THE ENGINEER COMEDIAN...
...was "technically funny"
Don McMillan - technicallyfunny.com
Another RG puzzle on a Wednesday, a standard 15 x 15 grid with no circles, 18 TLWs, seven of which are abbrs, along with three out of the 28 4LWs in the construction. Lots of "quoted" clues and answers, too, only three(ish) names, but one still got me; I shoulda known via the crossing theme perp. Sigh. That said, the theme is a punny one with the opening line of
At the amateur comedy night...
17. the omelet chef had the audience __: CRACKING UP - an eggs-cellent joke
24. ... the personal trainer had the audience __: BUSTING A GUT - I ABs-olutley loved this one
38. With 51-Across, ... the professional bowler had the audience __: ROLLING - AND - 51A. See 38-Across: IN THE AISLES - "Aisle" never see bowling the same way again
60. ... the tailor had the audience __: IN STITCHES - this one is SEW funny
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:1. Mosque leader: IMAM - Crossword staple
5. Get ready quickly?: PREP - abbr, the "short" version of prepare
9. Tapioca pearls: BOBA
A recipe site
13. Zilch: NADA14. Sweeping stories: SAGAS - palindromic
16. Russian mountain range: URAL - name(ish)
19. Deli spread: MAYO - I like mayonnaise, even for my fries - like in Pulp Fiction
** Note:34A. F-bomb coming **
20. __ facto: IPSO - Latin, "by the fact itself"
21. Hear about: LEARN OF - Did you hear about Van Halen~?
Hear About it Later - from the album "Fair Warning"
28. Scented accessory: LEI - trying for some alternate cluing here
29. Oscar winner Stone: EMMA - name #1 - her IMDb
31. Vacay: PTO - I am enjoying some Personal Time Off currently, but not quite by choice
32. "And for my __ trick ... ": NEXT
34. Warning letters in a subject line, maybe: NSFW - Not Suitable For Work
37. Part of MYOB: OWN - Mind Your Own Business
40. "It just clicked!": "A HA~!"
42. Org. with ergonomic guidelines: OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration
44. __ Liberty: LADY - La statue de Frawnche
The copper clad Colossus belongs to . . . .NY, or NJ~?
46. Little devil: IMP
48. Stinger in a swarm: WASP - this one is NOT an abbr. 😜
50. CBS show with the theme song "Who Are You": CSI - Crime Scene Investigation
55. Pay stub letters: YTD - Year-To-Date
56. Home to the Hockey Hall of Fame: TORONTO
57. Dark side force: SITH - the "anti" Jedi
59. Word with deep or dive: SKIN - Skin deep, Skin dive
65. Silent performer: MIME
66. Edmonton NHL player: OILER - Hockey again
67. "I'm all __!": "EARS~!"
68. "No sweat!": "EASY~!"
69. One of Canada's First Nations: CREE - filled via perps, name(ish), but common in crosswords
70. Recipe that may call for a bay leaf: STEW - I have a crock pot and a bay leaf; I should make me a stew
1. Company abbr.: INC - Ever wonder what it means, exactly~? More here
2. Helicopter carrying the Vice President: MARINE TWO - I knew it was named something similar to "Air Force One", but waited on perps; I found the history quite fascinating
3. Films that have been formatted to fit a smaller screen, e.g.: ADAPTIONS - this just sounds wrong; adapTAtions seems more common, and better yet, adapted to fit your screen
4. Apples that are inedible: MACS - I figured it was a computer reference
5. Tired initials?: PSI - I knew the gag, but could not think of a three-letter 'radial' tire brand - turns out to be the recommended pressure in Pounds per Square Inch
6. Aired: RAN
7. Caviar bit: EGG - I tried ROE - Bzzzt~!
8. Theoretical physicist Wolfgang: PAULI - name #2 - I knew we needed a name, so I tried PAULA
9. Negative charges?: BUM RAPS - "I was framed, I tell ya~!"
10. Chimp relative: ORANGutan
This one fits the "stalker" description
12. Floating: ALOFT
15. Toss a coin?: SPEND - you'll need more than just coins these days . . . .
18. Region known for Wagyu: KOBE - took the "K" to remind me; everything Wagyu from Wiki - name #3
"You're sick, Jerry~! . . . Sick, sick, sick~!"
