Theme answers:
- 17A: Meat jelly with a dairy-sounding name (HEAD CHEESE).
- 29A: Jelly companion (PEANUT BUTTER).
- 47A: It's usually not needed with an electric razor (SHAVING CREAM).
- 62A: San Francisco gay rights martyr played by Sean Penn in a 2008 film (HARVEY MILK).
Okay, I'm just going to say this. The thought of HEAD CHEESE makes my stomach turn. It looks completely disgusting and it sounds like something even worse than what it actually is. Seeing that as the first theme answer, then, grossed me out a little. Then I got to PEANUT BUTTER and all was forgiven.I didn't really have any sticking points today. Everything seemed pretty straightforward. The northeast corner was probably toughest for me because I didn't remember Richard ROUNDTREE and I couldn't come up with RUFF right away (19A: Old-fashioned pleated neckwear). But the crosses came easily, so not much of a slow-down there. I think the level of crosswordese in this puzzle is pretty low for a Monday. And some of the fill is pretty good. Not anything we haven't seen before, but — again, for a Monday — well, I think the scrabbliness helps this one actually sparkle a little. Good stuff.
Let's talk about …- 14A: Yankee Stadium's borough (BRONX). There's a fantastic story about my favorite baseball player, Yankee Mariano Rivera, in yesterday's New York Times Magazine.
- 21A: 1963 Paul Newman title role (HUD). You'll be seeing this in CW101 someday, so try to remember it!
- 43A: Iowa wrestling legend Gable (DAN). Okay, that's not really the clue here. But it should be!
- 51A: TV hero who was really good with a Swiss army knife (MACGYVER). One of my favorite websites, Lifehacker.com often publishes MacGyver tips. These are old, but probably still work!
- 11D: "Shaft" star Richard (ROUNDTREE). Before there was Chuck Norris, there was John Shaft.
- 22D: Salad bar greens (ARUGULA). I'm fussy about my salad greens. I really don't like the kind that looks like it was just picked from the yard. I think arugula is okay. It's the stuff that looks like weeds and tastes like chemicals that I don't want anywhere near my salad.
- 28D: "Deutschland __ Alles" (ÜBER). Timely.
- 34D: Sister of Rachel (LEAH). Some people might know this from the Bible, but I know it from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
- 42D: Major-__: steward (DOMO). I've only seen this word in the context of newsgroups but never really knew what it meant. Wikipedia tells me that "Typically, the term refers to the highest (major) person of a household (domo) staff, one who acts on behalf of the (often absent) owner of a typically large residence. … The term also refers, more informally, to someone who oversees the day-to-day responsibilities of a business enterprise." I'm going to see if I can get my boss to change my title to Majordomo.
- 63D: Golfer's dream (ACE). PuzzleHusband told a funny story the other day about one time a couple years ago when he took PuzzleSon golfing. PS was, I don't know, five or six years old maybe? And when PH shot an eagle on one hole he was all, "Did you see that?!" PS is like, "Yeah, it went in the hole." He didn't fully comprehend the awesomeness of the shot is what I'm saying.
Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:
- 52A: Hops-drying oven (OAST).
- 67A: Top (ACME).
- 27D: Sporty car roof (T-TOP).
- 50D: Cleveland's lake (ERIE).
- 65D: G.I. field ration (MRE).
Everything Else — 1A: Have a meeting of the minds (AGREE); 6A: Broadway attraction (SHOW); 10A: Matrix (GRID); 15A: Came to (WOKE); 16A: Top-ranked (A-ONE); 20A: NFL tiebreakers (OT'S); 22A: What pests do (ANNOY); 23A: Charlie Brown cry (RATS); 25A: Read the riot act to (LECTURED); 33A: Hospital supply (BLOOD); 36A: "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director Nicolas (ROEG); 37A: Outback bounder, briefly (ROO); 38A: Dizzy feeling (VERTIGO); 41A: Sensible, à la George Bush Sr. (PRUDENT); 43A: Ex-veep Quayle (DAN); 44A: 1040 or 1040EZ (FORM); 46A: Wind-carried soil (LOESS); 56A: Public embarrassment (SCENE); 58A: Partner of vigor (VIM); 60A: Tic-tac-toe loser (XOO); 61A: Short skirt (MINI); 66A: Feedbag stuff (OATS); 68A: Treasure cache (TROVE); 69A: "Gee" (GOSH); 70A: Patch up (MEND); 71A: Biceps-flexing guys (HE-MEN); 1D: Really hate (ABHOR); 2D: Legendary Garbo (GRETA); 3D: Family dinner entrée (ROAST); 4D: Wrap up (END); 5D: Part of NYSE: Abbr. (EXCH.); 6D: Nobel's birthplace (SWEDEN); 7D: Gardener's tool (HOE); 8D: Acceptances (OK'S); 9D: Tiny (WEE); 10D: January birthstone (GARNET); 12D: Facts, briefly (INFO); 13D: Resist openly (DEFY); 18D: Hawaiian dance (HULA); 24D: Blemish to remove (SPOT); 26D: Junkyard dog (CUR); 30D: Big building (EDIFICE); 31D: Many millennia (EONS); 32D: Decays (ROTS); 33D: Some briefs (BVD'S); 35D: Yule danglers (ORNAMENTS); 39D: Loud bell (GONG); 40D: Out-of-control indulgence (ORGY); 45D: Roman 1,105 (MCV); 48D: Disappear (VANISH); 49D: Gunned, as an engine (REVVED); 53D: Geometry postulate (AXIOM); 54D: Finish, as a crossword (SOLVE); 55D: Arcade coin (TOKEN); 56D: City skyline blurrer (SMOG); 57D: Italian's "So long" ("CIAO"); 59D: Greek god story, e.g. (MYTH); 62D: Breakfast meat (HAM); 64D: Pres. who resigned in '74 (RMN).
