Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday Puzzle by veteran LAT and NYT constructor Joe Deeney.
This solver will admit to being quite unsure about the nature of the theme after first completing the puzzle. After a while, though, the cob webs cleared and the double entendre nature of the clever theme became clear. There is no reveal to guide us down this path so let's jump right in with the themed answers, of which there are five, and see how they "hang together":
17 Across: Designation for who or what, perhaps: LEADING QUESTION. The "perhaps" is crucial here as it is also in the following four clues/answers. Either of the two interrogatories in the clue might LEAD (start) a question. In this case, though, there is also the "angle" that they might be deemed by some to be the best type of question. LEADING, here, more or less equals favorite choice.
23 Across: Designation for tri tip or flap steak, perhaps. TOP SIRLOIN This one was misleading because, per Wikipedia, tri tip is the bottom of the subprimal cut and flap steak is from the muscle of the bottom sirloin. In this case, though, either might be your favorite, or TOP, choice (but not in the sense of USDA Choice).
37 Across: Designation for "Unforgiven" or "Tombstone," perhaps: BEST WESTERN. Both of the titles in the clue are, as we say in crossword-ese, oaters. BEST WESTERN is a chain of motels but one of the aforementioned titles could also be somebody's best/favorite western movie.
49 Across: Designation for mozzarella or cheddar, perhaps: GOAT CHEESE. Hmm, both types of cheese are made from cow milk. In this case, though, GOAT is used as in Greatest Of All Time and one of the cheeses in the clue might be someone's favorite.
57 Across: Designation for Ticonderoga or Faber-Castell, perhaps: NUMBER ONE PENCIL. A #1 pencil is softer than the ubiquitous #2 pencil. In this instance, though, either the Ticonderoga or the Faber-Castell (both brand-named pencils) might be someone's favorite.
Now that we have completed our work with our favorites, here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Rash reaction?: ITCH. Not rash as in impulsive or not well thought out. Literally, a rash on your skin.
5. Pool float: RAFT.
9. Tune in: WATCH. Tune in - not in the Timothy Leary sense. As in to watch on TV.
14. Branch of Islam: SHIA. SHIITE was too long.
15. Santa __: California winds: ANAS.
16. "Here for you": I CARE.
20. Couple of dollars?: ELS. One of "that" type of clue, like Head of state = S. The are a couple of L's in dollars.
21. Chapel vow: I DO.
22. Cosmetics brand with a So Fierce! collection: REVLON. This solver is unfamiliar with So Fierce! but did know some cosmetics brand names so, after a few perps, the answer was sussed out.
27. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA. Their music is often labeled "ska punk, a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music.
28. Eye ailment: STYE. We'll skip the photo.
29. Fitting: APT. Indeed
30. "Not all heroes wear __": CAPES. But Batman and Supergirl, among others, do.
32. Yellow __: LAB. This solver, had he any input, would have suggested a way to work Labrador retrievers into the themed answers.
Rustler
35. Potential auction winner: HIGH BID. Potential??
39. True to life: FACTUAL. . . . but it may be cruel
Everybody Plays The Fool
40. "Big" and "Bang Bang" singer Rita: ORA. A frequent visitor.
41. Minor tussle: SETTO.
42. Actress Zadora: PIA. Haven't thought of her in years.
44. "Curses!": DRAT. DARN or DANG or RATS would have fit the allowable space.
48. Furry foot: PAW. Having previously used the "the man who shot my paw" pun we will go with this: It is always a good thing to occasionally PAWs and reflect.
52. Principal dancer in a ballet company: ETOILE. French for STAR.
55. Hundred Acre Wood hopper: ROO. A Winnie The Pooh reference. Roo is Kanga's child.
56. Beach bottle no.: SPF. On sunscreen. Sun Protection Factor
61. Tire out: DRAIN.
62. Stand up: RISE. Business at the bakery is on the RISE.
63. Second-most-traded currency in the world: EURO. That the answer was four letters helped.
64. Asks (for): SENDS. As in "Send for the midwife!"
65. Basic sammies: BLTS. with mayo
66. Frosh, probably: TEEN. Frosh = Freshman
Down:
1. Bits of green in blue: ISLETS. A stumper for a while but it does make sense. Islands in the ocean.
2. Whole kit and caboodle: THE LOT. Slangy clue. Slangy answer.
3. U.S. operative: CIA SPY. One of those answers where you go back over the grid you find yourself asking "What's a ciaspy?"
4. Possessed: HAD.
5. Shore leave, informally: R AND R. Rest and Recreation.
6. Second-largest Portuguese-speaking country: ANGOLA. 40% as a native language. 60% total.
7. Page to check before contacting customer service: FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions.
8. Historically Black school in Houston, briefly: TSU.
9. Sensible: WISE.
10. When Miranda says, "O, brave new world / That has such people in 't!": ACT V. Even if one had not idea about the play being referenced, one could guess that the first part of the answer was ACT and then it was only a question of which Roman Numeral it would be. See also 18 Down.
