UNDERSTAND A BLEAT
🙄
This is Winston's LA Times puzzle #15, and the first one I've had to blog - Chairman Moe had ths last one, here, back in April 2024. This one kinda fizzled on me; even owning up to a single cell mistake, I found the construction & theme to be bland - in fact, 30D. is not even a unique crossword answer. The rest of the fill contained little to make me go "RAH~!"; YMMV, but again, I think the editor is more to blame on this one - and not the first time I felt that way this week. Standard grid, no circles, no outlier letters, far too many proper nouns ( names ) & "foreign"clues, and the same count of 3LW to 5LWs. The Across themers and Down reveal:
18. Gospel music?: PRAISE BEAT - "Praise Be" being the base phrase; the addition of the "A T" does not really result in a 'punny' or 'alternate' themer, IMHOThis is Winston's LA Times puzzle #15, and the first one I've had to blog - Chairman Moe had ths last one, here, back in April 2024. This one kinda fizzled on me; even owning up to a single cell mistake, I found the construction & theme to be bland - in fact, 30D. is not even a unique crossword answer. The rest of the fill contained little to make me go "RAH~!"; YMMV, but again, I think the editor is more to blame on this one - and not the first time I felt that way this week. Standard grid, no circles, no outlier letters, far too many proper nouns ( names ) & "foreign"clues, and the same count of 3LW to 5LWs. The Across themers and Down reveal:
The Yellow & Black attack of
Christian rockers Stryper, "To Hell with 9A."
30. Really, really sticky situation?: HONEY COMBAT - Honeycomb, a better redefining themer
46. Brag obnoxiously after winning a swabbing contest?: MOP AND GLOAT - Mop & Glo, the floor cleaning product
That'll work . . .
59. Generous Volkswagen promotion?: FREE PASSAT - Free Pass - I have a "free" VW Jetta in my backyard if you'll give me $1500 to get rid of it . . . 😜
48. "Finally!," or what can be found in 18-, 30-, 46-, and 59-Across: AT LAST - The theme answers all end with the additional letters A & T, or "at, last". I see Mr. Emmons was able to slide "ETTA" into the grid as well "@" 31D.
But@ Wait@ There's@ More@~!
ACROSS:
1. "Ring out the thousand __ of old": Tennyson: WARS - no clue, tough way to start a puzzle - the poem
5. Hat holders: PEGS
9. Figure in a Faustian bargain: SATAN - A.K.A. Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles
14. Name on a former lake in Central Asia: ARAL - Geo name #1, even if it's a crossword staple
15. Sandwich title: EARL - the Earl of Sandwich, credited with the "invention" of the meat-between-bread fare that now bears his name . . . and name(ish)
Wiki backs it up
16. __ keyboard: EMOJI - I do the Downs first, had E - - - I, so I got it, but didn't really "get it"
All I can say is 😝 or maybe 😖
17. Hayworth of "The Strawberry Blonde": RITA - name #2
20. Slogans: MOTTOS - If Nike came out with crossword apparel, the slogan would be "Just Clue It" 🙄
22. Ring topper: STONE
23. Screening org.: TSA - Transportation Security Administration
24. Chart-topper: HIT
26. High cloud: CIRRUS - made my "TRES" at 28D. wrong
34. Fiver: ABE - seen this before in crosswords; money, not moniker, but still, name (ish)
Hey, that's not Abe . . .
