Theme: Multitasking.
The theme clues and answers are:
17-Across. 1980s Atari racing game: SUPER SPRINT. Super Sprint was a 1986 racing video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. I watched my son play racing games at arcades, but have no specific memory of this title. You can see from the illustration that it was a multiplayer game. The last five letters spell out our first printer function: PRINT.
29-Across. Minimally invasive surgical procedure: ARTHROSCOPY. Arthroscopy involves inserting a tiny camera (arthroscope) into a small incision on a joint in order to examine and sometimes treat damage to the joint. The procedure has multiple possible targets: knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle, hip, and wrist. The last four letters spell out our second printer function: COPY.
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| Ouch. |
45-Across. Hall of Fame pitcher who threw four no-hitters for the Dodgers: SANDY KOUFAX. Sandy Koufax is an American former baseball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, he played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Mr. Koufax is the last living member of the 1955 World Series-winning team. His autograph appears on multi-signed memorabilia alongside other baseball legends. And conveniently, his last name ends in three letters that spell out our third printer function: FAX.
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| Sandy Koufax |
60-Across. Cylinder in the snack aisle: PRINGLES CAN. Pringles is brand of stackable potato-based snacks invented by Procter & Gamble in 1968. It is considered an "extruded" snack because of the manufacturing process. The tubular can was designed to address customer complaints about broken chips and empty air in potato chip bags. Kellogg's acquired Pringles in a multibillion dollar deal in 2012. The last four letters of this answer spell out our fourth printer function: SCAN.
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| Pringles can |
A multifunction printer is suitable for most homes, but in my office, I find I get better functionality from a dedicated printer and a separate scanner. Scanning and printing can substitute for copying in most cases. And fax? You can use an online fax if you need one. That said, my mom is pretty amazing using her all-in-one for everything.
Let's see how the rest of the clues and answers function.
Across:
1. Awards such as Best Upset and Best Game: ESPYS. The ESPY Awards, produced annually by ESPN since 1993, recognize athletic achievement during the preceding calendar year. "Best Upset" and "Best Game" have been awarded in the past, but those specific awards do not occur every year.
6. Have a spoonful, say: TASTE.
11. "Tsk!" kin: TUT. Tsk! Tsk! (American) and Tut-tut! (British) are dental clicks used to express disapproval.
14. Fleece source: SHEEP.
6. Have a spoonful, say: TASTE.
11. "Tsk!" kin: TUT. Tsk! Tsk! (American) and Tut-tut! (British) are dental clicks used to express disapproval.
14. Fleece source: SHEEP.
15. Astronaut Ellen who was the first Latina director of the Johnson Space Center: OCHOA. Ellen Ochoa is an inventor, former NASA astronaut, and former director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In 1993, she went to space on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
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| Ellen Ochoa, first Hispanic woman in space |
16. Activist Yoko: ONO. I wonder if Yoko knows how often she shows up in crossword puzzles. It's not a bad thing!
17. [Theme clue]
19. Air passenger screening org.: TSA. An abbreviation in the clue suggests an abbreviation in the answer. TSA = Transportation Security Administration.
20. Future counselor's maj.: PSYCH. Another abbreviated clue calling for an abbreviated answer. To become a licensed counselor, you may need to major in psychology.
21. Hallucinations: VISIONS.
23. Salt Lake state: UTAH.
25. Black dialect, for short: AAVE. African American Vernacular English. Developed over centuries through the experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants, AAVE is a distinct variety of English with its own grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
27. "Doggone it!": DRAT.
28. Tree goo: SAP.
29. [Theme clue]
32. Mop target: SPILL.
34. Old photo hue: SEPIA. Sepia ink comes from a cuttlefish called Sepia. Old black and white photos were treated with sepia toner to make them last longer, resulting in a warm brown hue.
