Theme: OUCH
23A: 1992 Cyrus hit: ACHY BREAKY HEART
40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher: MAIMONIDES
59A: Meet cut: TENDERLOIN (Update later: The clue should be Meat cut)
82A: Failure to enforce a prohibition: SUFFERANCE
100A: Annika and Charlotta: SORENSTAMS
118A: Rains on a private parade?: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE
16D: With meticulous care: PAINSTAKINGLY
58D: Going lickety-split: HURTLING ALONG
What an excruciating journey! The pain "which can not forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart" in my own despair and against my own will, and has crushed me completely. My gosh, the assaults of new words and names in this puzzle are unrelenting.
GESTALTS (45D: Symbolic configurations)? What is that? Can you explain it to me plainly? And SALUKIS (54A: Arabian hounds)? And SENTA (68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role")? To me, "The Flying Dutchman" is always Honus Wagner. ALISTAIR? Probably a gimme for Katherine, but a nightmare for me. ACETAL (30D: Hypnotic stuff) was hard, and the intersecting MAIMONIDES (40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher) only compounded the agony. So, a total SNAFU in that LYRIST (62A: Greek harp player) corner.
NEDDA, TARSAL, CCNY, PROA, ST. KITTS, CNS, YEAGER, EVONNE, BICORN, TSURIS, etc. Unknown words aplenty. I can not remember how many times I shouted "Merde!" this morning. TSURIS crossing MAIMONIDES? That's diabolic.
And 71A: CII x III: MDVI; 41D: 1950: MCML; 112D: CCCII tripled: CMVI. Three Roman numerals in one grid? You've got to be kidding.
Look at these 3 pairs:
50A: Ashen: PALE
95D: Gray-faced: ASHEN
122A: Sudden thrust: LUNGE
90D: Fencing charge: THRUST
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL
83D: One end of a table: FOOT
It's insane. Please, no more unsightly eyesores like these! Please test-solve your puzzle first!
I do love the OUCH theme though, very creative, esp the SORENSTAMS one. I wonder if Annika herself is aware of the SORE in her name.
I am also elated with 65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Remember last time I was outraged with John Underwood's "Six O'Clock" painter clue? I could not believe that the constructor/editor decided to omit the very important "Winter" from the painting. See, our arrogant editor, he is reading this blog. Good!
ACROSS:
4A: Star quality: EGO. Is "EGO" a quality? Not a problem?
7A: Had cravings: YEARNED. And learned & earned, that's a good life indeed.
14A: Turvy preceder: TOPSY. What's this one? I've never heard of this phrase. TOPSY was clued as "Electrocuted elephant" on an April TMS puzzle.
21A: Boyer film: ALGIERS. Not familiar with Charles Boyer nor the film ALGIERS (1938). Wikipedia says the movie is "notableable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casabalanca"
26A: New York city: UTICA
30A: Bout sites: ARENAS
31A: "___ Bulba": TARAS. No, not familiar with the movie at all. What a ride!
33A: Elia, really: LAMB (Charles). Love this clue. But why did he call himself "Elia"?
35A: Brings out: ELICITS
38A: Feudal lords: LIEGES. How can I remember this word? It trips me all the time.
46A: Baja seaport: ENSENADA. Here is the map. Not a familiar name to me.
49A: Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. I tried to pen in FRUIT. POME is "a fleshy fruit (apple or pear, quince or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part". Had no idea that pears and apples belong to the same family. I've never had the fresh quince or the quince jam before, have you?
54A: Arabian hounds: SALUKIS. Unknown to me. It was named after the ancient Arabian city Saluq. Wikipedia says " The saluki is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog". Great picture, isn't it?
65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Look at the painting.
66A: Hook's mate: SMEE
68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role: SENTA. Not familiar with this opera at all.
73A: Pierre's "the same": ÉGAL. Equal in French. Here is Pierre's motto" Liberté , Egalité, Fraternité.
74A: Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF is "Ultrahigh Frequency". Did not know it before.
