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.]
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!
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??)
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.
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.
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 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.
Does Owl Chatter have dark powers? We just wrote about Marianne Faithfull a short while ago (and played her song Bad English), and now she’s dead at age 78. It’s giving George the creeps.
Didn’t you just assume that name was a stage name? It’s not. Marianne’s dad was Major Robert Glynn Faithfull, a British intelligence officer and professor of Italian literature at London University. Faithfull’s mother, Eva, was the daughter of Artur Wolfgang, Ritter von Sacher-Masoch, an Austro-Hungarian nobleman, and a ballerina (Eva, that is) who danced in productions of works by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Her maternal grandmother was Jewish, making Marianne Jewish too, according to folks who are Jewish. Get this: Faithfull’s maternal great-great-uncle was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose erotic novel, Venus in Furs, spawned the word “masochism.”
Faithfull’s career in show business started pretty much the same way my career as a tax professor did. She was at a party for the Rolling Stones in 1964. Their manager was drawn to her by how beautiful she was and asked if she could sing. She said she could and was in a studio within a week. The first song she recorded was As Tears Go By, which is believed to be the first original composition of Mick and Keith. It’s beautiful enough to listen to twice: once by MF and again by the boys, below.
When she was just 19, she married artist John Dunbar and had a son, Nicholas, with him. Dunbar had an art gallery. It’s where John Lennon later met Yoko. So many connections. Marianne’s marriage did not last long — she moved in with Mick Jagger and they were quite an item for over four years. She had some rough times after that but rebounded to have a very successful life and career.
In 2009, she received the World Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement as part of International Women’s Day. “Marianne’s contribution to the arts over a 45-year career including 18 studio albums as a singer, songwriter and interpreter, and numerous appearances on stage and screen is now being acknowledged with this special award.” In 2011, she was awarded the Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of France’s highest cultural honors. Still beautiful, in my book.
Mick issued the following statement on her passing:
“I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull. She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer, and a great actress. She will always be remembered.”
As tears go by, she is survived by Nicholas and three grandchildren.
Rest in peace, Marianne.
Headlines from The Onion:
Trump Claims God Spared Him In Airplane Crash
Personal Commentary: No Matter How Many Chili Cook-Offs I Win, Everyone Still Sees Me As ‘That School Shooter’s Mom.’
Danny Rock, of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) says: I can’t explain it, but even though it’s been 13 years since the divorce, I still sometimes get a ghost feeling of the ring on my finger, or could it be a sign of something in my future?
Some of the duller comments:
Rosie Barker: You tried it once and it didn’t work. Don’t do it again. [Ouch]
Alan Rooke: Does feeling as though you are still wearing a baseball cap in the evening after you’ve taken it off count?
Rosie: Same issue with glasses, I think I’m still wearing them till I walk into a door. That usually alleviates the sensation.
Natasha Ca: That depends: How much are you worth? If it’s high enough, it might be related to our future.
Sandy Grogan: The three rings of marriage: Engagement ring; Wedding ring; Suffer ring
Avi: Mysterious things happen. There was the case of identical twins. One took a shower and the other one suddenly got clean.
This poem is by a woman, Tamsin Moore, and is from The Poetry Foundation today. It’s called “Lana Del Rey on Country Roads.” The song it refers to can be heard below.
Long, empty roads stretching as long as the gas tank is willing— Sixty-seven dollars left from last summer’s job, but that doesn’t matter with the windows rolled down, her hair blowing back; she doesn’t push it behind her ear, her hand is busy holding mine.
Lana Del Rey on the radio, turned as high as our consciences allow—
Going fifty on the small-town back roads, but who will care? There’s no one but cows to witness our transgressions. Nothing but anthropomorphism to signal our sin.
At home there’s college and work and decisions to be made— Here there’s only the sunset over dry, empty cornfields and the rhythm of Tulsa Jesus Freak playing on repeat until I know it by heart, though I haven’t heard it before today.
Our own freedom thrums through these bony teenage bodies, and it’s clear we’ve only begun to explore. There’s so much left to learn, and so much time to learn it.
I turn Lana up a few degrees more and step on the gas.
A text I got from Caity today had me roaring. I asked her if she needed anything from Costco. We often pick up items like eggs, milk, bread, etc., for her — and she sometimes asks for unsalted mixed nuts. This time she gave me a short list and then asked: Do they sell cashews separately? — the kids seem to pick just the cashews out of the mixed nuts.
Why did that set me off? Several years ago I was watching Jerry Seinfeld’s show “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee,” and I think it was Martin Short who asked him for a definition of the Yiddish term schnorrer. And without hesitation Jerry replied: It’s the guy who takes all of the cashews out of the mixed nuts.
I told Caity and she texted back “It’s Isaac!”
Our four-year-old schnorrer!! We are so proud!
From schnorrers to supermodels. In the puzzle today, the clue at 61A was “Supermodel Carangi,” and the answer was GIA. It led commenter jberg to ask: “What is the definition of “supermodel” anyway? There seem to be more of them around all the time, and I’ve never heard of any of those who appear in the puzzle.”
Good question! There’s no particular test for supermodeldom — like earnings or “covers.” It’s just some vague combination of looks, wealth, and celebrity. Claudia Schiffer said “In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time.” That seems like a pretty a high bar, but who am I to disagree with CS? Maybe it’s like what Justice Potter Stewart of the Supremes said about pornography: “I know it when I see it.”
In any event, Gia Carangi was one of the first supes. A well-received HBO movie came out about her in 1998, starring Angelina Jolie. Gia was from Philly and extraordinarily beautiful, according to our Phil (see his photo of her, below). She made it to the top of the modeling world, only to meet a dreadful end: drug addiction and an AIDS-related death at the age of 26. She was gay or bi and is considered a lesbian icon who “epitomized lesbian chic more than a decade before the term was coined.” Kudos to constructor Joe Marquez for the salute to her in today’s puzzle.
