This breezy and fun Tuesday was a delightful way to bring my gold star streak to 1500.
In keeping with my new philosophy on taking my time with early week puzzles, I enjoyed this puzzle at a leisurely pace while being fed handfuls of imaginary blueberries by a 2.5 yr old girl (who should be in bed by now). Not my fastest, but, among the most enjoyable Tuesdays I can recall.
Calculating all those gold glove plays is Au-sum! (Add mitt it!)
@Mike And yet you won't protest GOLD when it should be GOLDEN? (And if it didn't 'work' then don't use it, dear Constructor!)
@Mike I suppose if the sums don't add up, you could always divide and Co-N-q-U-Er.
ELEMENTS OF STYLE was a hilarious revealer! It makes me want to put on my NEON VEST with the SILVER LINING! Not to mention my (imaginary) TUNGSTEN TIARA and PLATINUM PETTICOAT.
@Cat Lady Margaret We could dress alike, but then I would just be a CARBON COPY. Do emus wear clothes or just hair shirts?
13-year-old me, along wirh the rest of my seventh-grade English class, got an assignment: memorize a poem, and then recite it in front of the class. Now, most of the boys in the class figured out a way to fufill the requirement: memorize these lines...actually a small part of a larger poem, but presented as a complete poem...slouch up to the podium, drone this out: "Your little hands, Your little feet, Your little mouth — Oh, God, how sweet!" ...and plop back down at the desk. But not me. Oh, no. I was a Poe fan, and I was going to do this right. So I memorized "The Bells." The whole...damned...thing. And I walked up, stood at the podium and remembered: Oh yeah...I'm an acne-covered 13-year-old with paralyzing stage fright. By th time I got towards the end, and my final repetition of "of the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, of the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells.. " there were several kids with their heads on their desks, moaning loudly. Anyway, THE BELLS was a gimme for me.
@Bruce I had to recite a poem in junior high, and chose The Emperor's Rhyme, by AA Milne, just to be silly. The only part I can remember is: Eight eights are sixty-four Multiply by seven. When it’s done, carry one and take away eleven. Nine nines are eighty-one Multiply by three If it’s more carry four And then it’s time for tea. (It's a bit tricky, because he gets the math wrong the second time through.)
@Bruce Do kids get asked to memorize poems any more? My grandfather, who wrote a few of his own, encouraged me to. He said the ones you learned early in life would stick when others didn't and he was so right. I cannot memorize Larkin's "Church Going" no matter how hard I try. Or all of De La Mere's "Farewell". Actually I'm in awe of your 7th grade self. Our 8th grade teacher made us each memorize a Poe poem and I tried for "The Bells" (no "Annabelle Lee" for me) but couldn't do it. I may have managed "The Raven. " But I can do Hopkins' "Pied Beauty"--my mother's favorite.
I can't believe it either, that ELEMENTS OF STYLE hasn't appeared before. I haven't read it in years, and when I did I enjoyed it for its great economical prose and simple approach, although I didn't really pay much attention to it as a guide to how to write better. Recently I got a copy of it illustrated by the great Maira Kalman and thumbed through the pictures, which are so very Kalman. Worth looking at, and she features some of its pages on her website: <a href="https://mairakalman.com/the-elements-of-style" target="_blank">https://mairakalman.com/the-elements-of-style</a> Here's some advice from it that she and I both take to heart: “Be obscure clearly! Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand!” Here are some other pieces of good advice from it: “A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer's enthusiasm.” “Writers will often find themselves steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.” “To achieve style, begin by affecting none.” (That's one of the more well known aphorisms contributed by EB White -- who was also the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, among other masterpieces.) “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” (That's a Strunkism.)
@john ezra I find the last bit of advice, on Strunk's part, a stringing together of unnecessary words and sentences. ;-) . . . . . .
@john ezra There’s wisdom in the book that goes beyond writing style. I have always tried to live by the Strunkian advice, quoted by White at the end of his introduction, “If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!” If you don’t mind embarrassing yourself, you can learn a lot. Or as E.B. said, “why compound ignorance with inaudibility?”
Very nice NYT debut, Patrick. You included quite a range of clues from women's soccer to Japanese golfers, synthesizers to DJs; old things, new terms, sports, jazz, hip-hop… a nice variety with something for everyone. I had fun with this one. No problems, and a fairly quick solve. Hope to see more from you, and thanks!
