Fun fact: some tabby cats (including my current boy) have agouti coloring, named after the animal. Instead of a solid color, or stripes, or spots, they have fur where each individual hair is a gradient of several colors. It gives a really cool effect -- from a distance it's greyish (even though grey isn't one of the colors), closer it has a speckled/static look, and if you ruffle through the fur you can see the innermost color. A number of animals have agouti variants (dogs, mice, rabbits, horses, etc, and of course agoutis) but I first learned about it because of my cat. And I like sharing knowledge.
"What did you think about my structural engineering lecture?" "I was riveted." (Sounds fasten-ating.)
@Mike Seems like you build these without any stress and strain, You're a pillar of this community.
@Mike Thanks for keeping it civil.
Mike, Today’s rivet pun popped. Weld un.
@Mike Made me smile a very happy smile - not a cross-beam in any way.
@Mike I'm usually happy when I read your posts, but this one made me solder.
This puzzle went so far up my alley it needed one of those beepers delivery trucks use when backing up. Some folks know a lot of urban myths; I’m more of an Urban myths (and random facts) person. For example, if you’re Catholic and you’ve ever stopped to admire the beautiful silver liturgical vessels, you owe Pope Urban I thanks. Prior to the 3rd c. upgrade he instituted, clay or wood vessels were used for mass. And in a twist of serendipity only a crossword puzzle can provide, we know this thanks to the letters of St. Jerome, who also (oddly enough for someone fixing to be beatified later) wrote about Catullus and his beloved Clodia. And Catullus, of course, is the author of the oft-quoted Odi et Amo—featured indirectly in yesterday’s puzzle. Ōdī et amō. Quārē id faciam fortasse requīris. Nesciŏ, sed fierī sentiō et excrucior. I hate and I love. Why do I do this, perhaps you ask. I know not, but I feel it happening and I am in torment. Not everything Catullus wrote was so tortured—or so tame. Before the (in)famous Clodia, whom he referred to as Lesbia in his poems, put him through his paces, she had inspired him to write in an altogether different spirit. Yet, very democratically, he merited a mention in St. Jerome’s writings—just like Urban I. Fast forward a couple millennia, and Catullus and Urban are back together again, this time in two back-to-back NYT crossword puzzles. Like I said: serendipity. And it warms the cockles of my dusty volume-loving heart.
@Sam Lyons Your posts should be recognized as special by UNESCO 😃 I just love them. (That being said, as a leftist I always frown at the silver and gold liturgical vessels and vestments of the church that claims poverty is a virtue. Would Jesus approve?)
@Sam Lyons The silver upgrade is sometimes believed to be one of those Urban I myths. I think Andrzej has a point: while donations are to be used for ecclesiastical purposes, the good of the community, and the poor, why does it seem to be read as *in that order*? Was Jerome being democratic or simply expressing his emotional identification with Catullus? Or both. He clearly appreciated women more than many of his contemporary church fathers. And, in turn, felt their pressure to feel guilty about that. It has always amazed me how two fourth century individuals (Jerome of Sidon and Augustine of Hippo) have had such a large, lasting influence on the day-to-day ethos in the west.
@SL & @A-- How I love your back-n-forths! Of course, you're both morning solvers, UTC+1; whereas I often cannot get to Wordplay until after work, mid-afternoon UTC-4. I feel I've so missed the party:-( That AMO/ERDA crossing, which gave so many people pause yesterday, was of course a gimme-gimme for me, as, I expect, it was for you as well, Sam. But Thank You for linking that interesting rattle.com article on "Odi et Amo." Great poem that is 1) impossible to translate, really; 2) impossible to set to music, effectively (sorry, Carl Orff.) Hope either or both of you see this.
As a mandolin player, I have a big problem with the answer to “Mandolin accessory.” While every mandolinist uses a plectrum, or “pick,” I have never used, or seen others use, a capo. Capos may be used with guitars or banjos, in order to be easier to play in different keys; the scale of a mandolin is such that capos are unnecessary.
@Glenn Mitchell A Google search for "mandolin capo" shows lots of options. My grandfather was a mandolin player in Cuba before coming to America in the 1920s. I've never seen a photograph of him with his instrument, and have no idea whether he used a capo with it. His playing was evidently good enough to have charmed my grandmother.
@Glenn Mitchell But do they have a treble knob?
