Theme: Join HandS!
Kareem Ayas authored a blockbuster themeless puzzle in the LA Times on Saturday, January 11, 2025. He's back to challenge us again! In this case, he has provided helpful circles in the grid so that we can see the theme in action. Let's start with the reveal:
37-Across. Instruction before a group prayer, or, when parsed differently, an apt description of what 18-, 24-, 51-, and 59-Across do: JOIN HANDS. Before a group prayer, your prayer leader may tell you to "join hands." Parsed differently, you might JOIN H AND S. In the other theme answers, the circled H and S get gradually closer together, until they JOIN in the last theme answer. Once you see that each pair of circles contains H and S, it's helpful in filling some of the blank circles, and makes solving the puzzle easier.
The other theme clues and answers are:
18-Across. Upstanding citizen?: HOMO ERECTUS. Homo erectus, literally "upright man," was a Pleistocene era human, the first to walk upright, to leave Africa and colonize Asia and Europe, and to use fire. The first and last letters of the answer are circled, so that H and S are spaced well apart.
 |
| evolution from ape to homo computerus |
24-Across. Window to a simulated world: VR HEADSET. A virtual reality (VR) headset is a head-mounted device that uses stereoscopic displays, lenses, and sensors to create an immersive experience, allowing users to interact with computer-generated environments as if they were real. The H and S in HEADSET are circled, with only three letters between them. They are getting closer together!
 |
| evolution from ape to homo imaginarius |
51-Across. Pickle: TIGHT SPOT. "In a pickle" is an idiomatic expression meaning "in a TIGHT SPOT" or a difficult situation. The H of TIGHT and the S of SPOT have only one letter between them. Closer!
 |
| We've all been there. |
59-Across. Increase that might be documented on a door frame: GROWTH SPURT. Did your parents mark your increasing height on a door frame or wall? The H of GROWTH and the S of SPURT are circled, and they are right next to each other. Joined, if you will.
 |
| Some people cut the door frame and take this memento when they move! |
Let's put our HandS together and applaud the very useful circles!
 |
| That's right -- oh BOY, circles! |
And now, we move on to the other clues and answers.
Across:
1. Drill sound: HUP. Oh, *that* kind of drill! One meaning of drill is military exercise. "Hup, two, three, four" is a rhythmic cadence used to lead groups, especially soldiers, in marching.
4. Basics: ABCs.
8. Look up to: ADMIRE.
14. Polish name?: OPI. We see often see this brand of nail polish in the grid.
15. Shut with attitude: SLAM.
16. West African country: GUINEA.
17. "Mulan" voice actress Ming-Na __: WEN. Ming-Na Wen is an American actress. She was honored as a Disney Legend in 2019 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
4. Basics: ABCs.
8. Look up to: ADMIRE.
14. Polish name?: OPI. We see often see this brand of nail polish in the grid.
15. Shut with attitude: SLAM.
16. West African country: GUINEA.
17. "Mulan" voice actress Ming-Na __: WEN. Ming-Na Wen is an American actress. She was honored as a Disney Legend in 2019 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
 |
| Ming-Na Wen |
18. [Theme clue]
20. A pop: EACH. Latex balloons cost about ten cents a pop.
22. Unremarkable, in a way: NORMAL.
23. Doc with an otoscope: ENT. An otoscope is a medical device used to examine the ear canal. The "doc" who uses one is an "Ear, Nose, and Throat" doctor. "Doc" is short for doctor, as ENT is short for "Ear, Nose, and Throat."
24. [Theme clue]
26. Muppet with a beloved rubber duckie: ERNIE.
22. Unremarkable, in a way: NORMAL.
23. Doc with an otoscope: ENT. An otoscope is a medical device used to examine the ear canal. The "doc" who uses one is an "Ear, Nose, and Throat" doctor. "Doc" is short for doctor, as ENT is short for "Ear, Nose, and Throat."
