Spencer Leach’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 8/10/24 – no. 0810
I suspect this puzzle will be polarizing, but I really enjoyed it.
Now, 1-Across stumped me. [Political adviser Dunn]? It’s ANITA, and here’s her Wikipedia page. She only just left the Biden White House a week and a half ago. 1-Down was also stymieing me. [AC units?] clues AMPS, I guess because alternating current is measured in amperes? Not my wheelhouse. Anyway, if you were struggling with those entries and didn’t kinda know 13a [Brand of brightly colored hair dye with a rhyming name], you’re probably cranky. But if you’ve seen MANIC PANIC at Sally Beauty or Ulta, well, then it’s a fun entry.
Fave fill: PICKLEBALL, GALE FORCE winds, OPENLY GAY, nested MATRYOSHKA dolls, “that’s a YOU PROBLEM” (second YOU entry here), IN REAL TIME, TIKTOK DANCE, CLUB FED country-club prisons, TWISTER MAT, a figurative MICROSCOPE, and a GEOCENTRIST with a fun clue, [To whom one might say “Not everything revolves around you!”].
Three things:
- 44a. [Inits. on a food assistance card], EBT. It’s electronic benefit transfer, the modern version of food stamps.
- 41a. [Any of the Apennines], MONTE. The Apennine mountains are in Italy, I gather.
- 35d. [Contracts for shrinks, e.g.], SYNONYM. I always like clues like this, for ANAGRAM or ANTONYM or this. Contracts and shrinks are both verbs here.
4.25 stars from me.
Gary Larson’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Tit for Tat” — pannonica’s write-up
WSJ • 8/10/24 • Sat • “Tit for Tat” • Larson • solution • 20240810
Very straightforward theme. The letter A has been replaced by an I in each of the entries’ phrases.
- 22a. [Skating venues in Chapter 11?] BROKE RINKS (broke ranks).
- 24a. [Galapagos excursion to view blue-footed birds?] BOOBY TRIP (booby trap).
- 43a. [Jambalaya, e.g.?] RICE COURSE (racecourse).
- 68a. [Family ancestry for a knight’s apprentice?] SQUIRE ROOTS (square roots).
- 95a. [Wears scuba footwear?] SPORTS FINS (sports fans).
- 117a. [Regret not calling a handyman?] RUES THE D.I.Y. (rues the day).
- 120a. [One coveting another’s lollipop?] LICK LUSTER (lackluster).
- 15d. [Seventh-inning refreshments?] STRETCH PINTS (stretch pants).
- 63d. [Yelp review for a barbershop?] SNIP JUDGMENT (snap judgment).
Note that for each entry, there is only one A, and after the transformation that letter is the only I. That makes for a rather RIGID (74a) constraint.
- 16d [Musical interval nicknamed “the devil’s interval”] TRITONE. Not new to me, but I definitely had forgotten it.
- 23d [Scoundrel] KNAVE, 37a [Scoundrel] VARLET.
- 43d [Combines] REAPERS. Agricultural equipment.
- 92d [Their dens are called couches] OTTERS. “The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature), or, when in water, raft.” (Wikipedia)
93d [Copyright concern] FAIR USE.- 105d [Start of an uncomfortable idiom] ILL AT [… ease]. 46d [Mitigator] EASER. Deft.
- 27a [Outback order] MEDIUM. Steaks, in the steakhouse.
- 125a [First name in pharmaceuticals] ELI Lilly.
- 129a [One who cries foul] REF. 38d [Writer’s reference] ROGET’S. I cry foul.
Not a super-exciting crossword, but enjoyable enough.
Rich Feely’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up
Los Angeles Times 8/10/24 by Rich Feely
This puzzle added up to the “gentle challenge” listed in LAT’s Saturday specs, which I thought it did by being extra-hard in one section (the NW corner) and the rest much easier.
- 17A [Deep-sea pod cast?] is WHALE SONG. Legit but tough entry + punny clue = boy was that hard!
- 19A [Offensive deception?] is NO-LOOK PASS. See comment above, although I suppose this is not a tough entry if one is a basketball fan.
- 23A I wasn’t really fond of the entry HIDE ME.
- 39A I generally dislike entries like CAPITAL G, SHORT I, and this one (which is also a plural, meh), SILENT E’S. But if you’re going to do it, a clue like [Elements of love and hate] is the way to go.
- 45A YOU BET I CAN is nice and lively.
- 52A [Five-spice powder ingredient], as a clue for STAR ANISE, is EASY-PEASY (the entry just below it at 54A).
- 2D [Fifth letter of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet], ECHO, was one of the few easy toeholds in this area.
- 11D [When Obergefell v. Hodges was issued] is a nice tie-in with the entry, PRIDE MONTH.
- 24D [“Hi hungry, I’m __”] is DAD. LOL. I missed this completely while solving!
- 28D [Gymnast honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022] is BILES, and oh yeah, she’s gotten some more medals since this puzzle went to press.