@Glenn Mitchell Bill Monroe just groaned from the beyond. I've played in many a bluegrass jam and never saw a capo on a mandolin. If I capo my acoustic guitar up around the 5-7th fret, it *sounds* mandolin-like. I've also never seen a capo on a fiddle 🤪 FWIW (good song, btw), a favorite at a bluegrass jam is Glendale Train by NRPS. Not to be outdone by Kentucky Borderline, Rhonda Vincent.
@Glenn Mitchell I just watched Tim May and Steve Smith both play capoed mandolins at a house concert this past week.
Heres agoutis cracking brazil nuts: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqlVOvBdfPk" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqlVOvBdfPk</a> ...which kind of reminds me of my hippocampus cracking this puzzle. It dropped, and I put my teeth into it. But let's end the analogy there, shall we? I imagine our resident classicist and old world maven Sam Lyons did not put this in the Maybe Pile! Love that Start Here ended the puzzle...
@john ezra Thanks for the video! Fascinating little creatures
@john ezra Definitely not the maybe pile: This was a spontaneous cartwheel-inducing “Yes!” (Maven, huh? Good grief, John, who put so much hyperbole in your morning coffee… [grin])
@john ezra Learning about this was the most interesting clue of the whole puzzle.
@john ezra thank you for that link! Loved learning about that vowel heavy rodent 😉
Lots of "erasing" in this one, esp. In NE: Teeth before MOLAR Lie before HEX "Hard C" before HIPPO[campus] (thanks for nothing Thursday puzzle with your SOFTC) Confidently entered MARY Wollstonecraft and then doubted myself and deleted it 😕 Happy All Saints Day 👻 May your ancestors assist you with today's puzzle
@Lpr I should add that I don't wish to disrespect the solemnity of All Saints Day for those who celebrate. I know that in much of the Old World it is full of meaning. It's unfortunate that here in the US we lack that country-wide ritual and connection with our departed loved ones. Maybe @Andrzej can comment on the customs in Poland which are quite widely celebrated from my understanding.
@Lpr How did you disrespect the solemnity of the day? By wishing happiness? And using an emoji? I will be engaging in solemnity today but I appreciate the warmth of that line - kindness and humor can only make the world a better place. Over here on All Saints Holiday/Holiday of the Dead (both names are commonly used) we visit the graves of friends and family. We clean the tombstones, adorn them with wreaths and flowers, and light candles. Most Poles do it after dark. It's quite surreal to feel and hear all those people move in the night, their figures only vaguely outlined by candlelight. This just might be my favorite holiday of the year. It feels special, even magical, and it's good to remember the people who mattered in our lives. My mother is buried in the same cemetery as many important figures from Polish history. I'll be lighting candles for some of them, too, especially the heroes of the democratic opposition on the 1960s-1980s, who became the founding people of modern Poland.
@Lpr Candles at the grave of rock star Kora Jackowska on 1st November 2018: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/VVsRD8K" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/VVsRD8K</a>
@Andrzej thanks for that description and the photo. It sounds lovely ☺️ and I wish we hadn't lost those traditions here in the "New World" (well the northern part of it at least!)
Of course I misread the Spanish clue, seeing provinces rather than provincias. That made an already very hard corner impossible to solve without lookups. What's a MOM FRIEND? Is it a person you only know because she's somebody's mom? Like I have dog friends? People who sort of are my friends but whom I only know by the names of their dogs? I didn't like the PAID ACTOR answer or clue. Are there unpaid actors? Acting is a job, isn't it? One does not usually do a job for free. I also found the clue too open. It wasn't misleading in a smart way I might enjoy on Saturday. I have no idea what a Greek Row is. Is it a row of buildings housing fraternities and sororities, which for some reason unknown to me are called by Greek letters? I can think of no other explanation. US college culture is largely alien to me. We have nothing remotely similar over here. That corner from hell also contained two proper names. I've never heard of YELICH and I have no idea what N.L. might be. DR DRE is familiar but not as clued. I really hate it when stuff I generally know is clued in a way that defeats me because I don't know all the world's trivia. I also struggled around the Rock's signature move, which of course was arcana for me. I needed reveals there. I've also never heard of an AGOUTI (or aguti, as Wikipedia tells me it's called in Polish). I'm OK with Saturdays being hard. This grid however challenged me in an unpleasant way so I didn't enjoy it, at all.
