How Do You Know the Richest Man in Mexico Joke
Constructor: Timothy Polin
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (whole NW was a real deport for me)
THEME: "Food for Idea" — a agglomeration of apple types appear in theme answers; these are supposed to stand for the apple(s) that helped Julie NEWMAR detect the Police OF GRAVITY (116A: Scientific contribution from 98-Down, discovered in a manner suggested past this puzzle's theme) ... wow, between playing Catwoman and doing physics, she was a busy wo- ... oh, sorry, it's NEWTON (98D: Who was famously hit over the head with inspiration?). NEWTON discovered the LAW OF GRAVITY . There are a agglomeration of long Down answers that I recollect are also supposed to evoke the whole apple-falling / law-discovering affair, in an indirect way. I think that's information technology. " I Become It NOW "? (104A: "Eureka!"):
The Apples:
- JAZZ VOCALIST (24A: Carmen McRae or Anita O'24-hour interval, notably)
- MOUNTFUJI (32A: Endpoint of a Shinto pilgrimage)
- GALA Matter (52A: Fete)
- EMPIRE STATE (69A: Birthplace of five U.S. presidents, with "the")
- WHEN INROME... (85A: Start of some conventional wisdom)
The related, probably thematic Downwardly answers:
- WEIGHTY MATTER (3D: It'south nothing to joke about)
- Come ON DOWN (39D: Game show invitation)
- "Free FALLIN'" (50D: Tom Footling hitting with the opening line "She'southward a good daughter, loves her mama")
- Strength OF NATURE (60D: Unforgettable, unstoppable sort)
Word of the Mean solar day: TRICOT(123A: Lingerie fabric) —
ane :a obviously warp-knitted fabric (as of nylon, wool, rayon, silk, or cotton) with a close inelastic knit and used especially in vesture (such as underwear)
ii :a twilled clothing material of wool with fine warp ribs or of wool and cotton with fine weft ribs (merriam-webster.com)
• • •
2021 was an of import year for me, every bit my blog (this blog, the ane you are reading right now) turned xv years old! [noisemaker sounds!!!!]. That's a lot of years old. For a web log, anyway. 15 is also a pretty important crossword-related anniversary—maybe the only important crossword-related ceremony. The standard Us crossword filigree is 15x15, and now Rex Parker is likewise 15! Rex Parker, spanning the grid to give yous the abiding diverseness of crossword commentary: the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat (dum dum dum DUM!) The human being drama of ... OK at present I'chiliad but channeling Jim McKay from the '70s-era introduction to "Wide World of Sports," but I do hope this blog has provided some insight, some entertainment, some commiseration, some solace, some sense of regularity during what are obviously pretty tumultuous and frequently lonely times. I hope information technology has enhanced your solving pleasure, giving you something to look forward to even (specially?) when the puzzle lets you downwards, and someone to celebrate with when the puzzle is wonderful. If it'south also given you someone to shout at in disagreement, that's OK too.
A lot of labor goes into producing this web log every 24-hour interval (Every. Twenty-four hours.) and the hours are, let'due south say, less than ideal (I'grand either solving and writing at night, later 10pm, or in the forenoon, earlier 6am). Most days, I really exercise beloved the writing, simply it is piece of work, and once a year (right now!) I acknowledge that fact. As I've said before, I have no interest in "monetizing" the weblog beyond a simple, direct contribution request once a twelvemonth. No ads, no gimmicks. Just here for you lot, every mean solar day, pelting or shine, whether you like it or, perchance, on occasion, not :) It'southward only me and my laptop and some gratis blogging software and, you know, a lot of rage, only hopefully there's illumination and levity along the fashion. I practise genuinely love this gig, and whether y'all're an everyday reader or a Sunday-simply reader or a apartment-out hatereader, I appreciate you more than than you'll always know.
How much should you give? Any you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that corporeality is is fantastic. Some people decline to pay for what they can get for free. Others simply don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and gratuitous. But if y'all are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are two options. Beginning, a Paypal button (which yous tin can also find in the blog sidebar):
2d, a mailing address (checks should be made out to "King Parker"):
Rex Parker c/o Michael Precipitous
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905
I'll throw my Venmo handle in here too, only in example that's your preferred way of moving money around; information technology'southward @MichaelDavidSharp (the last four digits of my phone are 4878, in instance Venmo asks you, which I guess it does sometimes, when it's non trying to push button crypto on you, what the hell?!)
