This was kinda fun, but that had to be the single most egregious use of “UIES” I’ve seen in a very long time. This felt chock full of naticks and glue: -RAMOS / TOJO -MIRA / REPINE -GAMELAN, UIES, PROAM all wedged into that NW corner -Tons of three-letter glue: TEA, ERN, SAS, TON, OTT, TOA -Some very obscure/uncommon phrasing: OVERLIE, PITCHMEN -RENOWNS pluralized? That’s… that’s not a thing. All in all, it felt like a lot of shoehorning to make an (admittedly) impressive visual. But it resulted in a puzzle that just felt completely glue-y. Oh, sorry—I meant GLUIES.
@Edward I have been to Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance (classic car show) but I guess they have golf there too, TEA on a shelf...in my pantry, l suppose.
@Edward Gluey for sure, but for me it was UHU, not Gorilla. Several minutes of annoying finishing work once the squares were filled, but still well under my average time.
@Edward RENOWNS is not pluralized, it's a verb in third person.
30A is the reason I’ve been doing crosswords for almost 35 years. Swimming in my grandparents’ pool circa 1989, my grandma calls out her frustration over a clue about a pitcher named Hershiser. I, her baseball fanatic, baseball card collecting 7-year-old granddaughter, yell out O-R-E-L… and then go over to see what she’s working on. Been working the daily crossword ever since! Also 1989 Topps are the best baseball cards ever. Also my favorite year for baseball even though my Giants blew the Battle of the Bay. The earthquake didn't faze me, but I cried over baseball for days. This puzzle was a BRIGHT spot in my weekend!
@Chrissy what a great story. Thanks for sharing. It’s funny how such a solitary game is, in fact, quite communal. I have such great memories of my Mom and Aunts chatting about the puzzle each Sunday. We lived abroad and they lived in separate cities, but the puzzle was the same everywhere. The puzzles are super fun, but memories like those are my favorite part of it.
@Chrissy I was in my late twenties and visiting my parents for the weekend. The Times was delivered outside their apartment door early Sunday morning. I woke up very early that day, started the coffee and got the paper. I opened the NYT magazine to the puzzles page. I was able to complete the Crossword and Acrostic before they got up. When my Dad sat down at the dining table, I very proudly gave him the completed puzzles and told him that this was evidence that the money they invested in my expensive liberal arts education was well-spent. My Dad just smiled. Thank you for bringing forth this very fond memory.
Once when asked about his missteps, Edison replied, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Et tu, emu.
Just going to take this moment to vent about some of my biggest crossword pet peeves: Proper nouns crossing "Poetically" being used to mean "we made up a word" No consistent spelling for the contraction of U-Turn Otherwise I tore through this one but there were a few spots that felt a bit annoying.
@Eric My pet peeve is when commenters accuse puzzle constructors of making up words just because they don't know them. From Merriam-Webster: erenow adverb ere·now er-ˈnau̇ archaic, literary : before this time : HERETOFORE … Arboriculture would indeed have been improved, under such an instructor. His excellent example would long erenow have rendered both science and information indispensable to our profession. —Sir Henry Steuart "His vengeance may be delayed for a time, but not forever," she answered … . "You say true, lovely Ellen; and I have done enough, erenow, to insure its heaviest weight. …" —Nathaniel Hawthorne From American Heritage Dictionary: ere·now (âr-nou) adv. Before now; heretofore. From dictionary.com (based on Random House): erenow [ air-nou ] adverb before this time. Also: UEY/UIE has two spellings in real life, so either one can be in the grid. You use the crosses to figure out which one you need; that's why they call it a puzzle. Just Google it and you'll find lots of hits for both spellings. And proper nouns will always cross because they don't have any kind of special status. Constructors try to make sure at least one of them is common knowledge, or that the common letter is inferrable.
@Eric agreed on the U-Turn rant…. Grrr….. 😀
Eric, I hate to break it to you about one of your pet peeves: proper nouns have been crossing here since 1A crossed 2D in the first NYT Crossword, February 15, 1942. 1A Famous one-eyed general. 2D French physicist, student of electrodynamics. WAVELL M P E R E
All Mr. Edison had before dinner was Alvabet soup. (It was a light lunch.)
