June 25, 2011
Julian Lim
Theme: None
Every once in a while life really gets in the way of blogging and today is definitely one of those days. Just honest-to-God no time for it today. But I did want to at least post the grid and give you all a place to talk about the puzzle if you're so inclined. I will tell you that the northwest corner took me about as much time as the whole rest of the puzzle and have to assume it caused some gnashing of teeth among you guys too. Hope you all are having a great weekend and now I'm off to my busy day!
Everything — 1A: Bounce (DRIBBLE); 8A: Site of the largest WWII Allied Pacific amphibious assault (OKINAWA); 15A: Pigment used in some primer paints (RED LEAD); 16A: Worldly (SECULAR); 17A: Glowing, perhaps (PLEASED); 18A: "You're in charge!" ("SEE TO IT1"); 19A: Courage (HEART); 20A: Fightin' with (AGIN'); 22A: Exobiologist's org. (SETI); 23A: Covering an outfield position (IN LEFT); 25A: Byzantine emperor known as "the Armenian" (LEO V); 27A: Some hosps. (VA'S); 28A: Mil. officers (LTS.); 29A: Demolish, in Durham (RASE); 31A: Most recently introduced (NEWEST); 33A: Summons (TICKET); 35A: One putting on shows (AIRER); 36A: "The sea was angry that day," e.g. (PATHETIC FALLACY); 40A: Hatch of Utah (ORRIN); 41A: Neil Diamond title words after "I am the tune" (PLAY ME); 42A: One may be packed with Oreos, briefly (P B AND J); 44A: Uma's role in "The Producers" (ULLA); 45A: Label for Nilsson (RCA); 48A: Yom __: holiday, in Hebrew (TOV); 49A: Kosovo resident (SERB); 51A: Hawks' contacts, perhaps (ARMERS); 53A: Uncultivated, probably (ARID); 55A: Banter (JEST); 57A: Does a word-processing task (SAVES); 58A: Reacts in fear, in a way (REARS UP); 60A: Like some soap (ON A ROPE); 62A: "Eugene Onegin" heroine __ Larina (TATIANA); 63A: NBAer orig. from Minnesota (L.A. LAKER); 64A: Made red-faced? (SLAPPED); 65A: Evidence provider (DNA TEST); 1D: "Family First" author, familiarly (DR. PHIL); 2D: Give in (RELENT); 3D: Epitomes (IDEALS); 4D: Play up to the max? (BLARE); 5D: Some buds (BEST FRIENDS); 6D: Papua New Guinea port (LAE); 7D: Snorri Sturluson's "Prose __" (EDDA); 8D: Walter's "I'm Not Rappaport" co-star (OSSIE); 9D: Really into (KEEN ON); 10D: Plans may be put on it (ICE); 11D: More than just touched (NUTS); 12D: Herbal medicine plant (ALOE VERA); 13D: "Not so fast!" (WAIT A SEC); 14D: Craft (ARTISTRY); 21D: Competitors in a Fox comedy-drama (GLEE CLUBS); 24D: Bumpkin's lack (TACT); 26D: Trattoria offering (VEAL MARSALA); 30D: Problem with an old record (SKIP); 32D: Bit of cunning (WILE); 33D: Like a poor argument (THIN); 34D: Maker of nonstick cookware (T-FAL); 36D: Toaster brand (POP-TARTS); 37D: Like kinkajous (ARBOREAL); 38D: "Fallen woman," in an opera title (TRAVIATA); 39D: "The Clan of the Cave Bear" protagonist (AYLA); 43D: Not exciting (JEJUNE); 45D: Take away (REVOKE); 46D: Brunch fare (CRÈPES); 47D: Maintain (ASSERT); 50D: Fix, as brakes (REPAD); 52D: Corday victim (MARAT); 54D: Cone eater's concern (DRIP); 56D: Let in on (TOLD); 59D: Enervate (SAP); 61D: Turkic flatbread (NAN).
21 comments:
Where did everyone go this A.M.? Vacay perhaps? Anyway, tough puzzle today. Southwest corner problematic with "poptarts" as a toaster brand. HUH?
agree about poptart. big question what are armers? 51 A.
Tried "anthropomorphic" for 36A "The sea was angry...". It fits both in meaning and letter count. Hadn't seen PATHETIC FALLACY before. Is that a fallacy that is really, really lame? (No pathos intended.)
POP TARTS seems misclued to me also.
Bit of an Italianish themelet with TRAVIATA, MARSALA, & TATIANA.
DNF with the ULLA AYLA crossing. Lame if not pathetic on my part.
Armers=people who sell arms
Yes, a tough one, with the SW being the toughest for me. Had 3 Googles: LEOV, TOV, and the L in the AYLA/ULLA crossing. Wanted Iwo Jima before OKINAWA and lieTEST before DNATEST. There were other writeovers like SKIP/warP and TOLD/Tell.
That was a really deceptive clue for PBANDJ, but I think POPTARTS, ARBOREAL and TRAVIATA make for a marvellous combination.
Is PATHETIC FALLACY really a legitimate term? Never heard it before. Well, Answers.com gives this definition:
The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example, angry clouds; a cruel wind...
.
And Wikipedia says that, yes indeed, the Lakers came from Minnesota although they originally were from Detroit. TOV=good is my WOTD.
pbandj
what is that?
A Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich (as a common lunchbox item)
Expounding on what anon said earlier, consider "armers" in the Hawks (war) vs. Doves (peace) sense.
Much gnashing here today too. Aside from the usual themeless Saturday misdirection and obscure references, some of the clues seemed particularly loose/tangential to me. E.g.
