Theme: NOT ... (Word/Phrases with NOT missing)
23A: "Not" resisting successfully: WITHSTANDING
25A: "Not" fully present: ALL THERE
38A: "Not" like someone unknown: AS A STRANGER
50A: "Not" partially spoiled: HALF BAD
68A: "Not" to make money: FOR PROFIT
89A: "Not" reaching standard: UP TO PAR
97A: "Not" bother to help: LIFT A FINGER
116A: "Not" wink: BAT AN EYE
118A: "Not" a strong suit: ONE'S CUP OF TEA
37D: "Not" one's biography: ON YOUR LIFE
46D: "Not" overlook: MISS A TRICK
Yes, you need "NOT" to make sense of those above word/phrases!
What a Sisyphean challenge! I came, I saw, and I tanked! My gosh, what a staggering amount of unfamiliar words and names! Overwhelming! It's just as formidable as yesterday's AZAN puzzle, if not more. I toiled so hard, with every breath I took, and still could not complete 2/3 of the grid.
SCLEROMA (12A) was impossible for me, esp since I had no idea who Moshe ARENS (19D) was. Fritz LEIBER was just as hard to crack as a coconut shell. EDUCARDO da Silva was another unyielding name, since I did not know what 61D: At the age of, Lat. (AET) was.
And author ORIANA Fallaci, poet HOUSMAN, S. E. Hinton's middle name (ELOISE), actress Louise LASSER were all strangers to me. I've never heard of ARIOSE (for 102D: Melodic), CONTUSES, or WEIR before.
I have to say I am very traumatized by my solving experience today. An overpowering sense of inadequacy creeps back again. Just feel so helpless and powerless facing such a mind-blowing name-filled Sunday puzzles. Definitely no joy at my Mudville!
ACROSS:
6A: Milk-producing organs: MAMMAE. Singular form is MAMMA. Wow, I have no idea, honestly. MAMMA mia!
12A: Tumorlike hardening of tissue: SCLEROMA. No idea. "Sclero" has a German origin, meaning hard, like SCLEROMETER (instrument for determining with precision the degree of hardness of a substance, esp. a mineral, as by measuring the pressure necessary to pierce or scratch it). And "oma" is a "noun suffix used to form names of tumors, of the kind specified by the base: FIBROMA, MELANOMA. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?
20A: Lead-in alloy: TERNE. Another stranger to me. Dictionary says it's either "TERNE Plate" or "TERNE metal".
21A: Writer Fallaci: ORIANA. Ouch, another hard one. I googled her, then realized that I had searched for her before (for a Feb 18 TMS puzzle). She is the lady who did that infamous Kissinger Vietnam "useless war" interview. Kissinger later regretted tremendously and commented that it was "the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press."
22A: Rhinitis: HAY FEVER. I did not know the meaning of Rhinitis. It's a new word to me. The prefix is "rhino" meaning nose, like RHINOLOGY (science dealing with the nose and its diseases).
26A: Forest edges: TREE LINES
27A: Fine thread: LISLE. Named after LISLE (now named Lille), the city in France.
30A: Collides intentionally: RAMS
31A: Like best friends: TRUEST
34A: Nutritional deprivations: FASTS. Did not like 2 FAST's in one puzzle. See 52D: BELFAST.
35A: S. E. Hinton's middle name: ELOISE. Unknown to me. S stands for Susan. Is she very famous?
43A: Fontanne's partner: LUNT. Another stranger. I've never heard of LUNT, or Fontanne, or the Lund-Fontainne Theatre.
44A: French possessive noun: SES. Goes with singular pronoun Il or elle.
45A: "A Shropshire Lad" poet: HOUSMAN (A. E). Alfred Edward Housman, not familiar with him or his poem.
49A: Back of station?: ARY. Good one. Stationary.
54A: "_ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Mozart's piece, literally " a little night music". EINE is an in German (feminine). German is another gender-matter language, tough!
56A: Jagged, as a leaf's edge: EROSE. Saw this clue before.
57A: Micromanager's concern: DETAIL. What is a Macromanager's concern then?