Gia is commemorated on the AIDS Memorial Quilt on blocks #5949 and #3505.
Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to describe your displeasure at spending time on a puzzle you did not like. Here’s how commenter Gary put it last Sunday: “This was like sweeping the unfinished basement in your dead grandmother’s house before it’s sold to a fix-and-flip company and being served a slice of cold cheese pizza and a warm coke as a thank you.”
OK, thank you for sharing. But one Anony Mouse was miffed. “Dead grandmother — horrible analogy.”
With plans afoot to attend the Princeton-Harvard Women’s ice hockey game on Saturday, let’s take a closer look at two Princetonians of special interest. The first is Junior Forward Issy Wunder, who leads the team with 40 points (20 goals and 20 assists). And she’s Jewish! She’s from Toronto and attended high school at the Community Hebrew Academy.
And the second is Jennifer Olnowich, a Senior, and the team’s starting goaltender. Jen has a 10-7 record and a goals against avg of 2.55. She attended Chatham High School, right up the street from Owl Chatter headquarters! As you can see, she’s got a smile that could light up the whole town.
Favorite name (by far): Brooklyn Nimegeers, Freshman, Defense, from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Closing shop early tonight — tired. See you tomorrow!
Terrific puzzle today. So much going on. Let’s settle in with some brunch and take a look. Oooh — it’s a brunch theme, but if we had to put a name to it (the NYT does not name its non-Sunday puzzles), we might go with Brunch With The Girls. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
First, it’s larger than usual size: 15 x 16 instead of 15 x 15. It’s needed because the revealer (key answer) runs down all 16 squares at 7D. The clue is “Event that might feature unlimited mimosas,” and the answer is BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH.
Then, there are six separate theme down answers all related to brunch, e.g., “Raise a glass” is PROPOSE A TOAST. So there’s your TOAST for brunch. But, get this — the last T in TOAST is missing. What you have to fill in is PROPOSE A TOAS. Why? Because that makes it “bottomless!” So, similarly, “No goodnik” is BAD EGG, but you fill in BAD EG. The other four bottomless answers are: COUGH SYRU(P) (Remedy for a cold); SAVE ONE’S BACO(N) (Help avoid disaster); RAGAMUFFI(N) (Little scamp); and REHAS(H) (Go over again).
That’s enough to make it a terrific puzzle, but Rex noticed something else that I missed. There are many names in the clues and answers – and every single one is a woman. Puzzles are typically male-centric, reflecting the tilt of society. So this constructor, Sophia Maymudes, is trying to even things up a bit. Brava!
The women answers are: NAOMI (Novik, author); Diana RIGG; REY (Star Wars heroine); SARA (of Tegan and Sara, pop duo); ELENA Kagan; SOFIA Coppola; ASTRID (Gemma’s role in “Crazy Rich Asians”); and KAY Thompson (author).
KAY Thompson was a singer and actress and author of the Eloise series of children’s books. She was Liza Minelli’s godmother. After two marriages that ended in divorce, she had a secret love affair with singer Andy Williams (who was half her age) that lasted 14 years, until he ran off and married Claudine Longet. Remember her?
The only named males in the puzzle are Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid, and they are eels.
Men, as a concept, aren’t entirely excluded. Way at the bottom, the answer at 69A is GENTS.
Tegan and Sara, noted above, are twin sisters from Calgary. Both are gay and married and very active in LGBTQ+ politics. In 2013, they took part in creating an ice cream sandwich that supported same sex marriage. It featured “double chocolate” cookies and salted caramel ice cream and was named “Til Death Do Us Part.”
You got a problem with any of that?
Hard not to like this tune.
RAGAMUFFIN appeared in the puzzle, as I noted above. You don’t see that term very often, if ever. Commenter Barbara S. reminded us it appears in this old S & G tune, “Cloudy.”
And it’s hitchhike a hundred miles I’m a RAGAMUFFIN child Pointed finger-painted smile I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while.
You may be hearing the name Shedeur more often as we get closer to the NFL draft. It’s the name of a quarterback (last name Sanders) out of UColorado expected to be drafted early — maybe by the NY Giants. It’s a beautiful Hebrew name meaning light or flame of God. His dad is (and his coach at Colorado was) Deion Sanders, whose nickname involves light too — Neon Deion. He, of course, was a brilliant Hall of Fame defensive back and not too shabby a pro baseball player. You see him in Aflac ads now all the time along with Nick Saban. If he’s wearing sandals, look down – you’ll see he only has eight toes. (He lost two from blood clots.)
Good-looking young man, Shedeur Sanders. We wish him well.
W. C. Fields was born on this date in Darby, PA, back in 1880. His entry into showbiz was as a brilliant juggler. He joined the carnival at age 14 and then moved to comedy and films. A big drinker, he often joked about it, saying e.g., “once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.” And, “Everyone must believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.” And, “If I had to live life over, I’d live over a saloon.”
One of my brilliant trip-planning moves decades ago was to place Linda, the kids, and me in a dumpy space behind/above a gas station/convenience store somewhere in the middle of Utah near some National Park we were visiting. How it earned more than one star is a mystery. But it didn’t seem infested by anything, it was pretty spacious, and it had weird hiding spaces the kids loved. There were stairs from it directly down to the little shop that had maps, junk, and candy. Sam thought that was fantastic and couldn’t conceive of a better life. For two nights he felt like we had our own private candy store. He was sad when it was time to move on.
See you tomorrow, Chatterheads!! Thanks for popping in.
The Wellington Files 