The Wellington Files

  • One Love

    Happy Valentines Day, Chatterheads!! This song is for all of you young (under 90) lovers out there:

    That young woman in the quartet, above, is Sarah Sinclair. She constructed today’s NYT crossword, and, hey, she’s wearing a crossword puzzle dress! Pretty sexy if you ask me!! (Feel free to make up your own jokes.)

    The puzzle did not have a theme, but it was chockful of romance, appropriate for the day. Thus, it contained the following:

    30A: THE KISS (“Classic Gustav Klimt painting made during his ‘Golden Period.’”)

    41A: ONE LOVE (Classic ska song with the lyric ‘Let’s get together and feel all right.’”) Are you thinking, isn’t that a reggae song by Bob Marley? Not “ska?” Well, we are familiar with the reggae version, see below. But Marley recorded an original ska version 12 years earlier.

    36A: CATCH FEELINGS (“Develop emotions (for)”)

    36D: CANOODLE (“Neck”)

    43A: AMOUR (“Affaire de coeur“)

    She also included herself in the grid, at 39A: SARAH (“‘Ragtime’ role for which Audra McDonald won a Tony). She explained that “Sara” is often in the puzzle without the “H” so she wanted to try to even the score.

    She reached out to The Mick at 28A to clue SEVEN. “Mickey Mantle’s retired jersey.” How neat is that!! We asked Phil to dig out the Mick’s wedding pictures in honor of V-Day. Here’s the happy couple!

    Mickey and Merlyn had four sons but the marriage was not a good one. This is from Wikipedia: Mantle married Merlyn not out of love but because he was told to by his father who was, at the time, terminally ill. While Mantle’s drinking became public knowledge, the press kept quiet about his infidelities. He was indiscreet about them: at his retirement ceremony in 1969, he brought his mistress along with his wife. [Ouch!] In 1980, Mantle and Merlyn separated but never filed for divorce. During his final days, they made peace, and Merlyn was at his bedside when he died.

    For you rabbinical students out there, the clue at 40A was “Body of Jewish law,” and the answer was TALMUD. I shared the following with the Rexites:

    Rashi was one of the great scholars of the TALMUD (40A), so much so that when the TALMUD is published his commentary is published alongside the text: trenchant observations, astute questions, etc.

    A story is told of a devout young man who was determined to build a house in his village strictly in accord with the dictates of the TALMUD. He met with his rabbi and told him of his plans. Of course, the rabbi found it all most praiseworthy and agreed to assist the young man in his efforts. As each stage of the construction proceeded, the rabbi helped the young man interpret and apply the strict dictates of the text. They made sure the proper materials and techniques were employed, every inch of the way.

    When at last the handsome structure was finished, the young man and his family moved in and the whole village celebrated the occasion with several days of festivities. However, a week or two later, a heavy rainstorm struck the village and when the young man and his family awoke the next morning they found their beautiful new home reduced to rubble. Oh no!

    In despair and shock, the young man raced over to see the rabbi and explained what happened. “We followed the TALMUD to the letter — every inch of the house was built according to its dictates,” the young man said. “How could this happen?” “That’s fascinating,” replied the rabbi. “Rashi asked the same question.”

    * * * * * *

    I tried to ascertain if the puzzle’s constructor, Sarah Sinclair, is Jewish. I found my way to her Facebook page where I learned she graduated from Cornell. But there were no clues on whether she’s a “sista.”

    I was proud to learn that the Trump-appointed US Attorney who resigned as a matter of conscience yesterday, Danielle Sassoon, is Jewish, and in fact studied the TALMUD at Ramaz, a NYC yeshivah, where she went to high school. She credits her Talmudic studies with helping prepare her for her legal career. Danielle turns 39 this year and has been married to Adam Katz for nine years, an investment analyst she met when they were undergrads at Harvard. She went to law school at Yale. If you were wondering what integrity looks like, here’s Danielle with her valentine.

    Posted by Stuart Elstub of the Dull Men’s Club (UK):

    Let’s give credit where it’s due — finally, a funny New Yorker cartoon, IMO.

    Tired. Closing the shop early. See you tomorrow.

  • Gari And Dari Sitting In A Tree

    It doesn’t take trenchant geo-political analysis to conclude Trump’s plan for Gaza is idiotic, — the Middle Eastern equivalent of drinking Lysol to cure Covid — but Brandeis alum Tom Friedman writes about it so sharply today in the NYT we can’t resist picking out a few nuggets. He calls it Trump’s “juvenile Mar-a-Gaza proposal,” . . . “the single most idiotic and dangerous Middle East ‘peace’ initiative ever put out by an American president.”

    It opens with: “President Trump’s plan to take over Gaza, remove its two million Palestinians and turn the coastal desert strip into some sort of Club Med proves only one thing: how short a distance it is between out-of-the-box thinking and out-of-your-mind thinking.”

    He goes on: “Still, I’m not sure what is more frightening: Trump’s Gaza proposal, which seems to change by the day, or the speed with which his aides and cabinet members — almost none of whom were even briefed on it in advance — nodded their approval of the idea like a collection of bobblehead dolls.”

    Oy. Enough.

    BTW, bobblehead dolls are not new. I remember I had one (a NY Yankee bobblehead) when I was a little boy, over 60 years ago. What’s new is they’ve taken over the government.

    Today’s puzzle was a study in how crosses can make an impossible puzzle doable. There were many WOEs (“what on earth?”) but they were gettable via the crossing words.

    16A: “Blind blues singer Paul (4).” I’m thinking, Paul Anka was blind? Sang the blues? Butterfield wasn’t blind either — did he go blind in old age? But Butterfield is way more than 4 letters. Turned out to be Paul PENA. I didn’t know the name, but this song was pretty big:

    33A: “One of two official languages of Afghanistan (4).” Right. I can tell you the official language of France or Germany, but that’s about it. It’s DARI. (FYI: The other one is Pashto.) Egs says the Taliban are going to start crowning the best female speaker of the language the Dari Queen.

    35A: “Ancient kingdom of Asia Minor (5).” Turns out to be LYDIA. You know, — the ancient kingdom — not the tattooed lady, or the rock singer Ms. Lunch.

    56A: “Emmy-winning Sawai of ‘Shogun (4).’” It’s ANNA. She’s Japanese, born in New Zealand. Anna is 32, and she’s not married, fellas.

    Our Phil got to know Anna S. pretty well when he was out in Japan last year. This is how pretty she is when she’s not trying, he tells us.

    43A: “Pickled ginger served with sushi (4).” At least I know what that looks like. I always give it to Linda. I don’t like ginger. In fact, some ginger candies our friend Astoria Bob got as a gift about 50 years ago still serve as the poster boy for horrible tasting things. (Hi Bob!) Anyway, this stuff is called GARI. Not to be confused with one of the official languages of Afghanistan (DARI, see above), although Okanaganer started humming, GARI and DARI sitting in a tree. . . .

    Oy. WOEs, every one of them.

    Here: Please enjoy John Prine’s “Donald and Lydia.”

    The Thursday puzzle is my favorite because it always has some twist to it, which is sometimes brilliant.

    Commenter Southside Johnny posted this plaintive plea: Thursdays can be brutal when you are not adept at discerning the theme – which has been an issue for me ever since I first started solving. If any of you crusty old veterans have any suggestions on how to be more successful on Thursdays, I’m all ears!

    Gary replied: You have a well-documented history of being wildly judgmental about every puzzle. This zeal for a puzzle to make sense on your terms only gets in the way of solving. If you accept that literally anything can happen on a Thursday (any day really), and head off like it’s a treasure hunt, you’ll find the weird little prizes left for you. If you trudge in thinking “another stupid Thursday gimmick that’s going to make me mad,” then you will also be rewarded — only after a sad slog. I find it’s helpful to remember the constructors and editors don’t call us first to see what we’d approve of before publishing.

