Theme: It's a wrap!
Puzzling thoughts:
It's
the Chairman here, with my lone August appearance as your bi-weekly Friday
blogger. I have just one week between trips (on August 2 we were on our trip to Bryce
Canyon and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon) so I will be brief in the summary of the clues/answers, but not the intro. This puzzle needs a lot of explaining
I won't lie; Ella Dershowitz gave me several fits, a few head scratches, and many four-letter (and longer) utterances. The four theme entries were names of groups (artists, as clued) that cover the genres of pop, soul, alt rock, and rock, respectively. Three of these groups are ones with which I am familiar (and of those, only one will I occasionally listen to); the fourth group sounds like a Halloween prank!
But I digress ... all of the theme entries actually DO "connect" with the reveal (which occurs in the center of the grid): a two-word entry that is separated by a black square (block). How, you ask? Please read on ...
17-across. "Son of a Preacher Man" artist: INGFIELDUSTYSPR. Well, I DID know that Dusty Springfield is the pop artist who sang "Son of a Preacher Man". But when I tried to fit it into this 15-letter space, I came up one letter short. DustySpringfiel was as far as I could get. It looked silly, but I left it in place ... for a short while
28-across. "September" artist: DANDFIREARTHWIN. Once again, I KNEW that Earth Wind and Fire was the soul band that gave us this melodic, post-disco riff. I started the fill with Earthwindandfir before realizing that the final "e" of fire was extinguished
Earth wind and fir could have been a pun if clued differently, but it wasn't
42-across. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" artist: PUMPKINSMASHING. I had to look up this clue, as I was never into the alt rock group Smashing Pumpkins. But as with the first two theme entries, I was one "seed" short of fitting this group into the 15-letter space when the final "s" of Pumpkins was omitted
Pumpkin Smashing could have been a funnier entry had it been clued differently
55-across. "Crash Into Me" artist: HEWSBANDAVEMATT. Another one I had to look up. The rock group Dave Matthews Band is one with which I am familiar, but I can't name a single song title of theirs. They were a popular band when my kids were growing up. And after counting the letters of the artist's name, I knew that this 16-letter entry would not squeeze into the 15 spaces that Ella allowed in her grid
Not to be deterred, I started working the verticals. Most were fair, and slowly I began seeing where (and eventually, how) the letters from each of these musical artists began to fit. But that still didn't make this puzzle any easier to solve or suss (theme-wise) once the reveal appeared:
34-across. With 38-Across, annual compilation often shared on social media, and an apt place for four of this puzzle's long answers?: SPOTIFY (38-across. See 34-Across:) WRAPPED
What in the hell is Spotify Wrapped??? Without going into another full paragraph, I will just provide a link. Fortunately, while I was solving the puzzle, my Gen-Y daughter was visiting. She helped dad understand the reveal
When you read the info on Spotify Wrapped it typically shows the names of 5 bands as the ones that you most often listen to. Today's puzzle offered just 4 bands. Not sure if this was by choice or accident, but in fairness to the reveal, Ella should have listed a fifth band somewhere in the grid (unless I somehow missed one)
To help those who still don't know WTF is going on, the only way to put the entire name of each group/band/artist into the corresponding space is to wrap the letters around the grid. When you look at the first and last letter of each (D for Dusty Springfield; E for Earth Wind and Fire; S for Smashing Pumpkins; and D for Dave Matthews Band) it allows you to wrap the complete name into the grid
To my surprise - and my only real "like" about this puzzle - is that each of the artist's names have the first and last letter in the same spot (dead center) of the 15 letter space ...
I can't WAIT to hear what you all think of this! π
Conversely, I KNOW that Anonymous -T will probably like this way more than I π
My overall rating: ⭐⭐
Since my introduction is so long, I chose just one of these hit songs to be today's earworm. Enjoy a little soul and R & B:
 |
The Grid |
Across:
1. Function: USE.
4. Try: STAB. A fitting entry; I wanted to stab myself several times today as I tried solving the puzzle
8. One skilled at reading others: EMPATH.
14. Seasonal drink: NOG.
15. Kylo Ren's mother: LEIA. A Star Wars reference
16. One Down Under, casually: AUSSIE.
20. Some online animation: POPUPS.
21. Gown cut: SLIT. Since I am not Splynter I won't offer a gratuitous photo image of a slit gown and fishnet stockings π.
