(Preface, by CrossEyedDave:)
Today's is a very special puzzle, we have a new young and talented Constructor, who's first puzzle has created a fun (and for me) challenging suss fest. Not only that, I had an even more fun, challenging, and learning experience trying to explain it all! Nate, I look forward to many more "aha" moment experiences from you. Thank you for this submission...
Commenters: please let our new constructor know how he did with feedback on your personal experience in solving this puzzle.
Theme: Phonetic agreement
They agree, they see eye to eye, but somehow I don't think it's going to end well...
54 Across. *How like-minded people see, or a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues?: EYE TO EYE.
18 Across. *Tablet choice: IPAD MINI.
23 Across. *Silent film based on a Leoncavallo opera: I PAGLIACCI.
Canio is the tragic clown in the Opera PAGLIACCI.
There were two silent films titled "I" PAGLIACCI
One in 1915, and another in 1923.
It might ring a bell around the 2 minute mark...
36 Across. *Destination for a day trip from Naples: ISLE OF CAPRI.
Take a cruise, it will be fun, they said...
49 Across. *Lionel Messi's MLS team: INTER MIAMI.
MLS = Major League Soccer.
Let's see if we agree, onward!
Across:
1. Japanese beer brand: ASAHI.
So many choices...
6. Pet adoption org.: SPCA. Not to be confused with ASPCA. Explanation can be found here.
10. Exec concerned with network security: CTO. Chief Technology Officer.
13. Piccata ingredient: LEMON.
Even better, substitute White Wine for chicken stock!
15. Magic spell: HEX. As a noun, it is a curse or a witch's charm meant to cause harm. As a verb (to hex), it means to cast that evil spell on someone. The word comes from the German word Hexe, meaning witch.
16. Inner selves, in Jungian psychology: ANIMAS. Deep dive can be found here: Japanese "Anime" is also (sort of) derived from the Latin Anima, or soul. A deeper dive can be found here... (Be careful Alice, there are rabbit holes ahead...)
18. [Theme.]
20. Friend: ALLY.
22. Poker-faced: STOIC.
23. [Theme.]
27. Overseas greeting?: AHOY. This really got me, I wanted Ciao...
30. Formally turn over: CEDE.
31. Panang curry cuisine: THAI.
32. Summoning contraction: C'MERE. ( not Pssst...)
33. Sweet potato kin: YAM.
34. Filmed: SHOT.
35. Oklahoma athlete: SOONER.
36. [Theme.]
39. DraftKings user, e.g.: BETTOR.
41. Gutter locale: EAVE. I was thinking bowling...
42. Skin pic: TAT.
45. Done (with): FED UP.
46. Architect Saarinen: EERO.
47. Old Testament scribe: EZRA.
48. Pet pest: FLEA.
49. [Theme.]
51. "The Trial" novelist Kafka: FRANZ.
53. Notary imprint: SEAL.
54. [Theme Reveal.]
57. Vin in the "Fast & Furious" franchise: DIESEL.
61. Passing through: VIA.
62. Nautilus captain: NEMO.
63. None too trusting: LEERY.
64. Just right: APT.
65. Garden with forbidden fruit: EDEN.
66. Drum kit drum: SNARE.
Down:
1. Banned Books Week org.: ALA. American Library Association. Fear not! ALA does not refer to a Southern State! Banned books week this year is October 4th thru 10th. If you oppose censorship, and support the freedom to read and learn, you can do something about it here!
2. Capitol Hill VIP: SEN. Senator.
3. French friend: AMI.
4. Show of respect: HOMAGE.
5. Entirely: IN ALL.
6. Slalom, say: SKI.
7. Genre for many an Attenborough documentary, in brief: POPSCI. Short for popular science.
8. Raccoon relative: COATI.
9. Canadian shoe brand: ALDO. Half a Natick with a 50% tariff...
10. Home of the Mayan temple El Castillo: CHICHEN ITZA.
11. Decimal base: TEN.
12. Commercial lead-in to Clean: OXI.
17. Move like a snake: SLITHER.
19. Spanish term of endearment: MI AMOR. (My love.)
21. Early search engine: YAHOO.
23. Distant: ICY.
24. Green shade: PEA.
25. Wave the white flag: ADMIT DEFEAT.
26. Where toe beans are found: CAT FEET.
28. Minecraft mineral: ORE.
29. "__ outta here!": YER.
32. Deal (with): COPE.
34. Low-quality A.I.-generated content: SLOP.
35. Reveled in: SAVORED.
37. E.B. White's "__ Little": STUART.
38. Gives a darn: CARES.
39. One to share a matching bracelet with, informally: BFF. Best Friend Forever.
40. Unagi roll fish: EEL.
43. Radius locale: ARM.
44. __ chi: martial art: TAI.
46. Biological catalyst: ENZYME.
47. Fashion designer Fisher: EILEEN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
49. "__ a nap!": I NEED.
