Theme: HOLIDAYS
18A: December Day: CHRISTMAS
62A: February Day: GROUND HOG
3D: May Day: MEMORIAL
5D: March Day: ST. PATRICK'S
32D: February Day: VALENTINE'S
35D: Jan. Day: MLK
40D: October Day: COLUMBUS
Um, it looks like our editor's pipeline is drying up. Two Josiah Breward puzzles in less than 4 days, and now another Michael T. Williams. TMS definitely needs to ante up their woeful payment to attract some creative puzzle constructors. We need fresh blood and we deserve quality puzzles!
In case you have not heard yet, Michael T. Williams is the nephew of our editor Mr. Wayne Robert Williams, who often uses Josiah Breward or Willy A. Wiseman as his alias names.
But this is a great puzzle, isn't it? Lovely theme. Simple yet elegant grid structure, though the intersection of MLK and AMORAL bothered me a bit. I was not able to close the deal today unassisted, not even with the generous help from those long self-revealing theme entries. Too bad, I squandered a great chance for a Wednesday home run. I completely screwed up the lower left corner. I did not know what was Quamash (CAMASS), had no idea who was the French historian (RENAN), forgot Saul's uncle's name (NER). PNIN also escaped me this morning. PECCAVI was a total stranger to me too.
ACROSS:
1A: Spiritual leaders: LAMAS. LAMA originally referred to a monk of higher rank, now it has evolved into "Guru" status. FYI, Dalai means "Ocean". So "Dalai LAMA" literally means a man of great spiritual depth.
6A: Consumer protection org.: FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Thought of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) first.
9A: Use elbow grease: SCRUB
16A: Stomachs of ruminants: OMASA. Singular is Omasum. Unknown to me. It's "the third stomach of a ruminant, between the reticulum and the abomasum". Also called manyplie.
17A: Recapitulate: SUM UP
20A: Funny Phillips: EMO. Vaguely heard of this name before.
21A: City in Pennsylvania: ALTOONA. Have never heard of this city. Strung the words together by down clues.
23A: Ball carriers, briefly: RBS. Why? What ball carriers? (Update from Dennis: RBS is Running backs)
27A: Green target: HOLE. Nice clue, though my first response was PIN. You shoot for the PIN when you are in the fairway, or rough, or bunker, don't you? But of course, you target is HOLE when your ball safely lands on the green.
28A: Make clucking sounds: CHIRRUP. Stumper for me. This word looks so wrong to me.
31A: Dodges: EVADES
33A: Raccoon's cousin: COATI
34A: Lacking values: AMORAL
37A: Reminder of times past: RELIC
38A: They: Fr: ILS. Tired of French words/painters/authors every day. How about "Instrument Landing System, briefly?"
39A: Legal: LICIT. English is strange. See, you add one letter E, then you have this completely different ELICIT (68A: EDUCE). Different root I suppose.
43A: Lurks: SKULKS
46A: Black: EBONY. Also a magazine name.
46A: Quamash: CAMASS. No idea. It's the definition of CAMASS: "any of several plants of the genus Camassia, of the lily family, esp. C quamash, of western North America, having long clusters of blue to white flowers and edible bulbs." Here is a picture.
49A: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
51A: Arabian sultanate: OMAN. Clued as "Muscat's land" in yesterday's puzzle.
52A: Boob Tubes: TVS. Would be an OK clue if not for the intersecting 53D: TV monitor.
55A: Aleutian island: ATTU. Sometimes it's ADAK or ATKA.
56A: Saul's uncle: NER
57A: Confession: PECCAVI. Latin, literally I have sinned (first person singular).
66A: Pathogenic bacteria: E. COLI
67A: Inhabitant of: suff.: ITE. I can only think of "Israelite" at this moment.
69A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). Total étranger to me. Is he very well known?
70A: Score figs.: PTS (Points)
71A: Bird in "Peter and the Wolf": SASHA. No idea, thought it's very gettable.
DOWN:
1D: _ majesty: LESE. It's "a crime committed against the sovereign power". Treason. I suppose LESE comes from French word LÉSER (damage)
2D: Bard grad, e.g.: ALUM
4D: Prefix for puncture: ACU. Aw, the painful needles. Have you ever had acupuncture before?
