RustyBrain here, pinch-hitting for Hahtoolah. This is my first time at bat. Many thanks to C.C. for calling me up from the minors to be on the best team in the sport!
Today, Rebecca Goldstein's grid features on-deck circles. Some people don't like circles on the playing field, but I don't mind them. Let's see how the game goes:
17A. "That was a great day": I REMEMBER IT WELL. On the day my first son was born, I watched the Winter Olympics in the waiting room (I don't know what was keeping my wife, RightBrain) as the Jamaican bobsled team came barreling down the track. The boy has always been tickled that they made a movie about his birthday. Circled letters are IRL = In Real Life.
22A. Wearable that can detect heart rate: SMARTWATCH. From science fiction to reality. Who'd a thunk? Circles spell SMH = Shaking My Head.
Today, Rebecca Goldstein's grid features on-deck circles. Some people don't like circles on the playing field, but I don't mind them. Let's see how the game goes:
17A. "That was a great day": I REMEMBER IT WELL. On the day my first son was born, I watched the Winter Olympics in the waiting room (I don't know what was keeping my wife, RightBrain) as the Jamaican bobsled team came barreling down the track. The boy has always been tickled that they made a movie about his birthday. Circled letters are IRL = In Real Life.
22A. Wearable that can detect heart rate: SMARTWATCH. From science fiction to reality. Who'd a thunk? Circles spell SMH = Shaking My Head.
35A. Numbered element in a drawing: LOTTO BALL. Tricky! I like to paint outside the lines. Circled is LOL = Laugh Out Loud.
49A. Morsel in Hansel and Gretel's trail: BREADCRUMB. Something tells me that these two leave more than a trail of BREADCRUMBs behind them. Circles spell BRB = Be Right Back.
55A. Like someone who spends too much time on the internet, and like this puzzle's circled letters?: EXTREMELY ONLINE. EXTREMELY ONLINE usually refers to people who can't tear themselves away from the computer screen while surfing the internet. But in this case, it's because the circled textspeak is split to the EXTREMELY far ends ON the same LINE. Ta da! Pretty good although the circles made it easy to find the extremes, but that's Tuesday for you.
And here comes the first pitch:
Across:
1. Low-pH solution: ACID. Low-pH water can corrode your pipes. It's not great in your body, either.
5. Drastic haircut: CHOP. I think "crew" would be more drastic.
9. Bit of a stink?: WHIFF. "What's that lovely stench you're wearing?" SLAP!
14. Tortoise racer: HARE. Because "The Turtle and the Rabbit" doesn't have the same ring to it.
15. E-tron carmaker: AUDI. E-tron is a family of electric and hybrid cars by AUDI. The four rings of their logo each represent one of the car companies that formed Auto Union, the racing juggernaut of the 1930s. It later would be bought by Volkswagen and rebranded as AUDI, one of the original four brands.
16. Ancient Greek region: IONIA. Cruise destination for ancient Greeks on vacation.
17. [Theme]
20. Former student: ALUM.
21. Says loud and proud: ASSERTS.
22. [Theme]
26. Comfy top: TEE. This one is pretty soft. They get harder as the week goes on.
28. Skewered dish: SATAY. A staple of Thai cuisine, it's usually marinated chicken served with peanut sauce. Delish!
29. Muslim monarch: EMIR. Our crossword friendly ruler, right up there with "tsar."
31. Actor and advocate for science communication Alan: ALDA. Another crossword fav.
33. [Not my error]: SIC. I never make misteaks [sic].
34. Princess from the planet Alderaan: LEIA. I think Han Solo liked her buns.
35. [Theme]
38. Book that's hardly light reading: TOME. Fun clue.
39. Chest muscle, for short: PEC.
40. "RuPaul's __ Race": DRAG.
44. Bellicose god: ARES. The son of Zeus and Hera was the black sheep of the family. He lived in a humble abode atop Mount Olympus when not on vacay in IONIA.
31. Actor and advocate for science communication Alan: ALDA. Another crossword fav.
33. [Not my error]: SIC. I never make misteaks [sic].
