Theme: FUNERAL RITUALS (In proper order)
20A: James Joyce classic: FINNEGANS WAKE
40A: Len Deighton classic: FUNERAL IN BERLIN
56A: Gettysburg tourist attraction: CEMETERY RIDGE
Too dark a theme for me. I would prefer driving down the Magnolia Lane this morning and lingering around Amen Corner to see how Tiger masterfully tames the whole GOLF field. I want to smell the pine trees, the azaleas, the dogwoods, and the sunshine. I want to feel the VIBES and the AURA from Augusta Golf Course, and never think about life and its fragility.
I had another double-bogey round today. This golf course just did not fit my eyes. Too many doglegs. Besides, I dubbed almost everyone of my fairway wood shot. I had no idea that OSLO was once called Christiania. Did not know that HORSE SENSE means Savvy. Horse does not have much sense for God's sake. Had to google ISAK Dinesen, then I realized that I had searched for her before. But why did she change her original name Karen into a weird ISAK? Or is ISAK a common Danish name?
And the stupid GEER! Drdad will be so disappointed to hear this, but I completely forgot what he told me last week. Sigh! I also failed miserably on LEAR, GALABA, LEVO, LOGE, COLORATURA, UVULAE. And the two literary classics meant nothing to me, I've never heard of them. My only highlight today is BOB DYLAN.
Grid: Total letters filled: 191. Total blank squares: 34
Let's tee off! Front Nine:
1A: Low in pitch: DEEP
5A: Jagged cut: GASH. Did not get this one immediately. Also, I was never aware of the crude slangy side of GASH until this morning. GASHED was clued "Cut deeply" in yesterday's puzzle.
9A: Slangy feelings: VIBES
14A: Latin and others: ET AL. Third day in a roll!
15A: Christiania, today: OSLO. Is this a gimme for you?
16A: French river: ISÈRE. Got it this time.
17A: Ambiance: AURA
18A:Goneril's father: LEAR. King LEAR's other two daughters are REGAN and CORDELIA.
19A: Core group: CADRE
23A: Jefferson's bill: TWO
24A: Will of "The Waltons": GEER
25A: Kilmer of "The Doors": VAL. He is also in Déjà Vu (Agent Paul Pryzwarra).
28A: Lead balloon: DUD
31A: Yada, yada, yada: ETC. The annoying Seinfeld! Why deceive kids with "Deceptively Delicious" food? I don't get it.
33A: Nautical distance: SEA MILE
35A: Bad to the bone: EVIL
37A: Stockings: HOSE
39A: Nero's successor: GALBA. Who succeeded him? OTHO! Here is a list of all Roman Emperors.
43A: Martini garnish, perhaps: OLIVE
45A: Numbers game: KENO. Never knew that KENO originated from China until nytanonimo told me a few days ago. My ignorance knows no bounds, that's for sure!
46A: Went for a quick visit: RAN OVER
50A: Put on: DON
51A: Actress Tilly: MEG. Nope, not familiar with her. Would've nailed it if it's clued as "Actress Ryan" or "Ebay CEO Whitman".
62A: Plot of hair?: SCALP. I like the clue.
64A: River to the Caspian Sea: URAL
65A: Breakfast area: NOOK
66A: Cliffside dwelling: AERIE
67A: Baltic capital: RIGA. Not fond of the crossing of RIGA and RAGA. Not pretty!
69A: Put forward: POSED
Back Nine:
1D: Unhearing: DEAF. Is this a self-referential meta clue of yourself Mr. Editor?
2D: Needle case: ETUI. Weren't you here yesterday?
4D: Factory: PLANT
5D:Calvary: GOLGOTHA. It's "a hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified"
6D: On the Indian: ASEA
7D: Casual coinage: SLANG. Would be alright if not for 9A: Slangy feelings.
8D: Savvy: HORSE SENSE
9D: Rectory: VICARAGE
10D: Author Dinesen: ISAK. Author of "Out of Africa".
11D: Driven to distraction: BEDEVILLED
21D: Sheepish she: EWE. The alliteration here is so so.
22D: Little in Stirling: WEE. I am just so BEDEVILLED by this clue. How come WEE is always clued as "Little in Scotland"? Doesn't WEE mean "little" in America also?
