Theme: I Get A Rise Out Of You [or maybe not.] We have a circled letter theme, where the circles are contiguous, but not aligned - except for the last one. And 4 of the 5 spell words with something in common. The last one is the opposite. Let's start with the 80% unifier.
7 D. Unlike bread on Passover, and like four of the five sets of circled letters in this puzzle: LEAVENED. Containing yeast or another substance that will cause the dough to rise - we'll get back to this. I understand the best place to get a fast food Passover diner is Seder Rapids.
17 A. Hoodwink: FOOL. Trick somebody, out of playfulness, malice or greed.
and
20 A. Fad toy with unruly hair: TROLL. A troll doll is a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam. The inspiration came from trolls in old Scandinavian folklore. The toys are also known as good luck trolls.
Reading left to right across the two lines, the red letters [circled in the grid] spell ROLL. A bread roll is a small, usually round or oblong individual loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment.
19 A. Analogous: AKIN. Of a similar nature or character.
and
23 A. Impertinence: CHEEK. lack of respect; rudeness.
Reading these in a manner akin to that used with 17 and 20A, we get CAKE. Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. The most common ingredients include flour, sugar, eggs, fat (such as butter, oil, or margarine), a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder.
49 A. Lack of waste: ECONOMY. A careful management of available resources.
and
56 A. Amplify, as on social media: SHARE. To repost on a social media platform. Often this is done to broaden the audience. Sometimes I'll do it to ridicule the original post.
The red letters here give us a tasty SCONE. A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans.
The red letters here give us a tasty SCONE. A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans.
52 A. Not just irks: ENRAGES. Incites extreme anger.
and
59 A. Court for King James, briefly: B-BALL. LeBron and Basketball, no doubt. Clever clue.
This combination gives us a BAGEL. A bagel is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.
Now, last, but not yeast -- 61. Passover cracker: MATZO. Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz [leavening] is forbidden. So this is a bread that does not rise.
Some features of this very elegant grid --
Perfect bilateral symmetry;
Perfectly symmetric placement of the leavened theme entries;
Central location of the vertical unifier;
Central across placement of the 5th, unleavened theme entry.
And the most clever of all - each of the leavened entries, located in two adjacent across lines, rise in the middle, as good leavened fill should. And the MATZO, of course, does not. WOW!
By the way, Passover this year started at Sundown on Monday. Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach.
By the way, Passover this year started at Sundown on Monday. Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach.
Hi, Gang - an awestruck JzB here to illuminate this highly elevated puzzle. Let's see what else comes up.
1. Doughy: SOFT. Well, this was an extremely doughy puzzle, but I thought it was kind of hard, or maybe bagelish.
5. Ramsey of "The Last of Us": BELLA. Isabella May Ramsey [b 2003] is a non-binary English actor. They are known for their break-out role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones and Ellie in the HBO drama series The Last of Us. They received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the latter.
10. Actor Epps: OMAR. Omar Hashim Epps [b 1973] is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball.
14. On a bye week: IDLE. Said of an NFL team with no game scheduled on a given week.
15. Squad suiting up for opening day, presumably: A-TEAM. The best players on a particular team.
16. Bahama __: MAMA. A tropical drink made from mixed fruit juices and rum.
18. Shampoo target: SCALP. Soft tissue layers that cover the cranium. It is an anatomic region bordered anteriorly by the human face, and laterally and posteriorly by the neck. It extends from the superior nuchal lines and occipital turbulences to the supraorbital foramen.
22. Actress Mendes: EVA.
23. Impertinence: CHEEK. Being sassy
24. Old-Fashioned choice: RYE. Rye whisky is the characteristic component of the classic Old Fashioned cocktail.
25. Hill, in Hebrew: TEL. Literal.
26. Hem and __: HAW. To stop often and change what one is saying during speech because one is not sure of what to say or because one is trying to avoid saying something.
27. Org. with flag bearers?: NFL. Officials in the National Football League have flags used to indicate rule infractions.
