SWISH! Or Nothin' but Net!
Another slam dunk from Erik Agard!
While "hat trick" is not used, basketball has other milestones based on the number three or achieving three feats:
- The Triple-Double: Getting double-digit numbers in three out of five categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals) in a single game.
- Three-Peat: Winning three championship titles in a row.
- Three-Pointer: Scoring a field goal from beyond the three-point arc.
The Reveal:
53 Across. Distance shot in basketball, or what 16-, 26-, and 39-Across are altogether?: LOGO THREE.
A logo 3 in basketball is a three-pointer shot taken from extreme range, specifically at or near the mid-court center circle where the teams floor logo is painted.
How is this represented in the 3 themers you ask? Why, it's simple! The first word of each begins with LO, and the last word begins with GO. Coming up with a new and fresh theme after more than 100 years of crossword puzzles is a long shot, I just didn't expect Erik to do it literally!
16 Across. "I like it!": LOOKS GOOD. (Like a long shot that goes "swish.")
26 Across. Bucket list item, perhaps: LONG TIME GOAL. (Long air time that is...)
39 Across. Not rigid: LOOSEY-GOOSEY. (Absolutely necessary to make those long shots....)
Let's see if there is anything in the fill that could block our shot at this theme...
1. Succeed in a class: PASS. (Or succeed in basketball, don't hog the ball...)
5. With 47-Down, tropical shade providers: PALM.
9. Content warning letters: NSFW. Not Suitable For Work.
13. Two-tone apex predator: ORCA.
Pass me the ball!
14. Inventor's jumping-off point: IDEA.
15. Underwater detector: SONAR.
16. [Theme]
18. Location: PLACE.
19. Out like a light: ASLEEP.
20. Vintner's harvest: GRAPES.
21. Top stripe of a pride flag: RED.
Hmm, not always red...
22. Lousy grade: DEE. (I always wait, could be C or F...)
24. "Gosh!": GEE.
25. Channel with music videos and "Reba" reruns: CMT. Country Music Television.
26. [Theme]
29. Statistical average: MEAN.
There ya go, now it's about s clear as mud...
31. Jokes: GAGS. (I never joke about statistical averages...)
32. Cunning plan: RUSE.
Not really a ruse, but I couldn't resist..
33. "A Change Is __ Come": GONNA. The sad history behind this song can be found here.
34. Victor Wembanyama's org.: NBA. (Is this a Clecho?)
35. Features of 4c hair: KINKS. Ten hairstyles Suitable for type 4c hair.
36. A single time: ONCE.
37. Plant anchor: ROOT.
38. CPR pros: EMTS. (Crossword staple.)
39. [Theme]
42. Seasonal vaccine target: FLU.
43. Some undergrad degs.: BAS. Bachelor of Arts degrees.
44. Fleeting snooze: NAP.
45. Pvt. trainer: SGT.
48. Chicken __ bleu: CORDON. If you ever get tired of making chicken salad from your leftover chicken:
TRY THIS!
50. Throw trash away, but not in a trash can: LITTER. (Please dont...)
52. An additional time: AGAIN.
53. [Theme Reveal.]
56. Sport with scrums: RUGBY. This may be difficult for Americans unfamiliar with the game to comprehend, but it is a way to restart play fairly after a minor infraction.
Can you predict what side will regain control of the ball?
57. Component of steel: IRON.
58. Lack of difficulty: EASE.
59. Simple tops: TEES.
60. Domestic four-leggers: PETS.
61. "Their __ Were Watching God": EYES. Tough one if you don't know luckily 4 perps to the rescue...
Down:
1. Big name in seltzer water: POLAR. Tough one, as not really seen in my area. And now with the hard seltzer market, Polar gets lost in the crowd.
3. Give a talking-to: SCOLD.
4. "For goodness' __!": SAKE.
5. Animal enclosure with a namesake cipher: PIGPEN. The Wiki Explanation.
6. "And now, without further __ ... ": ADO.
