vinegar. You'll also want to add some salt and pepper to taste. Of course, for all four ingredients, the better the quality you use, the better your vinaigrette will taste
30. Lousy grade: DEE. I may have had one or two of these in my years as a student. Penmanship was one that I KNOW of, for sure
31. __-mo: SLO. CHAIRMAN wouldn't fit, and they spelled "MOE" incorrectly ...
33. Scrape (by): EKE. Eek! We had EKE again!!
35. DoorDash category: ASIAN. I can raise my hand when asked, "have you never used DoorDash?" A bit of a misleading clue but hey, it's Friday
41. Arya's sister on "Game of Thrones": SANSA. If you put this answer together with the answer for 23-across, you'd have SANSA-BELT. Any of the guys here recall those "beltless" trousers? I'm pretty sure (without looking it up) that SANSA-BELT means "without (SANS) A BELT! Anyway, that's MY story, and I'm sticking to it!!
42. Feel icky: AIL. Me, for about 2-1/2 weeks with COVID. I know of some other of our Cornerites who've recently gotten COVID, and hope they are no longer AILing
43. Part of FWIW: ITS. "FOR" also fits
44. Some 45s, briefly: EPS. Extended PlayS. Another of the deadly pluralized abbreviations. EPS can also mean, Earnings Per Share in the financial world. But this fit nicely with: (3-down. Album unit: TRACK), as EPS have several TRACKs as opposed to regular 45s which have one per side
45. "Tsk!": TUT. Moe-ku:
Ancient Egyptian
King made a faux pas. They cried:
"TUT, TUT, TUT, TUT, TUT"
48. High time: NOON. MIDNIGHT didn't fit; and FWIW, no one ever said, "It's NOON you got off of your a$$ and found a job!"
50. Switch on the radio?: AM/FM. If this were a switch on a CLOCK radio, the answer would be AM/PM
57. Narrate: TELL. As in the William Narrate Overture?? Get it? William TELL? Oh, never mind ...
58. Hall of Fame pitcher Fingers: ROLLIE. ROLLIE Fingers sported one of the more iconic STACHEs in all of Major League Baseball
59. Baby goat: KID. Try and get this tune out of your head after I enter some of the lyrics: "Mares eat oats and does eats oats, and little lambs eat ivy. A KID'll eat ivy, too, wouldn't you?"
62. Catch sight of: NOTICE.
64. Copier size: Abbr.: LTR. Generally 8-1/2" x 11" in its two dimensions
65. D.C. paper: WA PO. Short for, WAshington POst
66. Almond flour's lack: GLUTEN. Margaret makes the best banana muffins using almond flour
67. Language suffix: ESE. As in "PortuguESE, ChinESE, and EnglishESE"
68. Small songbird: WREN. Too bad this entry wasn't longer for today's "theme", as a Tufted Titmouse is a small songbird with two T's in its name
69. Finals, e.g.: EXAMS. ORALS fits but only if you are trying for a PhD
Down:
1. Get off a mailing list, informally: UNSUB. No; just no. UNSUBscribe, yes. To be fair, I checked the OneLook dot com lists for usage of the word "UNSUB". Curious to know YOUR thoughts about this abbreviation ... YEA or NAY?
2. Ethnic group in Rwanda: TUTSI. One of three, actually. The Hutu and Twa being the other two ethnic tribes. Whenever one of them gets up to leave, I wonder if you'll hear the song: "TOOT TOOT TUTSI, Goodbye" ...??
4. Corner key on a PC: ESC. TAB fits but it's not in the corner of a PC keyboard
5. Brush up on a fading skill, perhaps: RE-HONE.
6. Challenging sci. class featuring evolutionary studies: AP BIO. I ignored most of the AP courses as I didn't want any more "DEES" on my report card!