6D: Datum: FACT
8D: Entertainer Channing: CAROL. Unknown to me until this morning. I always thought Marilyn Monroe was the original singer of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
10D: "Most Wanted Live" stn.: CMT (Country Music TV). Did not know this before. I was actually thinking of John Walsh's "America Most Wanted" (FOX).
11D: Exemplar of stiffness: RAMROD
12D: Operative: USABLE
13D: Deep voices: BASSES
22D: Fighting Tigers of the NCAA: LSU (Louisiana State University). Fighting Tigers always reminds me of General Chennault and his "Flying Tigers".
25D: Crafty person?: ARTISAN. Good clue.
27D: Large flatfish: HALIBUT
28D: "Born on the Bayou" grp.: CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Do not know the song nor the band.
41D: Balin or Claire: INA. Learned from doing crossword of course.
42D: Norse deity: TYR. I faintly I remember I saw this word somewhere before. It's God of Strife/War. Son of Odin. English equivalent is TIU.
44D: You in the Yucatan: USTED. Spanish for You (the formal address).
46D: Marine eel: CONGER
47D: Punish arbitrarily: AMERCE. OK, AMERCE is from à merci, at the mercy of). Is this a special legal term?
48D: Abandon: MAROON
50D: Map reader abbr.: NAV. Navigation I gather?
53D: TV monitor: V-CHIP. See here for more information.
54D: George C. ___: SCOTT. I like his "Patton".
57D: Nabokov novel: PNIN. Has anyone read this book?
60D: Mr. Walesa: LECH. A TMS stalwart.
61D: Ends of small intestines: ILEA. Singular is Ilium.
63D: Tail of a fib?: ULA. Fibula. Plural is Fibulae.
65D: Harem room: ODA. Definitely a repeat offender. OK, some extra information: HAREM is Islamic women's quarters, which could also be called SERAGIO (a sequestered area for wives). Hijab is the headscarf Muslim women wear. Houri is the beautiful virgin promised to those faithfuls in their Koranic paradise.
C.C.
18A: December Day: CHRISTMAS
62A: February Day: GROUND HOG
3D: May Day: MEMORIAL
5D: March Day: ST. PATRICK'S
32D: February Day: VALENTINE'S
35D: Jan. Day: MLK
40D: October Day: COLUMBUS
Um, it looks like our editor's pipeline is drying up. Two Josiah Breward puzzles in less than 4 days, and now another Michael T. Williams. TMS definitely needs to ante up their woeful payment to attract some creative puzzle constructors. We need fresh blood and we deserve quality puzzles!
In case you have not heard yet, Michael T. Williams is the nephew of our editor Mr. Wayne Robert Williams, who often uses Josiah Breward or Willy A. Wiseman as his alias names.
But this is a great puzzle, isn't it? Lovely theme. Simple yet elegant grid structure, though the intersection of MLK and AMORAL bothered me a bit. I was not able to close the deal today unassisted, not even with the generous help from those long self-revealing theme entries. Too bad, I squandered a great chance for a Wednesday home run. I completely screwed up the lower left corner. I did not know what was Quamash (CAMASS), had no idea who was the French historian (RENAN), forgot Saul's uncle's name (NER). PNIN also escaped me this morning. PECCAVI was a total stranger to me too.
ACROSS:
1A: Spiritual leaders: LAMAS. LAMA originally referred to a monk of higher rank, now it has evolved into "Guru" status. FYI, Dalai means "Ocean". So "Dalai LAMA" literally means a man of great spiritual depth.
6A: Consumer protection org.: FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Thought of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) first.
9A: Use elbow grease: SCRUB
16A: Stomachs of ruminants: OMASA. Singular is Omasum. Unknown to me. It's "the third stomach of a ruminant, between the reticulum and the abomasum". Also called manyplie.
17A: Recapitulate: SUM UP
20A: Funny Phillips: EMO. Vaguely heard of this name before.
21A: City in Pennsylvania: ALTOONA. Have never heard of this city. Strung the words together by down clues.
