"PUN-TATHALON"
Body-checking sport for couples~?
TONSIL HOCKEY~!
After extensive online research, I have come to the conclusion that this is Alex Stoneman's debut puzzle anywhere - if I am wrong, I apologize - otherwise, congratulations on your first publication~! My guess is he's the Alex I find at MIT with a love for crosswords - perhaps he will pop in here for a comment at the Corner. An enjoyable "pentathalon" of five "sports" that are punny rewordings of non-sport phrases/things. Three of the five are unique fills, and the other two have appeared one and two other times in other published puzzles. No circles, a few more names than I would have preferred, one ( I'm looking at you, 36D ) which created a Natick, and a fair spread of 19 3LW and 22 4-letter words with no reveal. The themers;
17. Boat sport for pilots?: FLIGHT CREW - Not an Apollo flight crew, this "crew" being athletes of the rowing team sport - I like working out on the rowing machine at the gym . . . .
24. Beach sport for the self-absorbed?: EGO SURFING - Surfing is, well, surfing
35. Running sport for academics?: TENURE TRACK - I don't DO running
"Little Chocolate Donuts"
49. Cue sport for children?: KIDDIE POOL - not a "sport" per se, but can be found on ESPN, therefore making billiards, or pool, an "entertainment"
Trick Shots
58. Combat sport for really tired people?: BEAT BOXING - boxing as in sparring, which we frequently see as a crossword clue/answer; I had to check to see if I was in fact, correct about what the "other" meaning is; the maufacture of drums, music, etc., with one's mouth only, like this guy. . . .
Tom Thum - and here's a full clip from TEDTalks
One last sport - the clue: Ice sport for Billy Idol~? - Answer below *
ACROSS:
1. Drink with marshmallows: COCOA - I have been drinking Ryze mushroom coffee for 65 days ( they offer a journal with a quaint question in a text every morning ) and at night I have occasion to drink their mushroom COCOA as well - no marshmallows😜
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6. Long-legged birds: EMUs
10. Belt: SWIG - Think shots of liquor
14. "We need to talk": "A WORD..."
15. Mars rover org.: NASA - Here is me back in 2007(?) at the American Museum of Natural History
That's my step-daughter - for two years - she's 25 now
16. Play charades, e.g.: MIME
19. Reverse: UNDO
20. Negotiation-ending words: NO DEAL - I grew up with "Let's Make A Deal", but never watched "Deal or No Deal" - here is the "Monty Hall 'problem'"
21. Shady plot: ARBOR
22. Xenon, for one: GAS
27. "Please, I'm on it": "ALLOW ME."- not quite one-to-one phrases, IMO
30. Key hit in panic: ESC - the upper left key of the computer's user interface; I am very familiar with it, as all AutoCAD functions are "released" when it's tapped - not so with Photoshop, which is annoying
31. "Gosh!": "GEE~!"
32. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis: LEONA - never heard of her; name #1, more here
39. Tactics, in gamerspeak: STRATegy - Meh. The "R" caused a Natick for me with 36D.; I would have preferred the guitarspeak instead
40. Notre Dame Fighting __: IRISH - a double shout-out to our Cornerite with 22D~!!!
43. Nail salon brand: OPI - gimme, as it's becoming a crossword staple
46. Female sib: SIS - sibling / sister
47. Stressful parts of French class?: ACCENTS - the "tiks" over letters in déjà vu, e.g.
52. Belly: GUT - I missed my weigh-in at the gym last week due to injuring my arm when I was digging up some nasty roots around the pine tree in my front yard, and did this
Ouch.
53. Like Machu Picchu: INCAN
54. Ogres: BRUTES
57. Era: SPAN
62. Merit: EARN
63. Oscar winner Stone: EMMA - name #2, but we've seen her before
64. "Zoom-Zoom" automaker: MAZDA - name(ish) - wow, a bit dated, but yeah
I've driven a 5spd manual Miata - it does go "zoom zoom"~!
