Or, if you want to get in touch with the Dread Pirate Roberts: Elwes, CARY@ID.com
I did a cursory Google search for Elizabeth Duker-Gold, and found her on LinkedIn and Facebook, but with no clear indication that I had the correct person; I can tell it's her LA Times debut, and if this is her overall first publication, then double congrats~! I loved the clever theme of this puzzle - varied common words/phrases with a & t, or "@", in the middle, restructured to resemble an email address, and nothing related to today's bank holiday. Very cool, but some of the people may not be that common - I did know all five of them, partly from doing crosswords. There was some Friday fill, to be expected, and a few that had alternate answers - see below - plus one or two "meh" ones, maybe~? Standard grid, no circles, 19 3LWs, just 6 names - excluding the ones intended for the theme. The five themer email "addresses", no reveal [ BTW, the text format of the crossword screwed up my blogging due to the use of < and >, which are html code separators ];
18. To: Comedian Michael, bedding salesman [.com] - CHE(AT)SHEETS - Michael Che @sheets.com, which I think is a valid website . . . yup
24. To: Athlete Jackson, lawn products salesman [.com] - BO(AT)YARDS - Bo Jackson @yards.com - Bo of both major league baseball and football fame, and 'yards' would be a good website/email address for lawn products - it does come up as a website, but no content
36. To: Broadcast journalist Anderson, surgical supply salesman [.com] - COOPER(AT)ORS - Anderson Cooper @ors.com - "Operating RoomS" but not a real site - and not my buddy Cooper the Australian Shepherd - see 58D. Here's Anderson being interviewed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
I'd play the segment, but NSFW
50. To: Actor Cheadle, chemistry lab supply salesman [.com] - DON(AT)IONS - Don Cheadle @ions.com - I know Don from his role as "Basher" in the Ocean's Eleven, et. al. heist movies - and a valid website for the TV channel Ion
57. To: Singer Bruno, bulletin board salesman [.com] - MARS(AT)TACKS - my favorite break out ( if not my personal choice in music artists, but our host likes him 😁) - Bruno Mars @tacks.com - and this one led to a "non-secure" go back~! link ( I wrote this while still down on LI, so I was on my brother's network )
Hey Tom, it's "not unusual" to find Martians invading Earth . . .
1. Jaguar or Charger: CAR - I do the Downs first, had two wrong fills to start; I knew this was either NFL - two teams in the national football league - or two automobiles
Trevor Lawrence, and, uh, well, that's not Justin Herbert, and #19 ( on the helmet ) was retired
. . . thanks, A i ~!
4. Orchard basket: BUSHEL - so my "AMASS" at 7D was wrong . . .
10. Gillette brand: ATRA
14. Bullpen stat: ERA
15. "Reckon maybe, yeah": "IS'POSE..." - slang for "I suppose" - I am feeling ambivalent about this fill; it's valid, but is it a Twurd~? Is it 'meh'~?
16. Urge on: GOAD
17. Part of a journey: LEG
part of a "legs" journey
20. Jazz great James: ETTA - Crossword staple, name #1
22. Cropped up: AROSE
23. ThirdLove purchase: BRA - not that I "knew" this, but I had _R_, and it sounded like a lingerie website - so what are the first Two Loves~? I could take a guess . . .
27. Like a best-case scenario: IDEAL
29. "Love it!": "SOGOOD~!"
30. Queerplatonic orientation, briefly: AROACE - short for aromantic asexual - the Wiki, if you care to know more - aah, Friday . . .
31. Dirge: LAMENT - ELEGY did not fit
35. Bills replaced by coins in Canada and Australia: ONES - tell us more, CanadianEh!
39. Mil. no-show: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave - oh, SNAFU - now that's FUBAR . . .
41. Haberdashery purchase: TIE PIN
42. People in the background of a selfie, perhaps: RANDOS - Ah. Right. "random person" in 21st century-speak; I had the last two letters, so I went with WALDOS - hey, I could see that working . . .
I found him~!
