At this point, MM is wondering if he should return early and stop RustyBrain's madness...but it's too late. Mwahaha!
This appears to be Luke Nagel's debut. Congrats! I hope it's not ONE AND DONE. Lets start with the revealer:
57. Like some NBA prospects, or like the answers to the starred clues: ONE AND DONE. This refers to the National Basketball Association's rule that requires players to be one year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft. Usually that means at least a year of college, but sometimes players opt to join foreign or minor leagues. For our purposes here, the phrase means that once you reach the letters "O-N-E," the answer is DONE and the remaining letter is deleted. I think. I tried to spell out the missing letters (T, D, S, S) to no avail. Let me know if you came up with something deeper.
17. *Camper's canopy: MOSQUITO NE. MOSQUITO NET.
24. *Whiskey cocktail: OLD FASHIONE. OLD FASHIONED.
36. *"Hackney Diamonds" rock band: THE ROLLING STONE. THE ROLLING STONES.
47. *Ford explorer?: INDIANA JONE. INDIANA JONES.
All the answers are straight forward, except for missing the final letter. Unfortunately, that mostly leaves us with nonsense words which I don't really like. If the last letters had spelled out a word like "DONE," it would have elevated this puzzle. It's Friday, so fun (tricky) clues abounded. Note my one caution square at the intersection of AMMAN and AIDAN - pick a vowel.
As players say in the NBA, "Show me the mone_."
Across:
1. Goes for a slice?: GOLFS. Or DUFFS - either way, a bad shot. Trickily, the clue suggests going to a pizzeria.
6. Body wrap venue: SPA. Mrs. RightBrain tried out an new Egyptian SPA. I told her to go there again in two weeks before our Halloween party.
9. Honor roll figs.: GPAS. Grade Point Averages. I was an underwater student. All my grades were below C level.
13. WWII subs: U-BOATS. In World War II, German Unterseeboots (literally Under-sea Boats) were submarines that posed a significant threat to Allied ships.
15. Top: CAP. Baseball or bottle? You decide.
16. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" writer/illustrator Carle: ERIC. Classic.children's picture book.
17. [theme]
19. Pestered persistently: RODE. Especially by a mother-in-law on the road.
20. Nectar collectors: BEES.
21. Dict. offering: DEF. The Definition of a Dictionary is a reference book that lists the words of a language (typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning. You can look it up.
22. Mideast capital once named Philadelphia: AMMAN. AMMAN, Jordan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Evidence of human habitation dates back to the Neolithic period of around 10,050 B.C. My, how time flies!
23. CIA predecessor: OSS. Office of Strategic Services.
24. [theme]
27. Party mix ingredient: CHEX. The CHEX Mix recipe first appeared on boxes in 1954 with the intent of selling more cereal. It's timing was fortuitous because as television usage grew, so did snacking in front of the small screen. It required a new snack that “could be eaten with your hands, offered a variety of flavors and textures, and was easy to put together.” Corn Chex, introduced in 1958, was later added to the mix.
28. Elmo, for one: SAINT. A Muppet, for another.
29. Some parents: MAMAS.
32. Blame (on): PIN. Blame the Tail on the Donkey!
36. [theme]
40. Brine abundance: SALT. Actually, it's mostly water.
41. Take in: EAT.
42. Group that hosts an annual Mind Games board game competition: MENSA. I have the home edition:
43. "You've got to be kidding": OH MAN.
45. Quit working: DIED. "Mac DIED this morning." "WHAT!?" "I mean he quit working to go to a doctor's appointment."
47. [theme]
50. Small shot: BBS. Big shot: BMOC.
53. Sweaters?: PORES. Where sweat pours out from.
54. Cy Young stat: ERA. Earned Run Average. A year after his death in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.
55. Spoken: ORAL.
56. Norwegian royal name: OLAV. Famous for his smooth skin, his heirs later marketed his beauty secret: Oil of Olav.
57. [theme]
60. Stopping point?: DIME. Nowadays, I only stop for paper money.
61. Chop (off): LOP.
62. Brought out: EVOKED.
63. Swell places?: SEAS. Fun clue.
64. Pro-__: some tourneys: AMS. Where Professionals and Amateurs.team up and compete together.
65. Get into gear?: DRESS. Another fun clue.
Down:
1. Okra dish: GUMBO.
2. Orchestral group: OBOES.
3. Comes up short: LOSES.
4. Online help pgs.: FAQS. A web page that answers Frequently Asked Questions, such as, "What does FAQ stand for?"
5. Fox Sports soccer analyst Holden: STU. Like many former players, he now sits in the booth as a color commentator providing expert analysis and insights.
6. Jeer: SCOFF.
7. Wok, e.g.: PAN.
8. Tailless simian: APE. AKA a Sans Simian.
9. Sprouted: GERMINATED. That gives me an idea...
10. Bump up: PROMOTION. I thought this clue should be "A bump up."
11. Gillen of "Mayor of Kingstown": AIDAN. I know him better as Lord Baelish, the conniving "Littlefinger" on Game of Thrones.
