The very first down clue in the puzzle yesterday was “Seaweed in an underwater forest,” and the answer was KELP. Commenter Lynn posted: I’ll have the SALAD PLATE with LEMON slices and hold the KELP. (All of the capitalized words were in the puzzle.) I had to add: I took my cousin Estelle’s insistent complaining about her iodine deficiency as a cry for kelp.
Crossworld lost one of its own on Wednesday, Manny Nosowsky, 94, who died in SF. For health reasons, he retired at age 51 after 20 years as a urologist and became a crossword junkie. He holds the record for most puzzles published in the Times: 254. Eight reach back to the reign of Eugene T. Maleska, Will Shortz’s predecessor. Shortz called Manny a “national treasure.”
A sample of his work: Classic saucy love song? AIOLI HAVE EYES FOR YOU.
Manny’s wife Debby said that being appreciated by crossword colleagues was more meaningful to him than anything he had accomplished in medicine. He retired from puzzle-making in 2010, which may explain why I never heard of him. He is survived by Debby, their two children, and five grandchildren.
Manny had a sense of humor long before his puzzle constructing days. When he was a urologist, patients would thank him and call him a great doctor. He would answer: “Please tell my mother.”
Manny was buried six down and five across.
I scored a compliment. The puzzle’s theme was HOTHOTHOT and one of the theme answers was GHOSTPEPPERS. It led EasyEd to share this story:
The hottest pepper I’ve ever had was by surprise in a salsa-type snack bowl in Yucatán. A chip-full nearly burned my face off and our waiter seeing my distress grabbed two bottles of beer from in front of bewildered bar patrons and ran to our table to give me some relief. I can’t even imagine what GHOSTPEPPERS would have done.
So I noted: Some people will do anything for free beer. I tip my cap to you, sir.
And Les S. More wrote: Liveprof. [That’s me.] That may be your funniest quip yet.
I think that’s a compliment, right?
The phrase “Give me one reason” played a role in yesterday’s brilliant puzzle. It’s also the name of this great Tracy Chapman song.
For the clue “We’re toast” the answer was ITSALLOVER. Son Volt chose this version to share, which was new to me. That’s Van on vocal.
People don’t want to get divorced. It’s wrenching, It’s expensive. It can leave scars. So they’ll look for anything to grasp on to to avoid it. In some cases, all they ask from their partner is one shred of human decency. Give me one reason. But the schmuck can’t even muster that up. Good f*cking riddance.
I had some fun with today’s puzzle. At 11D, for “Yes, Captain!” the answer was AYE AYE.
Sailor, find out what the last two letters in the fiftieth state are.
AYE AYE, Captain.
Did you find out?
Aye Aye.
OK, what are they?
Aye Aye.
The last two letters: You got them?
Aye Aye
So what are they?
Aye Aye
Tell me what they are.
Aye Aye
What are they?
Aye Aye
(Continue until Trump leaves office.)
OMG, break up the Gnats!! After taking two of three from Los Bravos in Atlanta, they cruised into Cleveland and pounded out six home runs in a 10-2 win. Kinehora — above .500 at last. Keep it up, boys!
Here’s Aussie Curtis Mead. He popped two of them. Bald as a baby’s bottom under his cap. (That may not be the expression.)
Per economist Paul Krugman: On Memorial Day the NYT published an article with the headline “Trump is the only person who can save America, according to his cabinet.” It offered a quantitative analysis of senior-official sycophancy. At cabinet meetings, on average, at least one of every six sentences either flattered Trump, gave him credit, or criticized his political opponents. This “Dear Leader” treatment is unprecedented: no previous US president has been showered with this kind of obsequiousness and deification.
Tbh, I’m surprised to hear they found 5 out of 6 sentences to not be insane flattery.
Per historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Trump’s social media account over the weekend was active. He twice posted an image of himself leering over Greenland with the caption ‘Hello, Greenland!’ and repeated suggestions that ‘China Loves Trump.’ He posted an AI image of Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) as a devil (I think), calling him a ‘SLEAZEBAG’ and a ‘Dumocrat,’ and an image of eight lawmakers or officials in orange jumpsuits (except for Obama’s tan one), claiming they had ‘Caused tremendous damage through Weaponization!’ And he posted a number of images of colorful fountains.”
His poll numbers are way down, but one-third of the country is still with him, including around 75% of the GOP.
Frank Julian Page of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) shared the following excellent idea with the membership:
I always seem to dribble water over myself when having a sip in bed, so I decided to invest in a rabbit water dispenser with a fantastic outcome, no more wet me. Best £3 I’ve ever spent.
BronzeGoose: What’s your technique? Do you lick the ball bearing in the end, do you push it up just enough to let the water out, or do you use brute force and squeeze the bottle for a bigger sip?
Frank: Right, here’s the thing. I was tapping the ball bearing with my tongue and getting little sips but then I worked out push once and suck and you get a nice drip of water.
Laura Wilson: I can’t decide if you’re mad or a genius.
Sarah Wallis: Do you hang it up on your headboard?
Frank: I tried but had a slight weep on my pillow.
Simon Marshall: What is “rabbit water?”
Chris Corlett: You don’t want to know.
Marc Reford: Brilliant idea, I’m always parched after a few spins on my wheel!
I learned what a tup is from Paul Woodhouse of the Club. It’s a ram, you know, the male version of a ewe. He posted:
Toilet doors at Black Sheep Brewery Visitor Centre in Masham. Would you choose correctly?
Charles Kadoch: Everyone who’s made it past nursery age shouldn’t have any issues with “animals from the farm.”
Geraldine Curtis: Fine for everyone except people who are illiterate, have learning disabilities, are tourists from overseas or (barely) have English as a second language.
Jessica Allyn: I think the pictures would help most people who are illiterate or don’t speak English.
Mark Goodge: There was a gundog-themed bar near where I grew up which labelled the toilet doors “Pointers” and “Setters.”
Tim Robinson: At a music-themed pub I was once forced to choose between the Olivia Newton Johns and the Elton Johns.
See you tomorrow! Thanks for popping in.
The Wellington Files 