Ah, Rebecca, we meet again! My first review last year was a Goldstein
puzzle. She's quite prolific. As I went through this one, I noticed all
the Xs and thought they'd play into the theme, and they did. But I
didn't expect a whole bowl of CHEX MIX!
41D. Savory party snack, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: CHEX MIX. The letters in the word CHEX are MIXed (scrambled) in all the theme answers:
3D. *Beef cut that may be braised: OX CHEEK.
OX CHEEK (or beef cheek) is
a tough, flavorful, and inexpensive cut of meat from the facial muscle of cattle that becomes tender and gelatinous when cooked slowly. 
18A. *"What did you just say?": OH EXCUSE ME. OH EXCUSE ME is a reply to a rude comment, usually drawn out as in a Steve Martin catch phrase.
36A. *Folks who may be at the point of no return?: TAX CHEATS. People who do not file a tax return may be TAX CHEATS.
56A. *Raspberry: BRONX CHEER. A BRONX CHEER is a mouth noise similar to a fart that is used to signify derision, usually at a sporting event.
I like how some of the themers ran vertically, that made the solve more interesting, as did some clever cluing. There weren't a ton of names, but I blanked on almost all of them. Perps to the rescue.
Across:
1. Self motivators?: EGOS.
5. Teeny: SMALL. Teeny seems smaller than SMALL.
10. Brand new: MINT. On Craigslist, everything is advertised to be in MINT condition.
14. Coming up: NEXT. Please stay tuned!
15. Health care cost: COPAY. A COPAY (co-payment) is a fixed fee you pay for a covered health service (like a doctor visit or prescription), while your insurance
16. Sorbet berry: ACAI.
17. Toy company acquired by Mattel in 1997: TYCO. TYCO's Tickle Me Elmo was massive holiday toy craze in 1996 which raised the price Mattel had to pay.
20. Workout wear: SHORTS.
22. For adult audiences: R RATED.
23. "That one's for you": KEEP IT.
24. Put through an X-ray: SCAN.
26. "Succession" surname: ROY. I haven't watched this so all perps. The Roy family are the focal point of Succession.
27. Juvenile retort: ARE SO. Am not. I don't like playground retorts.
28. Shearing day sound: BAA. I'm glad these sheep say BAA, never herd [sic] one say "maa."
29. Katherine Moennig's "The L Word" role: SHANE. I don't have Showtime, so this also was by perps. But I think the trope of using an word's initial is over used. There's a whole set of "The __ Word" expressions that are mostly innocuous. Here, the "L" means Lesbian...ooh.
31. Shaming syllable: TSK. Often doubled as TSK TSK.
32. Renaissance faire competitions: JOUSTS.
35. "Confirmed, captain": AYE. Often doubled as AYE AYE.
36. [theme]
38. Chaotic crowd: MOB.
40. "Begin": OKAY GO. I can't think of a common scenario where one could say these interchangeably.
41. "The Price Is Right" network: CBS. Columbia Broadcasting System, but it could've been any TV network.
44. Top medals: GOLDS.
46. Soap ingredient: LYE. LYE is a very-alkaline substance that is chemically transformed during the soap-making process so it's not present in the final product.
47. Wuhan welcome: NIHAO. NIHAO means "hello" in Mandarin Chinese, though locals often use more casual greetings.
49. Tally: ADD.
50. Golfer's pocketful: TEES. Golfer's pocketful: GLOVES.
52. Devices at a counter-service restaurant: PAGERS. The electronic version of a deli ticket to keep track of who's NEXT, without shouting.
53. Emphatic assertion: YES I AM. Are you NEXT? YES, I AM!
55. Opulent: DELUXE. This is as DELUXE as it gets at my house. "Four cheese?! What are we celebrating?" [Disclaimer #1: RightBrain is fabulous cook. Disclaimer #2: She made me write this.]
56. [theme]
59. Reddit Q&As: AMAS. We've seen Ask Me Anything before, but usually not plural.
61. Brontë sister: ANNE. The Brontë sisters were three famous 19th-century English novelists and poets: Charlotte was the oldest, followed by Emily, then ANNE.