Question: Ladies, if you wore a gown with a slit, would it be a (4-down. Minor goof:) to have your SLIP be visible?
 |
| Oops, I lied! I hope Splynter won't be mad at me |
22. Middle East sultanate: OMAN. I wish this had been clued to reveal a two-word phrase; as in "What did you utter as you slogged through today's puzzle?" "O, Man!"
23. Actor Postlethwaite: PETE. Perps to the rescue. Not familiar with this actor
24. Antidepressant, for short: SSRI. I'm on a low dose of fluoxetine, FWIW
32. Toured national parks, perhaps: RV'ED. We toured the two National Parks I mentioned in my intro above with a four-wheeler and stayed at their lodges. No "glamping" for us
33. Jazz drummer Max: ROACH. Let me be the first to say that this is certainly qualifies as a Friday clue. The word roach is more familiar to me as either an insect or a marijuana cigarette
40. Arm bones: ULNAS.
41. Best Choreography, for one: TONY. As in the award, and a CSO to one of our blog regulars
49. "Peter Pan" pirate: SMEE.
50. Utah city with a biblical name: MOAB. A city/town quite close to this National Park
51. Taiwanese laptop company: ACER. I owned one once and wasn't that thrilled with it. I am a Lenovo lad
52. Frankenstein associate: IGOR. Easiest clue / entry today
53. Mother __: TERESA. There is another six-letter word that fits here, and was one of many expletive utterances I said during the solve
60. Live feed from the San Diego Zoo: APE CAM. Green paint, IMO
61. Interview-style exam: ORAL. Did no reference to a doctorate degree make this clue/answer tougher?
62. "Huh!": GEE.
63. Much political humor: SATIRE. Oh, don't we all long for some political satire these days instead of only the mudslinging ads we are seeing?
64. CVS orders: MEDS. I get my meds through CVS. They are my insurance company's preferred pharmacy
65. Wood __ mushrooms: EAR. These:
Down:
1. Simple camera stand: UNI-POD. Anyone else try tripod first?
2. California wine limo destination: SONOMA. A CSO to moi, your resident sommelier
3. Small skillet: EGG PAN. Yes, they do exist
5. Merch table tops: TEES. As in T-shirtS
6. Not thrive: AIL.
7. Inherently evil sort: BAD SEED. Trying hard not to be one today
8. Less arduous: EASIER.
9. Many a shelter dog: MUTT. Or maybe one of the two guys in this duo:
10. Social science subj.: PSY. Anyone else try bio first?
11. Donkey: ASS.
12. Gratuity: TIP.
13. Gender-specific pronoun: HER.
18. Subsidize: FUND.
19. Sephora rival: ULTA.
 |
| A cosmetics store |
23. Target: PREY. Not a reference to Target, as in the store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, MN
24. Boutique: SHOP.
25. Trade: SWAP. This should've been the time where I'd swap this puzzle with another blogger
26. Onigiri component: RICE. Japanese RICE bowls.
A nice side dish to this might be: (54-down. Unadon fish:) EELS. [justonecookbook.com] says:
"Unadon, or Grilled Eel Rice Bowl, is a beloved Japanese dish consisting of steamed rice topped with grilled eels glazed with a sweetened soy-based sauce (called tare) and caramelized, preferably over a charcoal fire. When grilled unagi is served in a big rice bowl called donburi, we call it Unadon (ι°»δΈΌ), a short for unagi donburi"
27. Very clear, picture-wise: IN HD. Note, I added a hyphen to the word "picturewise" in the clue to correct the error
29. Search after a metal detector beeps, perhaps: FRISK. I am hoping now that I have a Global Entry Pass, I won't have to be frisked again when going through a TSA line
30. Abbr. in reproductive health: IVF. Both of Gov. Tim Walz's children were conceived via In Vetro Fertilization; something we all learned with no political satire (or mudslinging)
31. Food court stack: TRAYS.
34. Dines late: SUPS. I hope that this word NEVER gets clued as: "What's goings on, familiarly?" S'ups
35. Chutney fruit: PLUM.
36. "I got this one": ON ME.
37. Cassette: TAPE.
38. Room to grow?: WOMB. Cute clue
39. Genetic messenger: RNA. As opposed to DNA, the genetic reproducer
41. Russia, once: TSARDOM. Certainly, a less popular term in crossword puzzles than the person (TSAR) who ruled over it
43. "Count me in!": I'M GAME.