50. Sends: MAILS.
52. First-rate: AONE. Aone is a casual or stylized spelling of A-one, but personally I believe it should be One A, because A1 is a steak sauce...
54. Actress Longoria: EVA.
55. Puppy noise: YIP.
56. Countless lifetimes: EON.
58. __ salt: SEA.
59. Goof up: ERR.
60. Caustic compound: LYE.
The Grid.
I would be very interested to know what you thought of this puzzle, because, while I am a mediocre solver at best, this puzzle kept tripping me up. Was it just wavelength? Wheelhouse? Or very tricky clues.
(Or maybe I need to retire, lost to many brain cells... I dunno.) here is the list of things that tripped me up, but perpage and sussing made this quite the workout for me to finally finish this Wednesday puzzle.
1a Japanese beer asaki/asahi. If I get beer wrong, I need to stop drinking...
12d Commercial lead-in to Clean: oxo/oxi. Hmm, I got sidetracked in the kitchen...
17d Move like a snake: sidles/slither. Ok, ok, I saw snake and I panicked!
22a Poker-faced: stone/stoic. (Guess I was thinking stone faced...)
23d. Distant: far/icy. (Ooh, this left me cold...)
29d. "__ outta here!": get/yer (really? Get outta here!...)
45a. Done (with): FED UP. ( I tentatively penciled an E as in ended here before the perps confirmed I was done with...)
27a. Overseas greeting?: AHOY. This really got me, I wanted Ciao...
So who did this to me? Who is this constructor who kept me busy as a one armed wallpaper hanger?
I checked the L.A Times, nothing... N.Y Times, nothing... Google Crossword Constructors, nothing...
And then, as I was about to 25 down (admit defeat,) I found this:
Nate, I hope you stop by and tell us how you accomplished this suss fest, ( and how do you know Italian Opera? ) and I hope to see many more puzzles from you. Who knows, maybe one day, we can meet eye to eye!
CE:D out...
≽^- ˕ -^≼
Wow! That was SO
ReplyDeletetough! Even though it had a reveal, it seemed more like a Saturday puzzle than a Wednesday one!
But, somehow, I got through it!
FIR, so I’m not only happy, I’m relieved!
My thoughts exactly. Actually started SW and worked my way back up. Great job, Nate!
DeleteHigh school senior!!😳👍
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteWe've been to CHICHEN ITZA, even climbed the darned thing, but didn't recall that it was named El Castillo. When I was on Guam, a five letter Japanese beer would have been KIRIN; ASAHI manufactured Pentax cameras. I recently had ASAHI beer at a Japanese restaurant. It was brewed in Waunakee, WI. The Japanese seem to like Wisconsin. Kikkoman Soy Sauce is manufactured in Walworth, WI. But I digress... I enjoyed this debut offering from Nate -- just right for a Wednesday. Thanx for the detailed expo, CE:D.
FIR, but pta->ALA, far->ICY, tae->TAI, and elleen->EILEEN.
ReplyDeleteWhen DW and I went to the ISLE OF CAPRI we opted for the more expensive hydrofoil. Well worth the extra time in the ISLE.
I thought of Earl Weaver of the Orioles at YER outta here! He was given the heave-ho 96 times in his career.
I want to be gentle with Nate, and I know he doesn't 1) control the puzzle after it is accepted, or 2) decide which day of the week it will run, but I really disliked CMERE, especially on a Wednesday. I had a very hard time with HOMAGE x ASAHI, ANIMAS and IPAGLIACCI. I completed everything else by 0230 (Zoe has a UTI and needs to be taken out every 4 hours or so.) I went back to bed and slept for another 3 hours, then I sort of remembered ANIMA, then my alphabet run stopped when ASAHI seemed to be okay, making HOMAGE apparent.
Thanks to CED for another fun review, and for linking to the SPCA. I've said it before - please donate to your local SPCA, which does not receive funding from the ASPCA. For those that bypass the blogger's links - the CEO of the ASPCA makes around $1.2 million per year. They operate exactly one animal shelter. (Compare that to Frank Siller, the CEO of Tunnel to Towers, who pulls down a $100,00 salary after working for no salary until year before last.)
EYE noticed the I-ending after filling ASAHI, AMI, SKI, and OXI, and they kept coming. Theme fills and POPSCI, THAI, TAI, COATI. Popsci is a term I've never heard; Popular Science is a Magazine.
ReplyDeleteYesterday we had CHICKEN in the barn; today it is CHIC-H-EN ITZA on the plate.
The I PAGLIACCI movie was all perps, as were ALDO and MI AMOR..
Maybe Haatoolah can find Nate and get an interview; both in B.R.
Ack! YouTube pulled the piccata recipe after the fact! (How rude...)
ReplyDeleteWell, that recipe stunk anyway! (Chicken broth, phooey!)
Here's Chef John's recipe with white wine!
I knew I should have gone with Chef John, but I couldn't find him at the time. If ever you need a recipe, type it into YouTube followed by the words FOOD WISHES.
