Theme: QUAD CITIES (14D: Mississippi quartet?)
10D: One of 14D: ROCK ISLAND (IL)
20D: One of 14D: DAVENPORT (IA)
25D: One of 14D: BETTENDORF (IA)
28D: Not exactly one of 14D: EAST MOLINE (IL)
The one left off the list is MOLINE (IL).
Great theme concept, very creative. I like it a lot. My first reaction to 14D clue ( Mississippi quartet?), though, was ESSES, since there are 4 letter S in the word "Mississippi".
But why "Not exactly" in 28D? Wikipedia says EAST MOLINE is still part of this misnomer "Quint Cities" QUAD CITIES, though BETTENDORF outgrew it and became the 4th in terms of size and population. You cannot say Penn State is "not exactly one of the Big Ten", can you?
I truly adore the OPEC clue (42A: Well-fixed grp.), what a sweet (crude oil) "Well"! I don't like how SENIOR (7D: AARP member) is clued, as the AARP abbreviation demands an abbreviated SENIOR answer. This might be a SENIOR moment cluing error from our editor, who finally decided to put his real name as the puzzle constructor today. Good, I am tired of the Josiah Breward and Willy A. Wiseman pretenses.
I could not finish today's puzzle unassisted, quite a few unknown words/places/names to me. Had some half-hearted flirting with Google and decided to call today a success.
ACROSS:
7A: Volcanic rock ejecta: SCORIA. Stumper. Not familiar with this geology term. SCORIA is "Porous cinderlike fragments of dark lava".
17A: Poorly matched: UNEQUAL
15A: Motives: REASONS. Here is Rod Stewart's "REASON to believe". "If I listened long enough to you, I'd find a way to believe that its all true.."
16A: Rolled pastry loaf: STRUDEL. I love apple STRUDEL.
17A: Contaminates: INFECTS
18A: City near Anchorage: KENAI. Foreign to me. Here is the map. I am not familiar with KENAI Peninsula either.
19A: Vedder of Pearl Jam: EDDIE. Did not know him, I took a SWAG. Here is the definition of SWAG according to Chris in LA: "Scientific wild a** guess for those of you who've never created a budget for a retail establishment".
21A: Cyclades island: KEA. Unknown to me. See here for more information.
25A: Feathered friend: BIRD. This BIRD (Larry) and CAGY (54D: Good at evasion) remind me of KG (Kevin Garnett) and his victorious Celtics. What a season for them! KG would have never got this NBA title had he stayed with the inapt Minnesota T-Wolves.
26A: Reverberate again and again: REECHO. Yes, I can hear/feel it miles away.
29A: Makes diverse: VARIES
32A: Narrow valley: GLEN
34A: U. near Tampa: ST. LEO. Unknown to me. Thought ST. LEO was a Pope. Wikipedia says Desi Arnaz graduated from there.
37A: "Beau___": GESTE. P. C. Wren novel. I've never read the book nor seen the movie.
39A: SASE, e.g.: ENC (Enclosed). SASE is "Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope".
40A: To any extent: AT ALL
41A: Composer Erik: SATIE. It's clued as "Gymnopedies" composer in a March TMS puzzle.
44A: Geraint's lady: ENID. I like this kind of romance.
45A: Very dark: pref.: MELANO. New to me. What, for example?
47A: Bamboo eaters: PANDAS. This Kung Fu PANDA looks cool.
49A: Ring rulings, briefly: TKOS (Technical Knockouts)
53A: Cartoonist Keane: BIL. Gimme for me. "The Family Circus" is placed side by side with "Dennis the Menace" in our Star Tribune newspaper. I like that middle panel.
54A: Schilling and Gowdy: CURTS. Know Schilling, not Gowdy. In fact, Ron Guildry (ex-Yankees' pitcher) popped into my mind when I saw Gowdy, so for a fleeting second I thought the clue was asking for an abbreviation of "Pitchers". Here is another CURT in baseball.
56A: Actress Esther: ROLLE. Of "Good Times". Unknown to me.
60A: Paper folding: ORIGAMI. This always reminds me of my poor Grandma and the agony she suffered due to foot-binding. She was very good at this ORIGAMI and needle work.