29. Third No. 1 hit for Bruno Mars: GRENADE.
5. Ramsey of "The Last of Us": BELLA. Isabella May Ramsey [b 2003] is a non-binary English actor. They are known for their break-out role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones and Ellie in the HBO drama series The Last of Us. They received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the latter.
10. Actor Epps: OMAR. Omar Hashim Epps [b 1973] is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball.
14. On a bye week: IDLE. Said of an NFL team with no game scheduled on a given week.
15. Squad suiting up for opening day, presumably: A-TEAM. The best players on a particular team.
16. Bahama __: MAMA. A tropical drink made from mixed fruit juices and rum.
18. Shampoo target: SCALP. Soft tissue layers that cover the cranium. It is an anatomic region bordered anteriorly by the human face, and laterally and posteriorly by the neck. It extends from the superior nuchal lines and occipital turbulences to the supraorbital foramen.
22. Actress Mendes: EVA.
23. Impertinence: CHEEK. Being sassy
24. Old-Fashioned choice: RYE. Rye whisky is the characteristic component of the classic Old Fashioned cocktail.
25. Hill, in Hebrew: TEL. Literal.
26. Hem and __: HAW. To stop often and change what one is saying during speech because one is not sure of what to say or because one is trying to avoid saying something.
27. Org. with flag bearers?: NFL. Officials in the National Football League have flags used to indicate rule infractions.
29. Third No. 1 hit for Bruno Mars: GRENADE.
32. "The Gilded Age" airer: HBO. Home Box Office, an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
35. "Sorry, but ... ": ALAS. Used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern.
37. Olympic sprinter Szewinska: IRENA. Irena Szewińska [1946 - 2018] was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost track athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athlete in history, male or female, to have held the world record in the 100 m, the 200 m and the 400 m.
38. "I'm convinced!": SOLD. I agree with what you're proposing.
39. Gas station station: PUMP. A two-sided fuel dispensing station, generally customer operated.
40. Family nickname: DADDY. Affectionate term for one's father.
41. Lip balm additive: ALOE. The juice extracted from the leaves of the ALOE plant.
42. Dramatic segment of 44-Across: EXPOSE. A video, report or piece of writing that reveals the truth about a situation or person, especially something involving shocking facts.
44. David Muir's field: TV NEWS. Scheduled programming designed to report on significant current events
46. Cassini of fashion: OLEG. Oleg Cassini [1913 -2006] was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got work with Paramount Pictures. Cassini established his reputation by designing for films.
48. Dom Pérignon maker, informally: MOET. Moët & Chandon, also known simply as Moët, is a French fine winery and part of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house.
57. Bolted: RAN. Suddenly and quickly run away from something.
60. Diving position: PIKE. The body is bent at the waist with legs straight, lower legs in front of the diver's face.
63. "Angel eyes" band: ABBA. a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome.
64. __ Saint Laurent: YVES. Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal. Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent [1936 - 2008] referred to as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.
65. Express in words: UTTER. Speak.
66. Dollop: BLOB. A small indefinite quantity of a viscous or semi-solid substance.
67. Message status: SENT. Transmitted from the writer.
68. Many holiday events: MEALS. Events where people eat food together.
69. Some evergreen shrubs: YEWS. Any of a genus (Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril
Down:
1. Aerate, as flour: SIFT. Move a granular material through a sieve.
2. Impetus to clean the fridge: ODOR. A quality of something that stimulates the olfactory organ, in this case unpleasantly.
3. Torchiere, for one: FLOOR LAMP. A lamp with a tall stand of wood or metal.
4. Sesame Street worrywart: TELLY. Telly Monster is a furry pinkish-purple monster with an orange nose from Sesame Street. He is a recurring character from 1979 to 1990, a major character from 1991 to 2015 and a minor character from 2016 to present.
5. Humanities degs.: BAs. Bachelor of Arts Degrees.
6. "You get the idea": ET CETERA. Meaning "and other things," used to indicate not everythign relevant has been mentioned.