7. Sign before Virgo: LEO.
8. Ticked off: MAD.
9. Mardi Gras city, familiarly: NOLA. New Orleans.
10. Signals called by a quarterback before each play: SNAP COUNT.
11. Protections against respiratory illnesses: FACE MASKS.
12. Competes on a mat: WRESTLES.
15. Shopping jag: SPREE.
17. Arizona city near the Seven Sacred Pools: SEDONA.
17 minutes worth of sightseeing.
20. Precious stones: GEMS.
23. Creamy Christmas concoctions: EGGNOGS.
24. Huge unit of mass: GIGATON. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
26. Pool divisions: LANES.
27. Like a dirty word: TABOO. I dunno.. (see below.)
28. Dirty: GRIMY. (Is grimy taboo?)
29. Actor's audition selection: MONOLOGUE.
30. Spur on: ENCOURAGE.
33. Transport on the way to sink a putt: GOLF CART.
35. "You hang on to that": KEEP IT.
37. "Sinners" director Coogler: RYAN. Ack! A Name!
40. Dark wood: EBONY.
41. Makeover sites: SALONS.
45. Wander off: STRAY.
46. V-formation flyers: GEESE.
47. See 5-Across: TREES.
49. "I call it!": DIBS.
51. Old-school "you": THEE. (Or thou, or ye, but don't get too hung up on thyself...)
53. Guff: LIP.
54. Metallic resource: ORE.
55. Duped: GOT.
And, The Grid.
There you have it. Was it a slam dunk for you (or thou.) or did you jam your thumb?
Let us know in the comments...
CE:D out.
(˵◝ ⩊ ◜˵マ
P.S. A Crossword Corner Blog Interview with Erik Agard from 2013 can be found here.
It wasn’t hard,
ReplyDeletealthough I had never heard of the reveal before.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWas this really an Erik Agard creation? I was trembling in fear, but it turned out to be pretty easy. Never heard of a GIGATON, but it makes sense. Never heard of "4c" hair -- what is it? Tried THOU, but EASE and EYES set me straight. Nice romp. Thanx, Erik and CE:D.
Another dental appt this morning. This is becoming an expensive habit.
FIR, but thou->THEE and long three->LOGO THREE. I almost passed on this one after I saw the byline. I'm glad I didn't. If I didn't know better, I would have said that it was created by someone with a heart!
ReplyDeleteWaited for mode/MEAN, and was going to wait for bss/BAS but thought "in LA Times puzzles it will always be "arts" not "sciences."
There is a "gentlemen's club" in North Myrtle Beach named THEE Doll House. My golf buddies used to drag me there on our annual road trip. Okay, they didn't exactly drag me there - I was the only non-drinker in the bunch, so I had to go so that no one would get a DUI. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Where I grew up it was spelled WRESTLES, but pronounced "rassels."
Thanks to Erik for a rare solvable puzzle. My favorite was "not rigid" for LOOSEY GOOSEY. And thanks to CED for another fun tour. BTW, "three-peat" is a registered trademark owned by University of Kentucky and LA Lakers legend Pat Riley.
Jinx @ 6:21 => I did a bi-annual Myrtle Beach golf trip beginning in 1974 and I think the last one was in 1990 or 1992. Pretty sure that I visited THEE Doll House, too - at least the name sounds familiar! 😂 If I am not mistaken, there used to be another "gentlemen's club" on the way out of MB on Hwy 9. I remember that (at the time) the alcohol was served in an "airline bottle", not from a large bar bottle. And this particular place had a casino (of sorts - Craps / Black Jack) in the back room. I'm sure that Myrtle Beach has changed over the past 35 - 50 years
DeleteThere was a law for a long time in SC that liquor could ONLY be served with those little bottles…
Delete“In fact , until 2006, mini bottles were the only liquor bottles you would find behind the bar at a watering hole or restaurant across the Palmetto State.”
That was me above
DeleteMonday on a Wednesday: terrific CW. Only7 names, but DNK 4, so it still took 12 to FIR.
ReplyDeleteAnd I did see the theme, but, again, only after the reveal.
Thanx EA, I very much enjoyed your creation.