Mike, The good news is your post didn't get stuck in the emu filter. I was expecting a 15D drop.
@Mike Yes, he was very direct about that. Tesla and Westinghouse alternated. I just try to stay current.
"However, never let two obscure words or names cross." - from the submission guidelines RAMOS/TOJO was my downfall on this one. Otherwise, fun and inventive!
@Dorothy 9:43 to fill the grid. 2 extra minutes to figure out it wasn't Ramis.
@Dorothy that one got me, too! Toji/Ramis seemed so right that I totally forgot it was just a guess. I checked my answers multiple times, and couldn't figure out why the app wouldn't accepting my completed puzzle
@Dorothy To my parents’ generation, Tojo was as infamous as Hitler.
To make a short story long....the spirit phone? I was 5 years old in 1959. We had a black wall phone with no dial. One would pick up the receiver and an operator would come on to assist your call. My paternal grandmother lived in the Midwest where my father was from. We lived on the east coast near New York city. My grandmother called one day and happily talked with each & everyone of our 7 family members. We children had never met Minnie so this was a very special occasion! ...The next day, a telephone repairman (they were all men at the time) came to our house to repair the phone. My father told him our phone was working fine last night, my mother called & talked to everyone! The repairman said that's impossible, all the phone lines have been down for the past 3 days. We found out later that Grandma Minnie had passed in the early morning hours, before the phone call. I don't believe there is a "quote" Spirit Phone but our spirits do make the Crossover at times!
@PDWilliams Amazing story! Thanks for sharing!
@PDWilliams That's a crazy story. I was thinking of the Twilight Zone episode where the kid talks to his deceased grandmother on his toy phone.
Watt a puzzle! I was so electrified by a quick and breezy puzzle, like one of Edison's bulbs, I will celebrate now by having a glass of wine and getting lit.
About 18 years ago we went with the kids to vacation in Captiva, part of an island close to Fort Myers in Florida and one thing all of us remember vividly was visiting Thomas Edison's winter home in Ft. Myers, with Henry Ford's home nearby. The main house was large and rickety, with a big porch and airy rooms, windows open to the elements, . There was much to look at, his inventions and memorabilia, his associations with other luminaries* (woohoo!) of the time -- but I began to notice dozens of lizards, perched alertly on desk tops, scampering up the walls, and one peering down at us from the top of a four-poster bed, mainly brown and green anoles, though our older son spotted iguanas as well. No one seemed to mind them much, least of all the docents, but it was so at odds with modern museum conservation practices that I was somewhat shocked (woohoo!), and could well imagine Edison getting on one of his Spirit Phones and barking out orders to get rid of the cussed things, why, what's the use of displaying his greatest invention, the Ionic Anoliator if they didn't use it once in a while for the good of humankind?!?! So glad this wasn't a Super Bowl trivia fest! Speaking of which, did you know Edison tested 1600 kinds of filaments (coconut strands, carbonized cotton thread, hair) before settling on carbonized bamboo? Sounds like 99% perspiration ... 1% luck! "Sportscaster" for Orel? Cmon! His genius (& 99% perspiration) was as a PITCHMAN. *I see Caitlin beat me to this.
@john ezra We went to Captiva for a cousin’s wedding several years ago. I had no idea Thomas Edison and Henry Ford so close by- I’d have extended the trip by a day to visit them! How curious that there were so many lizards inside the house. Maybe they served a purpose, keeping insects at bay or something?
And how many of Edison’s great inventions were actually Nikola Tesla’s?
@Sonja Yes! Thank you! Stealer of inventions more like
This one was fun, if a little on the easy side. Actually, the section inside the bulb gave me a bit of trouble because I tried reflect for mirror instead of IMITATE, and I wanted leaves on a shelf to have something to do with books. TALISMANS looked funny to me. Something glitchy in my brain wanted it to be talismen, even though I knew TALISMANS was correct. I got my inspiration when I saw that the circled letters had to spell EDISON, and fortunately there was no perspiration. I always worry that sequestered sections like that may be tricky because of the paucity of crosses, but in this case it was circles to the rescue. Seeing MIMEOGRAPH gave me a flashback to grade school days when teachers would hand out freshly mimeographed papers and we’d pass them from front to back, pausing to inhale the intoxicating scent emitted from the dampish sheets. Ah, school daze.
