TOFU~!?!?
Or maybe Liver~?
Another Wednesday, another Rebecca Goldstein puzzle, another 16x15 grid; I need more FLAVOR~!
That
about sums up today's crossword, with four theme answers and one
reveal; four "places" preceded by four, uh, flavors~? Am I missing
something~? Sure, (sour) apple-flavored Jolly Ranchers are the best, sesame chicken I recognize ( I even throw in some seeds on my General Tso's ) and there are several waffle flavors I did not know about, but I would definitely pass on anything that was "olive-flavored'. Here are the spanners;
18. Workplace for some Geniuses: APPLE STORE - I am PC. Period.
26. Breakfast chain with a museum in Decatur, Georgia: WAFFLE HOUSE - I have said before that my favorite "greasy spoon" is the Waffle House
38. Home to Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus: SESAME STREET - Yup-yupyupyup; I was just talking with my supervisor about these guys - and it's hysterical to watch them for the first time in like, 45 years
53. Restaurant with a Never-Ending Pasta Pass: OLIVE GARDEN
63. Tasty location associated with Guy Fieri, and where to find 18-, 26-, 38-, and 53-Across?: FLAVOR TOWN
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Warmup in gym class, maybe: LAPS - I preferred to warm up on the rowing machine
5. Dish with a shell: TACO - I make my own tacos at least once a week, and if I choose to eat fast food, it's Taco Bell
9. Unexpressed: TACIT
14. Be a sore winner: GLOAT - nyah-nyah-nyah-NA-nyah-nyah
16. Country on the Arabian Sea: OMAN
17. Clay colour: OCHRE - Meh. I always thought the color was called, uh, "CLAY". . . .
20. Second stringers: B-TEAM
21. Tax Day arrival, astrologically: ARIES - Meh, and questionable; there's a trend to add new signs to the Zodiac, but I could not find one link that had Aries ON 15Apr.
My father was born on 20Apr, which is the "cusp" of the OLD
astrological signs; therefore, without a specific birth 'time', he was both Aries and Taurus. If I were to accept the NEW, then I am no longer an Aquarius, but a Capricorn....
22. Assistant: AIDE
24. Fabric tear: RIP
25. Picture formatted for the small screen?: ICON
30. Walked worriedly: PACED
32. "Sorry, laddie": NAE - and - 43A. Scottish gal: LASS
33. Slammed with customers: MOBBED - I did my time in retail
34. Make a request: ASK
35. Grand in scale: EPIC
37. Gymnast Lee: SUNI - via perps, and yet I am sure I have seen this name before
42. Three-time WNBA MVP Leslie: LISA - via perps; her Wiki
44. Resistance unit: OHM
47. "Cupcake Wars" competitors: BAKERS
50. Frying liquid: OIL
51. Spanish small bites: TAPAS - had this two puzzles in a row
56. Nu metal band since 1993: KORN
- I love metal, but this whole generation/genre was just noise, as far
as I was concerned; I picked the one song from the decade that I would
let play if it came on. . . .
57. Sanctions: OKs
58. Sponge feature: PORE
59. Artisan association: GUILD
61. African snake: MAMBA
67. Decide (to): ELECT
68. East, in Spanish: ESTE
69. Spanish lakes: LAGOS
70. Ding-dong __: DITCH - I had no clue this was an alternate 'title' for "ring & run"; first learning moment
71. Shoulder muscle, briefly: DELToid
72. Out of __: SYNC
DOWN:
1. JFK alternative: LGA - airport codes - I grew up on Long Island, home to both fields - even though they are associated with New York City
2. Andean grazers: ALPACAS
3. Candy mixed with Coke in a chemistry experiment: POP ROCKS - I'm more familiar with the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, but it was too short --
