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Constructor: Kate Hawkins
Relative problem: Straightforward-Medium
THEME: none
Phrase of the Day: PISTOLES (36D: Doubloons) —
Pistole is the French title given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a doubloon or double escudo, the gold unit. The title was additionally given to the Louis d’Or of Louis XIII of France, and to different European gold cash of in regards to the worth of the Spanish coin. One pistole was value roughly ten livres or three écus, however greater figures are additionally seen. The derivation is unsure; the time period could come from the Czech píšťala (“whistle”, a time period for a hand cannon), or from the Italian city of Pistoia; both manner, it was initially spelled pistolet and originated in army slang, and doubtless has the identical root as pistol. […] The coin seems repeatedly in Dumas’ fiction. He has his character state, in The Three Musketeers set within the 1620s, that 100 pistoles had been value a thousand livres tournois when Athos bargains for the horse he takes to the battle of La Rochelle. // It was additionally referred to by Raphael Sabatini; who wrote ‘swashbuckling’ tales of the seventeenth and 18th centuries; in his e book, St Martin’s Summer time. // The coin gave its title to the city of Trois-Pistoles, Quebec, the place in line with native legend an explorer misplaced a goblet value three pistoles within the river. (wikipedia)
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Was actually having fun with this one till I obtained down beneath the median and fell right into a (BALL) PIT of grimness and clunkiness and numismatic esoterica. However let’s begin with the nice half—it is actual easygoing up high, within the NW, which implies that PERNICIOUS and DOES DONUTS (vivid solutions each) come popping into view fairly shortly, after which, whoosh, there’s the drop:
I adore it! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE! Truly, you need to have, that is Friday, that is what Friday is about, you probably did your job right here, thanks very a lot. I truly not noted a part of the method right here—a minor delay up high after I tripped over some ambiguous brief stuff. By no means a enjoyable option to spend time on a Friday, or any day, nevertheless it occurs. However for those who’ve obtained gunky fill like BSS and also you clue it ambiguously, now the solver is spending extra precise time together with your gunky fill than they’re together with your superb fill, and what is the good of that? Anyway, I wrote in MSS at 9D: Degs. with lab programs, typically. I assume “lab programs” are in all probability extra frequent on the Bachelor’s degree, OK, shrug, wonderful, I haven’t got a BS or an MS so I dunno, however I really feel like MSS is the “diploma” (plural) I am extra more likely to see in a crossword, so increase, in it went, after which 6A: “Butt out!,” briefly (“MYOB!”) (i.e. “thoughts your individual enterprise!”) grew to become, nicely, a thriller. You strive parsing _Y_M! Not simple. I went with “IYDM!,” which I rationalized as “If you happen to do not thoughts…!,” which I feel was my mind’s damaged manner of channeling “Do you thoughts!” IIRC. IYKYK. YMMV. LMNOP. Sigh. Anyway, that error was comparatively simply mounted, and *then* got here the whoosh. Adopted my extra whooshing, right here and there, hither and yon … hitting the books, being like that! Good things, for positive.
The worst factor down beneath, although, was PISTOLES. Why would you burn certainly one of your longer, marquee solutions on arcana like that. Would you like your solvers combating extraordinarily bygone coinage. PISTOLES is the sort of reply that may by no means be satisfying as a result of even after you get it, you are more likely to be left pondering “????” The phrase feels vaguely acquainted, however that did not preserve the whole PISTOLES part from being by far the toughest to resolve. I simply had this gaping gap I needed to work round. Here is what that gap appeared like:
I ought to’ve gotten CARATS right here, nevertheless it simply did not come to me. I needed TOURIST TRAP at 45A: Many a store outdoors a nationwide park, however since I wasn’t positive about something after I wrote TRAP in, I tore TRAP out. CHOIR eluded me due to the misleading (if not outright deceitful) phrase “costumed” (48A: Group typically costumed in robes). It isn’t cosplay. It isn’t Halloween. They are not pretending to be one thing they are not. Boo to “costumed.” It is defensible as a generic form of phrase, however boo to it nonetheless. I kinda affiliate RIMS with automobiles, however mason jars ???? (46D: Issues on mason jars or racing automobiles). No. In order that was no enjoyable. By no means knew Confucius wrote ODES. After which the far SE nook obtained me all snarled due to one other brief fallacious reply (like MSS up high, however with worse implications for my fixing progress). At 51D: Issues made from stakes? (BETS), I wrote in the one cheap reply, which was POTS. POTS are the place the BETS go. They’re made up of your “preliminary stakes” (extraordinarily frequent clue for ANTES) after which no matter different “stakes” get added. Sigh sigh. This meant I could not see 49A: Marvy (FAB) in any respect. After which for 49D: Stoke (FUEL), I wrote in FEED!!! You FEED the fireplace, or somebody’s emotions, in that you just encourage them to develop … proper?? Sigh x 3. FEED / POTS created an finally tiny however nonetheless annoying snafu. Approaching high of the PISTOLES nonsense, it made my ending at this time really feel a lot worse than my starting, largely, although not solely, negating the nice vibes that had been banked up high. Nonetheless, that is extra good than unhealthy, general.
Some extra issues!:
- 15D: Chesterfield, e.g. (COAT) — I didn’t know this. I do know a Chesterfield as … like, a sofa? A settee? Or am I complicated it with a davenport, hold on … ha, I used to be proper “a settee with padded arms and a again of the identical top and curved outward on the high,” per Oxford Languages/Google. I additionally know Chesterfield as a cigarette model of yore. Here is an advert that includes Ronald Reagan sending bins of Chesterfields to all his associates for Christmas. Simply certainly one of his many sensible, useful concepts.
- 34A: One who’s been tapped on the shoulder (SIR) — I obtained this and didn’t instantly get the context. I used to be questioning why an enlisted man would do that to his superior officer. “SIR, SIR … [tap tap] … you have obtained one thing in your tie, SIR.” [Please stop explaining this in the comments; I said I didn’t *immediately* get the context—I got it shortly thereafter: it’s a dubbing ceremony for a knight, of course]
- 37A: Make ___ (HAY) — So not “Make WAY!” then? Nice, implausible, thanks.
- 25D: Abbr. on the finish of a listing (MISC.) — list-ending is absolutely extra ETC. or ET AL’s territory.
- 8D: Solely about 10% of human our bodies have these (OUTIES) — nothing within the clue suggests you are gonna get all slangy like that, so harrumph.
- 35D: Former lawyer basic Invoice (BARR) — are there no non-repugnant BARRs? Talking of different BARRs, semi-hilarious that ROSANNE / BARR seems on this puzzle and the puzzle’s simply pretending like she’s not there (sure, the true Roseanne BARR spells her title with that additional “E”, however nonetheless, you may’t put ROSANNE / BARR in a grid and count on me not to think about Roseanne Barr). We want new BARRs! Sweet BARR was an American stripper and burlesque dancer! I imply, she shot her second husband, and had a relationship with Jack Ruby (!), however she nonetheless appears far more interesting than Invoice BARR. Sweet BARR is my favourite BARR now (admittedly, it is a low … bar)
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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