62. Works for: EARNS.
63. Egyptian river: NILE. I recently visited Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia where Johnny Mercer is buried. "Moon river, wider than the NILE [sic]."
64. Cleaning cloths: RAGS. Clean clothes: RAGS.
65. Tickle pink: ELATE.
66. Truck bar: AXLE.
Down:
1. Tonsillectomy doc: ENT. Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, uncommonly known as a otolaryngologist, but you knew that.
2. Jumbo jets?: GEYSERS. Fun clue.
3. [theme]
4. Reaches a new low?: STOOPS. More fun!
5. Adam of "Severance": SCOTT. Bingo! I knew this one.
6. Mineral hardness eponym: MOHS. The MOHS scale ranks mineral hardness, but is not linear. Thus a diamond (10) is vastly harder than corundum (9). Speaking of diamonds, my youngest son married his brother last Saturday! Let me rephrase that. He (as a notary) officiated the wedding in a scenic park. Beautiful!
7. Mimic: APE.
8. Loose: LAX. Strict: LAX TSA.
9. Stretchy fabric: LYCRA.
10. Gordita dough: MASA. MASA is corn flour dough that may be used in gorditas, which are thicker than regular tortillas so they can be split open for fillings.
11. Freeze frame?: ICE TRAY. Good clues today.
12. "Give me a single example": NAME ONE.
13. Rainbow pattern: TIE DYE.
19. Garden fixtures: URNS.
21. Spanish wine: RIOJA. RIOJA is a prestigious wine region in northern Spain, famous for its high-quality red wines.
23. Actress Dennings: KAT. Who? I feel so out of it even though I've actually seen her in a few things.
24. Struts with style: SASHAYS.
25. Vintage sunglasses shape: CAT EYE. They tend to go in and out of fashion.
28. Seat belt fastener: BUCKLE.
30. Owns: HAS.
33. Maker of Stick & Stay plates and bowls for kids: OXO.
34. Head south?: SAG. Ha ha!
36. "More info soon": TBD. This answer is To Be Determined.
37. Like much music: TONAL.
38. Biotech firm developing cancer vaccines: MODERNA. MODERNA became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of two major companies producing vaccines.
39. Dated ditty: OLD SONG. An oldie but not goodie. Probably not from STAX.
41. [theme]
42. Leave nothing to the imagination: BARE ALL.
43. Distress call: SOS. A Morse code distress signal ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ) that happens to form the letters SOS, but they have no meaning on their own.
44. Stonewall Inn, for one: GAY BAR. A place where you might watch "The L Word."
45. "__: Soulsville U.S.A.": HBO documentary about a record label: STAX. STAX is a Memphis institution that launched the careers of legends including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s.
48. Invasive lizard in Florida: IGUANA. Large nasty lizards that eat our flowers!
51. "Cabaret" role for Alan Cumming: EMCEE. EMCEE is the phonetic spelling of "MC" meaning Master of Ceremonies. Perps again, I didn't know Mr. Cummings, a cisgender man in a gender-bending role.
52. Intrinsically: PER SE. At first, I found it hard to parse PER SE.
54. French model Rau: INES. My final unknown. INES Rau is a French actress, model, and writer. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for November 2017 and the first openly transgender Playmate.
55. First step, say: DENT. Making noticeable progress as in "I made a DENT in the project."
57. "2001" supercomputer: HAL.
58. Historical period: ERA.
60. "Comprende?": SEE."Comprende?": Si!
That's it for today. Be Good. RB
9 comments:
Despite the many “?”
clues, in fact, so many this puzzle seemed like a “cryptic crossword” at times,
I ended up solving the puzzle. The perps helped when I had no clue, as with “ox cheek” and “masa.”
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Just 6 "?"s isn't that many for a late-week LAT puzzle (the revealer clue doesn't count). Also, 3/6 "?" clues that I actually liked, that's better than average (STOOPS, ICE TRAY, and especially GEYSERS). SAG was just disappointing, I was expecting some mysterious Southern slang for "head" (or "toilet", why not).
Good morning!