8. Film mistakenly announced as Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars: LALA LAND. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
9. Psych (up): AMP. To excite, arouse, or work up a person's emotions.
10. Nebraska city: OMAHA. Omaha is a city in the U.S. state of Nebraska, on the Missouri River close to the Iowa border. A stop on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, it's known for its pioneer history, museums and cultural centers.
11. Pay restitution: MAKE WHOLE. Financially compensate the victim of a crime or recipient of another legal settlement.
12. Paris pal: AMIE. Friend in French.
13. Relative standing: RANK. A position in an ordered hierarchy.
21. Journey segment: LEG. A portion of a journeym generally between two stopping points.
23. "Weekend Update" comic Michael: CHE. Michael Che Campbell [b1983] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Che is best known for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he has served as co-anchor on Weekend Update alongside Colin Jost, and the two were co-head writers from 2017 until 2022.
27. Part shaded by a backward cap: NAPE. The back of one's neck.
28. State of change: FLUX. The action or process of flowing.
30. Rodeo cry: RIDE 'EM. Shout of encouragement to one riding a rodeo animal.
31. Burial city of the Wright brothers: DAYTON. Dayton is a city in western Ohio. It’s home to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, with a vast collection of aircraft from early 1900s planes to a space shuttle exhibit. Carillon Historical Park contains a Wright Brothers plane, 19th-century buildings and antique trains.
33. Squander: BLOW. Waste something, especially money or time, in a reckless and foolish manner.
34. Poems to things: ODES. A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.
36. One with a supporting role in the kitchen?: SPOON REST. A piece of kitchenware that serves as a place to lay spoons and other cooking utensils, to prevent cooking fluids from getting onto countertops, as well as keeping the spoon from touching any contaminants that might be on the counter. Another clever clue.
38. Eartha Kitt song with the lyric "Been an angel all year": SANTA BABY.
43. Fruit in the liqueur Bargnolino: SLOE. Prunus spinosa, called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, and the Pacific Northwest and New England regions of the United States.
45. Cast or oil, sometimes: VERB. This seems a bit strained to me, for the sake of a pun. I'm never fond of a part-of-speech reference clue.
47. Use a hula hoop: GYRATE. Move in a circle or spiral, especially quickly.
48. Tony winner Idina: MENZEL. Idina Kim Menzel [b. 1971] is an American actress and singer. Particularly recognized for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation. Here is a list of her awards
49. Best Play and Best Game, for two: ESPYS. An ESPY Award is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC except 2020, and previously ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.
50. Leek kin: CHIVE. Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.
51. Like cognac barrels: OAKEN. Make from oak wood.
53. Triangular part of a house: GABLE. The generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns.
54. Recommended spot to catch a sneeze: ELBOW. I would think a tissue in one's hand would be more effective.
55. Marble hunks: SLABS. Large, thick, flat pieces of stone, concrete, or wood, typically rectangular.
58. "__ girl!": ATTA. An informal expression of encouragement or admiration to a woman or girl.
61. Kate Middleton, to Prince George: MUM. One's mother.
62. Suturing ctrs.: ORs. Operating Rooms in hospitals or surgical centers.
So ends this clever and timely puzzle. And speaking of hospitals, I have my first cataract surgery next Monday. Rally looking forward [so to speak] to seeing more clearly.
Cool regards!
JzB
38 comments:
Clever, the way the constructor put “matzo” in the puzzle “unleavened.” Also, it seemed to me that the circles were very helpful in the solve, though some might disagree. Anyway , FIR, so I’m happy.
FLN:
Jinx, “Stranger in a a Strange Land” is one of my favorite books, too. Did you know they actually started a real “Church of All Worlds” in California based on the book? Of course, since they didn’t actually have Martian telepathy, etc., it didn’t catch on quite like Mike’s “church” did in the book, but it still existed. And as far as I know, still does!
Good morning!
Went awry in several places along the way: yeehaw / RIDE'EM, pLum/SLOE, onIon/CHIVE. Fixed 'em. But ALAS, FLOOdLAMP/TELLi/diE never got fixed. Plus, d-o thought it was unleavened MATsO and MENsEL. Bzzzzt. Thanks for playing. Perhaps I should have passed over this one. Thanx, Alex, Brad, and JzB. (Good luck on your cataract surgery. My results were mediocre -- distance vision not good, close-up vision worse. Still need bifocals 24/7.)