34. Princess from the planet Alderaan: LEIA. I think Han Solo liked her buns.
35. [Theme]
38. Book that's hardly light reading: TOME. Fun clue.
39. Chest muscle, for short: PEC.
40. "RuPaul's __ Race": DRAG.
44. Bellicose god: ARES. The son of Zeus and Hera was the black sheep of the family. He lived in a humble abode atop Mount Olympus when not on vacay in IONIA.
45. References in a research paper: CITES.
47. "Yo," in Rio: OLA. Portuguese for "Hi." In Spanish (since we didn't have a lesson today) it's "Hola."
48. Galaxy brain?: CPU. Central Processing Unit. No relation to me.
49. [Theme]
51. Leftover schmutz: RESIDUE.
54. Self starter?: AUTO. A life story written by you about yourself is an AUTObiography.
55. [Theme]
60. "The Leftovers" producer Lindelof: DAMON. Aha! The something new I learn every day doing crosswords. I guess I don't watch enough TV.
61. Hang on to: KEEP.
62. Comes to a close: ENDS.
63. Signs of what's to come: OMENS. Also, a scary movie franchise.
64. Attempts or assists: STAT. Sport STATistics. Not, "Get down the court STAT! I'm attempting to make an assist!"
65. Relax: REST. Always nice to end the puzzle with a REST.
Down:
1. Sushi-grade tuna: AHI. AHI is the Hawaiian term for bigeye or yellowfin tuna. Yum!
2. Sweet sundae sauce: CARAMEL. Yum again! This is turning into a food blog!
3. Home country of novelist Sally Rooney: IRELAND. The acclaimed Irish author was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. Quite a feat as she was only 31 at the time.
4. Raise objections: DEMUR.
5. Pic taker: CAM. Small PICtures require small CAMeras.
6. Networking center: HUB.
7. "__ to Neptune": Phillis Wheatley poem: ODE. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poetry, unimaginable given that she was a slave. Her popular works help to dispel notions Black inferiority.
8. "Our Flag Means Death" subject: PIRACY. I thought this meant the Jolly Roger, but turns out it's a popular TV show about pirates. Arrrr!
9. Clever folks: WITS. RightBrain says I'm quite a wit! Well, half of one at least...
10. Gordie known as "Mr. Hockey": HOWE.
11. Lethargy: INERTIA. I first thought of the physics definition of INERTIA and couldn't see how it fit, so I was going to look it up. Then lethargy struck...
12. Coffee maker insert: FILTER. Which FILTER is better? Bleached or unbleached?
13. Not true: FALSE. That can't be true!
18. Ambulance staff: Abbr.: EMTS. Emergency Medical Technicians
19. "Or so": ISH. Kinda, sorta.
22. Restorative space: SPA. Ahhh...
23. Squander: WASTE.
24. Working hard: AT IT.
25. Tex-Mex-inspired casserole: TACO PIE. Not to be confused with Frito Pie, where chili is poured directly into a single serving bag of corn chips for a meal on the go! It's better than it sounds.
29. Unagi fish: EEL.
30. Not so hot: MILD. I've got some in a drawer if you need any.
32. Soothing salve: ALOE. Another old x-word friend.
34. Tied, as a corset: LACED.
36. Meditative mantras: OMS. This takes me back to one of my favorite progressive rock bands, the Moody Blues and their song "Om."
47. "Yo," in Rio: OLA. Portuguese for "Hi." In Spanish (since we didn't have a lesson today) it's "Hola."
48. Galaxy brain?: CPU. Central Processing Unit. No relation to me.
49. [Theme]
51. Leftover schmutz: RESIDUE.
54. Self starter?: AUTO. A life story written by you about yourself is an AUTObiography.
55. [Theme]
60. "The Leftovers" producer Lindelof: DAMON. Aha! The something new I learn every day doing crosswords. I guess I don't watch enough TV.