23A: Ball carriers, briefly: RBS. Why? What ball carriers? (Update from Dennis: RBS is Running backs)
27A: Green target: HOLE. Nice clue, though my first response was PIN. You shoot for the PIN when you are in the fairway, or rough, or bunker, don't you? But of course, you target is HOLE when your ball safely lands on the green.
28A: Make clucking sounds: CHIRRUP. Stumper for me. This word looks so wrong to me.
31A: Dodges: EVADES
33A: Raccoon's cousin: COATI
34A: Lacking values: AMORAL
37A: Reminder of times past: RELIC
38A: They: Fr: ILS. Tired of French words/painters/authors every day. How about "Instrument Landing System, briefly?"
39A: Legal: LICIT. English is strange. See, you add one letter E, then you have this completely different ELICIT (68A: EDUCE). Different root I suppose.
43A: Lurks: SKULKS
46A: Black: EBONY. Also a magazine name.
46A: Quamash: CAMASS. No idea. It's the definition of CAMASS: "any of several plants of the genus Camassia, of the lily family, esp. C quamash, of western North America, having long clusters of blue to white flowers and edible bulbs." Here is a picture.
49A: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
51A: Arabian sultanate: OMAN. Clued as "Muscat's land" in yesterday's puzzle.
52A: Boob Tubes: TVS. Would be an OK clue if not for the intersecting 53D: TV monitor.
55A: Aleutian island: ATTU. Sometimes it's ADAK or ATKA.
56A: Saul's uncle: NER
57A: Confession: PECCAVI. Latin, literally I have sinned (first person singular).
66A: Pathogenic bacteria: E. COLI
67A: Inhabitant of: suff.: ITE. I can only think of "Israelite" at this moment.
69A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). Total étranger to me. Is he very well known?
70A: Score figs.: PTS (Points)
71A: Bird in "Peter and the Wolf": SASHA. No idea, thought it's very gettable.
DOWN:
1D: _ majesty: LESE. It's "a crime committed against the sovereign power". Treason. I suppose LESE comes from French word LÉSER (damage)
2D: Bard grad, e.g.: ALUM
4D: Prefix for puncture: ACU. Aw, the painful needles. Have you ever had acupuncture before?
6D: Datum: FACT
8D: Entertainer Channing: CAROL. Unknown to me until this morning. I always thought Marilyn Monroe was the original singer of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
10D: "Most Wanted Live" stn.: CMT (Country Music TV). Did not know this before. I was actually thinking of John Walsh's "America Most Wanted" (FOX).
11D: Exemplar of stiffness: RAMROD
12D: Operative: USABLE
13D: Deep voices: BASSES
22D: Fighting Tigers of the NCAA: LSU (Louisiana State University). Fighting Tigers always reminds me of General Chennault and his "Flying Tigers".
25D: Crafty person?: ARTISAN. Good clue.
27D: Large flatfish: HALIBUT
28D: "Born on the Bayou" grp.: CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Do not know the song nor the band.
41D: Balin or Claire: INA. Learned from doing crossword of course.
42D: Norse deity: TYR. I faintly I remember I saw this word somewhere before. It's God of Strife/War. Son of Odin. English equivalent is TIU.
44D: You in the Yucatan: USTED. Spanish for You (the formal address).
46D: Marine eel: CONGER
47D: Punish arbitrarily: AMERCE. OK, AMERCE is from à merci, at the mercy of). Is this a special legal term?
48D: Abandon: MAROON
50D: Map reader abbr.: NAV. Navigation I gather?
53D: TV monitor: V-CHIP. See here for more information.
54D: George C. ___: SCOTT. I like his "Patton".
57D: Nabokov novel: PNIN. Has anyone read this book?
60D: Mr. Walesa: LECH. A TMS stalwart.
61D: Ends of small intestines: ILEA. Singular is Ilium.
63D: Tail of a fib?: ULA. Fibula. Plural is Fibulae.
65D: Harem room: ODA. Definitely a repeat offender. OK, some extra information: HAREM is Islamic women's quarters, which could also be called SERAGIO (a sequestered area for wives). Hijab is the headscarf Muslim women wear. Houri is the beautiful virgin promised to those faithfuls in their Koranic paradise.