76A: Malayan outrigger: PROA. No, another unknown. PROA is boat in Malay language. It's "any of various types of Indonesian boats, esp. a swift Malay sailing boat built with the lee side flat and balanced by a single outrigger". It looks like this.
78A: Pre-surrealist painter: REDON (Odilon). Saw his self portrait in person, not inspired at all.
79A: Letter opening, often: SLIT. I was so clever, I put SIRS first.
80A: Napping: ASLEEP
86A: Carpenter's tool: NAIL SET. I am not a carpenter, so I do not know this tool.
88A: Encourages, actively: PRODS. Sigh... URGE is always my first fill.
91A: Big apple school: CCNY (City College of New York)
94A: Tic-tac-toe win: OOO. Alright, give me "Bowler's turkey (XXX)" next time.
95A: Refined lover of beauty: AESTHETE
99A: Heart chart: EKG (Electrocardiograph)
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL. Tarsus, nope, no idea. I don't know myself well enough obviously.
104A: Utterly stupid: ASININE. I am smart enough to know this word though.
106A: First chancellor of reunified Germany: KOHL (Helmut). Bill, thanks for the Medal of Freedom, now tell me what is the exact meaning of the word "IS"!
108A: Like pinups: BUSTY. She is not, is she?
109A: Small landmasses: ISLETS. Interesting crossing of ISLETS with 109D: Isolated land: ISLE.
114A: Sesame oil: TEEL. Unknown to me. It's from the black sesame seeds, and I only eat white ones.
116A: 800 exams: SATS. And 115D: Would-be atty.'s exam: LSAT
123A: Having more chutzpah: NERVIER
126A: Border tool: EDGER
127A: __ and Nevis: ST. KITTS. No, this is the first time I heard of this island country.
128A: Wash. or Jackson in NYC: HTS. Good crossing with 121D: Ave. crossers: STS
129A: B & O and others: RRS. I got the answer easily, though I completely forgot what B & O stands for (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad).
DOWN:
1D: Mariners' base: SEATTLE. I like Ichiro, don't you?
2D: Fetter: ENCHAIN
3D: Sticks: ADHERES
7D: City in the Cascade Range: YAKIMA. Stumped by this clue last time, and again today. It's the "Apple Capital of the World", says the locals.
9D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Or AGA. Literally "older brother" in Turkish.
10D: Cambodian cash: RIEL
14D: Yiddish aggravation: TSURIS. No idea. The dictionary says it's Yiddish slang for "woe, trouble". Guess that's how you get a "Oy, vey" response.
15D: Octopus arms, e.g.: OCTET. Are you happy with this 8 clue?
17D: Shelter for strays: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
24D: "The Right Stuff" role: YEAGER (Chuck). Nope, nope, completely unknown to me. I don't normally know "The Right Stuff".
25D: Old world lizard: AGAMA. Wow, his tail is so long, interesting blue color.
30D: Hypnotic stuff: ACETAL. No, too technical a term for me. Acet(o) is a prefix meaning vinegar, as in “acetic acid". "Al" is short for alcohol. I don't know, I don't understand what Wikipedia says, but I know that there is some ACETAL in wines.
34D: Shaped like crescent: BICORN. Another new word for me. Can also be spelled as BICORNE. Here is Napoleon in his BICORN hat.
44D: Cooke of "Masterpiece Theatre": ALISTAIR. COOKE was clued as TV host Alistair in a March puzzle. I simply forgot.
45D: Symbolic configurations: GESTALTS. Hard one. Here is the explanation: a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole. I still don't get it.
47D: Big name in tires: DUNLOP. Or DUNLOP golf balls.
52D: London fog: PEA SOUP. What a weird idiom! How can a bowl of delicious pea soup become dreaded fog?
53D: Cooks just below the boiling point: SIMMERS. Very accurate clue.
55D: Fleur - de ___: LYS. Could also be spelled as LIS. Literally "Lily Flower" in French.
56D: Publication: ISSUANCE. I only knew ISSUE.
57D: Bag of anthracite: COAL SACK. I did not know the meaning of anthracite (hard coal).
61D: " Pagliacci" role: NEDDA. Did you go with TONIO? I did.