@Marshall Walthew Those were pages from a DITTO machine (purple/pink inks).... LOL Did you grow up to be a druggie? Of course not! Me neither, but I agree about the 'aroma.'
In a bit of post-solve research, I learned that Edison’s middle name ALVA was the name of a family friend and that he was called Al as a child. Also, that from age 12 on, Edison was very hard of hearing. He put a positive spin on that, saying that it allowed him to shut himself off from “all the meaningless sound that normal people hear.” In a bit of post-solve grid gaze, I liked seeing ERN next to ERNO, OVER over OVER in the SE corner, the PuzzPair© of ADAM and EAVE, and I liked seeing how MICROPHONE is vertical, resulting in a mic drop. Also, I believe the light bulb grid art gives this puzzle some Crosslandia immortality, as puzzledom hasn’t produced many memorable grimages (grid images). In my book, this light bulb comes in as #3 on my list, just behind the dog ( <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/17/2015" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/17/2015</a> ) and my all-time favorite, the duck ( <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/16/2022" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/16/2022</a> ). Thus, more than just a breezy and pleasing solve for me. Thank you for creating this, Peter!
"I liked seeing how MICROPHONE is vertical, resulting in a mic drop." Lewis, Last night I was hoping to see a mic drop by Munster Mike. ..........................
@Lewis The taj Mahal puzzle last year was a great grid image as well
A fun puzzle, and wonderful tribute to the father of invention. When I noticed the lightbulb grid art it was electrifying. Nicely done, Peter.
Nice to see a mention of Unicode, one of the technology underpinnings used to preserve and share information. I still can’t throw away my hardcopy of 1.0.0, now over thirty years old!
@Gregory Melahn thank you! Now I'm doubly impressed - that's just fantastic.
Feeling a bit exasperated watching the clock tick away when POP is not primary, but POL is….
@JM Yeah that one I feel should've had a question mark at the end. It's pol as in politician with primary meaning a primary election.
😉 So many nights I rush through a crossword Shortof a gold star, I repine and hope on So many posts I kept deep inside me Alone in the dark but now Koetters clues along And you light up my grid Or is it peyote That carries me on? And snips solving time that often yaws on. Sippin' my Dom, my grid looms dark and fuzzy, Could it be a sign from some old spiritphone? Finally a chance to say, "Hey, I own VHS tapes!" Never again to be all alone! . . . "It can't be wrong!" Or a schmear of lampyrid? 'Cause you You light up my grid!
@Whoa Nellie LOVE IT esp. "schmear of lampyrid" Inspired!
I've been scratching my head about Caitlin's assertion that REPINE is crosswordese. To me, crosswordese consists of words that are both (a) not commonly used in everyday conversation or writing, and also (b) commonly found in crossword puzzles (mostly due to their common letters). REPINE has only appeared 27 times, and only eight of those have been in the Shortz Era. In fact, its last appearance was a dozen years ago. Half a dozen for the time before that. Eugene Maleska only used it three times, and Will Weng just twice. Weng waited almost a decade to use it for the first time. The first editor, Margaret Farrar, used it 14 times between 1942 and 1965. So it would seem to me that it might have been crosswordese (although marginally so) 60 or 70 years ago, but it hardly seems like crosswordese today. To me, it just seems like a rare word that finally found its way back into a puzzle. I suspect that 60-70 years ago, it might not have been as uncommon a word as it is today.
@Steve L Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother uses "repine" in the Little House books!
Fun puzzle . Had FRUITS before GRAINS , then realized MIMEOGRAPH had to be the invention . As a long time baseball fan OREL Hershiser was a Cy Young ALL STAR pitcher - sad to see him reduced to sportscaster in the puzzle . REPINE ? RENOWNS as a plural ? A little awkward to say the least . Overall excellent idea for a puzzle - my favorite part was the grid art !