7. Jet ski brand: SEA-DOO.
8. Charcuterie choice: SALAMI. Dr. Mehmet Oz used the term "charcuterie" (or maybe it was crudite) when he was stumping for the PA Senate seat in this year's mid-terms. It didn't play well in Altoona
9. Three, in Rome: TRE. FUN FACT: As you may know, the Chairman is also a sommelier. In the wine-world of rating systems, there is a term used to categorize Italian wine. The best are given "Tre Bicchieri" (Three Glasses). Gambero Rosso is the reviewer and rater
10. Regimen based on the eating habits of early humans: PALEO DIET. As in what the hunter-gatherers might choose for their diet. "Paleo-friendly foods include meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and veggies, along with healthy fats and oils" [healthline dot com]
11. "You have my full attention!": I'M ALL EARS. Moe-ku:
When Dumbo was asked,
"Are you paying attention?"
He said, "I'M ALL EARS"!
12. Water flask: CANTEEN. Brings back memories of my Boy Scout camping days
14. Puts down: DERIDES. My "Ray-O-Sunshine" pun: "Disney attractions that are less costly than an "E" ....DE-RIDES
19. "Call the Midwife" airer: PBS. Perps filled this one in
22. Transport with hill-assist mode: E-BIKE. These aren't cheap
25. Discontinued music players: I-PODS. Still available at Apple.com
29. Course component of 6-Down: LAB. Since I never took AP BIO, the only LAB I knew of was either a Chocolate or Golden one
31. Where some day traders trade?: SWAP MEETS. FUN FACT: This is the point in which (as I was writing my blog) my 2 oz. pour of whisky ended ...
32. Scattered light effect in a photo: LENS FLARE. Any photographers out there? I know this has happened to me
34. Hurler's stat: ERA. ROLLIE Fingers' ERA was 2.91. That means he gave up 2.91 runs per game, on average. Any number under 3 is considered very good
36. Pont Neuf's river: SEINE. Frawnch
38. "Mangia!": EAT. What Gambero Rosso might say after opening a bottle of wine. The Italians live for drinking wine with their meals
39. Old 45, perhaps: VINYL. Another record-based clue/answer. FUN FACT: "PVC (polyvinyl chloride), the material that VINYL records are made of, is clear in its natural form, allowing records to be manufactured in just about any color imaginable. Despite this endless array of choices, black is still overwhelmingly the most common option, leaving the burning question: why? Click here for the answer
40. Leaving unceremoniously?: ELOPING. Cute clue! No "ceremony" for those who are ELOPING, unless you count the folks who gather at the chapels in Las Vegas
41. "Grey's Anatomy" setting: SEATTLE. This one stumped me for a bit as I wasn't thinking of the city where the fictional hospital was. And look! A pair of "T's" entered this word, too! Remove them and you have SEALE, as in Bobby SEALE, founder of the Black Panthers
46. Ruckus: UPROAR. Moe started getting "lazy" about now
47. Traveling ensemble: TROUPE. He wanted more whisky but sensed the end was near
49. Estadio shout: OLE OLE. And just didn't bother with ancillary information for this, and the previous two clues
51. Org. with Earthquakes and Fire: MLS. Major League Soccer teams. The Earthquakes are in San Jose, and the FIRE are in Chicago (of course!)
53. "Rocketman" icon John: ELTON. I've watched this movie 3 times - excellent BIO - PIC
54. Japanese breed: AKITA, goes well with (55-down. Biting remark?: SIC 'EM).
56. Happy places: EDENS. Until Adam and Eve took a bite of an apple ...
61. "Ick": EWW.
63. Formal duds: TUX. FUN FACT: C-Moe had a part-time, then full-time job in college working at a TUXedo rental store
If you are still wanting to solve another crossword puzzle, check out this one from yours truly
NOTABLES by Chris Gross, edited by Stanley Newman
50 comments:
Sometimes he wore one like Dali
Or Snidely Whiplash, by golly!
Nietzsche lush
Or pencil brush,
His 'STACHE stash was jolly!
