Nice to have a Monday puzzle that's more than just filling in the blanks. Not too difficult for newcomers and not too boring for old timers, a difficult balance to maintain. Thank you, Ian, some cool IDeas.
If they waited a couple of weeks, we could have had the ĪDs of March.
"Should I measure this in pounds or kilograms?" "Either weigh." (I had other puns, but they scale in comparison.)
@Mike Please supply puns more suitable for the mass market.
@Mike Looks like you're on a tare, although you do OK on balance. Are the emus metering this?
@Mike An ounce of fine puns is worth a ton of jokes, but we'll have to weight and see if that's going to hold up.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Sign out? (4) 2. Alternatively ... !!! (2)(4) 3. They don't give you the full picture (5)(8) 4. Ones no longer in office? (6)(7) 5. Do a little too well? (4) EXIT OR ELSE MOVIE TRAILERS REMOTE WORKERS CHAR
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Dating qualifier] (5) [Really fancy?] (5) CIRCA COVET
It was impressive that every ID was a stand-alone word, not merely part of a longer word. I love it when someone notices a particularity in words and can turn that into a symmetrical puzzle!
TIL that PRINCEVALIANT and THEWIZARDOFID have the same number of letters. Ask me how I know.
@NYC Traveler Me too! Came to the comments to see if anyone else was in the TIL group with me on that one.
@NYC Traveler I think it's time to promote "Ask me how I know" into an acronym. I too have often discovered that the not-quite-right answer fits in the same squares as the right answer which I had not yet discovered. Time to save some typing time. AMHIK!
@NYC Traveler I had the WIZARD, and only needed the ID, but it's a familiar coincidence when there are two possibilities that have the same number of letters, and maddening if I like mine better.
Solid Monday puzzle. 13A was easy for me, as I spent a month in LILLE some 10 years ago, or so. The city is friendly and fun to explore, and there are tons of day trips one can do by train, elsewhere in France or in Belgium. One kind of tourism in that region is visiting WWI battle sites of the Western Front. There are some very famous ones such as Ypres and La Somme, but as Canadians we of course went to Vimy Ridge, taking a train from Lille to Arras. That day is still with me. The first part of the tour is given by Canadian college students in park ranger uniforms. They show you the trenches and tunnels, and recount how the battle played out, emphasizing the Canadian know-how, discipline and grit. It's incredible to hear this story standing where it all happened. But the most moving part of the visit is when you walk up to the towering stone memorial on the ridge, which remembers some 60,000 Canadian soldiers killed during the Great War. That war to end all wars.
@Esmerelda: do I remember right that you are also a DOULA?
@Esmerelda Thank you for this. I hadn't heard the story of Vimy Ridge. We in the US must remember that the population of Canada in 1916 was only eight million. Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on the commander of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge. He subsequently became Governor-General of Canada. Hockey fans may recognize the name. His wife established the Lady Byng Trophy. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Byng,_1st_Viscount_Byng_of_Vimy" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Byng,_1st_Viscount_Byng_of_Vimy</a>
@Esmerelda What a terrific tribute! Thank you so much, and I'm going to read more about Vimy Ridge.
@Esmerelda Thank you for this note on Canada's role in WWI. Remembrance Day (as we anglophones know it) was strictly observed at our parochial school because we understood deep in our bones that many of us would have lost family or never existed were it not for the insane bravery of Canadian forces in both World Wars. We memorized 'In Flanders Field'. We wore poppies. We were proud and sad. Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Passchaendele, the terrible battles on earth oozing blood are still commonly referred to as 'Canada's coming of age.'
Hit a 500 day streak with this one!
@Hugh, Congratulations! That is a great milestone to reach! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Oh, excellent Monday cluing, with more-than-usual answers featuring The Beat, where just for a moment I had to think about the clue before putting the answer down. Without The Beat, it’s an immediate no-think slap-down, and a puzzle with too many slap-downs is a throwaway, forgettable. But with sufficient mind-engaging entries, this puzzle kept my interest throughout. As @dutchiris beautifully said earlier, not too difficult for newcomers, and not too boring for old timers. I liked seeing THE WIZARD OF ID, which I haven’t thought about in ages, and read a bit about it after solving because I wondered why the Kingdom of Id was named for Freud’s “id”. Turns out It was ruled by a short, tyrannical and petty king who acts on his impulses, that is, he’s id-based. That strip is in its 62nd year, BTW. Welcome back, Ian, after a decade’s absence, and congratulations on your 56th NYT puzzle. May this be the start of a new run. Thank you for a most lovely Monday puzzle!