@Cathy Parrish ABSOLUTELY with you on the clue for OREL Hershiser. He was just a terrific pitcher and all-around decent person. I was shocked to see merely 'sportscaster' as the clue, and I read that aloud to DHubby.
@Cathy Parrish I had no idea OREL Hershiser was ever a broadcaster. That's like calling Boog Powell a restauranteur! (Only Orioles fans will get this.)
I can smell that blue mimeo ink as I type. And I can see everyone in my row sniffing the papers as we passed them back. It must have happened thousands of times a day in the 1960's. So that was fun. Also, for 69D, at first I tried "Victorola," and then I knew it had to be "gramophone." Fun Sunday puzzle.
@Margaret Those were DITTO machine copies. I was a HS student in the 60's and then a teacher within the same decade. Trust me! Different processes/masters/machines....and 'aromas.'
@Margaret Yes, and when I was a TA in grad school in the mid 80's, we were still using the mimeograph machines.
Intersecting proper nouns, my crossword Achilles’ Heel…
OoooooKAY. Finished the puzzle, enjoyed it for the most part....but: There are quibbles. Someone (or something) may BE RENOWNed. EDISON was an INVENTor OF RENOWN. But if one "acclaims" an admirable person, place, or thing, one does not say, "She RENOWNS it." In recent years, I am also seeing misuse such as, "He was a renown poet," without the -ed. We really do need to draw the line somewhere, or, as Barry A hints, we shall all sound like Yogi BERRA. Or Yogi Bear.
@Mean Old Lady RENOWN as a noun works, although RENOWNS falls into the category of questionable plurals IMHO.
@Mean Old Lady That N was the last letter I filled in. You're either "of renown." or you're not. See also; Les Brown and his Band. GAMELAN?
Aww! Was so hoping the bulb would light up.
Can we do a uey or a uee or anything really, as long as it's a reversal, on uie? Please?
@Lars I’ve never met a “word” with so many iterations, starting to get a little silly
Caitlin writes of trying to strike a balance in a tribute puzzle. For me -- not for you nor for anyone else -- the balance tipped too much to the easy side. And I don't consider myself an Edison maven. The grid visual and a themer clue or two gave me the honoree, and the theme answers went in right away. It did take a cross or two in the southeast to determine whether THOMAS or EDISON would be in the circles. I found the non-theme fill too easy to call entering it a slog. I hope other solvers found the puzzle more challenging and/or more rewarding than I did.
@Barry Ancona - yeah, the tribute was nice, but wow, the clueing is getting too easy, too often, for my tastes. Thank goodness for the archives, where more of the 25 year old puzzles I'm currently working my way through provide meatier challenges.
@Barry Ancona But surely you chortled to see puzzle favorite Mel Ott make an appearance. I know that every time I see Master Melvin in the puzzle, I think of your story about your grandmother’s connection with him. If only there were a working SPIRITPHONE, you could commune with her.
@Barry Ancona Theme was fun but puzzle didn't have much bite.
Well.... guess I shouldn't be surprised that so many found this one to be unusually easy. Not for me, of course, with more than a couple of unknowns and my usual memory blips, I had to google more than a couple of things (though at least no flat-out cheats). At least I remembered TOJO and SANDUSKY just from the clues. Center section was the last thing I filled in and that took a fair amount of pondering. Was (again) somewhat surprised to finish successfully. Puzzle find today was inspired by WHATAHOOT. Wondered about GIVEAHOOT. One appearance - in a Monday puzzle from 2019. But DONTPOLLUTE has never been an answer and not even in the Xword Info word lists. I'm done. ..
Great puzzle, and interesting clues, but a couple of clusters on names that I decided not to struggle for. Once you have to run the alphabet for more than one square, its not practical. My naticks were Raoul and Orel, and that group at the bottom, Ramos, Osiris and Tojo. Starting a new baby streak tomorrow. Happy Superb Owl Sunday.
@Crevecoeur So look them up. It’s the only way to learn something new. And oftentimes looking up one name is all you need.
@Crevecoeur I hardly feel like Osiris or Tojo are Naticks. I had never heard of a "gamelan", though, and figured a primary person was a "POV", like the POV character in a book. Oh well.