Well, this puzzle was by no means easy, but perhaps not as difficult as it could have been. What helped me a lot was sussing out the gimmick from the first themed fill: “bikini boom.” The rest of the puzzle pretty much fell into place, despite such obscurities as
“Sansa.” Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but erased tmi for AMA.
OREIDA has joined oreo and erie, et al, as autofill. No idea of SANSA, but our local Sanska Construction is a giant company.
I almost gave up on this one early, but after a few passes it started making sense and I started enjoying working on it. That's no small feat, since DW woke me up at 4 and insisted that I was getting up too. I'm a bit of a grumpy Gus this morning.
Thanks to Matt and Shannon for making the morning better, and to our Chairman for the giggles.
Nope. DNF. 19D BBC, REaired by PBS. 67A ISH as good as ESE. Nuff said.
Good morning!
Yay, d-o sussed the theme. Even saw the reveal. Amazing. The stacked 9s in the NE and SW are very nice. Well done, Matt, Shannon, and C-Moe.
EPS: Two songs to a side recorded at a lower volume to limit the excursion of the needle. This allowed the grooves to be closer together, but resulted in higher surface noise. Three EPs doth one LP make.
BALE PLAN: Spent summers in high school out in the hay fields picking up 70-lb rectangular bales. Three farms worked together. When all three farms had finished the first cut, it was time to start over with the second cut.
UNSUB: Viewers of Criminal Minds know that UNSUB denotes the UNknown SUBject.
LAB: Never had a BIO LAB, or any BIO for that matter. My LABs were in Chemistry and Physics.
FIR, but struggled with the NE corner. Got the theme but couldn't see battle plan for the life of me. Then the light bulb went on! Nice Friday puzzle.
Good Morning:
My biggest stumbling block was in the SW quadrant corner due to having no clue about Sansa, Seattle, or Lens Flare, and the clever cluing misdirection for Swap Meets. Eventually, perps saved the day and brought the Tada. However, even after filling in the reveal, it took me about a minute before I saw the minus T T theme. While solving, I couldn’t see any connection with the themers but, in retrospect, it wasn’t that difficult to suss out. I liked the kinship proximity of Akita/Sic Em, EPs/AM FM, Salami/Tre, and Troupe/Elton. I didn’t hesitate at Unsub but, to me, it’s used and heard more frequently as law enforcement jargon.
Thanks, Matthew and Shannon, for a clever theme and solve and thanks, Moe, for tickling my funny bone non-stop this morning. You’re always at the top of your game, but you outdid yourself this morning with humor, puns, and more than a few interesting tidbits of fun facts and serious ones, as well. My favorite Moe-mu was Dumbo’s I’m All Ears. I’m not a Charlie Sheen fan but I enjoyed seeing Richard Kind in that video. He is presently featured in a key role in the series East New York with Jimmy Smits that I like a lot. His voice and speech cadence are unmistakably attention-getting, no matter what role he plays.
FLN
Wilbur, as you mentioned solving yesterday’s Bruce Haight’s New York Times puzzle, I recommend you read Rex Parker’s blog on it. The substitute blogger’s review generated over 300+ comments and, I dare say, only about a dozen or so were not scathing. Also, on XWord Info, Bruce mentioned that he’s retiring from crossword construction. That’s our loss, but I wish him well.
Have a great day.
This puzzle took 9:44 to solve.
I forged my way through the clues involving Rwandans, the Romans, and whatever group is involved in the Game of Thrones, forged some more through "unsub" and "rehone", then continued forging through all the 3-letter words/abbreviations, e.g., MLS, ltr, eww, eps, eke, etc., etc., etc.
So, I'm saying I found this puzzle fairly forge[tt]able.
There were some good down clues/answers (Swap meet, canteen, lens flare).
Irish Miss @ 7:59 a. m. - IM, recently waseeley (Bill) called me a “solving genius.” However, I think you’re the REAL solving genius. I get a FIW occasionally, and on occasion have had to resort to the
“red letters.” But I’ve never seen you do either. “My hat’s off to ya!”
