Theme: The Long and The Short of It
17A: Three longs: DIVISION FACE BOW
57A: Three longs: SHOT ISLAND RANGE
3D: Three shorts: WAVE COMING STORY
7D: Three shorts: HAND CIRCUIT CAKE
11D: Three shorts: RIB TEMPER CHANGE
I like this theme, not the grid structure. Somehow the middle part felt very cramped and I had difficulty breathing. I turned the puzzle 90 degrees and I still did not like the shape. I did not know why those broken blocks bothered me.
There are quite a few unfamiliar clues & answers for me in this puzzle. And I struggled hard for letter T between the intersection of INIT (55D: 1st letter) and CHETS (66A: Huntley and Atkins"). I think I vaguely heard of CHET Huntley before, but I could not dredge his name out of my brain. Had a big V8 moment with INIT (Initial).
The clue for ATF (8D: Booze, butts, and bullets bureau) should have an abbreviated "bureau "or simply "org."
Across:
10A: Linkletter and Carney: ARTS. Pure guess. Not familiar with either of them.
23A: Hush-hush: SECRET. Beautiful red rose, such mysterious folded structure. No wonder rose (anagram of Eros) is the symbol of SECRECY, love, perfection and femininity. Dante's Paradise.
25A: Sweet-talk: COAX
32A: Arabic Mac: IBN. But BIN is more popular, isn't it? Both refer to "Son of". Abu is "father of". Al is "the", as in Al - Qaida. Here is a photo of FDR with IBN Saud, former king of Saudi Arabia.
36A: Guitar ridge: FRET. No idea. I got it from across fills.
40A: Phoenix of Egyptian gods: BENU. Or BENNU. See this picture. I've never heard of it before.
43A: Highland plant: GORSE. Also spelled as furze, furse, whin. An evergreen shrub. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says "Common GORSE flowers most strongly in spring, though it bears some flowers year round, hence the old country phrase: "When GORSE is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion." The flowers have a very distinctive strong coconut scent."
44A: Stops a stealer: TAGS. Very creative baseball TAG. Hmm, this is great, so is this one, this one, this one and this one. I don't under this Colgroup tag, what does it mean? Other baseball references are OTT (22A: Mel of the Giants) and ATL (61D: Braves in box scores).
46A: Like-minded voters: BLOC
69A: Bacon amount: RASHER. Don't laugh at me, but really I have never heard of RASHER. Always thought it's called slice or strip. I've never developed a taste for bacon or hotdog. I do love apple pie.
52A: Place for three men?: TUB. Learned this rhyme from a comment Carol made sometime ago. I like this picture.
63A: Funny Jack of Hollywood: OAKIE
64A: End-of-week cry: TGIF. We seem to get a TGIF every Friday now.
Down:
5D: Robberies: HEISTS. Have you seen HEIST?
12D: Boxing letters: TKO
19D: Courteney or Wally: COX. Only know Courteney COX (Monica in "Friends").
24D: Indian cash: RUPEES
29D: Composer Saint - ___: SAENS. He composed "Danse Macabre". DANSE was clued as Saint-Saëns' "___ Macabre" in our puzzle before.
30D: Provide with a trait: ENDUE. New word to me. I was thinking of ENDOW.
33D: Forbidden acts: TABOOS. "... You give me the Sweetest TABOO, that's why I am in love with you...."
34D: Greek letter: DELTA. Xchefwalt probably wants DELTA to be clued as "Flower's end?" I really like this tricky flow-er clue, you know, you can clue NILE "The longest flower in the word?"
36D: Calf-length skirt: MIDI. Do you call this one as MIDI? "Après __ " might be too obvious. "Nice noon?" sounds great, don't you think so?
43D: Egg white: GLAIR. New word to me.
46D: Dracula's conquest: BRIDES
50D: Baylor of basketball: ELGIN. No, not a familar name to me. ELGIN was clued as "City in Scotland or Illinois" in an April puzzle.
C.C.