11. Severe decline: TAILSPIN.
12. Not on the up-and-up: CROOKED.
13. Dyes used for some body art: HENNAS. Not often seen as a plural noun.
18. XXX divided by X: III. Roman numerals. Easy math 30 / 10 = 3
19. Directional suffix: ERN. As in westERN.
24. Choose: SELECT. Used as the verb. But as an adjective: What philosopher appealed to only a Select group of people? Frederick Niche.
25. One of the two women in "Hamlet": OPHELIA. One would have to be at least somewhat familiar with the play to know this one.
26. Terse assurance: IT IS. It is.
30. "Strong Enough" diva: CHER. This official video is pretty weird.
31. Rub the wrong way?: ABRADE.
33. Regarding: AS TO.
34. AC meas.: BTU. British Thermal Unit
36. Classic Pontiac: GTO. Ronny And The Daytonas were from Nashville! Who knew.
37. Alter ego of DC's Kate Kane: BATWOMAN.
38. D.C. daily: WAPO.
39. Spotlight: FEATURE. As in to shine the spotlight on someone or something.
41. Forks out: SPENDS. Idiomatic clue.
43. Immobile: AT REST. This solver has always thought of immobile as could not move.
45. Shelter adoptee: RESCUE. A pet shelter reference.
46. Set lofty goals: ASPIRE. What do you call a chicken that ASPIRES to become food? A consommé professional.
47. Nonstick coating: TEFLON.
49. Cologne's land: Abbr.: GER. GERmany
50. Gets by: COPES. What did the carpenter say about his broken saw? I can't COPE with this.
51. Groundbreaking tool: HOE.
53. As above, in a footnote: Abbr.: IBID. Ibid is a short way of saying "in the same place", which is helpful when citing.
54. Perspective, metaphorically: LENS.
58. Planet, e.g.: ORB.
59. Love of another sport?: NIL. In soccer scoring NIL is zero and in Tennis scoring LOVE is zero.
60. Basket part: NET. A basketball reference.
Have a great weekend. Do some of your favorite things!
It had a little “bite” to it. Especially “Star” in French, and a few other answers that weren’t immediately apparent. But the theme was obvious right away, and that helped me solve this fun puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Yay, a themed puzzle with no reveal. Bring it on! ANGOLA played an important role in Jeopardy! Masters when Luanda was the "largest Portuguese-speaking capital" in Final Jeopardy. Joe showed his "professional chops" on this one. Excellent review, Mal-Man. (I'd choose a different example for "crooked." Consommé professional? -- [groan].)
I knew the Actress of the Day (Pia), but I didn't know the French star (etoile) and I still don't know who Miranda is or which book/play/musical it references, but I confidently entered "Act_".
I don't care for doing math in other languages (iii) and I dislike the "Couple of dollars" for "els" combo.
Clever theme, even though it eluded me during my solve.
Designation of your favorite president would be your chief executive, perhaps.
FIR. This seemed somewhat easy for a Friday. I'm not much fond of the clue for els, but then i wasn't thrilled with etoile either. But neither stopped me from plowing through this puzzle swiftly. Once finished i looked at the theme answers and got it, except for goat. Even with the explanation here I still don't really see that answer. But overall this was an enjoyable puzzle.
Thank you, Joe Deeney I see what you did there, and I enjoyed it.
I took a different tack today. I read the clues for the long across answers first. At that point, I entered PENCIL, CHEESE, WESTERN, SIRLOIN and QUESTION. It was answering some of the downs to interlock those answers that proved that each of those five across answers were correct. Well, at least the ends of those themers.
I worked to fill the middle of the grid after that. BEST WESTERN and TOP SIRLOIN gave me the play on words. The other three fell quickly, but I did consider soft CHEESE before getting GOAT. That worked more betterer.
Tri-tip? Never heard of it until we visited my nephew in San Jose about a dozen years ago, and he made it. I was intrigued and started reading about it back then. If memory serves me correctly, one of the articles was about the growing popularity of tri-tip recipes across the country, after having been mostly a west coast standard. But in reality, it is just a portion cut of the bottom sirloin, which is what it is called pretty much everywhere else.
Thank you, Malodorous Manatee. What you said about So Fierce for REVLON. "Potential auction winner: HIGH BID. Potential??" Yes, until a HIGHER BID comes in. You paired the FACTUAL clue perfectly with that old song. Haven't heard that one in years.