23. Beagle's bowlful: ALPO - I tried CHOW, but we were looking for a brand name(ish)
25. "Yeah, guess again": "UM, NO."
26. Catch a whiff of: SMELL
27. Withholding information?: TAX LAWS - I owe money this year, but I'm still waiting on a mess the IRS created two years ago
33. Current-ly?: TIDAL - Har-har
35. "Well, I'll be!": "FANCY THAT~!"
36. Question from behind a closed door: "WHO'S THERE~?" - AND - 51. Potential reply to 36-Down: "IT'S ME."
38. Japanese broth dish: RAMEN
39. Trading letters: NYSE
41. Dry as the desert: ARID
43. "I'm home, dear": "HI, HONEY~!"
47. Al fresco dining area: PATIO - eating outdoors
49. Soft "Hey, you": "PSST~!"
52. Early mobile phone manufacturer: NOKIA - I think my first cellular phone was a flip-open Nokia, and I had this one, as well
54. Type of chemical bond: IONIC - Such as Sodium and Chlorine = salt
61. High-end camera initials: SLR - Single Lens Reflex
62. Undershirt, for one: TEE
63. Fury: IRE
64. NNE opposite: SSW
Splynter
35 comments:
Sometimes, when I’m the first one to chime in (as I usually am) I say something that ends up being ‘contrary’ to what most others think. Is this going to be one of those times? I found this puzzle quite challenging. Did the rest of you find it easy? I’ll be interested to hear what you all say!
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy!
FIR. Getting an early start this morning and taking a friend in for surgery.
I found this to be typical Wednesday hard. There were several tricky clues, and too many abrieviated answers, but generally fair.
The theme was clever and unlike past days actually helped with the solve.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Good morning!
Sorry, Sub, d-o also found this one to be pretty easy. No Wite-Out required. ADAPTIONS (don't see that word very often) because Pan And Scan was too long. Thanx, Rebecca and Splynter. (Good luck with that knee.)
TAX LAWS: In previous years I would have my taxes E-filed by early February and mailed in Form 8283 separately. This year the IRS, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that returns which include Form 8283 can't be E-filed. I always owe money, so I'll be waiting until the very last minute to send in my check and thick stack of forms. My printer output is fairly faint. Hope they can read it, but don't really care. There probably won't be any IRS employees left to look at it, anyway.
When I saw the byline I thought this puzzle may leave me drowning in tears, but like d-o stated I found it fairly easy for mid week, a little less challenging than a typical Rebecca G offering, FIR in 10:35. DNK PAULI, IONIC, and ADAPTIONS was unfamiliar but they all perped. IN STITCHES was an outlier, all the other themers had the suffix ING. I liked the clues for TIDAL and TAX LAWS. Thanks Rebecca and Patti for taking it easy on us today, and to Splynter for your fine recap!
I also thought easier than the normal midweeker. The few unknown were easily resolved by the perps. NE, bumraps was the final fill.
FIR, but funny that->FANCY THAT.
Seems like I either love or hate Rebecca's puzzles, and this one fell into the first category. My favorite was "tired initials" for PSI.
CSO to BAYOU Tony.
My wife worked for AT&T's Western Electric, which became Lucent Technologies, which went bankrupt due to fraudulent accounting practices and bought by the French telcom giant Alcatel, which was bought by the Finnish telcom giant NOKIA. For a while I thought they were playing "hide the 401(k)," but it seems stable now.
The young lady walked into a lawyer's office and said "I want an annulment, or maybe a divorce." Lawyer asked her the grounds for the action. She said "I learned on my wedding night that my groom is a hobosexual." The barrister replied "you mean he's gay?" She replied "no, he's a hobosexual - you know, a BUM lay."
I got to file my first 1040X this year, because the IRS sent me a 1099-INT after the January 31st deadline, and after I had filed my return. I owed an extra $9 in tax. Probably should have waited to see if they would have done anything about such a trivial amount, but I'm not wired that way.
You know you are really AGING when at bedtime your dear lady locks eyes with you and asks "did you remember to take your blue pill?" and you know she's talking about your Tylenol PM to help you get to sleep.
