The Fireball is on summer vacation.
Brad Wiegmann’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up
Difficulty: Easy (8m43s)
Brad Wiegmann’s New York Times crossword, 8/22/24, 0822
Today’s theme: chain letters
- EMMY AWARDS (em-ee/Medals)
- GEO LOCATION (gee-oh/Gobi Desert)
- ESSAY QUESTION (ess-ay/”Say what?”
- ANY OLD THING (en-ee/Neolith)
- ARE YOU GAME (are-yoo/Rummy)
OH BEHAVE appeared once in 1999, disappeared for twenty-four years, and has now appeared four more times in the NYTXW in the last 10 months (twice in the last 30 days alone!). This, for a second-string catchphrase from a movie that came out in 1997. What does it all mean? Well, nothing, probably. The 1999 debut means it has probably been in everyone’s word list all this time, but — much like a cicada nymph — it’s been lying dormant, waiting for the blitz. I am now confident we will not see it again until 2049, where it will catastrophically overlap with the 50-year YEAH BABY brood, as foretold in the Book of Revelation.
Cracking: BOY TOY BOOTIE
Slacking: You’re asking me Woody’s last name on “Cheers”? I watched the show regularly, but it ended more than 30 years ago, and even I had to dig deep down for BOYD.
Sidetracking: …trying on your CAMISOLE…
Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Extreme Lifting”—Jim’s re-cap
Theme answers are words whose first and final letters are found in the row above. The main entries still look like valid crossword entries, though they don’t match their clues.
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Extreme Lifting” · Mike Shenk · Thu., 8.22.24
- 17a. [Spoiled rotten] (P)AMPERE(D)
- 18a. [Avoidance of pretension] (S)IMPLICIT(Y)
- 35a. [Bear from “darkest Peru”] (P)ADDINGTO(N)
- 41a. [Coups for a magazine photographer] (C)OVER SHOT(S)
- 58a. [Coated with dew, perhaps] (G)LISTENIN(G)
This was a pretty inscrutable theme for someone who didn’t actually solve the puzzle (me). But after much searching I found the revealer and after even more searching I found the theme answers. Somewhere in there I had an aha moment which is pretty cool to have for someone who didn’t actually do the grid. Really nifty, stealthy theme. How did you solvers fare?
Amie Walker’s USA Today Crossword, “Nonsense Outro” — Emily’s write-up
Say what!?
USA Today, August 22, 2024, “Nonsense Outro” by Amie Walker
Theme: each themer phrase ends (a.k.a. “outro”) with a synonym of “nonsense”
Themers:
- 18a. [Tiered bed part that’s lower to the ground], BOTTOMBUNK
- 34a. [Bar fixture that simulates riding a bucking animal], MECHANICALBULL
- 48a. [Insulting the other team, say], TALKINGTRASH
Despite the fantastic title hint, this themer set is quite mundane with BOTTOMBUNK, MECHANICALBULL, and TALKINGTRASH. Still a fun set, don’t get me wrong, but not as wacky as I thought they might be, given the theme.
Favorite fill: KITTYTREATS, BABA (yum!), and BEARHUG
Stumpers: HALSEY (new to me), SKA (new cluing to me), and PROP (thought of the movie, though I think this cluing refers to the stage musical version)
A great puzzle that was a smooth solve for me, with lots of cluing clicking and lovely overall fill with some excellent bonus fill.
4.25 stars
~Emily
Katie Hale & Tennessee Grimes’ LA Times crossword – Gareth’s theme summary
LA Times
240822
Katie Hale & Tennessee Grimes offer a fairly well-used themeset – the four “most common” tastes – with an interesting twist. The central answe r, ACQUIREDTASTE, implies that clues are written as though the taste isn’t there and just answer the second part of the long answers:
- [*Center], {SWEET}HEART
- [*Hound], {SALTY}DOG
- [*Memo], {SOUR}NOTE
- [*Tablet], {BITTER}PILL
Gareth
NYT: I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night, but “Lassie’s owner on old TV” came instantly for me. I am giving away my age here, but I probably watched this show 60 years ago! Oh, and I enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks Brad!
I might have seen a rerun on Nickelodeon in the 90s once, but otherwise never watched the show. Still, Lassie and TIMMY was pretty front-and-center in the pop ethos for many decades. Woody BOYD, on the other hand, is a very deep cut.
“What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s stuck in a well?”
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TimmyInAWell
I found both a little too old to remember, the history of Oman a tough reach, and PATOOT not in my vocabulary. Generally, tough fill owing to some clever cluing. I ended up relying heavily on the theme puns, which were great. I can easily see how, judging by ratings, the puzzle lost about half its solvers, but I admired it.
I watch “Cheers” reruns almost daily. Lots of fodder for Xwords.
Here’s most of the other main character on the show:
Ted Danson
Shelley Long
Nicholas Colasanto
Rhea Perlman
George Wendt
John Ratzenberger
Kelsey Grammer
Woody Harrelson
Kirstie Alley
Bebe Neuwirth
Remarkable characters on a remarkable show’
For me, Lassie’s owner was Jeff, who lived with Mom and Gramps, and Timmy was an impostor.
Yup… remember kee yah kee… Porky and Jeff’s call
And same here remembering Woody BOYD’s last name, though I was a faithful watcher.
WSJ – a couple of raised eyebrows at some clues – i.e., 38d – am I missing something? This seems like a very generic question that can be asked anywhere; I don’t think I’ve ever asked it or heard it specifically at a party. Also, I think the answer to 54d really pushes the meaning of “petite”, which most dictionaries define as some form of “Small or diminutive in an attractive way”. Not totally wrong, I suppose – but rather a stretch for me.
OTOH, I really loved the answer for 34A. Never heard it before, but really perfect.
My sister and I used to watch the closing credits of Lassie, trying to anticipate when she would pick up her paw. I can still hear her (him) bark, and that show will always be connected to Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and the Thanksgiving Day Parade in my mind, thanks to June Lockhart.
NYT review: loved the OH BEHAVE commentary!
LAT: I confidently filled in KOI for 34A Garden-variety fish, not sure how EEL is garden-variety? Or why garden-variety has a hyphen?
Garden eels are the garden-variety of eel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterocongrinae
How interesting! Crosswords will make you smarter! Thanks to both of you for the info.
Ditto what Margaret wrote. Both Martin and Pannonica make this website much more informative!