Theme: Precision steering!
In today's puzzle, constructor Tracy Gray challenges us to turn on a dime -- a maneuver that requires precison and flexibility. Each theme answer begins going Across or Down, and then TURNS on the D in DIME to head the other direction.
Here are the theme clues and answers:
5 Across. Collection of matching cruets: COND. With 8 Down. --: DIMENT SET. Condiment set. The answer reads across and then down, turning on the D of DIME.
A matching cruet set.
1 Down. "Happy our paths crossed!": GLAD. With 19 Across. --: D I MET YOU. Glad I met you. The answer reads down and then across, turning on the D of DIME.
32 Across. Violinist recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986: YEHUD. With 33 Down. --: DI MENUHIN. Yehudi Menuhin. The answer reads across and then down, turning on the D of DIME. Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), was an American-born violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.
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| Yehudi Menuhin |
41 Down. With 69-Across, change quickly, and a hint to completing three other long answers in this puzzle: TURN ON A D. With 69 Across. See 41-Down: DIME. Turn on a dime. This revealing clue spells out what's been going on with the other themers; they all turn on the D of DIME.
It's neat how the theme answers alternate starting Across or Down.
Let's see how these tight turns look in the grid:
Okay, if we haven't TURNed you off yet, let's look at the rest of the clues and answers.
Across:
1. Fare topped with tzatziki: GYRO. A Greek sandwich of grilled meat, tomato, onion, and yogurt sauce (tzatziki) on pita bread.
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| Veggie gyros for me, please! |
5. [Theme clue with 8 Down]
9. "__ we cool?": ARE. Some of our solvers object to conversational prompts like this one.
12. Like some handwriting: LOOPY.
9. "__ we cool?": ARE. Some of our solvers object to conversational prompts like this one.
12. Like some handwriting: LOOPY.
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| Apparently, the style of your loops says something about you. |
14. Deer friend of Thumper: BAMBI.
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| Bambi and Thumper. Thumper's wisdom is frequently cited in our Comments section. |
15. WC: LAV. In British English, "WC" (short for water closet), "lav" (short for lavatory) and "loo" are common terms, all referring to a room with a toilet.
16. Striped stone: AGATE.
17. Silk region of India: ASSAM.
18. Word with breaker or maker: ICE. An ice breaker is usually a ship designed for breaking a channel through ice, or something that relieves tensions between people or starts a conversation. An ice maker is found in the freezer compartment of most modern refrigerators.
19. [Theme clue with 1 Down]
21. Lasting memory of an old flame?: EMBER. Cute. The remains of an actual flame, not a romantic attachment.
23. One of three in bunco: DIE. Die is the singular form of dice. The game of Bunco uses 3 of them.
24. Pharyngeal tissue: ADENOID. Adenoids are masses of lymphatic tissue located at the back of the nasal cavity, behind the roof of the mouth. The pharynx is a hollow, muscular tube inside the neck that starts behind the nose and opens into the larynx and esophagus. Pharyngeal means relating to, located in, or produced in the region of the pharynx. Don't you feel better?
27. Vis-à-vis: AS TO. French for "face-to-face," we use vis-à-vis to mean "with regard to."
30. Painter's board: PALETTE. Typically, a wooden board on which an artist keeps paint handy while painting, and mixes paints to obtain desired hues.
16. Striped stone: AGATE.
17. Silk region of India: ASSAM.
18. Word with breaker or maker: ICE. An ice breaker is usually a ship designed for breaking a channel through ice, or something that relieves tensions between people or starts a conversation. An ice maker is found in the freezer compartment of most modern refrigerators.
19. [Theme clue with 1 Down]
21. Lasting memory of an old flame?: EMBER. Cute. The remains of an actual flame, not a romantic attachment.
23. One of three in bunco: DIE. Die is the singular form of dice. The game of Bunco uses 3 of them.
24. Pharyngeal tissue: ADENOID. Adenoids are masses of lymphatic tissue located at the back of the nasal cavity, behind the roof of the mouth. The pharynx is a hollow, muscular tube inside the neck that starts behind the nose and opens into the larynx and esophagus. Pharyngeal means relating to, located in, or produced in the region of the pharynx. Don't you feel better?
