Theme: Thaw? si? shit? (Are you confused?)
Puzzling thoughts:
First off, please accept an apology for the expletive in the theme title. But if you solved the theme of this puzzle - its reveal - you should easily see that it makes sense; and isn't a cuss word, after all
I relied on several of my colleagues (fellow bloggers) to assist me in tying the reveal, clues, and entries together. The reveal's clue didn't register with me at first; even after finally figuring out how the clues fit the three entries. Were you as confused as I?
17-across. TEN?: TANGLED WEB. This perhaps?
| My "Spidey-sense" had not yet kicked in |
27-across. DIS?: SHUFFLED CARDS. Maybe these?
 |
| This is what I envisioned |
48-across. ORE?: SCRAMBLED EGGS. Did you see what I saw?
 |
| I prefer eggs either poached, "over", or as an omelet |
OK, Moe; so far all you've shown us is a mildly vulgur title, a picture of a book of anagrams, and three stock pictures of the entries. So, what gives? Here is what gives:
1) Each of the clues - when anagrammed - reveals the entry answer:
a) TEN = NET - a net can also be a tangled web (think of a fishing net)
b) DIS = ID'S - ID'S can be an abbr. for identification cards
c) ORE = ROE - roe is both the singular and plural of fish eggs
2) The reveal is: 63-across. BAN, and an apt title for this puzzle?: GET MIXED UP. In this case, BAN = NAB - nab is a synonym of the word "get", and if you extrapolate the reveal to all of the clues, it forms "the title". Each of the clues are mixed up (literally), and each of the entry answers are synonyms of the word MIXED:
TANGLED
SHUFFLED
SCRAMBLED
As you know, my ultimate source to confirm all of this is the Thesaurussaurus. If he agrees then I agree:
 |
| When I checked the verb form of the word "mixed", it still disagreed with all three |
As I reflect back to when I originally solved the puzzle, I was totally mixed up (confused). The puzzle solved easily enough, no issues there. Perps were fair, so the entries/reveal all emerged despite the odd clues. It was a few minutes after - as I was emailing my fellow bloggers - that I saw that each of the clues was just an anagram. I thought there was more to the reveal (that the word "nab" had some broader function) but my colleagues said I "got it"
Their comments also confirmed my thoughts:
1) Yes, people who post here/solve the LAT puzzle will be mixed up (confused) about this one
2) I think it's way too much of a reach to get from the theme and reveal clues to the answers
2) I think it's way too much of a reach to get from the theme and reveal clues to the answers
My biggest "nit" is that the second entry clue used an abbreviation (IDs) instead of an actual word
Here is the filled-in grid. I don't recall why I had a different letter in the crossing of OMAN and EMAIL but that was my lone mistake
Oh, and for those who are still seeing the "Theme" title containing a curse word, the unscrambled version: What? Is? This?
Across:
1. __ code: MORSE.
6. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz: OPAL.
10. With 49-Down, creator, writer, and star of HBO's "Insecure": ISSA (49. See 10-Across:) RAE. Ms. RAE is becoming the "Mel Ott" of the 21st century crossword puzzles
14. @ home?: EMAIL. Another stretch of a clue - guessing this means where the @ symbol makes its home (in an EMAIL address)
15. "I Love Me" singer Lovato: DEMI. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; so, what else is new?
16. Brick baker: KILN.
19. Juul, e.g.: ECIG. I don't smoke e-cigarettes, so I am unfamiliar with this brand
20. Country music?: ANTHEM. What's with all of the misdirection clues today? Must be a Friday puzzle. In this case, the word "country" refers to - for example - the US. And our ANTHEM is aka "The Star-Spangled Banner" ... speaking of which, please don't forget that today is Flag Day (sorry Jinx, didn't mean to steal your thunder) ... which coincided with (8-down. The "thee" of "of thee I sing"): AMERICA. This is a fitting video to play today:
21. Updated versions of classic video games, e.g.: REMAKES.
23. Former Indian prime minister Gandhi: INDIRA.
26. "All __ is but imitation of nature": Seneca: ART. Thankfully, this answer did not have a clue that made it a proper name ... I guess Carney, Garfunkel, and Linkletter were too old
33. French mathematician Poincaré: HENRI. HENRI is his middle name
34. "Works for me!": DEAL. It took them 24 hours to finally come down in price on the car I bought, so I could finally say, "Deal!"