12. Cry from a high chair?: SCENE. "OUT!" Because it's higher that a director's chair! But the clue misdirect was for baby talk.
14. Crab-walk: SIDLE.
18. Local lecture series: TEDX. Part of the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference series.
22. Steak choice: AHI. For those days when you don't feel like wagyu.
24. Quite: OH SO. Sounds OH SO British.
25. Clarifying phrase: AS IN. I like word games, AS IN crosswords.
26. Crooned: SANG.
27. Many "Gone in 60 Seconds" characters: CAR THIEVES. Some would argue that the cars were the stars, like "Eleanor" here, which recently sold for $852,000.
29. Chain pts.: MTS. Chain Points? Parts? It's MOUNTAINS, but I initially thought of island chains.
30. __ moment: AHA. Much better than an OHO moment.
31. Soap ingredient: MELODRAMA. Cute clue. It means that borax is out.
32. Avocado discard: PIT.
34. Hosp. workers: RNS. Registered Nurses work in Hospitals, but some are better than others.
35. "About __ big": YEA.
37. Unlike Wagyu: LEAN. Wagyu is special due to its intense marbling, which gives it a unique tenderness, buttery texture, and rich flavor. Basically, that means expensive.
38. "Henry, Come On" singer Del Rey: LANA. This clue is ultra-current as her country hit was only released in April.
39. Hook hand?: SMEE. Ha ha! It's his right hand man. It's not you, it's SMEE!
44. More, in Spanish: MAS.
45. 21st century explorer: DORA. She knew the answer to the last clue.
46. Foolish: INANE. Hey! Why are you looking at me?
47. Bygone Apple gadgets: IPODS. I've never heard of these! (I'm so young, you see...)
48. "Honest!": NO LIE. I swear! I don't know what IPODS are.
49. Gladiators, e.g.: JEEPS. He doesn't look so tough.
50. In need of change?: BROKE. Another good clue.
51. Curses: BANES.
52. Uses a coaster, perhaps: SLEDS. Uses a coaster, perhaps: PLEASES MY MOM. I wasn't born in a barn, you know, although she sometimes disputed this.
55. Scent: ODOR.
57. São Paulo greeting: OLA. Brazilian greeting in Portuguese.
58. Oscar nod, briefly: NOM. Nomination. Oscar nods to Cookie Monster for sharing with him.
59. __ player: DVD. Another device that was waaaay before my time.
OK, I'm DONE.
23 comments:
Besides just dropping
a letter, I don’t see the connection between the themed entries. Am I missing something?
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Yes, I know they all end with “one” but that seems a rather insipid result, if that’s all there is to it!
Good morning! (Or not...)
Sub, once you get to ONE, you're done.
Tried FORD for the 21st century explorer; then 47a convinced me it had to be something else -- DORA. BMOC was the second album by the Brothers Four a mere 64 years ago. My ONE AND DONE occurred in the NE. Tried ATHEN(s) (ala the theme) for that Mideast city with ALLEN crossing it. Even with GERMINATED in place, PROMOTION, AIDAN, and SCENE failed to appear. Bzzzzt. And so it goes... Thanx, Luke and RustyBrain.
FIR, but teds->TEDX (whatever that is.) Got my (mild) guess @ ERIC x AIDAN.
My family used to make party mix, but we called it "scratch." (I think my raised-in-the-country mom thought it looked like chicken scratch.)
In his song I Will Play For GUMBO, the late Jimmy Buffett wrote this refrain:
A piece of French bread
With which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body
Good for the soul
It's a little like religion
And a lot like sex
You should never know
When you're gonna get it next
Thanks to Luke for the fun Friday challenge. "Nagel" is Lower German for "nailmaker," and I think you nailed this one. And thanks to our crusty Rusty for another enjoyable review.
Good Morning:
Thanks for all the concern and well wishes yesterday. The procedure was far more extensive and invasive than I had expected. The affected area required 17 stitches to close. On the positive side, only one go-around was necessary and the aftermath is more discomfort than pain. Stitches will come out in two weeks.
I had a lot of white space for quite a while, due to the cluing, which alternated between clever misdirection and much too cutesy show-offy, for my taste. Once I got the reveal answer, everything finally fell into place. Some corrections were necessary, though: Serve/Scene, Teds/TedX, Get/Eat, etc. I can never remember Eric Carle, and Aiden and The Rolling Stones, as clued, were unknowns.The theme itself wasn’t Friday level, IMO, but the difficulty level was, at least for me.
Have a great day.
Oops, forgot to thank Luke and especially RB for the many chuckles and the informative commentary. Just noticed that I misspelled Aidan.
Took 7:54 today to play 76 trombone.
I didn't know the Actor of the Day (Aidan), which means I guessed luckily at his intersection of the city (Amman). Also, I'd never heard of this "Stu," and can never remember anyone's spelling of Eric or Erik.
FIR. Although this was a workout, the cluing was very fair, tough but fair nonetheless. The only answer i still don't get is "scene" at 12D. I think I get the drift of a director saying that, but it seems to be quite a stretch.
