There are a dozen or so puzzle constructors who, when you see their names, you know it will be a well-crafted work. Rafael Musa is one of them. Look at today’s grid.
Since I dived right in, I didn’t even notice all of the big letter T’s in the grid design. (See them up there?) But they hit me over the head soon enough because the five lower ones served as T’s in each of the three answers hitting them from above: a total of 15. E.g., at 27D, for the clue “Kid who might get grounded” why is the answer BRA? Because the big T below it makes it BRAT. Adding to the elegance, all of the 15 answers that do that also form a word without the T. So you have BRAT and BRA, OPENSEAT and OPENSEA, DIVERT and DIVER, and so on. The only one I questioned was INDICT and INDIC. Is INDIC a word? Yes: Indic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. But we all knew that, right?
My favorite clue/answer was at 49A. For the clue “This isn’t working!” the answer was LEISURE.
Some folks in the commenting community on Rex Parker’s blog (the Commentariat) have adopted specific tasks. Egs (short for egsforbreakfast) engages in wordplay with the puzzle answers. For example, today: “A LEISURE smells fresh when you first put it around your neck.” I’ve taken on this role too, but haphazardly. Egs never misses a day. And Son Volt is our music man. He shares usually 3 songs a day that are somehow linked to the puzzle. Sometimes it’s hard to find the link: I may have to google the lyrics. Today, this beautiful Irish song was proffered for the FALCONS in its lyrics. In the puzzle, at 20A for the clue “Fast fliers” the answer was FALCONS.
At 16A, the clue was “Performer known for her runs.” It made the NYT puzzle columnist Sean McGowan think of Dutch track star Femke Bol, whose final-lap comeback in the mixed 4-by-400 relay at the 2024 Olympics was, well — take a look:
But the answer was POPDIVA. Not in my wheelhouse, as they say. Vocal runs. OK, whatever.
How’s your marriage holding up? Decades ago, I jokingly asked that of a friend who got married about a month earlier and his face froze. Oopsies.
This poem is called “Just Married.” It’s from today’s Writer’s Almanac and is by Peter Schmitt. (Love you, darling!)
Oh, they can be forgiven such innocent
indulgence, the couple whose car we saw
in the darkened parking garage today—
the white spray paint filling the rear window,
“Just Married,” and the date, now more than two
weeks old. Let them enjoy this extended
moment as long as they can, let them feel
this way always. For their lives, all history,
could have begun on that day. Regardless
that the buoyant numerals and letters,
like the asking price of a car, would appear
insensibly reversed if, driving, they glanced
back; the message looms between them and the world
which will always be trying to gain on them.
and if in noon glare their first full wedded day
they cut with a room service knife the strings
to the cans clinking like obligations,
they will not let go yet this brief announcement.
Oh, the elements might eventually
combine to erase them, enough downpours,
or the blistering sun, but by the time
the words no longer quite ring true, it will be
their own hands that make them vanish. Then let it
end happily, in a bright lather of suds,
gentle hiss of the hose and the radio,
the two together, hands crossing the glass
until what is revealed are their own faces:
hovering where their older, wiser friends
had been that day, imprinting the letters
the numbers, and giving them their first push down
that road in a storm of rice and flowers.
What have you got for us, Philly? Awwwww.
What’s better than a stirring come-from-behind win in a must-win game? Actually, my favorite type of game is when my team takes an early lead and spends the rest of the time trying to hold on. Whatever, our lady hockey stars, the Sirens, are scrapping with Toronto and Ottawa for the one open playoff spot. Before last night, they had four games to go: two against Toronto, and one against Ottawa. They were a couple of points behind each, so they pretty much need to win all three of those. Last night was the first against Toronto and things were looking bleak halfway through the third half. (Hockey games have three 20-minute halves.) Down 2-0! Ouch. But it was a game that had to be won. So we won, 3-2. Casey O’Brien scored the game winner with under four minutes to go. Never in doubt, right girls?
Here’s Casey O. skating for Wisconsin in college last year. OMG, those sexy uniforms . . . . Need to compose myself.
Closing the shop a bit early tonight. Heat and some Isaac time took tolls. But we’ll pick up with more nonsense first thing in the morning! Sleep tight, Chatterheads!
The Wellington Files 