Theme: Where's _aldo?
Puzzling thoughts:
Well, this one didn't cause the Chairman to do shots at a bar, but it did take a while to figure out where (and why) the dubyas went. When you examine the grid, you see that two of them exited as a homophone (WRAP and WHOLE) and the other two exited to fulfill the play-on-words, (WHIP and WHEELS) as these two use the "W" sound
The "reveal" can be parsed two different ways but I think the constructors were referring to this one:
60-across. Accept victory, however dubious, and a hint to 17-, 24-, 37-, and 52-Across: TAKE THE W IN. Taking the W in (or from) the highlighted letters (see grid below) support the odd clues. However, if you add a W to the highlighted letters (see grid below) the four entries take on a much different meaning - and are actually the names of a brand of salad dressing (Miracle Whip), a type of packaging material (Shrink Wrap), the start of a refrain from a kid's song (Wheels on the Bus), and a very expensive grocery store (Whole Foods)
It is a clever concept and puzzle, but the reveal seems a bit of a stretch. I almost feel as if I wanted a fifth entry with both a whacky clue and answer that followed the vanishing double-u
Oh well. Maybe next time! Here are the four entries:
17-across. Replacement joint that's even better than new?: MIRACLE HIP.
24-across. Linguistic battle between psychologists?: SHRINK RAP.
37-across. Jerks riding public transit?: HEELS ON THE BUS.
52-across. Donuts, bagels, et al.?: HOLE FOODS.
So, Moe, if you were adding a fifth entry to this puzzle, what might it have been?
"What Hawaiian greeters do with a lei to an unruly visitor?": RING HIS NECK
For the record, I thought all of the entry clues were hilarious
Here is the grid:
Across:
1. Many Chi-town homes: APTS. There are some crossword puzzle editors who insist the word in 1-across be a complete word, not an abbreviation - this puzzle has nearly a dozen abbr's, if you are also counting contractions
5. Sore with: MAD AT. Having an abbreviated first word in the puzzle??? 😂😉
10. Sleep under the stars: CAMP. "What groupies do" was too long to fit into this space (re-read the clue!)
14. Grab and go?: LOOT. Clever clue
15. 14th century Russian ruler: IVAN I. Aka, Ivan Moneybags
16. Not even close: AFAR. "Cold" could fit, yes?
[theme entry]
19. __ Reader: UTNE. "Read all about it!"
20. Common lease period for 1-Across: ONE YEAR. Two-year also fits (without the hyphen, of course)
21. Support column: PILE. This is what my co-pilot says:
23. Journalist Lesley: STAHL. She, along with Walter Cronkite, provided the news in a very unbiased manner for CBS - I hear that they (CBS) are trying to revert back to that position with their newly appointed news editor in chief
[theme entry]
29. Location of une bouche: TETE. Tête
30. Actor Bridges: BEAU.
31. Safe havens: ASYLA.
32. Color TV pioneer: RCA. Three-letter and an abbreviation
34. Informed Delivery org.: USPS. United States Postal Service
36. Ref. that added "horror show" in 2024: OED. Oxford English Dictionary
[theme entry]
41. Novelty lips stuff: WAX. These? 42. "__ it obvious?": ISN'T.
43. Clinch: ICE. Friday worthy clue
44. Marshmallow spread: FLUFF.
46. Bluish green: TEAL. <== this was as close as I could come
48. Howard, for one: Abbr.: HBCU. Historically Black College or University
[theme entry]
54. "Oppenheimer" director: NOLAN. Looks a bit like Alec Baldwin here
55. Word with stress, or a common source of stress: TEST.
56. One who might take a stand: WITNESS. Can I get a Witness? (2:15 through 2:35, but listen to it all)
58. Like some contracts: ORAL. Unlike some toothbrushes that are ORAL B
[reveals the theme]
63. "La Brea" actress Skye: IONE.
64. Dark doings: EVILS.
65. Tech company that owns the Chinese microblogging app Weibo: SINA. Are there any Weibo followers here? Not I
66. Fantasy franchise letters: LOTR. Lord Of The Rings
67. Answer: REPLY.
68. Firebird roof option: T-TOP.
Down:
1. Nearly: ALMOST. Here is a trailer to a movie with the word "Almost" in it
2. Ballet class: POINTE.
 |
| I hope Splynter doesn't sue me for showing some "leg" 😀 |
3. Attempted to rip open: TORE AT. When I looked at crosswordtracker.com to see the frequency of the use of this phrase, the last 5 venues to accept it were LA Times Crossword - must be a favorite expression for Patti
4. "Don't leave!": STAY HERE. From what I am told, the length of a Minnesota "goodbye" is measured in hours (or even days), not minutes ...