I managed to FIR but even after filling TEASE OUT couldn't get the TT taken out of the theme fills. But I liked it, not too many A&E fills. DNK SANSA, PBS, SEATTLE, never heard of UNSUB being used to describe getting rid of annoying emails. STACHE came by the hardest for this full-bearded guy.
TUTSIS & HUTUS - had a strong dislike for each other back in the 1990s.
RE-HONE- did not like for the double redundant word. You learned it; you honed your skills; then you re-honed it. HONE would be sufficient. "Brush up" is what I've always heard.
DoorDash delivery- I hope I would never get so lazy to have food delivered. If you're incapacitated or a car in the shop is excusable but laziness is not an excuse.
E-BIKE- the first time I saw one of those I was riding on the Miss. Riv. levee, going 17-18 mph, and I got passed by a fat guy pedaling effortlessly on a fat-tire bike. I see them all the time now.
d-otto- I've had chemistry and physics labs; add biology lab, zoology lab, microbiology lab, geology lab, geochemistry lab, histotechnique lab, but no black or chocolate lab.
How about STRIP TEASE as today's theme. I only started looking for a theme after filling all squares and it took awhile but I did find it and FIR
High NOON the western was an allegory of the Mccarthy witch-hunt of the 50s
I've gotten away from the Eric Bernstein WAPO xword. You still do it, TTP?
Nay. I got stuck on NW to start, in fact all of Montana. Then it seemed to get easier. Do the constructors split up the xword?
C-Moe, did you know that a DEE in AP equals a B on school GPA?
The long fill: PALEO DIET got me going after a lot of white
My CANTEEN was filled with Scotch
Apparently the "day traders" at SWAP MEETS are flea market people not investors
That's 2 91 runs per 9 innings for ROLLIE(runs/(Total innings/ 9))
IM, the nyt xword and blogging world I rarely visit*. I'd say today's latimes was more difficult than yesterday's nyt but I got hung up in a couple of areas on nyt. One of Rex's stooge-anons used to come here but was mercifully ignored and I haven't noticed him lately
WC
*Sunday xword was published in tbtimes a week delayed. It was replaced by WAPO
“UNSUB” seems clunky to me, for unsubscribe; but it does seem that we Americans are loathe to use more than two syllables, and prefer to shorten to one whenever possible (not like German that seems to love to string words together).
And - just what does FWIW mean?
Subgenius @ 8:47 ~ I appreciate your complimentary words and hat tip but I attribute my solving success to 40 + years of solving experience and a healthy dose of Irish stubbornness. I have never used red letter help but I have had the occasional FIW, not many, but I have had a couple. One unforgettable one that comes to mind was a Saturday brain buster by Stella Zawistowski.
Gosh, seems that few posters here were fans of Game of Thrones. For those of us who were, Sansa was a gimme. As always, the range of knowledge here is wide.
Big E @ 8:48 ~ Hand up for being a Lazy Lout as I not only have food delivered, but my groceries and Scotch, as well. 🤣
Wilbur @ 9:34 ~ My suggestion to visit Rex’s blog had nothing to do with the puzzle, just the guest blogger’s appalling review and the comments it generated. BTW, I like your Strip Tease revealer better than Tease Out.
FWIW for what its worth
We have a Rapp artist constructor but thankfully none in the puzzle!!!
Fearful the SW would finish me off so with the few perp letters I had I made two WALGS (wild ass lucky guesses): SWAPMEETS.. and LENSFLARE and FIR..OLÉOLÉ !!!
No T's. (TEASEOUT) not a bad theme. Liked WC's puzzle clever title "STRIP TEASE" ...Remove the TT's from SEATTLE and you have Bobby SEALE
Inkovers: debases/DERIDES, cbs/PBS ...DNK AMA or EPS which could have been more easily clued but hey, it Friday.
