Theme: Not the real thing, but an amazing FACSIMILE!
Ilana Levene is a British neonatal intensive care physician who started working on US crossword puzzles as a distraction, and has now published several, including one previous puzzle in these pages. Scott Hogan is a patent attorney in Michigan who has collaborated with others to construct crosswords -- often Katie Hale -- and published one in the NYT with Ilana Levene. Today Ilana and Scott treat us to some close copies or spitting images, and they manage to cross them in the grid.
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| Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan |
The big reveal is:
55-Across. Betray, or what can be found three times in this puzzle: DOUBLE CROSS.
All of the words for which "copycat" is the clue are a kind of "double."
25-Across. Copycat: REPLICA. A close reproduction of an original item.
27-Across. Copycat: STAND-IN. A person who substitutes for another.
5-Down. Copycat: FACSIMILE. An exact copy.
9-Down. Copycat: LOOK-ALIKE. A person who greatly resembles someone else.
40-Down. Copycat: CLONE. A genetically identical copy.
Those are the DOUBLEs. How do they CROSS? Here's the grid:
We have six words for "double" (including DOUBLE), and they CROSS in three places. It's a nifty structure, with lots of lovely words and phrases. Let's take a DEEPer look.
Across:
1. Bundle of wheat: SHEAF.
6. Social media annoyance: BOT. A bot is an automated program designed to simulate human interaction on social media platforms. Some are malicious.
9. Endures: LASTS.
14. Accord, for one: HONDA.
15. Dazzle: AWE.
16. Earthy colour: OCHRE. DH and I were sitting in a cafe in Pernes-les-Fontaines in Provence, when a local couple told us we should see the village of Roussillon. I understood them to say it was very colorful. So a day or two later, there we were, and completely astonished by the ochre cliffs and quarries. I grew up knowing OCHRE as a crayon color, and had no idea that it was a natural clay pigment, mined in Roussillon from the late 18th century until 1930.
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| I took this photograph of the OCHRE cliffs of Roussillon in 2019. |
17. Urgent care specialist, briefly: ER DOC.
18. Work of fiction?: LIE.
19. Was part of a row: OARED.
20. End of an academic address: EDU. Website or email address.
21. Start to knock?: SILENT K.
24. Actress Noblezada: EVA. Eva Noblezada is an American theatre actress and singer. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and two Tony Award nominations. Besides roles in stage productios of Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, The Great Gatsby, and Cabaret, she has earned some film and television credits. News to me, but good for her.
18. Work of fiction?: LIE.
19. Was part of a row: OARED.
20. End of an academic address: EDU. Website or email address.
21. Start to knock?: SILENT K.
24. Actress Noblezada: EVA. Eva Noblezada is an American theatre actress and singer. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and two Tony Award nominations. Besides roles in stage productios of Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, The Great Gatsby, and Cabaret, she has earned some film and television credits. News to me, but good for her.
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| Eva Noblezada |
25. [Theme clue]
27. [Theme clue]
29. Pinged online: IM'ED. Instant Messaged. To ping a device is to send a quick signal and then measure the response time as a way of assessing network performance. But for the average person, "ping" has come to mean sending a quick message to get someone's attention or to see if they are available.
30. "Carpe diem" hashtag: YOLO. "Carpe diem" is Latin for "seize the day." YOLO is an acronym for "you only live once." Both suggest you should do something impulsive.
31. Like streets in Dickens novels: GASLIT. Streets were lit by gas lamps before electric lighting.
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| gaslit street |
34. Lobster claw: PINCER.
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| A lobster's front pincers are considered to be legs. They are used for self-defense and for grabbing and tearing prey animals. |
38. "__ we meet again": UNTIL.
39. German pronoun: ICH. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in West Berlin, in which he spoke the famous words, "Ich bin ein Berliner" or "I am a Berliner." It was an anti-communist speech delivered at the height of the Cold War.
42. Arboreal marsupial: KOALA.
43. Kin of equi-: ISO. Equi- and iso- are prefixes meaning equal or same.
44. Oft-pierced body part: EARLOBE.
47. __-fi: SCI.
48. "The Idol" star Lily-Rose: DEPP. Lily-Rose Depp is the daughter of American actor Johnny Depp and French singer/model/actress Vanessa Paradis. She starred in the HBO television drama series The Idol and in the 2024 film Nosferatu. If you solved Marc Goldstein's puzzle in the LA Times this past Sunday, you've met her already.