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| NaomiZ's grandparents in a Sepia toned photograph |
35. Amuses, as with anecdotes: REGALES.
38. Elementary school shoebox project: DIORAMA. Every fourth grade public school student in California has to construct a diorama of one of the early California missions as homework. This was true for me six decades ago, true for my children, and continues today. The 21 missions were built by indigenous slaves under the control of Spanish priests. Approximately 62,000 indigenous Californians died through the mistreatment they experienced in the mission system. No one told us that in school. Today, kids in California can go to local craft stores and purchase pre-made kits to build their dioramas.
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| mission in a shoebox |
42. Actor Nick: NOLTE. Nick Nolte is an American actor with many movie and television credits, a Golden Globe Award, and three Academy Award nominations.
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| Nick Nolte |
44. Calf's suckling spot: UDDER.
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| udderly adorable |
45. [Theme clue]
50. Industrial tank: VAT.
51. __ vera gel: ALOE.
52. Front of a ship: PROW.
53. Like some high-fiber breakfast bars: OATY. DH has been baking oatmeal applesauce bread, which makes a lovely breakfast for me, and a nice foundation for lunchtime peanut butter for him.
54. Snug apartments: STUDIOS. A studio apartment is one room with a separate bathroom. Same thing as a bachelor apartment. It's like living in a hotel room.
57. Times New __: ROMAN. Times New Roman is a font (or typeface) designed for the British newspaper The Times in 1931. It is one of the most popular typefaces of all time.
59. Give in to gravity: SAG.
60. [Theme clue]
64. Notable time: ERA.
65. Texas A&M athlete: AGGIE. Texas A&M University is a public research university in College Station, Texas, founded in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University.
66. Cathedral city in Tuscany: SIENA.
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| NaomiZ dwarfed by family members in Siena, January 2014 |
67. Summer hrs.: DST. Daylight Saving Time.
68. Frowned-upon acts: DON'TS. Younger son eats lots of DONuTS. His daddy DOZEN't.
69. Analyze, as ore: ASSAY. Investigate to assess presence of a target entity. One thinks of gold rush propectors visiting the assayer's office to find out whether they'd found something of real value.
Down:
1. Start to sneeze?: ESS. The letter "s" (spelled out as ESS) is the start to the word "sneeze."
2. Moo __ pork: SHU. Stir-fried pork, eggs, and veggies, served in a thin pancake.
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| moo shu pork |
3. British cartoon character who loves muddy puddles: PEPPA PIG. Peppa Pig is an animated British preschool television series. I am aware of it because my 11-year-old twin grandchildren were fans.
4. "Oof, that's not good": YEESH. Used to express diselief or exasperation.
5. Quick and nimble: SPRY.
6. Monopoly token sported by the game's mascot: TOP HAT. The tokens, or playing pieces, of this popular board game have changed over the years, but the top hat has survived as a token since the first Parker Brothers edition in 1935.
7. Crossword dir.: ACR. Crossword direction: Across.
8. Shook with cold: SHIVERED.
9. Novelist Morrison: TONI. Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was an African-American novelist and editor. In 1988, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved, and in 1993, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
10. Breaks bread: EATS.
11. Miyazaki's "My Neighbor __": TOTORO. My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Looks amazing -- now I have to watch it.
11. Miyazaki's "My Neighbor __": TOTORO. My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Looks amazing -- now I have to watch it.
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| My Neighbor Totoro |
12. Open, as a onesie: UNSNAP. We have been snapping and unsnapping onesies since the newest grandson appeared four months ago.
13. Nice and warm: TOASTY. Our daughter-in-law explained to us that blankets pose a suffocation risk to babies, and our grandson should rely on onesies or sleep sacks to stay TOASTY.
18. Emotional wound: SCAR.
22. 19-Across request: ID CARD. Remember 19-Across, TSA? These folks ask for your ID CARD as you go through the airport security checkpoint.