65. Small whirlpool: EDDY - name # - oh, wait, never mind....
66. Soccer score: GOAL~!!!!!!!!!
67. Smudge: SMEAR
DOWN:
1. Half-__: coffee spec: CAF - Denis Leary on coffee flavored coffee
NOTE: a few F-bombs
2. One who gives a hoot: OWL
3. Something in need of change?: COIN SLOT - Ah yes, clever
4. Challenging chem course: ORGO - new to me; the "colloquial" term for Organic Chemistry; offered at UCONN, which makes sense, since they are an agricultural institution
5. Ritalin target, for short: ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - I believe that between TV commercial ads, the Internet and Social Media, staying focused is quite a challenge these days....
6. Confine: ENCAGE
7. "That Girl" star Thomas: MARLO - name #3, sumdaze linked her on Monday; I knew the show, even if I was born a month after its run ended . . . .
8. Call upon: USE
9. Proverb: SAW - "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", for example
10. Blue character in a mushroom-shaped house: SMURF
La-LA-lala-la-la - Earworm~!
11. Hit the jackpot: WIN BIG - Powerball was $1.8billion this past Saturday
12. "All finished": "I'M DONE."
13. First president's first name: GEORGE - Wow. I had to think about this - funny. Name #4
18. Abound (with): TEEM
21. Very old: ARCHAIC - Ah - not ANCIENT; only 3/7ths correct, ~42.85%
22. Miss: GAL - Oh, that Miss - I tried ERR for the 'other' kind of miss
23. Renaissance faire beverage: ALE - Served by the beer we-, uh, "Miss"
25. Solange's "A __ at the Table": SEAT - I had '_EAT', so an "S" made sense
26. KGB country: USSR - Russian espionage "equal" of the USA's CIA
28. Binary digits: ONES - the other digit is "ZEROS" or "ZEROES"
29. Meows at the door, perhaps: WANTS IN
33. Matching group: SET
34. Land unit: ACRE
36. Michael of "Shrinking": URIE - No clue - had to WAG the "R". Arrr. Name #5 - IMDb
37. Coarse file: RASP
38. Like some beds and candy bars: KING-SIZE - Ah. Clever - how 'bout both together~?
The candy bar bed linens website
41. "Rugrats" dad: STU - filled via perps - this cartoon, name #6
42. Pres. after FDR: HST - Fraklin Delano Roosevelt; Harry S - OR - S.~? Truman - more here
43. "Ah, it makes sense now": "OK, I SEE." - seeing more of this type of "phrase fill" lately
44. ATM input instrument: PIN PAD - ATM on the Clue side for a change
45. Proof of legal age, often: ID CARD
47. Like some matters of the heart?: AORTAL - $2 word
48. __ sandwich: CLUB
50. Actor DeVito: DANNY - name #7, liked his "solo" in this video
When The Going Gets Tough - Billy Ocean
51. First president born after 1960: OBAMA - AND - 33A. Younger 51-Down daughter: SASHA - since I do the Down clues first, I had the "father" filled in; names # 8 & 9
55. __ of Maine: personal care brand: TOMS - new to me; the Website - name(ish)
56. Midterm, e.g.: EXAM
58. "I __ to differ": "BEG"
59. My Chemical Romance genre: EMO - I am familiar with the band by name, but not their music - they hail from New Jersey, as do I - the Wiki
60. Secret-protecting doc: NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement; I need to retain a lawyer so I can move forward with my three board games - I need to protect my concept/design before I attempt to produce and market them
61. Long-jawed fish: GAR - ARR~! Talk Like a Pirate Day is next Friday~!
*Answer - Lip Curliing~!
*Answer - Lip Curliing~!