I tuned in to the theme early on but the reveal cinched it for me. I fully expected all the long answers to have the same missing letter. As a result there was a little confusion for me as i solved.
But overall an enjoyable puzzle.
In the late '50s our neighbor made "Nuts and Bolts" -- Wheat and Rice Chex (the nuts) + pretzels (the bolts).
I enjoyed Luke's challenge today by and large. I am a fan of misdirection, and boy, was there ever misdorection today!
The puzzle fell short of a pangram by just a W and Z.
As for the theme, "one and done" is evidently meant to be construed to mean that once you've written "-one" at the end of each theme entry, just stop, and omit the last letter.
I'm puzzled by 12 Down. I have been a drama director for eons, and never once in rehearsal cried "scene!". But if on the other hand the intent of the clue envisions a tyke in a high chair crying out, to me that falls a bit short of making a scene.
Thanks, Luke, for an engaging and Friday-appropriate challenge. And thanks, RB, for your usual entertaining and helpful recap.
Musings
-What a great puzzle. I had to immediately abandon common usage for the clues like Soap, Slice, Gear, Elmo, Chain, Hook, et al. (or etc.?) like all of cwd peeps do.
-I thought the cluing of SCENE was sketchy and I thought it was from a director’s chair rather than a child creating a scene.
-I was pleasantly surprised about the NE corner after getting the Congratulations screen
-John Calipari is credited with starting the use of ONE AND DONE players. He got a National Championship with them in 2012.
-I always thought the Worcestershire sauce was a major part of CHEX MIX
-Pols are currently trying to PIN the blame for the shutdown on each other
-The now rare scent of burning fall leaves EVOKES memories of my childhood
-Grass we planted in April sat dormant for weeks until the soil eventually warmed up. Grass planted in warm September soil GERMINATED in days.
-Visions of seafood steaks are rare in this place
-Nice job, RB!
Learning moment: I don't like being this puzzled...
Tough one today. Just a bit too tough for me! DNF, done in by the Southwest corner, and didn't understand the theme until RB 'splained it. Lots of "aha" moments and clever clues, though, so overall, an enjoyable outing. I really miss the smell of burning leaves in the fall, and occasionally will gather up an armful and light 'em up for old times sake. Aah, the memories!
Not a fan of this puzzle, which I FIR in 13:31. I will echo Irish Miss’ description of much of the cluing. I also felt that a few of the clue-to-answer relationships were on shaky ground.
I suspected after figuring out 1A that it was gonna be “that kind of puzzle.”
And it was.
I'm glad your ordeal is behind you. I had forgotten that they verify margins before they get you ready to leave. Hope your recovery is uneventful.
Thanks, Jinx, so far, so good. Haven’t needed pain medicine yet, so that’s a good sign.
Anonymous, I had the same feeling at 1A. But it took me a lot longer to finish than your impressive 13:31. 😉
You beat me to the “almost pangram”. I was just rechecking that W and Z were really missing.
Forgot to mention that I don't remember seeing AIDAN before last week, when I started to read The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. The character goes by "Danny" outside of his household. It's a gritty story about post-WWI Boston, with its racial inequities, labor unrest, and just to keep it interesting, Babe Ruth's life and times. John Hoover is the head of the fledgling Breau of Investigation. I'm almost done, and will be looking for more of Lehane's work in my favorite used bookstore.
Today's Penny/Dell crossword was more obtuse than this one today. Clued "hoagie" for WEDGE. LIU, and apparently, it's a regional term. They also have "handle" for PLY. Couldn't find an explanation online, but I guess if you PLY your trade, you are handling your business. No constructor listed, so can't mutter under my breath at the responsible party.
I noticed the theme answers were missing a letter at the end long before I noticed they all ended in “ONE,” so I suppose that was clever.
Other than that, it was a nearly joyless puzzle typified by the obscure examples of AIDAN and STU and other ridiculously vague cluing, mostly failed attempts at being clever.
I FIR, so I guess I’m supposed to be happy about it. I did like the Hook hand clue.
Finicky Friday. Thanks for the fun, Luke (congrats on debut) and RustyBrain (thanks for the laughs).
Definitely not a WITP today, as I required a couple of Google helps to finish. But I did get the theme early in the game, but would have liked all the missing letters to be a D for DONE.
Much misdirection in clueing.
47A Ford explorer was not a SUV (no cap on e), but the Gladiator was a JEEP; the 21st century explorer was DORA.
If the misdirection in 42D was meant to be from a baby high chair to a film director’s chair, the answer should have been Cut or Action. Alternately, if misdirected to Tennis umpire, it should have been Serve.
Oaths changed to BANES. OH MAN!
LKS (for Links) to MTS.
Max Scherzer’s ERA was 3.18 in last night’s win for our Blue Jays. If you want a LOL, watch Mad Max’s reaction when Coach Schneider came to the mound in the 5th inning.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/scherzer-turns-back-the-clock-in-strong-game-4-outing-for-blue-jays/
Wishing you all a great day.
I just couldn’t get into this puzzle so I abandoned it. Other things to do today.
I enjoyed your review RB. Thanks.
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