67D: Goolagong of tennis: EVONNE. Another unknown.
72D: Sexual crime: INCEST
75D: Dem. candidate of the '50s: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
78D: City near Council Bluffs: RED OAK. Is it a very well known place?
81D: Juan and Evita: PERONS. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". I like Sinéad O'Connor's version.
84D: Abbr. on a building: ESTAB (Established)
87D: Spelling of "Trick": TORI. Yes, indeed, lots of tricks can be played with Spelling's name.
93D: Sebaceous cyst: WEN
96D: Evaluator: ESSAYER
97D: Beans spiller: TATTLER
98D: Le Champs __: ÉLYSÉES. Le? No, sir, it's Les. Les Champs ÉLYSÉES (Avenue des Champs ÉLYSÉES). L'arc de triomphe, le parfum, et l'amour! I don't need more reasons to love you...
100D: Tot tender: SITTER
101D: La Guardia alternative: NEWARK. What's the origin of this word NEWARK?
102D: General __ Corporation: MOTORS. And General Electric Company, and General Dynamics Corporation, and General Mills, what other General can you think of?
105D: Suit material: SERGE. It seems like our editor does not like SERGE Gainsbourg. But it's OK, Gainsbourg is not everybody's cup of tea. Some of his songs can be very disturbing, esp Lemon INCEST.
107D: Sponger: LEECH
113D: Barbecue rod: SPIT
118D: Brain, spinal cord, etc. (abbr.): CNS (Central Nervous System). Big stumbling block today.
119D: Part of IRA: RET (Retirement). The first IRA that pops into my brain is always the Irish Republican Army.
120D: Fixed: SET. Given so much pain today, this clue should be reworded as "Heal, as a bone".
C. C.
23A: 1992 Cyrus hit: ACHY BREAKY HEART
40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher: MAIMONIDES
59A: Meet cut: TENDERLOIN (Update later: The clue should be Meat cut)
82A: Failure to enforce a prohibition: SUFFERANCE
100A: Annika and Charlotta: SORENSTAMS
118A: Rains on a private parade?: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE
16D: With meticulous care: PAINSTAKINGLY
58D: Going lickety-split: HURTLING ALONG
What an excruciating journey! The pain "which can not forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart" in my own despair and against my own will, and has crushed me completely. My gosh, the assaults of new words and names in this puzzle are unrelenting.
GESTALTS (45D: Symbolic configurations)? What is that? Can you explain it to me plainly? And SALUKIS (54A: Arabian hounds)? And SENTA (68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role")? To me, "The Flying Dutchman" is always Honus Wagner. ALISTAIR? Probably a gimme for Katherine, but a nightmare for me. ACETAL (30D: Hypnotic stuff) was hard, and the intersecting MAIMONIDES (40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher) only compounded the agony. So, a total SNAFU in that LYRIST (62A: Greek harp player) corner.
NEDDA, TARSAL, CCNY, PROA, ST. KITTS, CNS, YEAGER, EVONNE, BICORN, TSURIS, etc. Unknown words aplenty. I can not remember how many times I shouted "Merde!" this morning. TSURIS crossing MAIMONIDES? That's diabolic.
And 71A: CII x III: MDVI; 41D: 1950: MCML; 112D: CCCII tripled: CMVI. Three Roman numerals in one grid? You've got to be kidding.
Look at these 3 pairs:
50A: Ashen: PALE
95D: Gray-faced: ASHEN
122A: Sudden thrust: LUNGE
90D: Fencing charge: THRUST
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL
83D: One end of a table: FOOT
It's insane. Please, no more unsightly eyesores like these! Please test-solve your puzzle first!
I do love the OUCH theme though, very creative, esp the SORENSTAMS one. I wonder if Annika herself is aware of the SORE in her name.
I am also elated with 65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Remember last time I was outraged with John Underwood's "Six O'Clock" painter clue? I could not believe that the constructor/editor decided to omit the very important "Winter" from the painting. See, our arrogant editor, he is reading this blog. Good!
ACROSS:
4A: Star quality: EGO. Is "EGO" a quality? Not a problem?