Thanks to Rebecca for the fun, and to Splynter for more fun. I really liked the Venn diagram lecture.
If you saw the theme, this was not a difficult Wednesday. This puzzle forced me to learn much about WOLFGANG PAULI but physics has always been one of my very weak subjects. My first failing test was in Physics in high school. I avoided it entirely in college.
Splynter you always entertain, heal. Frohe Wochenmitte all.
I will never get used to how this keeps resetting but the above is me.
Never heard the term "skin dive" or "adaptions". Thanks for the enlightening bit about geeks and nerds- nice to know where one fits in.
Eight quoted clues is eight too many, in my opinion. "Toss a coin" for SPEND was a (questionable) attempt to be clever. Despite these nits, I found the puzzle to be Monday level.
Took 4:47 for me to make like a knight and slay this one.
I knew today's actress (Emma).
I agree that there were too many quoted clues, or that those were too much of a stretch (e.g., "toss a coin").
"Theoretical physicist Wolfgang". No comment.
SubG, I think you're up too early.
Wednesday level for me. Having studied Japanese, I blush to write that I spelled KOBI instead of KOBE. That led to me missing EMMA, because I had UHNO. The E in KOBE would have given me Emma and then UM.
PSI was a surprise but makes sense. I have heard of PTO but never use it and rarely see it.
ADAPTIONS seems to be used mainly for films. I read dozens of citations from the NYT.
"Any film or TV series adaption of a novel automatically comes with a filter that may make the experience of the story differ between those who have read the source work and those who haven't." Salon April 29, 2020.
With film adaptions of books, I greatly prefer the book. One exception, "The French Lieutenant's Woman." The film story line was easier to follow. I liked the book and film, "Where the Crawdad Sings" equally. The photography was gorgeous. The endings were different. I preferred the book ending.
For 51 down "potential reply to 36 down", I looked at 32 across "... and for my NEXT trick". "It's me" was quite the saucy answer.
Ed M - Ohio
Good Morning:
I share Jinx’s ambivalence about Rebecca’s puzzles and I also agree with him that this is one in the positive column. But, I do take issue with the plethora of abbreviations and quoted clues. Adaptions may be correct but I’ve never seen or heard the word. Pauli was unknown, as was Skin Dive. Other than those nits, the solve was smooth and trouble-free.
Thanks, Rebecca, and thanks, Splynter, for your commentary and explanations. Hope your knee is healing. Any updates on the canine search?
On the IRS subject, I E-filed on a Sunday and my refund was in my bank on the following Thursday. Of course, this was prior to any layoffs.
Have a great day.
Rebecca's puzzle today showed glimpses of her talent, but I would not rank it particularly high in the Goldstein corpus. The theme was cute, I guess, but its idioms belonged more in the sphere of puns.
All the verbal and conversational trivialities, like ITSME, AHA, HIHONEY, PSST, and UHNO, were a few too many for me.
"Adaption" is evidently supposed to be a synonym for "adaptation." It seems to be one of the more recent examples of the dumbing-down of the English language. There is nothing wrong with "adaptation."
Making a possessive out of the noun "tire" (5 Down) seemed an unnecessarily cute overreach. I fully realize that many clues are not those of the constructor.
Thanks, Rebecca, for your efforts; and thanks, Splynter, for the your helpful recap. By the way, why do you misspell the word "French"?
I suspect that simple returns like mine (and maybe yours) that are e-filed, and consist of the standard deduction and information already reported electronically to the IRS on W2 and 1099 forms, are never seen by humans at the IRS. Makes for fast turnaround times.
I think he's hooked on "fonics."
Faster/easier than yesterday in part because the long theme answers were helped by repetition of the ING ending.
