We last saw Emily Biegas on a Saturday in August. Today she has me seeing RED.
56. Many a house wine, or what can be found in each set of circled letters: RED BLEND. A RED BLEND is a domestic wine that is made from a range of grape varieties. It also reveals that each of the following themers features a RED wine inside circled letters that have been BLENDed (scrambled).
17. Destination for a team bus: AWAY GAME. GAMAY is an easy-drinking wine that’s light and refreshing.
25. Hair product that often contains cornstarch: DRY SHAMPOO. SYRAH is a robust red wine with intense fruity flavors.
34. Dried or fried fruity snacks: PLANTAIN CHIPS. CHIANTI is a dry, medium-bodied red wine made from Sangiovese grapes, Italy's most widely grown variety.
47. Extremely terse voicemail message: CALL ME BACK. MALBEC is a hearty wine that pairs well with meats.
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| Note: CHIANTI is made from the Sangiovese grape. |
Unfortunately for Emily, I'm a teetotaler and wasn't familiar with most of these. I know they will be second nature to our oenophiles (wine connoisseurs) out there, but I only deciphered CHIANTI without help. The whole gist of this puzzle revolves around familiarity with wine, so all it's grapes are in one basket. I did an informal poll of friends during the week. MALBEC seems to be fairly common, and there was some familiarity with SYRAH, although a few confused it with Petite Sirah, which is different (See? I'm learning about wine!). But there was almost no recognition of GAMAY.
Sorry about whining today, but this one took way to long to unscramble after FIR. GRR! I had to dig into the Google to find these wine varieties, which wasn't fun. It just may be sour grapes, but this seems like an example of clever for the constructor doesn't equal pleasure for the solver. I'm sure others will find this more to their taste.
Let's pour over the rest:
Across:
1. "So mad!": GRR.
4. Fill up: SATE.
8. Curses: DOOMS.
13. Filmmaker Ang: LEE. This Oscar-winner's name is a favorite in the Crossword Hall of Fame.
14. Mosque leader: IMAM.
15. Hosts: EMCEES.
17. [theme]
19. "Don't panic": BE CALM.
20. Italian city with a big Fashion Week: MILAN.
21. Significant phase: ERA.
23. Pico de __: GALLO. Favorite salsa of Ernest & Julio?
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| But please don't drink and drive! |
24. Proper partner: PRIM.
25. [theme]
27. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" writer David: SEDARIS. David SEDARIS is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor.
29. Faux follower: PAS. Literally a "false step," a faux PAS is a socially awkward or embarrassing act or remark - like ordering red wine with fish. The horror!
30. Furrow: RUT.
31. Ad __ committee: HOC.
32. Corral: PEN.
33. Anya's "The Queen's Gambit" role: BETH. Usually Anya is the answer, not the clue, because of the useful xword letters in her name (REFER to Ang LEE and Bobby ORR).
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| Anya Taylor-Joy |
34. [theme]
38. Some pub pints: ALES.
39. "20/20" network: ABC. The American Broadcasting Company.
40. "Yikes": OOF. ACH!
41. Vietnamese New Year: TET.
42. "Give __ try!": IT A. OOF.
43. Bike alternative: SCOOTER.
47. [theme]
50. Show up: COME.
51. Central Plains people: OTOES. The tribe is simply the OTOE. In plural it means two or more of their members.
52. German "Bah!": ACH.
53. Sasha Obama's sister: MALIA. They're all grown up!
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| Sasha (27, on left) and Malia (25). |
54. Emmy-winning drama with primarily Japanese dialogue: SHOGUN. This REFERs to the newest version of James Clavell’s 1975 bestselling novel. The 1980 mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain also won Emmys.
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| 1980 vs. 2024 |
56. [theme]
58. El __ tequila: TESORO. El TESORO is "The Treasure" in Spanish. All these unknown alcoholic beverages today made this puzzle more difficult.
59. "Bugonia" actress Stone: EMMA. EMMA likes quirky characters, and so does the Academy. She's taken home two Best Actress Oscars.
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| Emma plays a CEO suspected of being an alien in Bugonia. |
60. Mama deer: DOE. Not to be confused with Mommie Dearest!
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| Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in 1981. |
61. Direct (to): REFER.
62. Min. parts: SECS. Seconds are minute parts of minutes.
63. Bruins great Bobby: ORR. The Hall-of-Famer is also in the Crosswords HOF for "Most Popular Hockey Name."
Down:
1. Stays in a heated yurt, perhaps: GLAMPS. I wanted SWEATS, but it turns out that GLAMPS is a portmanteau for "glamorous camping."
