Bob T.

Okay, I've never done this before. For the record I probably won't solve the puzzle until morning's coffee. But I made a comment late yesterday and a few folks asked for details and I didn't see those requests until REALLY late, so here goes, hopefully in a place it will be seen. And yes it's Off Topic, but it's in reply to something which was On Topic, albeit yesterday. in the 2000s I was at the center of an NLRB action; I was the main target of a venue which didn't want my union involved. To plead our case I was asked to submit a trove of emails . At the NLRB hearing I was asked why my two bosses (not the targets of the investigation) repeatedly called me Vlad in the emails when it was clearly not my name. I had to explain to the PTB* that my middle initial is V, and I was a big fan of Buffy (the vampire slayer). I quoted the show often at work (come on, it remains eminently quotable: "could you vague that up for me?" remains in heavy rotation) and I would often say things like "well, what would Buffy do?" or "Giles would have handled that differently" or "that's exactly what Cordelia would have said". So my nickname became Vlad The Impaler--amusing in a very small group of workmates, but difficult to explain in a hearing. :\ So thanks for listening. *Powers That Be

Got a big kick out of this one, and as I mentioned elsewhere it sent me down a Frostiana rabbit hole, so thanks for that. Like many, I'm surprised at the hate. Also, I resent the implication by many who hated it that we here in the comments section are all a bunch of Pollyannas who refuse to criticize a puzzle that is clearly bad. I think it's pretty unlikely that the NYTimes would publish a puzzle that was clearly bad. I liked today's puzzle, and not in spite of it being bad; to me it wasn't bad. The quality of the puzzle is an opinion, not a hard fact. @Andrzej, who liked the puzzle, questioned whether the crowd here has a double standard--happily accepting positive comments but requiring negative comments to be explicit about what they hated. It's an interesting point, but ultimately not one with which I agree. I don't think compliments need to be defended; I like it when folks play nice. [although usually people *do* mention what they liked--a particular clue or seeing a particular word in the grid.] Everyday someone will not like the puzzle, and most days someone will come here to say so. I absolutely agree that this is the place for that, but I do want to know why if possible. And I really don't like seeing ad hominem attacks from either side. We can't all be as supportive as @Lewis, but a little kindness goes a long way.

Fun one! a nit to pick, or perhaps a request for someone with actual farm experience to chime in. I've always been fascinated by the varied terms for livestock and the nuances they carry. For example a horse can be a foal, colt, filly, mare, stallion, or gelding. For cattle you've got calf, dogie, heifer, cow, bull, and steer. My understanding was that a female pig is a gilt until she births her first litter, at which point she becomes a SOW. With a name like Miss Piggy I have to assume she's single, so unless she had a litter out of wedlock or reverted to Miss Piggy after a divorce, I don't think she'd take kindly to being referred to as a SOW, and anyone calling her that would get a karate chop.

A wardrobe supervisor once corrected me and I've never forgotten it. Neither Tony Stark nor Captain Jack Sparrow has a GOATEE; they both sport Van Dykes. I know, I know, meanings change over time. Now get off my lawn. Great puzzle. Lots of fun rabbit holes. Welcome back Mr. G, and thanks.

Like many of you I was unfamiliar with RARED up. I did find it interesting that its variant, "raring to go" uses both that pronunciation and that spelling. I had never thought about how that phrase came to be or exactly what it meant literally. As a wise man once said, "People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words."

I never do the puzzle this early! But I'm on a train. Good fast Monday.

Nice to see Sid Sivakumar's name on the midi. It's been far too long, well over a year since we've seen him here.

more thoughts: in the column, Sam writes "(And, in case it’s not clear, the word THROUGH doesn’t have a homophone, nor do the other words clued this way. That aspect of the clue is intended to hint at the answer, because THROW would be a homophone of THROUGH if both -OUGH words were pronounced with that long O.)" I would respectfully posit that both THROUGH and RUE have homophones, "threw" and "roux". On another note... for years I confused the words "don" and "DOFF". You cannot imagine the forehead-smacking moment when I realized they are literally the words "on" and "off", preceded by a "D". D'oh.

