Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with today's puzzle recap. As you read this I am in Utah helping to celebrate a very good friend's 70th birthday. After that, it is on to Colorado, wind and weather permitting. Many small towns in Colorado have become "Zoom Towns" over the past few years so, if the internet "pipeline" is not overtaxed, I should be able to work on my next couple of blogs remotely.
Today's constructor is frequent-visitor Zachary David Levy who presented us with quite a bit to ponder, theme-wise. There was no "reveal". In the electronic version from which I was working, there were no asterisks. There were no circles. There was, seemingly, no common thread. There were helpful questions marks but those, as we all know, can serve various purposes. This solver will admit to rereading what were pretty obviously the five themed answers several times without finding that elusive common thread.
Then I recalled the words of Lisa Simpson. Lisa has/had been known to hang out with Will Shortz and Merl Reagle (RIP) so it pays to check in with her now and then. As a result of her inspiration, it dawned on me that the last two words (and in one case, three words, when you include the A) of each clue were anagrams of the answers (or, if you prefer, vice versa):
17 Across: The worst description of poor purses?: PROSPEROUS. PORO yields POOR, RSPEUS yields PURSES. Prosperous being an antonym of poor.
25 Across: Completely unlike a docile man?:DEMONIACAL. A yields A, DEOICL yields DOCILE, and MNA yields MAN. A demoniacal man is not likely to be docile.
36 Across: The furthest thing from tidier rooms?: DORMITORIES. DITRIE yields TIDIER, and ORMOS yields ROOMS. Dormitories are, stereo-typically, messy.
50 Across: The opposite of one who is not against?: ANTAGONIST. ONT yields NOT, and ANTAGIS yields AGAINST. Double negative. Triple?
59 Across: Treated with a decided lack of due respect?: PERSECUTED. EUD yields DUE, and PRSECTE yields RESPECT.
After that DAMNED clever (if a bit MADDENing) start, let's have a look at the rest of the clues and the answers:
Across:
1. Sponge (off): MOOCH. Clued as a verb.
6. Degs. for CFOs: MBAS. Some Chief Financial Officers hold Master of Business Administration degreeS. Most MBAs are not CFOs.
10. 1040 ID figs.: SSNS. A reference to the IRS Form 1040. Social Security NumberS
14. Place to perform: VENUE. Some hold more people than do others.
Grateful Dead at Giants Stadium - 1978
15. Additionally: ALSO. MORE, STILL, PLUS ?
16. Shiny sticker?: EPEE. Not a sticker that you would put on e.g. a notebook. Not a reflector sticker. You can stick someone with a sword.
19. __ chips: PITA. What did the PITA chip say to the hummus when she was ill? I falafel.
20. Breading choice: PANKO.
21. Has quite a kick: ZINGS. This one seemed a bit off to me having never heard anyone say "this zings." I mean, the hot sauce or the whiskey might have a quite a kick but it ZINGS? Still, it made a great song in the 1930's (without that S):
22. Rx writer: DOC. Abbreviated clue, abbreviated answer: DOCtor. Zachary/Patti could have gone with the rabbit.
28. Investment firm figure: ANALYST.
Only Buy Me Stocks That Go Up
31. Agent, informally: REP. Not a secret agent. A business agent. REPresentative.
32. Simu of "Kim's Convenience": LIU. Unknown to this solver. Thanks, again, perps.
33. Italian birthplace of Paganini: GENOA. Anche, Cristoforo Colombo.
34. Element in some smoky whiskies: PEAT. Ah, this one is near and dear. Distilleries use hot smoke from burning PEAT to stop the germination of barley at a certain point resulting in malted barley that is then used to make whisky. The PEAT smoke imparts a distinctive, if polarizing, flavor.
A Peat-Burning Oven. Laphroaig Distillery
Island of Islay, Scotland
Malting Floor, Laphroaig Distillery
Isle of Islay, Scotland
(photos by MM)
35. Filmmaker Lee: ANG. Spike would not fit.
40. Call (out): CRY.
42. Swimmer Torres who won 12 Olympic medals: DARA.
43. Literary form: ESSAY. Hand up for first thinking PROSE.
46. Consists of: HAS. This puzzle HAS 225 squares,
47. Letters before a pen name: AKA. Also Known As
48. Spartan: AUSTERE. Not a reference to MSU.
53. Patch, perhaps: SEW. I tried to think of something witty to say here but I ran out of material.
54. Size for fries: LARGE. Supersize me.
55. Cut a rug: DANCE. Idiomatic from an earlier era.
Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) In "Top Secret"
58. Gloating cry: I WIN. Sometimes it's I WON.
64. Promontory: CAPE. A geographical reference (Cape Ann, Cape Horn, Cape Cod, etc.). Often clued with references to comic book superheros.