Pretty difficult for a Monday and a few answers that felt like a stretch. Frustrating beginning to the week for sure.
Oddly this was a Monday I appreciated the fill and the clues more than the theme. Nothing against it, I suppose, just seemed a little half baked to use Ian’s original IDiom. And while my Superego was proud of solving it and my Ego thought it was well balanced my ID didn’t get much of a kick out of it. But it was a crunchier Monday than usual and for once I had to jump around a bit, and I appreciated the care and thought behind the clues more than the usual Monday.
@SP Do you expect to get a kick out of a Monday though?
Not much to say about the puzzle as such - it was a typical Monday, with a theme that didn't grab me. I actually remembered BOISE, ID from when my wife and I crossed its outskirts on our way from Oregon to Wyoming. The place itself didn't seem memorable, but we were confused as to how to pronounce it - it looked French-ish, so we interpreted it to sound like the -boise bit of the Loire town of Amboise. We checked, and were surprised to realize our mistake. It's so sad that humans killed all DODO BIRDs and then to add insult to injury they made them the symbol of s7up!d!7y... We're so smart and empathetic, aren't we? I still remember how the word ALLEY confused me when I first learned it several decades ago. You see, in Polish we have the word "aleja", which sounds much alike your ALLEY, and the two words also share their etymology - both derive from the French "aller", "to walk". However, in Polish "aleja" means... an avenue: a long, tree-lined, usually wide street or road, exactly what any ALLEY is not. The grandest, most elegant streets of our cities are called "Aleje".
@Andrzej Next time, just come to Minnesota! It's all you need!! 🩵❤️💙
@Andrzej Just to confuse matters a little more, in English we have appropriated the word allée (or sometimes just allee) for just the kind of thoroughfare you're describing.
@Andrzej I, too, felt outrage over the puzzle's mistreatment of the dodo bird. I hope they are able to clone the dodo, and it comes back and teaches us how to integrate general relativity and quantum mechanics. And then they take over and we all serve the dodo overlords. Which doesn't sound all that bad to me, at the moment. I wish I was a dodo bird.
Surprisingly tricky for a Monday. Delayed me for longer than expected. Enjoyably so.
I have a quibble with the answer “vamp” for 15 across, (“Improvise in jazz”). Vamping is repeating a riff of pattern, and is the opposite of improvisation.
@Wayno --- I agree, although commenters below are quiblling with the same quibble. I think the issue comes from seeing dictionary definitions that say that vamp can mean to improvise, or extemporize. But the examples that of I've seen for that sense of vamp are not musical, they're like when a speaker suddenly has to fill time waiting for a technical issue, they may have to wing it or "vamp". As far as I know, vamp in the musical context is the other thing and not improvising (maybe some experienced musicians can enlighten us more).
@Wayno "Comp" would have been more accurate, and that tripped me up. With answers like vamp, ogled, sects, goth, badass, idgoeitherway and she-hulk, clearly the constructor had ulterior motives. (I'm probably overthinking this just a tad.)
@Wayno thanks. I don’t really know from Jazz. But I had first entered “scat”, which I believe is vocal improvisation in jazz. But with the crosses later came around to VAMP (i knew the term was used in jazz, but not the exact meaning). Looking it up later however, I could find no definition that claimed that “vamping” meant improvising - though I guess one could improvise a vamp and then iterate it (which I suppose might satisfy the “it’s a valid clue” crowd). However, based on your (and other comments) and my inability to find an any definition that claimed “vamping” could mean improvising. I would call this at best a bad clue (especially for a Monday)- unless someone can point me at some common usage examples.
