Theme: Letters whose names sound like English words. (G)olly GEE!
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| Who can help but think of William Steig's 1968 classic CDB! |
20-Across. Mer(c)y: SEA OF HUMANITY.
59-Across. (T)yke: KID'S TEE.
25-Down. (B)enefit: BE OF SERVICE.
28-Down. Trajector(y): WHY OF COURSE.
44. Bra(i)n: MIND'S EYE.
Whew! And it doesn't get much easier ...
Across:
1. Win or lose: VERB. Right off the bat, we have a "meta" clue. Win and lose are both verbs.
5. Signs of healing: SCABS.
10. Win or lose alternative: DRAW. A "draw" is when a contest ends in a tie.
14. Single's bars?: ARIA. A single person singing a few bars of music might be an opera soloist singing an aria. Not an obvious answer!
15. "Se __ inglés": HABLA. "Se habla inglés" is Spanish for "English spoken." We often see signs in places of business that say "Se habla español" or "Spanish spoken." "Se habla inglés" might be a welcome sign for English speakers in Spanish speaking countries, but then, it would probably be written in English.
16. Character: ROLE.
17. Online chortles: LOLZ. LOL is a texting or online abbreviation for Laughing Out Loud. LOLZ is a plural, deliberately spelled in a cute way. You could translate it as "Laughs Out Loud" or just "Laughs."
5. Signs of healing: SCABS.
10. Win or lose alternative: DRAW. A "draw" is when a contest ends in a tie.
14. Single's bars?: ARIA. A single person singing a few bars of music might be an opera soloist singing an aria. Not an obvious answer!
15. "Se __ inglés": HABLA. "Se habla inglés" is Spanish for "English spoken." We often see signs in places of business that say "Se habla español" or "Spanish spoken." "Se habla inglés" might be a welcome sign for English speakers in Spanish speaking countries, but then, it would probably be written in English.
16. Character: ROLE.
17. Online chortles: LOLZ. LOL is a texting or online abbreviation for Laughing Out Loud. LOLZ is a plural, deliberately spelled in a cute way. You could translate it as "Laughs Out Loud" or just "Laughs."
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| South Park quote: "Why do you troll the internet?" "I do it for the LOLZ." |
18. Positive: ASSET.
19. Season celebrated by gifted kids?: YULE. Kids are "gifted" with gifts at Yuletide.
20. [Theme clue]
23. Supplier of oil pans?: ART CRITIC. A pan can be an unfavorable review. An art critic might supply negative reviews of oils, also known as oil paintings.
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| Everyone's a critic -- even Fido. |
24. Incantation syllables: ABRA. Add the syllables "cadabra" and you've got yourself a magical incantation.
26. Selling points?: ADS.
27. Garter snake prey: NEWT.
30. Great beast: APE. For a three letter word, this had me stumped for a while. The great apes or hominids are a taxonomic family of primates whose living members include orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and Homo sapiens.
31. Soft toss: LOB.
33. Ins. option: HMO. One health insurance option is a Health Maintenance Organization. I've been with Kaiser Permanente for 50 (gasp!) years. All the medical attention you need under one roof.
35. "Open the pod bay doors, __": HAL.
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| A chilling exchange between an astronaut and a computer in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. |
37. Mop alternative: ROOMBA. Roomba is a brand of robot vacuum cleaner. These days, most robot vacuums include a wet mop feature.
39. Argument-ending words, perhaps: I SAY SO.
41. Romeo's opening word?: ALFA. Did this sports car slow you down as it did me? I was thinking of Juliet's paramour, of course.
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| Alfa Romeo |
42. Mausoleums: TOMBS.
46. Go to the polls: VOTE.
47. Pear variety: BOSC.
48. Dressing on a caterer's table?: SKIRT. Put a skirt on a folding table to make it more presentable.
49. Hardly any: A FEW.
50. Actress Jewell: GERI. Geri Jewell is an actress, comedian, writer, and speaker, noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life and the western Deadwood. Her success is in spite of having been born with cerebral palsy and ignored or worse by other children. DNK - Did Not Know.
52. Gasteyer of "Mean Girls": ANA. Ana Gasteyer is an actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002, and has since starred in such sitcoms as Suburgatory, People of Earth, American Auto, and the film Mean Girls. DNK.