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| Lily-Rose Depp |
50. Bread: MOOLA. Both are slang for money.
51. Comics icon Lee: STAN. Stan Lee wrote and published comic books, and helped create Spider Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, and others.
52. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.
53. Like some monologues: INNER.
54. Pom sounds: YAPS. Pomeranian dog -- a miniaturized German Spitz.
51. Comics icon Lee: STAN. Stan Lee wrote and published comic books, and helped create Spider Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, and others.
52. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.
53. Like some monologues: INNER.
54. Pom sounds: YAPS. Pomeranian dog -- a miniaturized German Spitz.
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| Pomeranian |
55. [Theme clue -- the big reveal.]
58. Home for lanternfish: DEEP SEA. Lanternfish may account for 65% of all deep-sea fish biomass. They use bioluminescence to emit pale blue, green, or yellow light. Most are less than 6 inches long.
58. Home for lanternfish: DEEP SEA. Lanternfish may account for 65% of all deep-sea fish biomass. They use bioluminescence to emit pale blue, green, or yellow light. Most are less than 6 inches long.
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| Lanternfish |
60. Broadcast hour: AIR TIME.
63. How a detective might work: ON A LEAD.
64. Drew back: RECEDED.
65. Motive for a cover-up?: MODESTY. A bathing suit cover-up will get a woman from the hotel room to the beach or pool without feeling like she is walking around in her underwear. Depending on the style, it may also offer some protection from sunburn.
63. How a detective might work: ON A LEAD.
64. Drew back: RECEDED.
65. Motive for a cover-up?: MODESTY. A bathing suit cover-up will get a woman from the hotel room to the beach or pool without feeling like she is walking around in her underwear. Depending on the style, it may also offer some protection from sunburn.
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| Cover-up at the shore |
66. Genre portmanteau: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau blends the sounds and meanings of two words. In this case, two entertainment genres are blended: drama and comedy.
Down:
1. Like chiffon: SHEER. Originally a French fabric made of silk, chiffon is now mass produced with synthetic fibers.
2. Swarm: HORDE.
3. Land: END UP. "Land" can be a verb meaning "end up" or "arrive at a final place or situation." For instance, they landed in a real mess -- or better -- they landed in paradise.
4. Hustle and bustle: ADO.
5. [Theme clue]
6. "The Hunger Games: The __ of Songbirds & Snakes": BALLAD. If you know, you know -- or you make a good guess based on perpendicular entries.
7. Scrape covered by a Welly Bravery Bandage, e.g.: OWIE.
8. Itty-bitty: TEENSY.
9. [Theme clue]
10. Spanish "here": ACÁ. The Spanish words "aquí" and "acá" have almost the same meaning. Aqui is right here, next to me, and acá is in my general vicinity. Lucina, any additional notes?
11. Create ribbons: SHRED.
12. Rome's __ Fountain: TREVI.
13. Accord, for one: SEDAN. Same clue as for 14-Across, but with a different answer. That makes this a clecho, or clue echo.
22. "Gangsta Rap" rapper: ICE T. Yes, the same Ice T you know and love as NYPD detective/sergeant Odafin Tutuola on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
23. Partly removable roof: T-TOP.
26. Reinhart of "Riverdale": LILI. Lili Reinhart is an up and coming actress known for her roles in the teen drama series Riverdale, the crime film Hustlers, and the romantic drama Chemical Hearts. Look for her in next year's horror film, Forbidden Fruits. Or so I read.
28. Taboo: NO NO.
31. Manual: GUIDE.
32. Adams who photographed 36-Down: ANSEL. Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West.
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| Ansel Adams circa 1950 |
33. Freezes: STOPS DEAD.
35. Put out of one's mind: CAST ASIDE.
36. Yosemite summit, informally: EL CAP. An Ansel Adams photograph of El Capitan:
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| El Capitan, Sunrise, Yosemite National Park |
37. Falls from the sky: RAINS.
39. Thatcherism creator, familiarly: IRON LADY. Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic reforms that came to be known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady," a reference to her leadership style.
