I am in dire need of an explanation... NY Times Saturday Crossword by Christina Iverson

hi internet welcome to the Saturday edition of stop and think puzzles I'm your host John app seed glad to have you joining me as we look at the Saturday crossword puzzle from The New York Times designed to be the most difficult puzzle of the week Saturday puzzles for me usually end up being around uh 30 minutes in terms of solving time you can judge for yourself by the length of the video how close I came to that the Constructor dat is Christina I a name I recognize although I don't remember if it was a particularly difficult puzzle of hers that I solved the editor is Joel Fano and uh if I didn't introduce myself already I'm John apples seed and I'm your host glad to have you joining us as we get into the puzzle here we go one across red in the face say I don't know what that is one down Gayla that could be a kind of apple just the first thing that pops into mind and it is five letters so let's put it in and see if it works two down dismisses unceremoniously don't know three down pulls up no four down where the average American lives don't know five down word with the same meaning in English Swahili and Mandarin among other languages I wonder if that's okay a word that has been heavily borrowed into most languages six down connections might hinge on it for short don't know seven down senior class tradition senior Slough a senior prank 13 across baseball mascot with a fluffy green snout that's the Philly fanatic I think uh fanatic with the pH spelling works there mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies 16 across many Renaissance thinkers don't know what that will be 19 across blank sea ice a collaborative album by kurtney Barrett and Kurt v um that's not Kurt vile from three peny Opera right that's a different spelling don't know what that is 23 across brand scene on Canadian highway signs so I think was the uh breakup of the Standard Oil company that ended up um with gas stations in Canada two down dismisses un unceremonious L shuns maybe pulls up okay okay doesn't fit if well fanatic is I'm pretty confident about that so okay doesn't fit there what else would it be I don't know six down that's the connections might hinge 14 down soda shop purchase no all right let's look over here at this corner eight across bumped things no eight down something trimmed after purchase Christmas tree nine down 31 15s for example a fraction a uh 10 down accessories for some bell ringers I'm thinking a Santa costume for the people outside um outside supermarkets ringing Bells during the Christmas season 11 Down trailer homes no 12 down trying way too hard in modern lingo forcing it no 15 across is home to Sun Valley I think that's in Idaho 18 across woman dire need with a question mark don't know 22 across sister label of volt records I don't know 26 across casew worker an abbreviation something to do with so social work or no 27 across job that anyone could see themselves doing with a question mark well let's take a look look at the downs again what do you trim after you purchase it 31 15s trailer homes okay not much there it's okay it's Saturday we'll have to give some of these some thought I don't know 27 across 30 across is temper and 31 across is actress weaving of 2022 is Babylon don't know 32 across highly rated French Vineyards the gr CL are the great Vineyards in French um wine lore I think all right let's look at this section of the puzzle 36 across does doesn't stick out Blends if something Blends in it doesn't stick out or stand out let's try that 36 Down To Kill a Mockingbird family Scout and buo Radley are the only characters I can remember attakus Finch there's the other one okay those don't seem to fit 32 down administrative Center a clerical something I don't know 30 down setting for a sitting portrait studio is the thing that I thought of but doesn't fit what else would it be 40 across no backing out now it's too late something like that 42 across it once ran the headline Santa dies on Christmas trip abbreviation the onion no 48 across when repeated college party chant maybe toga popularized from a Animal House 52 across seen enough no 56 across musical character who sings just you wait just you wait enry igin just you wait that was Eliza ditt from uh My Fair Lady 58 across MIT school don't know administrative Center 32 down no setting for a cting 49 down City near Memphis could be Memphis Egypt and not Memphis Tennessee can't think either of those it would fit there 50 down 53 down Salon offering nail salon or hair salon or is something you might be offered in a uh in a parlor in a sitting room T isn't that isn't that from my fair lady Eliza ditt might T school all right uh 28 down acting as a spy Maybe 37 down bad idea 41 down cats handle for her kitten a cat would pick up her kittens by the the Scruff of the neck or the the nape of the neck maybe no backing out now 43 across dentists concern plaque Maybe 50 across what the ancient Romans called the cupid Stone considering it a symbol of love so I guess that's some kind of gemstone four letters the second one p maybe opal didn't know it was ever called the cupid Stone can a q go here no can't think of what that would be what's 37 down bad idea yeah maybe all of those could be wrong soda