@Andrzej "I have no idea what a Greek Row is. Is it a row of buildings housing fraternities and sororities, which for some reason unknown to me are called by Greek letters?" Yes, exactly.
@Andrzej Btw. I misread "Boarding datum" as "Dating datum" (don't ask me how that happened because I don't know). Having _TD there I thought the answer might be sTD 😃
@Andrzej Oh, and... ESTD??? I've seen Est. countless times, but not ESTD. In Polish it's either "Zał." or "Od". "Zał." is short for "założono" ("founded") and "od" means "since".
@Andrzej The comment about knowing the names of dogs and not their owners hit home for me. When I'm out on my walks and cross paths with people with their dogs that Ive met before I always remember the dog's name but never the owner's . lol
@Andrzej Estd is short for Established in this case, as in, the business was established in 2025.
@Andrzej I just realized that Steve probably meant that EST can ALSO stand for estimate, sorry if that was obvious.
Somehow not overly hard but also not overly fun. Just a little too much fiddling with glue to figure out the crossing proper names I'd never heard of.
@Shrike agreed. I got it done but it didn't feel very satisfying .
Not sure what I feel about this one. Of course it was hard, I expect that on a Saturday, but so many of the answers were too specific; a sculpture in New York, a US food product, a move by a US fighter and what the heck is a MOM FRIEND?? to mention a few. Yes, there was some excellent fill; HIPPO made me chuckle, TIL AGOUTI thank you very much and I liked some of the long entries, 13D and 14D particularly. So why I was left with an overall feeling of something being off I don’t know. Ah well, onwards to Sunday.
@Helen Wright I'm with you on this. Bits of the puzzle were just too esoteric for me to enjoy the whole thing, despite the brilliance of HIPPO.
@Helen Wright Well, look at the bright side. Hop in your LOTUS and pop on over to Mary Wollstonecraft's birthplace. Next, wave at the YUPPIES on your way to the PIETA. Just don't grind the GEARTEETH to much. Yeah, it was a tad off. It had that TicTok generational feel, which doesn't do much for me. I'm always afraid some of those phrases may sneak into my vocabulary, like I'm trying to be relevant, or something. Eh, onward and upward. Appreciate your posts! 👏
This one was kind to me. Each time I thought I was about to bog down, another answer would pop into my head and I could attack some new crosses. I have to laugh at myself (perhaps I’m BEYONDPARODY). When I saw Campus opening, I thought “Aha, I hip to this trick” and I confidently entered hardc. But then I began having trouble with the NE, so I took it out and couldn’t make sense of the clue at all. Eventually I unraveled the corner, and lo and behold the answer was HIPPO. Huh? Oh wait …. HIPPOcampus. Doh! Nice touch replacing one clueing trope with a similar one. Hand up for always thinking the line was “Luke, I am your father.”
@Marshall Walthew The best pun I ever made was when I would not hand over the keyless entry device for the car to my son. I said, “Matthew, I am your fobber.”
This one was kind of odd to me. It had a lot of unusual entries, but I was put off by a lot of short gimmes that were very atypical for a Saturday—ERA, ETD, PEDI, AILED, MIC, IMHO, SRS, ANOS, on and on, which were all early week level and which they didn’t even try to dress up. On the other hand there were lots of things I didn’t know—TILTEDARC, YELICH, PEOPLESELBOW and others I knew but were fun to suss out. Incidentally I’m not in the least put out by a WWE clue that I had no idea about nor would ever care—I could guess ELBOW and how many words have an EO in the middle? (although how PEOPLESELBOW can be a thing is beyond me). Happy to see the shout out to AGOUTIS and Andrzej, don’t even get me started on ALPHABITS, it was a cereal with letters and the idea is you could spell stuff in your bowl (although I doubt many kids were writing adventure novels). I hope everyone is happy with the spelling of FLIERS today. I was sort of flummoxed by COPYPASTE—it’s really two commands isn’t it, we just call it that because we do one after the other? (Correct me if I’m wrong). Finally I was stuck in the middle for a bit, I had BUTT before LATE, BIBCOAT sounded like a thing that could be a smock, and RIVETER eluded me (because yeah, I hope they aren’t having to RIVET too often). But I finally got it which fixed the rest. So ultimately a bit of a challenge but still a bit unusual for a Saturday.