65. Pennsylvania city across from Presque Isle State Park: ERIE. Four letters. Three vowels. An often-used constructor's friend.
66. Sports news: TRADE. Some have, supposedly, lead to curses.
67. Seers?: EYES. Not SEERS as in tellers of the future. What we see with.
68. Over and done with: PAST. The PAST, the present and the future walked into a bar. Things got a little tense.
69. Madonna hit that begins, "Strike a pose": VOGUE. Not the Madonna celebrated earlier this week.
Down:
1. 2023 World Series honor for Corey Seager: MVP.Most Valuable Player. It would have been nice if the Dodgers had re-signed Corey.
2. Poetic contraction: O'ER. As in "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
3. "Double Fantasy" singer: ONO. Many ways to clue Yoko Ono. Some would go with breakerupperofthebeatles.
4. Astrological delineation: CUSP. Is your moon in Fresno?
5. __ filter: HEPA. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air, and a HEPAfilter is a specially designed air filter that excels at capturing tiny particles in the air.
6. Word with fish or meat: MARKET. Or with stock (but that would have been more of a giveaway).
7. Sign of spring: BLOOM. I might have gone with a clue along these lines:
8. Tempe sch.: ASU.
9. Scouring brand: SOS.
10. Retro tone: SEPIA. For photographs.
11. SoulCycle offering: SPIN CLASSES. This solver was not familiar with SoulCycle but the "cycle" part was helpful and the perps made it clear.
12. Bottom line: NET GAIN.
13. Shell-less gastropod: SEA SLUG. Some are far more visually intriguing than the land varieties.
18. Comes to a halt: ENDS. What starts with W and ENDS with T. Really, it does.
21. Some plastic fasteners: ZIP TIES. Very useful for oh so many applications.
22. Peace Nobelist Hammarskjöld: DAG. Secretary General of the United Nations (1953 - 1961).
23. Single: ONE.
One
24. Peppermint pattern: CANDY STRIPE.
26. Ice cream cookie: OREO. Clue-able in oh so many ways.
27. In the ballpark: NEAR. Idiomatic.
29. Liverpool lav: LOO. In London, if you pay money to live in a bathroom you can tell your friends that you are a LOO tenant.
30. Gridiron stat: YARDAGE. A football reference. Inspired by the lines on the football field. Gridiron derives from griddle and grid. It was also a medieval instrument of torture.
34. Educational org.: PTA.
37. Shortfin shark: MAKO. The K from 47 across was a big help with this one.
38. Turkey neighbor: IRAN. YAMS would have fit.
39. NYC hrs.: EST. Eastern Standard Time
40. Ceremonial goblet: CHALICE. The film, "The Court Jester" with Danny Kay taught me this one at an early age.
41. Bolted: RAN AWAY. Not a hardware reference.
44. Equal: ARE. As in two and two ARE four.
45. Evergreen shrub: YEW. Often clued with a reference to archery.
48. How cutlery is typically sold: AS A SET.
49. Alternative magazine name: UTNE. The "UTNE Reader" is oft cited in crossword puzzles.
51. Hong Kong politician and social activist Chow: AGNES.
52. "Luther" star Elba: IDRIS. This solver did not know "Luther" but IDRIS Elba has been a frequent visitor the past few years.
56. Video surveillance letters: CCTV. Closed Circuit TeleVision
57. Irish capital: EURO. Not the capital city. Money.
59. Oomph: PEP.
60. Bullpen fig.: ERA. A baseball reference. Relief pitchers, a subset of whom are called "closers" warm up in the "bullpen". Earner Run Average. Roughly, how many runs, on average, the pitcher gives up for every nine innings he pitches (ERA excludes runs the pitcher would not have allowed had somebody not messed up).
61. __ sale: TAG. AKA Yard Sale or Garage Sale.
62. Georgetown closer: EDU. Not a baseball reference. The ending of an email address.
63. Barely passing mark: DEE. A B C D F Aren't we grading on the curve here?
Here is the completed grid:
That will wrap things up for today. Thanks, again, Lisa (and friends).
Thanks, MalMan. I had no idea what the underlying theme was until you explained it with such clarity! This puzzle also had some “crunch” to it, mainly due to a number of obscure proper names. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy. FLN - Monkey (Monique), thank you for your kind words. May I say I always enjoy your contributions as well! You’re one classy (French) lady!