CIASPY - it's CI ASPY. French Canadian for "this aspe" - Accounting Standard for Private Enterprises. Plural is CIASPIES for "these aspes". In the US, we call them GAAPS. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. ;>)
TSU was one of my early accounts in Houston, as was U of H, along with the occasional call at Rice.
FIR, but sane->WISE. I liked this one for a Friday.
Not a good start to the weekend - got a call from my doctor's office at 6:30 AM telling me that my blood test results were worse than when I left the hospital last week, and that I needed to get back to the ED and get some blood. So I'll be moseying down that way about 10:30, and this time will be prepared to be admitted with books, phone charger, spare undies, meds, etc. I expect to be back to the Corner in a day or two.
I managed to FIR and noticed what was happening. But I needed MM's explanation for the GOAT CHEESE. "Mozzarella or cheddar"- they might sell the most but who's to say they are the greatest.
SKA and REVLON- perps for those unknowns. A prima donna diva is supposed to be a virtuoso. How does CHER qualify? The term originally referred to a celebrated female opera singer, but has evolved to also describe someone who is difficult, demanding, or self-important. I guess everybody is a wannabe GOAT diva. GTO-Ronny and the Daytonas sang about a Pontiac but a Daytona was a Dodge. Go figure. I read that Rick Derringer died this week. I knew of his music (Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo) but didn't know he sang "Hang On Sloopy" when he was 16. He played with Edgar Winter, Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, KISS (he didn't wear the makeup), weird Al. Great guitar player.
It seems that GOAT and EGOT seem to describe a lot of people these days. GER- I knew it wasn't GDR because it isn't in the former "democratic" country- East Germany.
According to new laws, you don't have to wait for the doctor to give you results of tests. When I was in the hospital ER before my pacemaker was installed, I was getting texts with the results of my tests before the doctor got a chance to read them. After the surgery, I was already dressed and ready to walk out when the MD came in. I told him I read the tests before he did and was waiting to be discharged.
We haven’t seen Mr. Deeney in a while, so this was a pleasant treat. It played on the easy side for a Friday, but was still challenging enough. I’m not fond of entries like III or Els but, overall the fill was pretty straightforward, except for the unknown Etoile. I got the clever theme and the play on words factor, but it took MalMan’s expo for me to see the first words were all synonyms.
Thanks, Joe, and thanks, MalMan, for the excellent review and especially for the detailed explanation of the themers. Loved the photo of the Lab on the raft and the one of Rustler in repose. Also enjoyed, as usual, the punny humor.
I don't consider myself to be immobile while at rest, but other than that clue and "couple of dollars" for ELS (my least favorite type of clue), it was a fine, easy puzzle.
Musings -After blogging many, many of Joe’s Saturday’s themeless, I sensed what I was in for. What a hoot. -Mowing the lawn and vacuuming the house (very similar activities) are on my busy agenda today, so I didn’t look for the gimmick. I may or may not have gotten it, but Mal Man explained it wonderfully. -I better remember having to tediously TUNE IN a radio before discrete designations. -Reel Big Fish genre made me wonder if I was looking for classification for Jaws movies. Doh! -The HIGH BID is not necessarily the winner on The Price Is Right -In Song Of The South, Uncle Remus sang the lyric, “Everything is satisFACTUAL” -The clever cluing for ETOILE and ISLETS is very “Joe Deeney” (even if they were Patti’s) -CHER crossing a clue with “Bang Bang” in it caught my eye -Motown’s Barry Gordy decided to feature Diana Ross -“Learning” (and never using again) footnote and bibliography minutiae was torture for me -My money’s on you Jinx.
The theme seemed straightforward enough until MalMan spotted some inconsistencies, and one seldom hears about a NUMBER ONE PENCIL, yet I FIR quickly for a Friday. But there was irritating misdirection elsewhere that I’m not inclined to blame on Joe.
The lameness of the ELS entry made it seem like part of a Natick, paired with THE LOT, but I was more annoyed by the obscurity of the clues for REVLON, CHER, AND SKA. The love/NIL clue was convoluted, not clever.
I did enjoy the toehold from OPHELIA (Gertrude didn’t fit). ANGOLA came quickly because the second-largest-Portuguese angle arose in Final Jeopardy recently. I’m sad to admit it took me too long to come up with Luanda, the capital, which I knew. I never used to have that problem, but I am 73, so . . .
A highly enjoyable Friday outing. Very fair perps leading me to "ahas" instead of "wtfs?" Have to admit that it took MMs recap to bring the theme into focus. RandR? Most of my former Navy friends got very little rest or relaxation on shore leave. Most called it "I and I". (The second I standing for "intoxication".)