Depending on how you count them, 10+ proper names and names of songs etc. There's a lot of us crossword lovers who are not "pop culture" or humanities people, but more science, history or technology oriented. Can someone make a crossword more up our alley?
Took 8:29 today (though some annoying pop-up ad interfered with the solve for awhile).
Oh joy, circles!
Too many proper names for my liking.
I enjoyed "The Last of Us," although I didn't know today's actress(es)/actor (Eva and Bella). I also didn't know the sprinter, the worrywart, or the Hebrew lesson.
Gave up and looked up BELLA, and settled for MATde instead of MATZO. I wish I knew more about Jewish traditions; maybe I’ll actually study it before long.
Today is:
NATIONAL PIGS-IN-A-BLANKET DAY (add a toad in the hole and ya got a good breakfast)
STOP FOOD WASTE DAY (my PCP keeps telling me “Jinx, it’s OK to leave some food on your plate”)
NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS DAY (gotta get past the gatekeepers to talk to the decision makers)
NATIONAL BUCKET LIST DAY (there are some things that I want to do, but I’ve done everything I really want to do.)
I liked the start of this one, with SOFT dough x SIFT dough’s origin. But I thought HBO and Tony award were too hard for Wednesday. I’ll bet that fewer than 10% of the population can name any Tony winner, any show on HBO, or more than 2 #1 hits by Mars. Probably less than 1% can name all of them.
Buckeyes' license plates proclaim “Birthplace of Aviation.” Tarheels proclaim “First in Flight” on theirs.
Knew “cast” or “oil” was gonna be “noun” or “VERB” but had to wait for perps.
The B Team also suits up for opening day. NHL teams have 20 players, but only 18 can suit up for each game. The coach has to decide who sits out before every game. (They also have an emergency goal keeper in the arena, who plays only if both team goalies are injured. It happens.)
A great Saturday clue for ESPY would be “Best Play award.” Tonys around the country would be erased.
SubG – I wasn’t in California when the book was hot, but I was gaga enough about it that I would probably have joined the church.
Thanks for the fun, JzB. ROTFLMAO @ Seder Rapids.
FIW. The crossing of Grenade and Che did me in.
This puzzle had both circles and a plethora of proper names making it a most unenjoyable endeavor. And it was a vertical grid. All the things I hate most.
Overall, just yuk!
I was as impressed with this puzzle as Jazzbumpa was. A very clever construct! Thank you, Alex, Brad and JzB.
Driving position: Pole (I had the P from ESPYS) - Oh, diving position:PIKE
Two fashion industry heavyweights - OLEG and YVES
Cast or oil. I read and understood the word separation, but my mind still concatenated the first two words.
Odor - last Thursday morning (garbage pick up day) I was emptying the trash can in the basement laundry room. I smelled what I thought was the odor of a decaying mouse. I moved a lot of storage bins and shelves away from the wall trying to find it. No mouse. It turned out it was a sack of potatoes that was rotting. Four hours later, the basement wall was freshly painted, the floors were scrubbed, and everything was put back "in ordnung." She was pleased when she came home and discovered what was done.
FLN, Parsan, Press'n Seal and Cling n' Seal are two different products from Glad. Cling 'n Seal is Glad's newer name for cling wrap (also commonly called Saran wrap.) Like Gary, I find Press 'n Seal much easier to use, and a better product for items going in the freezer for a while.
JzB, you put so much into your write-up, I really appreciate all you do.
I was surprised by the MATZO spelling issue as all the national grocery chains I have ever visited this time of year have end caps with many boxes on display with the spelling as in the puzzle. I appreciated your pun on the ceremonial meal but SEDER is pronounced SAY-DER which does take another level of Jewish knowledge.
10. Actor Epps: OMAR was a successful child/teen actor but became a household name as Dr. House's foil during 174 episodes of that series.