62A: Engender: INBREED. Really? Are they the same?
64A: Periods of immaturity: NONAGES
65A: Foliage: LEAFAGE. I don't like this "age" rhyme. "Greenery" would be fine with me.
66A: Crabtree's partner in skin care products: EVELYN. No, nope, I've never heard of this brand. Katherine might know it.
DOWN:
1D: Nightfall: DUSK. Ah, those wild times at DUSK til Dawn!
4D: Weekend cowboy-like: DUDISH. New word to me. I only knew "Dude".
5D: Abu Dhabi loc.: UAE. Have not seen EMIR/AMIR/EMEER/AMEER for a while. And another Middle East reference besides OPEC is ASSAD (12D: Syrian leader).
6D: Macpherson of "Sirens": ELLE. Know ELLE, have never seen Sirens.
8D: Type of society or curtains: CAFÉ. I've never heard of CAFÉ society.
9D: Sugary suffix: OSE
11D: Collegiate starter?: INTER
15D: Good __ to bad rubbish: RIDDANCE. Ha ha, I only know Good RIDDANCE. Had no idea that there is some bad rubbish following.
23D: Dress (up): TOG
26D: Riches, once?: RAGS. I like this clue also. RAGS to riches.
27D: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA. Gimme. Learned it from doing crossword of course. Now, next time, if the clue is "Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus nickname", CALIGULA will be a gimme for me also.
33D: "Trinity" author: LEON URIS. Great to see his full name in a grid.
36D: Antique auto: OLDS. And 48A: Automotive safety device: AIR BAG
46D: Keen insight: ACUMEN
50D: City on the Vyatka River: KIROV. It appeared on an April TMS puzzle before. I simply forgot. The city is known as the "City of Twins" for the unusually high number of multiple births there.
And 61D: Guy's date: GAL. "Oh, well, I love you GAL, yes, I love you...", "Peggy Sue" from Buddy Holly & The Crickets. Enjoy this precious clip!
C.C.
10D: One of 14D: ROCK ISLAND (IL)
20D: One of 14D: DAVENPORT (IA)
25D: One of 14D: BETTENDORF (IA)
28D: Not exactly one of 14D: EAST MOLINE (IL)
The one left off the list is MOLINE (IL).
Great theme concept, very creative. I like it a lot. My first reaction to 14D clue ( Mississippi quartet?), though, was ESSES, since there are 4 letter S in the word "Mississippi".
But why "Not exactly" in 28D? Wikipedia says EAST MOLINE is still part of this misnomer "Quint Cities" QUAD CITIES, though BETTENDORF outgrew it and became the 4th in terms of size and population. You cannot say Penn State is "not exactly one of the Big Ten", can you?
I truly adore the OPEC clue (42A: Well-fixed grp.), what a sweet (crude oil) "Well"! I don't like how SENIOR (7D: AARP member) is clued, as the AARP abbreviation demands an abbreviated SENIOR answer. This might be a SENIOR moment cluing error from our editor, who finally decided to put his real name as the puzzle constructor today. Good, I am tired of the Josiah Breward and Willy A. Wiseman pretenses.
I could not finish today's puzzle unassisted, quite a few unknown words/places/names to me. Had some half-hearted flirting with Google and decided to call today a success.
ACROSS:
7A: Volcanic rock ejecta: SCORIA. Stumper. Not familiar with this geology term. SCORIA is "Porous cinderlike fragments of dark lava".
17A: Poorly matched: UNEQUAL
15A: Motives: REASONS. Here is Rod Stewart's "REASON to believe". "If I listened long enough to you, I'd find a way to believe that its all true.."
16A: Rolled pastry loaf: STRUDEL. I love apple STRUDEL.
17A: Contaminates: INFECTS
18A: City near Anchorage: KENAI. Foreign to me. Here is the map. I am not familiar with KENAI Peninsula either.
19A: Vedder of Pearl Jam: EDDIE. Did not know him, I took a SWAG. Here is the definition of SWAG according to Chris in LA: "Scientific wild a** guess for those of you who've never created a budget for a retail establishment".
21A: Cyclades island: KEA. Unknown to me. See here for more information.