@SP. PEOPLES ELBOW was only applied when called for by the crowd.
@SP Bibcoat/butt here too. Also preens before PRIMPS. Esta before ESTD. Took forever to remember the TERCEL. Oddly, Supra and Cressida came immediately to mind.
@SP I had rear before LATE and cElicas before TERCELS
For those of you not familiar with "Tilted Arc:" it was a huge metal arc that blocked foot traffic in a formerly open square, forcing pedestrians to walk around it. New Yorkers don't tend to appreciate people or things that block their way when they're trying to get somewhere.
@Bruce That was my understanding of the court case, when I learned about it in my Philosophy of the Arts course. It supposedly made things even more difficult for handicapped pedestrians--the idea of having to navigate a walker around that thing does not appeal to me.
@Bruce I had to look that one up to try and get to grips with the NW corner. I could certainly see why it was 'controversial'. One man's 'art' is another man's eyesore I guess. I hadn't even thought of the (im)practical implications of it!
Really enjoyed this one; it was on my wavelength. AGOUTIS made me think of my dad, a lifelong crossworder. I didn't take it up seriously (sort of) until after he was gone. AGOUTIS and other South American mammal crosswordese was the sort of trivia he loved, back before Google made random facts accessible. Miss you Dad!
Chicago's epic and untitled 5-story Picasso sculpture is fabricated in Cor-Ten steel. And the building behind it, the Richard J. Daley Center, is clad in Cor-Ten. Yes, the coating may be "rust," but it does not flake off and provides a tough maintenance-free coating that never needs painting. The Daley Center has been standing since 1965; the Picasso, since 1967.
@Michael Weiland Cool sculpture, thanks for the reference. Here's a photo if anyone else is interested. <a href="https://loopchicago.com/in-the-loop/artists-corner-the-chicago-picasso" target="_blank">https://loopchicago.com/in-the-loop/artists-corner-the-chicago-picasso</a>/
@Michael Weiland We had a sculpture installed in front of the new performing arts hall in my home town in the mid-1970s. Same story with the natural oxidation. Even back then I thought they were trying to sell us on accepting rust as art. Good points about its being maintenance-free though. I think that was mentioned as a plus back then too.
A very mixed bag for me. GEAR TEETH, MOLAR, HIPPO, TEES and PRIMPS were excellent, I appreciate clues that are not just synonyms. The ELBOW, TERCELS, PONIED UP, ALPHABITS, GREEK ROW and the ARC were obscure to me. although I liked finding out about the sculpture, I'd like to see that, and I'm happy to learn about AGOUTIS. The idea that enjoying the great outdoors involves driving around in a huge vehicle seems odd to me.The more vehicles, the less 'great' is the outdoors. I've only seen LAB COATS that look like ... coats, not smocks. Quite the Saturday challenge.
I got bogged down because I've never played a mandolin without wearing a CAPe, which makes perfect sense, In My Harmonious Exhortation.
SPOILER-FREE WORDLE COMMENT I had so much trouble yesterday. I had three letters in their correct positions and there were no possible words I could find with the remaining letters. It turns out that I, having just done the crossword, was thinking that the gold letters meant they were in their proper places. Doh.
@superlatively absurdum *Just* a cape I hope against hope.
@Andrzej me *blushes coquettishly*
Show me a mandolinist using a CAPO and I’ll show you a guitar player with a mandolin in their hand. Mando pickers pride themselves on never needing mechanical help changing keys. It’s just not a thing. Otherwise enjoyable puzzle!
@Darrin Patey YouTube has a great clip of Darrell Scott using a capo. Not trying to be contradictory, it’s a great song! I don’t know the url rules here so folks will have to search YT based on the title: Brother Wind -- Tim O'Brien with Darrell Scott
Amazing. Like the good Saturday puzzle, I begin to think that I’m stumped about halfway through. Then, the familiar insight flashes. Fun puzzle. I’m sure nowhere near as fast as many. I’m pleased I got it in just under half an hour with no assistance of any kind.
I am absurdly proud for having completed this, unaided, and without knowing the sculptor, agouti trivia or The Rock’s move (and when I did get the answer, it was v disappointingly non-specific. It involves a people and an elbow. Please, tell me more!) I also had to come to the comments to find out what hippos had to do with universities and colleges. But really, it is the constructor who should feel proud that the other clues were constructed in such a way that the puzzle could be completed despite not knowing the trivia.