    Getting back to Paul Pena, above, he learned a method of singing called “Tuva throat singing.” This is a video concert extra from the film, Genghis Blues starring Paul. He performs along with a local singer in southern Siberia, both using the Tuva throat singing method in which two vocal cords are used at the same time producing a frog-like sound heard only in certain parts of the world. It remains popular in southern Siberia, and among amphibians worldwide.

    Several Rex commenters mentioned the film and spoke very highly of it.

    At 18D for the clue “State with the highest percentage of federal land,” the answer was NEVADA. Nevada’s at 80% to Alaska’s 60%. Since Alaska is also six letters, several folks got tripped up and entered Alaska. Alaska does have 4 times more actual federal acreage than Nevada, it’s just percentage-wise that Nevada wins. (Hmmm, now that I reread that, it seems suitable for the Dull Men’s Club (UK). I’ll see how it goes over and let you know.)

    Tough game for our Sirens of the PWHL last night. Boston scored with under five seconds left in the first half! OMG, could you plotz? The second half went scoreless for both teams. Then I was tired so I went to sleep. I later learned Boston pounded us for three more goals in the third half. Final score: 4-0 Boston Fleet. It’s not helping that one of our top scorers, Alex Carpenter, is on the fritz. C’mon Alex — we’re hurtin’ here!

    Let’s close tonight with a poem by that most prolific poet, Anonymous. It’s from today’s Writer’s Almanac and is called “Who Killed Cock Robin?”

    “Who killed Cock Robin?” “I,” said the Sparrow,
    “With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin.”
    “Who saw him die?” “I,” said the Fly,
    “With my little eye, I saw him die.”
    “Who caught his blood?” “I,” said the Fish,
    “With my little dish, I caught his blood.”
    “Who’ll make the shroud?” “I,” said the Beetle,
    “With my thread and needle, I’ll make the shroud.”
    “Who’ll dig his grave?” “I,” said the Owl,
    “With my pick and shovel, I’ll dig his grave.”
    “Who’ll be the parson?” “I,” said the Rook,
    “With my little book, I’ll be the parson.”
    “Who’ll be the clerk?” “I,” said the Lark,
    “If it’s not in the dark, I’ll be the clerk.”
    “Who’ll carry the link?” “I,” said the Linnet,
    “I’ll fetch it in a minute, I’ll carry the link.”
    “Who’ll be chief mourner?” “I,” said the Dove,
    “I mourn for my love, I’ll be chief mourner.”
    “Who’ll carry the coffin?” “I,” said the Kite,
    “If it’s not through the night, I’ll carry the coffin.”
    “Who’ll bear the pall?” “We,” said the Wren,
    “Both the cock and the hen, we’ll bear the pall.”
    “Who’ll sing a psalm?” “I,” said the Thrush,
    “As she sat on a bush, I’ll sing a psalm.”
    “Who’ll toll the bell?” “I,” said the bull,
    “Because I can pull, I’ll toll the bell.”
    All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
    When they heard the bell toll for poor Cock Robin.

    See you tomorrow. Thanks for popping by.

  • Don’t Stand There Gawping!!

    Astute Owl Chatter readers who don’t drink too heavily may recall a discussion we had a while back about goat yoga. It’s yoga in which a small goat or several are introduced into the room for the calming effect they produce. (I see sessions are available in Milford NJ at the Mad Lavender farm. If you call, mention Owl Chatter and you’ll be charged an additional 10%, if you’re allowed in at all.)

    Why am I dredging it up? Well, Emma Morton-Doe of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) posted about using the word “digs” to her 18-year-old college-boy son, in the expression “how are your digs?” only to discover that he had never heard of it. He thought she was making it up.

    Dean Brown commented: “I don’t know why, but the word ‘digs’ gets on my goat.” Garreth Duckett then wrote: I can’t ignore your use of the phrase “gets on my goat.” It’s just “gets my goat.”

    The meaning, of course, is that it angers me, and in the dull discussion that followed, it was explained how it came about. (And it relates to goat yoga!) Goats are believed to have a calming effect on animals (and people, apparently). So they were introduced on farms to help keep the rest of the animals calm. And if someone stole (got) your goat, the animals would get agitated. So “getting my goat” took on the meaning of “getting me agitated.”

    OK, remember the math business from yesterday? Here’s the part of it I could follow: 73 is the 21st prime number, and its reverse, 37, is the 12th prime number, which is the reverse of 21. Interestingly, 21 is also the product of 7 and 3 (7 × 3 = 21).

    Murray Atkinson posted: “But 21 is half of 42 which is what you get if you multiply 6 by 9, and which trumps any other number, obviously.”

    This generated some consternation, since 6 x 9 is (generally) not 42. But Murray backed his position with this authority:

    “What do you get if you multiply six by nine?”
    “Six by nine. Forty two.”
    “That’s it. That’s all there is.”
    “I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe”

    (That’s from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.)

    Phil Rogers posted: 7 + 5 = 12, but 7 x 5 does not. Maths is amazing. [Note: In England they call math “maths.” (not kidding)]

    Murray then came back with “But 1+2+3 = 1x2x3 = 3!

    Do you get that one? (Judy?) At first Andy Spragg corrected Murray and noted 1+2+3 and 1x2x3=6, but then he saw what was going on. Do you?

    3! is 3 “factorial.” The factorial of any number (indicated with a !) is the string of products from that number and the numbers below it. So 4! = 4x3x2x1 = 24. So what Murray said was correct: 1+ 2 + 3 (which is 6) equals 1x2x3 (also 6), which can be written as 3!

    If you’re flummoxed by all of this, borrow this pretty girl’s goat for a bit, if she’ll let you. It’ll calm you right down.

    BTW, in Murray Atkinson’s bio for the Dull Men’s Club (UK) he posted this photo of him and his wife. Clearly, a marriage based on “mutual assured destruction.”

    It’s Abe Lincoln’s birthday today. He was born in Kentucky (not Illinois) in 1809. He shares his birthday with Charles Darwin. And Darwin’s great book on evolution was published the year before Lincoln became Prez.

    This poem is called “February 12, 1963.” It’s by Jacqueline Woodson and is from The Poetry Foundation.

    I am born on a Tuesday at University Hospital
    Columbus, Ohio,
    USA—
    a country caught
     
    between Black and White.
     
    I am born not long from the time
    or far from the place
    where
    my great-great-grandparents
    worked the deep rich land
    unfree
    dawn till dusk
    unpaid
    drank cool water from scooped-out gourds
    looked up and followed
    the sky’s mirrored constellation
    to freedom.
     
    I am born as the South explodes,
    too many people too many years
    enslaved, then emancipated
    but not free, the people
    who look like me
    keep fighting
    and marching
    and getting killed
    so that today—
    February 12, 1963
    and every day from this moment on,
    brown children like me can grow up
    free. Can grow up
    learning and voting and walking and riding
    wherever we want.
     
    I am born in Ohio but
    the stories of South Carolina already run
    like rivers
    through my veins.

    Did you ever follow a link to read an article, say in The Washington Post, and find that after the first few sentences they cut you off unless you subscribe? That’s called a paywall, and it was the theme in today’s NYTXW. Two shaded down answers were forms of pay: WAGE and SALARY. Then at 60A and 63A, for the clue “where some journalism is located” the answers were BEHIND A PAYWALL. Then three theme answers were DEFINITE ARTICLE, SPEAK ONE’S PIECE, and CINDERELLA STORY, with article, piece, and story all coming after (or behind) the wages/salary “wall.” Hard to describe, but pretty neat, IMO.