37. Olympic sprinter Szewińska: IRENA was an awesome athlete who kept the East Germans from total domination of track and field.
This was a fun puzzle, with the visual of the grid really impressive but not surprising considering Brad's hsitory.
Thank you
Good Morning:
This was a clever and timely theme that offered a few challenges and much solving satisfaction, IMO. The circles were necessary and illustrative of the "leavening" process, so helpfully pointed out by our blogger. And the unleavened Matzo was its important counterpoint, as indicated in the clue. Bella, Grenade, Telly, and Irena all needed perps and Tuck had to be corrected to Pike. I began BBall with NBA but realized the error almost at once. Other than that, the solve was smooth and enjoyable, although I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "I'd like a blob of whipped cream on my pumpkin pie." Dollop, yes; Blob, no. Nice CSO to HG at Omaha.
Thanks, Alex and Brad, and thanks, JazzB, for the extensive and interesting review. I appreciated your pointing out the technical features of the construction and the intricacies involved in executing the theme so successfully. I, too, chuckled at Seder Rapids. Brings back memories of my ignorant, youthful faux pas of wishing a fellow co-worker a Happy Cedar. To which he replied without missing a beat, And Happy Eyester to you, too! Thanks for the La La Land video. I loved that movie, especially the beautiful theme song of Mia and Sebastian. Best wishes for a successful surgery on Monday.
Have a great day.
I'd like a GLOB of whipped cream on my punkin pie.
I counted 19, more or less, proper nouns. A real conundrum for me. 45 down: verb, huh? Sad
Thank you Alex and Brad for a very timely puzzle. Not exactly a Wednesday walk in the park, but despite that I managed to FLOAT a FIR after PASSING OVER several clues multiple times.
And thank you JzB for another thorough, illuminating, and entertaining review.
And I think Patti deserves a bow for the timing of this puzzle. And is it co-incidence that it falls on the watch of an esteemed Jewish reviewer?
Some favs:
The very clever theme and reveal. We know that circles are a continuing Corner controversy, but sometimes they RAISE our spirits -- in this case they may represent the tiny bubbles of CO2 released by the LEAVEN to cause the DOUGH (see 1A) to RISE and FALL. But our constructors have left the yeast out of 61A which remains FLAT. IMHO constructing this puzzle was a real tour de force.
And a few of the other clues:
1A SOFT. Starting off with PASSOVER EGG was a brilliant stroke.
25A TEL. As in TEL AVIV. Is this the first Hebrew lesson in an LAT puzzle? Many of the archeological sites in ISRAEL are prefixed with TEL. Presumably these sites were selected by their original inhabitants because they were easier to defend.
59A ABBA. I had trouble with this because I read the clue as "brand", not "band" and had to PASS OVER it several times to get it straight. Isn't ABBA Hebrew for 40A DADDY? The use of this term to refer to his Father got one of the most famous Jews in history into a lot of trouble!
59A BBALL. STUART was too long. Oh that "King James".
61A MATZO. "last but not yeast". grown!*
3D FLOOR LAMP. Wow, we have a Torchiere and didn't know it. Very tony!
7D LEAVENED. "Seder Rapids" -- double grown!*
8D LA LA LAND. The movie didn't get the nod but EMMA did -- the first of her two OSCARS.
10D OMAHA. That would be a CSO to our Saturday sherpa.
Cheers,
Bill
* fully ripe.
p.s. to JZB - be sure to be OCD about applying the eye drops.
Not as easy for me as most Wednesday puzzles. The last to fill was the Great Lakes area. I wagged Grenade from perps. I finally guessed La La Land with the LAND perps. I didn't know it was a film. I needed almost all perps for Et Cetera.
I saw the rising dough and the flat unleavened bread theme. Fantastic.
Two bad cells, the HI in chives. Chives threw me. I always think of it as chives. Singular chive would be the plant, not commonly spoken of. An ABC run would have given me SHARE and PIKE, both of which should have dawned on me.
The elbow is used for an unexpected sneeze or one where you have your hands too full to grab a tissue quickly. It does come in handy when hands are linked in square dancing.
