MAVERICK⁽'⁾S PACERS
I really enjoyed today's collaboration between two solid crossword constructors Amie & Amanda. A sports teams theme we have seen before, where the monikers are combined to make a new, funny/punny answer. Today's team names are from the National Basketball Association, the professional organization of a game I have no interest in whatsoever - I'd rather watch golf. I think it has to do with the squeak of sneakers on hardwood - that and the fact that one only needs tune-in to the last 30secs to see who wins, IMHO. Lot's of 3LWs, only five(ish) names, and all the theme answers are unique;
20. Peddles pearls of wisdom?: HAWKS NUGGETS - Atlanta / Denver - see below
28. Observes casual Friday at the office?: BUCKS BLAZERS - Milwaukee / Portland *¹
49. Gains barbers' equipment?: NETS CLIPPERS - Brooklyn / Los Angeles - *²
58. Microsoft virtual work gathering, and what can be found in 20-, 28-, and 49-Across:
TEAMS MEETING - When I worked at Westhampton Architectural Glass, the only thing we used TEAMS software for was to plan lunch; someone would put up, about 11am, a hint about what they were interested in eating, e.g. "pizza?" - and for the next hour, we would debate what to eat and who was going to pick up the food π
The list of all NBA teams
Lightning Affect~? = SPURS THUNDER
Steals from NASA~? = KNICKS ROCKETS
*¹ - Technically, it's the TRAIL Blazers . . .
*² - Technically, a BOROUGH of NY, not the city . . .
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Annoy: IRK
4. Bridge action: BID - Not TIE, as in span - that's the wrong kind of bridge - I like this type - 19 bizarre bridges, 12 unusual bridges
7. Floated in the air: WAFTED
13. "Good Grief" director Levy: DAN - name #1 - I'm following the "Hahtoolah Convention"
14. Pros: ACES
16. Iggy the Beanie Baby, for one: IGUANA - AND - 29D. Humphrey the Beanie Baby, for one: CAMEL - I still have one Beanie Baby, and three Webkins; had a pet iguana Zeus, too - name(ish)
Yes, Iggy is supposed to be blue . . .
17. Big fuss: ADO
18. Noodle with a sarashina variety: SOBA - I'm getting the hang of all these four-letter food-types; SOBA, NORI, UDON, MISO, etc
19. "Well, that came out of nowhere": RANDOM
23. "Never mind, I guess": "...OR NOT."
24. New prefix: NEO
25. Sword handle: HILT - not a week goes by without a Wed dupe of a Monday fill . . . .
32. Single-celled organism: AMOEBA
35. "__ Te Ching": TAO - name(ish) - the Wiki
36. Legend-ary achievement?: EGOT - The Grand Slam of Entertainment - Emmy (TV), Grammy (music), Oscar (Hollywood/movies) and Tony (Broadway/stage)
37. Fin. neighbor: NORway
38. Music box?: AMP - I liked this clue for a crossword staple
40. Emoji alternative: GIF
Now The Harlem Globetrotters I can watch~!
42. "Kings & Queens" singer Max: AVA - name #2 - I know the Aerosmith song
43. Like some faces: OVAL - I liked making my avatar on Facebook - but I have a "pear-shaped" face
45. Settings for some TV dramas: ERs - ER is an obvi example, plus tons of others seen here;
I'm not one for any hospital drama, but I did like House, MD
52. "Can I get a __?": "I messed up": "RE-DO~?" or a Mulligan, in golf-speak
53. __ TomΓ© and PrΓncipe: SAO - name(ish)
54. Athlete Ledecky who went viral by swimming with a glass of chocolate milk on her head: KATIE - well, I did not know about this - ¯\_(γ)_/¯ - name #3
Yup, a glass of milk - but not a $5 Shake . . . .
