Of course the parameter of matching word lengths for symmetry also went into the choices. This resulted in lots of longer-fill entries involving some less common words and phrases. Hint: you would not).
I have no interest in cordoning it off, nor do I have any interest in taking advertising. And can we please, please, in the name of all that is holy, retire TAE BO. I winced my way through this one, from beginning to end. Today was a day when my mental repository of names came up short, so I struggled with BEAMON, CULP, THIEU and a couple of others; I did appreciate solving BABE and then getting THE BAMBINO, and I'll take any reference to LASSIE that I can get, the cleverer the better. For example, at 22A, we have an "Unemployed salon worker" — think beauty shop, here, and you'll get an out-of-work or DISTRESSED HAIRDRESSER, a coiffeur who's been dis-tressed. They each define a person with a particular career, who has been removed from that particular career; their specific state of unemployment can be expressed as a pun. Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]. That's one shy of his Sunday golden jubilee, and it puts him in fine company. This is to say that the revealer doesn't have the snappy wow factor that comes when we are forced to really reconceive what a phrase means, to think of it in a completely different way. This is one of those great party-size themes that we encounter now and then on a Sunday, where there are piles of examples, as evidenced by Mr. Ross's notes below, and which hopefully inspires your own inventions once you've grasped the concept. THEME: INTERIOR DESIGNER (41A: Elle Decor reader... or any of the names hidden in 18-, 28-, 52- and 66-Across) —there are *fashion* DESIGNERs in the INTERIOR of every theme answer: Theme answers: - FARM ANIMALS (18A: Most of the leading characters in "Babe"). Crossword clue babe who never lied. Some very brief entries were gotchas, like EPA (I thought Carter set up this agency) and BAA, of all things, simply because I'd only thought of cotes as housing doves.
It's an easy Tuesday puzzle; we shouldn't be seeing even one of those answers, let alone all of them. I value my independence too much. I'm sure there are many more. Once we reached into the 70s and 80s with BEEPERS, entertaining UTAHANS and MCDLTS, I was on a bit firmer ground. MCDLTS, with all its consonants, was a big help is filling that section … thank you McDonalds. Babe who never lied crossword club.com. And here: I'll stick a PayPal button in here for the mobile users. I was inspired by a slightly related joke category: "Old___ never die, they just …" e. g., "Old cashiers never die, they just check out. ANKLE INJURY (66A: Serious setback for a kicker). Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (normal Tuesday time, but it's 16 wide, so... must've been easier than normal, by a bit). Just the singular, personal voice of someone talking passionately about a topic he loves. There are seven theme entries today, running across at 22, 29, 46, 63, 83, 100 and 111.
Minor: somehow INTERIOR DESIGNER does not seem repurposed enough; that is, we're still talking about designers, and what with Vera WANG getting into home furnishings (maybe she's been there a long time already; I wouldn't know), somehow the distance between the revealer phrase and the concept of a fashion designer isn't stark enough to make the reveal really snap. The word RESELL has No Such Connotation. It will always be free. The timing of this puzzle, vis-à-vis the government shutdown, is an unfortunate coincidence; our lineup is scheduled and set so far in advance that this kind of juxtaposition can happen, and I hope that nobody is dismayed. INTERIOR DESIGNER, and it can't have been easy to embed that many *well-known* designers names inside two-word phrases. Babe who never lied - crossword clue. Someone who works with an audience. Or my favorite, at 100A, the "Unemployed rancher, " or DERANGED CATTLEMAN, which made me think so much of this old song, for some reason.
However, there are several problems. Alex Rodriguez aka A-ROD (69A: Youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, familiarly). Anyway, if you are so moved, there is a Paypal button in the sidebar, and a mailing address here: ℅ Michael Sharp. BUT... the biggest problem here is the fill, which is painful in many, many places. Just put it in a crosswordese retirement community with ERLE Stanley Gardner and Perle MESTA and other fine people who shouldn't be allowed near crosswords any more. Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld. Here are some of the other possibilities that didn't make the cut: DEPARTED ACTOR, DEPRESSED DRY CLEANER, DEBUNKED CAMP COUNSELOR, DETESTED EXAMINER, DEBRIEFED LAWYER, DECOMPOSED SONG WRITER, DEFROCKED DRESSMAKER, DEPOSED MODEL, DISCHARGED SHOPPER, DISCOUNTED CENSUS TAKER, DISSOLVED PUZZLER, DISBARRED BALLERINA, DISCONCERTED MUSICIAN, DISINTERESTED BANKER. Try 83A, the "Unemployed loan officer" — aptly, a DISTRUSTED BANKER. Trying to get back to the puzzle page? 90A: A shop rule like 'No returns' is still a common CAVEAT.
Moving from interior design to fashion design... just doesn't have pop. 16D: I was absolutely taken in by this clue — read right over Feburary, which is next month MISSPELLED. As I have said in years past, I know that some people are opposed to paying for what they can get for free, and still others really don't have money to spare. Over and over again, the fill made me shake my head and grimace. "Scalp" specifically implies massive mark-up. If you're feeling at all distempered right now, the rest of the entries include: Someone who works with nails. Whatever happens, this blog will remain an outpost of the Old Internet: no ads, no corporate sponsorship, no whistles and bells. I hear Florida's nice.