Random thoughts: • How do you pronounce MOOG – does it start with the cow sound or does it rhyme with “vogue”? The latter, it turns out, according to Robert Moog himself. • I like LOGO BRAVO IWO, and try saying that fast a number of times. • Lovely long downs EGG CREAM and THE BELLS! • Spent a few moments shaking my head in awe of this theme, where Patrick thought of ELEMENTS OF STYLE in the first place, then made the leap to coming up with in-the-language answers that combined chemical elements with articles of clothing. Bravo, sir! • I like the theme echoes of CLOAK and PANTS. • G’day! Just to let those who don’t know that there’s a sizeable city near GDANSK that starts with the same two letters – Gdynia, which hosts the Polish Film Festival, and in 2013 was voted Poland’s best city to live in. • I love the balancing PuzzPair© of DAH and NAE NAE. Patrick, you had me at the gorgeous spanner ELEMENTS OF STYLE, and further charmed me by all the above-mentioned pings. The wit in your theme has me itching to see what you come up with next. Congratulations on your debut, and thank you for a splendid outing!
@Lewis Having found the G and D I at first wrote GDYNIA, then realised my mistake. Should have known better as I lived in Poland at the time of the famous Gdansk Shipyard strike which changed Eastern Europe's history. Stirring times!
I found the theme delightful. Enjoyable Tuesday puzzle.
How is anyone here except for one person actually expected to know GDANSK? (J/K!) I hope another poster will not be too upset about "Chowder morsel." The style answers alone would have Strunk, bit adding the elements made it quite White. Fine debut, Patrick!
@Barry Ancona. GDAŃSK was somewhat in the news in the time of the Solidarity uprising, home base of Lech Walesa. (My apologies for the lack of diacritics, iPhone) But then again, that was around forty years ago.
@Barry Ancona As a native English solver, i found 44D to be unfair trivia. I mean what is next, I am supposed to know the brand names of Polish snack foods?!? Or how to correctly spell kielbasa? (Though it does seem like a crossword friendly entry) anuluj moją subskrypcję!
@Patrick J. P.S. I am sure that the post was meant more as a shout to Andrzej, our regular Polish correspondent.
Could somebody please explain the theme to me like I'm five? I read the column but I am still confused. I understand the part with elements, but what do items of clothing have to do with the "Elements of Style" (a book I have actually heard of)? Is it a play on the many meanings of the word style (writing, dressing)? But if that was the case, what would mask be doing there? Masks are not part of stylish attire, are they? GDAŃSK was a nice touch for me but it must have been brutal for a huge majority of solvers. The last time it was in the news on a regular basis must have been just after I was born well over 40 years ago, and I sympathize with any American who had to deal with its Polish spelling. As noted in the column, quite unfair for Tuesday, no? Gdańsk is one of Poland's most historical and beautiful cities, and its riverfront was the model for the port of Novigrad in the brilliant Witcher 3 video game, but I am slightly ashamed to admit I last visited with my parents as a small kid. I keep talking with my wife about making plans to go there (just a three hour car or train ride away) but in the end we always think of something else to do.
@Andrzej You’re on the right wavelength for the theme. MASKS were definitely a part of a style back during the pandemic, when people color-coordinated them to their outfits. Although going out on the street wearing a MASK, an APRON, a single GLOVE (a la Michael Jackson?), and a HAT might get you some attention.
@Andrzej The first halves of the theme answers are chemical elements. The second halves are clothing items that vary according to fashion (style). So you have Elements of Style, which is also the name of the writing guide by Strunk and White.
I'm not technically "of a certain age" enough to know egg creams, but I was familiar enough from just reading about them. When driving my son back to college from Maryland to upstate New York (plus his younger brothers who were to be my "carry things upstairs" guys), we stopped at Holsten's in New Jersey, an old-school ice cream shop. We all had egg creams and they were amazing. Bonus fun fact, Holsten's is where the famous final scene of "The Sopranos" takes place. We even got to sit in their booth! We ordered onion rings in Tony's honor and they were a perfect accompaniment to the egg creams. I recommend this road trip. You can all expense it to your crossword research accounts.
@GG Great story! . . . . . Emus never read EoS, hence don't subscribe to concision, and force me to tack on this absurd amount of useless words.
Loved this one! No notes. 10/10 Tuesday
My pick for Lewis's list of best clues next week? ARSON - Bad match on tinder? And nicely paired with DYING (embers). Re E.A. Poe, I have a couple thoughts. (1) There's a second poem hidden in the grid -- (To) HELEN. (2) THE BELLS made me wonder (hi, Rich from Atlanta!) whether TINTINNABULATION has ever appeared as an entry. Nope. Here's a chance for some constructor to use it as their seed entry. And note the elements of Poe's poetic style in this word. I enjoyed your debut, Patrick.