Well, whadayaknow once again! Surprised myself with a very quick Friday 12 minute FIR! 13 names, but only DNK 2, which helped. I did NOT recognize the theme until MalMan 'splained it. I didn't remember to look for the theme, but suspect I would not have sussed it even if I had. On the GOAT CHEESE, I just that, "Huh! I guess they can make mozzarella and cheddar from goat milk, why not?" "Second largest Portuguese speaking country" I though of Brazil, not Angola. I guess Brazil is the largest, Angola is the second largest? What, in area? In population? Still not sure. Miranda in a play made me think "Hamilton" but I guess not. SENDS = "Asks for" = a real stretch. Just glad to be able to FIR a Friday w/o cheating for a change. The tie between "Factual" and "Actual" never occurred to me before. Thanx JD for the fun CW, and thanx MalMan for the terrific write-up. Best wishes for Jinx. I wonder which hospital he's in. Anybody know?
I got the theme quickly which greatly helped. No gripes except for the Goat Cheese, that's a stretch. I thought it was well done. Nice recap MM. And Jinx, all the best to you.
Very pleasant Friday puzzle, many thanks, Joe. And always enjoy your commentary, MalMan, thanks for that too. Will also be thinking of you, Jinx.
This puzzle reminded me of how much I used to love to WATCH BEST WESTERN TV shows when I was a kid. They almost made me ASPIRE to become a FACTUAL writer or to create FEATURE films about something like a CIA SPY. But none of that ever happened, so why don't I put down my PENCIL and get myself a bit of GOAT CHEESE to go along with my coffee for my breakfast.
Hola! Yea! A Joe Deeney puzzle is always fun and this one fit the bill. Thank you, Joe. ITCH slipped right into it's slot immediately and RAFT recalled one trip to Charlotte, NC when we went on the Nantahala River on a RAFT. Fond memories! CHER may not be the best singer in the world, but she is an excellent actor. Her roles in "Moonstruck" and "Tea for Mussolini" especially come to mind. As for OPHELIA, as soon as the O emerged, I knew it. Thank you, MalMan, for explaining GOAT CHEESE. And I, too, knew ANGOLA from the recent Jeopardy Masters episode and was surprised to learn it. And good news for me today. The mouse is dead! It finally jumped into the GLUE TRAP and expired. It did a lot of damage inside my pantry so I'm pleased it's deceased. Have a lovely day, everyone!
I enjoyed Joe's puzzle today. It was adventurous yet fair for the most part, and well-constructed, featuring two theme grid-spanners. Speaking of which, the theme struck me as creative and fun once I figured out what mischief Joe was up to.
As a teacher, director, actor, and producer of Shakespeare, I welcomed not one, but two, entries from the Bard. The reason there are only two women's parts in "Hamlet" is that boys' voices kept changing. Women were not allowed on stage then, so boys had to take women's roles. Usually Shakespeare would have a fairly adequate coterie of talented boys available, but evidently not at the time of "Hamlet" (and a few other plays). So he had to go with the only two talented boys he had.
Shakespeare's use of "brave" in Miranda's speech from "The Tempest" carries the meaning of fine or splendid, not our current meaning. She is a teenager who has lived her entire life on an island with only three other individuals: her father; an airy sprite; and a subhuman guy. So when a normal group of humans come upon the scene, including a young handsome hunk, Miranda suddenly has a feeling (i.e., lust) never before experienced, and impetuously blurts out the "brave new world" line.
Thanks, MalMan, for your thorough and entertaining recap.
I liked this puzzle except for the ELS clue. I also noticed ERN at 19 down and WESTERN at 37 across. And then there's Rita ORA and PIA Zadora. Hand up for thinking of Hamilton at seeing the name Miranda. By the way, my dentist's last name is Miranda. It seems the way members of the House of Representatives begin a speech is by saying "I RISE today to ..." In the British TV show Vera, she (Vera) often says "THE LOT." Does BATWOMAN wear a cape? Ronald Reagan was called the TEFLON president. (Oliver North and John Poindexter took the fall and went to prison for the "Iran Contra" crime.) Good reading you all.
I don't know what happened, but I filled this one in as fast as I could write, and the theme became obvious after the first two. Every time I skipped an unknown letter, a perp immediately filled it in. So kudos to Joe for good puzzle construction, but this didn't feel like a Friday.
MM, glad you explained Love vs. NIL. Good catch! I put a question mark next to it and moved on. As I said, nothing really slowed me down this solve. BTW, your carpenter joke made the cut! Or didn't. Now I'm not sure...
BTW, I don't recall ever seeing a NUMBER ONE PENCIL. All the ones I have are #2 and I have many. A few have decorative designs and have no designation or markings of any kind. Perhaps it was just something the constructor needed to complete the puzzle.
