Thursday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: February 14, 2019

My time: 12:35.

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First off, this is not a Valentine's Day puzzle, and I feel robbed.  Come on!  Anyhoo, Jeff Chen and John E. Bennett teamed up to bring us this puzzle featuring anagram clues.  The clue "noted tenor" is DO NOT ENTER, "get speared" is STEEP GRADE, "door decals" becomes ROAD CLOSED, and "simple diet" rearranges to form SPEED LIMIT.

Why the anagrams?  Because they are... OUT OF ORDER SIGNS.  Also known as "some bathroom postings."  Well, isn't that a fun little game of letters!  Now where's my St. Valentine's theme you two clever little heathens!

I was told there would be no opera questions: Apparently Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera "Pagliacci" ("clowns") ends with the line "La commedia è finita!"  The answer given here is I PAGLIACCI ("the clowns"), but that seems to be the name of the film version and not the original opera.

I thought Matthew McConnegheyheyhey was great in Dallas Buyers Club but it's apparently Jared LETO who won the Oscar.

The first American car to offer seatbelts was the 1950 NASH Airflyte.  The NASH motor company pioneered some important innovations: in 1938 they debuted the heating and ventilation system which is still used today, unibody construction in 1941, seat belts in 1950, a US built compact car in 1950, and muscle cars in 1957.

Ilhan OMAR, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, is in the news a lot lately.  US politicians supporting Israel because they get money from PACs interested in Israeli influence?  No, I'm shocked, shocked.

I have never heard of the "classic cologne catchphrase" Can You CANOE?  It's for Canoe Cologne, which apparently originally had an acute mark over the e and was pronounced with three syllables.  Ugh.  It's still made today!  Who knew?

For "the planets, e.g." I put *NONAD and in desperation tried the misspelled *ENEAD before it became clear that I forgot about Pluto's demotion and it's OCTAD.

SIR Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" is a hard-partying soul, the uncle to Olivia who tries to get her married.

I'm a "Seinfeld" fan, but still needed help remembering BABU ("you are a very bad man, Jerry!").

John 16:5: "But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither GOEST thou?"  Powerful stuff, this chapter.

I've heard the name OYSTERS Rockefeller many times, but what is it?  A dish of oysters covered with a mixture of spinach, butter, seasonings, and bread crumbs and cooked on the half shell.

Speaking of food, "candied" is GLACE.  It should have an accent on the e and be pronounced "glah-SAY," but it isn't.  In the culinary arts, the word glace refers to a thick, syrup-like reduction of stock which is in turn used to flavor other sauces. The word glace means "glaze" or "ice" in French and it is pronounced like "gloss."  Stupid culinary world.

Did you know RADON is heaviest of the noble gases?

I really should have remembered author LEW Wallace's name.  Did you know he was also a Union general, a governor, a lawyer, and diplomat?  A man of many talents.

Indiana's state flower the PEONY sprouted up on December 31, 2017.

The ANCHO pepper was discussed on February 10, 2018.
 
Clever clues: "Where to see two runners side by side" is SLED.  "Teeth not connected to jaws" is COGS.

Well.... BYE NOW.