61. Hang on to: KEEP.
62. Comes to a close: ENDS.
63. Signs of what's to come: OMENS. Also, a scary movie franchise.
64. Attempts or assists: STAT. Sport STATistics. Not, "Get down the court STAT! I'm attempting to make an assist!"
65. Relax: REST. Always nice to end the puzzle with a REST.
Down:
1. Sushi-grade tuna: AHI. AHI is the Hawaiian term for bigeye or yellowfin tuna. Yum!
2. Sweet sundae sauce: CARAMEL. Yum again! This is turning into a food blog!
3. Home country of novelist Sally Rooney: IRELAND. The acclaimed Irish author was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. Quite a feat as she was only 31 at the time.
4. Raise objections: DEMUR.
5. Pic taker: CAM. Small PICtures require small CAMeras.
6. Networking center: HUB.
7. "__ to Neptune": Phillis Wheatley poem: ODE. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poetry, unimaginable given that she was a slave. Her popular works help to dispel notions Black inferiority.
8. "Our Flag Means Death" subject: PIRACY. I thought this meant the Jolly Roger, but turns out it's a popular TV show about pirates. Arrrr!
9. Clever folks: WITS. RightBrain says I'm quite a wit! Well, half of one at least...
10. Gordie known as "Mr. Hockey": HOWE.
11. Lethargy: INERTIA. I first thought of the physics definition of INERTIA and couldn't see how it fit, so I was going to look it up. Then lethargy struck...
12. Coffee maker insert: FILTER. Which FILTER is better? Bleached or unbleached?
13. Not true: FALSE. That can't be true!
18. Ambulance staff: Abbr.: EMTS. Emergency Medical Technicians
19. "Or so": ISH. Kinda, sorta.
22. Restorative space: SPA. Ahhh...
23. Squander: WASTE.
24. Working hard: AT IT.
25. Tex-Mex-inspired casserole: TACO PIE. Not to be confused with Frito Pie, where chili is poured directly into a single serving bag of corn chips for a meal on the go! It's better than it sounds.
29. Unagi fish: EEL.
30. Not so hot: MILD. I've got some in a drawer if you need any.
32. Soothing salve: ALOE. Another old x-word friend.
34. Tied, as a corset: LACED.
36. Meditative mantras: OMS. This takes me back to one of my favorite progressive rock bands, the Moody Blues and their song "Om."
37. Testing phase: BETA. My high school English teacher made us memorize the Greek alphabet. I never knew why, but it's come in very handy over the years, even in crosswords oddly enough.
38. "Have I ever steered you wrong?": TRUST ME. "Should we ask for directions?"
41. Gymnast's floor performance: ROUTINE. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's amazing that they can do this!
42. Nuts with a high water footprint: ALMONDS. Growing ALMONDS accounts for approximately 15% of the total water usage in California. That's nuts! But they are nutritious and tasty, so I'm torn.
43. Chitchat: GAB. Is GAB a gift?
44. Test for coll. credit: AP EXAM. A good score in high school on an Advanced Placement EXAM may earn the student college credit.
45. Small streams: CREEKS. Now, where's my paddle?
46. Multifunction printer function: SCAN. "That's nice, but do you have one in a smaller size?"
48. Operating principle: CREDO.
49. Word after beach or ski: BUM.
50. One may be a foot long: RULER. I always carry a RULER with me when I go to lunch because you never know...
52. On board device?: IRON. Stumped me for a second, then I realized "on board" almost sounds like ironing board.
53. Rooms for movie night: DENS.
56. Allow: LET. Also, a LET in tennis (the ball touches the net but still goes in) "allows" you to take another serve.
57. Vote for: YEA. Make a choice.
58. Make a choice: OPT. Vote for.
59. No. from a contractor: EST. One thing I never hear from a contractor is "No." But his ESTimate number keeps growing.
Well, folks, it's bottom of the ninth and our constructor swings for the fences. It's going...going...gone! RB knocks it outta the park!
Notes from C.C.:
I'm so happy that the witty RustyBrain has agreed to join our team. He'll be pinch-hitting for a while.
Here he is at the
Truman Little White House in Key West a few years ago.
