Theme: "I gotta have a little more cowbell"
Puzzling thoughts:
Well,
isn't this a bit of a coincidence for yours truly, the Crossword
Corner's bi-weekly Friday blogger: on October 11, 2024 (my last blog
date) the LAT crossword puzzle was constructed by Rich Norris, erstwhile LAT puzzle editor; and on October 25, 2024, today, the LAT crossword puzzle was constructed by Patti Varol, the current LAT editor
Do I dare compare Patti to Rich? Stay tuned ...
Patti
has a familiar "theme" for Friday-difficulty puzzles. She's using
compound words - all of which begin with a musical instrument - to form a
funny phrase as it relates to the clue.
Finding
5 entries for a 15x15 square grid is moderately difficult, as it
usually involves placing the "reveal" entry in row 8 (dead center of the
puzzle grid), and spreading the other four into some cramped quarters.
A "typical" 5-entry puzzle might consist of four 9 to 13 letter entries
and the reveal being either 7, 9, or 11 letters in length
Patti, though, went beyond the extremes today by grouping two 14-letter entries, with two 12-letter entries, with one 15-letter entry (in row 8). If my math is correct, that's a total of 67 characters for
the themed entries. Most puzzles offer between 40-50 "theme"
characters. What this basically means, in puzzle construction terms, is
less "real estate" for the crossing words. Which also means more TLW's ... 26 of them if I counted correctly. [sorry, Irish Miss] And with that many TLW's you are bound to get more abbreviations
But
here's my take: better to have more "theme" characters if it doesn't
make everything else feel "forced". And upon reflection, there are very
few "forced" entries today; even among the TLW's
And
one other area of note: the entire puzzle had a total of 74 words
(normal for a Friday puzzle; most early-week puzzles have 78-80 words)
but 46 blocks.
"Blocks" are the black squares. Most editors ask for fewer than 40.
This helped contribute to the paucity of lengthy words. Other than the
entries the next longest word(s) to solve were 6-letters in length (12 of them in total; 8 of them in the down position)
But enough of the construction notes ... on to the five theme entries for today:
16-across. Publications dedicated to the history of a jazz instrument?: SAXOPHONE BOOKS. A
saxophone is a very popular jazz instrument (along with a piano, drum
set, and string bass/bass guitar). In the "made-up" version, a saxophone book might be an appropriate monograph to read about the history of that instrument; in real life, though, phone books are something we are familiar with, even though they are becoming more and more extinct
22-across. Particles from a percussion instrument that may start a sneezing fit?: COWBELL PEPPER. If you watched the video clip above (from the SNL archives) you saw a reference to the cowbell as a percussion instrument. A bell pepper (OTOH) is botanically a
fruit though most of us refer to it as a vegetable. I prefer the
orange, yellow and red colored peppers to the traditional, green ones.
My favorite way to eat them is baked and stuffed (see image below)
34-across. Windfall from the sale of wind instruments?: CLARINET PROFITS. Similar to the saxophone, a clarinet uses
a single reed and mouthpiece attachment to provide a place for the
"wind" to enter. Both utilize an intricate set of keys and bars
alongside the shaft of the instrument to change the pitch and note
selection
Net profits are loosely defined as the amount of money a company (or individual) has when all of the expenses have been paid ... Moe-ku #1:
A new shrimp trawler's
Catch yielded one-thousand bucks.
That's their NET PROFITS
48-across. Fantasies about being the best player of a Scottish instrument?: BAGPIPE DREAMS. This is my favorite of the five as it was for me the funniest. Bagpipes by themselves are pretty funny (in the way they look and sound); and pipe dreams are ... well, for me it would be to have one of my puzzle submissions accepted by the NYT
54-across. Endeavor to improve a brass instrument?: TRUMPET PROJECT. Probably my second most favorite from today. Moe-ku #2:
Ex-prez Donald finds
Aliens in his spare time.