24. [Theme clue]
26. Muppet with a beloved rubber duckie: ERNIE.
 |
| Ernie and his rubber duckie |
28. Hunter who goes after Bugs: ELMER.
 |
| Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. |
29. Motion picture pioneer: EDISON. Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.
30. White alternative: RYE. Bread choices! White, whole wheat, rye, or sourdough?
31. Small cave: GROTTO.
36. Make concessions: BEND.
37. [Theme clue]
39. Trilling solo: ARIA. To trill is to produce a quavering or warbling sound. An aria is an elaborate melody sung (as in an opera) by a single voice.
 |
| Gosh, that aria was trilling! |
42. Appear to be: SEEM SO.
43. "Get a room!" elicitor, for short: PDA. Public Display of Affection. If you're climbing all over each other in public, and sucking face, someone may tell you to get a room!
46. "For your viewing pleasure" brand: VISINE. I was not aware that this brand of eyedrops had this slogan, but it wasn't hard to guess.
43. "Get a room!" elicitor, for short: PDA. Public Display of Affection. If you're climbing all over each other in public, and sucking face, someone may tell you to get a room!
46. "For your viewing pleasure" brand: VISINE. I was not aware that this brand of eyedrops had this slogan, but it wasn't hard to guess.
48. How fries are fried: IN OIL.
50. French school: ECOLE. École being French for school.
51. [Theme answer]
55. Power __: NAP. I can't take a nap. If I actually succeed in sleeping, I won't sleep at night. You?
56. Play a flute: TOOTLE. Casually make a series of sounds on a horn, trumpet, or similar instrument.
58. Nestlé bar with a bubbly texture: AERO. Aero is an aerated chocolate bar originally produced by Rowntree's, and introduced in 1935 in England as the "new chocolate." By 1936, sales of the chocolate had reached the US, and later spread to many other countries. Aero has been manufactured by Nestlé since 1988. Totally unknown to this chocoholic.
 |
| Seems to be largely a British thing. |
59. [Theme clue]
62. __-been: HAS. A has-been is a person or thing considered to be outmoded or no longer of any significance.
63. Water whirls: EDDIES.
64. Country star McEntire: REBA.
65. Reddit Q&A: AMA. A Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) is a Q&A designed to bring an authority on a subject to a community of interested people.
66. Square dance call: DO-SI-DO. The term is a corruption of the original French term dos-à-dos for the dance move, which means "back to back," as opposed to "vis-à-vis" which means "face to face."
67. __ buco: OSSO. Osso buco or ossobuco is a northern Italian dish of braised veal shanks. Veal is the meat of calves, which are baby cattle. Shanks are legs. Male calves are butchered for their meat, as they cannot grow up to give milk.
 |
| veal calf |
68. Receipt line: TAX.
 |
| Aye, there's the rub. |
Down:
1. Transition word: HOWEVER.
2. Ready to greet the sun, perhaps: UP EARLY.
3. "Am I dreaming?": PINCH ME.
4. Light hair color: ASH.
5. Light hair color: BLOND.
6. Prints such as U.S. Woodland, familiarly: CAMOS. "U.S. Woodland" seemed to me like the title of a Currier & Ives lithograph. It took me a while to realize it must be a CAMOuflage pattern.
 |
| US Woodland camo |
7. Campfire treat: S'MORE.
 |
| Everyone wants s'more of this treat. |
8. Uttar Pradesh tourist site: AGRA. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the fourth-most populous city in Uttar Pradesh and twenty-third most populous city in India.
 |
| But folks go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. |
9. Faced off with swords: DUELED.
10. Hot __: MIC. An informal term for a microphone that's on, especially when it captures a conversation unintentionally.
11. Hot: INTENSE.
12. Nostalgic get-together: REUNION.
13. London setting of "Call the Midwife": EAST END. This PBS series has broadcast 14 seasons!
19. CPR giver, often: EMT.
21. Giggle syllable: HEE.
25. Ship of Greek myth: ARGO. I was fond of Greek myths as a child, but the story of Jason and the Argonauts was special because of the 1963 film. I must have been 8 years old when my 10 year old brother was allowed to be my chaperone at the movie theater.
 |
| A scene from "Jason and the Argonauts" |
27. Kids: RIBS. Jokes, teases, japes, jests, joshes, razzes.
29. Ages and ages: EONS.
32. Swell: RISE.
33. See 34-Down: ONE. Let's see, that's the very next clue ...
34. With 33-Down, soulmate: THE. THE ONE. DH is THE ONE.
35. Highland cap: TAM. A tam o' shanter is a traditional Scottish hat. The name derives from Tam o' Shanter, the eponymous hero of a 1790 Robert Burns poem.