All Paypal contributions will be gratefully acknowledged by e-mail. All snail mail contributions volition exist gratefully acknowledged with hand-written postcards. I. Love. Snail Mail. I love seeing your gorgeous handwriting and and then sending you my awful handwriting. Information technology's all so wonderful. Last yr's thank-you lot postcards featured various portraits of my cat, Alfie, designed by artist Ella Egan, a.thou.a. my daughter. They were such a hit that I asked Ella to pattern this twelvemonth's thank-you postcard as well, this time featuring both my cats. And this is the result. Behold this year's thank-you card: "Alfie and Olive: Exploring the Filigree":
We went dorsum and forth on whether she should add more blackness squares to make the filigree look more plausibly fillable (that's a Lot of white space), simply in the end we decided not to crowd the jumping (or hanging?) Olive with more black squares, and instead just to leave the card as is, with the thought that the cats are exploring a grid that is ... under construction. Anyhow, this card is personally meaningful to me, and besides, I believe, considerately lovely. I tin't wait to share it with snail-mailers (and oh, what the hell, if you lot are a PayPal / Venmo donor and you want one besides, just say and then in the message). Please annotation: I don't continue a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give past snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just indicate "NO CARD." Again, equally e'er, I'm so grateful for your readership and support. At present on to today's puzzle...
• • •
Well this certainly was Ragtag . Honestly, if you'd told me but before the terminate, just before the revealer, that the theme was simply "apples," I would've believed you. The circled squares contain apples. That fact was obvious early on, and it continued to exist obvious through 5 non very exciting theme answers. One time I finally pieced together LAW OF GRAVITY , I sort of vaguely remembered seeing NEWTON's proper name earlier, and yeah, NEWTON , apples, I know the story. Only a bit later did I find that the long Downs seemed kind of punnily related to the theme. Is everyone going to notice that? At that place'due south no part of the puzzle that specifically highlights them every bit thematic, and the circled squares (maybe they're shaded or something else in the paper / on the app?) really shout "await at us!" so ... why would you look anywhere else? I guess the long Downs are cute or funny, in a dadjoke kind of way. Ironically, the whole affair felt pretty uninspired. Why weren't the *apples* going Down? That ... that would've made sense. This ... well, as I said: Canaille . An assortment of loosely related, vaguely thematic cloth. The apples weren't fifty-fifty subconscious inside longer answers; they were only ... words. There just wasn't any joy to be had here. Further, the fill doesn't shine very brightly either. The long Downs are decent enough, just as standalone answers, but the grid was and then choppy that most of the fill was short and kind of fussy, and some of information technology just made me shrug. ANISE TEA ? (23A: Aromatic herbal drinkable). I had the TEA office, but woof no idea people drank ANISE TEA . I guess they drink all kinds of tea, but "effluvious" doesn't add much in the way of specificity. And what is GAS Ring ? I have a gas stove, and the flames from the elements definitely form ring shapes, just I would not telephone call them "stovetop devices." The NFL / REFS cross-reference was OK considering information technology involved sequential Across answers (58A: With 59-Across, flag bearers, for short?), merely the CARLOS / SLIM answer (88A: With 76-Beyond, Mexican concern magnate who was in one case the globe's richest person), ugh, that ane is arranged in the filigree so that it reads bottom to height *and* right to left—bad-mannered on both counts. There just wasn't much to, uh, sink my teeth into today.
[" NEWTON got beaned by the apple tree good ... yeah yeah yes yeah"]
The NW corner was by far the hardest function of the puzzle for me. Started there, got nowhere, and ultimately finished there, but only afterwards struggling mightily to see the WEIGHTY part of WEIGHTY MATTER . Had PDF instead of GIF at 5A: JPEG culling, and since the "F" checked out, boy was I stuck. Also, ew, GIT Go , ugh, bah, yuck, just no idea what was going (sorry, goin') on there (5D: Startin' place). That Dogpatch-speak—unpleasant, for sure. No inkling on 1D: Cause of a jolt (SCARE). No clue on 2D: Actually busy, peradventure ( ORNATE ). No idea what awk. country abbr. was gonna go at 31A: Neighbor of S. Sudan (ETH.). No idea that [Kind of writing] would be Artistic . And as we've established, no idea anyone drank ANISE TEA . I was having trouble even lower down in the NW also, with UBER (45D: Modern lead-in to "X") and SEAEEL (56A: Anago, on a sushi menu) being at to the lowest degree slightly difficult for me to come up with. I did manage, eventually, to remember " MMM, BOP ," a song that you absolutely could not get away from in 1997, but also a song that I kinda secretly actually liked. Let'due south mind to it now.