35. "Othello" villain: IAGO. Anytime you see a four-letter proper name connected to Shakespeare, pencil in Iago
38. Trip to the dry cleaners, say: ERRAND. After retirement, it's been forever since I last went to the dry cleaners; I still run plenty of errands
40. Groundhog Day omen: SHADOW. Punxsutawney Phil and his partner Phyllis just had a male kit named SHADOW and a female kit named Sunny
42. Yemen coastal city: ADEN.
43. Analogy phrase: IS TO.
47. Combined: IN ONE.
51. NorCal hub: SFO. OAK also fit, but SFO is the more familiar one; OAK is also not a hub
53. Waikiki welcomes: ALOHAS. They're also Lahaina good-byes
54. "Time heals all wounds": I'LL BE OK.
56. Informants, in spy lingo: ASSETS. This is a 2-minute read about ASSETS
62. PBS science show: NOVA. Also, an erstwhile Chevy compact car
66. "¿De dónde __?": ERES. Soy de Pensilvania a través de Ohio. Actualmente soy de Arizona
67. Latin for "bear": URSA. I checked; we have only seen the word "URSA" in xword puzzles for about 16 years, so clearly, this Ursa is a minor ...
68. Dimple maker: SMILE. Hmm ... which actor with a dimple(s) should I choose? Irish Miss, is this guy ok??
 |
| Dimples galore |
69. Slog (through): WADE. I don't associate the word wade with "slog through"
70. Network that airs the Slippery Stairs World Championships: ESPN. I am speechless ...
71. Brandish: WIELD. I had a co-worker once whose last name was spelled WEILD (pronounced the same) and at the time was dating a gal named Brandice ...
Down:
1. WhatsApp's parent company: META. Neé, Facebook
2. Country on the Strait of Hormuz: OMAN. Now I recall my mistake. I realize I was thinking of Oran a city in Algeria. E-rail had no meaning, but at the time, the clue "@ home?" was not making any sense
3. All-caps post, probably: RANT.
4. Long exhale: SIGH.
5. "The Great" actress Fanning: ELLE. ELLE Fanning is currently the #1 most famous actor named ELLE
6. Uneven?: ODD. Speaking of odd ... are you noticing lately that the word eerie is not being used as often as it used to be in crossword puzzles?
7. Laser tag sound: PEW. I'm pretty sure I can find an appropriate video clip with this sound
9. Left-leaning voters: LIBERALS. Another eight-letter word fits but political discussion here is verboten (also an eight-letter word)
10. Maker of Sektion cabinets: IKEA. Somehow, the "k" in the word "Sektion" gave it away (maybe they should have used Ektorp, instead?).
It's been a while since Margaret and I took a trip to Ikea. I know that one item we bought - oddly - was a better performer than we expected: their "ziplock" freezer/storage bags!
11. Really under the weather: SICK AS A DOG. To Steven Tyler's credit he put this song out there to admit to and identify his struggles with drug addiction. Any Aerosmith fans?
11. Really under the weather: SICK AS A DOG. To Steven Tyler's credit he put this song out there to admit to and identify his struggles with drug addiction. Any Aerosmith fans?
12. More foxy: SLIER. Aidan Deshong was perhaps a bit slier today with his anagrammed clues
13. Deep anxiety: ANGST.
18. Jannings who won the first Best Actor Oscar: EMIL. "Read all about it!"
22. Render imperfect: MAR. Or, by anagramming the answer, you could have this clue and answer: Rear-ender imperfect: RAM
24. Actor Beatty: NED. Discussing his first movie ...
Note: the preview for this indicates that it might not open. If that's the case, try this link
25. Pres. between HST and JFK: DDE. Former PsOTUS
27. __ butter: SHEA.
28. Round up: HERD.
29. To be determined: UNRESOLVED. I almost came into today's blog with an unresolved description of the puzzle
30. Swiss cheese?: FRANC. In this case, the word "cheese" is slang for money. The Swiss currency is the franc, currently trading @ 1 CHF fr = $1.10 USD
31. Word at the end of some films: FIN. More Frawnche ... I wonder if the French translated version of the movie "Jaws" ends with the word "Fin"?
32. Youngest daughter on "Black-ish": DIANE. Played by actor Marsai Martin
36. Hanging instrument: GONG. Any Chuck Barris fans here??
25. Pres. between HST and JFK: DDE. Former PsOTUS
27. __ butter: SHEA.