Loved this one. Surprised to learn how many people were unfamiliar with ZERO MOSTEL; in addition to "Tevye" he created the role of "Pseudolus" in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum"--two iconic musical theatre roles, both of which earned him Tony Awards. *And* he co-starred, with Gene Wilder, in one of the funniest movies ever made, Mel Brooks' The Producers. *And* he was black-listed thanks to the HUAC, and managed to come back strong, even starring in a Martin Ritt film about the blacklist, The Front. And as Pinky once said to Brain: "I think so Brain; but Zero Mostel times anything will still give you Zero Mostel." Narf!

Totally.

Still wading through comments, but wanted to get this out there: Did enjoy it, and did catch on very quickly to the basic idea; I got the revealer early from just a few crosses, and I knew the answer to 22A could/should be MINOR THIRD. But I didn't think rebus at first; I spelled NORTH upwards, turning EAST when I hit the wall, so 8D was "tron" and 8A was THIRD. I guess I convinced myself a [Challenger] was someone who came in third place? At 15A I had entered OSCAR WILDE as a guess, and OSCAR was fine but WILDE was not working with THIRD above it. So I convinced myself that the quote came from some other OSCAR; I even convinced myself that WILDE would have said "poorly cast" rather than "badly cast". Once I finally got rebussy with it and got the happy music I went to find the quote. Here is the more extended version of it: “Actors are so fortunate. They can choose whether they will appear in tragedy or in comedy, whether they will suffer or make merry, laugh or shed tears. But in real life it is different. Most men and women are forced to perform parts for which they have no qualifications. Our Guildensterns play Hamlet for us, and our Hamlets have to jest like Prince Hal. The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.” ― Oscar Wilde, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories ============================================== tl;dr: And this is why I love Thursdays. ;) Carry on.

for those interested in seeing the actual front pages... Titanic Sinks <a href="https://www.cafepress.com/mf/35637338/london-herald-titanic-sinks-gr_greeting-cards?productId=408505320" target="_blank">https://www.cafepress.com/mf/35637338/london-herald-titanic-sinks-gr_greeting-cards?productId=408505320</a> nixon resigns <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0808.html" target="_blank">https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0808.html</a> Dewey Defeats Truman <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_499884" target="_blank">https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_499884</a> Wall St. Lays an Egg <a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/j5W7w62FXtZEzdn4A" target="_blank">https://images.app.goo.gl/j5W7w62FXtZEzdn4A</a> Ford to City: Drop Dead <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/10/29/ford-to-city-drop-dead-in-1975" target="_blank">https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/10/29/ford-to-city-drop-dead-in-1975</a>/ headless body in topless bar <a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/2oHkbGX2ot8ZWPS87" target="_blank">https://images.app.goo.gl/2oHkbGX2ot8ZWPS87</a>

yay puzzle. I come to praise "Pinky and the Brain". For those of you not familiar, it was part of a major animation renaissance at Warner Bros. thanks to Spielberg. Like the old Warner cartoons (Bugs et al.) it works on multiple levels, so parents can watch it with their kids without being bored, and kids can go back and watch as adults and catch new meanings. Brain's voice is modeled on Orson Welles (go ahead, you cannot unhear it). In one glorious episode Pinky and Brain have to go to the studio for a looping session (how insane is that?!) and it's largely drawn from Orson Welles' notorious studio melt-down recording a voiceover for a Paul Masson wine commercial. I won't link here, but all is searchable. Lastly, in every episode at some point Brain asks "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" and Pinky responds with a total non-sequitor. In our home neither of us can say "I think so" without both of us then saying "Brain". And I will include a link to 80 of those. ;) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og2nUdtKncE" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og2nUdtKncE</a> Zero Mostel might be my fave.

I would have liked to have been a fly on the editors' wall when they were discussing [Ballad] for LAY (6D)on a Tuesday. No I didn't know it, despite knowing a lot of musical terms and having once been a big Middle Earth fan. Yes I was able to get it from crosses. Yes I enjoyed learning a new term. Fun fast solve, slightly faster than average. Enjoyed seeing the River SHANNON in the grid. Heads up that a new movie just opened called HEART EYES. Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's a rom-com/slasher pic. I'll pass, but if any of y'all check it out, circle back with your review. thx.

