I wanted to take a moment to recognize the passing of one of the great wordsmiths of this or any generation, Tom Stoppard. I found a quote of his that I believe everyone on this forum can finally agree on and appreciate: “Words... They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good any more... I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you when you're dead.” and two more of my favorites: “Life is a gamble, at terrible odds. If it were a bet you wouldn’t take it.” “Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where’s it going to end?” I’m just scratching the surface, I’ll let you discover more yourself if you haven’t already. Farewell, Sir Stoppard, thank you for sharing your wit, wisdom and humor with us. You will be missed.
@SP Great tribute to an amazing playwright. I haven't ever been able to see a play of his produced live, but I've watched the movie "Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead" many, many times. Absolutely hilarious and terrifying at the same time. And the wonderful way "Hamlet" moves around them and intersects with them...just brilliant.
@SP We are so different, ye gods! Those two short quotes seem closer to pseudo-profound bee-ess than to wisdom, to me. I'm on the fence about the longer quote. I like it until the sentimental part about children reciting poems...
@SP A few days ago I almost mentioned an awesome(yes, awesome) production of "Arcadia" I saw here a few years ago. Can't remember why I didn't. But it blew me away.
No YodaSpeak here, just hats off to one of the most fun, yet edifying puzzles of the year. Of course I knew the names of each song and punched them into all the spaces without any knowledge of the theme. And then found myself totally baffled when the puzzle fell apart. Nothing was making sense. So I concentrated and used the force to find the theme. It was like a miniature Star Wars, with me as Luke Crossworder.
Clearly Now, I Can See that I’m not the only one who was charmed by this puzzle. Fun Tonight, Everybody Have.
"To baldly go where no man has gone before." First I had Iran / Inuit, and while I quickly corrected the error, I also paused to reflect on what it would be like if there were a people called Take This Job and Shove It. Like on a census, if asked to describe your ethnicity, you'd fill in Take This Job and Shove It. Or you just got hired for your dream job, and the new boss asks about your background and your family. "My people come from Yugoslavia and Macedonia," she said, "how about yours?" "Take This Job and Shove It," you reply proudly. "I'm one quarter Take This Job and Shove it" and the rest Siberian. Omsk to be exact." Then I plowed ahead and completed the thing, amused by the puzzle more than I amused myself. Or, as Eddie-Yoda would say, "This puzzle I done did."
@john ezra 😂😂😂 One of us be tripping, dude, and I don't think it's me!
john ezra, Regarding your final paragraph, first sentence, and with no disrespect to the puzzle, which was fun: you amused me more :)
My mother used Prell. I can smell it in my mind! Remember the old commercials where the lady put a pearl in the bottle & you watched it go down … very slowly? What a trip down memory lane!
@Liz Evans Here's a Prell ad from 1973: <a href="https://youtu.be/KCc7mTxOstU?si=_pvJQVr9Kc05m6x7" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/KCc7mTxOstU?si=_pvJQVr9Kc05m6x7</a> I was 10 years old and loved my Prell shampoo! The clue reads "Shampoo often in a green bottle." The ad reaffirmed the way I remembered it – a clear bottle; the shampoo itself was green. Then again, maybe there was a later packaging that was in fact green.
@Sotto voce I looked, too. Later on the shampoo was sold in green plastic bottles.
@Liz Evans You shampooed with Prell, you conditioned with "Tame." Then you put a bonnet with a hose attached on your head and plugged it in the wall and when your head was hot enough that you almost fried your hair, your beauty regimen was complete. All for less than a $ a month.
At first afraid I was, petrified I was Kept thinking I could never done did this puzz But then I spent so many parsecs thinking how me you did wrong And I grew strong and I learned how to enter songs And now from Dagobah you're back Walked in I did to find my girl you kissed *smack smack* I should have charged my stupid saber I should've known what you'd do or do not (So mad like Sam I am, my sentence structure's shot) Go on now, go, walk out the escape hatch Around here don't let me you catch Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with the force Did you think I'd transcend my body and disappear like Obi- Wan Kenobi or a spooked horse? Oh no, not I, survive I will As long as I know how to solve, I know this grid I'll fill All day to finish I've got, and earn I will my gold star Here in my galaxy that's away far far This took me surprisingly long to compose, but it turned out really well(assuming you're not hung up on meter, consistency or continuity)!
