Theme: Risible (rhyming) repetition
Puzzling thoughts:
Just 12 short days ago, Ricky J. Sirois provided us with a Sunday puzzle: his 4th LAT submission, according to NaomiZ. And as NaomiZ will be doing the Friday blog in Moe's absence while he heals, believe every word she says!! 😀
So, let's explore Ricky's 5th LAT puzzle before I take a brief hiatus:
Today's offering, while not as tough as some Friday puzzles I've blogged, did have its Moe-ments. Every time there is some play-on-words it takes a couple of solved ones before the theme reveals itself. At least for me ...
So how did today's theme of repetition come about? Let's look at the entries:
21-across. Dorothy's musing before heading back to Kansas?: DO I HAVE TOTO?
I am certainly curious to know how Ricky came to think of the four entries he offered today. The first is a solid example of how both of the expressions work: "Do I have to?" is a lament that many kids use when they don't want to do something. And maybe Dorothy didn't want to return to Kansas after spending her wonderful dream in Oz. But I'm sure that she double-checked before she did return that her dog, Toto was by her side.
A Moe-ku, perhaps? Be sure to read this a couple of times to see the double meaning ...
Her Auntie Em barks
33-across. All-clear before the big dance competition?: GOOD TO GOGO.
42-across. Advice on how to prevent undue interest from influencers?: MAKE IT SO-SO.
One of our regular board influencers is our one and only Picard. Sometimes a picture captures more than my words can describe!
53-across. Enthusiastic reply from a certain bird impersonator?: INDEED I DODO.
What ultimately led to my rating this puzzle a bit lower was this entry. If our resident grammarian, Yellowrocks happens to stop by today, I hope she will offer her comments and thoughts about it
The first part of the phrase could be written "I do indeed" as well as "Indeed, I do". Maybe the word "enthusiastic" in the clue leads us to the proper position of the word, "indeed". But I digress ...
The whole concept of "indeed, I dodo" just seemed forced. A dodo is not just a "certain" bird, but an extinct one. And unlike the other three entries the plausibility of that phrase just isn't there
How might the fourth entry be a little more plausible? Here is a possible substitute for 53-across:
"Words from a department store Santa on his first day on the job"? I AM GUNG HO HO
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| He does check out who's naughty or nice |
Today, Ricky had some pretty good mojo. I give this puzzle ⭐⭐⭐ and 3/4⭐s - congrats!!
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| The filled grid. Notice the Natick at 1-down and 13-across |
Across:
1. Decoupage, e.g.: CRAFT. Knowing what the word decoupage means led to solving this
6. Stroller passenger: TOT.
9. Substance: HEFT.
13. Dark matter?: HUMOR. I stuck with rumor for too long in this spot. I didn't get the play-on-words of its perpendicular (1-down. Ring leader?): CHAMP, either. This was Moe's "Natick", as described in the grid image
14. Had regrets: RUED. I hope I won't rue having my cataracts replaced
16. Largest of seven: ASIA. Seven = continents - can you name them all?
17. Suspect's story: ALIBI. Really, I didn't make this up
18. Plot size: ACRE.
19. Villain in "The Lion King": SCAR. This guy:
20. Memory unit, informally: MEG. Gig also fits - I had to erase it when some of the perps solved
24. Undertaking: PROJECT.
26. Persian Gulf nation: IRAN. Iraq also fits but I used Iran, initially
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| Persian Gulf |
27. Durham sch.: UNH. My first thought was Duke - a university in Durham, North Carolina. But since the word school was abbreviated in the clue, I knew the answer must contain initials. The Wildcats of UNH reside in Durham, New Hampshire
28. Ellipsis trio: DOTS. Something that C-Moe uses often when blogging ... would it surprise you to know that one of C-Moe's favorite movie theater candy is this?
30. Terr. divided in 1889: DAK. My preferred clue for this would be: "Oft-injured QB Prescott of the Cowboys"
37. Stack: PILE.
38. Hierarchy levels: RUNGS.
39. Hockey's Bobby: ORR. Oops - Ricky used one of the dreaded crossword-ese names
40. Civic, for one: SEDAN. Honda also fits, and I had to erase this before completing that section of the puzzle
41. "Ohhhh": I SEE. Hopefully what Moe will say after he gets some new eyeball lenses
44. School org.: PTA.
45. Lean (on): RELY.
46. Foldable bed: COT.
47. Abbr. on an ESPN crawl: NCAA. This usually applies to the NCAA as a whole. Right now, you'll see "WCBB" (for example) when ESPN is offering the scores of women's college basketball games on their "ticker" (crawl)
49. School papers: REPORTS. The business world might refer to "reports" as those who work for their manager
57. One with a platonic partner, for short: ARO. This was unknown by me but to be fair, it showed up recently in another LA Times puzzle
58. Thoroughfare: ROAD.
59. Leave out: OMIT.
60. Polling booth figure: VOTER.
62. Vegetable in the cabbage family: KALE. I notice this vege being used in a lot of prepared salad mixes found at the grocery store
63. Say hello quietly: WAVE.
64. __ planner: EVENT.