His TRUMP ET PROJECT
Here
is how it looks when all is said and done. You'll notice my two errors
(marked by the black triangle in the corner of the bad cell); the first
was a typo (NEAP) but the second (OREE crossing ERG) was
my Natick today. All in all, though, this one gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - same as how I
scored Rich's. As each entry is explained I will note those that kept
this from getting a fifth star or portion thereof
 |
The Grid |
Across:
6. Nosrat's "Salt Fat __ Heat": ACID. Not familiar with this quote nor the author of it. Perps and a bit of common sense provided me with the answer. All of the four are related to cooking, I believe
10. Owed: DUE.
13. Steam bath: SAUNA. Most of the saunas I have visited use a dry heat. So, is a sauna a steam bath? You decide
14. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA. Here is her webpage
15. Genetic molecule translated into protein: RNA. While the clue gives this away, I am sure that some of you may have entered DNA at first
19. Subtle glow: AURA.
20. Masters of allusion?: POETS. Clever clue. I wonder if the constructor or the editor came up with this?! 😀
26. Go downhill fast?: SCHUSS. German word for "ski"
28. Thataway, quaintly: YON.
29. Push to the limit: TRY.
30. Café lightener: LAIT. Or, to those who are French, "Brest milk" 😂
31. Surfer's gadget: REMOTE. For those of us who have "cut the cord", a remote control device is mandatory for streaming
40. Flexible lunch hour: ONE-ISH. This time will avoid much of the normal lunch hour crowd
41. Chess piece in castling: ROOK. While I am not a chess player, I do know that the term "castle" involves switching the rook (shaped like a castle) with the king
42. Saison for the Paris Olympics: ETE.
45. Buff: FAN. Naked nor nude nor ripped fit
46. Score: TWENTY. As in "Four score ... "
52. Thorny shrub: BRIAR. Here in AZ we have cacti
53. Like breezeways: AIRY.
61. More than most: ALL. Indeed
62. Hockey Hall of Famer Willie: O'REE. This was 1/2 of my Natick. More about this HOF hockey player
63. Pizzazz: FLASH. Clue could've been "Comic book super hero" (just saying). For those of you who are fans of TBBT:
64. Signals intelligence org.: NSA. The word signals in the clue gives it away (not the CIA)
65. PC key for scrolling to the end: PgDn. This entry (PgDn) is not one we see too often. However, it did appear in the LAT several times when Rich Norris was the editor ...
66. Incursion: FORAY. Not the first definition of this word I would have chosen ... but ... I did find this when I googled: Foray (noun): the mistake of incurring liability or blame
Down:
1. First of September?: ESS. In some years, the first of September can be Labor Day ...
2. Tower of note: AAA. This link might only open for you if you have a Facebook account. Don't know if this is what Patti meant. She usually doesn't comment here, so we may all be left to wonder. Either way, this is a very obscure clue, IMO ...
OK, I re-read the clue. It's not tower as in a building ... it's tower as in a vehicle that tows cars and other vehicles. AAA is the abbr for American Automobile Association. Oops 😒
3. Inaugural ball duds: TUX. GOWN didn't fit
4. Game with 108 cards: UNO. Should we just Skip over this, or Draw Four??
5. Melonlike tropical fruit: PAPAWS. Anyone else try PAPAYA first? I did
6. Hold precious: ADORE. Aww
7. Creation by a locks smith?: CANAL. Clever clue. I wonder if the constructor or the editor came up with this?! 😀
8. Wrath: IRE.
9. Perfume application: DAB. Or, an application of Brylcreem
10. Sag: DROOP.
11. Broken, as some promises: UNKEPT. If this were to describe the person's hair prior to the DAB of Brylcreem, the answer could have been: UNKEMPT
12. Sunrise service occasion: EASTER.
17. Places to make connections: HUBS. Back when I lived in SW Ohio, CVG was a hub for Delta Airlines
18. Not against entertaining: OPEN TO. I am open to entertaining you (I hope) with my blog
21. "omg my bad": SRY. As I said in my intro, with so many TLW's there are bound to be a few that are abbrs.