17A: Three longs: DIVISION FACE BOW
57A: Three longs: SHOT ISLAND RANGE
3D: Three shorts: WAVE COMING STORY
7D: Three shorts: HAND CIRCUIT CAKE
11D: Three shorts: RIB TEMPER CHANGE
I like this theme, not the grid structure. Somehow the middle part felt very cramped and I had difficulty breathing. I turned the puzzle 90 degrees and I still did not like the shape. I did not know why those broken blocks bothered me.
There are quite a few unfamiliar clues & answers for me in this puzzle. And I struggled hard for letter T between the intersection of INIT (55D: 1st letter) and CHETS (66A: Huntley and Atkins"). I think I vaguely heard of CHET Huntley before, but I could not dredge his name out of my brain. Had a big V8 moment with INIT (Initial).
The clue for ATF (8D: Booze, butts, and bullets bureau) should have an abbreviated "bureau "or simply "org."
Across:
10A: Linkletter and Carney: ARTS. Pure guess. Not familiar with either of them.
23A: Hush-hush: SECRET. Beautiful red rose, such mysterious folded structure. No wonder rose (anagram of Eros) is the symbol of SECRECY, love, perfection and femininity. Dante's Paradise.
25A: Sweet-talk: COAX
32A: Arabic Mac: IBN. But BIN is more popular, isn't it? Both refer to "Son of". Abu is "father of". Al is "the", as in Al - Qaida. Here is a photo of FDR with IBN Saud, former king of Saudi Arabia.
36A: Guitar ridge: FRET. No idea. I got it from across fills.
40A: Phoenix of Egyptian gods: BENU. Or BENNU. See this picture. I've never heard of it before.
43A: Highland plant: GORSE. Also spelled as furze, furse, whin. An evergreen shrub. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says "Common GORSE flowers most strongly in spring, though it bears some flowers year round, hence the old country phrase: "When GORSE is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion." The flowers have a very distinctive strong coconut scent."
44A: Stops a stealer: TAGS. Very creative baseball TAG. Hmm, this is great, so is this one, this one, this one and this one. I don't under this Colgroup tag, what does it mean? Other baseball references are OTT (22A: Mel of the Giants) and ATL (61D: Braves in box scores).
46A: Like-minded voters: BLOC
69A: Bacon amount: RASHER. Don't laugh at me, but really I have never heard of RASHER. Always thought it's called slice or strip. I've never developed a taste for bacon or hotdog. I do love apple pie.
52A: Place for three men?: TUB. Learned this rhyme from a comment Carol made sometime ago. I like this picture.
63A: Funny Jack of Hollywood: OAKIE
64A: End-of-week cry: TGIF. We seem to get a TGIF every Friday now.
Down:
5D: Robberies: HEISTS. Have you seen HEIST?
12D: Boxing letters: TKO
19D: Courteney or Wally: COX. Only know Courteney COX (Monica in "Friends").
24D: Indian cash: RUPEES
29D: Composer Saint - ___: SAENS. He composed "Danse Macabre". DANSE was clued as Saint-Saëns' "___ Macabre" in our puzzle before.
30D: Provide with a trait: ENDUE. New word to me. I was thinking of ENDOW.
33D: Forbidden acts: TABOOS. "... You give me the Sweetest TABOO, that's why I am in love with you...."
34D: Greek letter: DELTA. Xchefwalt probably wants DELTA to be clued as "Flower's end?" I really like this tricky flow-er clue, you know, you can clue NILE "The longest flower in the word?"
36D: Calf-length skirt: MIDI. Do you call this one as MIDI? "Après __ " might be too obvious. "Nice noon?" sounds great, don't you think so?
43D: Egg white: GLAIR. New word to me.
46D: Dracula's conquest: BRIDES
50D: Baylor of basketball: ELGIN. No, not a familar name to me. ELGIN was clued as "City in Scotland or Illinois" in an April puzzle.
C.C.