This one leaned a but Tuesdayish to me, but I enjoyed all the interesting answers like THE WIZARD OF ID (19A) RAW BAR (47A), and DODO BIRD (8D). After my dad retired, he enjoyed making wooden dodo bird garden ornaments. The body was attached to the stake in the ground, and head was attached by a metal strap. Their heads would bob up and down in the wind. Those were my favorites. 😊
Our constructor writes: "Thrilled to have a constructor byline on a daily crossword again — my first since 2016!" Ian, I'm not surprised you were on hiatus after that 2016 puzzle. No more Thursdays for you! Delighted you're on staff now, and making other puzzles. Hope you'll be permitted to treat us to a Sunday. I hope the new solvers will know today's proper nouns from the clues or find them gently crossed. Now we need to check the ID of today's guest columnist.
Nice clues that made me think a little for a Monday. Surprised I remembered a certain newspaper comic strip that I haven't thought about in years. I managed to beat my Monday average by 50 whole seconds. Also, today I finished up every NYT Crossword since January 1st, 2020 through the present and am that much closer to doing the full online archives. Cheers all & happy solving!
tough monday off the bat - great puzzle that required some effort!
I tried to post a comment (two, actually...) this morning -- several hours ago -- but I guess this poor little clam is no longer allowed to say "Gaaaaah! " When an answer like RAW BAR shows upon the puzzle...
Captain Q, We know, we know. You get steamed. As I noted earlier in a reply. "It isn't personal; it's strictly business."
@Captain Quahog As another commenter mentioned: scallops in a raw bar??? Really? No siree Bob.
@Captain Quahog I thought [Where clams are served] was going to solve to "casino". Same number of letters! Less violent (though certainly slangy) definition...
Today was not my day. 9 minute solve. 7 minutes to fill plus two minutes to resolve. Had a Natick with DRAT/DEVO, misspelled EASaL (didn't know ADLER). So I was in ANTIGUA 12 years ago this weekend. I remember because it was during the 2014 Winter Olympics and over a holiday weekend, so had to be Presidents Day. I distinctly remember thinking of a specific line from the Jamaica Kincaid book. It was the first time I ever heard the word quaint (when we read it in elementary school). I fully understood what she meant and why she said it once I got there. As for the MIT Mystery HUNT, when I went to MathCamp (which is exactly what it sounds like), they had a similar puzzle weekend based on the MIT version. A lot of the counselors were MIT grad/doc students. Our team won. We stayed all night, solving the final puzzle around 4 AM. The prize was getting to design the hunt next year. I was very disappointed that the winning team the next year solved all of our puzzles by midnight
@Steven M. This did seem more difficult than a typical Monday. My time was slower than usual, as well. This felt more like a Tuesday at least.
@Steven M. I agree. While I enjoyed it and worked my way through, my pace was slower than my usual Mondays. It definitely felt more like a Tuesday to me and I was tempted to check the calendar to make sure I hadn't slept through Monday!
@Steven M. I was in ANTIGUA just over a year later, in March 2015. I went with my mother and stayed in the same hotel in Falmouth Harbor where she had visited just before I was born (many decades prior!). She said virtually nothing had changed in the area; we loved our vacation there!
Pretty tricky today, more than usual. The BOISE/HUNT/RAW BAR combination was the toughest for me. Still enjoyable .
@Jane Wheelaghan same, thanks for those, would have been a good one to have a clue on.
This puzzle makes me worry that there’s some kind of grift going on … we see puzzles by game staff so often, (which IMO shouldn’t be allowed) and this absolute snooze of a puzzle with a barely coherent theme troubles me when I see my constructor friends’ really excellent, clever and unique puzzles get constantly rejected. If a staff member has a puzzle published, it should set the bar for the rest of the constructors out there and not be so 46D, and hopefully they are not also paid to maintain integrity to it.
I reread the Wordplay column and comments for Ian's 2016 puzzle. I believe 344 comments was record back then! The puzzle: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2016/09/15" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2016/09/15</a> The column: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/crosswords/trapped.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/crosswords/trapped.html</a>
@Barry Ancona, I finished that puzzle in 1:29:06. Has to be my worst time ever for a Thursday.
@Barry Ancona I just tried to solve that puzzle. For the first time ever, I had literally nothing in the grid after my across and down pass 🤪 I had vague ideas as to what two of the entries might be but I wasn't sure enough about either to type them in 🤣 So I guess that's that.
