Theme: The Crying Game
Emet Ozar serves up a Thursday challenge. Best to keep in mind that it's just a game! The four theme entries are symmetrically placed in rows Across, with two of them spanning the grid, and the other two just one square shy of that. All four involve a common phrase that is reinterpreted as a cry from a game player. The theme entries are:
16-Across. Sad cry from a hot potato player?: I DIDN'T CATCH THAT. If you drop the potato, you're out.
25-Across. Sad cry from a Bananagrams player?: CAN I GET A WORD IN? Players race to build crossword grids using letter tiles. Why haven't I played this?
46-Across. Sad cry from a Battleship player?: I MISSED THE BOAT.
61-Across. Happy cry from a Scrabble player?: I'M DRAWING A BLANK.
All those cries ended on a happy note. Let's see how we fare with the rest of this game.
Across:1. All-Star side: EAST. Sports are games, too, but they seem more like tribal warfare by proxy. In many sports, the All-Star games pit East versus West.
5. Maori dance: HAKA. Speaking of sports, the Haka is performed by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team before matches.
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| All Blacks Haka dance |
9. Building blocks: ABCs.
13. Pepper __: MILL.
14. Drop: OMIT.
15. Biggest city in the Cornhusker State: OMAHA. Nebraska.
16. [Theme clue]
19. Custom car made from cast-off parts: RAT ROD. A custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts.
14. Drop: OMIT.
15. Biggest city in the Cornhusker State: OMAHA. Nebraska.
16. [Theme clue]
19. Custom car made from cast-off parts: RAT ROD. A custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts.
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| Rat Rod |
20. Knightly honorifics: SIRS.
21. Formal accessory: TIE.
22. Actor Corddry: ROB. You may remember Rob as a correspondent on The Daily Show. He has a number of other television and film credits, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and more Ds than seem proper in his surname.
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| Rob Corddry |
24. Rented: LET.
25. [Theme clue]
33. Palm fruit: DATE.
34. Tool that can be made to sound like a theremin: SAW. The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer. It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. Here is Leon Theremin playing the theremin:
Playing a saw requires touching it with a bow:
https://youtube.com/shorts/3-2wWp1UBiY?si=N6E0SxupPWiXKwVl
Apologies if the videos don't work! You can look up Theremin on Wikipedia to see the Leon Theremin video. And of course you can copy and paste the YouTube link into your web browser to see the saw in action.
35. Thin: SPARSE.
36. Ballpark figs.: ERAs. Not estimates (like ETAs), but figures reported in baseball ballparks: Earned Run Averages.
37. Verbal shrug: MEH.
39. Valley: DALE.
40. Grinding vessel: MORTAR. I tried "metate" first.
43. Orecchiette shape: EAR. "Orecchiette" means "little ears" in Italian. It's a pasta shape.
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| Orecchiette |
45. Cyberchatted, for short: IMed. Instant Messaged. Also written IM'd.
46. [Theme clue]
49. "SNL" alum Gasteyer: ANA. She's had continued success on film and stage.
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| Ana Gasteyer |
50. Bother: ADO.
51. "KPop Demon Hunters" voice actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE. A successful actor on stage, film and TV.
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| Daniel Dae Kim |
54. "99 Luftballons" band: NENA. The German band Nena recorded "99 Luftballons" in 1983. The song tells a fictional story about how 99 balloons are mistaken for enemy aircraft and trigger a global nuclear war.
56. Trashes: TOSSES.
61. [Theme clue]
64. Game consoles produced between 1983 and 2001: SEGAS.
65. Escalator part: STEP.
66. No-frills grocery chain: ALDI.
67. Had in mind?: KNEW.
68. Obscure: HIDE.
69. All-Star side: WEST. The last Across clue echoes the first. Here in the Corner, we call that a clecho -- a clue echo.
Down:
1. Doha dignitary: EMIR. Doha is the capital of Qatar.
2. Verdi opera: AIDA.
3. Feature of many a slinky gown: SLIT.
 |
| Just for Splynter. |
4. "I lost interest" letters: TLDR. Too Long, Didn't Read.
5. Relish-topped ballpark bites: HOT DOGS.
6. Theater chain with MacGuffins Bar and Lounge: AMC. Never heard of this, but AMC is the only theater chain that comes to mind.
7. Some Korean cars: KIAS.
8. __ the Hun: ATTILA.
9. Check no.: AMT. Abbreviation in the clue calls for abbreviation in the answer. AMT is for "amount."
10. Thai currency: BAHT.
11. Hebrew symbol that translates to "living": CHAI. Chai is not so much a symbol as it is a word, composed of two Hebrew letters. It means "life." Hebrew letters were also used as number symbols, and the letters in chai add up to 18, so that 18 is associated with life and luck.
5. Relish-topped ballpark bites: HOT DOGS.
6. Theater chain with MacGuffins Bar and Lounge: AMC. Never heard of this, but AMC is the only theater chain that comes to mind.
