Andrew Kingsley’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s write-up
NY Times crossword solution, 8 26 16, no 0826
nyone else see this byline and have Andrew Ridgeley keep intruding on your thoughts? Here’s a quasi-Wham! video to exorcise that. Lots of cool fill in Andrew Kingsley‘s themeless 70-worder. To wit: PINTEREST (which I just don’t get), VALOR (my Pokémon Go team! not that I do the “gym” thing), SUPERFOOD (ugh, dumb term, but great crossword fill), KOI POND (raise your hand if you frowned at KOI BOND, having opted for BAH over the far more obscure PAH), CLEOPATRA, ATTACK ADS, RAFAel Nadal, TED TALK, TEEN ANGST, and DROP CAP (the drop cap in this paragraph is from this site). I also like SLAKE, as I am slaking thirst all day, every day. (Hydrate!)
Is ON TOE in-the-language in ballet circles, or is that strictly en pointe? If it’s contrived, then I don’t like it, or EX-GOV. Found no joy in fill like PISAN, EARED, -ADEE, RONA, STYE, or VEE.
And hey! We just had BE THERE in yesterday’s NYT puzzle. Does nobody eyeball the grids for the week in an effort to avoid such overlaps?
3.8 stars from me. Good night, folks!
Jeffrey Wechsler’s lA Times crossword – Gareth’s write-up
LA Times
160826
YOUWILLBEMISSED is interpreted as “U is taken from answers and results are clued wackily.” In three cases, the changed word has an OU change to O; there is one AU to A. So…
- [Fishing spot for vacationing Londoners?], BRITISHPO(U)ND
- [Legwear for air travelers?], BOARDINGHO(U)SE
- [007 returning from assignment?], HOMEWARDBO(U)ND
- [Vacant look?], STERILEGA(U)ZE
Bits and bobs:
- [Ruff stuff], LACE. Fun, if quaint, clue – think Elizabeth I.
- [“…___ quit!”, ORI + ORAN + ENE in one 4×3 area. Any ideas why? I got nothin’!
- [Toondom’s Phineas, to Ferb], PAL. What an oddly specific clue.
- [After “Our” and with 54-Down, title for the Virgin Mary based on an 1871 apparition], LADYOF/HOPE. So, a giant 10-letter partial… Ok, then.
That’s about all I want to say really.
Gareth
NYT: Timely political vibe… ATTACK ADS, CLOSE VOTE, EX GOV (Clued with Ex Pres), LIAR (clued as a political accusation… heaven knows we heard worse of late), not to mention atmospheric elements — STEAMED, ASS, STOOGES, IDIOTS…
Amy, I know we talked about PINTEREST before. I guess it’s only tangentially social… I do it for purely personal reasons– some practical, some esthetic, some affective. It’s great to have access to all these images, but it’s really a rather indirect means of communication.
I’ve actually learned a surprising number of things about myself in the process… like certain patterns and colors that I seem to consistently find visually appealing
Saturday-difficulty for me. I’m having a little trouble connecting “Temper” with INURE. I assume that NAPES as “Pickup points” is a reference to mother cats picking up their kittens by the nape of the neck? Or am I missing something? Both clues seem a bit Stumper-ish for a Friday NYT. Enjoyed the puzzle, though. And I’m glad to learn that MECCA is the city with the world’s largest clock face.
Temper: increase strength e.g. Tempered steel, tempered glass.
Didn’t know about Mecca either. Seems ironic seems so much of the timing of religious rituals in Islam is determined by sunlight and moonlight… E.g. Fasting in Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, regardless of season, which can make for dramatically different fasting periods. Prayer at dawn, lunar months…
I think of “to temper” as “to strengthen” and “to inure (to)” as “to desensitize,” but I see that some dictionaries have them as synonyms, so I guess I’ve got no gripe. I guess “to harden” is the crux I was looking for but couldn’t quite find. Thanks.
Yeah, to me “temper” is not the same as “harden.” I kept trying to make “anneal” fit….
I agree it’s not the same as harden…it’s more to increase resilience but not rigidity. And I think of inure as having that same resilience inducing connotation…
Tempering actually makes metal softer with a goal of making it less brittle. Un-tempered steel is very strong by some measures, but it is very brittle. Becoming inured to something similarly implies you’re less likely to be broken by it.
My only problem with the clue was having to wait to see whether it was [E][I]nure
Finished today’s NYT in less than a third of the time of yesterday’s… FWIW.
I don’t find “ON TOE” in any ballet terms listing, it’s not in my word list, and Googling the term doesn’t yield any results involving ballet, so I’d say it’s contrived, though it seems to have been contrived awhile back as it’s been several times in puzzle. Maybe someone who actually knows something about ballet will weigh in.
I think the balletomane’s preferred usage is en pointe.
Thank You !