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| Ana Gasteyer |
53. Some mechanical pencils: BICS. BIC does make mechanical pencils.
54. Ada Lovelace's father: BYRON. Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. She is sometimes considered to be the first computer programmer. Ada was the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron and reformer Anne Isabella Milbanke. Lord Byron's other children were born out of wedlock to other women. Lord Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born, left England, and died in Greece, fighting in the Greek War of Independence when Ada was eight. Her education in mathematics was entirely thanks to her mother. She became a countess through marriage. DNK.
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| Daguerreotype of Ada Lovelace circa 1843 |
55. NFL stats: YDS. Even I recognize that National Football League statistics include yards.
56. Heavy dancing shoes: CLOGS.
58. Backroads ride, for short: ATV. All-Terrain Vehicle.
59. [Theme clue]
62. Need for a site visit?: URL. Uniform Resource Locator. A web address.
63. Two-time Newbery Medalist Lowry: LOIS. Lois Lowry is the author of many books for children and young adults, including The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, the Anastasia series, and Rabble Starkey. She is known for writing about difficult subjects and complex themes in works for young audiences. DNK.
56. Heavy dancing shoes: CLOGS.
58. Backroads ride, for short: ATV. All-Terrain Vehicle.
59. [Theme clue]
62. Need for a site visit?: URL. Uniform Resource Locator. A web address.
63. Two-time Newbery Medalist Lowry: LOIS. Lois Lowry is the author of many books for children and young adults, including The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, the Anastasia series, and Rabble Starkey. She is known for writing about difficult subjects and complex themes in works for young audiences. DNK.
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| Lois Lowry |
65. Caterpillar rival: DEERE. Caterpillar and John Deere compete in the manufacture of heavy equipment, although Caterpillar specializes in heavy construction and mining, while John Deere makes mostly agricultural equipment. There is clearly some overlap, as there are lots of YouTube videos titled "John Deere vs Caterpillar."
66. Grove grower: TREE. Not the arborist, but the thing growing in the grove.
67. Drink through a straw: SUCK.
68. Travel website with the same name as a boat: KAYAK. Kayak.com is a travel search engine, comparing prices from other sites for flights, hotels, and cars. Unlike Expedia or Travelocity, you can't book directly through Kayak, but you may find better price comparisons. For me, "kayak" conjures up our fearless Monday blogger, sumdaze, paddling on the Pacific.
69. Quickly, quickly: ASAP. Quickly, stated quickly: ASAP, or As Soon As Possible.
70. Surroundings: AREA.
71. Someone working around the House: REP. You will find Representatives working in the House of Representatives.
72. Rocker Joan: JETT. Joan Jett recorded four albums with the Runaways from 1975 to 1979, and then formed her own record label and performed as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Her 1981 album, I Love Rock 'n Roll, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The lead single was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Jett has released eleven more albums with the Blackhearts, two of them receiving gold and platinum certifications. Her single I Hate Myself for Loving You earned Jett her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Performance. How many of our Corner guitarists have played her songs?
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| Joan Jett |
Down:
1. Actor Kilmer: VAL. Val Kilmer was an American actor who found fame through films including Top Secret!, Real Genius, and Top Gun. He played Jim Morrison in The Doors and Batman in Batman Forever. His voice was altered by throat cancer, and had to be digitally modified for the 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick. Roger Ebert said of Kilmer in 1992, "If there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it." Kilmer passed away on April 1, 2025.
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| Val Kilmer at Cannes in 2005 |
2. God with a quiver: EROS. Eros carries a quiver of arrows.
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| I searched for Cupid with arrows and found a bunch of babies with wings. I searched for Eros with arrows, and well, that's more like it! |
3. Really get to: RILE.
4. Middle Eastern market: BAZAAR.
5. Hot rod rod: SHAFT. Some of our car enthusiasts can tell us all about hot rod drive shafts in the comments.
6. Game show whose contestants are really driven?: CASH CAB. This show appeared in the puzzle I blogged on September 11th! Cash Cab is a game show that premiered in 2005. A taxi picks up a customer, the host announces that they are on Cash Cab, and they are given the option to play or get out. If they choose to play, they have to stay in the cab until they reach their destination or get three strikes when answering questions. They earn cash for correct answers. Our solvers would do well.
7. Wackadoo: ABSURD.
8. Mark: BLEMISH.
9. Occupied, as a hot desk: SAT AT. In some offices, workers do not have their own, private work spaces. There are desks available, and you grab one. "Hot desking" accommodates various shifts and schedules. It must assume that all your files and resources are electronic. I still use filing drawers in my desk.
