Happy New Year
Introduction
I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Solution to Today's Puzzle
Falcon's experience
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Legend:
█ - solved without assistance
█ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools
█ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools
█ - solved but without fully parsing the clue
█ - yet to be solved
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| Symbols and Markup Conventions | |
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| Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog. | |
Across
| 1a | Item thrown // (wham!) with flexible range (9) |
BOOM|ERANG* — BOOM (wham) + (with) anagram of (flexible) RANGE
| 6a | Piece of lumber in a lot of // tanbark (5) |
MU(L)CH — L (piece [initial letter] of Lumber) contained in (in) MUCH (a lot of)
| 9a | Three in Rome accommodated by domestic // restaurant host (6,1) |
MAÎ(TRE) D' — TRE (three in Rome; Italian word for 'three') contained in (accommodated by) MAID (domestic)
| 10a | Invisible Man author // appearing after designer Perry (7) |
ELLIS|ON — ON (appearing) following (after) ELLIS (designer Perry; American fashion designer Perry Ellis[7])
Invisible Man[7] is a novel by African American writer Ralph Ellison, published in 1952.
| 11a | Rainbow hue’s origin // connected with the Emerald Isle (5) |
IRIS|H — IRIS (rainbow) + H (Hue's origin [initial letter])
Iris[10] is a rare or poetic word for rainbow*.
* In Greek mythology, Iris[10] is the goddess of the rainbow along which she travelled to earth as a messenger of the gods.
| 12a | Indian city // (bam!) with a folk history (9) |
BANG|A|LORE — BANG (bam) + (with) {A (†) + LORE (folk history)}
Bangalore[5] is the former name (until 2014) for Bengaluru[5], a city in south central India.
| 13a | Bears, in moving // from a Balkan region (7) |
SERBIAN* — anagram of (moving) BEARS IN
| 14a | Studies about (yuck!) // English novelist (7) |
D(ICK)ENS — DENS (studies) containing (about) ICK (yuck)
Charles Dickens[5] (1812–1870) was an English novelist. (show more )
His novels are notable for their satirical humour and treatment of contemporary social problems, including the plight of the urban poor and the corruption and inefficiency of the legal system. Memorable characters such as Scrooge and Mr Micawber contributed to his work's popular appeal. Some of his most famous novels are Oliver Twist (1837–8), Nicholas Nickleby (1838–9), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1850), Bleak House (1852–3), and Great Expectations (1860–1)
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His novels are notable for their satirical humour and treatment of contemporary social problems, including the plight of the urban poor and the corruption and inefficiency of the legal system. Memorable characters such as Scrooge and Mr Micawber contributed to his work's popular appeal. Some of his most famous novels are Oliver Twist (1837–8), Nicholas Nickleby (1838–9), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1850), Bleak House (1852–3), and Great Expectations (1860–1)
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| 16a | Campus house keeping (yuck!) // loaded (7) |
FRA(UGH)T — FRAT (campus house) containing (keeping) UGH (yuck)
| 19a | Four hesitations about // NBA Hall-of-famer Allen (7) |
IV|ERS|ON — IV ([Roman numeral] four) + ERS (hesitations) + ON (about; concerning)
Allen Iverson[7] is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
| 21a | Getting together // (socko!) and impressing (9) |
POW|WOWING — POW (socko) + (and) WOWING (impressing)
| 23a | World capital // is trailing average (5) |
PAR|IS — IS (†) following (trailing) PAR (average)
| 25a | Jimmy who was funny // deserved getting rave (7) |
DU(RANT)E — DUE (deserved) containing (getting) RANT (rave)
Jimmy Durante[7] (1893–1980) was an American actor, comedian, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s.
| 26a | Shock // Russia’s capital amid loss of power (7) |
OUT(R)AGE — R (Russia's capital [initial letter]) contained in (amid) OUTAGE (loss of power)
| 27a | After hours, swallowing last of hot // coffee drink (5) |
LA(T)TE or LAT(T)E — LATE (after hours) containing (swallowing) T (last [letter] of hoT)
| 28a | Top computer nerd // record held by a witch (yikes!) (5,4) |
A(LP)HA G|EEK — LP (record) contained in (held by) { A (†) + HAG (witch) + EEK (yikes)}
Down
| 1d | Deer // heads to bridge and might break it (5) |
B|A|M|B|I — heads [initial letters] to Bridge And Might Break It
Bambi[7] is a 1942 American animated drama film about the life of a white-tailed deer* produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten.