When the neighbors made CHEX MIX back in the '50s, they called it Nuts 'n' Bolts. Tried RATED X where R RATED was supposed to go. Didn't last. Also tried ANNA until INES decided otherwise. Nicely done, Rebecca. I envisioned Lucina SASHAYing through this one. Another fine expo, Rusty. Well done.
Thank you, Rebecca and Rusty.
Rusty, I like your blogging style. Congrats on the family addition.
It seems to me that the new norm has been for Thursdays to be slightly tougher than Fridays. But today wasn't tough at all. A really quick solve for me. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow and Saturday will be challenging.
Looking back at the grid now, in the northeast I see the name ROY stacked over the name SHANE. Didn't know either by the clues, but the perp answers were all easy. In the southwest, it was INES intersecting ANNE. But no problem there because ANNE was a gimme. As was Kat and SCOTT.
BARE ALL? Not in this weather. And then R-RATED? Hmm.
TYCO (Tickle Me Elmo) and Ty Inc (Beanie Babies) sales exploded in the 90s.
CHEX MIX is probably a little healthier than the Giardetto's Snack Mix that I buy every few years. There's a half a bag in the cupboard. It's probably stale by now. I bought it before the B1G championship game in early December.
FIR, but yes yes->YES I AM, yves->INEZ, and mhos->MOHS. I keep using the units of conductance (mhos, the reciprocal of ohms.)
We had Katherine and KAT today. Katherine's SHANE was a major character. A recurring theme was "The Chart," which was a diagram of the main characters, showing who had slept with whom. SHANE was dead center on The Chart, being a bit promiscuous. I was a big fan of the show, although I sometimes felt like a spy when watching it.
One of the two photographs I had published in National Lampoon was of the sign for "LAX Medical Clinic" (a doctor's office near Los Angeles International Airport.) (The other was a sign for" Pass Gas," a filling station off I-15 between LA and Las Vegas.)
I've always called it an ICE cube TRAY. Regional?
From STAX Records, here's the Four Tops with their hit t's The Same OLD SONG.
Thanks to Rebecca for the Thursday puzzle that I didn't hate nearly as much as I thought I would. And thanks to Rusty for another fine review. Now I'm off to get the stitches removed that came with my MOHS surgery two weeks ago.
Rebecca’s creations are always challenging for me, no matter what day of the week they are published. I FIR w/out help in 25:52, two wrong fills slowed me down in the north, eventually changing “sweats” to SHORTS and “RatedR” to RRATED. I’ve come to accept the fact that every LAT puzzle will have at LEAST one name I’ve never heard of, today there were 3, SHANE, INES, and EMCEE, and at least one word from a foreign language, today being NIHAO. DNK CAT EYE, I only knew OX CHEEK cuz I just saw it referenced a couple days ago. STAX had quite the impressive lineup of performers, much like Motown. I like CHEX MIX, but I doctor it up with cashews, pistachios, and pecans, with maybe some M&M’s and raisins tossed in for sweetness. Thanks Rebecca for your fine work, very creative theme today! And thanks to RB for your entertaining review!
FLN ~ a happy belated b/day to sumdaze, and 18th to the Corner!
FIR, but it was a workout. This was a typical Thursday hard presentation.
What it made it more difficult was the plethora of foreign words and all the question marks in the clues.
But overall it was a so-so puzzle.
Good Morning:
This was a fun solve with a cute and clever theme. Early on, I thought Cheetos might be the reveal, but those Xs said no, and Chex Mix was right on the money. Some of the clueing was A+, as was some fill, namely: Geysers, Bare All, Ox Cheek, Sashays, (Hi, Lucina!), Cat Eye, etc. There were a few unknowns, namely, Shane, Nihao, STAX, and Ines, but the perps were fair, so no complaint. My only nit is the number of conversational phrases which, in most cases, require mind-reading abilities, not thoughtful deduction or knowledge.
Thanks, Rebecca, and thanks, RB, for a humorous review. Congrats to the newlyweds. BTW, Alan Cumming is gay.
Have a great day.
Too many obscure names and ?,s
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