Theme: In the style of the old game show $20K Pyramid game show: Things that can be ripped.
20. Present surroundings?: WRAPPING PAPER. Great clue.
29. Audio cassette successor: COMPACT DISC. No one uses CDs any more. When you RIP music from a CD, you're copying songs from an audio CD to your PC.
36. Jeans option: DISTRESSED DENIM.
44. One with pressing needs?: BODY BUILDER. Another good clue - press as in bench press.
55. Shredded, or an apt description of 20-, 29-, 36-, and 44-Across: TOTALLY RIPPED.
Melissa here. Theme-heavy with a grid-spanner at 36A, and no real troubles today. Some will be pleased with the few proper nouns. Once the long answers filled in the rest just fell into place. How'd everyone else do?
Across:
1. Crunchy sandwiches with mayo: BLTS. Make my bacon chewy, please.
5. Prepare, as avocados for guacamole: MASH.
9. Impulsive speed: HASTE.
14. Uncommon: RARE.
15. __ gobi: vegetarian curry dish: ALOO. Cauliflower & potato curry.
16. Grouch on TV: OSCAR.
17. Off-Broadway award: OBIE. The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
18. Prefix with second or bot: NANO. Unit prefix meaning one billionth.
19. Beach shoe: THONG. Flip-flop.
23. Taco topping: SALSA.
34. Common __: SENSE. Not so common.
35. Little bit: IOTA.
42. Away from shore: ASEA.
43. Nose-in-the-air type: SNOOT. 5 Great Snoots of the Animal Kingdom
48. Fuss: ADO.
51. Horn-heavy genre: SKA.
52. Communication syst. in which an ILY gesture means "I love you": ASL. American Sign Language.
53. Rubber-__ shoes: SOLED.
60. Slacks alternative: SKIRT.
62. Sweetheart: BEAU.
63. Ductwork sealer: TAPE.
64. Frenemy, maybe: RIVAL.
65. Start of a German count?: EINS. Ein, Eine, and Einen – What is the difference?
66. Decorates, as cookies: ICES.
67. "Hello" Grammy winner: ADELE.
68. Film scene shot without interruption: TAKE.
69. Amazon icon: CART.
Down:
1. Window-shop: BROWSE.
2. Animal in many 3-Down: LAB RAT.
3. Experiments: TRIALS.
4. Trickles (in): SEEPS.
5. Finger painting, for short?: MANI. Nice clue. Manicure.
6. Ruck of HBO's "Succession": ALAN. He also played Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
7. "Hello," for one: SONG. Lots of famous Hello songs besides Adele's. Neal Diamond, Lionel Ritchie, Louis Armstrong, The Doors, and The Beatles, to name a few.
8. Hullabaloo: HOOPLA.
9. Communal Asian meal with simmering broth: HOT POT.
10. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.
11. Desert stinger: SCORPION.
12. Beach tone: TAN.
13. Unit of energy: ERG. The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10⁻⁷ joules.
21. Indiana cager: PACER. Basketball.
22. NYC rep since 2019: AOC. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019.
26. Italian wine region: ASTI.
27. Bamboozle: SCAM.
30. Four quarters: ONE.
31. Bks. in progress: MSS. Manuscripts.
32. "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" novelist Marisha: PESSL. “Part Huck Finn, part Holden Caulfield, part Fran Leibowitz, and part Nora Ephron.” - Harper’s
34. Airbnb visit, say: STAY.
36. Finger-paints, perhaps: DABS.
37. Doesn't seem to be hurt: IS OK.
38. Tranquilizer: SEDATIVE.
39. Cut off: END.
40. Mama deer: DOE.
41. Latissimus __: back muscle: DORSI.
45. Skirmish: BATTLE.
46. Team with four Women's World Cup titles: USA.
47. "Yeah, right!": I'LL BET.
48. Vicuña descendant: ALPACA. Vicuna Vs Alpaca (8 Main Differences And Similarities!)
49. More meaningful: DEEPER.
50. Most peculiar: ODDEST.
54. Eye-related: OPTIC.
56. __ history: ORAL.
57. A Skywalker twin: LEIA.
58. Hard pull: YANK.
59. Subterfuge: RUSE.
60. Mme., in Madrid: SRA.
61. Minor character?: KID. Nice.
42 comments:
Actually, this puzzle seemed easier to me than others we had this week. There were a few obscurities but these, for the most part , were readily perped . FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Wasn't sure of that L in ALAN/ALOO, but it seemed logical. Otherwise, this one provided a smooth slide to the bottom. Thanx, Barbara, Carly (is this a debut for those two?), and Melissa Bee.
