Themeless Saturday by Nate Cardin
Nate is a chemistry teacher. PhD. in L.A. He is a crossword constructor, waffle iron enthusiast (as you will soon see when you watch him on Wheel Of Fortune below). Survivor obsessive. Anti-racist. Feminist.
Below is Nate's appearance on Wheel Of Fortune in September of 2022. You'll see why he is a fan of waffles.
1. Part of the fam: SIS.
4. Caldecott Medal winner __ Jack Keats: EZRA.
8. Tree crowns, collectively: CANOPY.
14. "We come to this place ... " theater chain: AMC.
15. __ point: MOOT - A MOOT point: The Titanic should have had more lifeboats.
16. Pea family plant: CLOVER.
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| Cover Crops |
17. Flaunts: SHOWS OFF - Uma Thurman does just that in The Producers
19. Asks for more Money: RENEWS - Money is capitalized.
20. Pueblo people: HOPI.
21. Pickens of "Blazing Saddles": SLIM - I better remember him riding riding a nuclear bomb in Dr. Strangelove
23. Retro hip beer, for short: PBR.
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| 1950's Ad |
24. Fix: AMEND.
26. Common retirement vehicles: ROTH IRAS 😀
30. Like some questions: YES NO - Didja ever?
26. Common retirement vehicles: ROTH IRAS 😀
30. Like some questions: YES NO - Didja ever?
31. YouTube genre that may cause tingles, for short: ASMR - I think I finally have this: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a previously unstudied sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli. Here's ASMR music to "easily defeat insomnia" or use as background while solving Nate's puzzle.
32. In the flesh?: NUDE 😀
33. Note of recognition?: I GET THAT A LOT.
33. Note of recognition?: I GET THAT A LOT.
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| "You look like that girl on NCIS." |
36. Tribeca Film Festival co-founder: DENIRO.
38. Crushes on: ADORES 😀 - A modern version of having a crush on someone
39. Electric vehicle driver's apprehension: RANGE ANXIETY.
41. Raisins, in an after-school snack: ANTS.
42. Forward thinker?: SEER.
43. Me in C minor: E FLAT - Do Re Me
47. __ Spy apples: NORTHERN - We had these apples just a few weeks ago
49. Goo in some 31-Across videos: SLIME - An ASMR video with "soothing" goo for a visual
50. What "will be" will be: ARE 😀 We will be and now we ARE.
51. Cut: SNIP.
54. Abbr. in quote books: ANON.
55. Point in the right direction: ORIENT.
58. Numbers like 3 and 14, but not 3.14: INTEGERS - Whole numbers
60. Loosen, as skates: UNLACE.
61. Not much: A TAD.
62. Fujairah fed.: UAE - It's a three-hour drive NW from Muscat along the Gulf Of Oman if that's any help.
63. Charged (with): TASKED - C.C. has TASKED me to blog every Saturday puzzle
64. Setback: LOSS.
65. "i'm begging u": PLS 😒
64. Setback: LOSS.
65. "i'm begging u": PLS 😒
Down:
1. Apt rhyme of slay and runway: SASHAY - Slay is an adjective for a drag queen who performs well in a drag performance and that might involve a SAHAY on a runway.
2. Return address?: I'M HOME 😀
3. Teacher defended by Darrow in 1925: SCOPES - Substitute biology teacher John Scopes skipped the evolution section in the text but agreed to be indicted for teaching it because he believed in it. He was found guilty but the verdict was overturned.
3. Teacher defended by Darrow in 1925: SCOPES - Substitute biology teacher John Scopes skipped the evolution section in the text but agreed to be indicted for teaching it because he believed in it. He was found guilty but the verdict was overturned.