Now, if I was the editor,
ReplyDeleteI would have made this puzzle Monday’s puzzle and left yesterday’s puzzle for later in the week. But I’m not, so I’ll just say I enjoyed the relative ease and simplicity of this one. FIR, so I’m happy.
I think Patti likes to mix up the day's order of difficulty just to be different.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteForgot to look at the circles. Just as well, because I needed RustyBrain to translate SMH for me. Methinks modern youth would be hard-pressed to recognize a flat IRON -- sorta like those hilarious videos of teens trying to figure out a rotary dial phone. Rebecca hit this one out of the park, and RustyBrain scored a home run in his first time at bat. "Well done!" to both.
SCAN: I keep an inkjet printer in the office just for SCANning. We have a Brother laser for printing.
On board device for some reason made me think of the old Monopoly board flat iron token replaced by the cat.
ReplyDeleteI always thought they should've replaced the thimble instead. Every other token is a miniature of something - a tiny car, a little hat. But the thimble is basically life-sized. In fact, if you lose it, you could replace it with a real one and no one would notice.
DeleteFIR, but aye->YEA. I fall for that every time. In my defense, I was raised on "...and the ayes have it."
ReplyDeleteThat CHOP doesn't look drastic to me. I wanted "buzz," my cut of choice in the small area where I still have hair on my head.
DNK SATAE, but "kebob" wasn't perp friendly. Also don't remember hearing "schmutz" or "SMH." If I never hear the phrase "high water footprint" again, it'll be too soon.
Also didn't know Sally, but where else could a Rooney be from?
"Actor blah, blah, blah Alan ____" is easy.
FILTER, because K-Cup didn't have enough letters.
CREEKS, pronounced "cricks" where I come from.
If you are selling something, unless the customer asks for something illegal or impossible, the answer should always start with "yes, but."
Flat IRON. Virginia is near George Washington's birthplace, not far from the Potomac River. I've been by Flat IRON many times, but haven't stopped.
Thanks to Rebecca for the fun puzzle, and to Rusty Brain for a fine debut.
FIR. Never bothered with the circles and didn't need to. What a waste of printing ink. Honestly did we really need them?
ReplyDeleteWhen i got to the reveal, I looked back at the circles. Not sure I've ever used SMH, but the others I knew.
This was an easy Tuesday puzzle. Yesterday's was certainly not, so this was a treat by comparison.
Overall, considering the circles, a so-so presentation.
Musings
ReplyDelete-The gimmick was obvious even though I did not know SMH
-Somehow SATAY leaped from my memory
-Ah yes, references used as a verb
-KEEP – Not my wife’s way of cleaning
-Beware, you’re on CAM almost everywhere
-In golf, my SMART WATCH gives me a lot of info but I have to swing the club
-Speaking of which, that same device has replaced my scanner and copier for a lot of jobs
-INERTIA can also be the opposite of lethargy. Once you get going you might want to keep at it
-From all my years in the lab, I know a foot ruler is about 30 cm but I have to mentally make that conversion when I see metric dimensions
-An EST. for renovating out bathroom made us gasp!
-Nice leadoff effort, Rusty!
-FORE!
Took 5:31 today for me to log-off.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the tee shirt joke in RustyBrain's review more than the puzzle, and that's not a knock on the puzzle.
Oh joy, circles!
And textspeak!
In the same puzzle!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAs Subgenius said, this was a true Monday puzzle vs yesterday’s imposter. I’ve never heard the phrase Extremely On Line, but it fits the theme to a tee. I’m not a big fan of text speak, especially in crosswords, so the theme itself wasn’t that exciting, but props for strong themers and a clean grid. Damon and Piracy, as clued, were the only speed bumps, but perps took care of both readily.
Thanks, Rebecca, and thanks, Rusty Brain, for a very informative and detailed review, especially your explanation of the theme. Congrats on a very impressive debut and welcome to the esteemed group of bloggers.
Have a great day.
Rusty Brain, you hit it out of the park. Welcome to the team.
ReplyDeleteWith the reveal I got the drift. I missed the extreme ends part. Only SMH was new to me. To me the theme and the circles made this interesting. Mostly we get easy puzzles like this early in the week. Yesterday's was an anomaly.