26D: One lacking pigment: ALBINO
27D: Look to (for): LEAN ON
28D: Bend out of shape: DEFORM
29D:Soft palate attachments: UVULAE. Singular UVULA.
30D: Some train units: DINING CARS
32D: One soprano: COLORATURA. Brutal clue. Who knows? It's "a lyric soprano of high range who specializes in runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music."
34D: Visible impression: MARK
36D: To the left: pref: LEVO. Counterclockwise. Opposite of DEXTRO, clockwise.
41D: Made over extensively: REVAMPED
42D: Robert Zimmerman: BOB DYLAN. Great clue, very topical too, given his recent Pulitzer award. Did not know that Bob Zimmerman got his last name from the poet Dylan Thomas until Winfield told me. Thanks.
49D: Court room railing: BAR
55D: Bush-league: MINOR. Disagree. It's MINORS. You don't call a Minor League a MINOR, do you? It's always MINORS to me. Unless you refer to the player, then you will have to re-clue it as Bush Leaguer. (Update: My mistake. Bush-league means Mediocre, Minor. Bush League, without the hyphen, refers to Minor League. )
57D: Nobel-winner Wiesel: ELIE
58D: Hindu Music: RAGA. I doubt there would be such rave about Anoushaka Shankar and her RAGA-heavy "Breathing Under Water" if not for the the featured guests (Her father Ravi Shankar, Norah Jones (her half-sister) and Sting) in the album.
59D: Venetian notable: DOGE. Dictionary.com says it's "The chief magistrate in the former republics of Venice and Genoa." Is this word still in use today?
62D: Chucklehead: SAP & 63D: Boardroom bigwig: CEO. Perfect parallel, perfect words to describe the ilks of Dennis Kozlowski. By the way Mr. Cayne (James), does anyone still call you for a tee time? And bridge?
Please have a look at yesterday's comment section. Littlelj offered a delicious plate of Scones/Biscuits/Cookies for your afternoon tea.
C.C.
20A: James Joyce classic: FINNEGANS WAKE
40A: Len Deighton classic: FUNERAL IN BERLIN
56A: Gettysburg tourist attraction: CEMETERY RIDGE
Too dark a theme for me. I would prefer driving down the Magnolia Lane this morning and lingering around Amen Corner to see how Tiger masterfully tames the whole GOLF field. I want to smell the pine trees, the azaleas, the dogwoods, and the sunshine. I want to feel the VIBES and the AURA from Augusta Golf Course, and never think about life and its fragility.
I had another double-bogey round today. This golf course just did not fit my eyes. Too many doglegs. Besides, I dubbed almost everyone of my fairway wood shot. I had no idea that OSLO was once called Christiania. Did not know that HORSE SENSE means Savvy. Horse does not have much sense for God's sake. Had to google ISAK Dinesen, then I realized that I had searched for her before. But why did she change her original name Karen into a weird ISAK? Or is ISAK a common Danish name?
And the stupid GEER! Drdad will be so disappointed to hear this, but I completely forgot what he told me last week. Sigh! I also failed miserably on LEAR, GALABA, LEVO, LOGE, COLORATURA, UVULAE. And the two literary classics meant nothing to me, I've never heard of them. My only highlight today is BOB DYLAN.
Grid: Total letters filled: 191. Total blank squares: 34
Let's tee off! Front Nine:
1A: Low in pitch: DEEP
5A: Jagged cut: GASH. Did not get this one immediately. Also, I was never aware of the crude slangy side of GASH until this morning. GASHED was clued "Cut deeply" in yesterday's puzzle.
9A: Slangy feelings: VIBES
14A: Latin and others: ET AL. Third day in a roll!
15A: Christiania, today: OSLO. Is this a gimme for you?
16A: French river: ISÈRE. Got it this time.
17A: Ambiance: AURA
18A:Goneril's father: LEAR. King LEAR's other two daughters are REGAN and CORDELIA.
19A: Core group: CADRE
23A: Jefferson's bill: TWO
24A: Will of "The Waltons": GEER
25A: Kilmer of "The Doors": VAL. He is also in Déjà Vu (Agent Paul Pryzwarra).