4. Modem terminals?: EMS - Modem has an "M" on each end
5. Menageries: ZOOS - Among the best in the world.
5. Menageries: ZOOS - Among the best in the world.
6. "u slay me": ROFL - A different slay meaning: Rolling On the Floor Laughing
7. Initially: AT FIRST.
8. Roots rock band that started as the Blue Velvets, for short: CCR - It was hard to pick a favorite here
9. Hebrew leader?: ALEPH - The first letter in the Hebrew alphabet
10. Pride banner with yellow, white, purple, and black stripes: NONBINARY FLAG.
11. Veto: OVERRULE.
12. The __ Charitable Trusts: NGO with a think tank: PEW.
13. Brief closing: YRS - Short for Yours Truly at the end of a letter.
18. Hot spell?: WINNING STREAK.
22. Bob that may be a solution for post-pregnancy thinning: MOM HAIR.
25. Prairie wanderer: DOGIE - A motherless calf
27. Swap: TRADE.
28. Hubbubs: ADOS.
29. Fixed: SET - MLB clubs will soon have a SET pitching rotation selected from their 44. Roster: LINEUP.
31. Make-up artists?: ATONERS 😀
34. Wipe: ERASE.
35. "Obvi!": TOTES - Totally obvious
36. Paul of "The Fabelmans": DANO - The Fablemans is the film about Steven Spielberg and how his childhood shaped his love of movies. Paul plays Sammy Fabelman's (Spielberg's) father Burt Fabelman. Did anyone think of this?
37. Inner workings?: ENTRAILS - Ewwww...
39. Scrambled: RAN - What trapped QB's do
40. Generational portmanteau: XENNIAL.
45. Ethically unconcerned: AMORAL.
46. Prepares for impact, say: TENSES.
48. Thus: HENCE.
52. Loving: INTO.
53. School gps.: PTAS - Founded by these ladies in 1897 in Washington D.C..
55. Openly queer: OUT.
56. Component of some vaccines: RNA - Here ya go
57. Conference acronym: TED - Technology, Entertainment, Design
56. Component of some vaccines: RNA - Here ya go
57. Conference acronym: TED - Technology, Entertainment, Design
59. Mag staff: EDS.
65 comments:
Could that have been any easier? Yeah, maybe, but not by much. I think the only thing that made this a Saturday was the lack of the theme. In terms of difficulty? Hardly.
But that's okay. The next time I'm knocking a few cold ones back with the boys at the 19th Hole bar, and they're boasting about their low scores on the golf course that day, I'll be able to chime in about my "lowest time ever" on a Saturday LA Times crossword puzzle.
No, that will never happen. For more than a few reasons.
Here though, a comment about low solving time is understood for what it is worth. Even though it may come across as a bit of braggadocio, fellow solvers can relate to "best ever" types of comments. They know the sense of gratification one feels when they work out an answer from a tough clue, and the sense of accomplishment one feels when they iron out the solution to a really hard puzzle.
Neither of those challenges happened today. No disrespect intended. Today we were lobbed a Saturday soft ball. And that's okay.
It's nice to have a venue like C.C.'s Crossword Corner where like minded solving aficionados can share their thoughts on the puzzle du jour, and enjoy the entertaining reviews. Minus the mockery and kidding from those that would never understand. Like most of the crowd at the 19th Hole. They'll never relate.
Here's to the Corner!
Thank you, Nate, and thank you, Gary.
We’ve had “ASMR” so often, it doesn’t “throw me off” much anymore, although I still don’t remember what it stands for (“automatic” something?Anyhoo…). The rest of the puzzle was very gettable through P&P. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Lately I've been starting and quitting on Saturdays, but not today. (Thanx TTP for throwing cold water on my sense of accomplishment!) Needed my trusty Wite-Out to change I'M BACK to I'M HOME and IPA to PBR. Non familiar with MOM HAIR, but it filled in, nor with RANGE ANXIETY, but it makes sense. WINNING STREAK came early and really helped in the west. NONBINARY FLAG was slow in coming, and no help in the east. Interesting to see TOTES crossing ADORES. Thanx, Nate and Husker.