Loved the headline theme. Was familiar with all, although some were easier to remember than others. WALL ST LAYS AN EGG was a gimme, although I started with WALL STreet and got confused. Last to fall was SE; I had IN TOPLESS BAR in the SW, and was trying to make the first part of the headline about a scandal of someone famous being spotted in a topless bar. :\ Puzzle felt very difficult as I was doing it, but I ended up only one minute over my average. Gotta say I don't get a lot of the hate. I enjoyed it, but if I hadn't I'd have just gone to the archives for a palate cleanser. Lily Tomlin hosted SNL in November 1975, shortly after ...DROP DEAD; I've hunted in vain for clips. Cold open was Chevy Chase's Ford referencing the headline, and Tomlin ended her monologue with a cheer to boost NYers' morale. Was able to at least find a transcript: I’ll tell you – I wanted to do a cheer for New York, while I’m here. [snapping fingers] And.. this is the composition that comes to mind: “Cheer up, New York, ’cause you’re okay Though the President says you won’t last another day. I’m here to say you’re here to stay And mention, by the way, if I may You got the greatest culture, symphonies and plays Also shopping, eating, meeting places and subways Take pride in yourself, you could be Philadelphia.”

After several years of mostly retirement I'm suddenly in DC for a conference where I'm expected to participate from 8 am for hours, perhaps even through dinner. So for a few days the xword has become my late evening wind down. So weird to be an early commentor; my comments are usually reactive. For instance I'm wondering how our foreign language solvers felt about MARCO (Polo). Ah well, sleep calls. Will try to check comments at some point tomorrow.

I just want to point out that HOTEL CALIFORNIA won in 1978, not 1976. ;)

Once backstage someone had put a sign on the wall which said "Do NOT put ANYTHING on this table!" However, the table had been moved and replaced by a hamper. I don't speak French, but I was rather chuffed that I found the proper font and made a sign for the hamper which said "Ce n'est pas une table." Fun puzzle, great debut. I was fine with OPENENDER, although I agree it would have been better clued as the poker term. And yes, I do use the word EMEND with some frequency.

The Broadway musical War Paint is based in part on a 2004 book of the same title, and tells the story of the rivalry between 20th-century female cosmetics entrepreneurs Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. It's a great title for the subject, but the show also draws from and fully credits a 2007 documentary, and I wish they could have included it as a subtitle. The full title should have been War Paint: The POWDER and the Glory Fun Friday solve. Filled just the way I like, each new pass giving me a few more crosses leading to a few more AHAs. One of these days I'll learn how to spell BURSAR without requiring a gentle cross.

Both yesterday and today my time was about 50% of my average for the day. *sigh* It's time to admit that all the folks saying the puzzles are being dumbed down aren't imagining it. I didn't like the idea of the alternate/easier clues for Fridays when it was announced, and I know some constructors bristled at it; however, I think therein lies the only solution that will result in Friday and Saturday puzzles that please most people and management. At least let the constructors write the alternate clues. And give us back a proper Fri/Sat challenge.

FOP makes me think of that Act I finale of Sweeney Todd: What is that? It's fop, finest in the shop And we have some shepherd's pie peppered With actual shepherd on top And I've just begun Here's the politician, so oily It's served with a doily, have one Put it on a bun Well, you never know if it's going to run Try the friar Fried, it's drier No, the clergy is really too coarse and too mealy Then actor, it's compacter Yes, and always arrives overdone

I enjoyed it. There were early predictions that opinions would differ wildly on this one, and boy were they right. I'm a little surprised at some of the vitriol. I thought CMA stood for Country Music Awards, and thought the editors had fouled in clueing 52A. Silly me, the A stands for Association, and they are the CMA Awards. I liked 68A [Order to go] for SHOO and 75D [Empty inside] for CORED. Nice seeing a CCLEF, that doesn't happen every day. I enjoyed learning a bit about GEEKGIRLCON. See y'all in the Monday comments.

