INGREDIENTS
Today's construction from RG was not a great one for me - I find the theme answers to be vaguely tied to the reveal at best, and we had a handful of names again, one of which was an 'ingredient' in the recipe for my disaster. 20 TLWs and 24 four-letter words, but we get a reprieve from circles, at least. Sadly, I 49A. "flubbed" the middle left of the grid today, so I have to admit to cheating; though in hindsight, I shoulda known - maybe that's why I am not a fan of this puzzle. The Themers;
16. Fruit given to Snow White by the Evil Queen: POISON APPLE
21. Rabble-rouser: BAD EGG
45. Unrefined petroleum: CRUDE OIL
50. With 58-Across, conditions likely to lead to catastrophe, or what 16-, 21-, 26-, and 45-Across are ingredients for?: RECIPE - AND - 58A. See 50-Across: FOR DISASTER - with these "four" ingredients, I think you end up with a McDonald's Apple Pie
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Rapid transit vehicles?: RAFTS - Rapid(s) as in white water, and "rafting" upon them
6. "Dancing Queen" quartet: ABBA - CrossWord Staple, still a name - #1
10. Weep loudly: SOB
13. Introverted, maybe: ALOOF - I am definitely introverted
14. Watering can part: SPOUT
15. Actress Thurman: UMA - CWS, still a name - #2
18. Write: PEN
19. Bombard, as with snowballs: PELT
20. Cribside coos: AWS - Meh. I would have preferred "Amazon Web Services" for this clue; plus, it's usually AWW in crosswords
23. Tosses in: ADDS - AND - 34A. Much of magazines: ADS - meh on the semi-dupe
25. Turkish dough: LIRAS
$1 US = 34.31 Lira
30. __ party: sudsy celebration: FOAM - I am not familiar with this "type" of party, but it makes sense - I stopped drinking 20yrs ago, and essentially stopped partying the same time as well. . . . Sigh
31. Literature Nobel laureate Bashevis Singer: ISAAC - No clue, waited on perps, and that didn't help either - note my little black triangles in the cel corners in the grid below; I just could not be bothered to think about finding the answers - just cheat and reveal the letters. . . . AND name - #3
32. Off-balance: ATILT
37. Put down: DISS - Meh. Usually has just one "S", as in DISrespect
38. Comrade: CRONY
39. First Nations people of Canada: CREE - had the last "E", but it's not OTOE - CWS and name #4
40. Rough no.: ESTimate
41. Hits upon the answer: HAS IT
42. Relaxed: CHILL
43. Look to be: SEEM
47. Gush with naches: KVELL - All I can say about seeing this in a Wednesday crossword is "What?!?" 21st century-speak for spewing pride. P.S. naches is also the rump of a cow, and one might say I am leaning towards that definition in context. . . .
49. Flubs: ERRS
52. Prefix with -logue: EPI - epilogue, the wrapping up, "last chapter", in a novel - this does SEEM to be trying too hard to avoid being the 'usual' crossword clue/answer. e.g. Epi Pen
53. Fries or tots: SIDE
57. Latin for "I": EGO
61. End of many superhero names: MAN - let me count the ways. . . .
62. Reversed: UNDID - I am truly grateful for the "UNDO" button on several pieces of software, including the Blogger
64. Come to a close: END
65. Future AG's exam: LSAT
66. Oldest of the Three Musketeers: ATHOS - name #6
DOWN:
2. Succulent genus: ALOE - A shout-out to Hahtoolah
4. Open-faced dishes with crispy tortillas: TOSTADAS - my last fill, and I toyed with the last vowel - "A" or "O"~? even tho I knew it was an A
5. Hub across the Bay from OAK: SFO - San Francisco airport code; my closest airport code is BDL
6. Starters, casually: APPS - APPetizerS, trying again to NOT be typical, but it just doesn't work on Wed, IMHO
7. Danceable song: BOP - we (I) just learned this last Friday
8. Glowing object on a marquee: BULB - Meh. IN a marquee seems better
9. Went back for thirds, maybe: ATE A LOT - Ugh. I don't care for ALOT in puzzles to begin with
10. Nintendo platform game series: SUPER MARIO
11. Seamaster watchmaker: OMEGA - it was either this or ROLEX, as Audemars Piguet doesn't fit - I was a CAD designer for their Southampton store, which required bullet-proof glass - their most expensive piece is $430K, almost twice the cost of my house
offering $100 off your first order - ooh, good deal~!