35. Uncomfortably honest: TOO REAL
36. Pulitzer winner James: AGEE - Popular in crosswords, still name #3
37. African language family: BANTU - "foreign" fill, first of many . . .
40. __ Atleos: big name in ATMs: NCR - Dah~! Didn't get my "ta-DA~!", could not find my mistake - I had ECR, yet I am familiar with this company, as they made cash registers, initially - in fact that's what "N C R" stands for - National Cash Register - the history
41. Oscar, but not Big Bird: AWARD - two Muppets, one trophy - very clever clue / answer
42. Vicinity: AREA
43. Tenor Pavarotti: LUCIANO - Italian, name #4
45. Molecule in some vaccines: RNA
50. Gymnast Olga with four Olympic gold medals: KORBUT - Belarusian, name #5
52. 128 oz.: GALLon
53. Colorado Plateau Native: UTE - Indigenous, name (ish)
54. Model/actress Kate: UPTON - American Michigander, name #6
That's hubby Justin Verlander, retired WS-winning baseball pitcher
57. Mortar's partner: PESTLE
63. Panache: ÉLAN - Frawnche
64. Mexican meat: CARNE - Español
65. Period after Shrove Tuesday: LENT - Christian 😉
66. Toy (with): MESS
67. Break the rules: CHEAT - not a themer, as in Che AT . . .🙄
68. Eight, in combinations: OCTO
69. Minuscule: ITTY - AND - 49D. Minuscule: TEENSY - straight clecho
DOWN:
1. Affection: WARMTH - another great single-syllable fill
2. Oratorio solo: ARIOSO - Italian, and a Sunday dupe
3. Material for some patio furniture: RATTAN - South Asian, another Sunday dupe
4. Board on some patio furniture: SLAT - Not a "sl AT" themer, either . . . 🙄
5. Gatorade owner: PEPSICO - Twice (25D.) this month that a "Pepsi" phrase has made the crossword
6. Orecchiette shape: EAR - Italian again, for "little ears" - nailed it, but knew it from doing crosswords
7. Foie __: GRAS - Frawnche again, heard of it, never actually knew it translates as "fatty liver"
The image's connected website
8. Buttonhole, e.g.: SLIT - SLAT & SLIT in the same grid
9. Veto on movie night: "SEEN IT."
10. Cautionary color: AMBER
11. Spot for a metti: TOE - South Asian Indian, learning moment - the Wiki
12. Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Wilson: A'JA - name #7, coulda been clued as a Steely Dan album
13. Picky criticism: NIT - I had a fair number of name "nits" in this grid today
19. Golden St. region: SoCal - Southern California - I am East coast, so this did not come readily to mind, but this song did after it filled in - I'd heard it growing up, but would've never guessed the artist
Albert Hammond
21. "Silly goose!": "OH YOU~!" - Oh, Twurd~!
25. Distraught: TORN UP - Dah~! I simply did not see the option of the past tense version of this phrase, and I blanked on the crossing ECR not being correct - I'll take the one-cell hit on this one . . .
27. Sitar piece: RAGA - Asian Indian - You don't want to go raga . . .
28. Very, informally: ÜBER - German - Dah~! I tried TRES
29. Pomegranate bit: SEED
31. "__ Is Betta Than Evvah!": 1976 album: ETTA - an Easter Egg. Etta James, crossword staple, and the singer associated with the muscial number that my future ex-wife chose for our wedding herself. It's certainly a "numb-er" for me - thus, I am not a fan of the "theme"; I wanted "Leather & Lace" which was 'dismissed', but my brother snuck it in during his best man speech. Name #8
32. Home of the Kaaba: MECCA - Arabic, Kaaba = 'cube', geo name #9
33. Revealing to all: BARING
36. Missing GI: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave
37. Flavorful part of a cinnamon tree: BARK
38. View from the Uffizi: ARNO - No clue this was an art gallery; Italian again, geo name #10
Bottom center
39. Proximate: NEAR
41. Measurement given in degrees: ANGLE
43. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA - Whole lotta yes, please~!