29. Ages and ages: EONS.
32. Swell: RISE.
33. See 34-Down: ONE. Let's see, that's the very next clue ...
34. With 33-Down, soulmate: THE. THE ONE. DH is THE ONE.
35. Highland cap: TAM. A tam o' shanter is a traditional Scottish hat. The name derives from Tam o' Shanter, the eponymous hero of a 1790 Robert Burns poem.
 |
| Man in a tam. |
37. "Just Visiting" Monopoly square: JAIL.
38. "Proceed": DO IT.
39. Settled, as a score: AVENGED.
40. "I Love Lucy" surname: RICARDO. Desi Arnaz played Ricky Ricardo in "I Love Lucy."
41. Tiny crustaceans: ISOPODS. Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species and terrestrial species such as woodlice. And roly polys!
 |
| Did you know the little roly poly is in the same order as crabs and lobsters? I did not! |
43. Mitre, informally: POPE HAT.
 |
| Not everyone can pull off this look. |
44. Historical miniature: DIORAMA.
45. Jazz combo instrument: ALTO SAX.
47. Made: NETTED.
49. Government org. that employs many mathematicians: NSA. The National Security Agency is one of the largest employers of mathematicians in the United States. Lots of data analysis!
51. Lean-__: TOs. Simple structures, usually with a sloping roof, and open on one side.
52. Genius at the Apple Store, e.g.: IT PRO. Information Technology Professional. Shout out to Waseeley, whose long career as an IT PRO was capped by his role as a blogger here!
53. Sticks: GLUES.
54. Thyme and basil: HERBS.
57. Very, very: OH SO.
60. Mario Kart platform: WII. The Wii is a home video game console introduced by Nintendo in 2006. It was Nintendo's first home console to directly support Internet connectivity, and the remote control can recognize motions and gestures.
45. Jazz combo instrument: ALTO SAX.
47. Made: NETTED.
49. Government org. that employs many mathematicians: NSA. The National Security Agency is one of the largest employers of mathematicians in the United States. Lots of data analysis!
51. Lean-__: TOs. Simple structures, usually with a sloping roof, and open on one side.
52. Genius at the Apple Store, e.g.: IT PRO. Information Technology Professional. Shout out to Waseeley, whose long career as an IT PRO was capped by his role as a blogger here!
53. Sticks: GLUES.
54. Thyme and basil: HERBS.
57. Very, very: OH SO.
60. Mario Kart platform: WII. The Wii is a home video game console introduced by Nintendo in 2006. It was Nintendo's first home console to directly support Internet connectivity, and the remote control can recognize motions and gestures.
 |
| A family enjoying Nintendo's Wii. |
61. Benjamin Hoff's "The __ of Pooh": TAO. The Tao of Pooh is a 1982 book written by Benjamin Hoff. The book is intended as an introduction to the Eastern belief system of Taoism for Westerners.
Here's the grid:
This is the first Thursday in a long time that we are without the expert and kindly guidance of Bill "Waseeley." I owe Bill a special debt of gratitude, because when I jumped in as an occasional substitute for the regular writers of this wonderful blog, Bill provided me with the technical tools I needed. Now I find myself taking Bill's place while he shines his light on his DW Teri, his children, and grandchildren. Our loss is their gain. I will try to be worthy of Bill's legacy!
NaomiZ
49 comments:
It started off kind of rough, with “opi” and “wen” next to each other, but eventually settled down. And I noted the pattern “h” followed by “s” and gradually the spaces between them decreasing but the reveal was still a surprise. FIR, so I’m happy.
I agree with Sub that this one seemed daunting at first. I thought that I'd just see how many I could fill, much like I play on Saturday puzzles. But lo and behold, I FIRed the rascal and only erased red for RYE. (You can take the sot out of the bar, but you can't take the bar out of the sot.)
