Theme: True or False?
24A: True or false?: (TRUE) BLUE AMERICAN
33A: True or false?: A DREAM COME (TRUE)
50A: True or false?: SHOW ONE'S (TRUE) COLOR
66A: True or false?: (FALSE) SENSE OF SECURITY
89A: True or false?: BE (TRUE) TO YOUR SCHOOL
103A: True or false?: SET OF (FALSE) TEETH
115A: True or false?: MAKE (FALSE) PROMISES
3D: True or false?: TO GOO TO BE (TRUE) - Mistake here, should be TOO.
16D: True or false?: (FALSE) IMPRESSION
73D: True or false?: MAKE A (FALSE) START
77D: True or false?: (TRUE) TO ONE'S WORD
So creative a theme concept! Stunning grid (only 68 blocks). I like how LIARS (65D: Perjurers) intersects with one TRUE and one FALSE theme answer.
I went through a very hard time today, esp the "MAKE PROMISES" corner. I simply forgot TOMBA (104D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto), did not know BROGAN (121A: Stout, workman's shoe), and could not figure out what was 118D: Four CDs (MDC). Very cleverly misleading Roman numberal clue.
I burned out Mr. Google today, way too many unknown words for me to handle: MYRRHS, ANNULI, MYNAH, ICHORS, SIAL, MADRAS, HOKKAIDO (91D: Japanese Island. I only knew the Chinese word for for this place. G-8 Summit was held there only 2 days ago), BROGAN, ANCON and several other actor/actress/singer/furniture designer names.
ACROSS:
5A: Painter Degas: EDGAR. He once said "In painting you must give the idea of the TRUE by means of the FALSE". No other words have expressed "Impressionism" more perfectly in my view.
10: Hurries: SCOOTS
16A: Here by the Eiffel Tower: ICI. "You are here" is "Vous êtes ICI" in French.
19A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. KittyB can probably come up with a bunch of OBOE clues.
21A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Here is the definition: "Any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti (wife)", also called "Agama". I vaguely heard about it before. Knew MANTRA though. What's your MANTRA?
22A: Bon __ (witticism): MOT
23A: Mil. group: REGT. And 12D: Maritime spy. grp.: ONI And 52D: College military org.: ROTC. Oh, also 97A: Navy commando: SEAL
26A: Air pressure unit: PSI. Also the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet (before OMEGA).
29A: Post-dusk: EEN. Needs "in poetry" or "to a poet" in the clue.
30A: Aromatic resins: MYRRHS. Completely foreign to me.
32A: Earthy color: OCHRE. This is the British spelling, isn't it?
36A: Indian seaport: MADRAS. No idea, Wikipedia says MADRAS the city is now called Chennai. Is there another seaport called MADRAS?
38A: Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI
40A: Greek portico: STOA
45A: Cabinetmaker Phyfe: DUNCAN. Sorry. I don't know anything about furniture. Can't understand why some of the pieces are worth that much on the "Antique Road Shows".
53A: Broken-bone support: SPLINT. And 48D: Sound of a wet impact: SPLAT. Are you OK with the SPL intersection?
56A: Muffle: SOFTEN
59A: Infamous hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The "Queen of Mean". What's that lucky dog's name? "Trouble"!
60A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA
71A: Bitter regret: REMORSE
93A: __-masochism: SADO. That's Caligula's pervert indulgence, isn't it?
95A: Ring-shaped geometric figures: ANNULI. Singular form is ANNULUS, which originated from Latin ānulus. Hmm, interesting root word.
101A: "Five ___ Pieces": EASY. From the movie soundtrack, here is Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man".
102A: Slammers: POKEYS. Slang for jails.
110A: Stores for later: SALTS AWAY
119A: State of two of the Quad Cities: IOWA. Davenport & Bettendorf.
122A: Henry James novel, "___ Miller": DAISY. Another unknown. Have you read it before?
126A: Social stratum: CLASS
DOWN:
1D: Part of FDIC: CORP. I wish it were clued as "NYSE listing" to balance OTC (13D: Nasdaq milieu).
2D: Over in Bonn: UBER
4D: Device to regulate spring tension: SET SCREW. It looks like this.
6D: "La ___ Vita:": DOLCE. I've never seen the movie. DOLCE is "sweet" in Italian.
10D: Take the wheel: STEER
11D: "Bette Davis Eyes": CARNES (Kim). No idea. Very nice clip.
14D: Mine vehicles: TRAM CARS
15D: Electronics giant: SANYO. And 88D: Tokyo ta-ta: SAYONARA
17D: Hit on the head: COSH. Did anyone pen in CONK?