7A: Had cravings: YEARNED. And learned & earned, that's a good life indeed.
14A: Turvy preceder: TOPSY. What's this one? I've never heard of this phrase. TOPSY was clued as "Electrocuted elephant" on an April TMS puzzle.
21A: Boyer film: ALGIERS. Not familiar with Charles Boyer nor the film ALGIERS (1938). Wikipedia says the movie is "notableable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casabalanca"
26A: New York city: UTICA
30A: Bout sites: ARENAS
31A: "___ Bulba": TARAS. No, not familiar with the movie at all. What a ride!
33A: Elia, really: LAMB (Charles). Love this clue. But why did he call himself "Elia"?
35A: Brings out: ELICITS
38A: Feudal lords: LIEGES. How can I remember this word? It trips me all the time.
46A: Baja seaport: ENSENADA. Here is the map. Not a familiar name to me.
49A: Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. I tried to pen in FRUIT. POME is "a fleshy fruit (apple or pear, quince or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part". Had no idea that pears and apples belong to the same family. I've never had the fresh quince or the quince jam before, have you?
54A: Arabian hounds: SALUKIS. Unknown to me. It was named after the ancient Arabian city Saluq. Wikipedia says " The saluki is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog". Great picture, isn't it?
65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Look at the painting.
66A: Hook's mate: SMEE
68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role: SENTA. Not familiar with this opera at all.
73A: Pierre's "the same": ÉGAL. Equal in French. Here is Pierre's motto" Liberté , Egalité, Fraternité.
74A: Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF is "Ultrahigh Frequency". Did not know it before.
76A: Malayan outrigger: PROA. No, another unknown. PROA is boat in Malay language. It's "any of various types of Indonesian boats, esp. a swift Malay sailing boat built with the lee side flat and balanced by a single outrigger". It looks like this.
78A: Pre-surrealist painter: REDON (Odilon). Saw his self portrait in person, not inspired at all.
79A: Letter opening, often: SLIT. I was so clever, I put SIRS first.
80A: Napping: ASLEEP
86A: Carpenter's tool: NAIL SET. I am not a carpenter, so I do not know this tool.
88A: Encourages, actively: PRODS. Sigh... URGE is always my first fill.
91A: Big apple school: CCNY (City College of New York)
94A: Tic-tac-toe win: OOO. Alright, give me "Bowler's turkey (XXX)" next time.
95A: Refined lover of beauty: AESTHETE
99A: Heart chart: EKG (Electrocardiograph)
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL. Tarsus, nope, no idea. I don't know myself well enough obviously.
104A: Utterly stupid: ASININE. I am smart enough to know this word though.
106A: First chancellor of reunified Germany: KOHL (Helmut). Bill, thanks for the Medal of Freedom, now tell me what is the exact meaning of the word "IS"!
108A: Like pinups: BUSTY. She is not, is she?
109A: Small landmasses: ISLETS. Interesting crossing of ISLETS with 109D: Isolated land: ISLE.
114A: Sesame oil: TEEL. Unknown to me. It's from the black sesame seeds, and I only eat white ones.
116A: 800 exams: SATS. And 115D: Would-be atty.'s exam: LSAT
123A: Having more chutzpah: NERVIER
126A: Border tool: EDGER
127A: __ and Nevis: ST. KITTS. No, this is the first time I heard of this island country.
128A: Wash. or Jackson in NYC: HTS. Good crossing with 121D: Ave. crossers: STS
129A: B & O and others: RRS. I got the answer easily, though I completely forgot what B & O stands for (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad).
DOWN:
1D: Mariners' base: SEATTLE. I like Ichiro, don't you?
2D: Fetter: ENCHAIN
3D: Sticks: ADHERES
7D: City in the Cascade Range: YAKIMA. Stumped by this clue last time, and again today. It's the "Apple Capital of the World", says the locals.
9D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Or AGA. Literally "older brother" in Turkish.
10D: Cambodian cash: RIEL
14D: Yiddish aggravation: TSURIS. No idea. The dictionary says it's Yiddish slang for "woe, trouble". Guess that's how you get a "Oy, vey" response.