C.C.
67 comments:
Good morning, C.C. & gang -
Ah, it's so great to feel stupid again this morning! Was breezing along until I hit the SW corner; didn't know camass, didn't know Renan. The empty space at 'pucca i' stared at me for quite a while before I figured 'nav' was the only possibility for 'Map Reader abbr.'
C.C., 23A, 'RB' is running back. And I agree, whenever I see ILS, I think Instrument Landing System.
Tough little puzzle; a welcome change.
Make it a great day.
Hi Dennis,
I've added your Running backs information to the blog entry. Thanks. I don't know much about football, except Viking's Love Boat Party! Were 16A, 28D & 42D all gimmes to you?
Good morning cc and Dennis. I also had many problems with the lower left corner. I did not know Quamash, French historian nor could I get Oman as I kept trying to put emir in there. The "ILS" is always Instrument Landing System especially for anyone that ever flew. Nast little puzzle today.
cc I knew 28D but 16A filled in from the other clues and the same for 42D.
CC guess to answer your question to Dennis they were not gimmies to me.
C.C. - CCR and Tyr were gimmes, perps gave me Omasa.
Dick, do you fly? I used to, but it got to be too much of a hassle. My motto in recent years: "If it ain't fun, it ain't done."
I must confess. That peccavi got me for quite a while. Had to google that one. Then had to check on camass and amerce after I had filled them in.
C.C. Fix your "Columbus" Day in your themes at the beginning (Colomubs???)
Emo Philips and Judy Tenuta.
Would a inhabitant of Paris be a parasite?
CCR and Proud Mary (Rolling Down the River).
Online dictionary has a law definition for amerce. Mkatesq - Help!
No acupuncture for me.
Happy National Honesty Day (in honor of George Washington's inauguration on April 30, 1789.
Tuesday is named after the Norse deity - "Tyr's Day."
drdad, it's also National Spank Out Day.....anyone care to explain that one?
Dennis, I found it. It is the day to not spank your kids - rather seek other forms of punishment (time outs, etc.)
Dennis I used to fly but quit for the same reason(s). Flying today is not like flying the old J3 Piper Cub without any radios and only a compass. CC Altoona is about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh and is most famous for "The Horseshoe Bend" which is a big curve in the railroad lie that is so acute that if you are on the back of the train you can see the engine going in the other direction. There were very large rail yards there many years ago but they are mostly all gone now.
Good morning everyone. I also had a hard time with the SW corner. I never heard of peccavi. I got most of the rest of it. CC, I am surprised you don't know who CCR is? Or is it "are"? I am sure you have heard their songs.
Have a great day.
mkatesq Pens 5 Rangers 3! Go Pens!
Good morning CC and company!
All around it has been a slow start to the day for me.
Ok, so a little tough on the puzzle today, though the theme was far too simplistic. I was completely stumped on "peccavi" for quite some time and "Pnin" - never heard of it. And wouldn't you know it but the return of roman numerals for me. Oh yeah, "quamash"? I thought it had to have been a typo for a clue!
drdad - as for amerce - it's an antiquated english law term. And can be imposed upon the discretion of a court.
dick - LOVE that the Pens only need one more for a sweep! Though I think I may get beat up @ work if it comes to Pens v. Flyers. ;o)
Time for coffee. Have a great Wednesday everyone!
drdad,
Wow, the sentence I wrote really didn't make sense. Amerce is a fine that can be imposed at the discretion of the court. So, the offender better hopes the the judge likes him/her. ;o)
Hi Dick,
I also filled in EMIR initially, misread the clue as "Abrabian Sultan" rather than "Sultanate". But then ARTISAN would not fit, nor would MAROON. Thanks for the ALTOONA information.
Drdad,
I've fixed the COLUMBUS problem. Did not know what the heck was going on in my mind when I keyed in that entry. Good to know how Tuesday got its name, thanks. How about Monday to Sunday, were they all named after some deities? I love your "Parasite" remark! That will crack up David Sedaris! Me Talking pretty one day! By the way, there seems to be some "Hot Wick" issue left unresolved in yesterday's Comments section.