    At 46D the clue was: “Ka ___ (southernmost point in the U.S.)” It was news to me that it’s Ka LAE. burtonkd says:  “It is the southernmost point of Big Island, Hawaii and has a platform you can jump off to land in the water several meters down, then climb a rickety ladder back up. A guide warned us that if you get caught in a strong southerly current, the nearest body of land to the south is Antarctica.”

    Here’s a treat! “Satirist Michael” turned out to be Michael PALIN. Here’s a taste of his work. Best to watch it three or four times to squeeze all the juice out of it. (Learning the piano!!??)

    Here are some comments from the youtube posting:

    My grandfather was one of the soldiers in this scene. Sadly passed away now but absolutely loved it whenever my nan, my dad or I reminded him of this hilarious scene. Know this scene off by heart and can’t help but laugh. RIP grandad, you’ll never be forgotten.

    I’ve got a sergeant exactly like that in the RAF. We were doing drill as he suddenly goes today we will be marching up and down the square. Upon him saying this I burst out laughing, he strides over to me and says “why were you laughing??” I reply “don’t know sgt sorry sgt.” He then says “are you a MP fan?” me “yes sgt” then what shocked me the most was him going “good man my respect for you has gone up” and walked off.

    I get the praise for the Piano lessons and book reading bits, but something about the mundane wholesomeness of Atkinson’s preference for spending the afternoon with his family instead of marching up and down the square and his willingness to admit that to the Sarge will always crack me up.

    Would you now??!!

    Palin is 81, with three kids and 4 grandkids. He is a co-founder of The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering.  When it opened in 1993 Palin became Vice President of Action for Stammering Children. Palin’s awareness and understanding of stammering stemmed from his father’s experience as a person who stammers. Over the years Palin has provided support and connection to young people and families of people who stammer.

    I had a few students who stammered, and it always broke my heart a little to see them struggling. If it was in my class of 80 students and a student with that difficulty raised his hand to speak, it seemed so courageous to me.

    Ooops! Time to watch the Sirens! Gotta go. See you tomorrow!

  • The Forest of Fennario

    We are introducing a new feature in Owl Chatter today. It’s called Inside My Brain.

    One nice thing about being retired is we are getting out for walks on a much more regular basis, despite the bad weather. I checked the temperature before going out today and it was 28 degrees. And I thought back to how that may have arisen, the degrees thing. Like before degrees you’d say “How cold is it?” and they’d say, “Pretty cold — not as cold as yesterday, but still pretty cold, sort of like last Friday,” and you’d go “I don’t remember last Friday, I wish there were some way to quantify coldness,” so they came up with degrees. But they went overboard. Each degree is too small. Twenty-eight degrees is essentially the same as twenty-seven, amirite?

    So I started thinking that a better measuring “unit” might be a block of five degrees. I.e., twenty-five through twenty-nine could be one “unit.” (It would be Unit 6 counting up from zero degrees.) Then I thought, well, maybe five is too broad. Twenty-five seems a notch colder than twenty-nine. Maybe we should make each unit three degrees.

    But then my brain said I was already wasting too much time on the issue and it called for the little Elon Musk that lives inside there to shut down the topic, and he did. Thanks Little Elon Musk.

    If I were pressed to come up with a depiction of Joy in its purest incarnation and I weren’t allowed to use pictures of people, e.g., Rafi, —

    I might use this video, below. It’s by Francis Bourgeois. Here he is with his pretty girlfriend Amy.

    That’s not his real name. His real name is Luke Magnus Nicholson and he’s 24 and from London. He has a degree in mechanical engineering. His family first noted his interest in trains when he was three. However, when he entered secondary school at the age of 15, he suppressed it to fit in better and sold his railway sets. “Being a train enthusiast at secondary school is difficult,” he explained, “gym memberships and trendy clothes took precedence at that point, regrettably.” (That’s how he talks.)

    But enough of that. This video, as you may recall, is my candidate for the incarnation of Joy. It goes on a bit (13 minutes), so give it a few and see if it grabs you. There’s a lunch break at a “cat cafe” at one point.

    Here are two headlines on the Super Bowl from The Onion:

    Andy Reid Removes Bald Cap for National Anthem

    Man Hangs Arm Off Couch For Rest Of Game Instead Of Washing Sauce Off Fingers

    This poem is called “Choices.” It’s by Tess Gallagher and is from today’s Writer’s Almanac.

    I go to the mountain side
    of the house to cut saplings,
    and clear a view to snow
    on the mountain. But when I look up,
    saw in hand, I see a nest clutched in
    the uppermost branches.
    I don’t cut that one.
    I don’t cut the others either.
    Suddenly, in every tree,
    an unseen nest
    where a mountain
    would be.

    Film producer CARLO Ponti was in the puzzle today. He was married to Sophia Loren for over 40 years, until his death in 2007. Commenter Nancy noted, “Yes, but she had a long affair with Cary Grant.” Anony Mouse replied: “Who wouldn’t?”

    Here’s Sophie.

    But it was a three-letter answer that garnered the most attention (and led to my rare Tuesday defeat). The clue was “Ballad,” and the answer started with LA. No idea. Turned out to be LAY. Yeah, I have a vague, distant recollection of its use for ballad now, as in this title of a song shared by Son Volt: “Lay of the Sunflower.”

    I must leave you for a season
    Go out logging that hardwood timber
    Hardwood timber that grows so low
    In the forest of Fennario

    Tell me what you need to live, love
    Do you ask that you might own
    Keep my blue-eyed hound to guard you
    I will make my way alone

    I will not return in winter
    If I be not back by fall
    Seek me when this small sunflower
    Grows above the garden wall

    And did you know Ireland’s longest river is the SHANNON? Again, from Son Volt, The Pogues. Raise a glass!

    So I walked as the day was dawning
    Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
    Where we once watched the row boats landing
    By the broad majestic SHANNON

    Additional headline from The Onion:

    Man With Fogged-Up Glasses Forced To Finish Soup Using Other Senses

    Lee Fricker of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) posts the following: 73 is the 21st prime number, and its reverse, 37, is the 12th prime number, which is the reverse of 21. Interestingly, 21 is also the product of 7 and 3 (7 × 3 = 21).

    In binary, 73 is a palindrome, it reads the same backward as 1001001. Additionally, every 37th Fibonacci number is a multiple of 73.

    [I fell off the truck after 7 x 3. In any event, chew on all of that and next time I’ll see if there are any comments dull enough to share. My brain hurts a little now, so I’m getting in bed.]

    See you tomorrow!

  • The Power Of Small Offerings

    When I taught contract law I stressed how important it is to know how long an offer “is out there.” If Tom offers to sell his jacket to Sally for $50, Tom is vulnerable in a way. She can utter two simple words: “I accept,” and the jacket is gone. Now, in most cases, of course, he wants to sell it so he’s happy. But sometimes he will change his mind, or get a better offer from Ellen. So we need to know how long Tom’s offer to Sally is open, i.e., when does it terminate? Has it terminated before Sally said “I accept?”

    If the life span of an offer is not specified, it will be open for a “reasonable amount of time.” So then the question is, what’s “reasonable?” We discuss the factors that go into that determination. The subject matter can be relevant. For instance, an offer to sell a gallon of milk would likely have a shorter life span than an offer to sell your rock collection. The manner in which the offer is made could be relevant. Did Tom spend a fortune to a have private messenger service race across town with the offer? Or did he just drop it in the regular mail? The former implies urgency and a shorter life for the offer.

    Another factor is geography. Different parts of the country have different paces of life. You say “good morning” to someone in Arkansas at 8 am, and they may say good morning back at 10:30. In New York, of course, it’s rush rush rush. Someone takes two extra seconds getting off the subway, and you trample over him, right? And he deserves it — c’mon, man, you gotta move! So an Arkansas jury might find that an offer has a reasonable life span longer than a New York jury would.

