Constructor: Guilherme Gilioli
Relative difficulty: I didn't think it was hard... but my time was slow (11:02)
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THEME: Paradoxical answers — The response to a question is a classic way to say "I'm not sure," but the way it's phrased actually answers the question correctly
Good morning, squad! It's Malaika here for another Malaika MWednesday. I solved this puzzle on the subway home from my volleyball game, which was so close that it ran 20 minutes long. (We won!) My phone screen was slow to respond to my sweaty fingers, so maybe that explains my slow-ish time.
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I think that's all my rambling for now. Bullets below!!
Bullets:
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Relative difficulty: I didn't think it was hard... but my time was slow (11:02)
THEME: Paradoxical answers — The response to a question is a classic way to say "I'm not sure," but the way it's phrased actually answers the question correctly
Theme answers:
Word of the Day: JOANNE, clued as Woman in a Lady Gaga song and album title (2016) —
- Paradoxical answer to "What is 'Golf' in the NATO alphabet?"— GEE I DON'T KNOW ("Golf" is GEE)
- Paradoxical answer to "Can you say what 'nyet' is Russian for?"— NO LET ME THINK ("Nyet" is NO)
- Paradoxical answer to "Where does oil come from?"— WELL YOU GOT ME (Oil comes from a WELL)
- Paradoxical answer to "What isle is located between Ireland and Great Britain?"— MAN THAT'S HARD (It's the Isle of MAN)
Word of the Day: JOANNE, clued as Woman in a Lady Gaga song and album title (2016) —
Musically, Joanne is a stripped-down, dance-pop, soft rock and Americana record with country elements, with a focus on Gaga's vocals. Lyrically, the album delves into the theme of family and life's emotions; the death of her aunt, Joanne Stefani Germanotta, deeply influenced the record. [Wiki]
One of my favorite playlists that I've made is called "songs where the name of the song is the name of a girl" and it features this song. (Along with many others!) You can listen here if you like. --Malaika
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Actually, looking back over this grid, I'm seeing what may have slowed me down. First of all, there were several short entries that had multiple words, like SPY ON, EAT UP, and ON END which slowed me down. (My brain doesn't start thinking about two-word answers unless the entry is six letters.) Then there was the crossing of WENDS (a word I have never heard before) and WMDS (an abbreviation I'm not familiar with, please don't call me uneducated for being unfamiliar with something, I'm very smart I promise but I don't know War Things) that took me a little while to get.
This type of theme is so impressive to me. It is something I would simply never think of! It's word play, but it's not a pun I don't think.... (I have low tolerance for puns.) It's giving Who's On First vibes. My least favorite of the bunch is the NO themer (using "no" kinda feels too easy) and my favorite is the WELL one. I tried to think of some more but like I said, my brain does not really work like this. My only hope when I make themed puzzles is to use a very straightforward with theme with a cute revealer. What about: [Paradoxical answer to "What's a synonym for smite?"] for DAMN, I DON'T KNOW.
lol that's truly horrible 😭😭
Finally, let's talk about the entry RIPEN, which had a cute little clue to go along with it-- Change from green to red, maybe. The reason we are talking about this is because it gives me an excuse to talk about my tomatoes, which, I don't know if you know by now, but I have been growing on my fire escape all summer. I know what you are thinking! "She's talking about her tomatoes?? Again?? When will it end! Girl, we are here to talk about crosswords! Stay on topic! Please stop foisting pictures of your tomatoes upon us!!!!" To you I say: No <3 Please look:
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| Cheesy grits (Serious Eats recipe) topped with scallions, homemade chimichurri sauce, bacon, and blistered cherry tomatoes |
I think that's all my rambling for now. Bullets below!!
Bullets:
- [Start or end for Alexa?] for SCHWA— This is a hard clue, because if you don't know what a SCHWA is then you simply have no hope. It's the linguistic term for the sort of "uh" sound that A's sometimes make in English, like in the name "Alexa." I only know about SCHWAs from the excellent teen novel The Schwa was Here. I like it because it has a gentle twinge of sci-fi, but it's basically just a realistic fiction book. Buy it as a present for your 12 yr old friends and relatives!
- [Little wonder?] for ATOM — I don't understand this... please explain to me. I get that ATOMs are little, but that's all. Are they... wondrous?? Not to me lol.
- [Overhead light?] for HALO — Very good clue 👍
- [London transport, with "the"] for TUBE — I am going to London (and Florence and Rome) tomorrow and am so excited I can hardly breathe. Please let me know if you have visited these places and if you had favorite things you did there!
- [Where two barrel vaults intersect, in architecture] for GROIN — Very funny to me that they went with a tame definition here when five entries earlier we had THONG, but I guess they like to mix it up!
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