A BIGHT of WIGHT
And "a BITE of WHITE"
Two weeks running now, we've had a construction from the LA Times crossword puzzle editor Patti - and a better submission, IMHO, than the one from last Thursday, which had the names Natick in the NE corner. Today's theme is a clever play on "~IGHT -becomes- ~ITE" words; my only nit would be the use of two "R" words - yet they are different. I was quite impressed, however, with the two 10-letter Down fills that each crossed different sets of three themers without being "meh". A solid Friday offering - most of the terse clues were in my wheelhouse. Standard grid, no circles, 3 times the number of 4LWs to both 3- & 5-LWs, two yogurts, and a dozen names. The themers, and no reveal;
20. Ceremony that adorns dollar bills?: RITE ON THE MONEY
Han Solo's shot was "right on the money"
26. Try to find pen pals in monasteries?: WRITE BROTHERS - these guys . . .
- not these guys, Wilbur & Orville Wright
44. Lo-cal beers from Canada?: NORTHERN LITES - these guys . . .
not these guys
52. Terse review of a wonky web page?: NOT A PRETTY SITE - not this guy . . .
But Wait - There's More in SITE~!
ACROSS:
6. Chi-town paper: TRIBune - abbr for Chicago, abbr for the newspaper
10. Tibetan priest: LAMA
14. "If you say so": "UH-HUH."
15. New York university named for a Scottish isle: IONA - geo name #1, knew it 'cos I grew up in NY
16. Tudyk of "Resident Alien": ALAN - name #2 - I recall the show, though I didn't watch
17. Condiment served with biryani: RAITA - yogurt #1 - filled via perps
18. Survivor's struggle, briefly: PTSD - breifly indicating we're looking for an abbreviation; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
19. Tie: BOND
23. Foundry delivery: ORE - a good change-up clue for this fill
24. Lav: LOO - British bathroom
25. Dove home: COTE - learned by doing crosswords
32. "I mentioned the bisque" "Seinfeld" character: ELAINE - Seinfeld aired before I was old enough to understand the show; I do like watching them now, but this scene I do not recall . . .name #3
Yada, yada, yada
34. Take from the top: RE-DO
35. Intl. broadcaster since 1942: VOA - filled via perps; Voice of America - more from Wiki
36. Quash: VETO
37. Butter square: PAT
38. Leaning: BIAS
39. Info requested by brewery websites: AGE - you'll need to enter your info at 32D.
40. Store securely: STOW
42. Old Testament collection: PSALMS - had most of this via perps
47. Ticket info: SEAT
48. Santa __, California: ANA - geo name #4
49. Little dog: PUP
56. [I like these scritches!]: PURR - the brackets are a "meta-clue" hint; again, most was perps
57. Sworn statement: OATH
58. Deserve: MERIT
59. Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA - I tried e l L a; thus began my search for the "wrong" name, #5
60. Sticking point: TINE - a "right-on-the-money" definition
Tater Tot Shepherd's Pie recipe
61. Nimble: AGILE
62. Tiny splash: PLOP
63. Michelin award: STAR - the guide IS related to the tire brand; I did not know this
Through the years, and the revolution - pun intended - of the tire
64. Hoped-for Match.com outings: DATES - I had tried Match for many years, and got all of ONE connection; I am now trying my luck with Facebook - and so far, all I've gotten are A I fakes 😜
DOWN:
1. Small donkey: BURRO - I did not make an "ASS" of myself to start . . . 🙄
2. Slimmest of margins: A HAIR - Sigh, a twurd
3. Kayaking challenge: WHITEWATER - one of the two solid 10-letter down fills
4. Instrument in a Vermeer painting: LUTE - good WAG on my part
Technically, this is a paiting of a woman with a guitar, but the story might interest you . . .