28. Round up: HERD.
29. To be determined: UNRESOLVED. I almost came into today's blog with an unresolved description of the puzzle
30. Swiss cheese?: FRANC. In this case, the word "cheese" is slang for money. The Swiss currency is the franc, currently trading @ 1 CHF fr = $1.10 USD
31. Word at the end of some films: FIN. More Frawnche ... I wonder if the French translated version of the movie "Jaws" ends with the word "Fin"?
32. Youngest daughter on "Black-ish": DIANE. Played by actor Marsai Martin
36. Hanging instrument: GONG. Any Chuck Barris fans here??
37. Is in the red: OWES. I am briefly back in the red as car payments returned to my "budget"
39. Back-and-forth: DIALOGUE.
41. Got behind something, maybe: HID.
44. Backyard chef's array: SMOKERS. I can see having one SMOKER maybe: not an array of them. BTW, were all of the chef's guests smokers, too? Were they vaping an e-cig named Juul??
And playing off of the Jumble from Saturday June 8 (and the clue for 10 down): Where is it OK to use an ecig @ Ikea? In the Smoker's Sektion
45. "Frankly," in texts: TBH.
46. Rio greeting: OLA.
50. Actor Morales: ESAI. Issa / Rae / Esai => all "crossword-ese"
51. Tendon: SINEW.
52. Fauna counterpart: FLORA.
55. High scorer on a pH test: BASE. Interesting clue; acids and alkalis (bases) make up the numbers on the pH scale (1-14). Numbers above 7 are considered the bases
57. Annual Austin festival, familiarly: SXSW. Short for "south by southwest"
58. Big rig: SEMI. We had both DEMI and SEMI in the same puzzle, and neither was referred to as a number (in the clueing)
59. Actress Falco: EDIE.
60. Prog rock band Jethro __: TULL. One last video
45. "Frankly," in texts: TBH.
46. Rio greeting: OLA.
50. Actor Morales: ESAI. Issa / Rae / Esai => all "crossword-ese"
51. Tendon: SINEW.
52. Fauna counterpart: FLORA.
55. High scorer on a pH test: BASE. Interesting clue; acids and alkalis (bases) make up the numbers on the pH scale (1-14). Numbers above 7 are considered the bases
57. Annual Austin festival, familiarly: SXSW. Short for "south by southwest"
58. Big rig: SEMI. We had both DEMI and SEMI in the same puzzle, and neither was referred to as a number (in the clueing)
59. Actress Falco: EDIE.
60. Prog rock band Jethro __: TULL. One last video
61. Raced: SPED.
64. Recipe amt.: TSP.
65. __ cave: MAN. It could've been clued "Cave follower" with the same answer
See you in July. I probably won't be answering too many questions on the blog today as I am visiting family, but please feel free to add comments below
My overall "rating" for this puzzle is: ⭐+ 1/2 ⭐
Well, I certainly won’t say this was an easy one. And, once again, I could see the significance of the first word (“shuffled,” “scrambled,” etc.) but not the second. But anyway, through P&P, I managed to solve this challenging puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteImmediately slammed down PENAL (code) at 1a. (Have I ever mentioned...?) Bookended that with BAT (cave) at 65d. Managed to fix both of 'em for the win. "Array" of SMOKERS? No way. The theme was well executed, but too cutesy for my taste. Got it, but it didn't feel satisfying. Thanx, Aiden and C-Moe.
Directly to the trash, wish I would've wasted the paper to print it
ReplyDeleteFIW, missing my WAG @ DoMI x PoW. Thought the name might be short for Domenico, and I've never played laser tag. But I got SXSW without a single perp, so I got that goin' for me.
ReplyDeleteC-Moe, not to worry. In the interest of time I no longer assemble the "today is" stuff. However, today IS the first day of the college world series. Half the teams are in the SEC, half from the ACC. Half are from either North Carolina or Florida, while the other half consists of a team from Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas and Virginia.
I liked this one, maybe because I disliked yesterday's thing. 'Course I don't think of missing the theme to be much of an event. Thanks to Aidan for the fun, and to our Chairman for the solid explanation. Have fun with the fam.
FIR. But I spent the whole solve scratching my head. Pew and smokers (plural?) I still don't get it. Pew is a sound? And who has more than one smoker, if any?