    At this point in class I tell the story of the time I was walking up the subway steps, and there was an older woman ahead of me, walking very slowly. Well, after a few steps, I lost my patience, and yelled at her: “C’mon! Move it! You’re taking forever!!” And she turned around and said: “That’s no way to talk to your mother!”

    It always got a good laugh, and I’d finish up by saying: “But Mom — we’re in a hurry.”

    This story by Ardavan Nozari is from tomorrow’s Met Diary:

    Dear Diary:

    I was walking slowly up the steps at the Lexington Avenue-59th Street subway station. When I got to the street, a well-dressed woman who appeared to be in her 30s or 40s tapped me on the shoulder.

    “Hi,” she said. She asked whether I spoke English, and I said yes.

    Sir, she said, when you walk up so slowly, the whole stairs back up.

    I was puzzled. I explained that I use a cane and could not walk that fast. What am I supposed to do?

    Come at a different time when it is not crowded, she said before walking across the street while shaking her head.

    I love New York.

    The puzzle seemed easy for a Saturday. I finished it in 25:22. Should I celebrate with a CHERRY SODA (49A), a “Gas-infused coffee order,” (NITRO)(21A), GIN MARTINIS (22D), or some CHIPS AHOY! cookies (29D)? In any event I will certainly wear my BALLOON HAT (“it gets inflated and goes straight to your head”).

    There were some tricky parts. “Common but often counterproductive response to a recurring problem” was the clue for ANTI PATTERN. Something from software design. And “Snap, crackle or pop” was the clue for ONOMATOPOEIA. I got that one pretty easily, if I may crow, but I ended it with a C instead of an A for a while.

    Have you dog folks heard of “teacup” as a term for a small dog? It was the clue for MINI and made no sense to me. But now I (and you) know it’s a term for a tiny dog.

    I learned about the “HIVE mind” today. Miriam W. says it’s “the collective thoughts, ideas, and opinions of a group of people (such as Internet users) regarded as functioning together as a single mind,” e.g.,

    … Mindy Kaling asks her Twitter followers for the best dinner spots in cities she’s visiting. Generally, people trust that feedback from the hive mind is correct and well-informed.—Sarah Z. Wexler

    Actor Benjamin Bratt popped in to the grid today. Handsome! I’m sure you recognize him. How handsome? Well, he dated Julia Roberts from 1998-2001. Then he married model/actress Talisa Soto in 2002 and they are still married and have two kids: Sophia and Mateo. Good to see you both! Watchin’ the game tonight?

    Phil caught them in an unguarded moment.

    You hear about cuddlers? The Modern Love column in today’s NYT Style Section by Denise DiIanni is all about her time as a volunteer cuddler. Here’s how she describes it:

    “Less than a wet nurse, more than a comfort object, our only job is to sit in a rocking chair and cradle a stranger’s infant to the left side of our chest — the heart side — to share with the tiny being the mammalian soundtrack of that beating: I am here. You are here. Just that, nothing more.”

    It’s for babies kept in the hospital for repairs or who had special struggles. Denise had lost her husband decades earlier and had felt helpless when all she could do was feed him slivers of ice or squeeze his hand as he weakened. She says this about the cuddlers:

    “We took turns holding the different babies with their different stories. We were a strange sisterhood in our rubber-soled shoes and pink jackets — young and old, Black and white, childless and parents, medical students and homemakers and executives. We were here for our own reasons — for the children we wanted or the children we lost. To give back. Perhaps to regain trust in the power of small offerings or to heal a long ago hurt.”

    She established a bond with a tiny “withdrawal baby,” a baby whose mom was on drugs, so he had to be weaned off of them. She described her first day with him:

    “On that day, I rocked him for three hours. My left shoulder ached, my arm went numb, but I would not let go, for he and I had work to do, trust to build. I would sit with him without any distractions. I would be patient, if he would be. We would rock together to see if this tiny connection might be of some use to him. By my third shift, he and I had found our rhythm. We sat. We breathed. We tried to trust in small things.”

    After many weeks, the baby grew stronger, and one day when Denise came to the hospital she found that he was gone. Released into the care of a foster family. She hoped he would be okay.

    “Rocking this child week after week had softened a broken place in me; I intended to help him, but he was healing me. It’s such a little thing, holding a stranger’s baby. I will never know how much we cuddlers helped him. But after months on the ward, I was more trusting of the power of the smallest acts: A kind word, a soft touch. A sliver of ice for a dying young man. The comfort of rocking a child. The healing beat of a heart.”

    It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Let’s see how our friends from the Dull Men’s Club (UK) feel about it.

    Stuart Kerr: American football Super Bowl this weekend. The ball is carried more than it’s kicked and there’s no bowling. I’m confused.

    Daniel Faraday-Kiss: There will be an average of 18 minutes of sport played during the event.

    Jon Doswell: It’s shit.

    Daniel Lloyd: I do love a succinct, accurate description.

    Ted Hopwood: Dullest sporting event ever, there’s been three occasions in my 48 years on this planet where I’ve tried to watch the Superb Owl & I’ve never made it past the first quarter. Massively overrated, the fact they have a big half time show & super expensive adverts to keep everyone interested says it all tbh

    David Waldie: Rugby for girls that like to pose. It pays well though. [Ouch!]

    Nick Taylor: A game played by four teams. The team with the ball plays against the team without the ball until the former scores or the latter wins it. Then both teams leave the pitch and two new teams come on. Sometimes a kicker comes on to kick the ball and then leaves. A game that seems to be designed to flow as little as possible.

    Daniel Lloyd: Woeful event and sport. There’s an advert break every 38 milliseconds and you’re thankful for it because you don’t have to watch the “football” any more.

    David Concannon: The players are stood still more than they run. Sit there for four hours and watch the occasional five second burst of play. I don’t think I’ve ever got past the first quarter when trying to watch a Stupor Bowl.

    Chris Burhouse: And who are all those people on the sidelines, what is their purpose, what are they doing there ? There’s more people on the side of the pitch than on the field of play. And do teams really think the other team employs lip readers to try and relay what’s being discussed during the game?

    But Tim Hiscock conceded: I actually quite enjoy watching it. Once you understand the rules and can appreciate the athleticism and tactical element, it’s quite entertaining.

    And we’ll give Christine MacFarlane the last word (and image): Can’t wait … bring on the 3peat! 

    Enjoy the game! See you tomorrow!

  • Make It Be Spring

    Bob Farrer of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) posts the following:

    We need a new pepper grinder, apparently. Milady says the reason the current one “doesn’t work properly” is because it’s actually our old salt grinder.

    I say so what! A grinder is surely just a grinder…it grinds stuff. Does it really matter if it’s peppercorns or salt? Do I really need to fork out a tenner on a new pepper (or possibly salt!) grinder?

    Comments:

    Leo Guttridge: They are different, and don’t call me Shirley.

    Josie Foster: If your wife says you need a new pepper grinder, you get a new pepper grinder. Have you learned nothing in your marriage?

    Leigh Bosworth: When she says she needs a new pepper grinder, she means the sultry Italian waiter at your local ristorante.

    Stephen Arthur: Don’t grind pepper as it can sometimes explode – gunpowder is made from a pepper & mustard mix.

    Adrian Bull: I wonder how many people are injured by exploding pepper each year….? 

    Stephen: Thousands.

    Adrian: My guess would be zero. Any evidence for yours?

    Stephen: Well known; common sense.

    Robin Smith: We’ve lost our last three houses as a result of the search for a finely seasoned steak.

    Ruth Hunt: All those poor Italian waiters with their giant peppermills — have they been properly risk assessed ?

