Theme: It's snack time
Puzzling thoughts:
Today's puzzle is a collaboration between two crossword puzzle assistant editors, Amanda Cook and Katie Hale. Ms. Cook and Ms. Hale filled our goodies bag with five different types of snacks (although I would argue that NOODLES are not a snack) that are found at the end of five familiar phrases:
15-across. Internet cafe snacks?: BROWSER COOKIES. [Microsoft dot com] describes cookies as "... bits of data that are sent to and from your browser to identify you. When you open a website, your browser sends a piece of data to the web server hosting that website. This data usually appears as strings of numbers and letters in a text file." How about a Moe-ku and cartoon to further explain?
Beware logging on
To the Girl Scouts' website; they
Use BROWSER COOKIES
22-across. Billiard hall snacks?: POOL NOODLES. Pool noodles are flotation devices, or as this Moe-ku and cartoon describe:
What might you call brains
That work while swimming? Of course,
They are POOL NOODLES
34-across. Arbitration snacks?: BARGAINING CHIPS. [dictionary dot com] describes a bargaining chip as: "a potential concession or other factor which can be used to advantage in negotiations"; as described in yet another Moe-ku (and image):
When Lay's and Pringles
Decide to merge, I heard they
Used BARGAINING CHIPS
44-across. Travel snacks?: AIRPORT BARS. Despite the nearly flawless record of airplane travel, airport bars are still found in most concourses as a haven for nervous travelers to secure a drink (or two, or three) before boarding. Or, as this Moe-ku and image suggest:
Where might one find a
Place to have a flight before
A flight? AIRPORT BARS
53-across. Moving day snacks?: PACKING PEANUTS. Packing peanuts are those nut-shaped Styrofoam objects that help cushion your shipment by filling the voids in a package. Or, as this Moe-ku and image might suggest:
The preferred item
Shippers use for elephants
Are PACKING PEANUTS
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| They will cushion his trunk! |
Perhaps this one was left on the editor's desk. Clue: Bank heist snacks? SAFE CRACKERS. Ok, so this one didn't make the cut but that doesn't mean there's no Moe-ku or cartoon!
Parrot's owner is
A bank thief. I guess, Polly
Wants a SAFE CRACKER
Here is the grid:
My "score" for this puzzle is ⭐⭐⭐and 1/4⭐ It could have been higher, but there were far too many three-letter words (TLWs) and abbreviations. I am sure they were needed to support the large number of entry letters (65), but many of the 17 TLWs were also abbr's (7). I will point them out below. Also, there were a couple of forced entries (green paint) but again, the use of 5 entries which averaged 13 letters apiece creates filling problems
1. Hoffmann of "Transparent": GABY. I wonder if our Crossword Corner regular, desper-otto, found this 1-Across entry as a stumbling block today?
Ms. Hoffmann's acting career began at an early age, and she's not that well-known now, methinks. [wikipedia] lists this as her bio intro: "Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann is an American actress. She made her film debut in Field of Dreams (1989) and found success as a child actress in Uncle Buck (1989), This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and then later as a teenager with Now and Then (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), All I Wanna Do (1998), and 200 Cigarettes (1999)"
5. Feature of the ROFL emoji: TEAR. 😂 <== this
9. Intel org.: NSA. TLW #1; abbr. #1
12. Tony kin: OBIE. One of the EGOT categories
13. Foot massage target: ARCH. Who doesn't love a foot massage?
14. Does a bit of tailoring: SEWS. Did this one leave you in stitches?
18. Vientiane's country: LAOS.
19. "Industry" network: HBO. TLW #2; abbr. #2
20. Symbol that can mean "approximately": TILDE. ~ <== this
21. Blow up: Abbr.: ENL. TLW #3; abbr. #3
25. Lecture without caring if one's words are heard: TALK AT. Green paint?? Rarely used entry; seems semi-forced
27. Flamenco cheers: OLES.
28. Show contempt: SNEER.
29. Elisabeth of "The Karate Kid": SHUE.
5. Feature of the ROFL emoji: TEAR. 😂 <== this
9. Intel org.: NSA. TLW #1; abbr. #1
12. Tony kin: OBIE. One of the EGOT categories
13. Foot massage target: ARCH. Who doesn't love a foot massage?
14. Does a bit of tailoring: SEWS. Did this one leave you in stitches?
18. Vientiane's country: LAOS.
19. "Industry" network: HBO. TLW #2; abbr. #2
20. Symbol that can mean "approximately": TILDE. ~ <== this
21. Blow up: Abbr.: ENL. TLW #3; abbr. #3
25. Lecture without caring if one's words are heard: TALK AT. Green paint?? Rarely used entry; seems semi-forced
27. Flamenco cheers: OLES.
28. Show contempt: SNEER.
29. Elisabeth of "The Karate Kid": SHUE.
31. Cricket gear: BAT. TLW#4
38. Start of something?: ESS. TLW #5
39. Mercury and Neptune: GODS. ORBS fits, too
40. Slangy "OK": AIGHT. More green paint?? This, too, seemed forced
41. "Skedaddle!": SHOO.