65. Pizza joint in "Do the Right Thing": SAL'S. Sal's Pizza is a regional chain in NH and MA (surprisingly, there is none located @ UNH - see 27-across). Sal's Pizzeria is found in Brooklyn, NY and was a venue in the movie, "Do the Right Thing". And now you know, because prior to looking this up, I had no clue
66. Souvenir from an animated film: CEL.
67. Worshipper of Jah: RASTA. I don't know about Jah but I do know that Joboo is for real. Enjoy this clip! [rated PG-13 for a few choice words]
Down:
2. Help in keeping things straight: RULER. I am guessing that Ricky/Patti meant one of these?
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| Notice the straight edge on the RULER |
3. Compadre: AMIGO. Would you use amiga if the clue was "Com-madre"??
4. Keyless key: FOB. Moe-ku:
5. Weapons for Neptune and Shiva: TRIDENTS. Many of us are aware of the god, Neptune
6. Aspect: TRAIT.
7. "That sounds painful": OUCH.
8. Mega- squared: TERA.
9. "__ mañana": HASTA.
10. San Diego suburb whose name means "hidden": ESCONDIDO.
11. Italian automaker: FIAT. Alfa fit but I didn't bite
12. Primary ingredient in poi: TARO.
15. Danny of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": DE VITO. A series on FX network. The trailer:
22. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. [translation from Spanish to English] Four and four = eight
23. Hosp. sections: ERS. ORS also fit. Again, I chose the correct one initially
25. 2022 and 2024 AL MVP: JUDGE. "Here comes the JUDGE"! As in, Aaron Judge the center fielder of the NY Yankees
28. Not at all cool: DORKY.
29. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.
31. "Too bad": ALAS.
32. Casino game: KENO. How to play, courtesy of WikiHow
33. Golf clinic topic: GRIP. Step-by-step guide to the perfect golf GRIP
34. Depose: OUST.
35. Everybody: ONE AND ALL. Not a phrase that we see a lot of in crossword puzzles
36. Hoped-for result: GOAL.
37. Sauce made with pine nuts: PESTO. Here is a simple recipe:
40. Short stay: STOPOVER.
42. Grazing location: MEADOW.
43. Coffee order: ICED.
45. "Run Away With Me" singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.
48. Gives way: CEDES.
49. Brand of canned chiles: ROTEL. My favorite of theirs, and one I use often in a variety of recipes:
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| Try this with black-eyed peas |
50. Going prices: RATES.
51. Reznor with two Oscars for Best Original Score: TRENT. His biography, courtesy of Wikipedia
52. "More or less": SORTA.
53. Bothers: IRKS.
54. U.S. weather agency: NOAA. NOAA and NCAA were a bit too close to each other in the grid for my liking ...
55. Apple desktop: IMAC. I am a PC guy (laptop) with an iPhone
56. Deep __: DIVE.
61. Eggs, biologically: OVA. Not sure how much they'd charge for an ova, but a dozen hen's eggs were $6.99 this past week, and that was for the "store" brand
17 comments:
I pretty much knew what the theme was right away, and that helped me solve this pretty challenging puzzle. It didn’t help that I had forgotten what “decoupage” was, but eventually everything fell into place. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
D-o fell into the CRAMP/RUMOR trap, and never got out of it. Bzzzzzzt. I waited for C-Moe to explain how CRAMP matched the clue. D'oh. Not my finest moment. Thanx, Ricky and C-Moe. (Good luck with the cataract surgery. Mine wasn't a great success -- I still need glasses for both reading and distance.)
Well I managed a FIR in 17:41, but about half that time was trying to decipher the NW corner after the rest of the grid was filled. Along the way I had to make some quick changes when the perps wouldn’t concur, Honda to SEDAN, dish to DIVE, and ranks to RUNGS, and I knew UNC is in Chapel Hill and not Durham but I still put it in before perps demanded OCHO. Not knowing what a decoupage was didn’t help, after I successfully WAGed CRAFT, (I thought maybe a boat till the expo), nor did some other vague clues in that area, (still don’t know how CHAMP is a ring leader as 1D was missing in the blog). The theme was easy to suss after getting the top two, and it did help with the solve. ARO made another appearance, but now I remember it anyway. RO ⭐️ TEL makes some good stuff, adds some bite to homemade chili and marinara, but I think of it as diced tomatoes that include chilies, not chilies alone. Thank you Rick for the Friday challenge! C~Moe, a very enjoyable read today, will miss your blog in your absence, but Friday’s will be in good hands with NaomiZ holding the reins. Hope your surgery and recovery goes well!