VAPE KIT fabricated me wince (57D: All-in-one purchase from a smoke store). It'southward probably the most original matter in the grid, but all the same, ugh, vaping and its related accoutrements, can we not? I'll requite you VAPE, information technology'due south a useful four-letter give-and-take, but all the gear and accessories etc. let'southward but not dwell on it. Moving on: What is the logic behind spelling EPILOG thusly (that is, without a "-UE") (86D: Afterword). EPILOGUE ... aye, that looks right. Is that an entirely different give-and-take? Tin you but spell it yet y'all want? Is it a UK 5. Us thing? Hang on ... yep, looks like EPILOG is just a less common variant of "Epilogue." Looks like y'all can technically write PROLOG too, but wow that looks atrocious, I have never seen that (I don't call up). I retrieve reading a Raymond Carver story (maybe more than i) where he spelled "cigarette" like this: "cigaret." I recall feeling "who does he think he is?!" and at the aforementioned time "that is so cool!" (I was 20, my ideas about literature were all over the map, cut me some slack). I'yard not glad that Carver smoked (and consequently died of lung cancer), but I *am* glad that he didn't vape. That would've looked terrible in author photos. My point is: EPILOG has an eerie, conflicting expect most it, despite checking out, dictionary-wise.
What else? Oh, GALA Affair ... and so ... like ... a GALA, so? You mean GALA? It sounds similar you mean GALA. Is GALA Thing non redundant somehow? I had no thought until today that GIGI had anything to exercise with Virginia (52D: Nickname for Virginia) (the proper noun, not the state ... I assume). There'southward apparently still no industry standard for the AHH / AAH distinction (108A: "That's the spot"). That's plenty for today. Oh, no, one concluding thing. I think my favorite part of the puzzle was the brief moment I thought the puzzle was going to break exciting new ground; that is, the moment I looked at 126A: Defiant refusal and so looked at my grid and saw "--CK NO!" I wrote in HECK NO , considering I dared not dream. And then I couldn't brand HECK NO works, and then I briefly thought, "could it be ....!?" Simply then no. No it couldn't exist. HECK NO was right. Did I notice HECK NO satisfying? I remember you know the answer.
Explainers :
- 41A: Spade with a brusque handle? (SAM)—his name ("handle") is only 3 messages long, which I guess, yeah, is pretty short
- 75A: Only curl with it! (DIE)—these "it" clues can exist tricky ([Step on it!] for STAIR, for instance, or [Beat it!] for EGG, say). If the answer were an expression pregnant "Just roll with it!," and so the clue phrase would be in quotation marks. But it'due south not. So you're looking for the "information technology."
- 4D: Artist known for his lampooning cartooning (NAST)—Thomas Nast, who popularized the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant, equally well equally the modernistic image of Santa Claus
- 45D: Modern atomic number 82-in to "X" (UBER)—UberX is just ... UBER . Information technology's the basic service UBER provides. I guess the "X" distinguishes it from other levels of service (Comfort, Select, Black ... please don't ask me what they mean, I don't work for UBER )
- 9D: Hardly a lover of hot wings? (ICARUS)—OK *this* is the best affair in the grid. ICARUS stole the wax wings his dad (Daedalus) was working on and took them for a spin, famously flying also close to the sun, which caused the wings to cook and ICARUS to fall to his death. "Hot wings" heh ... skilful 1.
- 72D: Hard affair to do? (TIME)—referring to the expression "to do time," i.e. to serve a prison sentence
Farewell.
Signed, King Parker, King of CrossWorld
Source: https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2022/01/red-accessory-for-cartoondoms.html
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