4. Contact lens solution: SALINE
5. Tater bite: TOT
6. Spanish "I love": AMO
7. Large mimosa order: CARAFE - the one Champagne to have when you're having more than one~?
8. Racer Kitty known as "the fastest woman in the world": O'NEIL - she even got her own action figure - or is it "doll"~!? - more here
9. "Not gonna lie ... ": TO BE HONEST - these days, you don't get 10 letters, just "TBH" - and, TBH, I happen to like Olive Garden
10. Put on a show: ACT - meh. STAGE is a better verb, IMHO, TBH
11. Angelic being: CHERUB - my personal favorite cherub image; and the best song on the album
12. Confident words at the poker table: I RAISE
13. Filled in at the office: TEMPED
15. Golfing prop: TEE
19. U-turn from NNE: SSW
23. Objects gently: DEMURS
25. Hoppy pub initials: IPA
27. Jungian inner self: ANIMA
28. Stand up to: FACE
29. Off-Broadway award: OBIE - Off Broadway - literally "Oh Bee"
31. Shortcut created by foot traffic: DESIRE PATH - another new learning moment for me
36. Turn a certain corner in Monopoly: PASS GO - GO TO JAIL did not fit
37. Like bread for stuffing: STALE
39. -1,412 ft., for the Dead Sea: ELEVation - see 41D.
40. Lost traction: SLID
41. The lay of the land?: TOPOLOGY - I use a 3D software called
Revit for modeling buildings, and it has a topography tool for making
the structure "site" as accurate as possible; I can add points of
'elevation'
45. Earned with extreme effort: HARD WON
46. Bing portal: MSN
47. Thundered: BOOMED
48. Basic stuff?: ALKALI - as opposed to "acid" - clever
49. Destiny: KISMET
50. Words of warning: OR ELSE
52. Japanese dogs: AKITAS - learned by doing crosswords
54. Sounded like 52-Down: ARFED - Meh.
55. Habitat for Humanity, e.g., for short: NGO - I've had this before, and still put in NPO, for a Non-xxx-Organization, but not PROFIT; it's GOVERNMENTAL
60. Online address: URL - Uniform Resource Locators - a unique website "residence"
62. Loop in on the DL: BCC - second puzzle in a row, for me, again
64. Emory U.'s home: ATLanta - filled via perps
65. Dog doc: VET
66. Foreign policy gp.: NSC
Splynter
44 comments:
I’m not sure if I get how the reveal is related to the themed fills. Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle, once I remembered the name “pop rocks.” FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
D-o immediately noticed that each themer was a location: store, house, street, garden. Yay. But d-o failed to notice the flavors: apple, waffle, sesame, olive. Boo. Some things never change. Not familiar with Ding-dong-DITCH (nor "ring 'n' run"). There was a Ding-Dong School TV show back in the '50s, but "School" was too long. "Colour" clued us as to the correct spelling of OCHRE today. (Hi, CanadianEh!) Don't remember ever hearing the expression DESIRE PATH. Still, d-o filled all the boxes with the correct letters, so he's taking a win. Thanx, Rebecca and Splynter.
^^^^^^
We have been spammed.
Desire path was a total unknown and the last to fall.
FIW, missing my wag @ ANIMe x LISe. The eraser took the day off.
I filled WAFFLE HOUSE, SESAME STREET and OLIVE GARDEN without a single perp. Splynter, I used to have that skit on 2" tape, dubbed when I worked at a PBS TV station. Never did find a place to play it, because unexpectedly I never worked in TV again. My all-time favorite SESAME STREET bit.
My nose crinkled at TEMPED.
EMORY reminded me that we haven't heard from ATL Granny in a long time.
I didn't think this one was as fun as Rebecca's previous publications. I would classify a lot of the fill as "junk," but YMMV. No junk in Splynter's review of her work, however.
FIR. A little crunchy for a Wednesday puzzle. I really had to work at it.
The theme needed to be explained to me by coming here. I'm not sure I get it now. Apple, waffle, sesame, and olive are flavors? I get the places, but the flavors?
Overall this was not very enjoyable, but perhaps it's just me.
Took 5:13 to taste victory.
Food + something found in a town = "flavor town". OK, I guess. Since I usually don't look for the theme, that didn't bother me. I was annoyed with the initials/abbreviations (msn, nsa, atl, bcc, etc.). I passed today's Scottish lesson (nae & lass) and Spanish lesson (este & taco, which is a dish today, not just a snack).
Desire path was new to me.
Now that I am back solving and commenting it is nice to see Splynter's byline and to see that he has not abandoned his appreciation for the female leg. Lassie indeed.