When I was about 14 I started volunteering at the local university radio station. One of the first things I was taught was to always assume that a microphone is live. That made sense to me, since it was similar to the "treat all guns as loaded" lesson I got before I was given my first rifle for my 12th birthday.
Nike got a plug today with DO IT. And who can forget Timothy Leary's hedonistic advice "if it feels good, DO IT."
Thanks to Kareem for the (yesterday's fill) doable Thursday challenge. And thanks to NaomiZ for taking the weekly challenge of leading us through the grid. BTW, your Home Despot sells stuff like Diet Coke? Ours don't, although the one in Marathon, FL sells stuff like boat fenders and bait buckets. Sorry about your garbage disposal.
Good morning!
This one was tough. The NW remained snow-covered until the very end. Finally UP EARLY occured to this dense one, and then things came together. Thanx for the exercise, Kareem. Welcome to the stable of blog regulars, NaomiZ. I'm sure you'll do well.
VISINE: In my ute we thought it was the height of humor to scrape the M off this bottle.
AERO: Back in the day, KitKat was also a Rowntree of York invention. Today it's made by Nestle for most of the world, but is a piece of Reese in the U.S.
Jinx: (yesterday's fill) == GETTABLE ;-)
FIR. I found this to have quite a bit more bite than usual for a Thursday. The NW was the last to fall as I insisted on dye at 30A, and then I saw however and realized it was bread, not hair color.
I must admit I didn't get the theme till I got here. I understood the "h" and "s", but not the reason why.
So despite being somewhat Saturday hard, and having circles (yuk), overall I did enjoy this puzzle.
Took 10:04, good buddies.
Never saw the theme, so that didn't help. "Herbs" and "oh so" both have an H and an S, which seems unusual given the theme.
I didn't know today's actress (Wen), the French school (not having taken French in school), camos, and Visine's slogan.
Nice send-off to Bill and a solid start in the regular lineup, NaomiZ.
Oh j(b)oy, circles!
Hi Jinx at 5:04 AM! The Home Depot receipt at 68-Across was found in a Google image search. Thanks for explaining the big expense! The beverages did not surprise me, as Home Depot in Los Angeles always carries drinks and snacks. Ours used to have a McDonald's built right into it, but no longer.
That's not the sneaker companies slogan, so you gave them the free plug.
Good morning, desper-otto at 5:48 AM! That *is* the height of humor! Thanks for sharing. 😄
I thought a drill sound would be whir or buzz, but nothing fit. So I skipped it thinking I should write in HUP as a joke. Finished the puzzle and returned to the beginning and was surprised it actually was HUP! Sometimes I like to play jokes on myself:)
As Jayce likes to say, “I liked this puzzle”, solid theme which I was able to suss, and some clueing worthy of a Thursday. Unknowns filled with perp help - WEN, AERO, TAO, EAST END, and CAMO (where I thought Prints referred to a photo). Had to determine if Polish was a long or short O before getting OPI (I think Lucina uses that brand). Also had to correct red to RYE, thinking wine like Jinx. I liked the clue for HOMO ERECTUS. I don’t recall ever eating a S’MORE, too sweet with the marshmallow. Thank you Kareem for your well constructed creation!
NaomiZ ~ thanks for taking the Thursday blog slot, I always enjoy your write-ups and comments, your informative and humorous insights fit perfectly here 😊. I loved the movie “Jason and the ARGOnauts”, I remember seeing it in theater when I was a kid, may have to watch it again after you brought it up.
Good Morning:
I had no idea of the correct theme parsing until Naomi explained it so clearly. The NW corner was tricky until Hup finally materialized. I finished w/o help but was frustrated by not understanding the theme. That’s on me, but it rankles just the same.
Thanks, Kareem, and thanks, Naomi, for the detailed explication of the theme and overall review of the puzzle. While Bill will be missed, CC made sure that we will continue to be entertained and enlightened. Welcome, Naomi, to the Thursday slot!
Have a great day.