22. "Pet" that needs lots of water: CHIA. Never had one of these so I wasn't sure whether it needs a lot of water or not. Does this clue and entry hold water??
23. Concluding piece: OUTRO. As opposed to the beginning piece? Intro? I guess
24. __ node: LYMPH.
25. Not even fair: POOR. When I was in elementary school the grading system was: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor. No one failed, per se, but some were held back
26. Jazz home, initially: SLC. When CVG was a Delta Airlines hub, so was SLC - as in Salt Lake City
27. Ore. neighbor: CAL. IDA and NEV also fit
31. French queen: REINE.
32. UFO crew, presumably: ETS. See my Moe-ku 2 in the intro
33. Violinist Zimbalist: EFREM. Yes, the father of the TV star (Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip) was a famous violinist
35. Ailing: INFIRM.
36. Spring's opposite, in tides: NEAP. This says it all
37. Non-neutral particles: IONS.
38. Add (up): TOT. Why use an abbr. here? Meh
39. Much of a sunset photo: SKY.
42. Abate: EBB. A tidal reference was already used in 36-down
43. Tam pattern: TARTAN. I worked for 3M for many years, and it was known, back then, as the "Brand of the Tartan"
44. Members of a TikTok subculture: E-GIRLS. Read all about it!
46. Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. More abbr. This is why this puzzle gets only ⭐⭐⭐⭐
47. Not even close: WAY OFF. If you FIW today, you were probably way off
49. "Into the Water" novelist Hawkins: PAULA. Any fans of her work here?
50. So last century: DATED. As a Baby Boomer, so much of me is "dated"
51. Get ready to eat: RIPEN. My favorite expression to indicate how old I am is saying: "I no longer buy green bananas"
55. __ fly: POP. It's the MLB playoff season, so this "fill-in-the-blank" clue is timely
56. Indoor rower, for short: ERG. As in ergonomic?
57. Selena portrayer, familiarly: J-LO. Jennifer Lopez
58. Orecchiette shape: EAR. Refers to pasta. Thankfully, I recently returned from a trip to Italy so I knew this
11. Broken, as some promises: UNKEPT. If this were to describe the person's hair prior to the DAB of Brylcreem, the answer could have been: UNKEMPT
12. Sunrise service occasion: EASTER.
17. Places to make connections: HUBS. Back when I lived in SW Ohio, CVG was a hub for Delta Airlines
18. Not against entertaining: OPEN TO. I am open to entertaining you (I hope) with my blog
21. "omg my bad": SRY. As I said in my intro, with so many TLW's there are bound to be a few that are abbrs.
22. "Pet" that needs lots of water: CHIA. Never had one of these so I wasn't sure whether it needs a lot of water or not. Does this clue and entry hold water??
23. Concluding piece: OUTRO. As opposed to the beginning piece? Intro? I guess
24. __ node: LYMPH.
25. Not even fair: POOR. When I was in elementary school the grading system was: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor. No one failed, per se, but some were held back
26. Jazz home, initially: SLC. When CVG was a Delta Airlines hub, so was SLC - as in Salt Lake City
27. Ore. neighbor: CAL. IDA and NEV also fit
31. French queen: REINE.
32. UFO crew, presumably: ETS. See my Moe-ku 2 in the intro
33. Violinist Zimbalist: EFREM. Yes, the father of the TV star (Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip) was a famous violinist
35. Ailing: INFIRM.
36. Spring's opposite, in tides: NEAP. This says it all
37. Non-neutral particles: IONS.
38. Add (up): TOT. Why use an abbr. here? Meh
39. Much of a sunset photo: SKY.
42. Abate: EBB. A tidal reference was already used in 36-down
43. Tam pattern: TARTAN. I worked for 3M for many years, and it was known, back then, as the "Brand of the Tartan"
44. Members of a TikTok subculture: E-GIRLS. Read all about it!
46. Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. More abbr. This is why this puzzle gets only ⭐⭐⭐⭐
47. Not even close: WAY OFF. If you FIW today, you were probably way off
49. "Into the Water" novelist Hawkins: PAULA. Any fans of her work here?