I thought this was not hard for a Wednesday but it was the perps filling my unknowns like Racer Kitty known as "the fastest woman in the world": O'NEIL and Shortcut created by foot traffic: DESIRE PATH that made this go fast. How is the actor now inhabiting Big Bird? Caroll Spinney will always be Big Bird for me. I have forgotten how to insert YouTube videos but they have a nice piece on Mr. Spinney.
Totally off-topic, a question from today's Penny Press grid. Can anyone tell me how a clue "Unified" could be ATONE? I had As ONE. I'm guessing they changed the perp clue / fill to RECTO for "right-hand page," and forgot to fix this clue. They clue a lot differently there, but they usually make some kind of sense.
Good Morning! I found some crunch in the flavors today as to be expected for a Wednesday. Thanks Rebecca.
I thought we might be talking bagels for the theme but WAFFLE didn’t fit.
ESP: SUNI, KORN, LISA, DITCH, O’NEIL
WOs: ANIMe -> A (that vowel thing…)
Learning moment for DESIRE PATH and Ding-Dong DITCH. Thanks, Splynter. I enjoyed your recap.
Good Morning:
I liked the theme and reveal, even though Flavor Town was unknown to me. I'm familiar with Guy Fieri's Food Network shows, but not with his off-screen ventures. Also unknown were Lisa, Korn, Pop Rocks, and Desire Path, but perps were fair, so no complaints. Personally, I thought the fill was strong and fresh, e.g., To Be Honest, Topology, Hard Won, Cherub, Kismet, Anima, Pass Go, etc. Taco and Tapas were Easter Eggs.
Thanks, Rebecca, and thanks, Splynter, for your time and efforts to entertain and enlighten. Your commentary and observations are helpful and interesting.
FLN
Thanks for the kind words about CC's and my USA Today puzzle. I'm glad some of you enjoyed the solve. Collaborating with CC is always a pleasant and fun experience! Thanks, CC!
Lucina, I'd be grateful for any recommendations on the Netflix movies you've enjoyed. I just binge-watched Your Honor with Bryan Cranston and while it had the makings of an outstanding series, it suffered from the "More is Better" syndrome, IMO. I enjoyed a great deal of it, but, in the end, it failed under its own weight, IMO.
Have a great day.
Musings
-TACIT: Read the room!!
-People who GLOAT usually get payback. It’s KISMET
-OCHRE is a prime example that Hooked On Phonics doesn’t always work
-Being MOBBED was better than the emptiness of a Tuesday night in February when I worked retail.
-UNL does not put in sidewalks for new buildings. They see where the students walk first and use those paths.
-The ELEV. in our very flat town does not change much across its 5-mile width
-TOPOLOGY is a very different math course than calculus! The Möbius strip leaps to mind.
-Nice job, Splynter.
Jinx, I think the answer must have been AT ONE. When you are unified, you are at one, meaning in agreement or harmony.
IMO Flavor Town is a restaurant where you might find apples, waffles, sesame buns, and olives among other things. The emphasis was not on flavors, but on the restaurant. That fill held me up a while.
Temped is common slang around here.
O'Neil was new to me, but easily perped, as was ding dong ditch. I think we just called it "ring the door bell and run."
I have never heard of desire path, but I know the concept. As Gary said, some developers wait to see what paths are taken and then accept them and pave them.
To me, clay color is whitish or light grey and ochre has hints of yellow or gold.
Do people actually say, "The dog arfed and arfed when I rang the bell"? Spell Check flags it.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Rebecca and Splynter ( I knew it was you at the blog helm today with that LASS).
I FIRed with a few slowdowns (some due to Canadian disadvantage).
When my first attempts at solving going Across resulted in a sea of white, I changed direction, and the Downs were more friendly.
But I saw the Food and TOWN theme. (Great catch on the Easter Eggs IM)
I erred in entering Erg too quickly. Resistance unit is OHM.
Hand up for never having seen DESIRE PATH and Ding Dong DITCH.
I think of a sore loser and a poor winner. Sore winners Ache!
Unknown-to-me names like ONEIL, LISA, KORN, SUNI perped.