18D: Tonsil ending?: ITIS (Medical suffix)
25D: Average: MEDIAL. I wrote down "MEDIAN".
28D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Or the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
31D: Sandhurst sch.: RMA (Royal Military Academy)
33D: Cornice bracket: ANCON. Not familiar with this architectural term. This illustrates pretty well.
34D: Alamogordo, NM event: A TEST
36D: Dayan or Arens: MOSHE. Know Dayan, the guy with the eye patch. Not Arens.
38D: British sheen: LUSTRE. I like our spelling LUSTER.
42D: Heavy metric weight: TONNE
43D: Sequence of eight: OCTAD. Why is "Sequence of eight"?
45D: Made less dangerous: DEFUSED
46D: Time being: NONCE. For the NONCE. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.
58D: Deductive: A PRIORI. Can you give me an example?
67D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. No idea. I pieced it together from the across fills.
68D: Caen's river: ORNE
69D: Soft-drink choice: FANTA. I've never had it before. I am a loyal Pepsi fan.
82D: Dangerous sub: U-BOAT
83D: Talking bird: MYNAH. It can also be spelled as MYHA, MINA, MINAH. Completely unknown to me. She looks very content, satisfied and eager to talk. Dictionary says they are "Any of various starlings of southeast Asia, having bluish-black or dark brown coloration and yellow bills. Certain species, are known for mimicry of human speech."
84D: Paper bets: IOUS. (The clue should be "Paper debts".)
85D: Discharges from wounds: ICHORS. Ick. Dictionary says it's also "the rarefied fluid said to run in the veins of the gods" in Greek Mythology.
90D: Boxing combination: ONE TWO
94D: 3 on the phone: DEF
100D: Cross back over: RESPAN. I dislike both the clue and the answer.
102D: Cline and Kensit: PATSYS. Sigh! No, they are total strangers to me.
110D: Light, granite rock: SIAL. Another new geological term to me. It's "the assemblage of rocks, rich in silica and alumina, that comprise the continental portions of the upper layer of the earth's crust".
111D: Polo goal?: ASIA. Marco Polo. Good clue.
113D: Swerves off course: YAWS
C.C.
24A: True or false?: (TRUE) BLUE AMERICAN
33A: True or false?: A DREAM COME (TRUE)
50A: True or false?: SHOW ONE'S (TRUE) COLOR
66A: True or false?: (FALSE) SENSE OF SECURITY
89A: True or false?: BE (TRUE) TO YOUR SCHOOL
103A: True or false?: SET OF (FALSE) TEETH
115A: True or false?: MAKE (FALSE) PROMISES
3D: True or false?: TO GOO TO BE (TRUE) - Mistake here, should be TOO.
16D: True or false?: (FALSE) IMPRESSION
73D: True or false?: MAKE A (FALSE) START
77D: True or false?: (TRUE) TO ONE'S WORD
So creative a theme concept! Stunning grid (only 68 blocks). I like how LIARS (65D: Perjurers) intersects with one TRUE and one FALSE theme answer.
I went through a very hard time today, esp the "MAKE PROMISES" corner. I simply forgot TOMBA (104D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto), did not know BROGAN (121A: Stout, workman's shoe), and could not figure out what was 118D: Four CDs (MDC). Very cleverly misleading Roman numberal clue.
I burned out Mr. Google today, way too many unknown words for me to handle: MYRRHS, ANNULI, MYNAH, ICHORS, SIAL, MADRAS, HOKKAIDO (91D: Japanese Island. I only knew the Chinese word for for this place. G-8 Summit was held there only 2 days ago), BROGAN, ANCON and several other actor/actress/singer/furniture designer names.
ACROSS:
5A: Painter Degas: EDGAR. He once said "In painting you must give the idea of the TRUE by means of the FALSE". No other words have expressed "Impressionism" more perfectly in my view.
10: Hurries: SCOOTS
16A: Here by the Eiffel Tower: ICI. "You are here" is "Vous êtes ICI" in French.
19A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. KittyB can probably come up with a bunch of OBOE clues.
21A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Here is the definition: "Any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti (wife)", also called "Agama". I vaguely heard about it before. Knew MANTRA though. What's your MANTRA?
22A: Bon __ (witticism): MOT
23A: Mil. group: REGT. And 12D: Maritime spy. grp.: ONI And 52D: College military org.: ROTC. Oh, also 97A: Navy commando: SEAL
26A: Air pressure unit: PSI. Also the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet (before OMEGA).
29A: Post-dusk: EEN. Needs "in poetry" or "to a poet" in the clue.