@Karen The Rock was affectionately known as The People’s Champ, so therefore, his elbow drop was The People’s Elbow! Although, many would argue that at least for a time, his signature move was The Rock Bottom and his Finisher was the aforementioned elbow. Two very different things, but both very hard places to be stuck between with The Rock!
Was it just yesterday that somebody said they'd be fine with a WWE-themed puzzle? I don't want to START HERE, but... PSA for a FLIER (or a flyer?): I hope a line [Airline mechanic] is not a RIVETER. I'm not a commenter, but I play one on TV (PAID ACTOR). I made many acquaintances at day care drop-off, but I was not their MOMFRIEND. Waiting for Ad Absurdum to report on 41A. MIC drop.
@Barry Ancona ??? Airplane manufacture and repair is very often done with rivets.
@Barry Ancona The wait is over!
As someone who appreciates a nice array of trivia in a crossword I really liked this one. Mary Wallstonecraft, Toyota Tercels, hippocampi, agoutis, Hecate and Christian Yelich covered a lot of territory. Several other clues, like those for for 1A and 42D, were also excellent. I could have done without the pro wrestling answer but I'm sure others were happy with it.
@Ed I’m a baseball fan, but I could have done without Yelich. It’s obscure, uncommon and unedifying. I.e., classic proper noun glue. I’m also a tennis fan. ELISE is equally obscure and unedifying, but at least it’s common.
@Tom S. I thought YELICH was ok - I rarely watch a game of baseball these days, but even catching Sportscenter or PTI a few days a week was enough to put the word in the back of my head somewhere, and it only took a few crossing letters to let me fill it in confidently. Confident compared to a truly unknown word like AGOUTIS, at least. Confidence on Saturdays is supposed to be rare, right?
Cultural comment that has almost nothing to do with the puzzle. I have learned that the title mademoiselle or MLLE is considered mostly archaic in France. One only uses it for very young girls. Not even restaurant wait staff use it, like they use Miss in the US in an ill-fated attempt to get more tips. At least that's ill fated for me. I don't like a man young enough to be my grandson calling me Miss, it strikes me as very disrespectful. I have heard mademoiselle tossed out a few times for a grown woman, but always from someone older. It's very uncommon, and I think considered somewhat playful, at least in the contexts I've heard.
@Nora Thank you for this post. Same here. Our equivalent of mademoiselle is "panna" (which also is what we call the constellation Virgo) or "panienka" (a diminutive of "panna"). Historically "panna" used to mean an unmarried woman, and "panienka" was a preteen or teen girl from a 'good family,' generally too young to marry. "Stara panna" (literally, "old miss") used to be our equivalent of "spinster". I'm using the past tense here, because even though those terms were quite commonly used when I was a kid in the 80s, they have since been rightly abandoned as archaic and discriminatory. The modern default when addressing any woman is "Pani", which means "Lady", a term originally reserved for a high-born, married woman or widow.
@Nora Do they call unmarried grown women “Madame” these days?
@Nora I’m 69, and I’m frequently called “dear” by doctors, cashiers. That strikes me as disrespectful. And don’t get me started on “young lady.”
@Steve L yes. I like this custom shared by many Europeans alas not the UK. The odious Ms gets used instead. Mademoiselle means young girl, Madam means mature woman. A woman's marital status shouldn't come into it.
@Steve L In 2012 they removed the option Mademoiselle from every official documents/forms as it was considered discriminatory and unnecessary (since men didn't have an equivalent). The term slowly faded out in everyday discussions and now it's mostly used by people being patronising to women. In theory I would need to be referred to as Mademoiselle as I'm not married, although I have 2 kids and I have been living with my partner for a while. It just doesn't fit the reality of today's families.
@Nora In the US it's really pretty difficult to address someone in public. I've resorted to sir and ma'am in all cases but, like mademoiselle to you, they feel archaic and overly formal. The only other options are stuff like buddy and pal, which are worse. I use "man" a lot. Rarely "dude". Hardly ever "miss". And that's before you even get into the morass of preferred pronouns. :(
I had this weird feeling throughout the solve, like something was wrong in every patch of the grid, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Too many unknown trivia entries I guess (although the crossings seemed solid). I was shocked when I put the AR in TILTEDARC and the yellow star jumped into my screen. A puzzling puzzle, indeed.
