RECIDIVIST
Offender Criminal "Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog" - and, yes, he's NSFW insulting
No Comment. Alas, I must comment - it's the "krow" I do here at the Corner - and I am going to "crow". This was just too much of a stretch to be enjoyable, and the solve itself was fraught with ALOT of meh/vague/cringe. It looks to be the author's debut LA Times crossword; I found one other, I believe, a NYT here, and a blog review of said puzzle. Methinks he is a very cerebral constructor. Names slowed me down, and unlike last week, getting any "?" themer did not necessarily help me elsewhere in the grid. A scarce nine 3LWs, and no circles, at least. The themers, and reveal;
20. *Aircraft marshaling?: PROJECT RUNWAY - "Runway Project" - but this clue~? Meh. "Tarmac resurfacing" - now that's more like it. The actual fill is about this show
The Wiki of the show
34. *Lifeguarding?: LABOR POOL - this is the only themer that makes sense, too me - "Pool Labor". The actual fill is "the source of trained people from which workers can be hired"
40. *Bounty hunting?: JOB SEARCH - "Search Job" - i.e., "skip trace"; Cletus Purcell, a character in the Dave Robicheaux books, does this sort of work as a P.I. The actual fill is, well, a job search
54. Advice to a problem solver, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: WORK BACKWARDS - and the title of a self-help, motivational, life-affirming book as well
The website is here
But Wait, unfortunately, There's More
ACROSS:
1. "Catastrophe" writer/star Delaney: ROB - speaking of catastrophe, name #1 - not a good start, but I begin by doing the DOWN clues, so that I might have some perps for the themers - didn't help today. His IMDb
4. Power unit: WATT - a measure established by James Watt who adopted "horsepower" to compare to his steam engine, which improved on the existing design; more here
8. School assignment: ESSAY - I want you to write . . . a "theme" Awww
A Chrstmas Story
13. Filter target: SPAM - my NW was a mess; I had SMOG
15. 2025 Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens: ELIO - name #2, never heard anything about this movie
16. Hollers: YELLS
17. Nix: VETO - my vote.
18. Big pig: BOAR
19. Windows shopping: eTAIL - Ah. a subtle play on "window" shopping - OK, a good one
23. Grammy winner Baker: ANITA - name #3, but we see her frequently in crosswords
24. Thus far: AS YET
25. Lara Croft target: TOMB - the "Raider" from the video games, and movies; name(ish)
27. Taoism founder: LAO TZU- name #4 - more here
31. Couch surfer's spot: FUTON - Ugh. Even IF you accept this definition of couch surfing, still makes me cringe as a clue/answer
37. Ore. neighbor: IDAho - it seems that the Cornerites are not fond of three-letter state abbrs
38. Pressed sandwich that's part of a friendly rivalry between Miami and Tampa: CUBAN - too local to be a fair clue/answer, IMHO, but here's a newsletter/blog for your perusal
39. Quaint quarters: INN - it's Friday; the slight mismatch of singular/plural is a bit meh.
43. Accordion-heavy music: POLKA
45. Latin for "as originally positioned": IN SITU
"Hey, what is that~?"
46. One on the Mohs scale: TALC - The mineral talc rates a low "1" on the hardness scale - I don't have to tell you what this crossword rates on the Moe's scale
48. Spills the beans: TELLS
51. "Let's maybe take it down a __ or two": NOTCH - can we maybe bring it UP a notch~?
57. Country singer Rimes: LEANN - name #5
59. Lemon-shaped: OVAL - when the LA Times gives you lemons . . .
60. Choose yea or nay: VOTE - Nay.
61. Bright and airy courtyards: ATRIA
62. Relocate: MOVE
63. Icicle locale: EAVE - I see just one icicle hanging from my gutters - blessed with no ice dams
64. Streisand film with the song "The Way He Makes Me Feel": YENTL - name #6
65. Imp: BRAT
66. Scolding sound: TSK
DOWN:
1. Choose yes or no: RSVP - Ugh. Vague
2. Place for binoculars: OPERA - I tried VISTA - like this
James Bond using them in "The Living Daylights"
3. Track and field handout: BATON - handout~? Ugh . . . better = hand OFF
4. Zoom lens?: WEBCAM - Zoom, the internet meeting app; we used it for AA meetings during COVID
5. Bundles: A LOT - Atwurd
6. Quinceañera crown: TIARA - good WAG on my part; the Español part, which refers to a 15year-old girl's passing into womanhood, was 'irrelevant'; I ran with a crown synonym
7. Doughnut shape: TORUS
8. Monocle, for one: EYEWEAR - that it is, I guess; so spectacles & glasses are EYES wear~?
9. Put on: SET ATOP - No comment; technically, it's a unique fill
10. "You __ me!": "SLAY" - Friday vague
11. Actor Mahershala: ALI - I'll have to add this name, #7, to the Muhammad / Laila list - and a dupe with Tuesday
12. Fashion monogram: YSL - Yves Saint Laurent, a double whammy abbr/name, #8
14. Cocktail garnished with mint: MOJITO - I tried GIMLET first; but that's a lime garnish - gimlet appared on Tuesday, too
A different kind of "spirit" from Minnesota~!