Here's a cool story from Rick Beato's YouTube channel
44. Fit in with: ADAPT TO - Yeah, but Meh~?
46. Sesame Street denizen: MUPPET - see 41A
47. Current source: OUTLET
51. Lake __ Vista, Florida: BUENA - Español again, geo name #11
55. Capital west of Stockholm: OSLO - attempted obscurity, still got it, still Scandinavian, geo name #12
56. Fraction of a min.: NSEC - SEC was too short, filled it in and waited on perps
58. Big rig: SEMI
59. TV monitor: FCC - I almost went with CRT, but this is the "overseer" kind of monitor
60. Cheer syllable: "RAH~!" - I'm going with "MEH."
61. Poetic preposition: ERE
62. Pantry pest: ANT - we had ANT MAN on Tuesday
Splynter
Splynter
Grid Flow 32.7
I figured out the
ReplyDeletegimmick pretty quickly, and that helped me solve this sometimes challenging puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but moppingloat->MOP AND GLOAT, and wicker->RATTAN.
ReplyDeleteETTA's big hit AT LAST wasn't included in the ETTA is Betta Than Evvah! album, but made it as today's reveal.
I knew NCR made ATMs, but didn't know Atleos.
FLN - Darren, an ocean crossing on a 50 foot boat isn't particularly daring - in fact cruising couples usually cross in smaller boats to avoid the need for additional crew. What is a little surprising is that they did it in a Beneteau, which are beautiful boats but not designed for that purpose. Hinkley and Pacific Seacraft (among others) build sailboats that are more suited to the purpose.
Thanks to Winston for the Friday challenge. I liked it better than Splynter, but then again I'm not as accomplished at solving these things as he is. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review. I went to the wedding of a sailing couple I knew well at the grand historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Big bash. Quite formal. First song - Queen's Another One Bites the Dust,
I guess sailing across the Atlantic is daunting to me, @Jinx; the biggest boat we have is our tandem kayak, in which we once paddled around the east end of Catalina Island into the open Pacific. 6’ swells in a 13’ boat with a 6” draft 😵💫. We soon 180’ed and headed back for the lee side of the island!
Delete====> Darren
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCaught the theme at PRAISE BEAT. It's good that I did. Never noticed the AT LAST reveal -- it'd already been filled by the perps. This one seemed appropriate for a Friday. Never noticed the plethora of names, because they were all familiar. Thanx Winston and Splynter.
I found this really hard with lots of blanks and thought I'd have to give up, but when I got to the bottom and figured out Free Passat, then At Last, it helped me make a big dent in the long answers and fill them in, and that cracked the puzzle for me.
ReplyDeletePraise Beat was my favorite long answer, and all of those were very clever.
It didn't help that I had Devil instead of Satan for 9A at first. Duh.
FIR. This was a typical Friday workout as can be expected for the day. For my liking there were a few too many proper names sprinkled throughout. Thank heavens for perps!
ReplyDeleteThe theme eluded me and I needed the reveal to get it.
Overall a mostly enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis type of theme is too obvious and, in most cases, too easy for a Friday slot, IMO. Once you get the add-on gimmick, you’re home free, at least as far as the theme entries go. It’s also one of my least favorite themes, so I pretty much agree with Splynter’s analysis. I had Puppet before Muppet and Arte before Arno. Other than that, no hold ups or head scratchers.
Thanks, Winston, and thanks, Splynter, for the spot-on, candid analysis. Your opinions are always based on sound reasoning, whether we agree or not. I, for one, am usually in agreement.
Have a great day.
I didn't make any mistakes but it took a while to realize what was happening. I caught it at HONEY COMBAT and realized AT was added to PRAISE BE and MOP AND GLO (anybody use that? Wax build up). The few unknowns as clued were easily guessable after a perp or two. WARS, NCR (aren't they all NCR?), UPTON (bird legs in the pic), SPA.
ReplyDeleteLake BUENA Vista is really Walt Disney World's mailing address. I don't know if it has any residents but it has FOUR houses and a government.
There is a website that could answer my question, "does this puzzle have the most letter 't' fill than any other 15x15?" but I don't remember what it is, though there were a shi? load of them. I stopped reading the Wall Street Journal when I "retired" so I was unaware of NCR splitting into two parts. I have no idea where "ATLEOS" comes from, or VOYIX, anyone know?