Seeing the I beginning, Rooney had to be Ireland.
I just looked up chop haircuts and found a drastic one.
AI- The Big Chop: This haircut is primarily done by individuals with chemically treated hair who want to transition to a natural, curly hair style. It's a very dramatic cut, often involving significant lengths being removed, according to Milkshake USA and Hair.com by L'Oreal.The Big Chop:
This haircut is primarily done by individuals with chemically treated hair who want to transition to a natural, curly hair style. It's a very dramatic cut, often involving significant lengths being removed, according to Milkshake USA and Hair.com by L'Oreal.
In my mind this haircut relates to "chop it all off."
We have a large Indian population here. We often see satay advertised.
We also have a large Jewish population. Schmutz is Yiddish. It is widely used informally by non-Jewish people, too. Here we have adopted quite a few Yiddish words.
It's hard to read a tome in bed. It is easy to read the same words on my Kindle with the bonus of light and print enlargement.
DAMON was all perps.
I had to wait for the reveal to kind of figure out the theme. I’m not plugged into text speak. When I text, and I know it’s all wrong, but I can’t help myself, not only I don’t abbreviate, but I punctuate and write as if I were writing á letter. Im just an old dog.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle however was smooth. Although i didn’t know PIRACY as clued, the Irish author and DAMON, perps and WAGS came to the rescue.
RustyBrain, thank you for your terrific debut. I look forward to more of your reviews.
Monkey, we “bark” the same language. I don’t use text speak when I text, (Except BTW) and I use proper spelling and punctuation. Same rules for email. Just our quixotic attempt to retain some semblance of civility, I suppose. 😉
DeleteGood point. Some texts from my younger generation relatives are not intelligible
DeleteThat was from Monkey.
DeleteThank you, Rebecca, and thank you, Rusty Brain.
ReplyDeleteHand raised for sometimes thinking that I spend too much time ONLINE. It's on my computers though, and not on my smartphone. I still recognized each texting shorthand.
Congrats on your blogger debut, Rusty Brain! Well done!
Well that's more like it!
ReplyDeleteThank for your usual excellence Rebecca -- I liked the puzzle and the theme (although it does strike a little close to home!) and ...
... thanks to RustyBrain for your virtuoso reviewer debut. The OMENS are good for many more great reviews in the future.
Some favs:
17A I REMEMBER IT WELL. I remember lots of obscure facts and Teri remembers all the birthdays of our grandchildren (but I do remember hers!).
22A SMARTWATCH. So much of our science fiction has become science fact.
34A LEIA. Nice pic!
60A DAMON. Finally, another clue for MATT.
64A STAT. It took a while for that to gel.
10D HOWE. Perps.
34D LACED. Yesterday we had unlaced.
36D OMS. We saw the Moody Blues perform at the Marjorie Merriweather Post pavilion back in the day. Great band.
37D BETA. Pet peeve -- programmers who don't bother to ALPHA test their code.
45D CREEKS. I'm reminded of a Brit series called Jonathan CREEK, about a man who designs magic tricks for magicians. Highly recommended.
Cheers,
Bill
Re: OMENS. As often as some words repeat in x-words, I can see digging through my growing trove of related images and pulling out a rerun. I'll try to stay original (for my own amusement as much as anyone else) but I have to confess - C.C. had me do a trial run of a random puzzle to give her a taste of what was to come. OMENS happened be on that puzzle as well...and I used the same pic as today. Busted!
DeleteNothing to add and I'm getting ready to head out to the West Coast for a family wedding - but wanted to congratulate RB on his debut blog
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have á picture of myself in the same pose and same place as RustyBrain at the Truman summer White House in Key West. I signed á lot of executive actions that day. LOL.
ReplyDeleteLOL re executive actions!
DeleteGreat minds think alike! Or fools seldom differ?
DeleteTerrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Rebecca and Rusty Brain (congrats on your great debut).
ReplyDeleteThis started as a speedy Monday solve (wait it’s Tuesday! ), but I bogged down in the SW corner. I had Motto instead of CREDO, did not know that DAMON, AP EXAMS are not as common here ), but finally things fell into place.