Tailor/STITCHES … Or as my Dad used to say to our eye roles “So!, said the tailor” 🙄
Inkover: cram/PREP, Soba/BOBA
“Wagyu”? Liked “tired initials”
TORONTO Canada eh, BAYOU Tony
Our group rented (not available for purchase) our first cell phone to share on call in 1989 about the size of a cinder block. I thought instead of sharing would be more convenient if each had our own. Group to me: “Everyone have their own cell phone, that’s insane” “That will never happen”
Personally not a fan of cross referenced clues. 🤨
NYSE - Wall Street
(The new) Texas Stock Exchange - Y’all Street
Have heard of adaptations google says ADAPTIONS is a variant. The usual statement is “this film has been modified from the original version. It has been formatted to fit your screen” 📺
Does “Wolfgang the physicist” only exist …. in theory? 🧐
Hobo knocks: BUMRAPS.
If you do PREP early. It’ll ___ some time… BAYOU.
”Prince” or “Countess”: TIDAL
Greek letter 𝛙 … PSI
“Type of chemical bond” holding a Greek column together… IONIC
Back to the land of snow and ice tomorrow 🥶
I agree, Jinx.
Easy, breezy, lots of fun -- thank you, Rebecca! Splynter, I loved the Don McMillan routine. Thanks for that!
Did I manage to FIR? Yes. Did I find this enjoyable? Not really. The "verbalisms" and awkward clues for "adaptions", "aloft", and "umno" sucked a lot of the fun out. I did enjoy Splynters recap, though, so I've at least got that goin' for me this morning!
Musings
-Finally, an obscure name that a physics like I am knew!
-Yes, Boomer would throw up his hands in disgust hearing lanes as alleys, let alone aisles.
-NSFW – I know something is amiss if a student suddenly closes his computer or cell phone when I am walking around the room.
-My taxes only take about an hour. This year Turbo Tax would not bring up my last year’s data although I have been using them for years. A Turbo Tax person said there was a glitch for doing that but they are working on it. After a week I got an email saying they were still working on it so I got live help again. A very nice person got me setup and I finished quickly. Even after I had filed and got my refunds they kept sending me emails that they are working on the data transfer glitch.
-Toss a coin/SPEND was totally unnecessary and too cute by half!
A wonderful Wednesday CW, only 14 names, DNK 3. Splynter, you say "three(ish) names". Here's what I count as names: 9, 29, 42, 44, 50, 56, 66, and 69 Across; 2, 4, 8, 18, 38, and 52 Down. Which are NOT names, by your count? Anyway, I really enjoyed this clever CW, FIR in 12, quick for a Wednesday (for me). Favorite clues: 5D & 9D. DO @ 5:36 mentioned cutting employees at IRS. It's ludicrous to call this "saving the government money". Studies have shown every dollar invested in hiring and training IRS employees returns in excess of $5 to the government in tax dollars. Who wants the IRS cut is billionaires, who don't want their complex tax dodges unraveled. TK @ 9:48 you say, "What's wrong with adaptATions?" I wholly agree with you, Splynter, and others that "adaptations" is better than "adaptions"; only trouble is it didn't fir in the CW. Interesting that ADAPTIONS is directly over TRIMS, and SPEND is directly over NYSE. Overall, a fun, very doable CW, thanx, RG. Another sterling write-up, Splynter, complete with the much appreciated shapely legs. That picture of stew had me thinking, "Hmmm. That looks good, I should make some."
Did you say billionaire tax DOGE 😀
Rather new to crosswords and often have questions about the abbreviations used in the commentary about puzzles. For example in the intro to this puzzle’s solutions: “ 18 TLWs, seven of which are abbrs, along with three out of the 28 4LWs in the construction.”. What *is* a TLW??? A LW?? What does “three out of the 28 4LWs” mean?? Thank you.
Most of those tax dodges can only be untangled by Congress, which has little interest in simplifying the tax code. Both sides use loopholes and carve-outs to incentivize big money to donate to their campaigns. And although the hiring and training are expensive, it's the ongoing salary that really adds up. At a minimum, we can (and should) uncover the political IRS elements, and get rid of people who enabled operatives like Lois Lerner to set up and perform their evil deeds.
Hola! This puzzle did not have me CRACKING UP or ROLLING IN THE AISLES, but it was a quick and easy solve. Thank you, Rebecca, for that. My one write-over was BOA to LEI. I should have concentrated on the "scented" aspect. I see that SMELL is nearby.
EMMA Stone is from Arizona.
I believe Ms. Goldstein is Canadian and she managed to insert both home teams in the grid: TORONTO and OILER. FANCY THAT!