A "Haymaker" works when the sunshines, right? Plus there's an error, per 45..."Rocket Man" is N. Korean Supreme Leaser: Kim Jung-Un. Not some ELTON fellow
They teach EVILution in APBIOclass? ....REHONE? UNSUB?..EWW!!!
1982 film that kept an actor on his heels?...TUTSI.
Heart go with....SOLE
Eliminate the temp teacher....UNSUB.
Although he had an allergy to the grain protein muffins he loved he ate them anyway, a real _____ for punishment... GLUTEN
Why kids go to an amusement park....DERIDES (C Moe you beat me to it but SANSA Belt was mine a cupla daze ago 😉)
What a Drag Queen does just before performing..TUX ...🤭
Quite a white-out (not the CW kind) snowstorm last night.. everything closed this AM...may be in for another one today in Oneida (not Ore ida) County and the NE 🌨
Hey all, Matt Forest here. Thanks for solving! This is actually my print debut, which is probably why you can't find my published puzzles anywhere else (yet). Happy that you found my website, though! The first puzzle I got paid for was published by Crucinova in March. I connected with Shannon through Twitter, and she was kind enough to host one of my puzzles on her website last year. We've stayed in touch to chat about crosswords ever since. Anyway, I was kicking around this TT-omission theme for some time and eventually asked Shannon if she would help me round it out, and here we are!
Anonymous @ 2022 at 9:50 AM "For What It's Worth".
Thank you Matt and Shannon For a FIR Friday Frolic.
And thank you MOE for splainin' the theme, which despite getting the reveal went sTraighT over my head. Not too worry, I couldn't find out where to fill it anyway. Nice KUs too.
[Some inevitable] FAVS:
17A STACHE. On first seeing my STACHE over 50 years ago, DW immediately remarked "Shave it off!" It was definitely not ICONIC, and never will be.
18A BALE PLAN. Putin sure didn't have one. A Haymaker is also a very pugilistic cocktail.
21A ORE-IDA. I know about IDAho taters, but OREegon taters? The things you learn in crosswords.
27A PEDI. A CSO to our dear Lucina.
28A OIL. We just dribble our EVOO and TJ's Balsamic right out of the boTTles.
41A SANSA. If I wore a pair of Sansabelt trousers, I'd probably drop TROU. I think you need hips to hold 'em up.
57A TELL. Rossini's overture begins with an adagio. The part that reminds some people of an OATER, can't remember what it was called (☺) comes at the very end. It's 12 minutes long, but if you do know the the name of the OATER and want to cut to the chase, you can always fast forward to 8:27.
64A LTR. And the third dimension is about 0.25 mm.
6D AP-BIO. This wasn't offered when I was in HS, but I'd have probably failed it. I don't quite buy ALL of that evolution malarkey. Quick, name another SCIENCE that ends in "ISM" ...
25D IPODS. I have two, but don't have any music loaded on them. But they have an excellent radio and mine is always tuned to WBJC FM.
29D LAB. We had a BLACK and a YELLOW, Neptune and Jupiter.
39D VINYL. Thanks for CONDUCTING that research MOE. Who knew?
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. I'll post a review of your puzzle a bit later.
Good morning. The puzzle was all going well until I got to the SW. SW did me in. DNF. DNK SANSA and haven't watched Grey's Anatomy in a decade. Tried to fit in "hospital" but that didn't work. Never go to SEATTLE. Had AMFM in then took it out because I couldn't get anything to jive. Shoulda left it in, I see.
Since the theme hint was in that corner, I never got to it. Got the LENS, but DNK "FLARE"
Anyway, Thanks Matt and Shannon. Liked the puzzle otherwise. And thanks C-Moe for your review.
RE vinaigrette, while it may not be "traditional, adding a few drops of Dijon will keep the O&V from separating.
C-Moe (sorry), a small nit: LAB: Labrador Retrievers are Black, Chocolate or Yellow. Goldens are also Retrievers, but a different breed. I had Black Labs (and one Chocolate) all my life, so they are very dear to my heart.