ReplyDeleteThan we come to the theme. I got the "mixed" idea, and that makes sense: tangled, shuffled, and scrambled. But the clues? Capital letters and anagramed? Oh please.
This was a Friday puzzle that basically wasn't that hard. But the poor cluing and those ridiculous theme clues made it less than enjoyable. If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't!
Took 7:30 today for me to get unmixed, I guess.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, the juice was not worth the squeeze.
Once again, I miss the Fridays of yore.
Our leading candidate for "worst clue of the month" begins "French mathematician..."
I have a friend who uses his smoker a lot. He recently bought a new, bigger one. He gave his older one away to another friend. But, for a brief period of time, he had two smokers. So, I guess my friend was the inspiration for the smokers "array." To be prepared for future puzzles, his name is Jack. If French mathematicians are fair game, then who knows?
Amusing and creative theme- it took a minute to figure it out so the theme answers were some of the last to fill
ReplyDeleteSince ESPN has so many different channels they cover a lot of wacky sports like the Slippery Stairs and Corn Hole World Championships
The numbers of kids smoking was really trending down until the E-CIGs like Juul with their flavors really attracted the youth market. The nicotine is more concentrated and addictive than in regular cigs. At least it doesn't expose others to secondhand smoke. Some people will say they "quit" smoking - but they're still vaping.... and now with legal weed they've added another addiction to their array
BBQ and smoking meats are popular around here so I know some serious afficianados who have a couple of SMOKERS and a couple of grills at least on their back driveways or patios
Thanks CM for sorting out the puzzle today and to Aidan for the fun puzzle!
Better clue for smokers: the teens in Grease hanging out behind the back wall of Rydell High! Theme clues a bit clumsy! But got it done pretty easily.
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout "congregants at the office door" for SMOKERS?
ReplyDeleteGood Morning! I thought today’s puzzle was rather quick as Friday’s usually go. Thanks, Aiden. But I had no idea what the theme clues meant. I filled the themers by sheer familiarity with the phrases.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Moe’s recap, I agree with comment #2 – Waaay too much of a reach. That I could totally discount the clues was a plus. And, F- for a theme.
Two WOs, my bad. ADaN –> ADEN & SFa -> SFO when UNRESOLVED appeared.
My vote for DIMPLES is Tom Selleck.
All perps for PEW, DIANE.
New to me: cheese is a synonym to money. I figured after FRANC filled in.
Thanks, Chairman Moe. Your recap was a winner, and Happy Travels!
P.S. Apologies for the deleted comment. It drives me nuts to see a misspelled word after I hit "Publish." Maybe with this confession, I will become more diligent in editing!!🤞😉
IF ONLY (FLN) there were an edit button.
ReplyDeleteSuper fast Friday 20 min even with some of the usual interruptions. Took the reveal to suss the theme….tho’ I get TEN/net for WEB and ORE/roe for EGGS but DIS/ids? an ID cards? (Guess so). I agree about the “array of smokers” home many do yah need?
It’s interesting that “resolved” can mean “determined” ”I am determined” to finish this puzzle and “to be determined“ can mean UNRESOLVED (well u know what I mean). Didn’t know “cheese” was money??
Saw “Jethro Tull” perform in ‘72, What Ian Anderson did with that flute on stage I can’t repeat 😳
I gotta remember: OMAN, country…ADEN, city
Thought Latin bear was “ursus” and URSA was the feminine (mamma bear)
The Spanish Chevy won’t run…. NO VA
Contribute to a wager, ____ a bet…ADEN
A ton of money in bitcoin…. EMIL
TGIF 14 days on 😅
Finally, my fascination with French mathematicians pays off! Just kidding. There are so many more sensible options for clueing HENRI.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle further bolsters my stance of "if you can't come up with a decent theme, just construct a themeless puzzle." The long answers were easily solved using perps, so I didn't even bother trying to figure out the theme because it just looked silly.
I have three smokers in my backyard, and they have come in handy when I've
been asked to cook for anywhere from 40-100 people.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI liked the theme, overall, but the reveal could have been less "cutesy" and more obvious, rather than requiring ponderous thought. The cluing was a mixture of obtuse and unnecessarily clunky. Meta, Eres, and Diane were unknown, as clued, and Base, Pew, and Smokers suffered from the too clever by half syndrome. All three could have benefited from some creative wordplay, instead of not-so creative misdirection. I echo SS's sentiments about missing the good old days when Friday puzzles' juice was more than worth the squeeze !