ReplyDeleteI knew UFFIZI from two directions, I recently watched Tom Hanks in ANGELS AND DEMONS in which the heroes go to the gallery chasing clues, and my archaeology major son and daughter-in-law told me about their visits to the museum. I agree with Splynter about the random fill ending "AT" being misleading and shouldn't have been permitted. The rest was just a Friday. Thank you Richard and Winston (not Churchill and not my other son's dog). Happy Friday and have a nice week-end all.
BE, Lake Buena Vista is a tiny municipality in Orange County, Florida, spanning roughly 3 square miles with a permanent population of just 24 residents. It serves as the primary mailing address and corporate tourism hub for the Walt Disney World Resort, though its famous theme parks technically sit in adjacent Bay Lake. Thank you AI
ReplyDeleteI had no problems with this puzzle. With enough WAGS and perps, it filled pretty quickly. My only two real unknowns were AJA and UPTON.
ReplyDeleteI agree however, the theme is not exciting and feels a little forced at times.
Thank you Splynter for your review and honest opinion.
Took 9:18 today for me to ... act like a dog and begat.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actresses of the Day (Rita & Upton).
As usual, I concur with Ms. Irish Miss about the ease of (most of) this puzzle with the add-on theme. Are there no more "quip part 1" and "quip part 2" Friday puzzles?
This felt like there was an intent to annoy by including words such as: Atleos, Kaaba, the poem, gras, carne, Bantu, Agee, etc. Those served to remove the fun for me.
All Muppets are puppets, but not all puppets are Muppets.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Unlike my friends Irish and Splynter, I enjoyed the puzzle and the gimmick. It’s fun for me when the addition changes the entire sense of the last word.
-RITA: At least one of the proper names was familiar to those of us more experienced solvers
-Many of our new traffic lights and now flashing AMBER which I like.
-After walking through the Uffizi, I could never figure out why the Mona Lisa was such a big deal.
-I better remember Fats Domino singing Whole Lotta Lovin’
-Why is every OUTLET I need is place squarely behind a piece of furniture.
-Original TV monitors were CRT’s and not regulated by the FCC
-We are currently having a long run of ideal autumn weather that we get for about 12 days per year, so FORE!
Husker, folks don't like looking at electrical cords. That's why OUTLETs are placed where they'll likely wind up behind furniture.
DeleteDo why don’t all electrical cords have flat 90° plugs, so the dresser or cabinet doesn’t sit 3” out from the dang wall?? 😖
Delete====> Darren
An offbeat fun Friday offering from Winston Emmons.
ReplyDeleteMethinks this puzzle was the victim of some fatcat editing that changed some clues to WNBA, obscure words, and other annoying nits.
I always enjoy Splynters recap and analysis.
DNF: wrong WAG (Ana) at AJA so EM ___ nI was blank. No idea what “metti” meant. Usually the entire theme answer plus the short version, in this case with or without AT is a phrase but what is HONEYCOMBAT? The rest was OK. Much of the PP was gettable.
ReplyDeleteInkovers: slot/SLIT, near/AREA, puppet/MUPPET
Margarita Carmen Cansino might get detained today.
I know National Cash Register but not “Atleos” The “Uffizi” gallery probably the most famous art museum in Italy. Although many visits when I lived there still wasn’t sure it faced the ARNO. SATAN cuz devil wouldn’t perp. Forgot ARAL is not a sea but a fresh water “lake” like Gallilee. A “fiver” ABE? Only in CW’s …
“ITTY bitty, teeny (not TEENSY) weeny yellow polka dot bikini“ (a whole LOTTA BARING of skin 👙)
“But officer the light was…AMBER”
Another trip to the surgeon in an hour
Skin graft over leg laceration ain’t lookin’ too great. 😟
Hope surgeon visit goes well for you, Ray-o
DeleteI had to turn on red-letter help and then still do a couple of alpha-runs. Still, overall this CW was sun, in spite of 18 names, 8 DNKs among them.