21. __ collar: ETON - Dah~! Not BLUE
22. Synthetic fabric: NYLON - goes without saying . . .
26. Fuzzy memory: BLUR - I tried HAZE
28. Slog away: TOIL - like during this solve
29. Pass (out): ZONK - Ah. Another clever clue; I was in DOLE/METE mode
30. Fibula counterpart: ULNA - leg-to-arm bone comparison; semi-deceptive, but four letter bone~?
I like the other leg pic . . .
31. Pacific nation that exports water: FIJI - I did not know that this was the actual case; some interesting environmental info here; I'll stick with the 5gal jugs from BJs - and geo-name(ish)
32. Nagoya noodles: UDON - crossword staple
33. Pop-top tops: TABS - I found several pieces of art made from these, including "chain mail"...
...and a cool dragon
35. Pre-K sequence: ABC - yeah but meh.
36. Thai coin: BAHT - name(ish), but I knew this from doing crosswords
38. Sealing substance: CAULK - Catchy Clue - alliteration
41. "Happy Days" retort: "SIT ON IT~!" - two 70's sit-coms this week ( Welcome Back, Kotter )
42. Everlasting: ETERNAL - Excellent Entry - alliteration
43. Bulldoze: PLOW - I tried RAZE
44. Interval of eight notes: OCTAVE
47. Jewelry often worn with sandals: ANKLET - I put in TOE RING but ran out of spaces; I've seen anklets with heels, so a bit of a 'meh' clue.
49. Relationship-deepening word, informally: L BOMB - did this get dropped last Saturday💕~?😜
50. Really relish: SAVOR
52. Slovenian neighbor: CROAT - name(ish), but I nailed it; the 'inhabitants'
53. Man cave fixtures: HDTVs
54. Alert: WARN
55. Vena __: major blood line: CAVA
56. Switch roles after hiding: SEEK - the kid's game of HIDE & SEEK
57. __ of the land: LAY
58. Beach season in Marseille: ETE - ah, there's my Frawnche~! Summer on Cote d'Azur
Splynter
Forgot to start the timer; it took about 10 minutes that
Forgot to start the timer; it took about 10 minutes that
I can't get back
Grid Flow 27.9
Grid Flow 27.9
As I’ve done before
ReplyDeleterecently, I reserve the right to talk about this puzzle until later on. See you then!
Wow, was this review by Oscar the Grouch? It’s a Friday and supposed to make you work to solve. We have many more obscure clues in this week’s puzzles. I liked the creation as much as you liked the long legged lady’s legs. Alliteration for your enjoyment. ELIO was the only esoteric clue/fill which is nothing compared to the average LAT.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the puzzle Benjamin, and thanks for some exciting Olympic moments US.
I found the puzzle fairly difficult , unlike
ReplyDeleteLemonade, particularly because I had a hard time remembering how to spell “Lao Tzu.” But it all worked out.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteObscure ROB crossing weirdly clued RSVP at 1a/1d was a cruel way to start a cw. D-o was pretty sure the Chinese guy was LAO TSE, but ULNA nixed that. Went with CONK at "Pass (out)." LAO TCU looked weird, but I kept it. The Z never occurred. Bzzzzzt. Gak. It's hell to get old. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day. Thanx, Benjamin and Splynter.
The comment for 34 Across includes "sense, too me". It should be "sense to me".
ReplyDeleteFIR, but soft->TALC. DNK ROB, ELIO, or LAOTZU. Couldn't make the theme work in my head - runway project made sense, but couldn't connect with pool labor or search jobs. As Peggy Lee famously sang, Is That All There Is?
ReplyDeleteOf course it's just my own opinion, but I'm pretty sure I actually enjoyed this one. Offsetting the A&E drek were several entries that made me smile, including "track and field handout" for BATON, "Zoom lens?" for WEB CAM, and "switch roles after hiding" for SEEK. Thanks to Benjamin for the end of the WORK week fun. And thanks to Splynter for the fine review and leg shot.