I enjoyed this puzzle a lot! It definitely made me smile. Or, you could say: Made of this, sweet dreams are
@Ryan To disagree, who am I?
When someone stole his mineral rights it took a lode off his mine.
@Jim I can hear the screams from here...mine among them!
Mildly amusing, it is... ...but in a Yoda-voice, you must say it. "Solve. Or solve not. There is no try."
The number of song titles that can be Yoda-fied is so great that one has to limit the possibilities. So here are some Beatles' songs Yoda-fied: YOUR HAND, I WANT TO HOLD THE WALRUS, I AM YOU, I WANT (SO HEAVY, SHE IS) LOOKING THROUGH YOU, I AM and my favorite: A FACE I CAN'T FORGET, I'VE JUST SEEN Of course, songs that begin with (pro)nouns other that "I" can also be Yoda-fied: WORK IT OUT, WE CAN THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW, SHE CAME
My initials thoughts are very positive. I caught onto the trick with the titles before I knew the hilarious reason why we were doing it. Just a pleasure to solve. A thousand thanks, Mr. Barocas. It was a hoot and a half.
A fun theme that was, like it I did 😃. (I bet all comments begin like that today, but there really is no other way with a theme like this) The fill was a bit hard for me in places but I dealt with it in the end without Google's help. I was unfamiliar with The Who title, which was my biggest problem today. I didn't understand PEDS when it emerged from crosses but it was covered by the column.
@Andrzej “I Can See for Miles” is the best of the four songs.
@Andrzej stumped by PEDS, I was too! (Only association I could think of was paediatric, and that REALLY didn't seem right...)
Dvorak's Slavonic Dances were originally written for piano four-hands, and later orchestrated by the composer. Here's a YouTube video of two distinguished pianists (Yuja Wang and Andras Schiff) performing two of the dances: - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ukuHdWGOI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ukuHdWGOI</a> It's a study in contrasts, in more ways than one.
Fitting that WILLIAM is wordplay-lover Mr. Shortz's first name in both English and Yodish. Et tu, emu.
@Lewis I first read this as "English and Yiddish". I suspect I won't be alone.
Hopefully. We’ll get some good ones that take people back to meaningful times Always Love You, I Will Through The Grapevine, I Heard It Around, I Get You Babe, I Got Candy, I Want For Loving You, I Hate Myself
@Weak "Te deum laudamus" Yoda speak already is 😮
I’m going to try my best to say this in as grammatically correct a way as is humanly possible at this point: “This is not the word order you were looking for.” (Tried *and* done.)
I cannot complain about a Yoda themed puzzle. This was a "chewy" little wednesday! May the force be with you all.
[What solvers who don’t like the theme might say] SATISFACTION, I CAN’T GET NO [What Sam might say as she guides solvers through the theme] HOLD YOUR HAND, I WANT TO [What fans of a twisted musical theme might say] ROCK N ROLL, I LOVE The last group, I am in. Thanks, Victor
@Anita Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. (I'm in that group too). ....
I don't know Star Wars from Star Trek. I think I saw the former during its first run at a movie theater, but I was on a date and we had both partaken of a nickel bag. All I remember was a lot of pretty flashing lights. (Yes, I did inhale). I have seen the Yoda character many times, but had no idea of his idiosyncratic speaking style. I had no trouble getting three of the four theme answers, since they were part of my musical coming of age. Didn't know Katy Perry's song — too new for me. The theme reminded me, though, of my grandmother. As a student of languages, I can figure out the sentence structure of a person's native language by the way they speak English, and Grandma was no exception. She didn't speak English very well. They lived on the second floor of our two-family house, and there were several times when I was upstairs and grandpa had to go somewhere, but forgot something. She's say something like "Throw grandpa down the stairs his hat." So I smiled all through those theme answers.
@Times Rita I love that story, thanks 😃 Polish is extremely flexible when it comes to word order in a sentence. You can rearrange the words in almost any configuration and the result will still make sense. I guess it's because declension of nouns and conjugation of verbs make it clear what role every word plays in a sentence. Zrzuciłem dziadkowi kapelusz ze schodów - I threw the hat down the stairs to grandpa. Zrzuciłem dziadka w kapeluszu ze schodów - I threw grandpa, who was wearing a hat, down the stairs. Can you see the difference? Dziadkowi vs dziadka? That's declension, and it shows what's being done with or to grandpa in the sentence. The first sentence will still mean the same in this (slightly awkward but not erroneous) version: Dziadkowi ze schodów kapelusz zrzuciłem. The word order is different but the meaning didn't change.