Well, that was super easy for a Saturday, but I’m not complaining. Any weekend that starts with a Saturday FIR is a good weekend in my book. And it’s a payday weekend, so my many creditors are happy, and it’s snowing up a storm, so my dogs Chipper (I’m an Atlanta Braves fan) and Kipper are happy. Could life get any better than this? I submit that it could not! (Nod to comedian Brian Regan).
No neeed for references to "outs", or anything that goes against morals.
Judging by my FIR time of 22:14, I would say this CW was a little easier than most Saturdays, but a full 9 minutes slower than my personal best last Saturday. Like TTP so eloquently stated, there is a sense of accomplishment seeing the congratulatory message, (which one only gets if the puzzle is done online). A couple weeks ago, Cornerite Vidwan stated his ideas of what makes a good puzzle, and this one contained those qualities IMO. Today I learned what the Caldecott Medal is, EZRA was perped so I looked it up after I was finished. It is presented annually to the illustrator of the “most distinguished American picture book for children”. Must be an American citizen and the artist (not necessarily the author of the text). And on that note ~ there is a site on FB called “Your Childhood Ruined”, with children’s book cover illustrations from the past, but new titles and text, some of which are simply hilarious, but most NSFW 🤣.
Thanks Nate for the morning fun, and HG for another fine APERCU (I like that word).
FIW x 2, with MOp HAIR (didn't remember ASMR) and cANTO (should have parsed dE NIRO.)
Today is:
NATIONAL CHIP AND DIP DAY (I thought this fell on Super Bowl day)
NATIONAL MELBA TOAST DAY (I used to eat a lot of ‘em – ex-dw was an addict)
NATIONAL CHIA DAY (believe it or not, chia seeds have uses other than making a furry pet from a clay pot)
NATIONAL TAMALE DAY (the best are from Casa de la Lucina)
NATIONAL NEAR MISS DAY (wouldn’t it be more accurately called “near hit?”)
NATIONAL PUPPY DAY (very nice, but adopting an adult dog is very rewarding, and saves shoes and table legs)
PBR is a sister brand to Jack Daniels.
Old dogs CAN be taught new tricks. To wit: I knew TOTES and ANTS (on a log.) It just takes a LOT of repetition and patience.
I had to go back in the wayback machine to remember that Click and Clack were sponsored by the PEW Charitable Trusts.
14 of the 36 teams I picked to win in the first round of March Madness suffered a LOSS. By flipping a coin, I would expect 16 "picks" to lose, so my analysis was slightly better than random chance.
I remember the old song Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells, but I didn't know that there was a "crimson clover" until today.
Thanks to H.Gary for another fine review.
Took 12:05 today for me to keep my "winning streak" alive.
I agree with most of the comments above. Not a true feeling of accomplishment that I look forward to with Saturday (and other NYT themeless) puzzles. But, not a bad puzzle.
I didn't know today's writer (Ezra), today's geography challenge (UAE), Dano, or range anxiety.
FIR. Too many text shorthand phrases that I didn't know, and I'm not familiar with the pride references, but with the help of perps I got to the end. I knew this was going to be a smooth Saturday puzzle when I threw down "winning streak" without a second thought. The long answers, with the exception of non binary flag, all came easier than the shorter ones.
WEES said about a speedy solve for a Saturday - can't say I've said that on a Saturday before.
I've added ASMR and NORTHERN Spy to my crosswordese vocabulary now as they came pretty quickly.
I loved "The Snowy Day" by Jack Ezra Keats when my kids were little and now try to give those books to my grands. The Caldecott Medal is for picture books, the Newbery Medal is for chapter books. My neighbor when I lived in Madison, WI was Kevin Henkes who has won both. Our sons were born a week apart and now they are soon to be 29! His picture books are classics if you are looking for one for a grandchild or great grandchild or other little. Some of my favorites: "Chrysanthemum" ,"Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse", and "Owen"
https://kevinhenkes.com/
I had MOM HAIR when I had a 2 year-old and a baby through having 3 children 5 and under - easy to wash, no one can grab it- only problem was finding the time to get it cut
Have a good Saturday - we're back to cold and windy again after 70s earlier in the week.