Musings -Tehachapi Ken, I really enjoyed your Shakespeare info, especially Miranda’s state of mind! I hope she read him his rights! :-) I suspect, “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” has been misinterpreted over the centuries. -Vacuuming and lawn mowing are done. BTW, I mow the same way I color, I start with the perimeter first. -Pencil #’s. BTW, kids always seem to have an arsenal of pens and markers but no pencils for math and science. I had to buy boxes of them.
# 2 is by far the most common pencil. Sketch artists and others use pencils use pencils of various hardness and darkness. A # 1 pencil is softer and darker than a # 2, and a # 5 is harder and lighter.
Relatively casual cruise for a Friday — thanks for the mercy, Mssr. Deeney 😎 I got the hook probably halfway through, and really don’t have any gripes for today — the crossing of the divas was a little of an oddity, but the coincidence with “Bang Bang” was pretty snazzy (planned or not). About the only clue that I felt was ragged was “Asks (for)” for SENDS. Somewhere there’s a better-connecting reference…
The only reason I got OPHELIA is because the poor gal has been in so bloody many crosswords. For some reason I’ve never read all the way through “Hamlet”.
I’m sure many will remember the TEFLON Don (and I don’t mean the Don currently running things, even though he’s also working on being a candidate for a RICO…).
Unlike a couple of y’all here on the Corner, I loved the “Love of another sport?” clue — maybe because I was running in circles trying to figure it out before the V-8 can boinked me and I got the pun. Nice one, Joe (or Patty)!
Another entertaining recap from Mr. Manatee! You always dig up a fine brace of music vids to lace into your submissions, not to mention the unique tidbits you cite to augment the fill-ins. 😎👍🏽
Jinx, here’s 🤞🏽for you; I’m sure the docs will get your juices all balanced in short order. Hang tough, dude!
I forgot to mention that I also used to buy PENCILS by the LOT for my students. In fourth grade they were not quite ready for pens although they had them. TTP: thank you for that information. I don't believe I've ever seen a #5.
Joe delivers another GEM and MManatee polished it. Thanks yous two.
WOs: Santa ANNA, sane -> WISE ESPs: PIA, ETOILE Fav: SKA - I have Reel Big Fish's CD.
God Speed, Jinx! I'm looking forward to your return to The Corner.
By now, all I got is WEES. Darren / L.A. - I'm with you on NIL. Took me ESP and then I LOL'd.
Don't know if y'all seen this yet: R.I.P. Loretta "Hot Lips Houlihan" Swit. She was 87. While I was eating, MeTV ran 4 M*A*S*H* episodes in a row and I couldn't understand why until I got to my computer.
Lucina, you are welcome. DW has pencil sets, multiple magic marker sets, a few watercolor sets, a calligraphy set or two, and art paper and card stock in various colors, weights and sizes. Lately, she's been on a kick of drawing, painting and cutting out flowers for 3D pop-up birthday cards.
Husker Gary's image showed a few different pencils.
45 comments:
It had a little “bite” to it.
Especially “Star” in French, and a few other answers that weren’t immediately apparent. But the theme was obvious right away, and that helped me solve this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Yay, a themed puzzle with no reveal. Bring it on! ANGOLA played an important role in Jeopardy! Masters when Luanda was the "largest Portuguese-speaking capital" in Final Jeopardy. Joe showed his "professional chops" on this one. Excellent review, Mal-Man. (I'd choose a different example for "crooked." Consommé professional? -- [groan].)
Took 8:06 today, perhaps.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Pia), but I didn't know the French star (etoile) and I still don't know who Miranda is or which book/play/musical it references, but I confidently entered "Act_".
I don't care for doing math in other languages (iii) and I dislike the "Couple of dollars" for "els" combo.
Clever theme, even though it eluded me during my solve.
Designation of your favorite president would be your chief executive, perhaps.
FIR. This seemed somewhat easy for a Friday. I'm not much fond of the clue for els, but then i wasn't thrilled with etoile either. But neither stopped me from plowing through this puzzle swiftly.
Once finished i looked at the theme answers and got it, except for goat. Even with the explanation here I still don't really see that answer.
But overall this was an enjoyable puzzle.
Thank you, Joe Deeney I see what you did there, and I enjoyed it.
I took a different tack today. I read the clues for the long across answers first. At that point, I entered PENCIL, CHEESE, WESTERN, SIRLOIN and QUESTION. It was answering some of the downs to interlock those answers that proved that each of those five across answers were correct. Well, at least the ends of those themers.
I worked to fill the middle of the grid after that. BEST WESTERN and TOP SIRLOIN gave me the play on words. The other three fell quickly, but I did consider soft CHEESE before getting GOAT. That worked more betterer.