I my experience an administrative assistant is the go-to person in most organizations. She has the most easily accessible knowledge about most things or knows who to ask. The school secretary, for instance. The concierge here, who has functioned as administrative assistant for many years, always has what we need to know about the whole organization.
I have heard a whipped cream serving called a dollop, a blob or a glob. Dollop sounds the most appetizing.
Jazz, thanks for your erudite expo.
OOPS, Not "SHE has the most easily accessible knowledge." I know some very capable HE's who are administrative assistants.
This is why I am beginning to favor THEY over (he or she).
"The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) states that "grammar shifts and changes over time", that the use of singular they is acceptable, and that singular "they" as a replacement for "he" or "she" is more inclusive..."
It also avoids the awkward he or she.
I had to TITT on this puzzle. I didn't know how to spell Idina's last name, if it was MATSO or MATZO, had no idea who David Muir was, and VERB was never a thought for "Cast or oil" (laxative didn't fit). BELLA, TELLY, GRENADE, ABBA, SLOE, CHE- unknown as clued and filled by perps.
GRENADE- I don't know the names of the first or second #1 hit, let alone the third one. But have heard the song before.
Designer day with OLEG and YVES in the puzzle.
MAKE WHOLE, as in 'restitution'. What a joke. Don't you love it. Somebody steals $25 million from Medicare and a judge sentences someone to prison and says they have to pay it all back. Never happens.
ABBA and "Angel Eyes"- didn't know ABBA did it but Jeff Healy's version is more popular.
"I get a rise out of you"- that term didn't come from the kitchen; more likely another room in the house.
Wonder Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Alex and Brad, and JazzB (I loved your title for this CW).
I found this to be a little crunchy, but I saw the timely Passover theme and it helped to fill those’d circles. I did observe the symmetry but missed the appropriate rise of the leavened baking and flat MAZO. (Great catch on the circles being Air bubbles, waseeley.)We even had a Hebrew word to broaden our Passover viewpoint.
Plenty of inkblots today.
Hand u for Onion changing. to CHIVE.
Scam became FOOL, Glob became BLOB, Cho became CHE.
I thought of IOC (with all the flags of competing countries) before NFL.
MAKE amends was too long, WHOLE fit. Same with Efficiency to ECONOMY.
I thought of mold in the frig before ODOR (and both were missing the U!).
But there was my favourite letter in the British MUM , not Mom.
Stir became SIFT. I don’t think of SIFTing as aerating, but rather getting out any lumps. I rarely SIFT anymore as most flour is presifted (I liked the cross of SOFT (doughy) and SIFT (Hi Jinx) (Easter Eggs to the LEAVENED theme?)
I noted two fashion designers, OLEG and YVES. (Hi TTP)
Plus a mini-body part theme with SCALP, CHEEK, NAPE and ELBOW.
JazzB- good wishes for your upcoming cataract surgery.
unclefred- sorry to hear of your ongoing sight problems. Join us when you can.
Lemonade- good to see your post last night and hear that you are still reading us (and chiming in again today!)
PK- hope things improve for you and we see more if your posts again.
Vidwan - yes we are missing you and hope things improve and you can join us again.
Wishing you all a great day.
Chag Pesach Sameach -- Happy Passover!
This puzzle was just as elegant as JzB described it. I had a baker's dozen of unknowns, but still rose to the occasion to FIR.
One of my many shortcomings is lack of familiarity with modern music. GRENADE filled by perps, but I really enjoyed the video link provided by JzB. Also could not resist reliving those moments from LA LA LAND, which is such a lovely film.
Have to do a little traveling later this week and will be carrying boxes of MATZO, ET CETERA.
Todah rabah -- thank you very much! -- Alex, Brad, Patti, and JazzBumpa.
RosE said...
Good Morning! I liked the theme, and I saw it as the puzzle developed. Thanks, Alex and Brad. Very clever. I was not that enthused with the unknown names which made the puzzle harder than what we usually see on a Wednesday.