I’ve -laced mandolin for 40 years. In 40 years I have used a capo once. You could have used guitar as the clue. Mandolin players almost never use a capo.
@Kathy hirsh I came here to say this! I've never used a capo.
@Kathy hirsh most of the mandolin players in my local picking circle use a capo. Maybe it’s regional? I think b/c it’s a Saturday they didn’t want to clue it as guitar to make it “harder”.
I grew a gigantic golden beet this year, and decided to carve it into a beet-o-lantern. Boy, it was scary, and did a sort of Dorian Gray thing as it has been aging over a few days. Tonight was its final appearance. PROXY WAR with the neep faction? BEYOND PARODY? MAYBE PILE for next year? I GUESS NOT?
@Cat Lady Margaret I find golden beets themselves creepy. They taste all right if you can get past that weird non-beet color. Your post was a hoot! Did your own face grow younger in the mirror as Mr. Beet-o-Lantern aged?
Another terrific Saturday puzzle. I feel like we're on a roll here, and I hope it continues.
I guess Saturdays are for obscure trivia that I have never found interesting and will instantly forget again.
Saturday morning routine: Coffee, and googling all the obscure nonsense substituted for imaginative and clever clueing in the NYT crossword.
@LJADZ, hmm. I loved it! One man’s obscure nonsense is another [wo]man’s pleasurable challenge. I look forward all week to this Saturday morning mental workout, and today’s fit the bill perfectly.
@LJADZ Where do you go for puzzles that meet your exacting standards for cleverness? Please don't keep them to yourself; I'm sure we'd all enjoy solving such masterpieces.
Not a hard Saturday at all, even though there was stuff I didn't know. Agoutis, the sculpture. Who'da thought my very passing acquaintance with the Rock would help so much. :) And yeah the Cactus Jack reference was dissonant. I only knew of that name because of the old Stern show. I can't imagine how annoying a name like Alphabits must be to those who aren't of a certain age having grown up in the US. Ah well. There were no oreos but pedi tiptoed tight back in... Not happy with eaved, but a good puzzle overall.
@B, thanks for the PSA about the missing OREO. Those USERS who stayed up LATE, like MARY and MIA, or GOTUP early, like ELISE were pEAVED that this EPIC HEX had gone BEYONDPARODY this past week. PASSITON.
That was certainly one of the harder ones that I’ve solved unaided. Well over my average. But in the end, a satisfying puzzle.
Yeah, that one felt like pulling MOLARs to me. And not in a good way! Har! The upper left was the most accessible to me but all of the rest was BEYONDbelief for me... Especially learning that one might say BEYONDPARODY instead. I tried to ENTER HERE in the lower right, but nothing doing... Had Diddy for a while before DRDRE, because seriously, what do I know about such things and I already had the top D..... At least I know my Spanish numbers and a little bit of geography. IMHO, in the upper right otoh sounds much more like a disclaimer to me, but those are not textese that I ever use. Ah, yeah, I do feel like I was given the PEOPLESELBOW on this one, which was a complete unknown, which I eventually got through crosses of course. Ah, yeah, overall not a favorite. I'm good with hard, though this one seems to be deemed as average, but it was not very enjoyable to me but I'm in a little bit of an meh mood today so NOI have no criticisms of the puzzle itself. It just wasn't for me and/or it just wasn't my day. I did complete it without lookups but I don't feel very huzzah-ish about it. It was ridiculously slow going. Maybe I'll go do a Monday from the archives so I don't feel like such a dud. ☺️ Still, I did like HIPPO, even if it took me embarrassingly long to get. Also, MAYBEPILE and PRIMPS were nice!
@HeathieJ I’m with you today. In fact I did not succeed today—the puzzle felt so completely impenetrable for so long that I turned on Autocheck (which I never mind doing on a Saturday). Even then I could barely scrape it out and I wondered if I should even finish. Just not on wavelength today, totally opposite of yesterday. Looking forward to the Sunday puzzle.
@HeathieJ I liked a good challenge, but today fell flat for me. There were fairly few enjoyable aha moments. Your comment made me realize that that was why I didn't appreciate today's puzzle.
@HeathieJ I’m with you my dear, definitely no Huzzahing with this one.
@HeathieJ 'Twas a bit nasty this puzzle was, 'twasn't it?