Tri-tip? Never heard of it until we visited my nephew in San Jose about a dozen years ago, and he made it. I was intrigued and started reading about it back then. If memory serves me correctly, one of the articles was about the growing popularity of tri-tip recipes across the country, after having been mostly a west coast standard. But in reality, it is just a portion cut of the bottom sirloin, which is what it is called pretty much everywhere else.
Thank you, Malodorous Manatee. What you said about So Fierce for REVLON. "Potential auction winner: HIGH BID. Potential??" Yes, until a HIGHER BID comes in. You paired the FACTUAL clue perfectly with that old song. Haven't heard that one in years.
CIASPY - it's CI ASPY. French Canadian for "this aspe" - Accounting Standard for Private Enterprises. Plural is CIASPIES for "these aspes". In the US, we call them GAAPS. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. ;>)
TSU was one of my early accounts in Houston, as was U of H, along with the occasional call at Rice.
Time for some coffee.
FIR, but sane->WISE. I liked this one for a Friday.
Not a good start to the weekend - got a call from my doctor's office at 6:30 AM telling me that my blood test results were worse than when I left the hospital last week, and that I needed to get back to the ED and get some blood. So I'll be moseying down that way about 10:30, and this time will be prepared to be admitted with books, phone charger, spare undies, meds, etc. I expect to be back to the Corner in a day or two.
I guess you could call PIA Zadora an actress because the acts like she can sing.
I managed to FIR and noticed what was happening. But I needed MM's explanation for the GOAT CHEESE. "Mozzarella or cheddar"- they might sell the most but who's to say they are the greatest.
SKA and REVLON- perps for those unknowns.
A prima donna diva is supposed to be a virtuoso. How does CHER qualify?
The term originally referred to a celebrated female opera singer, but has evolved to also describe someone who is difficult, demanding, or self-important. I guess everybody is a wannabe GOAT diva.
GTO-Ronny and the Daytonas sang about a Pontiac but a Daytona was a Dodge. Go figure.
I read that Rick Derringer died this week. I knew of his music (Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo) but didn't know he sang "Hang On Sloopy" when he was 16. He played with Edgar Winter, Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, KISS (he didn't wear the makeup), weird Al. Great guitar player.
It seems that GOAT and EGOT seem to describe a lot of people these days.
GER- I knew it wasn't GDR because it isn't in the former "democratic" country- East Germany.
According to new laws, you don't have to wait for the doctor to give you results of tests. When I was in the hospital ER before my pacemaker was installed, I was getting texts with the results of my tests before the doctor got a chance to read them. After the surgery, I was already dressed and ready to walk out when the MD came in. I told him I read the tests before he did and was waiting to be discharged.
Good Morning:
We haven’t seen Mr. Deeney in a while, so this was a pleasant treat. It played on the easy side for a Friday, but was still challenging enough. I’m not fond of entries like III or Els but, overall the fill was pretty straightforward, except for the unknown Etoile. I got the clever theme and the play on words factor, but it took MalMan’s expo for me to see the first words were all synonyms.
Thanks, Joe, and thanks, MalMan, for the excellent review and especially for the detailed explanation of the themers. Loved the photo of the Lab on the raft and the one of Rustler in repose. Also enjoyed, as usual, the punny humor.
Have a great day.
Good luck, Jinx.
SS, 👏 for Chief Executive.
FIR, so no complaints. I must say I had only á vague idea about the theme, mainly because I got stuck on the GOAT. Now I see.
Jinx, I hope to read you back here soon.
Thank you MM for the very helpful review.
Good luck, Jinx.
I don't consider myself to be immobile while at rest, but other than that clue and "couple of dollars" for ELS (my least favorite type of clue), it was a fine, easy puzzle.
Best wishes, Jinx
Musings
-After blogging many, many of Joe’s Saturday’s themeless, I sensed what I was in for. What a hoot.
-Mowing the lawn and vacuuming the house (very similar activities) are on my busy agenda today, so I didn’t look for the gimmick. I may or may not have gotten it, but Mal Man explained it wonderfully.
-I better remember having to tediously TUNE IN a radio before discrete designations.
-Reel Big Fish genre made me wonder if I was looking for classification for Jaws movies. Doh!
-The HIGH BID is not necessarily the winner on The Price Is Right
-In Song Of The South, Uncle Remus sang the lyric, “Everything is satisFACTUAL”
-The clever cluing for ETOILE and ISLETS is very “Joe Deeney” (even if they were Patti’s)
-CHER crossing a clue with “Bang Bang” in it caught my eye
-Motown’s Barry Gordy decided to feature Diana Ross
-“Learning” (and never using again) footnote and bibliography minutiae was torture for me
-My money’s on you Jinx.
Miranda is a major character in "The Tempest."
Fingers crossed, Jinx.