Summons = ticket
Epitomes = ideals
Turkik flatbread = nan (pita is what springs to my mind, nan would be Indian)
uncultivated = arid
bumpkin's lack = tact
does a word processing task =saves (hardly word processing specific)
Oddly enough, I found "jejune" the most sparkly word of the day.
Repad, I'll put new pads on your brakes when I RELINE them. Nobody says repad. Sucky clue along with Tat(y)(i)ana, the much prefered y.
Big fat DNF here, had to Google for Rappaport co-star, lots of Checking, and still missed the same square as AnoaBob.
Considering that POP TARTS big competition in the unhealthy breakfast field is called "Toaster Strudel," I don't find the clue anything but misleading.
Pathetic fallacy is a new one to me, I had ICFALLACY and keyed the rest in as a private joke, then Checked it, and was stunned.
I see the Wiki example of pathetic fallacy using the "angry sea" was a fairly recent editorial addition (AFAICT per the revision history, May 1st, 2011). It may be coincidence, but it makes this puzzler wonder if the puzzle team engaged in a bit of Wiki spin to create a stronger bond between their clue and answer.
It's obvious that lazy Lim merely combed Wikipedia for his defs and words (i.e. "pathetic fallacy" and "SETI"). When, oh when will we return to the halcyon days when constructors used clever twists of meaning instead of simply writing a word in Google search to find a definition or word that "might fit"? (to wit: ARMERS, NUTS). Shame on the Times for running such drivel - your so-called editors should be demoted to copy boys (girls?)!
Flat-out hated this today - switched from "Expert" mode to give me some help, and eventually after an hour and the NW corner blank was having no fun and gave up. First DNF for ages.
Really horrible cluing - crossing obscure with totally obscure, guessing almost every fill.
This was appalling. Shame on the constructor and the editor.
Don't want to see Mr. Lim getting his ego trip on a Saturday again, and Rich Norris needs a kick in the unmentionables for allowing this one through.
Booo.
Actually, this was so horrible I want to come back for more - I hope Lim and Norris read this blog.
We do the crosswords for pleasure, not to be stymied at every turn. It's easy to constuct a puzzle that no-one can solve. I've got Crossword Compiler - give me 15 minutes and I'll turn out a dozen unsolvable puzzles, that's easy to do.
You want to see a good tough and pleasurable puzzle? Yesterday's. Learn from that.
Booooooooo
Managed to get everything except the Traviata/Tatiana crossing (took a guess and put in a "v" instead of "t"). I managed to guess right on the ulla/tfal crossing.
Have to agree that several of the clues, as mentioned above, didn't seem legitimate.
No prob with Ayla as answer since I've read all of Jean Auel's novels about Ayla. I'm waiting for her latest (& maybe last) one to come out in paperback. I was MOST sure of this answer of all today. Also, knew Orrin for . Also, wanted Iwo Jima. PopTarts (Yum! Yum! although I do NOT make a steady diet of them) threw me as I was expecting a brand of toaster instead of a brand of something that is toasted. I still have the same toaster (ToastMaster) that belonged to my parents. So, it must be a really GOOD brand since it has been in my home for several decades. Although I know what SETI is...this was an unexpected answer for . But, now I see what it means with this clue. I thought that answer for would be something like a word for sympathetic or with more feeling.
Did finish this puzzle after help with Search Engine.
JoMag
No prob with Ayla as answer since I've read all of Jean Auel's novels about Ayla. I'm waiting for her latest(and maybe last)one to come out in paperback. I was MOST sure of this answer of all today. I also knew Orrin for Hatch of Utah. Also wanted Iwo Jima. PopTarts(Yum! Yum! although I do NOT make a steady diet of them) threw me as I was expecting a brand of toaster instead of a brand of something that is toasted. I still have the same toaster(ToastMaster)that belonged to my parents. So, it must be a really GOOD brand since it has been in my home for several decades. Although I know what SETI is...this was an unexpected answer for Exobiologist's org. But,now I see what it means with this clue. I thought that the answer for More than just touched would be a word for sympathetic or with more feeling. I finished this puzzle after help with Yahoo! Search Engine.
JoMag
P.S. I redid my comment as some words of my original comment were dropped. I had put the clues inside the greater than & less than symbols and these were dropped for some reason that I do not know.
Please, lets not be too harsh on Mr. Lim. I wanted to "do" a La.Times crossword puzzle and he provided, for which I appreciate. It is Saturday! BTW have yall tried the Saturday Stumper?!! Thanks everyone
I have to agree with Steve&Co. above. I don't mind a difficult and challenging puzzle; something that makes me consider all the angles and meanings. Something I have to rassle with, walk away from and go back to in order to solve, even if it's a dnf. But this puzzle was ridiculously obscure and strained, even for Saturday fare. Happily, I will not forget that Byzantine Armenian guy, LEOV.
Posted Monday, 6/27. Did anyone solve the bonus puzzle by Neville Fogarty (More Than Fair Play)? I did, missing only 1A: Game that ends in a tumble. I can't find the solution for this puzzle on-line. Does anyone here know the answer? Thanks for any help.
I finished it but agree that several entries are very poorly clued. I don't mind hard - I do mind poorly clued.
For example, "poptarts" might have been more properly clued as "Toastee brand?"
I understand what PB&J is - don't get how it would be packed with Oreos. Do some folks put Oreos on their PB&J sandwiches? Maybe I've missed out on something over all the years.
@Bill, read the clue differently and you'll see that Oreos are packed along with PB&J sandwiches in lunches.
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