50. So last century: DATED. As a Baby Boomer, so much of me is "dated"
51. Get ready to eat: RIPEN. My favorite expression to indicate how old I am is saying: "I no longer buy green bananas"
55. __ fly: POP. It's the MLB playoff season, so this "fill-in-the-blank" clue is timely
56. Indoor rower, for short: ERG. As in ergonomic?
57. Selena portrayer, familiarly: J-LO. Jennifer Lopez
58. Orecchiette shape: EAR. Refers to pasta. Thankfully, I recently returned from a trip to Italy so I knew this
 |
| It sort of resembles an EAR |
59. Local source of produce: Abbr.: CSA. Odd clue unless you googled it. I
guess this is the new way to use CSA and not refer to the South during
the Civil War (or War Between the States, depending on where you're
from)
60. Biblical possessive: THY. Moe-ku #3:
60. Biblical possessive: THY. Moe-ku #3:
My blog is over.
Appropriately, last word
Is THY. We'll be done
See you next month ...
Well, I hate to say a weekday puzzle got me, but I just could not get the “r” in “Oree” and “erg” so that’s a rare NDF for me! I can’t say that I’m happy about that, but I am happy to be here and see how the rest of you did!
ReplyDeleteI originally had AREE before my SAC fly became a POP fly.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteCrashed and burned in that same spot -- the R at the ERG/OREE cross. And, yes, hand up for trying PAPAya first. Wite-Out, please. Thanx, Patti and C-Moe.
We're off to early-vote today, provided the line's not too long. I'm also due to get my Neffy Rx today from Kroger after Walgreens, CVS, and Wal-Mart said they couldn't order it.
Thought the whole thing was stupid
DeleteFIR, but sel->ETE, open->AIRY, oomph->FLASH, papaya->PAPAWS, stl->SLC, retro->DATED, and efram->EFREM (UNTIE!)
ReplyDeleteThe title of my cookbook would be Freezer Oven Spatula Plate.
I remember EFREM, Jr from saying "book him, Danno."
Okay, a TOT is just not adding up for me. TOTe, yes. Just as my friend Tim isn't time. The scorekeeper TOTed "unforced error" on this one, pending further input.
FLN - Bayou Tony, I wish I had that gag for my former CIO. She rose from an entry level programmer to Vice President / CIO with GTE/Verizon, so she knew where all the bodies were buried.
I don't blame Patti for not reading our fair Corner, so I'll just thank our Chairman for another fine review.
Jinx, methinks you're confusing Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (77 Sunset Strip and The FBI) with Jack Lord (Hawaii 5-0).
DeleteEfrem Jr. was on the FBI. Jack Lord was on Stoney Burke before he was McGarret. Anybody remember him as the first Felix Leiter in Dr; No?
DeleteThanks! I knew it was a cop show, and not Car 54.
DeleteTower of note AAA? As in towing your car! I liked it. But I didn’t get ERG for indoor rower? What?
ReplyDeleteERG (common name for Ergometer) is an indoor rowing machine (rower)
DeleteAnd we've had it enough here at the Corner so that even my dumb mass remembers it (after the perps fill it in, of course.)
DeleteFabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Patti and CMoe.
ReplyDeleteI’m up before the newspaper delivery and did this CW online. Thus, no notes made and comments will be brief.
By the third themer, I saw the double meanings and smiled.
Hand up for Papaya before PAWPAWS.
My Natick was the cross of OREE and RIPEN. I was thinking of the eater, and had RIP in. Then I toyed with RIP on (could we have a new clue for OREO). Finally the vowel run gave the E. Unfortunately OREE was unknown to this Canadian hockey FAN.