Splynter
37 comments:
I don’t like that made up
word “ orgo.” Otherwise, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
D-o fell into the AnCient/ARCHAIC trap (Hi, Splynter) also BeastS/BRUTES. Methinks TOMS of Maine is likely unknown outside New England, and I'm not in New England. Cute theme. Nice debut, Alex. Thanx for the expo, Splynter.
even after the explanation, it's still a stretch. It makes absolutely no sense.
FIR, but slug->SWIG and aortic->AORTAL. Got my WAG @ STRAT x URIE. A STRATegy is how you intend to wage an argument, battle, game, car buying, etc.) while a tactic is your adjustment while the act is in progress. Different things; misunderstood by most folks.
We'll have to ask our own IRISH Miss - Isn't "Fighting IRISH" redundant? At least in the male side of the heritage?
I had a roommate who grew up around a machine shop, and was a gearhead as an adult. He bought a Sunbeam Alpine with a blown engine, completely rebuilt the suspension, and installed a Wankel rotary engine and dashboard from a MAZDA pickup. It was great fun to drive at medium and high RPMs, but was kind of sluggish at low RPM. Zoom zoom indeed.
My sister's degree is in ORGanic chemistry, although I never heard it called ORGO. She spent nearly all her career teaching college chemistry, so I'll bet she's heard it called that.
I wanted "state" of Maine, thinking of the Hotel New Hampshire bear.
I got some AORTAL bad news yesterday. Both my AORTAL chambers are "severely enlarged." I'll have to wait until January 20 to discuss it with a cardiologist. If I should disappear from here before then, let Cornerites know "Jinx had a big heart."
Thanks to Alex for the fun humpday puzzle, and to Splynter for another solid review with dueling leg shots.
FIR. No circles thank goodness, but enough obscure proper names to be obnoxious. The crossing of Urie and strad was particularly rotten. And orgo? Is that even a thing?
I finished the solve and stared at the theme completely puzzled, came here to get the explanation , and I'm no better off understanding it.
Overall a most unenjoyable puzzle.
Took 5:39 today to finish the mental gymnastics.
I knew the Actresses of the Day (Emma & Marlo), half of the Actors of the Day (Danny, not Urie) and did not know the singer (Leona).
Well, I hope we won't need to pull out any "big heart" witticisms, but seriously, you can't see a cardiologist for FOUR MONTHS?!
FIW due to a mistake at 43D "OH" I SEE rather than "OK". That caused me to miss "KIDDIE", I was looking for something "HIDDI?". Not knowing URIE finished me off.
But is was a fun trip nonetheless! I enjoyed the themers and some of the lively fill and clever clueing. I have heard ORGO used many times, so that came easily. But I do hang out with a lot of chemists - my experience may be different from most solvers.
Congratulations to Alex on your enjoyable debut, and to Splynter for your thorough review! The candy bar bed linens are certainly a sight to behold.
Hilariously, the only reason I had ever heard "belt" used in the context of a SWIG from yesterday's connections haha. Still not really understanding the term SAW as proverb, have never heard that term before. And also the organic chemistry was awkward because when I was in school we all just called it OChem, which obviously did not fit and also contained the clue. Bizarre clueing in an otherwise fun puzzle imo
Nice mid week challenge. “Types of sports” theme. Hadda look up the definition of EGOSURFING, (and then I searched my name 😉).
Inkovers : ask/USE, ancient/ARCHAIC, kidsized/KINGSIZE,
Im feeling ARCHAIC: first Obama and now the pope, both younger than me😳
Didn’t known URIE, but took a WAG at STRAT (STRATegy?)
Who says ORGO, c’mon, aortic not AORTAL (aortic stenosis, aortic aneurysm etc).
____ campaign, a _____ … SMEAR, SHADY PLOT
They abandon ship … FLIGHT CREW
Daycare billiards … KIDDIE POOL
OK
IMDONE
I too had ancient before ARCHAIC. SURFING put me on the right TRACK. TENURE, however I got that decades ago.
The theme kind revealed itself slowly. OK I SEE.