@Barry Ancona Thanks for sharing this, Barry. That's what I call a challenging and fun puzzle. It was strangely amusing to read the comments. So many names I didn't recognize, but I saw you and (little) steve l and MOL.
@Barry Ancona I am on 2016 in the archives so just finished it recently. Took me 59 minutes a very long Thursday for me too. I might have even called it out in these comments after I did it as an example of a puzzle that would never fly today in terms of difficulty. But it was friggin’ brilliant especially the clueing of the revealers. I can see how like Pete Rose, Ian may have been banned from the sport after that.
Prince Valiant has the same number of letters as THE WIZARD OF ID.
@Wayne Harrison Yes, indeed. I was quite confident that it was a gimme.
@Wayne Harrison I immediately and proudly filled it in. My grandmother and I used to read it together on Sunday mornings in what she called "the funny papers". Reluctantly, I deleted it on the first cross.
PEDIGREE is an odd word and is thought to derive from the French “pé de grue”, meaning “foot of crane”, apparently because the shape of that bird’s foot resembled the way the family line was depicted on a heraldic family tree.
@Petrol Isn't it fascinating how cranes have seeded so many words? "Gruel" is so named because apparently the French among our ancestors made their cheap stew out of crane droppings. Similarly, gruyere cheese was originally made not with Renner but crane urine. The industrial process has changed over the years, but the name remains. "Cranberry" has a similar etymology, albeit without the French connection - the fruit looks and tastes like crane poop. Then there's "cranium" - cranes are more vicious than we give them credit for today. Those beaks can do some damage! Death by crane was a major contributor to mortality rates in 18th century English Lake District. Many people believed the main reason they had thick skulls was to protect them from having their brains devoured by bloodthirsty avians - thus they called a skull a cranium (-um being an early-modern English suffix denoting a protective layer, as also exemplified by scrot-um).
@Petrol and that, right there, is why I ever scan the comments. Merci!
The Mini had CONVO for "chat" and POOFY for "Like a voluminous winter jacket." Modern English is leaving me behind. I may have to take an ESL course even though English was my first language too. The only similar surprise in the main puzzle was SHE-hulk, SHE-huh?
@kilaueabart In British English "convo" is used often as a replacement for "conversation", in both relatively formal settings (i.e., at work) and also among peers. The second of your examples though would raise eyebrows in the U.K., and (rightly or wrongly) would create an image of the speaker almost immediately. I've never known it used in any sense other than derogatory - someone describing something as "poofy" would be intimating that something is homosexual and that this is negative.
@kilaueabart She Hulk has been around for donkeys years. Late seventies some time. Disney+ made a She Hulk series a few years ago.
One of those kinds of puzzles: O. T. S. (As in "Over Too Soon.") Do some people eat clams RAW? Oysters, yes, but clams? EWW I love clams with bacon, parsley, oniion, and garlic on bucatini... I had a nice little parsley bed going before the Winter turned vicious. (Italian parsley, I should clarify.) SEN before DEM. Never could get into THE WIZARD OF ID when we were taking a paper... Actually, after POGO and PEANUTS, it was all downhill. The Springerle were a hit--even the ones that were less-than-perfect. Maybe I won't hang up the cookie molds after all.....
"Do some people eat clams RAW?" MOL, Absolutely! Look at the bottom of the Raw Bar oysters list. <a href="https://www.oysterbarny.com/daily-menu/?tmp=1771250612" target="_blank">https://www.oysterbarny.com/daily-menu/?tmp=1771250612</a> (I like a half dozen Cherrystones before the oyster stew.)
@Mean Old Lady Relieved but completely unsurprised to hear that the Springerle were well received and that you will give it another shot when next an occasion arises. As for the 'less-than-perfect', surely you know that the failed cookies are the best ones, always.
@Mean Old Lady RAW is not my clam of choice, but steamed with the seasoning you describe tastes heavenly, as do steamed clams dipped simply in broth, then melted butter. Fried clams are also great (prepared in crumbs, not batter). Steamed mussels are also delicious. I'll now stop DWELLing on my mollusk dining preferences!
@MOL Clams are a RAW BAR staple, for sure. However, I prefer my clams cooked — and my oysters raw! (No thank you @BA to that oyster stew. Same for oysters Rockefeller!) Now, a perfect cup of New England clam chowdah, some clam fritters, and a half-dozen oysters on the half shell: how soon is dinner??
