Theme: FORTES (Physical, Intellectual & Visual)
17A: Publisher's forte?: MANUAL DEXTERITY
39A: Prevaricator's forte?: MENTAL AGILITY
62A: Diver's forte? DEPTH PERCEPTION
Nope, not an easy Wednesday for me.
Got mired in the mucky upper left corner again. Was not familiar with IGA (2D: Supermarket grp.). Had no idea that AGATE was a printing type. It's always a "Playing marble" to me. I doubt my baseball stat nut husband knows this special size word for the sports data he is poring over every morning. Did not know "MANDRAKE the Magician". Not a fan of comic strip. Only glance over at "Dennis the Menace" occasionally. The crossing of 3D & 17A MAN is very inelegant.
I did not actually experience much resistance in other areas, though I don't think I would've got MIRO & SEWER without the down clues. MIRO is the most vicious clue I've ever seen in TMS crossword. How many people have seen this "Painting" painting? Ridiculous! "Painters on Painting" painter or "Antipainter' painter will be sufficiently challenging!
SEWER clue is very diabolical too. For me, Ed Norton is him, Salma Hayek's ex. Have never heard of "The Honeymooners". Again, without the down clues, I would've failed miserably. I hate the TEX clue (8D: Comboy's handle) too. Want to overawe me? Add a "?" for the clue. Then I will go gaga over your cleverness. (Update: My mistake. I did not know that cowboy is called a TEX. I complicated the whole thing).
Grid: Total letters filled: 187. Total blank squares: 38 (reached the maximum). Total 26 letter As in this puzzle (13% of the filled squares)
Across clues:
1A: FRD coins: DIMES.
6A: Meat pastes: PATÉS. Hmm, Paté de campagine, fresh baguette directly out of a boulangerie, and a bottle of wine. Perfect picnic in Paris, esp if you are in love!
11A: Dupe: SAP. "Soul-sapping" = "Today" extension, indeed Robin (Givhan).
14A: Tiny type size: AGATE. It's "a standard unit of measurement found primarily in newspaper publishing, AGATE is approximately equal to 5 1/2 points or 1/14 of an inch. The very small type used for statistical data in the sports and stock sections of a newspaper is agate type." It's also used to display legal notices in newspapers. Considered to be the smallest point size that can be printed on newsprint.
20A: Cash in Iraq: DINAR. No "Bread in Iraq?". Guess the Editor is not in the mood to dance around with us this morning. Good, we need straight & honest answers about Iraq, everything! Where did the $9 billion OIL revenue go? FYI, DINAR is also the currency in Iran, Jordan and a few other countries in Middle Eastern countries.
22A: Long, thin fish: GAR. OK, they do look long and thin. I've never had GAR before.
24A: Perspiring: SWEATY
28A: "Painting" painter. MIRO (Joan). Would you get this one without the down clues?
31A: Ed Norton's "Office": SEWER. Is it a gimme for you?
34A: Bury the hatchet: MAKE UP
43A: Seer's deck: TAROT
49A: German philosopher: HEGEL. Ah, the Dialectics guy. Karl Marx adopted his theory and formed his own "Dialectical Materialism". My middle school headache!!
51A: __ fide (in bad faith): MALA. I am always confused by this translation. "MALA fide" looks like "bad faith' to me, where is the preposition "in"?
57A: "All Things Considered" network: NPR. Do you like Robert Segal? I do.
19A: Major artery: AORTA
70A: Bandleader shaw Shaw: ARTIE. Repeat offender.
73A: Electrical pioneer: TESLA (Nicola). Also, unit of magnetic flux density.
Down clues:
2D: Supermarket grp.: IGA (Independent Grocers' Alliance)
3D: Magician of comics: MANDRAKE. MANDRAKE the Magician. Sigh.
4D: Pin box: ETUI. OK, one more ETUI for you.
5D: Astin and Hayes: SEANS. Knew Sean Astin. Sean Haynes, no!
6D: San Diego team: PADRES
8D: Cowboy's handle: TEX (Fletcher). This guy is so prolific, he reminds me of Willie Nelson's career. "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys". (Ugh, I entangled myself on this one, sorry for the mistake).
13D: Walter in the NFL Hall of Fame: PAYTON. Ha ha, finally a HOFer I know.
19D: Sleep sate: R. E. M. Enough of this word. Go back to sleep pls!
23D: Composer Khachaturian: ARAM
25D: Infused with oxygen: AERATED. I wonder why golf course green keepers aerate their greens in autumn rather than in spring time.