61. Wyndham chain: RAMADA
64. Viral post: MEME
65. Sully: MAR - stain, dirty, damage, ruin, etc.
66. Exposure therapy target: PHOBIA - what's yours~? I am afraid to reveal mine - which, uh, by default, makes clear it's Phobophobia
67. Garment worn under a dress: SLIP
68. One who sounds just like you: EWE - ah, not APE - a very clever meta clue
69. Sitcom about a couple living in a haunted house: GHOSTS - I've only seen the ads for this show
70. Tense NBA periods, for short: OTs - and a bonus 'Easter Egg'
71. Good to go: SET - "got my go-bag, I'm set~!"
DOWN:
1. State that's home to the Museum of Clean: IDAHO - learning moment - the website
2. Weather tracker: RADAR
3. Not just assumed: KNOWN
4. Low-pitched brass instrument: BASS TUBA - this seems a bit redundant for me, but here's more - this clue/answer needed to show up on a Jazzbumpa trombone Wednesday~!
5. Screen symbol: ICON - clecho with - 31. Screen symbol: STAR - I filled them correctly the first time
6. Prove false: DEBUNK - the X-Files word
7. Pipe cleaner center: WIRE - Huh - I didn't know I had a wire at my center....how ironic, having left the pipe organ company, that I made the cover of The Diapason magazine, and featured inside as well
That's Splynter in the overalls, 35lbs heavier - sheesh
8. "__ All Along": "WandaVision" spinoff: AGATHA - name #4 - more on IMDb
9. Like some small candy bars: FUN-SIZE - 'tis the season~!
10. Small amount: TAD
11. Musician Brian: ENO - name #5
12. Beaver project: DAM
15. Most wise: SAGEST
21. Expensive Japanese beef: KOBE - I tried WAGU, but it's Wagyu
22. Evacuation kit: GO-BAG - here's the 411 from 511 on what to have in yours
26. Following the rules: LEGAL
27. Treasure __: TROVE
30. Frawnche wine valley: LOIRE - Good WAG on my part; must have seen it in CWs before
32. Mystery writer?: ANONymous
33. Boxing pro: MOVER - I suppose this could be either "type" of boxer - the one who packs your stuff, and the "float like a butterfly" sparring expert
34. Give a speech: ORATE
39. Rainbow producer: PRISM - my brother has been reinvesting in classic albums on LP "vinyl" again
41. Permanently: FOR KEEPS
44. Papers needed for some trips?: LSD TABS - har-har~! Monster Magnet's first EP was "25...Tab", featuring a 32min trippy song - and a trippy video someone made here
Dave Wyndorf, lead singer, can be heard saying "make me a sa'mich" - among other things NSFW
46. Involuntary muscle movements: SPASMS - depends on the quality of the Acid, I guess~?
48. Future DA's exam: LSAT - LS 'dee' Acid Trip~?
50. Make changes with a collaborator: CO-EDIT - I'm guessing both "A" authors did on this one....
51. Large citrus fruit: POMELO - ORANGE fit as well; here's a cool image of a lot of citrus fruit
55. Multiplied by: TIMES - L x W = A; length TIMES width equals area
56. "I'm __": "You blow me away": "IN AWE~!"
57. "Snowy" bird: EGRET
59. Smallish batteries: AAAs
60. Give off: EMIT
61. D&D, for one: RPG - Roll Playing Game - in my youth, I was all about Dungeons & Dragons
62. "That hits the spot": "AHH~!"
63. Cow sound: MOO
Splynter
Notes from C.C.:
Happy 84th birthday to dear Jayce! Your steady presence in our little crossword family means so much to all of us.
May today bring you comfort, a few smiles, and the quiet joy of knowing how deeply you're valued. Sheng Ri Quai Le, John!
 |
| Jayce and his wife on their wedding day |
Well, it was a little
ReplyDeletedifficult, but not too bad. Those “Beanie Baby” clues took some perps to solve, of course, but they eventually yielded. And the theme became obvious early on, which helped with both the solve and the reveal. All in all, I thought it was a clever and fun puzzle, and appropriate for a Wednesday. FIR, so I’m happy.