25A: Feathered friend: BIRD. This BIRD (Larry) and CAGY (54D: Good at evasion) remind me of KG (Kevin Garnett) and his victorious Celtics. What a season for them! KG would have never got this NBA title had he stayed with the inapt Minnesota T-Wolves.
26A: Reverberate again and again: REECHO. Yes, I can hear/feel it miles away.
29A: Makes diverse: VARIES
32A: Narrow valley: GLEN
34A: U. near Tampa: ST. LEO. Unknown to me. Thought ST. LEO was a Pope. Wikipedia says Desi Arnaz graduated from there.
37A: "Beau___": GESTE. P. C. Wren novel. I've never read the book nor seen the movie.
39A: SASE, e.g.: ENC (Enclosed). SASE is "Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope".
40A: To any extent: AT ALL
41A: Composer Erik: SATIE. It's clued as "Gymnopedies" composer in a March TMS puzzle.
44A: Geraint's lady: ENID. I like this kind of romance.
45A: Very dark: pref.: MELANO. New to me. What, for example?
47A: Bamboo eaters: PANDAS. This Kung Fu PANDA looks cool.
49A: Ring rulings, briefly: TKOS (Technical Knockouts)
53A: Cartoonist Keane: BIL. Gimme for me. "The Family Circus" is placed side by side with "Dennis the Menace" in our Star Tribune newspaper. I like that middle panel.
54A: Schilling and Gowdy: CURTS. Know Schilling, not Gowdy. In fact, Ron Guildry (ex-Yankees' pitcher) popped into my mind when I saw Gowdy, so for a fleeting second I thought the clue was asking for an abbreviation of "Pitchers". Here is another CURT in baseball.
56A: Actress Esther: ROLLE. Of "Good Times". Unknown to me.
60A: Paper folding: ORIGAMI. This always reminds me of my poor Grandma and the agony she suffered due to foot-binding. She was very good at this ORIGAMI and needle work.
62A: Engender: INBREED. Really? Are they the same?
64A: Periods of immaturity: NONAGES
65A: Foliage: LEAFAGE. I don't like this "age" rhyme. "Greenery" would be fine with me.
66A: Crabtree's partner in skin care products: EVELYN. No, nope, I've never heard of this brand. Katherine might know it.
DOWN:
1D: Nightfall: DUSK. Ah, those wild times at DUSK til Dawn!
4D: Weekend cowboy-like: DUDISH. New word to me. I only knew "Dude".
5D: Abu Dhabi loc.: UAE. Have not seen EMIR/AMIR/EMEER/AMEER for a while. And another Middle East reference besides OPEC is ASSAD (12D: Syrian leader).
6D: Macpherson of "Sirens": ELLE. Know ELLE, have never seen Sirens.
8D: Type of society or curtains: CAFÉ. I've never heard of CAFÉ society.
9D: Sugary suffix: OSE
11D: Collegiate starter?: INTER
15D: Good __ to bad rubbish: RIDDANCE. Ha ha, I only know Good RIDDANCE. Had no idea that there is some bad rubbish following.
23D: Dress (up): TOG
26D: Riches, once?: RAGS. I like this clue also. RAGS to riches.
27D: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA. Gimme. Learned it from doing crossword of course. Now, next time, if the clue is "Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus nickname", CALIGULA will be a gimme for me also.
33D: "Trinity" author: LEON URIS. Great to see his full name in a grid.
36D: Antique auto: OLDS. And 48A: Automotive safety device: AIR BAG
46D: Keen insight: ACUMEN
50D: City on the Vyatka River: KIROV. It appeared on an April TMS puzzle before. I simply forgot. The city is known as the "City of Twins" for the unusually high number of multiple births there.
And 61D: Guy's date: GAL. "Oh, well, I love you GAL, yes, I love you...", "Peggy Sue" from Buddy Holly & The Crickets. Enjoy this precious clip!
C.C.
105 comments:
Not my favorite puzzle by a long shot. Once I got QUADCITIES decided to google them and was glad I did. Did not know KENAI, SCORIA, STLEO, ROLLE or KIROV.
CC & Gang,
Tough one for me too. I just didn't feel like this one flowed to me. Had no clue about Quad cities,nor their names, so needless to say, I failed this one.