Canadian disadvantage (but I know enough to omit the U in flavour!) included ATL, NSC, even ARIES since our Canadian Tax Day is April 30, Taurus. We no longer have any OLIVE GARDENS in Canada (they were converted to Red Lobster and they are in bankruptcy protection), and we have very few WAFFLE HOUSEs.
D’o, I didn’t even notice “colour” and OCHRE until I saw your comment. I guess I did have some Canadian advantage today, LOL!
I wanted TOPOGRAPHY and thought TOPOLOGY was “off”. The ? OKed I guess.
Llamas was too short. ALPACAS fit.
I remember LGA for its short runway that seemed as if we were not going to stop in time before going into the water. Porter flights on Toronto Island can cause that same reaction.
Wishing you all a great day.
Jinx at 8:39 AM re: that *other* puzzle: Unified is AT ONE, as in, "a feeling of calm came over me and I felt AT ONE with the universe." We had a rabbi who like to talk about "at one-ment" on the Day of Atonement.
Topology is a math course.
"Topography is a detailed description or representation on a map of the natural and artificial features of an area." Topography could mean lay of the land.
I think the clue and the fill do not match.
Thank you Rebecca for a Wonderful Wednesday FIR, although I'm not quite sure I fully understand the theme. After (post-solve) researching the career of Signor FIERI, I think there is a subtle essence that I'm missing. Here's hoping you stop by and tell us what flavors and aromas were going through your head when you constructed this puzzle.
And thank you Splynter for the recap, although I don't quite suss your theme explanation. I think we're both missing something (at least that what my friends all say about me 😀).
A few favs:
17A OCHRE. Not sure what the significance of the British spelling of COLOUR in the clue was, but OCHRE colored clays are used in low-fire earthenware. Clays can red, yellow, brown, tan, and white, with shades in-between. The whiter the clay the higher the firing temperature. The whitest clay is KAOLIN used in the production of vitreous high-fire porcelains.
43A LASS. One look at that pic and I knew that this had to be your review Splynter. 😁
44A OHM. The absolutely best explanation of electricity I've seen!
63A FLAVOR TOWN. Not just a metaphor, but a term denoting a kitchen only restaurant, i.e. one with no eating space, for creating carry-out meals only. Signor Fieri has created several of these including this one in Columbia, MD.
31D DESIRE PATH. A new one on me -- one of many synonyms for the beaten paths we go down.
Cheers,
Bill
This was a cute puzzle. I liked the theme. Splynter, you don't care for olives? I'll take care of that dirty martini for you.
DESIRE PATH was new to me, crossing unknown LISA Leslie and ANIMA. I cheated by sharing the WNBA clue with DH, and that solved it. But that means Rebecca beat me today.
Thank you, Rebecca, for the puzzle, Patti for editing, Splynter for explaining it all, and C.C. for the Corner.
Husker 9:24 AM I've with you re Hooked on Phonics. English simply doesn't work that way and to teach students otherwise is foolish. When I can't remember the spelling of a word I just close my eyes and try to remember it the first time I saw it in the old Dick and Jane readers. Either that, or I just throw myself at the mercy of Auto-correct.😀
WEES about the unknowns. I filled all the long answers quickly, but although I’ve watched Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” I needed perps for the reveal. I don’t quite get the theme, but that’s OK.
Thank you Splynter for the nice recap.
Irish Miss ☘️ @ 9:18. By coincidence we happen to be watching “Your Honor” not binging however just 2 episodes at a time, and we’re almost at the end. I totally agree with your assessment. We don’t have any streaming service, I just check DVDs out of the library, so not quite Netflix, but I too wouldn’t mind some recommendations. Our library system carries a lot of titles of series and movies, as long as they’ve been put on DVD. I noticed for instance, nothing that has appeared on Apple TV makes it to DVD.
Got me today. This one came in a tad over my head, but enjoyed Splynters recap. I think you'll find some faster women in the world flying fighters in the USAF & USN!
This was an easy puzzle despite an unusual number of unknowns for me. I should have known SUNI Lee (and I DID know frequent crossword visitor LISA Leslie), but I also was unfamiliar with today’s theme unifier, “FLAVOR TOWN,” as well as KORN, Ding-dong DITCH, and DESIRE PATH. I did know the two theme answers involving chain restaurants I don’t frequent unless I’m in a small town that offers nothing better. Love that Martin/Sinatra addition. Thanks, Splynter!