Matthew Sewell’s Newsday crossword, Saturday Stumper — pannonica’s write-up
Newsday • 8/10/24 • Saturday Stumper • Sewell • solution • 20240810
Am surprised at my time because I was deeply stymied in various parts of the grid.
- 1a [Without a hem?] ASAP. 62a [Without a hem?] STAT. I was not expecting these to be cluing the same type of answer.
- 5a [Mensa accepts it in lieu of IQ] LSAT. Ha, that’s just perfect for them.
- 16a [Charger in an outlet] STORE OWNER. Takes the prize for most ridiculous clue in the puzzle. My interpretation is that outlet = a type of store, and charger = someone who asks for money (for goods).
- 19a [“Dear me!”] WHOOPSIDAISIES. Not sure I’d end up spelling—or saying—it like this if left to my own devices.
- 22a [Letters for a much-used hub] USB. Was reluctant to go with this answer, as I didn’t think hub was a great descriptor here, even though I know usb hubs are a thing. The clue is definitely a misdirect for an airport code such as ORD or ATL.
- 25a [A whole bunch?] NANAS. Takes the prize for most ridiculous entry, if I’m correct in assuming that it’s short for bananas.
- 31a [Thatcher follower] -ITE, as MAJOR clearly doesn’t fit.
- 32a [Very badly] TO HIGH HEAVEN. Typically colocated with stinks.
- 40a [Science practiced by multiple Nobel laureates] ECONOMETRICS. After reaching an impasse with —METRICS, I decided to take a risk with the prefix here, and it paid off. Very lucky.
- 48a [Dumpster fire] SNAFU. 38d [Dumpster fire] TOTAL ZOO. After having TOTAL— for a time, ZOO finally occurred to me and I was able to finish out that lower left corner, the final section of the grid to fall.
- 54a [Nicely named ground beef/mozzarella dish] SLOPPY GIUSEPPE, an Italianized cognate for a sloppy joe. Not sure why ‘nicely’ is in the clue.
- 59a [Sambuca cousin] OUZO. Was stuck thinking of other Italian aperitifs rather than similarly anise-flavored spirits from elsewhere.
- 64a [Whom the Corps of Discovery met at the Missouri] OTOE. Even though I didn’t get the answer right away, the phrasing of the clue allowed me to narrow down 5d [Corps of Discovery guy] to either LEWIS or Clark, where I had previously been nonplussed by that clue.
- 66a [Veggie Poppables producer] LAYS, not AMY’S.
- 1d [Word from the Greek for “panting”] ASTHMA. Good to know, but I’ll probably forget this.
- 10d [What you can fix it with] ADHESIVE, because it’s a fixative.
- 17d [Big 10, Big 12, or Pac-12 sch.] OSU. Was helpful that a crossword earlier this week alluded to the various O-State Universities—I believe it was Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon?
- 26d [Directional letters] ATTN. Tricky. I was definitely thinking of permutations of NEWS.
- 36d [Offends, these days] NEGS. Boo!
- 49d [Surname of more than a couple of podiatrists] FOOTE. Kind of a dumb clue, but it was fairly easy to guess at, so I’ll take it.
- 58d [Lofty area in Vietnam] ETNA. A cryptic-lite clue (Vietnam contains ETNA). “Lofty” seems an odd word choice to me.
- 59d [Abrazo del __ (hearty embrace] OSO. Literally, a bear hug.
NYT: A fun, fairly easy puzzle that made me feel like I know more than I do. I zipped through the colorful grid without much delay, almost matching my time on Friday’s NYT puzzle.
I really enjoyed the clues for 57A MATRYOSHKA* and 10D TWISTER MAT.
Ironically, OPENLY GAY was one of the last things I filled in. This weekend sees Austin’s Pride Parade, which I have marched in a few times. (Why August? Because June in Central Texas is too hot!)
*I first learned the word MATRYOSHKA around 1990, when I saw a set of dolls that had Stalin enclosing Khrushchev enclosing Brehznev enclosing Gorbachev enclosing Yeltsin. (I guess Andropov and Chernenko didn’t count.)
Same experience for me! If I hadn’t put in LEAPS / ENS instead of LEAPT / ENT, I would’ve had a faster time than Friday. When I finished, but didn’t get the complete, I thought I had messed up MATRYOSHKA, which I was Today Years Old when I learned that’s the name for the dolls…
I originally had BTUS for the AC units, and fixed it to get MANIC, but wasn’t sure what the rhyme was for the name. Overall, lots of fun fill and clues for a fast Saturday.
Happy Austin pride! Today we’ve got my son’s birthday party, postponed as he was performing as Kurt in a local Sound of Music production, and this was our first open weekend :-)
Thanks!
We’re actually almost out of Texas, on our way to our new home in Colorado. We will miss some things about Austin, but it’s just gotten too big and crowded.