    Murray Atkinson: The notion of exploding pepper is sheer nonsense. Flour explodes, though.

    Sultan Brown: This man is experimenting with drugs. Give him a wide berth.

    VP JD Vance, a Catholic convert, has picked a fight with the top American leaders of his church. Vance accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of resettling “illegal immigrants” in order to get federal funding. NY Cardinal Dolan denounced the remarks as “scurrilous” and “nasty.”

    Vance claimed that a concept from medieval Catholic theology — “ordo amoris” in Yiddish — justifies Trump’s America-first immigration crackdown. He says it delineates a hierarchy of care — to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.

    I’m getting some popcorn — you want anything?

    Will Shortz must be a fan of the Spice Girls. Since he returned from his illness recently, members of SG have already appeared three times. Today it was Emma Bunton. “Baby Spice” is 49 now, English, and married to Jade Jones who was also a performer but has become a chef. They have two kids: Tate and Beau.

    Learned some neat stuff from the puzzle and comments today. “Kojak and Friday, for two,” was the clue for TV COPS. Have you heard the expression “to find a Kojak?” It means finding a parking spot right in front of your destination, especially in an area where it’s hard to find parking. It’s from the show KOJAK where Kojak always finds a spot right in front in Manhattan, where even God usually has to circle the block a few times. If I were in charge I would have them circling the area for ten hours before parking. Ten hours of: “Is that a spot?” “No, it’s a hydrant.” “Think we can fit there?” “No way, are you nuts?” “Is he leaving?” “How about near that corner?”

    The other phrase I learned was “plot armor.” That’s when a character is very important for the plot, so you know he or she can’t be killed. It arose in connection with 1A in the puzzle where the clue was “Like the ending of a typical rom-com.” I filled in “boy gets girl,” but it was wrong. The answer was “PREDICTABLE.” It set Rex off on a rant:

    The cluing was really holding back my enjoyment today, in a big way. Let’s start with the worst clue, from my perspective as a broad-minded movie lover: 1A: Like the ending of a typical rom-com (PREDICTABLE). I would never have expected the puzzle to have such a sneering attitude toward rom-coms. Slightly surprised to see a woman’s name on the byline, as honestly that kind of sneering, dismissive *&$% is far, far more indicative of a man who pointedly proudly and smugly doesn’t watch rom-coms (or calls them “chick flicks”) (maybe the clue was an editorial decision, who knows?). It’s such a weird, weak, judgmental, ignorant, and (because rom-coms are primarily aimed at women) sexist take, and it’s not even true. Or … at least it’s hard to either prove or falsify. Are rom-com endings PREDICTABLE? Are they any more PREDICTABLE than the “typical” endings of literally any other genre?? Most movies are bad and boring. Reflexive denigration of the rom-com specifically is some Awful Movie Guy stuff, so I’m very surprised to see it here (in a puzzle not made by a guy). 

    Sheesh. Guess it hit a nerve.

    The next thing I learned was about sea urchins. The clue was “Site where a previously unidentified species of sea urchin was discovered in 2004.” You’d think it could be some sort of bay, but EBAY? What? It turns out:

    Sea urchin shells and spines are popular collectors’ items on eBay, but buyers began to get confused when the shells they received didn’t look like anything else in their collections. “Every week I’d get collectors contacting me and asking me to identify the species,” says Simon Coppard at the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When he and colleague Heinke Schultze, an independent researcher, compared similar unidentified specimens from New Caledonia in the South Pacific with species records, they found nothing matched. (From New Scientist)

    At 22D the clue was “Some sources of typhus,” and the answer was LICE. Rex was not happy:

    Some sources of typhus? How many are there? How much of my day do you think I spend going “hey, what are the sources of typhus? I wonder if I can name all the sources of typhus? Or  maybe just a quick half dozen.” It’s like the world’s worst party game: name the typhus sources. I barely know what typhus is, and can name literally zero sources. So LICE was a complete surprise. I’m sure it’s correct, but “Some sources,” LOL, like I have a vast store to pick from. I Have No Store. Make your clue more LICE-like, more LICE-specific, please.

    Margaret Atwood has a cat. She also wrote this poem called “February,” which appeared in today’s Writer’s Almanac.

    Winter. Time to eat fat
    and watch hockey. In the pewter mornings, the cat,
    a black fur sausage with yellow
    Houdini eyes, jumps up on the bed and tries
    to get onto my head. It’s his
    way of telling whether or not I’m dead.
    If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am
    He’ll think of something. He settles
    on my chest, breathing his breath
    of burped-up meat and musty sofas,
    purring like a washboard. Some other tomcat,
    not yet a capon, has been spraying our front door,
    declaring war. It’s all about sex and territory,
    which are what will finish us off
    in the long run. Some cat owners around here
    should snip a few testicles. If we wise
    hominids were sensible, we’d do that too,
    or eat our young, like sharks.
    But it’s love that does us in. Over and over
    again, He shoots, he scores! and famine
    crouches in the bedsheets, ambushing the pulsing
    eiderdown, and the windchill factor hits
    thirty below, and pollution pours
    out of our chimneys to keep us warm.
    February, month of despair,
    with a skewered heart in the centre.
    I think dire thoughts, and lust for French fries
    with a splash of vinegar.
    Cat, enough of your greedy whining
    and your small pink bumhole.
    Off my face! You’re the life principle,
    more or less, so get going
    on a little optimism around here.
    Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it be spring.

    We’re going to let a pretty Spice Girl send us off tonight. See you tomorrow! (George!! Get Emma a Fresca — what the hell’s wrong with you??)

  • Chocolate Cake

    If you have kids, remember what it was like having a little kid that was your own? This poem is called “Weather” and is by George Bilgere. It’s from today’s Writer’s Almanac.

    My father would lift me
    to the ceiling in his big hands
    and ask, How’s the weather up there?
    And it was good, the weather
    of being in his hands, his breath
    of scotch and cigarettes, his face
    smiling from the world below.
    O daddy, was the lullaby I sang
    back down to him as he stood on earth,
    my great, white-shirted father, home
    from work, his gold wristwatch
    and wedding band gleaming
    as he held me above him
    for as long as he could,
    before his strength failed
    down there in the world I find myself
    standing in tonight, my little boy
    looking down from his flight
    below the ceiling, cradled in my hands,
    his eyes wide and already staring
    into the distance beyond the man
    asking him again and again,
    How’s the weather up there?

    Tiger Woods’ mom Kultida (“Tida”) passed away yesterday. She was 78 and was born in Thailand. They were very close. She often walked the 18 holes of his golf tournaments with him. Sh*t, I often didn’t even want my mom coming to the mall with me. Sorry, mom!

    On 60 Minutes Tida was asked whether she experienced prejudice in the U.S., and she said yes, especially from country clubs. “Some of them reject us,” she said. “I said, ‘Tiger, it’s their problem. It’s their ignorance. Be proud of who you are.’”

    In 2010, when Tiger apologized in front of the national news media for f*cking up his marriage, he said his mother was among the people he had hurt, and that he had strayed from the Buddhist teachings she had instilled in him.

    Tida embraced Tiger after he spoke. “I’m so proud to be his mom, period,” she said. “As a human being, everyone has faults, makes missteps and learns from it.” Yup. You don’t turn your back on your kids. Especially when they f*ck up.

    Rest in peace, Tiger’s mom.

    Rex’s blog had his regular monthly sub, Malaika, posting today. She’s wonderful. Here’s how she started off:

    I solved this puzzle while eating a slice of chocolate cake. Also, it’s important that you all know I initially accidentally typed “I ate this puzzle while solving a slice of chocolate cake.” My quest for NYC Slice Of Chocolate Cake That Costs Under $10 is rabid and never-ending. Currently I am polishing off a slice of “Devil in Ganache” cake from Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery which cost $7.50, or $8.17 with tax. I am literally begging you to give me your sub-$10 NYC chocolate cake slice recs in the comments. I will try every single one of them.