7. Some Korean cars: KIAS.
8. __ the Hun: ATTILA.
9. Check no.: AMT. Abbreviation in the clue calls for abbreviation in the answer. AMT is for "amount."
10. Thai currency: BAHT.
11. Hebrew symbol that translates to "living": CHAI. Chai is not so much a symbol as it is a word, composed of two Hebrew letters. It means "life." Hebrew letters were also used as number symbols, and the letters in chai add up to 18, so that 18 is associated with life and luck.
12. Fill fully: SATE.
15. "You are just too much!": OH STOP.
17. Edible seaweed: NORI.
18. Hands that handle the deck: CREWS. The deck of a ship ...
23. Radiate pride: BEAM.
25. Tricky pool shot: CAROM.
26. Maker of the 2600 and 5200 game consoles: ATARI.
27. Tiny homes tucked in branches: NESTS.
28. Chirp: TWEET. Sounds heard in NESTS.
29. __ wave: RADIO.
30. Broadway genre: DRAMA.
31. Dot on a map: ISLET.
32. Call for: NEED.
33. Prefix with sexual: DEMI. A demisexual person only develops sexual attraction after forming an emotional bond with another person. They don't get hot and bothered by slits in gowns, for sure!
38. "Good one": HA HA.
41. Vinyasa sequence: ASANAS. An asana is a physical pose in yoga. Vinyasa is a style of yoga that links poses in a fluid sequence. I've seen my lovely daughters practice this flow.
42. Freshen: RENEW.
44. Bureaucratic hassle: RED TAPE.
47. Like kanelsnegle: DANISH. Kanelsnegle are Danish cinamon rolls. I didn't know this, but I'm happy to see these on the crossword menu. Especially if I only have to spell Danish, and not kanelsnegle!
48. __ tube: BOOB. Yes, kids, that's what we used to call the TV. Cathode ray tube device for idiots. Before we all got sucked in.
51. Floppy or hard medium: DISK.
52. Blessing ender: AMEN.
53. Lip: EDGE. Like the lip of a cup.
55. Not pro: ANTI.
57. Vegetable side: SLAW.
58. Result of a good pitch: SALE. A good SALEs pitch results in a SALE. Not baseball this time!
59. Some football linemen: ENDS.
60. Sketch: SKIT. Not drawing, but sketch comedy.
62. Like sashimi: RAW.
63. HS equivalency test: GED. General Educational Development test.
Here's the grid:
Solvers, did you find yourselves DRAWING A BLANK at any point?
Did you at least GET A WORD IN the right place, here and there?
If you KNEW all the answers without the help of perpendicular entries, I'm impressed!
Let us know in the comments.
-- NaomiZ
I don’t know about the
ReplyDeleterest of you, but I actually thought this puzzle was pretty tough. There were a lot of clues that seemed to have an “oblique” aspect, kind a like a cryptic crossword, if you’re familiar with that genre. But I got it, eventually.
FIR, so I’m happy.
I actually found this puzzle easy for a Thursday which to me underscores why puzzle construction is complex endeavor. For example, those who hate proper names don’t get the joy I get from learning new things or being tended of things I knew but forgot.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the theme answers knowing it is not easy to find 14 and 15 letter fill that works.
RAT ROD was a complete unknown and one I won’t remember.
We have follow up to yesterday with more pasta and a reminder of Splynter’s ASANA comment. Thanks for the shout out yesterday Richard. I now need go back and re-examine your lady in the field pic.
Naomi nice explanation of CHAI and it amused me see it next to BAHT in the puzzle.
Thanks Emet and Naomi
I'm familiar with "L'Chaim" from Fiddler On The Roof.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteCAN'T instead of CAN I made NORI slow to appear. RATROD makes sense in retrospect, but wasn't obvious while solving. Everything finally came together, but it was a struggle. Thanx, Emet and NaomiZ.
Took 7:21 today to get a happy cry from this puzzle solver.
ReplyDeleteI had "hot rod" before "rat rod," which I only knew from a guy I knew who had one. It broke down a lot.
I agree with SubG about the oblique clues such as the Thai, Hebrew, Danish, and Vinyasa clues. Also, I knew Ana, was semi confident in Rob, but was perplexed by the Actor of the Dae.
FIR, but ests->ERAS, masse->CAROM, tidal->RADIO, disc->DISK (wrongly clued for that speling,) and atilla->ATTILA (UNTIE!)
ReplyDeleteI knew RAT ROD from watching American Pickers. Reminds me of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who drew a character named "Rat Fink" as the driver of his hot ROD designs.
I can never remember which is the MORTAR and which is the pestle. By comparison, pintle and gudgeon are easy to remember, because a pintle includes a pin.
I was going to say "sign me up" for DEMIsexual, but then NaomiZ revealed that it didn't mean intimate relations with GI Jane. Speaking of unobtainable desires, Marisa Tomei turns 61 today.