2. Alter, as neural pathways: REWIRE. I think I'll sign up for this.
3. Passport alternative for U.S. domestic travelers: REAL ID. A REAL ID is a federally compliant driver's license or state-issued identification card. A passport is still required for international travel.
4. Talk with one's hands?: SIGN. As one using ASL, American SIGN Language.
5. Reddit session with a celeb guest: AMA. Ask Me Anything.
6. Some big animal handlers: TAMERS. Here's the MGM lion being filmed for their classic movie intros. I hope TAMERS were nearby.
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| Open a little wider...that's it. Now give me a big roar! |
7. Nail file material: EMERY.
8. Food blogger Perelman: DEB. DEB Perelman is a New York City-based writer and cook behind the beloved and unpretentious food blog, Smitten Kitchen.
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| I'll bet she knows her RED BLENDS. |
9. Some fatty acids: OMEGAS.
10. Thinker with a "razor": OCCAM. The first metal razors appeared around 3000 BC. I think.
11. Cook for the week ahead, say: MEAL PREP. MEAL PREP is the practice of planning, cooking, and portioning meals ahead of time. I was thinking MEAL PLAN at first.
12. People accused of losing artistic integrity: SELLOUTS. Artists allegedly become SELLOUTS when they change their style or sound to appeal to a mainstream commercial audience. But the economic reality of making a living or shifting personal creativity often drives these changes.
16. Slick: SMOOTH.
18. Some motorcycles and keyboards: YAMAHAS. I'm impressed that YAMAHA can produce such a diverse line of products, including guitars, and they are all generally excellent.
22. Setting of the annual Food & Wine Classic: ASPEN. More wine! I almost wrote EPCOT, where their annual International Food & Wine Festival is a fun time, even for non-drinkers.
25. Use voice-to-text technology: DICTATE.
26. "Round Midnight" Oscar winner Herbie: HANCOCK. A child prodigy, Herbie has written numerous jazz standards, played with every jazz great, and has won every major award. He is a monster on keyboards. Looking him up today, I learned he graduated with degrees in music and electrical engineering. Amazing. No wonder he was an early adopter of synthesizers.
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| Herbie's 1973 jazz fusion record Head Hunters was instrumental in shaping my musical tastes. |
28. Baseball analyst Darling: RON. Hawaiian-born RON Darling is a former Major League Baseball pitcher (Golden Glove in 1989) and a longtime Emmy Award-winning broadcaster.
32. Quick snapshot: PIC. "Quick" because the answer is an abbreviation of "picture."
33. Like some lenses: BIFOCAL.
34. Vegan-friendly fabric: PLEATHER. Another portmanteau, this time Plastic meets Leather. PLEATHER is synthetic material made from PVC, but if you're against cruelty to animals, why would you buy something that fools people into thinking you're wearing the real thing?
35. Blow off steam: LET LOOSE.
36. Addis __, Ethiopia: ABABA. Addis ABABA is the capital and largest city in Ethiopia.
37. "Oh, boo-__!": HOO.
38. Without markup: AT COST. I occasionally sell something to a customer AT COST. As a rule, that's not a successful business strategy, but sometimes it's worth the goodwill it creates.
42. "No doubt in my mind": I'M SURE.
43. Plot: SCHEME.
44. Lake Erie port: TOLEDO.
45. Key related to G major: E MINOR. Both keys share the same key signature with one sharp (F#). They just start on different places on the keyboard.
46. Bookworm: READER.
48. __ lamb: LEG OF. In the words of the immortal Splynter, this is a twurd.
49. Griffith Park's 4,210+: ACRES. Griffith Park, home to the Griffith Observatory, is famous for being one of the largest municipal parks and urban wilderness areas in North America, as well as a major cultural and film landmark in Los Angeles.
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| The iconic Hollywood Sign is inside the park |
53. Wharton degs.: MBAS. A Master of Business Administration degree was once the springboard to an executive career, but it's automatic return on investment has declined due to high costs and shifting job markets, especially in the tech sector.
55. Neither partner: NOR.
57. Rap trio Run-__: DMC. Considered one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop, Run-DMC was created from the stage names of its founding members: Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels). Their third member was Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) who didn't get in on the title for some reason.