23. Spy-fi side: USSR. Spy fiction sides included the USA versus the USSR.
24. See 26-Down: TAPE. Next clue, please!
26. With 24-Down, outmoded media format: VHS. The dominant format for home recording of video and audio from the 1980s through the 1990s, VHS tapes were replaced by DVDs, then by Blu-ray discs, and finally by digital files.
29. Mixture of metals: ALLOY.
30. Nail salon brand: OPI.
31. __ City, Iowa: SIOUX.
33. Terse text sent while taxiing to the terminal: LANDED. DH and I text each other when we land, assuming we are not flying together.
36. Large ruminant in the Rockies: ELK. A ruminant is an herbivorous mammal whose digestive system requires it to regurgitate and re-chew tough plant matter as "cud." Here are 59 seconds of an elk chewing its cud:
37. Octagon at an intersection: STOP SIGN.
39. Prepayments in some big book deals: ADVANCES.
40. Ravioli filling, sometimes: MEAT.
41. Highbrow: ARTY. Highbrow means highly cultured and sophisticated. An arty person is very interested in the arts. The latter term is more often used to suggest that such a person is pretentious.
43. Benelux continent: EUR. Benelux is a politico-economic union of three neighbouring countries in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Since Benelux is sort of an abbreviation -- a portmaneau, really -- for BElgium, NEtherlands, and LUXembourg, I suppose it's OK for the continent of EURope to be abbreviated in the answer.
45. Got smart with: SASSED.
46. Sites for some rites: ALTARS.
47. Chewy candy: NOUGAT.
48. Blacksmiths' workplaces: FORGES. This word takes me back to "The Village Blacksmith," a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which I committed to memory as an elementary school assignment.
And children coming home from schoolLook in at the open door;They love to see the flaming forge,And hear the bellows roar,And catch the burning sparks that flyLike chaff from a threshing-floor.
49. Mil. truant: AWOL. Military truant = AWOL = Absent WithOut Leave.
53. Desert watering hole: OASIS.
55. AirPlay and AirDrop tablet: IPAD.
56. Challenging chem course: ORGO. Recent crossword puzzles insist that Organic Chemistry courses are called ORGO, but our crossword solvers insist that this is nonsense. Google likes it, though.
58. Phoenix suburb: MESA.
61. Petty peeve: NIT. Nits are the eggs of parasitic insects like lice. People pick nits out of their childrens' hair. This sort of concern with tiny things has translated into picking on other folks over small matters: "I have a nit to pick with you." "Stop nitpicking me!"
62. Actress de Armas: ANA. Ana de Armas grew up in Cuba, moved to Spain, and then moved to Los Angeles, playing leading film and TV roles along the way. She was the holographic AI Joi in Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Paloma in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021) and Marilyn Monroe in Blonde (2022), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
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| Ana de Armas |
63. Yea's opposite: NAY. Voice votes.
Here's the grid:
Solvers, what did you think of Patti's puzzle?
Did it SAP your strength? Did it SCAR you for life? Did you have a NIT to pick with it?
Or perhaps you LANDED this one, and found it to your TASTE.
C'mon, SPILL in the comments!
-- NaomiZ
I’m not going to say
ReplyDeleteanything about this puzzle yet because I’m not sure what to say. One thing’s for sure:
I couldn’t make out any “theme” at all until I got NaomiZ’s commentary!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, d-o treated this one as a themeless. Stumbled at ARTHROSCOPY; wanted something beginning with ARTER. ID CARD reminds me of an unfortunate incident last week. A young Wally-World clerk, young enough to be my great grandchild, insisted on checking my ID CARD before authorizing a beer purchase. I'm sorry to admit I unloaded on her. Nice Monday puzzle. Thanx, Patti and NaomiZ.
FIR, but vcr->VHS, and souix->SIOUX. Have I mentioned that my speling SUX?
ReplyDeleteI've had ARTHROSCOPY performed on my knee. It might have been "minimally invasive," but the ensuing rehab was long and painful.