Weird puzzle. Some of the answers seemed "off," yet they were what immediately came to me. Noticed the CSO to I-M at AGNES. D-o finished this one in far better than normal Friday solving time. Very clever, if esoteric, theme, ZDL. (Never saw it.) Malman, you were at your punniest this morning. (Falafel, indeed.)
FIR, but erased protagonist for ANTAGONIST (READ THE CLUE, jinx!) chalise for CHALICE (UNTIE!) and zine for UTNE.
Today is: NATIONAL PEPPER POT DAY (brought to us by people from Africa, the West Indies, and the Caribbean) NO INTERRUPTIONS DAY (the day to get organized for the new year by cleaning up your workspace without interruptions) TICK TOCK DAY (unfinished business usually needs to be wrapped up before the end of the calendar year)
New England was snowed in for the longest time. I wanted the sticker to be a spur, but was pretty sure 10d wouldn't start with "SS." Finally I got the point with EPEE, and a WAG for LIU freed up everything else up yonder.
I guess you could make chips from PITA, but serving them to me would make you a P.I.T.A.
I learned about CHALICE after hearing the late Jimmy Buffett's ballad Tin Cup CHALICE. Another great song that was a must-perform at his concerts.
I liked DOC x DAG, and seeing PTA reused as PITA. Musta had a spare "I" laying around. My favorite was "seers" for EYES.
Thanks to Zachary for the puzzle that stretched my meager solving abilities to their limits. And thanks to our MalMan for the punny review, and for 'splainin' the theme. Never in a million years...
FIR, but at times I felt like I was solving a Saturday puzzle. Some of the cluing was extremely odd and I question a few of them as they seemed a stretch. I never saw the underlying theme as a jumble of words until I got here. The NW was the last to fall when suddenly MVP came to me and the corner finally filled in. But cusp as the answer to 4D? Hmmm!
As soon as I filled in Prosperous, I saw the Anagram/Antonym theme based on the C/A. However, it was still a challenge to parse each theme phrase due to the length of the words. I don't remember ever seeing this type of theme before and while I admire the effort and execution, I find anagrams tedious to solve. I put them in the same category as self-referential cluing, which I also dislike. That said, the puzzle had some crunch, i.e., Liu, Dara, Vogue, Sea Slug, etc. It also had lots of fresh and lively fill, e.g., Candy Stripe, Spin Classes, Chalice, Zip Ties, Austere, etc., plus the themers themselves. Lucina will be happy to see Idris Elba once again.
Thanks, Zachary, for a Friday workout and thanks, MalMan, for the informative commentary and your trademark humor. I echo DO's Falafel, Indeed chuckle and laughed out loud at Turkey Neighbor, "Yams would have fit." Not familiar with Top Secret nor Val Kilmer's dancing talent, but saw A Chorus Line twice on Broadway, so both videos were fun to see. Safe travels and Smooth Slopes!
DO @ 5:35 ~ Thanks for the CSO. Unusual for an Asian to be named Agnes.
What purpose, I wonder, is a theme when only the constructor has a clue --- so to speak? If you filled out the puzzle correctly and did not figure out the theme, you were not alone. This offering might as well have been a Saturday themeless. Who'd know?
Nobody ever received a DEE for a grade. D is a grade. I don't care for people's names in a puzzle but I'd rather see that then spelling out letters, especially like this.
No chance I'd ever get the anagram theme. It just caused some of the clues/answers to be a little awkward, IMO.
I had trouble with the NE corner, not knowing SEA SLUG, LIU, and struggling with DEMONIACAL and SEPIA. The rest of the puzzle came together nicely.
I would've loved to see Yams for the Turkey neighbor!
Fun theme but intricate. I had no clue. Not that difficult for a Friday puzzle with good perps. One cheat. In the SE I was missing CC--, -RA-E, -OG-E. I looked up VOGUE. The V and U helped me finish. EDU was a surprise. Good misdirection. ELBA had to be IDRIS. I like panko better than bread crumbs for breading. I have learned that chilling breaded items slightly before frying helps the breading adhere. In astrology "Cusps, in popular understanding, are the days bordering the sun's transition into a new sign." Google. We spent Christmas Day at David's, continuing a 60 year dinner tradition of vichyssoise followed by a standing rib roast with Yorkshire pudding. Davis is a great cook. It was great to see my grandson again. He is half Japanese and is thinking of teaching English in Japan. We celebrated my birthday in the evening and I was the star. Family love is wonderful. We had candles on a chocolate mousse pie. I received as many presents as I would have received if my birthday was any other day. I love my Christmas birthday. Thanks for the well wishes from the Corner.