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| Margaret Thatcher |
40. [Theme clue]
41. Undisclosed advantage: HOLE CARD. Per Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, a HOLE CARD is:
1 : a card in stud poker that is properly dealt facedown and that the holder need not expose before the showdown2 : something (such as a reliable advantage) that is held in reserve especially for use at a strategic moment
45. "Stick a fork in me!": AM I BEAT. The saying goes, "Stick a fork in me, I'm done!" It means that the speaker is exhausted. I imagine this comes from cooking, where we stick a fork into a potato or other food item to test for doneness.
46. Obstacle: BARRIER.
49. Third word of the Constitution: PEOPLE. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
51. Buddy __: SYSTEM.
56. Exploits: USES.
57. Largest member of the dolphin family: ORCA.
58. __ Pérignon: DOM.
59. Musician Brian who used a Mac to compose "The Microsoft Sound": ENO. Brian ENO and Yoko ONO are our favorite musicians in the Crossword Corner.
61. Rx order: MED. Prescription order : medication.
62. Big name in ice cream: EDY.
The grid again, because I'm used to putting it here:
Solvers, did you END UP with the correct entries in the grid?
Or did you encounter a TEENSY problem along the way?
Inquiring minds want to know. Please comment!
-- NaomiZ
27 comments:
This was a fairly
challenging puzzle, as befits a Thursday. But I appreciated the effort that went into establishing all the “crosses” of this crossword.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Inking ADS and WOW in the top center made BALLAD, OWIE, and TEENSY slow to appear. [Whew] IRONLADY, CLONE and HOLECARD appeared, but only piece by piece. D-o had a satisfied sigh when it all came together. Well done. Thanx, Ilana, Scott, and NaomiZ.
Took 10:02 today for me to hoodwink my way through these repros.
All the doubles, but not the crossword puzzle favorite "aper"?
I didn't know the Actresses of the Day (Eva & Depp). I evidently knew the other Spanish "here" (aqui), which I just saw on Tuesday on signs indicating where I could vote. I didn't know the "German pronoun" was "ich". I continue to dislike foreign language clues, but especially the "foreign language + part of speech" clues.
Earlier this week, we were all "gaslit" by the crossing of "gah" and "imgur".
Took me 16:48 to finish this and found it to be a little challenging but fun! Didn’t get the theme until I got here. Anyway…a very satisfying FIR!
FIR. I'm not a fan of vertical puzzles and maybe that's why I missed the theme answers crossing. But having said that, for a Thursday, I found this not to be that challenging. There were a few proper names I didn't know, but there were also perps to help when needed. This made the solve quite straightforward.
So overall an enjoyable puzzle.
I took a lot longer than usual to FIR today, noticing the 'copycats' immediately but the DOUBLECROSS? I was only worried about finishing. The unknown A&Es (ICE T, EVA, LILI, BALLAD, DEPP) and dead ends slowed me down. I had to CAST ASIDE my original fills and start over.
My ADS were really BOTS.
WOW changed to AWE.
MONEY turned to MOOLA.
I'M TOAST became AM I BEALT
My HOLD CARD became a HOLE CARD. If you are 'holding' the cards why is it a HOLE card. You have either an 'ace in the hole' or 'up your sleeve'.
The NE drove me nuts with the TK ending crossing LOOK ALIKE that I had filled before SILENT, and not knowing either ACA or EVA. I finally rowed back to the dock using OARS.
MODESTY- why cover it up when you basically show it all on the beach or at the pool.
El Cap and Mt. Everest. Why do so many people have a death wish?
" ENO. Brian ENO and Yoko ONO are our favorite musicians" Don't leave out DUA, LIPA, & ORA.
IRON LADY- most people don't realize how bad of shape the U.K. was in before Thatcher took over.
Musings
-I thought a copycat was someone who produced a copy and not the copy itself.
-I thoroughly enjoyed the gimmick and other clever cluing
-An isosceles triangle has two equiangular angles
-I really chuckled at the DRAMEDY cartoon, Naomi
-I would have been more familiar with The ____ of Jedd Clampett
-Jimmy and brother Chuck McGill pieced together SHREDDED documents to make a case against a fraudulent nursing home chain in Better Call Saul
-Ironically, the link above will send you to IMUGR
-ICE TEA, et al.: This week marked the first time in 34 years that there are no rap songs in Billboard’s Top Twenty
-Yancy’s HOLE CARD was the big issue in this climatic scene from The Cincinnati Kid
Ilana and Scott provided us a delightful challenge today. It featured a clever theme, many creative misdirections, and a sense of their having the best interests of the solver in mind.