Unfortunately, this one was just about what I expected when I saw that Patti was the constructor. Fortunately, NaomiZ's recap was just about what I expected when I remembered that Mondays are now hers.
D-O, when I lived in Atlanta and my 70-something mom was visiting, she was CARDed at a Krogers. I objected, and she said that she was trained that state law required all purchasers of alcohol to be CARDed. I told her to never mind, and left my mom's wine and my half-full cart where they were, drove an extra half-mile to Publix, and we bought all of our needs without intrusion. All Publix employees own stock in the company, and it shows in customer service.
I hope you and your mom have been able to overcome such a horrible intrusion of a minimum wage employee just trying to follow their training and the law.
DeleteMy 70-something mom would have smacked me if I acted like that.
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DeleteWhat I don't like about being asked for my drivers license at the supermarket on the rare occasion of me buying alcohol is that they scan the strip on the back of the license into their computer, and I have no clue who will have access to all that information: Name, Date of Birth, Address, Height, Picture of me, even my signature. Who gets all that info? Perfect for identity theft. I wouldn't mind if they just looked at the license, but scanning it should be forbidden.
DeleteUnclefred, I agree 100%. The first time Fed X demanded they scan my license, I got cowed and relented. But it irked me. I couldn't let it go. I asked everyone what they thought, and they were all "they know everything about you already!"
DeleteI still couldn't let it go... i don't want to live in Nazi Germany... so the next time, and every time after that, I grabbed the package, and said, "I'll gladly ID myself for a wine delivery. But you're not scanning my license!" I haven't had a problem since... it's time we stand up and say No!
FIR. For a Monday this had a bit of a bite to it. It required some very kind perps and a couple of WAG's. As an example Totoro and AAVE.
ReplyDeleteNow I do appreciate a puzzle without circles, but this theme completely escaped me, and circles wouldn't have helped.
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Without a "reveal" clue, or circles, I too didn't notice a theme. Maybe Patti should consider a theme line (between the dateline and byline) on daily puzzles when appropriate as we get every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteFIR without any help. Thanks for the great write-up, NaomiZ.
Thank you for the write up, but as far as the puzzle is concerned, I have to take a Thumper...
ReplyDeleteNo theme line from the editor as constructor~?
ReplyDeleteThe Decline of Western Crosswordization . . . .
Splynter at 9:39 AM -- hahaha 😂 !
DeleteBut thanks for taking the high road, Naomi~!
ReplyDeleteSplynter at 9:41 AM: ❤️
DeletePretty easy puzzle this morning. Unfortunately I messed up with one of the long fills, I had ARTeROSCOPY, so missed AAVE, unknown to me, and couldn’t come up with VHS, though in hindsight is silly of me.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t need circles for the theme to pop out. My only real unknowns were TOTORO, filled with perps, and SUPER SPRINT, but it was easy to guess.
I have not had NOUGAT in a very long time, but I used to love it.
I’ve been to SIENA and liked that lovely SEPIA photo of your grands, NaomiZ.
I missed the theme.
ReplyDeleteThere was no reference clue to look for a theme.
There were to many obscure clues and abbreviations that are typical Patti dreck.
A wonderful recap. Thanks Naomi.
Musings
ReplyDelete-What a novel gimmick. I wasted time looking for one or a reveal but Naomi came to the rescue. Dang forest was hiding the trees! :-)
-Sandy Koufax’s arm injury forced him to retire early. Ten years later Tommy John surgery was invented and could have given him years more of playing time.
-Research shows that using AAVE can seriously diminish prospects of getting hired
-What a lovely picture (we don’t say photo around here) of you on the brick streets of SIENA.
-TOTORO is very un-Monday fill
-Granddaughter texts me LANDED when I am waiting in the cell phone lot at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield two miles away
-I was raised next to a blacksmith shop and the smell of burning coal reminds me of how he heated his FORGE
-In a few months, MESA, AZ will become Cubbyville as the Chicago team has spring training there
"Research shows that using AAVE can seriously diminish prospects of getting hired" Shouldn't. There are translators available for that.