44. Midday: NOON.
45. Injure: HARM.
46. Cooling-off period?: ICE AGE. Cute clue, but not as cute as 38-across
47. "Keeping it real since forever!" drink brand: NESTEA. More perps. I forgot this jingle
48. Handy tool for making latkes: GRATER. What does the grater say when having its picture taken?
(c'mon, I know you'll say it!)
52. Construction beam: I-BAR.
53. Campaign expense: TV AD.
55. Possesses: HAS.
56. Emissions-monitoring org.: EPA. Speaking of "emissions", I had a few sophomoric chuckles when I saw this comic's bit: Warning! There is some off-color language spoken at the very end of the video
57. Damp: WET.
58. Poli-__: SCI.
59. "Odds __ ... ": ARE. What are the odds that C-Moe will go through an entire blog without a Moe-ku or Moe-l'ick?
See you again in late September (the 27th) when we get back from the next vacation trip. The very capable and witty blogger Naomi will be subbing for me on August 30 and September 13. Ciao!
Notes from C.C.:
1) Have a great vacation, Chris!
2) Happy
74th birthday to our witty Friday Sherpa MM! Hope it's a beautiful day
where you're, Joseph! Thanks for the time and effort you put into all
your writeups. Here is a picture of MM, Chair Moe and their loved
ones. They met last year.
 |
| Margaret, Chris, Joseph and Valerie |
55 comments:
I didn’t know WHAT
was going on until I finally saw the light with “Pumpkin Smashing.” Then I went back and saw all the “wrap-arounds.” And then I was able to see the other singers and bands. So that I could FINALLY say, “FIR, so I’m happy” not to mention, relieved!
FLN: Ha-ha, SS! I love and admire you, too, even though I have no idea what your name is!
Good morning!
Finally sussed the "wrapped" artist theme. Very clever, Ella. Recognized all the artist names, but the song titles weren't much help, except for Dusty's song. Will it be ULNAE/ULNAS, SHOP/MART, ON IT/ON ME? Only the perps knew for certain. This one seemed to take a long time, but upon checking, it was about par for a Friday. Thanx for the expo, C-Moe. (Methinks your EGG PAN illustration is actually an egg poacher, not a skillet.)
MOAB: One of Utah's iconic arches collapsed this past weekend.
HBD, Mal-Man. Hope it's a good one, young man.
P U to the nth degree
DNF. There are very few times in my life that I throw in the towel on a crossword, but this is one of them.
I had no idea what was going on with the theme. Spotify wrapped?????
That and a bunch of proper names in the right places made this ridiculously hard for me. I can't wait for Saturday which is bound to be easier.
Overall, this was no fun at all, and I would just as soon forget the entire puzzle altogether!
Not with you on this one KS. Loved the theme. SSRI and ULTA were only two I had to struggle with. Thanks Ella.
Really fun and clever puzzle. Picked up what was going on right away with Dusty Springfield. 9:22 was pretty quick for a Friday.
Admittedly I’m not very well read, nor am I a movie buff, a watcher of TV shows, a gourmand, a fashionista, at all up on today’s music scene, or learned in the arts, and SPOTIFY WRAPPED is a perfect example of today’s pop culture which I lack knowledge of. But with all those disclaimers I can still manage a FIR in 25:43 w/o help on difficult Friday grid. π€·♂️ DNK SSRI, PETE, ROACH or UNIPOD, or what Onigiri is. First thought of metal detectors was the kind used to look for buried treasures. Never know if the plural ULNAS ends in an S or an E, perps to the rescue. The clue for GEE was sorta mediocre. Themers were the last to fill once I figured it out, very clever creation, thank you Ella D for that!
C Moe - great write-up today, enjoy your time off and travels, you left the blog in good hands with Naomi as your sub.
MM ~ wishing you a great b/day ππΌ. Nice photo of you and C Moe and your spouses!
ok 12:04 today for me to finish this one to
The middle-right side was very clunky today.
Chairman, I'm glad you're enjoying some of our National Parks. I'm an avid fan, despite not having RVED.
I have much admiration and respect for many of you on this corner.
DNF. Problems in the Havre de Grace area caused by assuming that it would be SPOTIFY WRAPPER, having no idea of SSRI, and not knowing what onigiri is. I typed in what I had and did a "check grid," fixed it to WRAPPER, guessed RICE and ROACH, then IN HD was obvious. I caught the gimmick with Earth Wind and Fire, and the rest filled easily.