Friday Fooler. Thanks for the fun, Zachary and MalMan. I flamed out at the end, not getting the D in the EDU TRADE cross. And I did not get the anagram theme. This would have been a day for those oft-maligned circles.
Zippers changed to TIES. Robin was my first thought for sign of spring but perps prevented me from entering. Perps were fair for names. We have seen Canadian Simu LIU several times previously. I have commented on his book, We were Dreamers, and his more recent claim to fame as the Marvel hero, Shang Chi.
SEW crossed YEW (they do not rhyme though). LOL re Yams for Turkey neighbour. Keep that clue in mind constructors. KS- CUSP refers to people born on days bordering the sun’s transition to a new zodiac sign. Favourite today was the fresh clue for old standard EPEE.
Whew! Managed to FIR, but it was a real struggle. The NE corner nearly did me in. Last to fall was EPEE, just couldn't see it as clued. Clever, D'oh! Theme? Really? There was a theme? Coulda' fooled me! Thanks for clearing that up, MalMan-you're a better man than I, Gunga Din!
Easy for Friday but the Z of ZIPTIES and ZINGS took a complete (obviously) alphabet run to FIR. Accolades to not only to ZDL for one of most incredibly clever theme answer arrays but to MalMan for finally parsing them out. A pair of truly wise guys 🧐. (I wrongfully thought the answers were opposites or double negatives of the clues)
SOS next to “Sign Of Spring” …. almost put “Robin” but wouldn’t perp with MBAS. genre for “literary form” wouldn’t perp either. I recently read “Paganini’s Ghost” by Paul Adam so knew GENOA. Filled protagonist but ran out of spaces
PEAT in some whiskies sounds nasty but knew it from somewhere, probably here at the corner. Took SPINCLASSES for years yet needed perps.
Inkovers: stage/VENUE, I won/IWIN
In these parts it’s a garage “sale”, no one would understand TAG sale. (“Tag, you’re IT!”)
All the Rx writers I could think of: MD, PA, NP all 2 letters except PCP which wouldn’t perp.
A Brit related how he suddenly needed to use the lav: “I hadda skip to my LOO”
These are frequently confused..The Rod of Aesculapius, the Roman god of Medicine as you described is a pole encircled by a single snake. I understand that the US Medical Army Corps mistook it for the Cadeuces (two snakes around a winged pole) which is the staff wielded by the god Mercury when they took it as their symbol.
I suspect many medical organizations have adopted the cadeuces because it is more elaborate, symmetrical and appealing than a simple pole with snake.
Thievery? Think you’ve got me confused with the US pharmaceutical industry.
I knew Dag, Ang, Idris and Dara, but I first wrote Dana, but Iran fixed that. As soon as I saw the long answers were one word things went faster. No problems. I enjoyed the puzzle. GC
FIW due to a glitch in the SE corner (missed on EDU and had to show the red letters)
Nice CSO to Irish Miss - who has become quite an asset to this budding crossword puzzle constructor [spoiler alert: there are 5 Chairman Moe puzzles coming in the next couple of months, but not going to say when or where]
Thanks MalMan for the fun recap; I got the theme but you explained it way better than I would. Enjoy your stay in CO and say hello to Valerie
Musings -What an engaging puzzle! After not really getting the gimmick it occurred to me at PROSPEROUS and I was off to the finish. -What Irish/AKA AGNES said! -Old standbys ONO, ERIE and OREO get some fairly new clues -This guy really needs to be IN THE BALLPARK! -Yardage is nice but doesn’t guarantee a win. Ya gotta score! -Parents really worried that Madonna’s outfits and lyrics would ruin their young girls. Now those young girls are parents and grandparents -Our YEWS on the south side of our house have scores of birds as residents -Over ½ the current NFL football teams have had to go to the bullpen for QB’s this year -A daughter of a friend did teach English in Japan. She was a former WNBA player and at 6’2”, she towered over both her kids and Japanese adults. -Nice job, M2
Hi Y'all! Got 'er filled, thanks. ZDL. Theme? Had to read MalMan's theory several times to really believe it. Thanks, MM.
For the first time in four years I was able to spend Christmas with all my children, their spouses and my grandchildren in my daughter's new home. Such a wonderful time for me. Got enough hugs to last a while. However, my dinner table chair got caught up in their high pile carpet and pitched me over on my back which caused a major spectacle. I wasn't really hurt landing on that soft carpet, but it twisted my knee and I've been using an old-lady walker ever since. Gets better every day.