43. Part of a relay team: ANCHOR. Usually, the fastest runner on a four-person relay team, and the person who anchors (runs the final leg)
49. Gershwin brother: IRA. TLW #6 (and if clued as an investment option, this, too could have been an abbr.)
50. __ mail: SNAIL. The last time I bought a "Forever" stamp from the USPS it cost $0.69 - and when I send a letter from AZ to GA it usually takes a week or more to get there ... SMH
51. Fury: IRE. TLW #7
52. Eyeliner perfector: Q-TIP. Unusual clue for this item, but glad to know that Amanda and Katie didn't refer to it as an implement for removing ear wax
57. Fencing gear: EPEE.
58. Voicemail cue: BEEP.
59. Latin day: DIEM.
60. Big podcast producer: NPR. TLW #8; abbr. #4
61. Classical closing: CODA. "Classical", as in classical music
62. Borrowing figs.: APRS. Abbr. #5; and worse, it pluralizes a TLW
Down:
1. Celebrate wildly: GO BANANAS. More oft used entry than I would have thought
2. Six-pack producers: AB ROLLERS. A debut entry for published crossword puzzles. Congrat's, ladies
2. Six-pack producers: AB ROLLERS. A debut entry for published crossword puzzles. Congrat's, ladies
3. Playbill blurbs: BIOS. Abbr. #6 - a Playbill is a program that is handed out at theatrical events
4. Longbow wood: YEW. TLW #9
5. 1990s workout fad: TAEBO.
6. Barnett of CBS News: ERROL. Not the first Errol that comes to my mind
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| This is for all of the ladies who read the blog! |
7. Stanford's athletic gp.: ACC. TLW #10; abbr. #7 - Atlantic Coast Conference. And why is Stanford, a Pacific Coast university part of the ACC??
8. Sorority row letter: RHO. TLW #11
9. "Peaky Blinders" actor Sam: NEILL. Not one with which I am familiar
10. Rutabaga, to a Brit: SWEDE. Learning moe-ment for me: Rutabaga is also known as swede (in the UK), Swedish turnip, wax turnip, or neep. It is a winter root vegetable with edible roots as well as leaves that's closely related to the turnip and the cabbage [everyday healthy recipes dot com]
11. Beasts of burden: ASSES. I can't do a blog without at least one video!! Am I an "ass" for using this one?
14. Hydroplanes: SKIDS.
16. Cocktail measure: SHOT. Nice use of the clue to soften an otherwise "nasty" word entry. OTOH, when I measure alcohol in a cocktail (or when drinking neat) I use fingers (two are the minimum)
17. Chiwere speakers: OTOE. I didn't know who the Chiwere speakers were, but this one filled via perps, IIRC
18. "__ real": LET'S BE. OK. That is usually what I am (real) when I blog a puzzle; there's no holding back!
22. Start to ski?: PARA. As defined
23. Peas and carrots: NOUNS. Forrest Gump would be happy to know that
24. Designer Cassini: OLEG.
26. Tavern delivery: KEG. TLW #12
29. Boopable pet part: SNOOT. Another clue that was chosen to help soften a negative word
30. Played sardines, perhaps: HID. TLW #13
31. Silver Slugger awardee: BIG HITTER. Not sure that I fully agree with this. A big hitter, as defined, is an important or powerful person. It can also refer - in baseball terminology - to a sportsperson who is capable of hitting the ball long and hard. And while the Silver Slugger award is an honor given for the top position players on various baseball teams, it is not what I would define as a big hitter (YYMV)
32. "Better safe than sorry" and "Actions speak louder than words": APHORISMS. My favorite is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
33. Feature of some dance shoes: T-STRAP. Splynter gave me permission to use this image, but he removed the stockings:
35. "The Firebird" composer Stravinsky: IGOR. My kids' HS sports teams were nicknamed the "Firebirds". Both of my kids were in band, and of course the band director had to feature movements from this iconic symphony during performances, including halftime shows at football games. Enjoy!
