SE corner was brutal for a Tuesday!
Is there anyone who doesn't love Rigel? I mean, there it is. Right in the Beverly Hills of the constellations, Orion, the intrepid hunter with the diamond belt. And it's not just a part of the constellation--Rigel and Betelgeuse are the Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor of celestial sphere. They are both giants. In fact, about the only stars we see in the sky are giants. Anything as mediocre as our sun can hardly be discerned at more than 20-40 lightyears, and so there are only a few hundred stars out there that could actually see us if their alien eyes were like our eyes. Very little chance we are some other star's Rigel. Rigel is roughly a basketball to our sun as a fly (a spherical fly--work with me here). And Betelgeuse oscillates around 10 times larger than *that*. I say oscillates, because Betelgeuse displays a scary instability, and can grow and shrink by nearly a factor of two over the course of 13 earth months. In fact, Betelgeuse is acting so strangely there's a thought that it'll go supernova in the near future--say the next few hundreds of thousands of years. A supernova as near to us as Betelgeuse (a few hundred lightyears) would be very, very exciting. So anyway, the Rigel/Betelgeuse glamor couple anchoring a most gorgeous constellation is well worth seeing. But not just yet. It will be peaking out ahead of the sun about this time of year, and will gradually get more and more prominent as we go through autumn and winter.
@Francis This is a lovely romance worthy of Hello! magazine, but i think my comprehension and appreciation would be enhanced if i knew how to pronounce the names of your star couple! Is it Rye-jel and Beetlejuice? Wriggle and Bettle-goys? Or something else? Yours telescopically, Petrol
@Francis I always like reading your astrochemical jags, Professor Francis, but you have not sparked within me any love for Rigel. Rigellian brandy, on the other hand...yum.
@Francis Another thing I love about the astronomical glamor couple is the distinct difference in color: Rigel bluish-white, Betelgeuse quite red.
@Francis While we're size shaming our puny home star, one might as well point out that if Betelgeuse sat where the sun does it would encompass Earth along with Venus, Mercury and Mars. On the other hand, it would be easier to read at night.
@Francis And fans of "Hitchhiker's Guide" will recall that Arthur's friend Ford Prefect hails from "a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse."
Great theme set and much unexpected and welcome trickiness in the SE: I'm a bookish dude and had no idea about Adela Rogers St. John, Rigel took a while, as did TPed (when I finally understood it, thanks to Sam Corbin, I was delighted with it). And Sam, yeah, I had the same trouble with STAR WARS. I was, like, Star Jaws? [<a href="https://www.deere.com/en-us" target="_blank">https://www.deere.com/en-us</a>/] FARMERS MARKET [www.ups.com] SHIPPING PORT [www.whitehouse.gov] SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
@john ezra Good ones, John! “Site under construction,” very clever, especially after today’s news. So when can we expect to see your debut puzzle?
@john ezra I get “port” and “site,” but how is “market” related to the others?
@John Ezra Clever ones, and I'd amend #3 SITE UNDER DESTRUCTION.
I have no idea how I was able to finish this in normal Tuesday time with how much trivia alien to me there was. However, I enjoyed how there seemed to be quite a bit of misdirection for the time in the week. Now, about the hot-dog/sausage thing: A hot-dog is not a sausage in Polish. We make a clear distinction between parówki (hot-dogs) and kiełbasy (sausages): a Pole would never call a parówka a kiełbasa, and vice versa. Hot-dogs are made cheaply from lowest quality ingredients: fat, nearly worthless offcuts, and mechanically separated meat scraps, with copious amounts of industrial additives, all ground into a pulp. It's no wonder that the Polish expression for the contents of parówka is "pies zmielony razem z budą" - dog minced together with the doghouse. Parówka is by definition ultra-highly processed. All parówki look and taste almost the same. Kiełbasa is made from high quality meat, with actual meat chunks still present and recognizable in the end product. It is a processed product, sure, but not an ultra-high processed one. Many Polish kiełbasy are made artisanally by local producers, and they came in countless types, differentiated by girth, the type of meat used, spices and herbs added, whether they were smoked or not, etc. The appearance and taste of different kiełbasy may vary greatly.