Like others here, I was not familiar with SMH, but saw the other texting abbreviations (but missed the EXTREME edges part of the theme).
OLA required perps, as I was not sure of the exact meaning of the slang Yo.
I don’t hear much Yiddish, and didn’t know schmutz.
57A and 58A were interesting. YEA and Vote For were used as nouns, while OPT and Make a choice were verbs.
TO ME crossed TRUST ME (oh no, it was TOME).
FLN, keep dropping in, Jayce, even if you haven’t had time to do the CW. We’re thinking of you.
Wishing you all a great day.
Ok, NOW it's Monday! Nice puzzle, and a true Major League debut for Rusty Brain! I needed the assist, as the theme went over my head just a bit out of reach.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the kind remarks. It's very encouraging. I'll try hard to uphold the high standard that C.C. et al. (crosswordese!) have set.
ReplyDeleteBTW I'm not a sports nut but the baseball metaphors just seemed to flow naturally.
Thank you RustyBrain, well done first Blog!
ReplyDeletenot familiar with SMH, here's the list I use...
OMG CED@11:04. That list is LOL!
DeleteI love it!
DeleteMonday come on a Tuesday this week, and what a relief after having Friday-on-Monday yesterday. FIR in 10, and LOVED that there are only 10 names, only DNK 1. Also DNK IRL, SMH, BRB or SATAY. Perps to the rescue, but it took RustyBrain to 'splain the text shorts. I just looked at them dopily and scratched my head. Thanx RG for this really nice CW. Thanx and congrats to RustyBrain, truly a terrific write-up. I enjoy Susan's cartoons, but you did a much more than adequate job of filling in, in your own style. I look forward to more of your write-ups.
ReplyDeleteDelightful Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Rebecca. And enjoyed your helpful commentary, Rusty Brain, thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteWell, this puzzle made me think of an ALUM who spent a lot of time EXTREMELY often ONLINE, looking for BREADCRUMBS to make clever comments that let him ASSERT his SMARTS and KEEP him from looking as though he has INERTIA. Bet he's hoping to show that he's clever and not ROUTINE, and that he'd never be guilty of any PIRACY. But I bet after all that worry and work he decided to get his PEN and just compose an ODE about IRELAND. That would make him feel he deserved to enjoy a TACO PIE with some CARAMELS and some ALMONDS, and then get some REST.
Enjoy a good REST of the day, everyone.
I w of your MADder LIBS Misty!
DeleteCongrats to Rusty Brain on a terrific debut! You sounded like you were having fun. WEES about SMH.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Rebecca for her clever construction! IRON was my last fill. FAV was Attempts or assists
Hola! Congratulations, Rusty Brain, on your debut! Well done. I look forward to future reviews from you.
ReplyDeleteSMH for me is St. Mary's High (School) in Phoenix.
My daughter loved LEIA and for a long time she required to have her hair in BUNS.
Matt is the only DAMON I know.
A FOOT LONG sub? That sounds like dinner.
Thank you, Rebecca, or the nice Tuesday toil. Have a lovely day, everyone!
Congratulations and thanks, RustyBrain for a fun review! Nice puzzle, too. This Motown native appreciated the shout-out to Gordie HOWE (aka "Mr. Hockey).
ReplyDeleteSo glad to be part of this wonderful community. Thanks again for all the well wishes!
ReplyDeleteI add my thanks to others' thanks to you, RustyBrain, for a fine write-up. I enjoyed this puzzle.
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, congrat's to RustyBrain for his debut blog; nothing beats hitting a homer and touching all the bases on your first at bat! Well done, and welcome to this group of bloggers
Second, Rebecca Goldstein is one of the more decorated constructors, having won an ORCA Award as the best constructor of x-word puzzles. I am unfamiliar with the reveal in today's puzzle but her use of the texting letters and placement of them fit just fine
Almond trees were planted in one of the driest parts of California. Ranchers created a system that rerouted water from Northern California to Southern California to nurture their crops.
ReplyDelete