Thanks HG and Nate!
I really wanted 13D to be FLY.
I almost FIR except for the cross of the unknown MOM HAIR and whatever ASMR happens to be. I guessed MOP as I know nothing about any YouTube genre. ZERO, NADA. But it's Saturday so you have to expect clues and fills from outer space.
EZRA, NORTHERN, DANO, INTO were filled by perps- guessed on the apples.
I didn't like the LINEUP of abbr. PLS, ASMO, ROFL, PTAS, TED, ANON, RNA,YRS
As far as I know the third note in the scale is always spelled "MI" not "ME", so I didn't get the clue for 43A
I have found that often when fellow posters find a CW difficult, it’s easy for me and vice versa.
I had to TITT on this one. Lots of clever clues such as ROTH IRAS, ENTRAILS, NUDE but so many unknowns for me. I don’t think I’ll ever remember ASMR, TOTES as clued, obviously I lead a sheltered life since I didn’t know there was a NON BINARY flag,.
I think we’ve had NORTHERN Spy apples once before, but since I’ve never heard of them in real life, I didn’t remember.
Well, that’s my tale of woe.
Good Morning! I had a lot of help but made it to the finish line (one way or another!) Thanks, Nate.
I did the puzzle online with the red letter setting on, and a few alphabet runs, but since I don’t usually do the Saturday puzzle, I’ll put this one in the plus column.
I have CLOVER in my yard. I see lots of bees hovering around the CLOVER, so I’m good with that. Dandelions, not so much….
Thanks, H. Gary. Your recap enlightened me on some current lingo, the unknown Fabelman / Spielberg connection & XENNIAL.
The third solfege syllable is "mi" (do re mi...) not "me." (clue for 43 across)
Needed a couple of lookups to finish but still FIW. Tried MOpHAIR, didn't know ASMR. Had good starts in the NW, SW and SE, just couldn't fill in the middle.
Best clue: "Me in C minor. Worst clue: "Obvii!"
Thanks to Nate and Gary for their timely contributions today.
Always in love with Amy, but I love Jane, Mary, and Sue, too.
Capitulate.
Sorry, minor scale changes syllables... "me" is correct.
One box wrong since I guessed at cloves instead of clover and certainly didn’t know people dopey enough to use ‘yrs’ vs yours! And although I agree much of the puzzle was easy, there were still several gotchas for me due to abbreviations and obscurity! I started daily CWs in the Trib (same as LA Times) six or seven years ago and have never heard of ASMR! I don’t mind abbreviations of common themes such as UAE, Roth IRAs, etc., but others not so much! Never heard of mom hair or Ezra and Caldecott. If ‘slime’ wasn’t helped by perps and ‘goo’ clueing, who would ever know it was related to ASMR?? Obvi? Do people really say that? Happy to be challenged and happy to come within 1 of FIR, but clearly not in the same stratosphere as most of you.
That’s LOTR
My hat's off to the folks who found this one easy! I struggled to make it halfway through the Sea of White, lost interest, and finally tossed my oars. (And the towel!)
Hi All!
Only took a nudge or two (DANO | DENIO) from HG to finish off today's grid. Thanks Nate and thanks HG.
HG - SLIM in Strangelove also came to mind ;-)
Fav: RENEWS' AHA! Was fun when it clicked Money was a mag.
From last week (I played the puzzle and read everyone but was too busy to post):
Nice to see you back Bill G! I've missed your posts.
Happy Birthday PK!
Gotta JET is a real thing. I've said it apleanty.
Nice toast to The Corner to kick things off, TTP - well said.
LOL - Fly @13d, Whiner.
Cheers, -T
FIR on paper, no cheating, and pretty fast because I had to leave for an appointment. Was feeling proud of myself for conquering a tough one, until I came here and learned it was easy. Really? I could swear it was the hardest of the week, and was prepared to have several of you explain why it was unsolvable!
Big thanks to Nate and Patti for a great puzzle, and to Husker Gary for explaining it all.