27. Vis-à-vis: AS TO. French for "face-to-face," we use vis-à-vis to mean "with regard to."
30. Painter's board: PALETTE. Typically, a wooden board on which an artist keeps paint handy while painting, and mixes paints to obtain desired hues.
32. [Theme clue with 33 Down]
34. Future JDs' exams: LSATS. Someone who wants to obtain a Juris Doctor (law degree) has to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).
35. Aromatic tree: FIR. Well known to anyone who has had a fir tree in the house for the holidays.
38. Expressing feeling: EMOTIVE.
40. Eventually, with "in": DUE TIME.
42. Honorific for 32-Across: SIR. Indeed, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Yehudi Menuhin.
43. Simpson with a blue beehive: MARGE.
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| Marge Simpson |
45. Turkey's national flower: TULIP.
46. London district that includes Shaftesbury Avenue: WEST END. Fancy shops, restaurants, and theatre.
48. Home facelift, informally: RENO. Short for renovation.
49. Heartfelt: EARNEST.
51. Legged it: RAN.
53. High-priced Japanese beef: WAGYU. Wagyu is the collective name for the four principal Japanese breeds of beef cattle. All wagyu cattle originate from cross-breeding between native Japanese cattle and imported stock, mostly from Europe.
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| Wagyu cow -- prized for the fatty streaks in her muscles. |
54. Support neighborhood shops, say: BUY LOCAL.
59. Bungle: ERR.
60. Ask (for): HIT UP. Youngest is getting married. She is going to HIT us UP for wedding funds.
63. Novelist Shreve: ANITA. Anita Hale Shreve (1946-2018) was an American novelist. One of her first published stories, Past the Island, Drifting was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976. In 1999, Oprah Winfrey selected Shreve's novel The Pilot's Wife for her book club. Three of Shreve's novels were made into movies: The Weight of Water, Resistance, and The Pilot's Wife.
64. The "A" of 61-Down: ALE. IPA is India Pale Ale.
65. "That's not for me": I PASS. Answer to "Wanna join us for karaoke?" and many other invitations.
66. Held back for now: SAT ON. As in, officials SAT ON evidence that might have exonerated (or incriminated) a person. Or, I sat on my response to the karaoke invitation.
67. Pastrami bread: RYE. Pastrami and rye go together like hummus and crudités.
68. __ a one: NARY. "Nary a one" means not a single one.
69. [Theme clue with 41 Down]
Down:
1. [Theme clue with 19 Across]
2. Hatha practitioner: YOGI. Hatha yoga is a traditional form of yoga that focuses on physical postures (asanas) and breathing exercises (pranayama). A yogi is a practitioner of yoga.
3. Incur cellphone charges, maybe: ROAM.
4. Unsubscribed: OPTED OUT. We opt out of unwanted email blasts by unsubscribing.
5. Informal duds: CASUALS. Do you refer to your casual wear as casuals? I don't!
6. Mantra syllables: OMS. Om is a sacred sound in Hinduism, representing the divine. It can be used as a mantra, which is a sacred sound or a group of sounds or words, used as a tool in meditation.
7. Org. that includes nets and Nets: NBA. The National Basketball Association has nets on hoops, and also the Brooklyn Nets as a team.
8. [Theme clue with 5 Across]
9. Story backed up by a witness, hopefully: ALIBI.
10. Zoomed: RACED.
11. "Best. Day. __!": EVER. Woo hoo!
13. Igloo rival: YETI. Igloo and Yeti make coolers to keep food cold when camping.
14. Bun cooked in a bamboo steamer: BAO. Bao are a type of soft, steamed bun that originated in China and are widely enjoyed across East Asia. They're a popular street food due to their versatility and ease of preparation. Bao can be served either filled or unfilled, making them adaptable for various recipes. Waseeley showed us some meaty ones yesterday.