ReplyDeleteI did get the theme, but only after the reveal. At that point, it was a V-8 moment. Why didn't I see it earlier?
Thanx for the fun CW WE. Far too many names, though.
Thanx too to Splynter for the as always fine write-up. Although I enjoyed working on this CW, I agree with your overall comments about it. Foie Gras = animal welfare organizations are trying to get it banned, due to the cruelty inflicted on ducks to get their livers so fatty. I've never been a big fan of it anyway, to my tastes it is too greasy tasting.
Thanx too for the nice legs pictures.
Something has changed
ReplyDeleteI cannot comment or reply using the iPad. The buttons just don't work no matter how many times I refresh or log in. So I tried on my iPhone. What a rigmarole to get in in. Then assailed with a Spam ad saying my credit card was used with a screaming siren
What's happened to the Bl0g?
Hola! Friday puzzles used to be more difficult, but I'm not complaining. I finished with no problems and some good memories. Eating at the BUENA VISTA restaurant in San Francisco is one very nice memory. Recalling the BARK of the cinnamon tree in Hawaii is another. It was surprising to learn that the BARK is the actual CINNAMON that we use.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, the clothes OUTLETs in North Carolina would send us on many a shopping spree.
Thank you, splynter, for the fine review and thanks to Winston Emmons for the grid.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
So, would 9A be SATAN, FAUST, or DEVIL? AMBER and NIT gave the answer.
ReplyDeleteWARMTH is a nice word.
"Sandwich title" did not fool me.
I thought the puzzle was fine for the most part. This is one case where the revealer helped with completing the themers. My ASCII keyboard made a MESS and I kinda skipped around until AT LAST it came to me. I filled in all the ATs and the rest fell into place. So Winston did OK in my book.
ReplyDeleteCINNAMON is one case where the BARK is better as the bite.
Splynter pointed out all the shortcomings, as he usually does, so I won't rehash them. I also like Rick Beato, he really is Everything Music.
Ok, it looks like the Blog (or Google) has corrected itself, and I can comment via iPad again.
ReplyDelete(Very strange)
here are pics of Jinx's Beneteau I wanted to post 4 hours ago...
Forgive me, but M*A*S*H*'s Winchester has typecast these names as pedantic forever, so when I saw "Winston," I just figured it was going to be a slog and went with it...
I have no complaints, I thought it was a fair and tough puzzle for a Friday, and the theme a solid one. Not fun mind you, but solid...
And...
ReplyDeleteafter the above post, I am locked out from posting via my iPad again...
Very strange...
I know it's an iPad bug. But I can't help but feel they see CE;D and the censor light goes on...
Ana instead of Aja was my only mistake. Got that -at add on and theme and enjoyed the puzzle except for FIW 😝Thanks Winston, wish I coulda done better. And I always enjoy your review, Splynter! Have a great weekend everyone!
ReplyDeleteHad a bottom-up filling job on today’s offering from Mssr. Emmons (who is apparently a sports fan) since I got Ø foothold in the northern half of the grid. The only issue I had with this’un is I thought a lot of the clues were rather lame (“Silly goose” for OHYOU??). And I’d say a NSEC is a fraction of a second; “Min.” is stretching it a bit too far, even if it does technically parse out.
ReplyDeleteUnlike some of y’all, I kinda liked the theme hook Winston cooked up! Once again, dumb me forgot to seek out the reveal clue (duh!) so I slogged through 3/4 of the grid before I “got” his hook. Oh well, just can’t teach this ol’ dawg, I guess… Thanks for the workout, Winston!
And thanks for all the muzik plays, Splynter — always enjoy the interludes, ARIOSO or not. The “Just Clue It!” concept may be good advice for a certain CW editor we know… 😆
====> Darren / L.A.
Every time i see a WNBA clue, i know it is going to be a puzzle i dont like. I can name a few team names and maybe one player. A DNF for me. Got about 80% done before giving up.
ReplyDelete