@Times Rita Wasn't the sterotypical sentence of that ilk "Throw Mama from the train a kiss"?
@Times Rita Reminds me of the classic, “Let’s eat grandma; I’m hungry.” Commacal, no?
@Times Rita Sounds like Pennsylvania Dutch to me!
In the "Credit where credit is due" department: The photograph accompanying today's "Wordplay" column is not hard to "get": a word play on "unresolved", it shows a lo-res, inverted image of the Mona Lisa, that becomes hi-res(?) and right-side-up when viewed through a little crystal ball. The artist is Devorah Sperber, who, between 1999 and 2010, made a number of artworks copying iconic images, made from spools of thread. Unsurprisingly, her versions of the Mona Lisa were the most popular. <a href="https://www.devorahsperber.com/thread_works_index_html_and_2x2s/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.devorahsperber.com/thread_works_index_html_and_2x2s/index.html</a> Thanks, Sam, for sending me down this interesting rabbit hole.
@The X-Phile Thanks, X, for taking me down that interesting hole with you.
@The X-Phile "a word play on "unresolved", it shows a lo-res, inverted image of the Mona Lisa" Don't forget the inverted syntax of Yoda-speak. Double wordplay--any less of Sam expect we would?
PRELL was the go-to for soaping fountains in glory days gone by. It wasn't me, honest. Repeating what I've heard, I am only.
A fun one this was. Looking forward to the new word order.
Hah! I filled in CHIN for [Guarded area for many athletes], which gave me ACH! for [Forehead marker at the start of Lent], which brought a smile as I imagined seeing someone with that cry written in ashes on their forehead at the start of giving up dear things. Charmed I was by [Words after “happily ever after”] for THE END, as it reminded me of how my heart warmed when I was a kid listening to fairy tales. Charmed I was as well by Yoda’s endearing way of speaking. Speaking of heart-warming, ANNE PATCHETT’s books. I, who usually have trouble guessing a puzzle’s revealer – had no trouble today. It popped right in after I filled in the first theme answer. And if you tell me it was obvious and easy LA LA LA LA LA LA LA. I liked that Victor was just a Z short of a pangram and didn’t weaken the answer set trying to wrench that letter in. I also liked the trio of three-letter palindromes (TAT, OSO, ASA). Much pleasure in the box, therefore, for me. Victor, your puzzle did my heart good. Thank you!
@Lewis Speaking of 'wrench'....I wanted 57A to be WREST, since 'wrench' wouldn't fit...but that wasn't the right word either. Really had to change my thinking!
Successful operation. Well, operations. The hike and the streak. Surprisingly we had a cell signal at the top of the mountain. Perhaps even more surprisingly, it was strong enough to load the crossword but not strong enough to load the comments. So you get yesterday's comment now. I keep a bottle of BELVEDEREVODKA in my freezer for one purpose. To celebrate Iga Swiatek titles. It stays in the freezer up until she's a game away from winning a title.
Steven, Glad to hear the hike went well. Hope you enjoyed it. You'll have to break your streak another time.
@Steven M. That’s a lot of vodka over the past s3veral years! She is amazing.
So I hate to be less than exuberant about a puzzle with a YODA theme, that references Kirk and Picard (loved that clue), and highlights OSU that just whipped Michigan (go Buckeyes), as I sit in sunny Sarasota FLA about an eighth of a mile from the Tamiami Trail, my return to Ohio after Thanksgiving weekend delayed by the snow. But alas I did find it a bit ho-hum otherwise. Yeah I got a fleeting smile from the theme entries but not sure why finding random song titles that you can YODA-ize has much to do with anything and the fill and clues seemed pretty bland and straightforward. Still, it was a cute idea and I’ll take it for what it was.
@SP Mildly amusing, it is... ...but in a Yoda-voice, you must say it. "Do. Or do not. There is no try."
It appears that the overall grade given to this Wednesday puzzle by you folks was: LUKE-warm.