103 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and gang -
I blew through this one this morning, right up to the point where I hit the middle of the east coast. Couldn't come up with the answers for 'egg white' or 'highland plant', had 'endow' for 30d and had to hit the G-spot for help. Enjoyed the puzzle, though.
c.c., great pictures today.
Today is Johnny Appleseed day, so be sure to plant a seed.
Have an outstanding weekend; we've got a nor'easter visiting here, so it'll be indoor activities for me -- maybe catch up on some of the great movies that are out now.
Good morning CC etal,
Not too bad today - was a little frustrated with the long/short crosses - felt like they were holding out letters on me, but patience is a virtue & I finally figured it out.
Had to google "glair" (learned that an unfertilized egg - like what you get in the grocery - is actually a single cell) and "benu" (never heard of "endue" - it was the "u" that forced me out to the internet).
CC: slit a hot dog length-wise (don't cut it in half), insert a slice of American Cheese in the "pocket", wrap a slice of bacon end-to-end (spiral) around the hot-dog, secure the bacon with a toothpick, and broil until the bacon browns - only takes a few minutes. Put it on a bun with some catsup & mustard. More than 2 will probably stop your heart ;) ...but man they're good. One of my favorites from childhood
Good morning Cc, DFs and DFettes. Challenging puzzle today. I did not know egg white or Highland plant and was not sure of 63A Oakie and had to see Mr. G to confirm. Part of the problem in that area was that I had put SEC for 59D in lieu of SOC. On the plus side I did get all of the theme answers.
Cc as usual I liked your links!
Not too much for the sirens to latch on to today.
Looks like there is rain moving in later today and will hang around for the weekend so I will be off to an early round at the links. Hoope you all have a great weekend.
Dennis,
Plant a seed? In this time of the year? Isn't it too late?
Chris,
Your hot dog sounds so tasty. Thank you for sharing.
Dick,
You don't think Lois/Carol will like the "Strong" tag?
c.c., there's never a bad time to plant a seed.
I had to google SAENS, FRET, BENU, IMUS and GLAIR. I got GORSE from the perps, I also had ENDOW instead of ENDUE: I guess everybody did so no shame there. I thought "Funny Jack of Hollywood" was Jack BENNY. I've never heard of Jack OAKIE. I had written in BENNY and was so sure that I forgot to check the down clues. Oops. I would have thought Oakie was more obscure than Benny, personally.
Martin
Dennis,
Maybe you can plant an extra seed for me. Winter is coming, no seed will sprout in Minnesota. Too cold.
Good Morning, C.C. and all.
I had some of the same problems as the guys. GLAIR, ENDUE and BENU were new to me, but came through the fills. I had a terrible time with TAGS because I was thinking of theft, not baseball.
I was almost finished with the puzzle when I accidentally clicked on one of the links to the side and had to start all over. I really hope that's not an indication of what the day will be like.
Chris, we did a variation where you put the hot dog and cheese in a short French roll, and wrapped the bacon around the roll, and baked it until the bacon was crisp. I agree....just asking for a heart attack, but very tasty!
C.C., I'll come back to check out all your links when I'm on a faster computer this afternoon. I'm looking forward to the Saint Saens.
Stay high and dry, and have a good day.
The ENDUE, BENU, GLAIR and GORSE answers were the only ones I didn't get. All completely unknown!
Everything else was really easy and, for me, that's saying something. It is Friday, isn't it??
Gotta go do stuff!
CY'all later.
Oy, this was a toughie! I kinda, sorta made it through unassisted, but I had a few letters that were merely educated guesses and I'm not sure I can really take credit for finishing a puzzle if I'm not sure whether my answers are right or not when I put my pencil down.
As with everybody else, apparently, the mideast section of the puzzle caused me the most problem. I vaguely remembered that ENDUE was a variant of "endow," but I've never heard of BENU. Similarly, I knew there was a plant called GORSE, but I had no idea it was associated with the Highlands (of Sotland, I assume?). GLAIR was another complete unknown, so I was basically guessing that GORSE was correct and hoping that GLAIR was a real word.