5. Temple where Chan Buddhism began: SHAOLIN - no clue, perps and WAGs; but some might have recalled this fill from the story of a TV monk, and the real place where he trained. Name (ish)
7. "Divergent" trilogy novelist Veronica: ROTH - name #7, but I knew her because I see the name on Kindle; could have been clued as a non-name, tho
8. On the sly: IN SECRET
9. Foul temper: BAD MOOD
10. Middle Eastern dairy product: LABNEH - yogurt #2 - good perps & WAGs - phew
It's Greek yogurt, strained; I'ma tryin' it - more here
11. Cream ingredient: ALOE - Ah; not "milk". That cream
12. More than a few: MANY - at least it wasn't "A LOT", "A TON", A twurd
13. Furthermore: AND...
21. Post-it scribble: NOTE
22. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO - name #8 - I read the books, saw the movies, don't recall her
27. Carnival city: RIO - D'Oh~! I read this as "cry", not c-i-t-y - geo name #9
28. Muscle: BRAWN - Ha~! Nailed it.
29. Possessive type?: EVIL SPIRIT - the other great 10-letter fill
30. Travel aimlessly: ROAM - or ROVE~? I chose . . . wisely
31. Cheek: SASS - I've learned over the years that whenever a clue implying "tart" language, and situated on the right edge of the grid, the answer is typically crossword-friendly "SASS"
32. __ Williams bourbon: EVAN - never heard of this liquor - name #10
The website, age resticted, of course
33. Toy company that acquired the online marketplace BrickLink: LEGO - Yada yada yada toys + bricks~? = Lego - but - I was surprised Lego didn't start this company - the history here
37. Printing choice: PORTRAIT - the alternative is LANDSCAPE - which is too wide 🙄
38. Main squeeze: BAE - Cringe. I just don't like this word; are we really too lazy to finish the faint "b" sound at the end of babe~?
40. Former home of the Mets: SHEA - I grew up on Long Island, and my first 'live' baseball game was the Mets at Shea in the Keith Hernandez days - speaking of Keith and Seinfeld . . .
"That - is one magic loogie."
41. Cozy spots: TEAPOTS - Ah. A tea "cozy" could be found on a tea POT
Aww - you can buy them on Etsy here
43. Nurse a grudge: STAY MAD - first time appearing in a crossword = unique, like this fill
45. Feature of some sandals: T-STRAP
BTW, her name is Cecilia, JC
46. Suds: LATHER - bars, not beers
50. Serving a purpose: UTILE
51. "Oh, for __ sake!": "PETE'S" - oh for heaven's sake, name #11 - blasphemy LITE
52. __ and void: NULL
53. "In that neighborhood": "OR SO" - "ish"
54. Mediterranean volcano: ETNA - geo-name #10, yada yada yada 4-letter volcano = 😜
55. Game company with a hedgehog mascot: SEGA - name (ish)
56. Energy: PEP
Splynter
Grid flow a medium 40.1 - the 10-letter Downs helped
53 comments:
A fairly difficult puzzle, as befits a Friday. Good
consistency in terms of the theme, however.
On the whole, I thought this was a pretty fair challenge.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
I liked Patti's offering. Several answers brought (brat?) a smile to my face. Wasn't familiar with either of the yogurts, but the perps filled 'em. Enjoyed your expo, Splynter. (Hard to believe you were too young to appreciate Seinfeld)
Very UTILE and benevolent perps today, or I never would have gotten SHAOLIN, ROTH, or LABNEH. TEAPOTS also perped, and made no sense till I saw the pic in the review, in my neck of the woods we call it a “koozie”. I liked the word play themers which kinda filled themselves after a few letters. FIR in 14:30, better than my usual Friday times. Thank you Patti for the puzzle and to Splynter for your expo.
FIW, missing with BiND x ALiE, but getting my WAGs @ ALAN x LABNEH and ALiE, and RAITA x SHAOLIN. monk->LAMA and uhh ok-> UH HUH were my only erasures. (Have I mentioned that I dislike these "grunt" appearances?)
Didn't know that Miller imported watered-down beer from Canada, but if it's LITE beer, it's one of theirs.
Knew "scritches" from last week. As long as it's in the clue and not the answer, I'll be OK.
Homeland had an actor named Mandy and an actress named OTTO. The show was "appointment TV" in my household.