10. Solid carbon dioxide: DRY ICE. Useful as a cooling agent, dry ice also makes cool fog effects.
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| Youngest daughter was married in August and danced with hubby in a cloud of DRY ICE fog. |
11. Drubbing: ROUT. A resounding defeat.
12. Supporter: ALLY.
13. Microscopic: WEE.
21. Floss brand: ORAL B.
22. Spanish sons: NIÑOS. No, no, no. Sons are HIJOS. Niños are children -- boys, or boys and girls -- but not necessarily sons. Mis hijos son Isaac y Aaron. Mis niños son Isaac, Leila, Aaron, y Rachel. Lucina can correct me if I'm wrong.
24. Accounting record?: APOLOGY TOUR. A well-known person might make a series of speeches, interviews, or public appearances to express regret for a mistake. That's an apology tour. You could say that they're giving an accounting of their misdeeds.
25. [Theme clue]
28. [Theme clue]
29. "My compliments to the chef": TASTES GREAT.
30. Part of UAE: ARAB. United Arab Emirates.
32. Grains that may be steel-cut: OATS.
34. Produce aisle spray: MIST.
36. German entomologist Hermann: LOEW. Friedrich Hermann Loew (1807-1879) was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. He was the first specialist to work on the Diptera of the United States. His collections are in museums around the world, and more than a dozen insects are named for him. See, for example, the lovely Albulina loewii that lives in the Middle East and Asia. DNK, but great entomologists should be as famous as rock stars.
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| Albulina loewii |
38. Large-scale: MACRO.
40. Make use (of): AVAIL.
43. "Yes, honey": OKAY DEAR.
44. [Theme clue]
45. Fashion tape target: BRA STRAP. If you don't want your bra strap to show, tape your top to the strap.
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| Tape those bra straps to your top! |
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| Or, take a cue from the younger ladies, and flaunt them! |
51. What a pocket protector protects from: INK.
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| When I was in college, a pocket protector was universally acknowledged as the badge of a science nerd. |
53. Dating initials: BCE. Before Common Era, a secular alternative to BC, Before Christ.
54. Wood whose name comes from the Spanish for "raft": BALSA. This tropical wood is surprisingly buoyant.
57. Rested: SLEPT.
60. "u tell me": IDK. I Don't Know. Here in the corner, we more often confess: DNK.
61. "Yikes!": EEK.
64. Horn-heavy genre: SKA. Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, combining Caribbean sounds like calypso with American jazz, rhythm and blues. Ska today is fast paced and features lots of brass instruments.
66. __ Mahal: TAJ.
54. Wood whose name comes from the Spanish for "raft": BALSA. This tropical wood is surprisingly buoyant.
57. Rested: SLEPT.
60. "u tell me": IDK. I Don't Know. Here in the corner, we more often confess: DNK.
61. "Yikes!": EEK.
64. Horn-heavy genre: SKA. Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, combining Caribbean sounds like calypso with American jazz, rhythm and blues. Ska today is fast paced and features lots of brass instruments.
66. __ Mahal: TAJ.
Here's the grid:
(O)bligation -- I OWE you an explanation of the puzzle theme.
(U)nderstand -- Did YOU get it?
(R)eactions? ARE you ready to comment?
Will someone please explain to me why
ReplyDelete“LOL” pluralized ends with a “Z” rather than an “S”? That seems “bogus” to me, and because I missed that one letter , I got a rare “FIW” on a weekday puzzle!
I’m not happy about that, but I am happy to be here and see if the rest of you did better than I did! Subgenius out !
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCrashed and burned. APOLOGY TOUR and BE OF SERVICE never appeared due to ABRA, APE, ALFA and GERI. Elsewhere, I needed to correct TDS to YDS, UTE to ATV, and LOLS to LOLZ. My whole grid looks like a Wite-Out wonderland. I guess the theme was clever...too clever for my aging brain.
VAL: To me, his most memorable role was as Doc "I'm your huckleberry" Holliday in Tombstone.
SAT AT: My former employer sold itself to another offshore company. Now the IT folk are assigned hot desks in a large room. Programmers may fix reports, but no longer write any programs. Sad. Don't think I could've handled the change.
My favorite line was Val's retort when Johnny Ringo had just told him that he (Johnny) was just fooling around during their encounter in town: ''I wasn't''.
DeleteOne of many great lines! My favorite is "Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave."
DeleteOops, thanx to Rebecca for the abasement and to NaomiZ for 'splainin' my mess.