How could I never have seen or heard of GLAIR in my entire life? I must have seen it before and simply forgotten. The curse of getting old, I suppose. But still, is it really a word? Does anybody actually use it? At least BENU is the name of an obscure Egyptian god, so I don't feel bad about not knowing that, but a word that means "egg white"? Other than, say, albumin?
*sigh*
Hello c.c. and all. I am glad to join the group and hope that I may contribute from time to time.
I was always under the impression that a rasher of bacon was two strips. But maybe I have read too many English novels.
I, too, had never heard "glair" used for egg white. Just couldn't fit "albumin" in.
Please excuse my ignorance but to what does DF refer?
pattispa, welcome - I hope you enjoy your stay.
DF stands for dysfunctional, and seems to fit many of us in this group.
Hey c.c. and gang. Apple seeds have to over winter in the ground before they will sprout. Now is the perfect time to plant them. Otherwise, you have to keep them in the freezer and then plant them in the spring.
Morning all,
Same problems as all the rest of you. Must add glair to my list of unusual words.
C.C. your picture of a midi skirt is so beautiful and sexy. However, my image of midi is usually matronly and unflattering unless worn with boots.
Dennis, I don't think your planting a seed had anything to do with "plants". Nothing is going to grow in my idea of planting a seed, but it is still fun trying.
Good Morning!
Pretty much the same as Dennis this morning. Had endow as well and had to google to see if gorse and benu were words. The rest was smooth sailing.
Rasher is used in the UK, New Zealand, Australia.
The Huntley-Brinkley Report. Good night, Chet. Good night, David.
Dennis pointed out that it is "Johnny Appleseed Day." Real name is John Chapman. It's Native American Day in California. The Beverly Hillbillies premiered in 1962 and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (a cult classic) premiered in 1975.
Welcome Pattispa.
Dick, the theme of the puzzle (as per C.C.) is the LONG and short of it so the Sirens do have something to get them going.
Mix up Ritz crackers with mayo, parsley, garlic, and melted butter to make a stuffing. Open up hardshell clams (don't cut your thumb while doing it) and put some of the stuffing on the clam and top with a small slice of bacon. Put in oven at 350°F until bacon is cooked and Voila! Clams casino! Yumm!!!
TGIF. Have a good one.
Jeanne,
Planting a seed always carries the promise (or risk) of growth. It all depends how fertile the ground (or woman) is.
Martin
Jd,
You had a misunderstanding on spats/RHUBARBS yesterday. RHUBARB is a slang for spat. Nice to know a spat is a group of oysters though.
Mark,
"underplaying ones skills in cleverly deflecting spear" (4 & 11 letters). Too hard. Down something? I kept thinking of sharpshooter. I am game for another one though.
Pattispa & Nitehawk,
Welcome!
Kit,
This is for you!
Good morning, C.C. plus the new and old herein.
Add me to the benu/endue scrap heap. I had endow in my head, but knew gorse. That "u" in Benu had to be a vowel, but none sounded right. I filled after reading the blog. I did get the rest.
I'm running a cribbage tournament for 500 folks this weekend. Big winners will take home a goodly share of about $40,000 prize money awarded over the next three days.
I might even get some of it.
May all have a great weekend.
@Martin: Jack Oakie was one of those short chubby character actors in the old westerns who always had a short or irreverent line to add to the script. He also had a very recognizable voice as did Andy Devine.
Huntly/Brinkly was the first network newscast to use reporters live from two cities: New York and Washington. This was a significant feat back in the days of vacuum-tube electronics. The trick was to learn to switch from one signal feed to the other without causing TV sets to "roll".
By the way - if you didn't like the channel, you had to get out of your chair and turn this little device known as a "dial". Remote controls wouldn't be invented for many years. You also had to occasionally fine-tune the signal and adjust the horizontal and verticle hold knobs.
Barry,
I thought you would have a very romantic view on courting after marriage. But pencil for puzzles?