28A: Lead balloon: DUD
31A: Yada, yada, yada: ETC. The annoying Seinfeld! Why deceive kids with "Deceptively Delicious" food? I don't get it.
33A: Nautical distance: SEA MILE
35A: Bad to the bone: EVIL
37A: Stockings: HOSE
39A: Nero's successor: GALBA. Who succeeded him? OTHO! Here is a list of all Roman Emperors.
43A: Martini garnish, perhaps: OLIVE
45A: Numbers game: KENO. Never knew that KENO originated from China until nytanonimo told me a few days ago. My ignorance knows no bounds, that's for sure!
46A: Went for a quick visit: RAN OVER
50A: Put on: DON
51A: Actress Tilly: MEG. Nope, not familiar with her. Would've nailed it if it's clued as "Actress Ryan" or "Ebay CEO Whitman".
62A: Plot of hair?: SCALP. I like the clue.
64A: River to the Caspian Sea: URAL
65A: Breakfast area: NOOK
66A: Cliffside dwelling: AERIE
67A: Baltic capital: RIGA. Not fond of the crossing of RIGA and RAGA. Not pretty!
69A: Put forward: POSED
Back Nine:
1D: Unhearing: DEAF. Is this a self-referential meta clue of yourself Mr. Editor?
2D: Needle case: ETUI. Weren't you here yesterday?
4D: Factory: PLANT
5D:Calvary: GOLGOTHA. It's "a hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified"
6D: On the Indian: ASEA
7D: Casual coinage: SLANG. Would be alright if not for 9A: Slangy feelings.
8D: Savvy: HORSE SENSE
9D: Rectory: VICARAGE
10D: Author Dinesen: ISAK. Author of "Out of Africa".
11D: Driven to distraction: BEDEVILLED
21D: Sheepish she: EWE. The alliteration here is so so.
22D: Little in Stirling: WEE. I am just so BEDEVILLED by this clue. How come WEE is always clued as "Little in Scotland"? Doesn't WEE mean "little" in America also?
26D: One lacking pigment: ALBINO
27D: Look to (for): LEAN ON
28D: Bend out of shape: DEFORM
29D:Soft palate attachments: UVULAE. Singular UVULA.
30D: Some train units: DINING CARS
32D: One soprano: COLORATURA. Brutal clue. Who knows? It's "a lyric soprano of high range who specializes in runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music."
34D: Visible impression: MARK
36D: To the left: pref: LEVO. Counterclockwise. Opposite of DEXTRO, clockwise.
41D: Made over extensively: REVAMPED
42D: Robert Zimmerman: BOB DYLAN. Great clue, very topical too, given his recent Pulitzer award. Did not know that Bob Zimmerman got his last name from the poet Dylan Thomas until Winfield told me. Thanks.
49D: Court room railing: BAR
55D: Bush-league: MINOR. Disagree. It's MINORS. You don't call a Minor League a MINOR, do you? It's always MINORS to me. Unless you refer to the player, then you will have to re-clue it as Bush Leaguer. (Update: My mistake. Bush-league means Mediocre, Minor. Bush League, without the hyphen, refers to Minor League. )
57D: Nobel-winner Wiesel: ELIE
58D: Hindu Music: RAGA. I doubt there would be such rave about Anoushaka Shankar and her RAGA-heavy "Breathing Under Water" if not for the the featured guests (Her father Ravi Shankar, Norah Jones (her half-sister) and Sting) in the album.
59D: Venetian notable: DOGE. Dictionary.com says it's "The chief magistrate in the former republics of Venice and Genoa." Is this word still in use today?
62D: Chucklehead: SAP & 63D: Boardroom bigwig: CEO. Perfect parallel, perfect words to describe the ilks of Dennis Kozlowski. By the way Mr. Cayne (James), does anyone still call you for a tee time? And bridge?
Please have a look at yesterday's comment section. Littlelj offered a delicious plate of Scones/Biscuits/Cookies for your afternoon tea.
C.C.
39 comments:
Good morning, C.C. - Decent puzzle today, I thought. Had to get the 'soprano' answer from the acrosses.