44. Dillydally: LINGER
49. Juvenile eel: ELVER - Learning moment for me; more here
53. Pub pour: ALE
54. Beloved, in Bordeaux: CHERI - Frawnche
56. Set that might have an OLED screen: HDTV - Organic Light-Emitting Diode, and High Definition; 'Set' threw me at first - a TeleVision set, which, now that I think of it, is kinda weird . . . it's a set of electronic tubes, circuits~? And I did not know what the "O" stood for, even knowing what an LED was
61. Taste: SIP
62. Show opener: ACTI - Ha~! Had this last Friday, too
63. Leash: TETHER
64. Part of a rock band?: ORE - Clever - new way to clue the old fill - a 'band', or stratum in geology
65. Smart home system by Google: NEST - I bought a "smart" thermostat for my house, but the furnace uses just two wire leads - so it's useless; the furnace tech I needed to call two weeks ago told me not to bother with a smart device - he is if the mindset that the most efficient way to heat/cool one's house is to "set it and forget it" - thanks Ron Popeil~!
66. Grooms, as feathers: PREENS
67. Homer's neighbor: NED - Pffft - Ned . . . Name #2
DOWN:
1. Red carpet VIPs: CELEBS - Dah~! Not A LISTS
2. Defiant reply: "ARETOO~!" - Dah~!! Not I AM NOT
3. Motley: RAGTAG - I toyed with CALICO, which we had last Saturday
Definitely "ragtag" - Mötley Crüe
4. Pen name: BIC - another clever clue - literally, the 'name' of a pen maker, ergo, name #3
5. See to a seat, casually: USH - more 21st century-speak for "ushering"
6. Pickle serving: SPEAR - I guess in the 21st century, it's 'one syllable easier' than to ask for a pick-le
7. Stockpile: HOARD - Dah~!!! Not AMASS
8. These, in Spanish: ESTOS - and yet I nailed the Español word . . .
9. "__ is more": LESS - well, more or less, I guess . . . 🙄
10. Number that's always positive: AGE - Ah. True. Mine is getting further along on the spinny-wheel thing on websites these days
11. Cutesy name for paw pads: TOE BEANS
12. Unpleasant routine: RAT RACE
13. Media revenue source: AD SALES
19. Trust-worthy figure?: HEIR
21. From __ Z: A TO - three out of four two-word answers in a row
25. Texter's encouragement to try something new: YOLO - You Only Live Once - but maybe in multiple universes~? - ooooh . . . trippy
26. Assimilates: ADAPTS - I wanted adOpts
28. Portal: DOOR - into another plane of the multi-verse . . .
30. __ the Hun: ATTILA - he lived an "active, outdoor lifestyle", per George Carlin; name #4
32. __ fun: noodle dish: MEI - never heard of this - the "E" came from knowing the themer that crossed
33. Bard's before: ERE - poetic
34. Suede quality: NAP - Sleep quality; NAP time
36. New fans: CONVERTS - CON-verts, the noun, not the verb
37. Like a quaint shoppe: OLDE - ye olde quaynte shoppe
38. "I got this!": "ONIT~! - Dah~! I had ON ME, like the check/tab
39. Local guy in The Onion headlines: AREA MAN - this was a total unknown for me - an example
40. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" poet Stevens: WALLACE - name #5, no clue - the poem, sort of a Zen-like "what is the sound of one hand clapping" mental exercise
43. Antarctic predator: ORCA
SE(ri)AL killer
45. Research org. with facilities in Bethesda: NIH - National Institutes of Health - filled via perps on my second pass - the website, if you care
46. Jake Gyllenhaal, to Jamie Lee Curtis: GODSON - huh. I tried COUSIN, which sort of helped, as the "O", "S" and the "N" actually worked; name(ish)
47. Complete: ENTIRE
48. Answered, in a way: RSVP'ed - I like it, but YMMV
50. Put off: DETER - Not DELAY, and not DEFER, so I didn't understand the crossing themer at first
51. Provide an address: ORATE - the "speechify" version of address, like Lincoln's Gettysburg
52. Not wide-ranging: NICHE - ah. Good one. I knew what we were looking for, but needed perps
55. URL intro: HTTP - the "other" kind of address; http//www.crosswordcorner.blogspot.com
58. Gather dust: SIT - gather pet fur; dog-sit - Cooper is so bad in the summer, my clothes were covered
we stopped to "smell the flowers"
59. "KPop Demon Hunters" voice actor Jeong: KEN - no clue, name #6 - his Wiki
There were a number of obscurities in this puzzle, but I got through them. And I finally DID understand what was going on: it’s all based on _(person’s first name) AT (or @)_(something related to the clue). Clever. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
I agree the rheme was creative and the fill Fridayish , much of my experience was similar to Splynter's but AROACE I did not understand and Mr. Wallace was a no go. The write up made the journey feel better and that was good. I finally learned the genesis of the Juneteenth holiday since I knew the amendment ending slavery was not passed in June. Sunday is Father's Day and best wishes to all. I do love my 2 sons and 5 grandchildren. Thank you Elizabeth and Richard.