Speaking of LOO. My gift from my older son was the hit of the gift exchange. He asked me what I wanted or needed and I told him a new toilet seat. So that's what I got and when I opened it in all the company, there was general hilarity. After the party he came and installed it. My best gift in years.
Thanks Zachary for a relatively easy Friday FIR and a theme that was so inscrutable that I didn't even occur to me to try to unscramble.
And thanks to MalMan for drawing this straw. If I'd have gotten it I still be scratching my head. And thanks for all the funny stuff.
A few favs:
24A PEAT. When we were in Ireland we purloined some PEAT we found lying by the roadside and then found that it doesn't burn unless it's thoroughly dry. Probably a trick on tourists played by the locals.
43A ESSAY. Hand down. Perps said it started with E (see net clue)
65A ERIE. And two of those vowels are the most common lEtter in the English language.
40D CHALICE. By shear coincidence we saw Danny Kaye in White Christmas at my son's Christmas Party on the 25th. My grandchildren have seen it dozens of times and were reciting all the lines in unison with the actors. They all recommended The Court Jester next as a must see.
I had no idea this was an anagram puzzle. At first I thought something about Shakespeare and was thinking of prospero (and) us? And maybe Demonica (and) Cal? But it all fell apart at dormitories. FIR
Thanks to ZDL for a puzzle that was challenging but not frustrating. I have a hard-earned FIR but I could not see the theme until coming to the Corner so the "solve" was elusive. The moment I saw Lisa Simpson, the anagram flag went up. Well done, ZDL! ZIP TIES took longer than it should have. The NW was the last to fill. I did remember CanadianEh! telling us about LIU's book. Thanks, to MalMan for an excellent write-up and all the groaners. FAV: YAMS. Best wishes for your travels!
That whooshing sound you heard this morning was the theme going right over my head. Thanks MManatee for explaining Zachary's really cool theme; I'm with waseeley - glad you got today / could figure it out.
WOs: N/A ESPs: DARA, DAG, IRDIS Fav: ZIP TIEs - just 'cuz they're so darn useful.
I too noticed the CSO to IM at 51d. Day 2 of the MS150* starts off like that penguin.
Ouch, PK. Glad no major damage but that had to scare everyone at the table.
DW is a wizard at AirBnB - this is the view from our flat in Sausalito, CA.
Cheers, -T *150 mile charity ride from Houston to Austin for MS research.
Monkey & Tony, thank you for your comments. The joy of seeing everyone outdid the fall consequences. They had no trouble getting out of THEIR chairs when I went down. I looked up into a ring of faces and hands trying to help me back up.
Is it just me, or have the past two days’ (Th/today) puzzles been rather easy cruises? Not that I’m complaining, mind you; usually Friday gets a little gnarly, but aside from getting momentarily stalled in the NE, this was a nice relaxing endeavor. As themes go, though, I’m classifying this one as “themeless”, because its concept is far, far away in an alternate universe in my opinion. If I want to solve anagrams, I’ll go look for anagrams; this is a crossword puzzle, kids!
@Whiner, I’ve actually had a DEE in high school! Here in CA, besides the usual grade on the subject, there were also boxes for Work Habits and Cooperation (!), graded either Excellent (E), Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). One class I had I barely passed, getting a D — but got Excellents in the other areas — thus, DEE. (For another subject, however, I was awarded an AEU: aced the tests, worked hard, but the teacher told me I’d been a giant PITA 🤣).
To end this epistle, a note to the illustrious MalMan: Your recaps are always a highlight of these pages, so don’t falafel if you can’t come up with a ZINGer for every notation; if you miss one or two, well — SEW what?
33 comments:
Thanks, MalMan. I had no idea what the underlying theme was until you explained it with such clarity! This puzzle also had some “crunch” to it, mainly due to a number of obscure proper names. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
FLN - Monkey (Monique), thank you for your kind words. May I say I always enjoy your contributions as well! You’re one classy (French) lady!
Good morning!
Weird puzzle. Some of the answers seemed "off," yet they were what immediately came to me. Noticed the CSO to I-M at AGNES. D-o finished this one in far better than normal Friday solving time. Very clever, if esoteric, theme, ZDL. (Never saw it.) Malman, you were at your punniest this morning. (Falafel, indeed.)
FIR, but erased protagonist for ANTAGONIST (READ THE CLUE, jinx!) chalise for CHALICE (UNTIE!) and zine for UTNE.