Thanks, Aidan, and thanks, Moe, for going above and beyond to understand and explain the theme, which you did beautifully. I missed your Moe-kus, but you more than made up for their absence with your commentary and videos and clips. Enjoyed hearing My Country Tis of Thee, which so often takes a back seat to God Bless America and American The Beautiful. I also liked hearing from Ned Beatty, an outstanding actor. I thought the Phil and Phyllis and their offspring, Shadow and Sunny, was a Moe-joke until I read the article! Very cute! I like Kirk Douglas but the word Dimple conjures up one person for me and that's, as you know, Cary Grant. I can't wait to see how long it will take for the Slippery Stairs competition to become an Olympic event. 🤣
As Moe mentioned, today is Flag Day, a special day here in Troy which was celebrated for 50 years with one of the, if not the largest Flag Day Parades in the country. It also is the 8th Anniversary of CC's and my first published LAT crossword puzzle, fittingly enough, with the theme, Flag Day. 🇺🇸
Have a great day.
Thank you Aidan for a solvable, but a bit enigmatic puzzle. Theme? What theme?
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you MOE for your efforts to make sense of it. I'd give the puzzle 2 stars and your review 5 stars (I would've docked you for the lack of MOEKUS, but since you're busy 😀)
Some favs:
56A ASSETS. Timely fill. I think there are a lot of "Useful idiots" running the show these days.
62A NOVA. Today's Spanish lesson - roughly: "NO GO". Which is one of the reasons that the Chevy's didn't sell too well in South America.
5D ELLE. Today's French lesson: "SHE". Had ELIE, but I had to settle for ELLE. Darn! 😁
6D ODD. You're just not paying attention MOE. 😀)
7D PEW. Bang, you're dead!
11D SICK AS A DOG. Not an Aerosmith fan, but I am a FAN of Steve's daughter Liv, an inhabitant of Middle Earth.
36D GONG. No. 😀
60D TULL. Great video! I kept waiting for Ian Anderson to come in with a flute solo, but apparently Aqualung wasn't scored for one.
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. And thanks for the reminder about Flag Day MOE. Our DJ mentioned it, but but I didn't put ours out until I started reading your review.
Like Jinx, FIW because I had DoMI crossing PoW. Otherwise the rest filled pretty quickly, I noticed the MIXED UP phrases, however couldn’t figure the long answer clues. A little too, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the clue “brandish”, at first I thought it was the ish meaning kind of brand. We get a lot of those, then I realized, no, no, that’s just an old fashioned word.
C-Moe. Great review. Thank you.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I had MORAL Code and didn’t let go and so I’ll take some bad cells and a lashing with a wet noodle.
-The theme was multi-layered and fun to solve
-E-CIG cartridges were plugging up toilets at our local school
-I loved Grease but the REMAKE Grase 2 was an abomination. Travolta and Newton-John were asked to reprise their roles and both said the script was terrible.
-We don’t dry clean any more either.
-Two, two, two mints IN ONE
-Did time heal all wounds at your high school reunion?
- Soy de Nebraska, he viajado por el mundo y todavía vivo en Nebraska.
-I have had to slog/WADE through insurance forms, EMAILS and phone calls to get our roof fixed. I’m not sure what our agent does.
-Lasers in my physics labs were silent
-ANGST was a killer Wordle answer recently. One vowel and no “Y”.
-I have had to HERD thousands of kids through airports, Disney hotels and theme parks.
-DIALOGUE: A former colleague only waited for his turn to talk
I did get the MIXED UP theme, but did not find it satisfying. Seeing three capital letters I thought of abbreviations. AS ONE instead of IN ONE gave me DIASE, which sounded BLACK-ISH to me. Also had POW/DOMI. Seemed as good. FIW.
ReplyDeleteChairman Moe Thanks for the photos and videos. I got to see Ian Anderson perform his entire JETHRO TULL Aqualung show. A bit ODD, but enjoyable.
At Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine - Kyoto - We enjoyed this brief but beautiful dance performance that included a GONG.
We had many GONG encounters in Japan.