Thanks to Patti for the Friday-worthy puzzle. My favorite was "possessive types" for EVIL SPIRITS. And I won't blame you for the awful UH HUH fill. That was most likely the editor's doing. And thanks to Splynter for the fun tour. The lovely Cecellia looks like she's trying on her Taylor Swift look. Not that that's a bad thing.
Took 5:58 today to get away from the Isle of Wite.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Otto), but I had to guess at the Actor of the Day (Alan) crossing the completely unknown Middle Eastern dairy product (Labneh). I wonder if it's the constructor or the editor that loves obscure food clues...?
Is it a little odd that the "white" in "white water" is spelled correctly, given the theme?
Splynter, how old were you when Seinfeld aired?
[Re-insert my weekly lament for Friday puzzles of yore.]
Today Patti assumes both roles, constructor and editor, although I’m not sure how much editing she does with her own creation.
FIR. I had to take a WAG at the crossing of labneh and Alan; didn't know either one. At first I considered Evan and settled on Alan. That brought bond instead of bind.
This was a typically difficult Friday puzzle. The only easy part was the theme which I got early on.
So overall a so-so puzzle.
You all do raise an interesting question, who edits the editor. I was floundering until NORTHERN LITES filled, which revealed the bf theme for me. Luckily I know my yogurt dishes, of course have a wife who is a chef and watches all kinds of food related videos some of which she shares with me helps. ALAN TUDYK and his character in RESIDENT ALIEN is a gimme for me as I watched all four seasons and was disappointed they changed their minds about season 5. It was an exceptionally silly show which I found tv a nice escape. Tudyk used his face and his voice well for comedy. I also recently ran across an earlier TV show SUBURBGATORY in which Alan honed his comedy skills. For the limited group here who watch TV, the show also introduces JEREMY SISTO who has become the face of the FBI franchise.
Thank you Patty and Splynter, you may be a real youngster in our blogging you never disappoint and while the shoes were not sandals the pic was worthy of your search. Clocks ahead Sunday morning
I enjoyed Patti’s puzzle and thought the theme was above average, but I came close to FIW because of what seemed like a Natick in the northeast.
The Middle Eastern dairy product and the actor ALAN were unknowns, the clue for ALOE was misleading and, worse, I had BIND instead of BOND until the last minute.
Even when I like a puzzle from Patti, however, there are too many signs that she doesn’t read the Corner, much less pay any attention to our running gripes – or probably anyone else’s.
Good morning. After filling RITE and write, I was expecting RIGHT but the NORTHERN LITES (Molson, & Labatt) proved me wrong. The cross of two unknowns-ALAN & LADNEH- with a guess finished it today. ROTH, TEAPOTS, and OTTO were also perps.
I know what a coozy or Koozie is but not a COZY.
ELAINE- I know the show's characters from filling crosswords. Never seen the show.
WHITEWATER- reminds me of the Clintons.
A few years ago, after we checked in at the Hampton Inn, I opened the mini fridge to put some water in and there was an unopened 5th of EVAN WILLIAMS bourbon. I gave it away. Splynter's never heard of it but the only brands that sell more are Jim Beam and Maker's Mark. Jack Daniels is NOT a bourbon.
Thank you, Patti and Splynter
PAT, PORTRAIT were the first fills, and got the theme at NORTHERN LITES.
3m 3s longer than Splynter. I can't type as fast as I once did. Due mostly to a wonky keyboard and Arthur Rightus.
Is Miranda a relative of Desper?
Splynter, yep. Your link to the Wikipedia article prompted me to head downstairs to find my Michelin travel guide. It is officially the "Michelin Green Guide: Germany: West Germany and Berlin". It is from 1974. The same rating system of up to 3 stars, but for all towns, cities, places and regions, with recommendations and tips about places of interest in West Germany. Very detailed. It was my bible for travel there.
Learning moment: "A tea cozy (or cosy) is an insulating cover, typically made of cloth, wool, or quilted fabric, that fits over a teapot to keep the tea warm and prevent it from cooling too quickly."
Upper Michigan or mouth of the Mississippi- it's either a koozie or coozy.
Lemonade, back in the early aughts Alan Tudyk was a member of the crew in Firefly -- many cast members are well-known names today: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Ron Glass
TTP, nope, no relation. You may have run across Miranda Otto as Eowyn in LOTR.