I remember from my public school days that we used a Gestetner machine when a teacher asked one of the students to make copies of something for the class. (We used it as a verb; to Gestetner something.) Google tells me it was invented independently of Edison and patented just a couple of years after Edison patented his invention. What amused me in my web search, given the answer to 66D, was coming across this item: A spirit duplicator (also referred to as a Rexograph or Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine or Fordigraph machine in the U.K. and Australia) is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld that was commonly used for much of the rest of the 20th century. The term "spirit duplicator" refers to the alcohols that were a major component of the solvents used in these machines.
@Strudel Dad I taught in the DITTO Era.... MIMEOGRAPH masters were used only for longer/more numerous copies (as with a grant proposal) while the Ditto master was best for some dozens of copies. (My special ed classes were always small.) The last year I taught in the Ohio school system, the office acquired aa Xerox machine...which was guarded with fierceness. Principals and guidance counselors only! and the coaches.
@Strudel Dad Hey - never heard of a Gestetner machine. Looked it up just now and, indeed, it exists! TY for the info SD! emu food
Someone has to to tell me about “Table Scraps” = ORTS. I can’t make anything of it.
@Arcturus It’s a word I only know because of crosswords. It’s in them all the time but I have never heard anyone use it in real life. Maybe I should start using it with my kids. “Hey, scrape your orts into the trash!”
@Arcturus It's classic crosswordese--an obscure old word that you will only encounter as filler in crosswords. The Merriam Webster dictionary app tells me it's Middle English, from Middle Low German orte.
Let me be the gazillionth to protest, with every fiber of my being, the clue for 69D, intended as referring to one of EDISON's INVENTIONs. Nipper, the cute terrier, was the trademark for The Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA Victor). Eldridge Johnson, founder, would be most unhappy with this egregious error. The technology of EDISON's PHONOGRAPH was quite different (even superior). However, Edison's business acumen fell short, and Victor was, well, the victor. We have a 1917 Brunswick phonograph that is capable of playing both Edison and Victor records--with a change of reproducer.
I told best beloved: “oh tonight’s puzzle is about Thomas Edison”. A few of his remarks made it apparent he was talking about Thomas Jefferson. So that added an extra layer of amusement: imagining Jefferson inventing the Mimeograph in order to surpass everyone in distributing his writings, etc. I don’t need no SPIRITPHONE, I communicate with my B.B.!
@Cat Lady Margaret Good imagining. Close to historical fact. Thomas Jefferson didn't invent it, but he did use and suggest improvements to a copying device. Here is a link with more information on the pantograph or polygraph he proclaimed "the finest invention of the present age". <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/polygraph-1" target="_blank">https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/polygraph-1</a>/
I know I’ve never heard anyone mutter “repine” in a sentence, and doubt that I’ve ever seen it in print. Tried L and K and finally R to guess the woman’s name and get the win. Whew, wormed out of Natick. And shouldn’t repine mean to long for all over again? TIL a very obscure word
A poet crossed with a baseball manager? A sportscaster crossed with a director? Ooft. Fun puzzle though, despite the tricky spots!
@Olivia For Americans, even non-baseball fans, the clue for BERRA made it a gimme. Yogi BERRA was known by the general public for his mangled use of English (“pair up in threes”)l. An All-Star catcher in his playing days, Yogi was even better known by many for his crazy quotes. About a certain restaurant, he supposedly said, “No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” To a lesser extent, OREL Hirshiser was widely known as an All-Star pitcher before his broadcasting career. This answer would also be a gimme for baseball fans, if not the general public. Federico Garcia LORCA didn’t play baseball, but he was one of the most famous Spanish playwrights as well as a poet two of his famous plays were Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba. RAOUL Walsh I’ll give you.