I'll get on as much as I can while in Maryland!
Good morning, C.C. and gang -- a most enjoyable puzzle; pulled some of the answers from the far recesses, and others only came from the perps. I thought "Olds" was totally inappropriate for "antique auto", as they only ceased production in 2004; should have been clued as "former auto company" or something similar.
C.C., inbreed has a secondary meaning of 'engender'; primary meaning is 'breeding with a close relative', and who hasn't done that?
Loved the link to 'Dusk to Dawn' - C.C., you've been there? Conversely, I didn't like the 'Dennis the Menace' one, as I got tagged with that early on....have no idea why.
Hope it's an outstanding hump day for everyone.
Good morning everyone. Yikes! Didn't get this one today. I am with Kim, I had no idea what the Quad Cities were and didn't get any of them. I did know Eddie Vedder. But I have not heard of the "Crabtree and Evelyn" Brand CC. I loved the Rod Stewart video. And I have not seen "Sirens" either. Never heard of it.
Hope you all have a good day. It is cold here today. UGH.........
Kim, I hope you can still join us while you are in Maryland, and have a great time......
NYTanonimo & Kim & Katherine,
QUAD CITIES River Bandits used to be Twins' Minor League affiliate, so I did not experience much problem as you did.
Dennis,
RE: OLDS. I failed to notice that. I like your clue or "Automaker until 2004". I am only familiar with the primary meaning of "INBREED".
"DUSK til Dawn", yes!!!
BOOM!!!!!
The sound of my bombing today!
Quad cities wasn't too bad except for 25d. Been to the rest of them in my travels and had really stretch to remember. But they were there.
Sometimes I think I'm pretty smart and then I see a crossword like this and it brings me back to earth!
Mr. Google was very busy today.
And, NO. OLDS is not an antique auto in my est.
I knew Davenport and East Moline but not Rock Island or Bettendorf cc. Spent the same amount of time on the NYT puzzle and I only had to google for one letter. Might've spent more time on it if I didn't have to be somewhere soon:)! Hope you all have a nice day.
Wow, this one beat me up real good - spent a bunch of time with Mr. Google this morning - lots of obscure (to me) clues/answers, but finally got through it.
Morning, folks!
Well, this puzzle started out as a walk in the park and swiftly devolved into a nightmare right out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. What can I say? I did manage to figure out 14D, but my knowledge of Mississippi cities is almost completely nonexistent.
I eventually managed to actually get most of the puzzle, after correctly guessing NONAGES (never heard of it) LEAFAGE (is that a word?) KENAI (where?) and ST LEO (who?). But the NE corner defeated me in the end. I correctly guessed ASSAD, but I have never heard of SCORIA, didn't have a clue about KEA, and couldn't guess ROCK ISLAND or CAFÉ. Seriously, CAFÉ curtains? CAFÉ society? Could this have been clued any more obscurely?
*sigh*
Ah well, on the bright side, the Celtics did win last night....
Good morning everyone. Today's puzzle is a real beaut. I really struggled but got most of it without help until I got to the west center. Wow that was tough and I kept trying to force Queen cities for 14D. Finally got Quad but could not complete the center west without help. The other thing that gave me a problem was 64A ans I kept trying to insert neoagers in lieu of non agers.
Cc I knew I would see a wonderful picture of a strudel as soon as I reached your blog. I may need to go out and get some for breakfast.
Cc there are wags and swags. As Chris said swag is "Scientific Wild A** Guess" while WAG is just a "Wild A** Guess". Swags are normally better than a wag,
And a few more things....
With regard to OLDS, I think the clue is fine. The original name for Oldsmobile was, in fact, "Olds automobiles" and it was only later that the company officially became known as "Oldsmobile."
Crabtree & EVELYN was a gimme for me, since they have these stores here in the Boston area.
Anybody else think that 22A was poorly clued ("NYC Summer Hours")? I expected the answer to be EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). Instead, though, it was DST (Daylight Savings Time). I suppose it's accurate, but the clue seems awfully specific for no apparent reason. Why NYC? Why not just "Summer hours" (or "Summer hrs." if you want the abbreviation)? Personally, I would have thought that "Summer Time?" would have made a great clue.