This was a tough one, more like a Friday puzzle. I saw the H and S, but didn't see the decreasing spaces. Thanks, Naomi for an excellent blog. We are in good hands.r
We always say HOLD HANDS instead of JOIN HANDS.
I like just ONE smore because they are so sweet. Do you flame your marshmallows? In our family we patiently roast them over low coals so the outside is just brown and the inside is totally gooey, I don't like the charred taste of flaming ones.
AERO was all perps. I have never seen an Aero bar.
I had many perps for homo erectus when, finally, a mental ABC run gave ,me the M in CAMO. Then that theme fill was solved. I had to change ASIA to AGRA.
My favorites were door jamb recording = growth spurt and Polish name=OPI. Our supermarket has a large OPI display just as you enter the store.
A DNF today. My 1A was HUT, not HUP and 3D was TOUCH ME, not PINCH ME. Those two wouldn't allow the unknown WEN or OPI to make it. HOWEVER, I didn't do much better in the rest of the north. CAMOS for the clue for the unknown print was a non-starter, even though I had CA__OS filled. I might have figured it out if had reviewed my spelling of GUINEA. I had changed MAD to MAC and forgot to change the vowel. The clue was directly above another 'Hot' clue and I didn't notice the ___ behind it. The rest was easy.
Anyway, moving J&S closer to JOIN HANDS- never noticed.
The TAO of Pooh was filled by perps.
Musings
-I’m subbing and giving my NASA presentation and so I am pressed for time.
-This gets an award for hardest non-Saturday I’ve ever tried but the juice was worth the squeeze!
-Gotta run, a gaggle of 13-year-olds just came in.
another puzzle proving the need for this Blog!
Probably should just take a Thumper, but with apologies to the constructor, it is because I am in a really lousy mood this morning...
Beginning of rant?
-----------------------------
Opened the LATimes crossword to find they changed the format. While the puzzle is bigger, the clues are out of sight and require constantly moving out of page to read them. After communicating why I was leaving this mess, I found the Chicago site acceptable, but different enough to be like navigating thru Helen Kellers moved furniture. (Pls post the Washington Puzzle URL again please!)
End of rant? (I hope so...)
Tough puzzle for me as I really wanted a nestles crunch bar, and have never heard of aero... I had to come to the blog because while it finally dawned on me the correct parsing of join H and S, I could not see the theme any more than I can see the forest from the trees...
this day has not started well,,, (oh well...)
Hmm, maybe if this puzzle came with a warning:
circles actually do something...
The NW drove me crazy. Considered bzz or zip for drill but PINCHME gave me HUP. Even with eventual UPEARLY. Didn’t know WEN. Fgured dye for “White Alternative” (just sent my cousin a “happy 75th April 3rd” birthday greeting. She opted not to dye her “white” hair.). For “Poe-lish name” I had the common name Jan (John) eventually changed to OPI “pah-lish”. Sooo I ended up with hovered instead of HOWEVER. And somehow with honoredtus what?? 😳. Instead of HOMOERECTUS. What a disaster
Inkovers: hold/JOIN HANDS, go on/DO IT.
“Historical miniature” not Tom Thumb DIORAMA 😃
Now I understand CAMOS
Hand up for enjoying “Jason and the Argonauts” on the silver screen as a kid. I remember the scene where a clever young guy beats Hercules’ distant throw of a discus over the sea by skipping it like a stone over the water. And the Skeleton Army! 🫣😱 Amazing early CG
CSO to me at DO SI DO. Still square dancing after almost 40 years.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Kareem and NaomiZ (thanks for explaining CAMOS and RYE).
I FIRed and saw the theme, but missed noticing that the H and S moved closer.
Hand up for struggling with the NW corner. HUP was an Aha moment, as was PINCH ME. That gave me HOWEVER, but I too was wanting Red before RYE. As I said above, it took NaomiZ’s expo to move my brain to bread. D’uh!
This Canadian is familiar with AERO bars. We spell BLOND with an E on the end.
I saw the CSO to YR with DO SI DO.
Like YR, I like my SMORES slow roasted. Yummers.
I plan to attend my 50th REUNION in late May. (U of T Class of 7T5)
I thought of Arnaz before RICARDO fit.