Easy for a Saturday, completed in about a half-hour. I suppose I could have done it in 20 minutes if I’d hustled, but I hustle only on Mondays and some Tuesdays. Thanks HG for all the confirmation.
I went straight to the lower half of the puzzle because the music clue caught my eye and I immediately assumed the “me” clue should have said “mi.” It’s Italian, like most music terms. That helped me fill the southeast quickly. Although the north took longer, the largest challenge was in the lower Midwest, where I had xENNIAL and simply needed to capitalize that figurative X.
ASMR was a term I’d heard but couldn’t define, but DW knew that one, so the biggest gaps in the northern half of the puzzle were the specifics of the gender-identity flag, which needed perps, and my reluctance to go with TOTES as the synonym for “obvi” despite guessing it right.
The clue for “I GET THAT A LOT” wasn’t clued as dialogue, but it was, and it was a bit ham-fisted, as usual with Patti and dialogue.
I liked seeing HENCE in the puzzle and kind of liked DOGIE, a word many people misunderstand and mispronounce. I came up with SASHAY quickly and liked it, but I needed perps to be sure. I know a filthy joke, about a church dominated by a woman known as Mother Green, in which I always use ‘sashay” in the telling.
Valerie and I solved it without difficulty. That said, only a few things filled in at first glance. Most answers had to be figured out step by step.
Jinx @7:41, I liked that Carlin near hit/near miss riff. Tell the Captain that Air Marshal Carlin tells him to go . . . and never ride ON an airplane.
I guess I am an outlier. I found it difficult, but not extremely difficult. Grumbled at some crossed names and text-speak. Learning moment about the drag meaning of SLAY. Last to fill was YRS since I could not imagine how YEARS related to BRIEF CLOSING. FIR.
I have not given a TED Talk.
But two weeks ago I was with famed TED Talk speaker Christof Koch (center) at the home of my UC Santa Barbara sponsor Jonathan Schooler (left).
Koch is the president and chief scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. "Dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how the human brain works".
Jonathan is a wizard of connections. A week later (last week) we met with another famed TED Talk speaker at his home. I felt very privileged to spend time with these great minds and to be able to ask questions of them.
Two solvable Saturdays in a row.
Is the world still spinning? Is this all a dream?
Thank you Nate for a doable Saturday puzzle. Lotsa good stuff in it.
And thank you Husker for another informative and elegant review.
Lotsa favs:
17A FLAUNTS. Favorite GIF. 😁
21A SLIM. Yeah that who I thought of first.
31A ASMR. I got it! I got it!
33A I GET THAT A LOT. I get that a lot. I remind people of somebody, but they can't quite place who it is. I guess I just remind people of somebody forgettable!
39A RANGE ANXIETY. IMHO EVs have been oversold. When they can be affordably produced with Lithium mined with EVs I might be sold. In the mean time we've just settled for a hybrid that gets 42 mpg.
41A ANTS. I'm not a big fan of raisins (I think there are better things to do with grapes!). I just eat my celery sticks with hummus.
3D SCOPES. SCOPES was finally vindicated in the 2005 trial Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, when Judge John E. Jones III declared that Intelligent Design wasn't a science. It also set an important precedent -- that all future peer review will done by judges not scientists! 😁
4D MODEM. Love me them meta clues.
8D CCR. Favorite video -- a blast from the past.
36D DANO. Hand up!
39D RAN. Lamar Jackson is especially good at it, but he didn't run fast enough to get the Ravens to the Superbowl.
Cheers
Bill
Uh Husker -- I think that ASMR video is in a loop!
Uh Ray - O @10:55 AM - Looks like Blogger let you get away with starting "Egg Layers" with italics, but didn't make you turn it off.
I would like to propose a new abbreviation for our use here. It certainly applies to my dealings with today's puzzle. The abbreviation is LI--lost interest.
Okay, how about we try not to encourage valley girl language like “totes” and obscure things like “asmr” and “rofl”. Whattaya think?