Nice puzzle... but it beat me.... I did get the Quad Cities answer... but had no clue what they were.... I kept trying to put SaintPaul where Davenport went even though I knew it was not one of them.... DUH...
Dennis I agree with you, OLDS is not a great answer to antique auto... usually they use REO for that. Our Iowa friends should rip throught this puzzle :-)
Barry I agree with yo on 22A and I also had EST the first time through. Also, I did not have a problem with the clue for OLDS but I guess it could have been clued better.
Barry,
Ditto your point on 22A: DST. "Summer Hrs" will do. "Bistro" will be fine for CAFÉ. But it's good to learn CAFÉ Society, isn't it?
Dick,
Enlighten me more with stuff like WAG, I will bring you more STRUDEL.
"Cafe Society" was also the name of a movie originally made in 1939 & remade in 1995 - just thought I'd throw that out there, maybe that's what he was referring to?
But it's good to learn CAFÉ Society, isn't it?
True. I still don't know what a CAFÉ curtain is, though....
YUCK - I didn't like this one to have to do at work - like Bill, had to Google a lot!!! Had no clue about Quad Cities just got it from Googling. Unfortunately I wasn't in Bill's life when hw did all his traveling so I didn't know about them there cities!
Have to get to work CYA
Nancy
Barry (etal):
Cafe curtains are curtains that hang from the middle of the window down to the sill leaving the top of the window exposed.
First mislead by "Mississippi" as well which has four ESSES and Four EYES.
As to the "not exactly" fourth city, it is actually Moline, East Moline being only about half the population of Moline.
Tough puzzle for a Wednesday!
Hello c.c. and DF's,
I did it on line and was amazed when I got done and used the help option that I only had two letters wrong. There were a lot wags in there.
Disliked the NYC summer hrs(again) but agree with Olds being ok. Ransom E. Olds first company was the Olds Motor Vehicle Company. In 1905, he formed the REO Company.
I actually got the antique auto from working xwords and the Reo being an answer so often. Ransom E. Olds This is definately an antique.
Interesting puzzle and definately challenging.
I still disagree on the 'olds' clue; it's like cluing 'singer' as an antique machine company because they're 150 years old. If a product was produced until a few years ago, it's simply not an antique product.
Tough puzzle. Got quad cities but I didn't know the actual cities and not that familiar with that part of the country. I didn't like the clue for 21A; should just be summer hours as NYC summer hours usually translates to EDT. Inbreed and engender do not seem like synonyms to me but I could be wrong. Other words I didn't get: melano, kenai, st. leo, nonages, kirov. Yipes!, I feel like a beginner.
Good morning CC & DF's: A little struggle...Only a few clues were to my liking...inbreeding of course. (Love Dennis' comment)and Fall garden...thought that was cute. Perps and good guessing were the only ways thru this one for me. Agree w/Barry on 22A too. Much preferred yesterday's.
Speaking of which: you all were hilarious yesterday!
drdad: Yes, when any Michelin man gets nailed, he goes flat. I'd just 'pump' him back up again, and again, and until he's ready to be 're-tired'. Might have to do that very thing today. Going to Geronimo's grave today...one of my heros..on Ft. Sill. Hope they're not firing... well, maybe I do...as long as it's straight...& close range.
Enjoy this gorgeous day. Thanks for the links CC. Outstanding!
I still disagree on the 'olds' clue; it's like cluing 'singer' as an antique machine company because they're 150 years old. If a product was produced until a few years ago, it's simply not an antique product.
Yes, but the point is that the "Olds" wasn't produced until a few years ago. The "Oldsmobile" was, but not the "Olds." True, Olds is a nickname for Oldsmobile, but the actual Olds is an honest antique.
Oh -- and thanks for the information about cafe curtain,s Chris!
It becomes an argument over semantics; the car's been called an 'olds' since forever. Still think it's misleading, but we'll agree to disagree.
I am nothing if not a font of useless knowledge, but I guess that's why we all do crossword puzzles, eh? I'm also half-way decent at Scrabble & Trivial Pursuit!
Re: "Olds" debate - it could also have been the answer for "AARP" clue as in "old cars (plural) - just a thought...