The theme seemed straightforward enough until MalMan spotted some inconsistencies, and one seldom hears about a NUMBER ONE PENCIL, yet I FIR quickly for a Friday. But there was irritating misdirection elsewhere that I’m not inclined to blame on Joe.
The lameness of the ELS entry made it seem like part of a Natick, paired with THE LOT, but I was more annoyed by the obscurity of the clues for REVLON, CHER, AND SKA. The love/NIL clue was convoluted, not clever.
I did enjoy the toehold from OPHELIA (Gertrude didn’t fit). ANGOLA came quickly because the second-largest-Portuguese angle arose in Final Jeopardy recently. I’m sad to admit it took me too long to come up with Luanda, the capital, which I knew. I never used to have that problem, but I am 73, so . . .
Hang in there, Jinx.
A highly enjoyable Friday outing. Very fair perps leading me to "ahas" instead of "wtfs?" Have to admit that it took MMs recap to bring the theme into focus. RandR? Most of my former Navy friends got very little rest or relaxation on shore leave. Most called it "I and I". (The second I standing for "intoxication".)
Wishing you good results when all is completed, Jinx - starboy288
Well, whadayaknow once again! Surprised myself with a very quick Friday 12 minute FIR! 13 names, but only DNK 2, which helped. I did NOT recognize the theme until MalMan 'splained it. I didn't remember to look for the theme, but suspect I would not have sussed it even if I had. On the GOAT CHEESE, I just that, "Huh! I guess they can make mozzarella and cheddar from goat milk, why not?" "Second largest Portuguese speaking country" I though of Brazil, not Angola. I guess Brazil is the largest, Angola is the second largest? What, in area? In population? Still not sure. Miranda in a play made me think "Hamilton" but I guess not. SENDS = "Asks for" = a real stretch. Just glad to be able to FIR a Friday w/o cheating for a change. The tie between "Factual" and "Actual" never occurred to me before. Thanx JD for the fun CW, and thanx MalMan for the terrific write-up. Best wishes for Jinx. I wonder which hospital he's in. Anybody know?
I got the theme quickly which greatly helped. No gripes except for the Goat Cheese, that's a stretch. I thought it was well done. Nice recap MM. And Jinx, all the best to you.
Very pleasant Friday puzzle, many thanks, Joe. And always enjoy your commentary, MalMan, thanks for that too. Will also be thinking of you, Jinx.
This puzzle reminded me of how much I used to love to WATCH BEST WESTERN TV shows when I was a kid. They almost made me ASPIRE to become a FACTUAL writer or to create FEATURE films about something like a CIA SPY. But none of that ever happened, so why don't I put down my PENCIL and get myself a bit of GOAT CHEESE to go along with my coffee for my breakfast.
Have a lovely weekend, everybody.
Hola! Yea! A Joe Deeney puzzle is always fun and this one fit the bill. Thank you, Joe. ITCH slipped right into it's slot immediately and RAFT recalled one trip to Charlotte, NC when we went on the Nantahala River on a RAFT. Fond memories!
CHER may not be the best singer in the world, but she is an excellent actor. Her roles in "Moonstruck" and "Tea for Mussolini" especially come to mind.
As for OPHELIA, as soon as the O emerged, I knew it.
Thank you, MalMan, for explaining GOAT CHEESE. And I, too, knew ANGOLA from the recent Jeopardy Masters episode and was surprised to learn it.
And good news for me today. The mouse is dead! It finally jumped into the GLUE TRAP and expired. It did a lot of damage inside my pantry so I'm pleased it's deceased. Have a lovely day, everyone!
I enjoyed Joe's puzzle today. It was adventurous yet fair for the most part, and well-constructed, featuring two theme grid-spanners. Speaking of which, the theme struck me as creative and fun once I figured out what mischief Joe was up to.
As a teacher, director, actor, and producer of Shakespeare, I welcomed not one, but two, entries from the Bard. The reason there are only two women's parts in "Hamlet" is that boys' voices kept changing. Women were not allowed on stage then, so boys had to take women's roles. Usually Shakespeare would have a fairly adequate coterie of talented boys available, but evidently not at the time of "Hamlet" (and a few other plays). So he had to go with the only two talented boys he had.
Shakespeare's use of "brave" in Miranda's speech from "The Tempest" carries the meaning of fine or splendid, not our current meaning. She is a teenager who has lived her entire life on an island with only three other individuals: her father; an airy sprite; and a subhuman guy. So when a normal group of humans come upon the scene, including a young handsome hunk, Miranda suddenly has a feeling (i.e., lust) never before experienced, and impetuously blurts out the "brave new world" line.
Thanks, MalMan, for your thorough and entertaining recap.
And good luck, Jinx!
JINX, good luck and best wishes for a good outcome.
Best wishes, Jinx.