Today is:
NATIONAL PEPPER POT DAY (brought to us by people from Africa, the West Indies, and the Caribbean)
NO INTERRUPTIONS DAY (the day to get organized for the new year by cleaning up your workspace without interruptions)
TICK TOCK DAY (unfinished business usually needs to be wrapped up before the end of the calendar year)
New England was snowed in for the longest time. I wanted the sticker to be a spur, but was pretty sure 10d wouldn't start with "SS." Finally I got the point with EPEE, and a WAG for LIU freed up everything else up yonder.
I guess you could make chips from PITA, but serving them to me would make you a P.I.T.A.
I learned about CHALICE after hearing the late Jimmy Buffett's ballad Tin Cup CHALICE. Another great song that was a must-perform at his concerts.
I liked DOC x DAG, and seeing PTA reused as PITA. Musta had a spare "I" laying around. My favorite was "seers" for EYES.
Thanks to Zachary for the puzzle that stretched my meager solving abilities to their limits. And thanks to our MalMan for the punny review, and for 'splainin' the theme. Never in a million years...
FIR, but at times I felt like I was solving a Saturday puzzle. Some of the cluing was extremely odd and I question a few of them as they seemed a stretch.
I never saw the underlying theme as a jumble of words until I got here.
The NW was the last to fall when suddenly MVP came to me and the corner finally filled in. But cusp as the answer to 4D? Hmmm!
Never saw the theme but the puzzle was an easy Friday.
Good Morning:
As soon as I filled in Prosperous, I saw the Anagram/Antonym theme based on the C/A. However, it was still a challenge to parse each theme phrase due to the length of the words. I don't remember ever seeing this type of theme before and while I admire the effort and execution, I find anagrams tedious to solve. I put them in the same category as self-referential cluing, which I also dislike. That said, the puzzle had some crunch, i.e., Liu, Dara, Vogue, Sea Slug, etc. It also had lots of fresh and lively fill, e.g., Candy Stripe, Spin Classes, Chalice, Zip Ties, Austere, etc., plus the themers themselves. Lucina will be happy to see Idris Elba once again.
Thanks, Zachary, for a Friday workout and thanks, MalMan, for the informative commentary and your trademark humor. I echo DO's Falafel, Indeed chuckle and laughed out loud at Turkey Neighbor, "Yams would have fit." Not familiar with Top Secret nor Val Kilmer's dancing talent, but saw A Chorus Line twice on Broadway, so both videos were fun to see. Safe travels and Smooth Slopes!
DO @ 5:35 ~ Thanks for the CSO. Unusual for an Asian to be named Agnes.
Have a great day.
What purpose, I wonder, is a theme when only the constructor has a clue --- so to speak? If you filled out the puzzle correctly and did not figure out the theme, you were not alone. This offering might as well have been a Saturday themeless. Who'd know?
Nobody ever received a DEE for a grade. D is a grade. I don't care for people's names in a puzzle but I'd rather see that then spelling out letters, especially like this.
No chance I'd ever get the anagram theme. It just caused some of the clues/answers to be a little awkward, IMO.
I had trouble with the NE corner, not knowing SEA SLUG, LIU, and struggling with DEMONIACAL and SEPIA. The rest of the puzzle came together nicely.
I would've loved to see Yams for the Turkey neighbor!
Good Morning! Thanks, Zachary. This one was a toughie for me, apropos for a Friday.
WOs galore. mds -> DOC; YARD Avg -> YARDAGE; in A SET – AS A SET, etc. etc.
MalMan, the theme completely escaped me until I read your reveal. Whew! Never would have seen it. The penguin was LOL! As was your commentary. Thanks.
Fun theme but intricate. I had no clue. Not that difficult for a Friday puzzle with good perps. One cheat. In the SE I was missing CC--, -RA-E, -OG-E. I looked up VOGUE. The V and U helped me finish. EDU was a surprise. Good misdirection.
ELBA had to be IDRIS.
I like panko better than bread crumbs for breading. I have learned that chilling breaded items slightly before frying helps the breading adhere.
In astrology "Cusps, in popular understanding, are the days bordering the sun's transition into a new sign." Google.
We spent Christmas Day at David's, continuing a 60 year dinner tradition of vichyssoise followed by a standing rib roast with Yorkshire pudding. Davis is a great cook.
It was great to see my grandson again. He is half Japanese and is thinking of teaching English in Japan.
We celebrated my birthday in the evening and I was the star. Family love is wonderful. We had candles on a chocolate mousse pie. I received as many presents as I would have received if my birthday was any other day. I love my Christmas birthday. Thanks for the well wishes from the Corner.
Whiner - Patti is probably to young to approve a clue like "Twisted Sister Snider" for DEE. But We're Not Gonna Take It.
OOPS! David is a great cook, not Davis. We stayed with David, Motoko and Kenny until midweek.