The theme answers slowed me down, but I was determined or resolved to finish. I often seen resolved used this way. The convoluted theme is interesting, but I found it impossible to suss.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind, the first words of the theme are a good match for mixed up. I would lay my paper work on piles on the floor and my dear cat, Kahlua, would scramble, shuffle, or mix them up.
I wanted POW, so missed that Nattick. Only that one bad cell.
I perped SXSW. Huh? Odd name for a festival.
I have spent this week wading through tons of paperwork. Alas, Kahlua is long gone.
Although I don't use tobacco or e-cigs, I have heard of their brands, which advertisers keep front an center.
RosE, I sympathize. Yesterday I deleted my post to correct a spelling error. I highlighted it, deleted it and tried to enter it in a new post. It disappeared instead. One small missed key stroke can be a disaster.
ReplyDeleteDNF
Didn't like it at all.
PS From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss Sorry if that Japanese ELEVATOR ride freaked you out!
Lucina I think people were asking for the model and type (ink jet vs laser jet) of printer. Cheap printers usually end up being the most expensive ones to own.
FIR and enjoyed it -- even making sense of the mixed up theme clues eventually -- but the theme did not contribute to the solve, and NAB is a huge stretch, which I needed our Chairman to explain.
ReplyDeleteI got a kick out of the Sektion clue, which was a perfect example of the much discussed Ektorp.
Like others, I doubted that a backyard chef would have an array of SMOKERS. Tongs and spatulas, maybe! Anonymous at 8:59 is the exception.
Thank you, Aidan, Patti, and Moe!
This felt pretty easy for a Friday puzzle. A touch of the strange on some of the clues, but perps were fair. That said, onto the theme. YA GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME! Final grade: puzzle, C+, theme? FUGGETABOUT IT!
ReplyDeleteOne more PS:
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to see HENRI POINCARE. After so many forgettable and obscure sports and entertainment figures are long forgotten, HENRI POINCARE and his enduring contributions will be remembered.
Oh boy! FIW. Not knowing SXSW. I had get miced up (GET MIXED UP) which led to mal (MAR) and unknown Liane (DIANE) and shuffled calls (SHUFFLED CARDS), but EGGS didn’t fit but a SCRAMBLED call? My thinking was as convoluted as the clues and the theme. Thank you C Moe for making sense of it all, but, TBH, it all seemed, SIGH, well, quite convoluted.
ReplyDelete“Insecure” sounds like a major project for frequent clue/answer ISSA RAE. NOVA is a shelter in the storm of bad TV shows. PEW - really? Why not Pepe Le—-?
Jinx - How about “teens behind the high school” for SMOKERS. At least in my school days.
C Moe - My husband thought the GONG Show was so funny in its stupidity and I thought it was just stupid, Different senses of humor. And I too will take Cary Grant over Kirt Douglas any day.
Happy day,all!
I filled in about 15 names and terms I spotted readily before attacking the rest of the puzzle in a normal manner. I saw DEMI, ECIG, INDIRA, IAGO, ELLE, LIBERALS, EMIL, FLORA, SXSW, DDE, NED, SEMI, EDIE, TULL, and, of course, ESAI.
ReplyDeleteSo I didn’t have much trouble filling in the rest. The NW gave a bit of trouble because I had Iran before OMAN, and SIGH threw me for a while because for me a “long exhale” is the note I hold for about 30 seconds in our octet’s weekly rendition of “Shenendoah.” I have a very taut diaphragm for a guy my age.
However . . . I did not figure out the theme until I saw how Chairman Moe explained it. Thanks, C-Moe for making me glad I didn’t bother.
The tortured theme didn’t prevent me from enjoying the exercise on the whole, though.
Other thoughts: The Bay Area has three major airports, the one not mentioned already being the one in the Bay Area’s largest city, San Jose (SJC). San Jose has lost its top-10 standing in population nationally, however, as Jacksonville, Austin, and Fort Worth have overtaken it. Moe is correct that SFO is the hub, but OAK and SJC are pretty similar and often are better options. . . . “Sick As a Dog” indeed reminded me of the Aerosmith song from the “Rocks” album. . . . I didn’t like "The Gong Show," but I loved the Carol Burnett version in which her Eunice character bucked the family’s skepticism by going on the show to sing “Feelings.” . . . I didn’t “slam down” anything for 1A until late in the solve, but I was thinking of desper otto in the meantime.