    She shared this photo.

    Many folks responded to Mal’s plea. Here’s what I posted:

    This is not responsive, but the best chocolate cake I ever had was in NJ and over $10. South and Pine Eatery in Morristown. Call ahead because they often don’t have it.

    Decades ago, I was with my friend Nancy and we were waiting for a table in a German pastry shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I was on a diet and just getting coffee. She was going to splurge.

    I said, “Nance, I’ve been here before. They are going to seat us at a table and hand us menus that say things like poffenkliegel and kleigenflieg. You won’t know what to order. So go over there to the display cases, decide what you want to get, and ask the guy behind them what it’s called. I’ll keep our place in line.”

    I watched Nancy checking out all the items in the cases. Then she got the attention of the guy behind the cases and pointed to an item. “This one?” he asked. “No, that one a few over to the left.” “This one?” “No, one more over.” Finally, they connected. Then I heard him say: “Yes, we call that chocolate cake.”

    [Hi Nancy! — you remember that?]

    OC Note: 4 hours after I posted the above story on Rex’s blog, one of my favorite commenters, Gary, replied with the following (made my day):

    “Yes, we call that chocolate cake.” Hilarious. Love this story. Reminds me of my Starbucks days when men would hold up their cell phone and say, “She wants this.” And I would look at them and ask, “You don’t know how to pronounce non-fat mocha?”

    CHAI LATTE was an answer in the puzzle today and it led Mal to this short “rant.”

    “Chai” is the Hindi word for tea, and some pedants get grumpy when you say chai tea (“That’s like saying ‘tea tea!!!’” they whine). But I wholeheartedly disagree! American English is filled with loan words from other languages that we’ve twisted and corrupted and embraced to become our own– that rocks!! And it rocks especially when we do so with food words, weaving immigrant flavors into our own language. CHAI LATTE is a particularly cute example to me, as it’s made up of not one but two loan words. That’s the American dream, baby.

    Anony Mouse pointed out: The AAA baseball franchise playing out of Buffalo NY are the Buffalo Bisons. Literally, Buffalo Buffalo.

    But burtonkd was having none of it. He wrote: The name of the city apparently comes from the French beau fleuve, which means “beautiful river,” so not literally duplicative for the AAA team. Also Buffalo and Bison are not the same animal.

    Hrrrrrrumph!

    Where are you on this one? The clue was “Fictional bandleader of the 1960s,” and the answer was SGT PEPPER. Some loved it and some hated it. I’m with the former, though the clue, I think, was supposed to hint somehow at the shortened form for the word “sergeant.”

    I didn’t know until just now they could be lined up in height order.

    There was a story recently about Paul attending a concert of Taylor’s and going backstage afterwards to wish her well. Her security guards were flummoxed because it was spur of the moment and he wasn’t on “the list.” It took a few moments to resolve and Taylor was mortified that Paul may have felt disrespected. She was so honored by his coming by. She apologized but he was very gracious and waved it all off. He told her he was happy she was “carrying the torch.” He was especially impressed by the effect Taylor had on her fans — how genuine and meaningful the connection was.

    Think Travis should be jealous? Maybe a little.

    Looking at that photo. There is so much of the past, present, and future in it. Going to let those two send us off tonight. See you tomorrow.

  • Asquabble In The Copses

    We gave our sports consultant Sarah Fillier, star forward for the NY Sirens of the Pro Women’s Hockey League, her first assignment for Owl Chatter: to assess the prospects of the Nats for the upcoming season. Spring training starts next week! Sarah is brilliant as well as beautiful, having played her college hockey at Princeton, and, to no surprise, her report was outstanding, if brief.

    “The team plays its home games in Washington,” she writes. “Will let you know in my next report if that’s the West Coast or East Coast Washington.”

    Thanks, Babe! No rush.

    Other sources tell us the Nats should be competitive most days with a decent lineup, but will finish 4th in the NL East, at best. The Mets, Atlanta, and the Phils are just too damn good for the Nats to crack the top three. Have no idea how Miami looks. We’ll be missing closer Kyle Finnegan sorely — we love you Kyle! And starters Jedidiah Gray and Cavatelli ala Bolognese will be out of action for much of the season (that’s Josiah Gray and Cade Cavelli). Bullpen also seems a bit thin at this point, to put it mildly.

    For those of you who look to Owl Chatter for trenchant political analysis (i.e., the heavy drinkers among you), please note we are predicting a U.S. military takeover of the Panama Canal by the end of 2025. A flimsy excuse was already laid down — we need to protect it from the Chinese.

    The prospective loss of the canal comes on the heels of November’s disqualification of Miss Panama from the Miss Universe pageant. The official reason was that she broke some rule about leaving a room that she was not supposed to leave (?), but there were also rumors that she had an altercation with Miss Dominican Republic who was reputed to be an a**hole. Further complicating matters is the fact that Miss Panama’s first name is Italy. She is Italy Mora. She retains the title of Miss Panama. With that punim we’re fairly certain she’ll land on her feet.

    Oh, no, hold on. That’s not her. Here she is. Much better. (Phil! Cut it out!)

    I learned from the puzzle today that Georgia is the only state whose Wikipedia writeup indicates has a state “disambiguator.” I then learned from Miriam Webster that that means someone who clarifies things that are ambiguous. I’d say a lot of those states down there could use one, so kudos to the peach state!

    The theme today was “backflips” as represented by four pairs of 5-letter words that flip their last two letters: quiet and quite, angel and angle, exits and exist, and venom and venmo. Rex’s sub Clare noticed that EXITS EXIST can be nicely re-split to read: EXIT SEXIST.

    “Actress Emily of ‘Hannah Montana’” is Emily OSMENT, whom I only saw in a show on Netflix with Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas called The Kominsky Method, about an acting school. I think she was one of the students. She’s 32, from LA, and just got married late last year. Mazel Tov, Em! Her bro is Haley Joel Osment.

    She was not happy working with Phil and simply refused to pose or smile. If looks could kill. . .

    You’ll get the next one, Philly! No question!

    In yesterday’s puzzle, the clue at 17A was “Obsolescent classroom wall fixture,” and the answer was BLACKBOARD. Rex noted that at his university, they are not “obsolescent.” Even though much has been modernized, he complained his area has not been whiteboarded yet.

    It raised a pet peeve of mine. Here’s my post from yesterday. (My blogging name is Liveprof):

    As a bit of a Luddite, I preferred chalk to markers. I did not like it when the classrooms were updated. I liked getting all covered in chalk dust like I worked in the mines. A student once came up after class to let me know I was all smeared up with chalk and I said: That’s okay, my wife worries when I come home and there’s NOT chalk all over me.

    There were several responses. Dennis wrote: I’m with @Liveprof. I loved being covered in chalk dust at the end of the teaching day. It was definitive proof I’d done something.

    Matt added:

    Funnily enough, you’ll see BLACKBOARDs in a lot of new academic buildings because physicists and mathematicians explicitly prefer them to whiteboards. My university’s fancy new science tower, renovated two years ago, has blackboards in every classroom at the request of the faculty.

    Chalk tends to be MUCH more expressive for equations and diagrams, and doesn’t suffer from the problem of old writing drying on, or of trying to write with a mostly-spent-but-not-enough-to-justify-throwing-out marker. After teaching in a room with a whiteboard for a semester, I’m very glad to be using a blackboard again.

    Last, Aviatrix shared this memory:

    I remember a professor explaining something to me after a lesson in the hallway, the walls of which were painted purple. He traced a diagram on the wall with his bare finger, and there was so much chalk on his hands that he only had to switch fingers a few times to complete the picture.