You think the Chairman
Dislikes other's poetry?
I am not AVERSE
7. Mark longer than a dit: DAH. As in Morse Code characters ... the "dit" represents the dot, and the dah represents the dash
7. Mark longer than a dit: DAH. As in Morse Code characters ... the "dit" represents the dot, and the dah represents the dash
8. Padm 's beloved: ANI. First off, the clue refers to a character in Star Wars - Padmé Amidala. Don't follow Star Wars? You're SOL, because you're likely then to not know that she was married to Anakin Skywalker (Ani is his nickname) and is the mother of both Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia
9. Hedren of "The Birds": TIPPI. Quite the cast of actors
10. Doesn't let anything fall through the cracks?: CAULKS. Hah Hah. Moe-ku:
"Home Alone" actor's
Nickname inspires plumbers:
Macaulay CAULKS-in
11. "Please, go first": AFTER YOU. Just being polite
12. Guy: MAN.
13. Start to check?: PRE-. If pre means before (as in pre-check), and post means after (as in post-script), what would it mean if both of these were used together? Why, it would be pre-post-erous
18. Goofy frame: CEL.
22. "Be right there!": IN A SEC.
25. Plagued: HAUNTED. Halloween is coming soon
26. Sign of aging: RUST. As in rust bucket
27. Drafts that are lighter than stouts: ALES.
28. Sketchy area?: PAD.
30. Striped __: BASS. In the Cheasapeake Bay, these swimmers are known as Rockfish
28. Sketchy area?: PAD.
30. Striped __: BASS. In the Cheasapeake Bay, these swimmers are known as Rockfish
33. Precipitous drops: CLIFFS. Moe-ku:
Book report grade took
Precipitous drop. Teacher
Found I used CLIFFS Notes
35. Alpine skier Mahre who won 27 World Cup races: PHIL.
37. Virtuous circle: HALO.
35. Alpine skier Mahre who won 27 World Cup races: PHIL.
37. Virtuous circle: HALO.
38. Thrilled: EXULTANT.
 |
| I suppose I can accept "thrilled" as a synonym (adj.) |
39. Glom __: ONTO. Seems to be a British phrase
40. "I can handle the truth!": BE HONEST.
41. Skip the daily commute, for short: WFH. [sigh] It seems that there is a text shortcut for everything these days ... Work From Home
45. Tentative inquiry: FEELER. Moe-ku:
45. Tentative inquiry: FEELER. Moe-ku:
Crustaceans would make
Great detectives. They're equipped
With many FEELERs
47. Too: AS WELL.
49. Choked: BLEW IT. Back when Europe actually lost the Ryder Cup (on American soil) this was known as one of the all-time choke jobs ... Langer would go on to become the most winning golfer on the Senior/Champions PGA Tour, and still regularly shoots a score lower than his age (68) for 18 holes. The Chairman regularly shoots 68 or lower when golfing, but then has to play the remaining 5 or 6 holes
47. Too: AS WELL.
49. Choked: BLEW IT. Back when Europe actually lost the Ryder Cup (on American soil) this was known as one of the all-time choke jobs ... Langer would go on to become the most winning golfer on the Senior/Champions PGA Tour, and still regularly shoots a score lower than his age (68) for 18 holes. The Chairman regularly shoots 68 or lower when golfing, but then has to play the remaining 5 or 6 holes
50. Sin City attraction: CASINO. Sin City = Lost Wages, NV
51. Open up: UNSNAP. I wonder how many takes that scene took?? 😀
53. Marine scamp: OTTER.
54. Some degree: NTH. BFA fits, yes?
57. Teeny: ITSY.
58. Frying need: OIL. Make mine extra virgin olive
59. Kanga's kid: ROO. Milne character
61. St. crosser: AVE. BLVD was too wide to fit
62. Currency of Laos: KIP. Do you remember how I felt about the clue/answer for 1-across? No different for 62-down. All perps
See you next month
36 comments:
I got the theme right from the start, which gave me
a “leg up” on this challenging puzzle. It definitely allowed for some amusing wordplay.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Apparently Merriam-Webster's first definition of PILE is the "column" sense that was used in the clue. Surely "pile" as in "heap" is a lot more common. I can see how you would think that POLE makes a million times more sense, Moe. Especially if you're not familiar with ASYLA, which is the Latim plural for asylum.