Erased pop art for POPUPS, emir for OMAN, ulnae for ULNAS.
I'll take glamping instead of hotels any time. No checking for bedbugs, and I can do the laundry before I go home.
I'm not sure George Thorogood and Ella had me in mind with "inherently evil source," but I've been told this song was written with me in mind.
Thanks to Ella for another enjoyable puzzle. I wish your dad were running for POTUS. And thanks to our chairman for another fine review. Have fun on your journey.
Musings
-I had heard of the artists and one of the songs but overlooked the elegance of the first/last letter wrap.
-I had no idea what SSRI or SPOTIFY WRAPPED are but had a great time!
-I knew DUSTY SPRINGFIELD immediately (but not how to fill it in) but it was not until DAVE MATTHEWS appeared that the face palm happened
-Teachers must try to be an EMPATH to see if they are being effective
-LEIA is the only female Star Wars character I know
-Yeah, I saw One Down (missing that Under was capitalized) and looked at One Down cluing first. :-)
-Conventional ULNAS not ULNAE
-I looked up Taylor Swift Tour TEES and found they go for $45 a pop at her concerts
-My DW winces when she sees Sephora prices in the middle of Kohl’s stores
-IN HD reminds this boomer of when “In Living Color” was a descriptor for TV shows
-TRAYS required another palm slap!
-I’M GAME: Our golf yesterday turned into a 10-hr day but was fun
-Happy Birthday and Safe Travels to our two bloggers!
sort, not source.
fixed it from WRAPPEr to WRAPPED. I miss my preview mode.
Good Morning:
I completed this w/o help but it was an arduous task because I wasn't familiar with any of the song titles. I'm not fond of non-traditional crossword gimmicks, so there was no enjoyment or satisfaction with the solve.
Thanks, Ella, and thanks, Moe, for taking the time to explain a complicated grid and theme in understandable language and illustrations. Enjoy your vacation trip.
Have a great day.
So sorry, MalMan, I forgot to wish you a very Happy Birthday! Hope you celebrate in style! ππππ
Life is too short. I’m retiring from Ella Dershowitz puzzles. This one was not as horrible as her last LAT submission, but the absurd theme, obscure names, and too-cute clues were enough to suck the fun out of the solve.
MEH. Proper names wrapped as themes. If you don't know them your perps are limited. Not fun. I regret that I wasted so much time on this.
The people behind a crossword puzzle typically consist of three main parties: the constructor(s), the editors, and the solvers.
The editorial staff has an obligation to a) the constructor to maintain the overall integrity of the constructor's themes and ideas; and to b) the solvers to ensure that the puzzle be fair, challenging, and rewarding.
In this light, I think that today's puzzle has let us solvers down. The editors permitted (encouraged?) an ostentatious piece of grandstanding by the constructor that did more obfuscating than clarifying. She is showing off, and the editors' evident response seems to be, "Oh, isn't she clever? And inscrutable?"
Is it not possible for the editorial staff to really EDIT? Every day? So that we solvers are not beset by crossNAME puzzles, pop culture, and the names of Popes from 1000 years ago?
I would love to hear a response from Patti or another editor.
Hated this one.
TITT. This is not my kind of puzzle. As a rule I don’t like theme answers that require names of people, or groups of people.
Thank you C-Moe for your valiant effort at explaining this CW to us.
Happy birthday to MMπππ
Quick note to all the haters: go back and read YooperPhil's comment at 8:04 AM. YP never heard of SPOTIFY WRAPPED, nor these song titles, and still FIR with a smile! I came close to finishing, but like Jinx in Norfolk at 9:17 AM, I guessed SPOTIFY WRAPPEr, didn't know Mr. ROACH, and had IN but not HD. DNF! The musical group names were all familiar (even if not on my playlist) and I got a kick out of seeing them WRAPPED.
Moe, enjoy your travels, and thanks for the plug! DH and I just took my 93 year old mom hiking in the White Mountains in Arizona, and it was cool! Happy birthday, MalMan! Thanks for the creative puzzle, Ella!