Wishing you all a great day.
Knowing what Patti has given us late week in the past in terms of difficulty, she tossed us a relative bone today IMO, FIR in 17:28. Perps required for REINE, CSA, PAULA and E GIRLS. ✋ for Papaya before PAPAWS, also had to change Flair to FLASH. Nice pronunciation misdirection with the “Tower” clue, which we also had recently with “Flower”, which was actually “Flow”. And speaking of pronunciations, where I live there is a large population of people of Finnish heritage and SAUNAs are hugely popular, the correct pronunciation is not SAW’ -nuh , but SOW’-nuh (sow as in female pig). As a hockey fan I did know Willie O’REE (surprised CEh! was unfamiliar). Thanks Patti for the Friday challenge!
ReplyDeleteC-Moe ~ fine review today! Nice to read your insights and critique of a CW as you are also a constructor, you see things I don’t even think of. And how does one edit their own puzzle, just keep tweaking it till it seems ready for publication? Although Patti may not comment on here, I would guess she is an avid reader of the blogs and comments, I would think she’d like to know peoples opinions of her work.
Jinx ~ I like your cookbook title 😂
Except for a few unknows I found this easier than the usual Friday fare. The music-less answers stood out immediately. Only E GIRL, O'REE, PAULA, and CSA were filled by perps. ACID's been around enough to remember.
ReplyDeleteOnly changes today were PAPAYA to PAPAWS and SAC to POP fly.
I like stuffed BELL PEPPERS- green, orange, or yellow- with half ground beef and half Jimmy Dean Hot sausage. If you are stuffing them, you should make a lot of them and freeze the rest. That's what we do. I find no difference in taste between the three colors but the prices are cheaper for green.
Why a rowing machine is called an ERG baffles me. Is it designed to help you sit better at work or make your job easier?
“ Erg is short for ergometer, which is the technical term for a rowing machine. “Ergometer” can actually refer to any exercise machine that measures the amount of work you are doing, but it is almost exclusively used to refer to rowing machines.” Hydrow.com
DeleteERG is also a “unit of work”, per earlier xword puzzles I’ve seen 😎
Delete====> Darren
FIW. I like so many others today failed at O'ree crossing with erg.
ReplyDeleteI found this to be quite typical for a Friday, lots of misdirection and tricky clues.
I liked the theme and only stumbled when I threw down trombone instead of trumpet. That set me back for a while.
But overall a fun Friday puzzle.
Took 10:40 today for me to sting like a Parisan insect (French hornet).
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the violist (or for that matter, any violists), CSA, Oree (but luckily I knew erg), today's writer (Paula), and as usual, struggled with today's foreign language lessons (ete & reine). But, I knew today's actress (JLo).
I still don't accept, nor do I want to accept, "tot".
And, I will continue to note my disappointment of, and objection to, the inclusion of "textspeak".
Fun theme. I quickly caught on. Hand up for failing ORRE/ERG. LIU. As Canadian Eh! said, ERG is short for ergometer, a rowing machine. The gyms I know of do not use that term.
ReplyDeleteTOT (up) seems common enough for me. I hear and use "totting up the bill." It's informal and not an abbreviation.
I had another fail. I missed the OW in COW BELL. I don't remember seeing PAWPAW spelled as PAPAW and have never seen OUTRO. Instead of dissing them I LIU. OUTRO is listed as informal and PAWPAW has two spellings.
Folk song: Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ’em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ’em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ’em in her pockets,
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.
I agree with you on the ERG, That term can refer to any machine that measures ergs, most of them grossly overstating the calories burned.
DeleteSimilar to KILOgram. How about Kiloliter or Kilometer? The mass took over.
Tot up has been around since the 1700's, definitely not "text speak." It is used informally today, but is considered old fashioned. The dictionary says it is British, but I have thought of it as American all these years.
ReplyDeleteThe textspeak sentence was referring to "sry."