I had two minor nitpicks, the first being "oar" used as a verb. But then it occurred to me that that's the sort of usage typical of Shakespeare. So I looked it up, and yep, there it is in "The Tempest." Knowing Will, that's probably the first time "oar" was ever used as a verb.
My second nitpick is less ambiguous. "Carpe diem" ("Seize the day") is not synonymous with YOLO. "You only live once," unlike "Seize the day," carries an inference of recklessness, impulsivity, and a devil-may-care attitude--none of which characterize "Carpe diem." I'm fully aware that the clue here at 30-Across may have been that of the editor, not the constructors.
Speaking of whom, Ilana and Scott, thank you for a well-constructed (and asymmetrical!) Thursday-appropriate diversion that I enjoyed. And thanks, NaomiZ, for your reliably entertaining and helpful recap.
FIR, but wow->AWE, yips->YAPS, and something I can't remember->LOOK ALIKE. I waited for "lag' or "ads," but BOT was required.
"OAR, OAR, OAR your boat" just isn't catchy.
My 1914 home was GAS LIT. It still has taps in the walls for the lamps in places.
MODESTY. Guess I don't understand the concept.
Oft-pierced body part was EAR LOBE, not eyebrow. "Bellybutton" was too long; "tongue" and "nipple" were too short.
ORCA: Ocean Racing Catamaran Association
My doc placed an order for my new blood pressure MEDs on Walgreens yesterday at noon. I went by to pick it up at 9:00 today and it wasn't ready. I'm thinking that they don't start filling new scrips until the user shows up at the counter.
Berliner can mean "jelly doughnut" in German, but not in Berlin (where JFK was speaking.) So JFK was correct, unlike Hillary's "reset" button years later in Russia, which actually translated to "overloaded."
Thanks to Ilana and Scott for the fun puzzle, except for the overload of A&E fun sinks. I really liked your clue for ACA, since we get a health care clue for ACA about twice a week. And thanks to NaomiZ for the fun review. I really liked the pending pratfall suggested by the banana peel.
I FIR, but the whole central south took a while to fill. For one, I took Thatcherism creator as referring to a person who created the expression. Then, I totally misinterpreted the “Stick a fork in me” expression.
I didn’t know DEPP or EVA, but perps helped. I too was confused by the NTK ending but I knew LOOK ALIKE had to be correct.
I missed the DOUBLE CROSS theme. Quite impressive. Thank you sumdaze for pointing it out. I too liked the DRAMEDY toon.
I would have known The BALLAD of Jedd Clampett too, but my favorite would have been Jimmy Buffett's BALLAD of Skip Wiley, a tribute to Carl Hiaasen's hilarious novel Tourist Season.
Good puzzle. Enjoyed that. FIR Disagree with "YOLO ... do something impulsive." Do something now instead of waiting for a better moment. Aka: no time like the present.
A famous THATCHERISM that NYC might consider today.
The FIR was a slog, and I never bothered to figure out what the “double crosses” were. I didn’t trust the constructors enough to care.
The most delightful moment occurred when I misread “pom” as “porn” and wondered what sort of humorous “porn sounds” Jinx might conjur.
My biggest gripe was that some of the “copycats” were merely “copies.”
The next biggest gripe was a Spanish word, which is rarely a crossword problem for me. The other day, the people who don’t speak Spanish objected to “estar.” If “estar” is too deep a dive, then ACA is off the charts. I am familiar with the expression “ven aca,” but it’s sort of an idiom, one that non-Spanish speakers can’t be expected to know.
AM I BEAT didn’t really correspond to “stick a fork in me” and was just another example of the ludicrous “paraphrases” for which our not-esteemed editor has no ear.
Throw in the side-by-side TEENSY and OWIE, and I’m left a widdo bit disgwuntled.
Good Morning:
This was a very fresh and creative theme, IMO, and Naomi’s illustrated grid helps to understand and appreciate its successful execution. I got the gist from the cluing and reveal, but seeing it highlighted added an extra layer of intricacy. Eva and Lili were the only unknowns, but the rest of the cluing and fill was Thursday worthy difficulty.
Thanks, Ilana and Scott, and thanks, Naomi, for the usual interesting and informative review. Loved the Pomeranian and the Banana Peel revenge!
Have a great day.