ReplyDeleteBlah. No fun. LOLZ? Give me a break. DNF, too annoying. Moving on to the daily newspaper and more annoyance.
ReplyDeleteLOLZ? apology tour? appallingly SOUR - should have never gotten past the editor
ReplyDeleteAgreed. This vanity project was a waste of time.
DeleteDNF, thanks to my habit of solving using paper and (Pentel) mechanical pencil. Had I been solving on line I would have gotten the TADA. Instead, I took the opportunity to change LOLZ to LOLs x BAsAAR and BCE to BCr x KIDSTEr, my only erasures snatching defeat from the very jaws of victory.
ReplyDeleteI've never been around a ROOMBA. Do they really mop? The TV ads make them look more like a broom alternative.
You wouldn't take an ATV on back roads. You might take an AWD or an SUV. You take an ATV on trails and other places where there aren't roads.
I think that the most interesting thing about BALSA is that it is technically a hardwood.
So good to see TAJ again in the LAT xword. It's been quite a few hours since we've seen it here.
"My complements to the chef," or one side of the Miller Lite debate from the 1970s (the other side being "less filling.")
I never know whether I'll like or dislike a Rebecca Goldstein creation. For today's version, I'll just say it didn't SUCK IMO. And thanks to NaomiZ for the informative narrative. Beautiful KID and KID-in-law.
I enjoyed this puzzle and the review. Think both very clever and fair. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou’re nuts, with all due respect. It’s a Thursday first of all!
Deleteyuk!! titt
ReplyDeleteFIW. Like SubG I too don't understand LOL pluralized with a Z. I suspected bazaar for the market but thought maybe it was spelled differently in the middle east. That one square cost me the win.
ReplyDeleteThis was quite a workout which wasn't helped with all the proper names all over the place. Add to that that this was a vertical puzzle which I'm never fond of.
Overall far from an enjoyable puzzle.
Did not enjoy this at all.
ReplyDeleteIt was a toughie but I did FIR. I caught the schtick at KID'S TEE, after changing my guess of KIDSTER. My last fill was the cross of BAZAAR and LOLZ, which I've never seen. The clues were tricky today, very tricky.
ReplyDeleteRomeo's opening word- I certainly thinking about cars.
The 'dressing' at the caterer wasn't Ranch, it was a SKIRT.
GERI, BYRON, LOIS, LOEW- those took perps and guesses.
Is it Saturday already? I still have no idea what the theme is. Way too many names and obscure clues. Never heard of a Roomba being a mop. Took me 30 minutes to suss it out which is ok since we're finally getting some much needed rain.
ReplyDeleteTook 15:17 today to get wrong.
ReplyDeleteThat stack in the lower/mid-left of names (Geri, Byron, Lois, etc.) intersecting with the poorly clued "apology tour" was not pretty at all. I also spelled the plural of LOL with an "s". I knew one of two Actresses of the Day (Ana, not Geri), and had no idea on "German entomologist Hermann," which is a strong candidate for the worst clue of September.
Least fun puzzle I can remember.
LOLZ is leetspeak which, in turn, is ''an informal language or code used on the internet, in which standard letters are often replaced by numerals or special characters that resemble the letters in appearance''.
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping to prove how ridiculous that is. I have not heard of "leetspeak", and even if I had, replacing a correct letter with an incorrect letter is different than a numeral or special character.
DeleteI'm guessing that Antz isn't your favorite DreamWorks (or should that be "DreamWorx") movie.
DeleteVery clever, I enjoyed the wordplay, but not the puzzle as a whole.
ReplyDeleteWhat desper-otto said: too clever for me...
I really don't know how to respond to this theme...
I only do Monday to Friday to stay away from this kind of puzzles. Not enjoyable at all.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-A very worthy and fun challenge that I finished with LOLZ and not LOLS
-It seemed that Rebecca zigged every time I thought she zagged!
-There is no need to point out where this occurred as Naomi had the same thoughts. Are you and Irish related? :-)
-Is HAL’s attitude an omen of AI things to come?
-TREE: My friend has a grove of walnut trees that have finally reached a size where he can sell the lumber
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI finished w/o help and w/o any satisfaction or enjoyment. In retrospect, the theme is very clever, even though it took me forever to see the actual gimmick. However, the cleverness of the theme was overshadowed by the way too clever cluing. Once again, an author’s penchant for outwitting the solver through sleight of hand language took precedence over a pleasant and fair solving experience.