Not that it matters in any way, but surely Yoda would call the songs “See for Miles I Can”, “Shot the Sheriff I Did” and “Kiss a Girl I Did”?
As hoped for, my usual late puzzle find. Did this one, but had forgotten it. Anyway - a Tuesday from May 19, 2020 by Trent H. Evans. Just some really fun clues. Here are the theme clues and answers: "This hot dog is absolute perfection!," said Tom ___ : WITHRELISH "You're making a grave mistake," said Tom ___: CRYPTICALLY "I can't find a flower for 'She loves me, she loves me not,'" said Tom ___ : LACKADAISICALLY "I've learned my lesson about feeding the tigers," said Tom ___ : OFFHANDEDLY "Many thanks for your help in Paris," said Tom ___ : MERCIFULLY Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/19/2020&g=38&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/19/2020&g=38&d=A</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta. My parents raised us with Tom Swifties. We all have a wry sense of humor!
@Rich in Atlanta LOL thanks!
I’m one of those who got a smile from this, though I figured my age had a lot to do with it, and others might be frustrated. I mean, I saw The Who perform I Can See for Miles in 1971. I watched Captain Kirk. Normally I’d be grumpy about a puzzle like this, so I understand if some didn’t like it. But I had fun with it. Some memories here. I even remember Prell.
@Crevecoeur yes, being an older person helped me tremendously. I also watched Star Trek in real time lol
My husband and I learned some time back that what we’d previously described as “Yoda-speak” was formally “anastrophe” — the “inversion of the usual syntactical order of words for rhetorical effect.” I love music and know three of the four songs quite well, so I enjoyed this even if it was a little on the easy side. My only real slowdown was at 57A, where I originally tried to make wrEsTs work. Thanks for the fun, Mr. Barocas!
A puzzle right up my alley this was. Tons of musical clues, most of them intersecting with Star Wars, I watched a SIXERS game this evening, and I’ve used an ATRA razor for decades. I did have to use some crosses to figure out how to morph I Can See For Miles into FORMILESICANSEE (perhaps I should have checked the revealer), but I got it quickly enough and the puzzle was a snap after that. Lots of fun with this I had.
@Marshall Walthew. At first, when I just had the OR, I was rooting for Boris the Spider, somehow… one letter short though… eventually the crosses and theme set me straight.
Cute theme, middle was a dense trivia slog. Who song could have used better hinting IMO.
Someone else has probably pointed this out, but not knowing Prell dates you. As younger than a boomer.
@George Judson I loved Prell. But then, I am a boomer.
@George Judson I remember watching the Prell commercials when I was a kid and wondering how they got the pearl that they dropped in to the bottle out.
@George Judson this GenXer was familiar with Prell 🙋🏼♀️
As a former Ohioan, now living as a Michigander, but one who genuinely cares about college sports (or professional, for that matter) not one whit, I find the rivalry between OSU and the Catholepistemiad of Michigania (as it was originally named) a source of amusement. It's possible that the rivalry originated with the Toledo War of 1835, aka the Ohio–Michigan War, should you care to type an en-dash. The C of M was founded in 1817 in Detroit by Fr. Gabriel Richard—I bike by the site every morning on my way to work—and only relocated to ANN Arbor in 1841. At its inception, the school was endowed with thirteen didaxiim, or fields of study: in Anthropoglossica, Mathematica, Physiognostica, Physiosophica, Astronomia, Chymia, Iatrica, Œconomica, Ethica, Polemitactica, Diëgetica, Ennœica, and Catholepistemia; and don't you dare split those digraphs! One might argue that the rival of Michigan is Michigan. That is to say, between the (renamed) University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University. As a result, one has to be careful about one's terminology: U of M vs. MSU, Wolverine vs. Spartan, Ann Arbor vs. East Lansing, or simply "Michigan" vs. "State." The rivalry is, in many ways, between Urban vs. Rural, Affluent vs. Salt-of-the-earth, Detroit metro vs. All the rest of Michigan; but, of course, this is a gross over-simplification. *** Here's some sunny music, in a minor alternating with A major: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG33g_ELdeM&list=RDJG33g_ELdeM&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG33g_ELdeM&list=RDJG33g_ELdeM&start_radio=1</a>
Re: rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State. I've heard Michigan vs. the Udder U
This puzzle, I loved. It hit me at just the right moment and in just the right way. I was so smart. I knew the Gloria Gaynor song and inked it in. Marley and Clapton? Only one possible song, and it fit, and I was so proud of myself. The Who? First I thought of Pinball Wizard -- too short -- but then the right answer popped. And then, none of the crosses fit. Impossible words. So, I thought I'd better take a closer look at the bottom right theme clue, which stumped me at first. But my neighbor has a dog named Yoda (yes, he's that ugly), and next came a guffaw, followed by edits to my musical brilliance with the Yoda-esque word arrangement. After that, the rest of the puzzle flew by. Really, truly fun. Actually, sort of easy for a Wednesday once the theme was decoded. But I give the author an OBIE, an ESPY and a standing ovation for bravery.