12. Fringe on some foreheads: BANGS - A shout-out to our host C.C.
22. San José day: DIA - Spanish lesson
24. OB or GYN: DOCtor - I knew DRS (plural) didn't match with the "or" in the clue
26. Broad: WIDE
27. Egyptian goddess: ISIS - name, #7
28. Stressful time for a procrastinator: LAST SECOND
29. Showing no fear, maybe: STOIC
30. Wing it?: FLY
33. Boldly brave: INTREPID - and then we have great fill like this
35. Market with a pickle barrel: DELI - Um, OK - when I did an internet search, I expected to find A LOT of B&W images, but no
36. Move merchandise: SELL
38. Laptop lens: CAMera - I have one at work for Teams meetings
39. Drawing board?: CHESS SET - a "draw" in chess is rare, but not unheard of; I plan to make a table for my living room with a chess board in the center
41. Advantageous: HELPFUL
42. Sr. officer: CDR - commander; I happen to know it's the abbr. for these, too
46. Novelist Leon: URIS - name #8
47. Krispy __: KREME - Mmmm, Donuts. . . .
51. Many millennia: EONS - or AGES~?
52. Resolve a tense disagreement?: EDIT - correcting verb tenses - clever
54. Burning desire: ITCH - I have a "burning desire" in the form of poison ivy (oak, sumac) all over my arms from the yard work I did two weeks ago. Yay.
59. Dietary amt.: RDA - Recommended Daily Allowance - my Daily Allowance these days is totally UN-recommended; I need to stop eating and start exercising - this is my New Year's Resolution
60. 24-Down's org.: AMA - American Medical Association
Splynter
Notes from C.C.
1)
Happy Birthday to dear Dave (CrossEyedDave), the best birthday cake
maker in the world. Your posts always brighten up our day, Dave!
 |
| CrossEyedDave |
2) Happy Birthday also to Blue Hen. Hope all's well!
35 comments:
Well, I got it.
But I wouldn’t say this puzzle was easy; not at all. One down started off by being pretty obscure, and it didn’t get much easier from there. Nevertheless, FIR, so I’m happy.
And Happy Birthday, CED! Who’s going to make YOUR cake? (Is this like that old paradox, “Who shaves the barber?”)
Good morning!
Is it really Wednesday? Many clues seemed to have a late-week tilt to them. Is a FOAM party really a thing? Got 'er done, but things took some time. Had no clue about the theme, but after reading the reveal, still no clue. Thanx, Rebecca and Splynter.
EPI: My doctor prescribed a Neffy nasal spray to replace my decade-old EpiPen. After four days I called Walgreens. They told me that it's an expensive drug, so they hadn't filled it. [Whaaa?] I have a GoodRx coupon which reduces the price to $200, so they agreed to go ahead. That was a week ago, and it's still "in progress." Good thing I don't need it urgently.
Happy Birthday, CED. I hope you can find an appropriate on-line cake for the celebration.
FIR after almost quitting after reviewing the first row of clues. Lost my first post trying to link Money For Nothing for the lyrics "We've got to move these refrigerators, we've got to move these color TVs." Also had a link to Bob Seger's Horizontal Bop along with a story from a friend's wedding when his new (drunk) MIL told him (during a slow dance) "dancing is just doing vertically what you want to be doing horizontally." Would have gotten around to the classic lyrics from former US Army paratrooper Jimi Hendrix's Fire" "I have only one burning desire - Let me stand next to your fire."
I was sure "naches" and KVELL must be Yiddish. Guess not.
Zoё says it's light enough for our morning walk, so doodie calls. Thanks to Rebecca for what turned out to be a fun challenge. And thanks to Splynter for your candid opinion and the fun review.
Maybe they are waiting to see if their store will be one to be closed in the great cutback.
Can a FOAM party be as much fun as a baby oil party? Especially if someone brings Twister?
Yes, nachas (transliterated, so spelling is up for grabs) is Yiddish for "joy", tinted with a hit of "pride". So, one takes nachas for the achievements of one's children, for example. And, kvell is Yiddish for "to fill up with joy or pride", give or take. "He kvelled with nachas at the bar mitzvah of his son", for example.
After a re-read, perhaps I should have said, "one HAS nachas..."; and, kvell can be thought of as "swell", so to kvell with nachas = to swell with joy and pride.
It was difficult to FIR for a Wed but I managed to do it. There were a couple of clues that were iffy. 1A. I've never heard of 'rapids' refer to as a 'rapid'. 26A. I don't think WILD OATS has anything to do with "Youthful rebelliousnesss ". You can be any age. There are commercials all over the radio and tv to help revive it. But it will really be a RECIPE FOR DISASTER if you are married or the girl's father shows up at your front door.