53A got me thinking. I wouldn’t normally think of “mirror” as meaning the same thing as “imitate”. Then I remembered the classic mirror scene from the Marx Brothers movie, “Duck Soup” and said, “Why not?” I imagine most of you in this community know this scene very well. If you have not seen it, have a look: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT-sy0aLg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT-sy0aLg</a>
Today felt way less tedious than Sundays typically feel for me until it was time to go back and fill in the blanks I wasn't sure about. the RAMOS/TOJO crossing + NEU___ threw me off in that whole section until PUMA and TOM clicked in for me. Then I guessed the O in RAMOS + a forehead slap for EMOJI. on TSLOT/LORCA I was unsure about the L and thought I was going to have to go plugging and was thankful when I didn't. the L in GAMELAN/POL ended up being the plug for me. I would have never come up with that on my own. I've never heard of GAMELAN and would have never come up with POL. Actually maaaaaaybe my brain could have found my way there during a Saturday puzzle solve.
This puzzle has it all! A boring theme wedged into a gimmicky layout (with only one theme clue even a play on words, most at Monday difficulty); a boatload of cliche filler with stock cluing; completely made up words; and arbitrary spellings paralleling esoterica! I recently made a 5x5 crossword, so look, the construction is way beyond me. Appreciate the effort, but as a consumer of the content I have to call joyless when I see it.
@Donkey Kong You should meet Eric from Los Angeles from last night. You two would get along swell. You should also read my answer to him. Sorry you didn’t like the puzzle.
@Donkey Kong Wow. I was surprised to read such a withering critique after finding the puzzle beautifully designed and well-clued. I admire the constructor's ability to balance a busy and challenging medical career with some time having fun with words and design strategies. I hope we see more of his inventions!
The mimeograph machine brought back a flood of memories. We used one during the 1970's to make copies for our students. The kids would sniff the handed-out sheets before beginning their assignments. This was also the prime time for glue sniffing. I also remember the headaches I'd get from running off the copies in a closet-like room. Just part of the joy of teaching in a Brooklyn middle school "in the good old days."
@Min I remember a hand-cranked one from the 70s (it was probably manufactured in the early 60s), text appeared in a light purple.
@Min and @Byron Once again: purple ink, alcohol-based 'spirit' with 'aroma'--DITTO machine copies. MIMEOGRAPH masters (usually typed) were longer-lasting and those copies were meant for longer documents. Very different process, actually.
@Mean Old Lady My mother used to make the masters for PTA documents to mimeograph. I remember her proofreading on a light frame. That’s how I remember it, anyway. I could be wrong.
I was very surprised to see no mention of Lewis Latimer, who worked with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Ed. Latimer also invented a modification of the carbon filament in light bulbs along with many other patents. Not to mention a Black American.
I'm the only who never heard of 'orts' before? Is it a regional word or NYT cooking section nomenclature? ps when I type in orts, autocorrect doesn't recognize it as a word, js.
@Margrethe Someone asked this already today. There are some fulsome explanations there. Basically, though, not in use anymore only shows up in crosswords. It’s old English from old German or something.
Margrethe, Here is a link to an earlier thread about ORTS. In it, you will find some history of the word, as well as some actual contemporary use of it! <a href="https://nyti.ms/3SDNAhP#permid=131091018" target="_blank">https://nyti.ms/3SDNAhP#permid=131091018</a> ORTS, not emus
@Barry Ancona There is another meaning to the word that is in active use today. Anyone who needlepoints (like me) or does other needlework keeps a jar or container next to us to put all the snips of thread and stray bits that are cut as we work. Those thread pieces are known as “orts“ and the jar is called an ort jar. You can Google images.
My time was closer to my best than my average. I really thought I was going to be looking for errors when I finished filling in the puzzle because I felt like I had a fair number of guesses of which at least one would be wrong; so relieved— and surprised — when the music played. Interesting theme.
A fun Sunday puzzle. I was dreading the boredom of a Super Bowl-themed puzzle and relieved to think about something else for awhile!
As a former framer (carpenter) I was baffled by 7A. I have T SLOTS on my table saw and on my router table, for holding clamps and jigs and such, but framing? So I clicked the link in the column. Oh, that kind of frame. Yeah, they're terrible. The T nuts holding the frame together loosen up with any kind of use, and you can't tighten them up, because that size hex key is always missing from the set...because someone else used it and didn't put it back. I had to bring my own hex keys to work, and hide them.