Dr. Dad,
Clams again? So you don't think the tiles yesterday were properly "installed again"?
Cokato,
I liked your "One Hit Wonders" link yesterday. But what prompted you for the link?
The Whoo,
What is 3.2 license?
Anonymous @ 7:36am,
Thank you for the apple seed information. I did not know that.
Ken,
Good luck with your tournament!
c.c., you have my utmost admiration for getting this one out. I hated the whole thing. GLAIR, ENDUE and BENU were complete unknowns to me, and I spent an age at the g-spot today, since I needed it so much I felt guilty coming here before trying to find them on my own. Waste of time, I still couldn't get about six of them.
Loved the link of the rose. I got a powerpoint emailed to me as an attachment yesterday, based on a chinese proverb, with great music and flower pix, but am not sure how to link it here. I'll experiment with the normal linking method unless you know another way.
I googled it and found it online:
crackedpot
Happy Friday C.C. and all, got most all this but was stopped in the same place as Dennis, same words too..wonder what that means?
I didn't know 40A either and it was no help that I put "endow" in 30D.
I thought clues for 52A and 8D were very clever.
All in all, I was "overjoyed" with "sweet-talk", "coaxing" me into "clenched fingers" & "satisfied sighs".
After that and a few "tavern brews", I shouted TGIF!
Enjoy planting yours seeds, guys!
"Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, "A house guest," you're wrong because I have just described my kids.
Erma Bombeck
Ouch!!! Hard one for me. The southeast corner not easy.
3.2beer
C.C. I don't know where I was, but I could have sworn there was a clue regarding a one hit wonder. I just looked back at yesterday's puzzle and didn't see anything. Must have been daydreaming.
Learned something new again today.
Benu also spelled Benuu, and gorse. I knew Oakie, when Benny didn't work, Saens and Imus (he's at it again!). My stumbling blocks are the SSA and SOC etc. The acronym link from yesterday didn't help, so I got it from the "perps". Is there a government link to these initials? The longs and shorts were fun. I'm getting fast everyday.
I don't get 55D "1st letter" It works out to be "init"??
Can somebody out there help.
Thanks,
Sandra
Sorry I missed responding right away - today is evidently some sort of anniversary of my birth, and there was some stuff going on because of it.
carol, that's just scary for both of us.
cokato, you were daydreaming about one-hit wonders?? I would think you'd be aiming much higher.
jeanne, amen to 'fun trying'.
anon@10:38, init is short for initial, as in the first letter of your name.
One hit wonder was on a link. I was too busy to go to it. My husband's and my "song" is The We Fives " When I Woke Up This Morning". It was popular when we started dating.
Happy Birthday, Dennis. Yesterday was my Mom's, too.
I thought today's puzzle was a piece of (short) cake except for
59D; soc vs sec act (SSA)
Anonymous: Initial = first; to begin.
Dennis, Happy Birthday!and many, many more..you're still a youngster, right?
We'll all have a party with you, cake, ice cream, and lots of birthday candles to "blow" out. :) enjoy your special day!
Good morning, everyone! I usually have problems with this type of puzzle, but the perps helped me enough to get the longs and the shorts. Nice theme, C.C.!
Did not know IBN, BENU, OAKIE or GLAIR (wonder if exchefwalt will have an explanation for us -- He must be busy since we haven't heard from him in a while).
Lovely rose link. Not only does GORSE have a strong scent, it has some very long and sharp thorns! It seems to be akin to "Scotch Broom." Loved the "tags!" I think that one is "column group". Those should get the DFers off and running.
C.C., RASHER was a new reference to me not so long ago. Essentially, it means a "serving." Now, that could be anywhere from one slice to a whole pound, the way I understand its usage. C.C., have you tried apple pie with a nice slab of cheddar cheese melted over it? Mouth nirvana.
Wally COX was in the old T.V. show Mr. Peepers. I remember watching him. I had the same ENDOW thought as you. Don't know if the MIDI link is one or not. Hard to tell where the hem is, actually. Nice link! Yes, I like your clue ideas as well.
