THE STOCKINGS . . .
This would be the third publication from Samantha for the LA Times, but my first blog for her as my puzzle constructor. Not a holiday theme as I expected, but I did my best to add in a seasonal reference. A 'normal' grid for a change, no circles, a handful of names, and more 4LW than TLW. The themers;
25. Brew house?: COFFEE SHOP - "Friends" characters would HANG at "Central Perk"
49. TV station?: FAMILY ROOM - watch cartoons and HANG out in the den
59. Jacket pocket?: COAT CLOSET - my jacket, hoodies and heavy coat HANG over the radiator in my kitchen; the clue refers to where one ( at least, I do ) keeps the seasonal hat and gloves - in the "coat closet" - and that pleasant surprise I get every December when I would find a $5 bill jammed in a pocket from last winter
HANG IN THERE - Luke says, "Leia, hear me~!"
You weren't expecting a cat, were you~?
And Away We Go~!ACROSS:
1. Cherry-picks, perhaps: CULLS - this word had a different connotation when I was an employee at Grossmans Lumber - we would CULL the bowed, cupped, crooked, & checked "27D.'s", etc., so not really "cherry-picking", more like "unsellable" merchandise
10. Classic road trip game: "I SPY" - "I spy" something in red - Ho-Ho-Ho~!
14. Pickled garnish in a Gibson: ONION - if it didn't start out pickled . . .
15. Dayton's state: OHIO - I worked for a cleaning company when I lived in Cincinnati, but on occasion we had some "new construction" homes to tidy up in Dayton as well
19. Ballpark figures?: FANS - no "abbr", therefore no "ESTS", etc., so I waited
20. Harden, as glue: SET
21. Fancy fete: GALA
22. Sneeze inducer: DUST
23. Like a giant redwood: TALL
29. What a new parent often craves: SLEEP - I never had the pleasure of sleepless nights and potty-training
31. Spot for the first caller, perhaps: LINE ONE - think landline business phones; "lumber department, pick up line one."
32. PBS funder: NEA - I liked the newbies highlight idea from sumdaze, so I am going to adopt it, too; Public Broadcasting Service, and the National Education Association
35. Account exec: REP
39. Big name in pasta sauce: RAO - never heard of this brand; these onions are getting around....
42. Chinese menu general: TSO - It's my go-to when I order Chinese - no onions, though
43. Interlace: ENTWINE
45. Where the heart is?: TORSO - um, yeah
53. Tarot reader: SEER
54. Blue or red part of 3D glasses: LENS - reminds me of this secondary character ↙
57. "Lover" or "Red," for Taylor Swift: ERA
58. Reddish-brown horse: ROAN
62. Jamaican citrus fruit: UGLI
63. Seltzer starter: ALKA - plop-plop, fizz-fizz . . . .
64. Dunne of "Love Affair": IRENE
65. IPO option: NYSE - a dupe from yesterday; Initial Public Offering, and the New York Stock Exchange
67. Abated: EASED
DOWN:
1. Moves effortlessly: COASTS - SLIDES, GLIDES~? Bzzzt.
2. "That's wild!": "UNREAL~!"
3. Itty-bitty: LITTLE - I was expecting something like "TEENSY"
4. Fireplace fuel: LOG - Ah. Not "GAS"
5. Fly in the ointment: SNAG
6. __ al ajillo: Spanish chicken dish: POLLO - a recipe, if you care
These onions are everywhere....