I've enjoyed the occasional episode of Parks and Rec, but I'm a member of team Offerman thanks to his stunning Emmy-winning appearance on The Last Of Us. I still remember this paragraph from the NYT recap of the episode: ====== It’s frankly remarkable that what is ostensibly an action-horror series could make time — in its third episode, no less — for an alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking short film about companionship. It’s as though the opening montage from the movie “Up” were extended to about 45 minutes and then dropped into the middle of “World War Z.” ======== Who would have guessed he could also co-construct a crossword? It seems like he can do anything he puts his mind to. Thank you, sir. For all of it.

early signs are that we liked this one! Let's see if it holds.

monday funday. nice to see you @sean on a different day. FWIW BASTE is a very real thing and was a gimme; in building costumes you baste the fabric to make sure you got the fit right, and then go ahead and make it official.

In our home and on our shopping lists the half-and-half is called 1. I don't think emus drink coffee.

I believe it was Steven Wright who said "I need something to help me remember the word 'mnemonic'." Emus seem to be munching on my last post...

Good one. The Bore/HAD discussion reminds me of a favorite Joni Mitchell song, a deep cut called Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody. first verse contains this lyric: My child's a stranger I bore her, but I couldn't raise her ========== Her line reading (to me, at least) makes the initial meaning of bore sound like "she's bored with me," making the follow-up a surprise. And it was written before it was widely known that she had given up a child for adoption many years ago. Thanks for getting me to re-listen. <a href="https://youtu.be/7G333adJxbM" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/7G333adJxbM</a>

TIL that FASTANDFURRYOUS and steamboatwillie have the same number of letters. I liked it. I was always team Warner Bros. over Disney. No shade.

I usually tend to read all comments, replying along the way, until i get through them all and then I give my comments if I have anything to add. By now the Monday puzzle has been out for 50 minutes, so I don't know if anyone will see this. I may need to rethink my model. I thought the theme was pretty fun. I caught on with BLONDE ON BLONDE, and circled back to pick up the others. But I did think a lot of the other fill and especially the clueing was far too easy for a Sunday. Not all of it, but a lot. And I agree that the responsibility lies with the editors, not the constructors. And I agree with those who suggest that the editors have likely been pressured by management to make things easier to increase revenue. And I lament our loss. At this point I pretty much breeze through M-W, so I really look forward to Thu-Sun. I never hate the puzzles, but I find myself disappointed of late.

Haven't read all comments yet. Because I complained about yesterday's lovely-but-wrong-day puzzle, I want to say that I liked this one a lot. It felt like a proper Saturday. My solve time was about 70% of my Saturday average, but it didn't feel easy when I was in the middle of my solve. Several wrong guesses kept me putting things in and ripping them out--deAd before FLAT (10A), rENterS before TENANTS (13D), chAracter before STAGENAME (17A), and MedleyS before MASHUPS (1D). Loved the clues for SWEAT (I got misdirected to running for office), HORNS, BOA, and DOMED. I was sure 8D [Disappearing ink?] was related to the death of print media. Just a class act all around. Thanks, Ms. Slovut-Einertson. As for 49A... If you're local you know about the "Vessel" at Hudson Yards. I once heard it referred to dismissively as the DONER, and now I can't call it anything else. ;) Lastly... if you like epic MASHUPS, check out DJ Earworm. He usually does at least one a year, and if you know your popular music you'll be impressed. Here's an older one, but it's Annie Lennox so I was familiar with a lot of the songs. <a href="https://youtu.be/akE0VnS6N88" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/akE0VnS6N88</a>

There are lots of horror movies about creepy dolls, but perhaps the most disturbing is Todd Haynes' 1987 film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (wiki link below) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar:_The_Karen_Carpenter_Story" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar:_The_Karen_Carpenter_Story</a> fast solve typical Monday, but I agree with the observation that the memories and anecdotes in today's comments are rich.

Whenever I see or hear the word JODHPURS I always think of this quote from Fran Lebowitz's essay "An Alphabet of New Year’s Resolutions for Others": “Being on the short side and no spring chicken to boot, I shall refrain in perpetuity from anything even roughly akin to leather jodhpurs.”

True story: we have a friend who used to work at E! starting back in the late 80s, when it was known as Movietime. He wasn't the most tech-savvy person, but he did use a computer at work. At some point in the 90s a friend asked him to email something, and he said "How can I send you an email? You don't work at E." That's the day that he learned that the "e" in "email" stood for electronic, not entertainment. ;) He also came up with a tagline that they declined to use, but I always thought it was brilliant: If it's happening in the world of entertainment, it's news to us!