60A: Da Silva of soccer: EDUARDO. Another estranho to me. His name is inferable if you know that damned AET (61D)
62A: Send an overdue notice: REBILL
65A: Kidded around: TEASED
71A: Muckraker Tarbell: IDA. No, nope. No idea. Her life looks very interesting.
72A: Ran off: BOLTED
75A: "The Treasure of the __ Madre": SIERRA. Faintly remember seeing it before. But I could not retrieve it from my dense brain this morning.
76A: "Inventing the __": ABBOTTS. Totally frustrated at this point of my solving. NO! I've never heard of the film.
83A: Bender: SPREE. I should be familiar with this slang, but I am NOT.
85A: Bilgewater: ROT. Did not know that bilgewater is "pretentious or silly talk or writing", but ROT is gettable.
86A: Wilson's predecessor: TAFT. 2 presidents in today's puzzle, see 42A: Pres. Coolidge (CAL). Did not know that Coolidge's nickname is "Silent CAL".
88A: Middling marks: CEES
92A: Anti-war activist Cindy: SHEEHAN. Gimme for me. Too bad, she does not stand a chance to take on Pelosi.
96A: Al Capone feature: SCAR. Unknown to me.
101A: Comic laugh: CACKLE
103A: Stormed: RAGED
106A: Actress Louise: LASSER. She was married to Woody Allen before. I did not know that. I've never heard of LASSER until this morning. Will probably forget her name again soon.
107A: Virginia rail: SORA. Nope, another unknown. I love this SORA portrait.
108A: AC/DC power: ELEC
109A: Psalms word: SELAH. Is this a gimme for you?
111A: Those who obtain: ACQUIRERS. What a strained clue/answer!
121A: Go-between: EMISSARY
122A: Pinup Anderson: PAMELA. Love her funny cameo in "Borat".
123A: Become fixed: SET IN
124A: Bruises without laceration: CONTUSES. Painful! How can I remember this word?
125A: Ghost: SPIRIT
DOWN:
1D: Chem. chart figure: AT. WT. I put AT. NO. first.
2D: Low dam: WEIR. Did not know this before. The only WEIR I know is him, the man on the left who won Masters in 2003.
3D: Comic Johnson: ARTE
4D: "___ the Wind": INHERIT. Sigh... No!
5D: Magnetic induction units: TESLAS. Nailed this one.
6D: Sounds of pains: MOANS. Yes, aching! This whole puzzle is a insufferable!
7D: British composer Thomas: ARNE. He is definitely a TMS stalwart.
8D: Central parts: MIDSTS
11D: Aerie occupants: EAGLETS
12D: Cascades peak: SHASTA. Simply forgot this one, again.
14D: Lovett or Talbot: LYLE. Know Lovett, not Talbot.
16D: Practice: REHEARSE
17D: Cricket segments: OVERS. Anther sigh... I know nothing about cricket. Wikipedia says an OVER is "a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession".
19D: Moshe of Israel: ARENS. My goodness, what's bothering you today? Why so many obscure names?
24D: Work-shift record: TIME CARD
32D: Tabula ___: RASA. Literally "Blank slate", Latin.
34D: Pot - au - __: FEU
36D: Sensational: LURID
38D: Landon and others: ALFS. Highly inferable, even if you don't know much about American presidential election in 1936.
39D: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
40D: A-ha!: GOT IT. See 105D: Arrive: GET IN. 123A: Become fixed: SET IN. A preposition or a definite article can sure add some zest to an otherwise boring clue.
43D: Cool: ALOOF
48D: Exigency: NEED
50D: Greek Mercury: HERMES. Hmm, Luxury goods brand again. See 57D: Designer Christian: DIOR.
51D: Some fruits: BERRIES
52D: City on the Lagan River: BELFAST. I made a guess. Have never heard of Lagan River before.
53D: Legendary Hun King: ATLI. Not ATTILA?
58D: Fritz of Sci-Fi: LEIBER. Have never, never heard of him before. Hard to string his name together if you do not get ABBOTTS for 76A.
61D: At the age of : Lat.: AET. No, nope.