@Henry Su Here I am. TINTINNABULATIONS - once, in a 1947 puzzle TINTINNABULAR - once, in a 1988 puzzle TINTINNABULARY - once, in a 1967 puzzle. Oh, and... JINGLEBELLS - 3 times That's it. ..
@Henry Su One thing I have always loved about NPR is being able to hear, out loud, the variety of names of the correspondents. Some of them had poetic rhythm. For example, whenever I heard “Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson,” I would think “The ‘Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson‘ of the bells…bells, bells…bells, bells.”
TIL LLAMAS can guard sheep. Ensuing rabbit hole opened up in a New York puzzle minute. I’m pretty sure this was my fastest Tuesday solve ever, but I’ll never know since a couple of years ago a glitch parked a 1:34 in my “Tuesday best time” slot, which I’ll never beat unless I grow two extra thumbs. Maybe if I eat more processed food? Everyone should read Strunk & White once. That way they can break its canons as ironically a hipster throwing back a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I emailed support when I had a the same issue (a personal best time showing up in error) and they corrected the record for me.
@Sam Lyons Yeah, I went down the same rabbit hole (just like I did when guard donkeys came up the other day). Sounds like a traditional approach has been to use gelding llamas for guards, but it has more recently been suggested that it may actually be safer for all concerned to use female llamas. For anyone curious, with a couple of minutes to spare, an interesting discussion is at: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/397sc7kz" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/397sc7kz</a>
Loved it! Wonderful revealer and theme. Super speedy, and good fun! Welcome to the NYT Crossword!
What a beautiful puzzle, Mr. Maher. Thank you! (You had me at "Elements of Style"...) The themers were well-thought out, and whereas MASK might seem out of place, we all know how they came to be an elegant fashion statement, much as chefs and cooks meticulously choose their APRONs. The array of fill had me wanting more when I came to the end of the solve. And I especially loved the crossing of "Irritate" and "Tolerate," a scenario not uncommon between humans at a workplace. And the presence of MOOG reminded me of Keith Emerson (R.I.P.) and his close relationship with the synthesizer and the company itself. In his honor, I'll cap this off with ELP and the memorable "Still...You Turn Me On." <a href="https://youtu.be/ySax3wnZ72w?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ySax3wnZ72w?feature=shared</a>
@sotto voce MASK as an important part of a wardrobe reminded me of an author I follow. She had a book signing appearance during the pandemic, and had a mask designed to match her book cover art. Very cool.
@sotto voce Wow, it’s been years since I’ve listened to ELP. I got Brain Salad Surgery as a gift in high school. The “Little Book” by S & W always reminds me of Colbert’s interview with Vampire Weekend re: the Oxford comma (toward the end): <a href="https://www.cc.com/video/fo5d9i/the-colbert-report-vampire-weekend" target="_blank">https://www.cc.com/video/fo5d9i/the-colbert-report-vampire-weekend</a>
I quick puzzle that somehow avoided tired old fillers and had a confident air that we were going to enjoy it. This one had real ELEMENTS OF STYLE, no TINFOIL HAT protection needed. A chic debut indeed, Patrick Maher. Thank you!
I loved this puzzle, although it was easy-as-Monday for me. I got the theme right away, but it was definitely in my wheelhouse. In college I debated between majoring in English or Chemistry. I still enjoy both fields. But then I took a FORTRAN class, fell in love, and joined the newly-formed Computer Science department. I submitted my stacks of punch card programs to be run on the brand-new IBM 360. I met my now-husband of 53 years that same semester. It was good times! But we are old, for sure. Nice to have a puzzle without the pop-culture clues. I got NAENAE on crosses....
@Sue In the late 1970's, I'd been working at manual labor for several years - going from one job to another. Then I heard about a local programming company that was hiring new employees based on an ability test. I'd always been a math guy and I got the highest score on the test. They told me they'd hire me but I had to take a course in programming first. I opted for assembler - took it as an independent study at a local junior college and they hired me. Spent the rest of my career coding assembler for IBM mainframes at a variety of companies. 360's and 370's. My programs ended up being used by a number of banks and other companies. I've always liked to tell people that if they are at least of a certain age, then at some point in time they almost certainly had a transaction processed through code that I designed and coded. Oh, and some of my programs also ran in a number of European countries, Australia, Japan, India and Korea. Mostly in banks but in other companies as well. I know this is bragging. Sorry for the drift. ..
