Yesterday’s puzzle had so many little doors to open and walk through. 42A was “Bringing in, as a sail,” and I thought furling might do it. You know, the opposite of unfurling. Or, once I had a few crossing letters, reeling seemed like it might work. But it turned out to be REEFING, which I had never heard of.
Anoa Bob contributed this very helpful post:
“Did a hitch in the Navy in the 60s and bought my first sailboat in the early 70s and have long had a interest in all things nautical, so I definitely perked up when I saw 42A “Bringing in, as a sail”. My first thought was “sheeting” where the angle of a sail to the wind is brought in (or let out). REEFING is a reducing of the amount of sail exposed to the wind, usually by partially hauling it down (and securing it with REEF knots). Furling is folding up and securing a sail after it has been doused or hauled down so it doesn’t blow around uncontrollably in the wind.
“Aarg, I’ve done me duty, now where’s me grog?”
This fellow is reefing a mainsail. I can’t tell what he’s saying, but I bet it ends in “You idiot!!”
At 18A the clue was one word: “Coruscate.” OK, what the hell does that mean? I had heard of it but had no idea. Five letters; turned out to be GLEAM. It’s said of light — to flash or sparkle.
At 18A, “Freak on a Leash” band was KORN. Word of them had not reached me under my rock. Rex noted Korn is also the name of a painting by Gerhard Richter in the Guggenheim. This one:
The puzzle also led us to two extraordinary areas of natural beauty: The SLOT CANYONS of Zion National Park, and, well, Taylor Swift.
We had been to Zion on a family trip several hundred years ago, but I did not know, or forgot, that those things are called slot canyons: 13D, “Narrow landforms prevalent in Zion National Park.” Narrow canyons with steep walls, sort of “slots” in the landscape. I do recall walking through them.
Taylor Swift popped up in the clue at 34D: “Reality show whose cast appeared in the music video for Taylor Swift’s ‘You Need to Calm Down.’” The answer was QUEER EYE. Take a look/listen:
Hey, SASHA OBAMA dropped in too! How ya been, girl? Twenty-two now? — No Sh*t! Sit yourself down — how bout a cold Rheingold? That should be okay with your folks, no? Some Sunchips? [BTW, the clue was “Youngest White House resident since John F. Kennedy Jr.”]
Sasha started college at UMich (yay) but transferred to USC (boo), and graduated last May. [Yikes!! — did you know that in February of 2017, her sister Malia started an internship for Harvey Weinstein at The Weinstein Company film studio in NYC?! Sheesh. She apparently emerged unscathed and graduated from Harvard in 2021.] Here’s Sash on her big day. Knock ’em dead, sister!
Speaking of daughters, today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac is by Brendan Galvin and is called “For a Daughter Gone Away.”
Today there’ve been moments
the earth falters and almost
goes off in those trails of smoke
that resolve to flocks so far
and small they elude my naming.
Walking the old Boston & Maine
roadbed, September, I understand
why it takes fourteen
cormorants to hold the bay’s
rocks down. Have I told you
anything you ought to know?
In time you’ll come to learn
that all clichés are true, that
a son’s a son till he marries,
and a daughter’s a daughter
all her life, but today
I want to begin Latin One with you
again, or the multiplication
tables. For that first phrase of
unwavering soprano that came
once from your room, I’d suffer
a year of heavy metal. Let all
who believe they’re ready for
today call this sentimentality,
but I want the indelible
print of a small hand
on the knees of my chinos again,
now that my head’s full of
these cinders and clinkers
that refused fire’s refinements.
I wish I could split myself
to deepen and hold on as
the crossties have, and admit
goatsbeard and chicory,
blue curls and blazing star,
those weeds of your never quite
coming back. I wish I could stop
whatever’s driving those flocks
and drove the B & M freights into air.
Here are goatsbeard, blue curls, and blazing star, respectively.
If yesterday was your birthday — are you funny? I ask because it was the birthday of both Richard Pryor and Woody Allen. Allen was born in 1935. Despite his name, Pryor was born subsequently — in 1940. Allen still lives (he’s 88), and Pryor doesn’t (he died shortly after turning 65). This short clip is a bit raw. [In particular, if his use of the N word offends you, skip it.]
Today’s puzzle did me in. Even Rex rated it Medium-Challenging. I was okay except for one damn square. 14A was “Statement of admiration after someone’s impressive feat,” which I was pretty sure was WHAT A BEAUT. But that U made 8D (“Stuff in microdots”) LUD. Since I have no idea what’s in a microdot, it might as well be LUD, right? Anyway, that’s where I fell. It turned out to be LSD, and WHAT A BEAST. (Boo.)
At 24D the clue was simply “Likewise,” and the answer was SO DO I. I know I shared this gorgeous song once before, but I’m putting it in again. It’s by Wally Page and is sung by Christy Moore (with Declan Sinnott).
This is the day the fisherman likes, and so do I.
I got nothing to top that. See you tomorrow! (Go Blue!)
The Wellington Files 