17 comments:
Really good Monday puzzle with very little triteness. Me likey.
This Parrish puzzle will probably go into my favorite ez-SOLVE puzzle list. It flowed, had new stuff, and the theme helped me make up tomorrow’s grocery list of dairy products. Nice job, Allan!
Great words, like: ARUGULA, ORNAMENTS, EDIFICE, MACGYVER, and AXIOM.
Loved the “it wouldn’t be PRUDENT” quote of George H. W. Bush (or was that, Dana Carvey)?
GOSH! Haven’t seen this used in a crossword before--- “Deutschland UBER Alles”.
The wonderful first line of Das Lied der Deutschen (The “Song of the German People”) written by Josef Haydn (1797). Very majestic and patriotic! That’ll wake you up on a quiet Monday morning after the 4th.
Got Nicolas ROEG from the crosses, but never heard of him before.
For those of you who are not familiar with this beautiful woman from SWEDEN---
GRETA Garbo
She was known most notably for her title role in Anna Karenina (1935 film).
Last time I said something about the MINI, I got LECTURED, so I won’t go there (wouldn‘t be PRUDENT)… Tinbeni, it’s all yours!
Okay, today the breakfast will be OATS… Cheerios, that is!
Have fun y’all !
@Puzzlegirl
I agree with your comment on HEAD CHEESE. Yuck!
My grandparents came from SWEDEN and so Sylta was all too familiar to me. It's a traditional Swedish recipe that is often found on a Scandinavian Christmas smorgasbord. Also called HEAD CHEESE or a jellied meat loaf, sylta is served alongside other meats like ham and potato sausage and is often eaten with mustard.
Nightmares of family Swedish smorgasbords right up there with lutefisk. My aunt Esther (a splitting-image of Julia Child) always made the "prized" sylta.
I really enjoyed your writeup today... very meaty (uh, excuse the pun).
PG: I know about Rachel and Leah from reading The Red Tent. Interesting book--I went back and read the relevant Bible chapters after reading it (was raised a Unitarian and not much Bible reading in my life. . .).
And (2) I think PuzzleSon's reaction pretty much sums up my attitude toward golf. I fully acknowledge the skill required, but ultimately--why? There's so much else to do! (yet some people might say the same about my/our devotion to crossword puzzles)
Personal nat-tick for me at ROE?/ARU?ULA. ARUGULA sounds vaguely familiar, but you coulda fooled me, if you said it was ARUbULA or ARUkULA, too. So will just have to trust you on this. Nicolas-the-director-guy was just standin' there, bein' no help at all. I always pick ARU?ULA out of my salads, BTW. Too bitter. Tastes like it's good for yah.
Impressive fill, like MACGYVER crossin' REVVED, and not even at the V. Engine light came on briefly at EXCH, but got over it. Six U's (hard vowels to make stick in a construction), and that's with none below the belt line. Nice puz, Mr. Parrish. Thumbs up!
Ez and smooth Mon.
The thing about yucky sounding foods, much of it is cultural. We always had tongue, marrow bone, hearts, etc. Then one day I looked at the tongue before it was sliced and covered with gravy and realized it was a TONGUE, and I couldn't eat it. And it's a really smooth meat. I still like marrow on bread and chicken hearts.
They've never replaced Germany's national anthem, but have bounced around with the words. "Germany, over all the world." I met an East German at the wedding, a young man who fell afoul of the NYS DWI laws, thinking he could refuse the breathalyzer with impunity. He lost his license for a year. Not like the Stasi, but not what he expected in the USA. Now he knows.
The only stuff I know about MACGYVER is from SNL. I think I have the idea (snore).
The Man Who Fell to Earth, 1976, with David Bowie is not a happy movie, being about an alien who becomes alienated (and alcoholic) and about the failure of technology. It's worth watching, and is in the Criterion Collection.