Puzzling thoughts two:
I kind of figured that this puzzle would be polarizing to those regulars who stop by at this blog to air their thoughts. This morning I stopped by this site to see what their reviewers said. As of 8:43 MST, Ella's puzzle received 2-1/4 stars, so my rating was consistent with theirs. As I commented in my opening remarks, it might have been a better puzzle had Ella found a fifth artist to insert into the puzzle and complete the SPOTIFY WRAPPED "theme"
Happy Birthday, Joseph - my other brother from a different mother! Enjoy your natal day
A specific knowledge set was required for this puzzle. Spent enough time on this one. Calling “Uncle”. I know nothing about SPOTIFY except for hearing the term mentioned π€
I got the reverse π’S SMASHING and DAVE M BAND. But couldn’t figure how to splay out BUFFY SPRINGFIELD (cuz it’s DUSTY!! I see in the reveal which explains why I DNF the NE and ME) with letters I had. The “September” artist was unknown, was mulling over a last named singer or band named ARTHWIN π Though yes I do know that band.
Put TSARist first? Is TSARDOM a word? I guess if “Kingdom” is why not. Plus there are answers that are abbreviated with no abbreviations in the clue, INHD, RVED, TVAD (at least for SSRI, the “Antidepressant”, the clue tagged on “for short”)
Was thinking of a land type metal detector at first. Once it beeps, dig? Lucky WAGs at RICE x ROACH. GRATER cuz grinder was too long. “Postlethwaite”? Huh? I don’t even know how to say that. π
EELS: Much of my sushi knowledge is derived from these puzzles. I take a copy when I go to a Japanese restaurant π
As CM specifically mentioned Tim Walz had his kids by IVF, luckily before it potentially becomes illegal. Plus expletives during the “Mother” TERESA solve?!!! π«’
Have out of town company, my BIL is here for his 50th HS reunion. So another excuse to PII (pack it in)
Happy 74th B day Mal Man to another mid century baby (1950).
Here a commutative stamp I just used in honor of the event π
Strangely enough, I actually got a FIR and even enjoyed this puppy! Got the gimmick at Dusty, and it was off to the races. This, despite some really poor clues. SSRI? Never heard of. GEE! for HUH? Does not compute! IBAR? A BAR is not a beam! Two different things! And yet...will wonders never cease.
Oy vey!! Started solving with pen on paper, as usual, but got SO CONFUSED!! Started over online with red letters turned on, and even then struggled mightily. I did eventually FWH. I did get the wrap-around theme soon enough, but could not recall the names of the bands that did the clued songs. Never have used Spotify, so DNK 34A & 38A. So that was no help to figuring out the wrap-around theme. Kinda proud of myself for figuring out the theme in spite of my ignorance on so much in this CW. Overall, a VERY difficult CW which I must admit I found the theme to be clever, even though I did not enjoy the process of filling it. Also DNK PETE, ROACH, or ONIGIRI. Best clue "Room to grow?" for WOMB. Very good. Again, overall a clever CW that I hated doing. Thanx anyway ED. Thanx too to CMOE for 'splainin' this whole thing, and for noticing that the first letter of the theme clues started in the exact center of the CW grid, a feature I completely missed. Well done with that feature, ED. HBD MalMan, wherever you are! (Reminds me of, "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!)
Somehow I managed to get the band names. I knew the DUSTY SPRINGFIELD song and twice used D. After EARTH was in place by perps I guessed EARTH, WIND, AND FIRE. But of the other two bands, other than hearing their names before, I know nothing about them or their music.
SPOTIFY WRAPPED? Never heard of it but at least I had SPOTI__ WRAPP__ filled. the cross of SSRI (never heard of) with RICE and IN HD got me. I even guessed the unknown PETE and with the R from FIRE and I still had no idea about SPOTIFY. Wood EAR, new to me.
ULTA- must make a lot of money because Warren Buffet just bought a billion dollars worth of the stock.
IVF- who be the real baby daddy?
You gotta be old to know of Max ROACH.
Ray -O, I love ya man, but could you keep your hysterics about proposed legislation outlawing IVF - that isn't even actually proposed - out of the conversation? There is a HUGE difference between opposing a federal law to prevent states from outlawing the procedure, and backing a federal law to outlaw it.
Hi All!
Even though I've never used SPOTIFY, this is a cool theme!, Ella.
Wonderful explanation, C.Moe! Enjoy the your trip.
With the word "artist" in 17a's clue, I was thinking, "Ok, they don't mean the song. 'Son of a Preacher Man' must be a painting like 'American Gothic' or something."
As perps filled in (esp. SPR at the end of 17a), I realized we did a rotation of DUSTY SPRINGFIELD with the D double-purposed. Oh, cool!