@Grant - Same here re: thinking of them in my wood shop. Very handy! Then I went to picture framing -- I've assembled some aluminum picture frames that also have these slots, but I didn't remember them being called T SLOTS. I was grateful for the link.
You could say that Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb was the lux fiat of our modern electronic and media-centered world. As with the account of the creation in Genesis, everything else follows from it. The clue to 72D refers to an “American icon,” and Peter Koetter’s grid is iconic of the Menlo Park wizard’s achievement, with the light bulb at its center, and his other inventions positioned around it like the planets orbiting the sun. 66D: SPIRITPHONE -- a 1920 project that didn’t quite pan out (one wag called it his “dial-a-ghost machine”) -- might give the impression that he dabbled in mysticism. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Edison gave a lengthy interview to the NY Times in 1910, which still makes fascinating reading. “Searching the inner structure of all things for the fundamental,” the interviewer notes, “Edison told me he had come to the conclusion that there is no ‘supernatural’ or ‘supernormal’ as the psychic researchers put it – that all there is, that all there has been, all there ever will be, can or will, soon or late, be explained along material lines.” The full interview is available on TimesMachine: " NO IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL" SAYS THOMAS A. EDISON; In Fact, He Doesn't Believe There Is a Soul -- Human Beings Only an Aggregate of Cells and the Brain Only a Wonderful Machine, Says Wizard of Electricity. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
@Fidelio Hmm...i'd like to see a timeline of inventions as they were introduced I am definitely sketchy on that, but I believe he was working on a dictaphone before the notion of a phonograph for music/ song was a goal.
fun one! And I never do Sunday on Saturday, so this feels weird. Where are all the comments? ;)
@Bob T. Hi Bob! Nice to see you here on a Sunday evening. I think Edison once said, or was it Yogi, that feeling weird is just a transposition away from feeling wired. Agree that it was a fun one!
A fairly easy puzzle today, but it was a very nice tribute to Edison, and I finished in quite a bit less than my average. Didn't know about the SPIRIT PHONE, but the other inventions were familiar, if not recognized as being created by Edison, and were quickly filled in. Thanks, Peter.
@JayTee exactly what I was about to write!
No look ups necessary on this one, but lots of brain strainers to make it engaging. It's Saturday night and I'm too tired to deal with a Saturday puzzle masquerading as a Sunday puzzle, so a relief to settle into this one. I guess that pretty much covers it. Sleep well, all west coasters, good morning to everyone on the other coast, and hi to all yall in between. I hope everyone enjoys Peter Koetters' debut as much as I did. Thank you Peter!
@dutchiris Hello from in between!! I also enjoyed it!! Hello to the emus, as well!
So much TIL, and a fitting tribute to Edison.
After a brutal Friday, when I had to throw in the towel and look at the answer key for the half of the puzzle that eluded me, and a tough Saturday, completed, but took forever, I thought this one was like a Monday. Sailed right through it, but it was fun. My favorite clue was 38D - Something that's big with the current generation - POWER PLANT. But I also enjoyed Dr. Koetters' notes. He mentions "fluoroscopy." This current generation has no first-hand knowledge of it, but it evoked several memories for me: going to the family doctor, who had a separate room strictly for his fluoroscope, which he used frequently. Even the kiddie' shoe store had one, and they fluoroscoped our feet! That, together with playing with liquid mercury from broken glass thermometers, as mentioned by Deb Amlen the other day, makes me wonder how some of us old-timers are still here! Now to hide for the rest of Sunday, as Super Bowl madness overtakes my fair city. And speaking of light, check out the lighting at Allegiant Stadium (and the Sphere, too)!
The double pun of the POWER PLANT clue was worth the price of admission. Good puzzle - a couple crosses were tough (natickish) but educated guessing paid off. Also had TOJO as TOgO first, but EMOJI straightened me out. And another vertically symmetrical puzzle with nice art. Fun.
I loved the grid, but like Patricia, I was hoping to see the bulb light up, perhaps all the inventions as well. Sundays, in spite of being bigger, are supposed to be a Wednesday degree of difficulty, so this seems about right. Of course I didn’t find it easy at all, but quite enjoyable.