70D: Infield protectors: TARPS
73D: Moonfish: OPAH
77D: Very much in Vicky: BEAUCOUP. I like the alliteration of the clue. Merci BEAUCOUP, without you, I would've lost the whole battle at the lower right corner.
78D: Of sound quality: TONAL
79D: Gawk: STARE
87D: Airing on TV: TELECAST
90D: Congressional aide: PAGE
93D: Stashed away: HID
94D: Chess piece: BISHOPS
96D: Wrapped with a decorative cloth: SCARFED. Here is a picture of Madeleine Albright, with her HERMES scarf.
98D: Bowling lanes: ALLEYS
99D: CAB successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board".
100D: Sketcher's need: ERASER
102D: Melodic: ARIOSE. New word for me.
103D: Renaissance fiddle: REBEC. As I could not get CONTUSES for 134A, so I was staring at REBE_ forever. I did toy with the idea of filling in REBEL. It's "a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body tapering into a neck that ends in a sickle-shaped or scroll-shaped pegbox." Here is a picture.
107D: Crouch: SQUAT
113D: Back end of a kitchen?: ETTE. Good clue.
114DL Bridle strap: REIN. What a tragic finish for Eight Belles yesterday! This is just so sad. But "Denis of Cork" was awesome. They do not Calvin Borel "Bo Rail" for nothing!
115D: Without: Fr.: SANS. I like how this puzzle ends with SANS, kind of NOT eching.
117D: Tahlequah, OK school: NSU (Northeastern State University)
120D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
C. C.
23A: "Not" resisting successfully: WITHSTANDING
25A: "Not" fully present: ALL THERE
38A: "Not" like someone unknown: AS A STRANGER
50A: "Not" partially spoiled: HALF BAD
68A: "Not" to make money: FOR PROFIT
89A: "Not" reaching standard: UP TO PAR
97A: "Not" bother to help: LIFT A FINGER
116A: "Not" wink: BAT AN EYE
118A: "Not" a strong suit: ONE'S CUP OF TEA
37D: "Not" one's biography: ON YOUR LIFE
46D: "Not" overlook: MISS A TRICK
Yes, you need "NOT" to make sense of those above word/phrases!
What a Sisyphean challenge! I came, I saw, and I tanked! My gosh, what a staggering amount of unfamiliar words and names! Overwhelming! It's just as formidable as yesterday's AZAN puzzle, if not more. I toiled so hard, with every breath I took, and still could not complete 2/3 of the grid.
SCLEROMA (12A) was impossible for me, esp since I had no idea who Moshe ARENS (19D) was. Fritz LEIBER was just as hard to crack as a coconut shell. EDUCARDO da Silva was another unyielding name, since I did not know what 61D: At the age of, Lat. (AET) was.
And author ORIANA Fallaci, poet HOUSMAN, S. E. Hinton's middle name (ELOISE), actress Louise LASSER were all strangers to me. I've never heard of ARIOSE (for 102D: Melodic), CONTUSES, or WEIR before.
I have to say I am very traumatized by my solving experience today. An overpowering sense of inadequacy creeps back again. Just feel so helpless and powerless facing such a mind-blowing name-filled Sunday puzzles. Definitely no joy at my Mudville!
ACROSS:
6A: Milk-producing organs: MAMMAE. Singular form is MAMMA. Wow, I have no idea, honestly. MAMMA mia!
12A: Tumorlike hardening of tissue: SCLEROMA. No idea. "Sclero" has a German origin, meaning hard, like SCLEROMETER (instrument for determining with precision the degree of hardness of a substance, esp. a mineral, as by measuring the pressure necessary to pierce or scratch it). And "oma" is a "noun suffix used to form names of tumors, of the kind specified by the base: FIBROMA, MELANOMA. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?
20A: Lead-in alloy: TERNE. Another stranger to me. Dictionary says it's either "TERNE Plate" or "TERNE metal".
21A: Writer Fallaci: ORIANA. Ouch, another hard one. I googled her, then realized that I had searched for her before (for a Feb 18 TMS puzzle). She is the lady who did that infamous Kissinger Vietnam "useless war" interview. Kissinger later regretted tremendously and commented that it was "the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press."