20. "You got that right!": YEP.
22. Stooge with the shortest name: MOE. A shout out to our Chairman Moe, who alternates Friday blog duties with the Malodorous Manatee.
22. Stooge with the shortest name: MOE. A shout out to our Chairman Moe, who alternates Friday blog duties with the Malodorous Manatee.
.jpg) |
| Moe Howard of the Three Stooges |
25. Muffle: DEADEN.
26. Caesarean delivery?: ET TU. Perhaps the last words of Julius Caesar, as he was assassinated by Roman senators: Et tu, Brute? (You too, Brutus?).
.jpg) |
| Detail from The Death of Julius Caesar (1806) by Vincenzo Camuccini. |
27. Yes votes: AYES.
28. Big rig: SEMI. A semi-trailer truck is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. They are known by various names, including "semis," "semitrailers," "tractor-trailers," "big rigs," "semi-trucks," "eighteen-wheelers," and "semi-tractor-trailers."
29. Brother of Balder: THOR. In Norse mythology, Baldr is the brother of Thor, and in Marvel Comics, Balder the Brave is the half-brother of Thor.
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| Thor, I recognize. Balder, not so much. |
31. Tips off: ALERTS.
33. [Theme clue with 32 Across]
35. Mani-pedi tool: FILE.
36. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!": I'M IN. Substituting one phrase for another is a pet peeve of some of our solvers.
37. Collector's item?: REPO. If you default on payments for property, the debt may be referred to collections. Part of that process may involve the REPO man (repossession agent) coming to get the unpaid for item, often a car, which itself may then be called a REPO.
39. Mantel piece: VASE. A vase is a piece of decoration that you might display on a mantel.
41. [Theme clue with 69 Across]
44. "Stop dawdling!": GET BUSY. Another substitution of one phrase for another.
46. Like some humor: WRY. Humor that is sarcastic, cynical, biting, or ironic.
47. Like some humor: DRY. Humor delivered with a straight face and a serious tone.
49. In advance: EARLY.
50. Say yes: AGREE.
52. Sad sigh: ALAS.
53. Sport: WEAR. As in, he showed up sporting CASUALS.
55. FedEx rival: UPS. United Parcel Service.
56. Amex rival: CITI. American Express and Citibank both offer credit cards.
57. Bohr model subject: ATOM. Niels Bohr developed a model of the atom from 1911 to 1918. It improved on earlier models, but was replaced by the quantum atomic model in the 1920s.
58. Assignment for a swimmer or a sprinter: LANE. Our blog mistress, C.C., says she is assigned to lane one because she's not the faster swimmer in the pool. She is, however, swimming faster than everyone who is *not* in the pool.
61. Brewpub brew: IPA. India Pale Ale. See 64 Across!
62. Road or roof goo: TAR.
61. Brewpub brew: IPA. India Pale Ale. See 64 Across!
62. Road or roof goo: TAR.
I hope you enjoyed the twists and TURNs of Tracy's puzzle, and that my exposition was not too
NaomiZ
This was a toughie!
ReplyDeleteAnd after staring at it for five or ten minutes,
I finally understood the meaning of the reveal. I think maybe I even understand the meaning of that “cryptic” symbol now. FIR, so I’m not only happy, I’m relieved!
Ru DIME ntary - clever - very well done, NaomiZ~!
ReplyDelete<3
DeleteFIR, but emoting->EMOTIVE, yoga->YOGI, visa->CITI, and palatte->PALETTE (bad spelars of the world---UNTIE!)
ReplyDeleteThis one would have been a heck of a lot easier had I heard of YEHUDI MENUHIN. But I do know the song about the best violin player who's ever been.
Dallas also has a hoity-toity WEST END.
Oscar Wilde knew The Importance of Being EARNEST.