The puzzles are getting butchered by slang, abbreviation and teenage lingo.
PS From Thursday:
waseeley Thank you for sharing your experience with the term DarwinISM. A learning moment for me. I think it may prove the overall point: Settled science does not have the suffix -ISM. It is sad and frustrating that the solid science of Darwin is still not settled for way too many people.
But right now I am involved in an ongoing message exchange with a childhood friend who believes the Earth is flat. How can we deal with real problems like the Climate Crisis if we have to keep revisiting what should be settled science? Argh.
Huh?
Ray-O @ 10:55: Money is the name of a magazine, HENCE the capital M, and to ask for more is to RENEW your subscription.
Hola!
Hmmm. The above comments are all in Italics but not this. I wonder what is going on.
For a Saturday puzzle this was relatively easy. At least I did not pull out any hair. But I did get some help from ALEXA. The origin of CCR was unknown to me.
I'm not sure I equate ZOOS with menageries.
EZRA Klein of MSNBC is the only one I know of that name.
ANTS on a log was a fun snack to make for my daughter's school lunch on the few occasions when she took one.
Right now there is quite a bit of CLOVER growing on our lawn.
Time to go. I hope you are all having a wonderful day!
Waz I went back and saw the italics wasn’t closed. Deleted.
RosE : I wasn’t looking outside the box enuff on “Money” thanks.
That's amazing! The italics disappeared.
Picard
Has your friend ever been on an airplane and seen the arc of the earth's shape?
Lucina @ 2:21 my bad. Had open italics. I used to be able to catch that before but I no longer have the “preview” option before I print.
Lucina I am curious why you think ZOOS are different from MENAGERIES?
Thank you for your question about my friend. Yes, we grew up in DC and he went to college in Colorado. So I am quite sure he has seen the Earth from an airplane window. We went to the same schools all the way through high school. I am reeling from the disorientation that someone could believe such nonsense.
I called his sister and we talked about this for hours. She has no idea how to deal with it and has avoided talking to him at all.
As a former teacher, I have been using this as a learning experience. I have been messaging back and forth with him, asking simple questions like the one you asked. I have no idea if it is possible to extract him from his world of delusion.
It is all about tribal associations. We like to think we make rational decisions. But most of our decisions and world view really come from who we hang out with.
Oh geez, Picard. You equate people who challenge whether the "climate crisis" is settled science with flat earthers? Last I heard, most of the climate panicers are relying on computer models for their "facts." Google's release (not crossword-favorite beta) of their Gemini AI software that depicts George Washington and Nazi soldiers being Black shows that the bias of the softheads creating the product affect the output of the program. Remember that at the first Earth Day, The Smartest People In The Room predicted that nations would be wiped of the face of the earth by 2000. Then the Man Who Invented The Internet said the world would reach "a point of no return" by 2016. He also stated that it was likely that the northern Ice Cap would disappear by the summer of 2014. Previously, the UN declared that “By the turn of the [21st] century, an environmental catastrophe will witness devastation as complete, as irreversible, as any nuclear holocaust.”
I don't doubt that we have a problem, but doomsday prophets actually work against the cause.
I agree. Patti, can you help?
I struggled mightily to finally FIR and came to the Corner with a heady sense of accomplishment, only to be slammed back in my place of “those who will never understand” the joy of completing a truly challenging puzzle, which this one, apparently, was not. I feel insulted, disrespected and deflated. I am filled with admiration for those of you with solving skills superior to mine, and I optimistically keep trying to improve and attain success in puzzles that would have defeated me a year ago. But to receive such a veiled put-down from “on high” seems unkind and disdainful. It’s probably best if I take a break from the Corner and just work on solving the puzzles.
Thank you, Nate for the interesting and challenging (to me) puzzle. Thanks Husker for the great tour.
One if the best parts of the Corner is the information I pick up from others. Inane Hiker, I’m going to search for the Caldecott Winner books you recommended.