@Mean Old Lady Oh, lord, I hope Captain Q doesn't see this thread...
@Mean Old Lady: Eat raw clams? Yes, all the time growing up on Long Island. It's the only food, IMO, that needs absolutely nothing at all added to taste great. If you like seafood and love that fresh air smell at an ocean beach, try 'em.
@Mean Old Lady et alia, I can picture a certain Captain Qua-king in his boots right now.
I hate to call a construction sloppy, but there were too many IDs floating around, unrelated to the theme. OVID and RAID for example. Monsters from the ID, perhaps?
@Grant I saw that too, but those aren't standalone IDs like the highlighted ones. Maybe an extra bit of misdirection? Anyway, I enjoyed the puzzle and found it a bit harder than most Mondays.
@Grant We might need a brain boost.
This was fun to solve, but the theme didn't quite cohere. It wanted a revealer, in my opinion. Still, I had fun! BEAR HUG, DOULA, VAMP, lots of lively fill. I'm now trying to imagine what a GOTH BRO might look like. Robert Smith, but swole and peddling protein powder?
At least two clues rang hollow to my ear: "Corrosion signs" for RUSTS, and "Glitterati" for IN CROWDS. In both cases the plural answer screams "Huh?!?" to me. Also, has anyone really ever said I'D GO EITHER WAY ?
@Dan I mean, yeah, but in a pretty specific context….
Dan, In addition to Josh's specific context, I'm sure Yogi Berra would have said it (see: fork in road).
@Dan Those two clues certainly didn't feel very "Monday" to me. And [Corrosion signs] for RUSTS caused a big mental wince! I read the clue, knew that would be the answer, but refrained from entering it because it felt so lame...
@Dan Wouldn’t the singular of glitterati be glitterato? ;)
I lived in Lille for a year and had visited several times besides, so this was a sweet little surprise. The city stays under the radar for many tourists but I always recommend it to travelers—it’s easy to get to and around, and makes a great pit stop on a Paris to Amsterdam route!
Thank you for your helping tips on crosswords. I’m still relatively new to crosswords so I really appreciate the tips. Especially for 36-Across!
@Emlyn As I solved I was thinking 36A would be difficult for overseas solvers! Especially on a Monday. Somewhere in the depths of my brain, I knew that "the Gem State" is a nickname for Idaho. I have no idea how I knew that! Knowing the state's capital and postal abbreviation for solvers outside the US is next-level. :)
The "reveal" for me was that there was a SHE-Hulk movie made in 2022. I'D wished I'D have known that. And, it's pronounced EYE-GOR! Joking aside, nice puzzle. Thanks.
Thank you, Ian, for what felt like a crunchier than usual Monday -- I enjoyed it! Tom, thank you for your insightful commentary into your journey in xword solving. The archives certainly help with cognitive conditioning! Happy Monday, everyone!
I’D say this was a nice, chewy Monday. I pulled THE WIZARD OF ID somewhere out of the deep recesses of my mind. IDaho is one of three states I have left to visit out of 50. I’m hoping to check it off of my bucket list this year. 🤞🏼 Has anyone visited all 50 states? Thanks for kicking off the week, Ian.
@Jacqui J When in Idaho, don’t miss Craters of the Moon National Monument. Fascinating and not well known. Also, our visit to Alaska last year, including three national parks, made 50 states for hubby. A happy milestone.
@Jacqui J Only one I haven't visited is Oregon, much to my dismay. But 49 out of 59 isn't bad.
@Jacqui J - I finally got to Kansas in 2010, making it my 50th state.
Arranging my DOULA led to a faster delivery today. ID say I really enjoyed that one but how could I not sitting by a pool in Bali where the puzzles arrive 3 hours earlier!
this was a really good Monday witty and wise thanks Ian!
@Tom Wright-Piersanti Nice job on the Wordplay column. Your way of offering encouragement and practical tips feels right at home on a Monday. Tonally, as if you'd always been here. Nailed it.