I encountered á lot of unknowns like LEONA, STU, TOMS, ORGO, STRAT crossing URIE. They all were dealt with thanks to perps, so I FIR.
Miss ☘️ also made an appearance in this puzzle, so all good.
Thank you Splynter for the nice recap and counting the names for us.
Well, I’M DONE.
Excerp from AI:
“Old saw is an idiom meaning an old saying, proverb, or cliché that has become overused but still expresses a common piece of wisdom.”
A Wednesday level puzzle.
The solve lacked ooomph !!
Kinda boring.
The juice was not worth the squeeze.
The recap was more fun than the puzzle. Thanks Splynter for the informative and fun analysis.
OH, I SEE now. GEE, it wasn't "oh, I see". It was OK I SEE. A DNF today because I was stuck on HIDDEN POOL (which didn't make sense) instead of KIDDIE crossing unknown URIN (nobody's named URINE) crossing unknown STRAT. I managed to complete the rest. I was also stuck on NEEDS IN for a while but couldn't figure out how ALL ON ME fit the clue; it didn't and I finally changed NEEDS to WANTS and LEONE to LEONA (unknown).
I had to back out of ANCIENT to get ARCHAIC. I'LL say that I did not WIN BIG today. I'M DONE for today.
For a first time puzzle, I must commend the constructor, as it was fair and very puzzling. Orgo was unheard of, but the perps were kind. And the one French clue/answer, was in English! So I can't complain...
The theme however is just not making it through my dense scalp, can you throw the V8 can a little harder?
Perhaps you can help me, because if I cannot understand the theme, I cannot provide a silly link. Perhaps, could you provide a silly link that would explain it? In the meantime, here is an interesting member of the fight crew... stick around till the end where he does the safety briefing in French!
Good Morning:
I enjoyed the solve and thought the theme was clever and well-executed. Urie, Stu, and Orgo were the only unknowns, and it took me a while to remember Leona Lewis. I went astray, like others, at Ancient/Archaic and also at Malia/Sasha, but not for long. Post solve research on Orgo erased any doubts, if not dislike, about its validity.
Thanks and congrats on your debut, Alex, and thanks, Splynter, for the very expansive review and commentary. Thanks for the double CSO.
Have a great day.
Musings
-These are fun types of puzzles to solve. Insect DNA clone: CRICKET MATCH?
--Set the “Way Back Machine” 74 years ago for this very early TV MIME show
-The “Monte Hall Problem” is posited by “professor” Kevin Spacey in his MIT classroom part of the entertaining movie 21. The Video
-With scoring being maddeningly infrequent in soccer, announcers go nuts when there is finally a GOAL!!
-I can’t remember the last time I put a coin in a COIN SLOT. In my misspent youth, that was very frequent activity for pinball, pool games, jukebox, phone booth, bubble gum machine, laundromat, vending machines, newspaper dispensers…
-“Never use a preposition to end a sentence (with)”. Is that ARCHAIC NOW?
-I have seen NMI in crosswords as a abbr. for No Middle Initial.
-LIP CURL: Splynter’s first thought is Billy Idol, mine is Elvis.
-Nice review, Splynter!
FIW thanks to a bad WAG at URIE. Didn't much care for this one...too many ultra-obscure clues, wrong clues, (Aortal) and the ever-irritating "paraphrase" non-clues. On the other hand, Splynter pumped the enjoyment back into my morning!
DW buys Tom's toothpaste and deodorant at Trader Joe's. Not just a Maine thing.
When I flew SWA a lot, their safety briefings were commonly infused with some humor. At least it caused more people to pay attention, unlike the usual monotone speed read.
I'm on the waiting list for cancellations, and I live only a mile or so from the practice. I'm also hoping that my PCP will try to intercede in my behalf after my next appointment on the first.