15D: Octopus arms, e.g.: OCTET. Are you happy with this 8 clue?
17D: Shelter for strays: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
24D: "The Right Stuff" role: YEAGER (Chuck). Nope, nope, completely unknown to me. I don't normally know "The Right Stuff".
25D: Old world lizard: AGAMA. Wow, his tail is so long, interesting blue color.
30D: Hypnotic stuff: ACETAL. No, too technical a term for me. Acet(o) is a prefix meaning vinegar, as in “acetic acid". "Al" is short for alcohol. I don't know, I don't understand what Wikipedia says, but I know that there is some ACETAL in wines.
34D: Shaped like crescent: BICORN. Another new word for me. Can also be spelled as BICORNE. Here is Napoleon in his BICORN hat.
44D: Cooke of "Masterpiece Theatre": ALISTAIR. COOKE was clued as TV host Alistair in a March puzzle. I simply forgot.
45D: Symbolic configurations: GESTALTS. Hard one. Here is the explanation: a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole. I still don't get it.
47D: Big name in tires: DUNLOP. Or DUNLOP golf balls.
52D: London fog: PEA SOUP. What a weird idiom! How can a bowl of delicious pea soup become dreaded fog?
53D: Cooks just below the boiling point: SIMMERS. Very accurate clue.
55D: Fleur - de ___: LYS. Could also be spelled as LIS. Literally "Lily Flower" in French.
56D: Publication: ISSUANCE. I only knew ISSUE.
57D: Bag of anthracite: COAL SACK. I did not know the meaning of anthracite (hard coal).
61D: " Pagliacci" role: NEDDA. Did you go with TONIO? I did.
67D: Goolagong of tennis: EVONNE. Another unknown.
72D: Sexual crime: INCEST
75D: Dem. candidate of the '50s: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
78D: City near Council Bluffs: RED OAK. Is it a very well known place?
81D: Juan and Evita: PERONS. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". I like Sinéad O'Connor's version.
84D: Abbr. on a building: ESTAB (Established)
87D: Spelling of "Trick": TORI. Yes, indeed, lots of tricks can be played with Spelling's name.
93D: Sebaceous cyst: WEN
96D: Evaluator: ESSAYER
97D: Beans spiller: TATTLER
98D: Le Champs __: ÉLYSÉES. Le? No, sir, it's Les. Les Champs ÉLYSÉES (Avenue des Champs ÉLYSÉES). L'arc de triomphe, le parfum, et l'amour! I don't need more reasons to love you...
100D: Tot tender: SITTER
101D: La Guardia alternative: NEWARK. What's the origin of this word NEWARK?
102D: General __ Corporation: MOTORS. And General Electric Company, and General Dynamics Corporation, and General Mills, what other General can you think of?
105D: Suit material: SERGE. It seems like our editor does not like SERGE Gainsbourg. But it's OK, Gainsbourg is not everybody's cup of tea. Some of his songs can be very disturbing, esp Lemon INCEST.
107D: Sponger: LEECH
113D: Barbecue rod: SPIT
118D: Brain, spinal cord, etc. (abbr.): CNS (Central Nervous System). Big stumbling block today.
119D: Part of IRA: RET (Retirement). The first IRA that pops into my brain is always the Irish Republican Army.
120D: Fixed: SET. Given so much pain today, this clue should be reworded as "Heal, as a bone".
C. C.
22 comments:
Wow! At this writing I am the first one hear. Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner - Taras Bulba, movie about Cossacks.
Tarsal refers to bones in the foot, I think. Most have heard of carpal tunnel syndrome and carpal refers to the similar bones in the hand.
Acetal is also a chemistry term for when two molecules of an alcohol add across the carbonyl (C doubly bonded to O) of an aldehyde.
Wasn't PROA in a puzzle some time way back?
I remember Alistair Cooke and his show Masterpiece Theater.
It's not only insane with all the eyesores C.C. points out - it's ASININE!
Topsy Turvy basically means upside down, chaotic, SNAFU, FUBAR, etc.