WHEELS ON THE BUS is not a crossworthy standalone base phrase. Even if it was somehow acceptable to use an incomplete sentence from the "start of a refrain" in a crossword grid, there's a THE in the song.
I can definitely see the similarity between PILE and PILLAR, though.
What a pile driver does
Good morning!
D-o thought of a PIER -- those concrete thingees, buried in the ground to support a structure before PILE barged in. Noticed all the missing Ws, though. "Take the W" is the modern way to say TAKE THE WIN. Lesley STAHL got her on-air start with CBS during Watergate. She's been a 60 Minutes correspondent for more than 30 years. This puzzle was a worthy Friday challenge. Thanx, Katherine, Laura, and C-Moe. (Whacky clue?)
A finely crafted puzzle fitting for a Friday IMO, had to get the third themer down before I sussed the clever theme. Amicable perps helped to overcome the unknowns ANI, NOLAN, IONE, KIP, and SINA. Pole became PILE. Favorite entry was HOLE FOODS. FIR in 16:04. Thanks Katherine and Laura for the enjoyable solve, and to C-Moe for your entertaining blog, I know you put a lot of time and thought into your write-ups, and it is much appreciated by this PHIL.
FIR. Typical Friday puzzle with the expected difficulty. Just a few unknowns, HBCU and Sina for example, but the perps were fair.
I got stalled in the middle so I started to fill up from the bottom. That gave me the reveal and then I had my "aha" moment and the theme became clear. That really helped a lot and finished the solve.
So overall quite an enjoyable puzzle.
Another definition of Piles is hemorrhoids. Does the dictionary list that one?
After filling 17A with MIRACAL HIP, I was thinking EAR, not WHIP. But I do have two miracle KNEES. Anyway, it was a struggle, but after backing out of dead ends and filling unknowns I'll TAKE THE WIN anyway. I didn't notice the missing W until after completing the puzzle.
SINA, WFH, FLUFF, ANI (I'm SOL on that one)- new ones for me as clued.
WFH is a good gig if you can get it and work independently. But so can somebody in India or other countries and they do it cheaper. But most people can't work on their own. Better to go to the office.
KIP was in a puzzle earlier this week.
I can never remember if Ms. Skye is IONA or IONE.
My FAST FOOD got a HOLE in it.
JEFF Bridges turned into BEAU.
My CHASM turned into a CLIFF; I guess it depends if you start high or at ground level.
CAULKS-DW doesn't like it when I occasionally do it; I'm too messy.
I will BE HONEST. I've never heard or used the word GLOM except when doing crossword puzzles.
Took 8:30 today to become a real _ho's _ho in the _orld.
I knew the Actresses of the Day (Mila, Ione, and Tippi - and even spelled them correctly). I had pole before pile, but fortunately I remembered asyla as the plural of asylum.
I didn't know today's French lesson (tete), the Chinese company (sina), or the Russian ruler.
I also did not know WFH, wrongly thinking it may mean “walk for health” 🤷♂️
Musings
-Finally saw the gimmick a HEELS ON THE BUS
-I remember Wally and The Beaver using the phrase that they were “sore at” Eddie Haskall
-Revert back? Imagine news reporting without bias…
-ASLYA is one of those plural words you usually never hear
-Oppenheimer was a blizzard of names that even this physics teacher could keep straight
-Those POINTE classes can make toes look horrible in later life
-TIPPI’s horrible experience with Hitchcock
-When a woman and I are entering the same door, I never fail to open it for them and have never had one complain
-YouTube is rife with people who “rescue” old RUSTED vehicles and restore them.
FIR, but iona->IONE, and one sec->IN A SEC.
Was there an IVAN I before there was an IVAN II?
Got HBCU without benefit of perp. There are a number of them around here.
In the well-planned city of Phoenix, sts dont cross AVEs. They both run north-south, and they increment from the main drag (Central, IIRC) going east (AVEs)-west (sts.) Super easy to find your way around.