LIU: BELLA, EVA, TEL, IRENA, DAVID MUIR. Perps were not kind. I wanted to work in “yeast” somehow into 7D which threw off the upper middle along with all the unknown names.
C/F for ET CETERA was obscure. Not what would come to (my) mind right off.
Thanks, JazzB. A grand finale!
Musings
-Impressive on so many levels
-The SE corner took some doing but had to love “Cast or oil”
-Did anyone else first have MONK for Dom maker?
-SOLD American
-Wow, an ABBA song and a Sesame Street character I have never heard of before!
-The best ANGEL EYES
-When I think of OMAHA, I think of Union Pacific, Warren Buffet and Mutual of Omaha plus dozens of other things.
-Gotta run, DW wants to go to 10 Down
Had to work at this one. I don't know if it was off my wavelength, or the names. Probably a comb8nation of both.
Either way, it was cussable sussable...
Learning moment: Hebrew word for hill.
Not familiar with Telly monster...
Anywho, I FIR in the end, so I guess I must compliment the constructors for the workout, as they did get a rise out of me...
The title of this crossword should be Ambivalence.
On the one hand, it was structured beautifully, with a rewarding and timely theme and reveals. I did feel a little guilty, working on the puzzle while eating pastries from my local German bakery. They definitely had yeast in them, unlike many of the puzzle entries. Also, I'm not a circle-hater like many Cornerites, and found the circles here to be clever and useful.
On the other hand, I feel the puzzle was unnecessarily replete with "celebrities" and proper names. And often this resulted in a natick like in the upper middle where we had EVA, TEL, GRENADE, and IRENA all bunched together. Only nearby vertical perps saved the day for me.
And when a puzzle constructor is faced with a clue for, say, BELLA, or OMAR, why can't the clue for BELLA be someone like the unforgettable Abzug? And for Omar, how about one of the greatest actors (and bridge players, by the way), Sharif? Or Gen. Omar Bradley? Or Omar Khayyam?
Alex and Brad, I apologize if some of the clueing was out of your hands. Your puzzle was timely and beautifully set up.
This was harder than the usual Wed. fare for me, but the very clever theme was EXPOSEd with FOOL and TROLL giving up roll.
Thank you AR and BW. Did not know the third no. 1 hit GRENADE but thought it must be Grenada, the island country and a song by that name I once heard song by Pavarotti. It’s a beautiful song.
As in before AKIN. buddy before DADDY, Rama beforeMAMA. I once owned a lovely OLEG Cassini dress.
We had a halogen torchiere FLOOR LAMP that we had to get off. We learned that the 500 wt. bulb could reach temps of 1200 degrees and could catch fire. I don’t know if th are still on the market.
TTP@8:16 - Thank you for the info!
Wonderful review JazzBumpa. Good luck with your surgery! Been there, done that with excellent results.
Happy day, all!
A tough row to hoe today, but managed the FIR with a lot of p&p. Lots of clever clues, but made difficult with too many obscure names (for me, anyway!) that sucked some of the fun out. SUBG: Do you know if that Calfornia church served the same kind of meals as the book? Yum!
Hola!
Ay, caramba! Not only am I late to the party, I'm at the end of a long list of great commentary which was fun to read! Thank you, all and thank you, JazzBumpa, for your usual thorough comments.
This Wednesday puzzle had some serious crunch to it which took some thoughtful deliberation to solve. I loved it! Although I'm not very familiar with the current pop culture, I watch enough TV, especially Entertainment Tonight to recognize some of it. However, BELLA Ramsey is a stranger to me.
EVA Mendes is well known and the only movie of hers which I've seen and loved it is HITCH with Will Smith. It's so funny and entertaining that i bought the DVD when it was available.
Thank you, Jzb, for explaining B BALL. That was my only error as I had T-BALL even though VERT made no sense.
This puzzle would have fit on a Saturday but I managed it except for the aforementioned error at BBALL.
I hope you are all enjoying your day!
"Sifting flour is usually a good idea, says Penny Stankiewicz, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. “It lightens the flour and aerates it, making it easier to mix into any emulsion. Dec 8, 2023." Presifted flour is a slightly packed together. I don't usually sift flour, just when a more delicate batter, such as for angel cake, would benefit from aerating the flour.