@Andrzej My erstwhile father-in-law was Polish-American, and I think he'd heartily agree with your comparison of the lowly hot dog to the exquisite kielbasa. Even I, man of poor taste, in more ways than one, noticed the stretch. And yet, get a hot dog on a warm bun with relish and mustard and a 2-2 baseball game after six innings...that's about as good as it gets.
@Andrzej I think nearly all Americans would agree that hot dogs and sausages are different. And also that kielbasa is different too - although some might classify it as a special kind of sausage. I'd guess that for nearly all Americans, sausage = the breakfast patty or link you might expect at IHOP, and a hot dog = the nasty thing you described above.
@Andrzej No matter what Polish call it, Wiener or Frankfurter remains strictly technically a sausage. Respective to one’s taste not as good as the home made one or saucisse boucher made by your butcher but it remains a sausage which simply is the name of the preparation. I can go and add soudjouk or figatelli to the list as a delice, but I can’t claim it is something utterly different. So, sausage link is very appropriate, all the more so as the Wiener or Frankfurter used in Hot Dogs mostly come in pairs at least (if not longer) which need to be cut at their link to be enjoyed in singles. I suggest Sacherwürstel in Vienna (anywhere in the city, does not have to be in the namesake hotel) or with Gulasch in any Kaffeehaus. They always come in pairs. Also any Würstelstand : from Frankfurter to Käsekrainer…
@Andrzej You never sausage a place! (You're always a weiner at Pedro's!) -----classic billboard for South of the Border <a href="https://www.sobpedro.com/pedros-blog/classic-south-of-the-border-billboards" target="_blank">https://www.sobpedro.com/pedros-blog/classic-south-of-the-border-billboards</a>
@Andrzej But is a hot dog a sandwich?
@Andrzej if my memory of the episode serves me the frankfurter was a special sausage made of the best meats for the visiting emperor <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04k6rcj" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04k6rcj</a>
Terrific idea for a theme. SO clever – connecting actual web addresses punnily with everyday phrases. Smart ideas like this, well executed, will always get published, and bravo to Margot for coming up with it. Seemed like a tight theme. How many other words are there for web links and sites, and how many of them can be part of a common phrase? I liked seeing BRAVE clued as a verb – [Push through] – as it’s almost always clued as an adjective. My brain enjoyed trying to crack that, as well as trying to crack [Firmly held] for DEEP SET, and [To the degree that] for INSOFAR AS. It also loved trying to crack the theme answers with as few letters as possible, after seeing what the theme was early on. Impressive debut, Paul and Margot. Keep coming up with ideas like this, and I’ll expect to see you often up the road. I hope so, and thank you for a splendid outing!
A nice challenge for a Tuesday! Many clever clues and a fun theme. Thanks for a great puzzle!
Longer than usual for a Tuesday for me. I'm usually an after-breakfast puzzle solver but tomorrow I'll be heading in to the hospital for a few days, starting very early. So here I am. I wonder if this will be the end of my streak?
@Captain Quahog Best wishes for a short, low stress hospital stay.
@Captain Quahog May all go smoothly for you and be quick, painless, and successful. All the best!
@Captain Quahog Oh no. Wishing you the best. And ur streak will not be broken!
@Captain Quahog Good luck and I hope it's something routine that will not discommode you for long. The folks at <a href="mailto:NYTGames@nytimes.com">NYTGames@nytimes.com</a> can and will help you preserve your streak if you should happen to miss a day involuntarily.
@Captain Quahog I hope this is something that will be beneficial, Captain, something that will fix something, and that you will be back on board very soon. We will just have to get along without you for those days, and look forward to your speedy return. May you have safe passage, and let us hear about your trip as soon as possible.