Well.....accidentally saw 1A and knew the answer, so I ended up starting at the beginning. The puzzle was solved swiftly, but then.... Oh, dear. I'm afraid 47A Patrck Maher (aided and abetted by Will & Co.) is guilty of a serious Crime Against Baseball with GOLD GLOVE. DHubby is shaking his head, more in sorrow than in anger. Strunk's ELEMENTS OF STYLE (1920) was 'revamped' by his one-time student EB White (published in '59) and is stilll in use today as far as I know. It certainly played a part in my HS and undergrad education. Lots of attempts to eclipse this slim volume are extant (and often best ignored.) There! Now we have two controversies to argue over.
@Mean Old Lady Haha "A wing for a prayer" was a great clue for APSE. I got that eventurally. I so remember Elements of Style. Gosh ... that was quite a few years ago but my GO TO book. GOLD BLOVE with the only thing that fit ... so let your husband keep shaking his head. Later!
A second post allows me to expand upon MOOG: In these days when a cheap electronic keyboard can be purchased for pennies at any toy store, it's hard to understand how revolutionary Robert Moog and his instruments were. Until then, synthesizers were huge, expensive items, which relied upon vacuum tubes and punch cards for input, and affordable by electronic music studios of only the most well-heeled academic institutions. With the release of his first synthesizer in 1964, Moog created an insrument of manageable size, and dropped the price to one-tenth. Also, I believe it was the first synthesizer with a piano-style keyboard interface. But the real breakthrough came in 1970, with the release of the Minimoog, which was portable, and cost a mere $1600--expensive in 1970, but not prohibitively so. I see that Moog, who began his career building theremins and was interviewed in the 1994 documentary *Theremin: an Electronic Odyssey*, is the subject of his own 2004 documentary. It's posted, in its entirety, on Youtube; I shall have to watch it tonight. Minimoogs, Yamaha DS-7s: models of those early synthesizers from the 70's and 80's, still in playable condition, have become widely sought after by collectors and performers in tribute bands--Historically Informed Performance practice, HIP-HIP-hooray! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZWB0VF2vDI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZWB0VF2vDI</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3My7_neA4" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3My7_neA4</a>
@Bill Just want to add that, per its inventor, MOOG rhymes with *vogue."
@Bill - in the mid-70s I studied electronic music in my college conservatory, and the instrument we used was Moog #008, his eighth synthesizer. It filled a wall of the cramped classroom. All connections were made by quarter-inch cables as you see in telephone operator setups (“one ringy dingy…) There was no keyboard interface, and all of the sounds we created went directly into reel-to-reel recorders where we then hand-spliced bits of tape together in an editing machine to get the final result. Worlds away from what I was doing just three years later on a couple of Arps, a Korg and a Moog for the masses.
@Bill My friend's dad had an album called, "Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog (But Were Afraid to Ask For.)" The joke on the cover was that it was 'semi-conducted' by Andrew Kazdin and Thomas Shepard. I think my favorite piece was Ravel's Bolero We had a small-ish Moog console in our high school band room, and we played around with it a bit, but the only time it ever got serious use was for the cannons in the 1812 Overture.
Great puzzle, thoroughly enjoyed! Many clever clues, and an interesting, layered theme. That photo in Wordplay though, I don't think the llama was a consenting partner in that outfit 😆 .......................................................
GAAAAA! 19A!! Please, just stop! There are so many ways to clue us that do not refer to the ongoing, worldwide clamicide. It 21As me to no end! A 2D on this insensitive cluing! If you want to hear no more of these 15A, please try to 16A just a little. Even a nasty 22A only 62A on us when it's truly peckish. Harumph!
CaptainQ, I saw Chowder morsel and thought of you (and my children, who are vegetarians), and wanted it to be CORN. when emus fly
CQ, so funny! Like BA pointed out in one of the first comments of last night, as soon as I saw the chowder clue I knew we were gonna hear about it. Similarly, I knew 44D was going to be discussed a bit. I suspect just about every regular here had the exact same reactions, good fun…
I loved this! Really enjoyable, thank you! I got Gdansk straightaway. The delivery driver got me though haha. Very clever.
BRAVO for a puzzle with a fun theme with several nice long theme entries. Congratulations on your first NYT puzzle, hopefully more to come.
I grew up mostly in a small town in New Mexico, but knew EGGCREAM from the book "Harriet the Spy." The concept kind of grossed me out. It was only much later in life that I learned there was no egg! Still haven't had one.