One more puzzle find. Quite remarkable. A Sunday from December 5, 1976 by Maura B. Jacobson with the title: "Exam time." Some theme clues and answers: "What did Hartman snack on?" MARYHADALITTLELAMB "Where in church is Masterson?" BATSINTHEBELFRY "What is put on Basie's bed?" DOWNFORTHECOUNT "Where do Sandburg's pirates hide?" CARLSBADCAVERNS "What does the queen do at the corner?" VICTORIACROSSES "What is Elizabeth's tennis forte?" HERMAJESTYSSERVICE "How do you contact Tarkington?" PHONEBOOTH "Where does Sigmund park his ferries?" FREUDIANSLIPS Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/5/1976&g=97&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/5/1976&g=97&d=A</a> ....
Solve this puzzle, I did. Trying to fit other song titles to the Yoda-speak theme should be a lot of fun. I'll leave it to y'all. Last puzzle for a couple weeks for me, I'll be on the road.
@Linda Jo Safe travels and calm seas (also known as roads).
@Linda Jo You'll be missed around here and we'll look forward to your return. Stay well and safe, and bon voyage!
Man, Mr. Tambourine Better, I Shoulda Known A'Changin, the Times They Are Any More, I Ain't Marchin Have fun at it.
@Ms. Billie M. Spaight Blowing in the wind, the answers are
Since I don't know songs by their performers or bands or (often) their titles, this puzzle presented an extra challenge for me...Plus, YODA's speech pattern hadn't struck me as being all that consistent (or it's just been too long!) When the SHERIFF appeared, it was a big help. Speaking of help, I had to call Security this morning when my walking buddy announced she was feeling shaky--and then fainted on the drive right in front of her house. I got her down safely, but she is a little taller than I am despite being a featherweight, and she had a death grip on my arm, so she took me down with her. Flat on my face, I was. Ow, ow, ow. We're both okay, but she was apparently dehydrated (according to the nurse who showed up with the security guard.) At least we got our mile in first...
@Mean Old Lady Good heavens! How frightening! Glad to see you're up(ish) and posting. Reminds me of the great dialogue from the first Reeve-Kidder Superman movie, as Lois Lane is plummeting mid-air -- HE (catching her): Don't worry, I've got you! SHE (in his arms): You've got /me/? Who's got /you/?!?
@Mean Old Lady Scary. Glad you're both ok.
I have enjoyed Victor Barocas puzzles over the years. I liked this one too, but I thought it was too easy for a Wednesday. YMMV.
I see I am not alone in that opinion among the early birds. Global Stats Difficulty Easy Median Solve Time 6:54 Median Solver 28% faster ⚡100% of users solved faster than their Wednesday average. 67% solved much faster (>20%) than their Wednesday average. 🐢0% of users solved slower than their Wednesday average. 0% solved much slower (>20%) than their Wednesday average.
@Barry Ancona A tad under my Monday average, I solved this in.
This puzzle on this day satisfied my particular wishes for challenge and ease, misdirects and redos, quick fill and guesses, solvable spans, and TILs. A delight! My favorite entry was LODE for “A miner celebration?” ⛏️
Oh man. I loved this puzzle, and Radiohead came on in the background of a video my wife was watching while I was solving and clicked the clue for 35D. So close to the pangram. Where was the Z that got edited out after submission?
Faster than yesterday’s puzzle, I solved this. Fun solving it, I had. I saw the SIXERS play the Lakers many moons ago at the Forum. Charles Barkley was still playing for the Sixers and was ejected from the game. Great game to catch in person. Dismissed from jury duty, I was!! 🎉