'Wee' is used in both countries, but it's much more prevalent in Scotland than here; can't remember the last time I heard someone use it.
I thought 'bush league' was ok; if I call something bush league, I mean that it's minor or trivial.
We leave Sunday for the AutoTrain and Florida again - hope it's an outstanding week for all.
Dennis,
I erred. I was confused by Bush League and Bush-League. Have updated the blog. Thanks. How about DOGE? Is it still in usage today?
C.C., I don't think so, but maybe one of the others more astute than I can shed some light on it.
Good morning........this one was tough for me. I did know Isak and Geer. I didn't know a Jefferson bill was a "two", which is what it would be with the down clues??????? I don't get that one, am I missing something? I always think of AERIE as a high nest, not a cliff side dwelling. I just wish I had more time to spend on the puzzles. I didn't get any of the theme answers.
Have a good day to all........
Katherine, Jefferson is on the two-dollar bill.
Dennis, thanks. I NEVER KNEW that. You don't see too many of those.
Good morning CC and dennis,
I am not sure how I feel about "etc" and "et al" in the same puzzle; though, I did like the "yada, yada, yada." The "soprano" answer only came after I got the down clues. If "doge" is still used today, I've never heard anyone use it in context. Not a bad crossword puzzle day or week, for that matter.
Have a great Friday!
Good morning CC, Dennis et al. This was a little bit of a struggle today. It's those archaic and seldom heard/used terms like "doge" and "Galba".I need to look him up. Watch him be the one who made eating Aspic and eyeballs popular, or maybe he invented some sort of fire engine predecessor like a fire chariot. It's a beautiful day. Enjoy!
C.C., re: 27D - you might lean on (figuratively) a friend if you really looked to him for a favor.
That 27D threw me off. The clue did not send me down that road, but my mental trips were not in alignment with Stanley today. Hope your trip is a good one, Dennis.
I had a terrible time today, didn't get any of the funeral rituals, or any of the longer entries! Maybe if I had googled one or two, the rest would have come together.
What a revisit of past puzzles. Same clue even for et. al. Then he brought along his pal "etc." Riga and raga was a bad crossing. Etui, aura, err and ewe were all back. Do some of these editors look at past puzzles and then just rearrange? C.C. - tsk, tsk on Will Geer. I had to do as Dennis did for coloratura. I hadn't seen Christiania in awhile but it is a crossword staple. I didn't understand the (for) in the "look to" clue unless it is "look to for advice" or something like that. And why the "perhaps" in "Martini garnish?" An olive is a martini garnish, no perhaps about it.
The last doge of Venice was Ludovico Manin in 1797. The term is no longer used as the city never went back to the dogal system (from Wikipedia).
Dennis - another trip? Wow! Have a good time and a good weekend to all.
Sadly this theme is appropriate for my family as we are still trying to come to grips with the recent death of my daughter-in-law. Twenty three is way too young to die and to have suffered as much as she did. She was married less than a year when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
I did not do well on this puzzle-had trouble in the California section-finally gave up and googled for the first part of "Funeral in Berlin."
I did not know GALBA either but got it from the downs.
Figured out ISAK DINISEN but did not know he was a she.
Should have known LEVO from the drug L-dopa (levodopa) but couldn't pull it out.
Got RAGA and had heard it before but didn't really put the two together.
Also did not know COLOROTURA soprano.
Hopefully I'll remember these things in the future!
Dennis & Dadad,
Re: LEAN ON & LEAN ON (FOR)
Here is the definition of LEAN ON from dictionary.com:
1) To exert influence or pressure on in order to gain cooperation, maintain discipline, or the like: Example: The state is leaning on the company to clean up its industrial wastes.
2)to criticize, reprimand, or punish:
Example: I would have enjoyed school more if the teachers hadn't leaned on me so much.
So I LEAN ON Dennis for help every morning, but I won't lean on him. Is my understanding here correct Dennis?
Re 43A: Martini garnish, perhaps
Some prefer onion or picked capers as their Martini garnish.
RE: Repeat Offenders
I have nothing to say, except Williams is NOT a good Editor. He is DEAF (unhearing) to our opinions.
nytanonimo,
I am so sorry for your family loss. I would never ever put a FUNERAL related theme in the puzzle if I were the editor. It's simply AWFUL.