Hi all, constructor here. I am surprised this got accepted, and I'm not sure it should have been. A couple days after I submitted it, I realized that the clues shouldn't be like [BAN], but rather [BAN vis-a-vis NAB?] and [ORE vis-a-vis ROE] etc, and that that would be more deserving of acceptance. I get why this kind of thing couldn't be in a cryptic—you can really only reverse engineer the anagrams. And I think because you can only reverse-engineer, there's less point to the solve.
ReplyDeleteAidan, first off, thanks for stopping by to explain from your vantage point. As the "blogger du jour" (and also a crossword puzzle constructor) I understand your surprise at times for puzzles accepted, as well as (I'm sure) puzzles rejected. As I am also a published constructor I try to be as fair as possible with my reviews. After all, I would certainly want my critics to be fair, yet also honest in their critique. That's how we learn, yes?
DeleteHaving been a "member" of the Crossword Corner for over 10 years, I think I know some of the likes and dislikes of the regular, as well as anonymous posters. And while I understand that crossword puzzles need to evolve to attract a range of solvers (both old and younger), we still need for them to be enjoyable. When too many proper names/movie titles/books/and random three-letter abbreviations populate a puzzle, it can sometimes become tedious to solve.
Again, thanks for stopping by. I know you'll be published again and I'll certainly keep solving! 😉 C-Moe
Yellowrocks @10:43. SXSW refers to Austin’s geographic location, I.e. South by Southwest.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThankfully there was no MORSE code to decode today. However, with TANGLED, SHUFFLED and SCRAMBLED it was a big MIX UP. But no ANGST about today's puzzle. Thank you, Aidan Deshong and thank you for commenting on our Blog. That was very nice of you.
CSO to my niece, Irene's DH who has an array of SMOKERS and grills in the back yard. He is part of a very large family and they frequently meet outdoors to celebrate birthdays, etc. I even contributed mine after my DH died because I knew I would no longer use it.
It's so unusual to see DIALOGUE spelled out. Often the last two letters are omitted.
SFO airport is very familiar to me as is OAK. Now that SFO has been remodeled, the concourses are so much longer and convoluted. I'm glad I can use a wheelchair because walking that length is out of the question for me.
Before their divorce, my next door neighbor had four NOVAs in the carport. Since he moved away I have no idea about his collection. His ex-wife kept the condo and she and her family just have the usual assortment of cars and vans. Our units have four parking spaces so, of course, that allows for more vehicles. In my cased it's handy when the family comes to visit.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! ALOHA!
Yellowrocks and Parsan: SXSW is "South by Southwest", an annual festival held in Austin TX. (Something I learned by doing this CW!! 😊
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, YES! An edit button would solve a bunch of mis-keys!
Picard
ReplyDeleteAll i can tell you right now about my new printer is that it is wireless and the manual is on- line so I'll have to look that up.
Sorry, I see C.Moe already identified SXSW.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t get the theme until C Moe explained it, and even then it seemed quite a reach. I liked some of the fill, such as wield, anthem , and unresolved and think the perps were very helpful to decode the proper names.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aidan for the challenge and for stopping by. Thanks C Moe for the entertaining tour.
Finally sunshine in Laguna Niguel. My garden beckons.
RIP Jerry West
I waited to see if Lucina would weigh in on the Chevy NOVA. From Motorbiscuit.com:
ReplyDelete"In Spanish, nova and no va don’t sound the same, and most people would not confuse them. It would be like [us] saying “carpet” and “car pet.” They sound different and have different meanings."
"Contrary to popular belief, though, the Chevy Nova sold well in Latin America. In Venezuela, the Nova actually exceeded sales projections from Chevrolet."
I had read a similar mythbuster on the NOVA story from another source, but didn't remember where. But they did list a funny, true mistranslation:
"The “Got Milk?” campaign used “¿Tienes leche?” for the Spanish version. In Spanish, ¿Tienes leche? translates as “Are you lactating?"
But SXSW of where/what?
ReplyDeleteChallenging but fun Friday puzzle, many thanks, Aidan. And thanks too for your always helpful commentary, Chairman Moe.