@T Jones Nor any cream. See my reply to JSH, adjacent to this one. !!! !!! !!!
Just delightful, in form and in function. Thank you Patrick! 😊
This was a very stylish debut puzzle, although I found it a little element-ary. Other than my usual quota of typos or fat fingering mistakes I solved this one with no hiccups at all. More ammo for those who find that the puzzles are less challenging than previously. In this case the elegance of the theme was sufficient for my enjoyment. I still consult ELEMENTSOFSTYLE from time to time. I recommended it to all my students when I was running legal writing workshops at my firm. It contains timeless advice, that helps improve even turgid legal exposition.
@Marshall Walthew I earned some nice money editing dissertations for doctoral students who had been told by their advisors to "find someone who can help you." Smart people making original contributions to knowledge, but just Not Good Writers. It was interesting on several levels...
Fun and quick puzzle! A handful of things I completely didn't know but ended up working out somehow: APSE, MOOG, NAENAE, GDANSK. 🤷♀️ I love having a reference to my favorite accessory in here... some girls love shoes but I'm all about the TIN FOIL HAT! One for every occasion!! They protect my brain -- and -- never go out of season! What's not to love!? Why this old thing? I only wear it when I don't care how I look!
@HeathieJ Once you learn the naenae then you can learn to whip 🤣. If you know you know, or at least you will once you look up the dance!
Nice Tuesday with a great clue for the often used APSE. Bad match on tinder? as a clue for ARSON, and the mere mention of EGG CREAMs made this an enjoyable Tuesday. I hope no one complains about ELKS.
@Nancy J. I'm not going to complain about ELKS, but would someone explain how that was the solution that fit this clue?
Yes, BRAVO on this puzzle! In clearing out shelves of our books to donate to local library fundraising group last week, I came across 1959 hardbound copy of "Elements of Style" complete with a slightly silverfish nibbled dust-jacket. No, that dear old friend(s) I'll keep.
I don't hear LUPINE enough. Nice complement to the sheep-watching LLAMAS. I love a periodically chic theme! Congrats on the debut.
I really liked the pun on the word ELEMENTS and thought the theme was cute, clever and original. The revealer sparked real curiosity in me as by then I had OXYGEN MASK and LEAD APRON and was wondering how either one of them could make me a better writer. So I was a bit disappointed when the revealer turned out to be not a life-changing principle of great prose-writing but a title. A title I was so familiar with that I got it off just the "M" and the "OFS". Every time you think no one can come up with a theme you haven't seen some version of before, someone does. A really nice early week puzzle for the second day in a row.
Great debut! I loved the theme, and the revealer was top-notch.
Got a PB on this one, very smooth. I didn't notice the chemical half of the theme but kudos for the added elegance. Never heard of naenae, and eggcream was a guess since I've never had one, but I got moog and elementsofstyle right away. the llama trivia was neat. Enjoyed it!
With apologies - a completely off-topic (for today) answer history search, inspired by current events - big in the news down here; not sure how much it is elsewhere. Anyway - went and did a search for MLK. It's been an answer 35 times, but... NEVER in a pre-Shortz puzzle. And even MLKJR (tough string of letters) has been an answer 3 times - again, all in the Shortz era. So... wondered if there was an avoidance of intialisms in pre-Shortz puzzles so checked on JFK. Well - 22 times in Shortz era puzzles and... only twice in pre-Shortz puzzles. So... furrowed brow. Not sure what to think. Anyway... that also led me to an unusual puzzle find: a Friday from March 25, 1994 by Harvey Estes. Four theme answers in that one - all of them their one and only appearance: JFKSSSTS ("fast planes from New York') DRJSBMWS WKRPSDJS NFLSMVPS I'm done. ..
@Rich in Atlanta that is one heckuva puzzle with all those initials. I hadn't yet checked the news today, so went to the AJC. I assume you're referring to the death of MLKjr's youngest son from prostate cancer. Sad that prostate cancer is just one more health problem that hits harder at the African-American population.
I sae this coming a mile away, but it was still a very enjoyable puzzle; in the world of post-Covid hospitality, my job frequently requires me to don all four articles of clothing (but not of those material, thank G.D!) at the same time. My aprons, in particular, get extremely filthy by the end of the day, and must be presoaked before laundering. So much to love in this puzzle, from art*: <a href="https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoon?searchID=CC44560" target="_blank">https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoon?searchID=CC44560</a> To music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urglg3WimHA" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urglg3WimHA</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYd4Ha40uQg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYd4Ha40uQg</a> BRAVO, Caitlin, on your choice of lead photo, referencing (hah!) the theme entries with *two* others! *at least when posted on Youtbue, it's very easy to share aural items; visual ones, not so much. Elks! Clams!