DeleteWe've had "outro" here in this puzzle before, including earlier this year, but I've not heard of it elsewhere.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed Patti’s puzzles because they usually have an off-beat or quirky theme. Today’s theme is both fresh and whimsical, IMO, and was fun to solve. Oree and Paula were unknowns but caused no hardship and I went astray, briefly, at Tan/Fan, Flare/Flash, and Papaya. As the Chairman pointed out, there were a whopping 26 TLWs, but the clever cluing and Patti’s subtle and successful misdirection talents far outweighed my usual pet peeve complaints.
Thanks, Patti, for switching hats occasionally for our enjoyment and thanks, Chairman, for your most astute, honest and professional appraisal of a fellow constructor’s work. Loved all of the Moe-kus and the comic of the Bagpipes/Turkey was hilarious. The Bagpipes themer was my favorite, too!
Have a great day.
Papaya vs pawpaws. The clue is singular but the answer is plural.
ReplyDeleteBell peppers don't make you sneeze.
Down in flames with ERG and the hockey player cross. WAG that didn't work
ReplyDeleteWell, with today's challenge by Patti, I feel totally Varolized--a bit frustrated, sure, but mainly appreciative of having learned so much.
ReplyDeletePatti's cleverness was ubiquitous, such as
in clues like "Places to make connections" (HUBS); "Tower of note" (AAA), where she wanted you to think of the long o, as in something that tows, like a tow truck; "Surfer's gadget" (REMOTE), and "Jazz home, initially" (SLC), for Salt Lake City, home of the Jazz.
I liked Patti's construction of her puzzle, with the five long (and clever) themers, the middle one of which was a grid-spanner.
I learned that an outro is sort of the ending complement to an intro, and that a tropical fruit beginning with PAPA- is not always a papaya, and much more.
Thanks, Patti, for a Friday devilishly clever challenge that proved to be so instructive and ultimately satisfying.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Moe’s praise and analysis were right on (DATED phrase?)
-I had to change FIT to FAN and I have learned that use of ERG from this venue as opposed from my physics classes
-The mournful sound of BAGPIPES at funerals seems so appropriate
-I’ve been in a few dry SAUNAS but have never been in a steam bath
-Those AIRY breezeways can really concentrate a stiff breeze into a gale
-I had to delete PAPAYA and learn that PAPAW is an alternate name for this fruit
-I remember Brylcreem for this very shiny look
-Oops, I remembered that the Jazz started in NOL before moving to that hotbed of JAZZ, SLC. :-)
-When I had kids at Cocoa Beach at NEAP tide, the kids found a lot of shells as the beach stretched much further east
Husker--
DeleteBetter batten down the hatches tomorrow; your Huskers are playing at Ohio State.
ERG! Grr! Aside from that, how did I like the play? Perfect Friday difficulty with 5 nice themers and no reveal. *chef's kiss* Even the 3LW (TLW doesn't look right to me, had to look it up) were not gimmes (that word doesn't look right either LOL).
ReplyDeleteDNF. The middle extreme south got me. I had papaya, like many other cornerites, and I’ve heard of pawpaws, but I knew I had to have a P for PHONE, so I reluctantly made the change to PAPAWS.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the theme and it was fun trying to figure out the long answers.
For the locks smith clue, I knew Patti was looking for hairdo. Oops, wrong track.
I disliked the OUTRO clue. And news to me there’s a Tik Tok culture, much less a subculture. CSA was unknown to me. Often, as our Chairman pointed out the initials refer to the Confederate States of America.
Thank you C-Moe for a nice review. Indeed, interesting coincidence your blogging for both editors as you pointed out.
Nope. Not my cuppa' this morning.
ReplyDeleteI think the clues were probably 50% constructor and 50% editor! I wonder if Patti puts different hats on to edit and construct. All in all it was a nice puzzle. I also was misdirected on "tower". Thanks Mo for setting me straight. Indoor rower was by me. I don't follow hockey at all except for "Orr". "Papaya" messed me up for awhile. But then I got the theme and that helped a lot.