Seems like only yesterday that we had BAO.
Only Cretans say VASE. Refined Cornerites say VAHHHHHSE.
I finally got around to reading Stephan Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Ol' Bohr didn't know the half of it.
FLN - H.Gary, I'm glad you have power again. My backup plan is my RV. I can stay in the storage lot for about a week, unless it's blazing hot. (Cooling only works on AC, and I have enough diesel to run the generator for about 5 days. Otherwise, my exile time is limited by waste water storage capacity.)
Thanks to Tracy for the fun Friday challenge. And thanks to NaomiZ for another great fill-in performance of filling us in on the puzzle.
The 'Devil' was his most famous song but "Uneasy Rider" is my favorite. "Long Haired Country Boy" with the best lines ever- "a poor girl wants to marry, a rich girl wants to flirt, a rich man goes to college, a poor man goes to work". I also loved his GEICO commercial.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteD-o pleads high density -- to dense to figure out the theme. Never made the turn. Bzzzzzt. When Penny said "GETtin' BUSY" on TBBT, it had a different meaning. Enjoyed the puzzle, Tracy, even though it whooshed over my head. Thanx for the excellent expo, NaomiZ. (I refer to my casual wear as "dress jeans." My everyday jeans aren't fancy enough to qualify as casual wear.)
The letter at the end of high priced Japanese beef (U) as a letter in the name of someone I have never heard of (1986 violinist at Kennedy Center) was impossible.
ReplyDeleteTook 9:47 today to drop a dime.
ReplyDelete"Violinist recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986"/"Yehudi Menuhin"? I'm skeptical that the best interest of the solver was used for this clue/answer, especially when the intersecting words/names included a Norse god, a London area, a Japanese beef, and a Simpson character.
I didn't know today's writer (Alice).
This must have been a bear to construct. I usually don't pay attention to the themes, but I needed it today, otherwise I never would have guessed the "D" intersection in the violinist's name.
That was fun and clever. Perfect for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but I had no idea what the theme was. And that obscure violinist didn't help a bit.
ReplyDeleteI saw the reveal and couldn't suss out the answers for the life of me.
Originally I had ums before oms, which left me staring at 5A with cun_. I knew something was wrong and assumed cond was short for condiment, but failing to see the down part of the answer.
Overall a very unenjoyable puzzle. I'm glad it's done and in the rear view mirror never to be seen again.
YEP, a tough one to FIR, which I somehow managed. The hardest fill was YEHUDI MENUHIN. I filled YEHUD by perps but the fiddler was unknown. Without filling TURN ON A crossing DIME there was no way of finishing.
ReplyDeleteTULIP was t unknown but FILE, IM IN, and REPO led me to it.
I've never heard of the game 'bunco' but DIE was a good guess.
Shaftesbury Ave? After a few perps, I got it.
ANITA Shrive- no idea about her.
YOGI Bear or Berra I knew; Hatha practitioner, um no.
I had to change VISA to CITI for the Amex rival. Does anybody know it the CITI cards are also Visa or Mastercard?
Musings
ReplyDelete-I made the final post yesterday around 9 pm when our power came back on. Two days without electricity can make you grateful for what you take for granted. One work-around: I did warm up some pizza on the barbecue grill.
-We bought many bags of ICE and hope our foodstuffs are okay
-A fun and challenging puzzle. Changing AMS to OMS made CONDIMENT SET stand out and SIT UP (how dogs beg) to HIT UP gave me the violinist.
-I don’t quite understand the cluing as •--. At first I thought there might be some Morse Code
-Using the LAV in Venice cost a Euro, therefore many people waited in line at the McDonalds where it was free.
-A RENO of our main bathroom was going to cost $20,000. Uh, I PASS.
-Semis in our Wednesday blizzard
-REPO men usually carry weapons
-Thanks for the comment, Jinx!
-Naomi’s write-up was far from RUDIMENTARY!