Morning, everyone.
I may be one of the few who got COLORATURA quickly. Once I had a couple of letters, I filled it in. All that voice training again.
I finished today's puzzle-- the top right gave me a bit of trouble, but once I decided on VICARAGE, the rest came right along.
C.C., you're on the money with your interpretation of 'lean on'. And yes, I think the question mark after 'martini garnish' is ok, because onions are also popular with that drink, even though technically it becomes a Gibson.
nytanonimo, I'm terribly sorry for your loss - those of us who have been there know exactly what that feels like. Take some solace in the fact that her suffering is over.
Thanks c.c. and dennis. It is a relief to know that she is no longer in such pain.
Big struggle for me today and I needed a lot of assistance to solve. Words that required assistance: Golgotha, Lear, Galba, Bob Dylan, Cemetery Ridge, Funeral in Berlin, Vicarage, Coloratura. I didn't get the theme - if I had it might have helped. Is bedevilled really spelled with two l's? I guess so but it doesn't look right to me.
Bedevilled - two l's.
MH,
Aah, the consternation of the "Kings English" one L or two???
What is worse apparently both are correct!
Have a great Friday.
C.C., this puzzle has several possible pitfalls for the non-native American. Did you ever see a $2 bill? (23A) Ever hear of HORSESENSE? (8D) Know that GOLGOTHA was another name for Calvary? (5D) Ever been to Gettysburg? (CEMETERY RIDGE, 56A) Hope you did well. DOGE is historic, I believe – not in common usage today. 62A clue was clever. Yes, OSLO was a gimmee – seen it too often, then there was EARN, ETUI, OGLE, AERIE, ETC, ET AL…Katherine, Jefferson’ face is on the two dollar bill just like Washington’s is on the one. Drdad, I’ve heard of onion as a martini garnish as well. Nytanonimo, condolences to you and your family. Losing a loved one at any age is difficult. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Wasn't the clue for 14A a clue just last week? Caused a comment or two I seem to recall.
I've been around quite a bit, but I have never heard the expression, "SEA MILE." There is no word for a mile at sea, except it's called a nautical mile. Maybe GALBA calls it a sea mile, but I never heard of him either. He was the only one that drove me to the 'book', but only to confirm that he existed.
good puzzle - not too hard, but cleaver enough to be fun for 20± minutes.
crockett1947,
Yes, I've seen $2 bill before. I thought it was a fake money when I first saw it.
I've never heard of HORSE SENSE. This phrase still does not make any sense to me. It sounds inept, not savvy!
GOLGOTHA is not a stranger to me. A few months ago I bumped into it when I was reading a blog on Walmart's sellout of the Talking Jesus Action Figures. But GOLGOTHA is not a word that I can easily bring out from the deep nook in my brain, esp given my struggles with LEAR and OSLO.
Have never been to Gettysburg, but I've heard of CEMETERY RIDGE. In fact, only a few days I heard someone comparing Hillary's PA primary to Pickett's Charge.
Jim,
The clue "Latin and others" (ET AL) just appeared on Monday's John Underwood puzzle, not last week's. Another perfect example of Williams' self-absorption, self-worship and who-cares-what-you solvers-think arrogance. He is now on a binge with ET AL.
Dennis "Latin and others",
Am I the only one who is very bothered by the theme today? Isn't it TABOO to discuss this FUNERAL stuff?
nytanonimo, I too would like to extend my deepest sympathy for your loss. It's never easy.
And CC, I agree with you that the theme is in poor taste for a "fun" crossword puzzle, esp when there are those of us who have recently (or ever) lost a cherished one.I think we ought to relegate Stanley to the bush league, take him out a few nautical, I mean SEA Miles, and explain to him Galba's humanitarian philosophy while playing Raga. But he's probably deaf. Wonder if he can catch these vibes.
C.C. - Taboo? No. In poor taste? Yeah, maybe. I guess I'm just colder than most, but it didn't bother me; just another theme.
This is another misplaced comment regarding BEDEVILLED:
"Since when is "bedeviled" spelled with two L's? What dictionary are you using? Very disappointing!