UHF is ultra, VHF is very high frequency.
Nail set is a small tool that you place on the head of a nail and hit with a hammer to sink the nail head just below the surface of the wood afte which it can be filled in so as not to see the nail.
Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier in the X-1 rocket plane named "Glamorous Glynnis" after his wife. He actually "dinged his ribs" the night before the flight and was given a broken broom handle (unbeknownst to his superiors)so he could secure the canopy latch. Otherwise, he would have been grounded and someone else would've been first.
A familiar saying is "The fog is as 'thick as pea soup.'"
Red Oak, Iowa - memories from my "youth on the plains of Nebraska."
Don't know the origin of Newark but I fly out of there in a week and a half when I go to Mumbai, India.
Happy Sunday to all!!!
Now I am the second one "hear". Had to correct the typo in my first comment. Meant to say I am the first one "here".
Good morning CC and the rest of the gang, not much of a gang here this morning. CC, I might have gotten the Alistair clue if I got the Sunday puzzle, but I don't! I am late today, I was out till 4:30! Haven't done that in 30 years! Yikes! I enjoyed all your comments today and the links. That was a GREAT picture of the Saluki (sp?), and a nice picture by Sloan. I read the book The Right Stuff. It was very interesting what they went through on that flight.
I never knew that Napoleon's hat was called a Bicorn. And Sinead's version of Don't Cry For Me Argentina was very good. I enjoyed that.
Enjoy the day. See y'all tomorrow morning.
59A - My clue read "meet cut" which caused considerable consternation, especially when the answer came out to be "tenderloin." Did anyone else have it that way?
Good morning Drdad,
Tarsal bones? No! Carpal tunnel syndrome? No! Carnal pleasure? Yes!
Thanks for the Acetal. Still sounds very complicated. I don't remember seeing PROA before. BARK yes. I like your ASINNINE, SNAFU, FUBAR comment. Absolutely. I guess the peas here refer to the yellow split peas then? So, Dr. Dad is going to Bollywood. For how long? You might be able to see Aishwarya Rai. Do you like her?
Katherine,
4:30am? I hope you had fun. I think SALUKI is Arabic.
Anonymous at 10:14am,
I just noticed that our paper has it clued as "Meet Cut" as well. What a terrible mistake! The same with 98D: Le Champs ___. Who would say Le? Amazing.
CC, I did have fun, it was worth it! haha
Aishwarya Rai is beatutiful...
Till tomorrow..........
Hello cc etal. Got a very late start today and found the puzzle somewhat demanding. Like you cc there were many new words but a lot of them were doable from the crosses. I completely stumbled on 45D and I had Achy spelled Ache for some stupid reason and this contributed to some problems getting Yeager. As for St Kitts that is a frequent stop fro cruises in the eastern Caribbean. Have been there and it is nice as the rest of the area. Hope you all have a good Sunday. I need to get ready for the Pens game at 3:00. Sure hope it is the last one of this series.
WOW! Just reading the blog makes my head hurt! I think I'm glad I don't get this on Sunday. Interesting that the B&O clue was used in my puzzle today as well (Premier). From the sounds of it this would have been a major Google day for me! Have a great Sunday, everybody!
cc my paper also had Meet cut for 59A
Dick & Drdad,
Is the puzzle theme OUCH printed correctly in your paper today?
Crockett1947,
How is B&O related to Premier? Does the lines "Pain... falls drop by drop..." sound familiar to you?
Katherine: you're my new idol! Out 'til 4:30 and able to analyze the xword, talk or write fluently, all by 10 AM. That's impressive! I got in at 7:30 am, tried doing the xword at noon...saw 'doers' (scotch), thrust, lunge, simmers,Ragu, and tenderloin, then drdad explains acetal with 2 molecules of an alcohol. Great explanation, drdad, but I'll see you all tomorrow.
Thanks for the well wishes. My team lost, but I did my part and got a T shirt. CC I play APA league. You KNOW I had fun playing with all those balls. I do love that game!