27D: Abominable snowmen: YETIS
32D: Move, in realtor-speak: RELO
35D: Jazz state: UTAH
38D: Thailand's last name?: SIAM. Great clue. Here is information I got from Wikipedia :" The country's official name was Siam until 23 June 1939, when it was changed to Thailand; it was renamed Siam between 1945 and 11 May 1949, after which the name Thailand was once again adopted". So Thailand's last name before Thailand is indeed SIAM.
40D: Theater section: LOGE
41D: Passages: TRANSITS
45D: __ es-Salaam: DAR. Again, the across clues saved me. "DAR es-Salaam" is Arabic word for "Abode of Peace'. Dar means "house". Salaam is "peace". Wikipedia says that the commonly known "Haven of Peace" translation is an erroneous.
46D: Large crowds: HORDES
47D: UFO crew?: ALIEN. Why the question mark?
48D: Tyrant: DESPOT
50D: East Indian sailor: LASCAR. Also spelled as LASHKAR. Probably a gimme for Governor Bobby Jindal or CNN's Zain Verjee. It's an impossible for me without the across clues.
55D: Dundee refusal: NAE
56D: 3/17 honoree: ST. PAT.
59D: Spurious imitation: SHAM
63D: Luau dish: POI. I've never had POI before. I do like steamed/baked taro though.
66D: Texas tea: OIL. Good clue. A bit groan on TEX, Texas though.
67D: Performance grants org.: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts).
Alright, I am ready for a torturous QUIP. Go ahead, make my day!
C.C.
17A: Publisher's forte?: MANUAL DEXTERITY
39A: Prevaricator's forte?: MENTAL AGILITY
62A: Diver's forte? DEPTH PERCEPTION
Nope, not an easy Wednesday for me.
Got mired in the mucky upper left corner again. Was not familiar with IGA (2D: Supermarket grp.). Had no idea that AGATE was a printing type. It's always a "Playing marble" to me. I doubt my baseball stat nut husband knows this special size word for the sports data he is poring over every morning. Did not know "MANDRAKE the Magician". Not a fan of comic strip. Only glance over at "Dennis the Menace" occasionally. The crossing of 3D & 17A MAN is very inelegant.
I did not actually experience much resistance in other areas, though I don't think I would've got MIRO & SEWER without the down clues. MIRO is the most vicious clue I've ever seen in TMS crossword. How many people have seen this "Painting" painting? Ridiculous! "Painters on Painting" painter or "Antipainter' painter will be sufficiently challenging!
SEWER clue is very diabolical too. For me, Ed Norton is him, Salma Hayek's ex. Have never heard of "The Honeymooners". Again, without the down clues, I would've failed miserably. I hate the TEX clue (8D: Comboy's handle) too. Want to overawe me? Add a "?" for the clue. Then I will go gaga over your cleverness. (Update: My mistake. I did not know that cowboy is called a TEX. I complicated the whole thing).
Grid: Total letters filled: 187. Total blank squares: 38 (reached the maximum). Total 26 letter As in this puzzle (13% of the filled squares)
Across clues:
1A: FRD coins: DIMES.
6A: Meat pastes: PATÉS. Hmm, Paté de campagine, fresh baguette directly out of a boulangerie, and a bottle of wine. Perfect picnic in Paris, esp if you are in love!
11A: Dupe: SAP. "Soul-sapping" = "Today" extension, indeed Robin (Givhan).
14A: Tiny type size: AGATE. It's "a standard unit of measurement found primarily in newspaper publishing, AGATE is approximately equal to 5 1/2 points or 1/14 of an inch. The very small type used for statistical data in the sports and stock sections of a newspaper is agate type." It's also used to display legal notices in newspapers. Considered to be the smallest point size that can be printed on newsprint.
20A: Cash in Iraq: DINAR. No "Bread in Iraq?". Guess the Editor is not in the mood to dance around with us this morning. Good, we need straight & honest answers about Iraq, everything! Where did the $9 billion OIL revenue go? FYI, DINAR is also the currency in Iran, Jordan and a few other countries in Middle Eastern countries.
22A: Long, thin fish: GAR. OK, they do look long and thin. I've never had GAR before.
24A: Perspiring: SWEATY
28A: "Painting" painter. MIRO (Joan). Would you get this one without the down clues?
31A: Ed Norton's "Office": SEWER. Is it a gimme for you?
34A: Bury the hatchet: MAKE UP
43A: Seer's deck: TAROT
49A: German philosopher: HEGEL. Ah, the Dialectics guy. Karl Marx adopted his theory and formed his own "Dialectical Materialism". My middle school headache!!
51A: __ fide (in bad faith): MALA. I am always confused by this translation. "MALA fide" looks like "bad faith' to me, where is the preposition "in"?