8. Pool float filler: AIR
9. Item on a tot's Christmas list: TOY - but you'll get coal if you're naughty
10. Make chili oil, perhaps: INFUSE - I had to find out more - the Wiki
11. Sandcastle building site: SEASHORE
12. Company whose Color of the Year 2024 is Peach Fuzz: PANTONE - a list of colors in years past
13. Decade divs.: YRs
18. Body of water in the French Alps: LAC - Frawnche for "lake"
22. Like osmium compared to all other stable elements: DENSEST - learning moment for me - the Wiki
24. Olin of "Chocolat": LENA
26. No longer fizzy: FLAT - I can drink flat soda, but flat seltzer is just "weird water"
27. Two-by-four?: EIGHT - literally, 2x4 = 8
28. Zest: PEP
30. Golf course freebies: PENCILS - Mulligans didn't fit . . . .
34. 180º from SSW: NNE
36. Soup kitchen offerings: HOT MEALS
37. Indie folk artist Bon __: IVER - no clue, 3 of 4 letters filled via perps, and the "V" was my last entry; the Wiki
38. Oz hoppers: ROOS - Kanga - roos - Oz = Australia
39. Make calls on the court: REF
40. Explanatory tool: ANALOGY - Kissing her was like a garbage truck getting hit by an onion train. The onions again.
44. Danica's role on "The Wonder Years": WINNIE
47. Like a meditation spot, hopefully: SERENE - ah. Not "SILENT", but I was 50% correct
48. Stumped: ORATED - Ah. That kind of stumped
50. Japanese port city: OSAKA - good WAG on my part: WAG = Wild A** Guess
51. Readily available: ON TAP - Samantha had this answer in her first puzzle
52. Karaoke need: MICrophone - and a little nerve, or liquid confidence
56. Basic barre bend: PLIÉ
58. Manage: RUN
59. __-do attitude: CAN
60. Cheer after un gol: OLÉ
61. Rita featured on DJ Fresh's "Hot Right Now": ORA - note the headline
From last week: YooperPhil, we do tune those NYC instruments, and we had the opportunity to "bid" on the upkeep of the Radio City Wurlitzer - the man who started my company has a Wurlitzer in his house, so he's partial to those ( they run on higher pressure than most church organs ); Irish Miss - I check weekly to see what dogs have arrived at the local rescue shelter; it's still in the works~!; unclefred, I saw the "60 Minutes" report on Notre Dame - when we rebuild an organ, we wash every pipe - for the National Cathedral, some of those pipes are huge
Splynter
!~ MERRY CHRISTMAS ~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS ~ !
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy birthday to dear Kathy
(Yellowrocks). Hope you're having a wonderful day with your sons and grandson.
 |
| Yellowrocks, Dec 10, 2020 |
2) Happy Birthday to Lorraine (Fermatprime) also. Her good friend Malcolm reads our blog regularly and gives me update on her life from time to time.
 |
| Fermatprime, Thanksgiving, 2015 |
26 comments:
Unlike yesterday, we didn’t get a “topical” puzzle this time. And I thought the puzzle had some “crunch” to it.
(I didn’t remember “Pantone” for instance, but that’s what the perps demanded.) Anyway, after all is said and done, FIR, so I’m happy.
And, at the risk of repeating myself from yesterday, Merry Christmas to you all!
Good morning and Merry Christmas!
The hill was a little bumpy, but my sled made it to the bottom without accident. Thanx, Samantha and Splynter. (Onions: Did you mean garlic cloves?)
DENSEST: On the old 78 RPM phonograph, a diamond-tipped needle would last the longest. Osmium could last days. A steel nail would maybe last for one song.
Happy birthday to YR and Fermat (long time, no see). Hope you both have a good one.
Good morning. Thank you, Samantha, and thank you, Splynter.
Happy Birthday to Yellowrocks, and the long absent Fermatprime.
CULLS - I can relate to to your example, Splynter. To those I might add snipe and chatter, depending on the project.
My Gibson garnish was first an olive, but it didn't perp. I've never had one. BTW, I wouldn't know a Gibson from a Fender. :-)
Dayton - SSW OHIO. I'm originally from NNE OHIO. Not too far from where you went to the organ parts company.
RAO'S is, according to America's Test Kitchen, the best store bought pasta sauce. However, it is expensive, around 2x the price of other brands. The brand name is RAO'S, not Rao. However, this is a crossword puzzle, and the family that created the sauce was named RAO, so...
PANTONE - never heard of it, but color of the year had me thinking Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Pittsburgh Paints, Behr and the like. None fit, but PANTONE did, and it perped.
Hand up for the learning moment on osmium, and for no clue on IVER.
Rita ORA - Would you rather have a mango margaRITA ORA strawberry margarita?
I can pretty much echo what TTP states ⬆️, took a bit of work to FIR in 16:53. The names ORA, IRENE, and LENA were gimmes as CW staples, IVER was 🤷♂️. PANTONE and ONION were perps, as was DENSEST as I didn’t know what osmium is. We usually make our own tomato based sauces but a jar of RAO’s is pretty good stuff also. I enjoyed the theme and the puzzle, thanks Samantha for your creation!