Thanks everyone. I'm heading into the shower for the antibacterial scrub* and then I'm off. I won't be checking back before I leave. For anyone who is curious, it is getting me on sotalol. Yes, heart trouble. *I asked why I needed to do this since it is a non-surgical procedure. They said "Just in case..."
As soon as I got SAUSAGE LINK from the hot dog clue I knew I was in for a fun time. What a clever theme and an impressive debut. Congratulations, Paul and Margot. www.tarantupedia.com? SPIDER WEB
@Anita www.mortartools.com PESTLEPORTAL
@Anita May I suggest you look into the AAS: <a href="https://www.americanarachnology.org/home" target="_blank">https://www.americanarachnology.org/home</a>/ @Don H. Looking for a genuine link on pestles, TIL that Mortar and Pestle is an Irish-based manufacturer of skin-care products, while Mortar & Pestle makes T-shirts and other streetwear in Malaysia. The closest I could find about real mortars and pestles was a review page on www.thespruceeats.com
Hey, Weird Al, a suggestion for a new song: “I Could Have Pantsed All Night”.
Here pre-solve and mid-Maddow to report that Rachel Maddow has cribbed @SP's clever re-acronymization of the Great Lakes with Trump's new Lake America christening: SHAME.
This was certainly a bURLy debut. Well done.
Mostly fun puzzle. Tougher than usual for a Tuesday. I enjoyed the clue "Rolled out unannounced" for TPED. Got a bit hung up at the end because I had PLAY AS instead of PLAY AT and had trouble thinking of PANTSED for "Pulled down a pair" even though in retrospect that was a great clue. ADELA Rogers St Johns was a bit Naticky for me. I got the rest of the puzzle in like 9 minutes but that southeast area was tough.
@Chris -- Adela! I flashed back to the late 1960s and early 1970s when my mother and I would sometimes do the Sunday puzzles together. Back then, "Adela" was a one of those ubiquitous answers. She was a noted journalist in my mother's youth, the 20s and 30s. I had no trouble with that clue!
So, full disclosure: I'm in a terrible mood because around 1 am, I learned of the death of a long-time friend. He's 55, like me. I slept poorly, if at all, yet did the puzzle this morning to try to feel a bit normal. I had to go about my day, after all. And I thought it was a really great puzzle and a fine debut... it was a bit tougher than normal Tuesday, which I thought was a really good thing. Why would I not want to think or be puzzled on any day? I guess I just don't even understand what trivia means to people. I looked through this again and saw very little that I would even think to consider trivia. And bar trivia does not have crosses that help you, like crosswords do. I don't get it. I'll stop. I just thought this was delightful with such fun clues and misdirects. An exceptional Tuesday. Just so surprised to see so many negative comments. It's everyone's right, to be sure, to share their thoughts and experience. I do support it. This is just me struggling to get it though—in a world of crosswords where everything is ultimately gettable and things that we don't get become things we can get next time.... in an outside world where nothing is understandable. Okay, I'm done. Sorry.
@HeathieJ Don't be sorry. I feel your pain, both with the loss of a friend and the unfathomable rules the world seems to be working on right now. You have my unqualified sympathy and empathy. Cyber hugs!
@HeathieJ I'm sorry for your loss. You changed your avatar.
@HeathieJ, I'm very sorry for your loss. It's too soon and unfair. 💔 I agree with your views on puzzles and attitudes/opinions on what should fly and what is unacceptable. Aside from the fact that many have their own, often erroneous, views on the rules of crosswords, I just feel that if a puzzle isn't in your wheelhouse you can politely say so and move on. Denigrating constructors and generally complaining about what you didn't like serves no real purpose. Do I like every puzzle I solve? Nope. But I can't imagine disliking a puzzle to a degree of ranting about it online.
@HeathieJ Thoughts and prayers going out to you.