BEYONDPARODY is very fitting these days
Did anybody else mentally follow the clue "Only mammals that can crack Brazil nuts with their teeth," with the line "or want to?" Oh - yes, I did enjoy the puzzle.
Whew. Eight debut answers; Nine others that only ever appeared once or twice before. More than a few of those that were not familiar to me at all. Anyway... had to cheat to get through this one. Shouldn't count it -no big deal. 15 letter answer find today was inspired by 37a. ROSIETHERIVETER It's been an answer in eight puzzles but only part of the theme in two of those. See you tomorrow. ...
@Rich in Atlanta Oh, and of course my puzzle find. A Sunday from October 6, 2019 by Howard Barkin and Victor Barokas with the title: "Initial public offerings." Theme answers in that one, all straightforwardly clued: ALICEBTOKLAS HUNTERSTHOMPSON ARTHURCCLARKE SUSANBANTHONY STEPHENADOUGLAS GEORGEMCOHAN Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/6/2019&g=73&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/6/2019&g=73&d=A</a> See you tomorrow. ...
Wowie (I seem to keep saying that lately) Zowie. This certainly put me through my paces. So many place to go wrong!! IGUANAS fit perfectly except for the "Not it" part. A baseball star from 2018? Srsly? THAT was BEYOND PARODY. The margins of my page were one big MAYBE PILE Aha! "Certain smock"--right up my alley! Old Dad SHIRT for art class, right? Makes one wish to turn our constructor into a TENOR, eh? And bestest clue EVAH: "Campus opening?" Can't tell you how many times I pulled MOLAR out in my tortured path to the solve... Wonderful! Now off to my guild meeting with a plate of cookies and my latest art quilt.
In case you were wondering, VP John Nance Garner was known as "Cactus Jack" for championing the blossom of the prickly pear over the bluebonnet as state flower, while he was in the Texas Legislature. I felt compelled to look that up. Anyway, it was probably the oddest clue for FDR that I can remember. The man was known for so many things, like trying to pack the Supreme Court and putting Japanese-Americans in concentration camps. Also, "Cactus Jack" was another persona of wrestler Mick Foley, who was mentioned in the column as a recipient of the 27A. Foley's autobiography is quite an interesting read, even if you're not a fan of WWE.
Omg. PRIMPED drove me insane, I had never heard the word and had everything in there from BRICKED to CRIMPED. I suspected it should refer to looking at yourself in the mirror somehow, but had no idea what to use... And combined with the many possibilities after BEYOND... Didn't feel guilty looking up some very US knowledge such as the Toyota car or the baseball stat, or that mvp or whatever alphabits is. Loved the clue for IPOS "
There was so much beyond my general knowledge and very few gimmes but I persevered. I chipped away, tentatively entering guesses to see if I could infer a word but erasing quickly if I couldn’t make a crossing, so as to not get in a rut. I found the SE and the SW quite easy but that center right area really held me up. PEOPLES ELBOW, unknown to me, seems an odd moniker. For a while I had the OW and thought THROW would be more likely for The Rock. It took a lot of unraveling to get the happy music but I’ve survived another Saturday and the streak continues.
It's not often that my years of being a pro wrestling fan is also handy to solving a crossword, but the People's Elbow helped me last the smackdown on this puzzle, coming in 6 minutes ahead of my usual Saturday. Plus a "Cactus Jack" reference (though not Mick Foley)? Bang bang! I smell what Mr. Lieberman is cooking.
Done. Very challenging Saturday...but a bit joyless. Just a bit, imho.
I don’t know how I solved that. Decided to take a stab at 26D and the last three answers just fell into place from there. Beyond parody is new to me. But I like it. I will have to add that to my lexicon. Hubby and I debated doing Halloween as 6 and 7. But since Joann Fabrics went under I still haven’t found a replacement store. The rain seemed to dampen our trick or treaters, by the end I was handing every teen at my door a large handful of candy. I think I even got a couple of college students.
workaday saturday. mini with shades of maxi.
Serra’s monumental, elegant work stood up for gravity. He was in favor of it, I believe. His pieces glow red like canyons at sunset. Where all the RV’s are parked. Beside the rock.