Katherine,
I HONESTLY have never heard of CCR.
CC,
CCR is Creedence Clearwater Revival.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival
Wednesday is "Woden's Day" for Odin, the chief Norse god. Thursday is "Thor's Day" for the Norse god of thunder. Friday is "Frigga's Day" for Odin's wife.
Saturday is "Saturn's Day" for the Greek titan Saturn, father of Zeus. Sunday and Monday are for the sun and moon, respectively.
Good morning CC et al. This was a cute theme puzzle today, but I crashed and burned on it, for the same reasons you all have said. Laughed when I saw 24A again, but 2D bothered me...why the 'bard' and 28A? "Gimme" a break! Loved CCR tho'. Began to think we were heading for another dive into sin when 'amoral' came up coupled with some others, but alas and alack, no such luck.
I'm seeking a 'peccavi' this am, but running in an 'annular' fashion after the 'rats', who 'skulk' and 'evade' like ghosts. I obviously work with teenagers whose 'tail end of a fib' is NOT 'ula'. Those 'tail ends' need something else! And for today to be Nat'l spank out day? I need my 'lama' or to stop and smell the 'camass', or a drink already!
Enjoy this glorious day! It's beautiful here.
Lois is on a tear already. Answer to the hot wick question is posted in yesterday's comments.
Morning, all!
I've been reading this page for awhile, but never had the nerve to post a comment. Until now, that is.
I wouldn't call myself an expert cruciverbalist by any means (the NY Times puzzle frequently stumps me), but for some reason I almost never have problems with the Star tribune puzzle (I do it in the Boston Globe). Today's puzzle, however, had me really baffled. I was completely unfamiliar with the clue "Quamash" and had never heard of "amerce", "Renan", "Ner" or "Pnin", so that left a gaping hole in the southwest corner that just refused to be filled.
I also filled in "flute" for 71 across and that messed me up something terrible before I finally realized they wanted the name of the bird and not the instrument that portrayed her in the piece.
The rest was fairly straightforward for me, but it was certainly a humbling experience!
Oh -- and the answer for 28 across is actually "chirrup" and not "chirr up"... :)
Anyway, thanks so much for maintaining this page! It's always a pleasure to see how others have struggled (or not) with the puzzles, and I love your links and explanations. Keep it up!
Well' I guess I ain't so smart after all!!!
Sounded good yesterday but, like some of you, the whole SW corner sat till I could call Mr. Google....and his line was busy for a while!!! I'm not proud of my end result but I DID finish and I suppose that's the ultimate goal.
Lois,
Wow! You had me laughing throughout your post. Phew. I think I need a drink now! ;o)
Do you teach? As I recall many a times thinking the same as you talked about when I taught.
Lois there are so many teens that need their tail struck with the far end of the fibula. If you are a teacher God bless you!
Mkat,
Thanks for the AMERCE explanation.
Drdad,
Wow, I did not expect such a quick answer. Very interesting. I wonder why they were all named after Norse Gods. You have the Norwegian roots, don't you?
Lois,
You have me LOLROTF.
Barry,
Thank you for pointing out the CHIRRUP mistake. I've fixed it.
Bill,
His line was busy because of me.
Easy holiday clues for the days but the SouthWest corner had me in a bind. After yesterday's Ace.... today was a toughie.... I really did not like it... too many obscure clues.... Camass, Renan,Peccavi,... blah blah... Tomorrow is a Quote theme so maybe that will be better.... Evan Esar maybe... for the one millionth time
drdad, I think we lost Lois forever, once C.C. posted that Tom Jones link. She hasn't been the same since...
CC,
I love this site! I no longer need to wait until the next edition. Question for your readers. I am very anal about my puzzles and the way I do them. I need one particular pen and white out! If I get something wrong, I white it out and continue. Any others as bad as I am?
Another great little tool is my hand held Thesaurus since I do my puzzles on the patio with my coffee! One of the perks of living in Florida!
Have a great day everyone!