Musings
-I’ll just echo Splynter’s opening paragraph
-Recent northern lights here required a camera phone and a long exposure to view
-Bill Murray admired the LAMA’S golf game :-)
-RAIT_/SH_OLIN gave me pause but LABNEH had plenty of help
-REDO: Director Clint Eastwod is famous for using the first rake and not reshooting very often
-LUTE or LYRE?
-Lee Strassborg played mafioso boss Hyman ROTH in Godfather II
-Size 2 Ms. Otto does not look all that threatening with her sword but, hey, it’s show bidness!
Patti provided us with an interestingly cute theme today, with all those "_ight" words spelled phonetically. Wait--of all words, shouldn't that one be spelled "fonetically"?
Patti's craftsmanship is evident, tossing around near-gridspanners like child's play. And all her resulting perps are legitimate words and phrases, not gibberish.
Thanks, Splynter, for another fine recap. And thanks, Patti, for a well-constructed and tight puzzle. Make that TITE.
Splynter said it well, great puzzle this morning. I didn’t get the theme until it got the NORTHERN LITES, then all the rest fell into place. The north was the last to fill. That UHHUH needed perps. Lucky WAGS got me ALAN and OTTO, and perps helped me get EVAN, SEGA.
The Michelin man is called Bibendum. There are many suppositions as to how he got his name. Literally it is Latin for “now is the time to drink”. I have one sitting in a corner of my kitchen counter.
Thank you Splynter for the fine review that was RIghT ON THE MONEY free of BIAS. You MERIT a Michelin star.
"1. Small donkey: BURRO - I did not make an "ASS" of myself to start . . . 🙄"
(Aw. Nits! Splynter, you beat to how I was going to start my retort...)
Oh well,
Thankfully the perps were kind, but I started of in my usual manner.
Lessee, 1a, Goes thru lots of tissues, that's easy, "cries."
Hmm, should probably check, 1d, small donkey, 5 letters, must be "Asset." Hmm, that makes 1a wrong.
(I came back to that corner later...)
I suspect that Patti doesn't read us. Can't really blame her. There are many like me - if 95% of the remarks are positive, I would concentrate on the 5% that were neutral or unfavorable.
And don't forget that the Corner is not her boss, and we don't know the objectives that drive her salary treatment. Those are the things that get accomplished, most of the rest is nice-to-do. (I can't believe I'm defending her in absentia.)
The editor really should not be the same person as the constructor.
Just checked the web sites of Molson and Labatt. They sell "light" beer, but not "lite."
Good Morning:
Happily, I enjoyed Patti’s offering today much more than the recent one. White Water, though, gave me pause, thinking it was part of the theme. Some of the other fill was challenging, i.e., Lebneh, Shiolin, Roth,and Evan, but my only w/o was Meow/Purr. The misdirection cluing for Aloe was clever, as was the clue for Evil Spirit. I hope Patti treats us soon with some of her more comical and unique wordplay talents. I remember being so impressed by these earlier works.
Thanks, Patti, and thanks, Splynter, for your usual fair and spot-on review and commentary. Maybe you’d have better luck on the dating sites if you had a really cute canine next to you in your profile photo. Just a thought!
Have a great day.
More odd thowts from the mind of CE:D
2 yogurts? Oh that's what you meant...
(I thought it was a new crosswordese, like "twurd...)
Iona, (got confused with Ionia... somewhere off the east coast of Greece...)
I knew there were a lot, so I looked them up. (What a rabbit hole...)
If you want, you can to. Just scroll "way" down to get the actual alphabetical list.
But there's more, scroll way, way down for the fresh water islands...
But there's even more, scroll way, way, way down for "even smaller offshore islands..."
But there's even, even more. Scroll way way way way down for archipelago's...
(Ok, this joke is getting annoying. There is also tidal islands, former islands, bridged islands, castles islands, and tombolos?]
Oh, and don't forget. Places that have island in the name, but are not really islands...