@HeathieJ, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I know that has to be difficult for you. I like hearing how you take comfort in crosswords, too. It’s something that we’ve come to rely on and can do every day, hopefully successfully. It gives a little lift knowing there’s something that you can solve that rewards you with a bit of pleasure. And it gives you a break from unanswered questions about why things have happened in the real world. I hope that your sadness from this loss can start to be tempered with good memories of your friend over time. A lot of us here will be thinking of you. 🙏🏻
TPed for "unannounced roll out". Hahaha! Clever theme that took some thinking to sort out. My favorite was sausage link.
Lively puzzle that had me smiling all through the themers, except for the last one which boggled my mind. I had no idea there was such a thing as SENATE PAGES. Looking it up set me straight that it is indeed a thing and the PAGES aren't paper. TIL. Congratulations on and thank you for your NYT debut, Paul and Margot! It's a very clever and spirited puzzle that I really enjoyed solving. I was tempted to Rick Roll all of you with "NEVER Gonna Give You Up" but here's "My Lovin' (You're NEVER Gonna Get It)" – <a href="https://youtu.be/JIuYQ_4TcXg?is=W3fjfK5Tsuq8zGFA" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/JIuYQ_4TcXg?is=W3fjfK5Tsuq8zGFA</a>
@sotto voce Free your mind. The rest will follow.
Go Granny Go Granny Go Granny Go <a href="https://youtu.be/CxXFEt0grRo?si=C04WhxKtrcK1Otx3" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/CxXFEt0grRo?si=C04WhxKtrcK1Otx3</a> A nicely Toughened Up Tuesday, which required some thinking to solve. Unlike many, did not find the SE corner any more difficult than the rest of the puzzle. I got RIGEL not really from the clue, but from the R, the number of squares, and because when a kid that was rhe name of one of my imaginary Arabian horses in my imaginary stable. Yesterday we had a pestle, and today we have PESTO, which can be made by using said pestle and a mortar. Linguine with basil al PESTO served alongside a SAUSAGE coil was a long-time family dinner go to at my father's.
@Vaer Not only "can be made" but "should be made"--hence the cognates (<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pestle#Related_terms*)--to" target="_blank">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pestle#Related_terms*)--to</a> use a food processor is a heresy! (I confess I often belong to that schismatic sect.) *scroll down the dinner menu.
@Bill In our lives, PESTO making evolved from one-meal batches with mortar and pestle in the 60s, to blender in the 70s*, to the food processor whenever they rolled in. *In August, my stepmother and a friend in would do a basil harvest, wash and let the leaves dry and then blend it up and freeze in batches for winter consumption. Yes, gimlets and Benson and Hedges breaks were involved.
@Vaer Now I happily have that stuck in my head, thank you! The last time this song came up here I talked about it with my spouse, who had never heard it. I was dumbfounded. But then, my mother only ever listened to the oldies station when I was a kid.
I enjoyed the clue, "My Guy!" It gave me fond memories of Mary Well's hit song in 1964, written by Smokey Robinson. My wife would play that song for me. Of course I would play "My Girl" for her. That hit song by the Temptations came out later in 1964, also written by Smokey Robinson, along with Ronald White.
Bottom right was very tricky for a Tuesday. Rigel and Adela was a cross of two names I haven't heard before
Thank you for a Tuesday puzzle that was a little more challenging than the usual!
Clever theme. Pretty crunchy for a Tuesday, didn’t get very far with just acrosses today, not surprising, although I did get Star Wars with just a few letters and no clue! It did make it more fun.
Great theme! In web address syntax, a “?” signals that extra parameters will be included in the URL like “<a href="https://www.zillow.com?homeId=123" target="_blank">https://www.zillow.com?homeId=123</a>” so I was wondering where the parameters were. Great double meaning (intended or not)!
A bit tougher than a typical Tuesday, but fun esp. when I started getting those URL clues.
Excellent Tuesday, congratulations on the debut!
You’ve got to respect how the NYT covers its bases with a clue like 44Across - just in case ferns are some day found to have existed longer than 375+ million years on, say, a planet other than Earth, maybe one circling Rigel.
