I asked C.C. about our constructor, and she told me that she needs to see the Chinese characters to know more about the author; as far as we can tell, this is a debut - congratulations, and if you are reading this, then please feel free to chime in here at our Crossword Corner. I loved this puzzle - a fresh, clever, and humorous theme of common 'food' phrases reworked to be the fermented and/or cured, and therefore, "processed", versions of the produce. Five fills, one a spanner - the one that unlocked the theme for me - two 14- and two 9-letter fills, my only nit for the puzzle being the number of names. Standard grid, no circles, a low count of 19 3LWs, two tastes, two bad fill-in clues ( for me ) and two cowbells~! The themers;
17. Marine animal with a cylindrical body, once processed?: SEA PICKLE - this one is the outlier, with the "processed" part coming last - cucumbers, when processed ( in salt water, dill, etc. ) ferment and become "pickles - ergo, a Sea Cucumber would now be a Sea "Pickle" 😆😜
23. Dearly beloved, once processed?: CIDER OF ONE'S EYE = Apples, processed
36. Dolls that come with adoption papers, once processed?: KIMCHI PATCH KIDS = Cabbage, processed; more here, and a recipe - The dolls were the source of an insane toy stampede in the 80's
20. Mastercard alternative: VISA - credit card companies
22. Put together: BUILT
27. Airport security containers: BINS
28. Check a final time?: MATE - Ah. I missed the chess reference; filled via perps, but very clever
29. Words of defeat: "ILOST." - That's exactly what the king🠅said . . .
31. Commotion: STIR
33. "I Think You Should Leave" star Robinson: TIM - No clue. The movie sounds humorous; name #1
40. Wane: EBB - Does Batman "ebb" to Bruce Wayne~?
41. Spits bars: RAPS - Friday cluing, and sorta clever - rap, the music genre
Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
42. "__ Burr, Sir": AARON - it's still a name, dame, #2
43. Trampled (on): TROD
45. Lock screen display: TIME - as on one's smart phone
52. Readied a putt: AIMED - LIV golf was on the TVs at the gym last weekend; some controversy
53. __ tube: BOOB - slang for the "telly" - does anyone remember the movie "Groove Tube"~? I have mentioned it here at the Corner before
54. Fix unlawfully: RIG - elections, e.g.
59. The Eras Tour venue: ARENA - Taylor Swift, was, sadly (not~!), missing from this year's 2026 Super Bowl, as her fiancé did not make the playoffs 😁 - sorry KC fans . . .
66. Was a prelude (to): LED UP - Led Zep - excluding the "solos", which song is John Bonham's best performance~? My choice is this song - track one, Led Zeppelin I - see also 47D.
"Good Times, Bad Times"
2:45 of non-stop drumming density - More cowbell #1~!
DOWN:
1. Little bit: A TAD - Atwurd
2. Hocus-pocus: MAGIC - one of my "co-trainees" at the gym suggested Sarah J Maas as an author, so I am currently reading "Throne of Glass"
3. Condiment that adds strong, rich flavor, informally: UMAMI BOMB - new to me, but it has appeared in one other crossword . . . taste #2
5. Like Matt Smith's Doctor, on "Doctor Who": ELEVENTH - Despite having British parents, and being a hard-core Sci-Fi guy, I have never seen, or liked, [GASP] "Dr. Who" - name(ish) - the LIST
6. Sudeikis role: LASSO - Ted, that is, but another show I have never seen - name #4
7. Barley bundle: SHEAF - good WAG on my part
8. MiLB level: AAA - I did not know that Minor League Baseball was abbr this way
11. With little inflection: DULLY - "dull-ly" - not a word I would use in everyday convo - and then, whilst reading "Throne of Glass", I find the word not once, but twice - here's the first instance . . .
12. Largest Greek island: CRETE - geo name #6
15. "__ me!": "Comin' through!": " 'SCUSE~!" - Eliding over the "EK" part of excuse; not unique; in fact, it's not even a "rare" crossword fill . . .
18. "Suuuuure": "IBET."
21. April 15 org.: IRS - My "CPA" has my paperwork
24. __ jockey: DISC
25. Forgets, maybe: OMITS
26. Snitch (on): NARC - I do the Downs first, threw in "TELL"
29. Actor Barinholtz: IKE - name #7
30. Ad-__: LIB - Dah~! Got the wrong one #1 - not HOC
31. Fashion designer Kate: SPADE - the one name I did know, #8
32. Spigot: TAP - My favorite "TAP"
Nigel Tufnel, lead guitar, Spinal Tap
33. Michelin surface: TIRE TREAD - I like this clue/answer. It's not unique, either
34. Words of avowal: "IDO." - I 'DID' have this last week, too - I hope it's a sign of things to come
35. Bing portal: MSN - Bing being the search engine of MicroSoft Network - the Wiki
37. Wrinkle remover: IRON
38. Unpopular pet product?: HAIRBALL - Ha~! Clever clue; I tried NECK CONE - this thingy
He's faking it - theres' no way he would be that happy . . .
39. __ Sutra: KAMA - You can find the 'crossword position', chapter 18, section 5, verse 2 - here
43. Bird's sound: TWEET
44. Disposes (of): RIDS
45. Number of prongs on a bident: TWO
She's a "two-tining" woman
46. Short nails: TACKS - oops, not BRADS
47. Drum kit cymbals: HI-HAT - I play the drums, and the clue being "plural", I went with "RIDES" - the larger cymbal that sits "opposite" the Hi-Hat - which is a paired set of cymbals - in a kit
I added my drum set below, "backwards" for a lefty, like Phil Collins in Genesis; he switches from the Hi-Hat to the Ride @ 1:00 - my RIDE cymbal is low & inside the crash cymbal. More cowbell #2~!