This was a fun, creative puzzle - with not just one but two TTs out of each themer.
BIKINI BOOM came from BIKINI BOttOM - which is where Sponge Bob Squarepants lives under the sea. It was popular when my kids were in grade school on Nickelodeon- we didn't have cable so kids didn't watch it at home- but it was ubiquitous so they were familiar with it and had seen it at friends' houses.
My grandma was a real wheeler dealer - so was dragged to a few SWAP MEETS and flea markets growing up - so that was a gimme.
@Sandyanon - I have never watched GoT- and I'm sure lots on the Corner haven't either because it was HBO and I never paid extra for that. Now you can get it on many platforms, (but I wouldn't want to watch it anyway- too much gratuitous violence for me!) But I have never watched "The Simpsons" either but between crosswords and Sporcle quizzes, I can name quite a few characters from both shows.
20A had to be USC because it was only 3 letters- but they are actually 3rd behind 2 other Pac-12 schools in number of championships in all sports. #1 is Stanford with 131 (shout out to my alma mater) and #2 is UCLA 120 #3 is USC at 111, then next schools down are Big 12's Texas and Oklahoma State who are only in the 50s.!! They have so many because they win in smaller sports and women's sports like fencing, women's volleyball, water polo, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_schools_with_the_most_NCAA_Division_I_championships
The genocide of Tutsis by the Hutus in Rwanda in 1994 was a horrible chapter of Rwanda's history - the movie Hotel Rwanda captured that heartbreak well.
Thanks CMoe for a fun blog and Matt & Shannon for the puzzle!
Thinking of CC today, with Boomer's memorial service at 4 today - hoping the snow they've been getting this week will ease up for people to get there
Musings
-The clever gimmick jumped out at me at PREY PLEASE!
-I heard a discussion this morning as to whether QATAR was east Africa or west ASIA. They decided on the latter
-ROLLIE was a nice bone to throw to those of us who had no idea on SANSA
-Do you NOTICE what I NOTICED about this marker board image at school this week?
-There is no need to REHONE kids’ skills for making change. Machines do it now.
-Gotta get my vacuuming done!
I finally finished but never got the theme. Thank goodness for C-Moe’s explanation. Since I filled PREY PLEASE first, I thought we needed a TEASE sound alike. Liked the ELOPE and SWAP MEET clue.
A few years ago I translated a book about the TUTSI and Hutu massacres of 1994. The author Tierno Monénembo had been invited to report on the conflict, the result was a novel titled The Oldest Orphan.
Still sunshine today, yea!
Thank you Matt, Shannon and Chairman Moe.
Wilbur Charles, yes I solve the Sunday WAPO by Evan Birnholz every week. This last Sunday's was another gem.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/sunday-evan-birnholz/?itid=sf__subnav
WC, thanks for the additional explanation regarding ERA. Also, STRIP TEASE (as a theme title) is great. Wish I'd have thought of it, but my mind was running in a similar vein ... and no, I was unaware that a D in an AP class = a B on the GPA
Inanehiker @10:47, thanks.
I never thought about GoT being on a premium channel, which of course would make it less accessible.
Matt, thanks for stopping by today! I obviously liked your puzzle (as I hoped you could tell from the recap). It's always a pleasure to have a constructor stop by and add more to the blog. If you'd care to reciprocate, here is a puzzle that I had published today (under my REAL name).
Boston Herald Puzzle
HG, Margaret and I just watched the entirety of The Santa Clause movies and "mini-series" on Disney+. The "saving" of Christmas came through loud and clear, as did the message on the white board ...
FIR on a Friday. Hooray. Yes, Friday themes are puns, but the real giveaway is that they always either add a letter or two or drop them. I am surprised that only Lemonade has talked about this. After the second theme entry I realize that TT was dropped which sped up the solve. TEASE OUT was a fun and unexpected reveal.