@dennis I see the bait has been proffered.
The cheese/bacon, broiling treatment works nicely with turkey breasts as well -- very tasty.
@jeanne Something might grow, but it's usually nine months later before the "seed" that dennis is inferring will be "sprouted."
@mamap I LOVE the "We Five." Such incredible voices and intriguing harmonies. It's too bad they only did two albums. "You Were On My Mind" is my favorite. Barb Blevins (lead singer), wherever you are, I vodka you!
I liked this puzzle. Lots of easy words, some not so easy and the combination of "Longs" and "Shorts" made it interesting.
Three new words for me today, BENU, ENDUE and GLAIR. The only reason I knew GORSE was because we saw so much of it when G.A.H. and I were in Ireland. I took this photo out the car window.
Martin, Maybe you thinkJack OAKIE is someone else.? OAKIE acted in a few TV westerns, but he was more famous for his 1920's, 30's and 40's comedies and musicals. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator". He played Benzino Napaloni, the dictator of Bacteria.
BTW, The Great Dictator is a great motion picture. It came out in 1940, before the U.S. was involved in WWII. It is a very funny and satiric indictment of Hitler and Nazism. If the appeal of Charlie Chaplin has eluded you, this a good one to see. (Netflix has it.)
Chris in LA, Wow, great minds (ha, ha) think alike. We had Cheese Dogs for dinner last night. They were minus the bacon, but still one of G.A.H.'s favorite "busy evening" meals.
When I was growing up, our family always called the evening meal "supper". I was originally a Chicago kid. Over the years, I've become more elitist (or is it?) and now call it "dinner". What's the difference to all of you?
If nobody else has linked it yet, here is You Were On My Mind. What is almost as much fun is watching Fred Astaire introducing them.
Carol, lets not forget the spanking! Happy Birthday Dennis and many many more. Here's your birthday *smooooooch*
clearayes, it depends where you are from. On the farms way back when you had four meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Dinner was usually around four o'clock and was the big meal of the day and supper was at sundown when the work was done for the day. It was always dinner at my house growing up. (midwest)
Cokato, you are soooo right about the birthday spanking...bend over Dennis!!!
We promise to watch our aim, wouldn't want to damage the "seed pods".
How do you go back to before today?
I know that earlier the previous day would be below the current one. But now the comments are below today's puzzle.
Clear ayes, nice picture of the gorse, do you know if it is related to the Scotch Broom that grows in abundance along our coast line? (also inland)
clear ayes, I enjoyed we five. I was one who never paid much attention to group names other than the Beatles and Stones back then, but the music of the rest is so familiar.
In Oz, we always had breakfast, lunch and tea, but dinner could be either lunch or tea, depending on which day it was and if it was a big meal. For example, Sunday dinner would usually be at noon, also Christmas dinner. Supper was only a late evening snack such as cheese and crackers with a "cuppa" (tea), or a dish of ice cream.
TGIF everyone, (not so much needed in retirement land), a fun one today, got the brain working. Hung on same as the rest of you with glair, endue and benu. Didn't know Oakie's name but recognized him right away from Clear ayes link: Thank you. Enjoyed the We Five link, weren't they clean-cut tho! Don't remember The Hollywood Palace show, must've been during get-up-and-change-the-dial days.
In NoDak we had breakfast, dinner & supper on the farm, except during harvest when we'd take hot lunches out to the crews around 4 pm. They'd usually quit at dusk & come into the shop for beer and sandwiches. Still my favorite time of year: lines of lit combines working at dusk. Ah-choo!
Happy Birthday, Dennis, and many, many more.
Sallie, go to C.C.'s first page and at the bottom click on older posts.
c.c.
"underplaying ones skills in cleverly deflecting spear"
cleverly may mean an anagram of deflecting spear.
so - self deprecating = underplaying ones skills and is an anagram of deflecting spear.