Cc did you know that Moline is known as "The Hog Capital of the World"? In fact there used to be a very large sign as you entered Moline proclaiming that fact by displaying one huge hog on the billboard.
A bit late today - no internet connection.
Curt Gowdy. Known as the voice of the Red Sox from 1951-1965. ABC Sportscaster (almost as famous as Jim McKay). Died in 2006.
Esther Rolle began the role of Florida Evans on "Maude" starring Bea Arthur and then the character moved to her own show on "Good Times." "Maude" itself was a spinoff of "All In The Family."
Lois is probably having some of those wild times from (as C.C. noted) "Dusk 'til Dawn."
I think café society has something to do with retailing concepts and French cafes, antiques, etc.
Sugar suffix - chemistry term here = ose. It forms the end of several sugars, e.g., sucrose, glucose, galactose, lactose, arabinose, etc. The linear polymer of glucose is called cellulose.
Scoria can be found in lava bombs.
I also concur with "Olds" and antique. The only antique associated remotely with "Olds" would be an REO.
Sergeant Schulz loved LeBeau's strudel.
NYC summer hours should be EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). DST doesn't just apply to NYC, it applies everywhere, except I think, in Arizona. For example, the Great Plains has DST but it is referred to as CDT (Central Daylight Time). To clue it so that NYC has exclusive rights to DST is absurd!
All the more interesting for a puzzle since the Quad Cities are in danger of being flooded out.
Have a great "International Panic Day!!" No kidding!
Lois lets take your sisters and go to Rockisland, roll(e) on the Davenport, drop our leafage and inbreed after we play tag and eat strudel.
Ted,
I did not even think of "FOUR EYES" (I)...:-)
Argyle et al,
I agree with Dennis' take on OLDS. Not an accurate clue. A simple "Auto Pioneer" would be just fine.
Dick,
"Hog Capital": No idea. I only know John Deere's HQ is in MOLINE. Google shows Kewanee (IL) is the "Hog Capital of the World"
Dr.Dad,
What is lava bomb?
Cc I stand corrected. It is Kewanee I am getting my hogs mixed up. The two towns (cities) are close tough.
Drdad I share Ccs question. What is a lave bomb?
John Deere has a great museum in Moline and has equipment dating all the way back to some of his original stuff.
As clued "Antique Auto" could have been any car in excess of 25 years old per the Antique Automobile Club of America.
Old cars - back seats - Oh LOIS!
A lava bomb is a huge hunk of lava that is ejected at times from a volcano or a molten lava/magma pit. It is tremendously hot and, surprisingly, maintains a somwhat spherical shape despite it's molten characteristics. They are generally the size of boulders and are ejected sometimes hundreds of feet in the air. They can cause significant damage when they land. Pieces breaking off and cooling are very porous and are the source of some types of scoria.
drdad, I think you've just turned Lois on beyond belief...
OMG Dennis you are right
Yikes! You guys are right!! Hunk, molten, hot, ejection. What have I done!!???
Dennis: You are soooo funny and soooo right!!!! Where can I find one of those lava bombs? I want to take lessons!!!! What an eruption! OMG!!!!
Dick: You're on. But I want to take lava bomb lessons first! Holy hotwick explosion!
Razzberry: why so restrictive? Just back seats? Think 'outside the box', Razz. Ever seen a lava bomb? Me neither, but I'm on a mission now, by God!!!
drdad: You have set me FREE!!!! I'm going to give yelling GERONIMO when coming out of a plane a whole new dimension. You have become my new hero!!!! My clock is surely set now!!!! Woohoo!! Holy internal combustion!!!!
We've lost Lois.
Good Lord, she's gonna blow!!
Dennis: Blow? That's putting it mildly! I'm in OOOOOrbit!! What a concept! I've got to master that one! I'll learn to keep 'scoria'. One rock off. Two rock off. Rock and rollin' here now, baby! Yeah, I'm OOOOOver the edge! What a day!