Interesting puzzle with a theme and some seldom-seen entries/definitions/clues. I tried CYAN before ANIL (which is rejected, by the way, by today's Spelling Bee.) NO WAY before NEVER. That's about it....after all, it IS Tuesday. All y'all stay cool and avoid arroyos if stormy weather threatens. What a sad time for our planet!
@Mean Old Lady Don’t expect rhyme or reason with Spelling Bee. Last week I had three perfectly good words - none acceptable. Nothing vaguely scientific is accepted. Luckily for us, the crossword puzzle is more amenable to us science nerds.
Fun puzzle! Felt like a Tuesday and a Thursday had a baby…which would make…a Wednesday? Gotta say I’m a little irked by “rolled out unannounced?” and “tped”. Sure I get it, just didn’t sit well with me. Feels like maybe there was some odd fill that needed clueing at the end of construction.
I enjoyed the theme to this puzzle and overall I’d say it was pretty good. I do have to take issue with the lower right corner though. TPED, RIGEL, ADELA. Just not appropriate for a Tuesday puzzle. Needs better clueing or shift it to Wednesday.
Nice concept. All the long entries, themers and non themers were fun. That SE killed me. I just couldn’t crack it. I couldn’t give up NosiR for NEVER. It doomed me. Borrowing from 80s alternative band New Order. It was a Blue Monday (well I guess, Tuesday) And I don’t think this qualifies as NO SPOILERS. But I think I broke the word record on greens one can get in a wordle. I don’t do them everyday. This is one from this week. ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
@Weak Nope. I beat your Wordle record. Not proud of that. Had the last 4 letters on 2nd guess and got it in 6. Aargh!
@Weak I think there's a way I'm supposed to be able to see your Wordle, but I'm not sure how. I'm pretty good at Wordle: I got a Beat the Bot badge today.
@Weak You all know there’s a separate forum for Wordle, don’t you?
@Weak I have one of these! from awhile back, and I was boggled when it happened. (Sea of Greens was my favorite stat, until Beat the Bot debuted).
@Weak The record would be 25. You had 17.
Using “lame” as “uncool” is super offensive, please rethink allowing this word.
@Long time paid subscriber I'm sorry, but I believe there are occasions for harmless usage of "lame," and in fact it's not particularly offensive (not even a little, really) as applies to a disability. "Gimpy" would come across as tacky, but "lame" is just rather out-dated. ...and I am speaking as one with a close family member who has had a disability that prevents her from having a normal gait for...oh, about 45 years now. Now, I do use "lame" when referring to our state's Senators, but that's because I don't want to use really bad words.
What's 'super offensive' to one long-time paid subscriber is NBD to another. If you are super offended by ordinary, bog-common metaphorical usage, then I guess I'd advise lightening up. Life's too short.
@Long time paid subscriber You are looking for a reason to complain.
@Long time paid subscriber Thank you for saying this, I came here to write something similar. This was an enjoyable if tricky crossword, but I hope the editing staff might consider how hurtful it can be to have the answer to the clue "Uncool" be a word meaning "disabled". This is actually the second time in a month that they've had this clue/answer pair and it bothered me both times. If those letters must be used, why not reuse a different pattern and ask for an answer in French: lamé or l'âme. Or, maybe just make the clue "Unable to move or walk easily". There are ways to fit a crossword without reinforcing an association between injury/disability and "uncool". Intentional or not, our use of language matters, and I hope those of us who enjoy lighthearted wordplay will consider that.
Quite the tricky little Tuesday solve!
To Sam Corbin: thank you for your kind, supportive words.
Mutant puzzle… Tuesday fused with a Thursday/Friday in the SE!
Fun puzzle! I am an utter failure at movies since about 1980, but, unlike Sam Corbin, needed only one cross for Star Wars which wowed me in 1978. Some great clues added to the enjoyment - TPED. Sam-- nice column (Never fear, my daily "D'oh"s far exceed your Star Wars blind spot !) Also the remarks by our young talented constructors. Thank you!