* Disney took the liberty of changing Bambi's species into a white-tailed deer from his original species of roe deer, since roe deer are not native to North America, and the white-tailed deer is more widespread in the United States.
| 2d | Musical including one // distinguished British actor (7) |
OLIV(I)ER — OLIVER (musical) containing (including) I ([Roman numeral] one)
Oliver![7] is a British musical based on English writer Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. It premièred in London's West End in 1960 and on Broadway in 1963 and was made into a musical film in 1968.
Laurence Olivier[5],
Baron Olivier of Brighton (1907–1989) was an English actor and director. (show more )
Following his professional debut in 1924, he performed all the major Shakespearean roles; he was also director of the National Theatre (1963–73). His films include Rebecca (1940), Henry V (1944), and Hamlet (1948).
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Following his professional debut in 1924, he performed all the major Shakespearean roles; he was also director of the National Theatre (1963–73). His films include Rebecca (1940), Henry V (1944), and Hamlet (1948).
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| 3d | Large hint: monstrous // alien’s opposite (9) |
EARTHLING* — anagram of (monstrous) LARGE HINT
| 4d | Name in gold attached to // noted birdwatcher (7) |
AU(DUB)ON — DUB (name) contained in (in) {AU ([chemical symbol for] gold) + ON (attached to)}
John James Audubon[5] (1785–1851) was an American naturalist and artist. He is noted for his book The Birds of America (1827–38).
| 5d | Collected // $1000 tipped (7) |
G|LEANED — G ($1000) + LEANED (tipped)
| 6d | Opera singer // conveyed by camelback (5) |
_MELBA_ — hidden in (conveyed by) caMELBAck
Dame Nellie Melba[5] (1861–1931) was an Australian operatic soprano; born Helen Porter Mitchell. Born near Melbourne, from which city she took her professional name, Melba gained worldwide fame with her coloratura singing.
| 7d | Fifty is a number // having flexibility (7) |
L|IS|SOME — L ([Roman numeral] fifty) + IS (†) + SOME (a number)
| 8d | Sweetheart taking tees off // zealous fans (7-2) |
H(ANGERS)-ON — HON (sweetheart) containing (taking) ANGERS (tees off)
| 13d | Somewhat mute // stranger loped fast (4-5) |
SOFT-PEDAL — anagram of (stranger) LOPED FAST
| 15d | Ancient queen // misinterpreted apt oracle (9) |
CLEOPATRA* — anagram of (misinterpreted) APT ORACLE
| 17d | Two-star novel // taking the most pessimistic view (2,5) |
AT WORST — anagram of (novel) TWO STAR
| 18d | Diatribe callously includes // part of New York City (7) |
_TRIBE|CA_ — hidden in (includes) diaTRIBE CAllously
Tribeca[7], originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle* Below Canal Street".
* The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Chambers Street. By the 2010s, a common marketing tactic was being used to extend Tribeca's southern boundary to either Vesey or Murray streets to increase the appeal of property listings.
| 19d | Elite crowd // pouring fluid (2,5) |
{IN GROUP}* — anagram of (fluid) POURING
| 20d | Vase covered with identical // tag (7) |
S(URN)AME — URN (vase) contained in (covered with) SAME (identical)
| 22d | After opening, dribble // small amount of liquid (5) |
_OUNCE — [
| 24d | Vocally wager // some flesh? (5) |
STEAK~ — sounds like (vocally) STAKE (wager)
Epilogue
The visual sound effects are reminiscent of the Batman[7] television series from the 1960s.Key to Reference Sources:
[1] - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
[2] - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
[3] - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
[4] - TheFreeDictionarycom (Collins English Dictionary)
[5] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)
[6] - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Advanced American Dictionary)
[7] - Wikipedia
[8] - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
[9] - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)
[15] - CollinsDictionary.com (Penguin Random House LLC/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd )
Signing off for today — Falcon
Happy New Year, Falcon and all solvers, from the sunny South. It was a treat to encounter fireworks in the grid, to celebrate 2022, and to enjoy the genius of our favourite setters!
ReplyDeleteGood morning and happy new year all from NYC (home of 18d) where the new year has brought a wet but mild day. Nowhere near a chance of snow.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun one with all the Batman exclamations. Here's a more complete list: https://www.fastcompany.com/3055253/every-batman-fight-scene-onomatopoeia-in-one-alphabetical-gif
A good number came to me just from the definitions, before parsing. Not my usual way to solve, for sure.
28a was a new term; 8d a favorite clue; 24d last in (head slap for that).
Here's to a happy and healthy new year for everyone. Falcon, you're the best. Thanks for keeping our group going week to week.
See you all next week. Have a good rest of the weekend and week ahead.
Richard
Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this is the second week that our host decided not to format the puzzle for printing. That's requiring some major workarounds. To be sure, I never much cared for whatever app he used and would rather just have a pdf, but not clear where solvers stand now.