Splynter ~ I know working on those magnificent organs is a job for you, but you must really appreciate the environs that they bring you, beautiful buildings and instruments! Nice write-up today, and quite the “kiss” analogy.
Happy b/day to Kathy and Lorraine.
Merry Christmas 🎄 and Happy Hanukkah 🕎 and “Chrismukka” for split-faith families that celebrate both! ☮️ and ❤️ to the Corner family.
FIR with no erasure. DNK PANTONE, IVER and WINNIE.
Merry Christmas and Happy chanukka to all Cofnerites who celebrate them. There are plenty of heartwarming Christmas carols being played today, but George Michael’s group Wham! recorded his song Last Christmas
about new love gone wrong. Forty years ago it was a big hit. I read yesterday that it is the fourth most played Christmas song this year in the USA, and the #1 most played in the UK. IIRC, the data source was Spotify.
To me, the song sounds like something Taylor Swift would record, and in fact, she did.
Ariana Grande did a cover too, as did Gwen Stefani.
Thanks to Samantha for the fun holiday puzzle. My favorite was ORATED for "stumped." My least favorite was the themer COFFEE SHOP. Maybe if I frequented them I'd understand. Thanks to Splynter for another fine review, and a pair of famous legs.
Forgot...
HBDTY, Yelloowrocks, Fermatprime and the late Jimmy Buffett.
FLN - NaomiZ, thanks for your update on Pinnacle Peak Patio. IIRC, Walter Cronkite retired in Cave Creek too.
An afterthought ~ it’s fairly rare for the NFL to schedule games on Christmas, but extremely rare to play games on a Wednesday, only 2 in the last 76 years, today that total doubles. TV ratings drive the NFL.
All my grandkids are from time zones to the west - so it's still quiet here!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah
Happy birthday to YR and fermatprime
Smooth puzzle!
Wednesday puzzle. Very enjoyable…hung tough till the Tada! Happy Holidays to all!
Greet the day.
Splynter you do entertain, thanks. The puzzle was mostly doable with the write-up and the comments mirroring my thoughts. I learned of BON IVER from my musical son's travels to the musical festival Bonnaroo in Tennessee when he was in college at UCF. I think he may have gone to the 2018 edition as well.
I became familiar with Rita Ora when she became a judge on The Masked Singer a show which incidentally was a product of an original show made in Thailand. My wife does love her heritage. Rita is tall and shows her legs well.
I never heard of PANTONE but I have learned their color for 2025 is MOCHA . I did read some of the historical novels by IRVING STONE including A+E but his work was not for me.
Great how you keep in touch with all Corner regulars who cooperate and it is good to know YR and Fermat are out there.
May you all be blessed on this Christmas and Chanukah day.
FIR. Merry Christmas everyone!
I found today's puzzle to be a "little" crunchy what with the likes of Pantone, Rao, Iver, and Winnie. Proper names do not belong in CW's.
The theme was clever, but I must admit I had to study the reveal for a while to get it.
But it's done, so there's that.
I was a LITTLE disappointed when I opened my puzzle box this morning and it didn't have what I wished for. Not even the stockings were hung. I guess they "presented" their holiday theme yesterday.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and good will to all!
I believe NEA in 32 across stands for National Endowment for the Arts not National Education Association.
No getting away with doing the puzzle this AM. No place to run, no place to hide, from holiday prep.
So a quick Merry Christmas to all my invisible buds.
🎄
thank you
Good Morning:
Like other solvers, Winnie, Iver, and Pantone needed perps but Rao is well-known to New York residents. Their restaurant in New York City is famous for allocating the meager number of tables to favored, long-time patrons so, unless you know a table “owner” and are invited, you’ll never dine there. Unlike yesterday’s easy-to-guess reveal, today’s wasn’t quite so obvious, despite that give-away location. The theme was cute, with a spot-on reveal and the solve itself was smooth and enjoyable.
Thanks, Samantha, and thanks, Splynter, for a fun and light-hearted commentary. Good luck with the dog search and keep us posted!