BAD EGG for 'Rabble-rouser'- that's not a good clue. A rabble-rouser is now called an 'activist'. They can try to get money from somebody or government. I think a better term would be 'blowhard'. A 'bad egg' is some young person you know will eventually end up in jail. Bullies, thieves,...etc.
SAW STARS was difficult to fill because I wanted AHS, not AWS (Amazon Web Services).
LIRAS- I filled it but isn't the plural for lira 'lire'?
DISS- usually spelled DIS, which for some reason some people get into fights because they feel slighted. IMHO, if you want respect, you gotta earn it.
KVELL, FOAM party, and BOP for dance- all perps; never heard of them.
CHESS SET- thanks Splynter. I filled it but didn't understand until you explained it. Very HELPFUL.
Krispy KREME built a big shop to close to my house about 10 years ago. It closed a few years later. Overpriced and too much local competition. The grandkids loved to watch them being made, rolling down the conveyer, and the mgr. would give them a FREE hot one right off the line. I never liked them (too yeasty) but felt compelled to buy something after that.
Sowing one's wild oats is an old idiom. In the 16th and 17th centuries, wild oats was used to describe unruly and reckless young men. Today, sowing wild oats is a phase that many young people go through and mercifully outgrow. Sowing wild oats Origin and History - To sow wild oats is to conduct oneself recklessly and foolishly to no good purpose..
The puzzle was meh, and I think Splynter was just in a mood, but thank you for your write-up and the legs; Rebecca thanks for the puzzle.
I play a little side game each day. While solving the puzzle I try to determine if the author is male or female. I’d guess I’m right 80% of the time. I’m usually about half finished when I make my guess. Got it today with 1 down. Nice challenge for a Wednesday. Thanks Rebecca.
Thanks, Barry. The more I learn about Jewish traditions the more i like it. Can't pronounce some of it, but I still like it.
Also, draws in chess are rare for hacks like me, but Masters draw about half of the time!
Not a fan of her puzzles, and today was no exception. I finished in eight minutes but found little joy along the way....far too many annoying clues. My least favorite was "drawing board" for CHESS SET. As a former rated player, I am aware of the frequency of draws but still thought the clue was a weak stretch...sorta like cluing BASKETBALL COURT with "screening venue" (for those that don't follow the sport, "setting a screen" is a common player action).
Took 8:32 today for me to avoid disaster.
I didn't care for this puzzle either. Obscure names (Rapp, Isaac, Isis), 3LW/abbreviations (AMA, RDA, EST, etc.), foreign language lessons (dio, nada, tostadas), and whatever naches/kvell are aside, the theme is too forced. Crude oil is part of a recipe? Sure.
I did know one of today's actresses though (Uma, not Rapp).
Didn't seem like a Wednesday puzzle. Never heard of Kvell.. Too many obscure names.
Rebecca has been a frequent contributor to the LAT as of late, with varying degrees of difficulty, most likely due to the editing. I thought this was about typical for midweek as I FIR in 11:28, theme was sussable but a little unusual IMO. DNK’s were minimal, ISAAC, KVELL and FOAM as clued. I actually remembered Renee (CSO to sumdaze) RAPP as she appeared in a recent CW. Thanks Rebecca for the enjoyable solve.
Splynter ~ thanks for the expo and critique! Nice photos of C.C. and the CdR.
Happy b/day to CED and Blue Hen (as a relative newcomer to the Corner I’m not familiar with Blue Hen).
FIR. A little on the hard side for a Wednesday, but quite doable. Never heard of a foam party, and kvell had me scratching my head, but eventually I got to the end.
Not my most favorite puzzle by a long shot, but it's done, so there's that.
Calling a CHESS SET (i. e. board + pieces) a "drawing board" just because it's possible to draw the game is one of the stretchiest "?" clue stretches ever.
FIR, but had to work for that finish. KVELL was a guess. FOAM party? BOP for a danceable song ? I kinda see the theme. I liked the clue for SAW STARS. All in all I liked this CW better than our guide Splynter.
Thank you Splynter for the recap.
Happy birthday to CED. 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂. Nice looking dog.
Today's puzzle was a challenge for me, but I took up the gauntlet nevertheless. How often does it happen that I don't understand a clue OR its answer? (See 47 Across). Fortunately, most of the perps in the vicinity of KVELL proved invaluable.
Perps also came to the rescue when I was confounded.by such enigmas as RAPP, APPS, CAM, and BOP. And what the heck is a foam party?
I noted some clever cluing, such as 52 Down, "Resolve a tense disagreement" (EDIT), and 39 Down "Drawing board" (CHESSSET). Note the three S's right together there.