30A: Aromatic resins: MYRRHS. Completely foreign to me.
32A: Earthy color: OCHRE. This is the British spelling, isn't it?
36A: Indian seaport: MADRAS. No idea, Wikipedia says MADRAS the city is now called Chennai. Is there another seaport called MADRAS?
38A: Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI
40A: Greek portico: STOA
45A: Cabinetmaker Phyfe: DUNCAN. Sorry. I don't know anything about furniture. Can't understand why some of the pieces are worth that much on the "Antique Road Shows".
53A: Broken-bone support: SPLINT. And 48D: Sound of a wet impact: SPLAT. Are you OK with the SPL intersection?
56A: Muffle: SOFTEN
59A: Infamous hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The "Queen of Mean". What's that lucky dog's name? "Trouble"!
60A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA
71A: Bitter regret: REMORSE
93A: __-masochism: SADO. That's Caligula's pervert indulgence, isn't it?
95A: Ring-shaped geometric figures: ANNULI. Singular form is ANNULUS, which originated from Latin ānulus. Hmm, interesting root word.
101A: "Five ___ Pieces": EASY. From the movie soundtrack, here is Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man".
102A: Slammers: POKEYS. Slang for jails.
110A: Stores for later: SALTS AWAY
119A: State of two of the Quad Cities: IOWA. Davenport & Bettendorf.
122A: Henry James novel, "___ Miller": DAISY. Another unknown. Have you read it before?
126A: Social stratum: CLASS
DOWN:
1D: Part of FDIC: CORP. I wish it were clued as "NYSE listing" to balance OTC (13D: Nasdaq milieu).
2D: Over in Bonn: UBER
4D: Device to regulate spring tension: SET SCREW. It looks like this.
6D: "La ___ Vita:": DOLCE. I've never seen the movie. DOLCE is "sweet" in Italian.
10D: Take the wheel: STEER
11D: "Bette Davis Eyes": CARNES (Kim). No idea. Very nice clip.
14D: Mine vehicles: TRAM CARS
15D: Electronics giant: SANYO. And 88D: Tokyo ta-ta: SAYONARA
17D: Hit on the head: COSH. Did anyone pen in CONK?
18D: Tonsil ending?: ITIS (Medical suffix)
25D: Average: MEDIAL. I wrote down "MEDIAN".
28D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Or the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
31D: Sandhurst sch.: RMA (Royal Military Academy)
33D: Cornice bracket: ANCON. Not familiar with this architectural term. This illustrates pretty well.
34D: Alamogordo, NM event: A TEST
36D: Dayan or Arens: MOSHE. Know Dayan, the guy with the eye patch. Not Arens.
38D: British sheen: LUSTRE. I like our spelling LUSTER.
42D: Heavy metric weight: TONNE
43D: Sequence of eight: OCTAD. Why is "Sequence of eight"?
45D: Made less dangerous: DEFUSED
46D: Time being: NONCE. For the NONCE. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.
58D: Deductive: A PRIORI. Can you give me an example?
67D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. No idea. I pieced it together from the across fills.
68D: Caen's river: ORNE
69D: Soft-drink choice: FANTA. I've never had it before. I am a loyal Pepsi fan.
82D: Dangerous sub: U-BOAT
83D: Talking bird: MYNAH. It can also be spelled as MYHA, MINA, MINAH. Completely unknown to me. She looks very content, satisfied and eager to talk. Dictionary says they are "Any of various starlings of southeast Asia, having bluish-black or dark brown coloration and yellow bills. Certain species, are known for mimicry of human speech."
84D: Paper bets: IOUS. (The clue should be "Paper debts".)
85D: Discharges from wounds: ICHORS. Ick. Dictionary says it's also "the rarefied fluid said to run in the veins of the gods" in Greek Mythology.
90D: Boxing combination: ONE TWO
94D: 3 on the phone: DEF
100D: Cross back over: RESPAN. I dislike both the clue and the answer.
102D: Cline and Kensit: PATSYS. Sigh! No, they are total strangers to me.
110D: Light, granite rock: SIAL. Another new geological term to me. It's "the assemblage of rocks, rich in silica and alumina, that comprise the continental portions of the upper layer of the earth's crust".
111D: Polo goal?: ASIA. Marco Polo. Good clue.
113D: Swerves off course: YAWS
C.C.
C.C., just wanted to congratulate you on yet another milestone - 400,000 hits! It's yet another testimony to the outstanding work you've done in both creating and nurturing this blog. You should feel awfully proud.
ReplyDeleteHope everybody has a great day.