22A: Rhinitis: HAY FEVER. I did not know the meaning of Rhinitis. It's a new word to me. The prefix is "rhino" meaning nose, like RHINOLOGY (science dealing with the nose and its diseases).
26A: Forest edges: TREE LINES
27A: Fine thread: LISLE. Named after LISLE (now named Lille), the city in France.
30A: Collides intentionally: RAMS
31A: Like best friends: TRUEST
34A: Nutritional deprivations: FASTS. Did not like 2 FAST's in one puzzle. See 52D: BELFAST.
35A: S. E. Hinton's middle name: ELOISE. Unknown to me. S stands for Susan. Is she very famous?
43A: Fontanne's partner: LUNT. Another stranger. I've never heard of LUNT, or Fontanne, or the Lund-Fontainne Theatre.
44A: French possessive noun: SES. Goes with singular pronoun Il or elle.
45A: "A Shropshire Lad" poet: HOUSMAN (A. E). Alfred Edward Housman, not familiar with him or his poem.
49A: Back of station?: ARY. Good one. Stationary.
54A: "_ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Mozart's piece, literally " a little night music". EINE is an in German (feminine). German is another gender-matter language, tough!
56A: Jagged, as a leaf's edge: EROSE. Saw this clue before.
57A: Micromanager's concern: DETAIL. What is a Macromanager's concern then?
60A: Da Silva of soccer: EDUARDO. Another estranho to me. His name is inferable if you know that damned AET (61D)
62A: Send an overdue notice: REBILL
65A: Kidded around: TEASED
71A: Muckraker Tarbell: IDA. No, nope. No idea. Her life looks very interesting.
72A: Ran off: BOLTED
75A: "The Treasure of the __ Madre": SIERRA. Faintly remember seeing it before. But I could not retrieve it from my dense brain this morning.
76A: "Inventing the __": ABBOTTS. Totally frustrated at this point of my solving. NO! I've never heard of the film.
83A: Bender: SPREE. I should be familiar with this slang, but I am NOT.
85A: Bilgewater: ROT. Did not know that bilgewater is "pretentious or silly talk or writing", but ROT is gettable.
86A: Wilson's predecessor: TAFT. 2 presidents in today's puzzle, see 42A: Pres. Coolidge (CAL). Did not know that Coolidge's nickname is "Silent CAL".
88A: Middling marks: CEES
92A: Anti-war activist Cindy: SHEEHAN. Gimme for me. Too bad, she does not stand a chance to take on Pelosi.
96A: Al Capone feature: SCAR. Unknown to me.
101A: Comic laugh: CACKLE
103A: Stormed: RAGED
106A: Actress Louise: LASSER. She was married to Woody Allen before. I did not know that. I've never heard of LASSER until this morning. Will probably forget her name again soon.
107A: Virginia rail: SORA. Nope, another unknown. I love this SORA portrait.
108A: AC/DC power: ELEC
109A: Psalms word: SELAH. Is this a gimme for you?
111A: Those who obtain: ACQUIRERS. What a strained clue/answer!
121A: Go-between: EMISSARY
122A: Pinup Anderson: PAMELA. Love her funny cameo in "Borat".
123A: Become fixed: SET IN
124A: Bruises without laceration: CONTUSES. Painful! How can I remember this word?
125A: Ghost: SPIRIT
DOWN:
1D: Chem. chart figure: AT. WT. I put AT. NO. first.
2D: Low dam: WEIR. Did not know this before. The only WEIR I know is him, the man on the left who won Masters in 2003.
3D: Comic Johnson: ARTE
4D: "___ the Wind": INHERIT. Sigh... No!
5D: Magnetic induction units: TESLAS. Nailed this one.
6D: Sounds of pains: MOANS. Yes, aching! This whole puzzle is a insufferable!
7D: British composer Thomas: ARNE. He is definitely a TMS stalwart.
8D: Central parts: MIDSTS
11D: Aerie occupants: EAGLETS
12D: Cascades peak: SHASTA. Simply forgot this one, again.