Happy Birthday, YR, hope it’s a special day! 🎂🎊🎁🎈
Happy Brithday, Fermatprime, hope you’re well. 🎂🎈🎊🎁
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!
You are correct, anonymous puzzle breath. The National Endowment for the Arts has been associated with PBS since the 1960's.
BTW Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Musings
-This is such a different day without little ones. :-(
-The clever fill had me dancing around for a while but I, uh, hung in there.
-I tried to get synonyms for HANG buried in the themeres for way too long before I saw the forest and not the trees.
-CULLING chickens is a common and somewhat brutal practice on a farm
-Mary Lou Guizzo is a lovely constructor we have had here and a proud alum of The University of Dayton. She corrected me from saying Dayton University.
-Visiting the redwoods is both inspirational and humbling
-Some of you will know Gus Fring was a seemingly mild-mannered/drug lord owner of Los Pollos Hermanos
-FLAT 7-Up is Dr. Joann’s cure for an upset tummy
-Danica is now 49 but still playing the role of a sweet young thing on The Hallmark Channel
-Happy Birthday to Fermatprime and Kathy. This is a better place when you add your comments!
Today's puzzle was well-constructed and smooth. Well done, Samantha.
Two esteemed women appeared in the puzzle: first, the versatile Irene Dunne, who excelled in both comedy and drama, and was also an operatic-class soprano. Second, Danica McKellar, who played Winnie in "The Wonder Years." Danica became a mathematician, a writer, and advocate of girls' education. I have given my granddaughters many wonderful children's books authored by McKellar. Danica turns 50(!) next week. Yikes!
Splynter, thanks for your enjoyable leadership today. I'm thinking there are probably quite a few pipe organs out there that you have worked on, which today are making glorious music.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukkah, everyone! (whatever your preferred spelling.
It's presently (pun possibly intended) snowing here in the mountains.
A pleasant puzzle and commentary today. Thank you, Samantha and Splynter! The theme was well thought out and illustrated.
Yellowrocks is always an inspiration in the Corner, with her vast and ever expanding cultural knowledge, and openness to all that is new, hip and happening! Happy birthday, YR!
Happy birthday also to Fermatprime. Hope you are well and cozy.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Samantha and Splynter., even if we did have to HANG our own stockings.
I think of “cherry-picking” as picking out the best (or just the ones I want to use, while “culling” is picking out the bad ones that are not fit to use.
I could only remember Pantene which is a shampoo. Perps corrected my spelling.
My osmium was the loosest before it became the DENSEST. LOL!
IVER perped. I knew Bon Jovi was not Indie.
RAO must be a big name somewhere, but not here.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Birthday to YR and fermatprime.
Wishing you all a great day.
I always thought that unobtainium was the DENSEST element. If we limit considerations to Cornerites, I'm pretty sure that Jinx in Norfolk is DENSEST.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus for the rest of us! HBD to YR & FP!! I did manage to FIR, no idea how long it took due to the number of interruptions, but I'm not complaining, most of those were friends calling or texting with holiday greetings. Too many names again, 13 by my count, DNK 7, which made this this CW a bit of a struggle. I managed to HANG in there and FIR, but tough for a Wednesday. Quite the challenge, SPN, thanx for the entertainment. Splynter, you never disappoint with your write-ups, and I really like that you always include at least one set of attractive feminine legs. Thanx too for responding to my comment about cleaning all those organ pipes.
Hola!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! That is the spelling on my calendar.
Last night my family was here for dinner and they took home their presents. Then this morning I went to their house and viewed everything they had received. My s-i-l was especially pleased with a beautiful new chess set. Everyone seemed happy with what they got.
Jacket pocket seems like an odd clue for CLOSET but I get it.
PANTONE was my learning moment today.
I can't recall if I've ever seen RAO sauce. But I'm very familiar with OHIO, having been to Dayton and Cincinnati a few times. It always amazes me how green everything grows there.
Yes, those giant redwoods are an awesome sight; TALL does not do justice to their gigantic height.
Happy birthday, Kathy (yellowrocks) and Fermatprime!
CSO to my niece, IRENE.
Although the gifts have been unwrapped, the food eaten and we are enjoying it all, I must now pack for a trip to California tomorrow.
I hope you are having a joyous day, everyone!
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