STEW also gives me an idea for dinner tonight.
Thank you, Splynter, for your always stellar review.
My tax refund goes directly to my bank account so I'll be looking for that in a few days. Enjoy your day, everyone!
Dee, go to the main page and you will find the answers to your questions.
Thanks Splynter I enjoyed your puns. Good work. Puzzle theme helped the solve today. "Bumrap" was good.
Adaption has been in the English language , at least, from 1615. Why is it that any form of a word with which we are not familiar must be obscure or suspect.
Examples from books and articles
Their most successful collaboration was Race to the End - a vocal adaption of the theme to Chariots of Fire.
BBCJan 26, 2015
Furthermore, plans for a movie adaption of "Lucky" have been scrapped . . . but a documentary of Broadwater's experiences has cropped up in its place.
SalonDec 2, 2021
In five decades, Howes made appearances in more than 140 films, musicals, plays and television projects including the screen adaption of Charles Dickens’ “Nicholas Nickleby” and “The History of Mr. Polly.”
Seattle TimesDec 22, 2021
Photograph: Tristram Kenton Last week our roundup focused on your reviews of The Master and Magarita and asked whether any adaption could ever really do the book credit.
The GuardianJan 18, 2013
| Swiss filmmaker Edward Berger's adaption of the classic World War I novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" boasts half of those nominations, including Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.
SalonMar 1, 2023
Here are a few possibilities: Bartholomew Fair : Ben Jonson doesn't have a great track record when it comes to musical adaptions.
The GuardianApr 15, 2010
Any film or TV series adaption of a novel automatically comes with a filter that may make the experience of the story differ between those who have read the source work and those who haven't.
SalonApr 29, 2020
Then I start writing the film adaption of Viva la Madness for a Big Name Star who has bought the rights.
The GuardianJul 17, 2012
Here are a few possibilities: Bartholomew Fair : Ben Jonson doesn't have a great track record when it comes to musical adaptions.
The GuardianApr 15, 2010
Then I start writing the film adaption of Viva la Madness for a Big Name Star who has bought the rights.
The GuardianJul 17, 2012
| Swiss filmmaker Edward Berger's adaption of the classic World War I novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" boasts half of those nominations, including Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.
SalonMar 1, 2023
Here are a few possibilities: Bartholomew Fair : Ben Jonson doesn't have a great track record when it comes to musical adaptions.
The GuardianApr 15, 2010
Any film or TV series adaption of a novel automatically comes with a filter that may make the experience of the story differ between those who have read the source work and those who haven't.
SalonApr 29, 2020
Then I start writing the film adaption of Viva la Madness for a Big Name Star who has bought the rights.
The GuardianJul 17, 2012
| And so many more.
Ray-O, back in the '60s one of my professors predicted the end of local TV stations, because the networks would be able to broadcast direct to homes via satellite. We thought he was crazy.
Some citations might be repeats, but their are many others I didn't list. My computer skills are not great.
Subgenius Since you asked, I found this surprisingly easy.
Splynter Thanks for the Venn diagram video. Please do tell why you are involuntarily on PTO.
Amused by the theme. Amused by the cross of EGG and the OMELET theme answer.
Merlie and I dined AL FRESCO for Valentine's Day and it was a bit cold.
PAULI is another name for the ages worth knowing. The PAULI Exclusion Principle explains why there is anything interesting at all in the universe. It keeps electrons from all falling down to the lowest energy level. Which gives us chemistry. Which gives us life.
Jayce I am very sorry to hear about your wife. Thank you for keeping us updated.
unclefred--
If I'm constructing a puzzle and have an eight-letter word to put in the grid, well, there are thousands of suitable eight-letter fills. My point is that "adaption," which is what Rebecca chose for that fill, is unsuitable. Incidentally, the word "adaptation" comes directly from the French. I just checked my French Larousse dictionary, and 1) sure enough, there it is, spelled exactly the same as in English (although pronounced a bit differently), and 2) nary a sign of "adaption" in Larousse. So maybe the French are holding the line. I've heard some say that "adaption" (in English) goes back to Shakespearean times. Well, I own a Shakespeare lexicon, and he certainly never used the word.
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