Lois you, Dennis and Drdad are totally nuts LOL!
good morning c.c. and all,
i was WAGging all over the place with this one. did not know *any* of those cities, and VERY bothered by the 22a cluing which made 14d impossible. 38d 'antique auto.' meh.
holy hotwick dusk to dawn lava bomb, this seems wildly appropriate today.
i'm talkin' with a tight, red sweater
i'm feelin' like eddie vedder
only twice as cool when she stars winkin'
i'm just so easily led
when the little head
does the thinkin'
melissa bee you better pack your duds and head out west to meet Lois. She is getting very dudish and now with the lava bomb who knows what will happen. Look out GERONIMO and all other Indians.
mark - buenos aries
completely unfathomable to international solvers, too much USA geography (mississipi, anchorage, viatka) and national stars (vedder, satie, keane, shilling, rolle, evelyn) its a bitch of a day when i cant get within two or three letters to finish - do these compilers know how much valium taking they cause? Are they on the take from the drug companies???
cafe society and strudel have links - cafe and kuchen in the afternoon, very civilised
@dick: not only yes but HELL yes. yeehaw even!
@lois: i'm fixin' to lasso any cowpoke you don't get to first for my date oasis.
y'all are HI-larious.
mark - buenos aries I feel your pain. This also makes me more in awe of Cc in that she has learned so much of our language and idioms in such a short time.
And our cultures
From Richard,
There never was a car called Olds. Ransome E. Olds founded Oldsmobile which was absorbed by G.M. He then used his initials, REO to form the company of that name, which made cars and especially trucks for many years. the Olds name applied to a car was always a nickname for Oldsmobile.
Dick, PLEASE, don't send MB out with Lois!! OK will never be the same.
As for those DEAD indians you mentioned, (Well, one, anyway) between the two of THEM I'm sure they'll be able to RAISE all the indians and cowbows and have a DUDISH time!!!
Dick: You're absolutely right about how phenomenal CC is. She is utterly amazing!
Melissa: COME AHEAD ON!!!!! The Cowpokes out here are used to ropes, leathers, whips, and hard rides. It's a dating oasis for sure! Then when the 'cowpokes' get tired of pokin', we have the all the artillery men in reserve who love to show off their 'big guns'.
Life is good!
@bill: too late. i can't talk now as i'm already rustling up a herd for a game of cowboys and indians, or pin the tail on the dogie. giddyup!
@lois: come ahead on indeed!
Yikes and I thought I was having a bad senior moment, feel bettr now that I'v read all your comments.
Have a good day all.
Geri
Sorry I missed responding to some of the above, but I've been trying to find boots, a big hat, and a flight to OK; think sandwich!!
I don't like 25A. "feathered friend" should be DUCK, not BIRD. Remember the song: "Be kind to your fine feathered friends; for a duck could be somebody's mother" (or brother)
What an irritating puzzle. I had no clue about "Mississippi Quartet", I kept thinking it was some bluegrass group. Didn't like the "tog" for dress up? Bad start to my day.
Melissa can Dennis, drdad, Bill and I be in you heard. Then you can drive us to OK and combine with the Lois hard.
Oops I left out an E.
@dennis: i'm thinking hoecake sandwich.
Dick, what a great freudian slip.
Melissa bee, great minds do think alike. As the old saying goes, I wouldn't know which way to turn...
@dick: darn tootin'! the SOONER the better. i reckon lois is fit to be tied!
Yippee ki yea, I feel a 'Ho Down' comin' on!!!! Dennis will give a whole new meaning to 'twister' in OK.
@dennis: holy hotwick hoecake .. surrounded by bedonkadonk, if that don't make you slap your pappy, nothin' will ..
see what you started? (isn't it still blame someone else day?)
melissa we hope you are also fit to be tied as that is the way this bunch of cowboys do it
Dick: Too funny! Hilarious! The Lois 'hard' will be waiting for the MB herd with all the additions to come.
Melissa: Oh, yeah, I'm not only fit to be tied, I'm ready for the round up, roping, and the bucking. I've got my leathers, whip, and lasso's either on or in hand.
@dick: listen at you! that sorta talk might get you hog-tied yourself ..
Yeahhhhh! Lets hope!
Oh by the way Lois do you have your spurs on?
melissa bee, I have no idea what bedonkadonk is, but count me IN.
Have to show those oil derricks out there how it's done...
Dick, nooooo - I'd think 'untethered' would be much, much better.