ReplyDeleteMy first fill was DARA Torres, after which I started with down clues – ESS and AAA came quickly, followed by TUX, UNO, and PAPAya. The ‘x’ in TUX got me rolling on the theme. I finally returned toward the top to realize I had the wrong fruit (what BobB said) and the skiing term that wasn’t hitting me was SCHUSS.
ReplyDeletePatti’s puzzle was Friday-worthy, although the fill was better than the theme. I liked the COWBELLS and the BAGPIPE, but it would have been spectacular if SAXO, CLARI, and TRUM meant something.
I liked FORAY, which reminded me of cartoon voice whiz June Foray, and Willie O’REE, whom I remember from the Western Hockey League but is a bit obscure for crosswords. The CANAL clue was a bit of a stretch, but I can see why the editor liked it.
The biggest impediments were TOT as clued, SRY, and the PGDN/ERG combo. I admit to looking at my PC keyboard for the former, but I’m claiming an FIR. I objected to CAL. The accepted abbreviations for the Golden State are CA and Calif. CAL is the home of our beloved Golden Bears, the University of California.
As I’ve noted before, I wasn’t familiar with Selena Quintanilla before her murder and the film bio, though it turned out I had lived about a mile of her in Corpus Christi circa 1980, when she was a child. I wasn’t familiar with JLO until she made the Selena film.
Loved “Brest milk.”
Hmm, how to opine on this self regulated creation. Methinks, (a warning to stop reading here...) that I might possibly enjoy a meal created by a skinny chef, but I does require extra scrutiny.
ReplyDelete1st, the theme was delightful. and helped immensely as a gimmicky Friday should.
2nd, ouch! Just plain ouch! 1 across right out of the gate busted my chops because I could not believe Patti would stoop to a 1 down "E"ss as a start to anything on a Friday... well played! You will not fool me again!
3rd, devilishly clever clueing. A real slog to find the real meanings. With a few Naticks thrown in just to make my life miserable...
Does this puzzle add up? Yes, with one exception. I hate "Tot." It just seems to me that if the constructor can use a dictionary, and a thesaurus to create a puzzle, then the solvers should have access to the same. But what's the fun in that? However, in this case, rather than take a Thumper, I looked it up. "And," "tot" can also be a British slang for a sip of liquor! So, in my book, it's definitely a valid word... (as opposed to a rugrat with legs.)
Learning moment: brylcream? 1981 commercial? What the heck! This stuff is still around today? I dunno, I'm a cheap minimalist. Why buy this stuff, (or listen to my opinions...) when you can just not wash your hair! Why, in a week (or two) it becomes so greasy that everything stays in place naturally!
This for me was a fun puzzle by a skilled constructor. I am late so all my other comments have been used except the clue for FAN. A film BUFF for example is someone who loves movies - a big fan.
ReplyDeleteHow about the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Beth Henley ? That is how I learned about papaws when the play was presented by the high school where my sons were active in theater. Moe glad you are back safely and Patti thank you
I simply did an alphabet run to get the R at the ERG/OREE cross. Hand up for entering PAPAYA first. I liked the theme gimmick.
ReplyDeleteYou weren't tempted to try EGG and OGEE?
ReplyDeleteMore puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteAlways interesting to see how others view the same puzzle, day-in and day-out
As Copy Editor @ 11:38 said ... I too wish that all five of the entries had their prefix words (BAG, BELL, SAXO, TRUM, and CLARI) with a separate meaning
If TTP is lurking, the answer is "YES"! I am very excited as a Pitt fan today, with the a$$-whooping they put on the Syracuse Orange last night
Enjoy the weekend ...