Wishing you all a great day.
Can you Americans tell me how many fewer mathematicians are employed at 49D than at the end of 2024? (Ignore or delete if too political!)
Enjoyable and creative theme from Kareem today
NW was my last area to fill
When my kids were little, there was a give away at a STL Cardinals game. It was a life size poster of Adam Wainwright sponsored by the Milk Board that had the measurements along one side. We had that in our garage for years to measure their GROWTH SPURTs - when we moved 3 years ago it was very nostalgic to take it down
I have heard of an AERO bar but I don't think I've ever had one- looking at the picture I think I'll still pass
Thought of YR with the square dancing
Thanks Naomi for your first in permanent blog
It sure took a lot of WAGs to complete the Pacific NW and FIR.
HUP and PINCH ME didn’t come easily, UP EARLY wouldn’t have occurred to me without the U in HUP, and OPI hasn’t entered my mental storehouse. I didn’t immediately realize “transition word” meant the writing term, rather than some metamorphosis. Ming-Na had long established her career before the WEN part appeared in her credits. I had to do an alphabet run until WEN seemed the obvious answer. I couldn’t tell what sort of xxHEADSET I was looking for. Thus, HOWEVER turned out to be my final fill.
I learned something as a result. It seems there’s a difference between an ordinary conjunction and words like however, hence, thus, and therefore, which are “conjunctive adverbs.” They nearly always appear at the outset of a paragraph, or at least the start of a sentence. Putting them after semicolons in the middle of sentences is seldom correct. Period. New sentence.
The rest of the puzzle was much easier as I worked from the bottom up, but there were a few challenges. I think flute players are too serious to TOOTLE, and there’s not a lot of "trilling" in the world of arias, other than a famously difficult one in “The Magic Flute.” I didn’t know the Nestle product. I had trouble seeing “sticks” and GLUES as active verbs. The word “prints” threw me in the clue for CAMOS. I was looking for something Currier & Ives-like, as was NaomiZ.
I knew “The TAO of Pooh” because I received it as a gift when it came out, but I couldn’t get into it. Unlike the many people who experienced Winnie the Pooh as a TV cartoon character, I read all the books first and enjoyed how English they were. But Americans have to Americanize everything . . .
I dislike group prayer enough without having to JOIN HANDS with other men while I’m forced to do it. And I’m afraid “H and S” is a unifier easily ignored. Meh.
Most Americans spell blond with an "e" at the end, too. But men are not "blonde" at all, and most style guides discourage "blonde" as an adjective but accept it grudgingly as a noun for a female with blond hair.
A lil bit of a Thursday challenge but I FIR. The NW and HUP took a few minutes to parse but a mostly enjoyable puzzle.
Welcome NaomiZ. I’m looking forward to seeing you get “ down…..on the Corner” every Thursday ( as in CCR song with Willy and the poor boys)😊
DNF. The NW defeated me. Of course I should have guessed VR but gave up instead. I could not have guessed RYE as white alternative.
I did get the theme. Pretty clever. At least very few unknowns names except WEN, but I just cannot remember OPI as polish. All in all not bad.
Thank you NaomiZ our new Thursday Sherpa.Great review as usual.
No, we can't. That information is classified (but available in chat groups)
Unknown, not unknowns.
DNF. Lots of clever clues, and lots of clues too clever for me. Four years in the army, and I never heard or used "hut" or "hup" while marching or calling cadence. (Maybe it's a Marines thing? Or do tne navy or air scouts march?) Have to thank NaomiZ for a nice job on the recap, as the theme flew completely over my head.
Today's puzzle by Kareem was a refreshing change from yesterday's "in-the-language" mess. Here the emphasis was on clever and creative word play, and in general a focus on what was in the best interests of the solvers (us).
For instance, Kareem's use of circles helped greatly--as is often the case--in solving the theme. And I thought it was clever construction on Kareem's part to have the ciircled H's and S's close the gap between each other as you moved south from one theme answer to the next, until they eventually "joined hands" at 59 Across.