April 11, 2008 1:25 PM"
Strangely, this entry does not bother me at all. Every dictionary I've consulted shows that the past tense of BEDEVIL is either BEDEVILED or BEDEVILLED, though the former is more common than the latter.
Re: the dark theme. Maybe it's just the culture thing then. This puzzle makes me cringe in agony.
Lois,
I am of two minds regarding Stanley.I kind of enjoyed his last puzzle (the lips, mouth, tongue one). But I tanked at his Babe Zaharias. His puzzles always look very ambitious and venturesome to me, you know, with "Z" "J" sprinkled on the field.
I think lean on for 'look to' is a bit of a stretch but this one was not as bad as I thought at first glance. Heard again today that doing crosswords keeps the brain nimble!
C.C.
Answer for Sea Miles:
Noun 1. sea mile - a former British unit of length once used in navigation; equivalent to 6,000 feet (1828.8 meters)
It is also being used by cruise lines as their equivalent to "air-miles" used by the airline industry.
I wonder...do the space shuttle astronauts get "space miles"?
"Horse sense" is a colloqual expression synonymous with "common sense" and has been in use since 1832
Feste
C.C.
Do you think the TMS editor found your frequent offender list and is now using it against us? So many repeats over the last few days.
No wonder you put it to fallow. If you tried to keep up lately it would be a 26 hour per day job!
Have a great weekend.
feste,
Re: HORSE SENSE
Where did you get that information?
razzberry,
Need to ask Richard Branson about Space Miles :-)
I left Repeat Offenders' List fallow because I was too tired to catch them. Overwhelming!
I don't think our Editor is reading my blog! I do know that some constructors pop in from time to time.
Evening everyone!
Today's was a toughy.. But I enjoyed it.. However im starting to get a little concerned - I cant remember the last time I completed our puzzle without a trip to Google! :oS
I got DOGE fairly easily - I visited Venice two years ago (and if you haven't been, try and go, its beautiful!) and one of the famous landmarks there is the DOGE's palace. So even though they no longer use that system, the word is part of a tourist attraction…
I had NO IDEA that you could get two dollar bills!!! So initially I put 'TEN' even though, I knew Jefferson wasn't on that, but I couldn't think what other denomination was made up of 3 letters… but the EWE fixed that. I looked it up on wikipedia and was very surprised… especially to see that there have been incidences when stores have refused to take two dollar bills as they didn’t realise they were legal tender!! How funny!
Being a Seinfeld fan the 'Yada yada yada' clue raised a smile from me...
Nytanonimo - so sorry to hear about your loss, my thoughts are with you and your family.
Happy Friday everyone x
Thanks crockett1947, lois and little lj. I appreciate your kind words and thoughts.
There is someone trying to sell us
space miles razzberry. When I think of distance in space I think of
light years-not that any Earth astronauts will be traveling that distance any time soon though!
C.C.,I should have said my source for info about "horse sense" was the OED.
The reverse of the $2 bill has a drawing of the "Declaration of Independence,1776"
Feste
Hullo and thanks for a great blog. Just started reading it and enjoy hearing from other puzzlers about the puzzle of the day. I usually work the LA Times puzzle too. Having had horses all my life, it makes a lot of sense to connect them to common sense since they pick up so many clews from their environment that we less perceptive humans often miss entirely. :)
Hello cc etal,
Friday's puzzle was not too difficult but I did not get to it until late last night. I see once again we have etal to contend with. Had a little trouble with the upper right corner but otherwise a good one. I did finish Saturdays puzzle in quick time and will look forward to your comments on Saturday's puzzle. See you Sunday as I will be gone for the weekend.
feste,
You have the best dictionary in the world! Is it unabridged?
thomas,
Thanks for the HORSE SENSE explanation. I was so baffled by it before.
C.C. My Oxford English Dictionary is the (complete) Compact Edition in three volumes of India type paper, and one must employ the use of a magnifiying glass (provided.) The total number of pages is: 4116.
The supplement consists of 1412 pgs. The "horse sense" entry appeared on page 373 of it. A friend of mine has the OED on CDs.
Feste
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