( I was so upset, I forgot to identify myself first...)
ReplyDeleteWell, now, this puzzle wasn’t THAT hard. I did have difficulty with the North since I didn’t know the Japanese beer, and although KOOL was not familiar to me, it was easy to guess, which meant I got the other unknown, ALDO (sorry CanadianEh!).
ReplyDeleteI liked the theme and had no problem with that either. It had been a while since we’d had EERO. Way to go Nate.
Thanks CED for a heart-felt review and thanks for finding our constructor.
Wednesdays are always a bit tricky. FIR but not a walk in the park
ReplyDeleteI FIW with 13 errors, really struggling in the NW and NE. Thought it was more like a Friday puzzle. Had no idea what the name of the temple was as I didn't have enough letters right to make an educated guess. Was surprised when I came to the blog and saw that the answer was Chicken Itza, which I happened to climb to the top of in 1983. It was a scary climb too, very steep with nothing to hold on to. My wife waited at the bottom. I understand now that you can't climb it anymore.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was pretty challenging for a Wednesday, especially with entries like Chichen Itza, Pop Sci, which sounds made up, I Pagliacci, etc. I noticed the beginning I but not the ending I, so the reveal was a fun aha moment. This was an ambitious theme to tackle and more suited to a Friday level of difficulty, IMO. Props to the authors for creativeness. I must admit defeat by having I Mac Mini instead of I Pad Mini. Whatever was I thinking?
Thanks, Nate, come back soon, and thanks, CED, for the outstanding analysis and commentary. You speak from the heart, which is refreshing and sincere. Nice job!
Have a great day.
Clues with question marks are occasionally misleading. It's as if the constructor--or likely the editor--knows the clue is flat wrong, so they try to cover their tracks by adding a question mark. Misdirection (yes!) is one thing; misleading (no!) quite another.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this in today's puzzle is 27A, "Overseas greeting?". One naturally thinks abroad, since that is what overseas means. As CE:D notes, a 4-letter answer like CIAO (or HOLA) would be appropriate. AHOY is a greeting that might be heard asea. "Asea" and "overseas" are not synonymous.
It's impossible for us to know whether a clue has been written by the constructor or editor, so despite my quibble above, I feel comfortable in praising Nate's challenge today. This is an impressive first effort, and I look forward to more of his crosswords.
FIR. For a Thursday this was close to Saturday fare. What a workout! Every part if today's puzzle was hard. Last to fall was the NW. Homage just wouldn't come to me. Of course misspelling Pagliacci didn't help. When I made the correction everything came together.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme early on and did not need the reveal. Very clever theme indeed.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, Nate (congrats on your debut) and CE:D (great links).
ReplyDeleteOfficially a FIW since I had a an H instead of C at the cross of POP SCI and IPAGLIACCI. My brain was SHOT from overwork by the time I went back there.
But I did get the I to I theme and went back to enter several missing terminal I’s (and change OXy to OXI).
I agree that this was a Friday level CW.
I had to wait for perps to properly spell CHICHEN ITZA. INTERNET MIAMI, SOONER, ASAHI all needed perps or even WAGs to fill properly.
Arc changed to ARM.
Mends changed to CARES (I thought I was clever seeing “gives a darn’ as mending, but maybe it needed a ? eh TKen?)
Even this Canadian needed a perp or two to get ALDO.
Hand up for STOny before STOUC. But I did get ICY on the first try.
I am using my IPAD MINI right now.
The YAHOO search engine was a blast from the past.
I wanted CAT paws before FEET perped.
I had the LEEN for Ms Fisher and waited for perps to decide between arLEEN or EILEEN.
Wishing you all a great day.
Nate is in the 2027 class at this excellent private school in Baton Rouge and was one of seven National Merit Semifinalists. Congratulations Nate.
ReplyDeleteMy brain must be wired differently than many of my fellow commenters.
ReplyDeleteOften, when I struggle with a puzzle and find many nits to pick with its construction, I come here seeking validation for my opinion, only to find nothing but rave reviews.
So, of course it makes perfect sense that a puzzle that proved difficult for many would be a walk in the park for me.
FIR in 6:46, with just a couple of “I dunno” entries that filled in quickly with perps.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Starting with a Japanese beer crossing a library group made me uneasy but I “got er done”
-The gimmick was great but some cluing took some digging
-The long verticals were very impressive!
-Somehow, I knew Messi got a king’s ransom to play in MIAMI and the prefix took care of itself
-The CTO (tech person) at a school can catch a lot of heat from a teacher(s) with a room full of kids if one or more systems don’t work!
-My good friend married a lovely THAI woman and he said curry in that part of the world is very common due to leftover British colonial influence.
-I am very LEERY to try curry
-My first search engine was Netscape and I remember it as being not all that great
-A more contemporary use of SLOP today
-I had other things on my mind when I was 17! Congrats on the puzzle and National Merit success, Nate!