COMPACT DISC: Totally '80s, but I still buy 'em and RIP 'em to my music server. Well-produced CD's result in FLAC files that have higher fidelity than MP3s. CDs often cost less, too. If my ancient ears can tell the difference, it must be dramatic.
Good Morning:
This is my type of puzzle: Four seemingly unrelated themers leading to a hidden reveal that is well-placed in the grid, resulting in a big Aha and much satisfaction. I agree with SubG's lack of difficulty assessment, although there were some sticklers, e.g., Aloo, Ska, Pessl, and Dorsi, but perps were more than fair. I knew Alan Ruck only because he's been in the news lately due to an automobile accident. I believe Pacer has appeared three times in the past week or so. The Oscar/Obie duo stood out, despite the cluing for Oscar. Props for those two clever themer clues that Melissa noted, and also for the very acceptable word count (16) of three letter words in such a theme-dense grid.
Thanks, Barbara and Carly, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Melissa, for 'splainin' it all so well. What animal is pictured at the Snoot clue? I swear I see Jimmy Durante! We've seen a lot of fads come and go over the years, hot pants, mini skirts, go-go boots, granny glasses, tie-dyed clothes, leisure suits, bell bottoms, etc., etc., but the one I'll never understand the appeal of or the so-called fashionability of is ripped jeans. I just can't imagine wearing something so unattractive, let alone paying to do so.
Have a great day.
Several DNKs, like PESSL, needed perps, so this CW took a while to FIR, but eventually I got ‘er done. And…for once…I remembered to look for (and find) the theme! Clever CW, thanx BL&CS. Terrific write-up, Melissa, thanx. Lots of good stuff in your write-up that I’m gonna come back to later. I have house guests, and, of course, the A.C. died. So gotta get that organized first.
FIR. Had very little trouble with today's effort. The theme was clever, although I didn't see it right off.
But once again, proper names spoil the puzzle. Pessl was downright mean.
This puzzle went fast at the top and bottom and slowed down in the middle but got 'er done as HG likes to say.
Awhile back we had ALOO a couple of times in a few weeks - so it stuck in my brain that it means the Indian dish has potatoes in it.
SKA and SRA are crossword staples, OTOH PESSL was ESP, though the book looked intriguing.
Thanks MB for the blog and Barbara & Carly for the post
Took 5:33 today to get drunk.
Like Ms. Irish Miss, I agree with what the esteemed and imitable SubG said regarding the lack of difficulty.
I knew Alan Ruck - I loved "Succession." I did not know today's author ("Pessl"), the German word, or the vegan dish (aloo, which I do think we've seen in some form before).
MSS. Let's take a word, remove many letters, and call it an abbreviation even though it's never been seen before (by me). Apparently it is a thing, from a Google search. I guess I learned something, even though it's useless unless I see it in another crossword.
Good morning. Thank you, Barbara Lin & Carly Schuna, and thank you Melissa.
Excellent theme clues today.
I too remembered ALAN Ruck's name from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Yesterday, our theme was a workout with press, dip, curl and squat. Today, we have a subtheme with a BODYBUILDER getting TOTALLY RIPPED (swole, shredded) with focus on the latissimus DORSI.
This was on the news this morning. Hank Williams sings Dr Dre
I read that the creator got bored during covid, so he started creating the funny mashups. Some really, really funny ones at his social media sites. Here's another short one that ties into a few answers or clues in today's puzzle.
ADELE at Chipolte after being told that guac is $2 extra.
Anonymous @ 7:20: Aw shucks, SS. (But I like you, too.)
FIR, but erased peel for MASH and luke for LEIA. SWAGged my Natick ALOO x ALAN.
Today is:
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY (local recycling programs are falling apart. There is nearly no market for recyclable glass, and China has started rejecting cardboard if they find a speck of food in it. Beer cans recycle well, but the supply cratered when I quit drinking.)
NATIONAL RAISIN BRAN CEREAL DAY (Just gimme some bran flakes and skim milk, please.)