C.C. - I'm Danish. Denmark, Norway, Sweden (the Vikings and their gods). They are all Germanic languages and the weekdays were named based on these languages for some reason.
Dennis - I hope Lois hasn't gone too far. She's alot of laughs with her comments. She's probably back at the hot wick site.
Kim, I guess my only idiosyncrasy is that I need to do the puzzle early morning, while I still have brain cells working.
Where in Florida?
Be careful, Kim!!!! Dennis goes to Florida frequently.
I use pen during the week and pencil on Sunday. If I make an error I just write over it. Erase on Sunday.
Dennis,
Port St. Lucie, just east of Lake O. Bout an hour north of West Palm. I'm the same with the time of day too, I don't start my day until I've had my coffee and my puzzle. Once done, I can go on with my day!
Yes, I'm a HS teacher, and the mother of 4. I don't know which one better explains why I'm so twisted! I'm an acquired taste, I guess, but we have a lot of fun. Between being a student and teaching, I've been in school for over 50 years...you'd think I'd get it right by now, wouldn't you? Today's puzzle certainly showed me WHY I need to stay in school or better yet take CC and gang w/me everywhere. I learn so much from all of you.
drdad, thank you for the info on the 'hot wick'. I can't wait to try it. It's one more of my versions to the "big bang" theory.
Enjoy!
drdad,
I just can't bring myself to write over. It looks horrible to me and stops me in my track. I found this out when I first started doing this puzzle 3 years ago. I think this comes from a Science teacher in 10th grade. She wouldn't let us scratch out. If a mistake was made, you drew a line through it and put parenthesis around it. Thats the only thing I can think of that makes me hate mistakes so much! I love the white out!!!!
Good morning! It's been a busy few days, but I finally had a nice calm morning to do my puzzle.
Crashed and burned on the bottom left. That looks like a common theme today. I was burning through the middle of it, thinking about the puzzles getting easier, and then bam! I was lost. Remind me not to have those thoughts again!
My dad retired from AA last year. He jokes that the cockpit of the future will be a man and a dog. The man is there to look at the controls; the dog is there to bite him if he tries to touch anything. :)
You guys doing the puzzle in pen are much braver than I am. I do it in pencil, and it had better be one with an eraser. I've had to use white out and a marker once when my paper was wet, and whiting out the mistakes made it twice as hard for me to see the patterns and infer the answers.
Have a good day!
Lois,
Glad to see you haven't gone far from us! And kudos to you for being a HS teacher! I don't think I could do that. My goodness, my principal wanted me to switch to third grade and I balked at him. Second grade was perfect for me. :o) The only problem is that it was very hard to break the slow, candy-coated voice. I still use it from time to time, especially when I get ticked off at people as that "teacher voice" irks the he** out of them! LOL
Missed the same ones most of you did-AMERCE, CAMASS, PECCAVI, Renan and OMASA. Here's how I knew TYR-swim suit brand-LOL!
Oh -- and with regards to the days of the week and who they are named after, I just thought I'd mention how it's done in Spanish for the sake of comparison:
domingo [Sunday] - "Day of the Lord" (a little more Christian than "Day of the Sun")
lunes [Monday] - "Day of the Moon" (just like in English)
martes [Tuesday] - "Day of Mars" (same idea as in English, just a different god of war)
miércoles [Wednesday] - "Day of Mercury"
jueves [Thursday] - "Day of Jove [Jupiter]"
viernes [Friday] - "Day of Venus"
sábado [Saturday] - "Day of Sabbath"
Ellie,
Can't use the white out on wet paper, makes a mess. When writing my letters in the box, I keep them in the middle of the box, that way, if I need white out, I only white out the inside of the box...it never touches the lines! Told you, I'm anal!!
Have a good one!
Kim, that's a wonderful area - we've looked at homes down that way. I love the access to the Atlantic, the Intercoastal, freshwater and the Gulf.
Lois, embrace 'twisted' - who the hell wants to be normal? Besides, you get interesting company that way...
drdad, why pencil on Sunday?
mkatesq: Good for you to handle the little ones. I like that age too. Just can't stand Middle School. Didn't even like my own kids at that age! And that teacher voice? For me it sounds more like the demon in The Exorcist.
dennis: I do enjoy being twisted. Actually, I'm so twisted that when I die they'll have to screw me into the ground, and guess what... I'm really looking forward to that experience. It's that Tom Jones Syndrome again.