@Sal Z 1977 Unless you waited a few minths.
@Sal Z I guess you knew Sal Mineo the other day…
Sam-- Kudos on your lead photo!
@Bill Thank you! It's a beautiful thing when I can find photographic evidence of whatever absurd thing my brain has come up with.
It's really nifty to come up with four such strong and in-the-language theme answers based on the repurposing of ordinary computer-related words. I loved this puzzle -- much more than I ordinarily love Tuesday offerings. I also loved the wry, tongue-in-cheek way the "https" clues were written. "Hot-dog.org". Wonderful!! The "computer words" SITE, LINK and ADDRESS came to me immediately once I had most of the first words. The exception was SENATE PAGE, which is delightful wordplay. In fact, it would have been a perfect puzzle had it not been for one entry that I am happy to say I didn't know. Did I not know PANTSED because of my gender or my generation? Not sure. Women didn't wear pants back in the day, so we couldn't have been PANTSED back then. But we do wear pants now, so now we can be. ARE we? I have no idea. But I like to think we're not, because girls are so much more mature than boys and we wouldn't waste our time on such puerile nonsense. And if a boy were to do it to a girl, then it wouldn't be PANTSing -- it would be something entirely different...and actionable. Question of the day: Is there such a thing as a PANT SET? PANT SET/TELL would be so much nicer a pair of answers. But I sort of don't think there is such a thing. Pity. Still, a delightful theme, beautifully executed and much fun to solve.
@Nancy In my opinion, PANTSing should only be done by consenting adults.
@Nancy Goodness! Of course, there are PANTSEts, just as there are skirt sets. Here is one of a gajillion links yo order your pant set: <a href="https://www.fashionnova.com/collections/pant-sets" target="_blank">https://www.fashionnova.com/collections/pant-sets</a>
This was a fun construction and breezy solve. Pantsed, indeed! Loved it! Thanks for the fun!
Just quickly chiming in that this was a fun, albeit unusually challenging Tuesday for me. On the heels of yesterday’s blisteringly quick Monday (2:47 on mobile—a new PR for me!) today’s felt much more firm and unyielding. Ashamed I didn’t immediately spot STAR WARS. I’ll turn in my nerd card at the desk on my way out. Anyways, a nice Tuesday despite the slight difficulty spike.
@Edward 2:47? Wow that’s fast typing as well, no?
Super obscure stuff for a Tuesday. Not a great debut I'm afraid.
It was delightful, even with the cross of two stars I did not know in the SE corner.
I found this to be a little tougher than the usual Tuesday, due to some wicked misdirection (which was much appreciated). It was fun, even with it going a bit more slowly than usual. Appreciated the URL clues and answers. Thanks, Margot and Paul!
Tuesdays can be a bit wobbly, balancing between too hard and too easy, but this one was right in the middle, sites for sore eyes. I had fun solving it, and appreciated the clever fills, especially the SAUSAGELINK—very funny. Congratulations, Paul and Margot, and welcome to the party.
Oof!! Lovely puzzle. Tough for a Tuesday. I’m proud to say i very nearly solved it with the “Across only” challenge. Like everyone, i got stuck on the SE, although i was almost there — RIGEL crossed with ADELA was beyond me. I also tripped up on the bet (i had “wagers” instead of FLIERS, which was a new one on me) and so i knew i had a mistake but couldn’t find it. Keep ’em coming!
@Petrol - agreed, bout double my average… SE corner was much harder than a typical Ruesday.
I floundered in the SE corner, but refuse to feel too bad about it, as there was no way I would have known TPed, Senate Page or Rigel. Rest of the puzzle was fun but fair though.
@Dan I got stuck there too, but I should have thought of PAGE since I had _A_E and SENATE PAGE is a familiar term. D’oh!