    At 1D today, the clue was “Face covering with an opening around the eyes.” The answer was NIQAB, which was news to me, though I was able to get it from the crosses. Many folks stumbled with hijab first. Here’s how Gary put it: I suspect most everybody ran into the HIJAB/NIQAB dilemma and I went with the former. My knowledge of women’s fashion is a little iffy, ya know, outside of miniskirts and bikinis. Those I know.

    1A was “Wandering soul” for NOMAD, and 28A was “Newly decorated” for REDONE. Here’s what egs did with them:

    Itinerant Guest: Are all of your different colored bedrooms the same as when I was last here?
    Hostess: No, we’ve REDONE the REDONE.
    Guest: That’s OK. I’m NOMAD NOMAD.

    At 43D, many loved the clue “Start to fall?” for EQUINOX. And at 6D, “Like donkeys and zebras” was EQUINE. Egs noted: Cross an EQUINE with a bovine and you’ll get an EQUINOX.

    Headline in The Onion:

    Megachurch Conducts Successful Nuclear Missile Test

    Did you know sparrows squabble? Let’s close tonight with this poem by Hayden Carruth on just that point about them. It’s called “Sparrows” and was in The Writer’s Almanac on Sunday.

    Spring comes and autumn goes,
    Likewise in the town of sparrows.

    Under the eaves and in the ivy
    They wage dispute of polity.

    If someone speaks, someone demurs;
    They are indomitable bickerers.

    One can easily imagine them
    Asquabble in the copses when brave William

    Led his band by, or even once
    In the dust near Hannibal’s elephants.

    Maybe in the primeval fire
    They went at it: what’s his, what’s hers?

    Apparently they do not welcome
    Finality in sparrowdom.

    See you tomorrow!

  • You Are Exactly Who You Need To Be

    If you watched the Grabbys last night you couldn’t help but notice Taylor all dressed up in Kansas City red, a nod, no doubt, to boyfriend Trav’s upcoming Superb Owl date this Sunday. In case you missed that nod she also had a very alluring T thigh chain on as well. [Hold on a sec. Need to compose myself. Deep breaths.]

    In case you are thinking the T might be for Taylor, duh, its designer Lorraine Schwartz confirmed it’s for Travis.

    Speaking of the duo, we were surprised to learn from an interview of Taylor’s that it was she who initiated their relationship. She sensed he was genuine and funny from his public appearances and took an interest. She apparently had no trouble reeling him in, to no surprise.

    For the record, Tay did not win any Grabbys last night, despite garnering six noms. But we are happy to note Kasey Musgraves won for Best Country Song: The Architect. She has a beautiful voice.

    True Confessions: I think this is the first time I’ve ever watched the Grabbys and I only stayed through Taylor’s presentation. It was good to see in people form, names I only knew through crossword puzzles, like CARDI B. She presented the Grabby for best Rap album to Doechii who accepted the award with her mom and gave a beautiful acceptance speech, addressed to Black girls at the end: “You are exactly who you need to be.”

    Sunday’s NYTXW by Derrick Niedermann was an all-time classic. I’m not using that phrase as a way of saying “great.” I mean it will be remembered in Crossworld as unusually brilliant for a very long time.

    Thirteen clues were comprised of a two-word phrase, like skinny dip. But they were in italics and the words were separated like this: skinny/dip. You then needed to come up with an answer for each separate word that differed only by one letter. Here they were SLIM (skinny) and SWIM (dip). So you fill in the S, I, and M in their squares, and both L and W get squooshed into their square. For the crossing word, you use both the L and W. The crossing answer here was the actress RACHE[LW]EISZ.

    So that happened thirteen times in the grid. (Rex, who did not enjoy it as much as I did, said he started screaming “Make it stop!!”) Some of the better ones were: fast/car (QUICK (for fast) and BUICK (for car)), and wild/bunch (ZANY (for wild) and MANY (for bunch)).

    And if that wasn’t enough neat wordplay, get this: Since it happened thirteen times and each time involved a two-letter switch (L and W with slim and swim, Q and B for quick and Buick, etc.), you wind up with 26 letters involved in the switches. And these 26 letters were all of the letters of the alphabet, each used once. OMG! How did he do this? It’s freaking me out.

    Some individual clues/answers were neat too. At 70A, “Your business start up” was NONE OF. (Get it? The words “none of” start up the phrase “none of your business.”)

    At 51A the clue was “Female name that is a body part spelled backwards,” and the answer was RAE. Rex solved the puzzle using down clues only, so he did not see this clue. His comment: I’m glad I never saw this clue, because I’d’ve been like “GEL? That’s a name? MRA? PIL? EOT? Who names their kids these things?”

    At 56D the clue was “Kind of line that no one just stands in” and the answer was CONGA. Rex shared this Simpsons scene.

    While we’re on the subject (The Simpsons), today’s puzzle contained the words DIDDLY ) (“[blank]-squat”), and DOODLED (“Drew funny little pictures”).

    Julie Turley of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) writes: Tinnitus has gotten much louder lately. Any help appreciated.

    Pete Holder: Doctor sent me for an MRI scan with tinnitus in one ear….turns out I also suffer from claustrophobia.

    Patrick Jeremy: Tinnitus is just a buzz word

    Richard Scholfield: Don’t call the tinnitus helpline – that just rings and rings…

    Olly Olly: Richard, how long have you been waiting to use that line?

    Richard:  Since the last time I used it? About a month, I think.

    Justin Tucker, place-kicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, has really stuck his foot in it this time. Well, not exactly his foot. Six women massage therapists came forward with allegations against Pecker for indecent behavior during sessions. The athlete’s conduct was sometimes so appalling they had to end his sessions early. Two spas allegedly banned Pecker from using their facilities after repeated complaints. Pecker denies any improper behavior and an investigation will be conducted. Here he is with his son and one of the therapists. (Just kidding, that’s his wife Amanda.)

    Pecker is a devout Catholic and makes the sign of the cross before every kick. It’s unclear if he also makes the sign before massage sessions.

    Pecker is also a classically trained bass-baritone who can sing opera in seven languages, including Yiddish. He has been asked by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Opera Orchestra of New York to perform, although he was unable to do so due to conflicts with massage sessions.

    Jesus H. Christ, have you read about Kash Patel, slated to head the FBI? There’s a good article by David French (a conservative) in the Times today. (By “good,” I mean horrifying, even by Trumpian standards. He makes Hegseth look qualified.)

    How worshipful of Trump is he? He actually wrote a series of children’s books celebrating “King Donald,” who prevails against three terrible plots — the Russia investigation, the 2020 election and clashes with the Department of Justice — with the help of a mighty wizard named … Kash. [I did not make that up.]

    He is in bed with right-wing extremists and dishonest to the core. He was a fawning guest on the podcast of Stew Peters, a Holocaust minimizer and vaccine conspiracist, eight times, but claimed he didn’t remember who Peters was at his confirmation hearing.

    He is openly vindictive against the likes of Liz Cheney, et al, and members of the media who report honestly on Trump. He still does not accept the results of the 2020 election and believes the FBI helped trigger the January 6th attack on the capitol. Arrrrrgh.

    Here’s a headline from The Onion:

    Americans Start Stockpiling Moose Ahead Of Tariffs

    And here’s a shot of our Caitlin and her/our Lianna on a winter weekend vacation! I don’t know what the hell happened behind them. Afraid to ask.

    See you tomorrow Chatterheads! Thanks for popping by.