Good morning CC etal,
ReplyDeleteMy congratulations as well on hitting 400K - you'll be over a million before you know it!
Tough one today - bunch of googles & oneacrosses. It took me half the puzzle to figure out the "true or false" theme - first one I got was "blue american". Didn't figure it out until I nailed "to good to be", although to first "to" should properly be spelled "too" - but I guess we'll let them slide on that one.
Stuck on most of the same words you were CC - did get "4 cds" pretty quick, though because I had the perps first (no, haven't read "Daisy Miller" - it was a google). Agree that it was the first time I've seen a Roman numeral clued so well, though.
My mantra is from Yoda - "do or do not, there is no try".
Myrrh was one of the gifts the Magi brought to the infant Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem (along with gold & frankincense).
Madras is also a kind of fabric used for shirts, turbans & curtains - sort of an odd collaboration - it's a lightweight (for the most part) cotton. I know it from liviing in the deep south.
My first answer on NASDAQ milieu was NYC & I was stubborn for a little while until I figured out tantra.
Finally, my ex-wife is a big Patsy Cline fan - here's a link to a classic you may enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o1V2uiagpU
Hope all have a great day!
Mr. Wsieman( aka Wayne Robert Williams) thanks for the real challenge today. It was a tough puzzle with a difficult theme. I lerned some new things today, but thought the use of the unknown artist was a little much, but it worked out fine. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteabogato
Morning all.
ReplyDeleteDon’t get the puzzle here, but wanted to check in today. It looks like a great puzzle, with all the true of false clues, but all the proper names would be a challenge to me.
Cc, I love all the links, especially Betty Davis.
I actually have some Myrrh. It’s useful for herbal remedies; it has astringent, antiseptic properties.I sometimes use it during cold season.
It’s a gorgeous day here in Oregon. Perfect day for the (af)-fair.
Dennis, Carol, Lois, MH, come on over. I’m sure you can all fit in here somewhere – we don’t mind being close, do we? MH, bring your sister-in-law.
c.c, yes, I know about the side bar instructions, and tried that. Obviously I’m missing something; I can get it to work on the test page, but then I get error messages about tags when I put the same thing on the blog. I’m sure it’s user error, but haven’t been persistent enough to crack it yet.
Sallie, happy un-birthday!
Crockett,
No, I don’t get the Oregonian. Two years ago, the carrier cancelled delivery to the library (and the grocery store and quick stop market) due to gasoline costs. He didn’t want to drive 20 miles one way to deliver a few papers.
If I want to work the puzzle on Sunday, I have to drive to Eugene to pick one up. Something that isn’t going to happen on (af)fair day. Maybe next week.
Embien, do you get the Oregonian in Banks?
re. Xword 'True or False'. There's an error at 3D, which reads, when completed: 'to good to be true'. It should read: 'too good to be true.'
ReplyDeleteAlso, 84D seems to have an inaccurate clue: 'paper bets'. This is for 'IOUs'. I can't find any reference to an IOU as in anyway connected with a 'bet'. Rather it is always connected with a 'debt'.
Generally, it was harder than usual.
I cannot find the puzzle to work. Did print the Post Star, but it's not what you address. The other one does not have anything for Sunday.
ReplyDeleteDennis,
ReplyDeleteThank you! Without the contributions from you and other DFs, this blog would not have flowered.
Chris,
Ditto your point on 118D. Very innovative. I completely missed the boat on "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE". I should have known "MYRRHS", but I did not. I was brought up to be an atheist during Mao's Cultural Revolution. I like your mantra. Thank you for the "MADRAS" fabric information.
Abogato,
This is indeed a great puzzle. Williams is not a good editor, but he sure can construct!
Barb b,
Thank you for checking in. It takes a little practice to attach those links. But you will get it someday. Ask Melissa to show you how. Is she your sister?
Sallie,
ReplyDeleteMany papers simply do not carry TMS Sunday puzzle.
Gray,
Good to hear from you. Thank you for pointing out the 3D & 84D.
Chris,
What's your take on 84D (IOUS)?
Chris,
ReplyDeleteIs there really a MADRAS seaport in Indian? Why 43D is clued as "Sequence of eight" rather than "Group of eight"?
Gray @ 10:58am,
ReplyDeleteRE: IOUS. I think you are right, the clue should be "Paper debts".
CC: Don't have time to do the puzzle today but also wanted to congratulate you on the superb job you do here and the momentous occasion of reaching 400K. That is quite an accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteChris in la: love that mantra, and I love Patsy Cline, esp that classic song...altho' am reluctant to be associated w/any 'ex'. Just don't hold it against me...I'm up for anything else you want, just not that.
barb b: Thank you for the offer. From the link, it looks like we'd all blend in but do you really think Oregon could stand this cataclysmic level of DF's? It would be so fun, wouldn't it?