FLN - TTP, I like it when you link Cornerite-created puzzles that are published in other outlets.
Took 8:06 yadot.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know one of the actors (Rob; I knew Ali) or his show/movie, "octave," and like others here, how the heck to spell "Lao Tzu". I didn't like the "slay" clue, or the "(out)" part of 29D "pass (out)".
Not my favorite puzzle either, and appropriately it ends with "tsk." I wish the LAT's use of question mark clues would improve.
FIR, despite all the bizarre cluing, most of which was more than a stretch. And also proper names that were in the bin of obscurity.
ReplyDeleteEven with an explanation, the theme doesn't seem to make sense. Sure I get that all the long answers are work related, but what's up with the backwards part?
Overall a very UN-enjoyable puzzle.
You reverse the order of the theme words to make them fit the theme.
DeleteNo comment!
ReplyDeleteFIR because in the SW I had LAw for LAY of the land and WARy for WARN, messing up Barbara’s movie title. I got the theme answers but had only a vague idea what it was about. Oh, and the NW. I missed the RSVP and ROB fills.
ReplyDeleteThe rest seemed to be easy enough. By coincidence, just 2 days ago I read an article on FIJI exporting water. Fascinating.
I love MOJITOs, with lots of fresh mint. We had VETO and VOTE.
Thank you Splynter for your review, grumpy 🤣🤣🤣 as it was.
DNF. I'll Echo Splynter on this one. The only thing else I could say is "thumper".
ReplyDeleteMonkey,
ReplyDeleteI believe you wanted to say
“FIW” (Finished It Wrong)
instead of “FIR”. (Finished It Right)
if I read your post correctly.
Oh, of course. I’m discombobulated this morning still dealing with a cold. Well, that’s my excuse. 😜
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI’m going to defer to Thumper on this offering with respect to the theme, cluing, and fill. I’m only going to point out my nomination for the worst C/A combination I’ve ever seen: 9D Put On=Set Atop.
Thank you, Splynter, for your honest and accurate appraisal of this puzzle. I didn’t find your commentary grumpy nor overly critical. It was, IMO, a very candid and sincere analysis of your solving experience and one with which I heartily agree.
Have a great day.
You’re right on your assessment of Splynter’s review. I was just teasing him by calling his review grumpy.
DeleteI enjoyed Benjamin's puzzle today. It was well-crafted, literate, and enjoyable. The theme was clever, clearly indicating that we had to work backwards on each theme answer, so, e.g., LABORPOOL became "pool labor," fitting its clue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Benjamin, for an appropriately Friday-thorny challenge. I hope we see more of you.
And good luck to the U.S. women's curling team in the Olympics tomorrow! They will be playing for the bronze, which would be the first-ever Olympics medal for U.S. women's curling.
Wow! I’m always amazed at the variety of reactions to the puzzles.
ReplyDeleteAnd the team we're playing for the Bronze is....Canada!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, CanadianEh.
Didn't find this too particularly difficult, but I agree that the theme doesn't really make much sense to me at all. I can kinda see "pool labor", but "runway project" and "search job" are pretty goofy. Fun puzzle overall, just a bizarre theme.
ReplyDelete(Methinks Splynter was having a bad day...)
ReplyDeleteOh well, you can't get to Shangri-La without sailing down sailing down the river Meh...
I actually enjoyed the puzzle, "and" I got the theme. Although im not sure how this theme got past the editorial process... (doesn't a theme require an interplay of "3" witticisms, I only see 2.)
anywho, we must carry on...
try to look on the bright side...
My only nit, is that while I admit to being an Imp, I do not see the association with Brat. (Bratwurst maybe...)
Oh, and I discovered what happened with yesterday's post! The Blog updated as I returned from link searching, ergo, comments deleted mid process...
(Must find an iPad way around this...)
I got the Z in ZONK today, unlike the Z in “zone” yesterday, so LAO-TZU helped me FIR.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t mind the theme gimmick, which was easy to suss, but I could do without the S in the unifier. At least BACKWARDS isn’t as bad as “towards,” which isn’t as horrible as “anyways.”
I resisted ANKLET, because I think of anklets as socks. The fill seemed meh today.
I guess “SIT ON IT” was interesting. I tend to think of the Seventies as benign, but the sitcoms were full of kids telling each other to “sit on it,” or simply “shut up.” Hilarity didn’t ensue.
Oh, and FLN, TTP, pls keep posting related puzzles! I always do them, and would never find them without you!
ReplyDelete