BTW, the bassoon solo at around the 5:00 mark is one my daughter has played many, many times (and better than this one, IMO)
36. Tennis ball containers: CANS. As this blog is being written, the Australian Open Tennis Tournament is underway - wonder how Ons Jabeur is doing?
37. Juice box brand named for its vitamin content: HI-C. TLW #14; abbr. #8 (technically)
41. Sudden surge: SPIKE.
42. Celebration on the last full moon of Phalguna: HOLI. Another entry that filled via perps
43. District: AREA.
44. Poplar kin: ASPEN.
45. Like some add-on purchases: IN APP. I am betting that as crossword puzzles become more "modern", this phrase will become crossword-ese as well as the word "app"
46. Speed climbing entrant: RACER.
47. Kangaroo, e.g.: BIPED.
48. Filled cornmeal flatbread: AREPA.
52. Bon mot: QUIP. Final Moe-ku:
A witty remark
Made by certain cotton swab's
Called: a Q-TIP QUIP
54. Network with a three-note chime: NBC. TLW #15; abbr. #9
55. Old Prizm maker: GEO. TLW #16
56. "For your eyes only" contract, briefly: NDA. TLW #17; abbr. #10
See you on the 31st but will probably be on hiatus after that. Gonna have cataract surgery and one of the recovery "no-no's" is working on a computer ...
26 comments:
From what some have said recently, I had been looking forward to today’s puzzle with some trepidation, but it wasn’t that bad. All the themers were in-the-language phrases and the rest of the puzzle gradually filled itself in with not too many problems. Not that it was easy, but it was far from impossible. FIR, so I’m happy.
slangy OK, aight? NO, NO, NO!
Good morning!
With __BY at 1A, d-o thought of ABBY Hoffman -- but realized he spelled it ABBIE and he wasn't an actor. I do remember this ABBY as the little "H&G -- Hello and Goodbye" girl from Sleepless In Seattle. Also got confused with Erin Burnett and ERROL Barnett. Haven't seen Peaky Blinders, but remember Sam NEILL from Jurassic Park and Hunt For Red October -- "I would like to have seen Montana." AIGHT was just ugly. Based on C-Moe's early-week warning, I was expecting a real ball-buster. This one was tough, but fair -- good Friday fare. Thanx, Amanda, Katie, and C-Moe.
FIR, but cia->NSA, ache->ARCH, chain->SNAIL, mask->EPEE, olga->OLEG, taibo->TAEBO (UNTIE!)
AIGHT must be one of them thar words that the whippersnappers younger than Boomers say.
No man would ever admit to PACKING PEANUTS.
The Atlantic Coast and SouthEastern Conferences have teams from all over the country. I blame MLB. When Divisions were established in 1969, Cincinnati and Chicago were in the West divisions.
Thanks to Amanda and Katie for the challenge, and to our Chairman for the puns and 'kus.
Methinks AIGHT is a lazy "all right."
I enjoy snacking on four of the five long horizontals, but noodles? I think I'll pass. I assume these five constituted the theme, but there was no Reveal to clarify.
The puzzle certainly showcased the constructors' cleverness, but at times seemed unnecessarily forced and farfetched, as with AIGHT. Or ESS. Ugh!
I had some difficulty in the top middle, because the 4-letter emoji clue at 5A seemed to be pointing to GRIN. A feature of that emoji is TEARS, not a TEAR.
Yes, college football is geographically challenged, with Stanford in the ACC. The NFL started this proud tradition about 60 years ago by placing the Dallas Cowboys in their East division. And there they still sit today, alongside teams that are actually IN the East--Philadelphia, Washington and New York.
Thanks, Amanda and Katie, for your Friday challenge, and to C-Moe for your usual whimsical intro expertise.
Took 10:01 today for me to get my Gilligan's Island snacks (Ginger snaps?).
I knew one of today's actresses (Shue) and pretty much how to spell her name, but not Gaby. I also didn't know Barnett, Holi, Vientiane's country, or the British slang. I thought of "aight", but hoped I was wrong.
FIR. Nice theme and very cleverly laid out. But there were too many proper names thrown in and that ruined an otherwise great puzzle.
And what is "aight"? I'm sorry, but that just seems contrived.