HG, glad you’re back to normal. I saw video on our local news of the weather conditions, specifically in Lincoln. Thought of you and hoped that Darling Lily was safe and sound!
DeleteI've reached the point where I'm always willing to pay a Euro to use the lav. One of the many uncivilized things about the USA is the attitude toward public restroom access.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey Copy - Our Interstate Highway rest areas are just ducky. The aroma and cleanliness are delights - and free!
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteProps to Tracey for creativeness and execution. However, I’m not a fan of this type of gimmick or, for that matter, any gimmicks that change the usual grid format of straightforward word placement. In this vein, I’m pleased that the LA Times doesn’t allow so-called Rebus puzzles, a gimmick I really dislike. That said, this was a relatively easy solve for a Friday, once the gimmick was understood. I knew Yehudi Menuhin but needed perp aid for the correct spelling. No unknowns and no w/os led to a smooth solve. I like the clecho cluing for Wry and Dry humor, both of which remind me of JazzB.
Thanks, Tracey, and thanks, Naomi, for a very nice explication of the theme and overview of the entire puzzle. Thanks for filling in for Moe!
Have a great day.
I bounced around filling what I know. Finally, I solved the reveal and that gave me the theme. After that it was easy. Nice theme.
ReplyDeleteI know Yehudi Menuhin well from NPR radio. I needed perps to help with the spelling. He is famous with more than two dozen awards and honors. He is certainly not obscure, although not in everyone's wheelhouse. There are famous people in many fields of whom I have never heard, but they are not obscure. There is a saying, "One man's meat is another's poison."
I knew wagyu. but needed perps for spelling help. Too rich for my pocket, although I love a good steak,
My favorite clue was lasting memory of an old flame=ember.
When we kids dilly dallied with a chore, my dad said, "Get busy!."
My biggest problem was the R in ALERTS because I confidently wrote MADGE instead of MARGE.
Saying VAHZ is mostly British.
Tracy's entry today is like a breath of fresh air. It is clever and creative, featuring a theme whose answers all make right angle turns! She probably broke all the LAT Crossword rules, and if so, thank you, Patti, for looking the other way.
ReplyDeleteTraci's theme is based on the idiom "to turn on a dime." Idioms fascinate me, especially their derivations, but the origin of this one is a bit unclear.
A word about Yehudi Menuhin. Aka YehuDI ME nuhin! Never had I noticed that a dime was hiding in his name. Anyway,
to say that Menuhin was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, while undeniable, only goes so far. He was a great man, period. Just as an example, in World War II, he played for Allied troops, and then played for concentration camp survivors. He was later an associate of Ravi Shankar. Pres. Ronald Reagan recognized that Menuhin's contributions went well beyond the concert hall when he awarded Menuhin the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Thanks, Tracy, for your creative, fun, and well-constructed Friday contribution. I look forward to your next challenge. And thanks, Naomi, for your delightful and informative recap.
Does anyone know what "•--" means? Didn't see it in the write up or comments. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis seems an awfully familiar theme, have we turned this way before?
ReplyDeleteLoo b/4 lav and something else before something else I can't remember, but I due remember the clue for "Ettu" was brilliant...
Hmm, I am familiar with Naticks, but the next time I run across an incomprehensible twisted name, I think I will call it a Yehudi...
not so silly theme link...
Thumper. Loopy! TITT.
ReplyDelete"Remember to share this puzzle with your friends" reads the banner below the completed puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world would I want to do that? I LIKE my friends. -- -- --
I enjoyed the creative theme - once I noticed all those -- clues that usually signal a connection to another answer
ReplyDeleteThe link to Charlie Daniels brought to mind the trio that covered a couple of his hits on the 100th anniversary of Grand Ole Opry show that aired on NBC on Wednesday. It was a 3 hour show - but I had recorded it - so we watched the first half last night and will watched the 2nd half some time soon. So much fun with covers of big hits by recent stars or duets . Skipped the commercials so it saved about an hour of the total show. Would recommend even if you're not a big country music fan - so many memories
A friend's dad raises WAGYU beef cattle near me and sells most of it to local restaurants. He's quite the entrepreneur as he also has a vineyard to make wine that is organic and has no metabisulfites which are so bothersome to many.
