Haim Wright
Woodstock, NY
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Woodstock, NY
I have a 1256-day streak going. About the only things in life I've done with equal consistency is love my child and breathe. I now have a new most-hated puzzle in this streak. In order to retain the integrity of the streak, I scrupulously avoid peeking or reading commentary until after I'm done - the only exception being the occasional spellcheck. Until today. What is meant by "unusual 'one-way' rebus"? Is this some newly invented rule that it's okay for clues to make sense in one direction while being rendered into meaningless gibberish in the other? Is it not the beauty of the rebus that it must make sense in both directions? I was so irritated that I relented, for the first time in almost four years, and read some of the commentary. Ms. Lovinger's assessment is incorrect, at least based on my mobile device. I filled in the cross clues (eg. ISINTO) based on her directive that "it should be entered as normal". Back to the puzzle, and upon completion, I received the "So Close" message. Only after I changed those squares to the makes-sense-in-one-direction-utter-nonsense-the-other rebuses did I receive the music and reveal. Maddening and ridiculous. One last rant. Miro, O'Keeffe, Monet etc are painters, not paintings. AN O'Keeffe or A Monet can be stolen; you would never say to the police, "O'Keeffe was stolen!" or they might ask if you meant to report a kidnapping. My streak may be intact, but this is the closest I've ever come to tossing it as no longer worth it.
@Mike You guys are great, much better than I. Once, I submitted my ten very best puns to a contest. I was hoping one of them would prevail, but alas, no pun in ten did...
Thank you, Ms. Yoshida, for a lovely, contention-free Monday puzzle.
Congratulations on your debut. I always shoot for under ten minutes on Monday puzzles, and did 9:28 on yours. However, more than once I smiled at the greater-than-average challenge you presented to start the week. Bravo!
What a difference a week makes..
Easy puzzle (finished 17:01 faster than my average), but performing 16 separate "... -> Rebus -> - -> Done" operations to put in the dashed lines (on an Android phone) was annoying. Not two-Sundays-ago annoying mind you (for nothing in the entire crossword universe could ever exceed that annoyance), but annoying nonetheless. But that aside, a pleasant Saturday-night diversion.
@john ezra Your reply is every bit as clever as the puzzle. You brought back a lovely memory of my 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger, which became known as "The Solution", because every time friends and wanted to head out on an adventure to somewhere, I would say, "I have the Solution." Unfortunately, I totaled it in an accident. One of my dearest friends sent me s sympathy card in which he wrote, "I hereby declare the Solution dissolved...".
@Al in Pittsburgh Right. A Monet, AN O'Keeffe. In my main comment I wrote that you wouldn't call the police and say, "O'Keeffe was stolen!" or they might think you were reporting a kidnapping. By the constructor saying "Painting stolen from...", I started out looking for, eg. "The Persistance of Memory", not for "Dali".
@Ed Yeah, it's usuall the dotted line...
My least favorite puzzle of all time. Excruciating. And I'm on a 1098 streak...
Welcome back, Will, we truly missed you! A pleasant Monday puzzle to be sure. 8:06 completion. I knew SHIP only because I have a 20-year-old kid...
@SP I appreciate your comments, but as I wrote above, my experience on mobile Android was that the puzzle was not considered complete when I followed the instructions to the letter (pun very much intended). It showed the "So Close" message until I manually entered the not-a-rebuses; only then did I get the famous music, and the not-a-rebuses converted into the IWASFRAMED reveal.
@Min How lovely, Min. All blessings to you.
@Melvin Hoagland 33:35 for me. And enjoy the brag! 744 is indeed a hard-won streak. I'm at 1267 as of tonight. Keep up the good work, a streak grows one puzzle at a time! :)
Strands thread: Strands #330 “Viva Las Vegas” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 Sometimes you just see it, and btw I am totally not a gambler...
How is 49A in any way a "humorous prank"?
Clever, but preciously clever, imo. The theme clues imply a connection where there is none. Bluejeans have no inherent relationship with gloves; indeed, one may carry a glove (did we lose the other one?) or a key, phone or pen in a pocket of bluejeans. Which is the case for all the pants used, of course. It's not like there's a hidden lightbulb moment awaiting a solver where they say to themselves, "Aha, great clue! Yes, it's the genius of jodhpur design that makes them so ideal for carrying keys!". Now if I could just remember where I put my phone corduroys, I could get dressed and start my day...
@Erin Reser Slade is indeed correct, and yes, Quiet Riot's biggest hit was a cover of Slade's 1973 hit!
@Pani Korunova I don't follow social media so did I miss something? Has Travis Kelce left Taylor Swift for Ariana Grande?
@Eric Hougland Love this! My own Tufnel/St. Hubbins meter was pinned...
Is it me, or was that the easiest Thursday in years? My Thursday average is around 26:31, but today 16:57. Confluence of the clues and my current knowledge? Maybe, just seemed too breezy for a Thursday.
@Susie Sure is, though it seems to be more common in countries where English is a second language. When I traveled in the Philippines back in 2007, I was often asked at dinner what my choice of viand was.
@Crevecoeur There was/is a custom mountain bike manufacturer in the Hudson Valley called Vicious Cycles.
@Haim Wright Embarrassed by the typos! I wish comments were editable...
@Barry Ancona On an Android phone, the opposite is true. Only filling in the rebuses completed the puzzle.
I've traveled to Italy twice,but I must say I have never been to Trefi Veountain. 78-Across does justify the ugly stain on an otherwise pleasant Sunday puzzle.
@dave I thought so too, but Ford's first offering was indeed called the Model A, circa 1904. The famous car we all know was a ressurection of the Model A name, beginning in 1927.
@Red Carpet Not on a mobile Android device! Filling in the Downs correctly yielded the "So Close" message; only inserting the rebuses completed the puzzle on my phone.
@Ellen He made it all "work" by misspellings, unacceptable stretches and downright incorrect clues (I'm looking at you, FLAM). And worse, the NYT editors let it happen.
@Andrzej hahaha love it!
@SP I'm glad you enjoyed it. My objection lies solely with the implied connection between the items, none of which existed. Now, perhaps if the jodhpur clue, for example, was something along the lines of "Pants in which you might find some rupees", then I'd be raving! I'm relatively sure you've never built your own automobile or bottled your own wine, yet you likely have opinions about what qualities make for a superior vehicle or the perfect vintage. And well you should.
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