The SW gave me pause. I took a while to accept SEATTLE because it had the double TT, but it was not starred. Tufted titmouse does not have the double TT.
AMA,LENS FLARE and SANSA were new to me.
DO, unsub brought to mind the crime shows, where it means unknown subject. I readily accept UNSUB as slang or informal use for unsubscribe. A puzzle is a game not a vocabulary or grammar lesson. The fact that puzzles frequently use slang, old fashioned words, poetic words, foreign words, many of which our English language has borrowed, IMO only makes puzzles more fun.
I'm glad we were not graded in penmanship. One elementary teacher told me my penanship was atrocious. Nowadays, it's even worse with my arthritis.
No problem with ASIAN. Asian, Italian, fast food, etc are categories that Door Dash delivers.
I baked my first Christmas cookies today. Two more batches coming up next week.
We did consider this reveal, but thought it was "too risqué" for mainstream. Would happily use it in an indie puzzle though!
It's great to get published! I enjoyed your puzzle.
Ray O, while we're picking nits, that Elton guy is a Brit. Shouldn't his name really be Elton Loo?
Also, at the TV station we used star lens filters for artsy-fartsy shows like Christmas choruses. It looked a lot like lens flare, but controlled.
HG @ 10:57 ~ What I noticed in the marker board is the first e in delete is very different from the other two and almost looks like an i without a dot.
Puzzling thoughts, 2:
IM @ 2:25 ==> When you look at Jessica at the bottom, she dots her "i". I didn't see the first "e" of delete the same as you did - just seemed a little squeezed. Maybe Gary will stop by and let us know what we were supposed to see ...
Matt @ 12:25 and 1:50 ==> As you, I was a "late-comer" to constructing crossword puzzles (first one was in late 2019, IIRC). I've kept it fairly simple with my word list and software. And you're 100% correct: it feels great to get published. I do it mostly for fun and to keep my brain sharp. Unlike you, I am a lot older in age (69), though my mind still thinks I'm a kid ... look forward to seeing your puzzles again
Edit to RosE @ 10:37. Apologies to Seattleites Intended to say, "never GOT to SEATTLE" meaning the 41D fill. No offense to that fair city.
I hate when that happens.
Hi All!
I had a great posted drafted yesterday and just fell-over last night. I did a Covid test this morning - positive :-(
This really stinks 'cuz DW gets home tonight from Morocco and I'll be isolated from her.
Thanks for the puzzle, Matt & Shannon. Fun theme with some sparkly clues: "Fancy Foot Work", ELOPING's clue, among others.
Also appreciated you swinging by The Corner - and congrats on your LAT debut.
Nice expo, C. Moe, and thanks for that link on VINYL.
WOs: VINaL, LENS FLair (guess what class I got a DEE in... :-))
ESPs: SANSA, ROLLIE
Fav: SIC 'EM c/a
WC - Good one re: Strip Tease
HG - LOL "don't delete" == "Save this, don't throw away"
Back to bed.
Cheers, -T
Matt, thanks for dropping by. Congrats on your debut. I don’t think Strip Tease is too risqué if clued with nuance. Hope to see you again soon.
Moe @ 2:44 ~ I missed that dot in her name, so you’re probably right about the first e. The only other thing I noticed was the star alignment, but that’s probably a stretch. I just finished your puzzle and, after a few brick walls, I finished but I had to read the reveal clue twice before the theme sunk in. Had I remembered the title, which was great, BTW, I think I would have seen the clever theme quicker. Tricky cluing, as usual, but I solved it, so no complaints. Nice job, Moe.
Tony, sending healing thoughts and best wishes for a speedy return to normal. 💐
About the thing to "NOTICE" in Husker's sketch, I think it's that the first two letters are in cursive and everything else is printed.
The first two letters in "delete" are in cursive.