ReplyDeleteHi, John. Sorry for the trouble here. I can tell you what I do if that helps. I double-click on the puzzle itself and when it comes up, I right click on the mouse to get the dropdown for the print command, and once that's clicked, I just print out the first page. Some "stuff" shows up from the other parts of the publication at the bottom, but the crossword comes out on one 8.5 x 10 page and is a good size for working. I am on Windows 10 and tried under both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. and they worked the same as I have explained. However, there are so many variables and a minor change can be the one that wreaks havoc with your environment, I know. Hope this helped. Heather
DeleteI honestly think it is just an oversight. You should be able to use your browser to print the page or copy paste into Paint (if you use Microsoft). Not ideal but if you are a puzzle lover, you will do whatever is necessary. :)
DeleteMG
John,
DeleteSorry about the missing link. I'm not sure what happened there. I distinctly recall inserting it but I did encounter some formatting issues later and I guess my efforts to repair those caused the link to be deleted. There also seemed to be an issue with the JPG image as well.
When I haven't screwed things up, there will be two links in every post -- the phrase "Today's puzzle from Cox and Rathvon") links to a PDF versions of the puzzle and the image of the puzzle links to a JPG version.
Both links should be working now.
DeleteThanks so much. This will be great. (FWIW, if I opened the jpg in a browser or in MS Photo, it took up a small portion of a page and, in maybe 4-point type, was too small to read. And if I instead opened it in MS Paint and let it enlarge the image, it became too blurry to read.)
DeleteIs this the year? Line of succession:
ReplyDeleteOld man arranged job I need (3,5)
Laughing lady cracked “I alarm a shark” (6,6)
Cop insanely busted head of house (5,6)
In sap, a trickle, a hyped Vermont product (7, 5)
Heard Tony flashing secretary (6,7)
Joe Biden
DeleteKamala Harris
Nancy Pelosi
Patrick Leahy
Antony Blinken
Holy next-in-line, Richard! Are you suggesting somethin?
Well done, Henry. After the last two years, anything seems possible.
DeleteI got the first three. I'm afraid my knowledge of US politicos does not reach the depth of the latter two.
DeleteI would say the wordplay for the final clue does not really work (specifically , use of the word "heard"). I would phrase the clue as simply:
Tony flashin' secretary (6,7)
On second thought, I think you do need "heard" but I believe you have in it the wrong place.
DeleteHow about?
Tony heard flashin' secretary (6,7)
(The "heard" indicator is needed because the IN ending changes to EN. However, the indicator does not apply to "Tony" which is just substituted with the full version of the name.)
Hello Falcon and friends,
ReplyDeleteZowie! Kapow! What a great little puzzle to start the new year. I almost wish there were twice as many clues. Favourite was 24d and LOI was 6a.
Thank you for posting Falcon. Wishing everyone a healthy and hopeful 2022.
Cheers,
MG
Good morning (just) from Winterpeg and HNY to all.
ReplyDeleteA bit of a head scratcher for me - held up by some of the basketball and onomatopoeic references.
Thanks to C&R and to Falcon.
Wow, I caromed from one clue to another in today's offering from C&R. Had to look up many of the names. LOI was 24d because I was thinking of parts of the human body.
ReplyDeleteI was truly impressed by your solution, Falcon, as I still hadn't worked out the parsing for some of the clues, particularly 8d - where at first glance it required one to take TEES from SWEETHEART, of course that not leading anywhere.
Thanks so much for the great effort this year, Falcon, and to C&R for putting together these great puzzles, and to all of you for your continued support and contributions. My Saturdays just wouldn't be the same without them.
HNY to all!
Happy New Year, Falcon and C&R Friends! Good little puzzle again today. Like Senf, I was slow on the uptake with the onomatopoeic references (perhaps distracted back to a time when that word which I haven't heard in years was in every spelling bee I ever entered, while you were all thinking of Batman), but once going, things went a bit more smoothly. Like Henry, I also wanted to take the TEES from Sweetheart and even though there was no way, no how, that 'stall' fit in 26a, well, we know what old brains do - like what is familiar. Of course, 26a was also a challenge because at that point I didn't have 24d. So lots of good words. LOI was 5d because, well, I don't dare tell you what I was trying to do with 1a - so silly in hindsight, which is part of the fun, yes? I thoroughly enjoyed it and was so happy for such a nice treat on a holiday. Thank you yet again, Falcon, for ensuring we had this joy for New Year's and of course, C&R for another satisfying setting.
ReplyDeleteTo all of you, may 2022 be kind - peace, prosperity, good health, and great puzzles!
Hope to catch up with you next week. Always a pleasure!
Best, Heather