57A: "All Things Considered" network: NPR. Do you like Robert Segal? I do.
19A: Major artery: AORTA
70A: Bandleader shaw Shaw: ARTIE. Repeat offender.
73A: Electrical pioneer: TESLA (Nicola). Also, unit of magnetic flux density.
Down clues:
2D: Supermarket grp.: IGA (Independent Grocers' Alliance)
3D: Magician of comics: MANDRAKE. MANDRAKE the Magician. Sigh.
4D: Pin box: ETUI. OK, one more ETUI for you.
5D: Astin and Hayes: SEANS. Knew Sean Astin. Sean Haynes, no!
6D: San Diego team: PADRES
8D: Cowboy's handle: TEX (Fletcher). This guy is so prolific, he reminds me of Willie Nelson's career. "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys". (Ugh, I entangled myself on this one, sorry for the mistake).
13D: Walter in the NFL Hall of Fame: PAYTON. Ha ha, finally a HOFer I know.
19D: Sleep sate: R. E. M. Enough of this word. Go back to sleep pls!
23D: Composer Khachaturian: ARAM
25D: Infused with oxygen: AERATED. I wonder why golf course green keepers aerate their greens in autumn rather than in spring time.
27D: Abominable snowmen: YETIS
32D: Move, in realtor-speak: RELO
35D: Jazz state: UTAH
38D: Thailand's last name?: SIAM. Great clue. Here is information I got from Wikipedia :" The country's official name was Siam until 23 June 1939, when it was changed to Thailand; it was renamed Siam between 1945 and 11 May 1949, after which the name Thailand was once again adopted". So Thailand's last name before Thailand is indeed SIAM.
40D: Theater section: LOGE
41D: Passages: TRANSITS
45D: __ es-Salaam: DAR. Again, the across clues saved me. "DAR es-Salaam" is Arabic word for "Abode of Peace'. Dar means "house". Salaam is "peace". Wikipedia says that the commonly known "Haven of Peace" translation is an erroneous.
46D: Large crowds: HORDES
47D: UFO crew?: ALIEN. Why the question mark?
48D: Tyrant: DESPOT
50D: East Indian sailor: LASCAR. Also spelled as LASHKAR. Probably a gimme for Governor Bobby Jindal or CNN's Zain Verjee. It's an impossible for me without the across clues.
55D: Dundee refusal: NAE
56D: 3/17 honoree: ST. PAT.
59D: Spurious imitation: SHAM
63D: Luau dish: POI. I've never had POI before. I do like steamed/baked taro though.
66D: Texas tea: OIL. Good clue. A bit groan on TEX, Texas though.
67D: Performance grants org.: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts).
Alright, I am ready for a torturous QUIP. Go ahead, make my day!
C.C.
49 comments:
Good morning, C.C. - I think age again helped with this one; both the Ed Norton and Mandrake answers were gimmes for me. The only clue/answer that bugged me was "pares" for "removes a rind" - to me, peeling is removing a rind, paring is trimming down.
I also agree about "in" being unnecessary with "bad faith".
All in all, about 7 minutes.
Hope everybody makes it an outstanding hump day.
Dennis,
I PEEL banana, apple, pears, peach and other fruits with soft skins. Then I pare watermelon, muskmelon, cantaloupe and other fruits with rind. I pare pineapple too.
One more question Dennis,
Since "Bark" is defined as "BOAT" in my dictionary, and you replied yesterday that "Ark" is also a BOAT. So technically yesterday's 10D: Ark or Bark (SHIP) is wrong, isn't it? Or shall we ask a sailor?
Morning CC. This one was a little tough for me. I always thought AGATE was a marble. Never heard of LASCAR for an east Indian sailor. But if 57A is PBS, doesn't that make 42D "yelb" for a kennel cry? I would think it would be "yelp". I never saw any of Miro's painting. Not sure I like them. I love the links you put in there. I knew Ed Norton, but then that is an age thing. Some of us were around to watch that. Have a good day.
Good morning!
Not too terrible today . . . although, I must need more coffee because the clues that I knew were repeat offenders were getting me today. I thought "pares" wasn't the greatest of clues along w/the "?" following UFO crew. Had absolutely NO clue for 3D - Mandrake. I've never heard of Mandrake the Magician . . .
Have a great day!
Katherine,
57A is NPR rather than PBS. Thus, you're right that 42D would be "yelp". :o)
Good morning all. Another easy one for me today. Guess about seven or eight minutes. Yes Dennis age was a real factor in todays solving. I also struggle with pare and peel but 43A tarot solved that problem. I think the painting of 28A looks like a pregnant rabbit. More later.