Dang! Another FIW today at LENS FLARE crossing SANSA. I put a S there as both were unknown to me. Matt and Shannon, your excellent puzzle and theme were entertaining to work on. I needed the reveal to catch onto the missing Ts. Some WOs were necessary where my "lousy grade" was an eff and my "karate level" was Blue, for example, but perps cleared up most. All in all, I ended up feeling good about completing the puzzle.
C Moe, your humorous review was another pleasure for today. Thanks for explaining so well, with bonus Moe-kus!
OwenKL, good to see you today.
Sorry you're COVID fighting again, AnonT, and just when your wife is returning from her trip! Too bad.
Enjoyed reading the posts so far today, and especially pleased to see Matt's.
Happy weekend all!
I liked this puzzle and the theme gimmick. Any proper names (i.e. trivia) that I didn't know, such as SANSA, were gettable from non-proper-name perps. I winced a bit at BELT being clued as a "karate level," and seeing the first letter was "B" I entered BLUE, but after having read the Chairman's terrific write-up I sort of accepted it, even though no practitioner of karate would ever say something like "I earned a belt." It is the color of that belt that designates the level. Anyhoo...
Sorry you tested positive, Tony. The good thing is: at least you tested!
Good wishes to you all.
Musings 2
-Just back from Omaha
-Maybe being in the classroom for five decades made me more sensitive to the Christmas tree and the words she drew on the marker board. Jessica was requesting her art work be preserved but used the phrase “Don’t Delete” instead of “Don’t Erase” on the marker board. The lexicon of our brave new digital world replaced the old analog verb.
Or Elton Lav?
I like this emerging Fri. theme of add/subtract a letter(s) to make a clever pun. I hope Patty continues the trend.
Thanks Shannon, Matt, and C-Moe for your entertainment today. Good of you to stop by and chat with us, Matt.
FAV: Leaving unceremoniously?
This afternoon DH & I did our Christmas shopping for each other. Our tradition is we drive to the Dollar Store, he waits in the car while I buy 10 gifts for him then I wait in the car while he buys 10 gifts for me. Then we come home, turn on some Christmas music, pour a seasonal beverage, and wrap the gifts on the opposite sides of the bed so no one can see the other's gifts. On Christmas morning we have 20 gifts to open (!!!) and each one is from someone who knows you well enough to select a $1 gift that is totally you. It's silly things like those super-smell-good dryer sheets, rainbow sprinkles to put on oatmeal, plastic eye-protector glasses, a book of XW puzzles, a bag of Epson salts, or incense for yoga. When we open them we laugh and feel loved. DH is retired military so we spent a lot of Christmases apart from each other and/or apart from family. Opening all the gifts made it feel like a bigger event. I hope someone reads this and tries it out for themselves!
Sum, what a marvelous tradition! Wish I had thought of that when my DW could still understand it.
HG @ 4:46 ~ Thank you for confirming that my well-known, non-existent powers of observation are alive and well! 🤣
sumdaze @ 6:18 ~ What a fun tradition. Props for finding 20 items in the $1.00 price range! Happy Openings to you and DH.
Sumdaze, that is a terrific idea.
C-Moe, yes, once the concept of AP was introduced they had to come up with the answer to the question I posed after my sophomore year: "Why should I continue accelerated* and get a B when I can get A in regular college prep?" They had no answer and I went regular and got A's . Similar experiences probably led to adding points to AP grades.
Sumdaze, except now it's $1.25 at the $ollar store.
Anon-T, if DW has had covid does she still have to quarantine? This latest flu/rhinovirus /?? is just like Covid . Apparently having Vax and booster(s) shortens recovery time
Why am I late? We grabbed lunch at Golden Corral, got home at 630, I started Saturday xword, fell asleep, woke up and finished** and came back here
WC
*60s terminology
** No not easy. I have steeled my mind to pen and ink no assistance. Why? Because my psyche would get lazy and wait for Ms Google to help out
Exception is Phil for gaming and Betsy for yoga but not tonight
Waseeley @ 10:34 ... "What you mean 'We,' kemosabe?"
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