The NW took a couple of minutes but after filling TOTO, the rest was a breeze. Like the Chairman, it took a while for HUMOR and CHAMP to arrive. I've heard the San Diego suburb ESCONDIDO but never saw it in print. But it was the V8 that gave me TOTO. I was amused at the cross of INDEED I DODO crossing 56D--"Deep _____". My first thought was Deep DODO but I had to take a Deep DIVE.
UNH- first thought was NC State but it's in Raleigh, close to DUKE and UNC. The Research Triangle. I know Danny De VITO but didn't know he was on that show.
FIR, but gig->MEG, ranks->RUNGS, fares->RATES, and ados->IRKS.
I knew ESCONDIDO, but not what it meant.
Last month I read Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. The book is about a time before NOAA, when the art and science of meteorology were just beginning. Houston and Galveston were vying to be the "it" city in South Texas, and it looked like Galveston would win. Then, in 1900, a giant hurricane hit the Galveston area, destroying almost all its buildings and killing almost all its inhabitants. Oh, and in the Houston area they discovered oil about the same time. Game, set and match. Larson is also the author of The Splendid and the Vile and The Devil in the White City, both fantastic reads. If you thought you hated history in school, give a Larson book a try. If you loved history in school, his books are must-reads.
CSO to Bayou "Fix It Again" Tony.
I really expected our Chairman to link Wham's Wake Me Up Before You GO-GO.
Thanks to RJS for the fun Friday challenge. And thanks to our Chairman for another great review. I'll bet your eyes will be better than they were pre-op.
UNC is in Chapel Hill not Durham🤦♀️.
Took 8:28 today to avoid a no no.
I didn't know Escondido, hasta, wondered if ocho would be whatever 16 is in Spanish, and fell for the wrong Durham trap for a while (UNC? Duke? Elon? NCState?).
Can we please retire "aro"?
Chris I wish you better results with your cataract surgery than your comment 14. Had regrets: RUED. I hope I won't rue having my cataracts replaced . If your surgeon is planning on replacing your cataracts, please find another surgeon ASAP! If they have advised you it will take two months to recover, that also is not encouraging. Most go back to work the same week of the operation. Good luck.
Good Morning:
This was a cute theme, executed well, but not what I’d like on a Friday. Gone are the days of Friday stumpers that were fun and challenging warm-ups for the Saturday teeth gnashers and hair-pullers. Other than a these stumbles, e.g., Ranks/Rungs and Honda/Sedan, the solve was pretty straightforward with the cluing and fill.
Thanks, Ricky, and thanks, Moe, for the analysis and commentary and the fun Moe-kus, the favorite being the Pet A Cure. Best wishes for a successful surgery and desired outcome.
Have a great day.
What did the comment about notice the Natick mean?
FIR. What a struggle I had in the NW, even after correctly throwing down amigo. That was the last area to fall for me.
I got the theme early on with toto which really helped a lot.
But overall this was not a fun puzzle with answers like Escondido and aro, which spellchecker hates as well.
Today's puzzle struck me as the least troublesome Friday challenge in a while. The theme was cute, and most of the theme answers I found clever and amusing.
The SE corner slowed me down a bit. That is where ARO, TRENT, and RASTA met, creating a Natick for me. Luckily some neighboring event planners, voters, and one of my least favorite answers in crosswords--SORTA--came to the rescue.
I loved the misdirections in some clues, and appreciated the virtual lack (except for TARO) of crosswordese vowel-rich staples. I suspect that the prevailing epidemic of such overused words in puzzles comes mainly from grid fillers like Crossword Compiler.
I fell for UNC Durham like many others. Oops! Forgot about the Durham in New Hampshire. And I've been on the UNH campus there!
Good luck with everything, Ch-Moe. I hope you'll still be able to take occasional phone calls. Son Jim and I owe you one.
Thanks, Ricky, for a fresh and stimulating Friday challenge today.
Jason, I'm not replacing my cataracts, I'm getting new lenses 😉
Also, I'm expecting to be just fine. Met the surgeon, checked his credentials, asked all the right questions. But regardless of whether everything goes well, I'm taking some time off (blogging) afterwards. I may pop in occasionally but I need/earned a break
Yooper Phil@7:06.
A boxing “champ” is a “ring” leader because he is the leader in the boxing “ring.” At least, that’s what I got out of it, Phil.
(And this is Subgenius- the app wouldn’t let me print this under my avatar)
JR, if you look at the picture of the solved grid, there is a little black triangle in the corner of where CHAMP and HUMOR cross. When I solve the puzzle I use a software called Across Lite. In Across Lite you can "check" as you go to see if all of your current fill is accurate. If you make a mistake you can erase the letter and replace with another, but the Across Lite program "marks" that square to permanently let you know you erred. That was my "Natick"
T Ken: thanks for the well-wishes. Feel free to call or text or email. Curious to hear about your updates with your puzzles
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