I’ve expressed distaste for ARFED before, but I liked the IPA/LAGOS combo. I’ll take a bottle of Lagunitas, please. I also liked DEMURS, TACIT, KISMET, AKITAS, and ALKALI as clued. California water is very alkaline, and I have to add muriatic acid to our pool to lower the pH.
I’m perfectly willing to accept “lay of the land” as a colloquialism, but among the online definitions I found for both “lie” and “lay” of the land was one that said “lie” is British and “lay” is American. This bothers me because I’m always trying to zero in on foreign name pronunciations, especially in pro baseball, and am finding increasingly that wrong pronunciations are being defended as the “American pronunciation.” In other words, “don’t make us pronounce their names right.” That’s awful!
Thanks YR and NaomiZ. Makes sense now.
Bill, "a kitchen only restaurant, i.e. one with no eating space" sounds like the trendy catering trucks, which we used to call "roach coaches."
Well, once again I almost FIR on a Rebecca Goldstein puzzle , ALMOST being the operative word. I died on the hill of KORN crossing MSN, not knowing what Bing and Korn were. Otherwise, I enjoyed the solve and thought most of the clues were interesting. I learned something new with TOPOLOGY and DESIRE PATH.
As a former literacy teacher, I agree that phonics can’t be the only technique for learning to read - watching a child struggle to figure out “the” using phonics is painful! However, using phonics combined with whole word can work magic.
Thanks, Rebecca, for providing a pleasant challenge, and thanks, Splynter, for the fun tour.
Regarding TV series recommendations, we started the new Benedict Cumberbatch series, Eric, and we could only get through 2 episodes before abandoning it. Too dark, weird, and depressing for us. Others may disagree.
- Wendybird (can’t figure out how to stop being identified as Anonymous)
Jinx 11:33 AM I doubt that Fieri's FLAVOR TOWNS are roach infested. I think they specialize in gourmet carryout that is delivered by services like Door Dash and that ilk. I'm sure they beat carry out from Uno and Papa Johns!
Hola!
Seeing Splynter's identifying picture immediately told me who was blogging. That's a nice one, BTW, and thank you for the Blog.
The OLIVE GARDEN restaurant in our area recently closed. Red Lobster has been gone for a long time now.
Yum, yum. I'm always glad to see TACO in the puzzle and to me it's more than a snack. And also, I fry my own shells. The store bought ones break too easily.
Back in the days when I was going to the gym we had an instructor who always said MAMBA when she meant MAMBO. No one ever corrected her.
It appears that my printer has done it's duty for the last time and I'll need a new one. Thank you for the suggestions though I can't recall who offered them.
IrishMiss
Last night I watched SAFE based on a Harlan Coben book. It's quite long and after watching seven episodes I finally stopped but I'll continue tonight. I'll have to check for the exact title of others.
Have a grand day, everyone!
I believe that most of the teachers and former teachers can agree with me that phonics only can't be the way to teach reading. It requires a combination of phonics and sight words. Since English is derived from so many other languages and sources, it can't depend on phonics instruction only.
Hi All!
Glad I did the expo for yesterday 'cuz I was under the weather and couldn't play.
I did read y'alls reaction to it, so thanks for the kind words.
Welcome to The Corner Vern.
Thanks Rebecca for the grid and thank you Splynter for a fantastic expo.
//MCMLXXXIV was a great album. The guy (actually his name was Guy) who gave me his paper route (he was going off to college) introduced me to Van Halen while we played Horse in his driveway.
Oh, and I love that meme for Olive Garden #ROTFLOL #Italia.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: Felt like everything. I'm skater-brained today and trying to get ready for vacation.
Fav: POP ROCKS just 'cuz it made me remember the Urban Myth that Mikey (from Life Cereal commercils) ate them, drank a Coke and then died.
//WikiP says: "For many years, Mikey was the subject of an urban legend that purported that he had died after consuming Pop Rocks and Coke, supposedly causing a fatal stomach rupture. In fact, the actor who played Mikey, John Gilchrist, is still alive."
As for the theme: What do you have in a town? STREETS, STORES, HOUSES, GARDENS all preceded by a food / flavor.