Thanks Naomi for the fun blog and Tracey for the fun puzzle
Twenty + years ago, a local casino was trying to get a license, so what did they do? They held a series of free concerts in the parking lot. I went to three of them. 1. Blood, Sweat, and Tears (the best) 2. Charlie Daniels ( close second). 3. Beach Boys.
DeleteJerry Lee Lewis was scheduled to play at one of the concerts but decided that it was too hot that day and LEFT. Nobody ever claimed Killer was sane.
Hola! After reading the comments I feel better about my poor performance on this puzzle. I finished but with many wite-outs to mark my original errors. Thyroid changed to ADENOID, LOO to LAV, EMOTION to EMOTIVE, LAPS to LANE, etc.
ReplyDeleteWAGYU is totally unknown to me and though I've heard of YEHUDI MENUHIN I was unsure of the spelling and, of course, the downturn was confusing.
I liked the parallel positions of WRY and DRY.
d-otto, I'm with you on CASUALS. Some of my jeans are very, very faded but I draw the line at holes. That is not for me!
This is not my favorite kind of puzzle and though I finished it there was no sense of satisfaction, more of frustration. I hope we don't see many more of these types of puzzles.
Gary, I'm happy for you that the power is now turned on and I can't imagine being in that position. We've had occasional power outages here but they usually don't last very long.
Today I have to go and renew my driver's license so I'd better get on it.
TULIP surprised me; I was unaware of its being the national flower of Turkey. Having visited there twice I never saw evidence of it.
BAO is starting to look familiar to me as we have seen it twice now.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Oh, and why not clue RENO as a city?
ReplyDeleteI think it was Friday cluing
DeleteI was filling right and left thinking Wow Friday and so easy, but then I kept bumping into this cryptic clue …. and didn’t know what to do with it. Thank you NaomiZ for the explanation. I still don’t understand the clue itself however. What does it represent?
ReplyDeleteI usually dislike physical misdirection in crosswords (as well as puzzles that crowd three or four letters into several squares and other such gimmicks), but I enjoyed stumbling onto today’s theme.
ReplyDeleteIt began with my initial inability to figure out who the violinist was. I figured perps would help, and I moved on. Later I could see MENUHIN forming, but I forgot I was looking for a violinist until perps gave me YEHUD. Before long, I had filled in all the squares, but it troubled me that I hadn’t parsed what turned out to be GLAD I MET YOU and thus wasn’t sure for a while that I had FIR.
The other theme entries weren’t quite as good as the violinist entry – the CONDIMENT SET seemed contrived – and they weren’t as good as NaomiZ’s signoff -- but I was impressed with some of the fill, such as WAGYU, NARY, and ADENOID, as well as the WRY/DRY humor combo flanking WEST END (which I had WAGged). The REPO/RENO tandem was a bit less impressive. Also enjoyed the CSO to our Chairman MOE, especially considering there used to be a Chairman BAO food truck hereabouts.
In DUE TIME would have been a good answer for today’s Jumble, which I still haven’t solved as of this writing.
There were a few too many paraphrases, the ‘f’ in the roof clue for TAR looked like a “t,” and the obscure clues for THOR and ANITA were annoying, but not enough to make anyone invoke “Thumper.” Right? Well, except for those who’ve never heard of Yehudi Menuhin, who certainly was NOT obscure in our parents’ day.
Didn't know the violinist so that made things harder so I turned on the error check and made things easier. Thanks Naomi for splainin it,
ReplyDeleteMusings 2
ReplyDelete-Lily was never in any peril or deprived of her normal schedule. She spent most of her time very close to our cozy fireplace during the outage. Our kids invited us to come to Lincoln and live in their very nice basement but Lily played a big role in our staying here saying thanks but no thanks.