I thought today's fill was fairly tame, but that the cluing was pretty tough. Net it out and it seems like a good level of difficulty for a Thursday. Thanks to Emit for the fun, and to NaomiZ for the chuckles.
FLN: Misty, I'll bet that some Blogger algorithm got picky about something you wrote. It's my understanding that the only humans that can delete a post are the day's tour guide and Crossword Corner admins. Certainly us rank-and-file commenters can't delete anyone's comments but our own. So please stick around - I enjoy your creative stories. It might be safer to create your post using your word processing app (Word, Notebook, etc.) then copy and paste it here.
To Misty: just read the late night comments from yesterday, and your post is repeated all over the place! Please keep posting, they will pop up somewhere/sometime, and we would miss you terribly if you didn't add your uniqueness to the Blog...
ReplyDeleteAlso from yesterday, I forget to tell Splynter that I L.O.L'd. quite loudly at "I'm-pasta!"
Re: Blog
I have a terrible memory, it's like I can read the same book twice, and enjoy it just as much as the 1st time. So I always reread the Blog from the beginning, just to see what I remember, and what I don't, and I can assure you that either I'm crazy, or blog posts pop up at random times that were not there before. I personally think Blogger scans each and every post for things to hide in the spam files, and this takes time... it's the only explanation I can come up with for what I am seeing. (Unless I really am crazy...)
Why does the explanation have to be either/or?
DeleteFIR. There were a few learning moments for me, like haka and chai(?), but this was a very doable puzzle.
ReplyDeleteEven without a reveal, or really a common thread, the theme was quite clever. What a pleasure to have a nice straightforward crossword to solve, no gimmicks of any kind.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
LACW Addict:
ReplyDeleteWhat KS said. By the way, what does FLN stand for? Was in Jinx's comment.
From Last Night. I always read yesterday's late comments before I click on the current day's blog. But I'm aware that less anal-retentive Cornerites probably don't, so when I comment on a post made yesterday, I preface it with FLN.
ReplyDeleteAnd at the end of this blog, you will find a "Comments Section Abbrvs." It contains FLN and other abbreviations we use.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI liked this theme and enjoyed the solve. It was of Thursday difficulty, especially with the unknowns: Haka, Rat Rod, Nena, AMC, etc., but the perps were fair and removed all obstacles. I liked the symmetrical placement of East and West.
Thanks, Emet, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the informative and entertaining review.
Have a great day.
At first I thought I WOULD DRAW A BLANK with this theme, but once I filled that entry, I was able to CATCH on to the gimmick and had fun with it. The rest of the puzzle was a little crunchy, but I FIR. Just a few unknowns like HAKA, NENA, DAE, DEMI as clued, and ROB, though quite easy to guess.
ReplyDeleteThank you NaomiZ for your review.
As a follow up to my earlier comments: 1) clearly the reclining last in the grass has on patterned panty hose; 2) HAKA is very familiar fill appearing many times since it’s introduction in 2008. C.C. has used and written about including a video and a comment about her witnessing a performance. 3) more fun, the write-up by Naomi included the same link for ASANAS and a link for dresses with SLITS and HAKA as a Sunday puzzle from May 19,2024.
ReplyDeleteYou can just go to the right side of the blog and use the link SEARCH THIS BLOG enter anything e.g. HAKA band voila.
Which brings me back to my suggestion that it is fun to learn new things. We had a long time Peter JD, I believe who used to maintain an alphabetical book of new words and other new fill.
Try it , like Mikey you will like it. It is after all
LIFE.
Thanks for the explanation because even though I FIR I didn't and couldn't notice the game theme in this 'sun' puzzle that rose in the EAST at 1A and set in the WEST at 69A . I've never played BANANAGRAM, SCRABBLE, or BATTLESHIP- might explain that miss. HAKA, ROB, EAR, and DEMI were unknowns today.
ReplyDeleteDEMI-I think Patti is trying to shove stupid clues about the alphabet people because I doubt any constructor purposely would put them in.
I found the puzzle worthy of a Thursday slot with the possibilities of dead end fills. TIDAL-RADIO, MASSE-CAROM, EST-ERA, GRIN-BEAM, SCARCE-SPARSE, PESTEL-MORTAR, DMD-IMD.
I hope that some constructor doesn't have Vinyasa or Orecchiette as fills for 'egg shaped' or 'asanas'.
We got both ATARI and SEGAS today.
SLIT- women want me to look and desire, just don't touch. What was that song. "Imaginary Lover", by Atlanta Rhythm Section
ATTILA must have been given that name by Italians (Romans) because of the double-T and ending in a vowel. I can never remember if its TT or LL like so many words in Italian that seem to always have one letter with double consonants but rarely two like Orecchiette.
AMC- I've seen the MacGuffins in an AMC theater before, but with cokes for $8.00 I can only imagine what a beer would cost. But DW did have an AMC Pacer years ago.