I didn’t find this particularly ‘easy’, but enjoyable cluing (loved the clue for synonym and like you said, twister and MATRYOSHKA* were standouts.) I did wonder if anybody born in this millennium knows what a zoot suit is? Never heard of racinos, but that was gettable once “you problem” fell into place.
* I have a large collection of these, and still can’t spell it without help :D… I go with *en eee ess tee eye enn gee doll… :D.. my favorite has 20 nesters including the baby, and tells a story in the pictures …
Wasn’t easy for me, either. There were simply too many things out of my wheelhouse. “LOG_OUT of a library? Does this have something to do with electronic devises? I’ve never logged in or out of a library. RACINOS is brand new to me — never been to a racetrack. EBT? Never used food stamps. Not sure I understand how” Getting a high grade?” can mean STEEP. Baffled by “AC units” as AMPS. If AC in this clue means air conditioner, I’d say that’s wrong. The correct abbreviation is A/C. I guessed the dance part of TIK_TOK_DANCE. I don’t use Tic Tok. That’s the way it went.
I’m guessing a lot of people use a library’s computers for studying? Maybe. That’s all I could make of that log out (started with log off, which is how *I* sign out of a computer) I was stuck at Tiktok for a while, since I don’t use the thing and don’t know about dancing on it. I see EBT Eligible signs at some grocery stores, so that was familiar. I’m thinking the high grade is for a mountain road that is steep.
Also baffled by the ac unit = amps.
So I guess both Papa John and marciem didn’t read this part of my post: “[AC units?] clues AMPS, I guess because alternating current is measured in amperes?” I just looked it up to confirm and yes, amperes measure electric current, and AC and DC are two types of electric current.
Read it but it didn’t register in brain.
My experience was like Papa John’s. A self-consciously contemporary puzzle, so tough indeed for me. But ok as a Saturday challenge.
A “self-consciously contemporary puzzle.”
The constructor is not yet 21. I suspect the puzzle reflects the world he lives in
I’m roughly three times his age. I envoy the 20-something perspectives I get from some of these puzzles, though there are times when some of the references baffle me
Tough one for me. I know what MATYROSHKA dolls are, but didn’t know what they were called, so that one came entirely from crosses. PANIC MANIC came entirely from crosses, too. The “C” at the cross with CLUB FED was the last letter in. My troubles with CLUB FED were of my own making – I repeatedly read the clue as “Relatively nice PERSON …”
Fun clues for TWISTER MAT, SYNONYM and MATYROSHKA (once I googled the term and understood what it is).
I also couldn’t figure out the Club guy who was a relatively nice PERSON… LOL!
easy fun Saturday. what about it do you think would be polarizing Amy? you open with that line but nothing you mentioned seems like it would be polarizing.
The haircare brand straight dudes like me are unlikely to know? Never heard of MANIC PANIC until 5 mins ago but love the name and was totally gettable. OPENLY GAY? anyone with a problem with that entry can go slinking back to the Clinton era. screw ‘em
Mainly MANIC PANIC, a hair dye brand that isn’t Just for Men, occupying a prime piece of real estate.
NYT: loved the clue for PICKLEBALL — that is a classic white-people-problem. After that start, was able to breeze along.
Fun puzzle!
Why do you call it a “white people” problem? Noise is noise.
I wanted something about those vuvuzelas at soccer games, but there was no way for. that.
I think “first world problem” would be more to the point and less offensive than your characterization. JMO
Playing devil’s advocate, there are more pickleball courts in white neighborhoods than black neighborhoods. Denying this, or its significance, strikes me more akin to being “anti-woke” than tolerant.
Well … I object to anti-woke among many other pejoratives, but feel free to use whatever insults make you happy. Gee, are late night basketball games a “non-woke” problem?
Stumper was too much for me. Got STOREOWNER but thought I POOPED DAISIES might be an expression I hadn’t heard of.
!
LOL (seriously) at I POOPED DAISIES!
I managed to finish in 45 minutes, with an error. Didn’t remember the Alpine pass, even though it was in a puzzle recently. So I decided the second “Without a hem” clue was making some obtuse reference to a woman and entered STAg. Oh, well!
Thanks for the laugh of the day, Twangster.
“…I POOPED DAISIES might be an expression I hadn’t heard of.”
Apparently, no online reference has either. Not a single hit for that phrase.
I don’t do the Stumper, but “Pooped daisies” sounds like a useful phrase.
Stumper: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Everything pannonica said and more. I have never heard “whoopsidaisies” as plural. I would add indignation about “eat meat” for “have the chops” and “#1 reacher in each of the past seven decades” — “reacher” is WAY too vague.
NANAS. Takes the prize for most ridiculous entry, if I’m correct in assuming that it’s short for bananas.
Amen to that.
WSJ: This was a very good puzzle by Gary Larson, and I got a huge chuckle from 120A: “One coveting another’s lollipop?”, answer “LICK LUSTER”!