I knew all the songs and the bands save September, but as DAND and WIN filled, the penny dropped and EW&F filled post-haste.
WOs: hook->SMEE, THE USSR until, yeah, perps hated it :-)
ESPs: PETE, SSRI, IVF, RV'ED all took a ton of patience - as did TRAYS 'cuz I kept reading Food court snacks
Fav: 5d's clue is fun: A top is a blouse or shirt, so it's TEEs on top of a Merch Table.
TKen - I'm with you on crossNAME puzzles but no Popes? It's always LEO, PIUS, or JOHN with some Roman numerals after :-)
//a few names are fine; perps fill them and then you learn - like Max ROACH,* I've heard the name but never listened.
Ray-O: I had the same hang-up with the metal detector** [TMBG 3:50] clue. Didn't help I filled 40a ULNAE... F__EK(?)
Happy Birthday MManatee! Pop will catch up with you in November :-)
Cheers, -T
*who you callin' old, BigE? :-)
**give it a listen, you might like it - and the lyrics are great fun!
I FIR, so I’m not sure my comments are sour grapes but . . .
I solve puzzles in pen, entering guesses faintly until I’m sure. I was unsure a lot today. I never trusted this constructor. Ultimately, I wasn’t even sure I got the unifier right. I did, but I wasn’t spotified . . . er, satisfied.
The theme entries were problematic, and not only because of the gimmick. I was familiar with all four “artists,” but only one of the four songs. Those of you who weren’t familiar with the artists were SOOL (unfortunate).
SSRI, RV’ED, the GEE cluing, the EAR cluing, TSARDOM, onigiri, the unknown NESTEA slogan, and EELS plural all were problematic. And arm up for ulnae before ULNAS.
I did know PETE, though the actor is too obscure for a CW, and ROACH, who is not obscure, and I liked the ICE AGE clue. I had BAD SEED in mind already, because I recently saw the Twilight Zone episode in which 6-year-old Billy Mumy played a bad seed who demanded and got fealty from his constituents. I mentioned to DW, before I attacked the puzzle, how much that situation reminded me of today’s domestic current events.
Thanks, C-Moe. HB and MHR, MalMan. I enjoyed the photo of the Friday twins and their DWs.
Nope. Didn't have the time today to waste on this one. "Spotify wrapped" made no sense to me. Thanks Moe for explaining it.
Happy Birthday, MalMan
Simply following up on a comment introduced by CM
Ray, that excuse doesn't pass the SMELL TEST. The Chairman's remark was no more political than if I stated that JD Vance has 3 kids.
Happy B-day to MM and happy travels to CM.
This puzzle was out of my wheelhouse, above my pay grade, and beyond my depth.
Many enjoyed it and its oh-so cleverness. I did not.
Have a great day everyone on this sunny, lovely weekend.
What you all said.
Ray (and Jinx):
1) my comment regarding Walz's kids was just stating a fact. I was not trying to enter any politics into the blog, nor was expecting them as a response. This was an incident where a person in the news (the presumptive VP running mate) had made known that their children were conceived via IVF. If it hadn't been so timely I likely would've left Walz's name out
2) Ray - my expletives were NOT uttered at the Mother TERESA moment. I was saying that another 6-letter word could have followed the word "Mother", and that I may have used the "mother-&#@!$*" expression a few times as I was solving the puzzle
Can't wait to take my vacation. One more bucket-list trip to check off
This was an interesting one. I started off on fire, nailing the two TLWs in the NW, then using those to smash 1, 2 and 3d (Bam! Bam! Bam!), so I was thinking I must have woken up on the smart side of the couch today! Then came the rest of the puzzle…
Usually the theme in a CW is either very helpful from the start, or little to no help at all until the end. This one came to my rescue just when I was ready to pull my hair out and TITT. The ironic part was solving the reveal last and trying to get it to fit in with the gimmick. So I have to at least give it credit for giving me a different CW experience.
While I agree with most that this was quite the clunky slog and not much fun in the moment, in retrospect I’ve come to appreciate it. Here are some examples of answers that took a long time for me to get, but where the clueing is actually quite good:
Try=STAB
Merch table tops=TEES
Not thrive=AIL (I had _I_ for the longest time and was afraid it was going to be DIE)
Target=PREY
Food court stack=TRAYS
Room to grow?=WOMB
Nitpicks:
UNIPOD - even though I nailed it straightaway, I’ve never seen or used this word. It’s a ‘monopod’.