We were again faced with the flip-of-a-coin dilemma of EON vs. AGE vs. ERA.
Much of the puzzle was above my pay grade, but I persisted to a successful end. Well done, Rebecca, for a tough but fair, fresh, and rewarding Wednesday workout..
Good Morning! I agree with the sentiments expressed by Splynter, and committed the same errs with rATS to OATS and Drs to DOC, neglecting to change the S to C in ISAAC (which also could have been DOS (Osteopaths – they’re Drs too). Given the awkward feel of this puzzle, I let it pass.
I had to look up Kaaba to finish the SE.
The reveal is a familiar phrase, although I thought BAD EGG and CRUDE OIL were a stretch to fit it.
I never heard of a FOAM party – who says that? The word “kegger’ comes to mind.
Perps for ISAAC, KVELL, RAPP.
Thanks, Splynter for the fun. Who else could it be with your signature leggy clip? 😄 Loved the Golden holding up the Tower of Piza, and the watering can.
CSO to CC and Happy Birthday to CE Dave! 🎈🎂🎉!
Musings
-I’m subbing today and the teacher for whom I am subbing was in the room. He apologized for not contacting me to tell me that I could have waited until 10:30 to show up.
-Yeah, Splynter, the theme tie-ins were a little vague but I still liked the puzzle.
-She sowed her WILD OATS and hoped for a crop failure
-ERR: Command + Z (Ctrl +Z for those of you in the other world) is a tool I use a lot
-Despite the inevitable stress, I tend to be a LAST SECOND kind of person
-Happy Birthday to CED and Blue Hen!
I’m already on record as being in favor of the Rex Parker school of crossword analysis, so I applaud Splynter’s dyspeptic review, even though we don’t agree on what people ought to/or need not know.
FOAM Party was obscure and KVELL was too Yiddish for the room, but I think people should know that the KAABA is that stone they kiss in Mecca. Would you complain about the Blarney Stone being too obscure? If you’ve never run across the name Isaac B. Singer, that’s on you. And didn’t Renee RAPP appear in the LAT in recent days?
Found the puzzle crunchy and the theme blah despite the tasty CRUDE oil in the mix. Liked the clue for EDIT a lot, but the “striking”/SAW STARS entry not so much.
Silly, fun theme with different ingredients for what Splynter thought of as a McDonald's APPLE pie or I thought of my oatmeal apple pancake recipe
https://hh-hm.com/wp-json/mv-create/v1/creations/145/print
it would definitely be a RECIPE FOR DISASTER if you used e.g. POISON APPLEs and BAD EGGS
ISAAC Bashevis Singer wrote a short story "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy" that was adapted by Barbra Streisand into the movie musical "Yentl"
The FOAM parties most popular in the '90s used huge FOAM machines which covered the dance floor with FOAM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foam_party
The closest I ever got to that was when I was volunteered at a camp and they would have a Christmas in July party and have foam across the pool deck and everyone would have cans of FOAM to spray on each other and they would have candy canes and hot chocolate After it was over everyone would wash off in the pool
Thanks Rebecca for the fun puzzle
HBD to CED and Blue Hen!
Thank you all for the Birthday Wishes! I look forward to reading (and learning on) The Blog every day, but today especially...
Note: that Dog is "Layla," my neighbor. I'm a cat person myself if you hadn't noticed... (actually, any soul who wants to be friends really...)
I believe I haven't seen Blue Hen post in quite a while. Here's a type of cake I posted for her way back when, except the hen was blue. ( I can't find the original) and it was before I learned that Blue Hens is a sport team... (not my milieu, blue hen could be a guy for all I know...)
Anywho,
Asking me what kind of cake I would post for myself would be a recipe for disaster. But since you asked, I would post this, because I could never post this for some one else's birthday...
Which brings me to going over the 20 line limit. ( hey it's my birthday! Gimme a break...!). As I get older, I find I remember less and less. Learning a new song on guitar just means I will totally forget I ever knew it, and have to relearn the following month. Which brings me to this little amazing tidbit I found that you might also enjoy. Remember MaryLou Henner, the girl from the TV show Taxi? She is one of several people in the U.S. that have the remarkable gift of remembering every day of their lives. it's inexplicable!
Meh. What did I enjoy most about this puzzle? NADA.
DH and I "shep naches" (feel joyful pride) when our offspring accomplish something challenging that requires dedication. We "kvell" (are delighted and proud) over the grandkids. So when I had "LAST minute" at 28 Down, and read the clue "Gush with naches" at 47 Across, I was able to make a LAST SECOND correction. ISAAC Bashevis Singer was easy for me, and I know where to find a pickle barrel. I even know where to find the Kaaba! FIR in short order and enjoyed it.