14D: Lovett or Talbot: LYLE. Know Lovett, not Talbot.
16D: Practice: REHEARSE
17D: Cricket segments: OVERS. Anther sigh... I know nothing about cricket. Wikipedia says an OVER is "a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession".
19D: Moshe of Israel: ARENS. My goodness, what's bothering you today? Why so many obscure names?
24D: Work-shift record: TIME CARD
32D: Tabula ___: RASA. Literally "Blank slate", Latin.
34D: Pot - au - __: FEU
36D: Sensational: LURID
38D: Landon and others: ALFS. Highly inferable, even if you don't know much about American presidential election in 1936.
39D: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
40D: A-ha!: GOT IT. See 105D: Arrive: GET IN. 123A: Become fixed: SET IN. A preposition or a definite article can sure add some zest to an otherwise boring clue.
43D: Cool: ALOOF
48D: Exigency: NEED
50D: Greek Mercury: HERMES. Hmm, Luxury goods brand again. See 57D: Designer Christian: DIOR.
51D: Some fruits: BERRIES
52D: City on the Lagan River: BELFAST. I made a guess. Have never heard of Lagan River before.
53D: Legendary Hun King: ATLI. Not ATTILA?
58D: Fritz of Sci-Fi: LEIBER. Have never, never heard of him before. Hard to string his name together if you do not get ABBOTTS for 76A.
61D: At the age of : Lat.: AET. No, nope.
70D: Infield protectors: TARPS
73D: Moonfish: OPAH
77D: Very much in Vicky: BEAUCOUP. I like the alliteration of the clue. Merci BEAUCOUP, without you, I would've lost the whole battle at the lower right corner.
78D: Of sound quality: TONAL
79D: Gawk: STARE
87D: Airing on TV: TELECAST
90D: Congressional aide: PAGE
93D: Stashed away: HID
94D: Chess piece: BISHOPS
96D: Wrapped with a decorative cloth: SCARFED. Here is a picture of Madeleine Albright, with her HERMES scarf.
98D: Bowling lanes: ALLEYS
99D: CAB successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board".
100D: Sketcher's need: ERASER
102D: Melodic: ARIOSE. New word for me.
103D: Renaissance fiddle: REBEC. As I could not get CONTUSES for 134A, so I was staring at REBE_ forever. I did toy with the idea of filling in REBEL. It's "a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body tapering into a neck that ends in a sickle-shaped or scroll-shaped pegbox." Here is a picture.
107D: Crouch: SQUAT
113D: Back end of a kitchen?: ETTE. Good clue.
114DL Bridle strap: REIN. What a tragic finish for Eight Belles yesterday! This is just so sad. But "Denis of Cork" was awesome. They do not Calvin Borel "Bo Rail" for nothing!
115D: Without: Fr.: SANS. I like how this puzzle ends with SANS, kind of NOT eching.
117D: Tahlequah, OK school: NSU (Northeastern State University)
120D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
C. C.
21 comments:
Good morning - just thought I'd check in although I don't get this puzzle.
C.C., for 124A, you've heard of contusions, right?
Attila the Hun and King Atli are one and the same.
And 6A, well, just think of mammaries; I know I do.
Loved your "mamma mia" line.
Have a great day.
Hi Dennis,
Yes, I've heard of contusions. Justin Morneau suffered some Lung Contusions before. But the verb CONTUSES did not come to my mind at all this morning. Now I know how to remember it. Thanks. If Attila the Hun and King Atli are the same, why different names then?
I believe Atli is the Norse form of Attila.
By the way, any of our bloggers in management, I'd highly recommend "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" by Roberts; an excellent read, and very effective ideas.
Dennis,
Isn't Attila known for his cruelty? "Scourge of God"? What could you learn from his leadership secrets?
Yes, he was called that by some, but the guy was a true visionary and a great leader. Read some exerpts from his book (Amazon usually has some); his leadership advice is timeless - I wish I'd had it when I was leading Marines in Vietnam.
Good morning CC and everyone else. No Tribune puzzle for me today, but I had to check in for the comments and your pictures CC. Now I know what a Hemes scarf is, to go with our purses! I'm not too crazy about the scarf.