It's Monday, so I come with low expectations, but I think this puzzle needs a (better) revealer. I agree with the editors that "Half-baked IDea" doesn't quite work because of the "baked". But what about the more straightforward "Half of an IDea"? I feel certain I've heard someone say, "You've got 'half of an IDea' there. Come back when you finish it." What do you think?
@The X-Phile - I think the two squares highlighted in each ID word were all the revealer needed. Once you fill in the second word, you see the pattern. You can skip ahead to the third and fourth theme clues.
The X-Phile, What more did you feel you -- or any solver -- needed to have "revealed" about the theme of the puzzle?
@The X-Phile @jennie @Barry Ancona I certainly didn't "need" a revealer. The puzzle was Monday-easy. But a clever revealer makes for a more pleasurable solving experience, makes for a more "beautiful" puzzle.
This theme isn't landing for me. The four IDs all go the same way, not either way. Meh. Okay, I'll go read the column and comments, see what I'm missing. Otherwise, good fill for a Monday. Not tough, but fresh. And brownie points for DEVO.
I was sure the revealer would be LET ME SEE SOME ID. I wasn't expecting this revealer, and I don;t think it works. To fit ID GO EITHER WAY, the IDs would have to read as both ID and DI in different theme answers. The correct revealer for what we have here would be ID GO ON EITHER SIDE. Yes, I know puzzles needn't be taken too literally. But this one just doesn't work for me. And, after all, the constructor could have done the ID/DI thing. That said, it was a perfectly pleasant puzzle to work on.
@Nancy That was my first thought too but it’s not a revealer. The theme is four phrases that use ID in different ways. This is just a fourth example. A bit confusing I know
@Nancy None of us "gets it" every time, and it's your turn. ID is used with its different meanings and applications. Freudian term Identification (short form) State Abbr Contraction of "I would" Each presented in an entry that illustrates the meaning. C'mon; it's a Monday!
I enjoyed this one. A fun, easy Monday solve, but just a little bit harder on the clues that required an ounce or two more of brain power. Thank you, creator.
Finally got to the puzzle. My brain is half fried at this time of day, but the "theme" makes little sense to me. I even read the column in the hope of learning that I missed something, but ... no luck. Maybe when I read the comments I'll be illuminated, but right now I'm wondering how this even got published. ID can refer to the id, to Idaho, to identification and, with an apostrophe, can mean "I would". That's the "theme"? Please tell me there's something more.
@Xword Junkie IDeally I'D do that, but there just was nothing more...
Xword Junkie, Perhaps your half fried brain at this time of day was expecting more of a theme than we usually find in a Monday puzzle? I wasn't particularly underwhelmed by it yesterday evening.
I looked up Ian’s 2016 puzzle. I loved it! An extra challenge for constructor and solver alike. It helped me that I knew 1A straight away, being my favorite musical artist, so I caught onto the trick pretty early. Pips is currently my fav puzzle. Can’t wait until we get the archive of all the puzzles the Canadians got to test out for us :-)
A question mark at the end of a clue doesn't necessarily indicate a pun. It just means there's some kind of wordplay involved.
I didn't notice 54A as a revealer. I thought POLLS was the loosely-related revealer, especially given it's placement in the grid. And if that were the case, surely DEM was not coincidental. From THE WIZARD OF oz, here's the scarecrow noting that "Of course, people do go both ways." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yejtZgzB5Ik" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yejtZgzB5Ik</a>
Did not like this one at all. The repetition of the theme letters without a unifying clue is poor design to me. Some of the clues and answers are also really strange and weirdly hit the extremes of "tries to use new-age language" and "clearly grew up a long time ago" rather than just sticking with one or the other (examples include BADASS and GOTH, contrasted with DODOBIRD). One of my least favorite Mondays in a while.
Thanks for the pleasant Monday Ian! I’m really digging Pips as the new logic game on the block; it’s the game I most look forward to after the crossword. The simplicity of form and the novelty of reasoning help exercise this creaky brain of mine. Thanks for bringing it to us!
Is today Thursday? Worst Monday time in years. What the heck is a "raw bar?"
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_bar" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_bar</a>
@Teresa - It's a torture chamber where my family is flensed alive and then displayed, while slowly dying, for all to see, so that hungry homeotherms can select us and devour us alive.
@Teresa must be an east coast/gulf coast thing? The gulf has lots of raw bars!