RVED, INHD, TVAD - none of the clueing had a hint to an abbreviation (as Ray-O mentioned).
EELS - Don’t like that it’s pluralized, as clued. If there was a clue, “Nugget meat”, would the answer be CHICKENS?
FIR
A great big sincere "Thank you!" to all for you kind birthday wishes. It is a pleasure fto be able to share this space, both virtual and IRL, with each and every one of you.
I see what you did there, wrapping "took".
Not a fair puzzle to say it mildly
I felt compelled to comment due to so many negative comments. I thought this was a creatively original theme. And it is an amazing construction. It required theme answers that exactly spanned the puzzle. And artists that begin and end with the same letter.
Never heard of SPOTIFY WRAPPED, but it was a learning moment. It was a tough solve, but count me as a fan of her construction skill and creativity.
I agree with your assessment Picard, I thoroughly enjoy a challenge like this one, not easy and not always gonna end with a FIR, but a learning experience, and it showcased the skills of the constructor.
Thanks to Ella! I liked the WRAPping gimmick and am impressed that you found artist names to make it work.
FAV: Table tops (after -T explained it)
It might have worked in my favor that I kept drawing blanks on the artists' names. I didn't see what was happening until I got to one I knew, DAVE MATTHEWS BAND. NOON was solid so the shift started to reveal itself. It took me a long time to let go of "nori" for RICE. After that, the middle filled.
I was surprised that there were no abbreviations in the clues for RV'ED, INHD, and TVAD.
Happy B-Day to MalMan!!
Thanks to C-Moe for walking us through his experience with this one! Thanks for the link to SPOTIFY WRAPPED. Safe travels!
Still on my Alaska trip with iffy Wi-Fi and lots do see and do -but today it is working so reconnecting with the blog today
Very creative theme - My kids are all on Spotify - my daughter was amused that she had become a full fledged mom when the top of her personal Spotify playlist was the theme from "Bluey" (the Australian kids show which has become popular with American youngsters as well)
Thanks CM and Ella for a fun day
Happy birthday MM
Do I recall at least one other puzzle from this author that had a Stupid Gimmick Theme? I FIR as this one was solvable. I’m thinking there are two constructors with this last name, and one them caused me to promise myself to skip her next one. But I forget which Ms. D is which, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
YES! Nice one! ===> D.
Well, this one was, er, interesting.
Slow start, tried out the NW first, with middlin’ success…and then came to the first themer. I knew it was Dusty Springfield, but a huge “WtF??” moment ensued when the perps seemingly had her name scrambled — until I got a few more of the d’s filled, and the secret was revealed! When I finally grokked the hook, I could only go “mother (TERESA)! Who comes up with this warped stuff, anyway??” Once I “got” what was going on, the other four longies came in quite easily — and clued me into SPOTIFY WRAPPED, which I’ve never heard of (I don’t do music apps). Might be the first time I’ve ever had a reveal revealed by the themers… This puzzle was so weird, even our nemesis Anonymous didn’t post “I really enjoyed this!” π€£
As AZ Jim noted, “monopod” is what any photog will call a one-legged camera support; but apparently UNIPOD is also used (probably outside the photo world). And what in the world is SSRI? Even after Googling it, I’ve never heard of the acronym…
Very thorough recap, Chairman! Enjoy your vacay, sounds like it’ll be epic. Shoot lots of pics, even without a monopod π. BTW, I don’t think you need to worry about Splynter being one-upped; your example photo lacked fishnets. Also, I don’t think there exists a multiple of SUPS that fits your idea of “S’ups?” — my backwards ballcap brigade acquaintances use “S’up?” purely as the short version of “Whassup?”. I guess hangin’ out with the younger gens comes in handy for this olde farte on occasion, hmm.
Speaking of olde fartes — Happy Birthday, MalMan!π (no offense intended, I’m only a coupla years behind ya!).
====> Darren / L.A.
Darren, where in L.A. Are you?
I'm on my phone so it shows as anonymous. MM
"Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor - Wikipedia
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions." (Also indicated for treatment of certain classes of crosswords.)
Right up there as the worst LA Times puzzle ever.
I liked this puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed solving it!
I couldn't have said it better myself! Too many vanity projects masquerading as crossword puzzles these days.
BWAAHAAHAH! Bingo
====> Darren
heya MalMan! I’m up in the Valley — North Hills. You?
See above… ====> D.
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