Roeg is known for his spooky theme choices and odd film-editing.
Very enjoyable puzzle. Had two write-overs: DEnY for DEFY and mUt for CUR. I've obviously been spending too much time on XWords since words like OAST and TTOP are now gimmes.
@MandA, I pick the ARUGULA out of my salads too.
I really liked this fun Monday puzzle. I finished it quickly looked it over and thought GOSH there is really a lot of good stuff in here for a Monday (and one easy Roman Numeral clue). Agree with all about HEAD CHEESE. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Like ARUGULA. I have it in my garden. It has a nice peppery taste. Who could forget Paul Newman in HUD? The Movie MILK about HARVEY MILK was very good. His birthday May 22, was designated an official day of recognition this year in CA.
@Tinbeni My husband is Swedish. Since I like to cook, I decided early on to prepare a traditional Swedish Christmas smorgasbord and invite his family. After I went through the recipes and saw what foods were included, I decided hmmm, maybe not.
@Ruth Loved "The Red Tent."
Hope everyone had a good 4th!
@JNH
Being a leg and car man, I like the MINI, 'nough said.
GOSH, this was a FUN Monday SOLVE.
Caught the theme early, though the thought of HEADCHEESE so early in the day got a wince.
Did not know the January Birthstone is GARNET.
Never heard of the the Director ROEG.
Liked the cluing for ROO & XOO.
ARUGULA has a great sounding name.
PuzzleGirl, Excellent write-up, THANK YOU!
Um, I guess I'm the one to stand up for headcheese. It's delicious. I love aspics in all shapes and forms. Also, every whole pig roast I've ever been to, (about twenty) I always request the cheeks. The best part really.
Anyways, super easy breezy puzzle.
And arugula? Who doesn't like that?
@backbiter
So I just googled and learned a lot about HEADCHEESE.
My share ... I deed to you, I'll pass.
Enjoy!
(Hey, we're a varied group, different strokes for different folks. Plus, I'm a fairly basic "Meat and Potato" kind of guy.)
Love arugula!! Am trying to grow some but so far, nothing to harvest
Have never had head cheese but love aspic, so I probably would like it.
Good puzzle even tho I never heard of Roeg
@backbiter - Make that two of us, I love headcheese. Growing up in Wisconsin with all the German influence probably instilled that in me. Reading the comment about marrow bones also made me salivate. Yumm!
Easy, fun, mouthwatering Monday!
Great cheese head picture!
Nice'n'easy.
OTS: dodgy plural :-(
@PG & R: I (now) know Rachel and LEAH from this puzzle. The story outline was vaguely familiar from looong-ago public-school bible stories (long enough ago that they could get away with that :-)), but I'd forgotten both their names and which of Abraham's extended brood it was that had been duped.) Somehow I suspect Margaret Atwood has a rather different take on the story.
@JNH *et al*: For me, Nicholas ROEG was a gimme. "The Man who Fell to Earth" was a mid-70s cult classic starring David Bowie. My friends and I loved it. Roeg's earlier movie "Performance" (with Mick Jagger) is less well known, I think. It "treats as the stuff of psychodrama what Rocky Horror Picture Show [would later treat] as a campy joke" [1] (Oh, and IMDB tells me that Roeg was a second-unit photographer on "Lawrence of Arabia".) Note to self: need to watch all three of those again.
Small-world moment: "The Man Who Fell to Earth" was based on a novel by Walter Tevis, who (Wikipedia tells me) was not a prolific author, but also wrote "The Hustler", which starred Paul Newman, who also starred in HUD.
SHAVING CREAM: Anyone else remember http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nlJRG7NTnM ?
HARVEY MILK: One of those tip-of-the-brain ones I couldn't quite place; had to wait for a few crosses to jog my memory.
@JNH: "splitting image"? Gee, I only learned the term "eggcorn" from yesterday's puzzle; thanks for using one in a sentence! :-)
@Rube: What you said about OAST. TTOP, not so much; I keep wanting to call that a "t-bar". Also crosswordese, but a different beast entirely.
- Eric
[1] Justin Vicari, in a blog comment: http://mubi.com/topics/4053?page=1; I've long felt this to be true, but couldn't have put it so succinctly.
Good puzzle. Left 1 blank box- the r for cur and Roeg, but otherwise a fun Monday puzzle. The prudent made me remember Dana Carvey on SNL but could not find a video with him saying it so here is a different one.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4117/saturday-night-live-george-bush-debate
Very nice Monday puzzle. Did it on line in a few minutes (for me a miracle) Agree with most about Headcheese...yuck! I guess it's an aquired taste. Remembered oast from other LAT puzzles. Guess I'm improving.
@PG Very enjoyable write-up
@Chefbea - Not sure where you live, but in the south, arugula is a fall/spring crop, like the other lettuces I'm aware of.
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