But the perps were well placed to overcome the odd and weird clues. So overall a somewhat enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
I think this offering is a good example of the authors’ opting for quantity over quality. As Moe pointed out, choosing to use five themers necessitated some questionable fill and a preponderance of abbreviations. I, too, question the cluing for Big Hitter, Talk At (Green Paint), and Aight which, to me, sounds like a Cockney Eight. I thought the theme was cute and clever, but Airport Bars is not as strong as the other themers because “Bars” alone isn’t as definitive as a snack the way Chips, Cookies, and Peanuts are. Noodles is iffy as well, but more acceptable. Gaby was unknown, as was Swede and Errol, as clued but, otherwise, the solve was trouble-free.
Thanks, Amanda and Katie, and thanks, Moe, for your honest and even-handed critique. Loved your numerous Moe-kus but the Pool Noodles was my favorite, with your original Safe Crackers a close second.
Have a great day.
The SEC is still pretty much in the SE quadrant. We now think of the ACC as the ALL Coast Conference
...said nearly every black character in "The Wire".
To Aubiemom @ 9:02 ==> Not sure that Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas would admit that they are in the SE quadrant, but I get your point. ALL Coast Conference is a better descriptor
Nouns as the answer for peas and carrots???? Really?
Like yesterday without the gettable wall-to-wall theme answers providing perpage this puzzle woulda been a bear to finish. Completed about 80%. Stopped to read a HS bud’s obit DW alerted me to . When I returned to the puzzle the red letters somehow got turned on and gave away some mistakes so quit. No fun to continue 😦
Inkover: TALKon/AT
Does anyone know even 8 people who say AIGHT (Assume slang for alright .) By forced you mean the authors have backed themselves into a corner with a nonsense answer they have no clue for and are forced to ask Alexa/Siri or Google to find one rather than take the time to rework that part of the puzzle. No problem as long as it doesn’t happen too often in the same CW.
After yesterday’s ADO and SET TO isn’t it “Billiards hall snacks”
They say Carl Sagan couldn’t stop shooting pool. It’s claimed he played “Billiards and billiards of games” 😳
I was taught and use ≈ as an “approximately” symbol in my reports. The tilde ∼ would be understood as a hyphen
PARAski? I don’t get it? Like parasailing? Start to “ski” is ESS. Actually I wanted to try brew 🍺🍻. SHOT, or Moe you want a bartender with chubby fingers
I remember “Sam” Claflin in “Peaky Blinders” but one letter too long. (Wouldn’t an ANCHOR weigh down a “relay team”? ⚓️) . Knew HOLI and AREPA only from prior puzzles
Wonder if George Gershwin and his brother had a Roth or traditional IRA ? 😀
Loved the kookoo moe-kus
Happy Frigg’s Day , IOW enjoy the frigg’n day 🤭
Musings
-Ok, Moe, I’ll see your safe cracker and raise you “Naval snack/SEA BISCUIT :-)”
-I know that “free apps” offer upsells and other merchandising but I was today years old when I learned the name for that: IN-APP
-I live with a lovely woman who does NOT love foot rubs
-Lecture without caring whether anyone is listening: It’s fun to watch congressmen orate in an empty house chamber
-AIGHT – Eliding and omitting syllables are the coin of the linguistic realm. Exhibit A: HOLI is finely in my vocab.
-Running ANCHOR for a relay team can be disheartening when you see Jamaica has Usain Bolt
-My lovely bride is intent on keeping SNAIL MAIL viable
-Stanford’s PAC 10 conference mostly died when USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon joined the Big 10
-I wonder if there are any Chiwere speakers in Nebraska’s OTOE County
-Did Walmart ever use WAL~MART?
Shame on me. I saw Katie Hale's name and decided to play anyway.
I had a tough time with this one, but quite honestly, most of it perped out with a lot of sussing. There were one or two that I cannot put in the learning category though. Should I take a Thumper?
Nah! This cranky old fart has to make a stink...
Being an (ex?) Aussie, I would normally just say "No Worries." But I have to say that Aight is not OK with me...
As far as snacks are concerned, I'm trying to lose weight, snacks have become less,,, (well, let's just say less.) a scallion here, a carrot stick there.
(As a kid, I used to eat a whole box of jello with adding water!)
But one guilty pleasure I cannot pass up, is a teaspoon of everything bagel seasoning, with jalapeño!. Can anyone tell me where I might be able to find dehydrated garlic chips? I just love the taste, and the ones found in the bagel seasoning are just too salty to be healthy...
Another thing I am looking for, can anyone recommend some soothing orchestral music? Alexa doesn't know the meaning of the words...
Typo, the box of jello was "without" adding water, consider it a giant size pixie stix...