DeleteI can't put my finger on why I can't say something nice about this puzzle, so I went back and reread the write up, hoping to find some other reason, other than hating to be annoyed in a Monday...
ReplyDeleteAnd then it dawned on me, i'm biased against the content!
It's called O Chem
ReplyDelete
DeleteIMHO, ORGO is 100% nonsense is the correct assessment from this chemistry major.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteIt took me a minute after completion to spot the theme. I suppose it should have been more obvious while solving, especially with the seemingly unrelated entry of Sandy Koufax, but my observation abilities leave much to be desired. I was a little disappointed in this offering from Patti because I remember solving some of her earlier puzzles which were rich with humorous and clever word play, a feature sadly missing from much of the current crossword world’s output. I had no trouble with the solve but, IMO, Totoro, Ochoa, Peppa Pig, and AAVE are not Monday words.
Thanks, Patti, and thanks, Naomi, for the informative review. Nice family photo at Siena. Thanks, also, for the Nick Nolte photo, a reminder of his role as Tom Wingo in one of my favorite movies and books, The Prince of Tides, by one of my favorite authors, Pat Conroy.
Have a great day.
I did not enjoy this CW. I have often admitted that I am not the best CWer. I SO look forward to Mondays. Mon-Wed = my level. Not today. By my admittedly expansive definition of "name", I count 21 today. Fortunately, only DNK 6, one of which was SANDYKOUFAX. I do know Sandy Koufax, of course, but the clue didn't ring a bell until I had the DYK from perps. Then didn't know how to spell KOUFAX, forgetting the "U". Fortunately, EUR was a gimme. ESPYS didn't pop into my pumpkin head either at first, as I tried AHH (as in AHH-CHOO!) for 1D for a while. Once I looked a bit more carefully at the very specific clue, "ESPYS" became obvious, as did "ESS" for 1D. Ultimately did FIR but took a depressingly long 15 minutes. :-(( Also, never saw the theme, or even guessed there is one. Never heard of AAVE. I wish we would stop referring to people as "African American". All four of my grandparents (not great-great-grandparents) came from Germany, but I have never said I am "German American". Toni Morrison in an American author. I don't know for sure, but would bet she has never lived in Africa. (Rant over). Also, list me among those that object to calling organic chemistry "orgo". I taught organic chemistry many, many years ago (early '70s). Never then nor since have heard it called "orgo" except in CWs. Doesn't even make sense, as there is only one "O" in "ORGANIC", and no "O"s in "Chemistry" so how would you get ORGO out of it?And I don't care what Google says. Some clever clues, but overall, no thanx, AV. Not a Monday level CW. Especially with names like TOTORO in there. NE was last to FINALLY (GASP!) fill = TOTORO = all perps. Best part of today was NaomiZ's wonderful write-up, especially telling me there was a theme, which also totally flew over my head. Looking forward to a (hopefully) Tuesday level CW tomorrow. (grump, grump!)
ReplyDeleteAfrican-American refers to racial, not national, identity. The equivalent for persons of German descent, like you and me, would be "Caucasian," or, on some outdated forms, "White."
DeleteI wasn't a fan of John Kerry, but his wife was a hoot. When some network news snob asked why she checked a box saying that she was African American, she replied "I was born in Mozambique. Where were you born?" (Teresa is as white as (crossword-favorite) John Tesh, which prompted the question.)
DeleteUnclefred , once an editor accepts a new C/A pair, it'll get uploaded into the cw dictionaries. Accurate or not, you can rest assured that we'll be seeing ORGO for a long time to come.
DeleteThe debate between "orgo" and "o chem" is like arguing over "soda" vs. "pop" – they are the same thing. Regional. Just different student slang for the same course of study.
DeleteBack in the 60's and 70's when the racial block listed "Native American" instead of "American Indian" I checked it every time.