@Dan I'd recommend a viewing of 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington', one of the astonishing expressions of USian idealism that emerged from the late Depression era. (You remember US idealism, no? It's that bloodied corpse buried under the rubble of the White House.) The kids running around the Senate on errands who rally to support the beleaguered Senator Smith are the pages.
spectacular debut - please Mr. Shortz and ny times staff allow Paul and Margo to do a Sunday puzzle - this is a classic. Bravo!
Nice Tuesday. Not an 'auto-fill'. Had to think a bit to solve. Well done!
For years, I have had a beef (and/or pork) with the NHDSC, who states that the only "acceptable" condiments for hot dogs are "mustard, relish, onions, cheese and chili." Call me immature, but my preference is ketchup(!), relish, and cheese (which I put under the dog, so that the heat of the dog melts it). And, in strictest confidence, I will confess to you, my Wordplay bros and broëttes, that even having lived in Detroit some fourteen years, I have never gotten used to that creepy Coney "chili." My Partner is a thoroughly orthodox mustard guy. <a href="https://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-etiquette" target="_blank">https://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-etiquette</a>
@Bill In the days when every major thoroughfare in the outer boroughs of NYC had a kosher deli, where 25 cents would buy you a hot dog at the front counter, the only acceptable toppings were spicy mustard and sauerkraut. How I miss those days! If they were still around I'd throw cholesterol problems to the wind and actually enjoy one, along with a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda. Though the dog would probably cost $7.50 now, or more.
@Bill Mustard is the correct condiment for a hot dog, and also a pronto pup. (If you don't know, a pronto pup is like a corn dog but better. There are many arguments about this during the MN State Fair.)
@Bill I had more than my fair share of "Michigan Red" hot dogs up at the lake this summer, and always with spicy brown mustard. NO idea why they call them Michigans, as they're an Upstate NY thing.
@Bill But a "Chicago hot dog", which was my lunch WAAAAY too often in my impecunious grad student days, is sold at a tiny stand that offers a HUUUGE list of toppings in little self-serve containers, including all the above-mentioned plus lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and more! (I used to delude myself that those vegetables made it a balanced meal.) And incidentally, I only learned to call them "Chicago hot dogs" when I encountered them from a street vendor in Boulder, Colorado.
<a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/about-us-5120006" target="_blank">https://www.seriouseats.com/about-us-5120006</a> DINNER MENU
Very challenging for a Tuesday, but fun nonetheless.
I'm from the city. So a bit tough for me to get TPed as in TPing a house. That's suburban stuff. I suppose I still should have gotten it quicker with the help of SENATEPAGE, which was clever. A slow Tuesday time for me, but them's the breaks.
Sorry, but as a bloke from Northern England, half of the (overabundant, IMO) general knowledge clues went right over my head. Some examples: RTS ATL WTA FDR OMAR ETA (I’d usually get this one but didn’t know the American airport) ADELA OPIE PASADENA TPED None of these really enter the realm of global general knowledge, unless your interests in sport or entertainment overlap with the average American’s. I really enjoy doing these crosswords every day, but when over 10% of the clues are like this, the puzzles can become a tedium of guesswork, naticks and frustration. Please spare more of a thought for those of us on the other side of the pond (and elsewhere in the world)!
@John Really, Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn't ring a bell with you? Did we forget Lend-Lease? D-Day? FDR pretty much saved your proverbial bacon. All the rest are understandable, though.
@John Well, it IS an American newspaper. I imagine I’d have similar challenges if I tried to do a crossword originating in another country.
Why, oh why, would anyone want to learn about this thing that happens in PASADENA every year??? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA08fnUh2PM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA08fnUh2PM</a> (Especially when they are so into the realm of global general knowledge!)
@John uhm. The WTA is the World Tennis Association. Not America-centric or naticky. In fact, the 2 players mentioned are from European countries. And ETA or ETD are answers to NYT clues at least once a week. I don't think the concern is your locale but perhaps more your NYT puzzle experience (And that will come with time and puzzling!) Hope you enjoy the next one more. This was really a tricky Tuesday, don't be discouraged.