Friday Fooler. Thanks for the fun, Zachary and MalMan.
I flamed out at the end, not getting the D in the EDU TRADE cross. And I did not get the anagram theme. This would have been a day for those oft-maligned circles.
Zippers changed to TIES.
Robin was my first thought for sign of spring but perps prevented me from entering.
Perps were fair for names. We have seen Canadian Simu LIU several times previously. I have commented on his book, We were Dreamers, and his more recent claim to fame as the Marvel hero, Shang Chi.
SEW crossed YEW (they do not rhyme though).
LOL re Yams for Turkey neighbour. Keep that clue in mind constructors.
KS- CUSP refers to people born on days bordering the sun’s transition to a new zodiac sign.
Favourite today was the fresh clue for old standard EPEE.
Wishing you all a great day.
Puzzle was OK. FIR with no help from the theme, which was totally lost on me.
FIR, but didn’t get the theme. I had to wait for MM’s nice recap. I impressed you figured it out, BTW, I loved that penguin walk after spin class.
Indeed lots of unknowns but somehow I managed them to my surprise.
Subgenius, you made me blush.
That should be I’m. I can’t blame spellcheck for that one.
Whew! Managed to FIR, but it was a real struggle. The NE corner nearly did me in. Last to fall was EPEE, just couldn't see it as clued. Clever, D'oh! Theme? Really? There was a theme? Coulda' fooled me! Thanks for clearing that up, MalMan-you're a better man than I, Gunga Din!
Easy for Friday but the Z of ZIPTIES and ZINGS took a complete (obviously) alphabet run to FIR. Accolades to not only to ZDL for one of most incredibly clever theme answer arrays but to MalMan for finally parsing them out. A pair of truly wise guys 🧐. (I wrongfully thought the answers were opposites or double negatives of the clues)
SOS next to “Sign Of Spring” …. almost put “Robin” but wouldn’t perp with MBAS. genre for “literary form” wouldn’t perp either.
I recently read “Paganini’s Ghost” by Paul Adam so knew GENOA. Filled protagonist but ran out of spaces
PEAT in some whiskies sounds nasty but knew it from somewhere, probably here at the corner. Took SPINCLASSES for years yet needed perps.
Inkovers: stage/VENUE, I won/IWIN
In these parts it’s a garage “sale”, no one would understand TAG sale. (“Tag, you’re IT!”)
All the Rx writers I could think of: MD, PA, NP all 2 letters except PCP which wouldn’t perp.
A Brit related how he suddenly needed to use the lav: “I hadda skip to my LOO”
VIDWAN
….FLN
Rod of Aesculapius and Cadeuces
These are frequently confused..The Rod of Aesculapius, the Roman god of Medicine as you described is a pole encircled by a single snake. I understand that the US Medical Army Corps mistook it for the Cadeuces (two snakes around a winged pole) which is the staff wielded by the god Mercury when they took it as their symbol.
I suspect many medical organizations have adopted the cadeuces because it is more elaborate, symmetrical and appealing than a simple pole with snake.
Thievery? Think you’ve got me confused with the US pharmaceutical industry.
MalMan, the penguin walk reminded me of John Wayne in a Tuxedo.
I knew Dag, Ang, Idris and Dara, but I first wrote Dana, but Iran fixed that. As soon as I saw the long answers were one word things went faster. No problems. I enjoyed the puzzle. GC
Jinx--Dee Snider is the name I was thinking of too. If rappers are approved, Twisted Sister should definitely be a go.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIW due to a glitch in the SE corner (missed on EDU and had to show the red letters)
Nice CSO to Irish Miss - who has become quite an asset to this budding crossword puzzle constructor [spoiler alert: there are 5 Chairman Moe puzzles coming in the next couple of months, but not going to say when or where]
Thanks MalMan for the fun recap; I got the theme but you explained it way better than I would. Enjoy your stay in CO and say hello to Valerie
Musings
-What an engaging puzzle! After not really getting the gimmick it occurred to me at PROSPEROUS and I was off to the finish.
-What Irish/AKA AGNES said!
-Old standbys ONO, ERIE and OREO get some fairly new clues
-This guy really needs to be IN THE BALLPARK!
-Yardage is nice but doesn’t guarantee a win. Ya gotta score!
-Parents really worried that Madonna’s outfits and lyrics would ruin their young girls. Now those young girls are parents and grandparents
-Our YEWS on the south side of our house have scores of birds as residents
-Over ½ the current NFL football teams have had to go to the bullpen for QB’s this year
-A daughter of a friend did teach English in Japan. She was a former WNBA player and at 6’2”, she towered over both her kids and Japanese adults.