Try "first man to hoard literature all about woman"
Clue: a girl or woman´s name
clear eyes,
The 20s, 30s and 40s were all well before my time. :)
Martin
Dennis,
Happy Birthday! I vodka and caviar U/EWE/YEW!
Mark,
Thank you so much. But how many letters for your last one?
Sallie,
See the "Blog Archive" on the lower right side of the front page? You can find the previous posts there.
With regard to "supper" vs. "dinner", I've always understood the difference to be that "dinner" is the main meal of the day (regardless of the time) whereas "supper" is always the evening meal (even if you had a much larger meal for lunch).
And yes, C. C., I do my crossword puzzles in pencil so I can erase all my false starts.
Crockett,
I knew you would ask me about cheddar cheese. But no, I've never had the opportunity (and the courage) to mix the two.
Kazie,
I like your new picture. I had difficulty opening cracketpot, will try again later.
Cokato,
Thank you for the 3.2beer.
Clear Ayes,
Breakfast, lunch and dinner for me. And lots of snacks (nuts & fruits). What are your favorite snacks?
Kazie,
You did use the same photo before, didn't you?
Barry,
Have you seen "Pen or Pencil" clip before?
C.C and Cokato - In my comments on yesterdays blog, I had mentioned that it was One-Hit Wonder Day. Perhaps that is where Cokato got the idea for her link.
Crockett - Does the cheese/bacon/broiling treatment work with other breasts?
Dennis - Happy Birthday. I will toast to your day later after work.
Good morning C.C. & all
@dennis Feliz Compleaños & stay dry!
I LIKED this puzzle. I liked the threes! I blew through it right up to the same point as all of you before things came to a complete halt... the middle east. Once again, I was forced to (shudder, shudder) google. I just did not know benu, saens, or glair but they don't seem to come up very often in the casual conversations. On the plus side, I did know gorse. And, as crockett stated, it is something like scotch broom
Scotch Broom started in this country as an ornamental plant. As always, hindsight has proven it to be an invasive although pretty pest that is difficult to eradicate.
Gorse is an invasive plant also found here in the N.W. and is classified as a Class B noxious weed.
gorse
Back in the 30s, the town of Bandon on the Oregon Coast, burned to the ground due to a wild fire that started in the oily Gorse plants that had invaded the town's perimeter. So, Gorse is not just a 'highlands' plant despite the clue. Bandon is at sea level.
I'm still savoring the OSU win. To clarify, I am first, last, and always a Duck(U of O) but I know what the Beavers are capable of doing on any given game day. I've seen it happen more times than I want to remember... especially in the end of season cross-state civil war game. USC just never recognized that the Beavs weren't intimidated. And, you gotta love a freshman running back who is so small in size the defense can't find him with radar. When USC lost their composure, they lost the game. 'Nuff said!
It's getting old but this is yet another in-'n-out day. TGIF!!!!
good morning c.c. and all,
i enjoyed struggling with this puzzle .. always like multiple theme answers. same stick points as everyone else. nice tags, c.c.
saens has been clued pretty regularly lately. his le carnaval de animaux (carnival of the animals) is so beautiful. (music afficionados click on the 'more info' button in the box to the right of the clip for interesting background.) the suite was also used in the movie babe the pig.
@bea: i enjoyed the visual of your 'lines of lit combines working at dusk.' poetic and moody, thanks.
@dennis: happy happy birthday! may you have your cake, and eat it too.
c.c., No, this is a new one from the wedding trip last month. We were on a walk in Chemnitz the week before the wedding. The one of me at 14 it replaces seemed a bit too flattering to be honest. The previous one you remember was a close-up headshot.
Dennis, Happy Birthday, but don't sin too much or you'll deserve that spanking that was promised earlier by the DFs!
Thank you Drdad. I knew I had seen it somewhere or I wouldn't have sent the link.
Hi ya'll,
Being an oldtimer, I had no trouble with "Jack Oakie", But oh those Eastern words---Benu, Gorse,Rasher amd Saens.
Rest of the puzzle was pretty easy. Oh yes and "glair".