Katherine, you're right - I missed it in C.C.'s comments - 57A is "NPR".
cc shouldn't 57A be NPR (National Public Radio)? I think!!
This allows 42D to be YELP
At least we all got NPR settled! LOL Everyone have a good day. Until tomorrow...........
Good Morning! I thought today's puzzle was easy - I didn't know lascar or etui (won't forget that one). I also didn't know "Tolkien tree" or agate for tiny type size.
I never have such an easy day when we face a quirky quip!
Elaine
Modern art is not my forte-I did not like the painting either c.c.. I had trouble with Miro, Lascar and Agate also.
10 minutes. No runes today.
Mandrake the Magician by Lee Falk in 1934. Falk also created The Phantom. Mala fide and lascar were the only stumpers but got them from the other answers. We are in for a bad one soon because these are getting too easy.
Be wise. Ask a sailor.
IGA - Independent Grocers Alliance. Used to be big before Super Walmarts, Stop & Shop (east coast), Shaw's, etc.
Never heard of Tex Fletcher. Just thought that a cowboy was always called "Tex."
Chang and Eng Bunker were from Siam and were the famous "Siamese Twins."
Where's Evan Esar? I'm ready, also. Everyone have a good day.
cc I have had poi in Hawaii and it tastes like prepared cardboard with the glue still in it.
Sorry for the NPR/PBS mistake. My bad.
Dick,
Your comments on the painting made me laugh. Thank you. Here, look at this MIRO's The Table (Still Life with Rabbit). Now, that's a real rabbit.
drdad,
Thanks for the TEX explanation. I never knew that. Wow, I muddled up the whole thing!!!
What the heck is on MIRO's "PAINTING" painting???
Mr. Philip J. Anderson, if you are reading these comments, please explain to us why you picked up this "PAINTING". It's painful to stare at it and know nothing about it. It's beyond SURREALISM.
I wrote "apse" for church section and I got stuck in that section. I did get Mental Agility but it wouldn't fit with "apse"
wash post solver - I didn't have a clue "church section" in my crossword; where is it in yours?
Good morning all....I thought this was a clever puzzle. To me it was a two google puzzle. I had no clue as to 50D Lascar and 4D Etui, but other than that liked it. C.C. the Ed Norton sewer clue is an age thing.....you pretty much have to be in your 60s to know it. It was a gimmee for me :):):)Just as an aside... why time yourself when doing a puzzle... it's a good way to ruin the enjoyment of the morning cup of coffee. Until tomorrow....
Dennis - wash post solver is, I think, referring to 40D - theater section.
Well, I got most of it. I learned that I didn't know how to spell "horde". I am going to start the SPFWC. (Society for the Prevention of Foriegn Words in Crosswords). I feel sorry for you folks that "get 'er done", (learned that from Larry the Cable Guy), in less than ten minutes. What do you do for the rest of the hour before "The Honeymooners" reruns come on TV Land. My favorite is the $64,000 Answer. (Who wrote Swanee River?).
If you pare a pair of pairs you will have more than a pair of peels. But if you had one of those "Chef of the Future" tools you could core a apple. You're going to the moon, Alice!
C.C., I got your email re the Comments section, but I've changed nothing, and evidently you aren't getting my email. Let me know what you're seeing.
Regarding those of us who occasionally time our efforts, I'll usually glance at the clock when I start, and if it's an easy puzzle, I'll check the time when I'm done. And yes, I enjoy competing, even with myself.
Late start this morning. I had to call my newspaper's office, because I got a copy of yesterday's paper again this morning.
As for the puzzle, not bad at all. It was fairly quick, but there were some moments where I had to work on it, which makes it more fun for me.
I was pleased I remembered ETUI and yesterday I finally remembered ESAI Morales. Never heard of LASCAR, but I got it from the across clues.
Have a good day, everyone!
Dennis, I like you enjoy timing the solutions. It adds another dimension to the fun. And, yes I play hell trying to get to your times but that also is part of the fun.
Very easy one for me. I guess that is an indication of my age. Got the theme early so it helped. Didn't like "sweaty" for perspiring (should be sweating). I wrote in eel instead of gar at first but gem got me straightened out. Didn't know hegel, lascar, dar (-es-Salaam) but I got them from the surrounding words. I used to work for Tesla Motors so that was an easy clue for me.
Rushing to finish a puzzle creates bad chi :-)
mh, I took 'perspiring' in the descriptive sense rather than the verb, as in, "he's perspiring, he's all sweaty'.
A couple of more things:
1. On timing the puzzles I find that I'm much faster when solving on-line versus writing in the paper. Is it safe to assume that the times everyone is quoting are times for traditional paper and pencil (or pen) solving?