  • The Singing of the Mississippi

    The NYT has a daily column discussing the XW puzzle and others of its games. It’s called Wordplay. Sometimes it includes comments by the constructor. These often discuss little things in the grid, or how he or she came up with certain elements. Friday’s puzzle was unusual and impressive in that it had two four-answer “stacks” ten letters wide. E.g., the one near the bottom had these four answers piled directly on top of each other: MARRIED MAN, I DON’T BUY IT, CAMERA CREW, and EMPTY STARE. The constructor was Adrian Johnson and he had to (and did) make the ten crossing downs “work.” But he didn’t discuss his stacks in his comments. Instead, he wrote this beautiful note about his friend:

    My closest crossword friend is old enough to be my grandmother. Almost a year ago to the day, Alexandra and I connected online for the first time over a community puzzle project. We’ve met in person only once, at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2024, but that was just the start to what I believe will be an enduring friendship.

    Alexandra keeps track of and congratulates me after every single crossword publication of mine, even when I forget I have one. She speaks with the sincerity of a long-term friend, the curiosity of a young child and the empathy of a trusted mentor. Alexandra is a witty, humorous and steadfast guiding light to help see out your darkest days — someone with an infectious love and care for the community around her that inspires, uplifts and warms the heart.

    My crowning achievement over our year of friendship was convincing her to join me in making her first two crossword puzzles after more than 30 years of solving: one for Universal Crossword, and the other as a personal tribute to her family’s Levantine roots.

    Here’s what I’ve learned from her: Life moves fast. Take the time to engage with someone older, treasure those who light a fire under you and never fear new opportunities to meet people or build bridges. All of our lights inevitably go out, so act on the time you have with integrity, humor and humility, like Alexandra does. Peace.

    In a nod to Black History Month, the puzzle yesterday welcomed NELLA Larson, who wrote the novel Passing. Also, the clue at 28A was “Sojourner Truth speech in which she said ‘You need not be afraid to give us our rights.’” The answer was AIN’T I A WOMAN? In that speech, Truth was remarking on the deferential treatment men gave to white women but which she, as a Black woman, had never received. Thus, the query “Ain’t I a woman?”

    Seemingly pointing out a man in the room, Truth says, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.” She exclaims that no one ever does any of these things for her, repeating the question, “And ain’t I a woman?” several times. She says that she has worked and birthed many children, making her as much a woman as anyone else.

    At 1A yesterday, the clue was “Experience that’ll change one’s mind,” and the answer was ACID TRIP.

    Anony Mouse tried a different answer first and noted: Had lobotomy before acid trip. And egs replied: That sounds like my life story!

    At 39A the clue was “Grab bag contents” and the answer was ODDS AND ENDS. My brother once told me he heard about two colleagues who opened a medical practice together: a psychiatrist and a proctologist. They were first said to serve heads and tails, and later ODDS AND ENDS.

    Owl Chatter friend Chris, commenting yesterday on the passing of Marianne Faithfull noted aptly: Faithfull was beautifull.

    Kate Koval is a big woman: 6 feet, 5 inchies. Can’t find her weight, but she’s substantial — take a look at that those tree-trunk legs. SRSLY.

    She plays for Notre Dame. I just checked, they are ranked #3 nationally, three rungs ahead of Owl-Chatter-fave UConn. When she was a HS star on Long Island, an unusual situation arose for one of her games.

    It was a road game in Brookville, NY. It was February 24, 2022. Kate was up at 5 am. Her mom Natalia was calling from Kyiv. Russia’s invasion had begun and her family was vacating their apartment for a safer locale. They’d call her later when they were settled safely. You’ve had days waiting for calls, amirite? Is it benign? Is [son, daughter, grandchild] okay? But none of them involved incoming Russian missiles.

    Kate did not get a call back. The clock slowed to a crawl but still, suddenly, it was gametime. Her coach told her it was okay for her to sit out. But that was out of the question, she said. If they were safe and streaming the game, they would worry if they saw she wasn’t playing: she has to play. So the coaches and refs got together and made special arrangements. Even though normally phones were not allowed on the bench, Kate’s phone would be allowed and monitored at all times . Even though normally only the team in possession of the ball could call a time out, Kate’s team could call one at any time the phone rang. The game was played. Kate was brilliant. The phone did not ring.

    Kate was back home in Queens by the time her mom called. They were safely ensconced in the basement of her grandmother’s house. Everyone was safe.

    The war has been raging ever since and Kate has had many tense calls with her family. Her dad serves in the military and they talk every day. But it has been a blessing for them to know at least she is safe and to follow her career. She was heavily recruited by the major college programs before choosing to become an Irish Ukrainian. Her parents flew to Notre Dame for a visit! Kate’s coach Niele Ivey threw her home open to them. Her dad does not speak English and said very little. He asked his wife to translate one sentence for the coach. It said “I see why Kate chose Notre Dame.”

    It must be hard for a high school girl in her position to make a decision like that. These national powerhouse teams must really ramp up the effort to sweep you in. In Kate’s case, they may not have known what she was really looking for. After making her choice, she explained why she picked Notre Dame. “It felt like home.”

    Owl Chatter note: Here’s Coach Ivey. Get this — her son is Jaden Ivey who plays for the Detroit Pistons.

    JL Cauvin, the excellent Trump impersonator, makes a good point, IMHO, about Trump’s claim to have a mandate, despite receiving under 50% of the vote. He says Trump does have a mandate, comprised of the people who voted for him plus all the people who gave tacit approval by not caring enough to vote.

    The historian Heather Cox Richardson is hardly an alarmist. Unlike the idiocy I spout here, every point she makes is supported with a citation to a source. Today her newsletter (dated 2/1/2025) is more dire than usual. Here’s one point she addresses:

    Yesterday, Elon Musk forced the resignation of David A. Lebryk, the highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Dept. Lebryk had been at Treasury since 1989 and had risen to become the person in charge of the U.S. government payment system that disburses about $6 trillion a year through Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, contracts, grants, salaries, and so on, essentially managing the nation’s checkbook.

    Trump’s new Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has given Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency full access to the system. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo posted: “This is more or less like taking the gold from Fort Knox and putting it in Elon’s basement.” He can cut off anyone who gets a check from Social Security or anything else, or see all your personal and financial data.” Pundit Stuart Stevens called it “the most significant data leak in cyber history.”

    Here’s another:

    The FBI has been purged of all six of its top executives and more than 20 heads of FBI field offices, including those in Washington and Miami, where officials pursued cases against Trump. And acting FBI director Brian J. Driscoll Jr. has been asked for a list of FBI agents who had worked on January 6 cases to “determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.” Trump denied knowing about the dismissals.

    The Princeton-Harvard women’s hockey game looked like a blowout at first, as the Tigers quickly went up 2-0 and skated the asses off the Crimsons. But the skating got tighter and 2-0 ended up being the final score. Former Chatham HS goalie Jen Olnowich notched a shutout. Here are a bunch of gorgeous young coeds in their sexy uniforms — could you plotz? It’s like walking into a Victoria Secrets catalog.

    The ceremonial puck drop was by Denna Laing, from her wheelchair at center ice. Denna is from Marblehead MA, and is 33. She suffered a spinal injury playing hockey back in 2015 for the Boston Pride, a pro women’s team, after playing college hockey for Princeton, where she was the team captain her last two years. Her story is a compelling one. She is working hard to regain the ability to walk. Owl Chatter made a small donation to support her in that effort. Any chatterheads who are similarly inclined can send a check to the Denna Laing Fund, c/o Ropes & Gray, 800 Boylston St., Boston MA 02199.

    This poem called “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is by Langston Hughes. It was the Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day yesterday.

    I’ve known rivers:
    I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

    My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

    I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
    I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
    I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
    I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

    I’ve known rivers:
    Ancient, dusky rivers.

    My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

    Thanks for stopping in! See you tomorrow!