I must've been looking over Splynter's shoulder today: AMASS, ADOPTS, ON ME, COUSIN, DEFER. Sheesh. Like Lemonade, I needed help to understand AROACE. And I must've been asleep, failing to notice the ATs (@s) in the themers. Double-sheesh. Thanx Elizabeth and Splynter.
FIR, but i guess->I SPOSE, try->SIP, and defer->DETER.
Didn't knowThirdlove, but I do remember an episode of Married...With Children where a drunken Al opines that women should have a third breast - on their back - for dancing.
More of the modern "let me tell you about my sex life" crapola @ AROACE. I'm ignorant and apathetic about such things. I don't know, and I don't give a damn.
Remember when every LEG of an airplane trip was a fun adventure? Here's a reminder from the late, great Continental Airlines (The Proud Bird with the golden Tail.)
Thanks to Elizabeth for the fun challenge, and to Splynter for another fine review. I wonder if you had to get permission to publish the URLs in the theme answers. They're all active except ORS.com, which appears to be a placeholder. I would think that publishing them without context could invite DOS attacks.
I'm off to spend the weekend in rural North Carolina to escape the hustle, bustle and fireworks of Juneteenth, corresponding with our annual Harbor Festival and this year with Sail 250 Virginia with more of the same.
FIR. This was definitely a Friday puzzle. The NE gave me fits until rat race showed up. I was totally flummoxed by aroace since I'd never heard of it. But finally ithe corner came together. The theme totally escaped me and I had to come here to have it explained to me. Overall a so-so puzzle.
Today is a holiday for government workers, the post office, and bankers. Since nobody mails anything and also does their banking online, they won't be missed.
But the workers who really matter don't have the day off. Military, police, firemen, hospital workers.
The only name of the theme fills I knew was MARS, and that was a fluke. The rest didn’t mean anything to me, and I don’t know why the (at) had to be there since these entries were not email addresses. I’m easily confused. 🤣
I still managed to fill almost everything except the NE. One problem was sticking to PROD for GOAD, I know we’ve had the cute saying TOE BEANS before but couldn’t remember it. And AROACE had no chance of ARISing.
ELVER was another unknown. I love MEI fun. I often order it from our local Chinese restaurant.
Thank you Splynter for the review, I needed it for sure.
Never heard of RANDOS or AROACE which is what the perps put in for these. I thought there might be something wrong in AROACE so looked it up. Aromantic and Asexual,( sounds like a friend). I just learned what cisgender is and now I know what aroace is. By the time I get caught up, there will be more identity stuff that's brand new.
It took a second pass to figure out the @ in the middle was actually part of a word. The unknowns CHE and DON made it harder than unusual. I can never remember if ATTILA has two Ts or Ls and fill it AT__ __ LA and LINGER around and wait for the perps.
AROACE- will 'they' come up with any more stupid words to go along with the alphabet+? ISPOSE 'they' will. I guess they need a "ThirdLove", maybe a RANDO but not a BRA. ELVER- haven't seen that fill in years. WALLACE and GODSON were unknowns today. "BO knows" a lot but probably not those two. Great running back and baseball player. AREA MAN was all perps; no idea about that. TOE PADS- learned from an earlier puzzle. I know about KEN Jeong for two reasons. He was a local doctor at the Ochsner hospital and he popped out of a car trunk naked in the Hangover movie.
Took 9:18 today for me to get the right email addresses.
"Aroace" and "elver" looked like made-up words to me. I've never heard of the poet or the poem, and call me ignorant, but I am not interested in learning 13 ways to look at a bird.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Jamie Lee Curtis), but I first guessed "nephew" before yielding to "godson".