Enjoy this gorgeous day!
Lois,
ReplyDeleteTo you, a special "Thank You". Thank you for bringing the high MOREL/moral standards to the blog.
CC: You are hilarious! It's good to have friends in low places. And since most of them are not here today, I blame the guys.
ReplyDeleteMadras may not have shown up on your map because you have a new map. These days, it's called Chennai (I think that's the spelling) Somewhere over 7 million people, used to ship lots of cotton cloth. We have a Madras in Oregon, even if we put the accent on the first, rather than the second syllable. There are probably more elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteBut "to good"??????? Ecch.
In Oregon, we may mispronounce many borrowed place names, but we do try and keep a few standards. What's next on that slippery slope?
And having vented on that tiny bit of pedantry, many thanks for a wonderful, entertaining service.
All the best to everyone.
Hi CC and others,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 400,000 hits!
The misspelling at 3D.(TO instead of TOO)is a Class A felony, no? Unbelievable!
Today's puzzle was well themed, but as is often the case with Mr. Wiseman, not well put together. Too many ONES - 50A., 90D., 77D. Didn't like the use of MAKE in two of the theme answers. I also agree with others about the clue for 84D. IOUS. Finally figured out what the clue for 118D. was asking for! Duh!
On the positive side, the theme did put together unusual letter combinations that made you stop and think about being on the right track.
Ciao!
Cc congrats on the 400K plateau! Lots of hard work on your part to get to this level. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my worst efforts in many a long time. I just could not get into the flow of the theme and that along with a lot of other unknowns made for a very long and frustration puzzle. I haven't had one this difficult in a long time and needed a lot of help to complete.
Sally you are luck to have missed this one.
118D came easy for some reason and I got 84D IOUS with no problem. There were enough other areas of problems that I am not too proud of getting those two clues.
Hope you all have a great day and week end and if all tha DFs are going to Oregon for an affair count me in.
Interesting to see myrrh has medicinal properties. I always wondered what use it would be for a newborn baby.
ReplyDeleteCC,
ReplyDeleteSorry so late - have been working in the yard most of the day - grass & weeds grow faster-than-fast down here. Anyway, to answer your questions: I didn't like the clue "paper bets" for "ious" and agree with others that "paper debts" would have been a better clue - perhaps another typo like mine "of" information a couple of days ago? I can't help but wonder if some of the editing is being done over the phone and words are occasionally misconstrued?
Re: Madras - mikecarter gave same answer - city has been renamed, but I knew answer from affiliation with a few Indian folks during my days in the Bay area in California.
I think "sequence of eight" was a lousy clue - I started with "octet", then switched to "octav", the settled on "octad" when "planned" fell into place, but I honestly have never heard of an "octad" before - seems a little lazy to me.
Hope you had a great day! I am covered with sweat and really need a shower!
CC,
ReplyDeletePS - did you hit the Patsy Cline link? Old country music is, IMHO, a lot better than the new stuff. If you've ever loved and lost, hit some of the other Patsy tunes that come up on U-Tube - they'll certainly bring tears to your eyes.
Hi, c.c.,
ReplyDeleteSome clue possibilities for the answer OBOE:
One (member) of a woodwind trio
Double Reed
Hautboy or hautbois
Related to the bassoon
Related to the cor anglais
Related to the shawm.
It's frequently clued as "related to the clarinet." I suppose it is, indirectly. One octave of the clarinet fingers the same as the oboe. They are both slender, black instruments, but one uses a mouthpiece with a single reed, and one uses two reeds in place of the mouthpiece. I'll have to ponder more clever ways to clue oboe.
Mother is supposed to come home next weekend. There's lots to get done before she returns. I hope there will still be time to do the puzzle and visit with you.
Congrats on passing 400,000!
Mikecarter,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Madras information. Please continue your constructive "venting".
MKitty B,
Thank you for the great clues.
Sallyjane,
I really enjoy hearing comments from another constructor. Are you working on more puzzles?
Chris,
Yes, I hit the "Crazy" link. It's a great song. She has such a beautiful voice. You are very philosophical today: "Do or Do not, there is no try" & "Loved and lost...". Beautiful!
"To good to be true" is an unforgivable error.
ReplyDeleteOne would expect that from a 6th grader. In a crossword puzzle, it is anathema.
Great site! Curious about 58D Priori - comes off 57A Bon Mots and is therefore spriori? what is a spriori?
ReplyDelete