Wednesday is genera fun puzzle day and a SPLYNTER write up adds to the experience. I didn’t know the beanie babies but IGGY made IGUANA a quick fill. I thought KATIE was CSO yo assistant editor KATIE HALE part of the female takeover of the LAT. I have never been a fan of grapefruit but I was introduced to POMELO by my wife while on a trip to Thailand and enjoy them very much. We have king tides here so be careful where you drive if you come to SoFla
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteDidn't notice those were team names until the reveal...and even then, didn't recognize Nuggets or Blazers as teams. Other missteps included LEGit/LEGAL, HafT/HILT and icon/STAR (d-o hadn't noticed that ICON had already appeared at 5d). A shirt-tail relative stationed in KOBE treated us to a "little lunch" when we visited KOBE in the '60s. What a spread! Quite different from the Navy mess I was used to. Thanx, Amie, Amanda, and Splynter. (Why'd you leave the organ repair company?)
FIR, but eva for AVA, and mel for SAO (thanks, perps!)
ReplyDeleteNo wonder our kids are so messed up. We buy them a stuffed CAMEL, then tell them it's hump free.
AVA's version of Kings and Queens is much different that Aerosmith's. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention this, but it's Splynter's turn I will. Reading AVA's lyrics, I'm pretty sure that she suffers from "organ" envy.
TEAMS replaced the discontinued Skype in the Microsoft world. I'm a Zoomer.
Thanks to Amie and Amanda for the clever puzzle. From my perspective, it would have been a whole lot better with stronger clues. I'm lookin' at you, Beanie Babies, Te Ching, some faces, Tome and Principe, sitcom, Max, and Wandavision. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review. Congrats for keeping the weight off.
Mel “The Velvet Frog” TomΓ©.
DeleteYeah, I know. I continue to conflate Tome, Tomei and Torme.
DeleteFIR. For a Wednesday this had quite a bit of bite to it. Once again several proper names I couldn't possibly know. But at least the perps were kind.
ReplyDeleteThe reveal allowed me to see the teams, although the presence of an "S" in team(s) meeting really had me confused.
Overall not a very enjoyable puzzle.
The next time I hear someone referred to as "the sagest" will be the first time.
ReplyDeleteI caught on to the NBA team theme early, which contributed to a fast solve but I didn't care much for this puzzle.
Too many questionable clue/answer relationships, and five "phrases in quotation marks" clues is five too many in my opinion.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a mixed bag for me. The theme itself was clever, but the clues and themers seemed forced and clunky, IMO. Some of the cluing was cute and tricky, yet some was too cutesy, IMO, especially the clue for Katie Ledecky. A simple Swimmer Ledecky would have sufficed very nicely. Overall, I don’t think I am in the intended demographic of much of the fill.
Thanks, Amie and Amanda, and thanks, Splynter, for the review and commentary. The Amoeba comic was cute, the bridge picture not so much, as I suffer from Gephyrophobia. (Autocorrect doesn’t like that word, but offers no correction.)
Happy Birthday, Jayce, I’m sure it’s bittersweet. πππππ You and I, and I think Monkey, share the same year. π
Have a great day.
I must have been a great year then.
DeleteThat first word should be It. Sorry.
DeleteMixed bag for me too. I DNF because I left part of the NE blank. RANDOM as clued and IGUANA and AGATHA just wouldn’t show up.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme pretty quickly and enjoyed some clues like the ones for EWE, ANON, and MOVER. But I got IRKed by the many oral phrases I’m supposed to interpret and then substitute. My pet peeve. I don’t mind one or two but 5, too many.
In addition most names except KATIE were totally unknown to me, including those Beanie Baby creatures.
I wish you a happy birthday Jayce. πππ
Thank you Splynter for your spirited review.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A nice and helpful gimmick
-I agree with disdain for the current NBA. It’s all dunks and three pointers with most strategy gone.
-Happy birthday, Jayce!
HG, same with baseball. Seems to be all strikeouts or HR's. Small ball is somewhat alive with smaller market teams (Cleveland, e.g.) but I can't recall a year where the best hitting team barely averages .250
DeleteTook 5:37 today to finish, that's no Bull.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the French valley (Loire), "Ava" Marks (the clue contains "Kings", another NBA team), the Beanie Babies, and whatever "tao te ching" is.
Interesting that "kobe" wasn't clued as the deceased NBA player.
ah, yes, I missed both cross references . . . .
DeleteFIR, but the plethora of "paraphrase" non-clues sucked every last bit of enjoyment out of this. Not a b-ball fan, so the gimmick meant nothing for me. Fortunately, Splynter was able to pump some fun back into the morning!