Drdad et al,
Regarding the SALUKI picture, what's on that field? Weeds, flowers or some kind of grain? I want to have a walk there.
mkatesq I hope you have a good day at the office tomorrow after todays devastating loss to the Pens. cc my paper did have the OUCH theme printed correctly.
C.C.
I don't know why but I wrote a post to you several hours ago and it didn't appear.
However, I know it's been a very long time since I added my comments to your site. Nothing you did, I assure you! I have been very busy over the last many weeks constructing Sunday-size crossword puzzles. In fact on Friday, I sent three of them to Will Shortz at the New York Times. May as well start at the top, eh? In any case, if he doesn't consider them fit for the "Gold Standard" of crossword puzzles, I will send them to Mr. Williams. Goodness knows he could use the help.
Today's puzzle was awful. Sloppy editing and clumsy cluing. Of course when you write the puzzle yourself, I guess you can get away with that kind of stuff.
Hope you enjoyed this beautiful day. I will keep you posted on my progress!
Ciao!
C.C., After reading the comments, I think I'm glad I don't get this puzzle on Sunday! I'd have worn out Mr. Google on this one.
Yes, it's strange for a paper to print the solution on the same day. Glad it's only on the Sunday puzzle - I can do without it for one day. It is literally on the next page. Same thing with the "Jumble." Monday through Saturday is fine, but the Sunday Jumble has the answers printed with the Crossword solution. Very odd, methinks.
By the way, saw in the Dayton Daily News "Birthday" section that Pernell Roberts of Bonanza fame turned 80 today, May 18. Hard to believe. Haven't seen him in anything since the eighties. Just can't picture him at that age.
I will NEVER catch Dennis. Don't think I'll ever break the eight to ten minute mark, but that's okay. I'm a fast reader but he is really speedy. Some days I need twenty minutes. But eventually I get it finished, even if it's a couple of minutes at a time, which is often all I can spare. I'm quite sure I could never work a crossword of any kind in anything other than English, so you're still far ahead of us!
We had beautiful weather in this part of Ohio today. Hope everyone enjoyed their day.
Kit
Ouch and Meat Cut were correct in my puzzle.
Aishwarya Rai - Wow! I can only hope to meet her! Maybe I can. I'll be there for 10 days.
For the Saluki question it kind of looks like some kind of grass with wildflowers of some kind scattered throughout. I wouldn't mind walking around there, either.
It looks like I made some heads hurt with my comments this morning. The one about 2 molecules of alcohol probably got them, especially if they were drinking alcohol on Saturday night.
Sallyjane,
Good to hear from you again. Wow, 3 21*21? Amazing. I hope you have good luck with Shortz.
Kit,
I think crossword puzzles are only constructed in English. I've never seen any Chinese, Japanese, French or other language crossword.
Drdad,
It's those wildflowers that interest me the most. They make me want to take a walk, in the wild.
Kit,
I just found out that there are crosswords in Spanish, French, Finnish, Afrikaans and Gaelic.
C.C., the "Premier" reference was the name of the alternative (to NYT) puzzle that we get here in The Oregonian (always buried somewhere in the classifieds, but indexed). Sorry for the confusion. The lines you quoted are not familiar to me.
Crockett1947,
Is your NY T puzzle 6-week behind as well?
The line I quoted is from Aeschylus. Here is the original: "He who learns must suffer. Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God".
I went through lots of pain by those OUCH theme entries, but I don't think I emerged any wiser. I had a Lot's Wife's fear of glancing back at this puzzle now.
C.C. (Monday, May 19)
Josiaah Breward hurt me with this "Ouch"-themed crossword. He violated one of the essential rules of puzzles, which is not to include anything offensive, such as bodily fluids or, in this case 72D "Sexual crime." I can't even believe he used the word "incest" as an answer. I remain horrified and angry and found your blog as I was looking for a way to write a letter about it. Also rotten crosswording, the serious misspellings (as you point out) of the clues for 59D and 98D.
Keep up the good work. Can't believe English is your second language.
Cheers.
Naomi,
Thanks for leaving a comment. I was also shocked by the 72D, both the clue and the answer.
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