Thanks, Naomi, for your very clear and well-defined explanation of the theme and your very informative and interesting commentary. You have a talent for choosing the entries that benefit from highlighting and expansion.
Have a great day.
Agreed wholeheartedly
DeletePerfectly said, as always.
DeleteToo much to do this morning to finish. Too many names, oral phrases, and text speak for me. I know when to hold them and when to fold them.
ReplyDeleteKudos to those who finished this CW.
Thank you NaomiZ for your nice review.
Really clever and a pretty fun solve for me.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me?! German entomologist! And I worked for an entomologist and this name for some odd reason never came up…. Never heard of Lolz and when I was reduced to looking up my answers I found there is an online middle eastern market called Basaar which, while very arcane, at least made sense. Ultimately I FIW with five wrong! FIVE! Between lolz and Ada Lovelace father (raise your hand if you’re familiar with Ada’s daddy! I mean c,mon, there’s this guy titled Lord Byron you may have heard of instead? And Ana and Geri were unknown to me. Proper names again!! Yes it was clever - too clever by half! And I finally sussed out the theme which helped. Stay away from this constructor.
ReplyDeleteEasy solve today except for the LOLZ. Otherwise, it was downright scary to think I was perhaps on her wavelength... A couple of stretches here and there but still enjoyable overall. IMHO this was one of her better puzzles.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of Rebecca Goldstein's puzzles, and today was no exception. I FIR but derived no enjoyment from it.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle should have been a Saturday entry, and even then I would have thought it to be ridiculous.
Some clues were way too cute, others were designed to encourage failure, a few were beyond obscure, and others had questionable connections to their answers.
I also thought the theme was absurd, and paid it no mind. Was it clever? I suppose so. But "clever" does not necessarily equate to "useful."
Nope, started on this one and decided it wasn't for me. I went straight to the NYT's puzzle. That one was easier to figure than this. Thanks for the recap and explanations Naomi.
ReplyDeleteChallenging but interesting Thursday puzzle--many thanks, Rebecca. And your commentary was very helpful as always, NaomiZ--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteWell, my favorite clue in this puzzle was, of course, 34 down, with its neat shout-out-to me: "Mist." But I have to admit that I've never produced any aisle spray.
But there was a lot of other delightful positivity in that SEA OF HUMANITY floating around the puzzle (even though we didn't really need any TOMBS). I bet that ART CRITIC listened to that ARIA, and hummed "ABRA cadabra." And we had a friendly critic telling us "OKAY, DEAR," and the food "TASTES GREAT," and "WHY OF COURSE." Made me want to say, "Thanks, DEERE," except that caterpillar rival might not have appreciated that. So I'd best go and get some lunch--I need something more than "DRY ICE."
Have a great day, and hopefully better weather soon, everybody.
Rebecca again stoked her ego by making the clues twisted and unnecessarily obscure. I guess that power trip soothes her insecurities. LOLZ 😂
ReplyDeleteA wonderful recap Naomi.
Yooper Phil here ~ yes this was hard, with some rather devious clues and fill, but going in, seeing Rebecca’s byline, I knew it would be a challenge. WEES about the Z making LOL plural, which I had to change from the S, and when I changed abba to ABRA, I got the congratulatory message (by half a miracle) for a FIR in just under a half hour. Thank you Rebecca for testing my patience, and to NaomiZ for another stellar review, I really liked your apropos ending three lines of your blog!
ReplyDeleteHola! WEES. Irish Miss said it exceptionally well. I got through the top, right side and most of the bottom. APOLOGY TOUR never made it on my grid.
ReplyDeleteBYRON and LOIS, of course, I know but not GERI nor LOEW. KAYAK is also well known and NINOS although initially I had HIJOS which literally means sons. BAZAAR came easily which gave me LOLZ or I never would have known that one.
As has been noted, this was more like Saturday.
Thank you, NaomiZ, for your enjoyable TOUR. Have a lovely day, everyone!
I have a much better clue for 67 across…. “What this puzzle did”
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, NaomiZ -- I LOVE the photo of your daughter and son-in-law!
ReplyDelete"Mer" set apart in the clue which both the ending of the clue and the answer was "sea" or its homophone was fun to notice. And I really liked the "why" of course and the others.
ReplyDeleteThis one whooshed high over my head. Why not just make up your own alphabet if the real one doesn't fit? NaomiZ had to explain the gimmick for me...thanks! I'll Echo Irish Miss on this one.
ReplyDelete