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| The angry one is Jay - because they didn't include his name? |
Fun way to get your own rap name: Combine "Lil" + the last thing you ate. I'm Lil Banana. What's yours?
Be good. RB
Sorry, when I got to
ReplyDelete“Pleather” I gave up on this one.
Just didn’t seem worth the effort to me.
I’ll try again tomorrow!
Hi there~!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one, Rusty - not worth the crushing of the grapes . . .
FIR, but aminos->OMEGAS, let it out->LET LOOSE, and dmz->DMC. When I realized the theme was just anagrams, I just ignored it.
ReplyDeleteDNK SEDARIS, but would have known Andy Sidaris, purveyor of sexploitation movies like Malibu Express.
Norfolk is overrun with Lime SCOOTERS. Thankfully, not Ocala.
I proudly got YAMAHAS without perp.
I know PLANTAIN and I know CHIPS, but I don’t know PLANTAIN CHIPS.
I know Herbie HANCOCK as a jazz great. I’m guessing he didn’t win his Oscar for acting.
I know PLEATHER as a wallet-friendly fabric.
Griffith Park is a great place to spend a day. For those who don’t know LA, it’s near Dodger Stadium. IIRC, one reason that Mt. Palomar observatory was built was that light pollution from a rapidly expanding LA made the Griffith Park Observatory unsuitable for most scientific work.
El TESORO may be the only tequila brand that has never given me a hangover, maybe because I’ve never heard of it. If it’s a newcomer, sorry – you missed your chance.
Thanks to Emily for showing us how much A&E one can cram into a weekday puzzle. And thanks to Rusty Brain for the chuckles and factoids. Guess my rap name this morning would be Lil Bran Flakes .
Forgot to mention - I assume that Run DMZ would be a great name for a K-Pop rap trio.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one took longer than it should. I gave up trying to decipher the circles -- good thing, not a wine drinker. I read Shogun way back when, but the only thing I remembered was "sepuku." I looked it up, and learned I didn't remember how to spell it. I drove a 2-cylinder Yamaha on Guam back in the late '60s. It was only 125 cc, but had lotsa pep. The SW was the last to fall, probably because d-o read "Without markup" as "Without makeup." D'oh. Thanx Emily and Rusty.
You're not alone. I read it as "without makeup" also at first.
DeleteGAMAY? Never heard of it; I must ask my son worked the wine, cheese and beer inventory for WHOLE FOODS for a while. Meanwhile, like others I ignored the circles and just filled in words.
ReplyDeleteI learned about Glamping doing puzzles. My younger son watched a new SHOGUN movie and liked it. Anyone else?
Time to start the day. Thanks Emily and RB
Jason, Gamay is the grape varietal found in Beaujolais. It is akin to Pinot Noir and thrives better in warmer environs. It is extremely food friendly and is actually great with pizza. For a good one (entry level) to try, try Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. You should be able to find it for about $12-15 a bottle
DeleteMy wife and I used to love Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages, back when we used to be able to consume alcohol. There was also an American wine called Gamay Beaujolais that we liked; I don't remember who made it.
DeleteJayce, I think you are recalling Paul Masson as he had the first "known" label that indicated "Gamay Beaujolais" - here is what I found through [Google and Wikipedia]:
Delete"In the late 1930s, an early pioneer of the American viticulture, Paul Masson, brought with him several Burgundian grapes for his winery in California. One of those grapes he believed to be the Gamay variety from the Beaujolais region in France, which in the 1940s University of California, Davis (UCD) researchers christened "Gamay Beaujolais".[1]
In the late 1960s, UCD scientists decided that Gamay Beaujolais was a clonal selection of Pinot noir, and that California's version of the true Gamay was in fact the Napa Gamay.
Moreover, Masson's Napa Gamay was found to not be a Gamay at all, but the Valdiguié grape from Languedoc-Roussillon.[1]"
Took 4:23 today to get to the POINT.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actress of the Day (Emma), but didn't know the foreign language lesson (ach) and never heard of the tequila (Tesoro). I've read a few of David Sedaris's books, but still struggle to spell his last name.
Oh joy, circles!
(Seems like I just said that.)
Not a fan of this kind of puzzle and I know nothing about wine.
ReplyDeleteFIR with some patience.
FIR. Circles! Groan! As usual I ignored them. For a Thursday this was extremely difficult. And several proper names that few would know.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about the theme even after filling in the reveal. I don't drink so my knowledge of wines is relegated to crossword knowledge and nothing else. Anytime alcohol is involved I'm in the dark.