Surprisingly, the FIR came fairly easy today. Things unknown to me perped and wagged quickly, resulting in an enjoyable solve. Go figure! I was really expecting trouble when 1A was a stumper, but wound up pleasantly surprised. C-Moe...good luck on the surgery. My optometrist has warned me that my turn for this is "coming soon!"
I would only like to point out that EGOT is short for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, not Obie, C-Moe.
FIR.
I wish Missouri had been in the Southeastern Conference when I was in school. The Big Eight was so dreary, even though the early '70s were good years for that conference. Whether the Show-Me State is Southern or Midwestern is a debate similar to whether the pronunciation is Missouree or Missourah. Opinions are evenly divided. (See more about the ACC in my comments below.)
Lee @ 11:35 ==> I wondered who would be the first to catch that little mistake I threw in the recap ... congrat's for finding it! ;^)
(COPY EDITOR, using new laptop):
Chairman Moe promised this would be a doozy, and it was. I seemed to be on the constructors’ wave-length just enough to FIR without much anguish.
That’s not to say I didn’t have a few complaints. “Aight!” Is that really “in the language?” I definitely disliked TALK AT. SWEDE needed perps. I know about rutabagas mostly from Carl Sandburg’s “Rutabaga Pigeons.” I’ve never heard of a game called “Sardines.” I’ve never heard of ERROL Barnett, but I have heard of Errol Flynn and Errol Garner. Is Hi-C sold only in boxes now? It came in cans when we were kids. Hand up for SNOuT before SNOOT. The NDA/APRs juxtaposition was sussable but not admirable. The six-pack and blow-up clues were clever, but I’ve never heard of Ab-“rollers.” The combo was a Natick. Worst of all: “BIG HITTER,” which was clued knowingly with “Silver Slugger” yet the answer is a term no one in sports uses. Here’s my chauvinistic term for that sort of entry: TLAG. I’ll let you figure it out.
But I was mostly on the constructors’ wavelength. The theme worked easily and actually helped me solve quickly. GABY occurred to me quickly, and the spelling of Elisabeth led me right to SHUE. I figured out QUIP/Q-TIP easily. I’ve been to Vientiane. I know the rudiments of the sonata-allegro format, including CODA. Stanford and Cal are, quite incongruously, in the ACC now. Our octet will sing the national anthem at a Cal men’s basketball game next month when Wake Forest visits.
Friday puzzle. My toeholds remain very visible in my god awful attempt on this one. I did kinda get some of the long fills.
My final grade a ⭐️
Greet the day.
I didn't think I would be able to FIR, but managed to do so, in pretty good (for me) time of 18 minutes. All too often Friday CWs end up in the DNF pile, so pleased to FIR today. Still, not a big fan of this CW, due to the 16 names, 7 of which I DNK, which include 1A. I hate it when the very first clue leaves me stumped. Also, too many clues that were very questionable. Many commenters mentioned AIGHT, which I never heard of. But then there was also 22D Start to ski? = PARA. Wait, what? PARASKI? I know PARASAIL, but PARASKI? I Googled it, and guess what? It IS! There really is such a thing as PARASKIING. Again, for me, DNK. Then there's 29D: "Boopable pet part". Boopable? And I know SNOUT, but not SNOOT. Even after it perped in, I was left scratching my head. I've never heard anyone call his dogs nose a "snoot". This is followed by 30D: "Played sardines, perhaps" as a clue for HID. Never heard anyone say, "Let's play sardines" or however it would be used. AC&KH, thanx for your CW, at least I was able to FIR, and the theme is very good with good theme fills. But overall, 2/5 stars. C-Moe, you really outdid yourself with 7 Moe-kus. Very clever, and a nice, informative write-up, too. Thanx for all the time and effort you so obviously put into it today. I would say, ACC = All Coast Conference still begs the question of why Missouri and Oklahoma would be in it, they are not on ANY coast. But then, as several people mentioned, there seems to be no logic behind any sports divisions.
Fun Friday puzzle, many thanks, Amanda and Katie. And your commentary is always helpful, Moe, thanks for that too.
Well, maybe it's because I worked on this puzzle before having any breakfast that those COOKIES caught my attention right away, and focused me on a food theme. The meal was clearly organized around those NOODLES, although except for the PEAS and CARROTS, we didn't get much of a main dish. We did get a bit of an appetizer with those CHIPS and PEANUTS, but my focus was clearly on dessert. COOKIES and candy BARS--a lovely and delicious way to end a meal. And to end a discussion of this tasty puzzle!
Have a lovely weekend, everybody.
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