Someone here, Lucina or Irish Miss, I think, turned me onto Louise Penney, and I’ve now read all her books about Three Pines and am thirsty for more.
What do tou mean??
Puzzling thoughts:
37-down (ENTRAILS) I found both the clue and the solve for this one just offal
38-across (ADORES) When I saw "TOTES" in 35-down I figured 38-across must be "ADORBS". Isn't that the expression "Z"ennials use?
Are you certain he's serious, or is he just good at rattling your chain?
My senior year in high school, some friends and I decided that things were too quiet and settled around campus, and needed some shaking up. So we formed the FES, the Flat Earth Society. We acted as if we were serious, holding debates and symposia and the like. And it woke up the campus.
Is your friend the type who might be having some fun at your ecpense?
WendyBird, I am sad to read your post. I know what you mean as I've reacted (in print) before to comments about "noobies." May I say, breathe. Please don't feel bad. This isn't a competition by any means. Please come back when you can. I enjoy your posts.
Wendybird: P/S. I am guessing TOU might stand for "Thinking of U" I don't know the context of where you saw it.
The italics have disappeared. I don't mind them, it's just a bit disconcerting to see that.
Picard
What about a globe? Does he have any explanation for its shape?
Picard @ 2:03 PM I'm not sure what you mean by the term "settled science". Is any science ever really settled? For example look at the impact that the James Webb telescope is having on Cosmology. It's calling into question facts about the early age of the Universe that have been "settled" for decades. Physics and cosmology have gone through two paradigm shifts since 1869 (the year "Origins" was published) and I think that Darwinism is now definitely ready for one. I'm not convinced that the science behind it is as solid as you seem to think. But the origins and evolution of life are highly complicated subjects that are probably not best discussed at length via the Comments section. My profile contains my email address if you'd like to discuss the subject further.
Ray - O @2:26 PM I think that's a bug in Blogger. Usually if you have unmatched HTML pairs in comments Blogger will reject the comment (with a cryptic error message that doesn't identify the faulty statement). It looks like a missing "close italics" at the end of a comment is missed and ripples through all subsequent comments.
I've been away most of the day, and after reading through the comments, I am surprised that so many found this puzzle difficult. It appears that I am on the outside of the majority today finding it was an easy solve. I truly thought just about everyone would.
Desper-otto was pulling my chain with his "cold water" comment. But apparently I've struck a nerve elsewhere.
Wendybird, thank you for your candor. I certainly did not intend to disparage anyone else's solving skills. My "No disrespect intended" was to the constructor, Nate. It immediately followed my statement that the challenges just weren't there today. For me. Obvi, my comments about the puzzle solving difficulty are my own opinion.
I apologize if I offended you or anyone else. It was not intended. You also won't find any comments from me calling anyone a noob, or even suggesting that "even noobs" should find any given puzzle easy. I don't make those types of statements.
My commentary was intended to convey that people outside of the solving community would not be able to relate to the challenges and small joys we all seem to get from solving. Including comments like "fastest Saturday solve ever." Or getting an inner chuckle when one of us tells about the time he used crosswordese "Hies" IRL. My golfing buddies would give me endless grief if I spoke about my fastest ever Saturday solve.
But even more so and more importantly than all of that, I intended to convey that I am thankful that C.C. has created this space.
That's all.
Waseeley, it is an unresolved bug in Blogger that first appeared after the rollout of the new comments format that is used on smartphones. I reported it to Blogger in May of '22, with examples.
In short, improperly formatted HTML in submitted comments should be rejected. It always had been in the previous versions of mobile commenting. Perhaps it will be fixed one day.
Add this person to the “Found It Hard” column. Finally had to turn on letter aid (turns wrong letters red) and hold down the home button to query Siri for some proper names to get some letters to enable me to keep going. Of course, the resultant mood made me over react to Me instead of Mi even though I knew that answer.
I just looked up the deference between zoos and menageries. It seems that menageries are private collections whereas zoos are public ones. That is what I just learned.
Wendybird, I second what T. Ken said, above, about your comments and contributions.