I liked this puzzle except for the ELS clue. I also noticed ERN at 19 down and WESTERN at 37 across. And then there's Rita ORA and PIA Zadora.
Hand up for thinking of Hamilton at seeing the name Miranda. By the way, my dentist's last name is Miranda.
It seems the way members of the House of Representatives begin a speech is by saying "I RISE today to ..."
In the British TV show Vera, she (Vera) often says "THE LOT."
Does BATWOMAN wear a cape?
Ronald Reagan was called the TEFLON president. (Oliver North and John Poindexter took the fall and went to prison for the "Iran Contra" crime.)
Good reading you all.
I don't know what happened, but I filled this one in as fast as I could write, and the theme became obvious after the first two. Every time I skipped an unknown letter, a perp immediately filled it in. So kudos to Joe for good puzzle construction, but this didn't feel like a Friday.
MM, glad you explained Love vs. NIL. Good catch! I put a question mark next to it and moved on. As I said, nothing really slowed me down this solve. BTW, your carpenter joke made the cut! Or didn't. Now I'm not sure...
Thinking of you, Jinx.
BTW, I don't recall ever seeing a NUMBER ONE PENCIL. All the ones I have are #2 and I have many. A few have decorative designs and have no designation or markings of any kind. Perhaps it was just something the constructor needed to complete the puzzle.
Prayers for you, Jinx.
Musings
-Tehachapi Ken, I really enjoyed your Shakespeare info, especially Miranda’s state of mind! I hope she read him his rights! :-) I suspect, “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” has been misinterpreted over the centuries.
-Vacuuming and lawn mowing are done. BTW, I mow the same way I color, I start with the perimeter first.
-Pencil #’s. BTW, kids always seem to have an arsenal of pens and markers but no pencils for math and science. I had to buy boxes of them.
# 2 is by far the most common pencil. Sketch artists and others use pencils use pencils of various hardness and darkness. A # 1 pencil is softer and darker than a # 2, and a # 5 is harder and lighter.
You got there before I did, Gary.
I was busy repeating myself :>)
G.O.A.T., acronym for Greatest Of All Time; Tom Brady seems to be the poster boy for the term. Goes along with the theme of #1’s! HTH!
====> Darren
Relatively casual cruise for a Friday — thanks for the mercy, Mssr. Deeney 😎 I got the hook probably halfway through, and really don’t have any gripes for today — the crossing of the divas was a little of an oddity, but the coincidence with “Bang Bang” was pretty snazzy (planned or not). About the only clue that I felt was ragged was “Asks (for)” for SENDS. Somewhere there’s a better-connecting reference…
The only reason I got OPHELIA is because the poor gal has been in so bloody many crosswords. For some reason I’ve never read all the way through “Hamlet”.
I’m sure many will remember the TEFLON Don (and I don’t mean the Don currently running things, even though he’s also working on being a candidate for a RICO…).
Unlike a couple of y’all here on the Corner, I loved the “Love of another sport?” clue — maybe because I was running in circles trying to figure it out before the V-8 can boinked me and I got the pun. Nice one, Joe (or Patty)!
Another entertaining recap from Mr. Manatee! You always dig up a fine brace of music vids to lace into your submissions, not to mention the unique tidbits you cite to augment the fill-ins. 😎👍🏽
Jinx, here’s 🤞🏽for you; I’m sure the docs will get your juices all balanced in short order. Hang tough, dude!
====> Darren / L.A.
I forgot to mention that I also used to buy PENCILS by the LOT for my students. In fourth grade they were not quite ready for pens although they had them.
TTP: thank you for that information. I don't believe I've ever seen a #5.
Darren, where in L.A. are you? I too call it home.
Hi All!
Joe delivers another GEM and MManatee polished it. Thanks yous two.
WOs: Santa ANNA, sane -> WISE
ESPs: PIA, ETOILE
Fav: SKA - I have Reel Big Fish's CD.
God Speed, Jinx! I'm looking forward to your return to The Corner.
By now, all I got is WEES. Darren / L.A. - I'm with you on NIL. Took me ESP and then I LOL'd.
Don't know if y'all seen this yet: R.I.P. Loretta "Hot Lips Houlihan" Swit. She was 87. While I was eating, MeTV ran 4 M*A*S*H* episodes in a row and I couldn't understand why until I got to my computer.
Cheers, -Tony
Just saw the news about Swit. R.I.P., Major Hot Lips.
Lucina, you are welcome. DW has pencil sets, multiple magic marker sets, a few watercolor sets, a calligraphy set or two, and art paper and card stock in various colors, weights and sizes. Lately, she's been on a kick of drawing, painting and cutting out flowers for 3D pop-up birthday cards.
Husker Gary's image showed a few different pencils.
Darren, filters please. Left or right, one way or the other, let's refrain from that.
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