Thanx too to C.E.D.; terrific write-up. BTW, at the very beginning of your write-up you have a typo: Eric Asgard?
Unclefred, I fixed it for Dave. Thanks for the heads up on the typo.
DeleteAlso, yesterday was Tuesday, so Matthew Luter posted another puzzle at his site: Matthew Luter Puzzle # 270
I recall you said you enjoyed his crosswords.
Finishing was easy but when I'd filled LOGO THREE by perps, I to look over my downs to make sure they were right. Never heard of it. I thought the fill for "Features of 4c hair" was strange and after finishing the puzzle I saw it was constructed by somebody with KINKY hair.
ReplyDeleteRED- who cares.
CMT- thinking MTV until Reba
POLAR- from not drinking anything with seltzer, it was an unknown.
I've been to SEDONA but all I remember is the Pink Jeep Tours and the people 20 people hospitalized with three dying in the sweat lodge ceremony ($10,000 to attend). You want to sweat, come to NOLA, it's free.
FIR, despite not knowing what 4c hair was, and never ever hearing of "logo three" before. I guess basketball not being a sport I like or follow doesn't help. My guess is the constructor' is a fan.
ReplyDeleteWith the reveal I saw three "lo" and completely missed the "go". Oh well!
Overall a so-so puzzle.
I was duped by the two long answers with two words containing double Os. I became fixated on that and missed the theme all together. Also I didn’t know LOGO THREE, nor any sports related terminology, so felt at sea. I did get just about everything else, just needed perps for CMT, 4c hair, POLAR, SNAP COUNT, RYAN.
ReplyDeleteThank you CED, nice review.
Wacky Wednesday, indeed! Did Erik Agard, of all people, really just give us the easiest puzzle of the month??
ReplyDeleteFIR in 6:36 with no head-scratchers.
Not knowing what 4c hair is, I looked up these ratings and found out I have 4a hair. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteTook 4:28 to drain this one.
ReplyDeleteGotta run.
Easiest puzzle so far this week by a LOGOTHREE shot 🏀
ReplyDeleteCMT needed perps. Perhaps a more amicable clue for the common name RYAN. 4c? I thought it was a typo for a CW 4a or 4d Never heard that term for hair KINKS. Again not a Humpday friendly clue.
Embarrassed to admit my first “vaccine target” was arm 😳
Seeing fewer FACEMASKS in the hospital (staff must wear one if refusing FLU shot) more people getting vaccinated.
There was a girl in class named Lucy, you can guess how they teased her.
. Also had thou first (Thou: You as “subject”, THEE: You as “object”). A convenient thing about modern English is there is only one way to say “You”. At Uni in Italy I had to sometimes think which to use : tu, te, ti, voi, Lei, Loro.
Anyway all of Ye have a great day 😊
Musings
ReplyDelete-What a fun theme!
-The most famous LOGO THREE shooter
-Like dophins, ORCAS use SONAR to find food
-Some great MONOLOGUES: Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird, Peter Finch in Network, George C. Scott in Patton…
-Most courses require you keep that CART at least 30’ from the green
Also add Spencer Tracy’s monologue in “Stanley and Livingstone”, brilliant acting! You beat me to the Caitlin Clark reference, an absolute sniper from LOGO THREE territory!
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteAny trepidation I had seeing Eric’s byline was soon forgotten as I solved this fun and fresh-themed puzzle. I know little to nothing about basketball but the cluing and fill were straightforward enough to make the solve easy and enjoyable. Logo Three was a new term to me but the themers were easy enough to suss this out.
Thanks, Eric, for a doable reprieve and thanks, CED, for a great expo and commentary. NBA wasn’t a Clecho, but it was an Easter Egg. I liked the way you incorporated the theme lingo into your analysis; great job!
Have a good day.
A wonderful hump day offering…
ReplyDeleteSans the hump. I loved it !
An easy breezy fill, fresh clueing, and a brilliant theme. Erik sunk the 3 pointer.👏
A learning moment with “4c hair” . Interesting.
Thanks CED for the fun recap.