Very nice CW which unfortunately I hafta take a DNF due to doing it online w/ red-letter help and needing several alphabet runs, which in my book, are cheats, and if I hafta cheat I say I DNF. But it was a good CW with lots of clever clues, and I did get the theme, which is also very clever. Thanx for the workout, PV. Great write-up, C-Moe, thanx. I too had PAPAYA:PAPAWS.
ReplyDeleteClever puzzle from our very own Patti--always a lovely gift--many thanks! And your commentary is also always a real pleasure, Chairman Moe, thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteHaving the puzzle start with EAT UP suggested we were likely to have a parent here giving his kid some instructions, like making sure he ate all his PAWPAWs now that they managed to RIPEN, but still avoid any PEPPER.
EASTER is coming up, and the boy would need to tidy up in the SAUNA, since he would have to wear a TUX when they all went to the services. But they would have a delightful afternoon with lots of music to enjoy, with SAXOPHONES playing, and CLARINETS, and even those noisy TRUMPETS and BAG PIPES, which are not always all that popular. Soon he would be in high school and ready to start looking for some GIRLS of his DREAMS he hoped he would soon be OPEN TO have DATED. Bet he can't wait till he turns TWENTY. That will be a whole new FLASH for him.
Have a lovely, sunny weekend, everybody.
Edward in Los Angeles (go dodgers! $3500 ticket!)). The air was let out of my bagpipes, the only snag.
ReplyDeleteEarly to the puzzle, but late to the Corner, as usual. Life! I hit many of the snags that others have mentioned, and FIW with a WAG at OgEE and EgG. Still, the transforming instruments were music to my imagination. Thanks for a great puzzle, Patti! And many thanks to Chairman Moe, who did a great job explaining details of the construction.
ReplyDeleteLOL at Jinx's (5:50 AM) cookbook title.
BobB at 8:50 AM says the clue for PAPAWS is singular but the answer is plural. I disagree! Fruit is both singular and plural. "Fruits" refers to different kinds of fruit. What fruits do you buy at the store? Apples and oranges. What fruit is left in the kitchen? Bananas. What fruit is in the PAPAW patch? PAPAWS.
desper-otto, yes I did try EGG and OGEE first.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Patti for the Friday fun! I like mash-ups in general and the musical instrument theme was an extra bonus. FAVs: BAGPIPEDREAMS and COWBELLPEPPER. I also liked the CANAL clue.
ReplyDeleteHand up for falling for the "tower" and fruit that begins with a PAP misdirections. I had a one-box FIR. I remembered ERG but forgot about the Jazz NBA team. D'oh!
Thanks to C-Moe! So glad he is OPEN TO entertaining us with his clever Moe-kus. My FAV today was the one for 60D. Thanks, also for the SNL clip. I have seen it so many times I thought, "I'll just watch the first minute," but it is so funny I could not hit the pause button. Jimmy Fallon trying to hold in his laughter just pushed Will Ferrell further.
sumdaze, glad you like the 60 D ku. I wondered if anyone caught the LP play-on-words
DeleteQuite a workout today, compliments of Ms. Varsol! I’ve gotta give her props for a fun, yet challenging, submission; the theme was a kick, with the split trick, and for the most part her clues were not overly diabolical, with only a couple of “stinky” ones — TOT…no thx, it sux — and that ERG/OREE cross that gave everyone fits if they didn’t know about the rowing machine. Oh, one more thing: SAUNAs ain’t steam baths, my dear:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.steamsaunabath.com/The-Difference-Between-Steam-Baths-Saunas
But the clues for HUBS and CANAL are delightful misdirects; this brand of pseudo-para-semi-obfuscation I can enjoy!
And Moe — you were in fine form with your review today, good sir (Brest milk, BWAAHAAHAH!). Plus, I think I have a handle on the “editor or constructor?” conundrum you posted:
The answer is “yes” 🤙🏽🤣
====> Darren / L.A.
As another solver who struggled with the ERG/OREE crossing, I wondered why it couldn't have been EGG/OGEE instead...but maybe that would be considered too easy, huh? Oh well...
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