Which reminds me, "Bae." Yes it bugs me too. But I had to look it up, and yes it is a corruption of "babe." But worse yet, I had to go thru(ough) All of the @#*&$ above just to make sure there was not a beautiful little Scottish offshore island called "Bae!" (There isn't...)
Exciting to see a Patti puzzle, and this one was interesting, many thanks, Patti. And your commentaries are always a great help, so thank you for that too, Splynter.
Well, having a puzzle start with BAWLS prepares us for a probably sad theme, and we certainly hope that the LAMA is going to help everyone out. But if the survivors are going to have a BOND, that's pretty good news, and if they get to celebrate a RITE ON THE MONEY, that's even better news. Okay, there might be some BIAS and an occasional VETO, but we can handle that. And PSALMS always have considerable MERIT so that's good news. But I have to say that seeing NOT A PRETTY SITE near the end of the puzzle depressed me. It would have been a pretty good site without that, and I didn't even want to hear a PURR or consider a MERIT with that PLOP at the end. Still, it was interesting and fun and not a bad way to get us close to the start of the weekend.
Have a good day, everybody, and a good weekend coming up.
Sheesh, just one~? :7))
I graduated high school when the show first aired in 1989 - I had no understanding of "thirty-something" NYC lifestyle/living, so I didn't quite "get" the interplay until I had lived MY 20s and 30s
Ha~! That's a five-letter better answer~!
I'm working on the pooch, I give you my word~!
I got "white water" and "evil spirit" right away which made things easier. I had no idea about the mideast dairy product but the perps came thru. I also knew nothing about "biryani". All in all I liked Patti's puzzle. Thanks Splynter for the fine review.
Next time we’ll add another. It’s a process.
Re: resident alien
I'm sure I have raved about this show before, and feel people not watching it are missing something. Of course, not everyone has my odd sense of humor. So here are a couple of clips so you can decide for yourself...
But before I do...
Note that the casting is brilliant! And you will fall in love with just about every character at some point. And after 4 years, you get to hear just about everybody's back story. In addition to being a "dark comedy," it is also a murder mystery! (I can't tell you whodunnit, you have to watch...)
Anywho, I think it is the title character that may be the most annoying, but that is only his "alien persona." actually, Alan Tudnyk's acting pulls this off hilariously... 7 minute clip
Hola! What an enjoyable puzzle from Patti Varol! Thank you for that.
RAITA is a total unknown and relied completely on perps and not to be confused with RIATA, which we see often. LABNEH was totally reliant on perps.
ALEXA gave me SHAOLIN, which, surprisingly, I've never heard of considering all the reading I do.
I'm very familiar with T-STRAP as sandals are what I wear most of the year.
Many years ago, we had a cat named General Motors because of her constant PURRing.
Yesterday, as a treat from one of our friends, we went to see the performance of SHEN YUN which I highly recommend. It is spectacular! I plan to take my family when the troupe returns next year.
Thank you, splynter, for your usual leggy review! Have a lovely day, everyone!
The only other characters that take a bit of "getting used to," would probably be Sheriff Mike and his Deputy. But the more I watched them, the more I got obsessed with an idea. I swear The deputy reminds me of BooBoo... which made me identify the Sheriff with Yogi Bear... the more I watched them, the more I think they were modeled after these two cartoon characters...
what do you think?
And lastly, if you don't like aliens, don't worry. only one kid in town can see him in alien form...
I enjoyed this Friday challenge from Patti Varol. It took me a few trips across and down to FIR, which is just perfect. Living in the cultural melting pot of Los Angeles, the yogurts were familiar! BTW, Patti has an assistant editor, Katie Hale, whose puzzles we have also enjoyed. I imagine they review each other's submissions.
The fabric cover for a teapot is supposed to keep the tea "cozy" (or "cosy") -- nice and warm. The only tea "koozies" I see online are insulated cups designed to keep beverages *cold*. But there is no accounting for regional pronunciations and even meanings. My family thought it was hilarious that my DH said he wanted to put a toboggan on his head to go outside in the snow. Why would anyone want a sled on their head? It turns out that in parts of the US, including DH's place of origin, "toboggan" means "ski cap."