ReplyDeleteAnd a happy birthday to Jayce!
ReplyDeleteFun and reasonably easy, only thing that tripped me up slightly was the river valley (I really wanted it to be Rhone). I had Iggy the beanie baby as a kid, but not Humphrey (I thought it seemed like a very good name for a whale). I've got DnD on the schedule for this very evening so that was a fun one to have today haha. Hbd big dog, have a great one
ReplyDeleteHola! Sports never entered my mind! I had no idea those were the names of certain teams! It just seemed like clever phrasing. Some good guessing on my part helped me to finish without errors.
ReplyDeleteSince I inherited the family's OCD, I have a few PHOBIAs but over the years I have tried to overcome them.
Night leg SPASMS often awaken me.
Happy birthday, Jayce!
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Have a happy birthday Jayce, I went looking for a cake, but they were all geared towards youngsters, except this one I kept coming back to trying to figure out what it means. anyone know what this was meant to represent?
ReplyDeleteobligatory cat meme...
A bull?
DeleteI have been to the Museum of Clean and chatted with Don Aslet the founder and Curator.
ReplyDeleteHe used to be a regular guest on the Regis show and was an originator on household “hacks” to make being a house wife easier.
As far as todays puzzle is concerned… a big MEH! Amie and Amanda get too cutesy and think its cool.
The highlight of todays puzzle was Splynters awesome recap.
Interesting, if slightly challenging, Wednesday puzzle, but enjoyable--so, many thanks Amie and Amanda. And I always appreciate your delightful pictures, Splynter, thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteWell, there were lots of responsibilities mentioned in today's puzzle, beginning with the unpleasant IRK and BID and followed by assorted chores. There's work on the RADAR, and WIRE messages, and a need to DEBUNK errors and take care of a load of LEGAL messages, CO-EDIT articles, and end up with a PHOBIA even while IN AWE of much of the interesting work everyone did here. Let's just hope there was a pleasant TEAMS MEETING and that readers of this puzzle can go off and enjoy playing a BASS TUBA. I need another cup of coffee and a crossword puzzle.
Have a pleasant day, everybody.
So tired of the many quotation mark, fill in the blank clues. They’re just plain lazy construction. Sagest? Really?
ReplyDeleteI think someone here once referred to those as “mind-reader” clues.
DeleteHappy Birthday, Jayce!
ReplyDelete10 names, 4 DNKs among them included the Beanie Babies and director Levy. Perps filled enough to guess the rest of each fill, and I was surprised to FIR in 10, which is quick for me for a Wednesday. I got the theme for a change very early which helped. I liked Boxing pro as a clue. I had the same thought as an earlier comment about a camel being hump free! Anyway, I enjoyed this CW, thanx AW&AR. Thanx too to Splynter for the fun write-up. That music video is indeed pretty trippy.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Jayce!
ReplyDeleteI liked Amie and Amanda's puzzle. It had a little bite to it. I'm allergic to sports and never owned a Beanie Baby, but FIR without complaint. Many thanks to Splynter for the recap, and especially for the video of Katie Ledecky swimming with a glass of chocolate milk on top of her head! Wow!
Happy Birthday, Jayce
ReplyDeleteWacky Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Amie and Amanda, and Splynter
ReplyDeleteOfficially a DNF as I had to Google AGATHA to break open the NE corner.
I did see the TEAMS (MEETING in the centre of the grid). Nice catch in the OTS Easter Egg.
Favourite today was the clue for EWE. MOVER was a close second.
Happy Birthday Jayce.
Wishing you all a great day.
36. Legend-ary achievement?: EGOT - The Grand Slam of Entertainment - Emmy (TV), Grammy (music), Oscar (Hollywood/movies) and Tony (Broadway/stage).
ReplyDeleteClue contains a reference to EGOT achiever John Legend.
ah - missed that, too~!
DeleteOh, forgot to wish Jayce a HBD! Hope it is a fun BD.
ReplyDeleteI want to like their constructions, but today’s constructors are quickly approaching the, “Look how clever I can be,” territory.
ReplyDelete