ReplyDeleteBy the time I got to the end of the puzzle, I had to SMILE. At the beginning I thought we might be going in a patriotic direction with an AMERICAN ANTHEM, which I thought was pretty LIBERAL for a puzzle and made me happy to see DDE make an appearance. But then everything started to get a bit MIXED UP and TANGLED and SHUFFLED and SCRAMBLED. This didn't make me SICK AS A DOG, but it did give me a bit of ANGST and made me SIGH. But hey, no need to RANT, it was still fun, and we'd better get ready for an even tougher Saturday puzzle tomorrow.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Thanks to Aiden for his multi-layered puzzle! I filled the grid quickly but sussing the theme made it Fri. worthy. I saw the synonyms for "mixed up" and I suspected anagrams but could not make the leap to connect all of them. Thanks, also, for stopping by the Corner!
ReplyDeleteFAV: Country music?
Well done, C-Moe! Thanks for explaining the theme. LOL at "Ikea SMOKERS sektion"! Enjoy your family visit!
waseeley@9:48 and Jinx@2:10. I only recently learned that the nova thing was an urban myth. I believed it (and repeated it) for years.
Picard@10:31. I hope you had time to do the hike up to the Fushimi Inari shrine. Really cool!
Aidan, thanks for stopping by. As another Friday blogger all I can say is that I am not unhappy Ch. Moe drew the task of explaining this one today 😄 !
ReplyDeleteJinx, et al, nova versus no va: Anyone want to buy a notable dinette set? :>)
ReplyDeleteAll my guesses were correct so FIR, which was a welcome respite from whatever one would call that mess from yesterday. I still don’t get the too cute clues for the theme but that’s nothing out of the ordinary in my case.
ReplyDeleteYou all have said what I would have said about this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI liked:
Brick baker: KILN
Country music?: ANTHEM
Groundhog Day omen: SHADOW
Brandish: WIELD (I also like those words)
The words UNRESOLVED and DIALOGUE.
I disliked:
@ home?: EMAIL
Analogy phrase: IS TO (I first had AS IN)
Combined: IN ONE
"¿De dónde __?": ERES (requires the solver to know Spanish)
Laser tag sound: PEW
and the paraphrases
"Works for me!": DEAL (I had OKAY, but could be FINE or COOL or...)
"Time heals all wounds": I'LL BE OK
"Frankly," in texts: TBH (actually, TBH explicitly means To Be Honest).
Writeovers:
OAST --> KILN
AS IN --> IS TO
AS ONE --> IN ONE
TREK --> WADE
SLYER --> SLIER
__ cave: BAT --> MAN.
Today is Martha-Ann's favorite day!
Good reading you all.
Jinx
ReplyDeleteThe NOVA issue has been discussed, debated and questioned a few times in the past. I thought we had had enough of it. But if not I'll just say what the article says, NO VA would have to be written in that manner, with a space in between, to be translated as "doesn't go". It seems that someone with a sense of humor parsed it when that model came out. Since in Spanish the accent is on the first syllable, it would take some imagination to then place the accent on the second syllable for it to mean, it doesn't go. no VA is how I would say it doesn't go. But the car is NO-va which is something else entirely though not Spanish. Language can be tricky as we all know.
Mark is feeling under the weather so my new printer has not yet been installed.
Lucina, I think Jinx knows.
ReplyDeleteIt was Waseeley that was perpetuating the myth of the Nova vehicle not selling south of the US border.
The article I linked makes the comparison of an American mistaking notable with no table. I find that amusing in the example of the dinette set that doesn't have a table.
An addendum to the NOVA word meanings. There is in our subdivision a magnificent Doberman Pincher who every afternoon runs like the wind with her master following her on his bicycle. Her name is NOVA.
ReplyDeleteThere's a character in the computer game Star Craft II named Nova.
ReplyDeleteTTP, methinks Motorbiscuit did a bit of copy and paste. Oh BTW, in my household, FORD stood for "First On Race Day."
ReplyDeleteJinx, I've never heard of Motorbiscuit, but that name made me think of Motorhead. I recently watched a YouTube of Lemmy Kilmister relating a story about Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow. From what I gleaned, Blackmore was not only legendary for creating some of the most famous guitar riffs in rock and roll history, but he also created some legendary pranks. If what Lemmy said was true, it was too funny!
ReplyDeleteRidiculous, not fun or sensible
ReplyDeleteI understood SXSW, the direction and the location. It just sees to me an very odd name for a festival. I never would have guessed it without the perps.
ReplyDeleteSince we are speaking Spanish today, as a native Southern Caifornian "Me llama Señor Gringissimo."
ReplyDelete