By the way, BRIGANTINE is probably the etymological root of the term BRIG for a ship's prison. I remember a few, including a great nautical puzzle, and I think of Mr. Ross as a very elegant and intricate constructor — today's grid has two theme spans and a lot of very bright fill that made it a fun solve. This year is special, as it will mark the 10th anniversary of Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle, and despite my not-infrequent grumblings about less-than-stellar puzzles, I've actually never been so excited to be thinking and writing about crosswords. SPECIAL MESSAGE for the week of January 10-January 17, 2016. Someone who works with class. It's certainly a compliment of the highest order and should be used as such more often — or would that cheapen it? Ernie ELS (10D: 1994 P. G. A. This also was true of BRIGANTINE and CASEY KASEM, two unusual long entries that made the chunky bottom left corner fillable. This is like cluing HOUSE as [Igloo].
I might accept HEAD or NECK or BRAIN INJURY as a stand-alone "body part INJURY" phrase, but all other body parts feel arbitrary. You gotta do better than this. A brig has two square-rigged masts, and is not (always) actually a BRIGANTINE, according to The New York Times, writing about a colonial-era ship excavated in Lower Manhattan. The idea is very simple: if you read the blog regularly (or even semi-regularly), please consider what it's worth to you on an annual basis and give accordingly. Yes, we do have to think of it literally (designer's name physically situated in the "interior" of the theme phrase), and that is different, but we stay firmly in the realm of fashion / design. 54 Matthews St. Binghamton NY 13905. They also were dis- or de- adjectives (alternating) that have meanings unrelated to the profession, creating good wordplay. And those aren't even the nadir.
This is my 49th Sunday Times puzzle and for the first time I can say I had a glut of possible theme entries. Since these theme entries were on the long side I was restricted to seven; usually I like eight or nine theme entries. Green paint (n. )— in crosswords, a two-word phrase that one can imagine using in conversation, but that is too arbitrary to stand on its own as a crossword answer (e. g. SOFT SWEATER, NICE CURTAINS, CHILI STAIN, etc. DIED ON also was an invented entry that helped me out of a difficult spot. RADIO RANGE (52A: Aerial navigation beacon). A few particular entries that helped me complete this grid. RARE GEM, which has never appeared in a Times puzzle before, just came to me and helped complete a difficult area. I figured it was O. K. because I have had more than a few batteries die on me. Tour Rookie of the Year). SNOW ANGELS (28A: Things kids make in the winter). I have no way of knowing what's coming from the NYT, but the broader world of crosswords looks very bright, and that is sustaining. Today's puzzle is Randolph Ross's 49th Sunday contribution (he's made 110 puzzles, according to, in total). EYE INJURYs are real, but would you really buy EYE INJURY in your puzzle? SUNDAY PUZZLE — They say that comedy is just tragedy plus time (who they are can be pretty much up to you, since the Venn diagram of humorists and people credited with that expression is about a perfect circle).
69D: Last seen in 1985 and another addition to the seafaring word bank we go to now and then, a BRIGANTINE has two masts, yes, but apparently only one is square-rigged. Subscribers can take a peek at the answer key. STU Ungar (43D: Poker great Ungar). From the LO FAT TAE BO of the NORTE to the KOI of the IONIAN ISLA in the south. 72A: I was briefly flummoxed by the clue here and looked for a question like "Where were you, " that would have been in response, or something like "Am I late? " DISILLUSIONED MAGICIAN. Both kinds of people are welcome to continue reading my blog, with my compliments. I chose the seven in this puzzle because they each had adjectives that had to do with being fired or quitting.
Making Narratives #1. MUCH easier than using the freecycle website. Inland Empire Free has 126 people giving and getting free stuff and there are many more people and groups all across California or Browse items. Playful Monstration (Speels Betoog), work lab. Playful Rules, work lab. I also gave away several items and it was quick and easy.
The Inauguration of the Office of Public Play, TRADERS Training Week on Play, May 2015. Really easy to use, as a mother of 5 kids this has been very handy indeed with regards to doing up my house! Open call for the Archive for Public Play, Open call.
The Archive for Public Play 1. AmyI absolutely love this app! Designing 'for' and 'with' Ambiguity, Book. TeddyThis is so handy! A swimming pool, bow flex, treadmill, elliptical, shed, kids playhouse, patio cover and more - love it!
There, in the distance..., workshop. Readers, Write!, workshop. Conference on Child Culture Design, HDK, October 2015. Open Public Space / Öppna offentliga rum, Research project.
TraceyReally great app, helping to keep reusable/upcyclable "waste" out of landfill! PhD thesis, HDK-Valand Academy of Arts and Design, University of Gothenburg. Don't forget to post the things you no longer need! Dialogue Blocks, Grandstand.
Work lab with children, WIELS, July 2014. Growing with Design, conference. JacquelineI have gotten so many great items from this site. NickI've received a free 55" TV, some cleaning supplies, boots for my son who outgrows them every year, and more. Office For Public Play.
DSandraPeople helping people - it doesn't get better than this! Genk, November 2015. Make your contribution. New Urgencies, article. JackWonderful service. Multiple Trailing, Working table. A Table, Parc de Forest, Brussels, July 2015. Inland empire farm and garden. Got stuff to give away? Proposals by drawings and poetry, ongoing. Archive for Public Play, extract 2, poster. I have found several items and always had a great experience.
Pace-setters & Front-runners, Project. Trading Places, Book. TRADERS & DPR Barcelona. Public Play Questions, Collecting questions. City Parcours, Dialogue-shapers, Ghent 2016. A-venue, Gothenburg, October 2015. Social Design, University of Applied Arts Vienna (Angewandte). Pace-setters & Front-runners, Dampoort Ghent, July 2016.
Work lab with children and master students Child Culture Design, HDK Gothenburg, March 2015. Growing w/ Design, Book. TRADERS Open School, Z33. Recipes for unControl, Tryckverkstaden, Göteborgs Konsthall, December 2015. Public Borders, work lab. Playing Weather Forecast, Story. There is always someone nice to help a family in need!