Ding-Dong-DITCH-'em is what I knew this as. OHM was a no-brainier for this EE.
DESIRED PATH, period.
@11:44 Anon. I had phonics and whole reading in the '70's. Being dyslexic didn't help (but I got a good sense of humour about words :-)).
I enjoy Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; but then I like watching food porn.
Cheers, -T
Splynter Thank you for the Bonnie LASS.
Hand up I still do not understand the FLAVOR TOWN theme. I don't consider the puzzle solved until I get the theme. I am seeing a food followed by a place.
Hand up the clue and answer for TOPOLOGY is simply an incorrect match. As a math guy this common mistake is annoying.
Still, I enjoyed the puzzle and FIR.
Here Merlie posed high above the DEAD SEA.
The photo was taken from Masada.
Ocala has a good Italian joint named Fiore's, which I'm always confusing with Guy's stuff. 'Course a lot of things confuse me nowadays.
Tough Wednesday puzzle for me, but still with interesting moments, so thanks, Rebecca. And your commentary is always helpful, thanks for that too Splynter.
Enjoyed the food references: TACO, APPLE, WAFFLE, SESAME, TAPAS, OLIVE--lots of FLAVOR.
Have a good lunch, everybody (if you live in California).
This is Wendybird. Can someone tell me why I am being identified as Anonymous all of a sudden? How can I correct it? Thanks.
Wendybird, when that happened to me, I rebooted my computer and was prompted to recapture my Corner name. Good luck
Perhaps you accidentally hit the circle next to Anonymous just above the I'm Not A Robot reCaptcha?
I thought the revealer was weak. Food + Place doesn't equal Flavor + Town. Some of the foods in the themers aren't a flavor - no one says "I love olive-flavored pizzas." And none of the places are a town. Some commenters stretch TOWN to mean any place in a town, but that's way to broad. There are hundred of places in a town - from an Avenue to a Zoo.
According to the Food Network, "Flavortown is a mythical place, a state of mind, where fun and food meet in perfect harmony." Guy Fieri later opened a chain of ghost kitchens (delivery only, no dining or take-out) using the phrase he coined. The revealer doesn't match this definition either.
WEES, especially D.O. @5:38. Managed to FIR thanx to perps, but lots of DNK stuff. I did not find this CW to be much fun....but maybe that's just me. Thanx anyway, DG. Thanx too to Splynter for making this more fun. And I learned something: I always thought the Mentos/Diet Coke thing was a reaction between ACIDIC Diet Coke and ALKALI Mentos. Hmmm. So it's the pores. Hmmm. Plumbers here today to fix deficiencies keeping me from getting homeowners insurance. Saturday the electrician comes. Crap. $3,000 worth of bringing up to code to get insurance. Grrrr. And that's with the new roof two years ago: $53,000!! It has been absolutely POURING, deluge style, rain for two days solid now. Fort Lauderdale is FLOODED. Again.
I think this puzzle was artificially flavored
Splynter, I'll call your "Meh" and raise you a "Meh."
IrishMiss
Another movie I forgot to list is "Made in Italy" with Liam Neeson.
RIP Jerry West. WVU Mountaineer standout and an all-star with the Lakers, West was later called "The Logo," since it's an open secret that it is his silhouette on the NBA logo.
12:52 PM Great Pic Picard!
Rusty @3:19 PM I'm with you on theme. Something about it just doesn't taste right.
I’ve had some DESIREs on PATHes in the past (and some
urges off of them).
One more comment on the pouring rain and floods here in Fort Lauderdale. We had the "Once-every-thousand-year flood" April of last year. Hmmmm. That thousand years sure went by fast!!
It's late but I just wanted to thank Rebecca for the puzzle. I am always happy to see her byline. Thanks, also, to Splynter! I enjoyed your take on the puzzle. Thanks for being here!
DESIRE PATH was a learning moment. Made me think of "lover's lane".
We called it "doorbell ditch". Mind you this was before Ring cameras.
Feel better soon, -T. You have a big week ahead!
A new printer has been ordered! I'm so grateful to have Mark in my life. He researches products so thoroughly that Consumer Reports would be lucky to have him on their team.
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