-It’s so great to see inanehiker back blogging! We watched Willie Nelson’s birthday party on a PBS fund drive show and enjoyed it immensely. The show did have a girl come on to sing Patsy Cline’s Crazy and she was embarrassingly bad.
Thanks Gary - a lot going on with family and friends the last few weeks!
DeleteAfter romping through Mon-Thurs, I figured Saturday would get me, but it came a day early. I had so few fills on my first pen-on-paper pass, I went online and turned on red-letter help, and even then ended up with multiple alpha runs. So....BZZZZZT! Hafta give myself a DNF, even though I stubbornly persisted until all the cells were filled. After all that work I didn't take the time for more than a cursory look for the theme. It took NaomiZ's excellent write-up for the V-8 can to hit. Also had baby:ETTU W/O. TG, ya got me. Very nice creative clever witty CW, but I was unable to complete it w/o cheating. To me, an alpha run is cheating. Thanx NaomiZ for the outstanding write-up, and for enlightening me as to the theme. I may have discovered it had I taken the time to analyze the CW, but....
ReplyDeleteAlthough Yehudi Menuhin died 26 years ago, his music is still played today. I hear it on NPR radio sometimes."Yes, Yehudi Menuhin's music and legacy are still celebrated and influential today, particularly through his recordings, his teaching, and the Yehudi Menuhin School."
ReplyDeleteClever but very annoying. What does - - mean?
ReplyDeleteThat’s my question but still no answer.
DeleteThe _ _ signifies that there is no clue for that entry but that it is part of the theme. It’s confusing until you grasp the theme and then it makes sense.
DeleteThank you ☘️☘️☘️
DeleteHi, Gang -
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done, Naomi.
I made a couple of errors, which made this confusing puzzle even more so.
I don't appreciate the total lack of theme clues, not the gimmick of the theme. Without understanding what's going on, the theme fill make no sense.
Even with everything filled in I couldn't make any sense of it. So thanks for explaining it.
Cool regards!
JzB
Challenging but fun Friday puzzle, many thanks, Tracy. And your commentary is always helpful, NaomiZ--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteWell, our puzzle seems to have maybe had some actors or dancers who were quite CASUAL, telling each other GLAD I MET YOU, and practicing song and dance in DUE TIME with no need to say I PASS or offer an ALIBI for anything.
That may be why they asked ARE WE EVER COOL? and the audience cheered and said "Yes"! with great applause.
Have a delightful weekend coming up, everybody.
As a former violinist of a certain age YEHUDI MENUHIN opened up the puzzles gimmick for me.
ReplyDeleteMissing Picard
ReplyDeleteFor all those still puzzled by the "--" clues, I offer this explanation.
ReplyDeleteThere *is* no clue for 8-Down. What you eventually figure out is that 8-Down is a continuation of 5-Across. The answer to 5-Across turned downward on the D of DIME in the word conDIMEnt.
I see that Irish Miss offered the same explanation at the same time!
DeleteGreat minds and all that.
DeleteIn the home where I grew up, all youngsters had to practice the violin for an hour after dinner. We knew who Yehudi Menuhin was. (I was a rebellious child and would not play the violin. My parents sent me to cello lessons instead.)
ReplyDeleteYou clearly were a child with her sights on bigger things.
DeleteVery amusing, Jinx at 5:18 PM!
DeleteI really liked the execution of the theme. Well done!
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteMaybe another "title" for this puzzle is: "Buddy, can you spare a DIME?"
Day late; dollar short. I was totally busy yesterday and did not solve today's puzzle (Friday, March 21) until Saturday. I gave up on that one
Thanks for the shout out, and to IM, NaomiZ pinch hit for MM on this puzzle. I will be back next Friday (the 28th) but I would certainly nominate NaomiZ to take over the permanent position of Friday blogger. She is good; very good