Everyone has their own style and approach to solving and these do evolve over time. Personally, I look for "toe holds" and try to work through one area at a time. Others will work all of the Across clues and then all of the Down clues. Some folks will fill in, for example, those S-es where the clue is plural or guess at a word within multi-word fill. Some won't write in anything until they know the entire answer. Others like to jump around (figuratively):-)
Also, as my mom used to tell me, it helps when we're on the same wavelength as the contractor/editor. This does not always (often?) happen. When style and wavelength coincide then things can flow. When things are not sync'd it can feel as if one has been in a brawl.
Everyone's experience is different from one puzzle to the next. . . and even within a single puzzle. Someone once asked a "pro" (was it Merl Reagle?) if it was cheating to look up answers (online, in the dictionary, etc). The answer was "It's your puzzle. Do it any way you like!" Every puzzle is YOUR puzzle. Someone else's experience may be interesting but it is irrelevant.
That was supposed to say constructor/editor not contractor. Auto correct?
MM @6:06 PM It also helps to be pigheaded🐷 -- one of my superpowers!
Thanks for your puzzle, Nate and congratulations on your WoF win! I had a one-box FIW at SkIP. I was thinking "cut class" & "skip class" and the generational word left room for ad libbing.
FAV: Modem terminals was even better than yesterday's Lapel edges?
That retirement vehicles clue took a bit to get.
Thanks to H-Gary for another helpful explanation! Thanks for the help with RENEWS. I thought perhaps the clue was referring to Money magazine but I thought it might need title quotes. No?
Wendybird, please continue to comment. You are always helpful and interesting. I know others feel the same because of all the kind words written when it was your birthday.
It took me a few guesses to finally fill that M crossing ASMR and MOM HAIR.
I really do value this blog and very much enjoy reading every word of what you all have to say.
Tehachapi Ken I wanted to answer your question.
Yes. I am quite certain he is not joking at all. In fact, he is very emotional, angry and upset. And defensive. He insists that people look at the "evidence". Then they will see the huge conspiracy and all that it means.
As I said, I talked to his sister for hours about this. She is very worried about him. It may have started as a joke, but it is not at all funny now. Tens of thousands of people are following this nonsense. There have been surveys.
As for the term "settled science" here is an abstract from the American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2013 on the subject.
Lucina The globe argument does not work for him. He thinks the globe is fake. Unfortunately, he has cut off further communication. It is very sad and frustrating for me. I thought I was gently making a connection, but now it is gone.
Btw, birds are not real. I have seen multiple bumper stickers that confirm this factoid.
Typo!
Settled science has determined through the red shift of stars that the universe is expanding from the 'center' (wherever that is). But if it is expanding, the where is it going? If there is a 'boundary' what's on the outside of that boundary?
But what people formerly thought of some things as "crazy" can now be called 'common sense'.
Picard @7:41 PM Interesting article and as written I didn't find anything in it that I would disagree with. Its definition of "settled science" as a consensus is certainly a reasonable philosophical position. Of course it does depend on whose "consensus" you're using. Again, you have my email address.
Looks like I’m (sort of) in the same camp as the majority here; for a Saturday, this started out pretty easy, WINNINGSTREAK lulling me into a false sense of security early on. Pulled the e-brake when I started to fill in that flag with Namibian and then saw that a) it didn’t fit and b) I says to meself “what about the ‘pride’ bit in the clue??” 😖 along with CCR replacing CSN (“hang on, they were previously The Hollies, not Blue Velvet”) and being stymied in that center area with ASMR (which I can never remember when I need it in these puzzles). And ROFL is usually ROTFL, with all five initials. So it wasn’t as e-z as I thought ATFIRST — I won’t be presenting any TED talks on my crossword prowess anytime soon…
Husker G’s usual entertainment relieved my misery — and yes, that ASMR music is most definitely on a loop; it’s been in the background the entire time I’ve been reading the blog and writing all this! zzzzzzzzz… 🤣
====> Darren / L.A.
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