shop purchase I don't like this QA combination 34 down some longdistance callar it's 39 down business card card abbreviation uh that's usually extension EXT is a common answer for those types of Clues a dentist would be concerned with guessing plaque is incorrect sweet might be another business card abbreviation uh 44 cross celeb with a number one single and an acting Oscar don't know 51 across Aid in skyscraper construction a crane 54 across hard things to ignore metaphorically red flags nope 57 across where a rope ladder might lead to a treehouse no 59 across Apollo was conceived in them um is I'm assuming that's something from Greek mythology or it could be the Apollo space program Athena wasn't she born fully formed in armor from the head of Zeus or something like that could it be the Titans yeah I'm not sure 51 down Puppy Chow ingredient don't know that 29 down kind of boat affected by a wind advisory a small craft warning is what uh usually gets appended to those wind advisories maybe 545 down cap capital city on the Red River is it Hanoi I think the there's a red river in Vietnam let's try hway 46 down blank du P Sher might be um have a number one single and an acting Oscar Entre between two it's usually entra new 47 down they can be whole half or quarter notes no will it end in in an S conceived in them that's also a plural elephants let's address the elephant in the room something you can't ignore you can have whole half or quter rests so not notes but rests also can be measured that way yes in music a tree fort not a tree house but a tree fort might have a rope ladder leading leading to it let's try entu not a phrase I've heard before in French or English but Entre new is between us it means between two so it just might be the same sense just uh between you and me kind of thing Puppy Chow ingredient what is that Canadian province abbreviation Prince Edwards island is Pei Apollo the space PR program was conceived in in the 50s or the 60s checks is cheex in puppy chow or is uh is Puppy Chow a um another word for cheex mix maybe okay check serial I'm not quite sure how that fits but I can kind of see how it will work so I'll allow it uh the 60s the the decade in which the Apollo program was conceived okay that works some long distance callers uh 14 down that was a soda shop purchase so maybe some kind of malt let's take out do I like nape I kind of do dentists concern enamel the enamel of the tooth might be something they look at when examining your mouth so a chocolate malt maybe might be something you purchase in a soda shop longdistance callar and business card abbreviation okay maybe telephone Teel 4 across no backing out now just want it to be too late now too late now to forget your voice the way one word made my heart Rejoice 38 across comes to totals the uh the uh items on a bill would total or come to such and such a number long distance callers and cry of delight could that be a or yay yodelers y Ying is I guess calling long distance across the uh the Alps the uh high mountain valleys in the Alps no backing out now it's a it's a done deal we've got a yeah it's a done deal Sono is a bad idea a no no maybe this is something in for 36 across doesn't stick out blend Blends in 28 down acting as a spy maybe you're you're an inside an Insider threat you're you're an inside man doesn't stick out stay um stays in four down where the average American lives the generic term for that could be any Town USA kind of a metaphorical way to say just average American city any Town USA yeah temper anal that's a term from Metallurgy I don't know exactly what it means but maybe it I don't really know what temper means either but both metallurgical things so let's try that 30 down setting for a sitting an art an art art studio art um 32 down is Administrative Center Santa dies on Christmas trip this is Art Studio college party chant not toga may maybe chug if I want to make this art studio and this is a u chug chug chug by be something you chant in a college party uh when chug lugging a a beer Art Studio might be setting for a portrait sitting administrative Center seeing enough Giza is uh where the pyramid of Egypt are found I guess that's near Memphis not not Memphis Tennessee but Memphis Tennessee is named after the Egyptian City of Memphis on the Nile 53 down Salon offering so yeah very confident about Eliza want it to be die or what would you get in a salon the the Sloan School isn't that the business school at MIT maybe a tanning salon yeah okay not the kind of Salon I was thinking of seen enough I've had it I've seen enough maybe City Hall is the administrative center of a city New York Times would they run the headline saniz on Christmas trip attakus Finch yes okay there we go New York times attakus Finch was the main character one of the main characters of Kill Mockingbird so I guess his family would be the finches doesn't stick out fits in yes that works okay that's corner is done so the bottom half of the puzzle is done to my satisfaction let me just do a quick check for typos what was this clue yeah crane U I've commented on that and checks also two Clues I'm not really sure about but um I can I I can see how they fit so let's leave those in 24 down 5050 could be a tie so this could be something on on the Wii you can see yourself doing