OMG, I feel a rescue mission coming on/off!!! Wait, I'll grab my saddle by the horn and grab the next horse out!!
Herd 'em up, Head 'em up, move 'em out, Rawhide. Rowdy to the rescue!!!!!!!
Lois, as long as you skip the branding.
OMG Dennis I never thought of that. I do have ass best os underware
Dennis: no problem. Branding irons are not the 'hot rods' I like to handle.
Bill be careful of the saddle horn you are grabbing. We don't want you injured when you arrive. That comes later.
We could activate the National Guard but that would be playing right into their hands. And I'm afraid the Guard would be out maneuvered and taken captive and ravished beyond their wildest dreams!!!
Hello,
I enjoyed today's puzzle, but it was difficult. I had never heard of scoria, kenai, or melano. But I did find them, so all went well. Thanks for the help with the Quad cities, never been there, so I was lost :)
Welcome yldgirl,
You'll find our little group a little dysfunctional in the AM and a lot more so as the day moves on.
Sometimes we lose sight of the main objective , which started as crossword solving and went downhill from there. It's all in good fun ( I hope)
Anyway, WELCOME
But our moderator is second to none. C.C. has to be the sane one of the group to keep everyone in check.
Well, she does her best but sometimes that falls short.
As a crossword solver, theme catcher and all around link producer she's the best. Enjoy
Anonymous @ 3:07pm,
23D: Dress (up): TOG. It could also be "TOG out".
Lois,
FYI: The Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise Newspaper in OK carries TMS puzzle.
Dick: No self-respecting bronc rider goes without spurs. I have found them necessary only in a few cases where the bronc was lazy or noncompliant. I doubt those will be issues with any of you guys.
Bill:The Nat'l Guard is calling in the reserves as it is. The Army is right up the street. Don't worry. I've got their number!
yldgirl, welcome.
@dennis ... bedonkadonk
yldgir, welcome to the site. As you can see most of us are sane and sensible but then Carol, Meliss and Lois start guiding us down the primrose path and then all he** breaks loose. Anyway you will like cc and her input to the Xword every day. As Bill said she is the best and does try to maintain some order on the site.
Melissa,
What link?
Dick et al,
Tim Russert would have said "What's happening here? It's wild, wild!"
melissa bee - i'm forever in your debt for that video - and count me IN again.
yldgirl, welcome, and I apologize for all these guys' bawdy comments - there's only so much I can do to try to maintain an air of dignity on here.
All: I don't usually check in this late, but wow, it goes DOWN-hill fast on this blog! Y'all are killing me! How 'bout that puzzle?
cc: - Geez - have you ever had 90+ comments here before?
@c.c.: what what link?
@dennis: most welcome. now pay up.
OOOOOKKKKK
I think I'll pull up my pants and go home!!!!
melissa bee - what do i owe you?
(I'm on the edge of my chair for this one...)
@dennis: for starters you can lose the hat and boots.
Wow oh Wow -- I am really late today and Lois and Melissa B have really done it to the boys today!!!
I had dental surgery so was not up to par earlier. Did not like the puzzle but sure enjoyed the downhill slide the girls took the boys on (or is it the other way around?)... Hope the poor cowboys, Indians, and soldiers are ready for you all.
Hook 'em horns has a whole (hole) new meaning, huh?
Like the old song says, I like my women a little on the trashy side!
Well you have "come" to the correct place here!!! LOL at all of your wonderful and funny and, of course, ribald comments...ain't life grand??
Boots?? Hat?? What boots & hat??
and for the 100th comment of the day ...
@dennis: i love me an obedient man.
holy bazookas--took me longer to read all the comments than work this puzzler (I did go to Google twice, I confess) inbreed is Not engender...and I sure missed the intention of that comment about inbreeding with close relatives--I guess you meant by marriage rather than blood--maybe is like french where parent means just about everyone including the kitchen sink...
Funny day Lois et al
Melissa,
Perfect 100!
Thomas,
I don't think I get Dennis' 5:51am INBREED comment either.
Melissa,
Now I got your link. I was slow to understand yesterday.
"Kitchen whistler" is a *kettle*, not a teapot
has anyone ever done wayne r. williams crossword puzzle, sports highlihts?
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