So many lines...
CC, I didn't share your like for this puzzle. I thought the theme was very easy but it was combined with several esoteric words. I just didn't like the lack of balance. Also the minor theme from Peter and the Wolf was unrelated to the rest of the puzzle. Words I couldn't get without help: amerci, pnin, vchip, peccavi, renan, omasa, camass. Most of the southwest corner was a mess! I guess that's why we have Google.
To Kim, I'm a little anal but I always use a pencil and erase. Even whiteout makes a puzzle look messy to me ;-) I like the Ticonderoga SenseMatic 0.7mm pencil. I do the same with Sudoku since I like to write possible numbers in the squares and erase the possibles when the actual number is determined.
Dennis - Sunday's is bigger and I tend to make more mistakes on it and it can get really messy with pen. Just my little quirk when doing puzzles.
it's time I check in since you often rescue me. I, too, had trouble with the SW corner as I so wanted quamash to be "morass", don't know why. As for acupuncture, I've actually had it in my face to treat temporary paralisys. Not fun! Thanks again for the help. Lisa
Dennis and Dick-We may have been flying in the same era. I learned on the Piper, Aeronca, T-craft, Luscombe and the low wing Ryan. No instruments---used hi-ways, water towers and other landmarks for navigation tools. Flew just long enough to get my license---then quit.
About the puzzle--had the same problem as most of you plus a few more. Thanks to C.C. was able to finish.
Good morning everyone. C.C., ditto on the lower left corner. Too many words I didn't know or even recognize. Kim, white out rots your brain, LOL! I just write over. Sometimes I have to re-write a third choice on the margins. Guess I'll go read yesterday's blog to find out about this "hot wick" theme that a number of people are referencing.
parasite--c'est affreux! but funny...feeling stupide like tout le monde today...
c.c. you should try lolita before pnin--they're both unusual and nabokov is a wordsmith par excellance (though a bit distorted in outlook...)
if we go back far enough we find that 7 is a magic number--giving the names of the planets (and the deities connected with them and, by extension, hours, minerals, plants; yep, you name it).
I was hoping for some reference to that fabulous holiday celebrated in the pagan world today--Walpurgis Night (or Valborgmassoafton in Sweden). It is the night where the witches go loose and fly back to "Blue Hill" Everyone sets up huge fires (today people just burn all the detritus left over from winter) and enjoys the fire as the sun sets at 9 or 10and warms themselves inwardly with a bit of akvavit or snaps!
Mh,
I don't get your point regarding the "minor theme from Peter and Wolf". Why does it have to be related to the theme?
I agree with you on certain obscure words, but I really like the theme. It's not easy to pull off 7 holidays (though only 6 months) in a 15*15 grid.
Why isn't the theme balanced? You are not talking about the 180 degree rotational symmetry here, are you?
Don't you like CHRISTMAS crossing CAROL? And MEMORIAL crossing RELIC? How about the paralleled structures of EVADES, AMORAL, LICIT & PECCAVI (all of them intersecting with VALENTINE'S)?
Thomas - I found something on Walpurgis Nacht also. Seems to have its origins tied in some way to Beltane (a pagan festival held on April 30th) that Wiccans still observe.
Thomas,
PARASITE: I know I would get some "C'est affreux" reaction from you! Don't you think that's perfect word to describe David Sedaris and his early adventure in Paris?
Would like to read Lolita someday, not PNIN. What a weird name!
Hi C.C et al
Like Barry, I've been visiting your site, but I have never left a comment before. I found you way back in Feb. when I was googling an obscure clue and have been visiting ever day since.
I do my puzzle at work; so I take a very long time to finish. I love reading the blog comments, they crack me up, and make my work day go by much faster.