A POISON APPLE, BAD EGG, WILD OATS, and CRUDE OIL certainly sound like a recipe for disaster to me. You can't get a good kugel out of those! No worries -- we prefer TOSTADAS. As Yellowrocks often says, what seems exotic to some is familiar to others.
Happy birthday to CED and Blue Hen. Many thanks to Rebecca Goldstein -- you go girl! -- and thanks to Splynter for his efforts on our behalf.
I, for one, enjoyed this puzzle. FIR and found it only Thursday-like crunchy.
My biggest problem was that I miss-wrote POISON which messed up the NW for quite a while.
Isaac and Isis were gimmes.
Unrefined petroleum is the dictionary definition of crude oil.
Bad egg can be mildly pejorative or severely so. One definition is a reprehensible person.
Youth sewing wild oats can be a normal part of growing up, but sometimes it is a disaster when it leads to drug use or unintended pregnancy.
We do say of a baby, "AW, she's cute." MW says, "used to express sentimental or sugary approval." To me it is approval of something cute. little kid or a pet.
Ads and adds are homonyms with different meanings and origins. Why are they dupes?
As was said, foam parties for kiddies and college students both, are real things. Foam is shot from a foam cannon.
British novels usually call bangs fringe.
Only RAPP and KVELL (gushes with naches) were new to me. Hearing so much Yiddish here, I am surprised I haven't heard of this.
Very happy with this puzzle. It all makes sense to me.
Happy birthday, CED. I love your humor.
There was a "theme"?. About as much of a theme as chess set is a drawing board. No. Pretty crunchy for Wednesday but FIR.
I’d be remiss is I let the resident Imp’s birthday go unmentioned, so Happy Birthday, CED and best wishes for many more to come! 🎂🎊🎁🎈💕
Happy Birthday to Blue Hen, as well! 🎂🎊🎁🎈
Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, Rebecca and Splynter.
I FIRed and saw the RECIPE FOR DISASTER theme. I smiled as I thought of combining all those BAD ingredients.
The NW corner was the last to fall with RAFT filling, but eluding me. Thanks Splynter for the “rapid” explanation. I might have seen it if it had been plural.
Hand up for waiting for perps to decide the final A in TOSTADAS, and for wanting Saran before FOIL.
I ATE MORE before A LOT.
My procrastinator waited to the LAST MINUTE, but it was even closer to the deadline - LAST MINUTE. That was my favourite today.
I wanted Ahs before AWS- meh! And I wanted a M in CDR.
Is KVELL Yiddish? Ah, thanks BarryT and others for confirming.
Happy Birthday CED.
Hopefully Blue Hen will see our Happy Birthday greetings too.
Wishing you all a great day.
Thank you, Rebecca, and thank you, Splynter.
Happy Birthday, Cross Eyed Dave.
Yes, Blue Hen is a man, and quite the home chef!
That was quick solve, even though I did not know the meaning of naches in the clue or the word KVELL as the answer. I do know what nachos are. Yum. Also didn't know the Nobel Laureate Bashevis Singer ISAAC. The unknowns perped in.
I really liked the clue,"Resolve a tense disagreement" with an answer of EDIT.
Youthful rebelliousness: (sowing) WILD OATS. Among the Amish, there is a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It's a time for youth to "sow wild oats" on the journey from childhood to adulthood. In my experience, it's actually pretty tame when compared to the rest of American youth sowing wild oats.
Today we had "Reneé of "Mean Girls": RAPP
The LAT had Rene RAPP 5 days ago on Oct 11th, but with a different clue, related to her SNOW ANGEL song.
The USA Today had virtually the same clue as today's LAT with "Mean Girls" star Renee on Sept 21
The LAT had "Reneé of the "Mean Girls" musical" on Aug 30
RosE
I take back what I said about the theme after reading the Comments. I get it now, and it did all fit. Sorry, RG. And noted (sp) Pisa. And learned FOAM party has nothing to do with beer, thanks, Inanehiker.
Happy birthday Blue Hen . I miss your posts . I hope you are well
Hi All!
I'm with YR on this puzzle. I thought Rebecca gave us a slightly crunchy Wednesday but perps were fair IMHO.
Thanks Splynter for your take and the fine recap.
WO: ogEE -> CREE
ESPs: RAPP, ISSAC, KVELL
Fav: EDIT's c/a
Happy Birthday, CED. LOL the "cake" you got yourself.
Happy Birthday, Blue Hen. I hope you're still in the kitchen creating yummers.
Cheers, -T
Oops, I nearly forgot FOAM Party. -T
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