-Nice job, M2
Hi Y'all! Got 'er filled, thanks. ZDL. Theme? Had to read MalMan's theory several times to really believe it. Thanks, MM.
For the first time in four years I was able to spend Christmas with all my children, their spouses and my grandchildren in my daughter's new home. Such a wonderful time for me. Got enough hugs to last a while. However, my dinner table chair got caught up in their high pile carpet and pitched me over on my back which caused a major spectacle. I wasn't really hurt landing on that soft carpet, but it twisted my knee and I've been using an old-lady walker ever since. Gets better every day.
Speaking of LOO. My gift from my older son was the hit of the gift exchange. He asked me what I wanted or needed and I told him a new toilet seat. So that's what I got and when I opened it in all the company, there was general hilarity. After the party he came and installed it. My best gift in years.
Thanks Zachary for a relatively easy Friday FIR and a theme that was so inscrutable that I didn't even occur to me to try to unscramble.
And thanks to MalMan for drawing this straw. If I'd have gotten it I still be scratching my head. And thanks for all the funny stuff.
A few favs:
24A PEAT. When we were in Ireland we purloined some PEAT we found lying by the roadside and then found that it doesn't burn unless it's thoroughly dry. Probably a trick on tourists played by the locals.
43A ESSAY. Hand down. Perps said it started with E (see net clue)
65A ERIE. And two of those vowels are the most common lEtter in the English language.
40D CHALICE. By shear coincidence we saw Danny Kaye in White Christmas at my son's Christmas Party on the 25th. My grandchildren have seen it dozens of times and were reciting all the lines in unison with the actors. They all recommended The Court Jester next as a must see.
51A AGNES. A CSO to Irish Miss.
Cheers,
Bill
I had no idea this was an anagram puzzle. At first I thought something about Shakespeare and was thinking of prospero (and) us? And maybe Demonica (and) Cal? But it all fell apart at dormitories. FIR
Thanks to ZDL for a puzzle that was challenging but not frustrating. I have a hard-earned FIR but I could not see the theme until coming to the Corner so the "solve" was elusive. The moment I saw Lisa Simpson, the anagram flag went up. Well done, ZDL!
ZIP TIES took longer than it should have. The NW was the last to fill. I did remember CanadianEh! telling us about LIU's book.
Thanks, to MalMan for an excellent write-up and all the groaners. FAV: YAMS. Best wishes for your travels!
PK. Hope your knee gets well. What a wonderful sounding Christmas for you.
Hi All!
That whooshing sound you heard this morning was the theme going right over my head. Thanks MManatee for explaining Zachary's really cool theme; I'm with waseeley - glad you got today / could figure it out.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: DARA, DAG, IRDIS
Fav: ZIP TIEs - just 'cuz they're so darn useful.
I too noticed the CSO to IM at 51d. Day 2 of the MS150* starts off like that penguin.
Ouch, PK. Glad no major damage but that had to scare everyone at the table.
DW is a wizard at AirBnB - this is the view from our flat in Sausalito, CA.
Cheers, -T
*150 mile charity ride from Houston to Austin for MS research.
Monkey & Tony, thank you for your comments. The joy of seeing everyone outdid the fall consequences. They had no trouble getting out of THEIR chairs when I went down. I looked up into a ring of faces and hands trying to help me back up.
Is it just me, or have the past two days’ (Th/today) puzzles been rather easy cruises? Not that I’m complaining, mind you; usually Friday gets a little gnarly, but aside from getting momentarily stalled in the NE, this was a nice relaxing endeavor. As themes go, though, I’m classifying this one as “themeless”, because its concept is far, far away in an alternate universe in my opinion. If I want to solve anagrams, I’ll go look for anagrams; this is a crossword puzzle, kids!
@Whiner, I’ve actually had a DEE in high school! Here in CA, besides the usual grade on the subject, there were also boxes for Work Habits and Cooperation (!), graded either Excellent (E), Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). One class I had I barely passed, getting a D — but got Excellents in the other areas — thus, DEE. (For another subject, however, I was awarded an AEU: aced the tests, worked hard, but the teacher told me I’d been a giant PITA 🤣).
To end this epistle, a note to the illustrious MalMan: Your recaps are always a highlight of these pages, so don’t falafel if you can’t come up with a ZINGer for every notation; if you miss one or two, well — SEW what?
====> Darren / L.A.
Ray-O @ 1:11 -- "Thievery? Think you’ve got me confused with the US pharmaceutical industry"
But poorer.
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