NATIONAL CLEAN OUT YOUR REFRIGERATOR DAY (guess we’re having soup tonight)
NATIONAL BUNDT DAY (love it)
NATIONAL SPICY HERMIT COOKIE DAY (never heard of this cookie, but I’m sure I would eat too many)
NATIONAL EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS DAY (includes resource officers, secretaries, classroom aides, cafeteria workers, janitors, bus drivers and the like)
NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY (lots of good, deserving charities. Lots of thieves too. Those call me every day)
The British version of the Beatles Rubber SOLED er, SOUL album contained Drive My Car and Nowhere Man, which were removed for the USA version by Capitol Records. Because they could.
Seafarers know "ILY" as 1-4-3. It is the light sequence for the Minots Ledge Light near Boston Harbor. You can see 1-4-3 necklaces wherever recreational boaters congregate (usually liquor purveyors.) If your SO wears one and you weren't the giver, worry.
THONG is also common swimwear on South Beach.
Thanks to Barbara and Carly for the crunchy fun, and to melissa for the interesting commentary.
Whiner @ 7:23, MSS may be an LAT tradition. I can remember seeing it here a bunch of times, and I can't remember doodly squat.
Probably par for midweek. But the theme, you RIP music from a CD? Kinda far out. Who woulda thunk it.
Inkovers: hotpho/HOTPOT, dart/CART, was thinking of the curved arrow (dart?) under the word “Amazon” in their logo.
Saw all of “Succesion” but don’t remember “Ruck”. MANIcure alone doesn’t involve nail polish: (as If a “shave” is part of a “haircut”). But liked “Hello” a SONG by ADELE …cool, nicely played. “Pressing needs” was looking for wrinkled cloths. Just now realize that OBIE awards are for Off Broadways shows. (Not for great baby doctors? 😄)
A few months ago went out shopping for new jeans 👖 . Some of what they were selling looked worse than the ones I had.
“Siri / Alexa / Google, I’ve backed myself into a corner and don’t want to bother to rework the puzzle so find me a clue I can use with the nonsense answer PESSL”
False father(s): faux ___ ….PAS
Foreheads…… BROWSE
What many folks do about gray hair…. DIET.
Lincoln head pennies are common ____ ….SENSE
Cry at at auction….. SOLED
The problem with doing the puzzle on the phone is my clumsy thumbs 👎sometimes hit extra letters that show up randomly and I unknowingly screw up a correct answer already filled in. 🤨
Musings
-Obscure ALOO, PESSL and ALAN went quietly
-My wife’s Christmas COMPACT CDS are going to get a workout for a month or so
-Occam’s Razor usually means Common SENSE
-Wearing rubber SOLED shoes gave detectives the name gumshoes
-Shelly Duvall’s scene on the stairs with a bat in The Shining, took 127 takes
-I once read that an ERG is the equivalent of an ant doing a pushup
-A childhood injury to my right LAT comes back to visit occasionally
-Carly Schuna is a hoot and a circus trainer in Minneapolis. I have blogged several of her previous puzzles
A clever 🏃♀️ jog through the park today. Thanks Barbara and Carly for an awesome puzzle.
I love a Hot Pot 🍲 with friends. We go to an authentic Asian restaurant and you get a simmering pot of soup in the centre of the table. It can include meat, vegetables, seafood, dumplings, etc. A wonderful way to visit with friends and each person can take as much, or as little soup, as they like.
Thanks Melissa for a fun recap…. kkFlorida
I'm with the gang today, a very easy puzzle. My only misstep was going for dEAr before BEAU for 63A. Rest of the answers were straightforward. Liked the two longer answers, 11D and 38D.
Didn't know that alpacas are descended from vicunas. Are they related to lamas as well?
Need to do some home repair today. Gotta shop at the local L***s. When you own a house something always needs fixing.
If you put off doing it until tomorrow, you will always find you are too busy to do it then.
Whenever.
See, I almost put off thanking our contributors. Merci , Barbara, Carli and Melissa for your fine work.
What most said about this puzzle, fun, smooth in spite of a few stumbles over PESSL, and ALOO, the first filled in with perp, and the other with WAG.
Whiner@7:23. If you’re a writer of any kind, you are very familiar with and have used or seen MSS frequently.
Great recap from Melissa. Concerning faux pas, pas does only mean dance step, but also simply step.
Our much needed rain has finally ended after two days of constant drizzle.
Hola!
This puzzle was quick and easy today. Thank you, Barbara and Carly!
WRAPPING PAPER is appropriate as the WRAPPING season is upon us. I won't have nearly the number of presents I usually have unless something changes before Christmas. I might go to Target where I usually find many interesting things for my family.
