No CHE crossword till September 1, when weekly puzzles resume.
Hal Moore’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s write-up
NY Times crossword solution, 8 11 17, no 0817
WU-TANG CLAN is a great way to start out the puzzle. Also liked: the BIGS, TIME TRAVEL, SHETLAND PONY, EXTRAVAGANZA, THE X-FILES, HALTER TOP, GARBLE, IGUANODON, and GRAPE-NUTS.
On the “no thanks” list of fill, we have PLEB, LEO I, CEE, LIA, and ONE TO. And how notable is TRINI LOPEZ? Is he in this puzzle mainly because his name’s been kept alive in crosswords via TRINI?
Clues of note:
- 29a. [Language in which “seven” is “jet”], THAI. Ben Tausig knows such things. I did not.
- 46a. [Loads of investments?], FEES. As in “no-load” mutual funds not charging a free.
- 52a. [Preparatory course?], SALAD. Mmm.
- 1d. [Neighborhood in TV’s “Sanford and Son”], WATTS. I recently read some little trivia bit about this show, some surprising topic that it covered. Anyone know what it was?
3.75 stars from me. What’d you think of the puzzle?
Roger & Kathy Wienberg’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s write-up
LA Times
170811
Hey! Who moved my Thursday NYT crossword to the Friday LAT? The LA Times has a “no rebuses” policy, but is not averse to other devilry occasionally. And this puzzle is packing plenty of that! I have highlighted in red the grid the four SIDEARMs that appear at first to be missing from the puzzle. The second part of each down answer is unclued in Across Lite; I’m unsure how this is realized in print, I’m guessing those clues were left unnumbered? Anyway we have DOLL(ARM)ENU, LUN(ARM)ODULE, SUG(ARM)APLE and REGUL(ARM)AIL cunningly laid out in the grid. Our McDonalds’s, regardless of currency, do not have such a menu. I normally avoid the place like the plague, but I had a Filet-o-fish tonight, and in your money, it cost me $3.20 as a meal. Google suggests the US price is $5.79. Move over Big Mac Index!
The focus is definitely on the intricate theme today, but there were some interesting Friday answers, including TANGRAM, GESTALT, and the animal duo of SKINK and MARMOT. The only thing that made me wrinkle my nose was CURDY; it’s actually in the dictionary though! So how I can I argue?
4.5 Stars
Gareth
A very enjoyable NYTimes Friday puzzle.
Unlike our host, I thought Trini Lopez was a first pass gimme. Unlike Wu Tang Clan, whatever in the world that is.
Art
I live in a completely different universe from you.
With any necessary apologies,
Wu Tang Clan ain’t nuttin’ to fuck with.
Now that’s true haiku.
Pretty good NYT, but uneven difficulty– SE quadrant took a lot of time.
Looks like the area of difficulty depends on one’s age. The whole puzzle was pretty hard for me, but the SE was the first to drop. Trini Lopez was really, really famous when the song came out, but I had to reach today. At least that clue was more gettable than some others, but the puzzle was pleasantly solvable in the end.
NYT: “Sanford and Son” was a sitcom starring Red Foxx. His character ran a junk business with his son. It was modeled on a British one of the same title. In some ways, his character was like Bea Arthur in “Maude,” tackling sensitive topics under a veneer of humor.
British one was called Steptoe and Son.
“… tackling sensitive topics under a veneer of humor.”
A hallmark of the always-humane Norman Lear.
Yup, my faulty memory. Wikipedia says that it was developed by Norman Lear (uncredited) so it’s no wonder it reminds me of”Maude”. He also was an uncredited executive producer.
TRINI LOPEZ was a gimme. Thanks, Seinfeld!
Jerry: I got one problem: you’re keeping her busy in the other room. Now,
what if she somehow gets away from you and is coming in? You have to signal me
that she’s coming.
George: A signal, right, erm, OK, er OK, the signal is, I’ll call out ‘Tippy
toe!’
Jerry: ‘Tippy Toe?’ I don’t think so.
George: You don’t like ‘Tippy toe?’
Jerry: No ‘Tippy toe.’
George: Alright, er, OK I got it, erm, I’ll sing.
Jerry: What song?
George: Erm, ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’
Jerry: What is that?
George: Oh, it’s a lovely song. (Sings) How do you solve a problem like
Maria?
Jerry: Anything else?
George: You pick it.
Jerry: ‘Lemon Tree’
George: Peter, Paul and Mary.
Jerry: No, Trini Lopez.
Both: (Singing) Lemon tree very pretty and a lemon flower
Wutang Clan was an immediate gimme. My first reaction to “Lemon Tree” was Peter, Paul and Mary. Trini Lopez was not truly a gimme for that reason, but as soon as I had the “r,” I remembered.
Enjoyable mixed bag for me. On the whole, pretty easy.
Steve
TRINILOPEZ’s full name was in my first LA Times crossword. One of my mother’s favourite singers. Fun NYT, but very easy, with a lot of long gimmes, starting at WUTANGCLAN.
Lemon Tree is on the nostalgia mix I made for Wendy (fiancee)’s mother and which was still playing in my car until yesterday…
I agree with Gareth (and most of you judging by the ratings) that the LAT was great today. I wonder if it was first rejected by the NYT and, if so, why?
Not everyone sends their puzzles to the NYT first. For starters, they require postal submissions, and that alone may encourage people to send to other publishers, that communicate via email…
Harrumph. I would venture to say that most constructors try the NYT first.
The LAT gave me fits. Not so much by the gimmick as trying to make sense of it. How does a SIDE_ARM pitch figure into the theme? I see the four ARMs but in what way do they represent a baseball pitch?
The baseball reference is just the reveal. The ARMs are on the side of the rest of the vertical entries.
Humph!
Loved the LAT and Gareth’s review. Anyone able to help me understand 11D TYRO as Pro’s opposite?
Tyro = novice. Pro[fessional].
It’s Saturday, so I’m late to the party.
Five-star thumbs up on the LAT, and nice write-up, Gareth.
Puzzles like that don’t create themselves, for sure!