It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but the light came on eventually and helped with the solve as I knew all of the players. It’s a creative theme but not really my cup of tea. I’m getting tired of Ush and words like Aroace and Randos. Randos borders on obscene to my eyes and ears.
Thanks, Elizabeth, and thanks, Splynter, for your always honest and straightforward take on the puzzle. Cute photo of Cooper.
Today is the 6th anniversary of the watermelon fiasco. The date is easy to remember because it happened on Juneteenth, the year COVID struck.
I had the same experience as IM in that the themers weren't falling into place util the aha moment, then the ATs started filling in. PROD instead of GOAD slowed the NE considerably. All in all, pretty good Friday from Elizabeth.
Down here, an AREA MAN is known as a "Florida Man," who's always in the news for doing something inane (present company excepted LOL).
@ a boy, Splynter! Liked your Where's Waldo? mashup.
Worst puzzle of the month, in my opinion. The gimmick was lame, obscurities abounded, and too many clues were questionable. I would enjoy an Agard Saturday puzzle more than this offering. But, hey, that's just me. I'm happy for those that enjoyed it.
Hola! Although I finished this puzzle with help from ALEXA on WALLACE, I can't say I liked it. it. While the end product looked normal, the clues did not. I know it's Friday, but even for Friday, this was too much. And what the heck is AROACE? Like others who commented, I'm not fond of the newspeak. In fact, if I ever see this constructor's name, I may skip it. Have a lovely day, everyone! Happy Juneteeth to all who celebrate.
Humans generate sounds in attempts to transmit information that is in one brain to another brain in the hope that it will enhance life and living together. Until it doesn’t …. And then we try again, … and again, … and….
I can’t believe I FIR and on a Friday too! But as I got going, it became fun and fell into place. Very clever theme! Thanks Elizabeth! I knew the reviewer was Splynter when I saw the legs! Always love your reviews. Thanks!
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22 comments:
There were a number of
obscurities in this puzzle, but I got through them. And I finally DID understand what was going on: it’s all based on _(person’s first name) AT (or @)_(something related to the clue). Clever.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
I agree the rheme was creative and the fill Fridayish , much of my experience was similar to Splynter's but AROACE I did not understand and Mr. Wallace was a no go. The write up made the journey feel better and that was good. I finally learned the genesis of the Juneteenth holiday since I knew the amendment ending slavery was not passed in June. Sunday is Father's Day and best wishes to all. I do love my 2 sons and 5 grandchildren. Thank you Elizabeth and Richard.
Good morning!
I must've been looking over Splynter's shoulder today: AMASS, ADOPTS, ON ME, COUSIN, DEFER. Sheesh. Like Lemonade, I needed help to understand AROACE. And I must've been asleep, failing to notice the ATs (@s) in the themers. Double-sheesh. Thanx Elizabeth and Splynter.
FIR, but i guess->I SPOSE, try->SIP, and defer->DETER.
Didn't knowThirdlove, but I do remember an episode of Married...With Children where a drunken Al opines that women should have a third breast - on their back - for dancing.
More of the modern "let me tell you about my sex life" crapola @ AROACE. I'm ignorant and apathetic about such things. I don't know, and I don't give a damn.
Remember when every LEG of an airplane trip was a fun adventure? Here's a reminder from the late, great Continental Airlines (The Proud Bird with the golden Tail.)
Thanks to Elizabeth for the fun challenge, and to Splynter for another fine review. I wonder if you had to get permission to publish the URLs in the theme answers. They're all active except ORS.com, which appears to be a placeholder. I would think that publishing them without context could invite DOS attacks.
I'm off to spend the weekend in rural North Carolina to escape the hustle, bustle and fireworks of Juneteenth, corresponding with our annual Harbor Festival and this year with Sail 250 Virginia with more of the same.
FIR. This was definitely a Friday puzzle. The NE gave me fits until rat race showed up. I was totally flummoxed by aroace since I'd never heard of it. But finally ithe corner came together.
The theme totally escaped me and I had to come here to have it explained to me.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
Today is a holiday for government workers, the post office, and bankers. Since nobody mails anything and also does their banking online, they won't be missed.
But the workers who really matter don't have the day off. Military, police, firemen, hospital workers.