There are other leavening agents besides yeast, such as baking soda, baking powder, eggs, sour dough starter.
In the theme answers, bagels, are made with yeast, as are most rolls. Popovers, soda bread, cake and scones are leavened, but not usually with yeast.
The whipped egg whites make angel cake rise.
The sour dough starter provides leavening. The starter is leavened by “wild yeast” and lactic acid bacteria that are naturally present in flour.
Yellowrocks, et. all @12:24 PM I'm on a diet that requires no phosphates or other artificial preservatives in leavened products, so Teri has a special recipe that uses cream of tartar and baking soda for cakes and other baked goods. For regular breads she just uses yeast and makes the best pizzas with thick doughy crusts, which as luck would have it is on the menu for dinner tonight!
Thanks, Alex and Brad, for your timely puzzle. Your grid construction was fantastic! I bet you wish you could have done something about the ROLL in TROLL. Nevertheless, really impressive work! At first I thought the four sets of circled letters worked horizontally so it took me a while to parse what the circles were doing.
FAV: SPOONREST
Lemonade. It's good to see you today and yesterday!
unclefred. I'm sorry to hear of you eye woes. Please post when you can.
JzB. Thank you for another informative write-up. I do like your style! Best wishes for your upcoming surgery.
JazzBumpa
May I also offer best wishes for your upcoming cataract removal. I've often thought that surgery was a misnomer for that procedure since there is no cutting involved; the film is simply removed but maybe I don't understand it exactly. Anyway, it's wonderful when it's done successfully as mine was about a dozen years ago. I hope yours will be, too. And yes, remember those eye drops!
Lucina, it is a minor surgery, but there is cutting involved. A slit is made, and the filmy lens is removed through the slit. Then a manufactured lens is slipped into its place.
Bit of a challenging Wednesday puzzle for me, but with lots of neat clues and answers, so I still enjoyed it very much. Many thanks, Alex and Brad, and thank you, too, for your always helpful commentary, JazzB.
When I saw MAMA I got excited that we would have a family theme--and, sure enough, before long, there was DADDY and even a BABY. But except for aKIN, that was pretty much it for kinship, and I figured I'd best look for something else.
Then GRENADE scared me, possibly from someone who ENRAGES people who, ALAS, managed to FOOL him or something, so that was it for me for today. Wish I could turn on the TV NEWS and see what David Muir has to say about the ECONOMY, but that'll have to wait until tonight.
Have a good day, everybody, and a good evening.
Yellowrocks@12:24 - A bread made by early settlers in Appalachia when yeast was not available was called salt-risen (rising) and was made from a starter made from corn, wheat, or most familiarly to me, potato. The first known hand-written recipe was in 1778 and the bread is still made today, although infrequently. My family did not make it when I was young but we could buy it at a specialty shop on Sunday mornings. It had a very bad smell when it was baking but when toasted it was delicious!
I thought it was a great puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
One of the worst crosswords of the past several months. Too many proper names , bad cluing(45D, verb) and inaccuracies: the A team in baseball is not the only group that suits up for the game.
HI All!
WEES - names galore! :-(
Thanks Alex & Brad for the well executed cute theme - that was cool.
Thanks, JzB, for the might-fine review.
WOs: ETC, ETc ??, MAKE amend
ESPs: [See: Names]
Fav: The sound of the clue "Cast or oil" [hi TTP] made me giggle (and I think art media)
BELLA - a CSO to my youngest niece who has a b'day today.
Gotta run. Enjoy'd reading y'all.
Cheers, -T
Desper-otto
Oh, yes, I had forgotten about that! At the time it was explained to me but then it was pushed way back into some memory cell, on purpose, I think, though the whole procedure was amazingly quick and successful for me.
I thought it was a great puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Late to the party. Great write-up JzB! I found the puzzle to be very both clever and thoughtfully executed. Well done all around. A zissen Pesach.
Excellent write-up, jazzbumpa
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