The cluing in this puzzle was on-the-mark and relatively free of obscurities. Kareem's misdirections added to the enjoyment, as did such touches as the back-to-back "light hair color" clues and "hot" clues.
The one Natick, up in the NW caused by HUP, WEN, and OPI, was readily rectified by helpful vertical perps.
Thanks, Kareem, for your enjoyable Thursday-appropriate challenge. And thanks, Naomi, for your helpful and incisive recap.
I kynda thought that blond/blonde was the only English adjective with gender (like most other languages), blond man, blonde woman. It’s interesting that depending on where you live in Europe what is considered blonde is country dependent. In Italy people considered “biondo” looked more like light brown to me whereas in Scandinavia only what we would call platinum blond are considered blond.
"Hennesy Tennesee TOOTLES the flute, while I the pipes do play..." (McNamaras Band)
One less teacher. My daughter close teacher friend is a green card holding Canadian. Her family is returning north to look for jobs now rather than risking the last minute knock on the door.
I noticed that Edison’s ad for his VITASCOPE shows a motion picture in color which I thought had to be fake advertising but LIU. He actually had a method to colorize certain scenes.
Reading a book “The Sellout” by an African American author Paul Beatty where a claim is made that Edison stole credit from a black man LEWIS H. LATTIMER for the invention of the electric light bulb. Intrigued, I LIU. Lattimer did not invent the electric light bulb but improved the filament so it lasted days rather than hours becoming practical for home use. He supervised the installation of public lighting in many major cities. He drew the legal patent designs for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. Many other patented inventions and accomplishments
Idris Elba here’s your next film.
ParSan
DNF and had to look up answers in the NW. HUP immediately came to mind but I expected it to be wrong. Furniture polish? Nope, OPI. Never heard of VR HEADSET so you see my problem.
I knew ERNIE, ELMER andEDISON but not WEN and AERO filled in easily.Also red/RYE, lots/EONS.
IN OIL reminds me of a family story. My uncle on vacation in the south, who liked his eggs fried in butter, asked the waitress “How do you cook you eggs?”. Answer — “In a skillet”.
Thank you Naomi for explaining the reveal. I saw the H. and S but it made no sense to me. As for taking a NAP, if I am in bed in the daytime, I am ill. Also, unfortunately, I can bot sleep on planes, even Red Eyes.
JOIN HAND in prayer could be saying grace at the dinner table.
Happy day, all!
.
Back when ROTC was required or one would be drafted, women “Sponsors” (it’s a long story) marched with the companies in the battalion. We spent many hours of “HUP, two, three, four”.
D-o see as D-o do.
Thank you Kareem for a Thursday challenge, up to which I was not (see below). And thank you Naomi for the kind shout
out -- I'm certain that the Corner will be in very good HANDS with you every Thursday!
What went wrong:
ALAS, ALACK -- I had HUP for 1A and TOUCH ME for 3D; should have known crosswordese OPI; and DNK Ms WEN.
Favs:
I liked the theme -- Naomi's explanation and the circles were both indispensable (sorry AnonymousDNLC!).
30A RYE. I took me quite a while to go through all the shades of "white". 🙃
34D and 33D -- I knew that Teri was THE ONE the day I first met her in the doorway of Mr. Saterlee's 11th grade History class. 💕
29A EDISON. It took a while for the penny to drop -- I was thinking along the lines of Stanley KUBRICK.
56A TOOTLE. Here's a short piece featuring James Galway, one of the greatest TOOTLERS of our time.
59A GROWTH SPURT. Mine stopped at 5'6". My son is very proud of the fact that he's 5'7".
But my oldest grandson is over 6' -- he must get that from my DIL's side of the family.
The next oldest is also over 6' -- he gets that from his Manchurian ancestors.
66A DOSI DO. I also thought Kathy the second I saw this clue.
5D BLOND. While my beard is GRAY, what's left of my hair is still 5D!
Cheers,
Bill
Neat Wednesday puzzle--many thanks, Kareem. And your commentary was a pleasure, NaomiZ--and we'll look forward to more from you in the future.