Nice to see Erik’s byline on a weekday rather than a Saturday themeless! DNK what 4c hair is, but I know KINKS are a band from the 60’s. Also unknown was the (obscure for me) director RYAN (we recently had a different ‘Rian’). FIR in about 10 minutes. Thanks for the puzzle Erik, I liked the theme. Also thanks to CED for the recap.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erik and Dave.
ReplyDeleteTimely. I was stuck inside again yesterday because of the storms (a derecho and 3 more EF-1 tornadoes in Chicagoland). Watched a bit of the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty game. Caitlin Clark hit some deep threes, but no LOGO THREES. She had three LOGO THREES in the WNBA All Star game.
I liked the theme but did not look for it during the solve until getting to the reveal clue. Very nice!
We had consecutive entries of DEE and GEE. Of course, that is how you pronounce the letters D and G. Who has the initials of DG? Why, Dave Gordon of course!
As NHRA fans know, D.G stands for "The Snake," Don Garlits. He has a fantastic automotive museum in (crossword favorite) Ocala, only about half of which documents racing.
DeleteAs an occasional viewer, I mostly heard him referred to as "Big Daddy Don Garlits" but never as DG or The Snake. For me, the "Snake" was Kenny Stabler.
DeleteSpeaking of the NFL, I'm glad that Disney and Xfinity/Comcast worked out their contract disputes, so the NFL Network is airing again. Just in time for the preseason game tomorrow night between the Steelers and the Packers.
There was an Anonymous T appearance last night. That dude has too many irons in the fire. Dash T is a Type A with traits of the energizer bunny. Nonstop. Bruh, stop and smell the roses every once in a while. If you are reading today, to answer your late night question...No. Bill G passed.
ReplyDeleteDarren, from the other day... Thanks for the added info. I didn't realize you shot that part of The Breakfast Club Opening Scene with a 35mm camera.
ComEd reported over 500K customers are w/o power. They expect to have power restored to 80% by Thursday evening, and 99% by Saturday night. Northern Indiana has 300K w/o power. There, the damage is so widespread that the state police are telling people not to drive into three counties and to fill up their gas tanks first if they must. To top it all off, more storms are hitting Chicagoland and Northern Indiana today.
203 tornadoes in Illinois so far this year, leading the nation. We're #1! That count has blown away the previous yearly record of 140some in 2024. We still have just under 5 months to go. Crazy weather systems just keep coming.
Lastly, I reposted the links to the FDA, USDA and CPSC recalls on my blog page.
Thanks to Erik Asgard for an easy one; my grid LOOKS GOOD! Never heard of LOGO THREE, but the cited entries supported it, along with the perps. Remember, Erik, it's harder to construct an easy puzzle, but it wins you more admirers! Many thanks to CE:D for the enlightening tour.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle. Interesting fill. Steph Curry often hits logo threes. Thank you Erik and thank you CED for an excellent and amusing review. Favorite was “the leaning tower”!
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR - with no mistakes that I can recall. I solved the puzzle a couple of days ago and I didn't save it (Across Lite). My computer must have performed an upgrade and automatically restarted, so I have none of my solved puzzles to review! I did all of this week's puzzle, through Sunday, as I am having my first carpal tunnel surgery tomorrow and may not want to be typing or using that hand for a few days ...
I will agree that for an Erik Agard puzzle, this was very easy by comparison
I had no idea was 4c hair is and after googling it I still don't know if I understand. Of course, I have gone mostly bald and what little hair I do have is shaved off to give me a completely bald dome
I will catch up here next week
Best wishes tomorrow, Chairman Moe.
DeleteAnd yes, yesterday was the second Tuesday of the month, so your machine rebooted. In the Microsoft universe, the second Tuesday of each month is known as "Update Tuesday." That's when the Quality Updates are downloaded, and also when you automatically get the latest version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool. Every month, second Tuesday. A reboot runs automatically unless you reschedule it.
Best wishes, Moe, for an uneventful surgery and a rapid and smooth recovery. 😘
DeleteDidn't care for this one
ReplyDelete