Spent my birthday yesterday as a guinea pig in a UCLA Health study, so I didn’t start this one until this morning. On my first pass across, I had tOoth, PEOPLES ELBOW, ANOS and hulu. For the downs, ETD, ERA, cElicaS, _ECATE, otoh, NO I, EATup, PONIED UP, YELICH, EAST, SIETE, DR DRE and TUX. Not to bad for a first pass. My husband loves The Rock and would offer up the PEOPLE’s ELBOW to relieve knots on my back 😂 I also knew Christian YELICH from my time in Wisconsin which overlapped his NL MVP year. And finally, my very first test I conducted in my neuroscience lab my senior year of college was on the HIPPOcampus of a rat. That brought an immediate smile when I sussed that one out! 😁
Jacqui J, Happy Birthday! I hope that in the health study yesterday they didn't lump you in with the AGOUTIS.
@Jacqui J Reminds me that I was contacted by UCLA Health for a study on habitual marijuana use, and had meant to participate, but couldn't motivate to respond.
@Jacqui J, Happy Birthday!!! 🎉🎂🎈 So funny that there were so many connections with this puzzle to things in your life — The Rock and his PEOPLESELBOW, Christian YELICH, and the HIPPOcampus. Makes we wonder now if you drive a LOTUS, or have seen the PIETA, or were Rosie the RIVETER in your past life.
That was ridiculously hard … PRIMPS, wrestling moves, YELICH, ALPHABITS, all unknowns OLIVE TREE & HECATE were ok for me but I had no help from the beer and not knowing the ARC was a personal failure as I’ve been to the Guggenheim in Bilbao many many times and it should have come sooner. There is a sense of accomplishment but it’s hard to pin down why … Thanks anyway to the constructor and the editor
Love the quote from the judge. I followed that case from a distance, and my sympathies were with the people who actually use the space and didn't like their lunchtime shortcut blocked by a wall of rusting steel. Maybe that's why I got the answer without any hints or crosses; actually the first clue I got. ManI before PEDI--a real KEALOA there--TRIPLEsomething before PEOPLESELBOW, and briefly wondered if the clue for HIPPO was misplaced: surely they could crush a Brazil nut if they found one, right? I vaguely remember popes named URBAN from my long since rejected Catholic upbringing, but I never understood why it was a person's name.
@Jack McCullough Why wouldn't it be a person's name? It derives from Latin, where it means "of the city". At the time, a person's name often had to do with some real-life characteristic of theirs. The first pope Urban lived in the 3rd century CE, and has been recognized as a saint. It was only natural for other popes over the centuries to pick the name of their famous predecessor.
Also, urbs, the generic Latin for "city", is shorthand for Rome, the papal see and the world center of Catholicism. I bet the papal name Urban was meant to play on that, as well.
@Jack McCullough URBAN Meyer was the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and now works at Fox Sports. That's the only contemporary one I know of. His parents must have been uber-Catholic.
Remember that post about confidence yesterday? I needed it today more than ever. I started to think I jinxed myself. After about 30 minutes, I had a grid that looked right, but no Gold Star. I had at least three squares that I didn't think were right, but way too many to brute force. 13D was what really tripped me up though. I figured that 26A could only be Mary or Macy. I had Hi Bro for 18A. That left me with either Pare Cover or Parer Over for 13D. Both seemed plausible. I figured 17A could only be TILTED ABC or TILTED Arc. I tried every letter for the 20 square with all four of the above permutations. No Gold Star. I then spent another 30 minutes fidgeting with it before going to sleep figuring fresh eyes in the morning would help. They did. Hi Bro had to be wrong because it's ALPHABITS not ALBHABITS. That meant it was HIPPO not HIBRO. That meant it was PAPEROVER not PAREROVER. Gold Star. 105 Days
@Steven M. Same experience with different errors. If there was a measurement for the number of characters entered, removed, and subsequently found to be correct, I broke the record last night. Woke up this morning and finished on my first pass of the day.
I'm in the same camp as most others – very difficult but very satisfying for a perfect Saturday puzzle.
27A RaisedEyebrow was my first attempt. I know who The Rock is but not from fake wrestling.
@Steve. “Fake wrestling”? Just because it’s choreographed doesn’t necessarily reduce its reality. We don’t call ballet “fake dancing” Of course, I am considering it as an entertainment, not a sport.
@Steve Wrasslin' is not real??? Nooooo! Next, there is no Santa and no Easter Bunny. Pleeeease tell me there was a virgin birth.