My favorite BASS is singer Billy BASS. Here he is doing his cover of Take Me to the River. Just a fintastic version of that classic.
I expected this one to be fun when I saw Laura Dershewitz's name, and I wasn't disappointed. Thanks to her and Katherine Baicker for the fun start to the day. And thanks to our Chairman for another fun review.
Only 9 more days until Standard Time!
I was slow discovering the theme, but had fun filling the theme answers once I did.
Lots of unknowns like FLUFF. IONE, LOTR, SINA, KIP, (many moons ago I had a crush on a boy named KIP), MILA, WAX/WFH. Who would put WAX on their lips?
PoLE became PILE, and Jeff became BEAU.
Thank you C-Moe for that great review and the videos.
Good Morning:
I enjoyed the solve and the refreshing lack of overly clever, devious cluing. The theme was evident but the reveal was a surprise. I echo Phil’s choice of Hole Foods as my favorite themer. Ani, Kip, Sina were unknowns and the only w/o was Univ/HBCU. This was the most enjoyable solve of the week, IMO.
Thanks, Katharine and Laura, and thanks, Moe, for the fun and facts and the always entertaining Moe-kus. The Minnesota goodbye video was hilarious.
Have a great day.
Agreed about the revealer, take the "W in" those words is awkward and it would have fit better either with the more contemporary "take the dub" (although this comes with ample other issues with fitting the theme) or the simpler "take the w".
I also had no clue whatsoever what UTNE reader could be, is this a commonly known thing? Guess they thought calling out "Say Anything" would be too obvious for ol IONE haha
Dang. Looks like I'm the only one that struck out with this CW. 13 names, but DNK 11 of those. Also DNK WFH or LOTR. And for some reason always struggle to remember OED. Started pen-on-paper, soon went online and turned on red-letter help, and then still needed alpha runs. Rats. As always, I persisted until all cells were correctly filled, but...again...forced to stick a DNF on it. I was hoping there might be an easy Monday-on-a-Friday CW for my BD, but I guess not. LOL. Looking at the completed CW, I must give KB&LD a lot of credit for their imaginative creation, but, alas, over my head. C.Moe, I loved your write-up, and your MoeKus. Also your suggested "ring his neck" fill gave me a smile. So, DNF Thursday, now DNF Friday. I guess I must be getting dopier as I age, if that's even possible. The Saturday CW will likely give me a hat-trick of DNFs. Oy.
I liked the theme entries and the theme itself, although The Chairman came up with an even better entry, but I thought the unifier “the W in” was clunky.
Moe’s interpretation of “sleep under the stars” was even funnier than his theme entry.
A lot of familiar names gave me toeholds – STAHL, BEAU, RCA, IONE, PHIL Mahre, MILA, TIPPI, UTNE, ROO – but I needed perps for the Laos currency, which I should have remembered. I hoped Sphere was the Sin City attraction, but I went with CASINO (yawn) because I needed the C for HBCU.
In addition to HBCU, I liked FEELER and two words in the clues: scamp and glom. The latter reminded me of Bob Newhart’s Retirement Party routine, in which the disgruntled, increasingly tipsy retiree confesses he never would have made it “if it hadn’t been for the fifty bucks a week I glommed from petty cash.”
Utne reader has been around a long time on the web and in cws. I wasn't aware it was still a thing.
Happy birthday, unclefred. I hope the rest of your day is better.
Got the FIR after a lot of sweat and a break for more coffee. Definitely a Friday puzzle, but very entertaining, with fair perps and guessable answers. I'll Echo.IM on this one...my only minor nit was the number of answers in initials. Stick with WORDS! I was so glad to TAKE THE WIN I never.notced the theme! Thanks for 'splainin, C-MOE! Fun puzzle.
Hola! Normally I enjoy puns and these are cute, but an early morning call with no one at the other end made me grumpy I'm sorry to say. However, I got through most of the puzzle before I threw in the towel. I can't think when I'm tired. That's my story and......
IONE Skye has become a common fill, but SINA just flummoxed me. I had SINO which is common for China but that wasn't it and I've never heard of Weibo. I will BE HONEST, this was not my favorite puzzle, but thank you, CMoe, for explaining it. Have a lovely day, everyone! It's so nice here today.
from acesaroundagain. Good challenging and well constructed puzzle. Heels on the bus gave me the theme. I started south and worked my way north. i enjoyed the recap Moe.