Overall not even close to an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI didn’t even bother to try to parse the wines as I’m not into wines or, for that matter, anagrams. I also don’t like circles in late week puzzles, just on principle. Tesoro was unknown as was the Emma Stone film and Beth from The Queen’s Gambit and Deb, the food blogger. I imagine our Chairman aced this offering in the blink of an eye!
Thanks, Emily, and thanks, RB, for your candid and spot-on analysis. Tummy rubs to Buster!
Have a great day.
Thanks Irish Miss for the MD info!
DeleteIrish Miss - I didn't solve it but came here instead to see the comments. This one would have been easy for me to anagram; but I have a bit of a nit with the clueing of the reveal. A RED BLEND is indeed a combination of two or more red grape varietals, and is often chosen by a restaurant or bar as a "by the glass" wine. The thing is, the red grape varietals chosen by the constructor would not be blended together, and Chianti is not a grape - it is a region in Tuscany Italy, and the dominant grape is called Sangiovese
DeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Me too, RB, et al. I spent some time looking for the gimmick and CHIANTI did jump out at me but not the others
-Ang seems to be the most popular LEE, not Robert E., Stan, Harper, Spike or Bruce
-BE CALM: If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you obviously don’t know what is going on.
-Kids on motorized electric SCOOTERS are becoming a real problem in our town
-I am not completely REWIRED after 45 years of going to work every day.
-Voice to text is very useful for those of us with fat thumbs.
-If you use PLEATHER to placate vegans, you will offend those against fossil fuels
-I can fondly recall my Weekly READER from grade school
Lil Oatmeal - little known fact rap music is supposed to be spelled with a silent c at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but the BLENDS made me cross-eyed so early in the morning, so I didn’t try to unscramble them even though I’m into wines and knew all those grapes.
ReplyDeleteYea, too many names. I knew some not others. I DNK BETH , EMMA as clued, DEB, RON, DMC. I also don’t care for oral phrases. How does “yikes” equal OOF?
Well, the weather is gorgeous this morning, so I’ll stop complaining.
Thank you RB for your fine review. Good reading.
FIR, I honestly enjoyed this puzzle more than most solvers here, must have been on the same wavelength as the constructor this morning as I finished in under 7 minutes. I started with downs and ignored the circles/theme entirely until the very end. The names were pretty easily sussed out with perps and just needed one WAG at the intersection of RON and SEDARIS.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily for the puzzle and thanks RB for the breakdown.
Quick work of this more like an earlier-in-the-week puzzle. (Sometimes DOOMS us to a super hard Friday). Tried to unscramble the circles to no avail till I got far south enough to REDBLEND. (GAMAY? Is that how it tastes?) Now I feel a little woozy 🍷🍷🍷🍷🥴
ReplyDeleteI also wanted sweats for GLAMPS but apparently a “yurt” is not a sweat lodge 🙄
Didn’t know DMC, DEB, or RON the baseball analyst NOR that he is such a darling. Speaking of “darling”: TESORO: treasure: mio/mi TESORO (ital & Sp) “My Darling”
“David” SEDARIS , a favorite author
REWIRE, an IT guy is headed to the house this PM to dewire and remove my home xray screens and computer. His last name is, yes, Dewire.
First thought before PLEATHER was Naugahyde.. The Nauga is making a comeback after near extinction due to overhunting But neither is “fine Corinthian Leather” (if you can catch a Corinthian first. They hide behind columns.) …. OK I’ll stop now … OOF
Testing Thursday. Thanks for the workout, Emily and RB.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed finally, but saw the Wine theme early with GAMAY. But I had the same issues with all the names as those already posted. Perps finally filled the holes.
I did have trouble unscrambling to SYRAH since I am more familiar with Shiraz.
We had some other alcoholic beverages as Easter Eggs with ALES and that unknown-to-me tequila, TESORO.
I learned about REAL IDs here at the Corner.
I had no idea about Griffith Park, and thought it might be an arena with 4210 seats. ACRES perped. Learning moment with RB’s comments.
Wishing you all a great day.
Lil Oatmeal?
ReplyDeleteHmm, maybe if I was a Lil more specific with the type...
Lil Old Fashioned!
