The City By the Bay
This week’s acrostic honors San Francisco, the iconic American city by the bay, home to landmarks galore and an extraordinary cultural – and countercultural – history. For us, the funky quote from Gary Kamiya’s homage to the town where Tony Bennett and many others left their hearts captures the free-wheeling vibe and kaleidoscopic impressions visitors might experience climbing up and down the city’s hilly streets and exploring its disparate neighborhoods.
Among the things we learned in doing background research for this puzzle was this fun fact: San Francisco hosts an annual “Escape from Alcatraz” triathlon that begins with a brisk 1.5-mile swim from the island to the mainland, followed by an 18-mile bike ride through the aforementioned hilly streets, topped off with a mere 8-mile run along the bay. Like Alcatraz itself, this does not sound like something for the faint of heart.
Dave’s affection for the Grateful Dead made him try hard to include either “Jerry” or “Garcia” in the puzzle, without success. Ditto for “Haight” or “Ashbury.” In the end, we settled for Answer Q. (“Truckin’”). If the Library of Congress saw fit to designate that song a “national treasure” – well, that’s worth celebrating.
And for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Scott McKenzie song referenced in Clue/Answer T., this video may bring a smile to your faces:
Finally, we wish to call your attention to the “Puzzle Mania” insert found in the Sunday New York Times edition that came out on November 23. On a suggestion from Will Shortz, we took advantage of the larger format to embed several colorful emojis among the clues, something that apparently had never been done in any NYT acrostic before. Check it out if you can find a copy.
I very much enjoyed both acrostics: San Francisco and the unexpected bonus of the emoji puzzle in the Times insert.
I agree with the emoji quote, to the effect that emojis enhance, not degrade, written communications. Tone is sometimes lost with words alone. If I want to make a mild joke in a text, I will often pop-in a 😉, just make it clear I’m not jesting.
San Francisco: such a great city! Themed clues: A, F (both teams from the Bay Area), G (the nation’s most famous Chinatown), K (long-time home base for these high-end chicolates), M, O, Q (the Dead inextricably linked to SF, particularly Haight-Ashbury (“Hashbury”), where they famously resided in the’60s), T (“If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear . . .” 🎼), X (Eastwood born in SF and he played a SF cop in the Dirrt Harry movies).
Just like Rice-a-Roni, a real San Francisco treat.
The “Super Mega” Acrostic was also terrific.
Alas, Janis Joplin would have been nice to find.
I recognized the direction of the quote fairly soon after getting words F, G, K and T. Soon followed by M and O. Born and raised in the South Bay, SF was always the place to go. And now I’ve lived in the Haight (2 blocks from the famed corner) for over two decades. Didn’t relate so much with the first half of the quote, but for the second half, there ARE many diverse people and neighborhoods. As for my own, the Haight shops still cater to the flower power age and tour busses rumble through, but that was 50 years ago folks. Now, people play pickle ball, basketball, tennis, bicycle, jog etc. in Golden Gate Park. Come and check it out!
A remarkable coincidence! We live in the DC area, but our children and their families live in San Francisco, and we are currently visiting for Thanksgiving. Imagine our surprise when we opened today’s acrostic and found ourselves right at home with the theme. Even better — our 12 and 10 year old grandchildren supplied answers to several clues right off the bat — especially A (Karl), F (Athletics), G (Chinatown), K (Ghirardelli), M (Alcatraz), and O (Cablecar). Altogether a wonderful family experience — thanks for a great puzzle!
A remarkable coincidence! We are currently visiting San Francisco for Thanksgiving, where our children and grandchildren live. We’ve been solving acrostics for many decades (starting in graduate school) and wanted to use this opportunity to introduce our grandchildren to acrostics. What a wonderful surprise to open today’s acrostic and find the SF theme. Even better, our 10 and 12 year old grandchildren promptly announced answers to most of the theme-related clues — especially A (Karl), F (Athletics), G (Chinatown), K (Ghirardelli), M (Alcatraz), and O (Cablecar). Altogether, a wonderful family solving experience — thanks for a great puzzle!
Although I’m an East coaster through and through, I love San Francisco above all American cities, and I’m sad that it has fallen on hard times. Nothing beats climbing to the top of one of the hills on a sunny day and seeing the vista of the bay. I brightened when I saw today’s theme, which became clear fairly quickly, as did the San Francisco at the beginning of the quote. I confused myself for a bit by confidently entering OaklandAs for the Giants’ 1989 World Series opponent. When something seemed amiss, in the grid, I caught my mistake, entered ATHLETICS, and finished the puzzle. Another winner.
I’m saving the Puzzle Mania acrostic for a day when I need a little cheering up.
This was a toughie, but not a killer, for us. Having lived a long time in Northern California, neither of us had trouble with the S.F. references, but many of the clue answers did not surrender readily!
My favorite moment was guessing LINNETS (birds I knew only the name of) just from their “fondness for flaxseeds” and knowing that linen is woven from flax.
And quite a colorful quote from that Gary Kamiya!
Dear Friends,
Thanks to all who offered their thoughts on the acrostic about San Francisco. We are particularly tickled that D & A’s children and grandchildren got into puzzle-solving mode. We like to think they’ll be part of the next generation of acrostics enthusiasts.
Congrats to Dan (and any others) who made the connection between flaxseed and linen. That link was something we only learned in constructing this puzzle.
And Barbara in SF: we had a hunch that this acrostic might be up your alley, perhaps even literally.
Best,
Jane and Dave
👍
I enjoyed this one. I have visited SF many times, but never heard of Karl!
Like Marshall above, I too immediately entered “OaklandAs.” In my 5+ decades in S.F. I don’t think I ever heard the team referred to by local baseball fans as anything else (except for brevity’s sake, “The A’s”). Took me several head-scratching unworkable answers before I came to the ah-hah! moment. Great fun!