DeleteMost if not all of us have heard of “soda” vrs “pop” but didn’t realize anyone used ORGO for organic chem. Thought it was just a CW filler. Learned something new.
Delete" indigenous Californians"- never heard that term for American Indians. Ray-O, ORGO is a CW filler, with but the the extra included, it could be used for the end of a sexual experience. Both start with 'orga', not orgo. Google doesn't like either abbr.
DeleteA nice walk in the park today. As others mentioned, there were a few entries that were not Monday-level, but they were perped with ease, and not an impediment to a quick solve.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I went to the movies when we were 55 or so, and the cashier asked us if we wanted the senior (62 and over) discount. We said no, and laughed about it afterward.
From there, we stopped in at a local Tiki bar, and were CARDED as we walked in.
We laughed about that as well.
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ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf this was a walk in the park the trail was slippery and snowbound. Had a few blanks right at the get go. Afreared I had FIW but I was wrong. I was right. never heard of AAVE, the VE agreed with my first fill: jiVE. TOTORO?
Thought “blacksmith workplaces”were under “spreading chestnut trees”
The theme was totally opaque
USSR? Wait. I thought it said Sci -fi 🙄
YEESH: I agree “that’s not good” clueing. Just as bad as “sheesh”. Do any Sioux live in SIOUX city. Is there a mesa in MESA? (or a boulder in Boulder?)
There was a bit of a to-do awhile back as most of us never heard the terms ORGO and here it is again
Latina? O’Choa sounds Irish
Passes on a lady: ADVANCES
Like the gentry: LANDED
the solution for overproduction of tennis
ball containers : PRINGLESCAN
Great week to all 😃
Took ORGO (?) at TEXAS A&M back in the day before med school.
ReplyDeleteI hope I never have to do that again.
Took 4:51 today unjam this one.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I agree with Ms. Irish Miss's take on the puzzle. I knew the Actress of the Day (Ana), but not "totoro," "aave," "opi", and "Super Sprint."
Finally, a themeless weekday puzzle....
This puzzle offered a twist today, a Monday grid with no reveal or circles, surprised at all the negativity directed at it and the constructor. I managed a FIR in 11:54, so it didn’t seem all that difficult to me, like IrishM it took me about a minute to see the theme, knowing there most likely had to be on. A few unknowns taken care of by perps. Thank you Patti, but how does one edit their own creation? NaomiZ ~ thanks for your informative recap!
ReplyDeleteDW and I travel together practically exclusively these days, but when she traveled alone she would text me “wheels down” when she landed.
DeleteSurprised at all of the animosity today. I often have NITs with Patti, but this was an enjoyable and creative puzzle. Only struggles were with AAVE and TOTORO. We have seen AAVE before but it is quickly forgotten.
ReplyDeleteFunny story about being African American, Jinx. Same holds for Elon. I think the term Black is more descriptive and accurate and many Black people prefer that term. Black is not about distant origin. It is about lived experience.
No issues and no gripes. It's a crossword puzzle. I didn't know TORTORO, but it had to be and I learned something new.
ReplyDeleteI solve the LA Times, the NY Times (the syndicated one), the USA Today and the Universal puzzle every day. As well, Lutercross on Tuesdays, and DAB's biweekly. Add in the large 21x21 WaPo and Universal grids on Sundays. Sometimes other venues during wintertime. Perhaps fewer during golf season.
The LA Times is always a themed puzzle from Sunday through Friday. There may or not be a theme hint (as today), but they are always themed. Only Sundays are titled, and the hint to the theme might only be in the title, as it was yesterday. So no reveal to point to the theme. Yesterday, Re-Pair was a brilliant title.
The USA Today puzzles feature themed crosswords, but often do not have a clue or reveal(er) answer to lead you to the theme. Instead, the puzzle title will give you a hint to the theme if you can't figure it out. They very seldom if ever use circles. You have to figure it for yourself. Today's USA would be a perfect example.