48. Nail file material: EMERY
49. Only U.S. president born after 1960: OBAMA - OK, I knew this one as well - name #9
50. Place for a hat rack: FOYER
51. Holi celebrant: HINDU - Learned by doing crosswords; it occurred 4 March this year
Fun puzzle. And quite easy for a Friday, particularly because it was easy to grasp the gimmick right away. But I’m not complaining, after some of the “toughies” earlier this week. FIR, so I’m happy.
Tried WAH in place of WOO, but ROME and SOAR set me straight. Got the theme at CIDER, and it actually helped with the solve. Thanx, Yijing and Splynter. (I'd vote Tom Baker as the best doctor on Dr. Who -- #4.)
FIW, missing with TAgaL instead of TAMIL. I can never remember UMAMI, and don't really understand SIT (with.) build->BUILT, atom->ATAD, brads->TACKS, and scuze->SCUSE.
BOOB tube - Especially Cinemax.
I knew MiLB. That's the app where I get my updates on the mighty AAA Norfolk Admirals.
Thanks to Yijing for the puzzle. Loved the theme, but way too much A&E for my taste. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review. The obligatory leg shot was Taylor-made for me.
This was a great puzzle. Lots of fresh fill, clever-enough cluing, and a theme that even brought a smile to the face of this anti-themer (because so many of them are lame). Maybe it wasn't quite "Friday-level," but given some of the messy offerings we've had lately, this puzzle was more than welcome.
Fresh themes are not easy to come up with, but our author certainly succeeded with this fun and creative concept. I didn’t have too much trouble with the solve, except for the unknowns: Eleventh, Umami Bomb, Spits Bars, and Ike. I think the obviousness of the theme reduced the Friday-level difficulty level, but I enjoyed the solve, nonetheless.
Thanks and congrats, Yijing, and thanks, Splynter, for the enlightening commentary and fun photos, especially the coned-canine! It’s hard to believe Joe Pesci, the ruthless, psychotic mobster of Good Fellas is the same Joe Pesci, the bumbling, lovable, lawyer of My Cousin Vinny. Not too many actors have his versatility, IMO.
FIR. I had to work at this one, but it is Friday of course, and to be expected. Last to fall was the NE. Sea pickle took a while to arrive. Also I had no idea on the proper name Cokie. The theme suddenly made sense when I got "The Grapes of Wrath" clue. I am such a fan of all of John Steinbeck's books. So overall an enjoyable puzzle.
8 comments:
Fun puzzle. And quite
easy for a Friday, particularly because it was easy to grasp the gimmick right away.
But I’m not complaining, after some of the “toughies” earlier this week.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Tried WAH in place of WOO, but ROME and SOAR set me straight. Got the theme at CIDER, and it actually helped with the solve. Thanx, Yijing and Splynter. (I'd vote Tom Baker as the best doctor on Dr. Who -- #4.)
FIW, missing with TAgaL instead of TAMIL. I can never remember UMAMI, and don't really understand SIT (with.) build->BUILT, atom->ATAD, brads->TACKS, and scuze->SCUSE.
BOOB tube - Especially Cinemax.
I knew MiLB. That's the app where I get my updates on the mighty AAA Norfolk Admirals.
Thanks to Yijing for the puzzle. Loved the theme, but way too much A&E for my taste. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review. The obligatory leg shot was Taylor-made for me.
Took 10:03 today to process this one.
I didn't know: Tamil, eleventh, or dully.
Clever theme.
"Ted Lasso" is a great tv series.
This was a great puzzle. Lots of fresh fill, clever-enough cluing, and a theme that even brought a smile to the face of this anti-themer (because so many of them are lame).
Maybe it wasn't quite "Friday-level," but given some of the messy offerings we've had lately, this puzzle was more than welcome.
Good Morning:
Fresh themes are not easy to come up with, but our author certainly succeeded with this fun and creative concept. I didn’t have too much trouble with the solve, except for the unknowns: Eleventh, Umami Bomb, Spits Bars, and Ike. I think the obviousness of the theme reduced the Friday-level difficulty level, but I enjoyed the solve, nonetheless.
Thanks and congrats, Yijing, and thanks, Splynter, for the enlightening commentary and fun photos, especially the coned-canine! It’s hard to believe Joe Pesci, the ruthless, psychotic mobster of Good Fellas is the same Joe Pesci, the bumbling, lovable, lawyer of My Cousin Vinny. Not too many actors have his versatility, IMO.
Have a great day.
FIR. I had to work at this one, but it is Friday of course, and to be expected.
Last to fall was the NE. Sea pickle took a while to arrive. Also I had no idea on the proper name Cokie.
The theme suddenly made sense when I got "The Grapes of Wrath" clue. I am such a fan of all of John Steinbeck's books.
So overall an enjoyable puzzle.
I enjoyed this puzzle with its amusing theme and some creative clueing (especially for MATE).
A pleasant reminder of Cokie Roberts, a mainstay of NPR’s political coverage for many years.
Congratulations to Yijing Chen on your LAT debut, and thanks for the fun. Also enjoyed Splynter’s enthusiastic review - thanks!
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