LEIA. After we saw Star Wars, my daughter insisted on having her hair arranged in side buns for the duration of the school year.
I have yet to see a SCORPION though I have lived here most of my life.
My CD player is still loaded with COMPACT DISCS and it will be activated right after Thanksgiving.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Thank you, Melissa!
Totally ripped? or totally ripped off...
In my opinion, designed to fail...
HG @ 9:41 ~ I saw The Shining and was puzzled by your comment about "Shelly Duval's scene on the stairs with a bat" as I had no recollection of poor Shelly fending off a bat while trying to fend off her madman husband. 🤣
IM
Shelley isn’t fending off a 🦇 bat she is using a ⚾️ bat to fend off her batty hubby. (But if the new time clock goes off without a swing she’ll get a strike anyway
😄
Husker, Did I mis-remember that Carly was from Madison?
A pleasant stroll today despite the totally obscure PESSL, heard of by no one ever. Clever theme, which I actually got with the reveal! (For a change!) Yes, Melissa, common sense is getting rarer than ever. Proof? Forking over big $$$ for "DISTRESSED DENIM" and actually wearing it in public.
Greetings! In hindsight upon review, this puzzle seemed a lot easier than when I was in the midst of it. Thanks, Barbara & Carly. Clever theme, but I was not familiar with CDs being “ripped.”
Thanks, Melissa for lots of good info, but two things: this “old fogey” still uses CDs for music & audiobooks, and 2) I want my bacon so crisp it cracks if I look at it sideways!! 🤣🤣🤣!
WO: dEAr -> BEAU; RUeE -> RUSE; sort_ _ -> BATTLE when I got to the “L”
Perps for PESSL.
I only know of SKA from the CWs. I’ve never heard it played, so it was interesting to learn it is “horn-heavy.”
Hi All!
Ah, that was 10x easier than yesterday w/ lack of (w)Rappers, etc. Thank you Barara & Carly for the fun-theme'd puzzle.
Thanks mb, for the expo. I wanted Lional Richie at 67a and you didn't mention it. Then you did at 7d! Thanks for the other learning links too.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: ALAN, PESSL,
Fav: HOOPLA - always makes me think of this "IS OK" Starship SONG //lyric: knee-deep in the HOOPLA @:48 ;-)
LOL IM - I had Jimmy Durante in my head too!
When we bivouacked at White Sands during Basic, we had to shake our boots out every morning to make sure a SCORPION didn't sneak in. The only desert creature I saw IRL was a tarantula on a bush about 0.5 metres from me while I was doing pushups in the sand. //flipping to sit-ups scared me 'cuz I couldn't keep my eye on the spider!
HaHa @7:20 - Ripped == drunk :-)
RosE - here's some "white-boy" SKA: Mighty Mighty Bosstones. There were a few bands (MMBosstones, Reel Big Fish, even some No Doubt) in the late '90s that incorporated SKA into their rock / punk.
Back to work!
Cheers, -T
CharlieEcho
I agree with you about the DISTRESSED JEANS comment. The younger generation has no pride and no shame although I've even seen older women wearing those at church, no less.
Ray O @ 10:42 ~ Apparently you missed my 🤣 at discovering my misinterpretation of HG's bat reference.
Enjoyable RIPPED theme. Hand up clue for WRAPPING PAPER was clever. I often enjoy eating ALOO GOBI, but I ask them to leave out the ALOO! ALOO is white potatoes. High glycemic index and little nutritional value. I would rather eat chocolate cake. But GOBI is the cauliflower, which I love.
PESSL seemed wrong. Wrong. FIR.
SCORPIONs are rare here, but we do have them.
Here I encountered a SCORPION on a night hike on a very popular local trail.
From Yesterday:
Hand up that cluster of VERT/IRV/ALTLIT seemed unfair. Did WAG to FIR. Learning moment about utterly unknown JHERI CURL and I grew up in DC with many Black people.
DW said if she were ever on a jury selection, she would warn the judge: If the guy has tattoos on his face "he is guilty". VERT would be a problem.
Thanks to Barbara and Carly for their fun & clever puzzle! I have TOTALLY RIPPED open presents, RIPPED CDs to my computer, avoided buying RIPPED jeans, and admired RIPPED bodies. Also loved the clue "present surroundings". RUSE was the last to fall.
Thanks for your write-up, Melissa! That LOO article is a fun collection of cultural norms. I always laugh at the Aussie slang for an outhouse: long drop.