@Bill - you remind me of two things: the “Buffy” Double-Meat Palace episode where Riley reappears and she asks, dismayed, “you can smell that?” and how my memory was triggered when I saw that episode, for the days in grad school when my partner was a chef in a fine restaurant. There was nothing to be done about it, the residual kitchen smell was just a part of our life…
@Bill thanks, Bill, I too was thinking of Tubular Bells. ! ! I hope the emus argon.
Very fun puzzle. Enjoyable, thank you
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Mr. Maher! Nicely done!
15 letter answer that dawned on me this morning: FUNKANDWAGNALLS Never been in a puzzle. Where was I? - Oh yeah, nice puzzle and quite smooth solve. Just a bit of pondering and working the crosses in a couple of places but still quite close to a Tuesday record. I still have my (very old) copy of Elements of Style in storage someplace. First answer history search today led to yet another Frances Hansen puzzle - like yesterday another long declaration separated into multiple entries - in this case all of them 23 letters. The last line was: APOXONTHEPARTYAPOXONYOU Here's the Xword Info link. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/28/1975&g=129&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/28/1975&g=129&d=A</a> One more puzzle find that I'll put in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. Can't even remember exactly what led me to this one but anyway... an old puzzle and a reminder that back then it apparently wasn't necessary to 'reveal' the trick in puzzles, or... even be entirely consistent with the trick. This was a Friday puzzle from July 30, 1976. The 'theme' was substituting 'X' for other strings of letters with same sound - eg. 'ks' or 'cks,' or 'cts' or even 'cs,' e.g. SPANX for spanks, STIX for sticks, SEX for secs, etc. And... will note that for most of the theme answers, the 'substitution' only worked in one direction - either across or down but not both. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=7/30/1976&g=52&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=7/30/1976&g=52&d=A</a> ..
Late to comment because I fell into a rabbit hole looking into TIN, a fascinating substance found just about everywhere from plumbing and electronic connections to my daily toothpaste (Stannous fluoride). Got to thinking about the other uses of TIN in the language such as "tin pot dictator" and "tin pan alley" which suggest shoddiness or cheapness. Will have to look into that some more. Also looked up our debut constructor (nice debut!) and if it is the same person he's written a Python program to aid in the construction of crossword puzzles called "Blacksquare" Many thanks.
@John Tin-type Emus are made of polyester
Fantastic puzzle with really neat fills... my favorite was 26A "Bad match on tinder" (ARSON). Others just too fun to mention. But TIL that llamas and alpacas (my favorite - so damned cute) were used to guard sheep! Who knew. Thought emus did that! J/K Also TIL about a poem by Poe I did not know ... but shall dive into that rabbit hole in a few. Hey ... bet someone here knows the name of the Polish city by the sea... Got that via crosses.... without help from friend Andrzej. Anyway I thought this puzzle was delightful with such easy fill. Thank you, constructor.
52A - My favorite clue in quite a while! But will it make Lewis's list?
@Pezhead -- Oh, it's a fabulous clue, but alas no, as it has been used before, and I reserve my list for original clues.
@Lewis What about 26D? I loved the clue once I got it, brought a smile to my face
Really enjoyed this. Fun clues. Bad match on tinder, Wing for a prayer… TIL… MOOG. Thank you Mr. Maher!
What an excellent debut! It was fast and fun, with a clever theme. As Caitlin says, hard to believe it was a debut. I’ve never had an EGG CREAM, but knew it right away because I’m reading Barbra Streisand’s wonderful memoir and she mentions that concoction.
Perfect Tuesday! Quick but thoughtful. OBGYN got a chuckle out of me.
Although not mentioned here, Strunk & White, starting in their 3rd ed., had a whole section (title: IRONCLAD) dedicated to accessories, such as: ALUMINUMFOIL CHLORINETABLET HYDROGENCELL MERCURYSABLE NICKELBACK ("cape" I think they meant here, although probably left deliberately generic) SILVERFOX TITANIUMROD And some fun, summer mix 'n matches: COPPERTOP NITROGENTANK
Thank you, Mr. Maher! Had a fabulous time solving your puzzle this morning. Hope to see more!
Totally love the wing for a prayer and OBGYN clues. Well done!