FIR. I enjoyed this puzzle but I admit to being a wine lover. The theme circles did throw me off a bit. Gamay, Syrah, and Malbec are all common red wine grapes. Chianti is not a grape but a wine region in Tuscany. I racked my brain for a grape that fit the scrambled letters.
ReplyDeletemade no attempt to understand the theme, but found this extremely easy for a thursday nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteFar too many names, 19, DNK 6, I was anticipating big problems with this CW but FIR in 9. Monday come on a Thursday this week! And that's not a complaint.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up it Milwaukee, I was a beer drinker all my life, and know very little about wines. Now I can't drink at all, I get very sick with any alcohol at all. I love fried liver, but not when it's MY liver that's fried, but I suspect that is the case. So with my wine ignorance, the theme had smooth sailing way over my head.
When I taught school many years ago, a friend and fellow teacher named Egon had been in Addis Ababa in the Peace Corps. Is there still a Peace Corps, or only a War Department?
OATHS/DOOMS. Never heard of that tequila.
Overall, a fun CW, thanx EB, even though the theme escaped me it was a fun fill, in spite of all the names. Please try to construct a CW with NO names. That might prove to be a challenge to construct, but would be fun to solve!
RB, you really outdid yourself with your wit today: whining, sour grapes, pour. Clever! Also clever comment re pleather, I wouldn't have thought of that, but it's true. Thanx for all the effort you put into your write-up today for our entertainment.
I agree. Lots of fun and a smart theme!
ReplyDeleteAces here. I enjoyed this one. I too have never heard of Gamay. Good call on "pleather" Rusty.
ReplyDeleteYesterday’s puzzle was misplaced in my opinion (too difficult for a Wed), and I feel that today’s was a Tuesday-level offering on a Thursday.
ReplyDeleteSolved as a themeless, as circles did not appear on my puzzle image.
I really liked this puzzle and finished in record time in spite of a few unknowns. Other fills helped decipher the answers. I had no idea the puzzle was about wine until I came to the Corner. Then the wines popped out at me. Good puzzle. Thanks, Emily.
ReplyDeleteI knew all the wines except for Malbec. FIR in spite of that. My daughter and family once glamped in a yurt. They loved it! My name would be “Lil Kit Kat”. (Leftover Halloween candy!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily for a fun puzzle and thanks RB for your review, putting your “whining” into clever responses!
Hand up only knew CHIANTI. Other REDs unknown. Hand up TESORO unknown. FIR.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever heard of DRY SHAMPOO?
Seeing RED, and especially four RED BLENDs, was an impossibility if you don't drink and have never heard of two of the four wines. GAMAY and SYRAH scrambled and in circles gave me no clue as to what they were. Never heard of either. I didn't bother to try to decipher the other two. But I did FIR on todays crossname puzzle.
ReplyDeleteSIDARIS, BETH, TESORO, DEB-100% perps for those four unknowns
EMMA is always a good fill for Stone and a regular but "Bugonia" was unknown.
The first time I heard the word PLEATHER was when I bought my wife a new Mercedes back in 2015 and the sales rep said it was better than leather for seats. So far, the driver's seat still looks like new.
Lil Omelet here.
ReplyDeleteThe only TESORO I know is a coffee at Philz Coffee.
I was thinking of Neil SEDAKA.
Although my late wife and I liked GAMAY Beaujolais, our favorite reds ware Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
Good reading all your comments. Now I'm going to meet my son for a Pho lunch.
Or are you going to meet your son pho lunch? ;)
DeleteHola! I don't know what happened but this is not the puzzle that was published in today's Arizona Republic. I solved this puzzle yesterday but had no time to post and so I don't know what was reviewed yesterday. I'll have to looks. Have good day, everyone! Mine has just turned topsy turvy!
ReplyDeleteOops! I hate to say it, but old age is really getting to me. I'm looking at the wrong newspaper; it's yesterday's. So, I have to go for today's. My only excuse is that I haven't been getting enough sleep! I woke up today at 4 A.M., stayed up, then returned to bed until the phone rang. Oh, my!
ReplyDeleteOkay. Now I'm looking at today's puzzle which I finished in good time and enjoyed it. Thank you, Emily Biegas. All I can say is"Grr" as in 1A. I'm so disappointed in myself.
I've never understood the use of DRY SHAMPOO but maybe that's because I have never needed it. And SCOOTER always reminds me of "Holiday in Rome" with Audrey Hepburn.
I'm "Lil' Slow one"
ReplyDelete