TTP@7:28. ADELE at Chipotle. Good one!
I liked this puzzle. PESSL got filled by the perps.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with a few words being solved by perps; most notably PESSL (which I really didn't notice until I stopped by the blog today)
As I commented in my recent blog, "Ja, ich habe Deutsch studiert", but I still learned (or should I say re-learned) my EIN, EINE, und EINEN. EINS is just ONE (loved how both words were used in the grid ...)
Jinx @ 7:53 --> there is a beach not too far from South Beach Florida where even THONG's are not allowed ... it's called Haulover Beach ... the only "allowable" swimwear is your birthday suit
Regarding SCORPIONS ... I have not only seen them but have been stung by ONE ... the feeling is like getting stung repeatedly by a bee in the exact spot ... fortunately I had no allergic reaction but it took well over a week to recover ... lavender oil helped with reducing the swelling ... and of all the places to be stung it was on the tip of my left middle finger
Thanks to the constructors and blogger for the enjoyment
Thanks, Anon-T for the videos - I liked all the brass! And the running left-behind french fries was too funny.
I also like my bacon chewy. As I say to my wife, "flabby." (She always cooks it crisp anyway.)
D-O, You're right. Carly does her circus training in Madison, WI.
Anyone listen to Biden's presser tonight?
"Xi Jinping and I have known each other since Hu was president.
"That's not a joke, folks, that's what his name is."
I nearly swerved into the other lane I was laughing so hard.
//#Context
-T
Yesterday- IRV & VERT
Today- ALOO, ALAN, & PESSL solved by perps
ALAN put his SNOOT in the LOO looking for ALOO and lost his SENSE of smell? A big Faux PAS.
Tony- In a few years people will be asking 'Who is HU'?
Melissa Bee brings this Lin/Schuna PZL…
20A had me going. I wasted a lot of time over the double meaning of “present.”
~ OMK
____________
DR: one diag, far side.
Its anagram (13 of 15) caused me to imagine a Halloween costume for an 8-year old, a skeleton suit that the wearer’s mom couldn’t stop herself from dressing up with ribbons and pink bows, in other words, the…
“SAPPIEST BONES”!
Thank You Barbara Lin and Carly Schuna for a very nice midweek puzzle. I had no real problems, other than a few names that others have already written about...
BTW, I really enjoyed the banter of many of the posters and the inside jokes and comments ... that more than made up reading about the puzzle itself !!@!!
Ray-O-Sunshine .... You are a riot !!! ...Even though, ( I presume - )you are on vacation in Florida, you found time to do the puzzle and write in all those smart and funny comments ... you really crack me up !! OBies for OB/GYn doctors, indeed ...
I can sympathize with you about having to type posts on the telephone keyboard, ... it can be a disaster !!@#!!
Thank You Melissa Bee for your very charming commentary on your blog. Learnt a lot of things, that I hope I'll remember ...
'To Rip' ... could also mean, in other meanings .... getting very inebriated or drunk .... or to steal from somebody or something, or get taken advantage of ....??
I don't like using the word 'Rip' when down loading something or some piece of music, legally and from/and to your own property ... from your own machine .... that should be nobody else's business .... !!
Aloo is the common Hindi/Urdu word for 'Potato' ... as Gobi is for Cauliflower. ( I like both vegetables ... but I don't cook the combination, very often...) .
The formal Hindi word for Potato is "Batata" ... which is the exact word used by the Portugese, for the same vegetable. This makes sense, because it was the Portugese who introduced the Potato ( and Mangoes/Mangos, and Chillies ... among a host of vegetables from the 'New World' ... to the 'Old World' )....
Thank You Melissa BEE for the article on Loos and other delicate words for the Lav.
I too, thought of the Amazon's arrow ( from A to z) ..before the 'cart' perped up.
22Down, .... now we have to know the initials of the US Congressional representatives , as well ?? There are atleast 535 of them !! ;-(
Have a nice Thursday, all you folks.
Sumdaze, that was good, wasn't it? His name is Dustin Ballard. I read an Ars Technica article that outlines how he does it.
I found his YouTube channel - He's published 114 videos:
There I Ruined It on You Tube.
Most of his covers are genre-swapping remixes, such as Michael Jackson's song Thriller. He titled that video, "When it's Halloween, but you're from Kentucky." Thriller set to bluegrass... Or mashups like Queen's, Another One Bites The Dust (ft. Pee-wee Herman).
So much fun.
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