Have a good day everyone.
Katherine,
I am not fond of scarf either. Madeline Alright is a series HERMES scarf collector. I just want the HERMES Birkin purse and the OMEGA watch :-) :-) By the way, the color of my dream is BLUE, how about yours?
The color of my dream purse? I am not sure what color, but I am thinking a pale yellow. Blue sounds nice.
No, Katherine, I was talking about TIFFANY. Blue is the Color of Dreams.
CC, I get it! I just saw the Tiffany link you sent. I actually have a blue Tiffany pen! LOL I love it. That is about as close to Tiffany as I am going to get !
I am so glad I found this blog. I usually solve the Sunday crossword in the Scranton Times (same puzzle at Star Tribune) but it is nice to hear when other people get frustrated with "way out" there clues. Just for the record, any puzzle by "Josiah Breward" is my most frustrating. Looking forward to next Sunday.
Happy National Weather Observers Day! Had to stop and start on this on a few times to get the thing done. Difficulty in a few spots. Kept going with Moshe Dayan that messed me up in the upper right. Some trouble with upper left. A lot of words came from cross clues but still a bit of a struggle. Googled a couple of times. Louise Lasser of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman!" How I hated that show. Get In and Set In in the same puzzle. Knew "weir" from doing steam distillations on a production scale. Selah is not a gimme for me. Loved Mamma Mia!!! Hermes again (Thomas will comment on his Hermeneutics). Thanks Very Much for me remembering Merci Beau Coup for or I would have never gotten 77D. Dennis is correct on all the Attila stuff (Norse Atli). Great Leader. Can't remember why he was called the Scourge of God. Some inference to the cruelty of the steppe warlords involved there.
Have a good Sunday.
hi ceci, i work on the sunday la times since i don't get this one--M. Sailboat again, I see. A cool theme I think. SE Hinton is quite well known, writing a number of adolescent-angst novels dealing with gangs and coming-of-age issues. Her book "The Outsiders" continues to be widely read and oft discussed by Hermeticists. Off to enjoy cuatro de mayo.
Left a comment on that "lei'd" from yesterday. And Dennis was exploring the well of sin yesterday. Be careful, you can get contusions that way!!!
Anonymous @ 10:44am,
You do know Josiah Breward is the alias name of our TMS puzzle editor Mr. Williams, don't you?
Drdad,
CONTUSIONS: I don't know how careful I should be with Dennis! I saw Thomas' "l'eid" comment, but I did not go to THAT direction. Thanks for the Sci-Fi suggestion. How long did you spend on this puzzle today? Is S.E. Hilton a gimme for you?
Thomas,
D'accord! The theme is fine. Some of the clues really feel strained though. Please read Tyler's comment on Saturday's puzzle.
Thomas,
In case you do not know, Tyler Hinman is the current American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Champion. Here is Orange's take on yesterday's puzzle.
Maybe their is a link between Atli and 'not' micromanager'.
I had the same problems as others - Lunt, Housman, Leiber, terne and tesla were unknown to me. Most of the rest went okay, but I take exception to the Virginia rail clue for sora. These are two different birds, Virginia rail is Railus limicola and sora is Porzana carolina.
Started out with diets for 34A instead of fasts - and was right with the last 2 letters.
'Scarfed' is a stretch.
KW
Sorry, I have no puzzle comment. I only filled in ten or twelve words. I had to leave to get in line at the Metrodome for my Ron Gardenhire bobblehead. Then I had to watch Boof give up a six spot in the first inning, but all's well that ends well as the Twins came back and pulled it out 7-6. As Harry Carey would say: "Holy Cow". So I'm now looking forward to an easy Monday puzzle I can handle - NOT.
I too was all notted and scarfed up with this puzzle.
LRM
I didn't see any answers as to how much time one has spent solving Sundays puzzle. Well, it's now early Wed. morning and I just Googled mine and found I did pretty well.
It's amazing that I had trouble with every clue CC mentioned. Makes one feel better about taking three days, but part of that time was spent watching the Red Sox and Celtics!
Thanks for the comments,
Ed P
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