Erm…ORGO? Well, these days we’re gonna see that type of fill. Friendly perps allowed for a FIR in 15:34, but it took an a-run to get my last fill, the R in STRAT/URIE. I remember OPI from Lucy’s comments about it being her go-to nail stuff. Thanks for the challenging puzzle Alex, and congrats on your debut, Don’t be discouraged by negative comments, you can’t please everyone. Thanks Splynter for the expo.
Good luck for an earlier appointment.
"FIW due to OH..." my exact experience. "Oh, I see," seems better than, "OK, I see."
Congratulations on your debut, Alex. And I always enjoy your commentary, Splynter, thanks for that too.
Well, I'm not much of a sports person--not even during my days on the TENURE TRACK early in my academic career. But I should still be able to manage EGO SURFING and BEAT BOXING without an ID CARD or a payment to the COIN SLOT in my seniority, where all sports feel pretty ARCHAIC to me. I'm not sure if they'll let me be part of the FLIGHT CREW, and I'm certainly too old to use the KIDDIE POOL. But, even so, I bet I can still pass an EXAM or two. Well, time to get some COCOA.
Keep enjoying a good Wednesday, everybody.
Not a bad debut from Alex, even though I FIR due to "Oh, I SEE" creating the dreaded "hidden" POOL.
Thanks, Splynter for the recap. As an owner of several STRATs (see avatar) I wholeheartedly agree we should be using guitarspeak instead!
THIS Eddy prefers Eddie.
Hola! that's right, Yooper Phil. OPI is the brand used at the nail salon I frequent.
I'm glad you remembered.
Hand up for ANCIENT before ARCHAIC. And HIDDEN POOL not KIDDIE POOL. Drat! OH, I SEE made sense.
SMURF was my daughter's nickname in school because she is short and now it's on her license plate.
CSO to my late brother-in-law who loved his MAZDA.
I'm surprised that SAW is not well known as a saying or proverb.
An old SAW is "where there's smoke, threre's fire"
Enjoy your day, everyone!
Jinx, Fighting Irish redundant? Far be it from me to perpetuate an ethnic stereotype. But, in all honesty, if I were you, I’d be raising Holy Hell with someone about having to wait for 4 months to be seen about what sounds like a serious medical condition.
WEES, never heard of ORGO, and many moons ago I taught Organic Chemistry. 14 names, but only 3 DNKs, so cruised to FIR in 18. (Yeah, I had to think long and hard on some fill). 3D "DIRTYDIAPER" didn't fit; it took a while for COINSLOT to appear. Clever clue. W/O: ENTRAP/ENCAGE. Not sure I've ever hear ENCAGE used. Overall a fun, clever CW, AS, thanx. Thanx too to Splynter for the terrific (as always) write-up, and the double-duty on great legs.
I had exactly the same Oh to OK experience.
Yeah, it's starting to get my IRISH up, to be honest. I'll give my PCP a chance to respond, then maybe look for a different practice.
LOL, I thought of dirty diaper too
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Alex (congrats on your debut) and Splynter.
I FIRed eventually and saw the Sports/common phrase theme. Soccer GOAL could be an Easter Egg.
Hand up for Oh before OK, which held up KIDDIE and that URIE cross.
I did see strategy/STRAT.
SWat before SWIG had this Canadian floundering at American history, trying to remember if there was a President TEOdor. Then I’M DONE gave me SWIG and I heaved a sigh of relief to remember GEORGE Washington. After that, OBAMA and HST were slam-dunks, even for this Canadian.
Hand up for AORTic before AORTAL. I’m with Ray-o in only hearing the medical terms.
I noted ONES crossing TENure.
Favourite today was the clue for ACCENTS.
Wishing you all a great day.
Just back from 18 and am wondering how my 10:55 posting came out as Anonymous.
Google likes to do that to us at times.
FYI Jinx- your Aorta doesn't have chambers but your atria (atrium singular) are the upper chambers of your heart and can be enlarged. Your aorta can also be dilated and enlarged. If they are enlarged it is very hard to get Atrial fibrillation into a normal rhythm
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