Got 'er done today. Lots of WiteOut, but the juice was worth the squeeze. Nice job by NaomiZ on the recap...I didn't grok the gimmick until she 'splained it, and I still think it seemed a touch on the lame side. UNTIL we meet again...Happy trails! Reminded me of Roy and Dale and long ago Sunday evenings.
Hey, it could be worse. Imagine if NYC instituted an "copycat" version of Thatcher's failed poll tax.
Best puzzle of the month.
Fresh fill, clever clues, and creative theme.
Thank you Llana and Scott.
Thanks Naomi for an educational and entertaining recap.
I have the same trouble when trying to comprehend vertical text. But your comment reminded me of yesterday, when I saw a fascinating YouTube on how to read hieroglyphics. It's easier than it looks, and harder in some ways. Did you know that hieroglyphs can sometimes be read left to right, "and/or" right to left? But they make it easier for you by announcing the direction to read by which way the little animals or people are facing. Always read towards the face! (Who knew your comment would generate 4,000 year old trivia...)
I really enjoyed this, I think it's everything a crossword puzzle should be...
(I might be biased by the cats...)
I did not see "oared" until the write up, it must have been silently filled in by the perps. I don't know why "inner monologue" sounded so strange to me. The voices in my head said "google it!" And I found a plethora of silly links...
the question is...
how do you get the
inner monologue to stop...
One thing I could rant on, am I beat = stick a fork in me...
Why would the question "am I beat" elicit violence?
I mean, really, in today world, we don't need this kind of thing in our crossword puzzles... wait, what? it's not a question?
Almost forgot my silly theme link!
Hola! DOUBLE entertainment! After the puzzle, the amusing comments from some posters. It has been a very long time since I read "The Hunger Games" so BALLAD was slow to emerge and, in fact, the B was my last fill. I was so shocked by that novel and its dystopian theme that I'd like to forget it.
Thank you for explaining HOLE CARD as I had no idea as to what it referred.
ACA does mean "here" and I believe it is regional as AQUI is most often used in these parts. ACA is also part of some idiomatic expressions, i.e. de aca para alla, from here to there. mas aca, nearer or closer. Those are just two but many more are in common usage. Have a lovely day, everyone!
Any problems with this one were TEENSY, (or eeny, eensy), but it still took me 17:06 for the FIR. Perps needed for LILI, EVA, and INNER (not sure how it pertains to a monologue 🤷♂️). I liked the clechos for HONDA and SEDAN. “Musician Brian” is all that’s needed for ENO, any additional clue tagged on is superfluous. Had to change “stops cold” to STOPS DEAD, “freezes” in the clue got me on that one. I’ve never OARED a boat but I’ve rowed many. Seems to me that PINCER should be “pincher”, cuz that’s what it does. Thanks to the authors for a very credible Thursday puzzle and to NaomiZ for the further explication. Our condo in Florida sits off a street named “Aqui Esta Drive”, meaning “here it is”, a pretty sounding phrase with a rather banal meaning. I pronounced it wrong for a year before my Spanish speaking son told me it was “uh KEY ess TAH.
Jinx, we're happy when Walgreens manages to fill our scrips within the same week.
Jinx, you left nose off your list. Never mind what some people refer to as a "Prince Albert".
Forget NYC running out of 'other people's money". The US has already run out.
But the Treasury's gov. printing office can always print more, making what you have worth less. NYC can't print their own currency and a large percentage of the rich taxpayers are leaving NYC & NYS. The exodus of those multi-millionaires will continue.
Delightful Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Ilana and Scott. And I always like your commentary, NaomiZ, thanks for that too.
Well, I think I rarely see the word PEOPLE in a crossword puzzle, so I thought I'd start with that by looking for the names of people. I found EVA and LILI right away, with Eva the name of an actress, Noblezada, and Lili the name of a figure in "Riverdale." Turns out that Lili also refers to Lily-Rose Depp, the daughter of John Depp. But it clearly wouldn't just be women in this puzzle, so soon ANSEL Adams showed up, but then I was back to women by running into that IRON LADY, who referred to Margaret Thatcher. I guess the only other woman's name I found was EDY, but that turned out to be the name of an ice cream, not a woman.
Well, time to get some lunch, although the BREAD in this puzzle turned out to be MOOLA. May as well get into my SEDAN (if I was still driving) and go home. But not before I wish you all a happy and delightful day.
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