I hate that now we are expected to know all of the alphabet acronyms that never stop changing and only get more plentiful
The only name of the theme fills I knew was MARS, and that was a fluke. The rest didn’t mean anything to me, and I don’t know why the (at) had to be there since these entries were not email addresses. I’m easily confused. 🤣
I still managed to fill almost everything except the NE. One problem was sticking to PROD for GOAD, I know we’ve had the cute saying TOE BEANS before but couldn’t remember it. And AROACE had no chance of ARISing.
ELVER was another unknown. I love MEI fun. I often order it from our local Chinese restaurant.
Thank you Splynter for the review, I needed it for sure.
Yes, thanks Splynter, for the great review. The puzzle, itself, had a lot of stuff that was :not in my wheelhouse". Perhaps a new acronym?
Never heard of RANDOS or AROACE which is what the perps put in for these. I thought there might be something wrong in AROACE so looked it up. Aromantic and Asexual,( sounds like a friend). I just learned what cisgender is and now I know what aroace is. By the time I get caught up, there will be more identity stuff that's brand new.
NIMW, that’s a good one.
It took a second pass to figure out the @ in the middle was actually part of a word. The unknowns CHE and DON made it harder than unusual. I can never remember if ATTILA has two Ts or Ls and fill it AT__ __ LA and LINGER around and wait for the perps.
AROACE- will 'they' come up with any more stupid words to go along with the alphabet+? ISPOSE 'they' will. I guess they need a "ThirdLove", maybe a RANDO but not a BRA.
ELVER- haven't seen that fill in years.
WALLACE and GODSON were unknowns today. "BO knows" a lot but probably not those two. Great running back and baseball player.
AREA MAN was all perps; no idea about that.
TOE PADS- learned from an earlier puzzle.
I know about KEN Jeong for two reasons. He was a local doctor at the Ochsner hospital and he popped out of a car trunk naked in the Hangover movie.
Took 9:18 today for me to get the right email addresses.
"Aroace" and "elver" looked like made-up words to me. I've never heard of the poet or the poem, and call me ignorant, but I am not interested in learning 13 ways to look at a bird.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Jamie Lee Curtis), but I first guessed "nephew" before yielding to "godson".
Theme was fresh, but not really enjoyable.
Good Morning:
It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but the light came on eventually and helped with the solve as I knew all of the players. It’s a creative theme but not really my cup of tea. I’m getting tired of Ush and words like Aroace and Randos. Randos borders on obscene to my eyes and ears.
Thanks, Elizabeth, and thanks, Splynter, for your always honest and straightforward take on the puzzle. Cute photo of Cooper.
Today is the 6th anniversary of the watermelon fiasco. The date is easy to remember because it happened on Juneteenth, the year COVID struck.
Have a great day.
NIMW sounds useful!
I had the same experience as IM in that the themers weren't falling into place util the aha moment, then the ATs started filling in. PROD instead of GOAD slowed the NE considerably. All in all, pretty good Friday from Elizabeth.
Down here, an AREA MAN is known as a "Florida Man," who's always in the news for doing something inane (present company excepted LOL).
@ a boy, Splynter! Liked your Where's Waldo? mashup.
One of my favorite Al Bundy lines, and I still inject it into conversation when appropriate
Watermelon fiasco? I’m intrigued.
Worst puzzle of the month, in my opinion. The gimmick was lame, obscurities abounded, and too many clues were questionable.
I would enjoy an Agard Saturday puzzle more than this offering.
But, hey, that's just me. I'm happy for those that enjoyed it.
Hola! Although I finished this puzzle with help from ALEXA on WALLACE, I can't say I liked it. it. While the end product looked normal, the clues did not. I know it's Friday, but even for Friday, this was too much. And what the heck is AROACE? Like others who commented, I'm not fond of the newspeak.
In fact, if I ever see this constructor's name, I may skip it.
Have a lovely day, everyone! Happy Juneteeth to all who celebrate.
Actually - aren’t all words “made up”?
Humans generate sounds in attempts to transmit information that is in one brain to another brain in the hope that it will enhance life and living together. Until it doesn’t …. And then we try again, … and again, … and….
I can’t believe I FIR and on a Friday too! But as I got going, it became fun and fell into place. Very clever theme! Thanks Elizabeth! I knew the reviewer was Splynter when I saw the legs! Always love your reviews. Thanks!
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