2. Miro isn't for everybody, but if you're ever in Barcelona the Miro museum is a must see.
Dennis, yes, I see your point on sweaty/perspiring.
Also, since someone else mentioned it, a bark is a ship, at least in naval parlance.
superfrey, I just checked my 'chi', and it appears to be doing very well. To each his own, perhaps?
mh I like the paper version.
Paper and pen Monday through Saturday, switching to pencil on Sunday.
CC, as a newbie crossworder, I am so very, very grateful for your blog. I heartily thank you!
So, I actually got all the words in today's (April 9) crossword but wasn't certain about "Dundee refusal" (nee??) and thus, "overfills". Can you clarify?
Thank you.
olgaknipp - Dundee refusal is "nae" and overfills is "sates"
CC: 51A: __ fide (in bad faith): MALA. I am always confused by this translation. "MALA fide" looks like "bad faith' to me, where is the preposition "in"?
According to wikipedia, Latin is a synthetic, fusional language: affixes (often suffixes, which usually encode more than one grammatical category) are attached to fixed stems to express gender, number, and case in adjectives, nouns, and pronouns—a process called declension. Affixes are attached to fixed stems of verbs, as well, to denote person, number, tense, voice, mood, and aspect—a process called conjugation.
The note on the ablative case in the grammar section is relevant to your question: the in is implied by the use of the ablative. Here is the declension of fides which confirms that it is used in the ablative case.
Hope that helps.
OK, that made my head hurt.
38D is Siam not 36D, thanks for all the help and I to think age helps as Mandrake and Ed Norton was a gimme.
Good morning all. As a west-coaster, I always feel that most of the comments are already covered by the time I get on-line. Dennis, you must be on the east coast -- your time stamps are always so early. Your solving times are quick as well. I thought I did well today and had a time of 7:18. I think I'll keep timing, but not get discouraged by those who really zip through. I agree with the assessment of poi -- a staple of the diet, but not very palatable. Yes, Norton's "Office" was a gimmee. I agree with Boomer that we over 60s had an advantage there. Also had PEELS since that meant remove to me. PARES means reduce to my mind. Bring on Evan Esar!
Hey Crockett1947 - Yes, I am on the east coast, in this country's biggest misnomer, the Garden State. And thanks to whatever the Marines did to me, I'm up at 5:30 every morning.
I'd never get discouraged by another's solving time - the satisfaction comes from really nailing a puzzle, whether it's fast or slow; it's all good.
Hugh,
Re: "Declension" & "Conjugation"
Isn't your French language the same?
Re: Ablative case:
Thank you much much. That makes sense now. I never knew this before.
NO Evan Esar tomorrow! The theme entries shall begin with "Starting of a quip"!
Right now I am enjoying this slow, mindful solving process. But I will definitely time myself when I get better. Need a clear yardstick to measure my own progress.
the ones i didn't get, you didn't give an answer.
15A
7D
9D
you're going to make me google them myself? you've got me spoiled! LOL
Steve,
15A: ALENE
7D: ALE
9D: ENT
You can always visit Chicago Tribune's Crossword Website for quick and accurate answers.
I haven't read today's comments because our newspaper is an evening paper, but just read Tuesday's comments about synonyms for runt. Having read "Pigs Might Fly" by Dick King-Smith to my class, I remember the runt pig being referred to as a dag and the book also gave some others. You can see them in an excerpt at Amazon - be sure to scroll down to the very bottom of the page to be able to search inside. The reference is made on the second page. Doubt if these will ever show up in a crossword, but you never know. Anyway, there are other words that mean runt. If you know a child between 8-10, this is a great book by the same author as "Babe."
Good afternoon all. Steve, I have 7D Ale
9D Ent
15A Alene
I guess these are right. Seems to fit in every other way.
Do people really use Gars? I caught one once in Texas and we threw it back in. They're not nice creatures from what I was told and not good to eat.
CC hello! Sorry to have been gone so long!
It's because I'm so busy at work, I barely have time to eat, let alone do the crossword, so I try and complete it on my subway ride in the morning, but more often than not give up and save it til the evening. And by the time I read your blog, it's so late, that everyone has already had their flurry of discussion - I feel left out!! But I must remember what you said about people checking back to previous day's comments.
So the last word (?) for today is WOW todays was very frustrating for me. I second/third/fourth what everyone said about age. Being in my 20s, I too was thinking Ed Norton from Fight Club (one of my favorite actors), and there were certain other clues, that, let's face it, I was never going to get!
This was frustrating because it left me with a few empty squares that I just couldn't fill in an otherwise challenging but doable puzzle.
littlelj,
So good to see you back!
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