The Universal are often themed and titled. They also don't use circles. Instead, they reference the numerical position(s) of the letters in the answer(s) that are relevant to the theme. You have to figure out the answers to understand the theme, and perhaps why the title works. Today's Universal is a prime example of that. When there is no theme, the title always indicates "Themeless."
Today's syndicated NY Times is by Dan Kammann and Zhouqin Burnikel. It originally ran on Dec 8th in the NYT. It has a reveal clue and answer, but unless you parse it properly, you won't fully appreciate the theme.
Anyway, thank you, Patti and NaomiZ.
Naomiz, I always enjoy your well-written reviews. Wow, based on that pic, am I safe to assume that your family members are tall? Also, a learning moment about CA PS students having to build a DIORAMA. That would have been very difficult for me way back when. I might do okay with a store bought kit.
TTP at 1:13 PM, I'm about 5'5" tall. My daughter is about 5'9" tall; her dad, her husband, and her father-in-law are all over 6 feet. I may be standing a teensy bit downhill of them on that sloping piazza. DH took the photo.
DeleteCan't we all just be Americans? Not Black Americans, White Americans, Yellow Americans, Red Americans, Brown Americans.....
ReplyDeleteUnclefred, I am just curious. When writing your comments, have you ever tried pressing the enter key to get a line break or new paragraph? Or does your phone treat the enter key as a send button?
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIW as I had SHO instead of SHU for the pork dish. SUPER SPRINT makes more sense than SOPER SPRINT but neither one is a game with which I am familiar
Being a novice crossword constructor, I "got" the theme when I saw COPY, FAX, and SCAN - as I mentioned above, I had trouble with 17-across as PRINT was the last office machine feature to complete my solve. Interesting that this puzzle came without a reveal. Usually, puzzles such as this are offered at venues such as Newsday and Universal. Both of those venues use titles that would hint at the theme. Perhaps Patti submitted this puzzle to Stan and David and was rejected by both, therefore leaving just LA Times to "accept" it? [the previous sentence was written with tongue firmly planted in cheek]
The appearance of TOTORO, AAVE, and ORGO in this puzzle slowed me down in a few spots. I was actually quite surprised to see just the one bad cell when I checked the puzzle for errors ...
Chairman Moe, I agree that having an LAT crossword without a reveal is a bit unusual, but it happens. Yesterday was an example.
DeleteI've been reading / scanning through blog history, and coincidentally, On This Day In Blog History - Jan 12, 2017 - C.C.'s puzzle without a reveal.
Just whiling away the time today while waiting for the game to start tonight.
SOPER SPRINT describes the race that occurs when the local purveyor of recreational drugs shows up with a limited amount of Quaaludes.
DeleteFIR, doubted "scar" and was sure "aave" was wrong but couldn't think of anything else. I'll take the w.
ReplyDeleteAAVE is just plain wrong. It's JIVE! (I know this, 'cause I watched "Airplane!")
ReplyDelete😂 And I hope whichever casting director chose Barbara Billingsley for the role of "jive translator" got a huge raise!
DeleteDid you click on my link below H.Gary's 9:53 post? That very scene!
DeleteORGO makes as much sense as calling the courses I taught LAWL.
ReplyDeleteMFC- I have Brother MFC laser and I actually have used it to FAX, until I got rid of my landline. I never noticed all the functions in Patti's puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAAVE and TOTORO , as if anybody knows that without solid perps. I didn't.
ARTY because 'snooty' wouldn't fit for Highbrow.
PEPPA PIG- learned from crosswords.
ARTHROSCOPY- my initial knee surgery in 1971 was before it had been invented. Painful is an understatement to describe what I woke up to.
I enjoyed this puzzle. I assigned a diorama each year for my third graders. Sometimes it was for the Solar System back when Pluto was a planet, sometimes the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Saw the theme right away by looking at the ends of the four long answers. Thanks Patti and NaomiZ!
ReplyDeleteI solved it.
ReplyDelete