"Wees" (What Everyone Else Said)
I can only add that the SE corner (and the Mid West) really slowed me down. So much so that with everyone else I was doing at the same time, it is now afternoon...
Aslya? (Going to have to research that one)
Une Bouche, dictionary says it means "mouth" in French. The answer Tete, means head. So mouth location = head, ok nuff said... but what's this? tete can also mean an old ladies wig? (This is why I hate French, and think it should be banned from crossword puzzles.). Hmm, come to think of it, English has some pretty weird word meanings too. Maybe we should ban English too...
Desperate-Otto? How did you know it was Uncle Fred's Birthday?
did I miss the party somewhere..?
From yesterday, I had marked "yips" to discuss for some reason.
Yips, a loss of fine motor skills...
Hmm, 24 hours later, I have no idea what I was going to say...
(Hmm, I must have the yips...)
Also, those rfid blocking cards look like a good idea. Especially in today's environment. fairly cheap too.
But being cheap, I am always looking for a cheaper alternative...
Thanks Chairman Moe, for making this stretch of a reveal look good...
Hmm, once again I thought I had this new iPad iOS figured out. But once again the image link was not what I wanted. It was supposed to to be the second comic shown here. But I'm still having trouble removing the page from the image...
Good Friday CW. Now I’m going to catch up on my M-W missing letter CW backlog.
Oh, there was something else!
Yesterday HG mentioned going down the rabbit hole playing Wordle without a loss for too long, and risk losing your record.
I have discovered, that when I am down to one guess left on my iPad, I can open my iPhone, and it thinks I'm somebody else, giving me 6 more guesses!
Uhm what's that you say? I cheat at wordle.
Well,,, I look at it this way, if they can mess up my record with 20 words missing one letter, I can mess with them back any way I can...
Why is the audio BASS pronounced “base,” do you think?
Challenging but still very interesting Friday puzzle, so many thanks, Katherine and Laura, for this good work. And your commentary and pictures are always a help and a pleasure, thanks for those too, Moe.
Well, puzzles like these always suggest the possibilities of a narrative or story maybe happening in the background, and give us hints to try to figure them out. In this one I wondered if the hero in this puzzle (I thought of him as Mike) was MAD AT his doctor for ALMOST ONE YEAR for not getting him any help with some pain to make it easier for him to work at the CAMP. He didn't want to STAY HERE any longer but had no where else to go, and felt HAUNTED by the EVILS of his pain. But finally his doctor stopped being AVERSE to helping him, and hired a FEELER who rubbed Mike's hip and made him finally TAKE THE WIN. In return, the Mike took him to HOLE FOODS for some DONUTS and BAGELS and some wine, and gave him a small LOOT for making him feel like a MAN again.
Have a lovely weekend coming up, everybody.
Yup! Definition #6 of PILE, all the way at the bottom of the page.
Happy Birthday, UncleFred, 🎂🎁🎈🎉🎊
Well, this puzzle turned into a roundy bout for me — as in, I was going in circles trying to get a foothold! After about the 4th orbit I finally got enough filled to TAKE THE WIN, which then gave me enough to conquer the mid-CA section and get a FIR for the W 😎 Pretty fun hook!
Somehow I remembered ASYLA, and having had a subscription to UTNE Reader (back when it was a printed publication!) that was a gimme. HBCU didn’t register even after the perps filled it, so thanks for the ‘splain on that one, Chairman —and for your usual sterling collection of gags and puns! The groupie bit was hilarious — but you do realize that they could be on top of the stars as well, yeah? 🤣
I’m with C-E Dave when it comes to French — in my book, that entire language has been misspelled…
Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director; if you want to watch a totally-mind-twisting film, check out “Inception”. Amazing flick.
====> Darren / L.A.
Well, happy birthday, Unclefred. 🎉🎊
You should try learning English. That’s a challenge.
Because the fish is pronounced 'bas'
Thanx to those wishing me a HBD today. 81. Geez, what happened to 21?? Or even 31?? 31 was (GASP!!) 50 years ago? HALF A CENTURY AGO I was already 31? After all the foolish things I've done in my life, car wrecks, motorcycle wrecks, oy, how I've lived this long.... Getting old is the pits, but beats the alternative!
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