Well, when I got UP EARLY and saw the news, it seemed there was an INTENSE conflict about two BLOND guys who DUELED and then did SLAM into EACH other. HOWEVER, they seemed to have AVENGED the situation and did JOIN HANDS and had a GROWTH SPURT and can now sit around and listen to an ARIA on the radio and enjoy some SMORES and some HERBS and then DO SI DO to the music. Later on they even started making some paintings IN OIL. Now they ADMIRE each other, and are even planning to take a trip to GUINEA. A good ending to a tough beginning.
Have a happy and cheerful day, everyone.
Back in the early '60s, during my freshman year of college, all male freshmen were assigned mandatory ROTC orientation lectures. Every military service got a shot at it. But no service succeeded. After about 10 minutes of hoots and hollers, they'd throw up their hands and tell us to get the hell out of there.
Hola! My goodness, it's before noon and you all are UP EARLY with your comments. Even though it's late, I'll add my two cents' worth. When looking over the puzzle it appeared daunting but once I started, it flowed right along. I jumped around until finally settling in with the SE corner which was not a TIGHT SPOT. Slowly but surely it all came together and yes, OPI is the brand applied at the nail salon. Thank you for remembering that, Yooper Phil.
And as often as Mulan was played by my granddaughter I did not recall WEN. Once that filled so did HOWEVER and HUP was a surprise fill.
This turned out to be fun so thanks to Kareem and to NaomiZ. You were outstanding and I look forward to reading you on Thursdays.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
My family loves their VR HEADSET but I did not know that is what it is called.
Thanx KA for a much more doable CW the yesterday. I agree w/ TK @ 11:30 about "yesterday's ...mess". I said yesterday that if I struggled as much today as I did yesterday I would TITT completely on CWs. If I'm not having fun, and am not learning anything because I hafta do alpha runs, what's the point? So, thanx KA: FIR in 11 today. 16 names, DNK 6, but managed to use perps where needed. Also DNK CAMOS, as NaomiZ I was thinking it was a type of painting. W/O = RED:RYE. CED @ 10:15, you mentioned the CW being so oversized you couldn't see the clues. If you are using Windows, try "ctrl -". MAYBE it'll help. Thanx again to KA and also to NaomiZ for the great write-up.
I liked this puzzle for the reasons that some of you praised it. Finally some good cluing!
I have marched to many a HUP two three four cadence.
I had a crush on Ming-Na WEN when I first saw her in the TV show The Single Guy, so I knew her name.
We had both an ENT and an EMT today.
I’m with Jayce on having a crush on Ming-Na Wen…still!
What an uplifting story.
Hi All!
Thanks, Kareem for a fantastic puzzle with a beautifully crafted theme.
And thank you NaomiZ for the review - what a great debut.
I'm not sure how the NW came together, but I know remembering OPI was key.
WO: rouh [sic] SPOT
ESPs: WEN
Fav: RYE as clued made me LOL when it filled. Same with HUP.
I don't know if the newer ones do, but older VR HEADSETs made me nauseous.
They Might Be Giant's Birdhouse in your Soul - verse 3:
There's a picture opposite me / Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores / And kept the beaches shipwreck-free
Though I respect that a lot / I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off
And countless screaming Argonauts
....
The song is from the perspective of a nightlight :-)
Cheers, -T
Ray-0 - three Yale professors are moving to U of T
I'm late to The Corner but I did not want to miss the chance to celebrate NaomiZ's first regular-Thursday blog. Well done!
FAV: POPE HAT comment. HEE HEE!
Like Desper-O and Ray-O, I had a sea of white up in the Northwest Territories until climbing up from below in the solve. Some snazzy clues (like for HOMOERECTUS!) but the H & S theme went zooming over my head like a peregrine falcon. Amazing how Mssr Aylas’ brain could cook up something like that — well-played, sir!
I guess, having been absent for a while from the Corner, I missed the news of our pal Waseeley’s retirement. Bon voyage, my good man, in your pursuit of bliss with your family! I’ll miss your dry wit and clever sidebar comments, Bill. And thank you, Naomi, for stepping into some big shoes to fill — but from your recent efforts here, I have no doubt in your ability to handle it. 🤙🏽😎
====> Darren / L.A.
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