I am here in Vancouver so I am always way behind you and reading your comments late into the day.
i've been a lurker here for a while and decided to chime in. kim you asked my question before i could, pen vs. pencil. i use an eraseable pen .. i just like the way ink flows on newspaper.
i finally called my newspaper carrier yesterday and asked to have my newspaper delivered on my front porch rather than the driveway. get this .. very early one morning i inadvertently spied my neighbor-on-the-left, pulling out a section of my neighbor-on-the-right's paper, sliding it inside his jacket, and walking away. which explains the oft-missing parts of my own paper ... frequently the section containing the crossword ... ARGH! my driveway is right next to his front door so it's easy for him to get to without anyone seeing .. but i figured he wouldn't be so bold as to actually steal from my front porch. it worked .. this morning i retrieved my entire paper, including crossword puzzle. ahhh. (had the same stick points as everyone else today, took a little help from cc but didn't need my eraser ;-))
i almost would rather have gouged my eyes out than to see that sweet old man in the act of thievery ... but such is life. i suppose i could have anonymously had a subscription sent to his own front porch .. but i'm not a saint yet.
anyway i've enjoyed lurking, thanks cc and all for the thoughtful posts. i'm in california so most of you are having lunch by the time i get to the crossword.
oh and btw cc, that sex bomb video led me to this one .. i swear i've watched it 35 times. woooohoooo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxl_X1PbFng&feature=related
Welcome, Lisa and Melissa bee, on behalf of our disfunctional little group. No doubt you'll learn a lot of useless/arcane information here that will never come into play in real life...
And Melissa bee, with that video, we've probably lost Lois for at least a week.
melissa--welcome to the west coast contingent (there are a few of us here) and you're right...we tend to post comments when everyone else has gone off for the day...
c.c. yes, sedaris (and his sister) are drole drole drole. have you read "me talk pretty one day--will clue you in to all kinds of americana arcana--of the outre variety!
Yup. Lois is gone, I'm sure of it. Welcome Lisa and Melissa Bee.
OMG!@!! Holy Hot Wick Sex Bomb!!!!!! Thank you, Melissa bee for that youtube site. I'm going to see how many times I can watch that in an hour!!!! You guys are right! I'm over the edge for sure!!!! Whooo hoo! Like I said, a good man is hard to find and a hard man is good to find...even if it is a video.
most welcome lois .. a woman after my own heart ..
-miss bee
Well, we've lost Lois, that's for sure; another victim of Youtube.
Hey - guys, we could do that too! Dick, drdad, mh, et al - we should make a video for Lois. Instead of the Chippendales, we could be, say, the Clydesdales!
I think I'm on to something...or maybe just on something.
Does anybody know? Can the guy skate???
Lois...contain yourself 'cause you still have to finish the school term and when you drool they will know for sure that there is something wrong.
Dennis...Yes you are definately ON something.
Welcome to all the newcomers...I guess I can say that....I've been here for a few weeks.
CYA all
Melissa,
I also wonder what he had for breakfast that morning. Hot stuff! Thanks for the link.
Thomas,
Yes, I've read "Me Talking Pretty One Day". Very outre indeed. I enjoyed almost every piece in that book.
HI Everbody !
C.C. Your site is a wonderful way ro relax after a long day at work. Thank you.
Welcome to all the new people that stopped by. I get here so late that I seldom leave comments as it seems too late.
As far as "hot wicking" and cherry bombs go' I would love to to tell a couple of stories, but, my "seven years" are not up yet, (for the third time) lol
I had all the same troubles as everone else today. An observation though, I can tell when it is a bad puzzle day, because when I google some thing it takes me straight to C.C. "s site! lol
Take Care everyone! The Whoo
melissa--fun--i guess you could call that the reintarnation of tom jones (you know, reintarnation--coming back as a hillbilly, er the russian variant, I guess, complete with an abs-to-go body suit haha)see y'all tomorrow and here's hoping for some more French words (though we could well skip etui)
After all the comments on pens, pencils, and white out, maybe a poll on pen v pencil would be interesting.
Anonymous @ 11:41pm,
You can find the result of the Pen/Pencil poll on the front page sidebar.
Hi!!! crosswordcorner.blogspot.com is one of the most excellent resourceful websites of its kind. I enjoy reading it every day. Keep it that way.
Post a Comment