My cozy koozie does the opposite, hugs a Labatt Blue Light and keeps it cold.
Too much going on at Club Fred today to take much time here. FWH in 14, but needed red-letter help. 17 names, DNK 7.
Thanx PV for the fun.
Thanx too to Splynter for the nice write-up and shapely legs.
Now back to my plumber, A.C. guy et al.
I’m going to hold you to your word, Splynter. 🤗
I can’t believe I FIR! Loved it! Thanks Patti. My neighbor made Chicken Biryani for us recently and it was delicious. I thought Cecilia was Taylor Swift at first. I know I’m not the only one to notice that. Thanks Splynter. Outlander tonight! Finally, the 8th season is starting! Have a great weekend everyone!
I found today’s puzzle to be a delightful challenge for a Friday. The theme was imaginative and fun, and many of the fill entries were interesting (but fair) words or phrases not commonly found in crosswords. Some of the names were unfamiliar but perps came to the rescue. And the clueing used just the right amount of misdirection so the solve was extra fun for me.
Thanks Patti for the nice puzzle, and Splynter for the enjoyable review.
DNF. Just not on my wavelength today. Too many names, too much foreign food. I did enjoy Splynters recap, so the day wasn't a total washout.
Naomi, it was in our Troy, NY lexicon as both a sled and a winter hat.
The theme is made up by Splynter. It was a great play on WHITE.
That’s because we know how to spell properly LOL!
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Patti and Splynter.
I FIRed in usual Friday time, and got the IGHT to ITE theme (although like Big Easy, I thought it was going to be variations on Right after the first two themers).
Was the “TIE” clue at 19A an anagram Easter Egg?
This fall, conditions have been favourable for those beautiful NORTHERN LIghTS to be seen in Southern Ontario. I’ll take a Canadian CSO.
I dredged RAITA out of my CW memory bank, but SHAOLIN and LABNEH required all the perps.
Hand up for favourite clue 29D for EVIL SPIRIT. Second favourite was the cozy (pronounced with a long O) for the TEAPOTS. I have a cozy for regular use and a seasonal one for Christmas. Proper tea must be made in a TEAPOT and kept warm.
Wishing you all a great day.
A pleasure to see there was much praise for Patti’s offering today instead of the usual vitriol directed her way from many of the Cornerites. It was a well constructed, fair, and challenging entry.
Well, I liked doing this puzzle.
I liked this puzzle a lot. Got it done with once thru - across and down. Rare for end of week.
I love, love raita, and labneh! Esp. raita - something about the smooth & tart of the yogurt with the freshness of the cucumber just so satisfying to me.
Re “Bae” - a thot: when I was studying biblical Greek, my teacher made a lot of the human intentions of the soundings of words (kinda odd since Ancient Greek is not “sounded” much - mostly just read) - and he taught us about “sibilant” and “plosive” consonants (prob. others I’ve forgotten)—how these consonant sounds are “harsh” to the human ear/psyche … So my thought/hypothesis: we soften words sonically (likely unconsciously) to help them capture our emotional and social con/in-tent - so in the case “Bae”, a term of endearment, might very likely engage that desire to soften the voice to communicate the meaning/desire for closeness? —that’s it from this armchair theologian/linguist and real doctor of psychology. (Tho now happily retired from both clergy and counseling jobs) 😊
Thanks for a great puzzle day!!
Patti has a couple of assistants. I doubt she bypasses them. She IS conscientious.
Too many unknowns and obscurities for my taste. Had to search for too many results. Still, much better puzzle than the editor’s most recent one. I understand it’s Friday, and I would characterize my self as a mid-level solver, but didn’t enjoy today’s offering. Too bad, because for me, that’s the point.
I like Labatt Blue. Beer me. No cozy koozie needed. Trust me, it won't get warm.
And we spell cozy with a Zed!
I enjoyed today's theme and thought it was cleverly executed! I recognized zero names today but thankfully the 2 yogurts were gimmes - I love both cuisines, nom nom. WHITEWATER had me second guessing too because of the theme. FIW with PAD -> PAT.
I love raita too! It pairs so well with biryani to cool the spiciness of the dish.
Post a Comment