something playing Wii sports or Wii I don't know this might be Field Day seniors usually have a a field day at the end of the school year before um before graduation or is this window 5050 yeah what's 24 across interjection of Interest so I I think Tai is wrong for 24 down um an interjection of Interest window 50 50 not sure what's going on there 17 down not busy Idol 20 cross Payton Manning for much of his NFL career did he play for the Detroit Lions um it's not ch chocolate malt what is it 17 down that's not busy 21 down PS with a water skiing boat say toes need a couple more of these Clues the yellow te Teletubby la la well thank goodness I spent all those years watching tele tubbies with my kids Tinky Winky la la Dipsy and po po were the four Teletubbies um a call Window window washer how do you see yourself as a window washer you see the window washer but you don't see yourself you're not oh I guess can you see your reflection in the glass maybe not busy slow a slow day toes no Payton Manning I guess played for the uh the the Colts the Indianapolis Colts or the uh I think he played for them after they left Baltimore oh cool 50 50ths as a fraction is one does that help with 3 15s that is what a a fifth 20% no um ditch day yeah senior Slough is what we called it but uh yeah ditch day I think works red in the face enraged polymaths is a word for a uh person with a well-rounded education maybe they are Renaissance thinkers connections your ETA your estimated time of arriv might hinge on your your uh your ability to make your connecting flight in an airport so let's try that Mama might be the same in all of those a word for mother L SE maybe haven't heard of that um pulls up you could shoe someone ashamed you might be embarrassed or red in the face I was thinking of anger but yeah that that works and halts I guess if you pull up in a car you are stopping there you are halting your car at a certain point okay that works ditch day and chocolate malt is ends up being correct it was the Indianapolis Colts for Mr Manning's team okay eight down that's the trim what do you trim other than a tree well that could be a date that's that's the Ides of March isn't it the the thir the 15th of March in uh American usage would be 315 The Ides of March yes okay 10 down I feel a coughing fit coming on one moment and we're back accessories for some bell ringers um those Bell choirs they wear white gloves I don't think that's what it is 11 Down trailer homes might see trailers in a movie theater might be the home of movie trailers trying way too hard bumped dire need casew worker and 31 across actress weaving Samara weaving sounds like a plausible name there Santa hats okay going back to my first thought of uh the uh Mall store Santa ringing a bell outside a store might wear might wear a Santa hat lats muscles used in rowing yeah your latissimus dorsai let's try Samara weaving not familiar with that show but that looks okay you can do a fist bump so maybe this is Christmas tree a Christmas tree could be a fur if you buy a fur tree for your Christmas tree you would trim it Renee why is she in dire need don't know is it Star Records a case worker could be an attorney so extra that sounds like modern linguage lingo for trying way too hard I don't understand why Renee is a woman in dire need Renee is a woman's name I don't understand that Stacks sounds like a record label not one I've heard of but I think so extra fits so I think X finishes the puzzle let's try it yeah okay so just under 30 minutes so uh well within my usual time woman in dire need is it something to do with the the accent mark that might appear on Renee Renee means um reborn in French literally I don't understand that okay I'll have to look that up and figure out what it is or please let me know in the comments if you know Gayla Apple okay that was first thing I got in there that is my favorite kind of apple any Town USA took some thinking ditch day I went through a couple different things there and it took me a while to click that you would see your yourself in the reflection of the window as you're washing it so that works Dipsy la la um yeah so that uh was pretty easy for me to get it might be more difficult for people that didn't spend a lot of time watching T Teletubbies with their kids small craft warning I've seen lots of those so I think that was get easy elephants hard thing to ignore the elephant in the room tree fort tree house is what I thought of right away right away and fur took me some getting Christmas tree was something I considered fairly early but I didn't think that fur could be a synonym for Christmas tree there we go and we had a Lies over here now why would the New York Times run a headline saying Santa dies on Christmas trip I I I could yeah that could certainly be a headline but it doesn't really I would expect there would be some kind of hint to the publication in that like a I don't know North Pole times or something like that I had toga instead of chug Aliza do little I got fairly uh easily and then finches even though I thought of adak as Finch I didn't think that if you pluralize it it would be finz so that works all right a difficult puzzle but we managed to uh squeak through it thanks so much for watching please join me tomorrow for the Sunday puzzle I'll see you then