I grew up having supper as the evening meal; But my modern day children have almost won me over to accepting the evening meal to be "dinner".
Happy birthday Dennis. My wish for you is that "Walt" bake you a cake and one of the "Sirens" to pop out of it!!!
Vaya con Dios
@all
I'm never satisfied with unknowns so 'glair' bothered me enough to send me exploring. The clue should probably have been labeled as 'obscure' since it's not really correct as presented... ie glair is not egg white! 'Glair' is the liquid that oozes out of eggs after they are beaten to meringue and then allowed to sit. Artists then mix that byproduct with Gouache(type of paint) to enable better bonding with paper. Not being an artist I have no clue beyond this and I wasted about an hour finding out this much. Also, albumin is simply a latin derivative meaning white protein.
With that, I feel much better and I really am outta here!
ttfn
Martin, Touché! I'm not quite old enough to remember those decades, but sometimes it feels like it.
Pattispa, Night Owl, Pete, Promise Me This and all: nice to see so many Newbies in the past couple of days. I've only been around for a short while too, but everyone is always so welcoming I'm sure you will feel at home in a very short time. Keep posting, the camaraderie is so enjoyable.
Talking about supper earlier reminded me of this song Sing For Your Supper by The Mamas and The Papas. Cass Elliot had such a great voice. It's strange how a group like The Mamas and the Papas became '60's musical icons, but We Five faded after a short time. I also found it interesting that Cass Elliot, in spite of being a very large woman, had some pretty fancy footwork in those white go-go boots (Yup, I had a pair of those, too). Her dancing looked very much like Barb Blevins in the We Five video.
Gudday, all. I think this would be a rather tricky puzzle for those not native to the U.S. There's a lot of stuff in it -Oakie, Wally Cox, Chet Huntley, Elgin Baylor, etc., all of whom I knew because of age and nationality; much harder for our Newbie friends. I was slowed down in the same areas as y'all but muddled through by knowing gorse, bloc and rasher so was able to guess glair (u/k). (Glair is underlined on my spell-check so how frequently is it used?) Got endue only because of gorse but had to test my personal G-spot (The A to Z Crossword Dictionary - I refuse to Google unless all else fails) to confirm the "u" in Benu.
Oregonians; check my late e-mail of last night for my positive comments on your victory.
Clear-eyes: Breakfast, dinner and supper until I went off to school. Since then, breakfast, lunch and dinner. B, D and S must be a mid-western "thang".
Mama p; Don't say "I'm getting fast everyday." unless you're ready for some real spicy comebacks.
Promisemethis: We lived in Montana for 12 years - Billings. My daughter and family are still there. Where were you?
For the "dog 'n cheese" nuts, Johnsonville or Hillshire Farms makes a chedder brat. The cheese is built right in. Add a little bacon and call your cardiologist.
Drdad; Today is also Ivan Petrovich Pavlov's birthday. (1849-1936) For some unknown reason every time I think of him I salivate and feel hungry.
Good luck, Dennis, on your B-day. Hope the sirens avoid the seed pods while spanking you. My B-day was Sept 16th (the big 65) which I will always remember as having been observed during the "Great Blackout of '08".
Juanita reminds me of Sade. What did Sade have in the back pockets of her jeans that made them flair out so temptingly?
I must be off.
c.c., I just noticed your comment about the cracked pot. I found a better link that works:
cracked pot
c.c., It does work but it doesn't give the beautiful flower pix that were in the first version. I don't know why that one won't work any more, but at least you'll get the story.
Buckeye, it must be someone ringing the dinner bell.
Kazie,
I am having tears just watching your cracked pot video. Thank you very much.
Even Google did not get me through this puzzle, and I ended up with 7 red squares. I would like to think that it was because I have been so busy at work, but truth be told, I could not get through the right, center of the page even with more time and concentrated effort.
Albumen is the only work I know for "egg whites". I have never heard of GLAIR. Though familiar with the Egyptian phoenix symbol, I did not know its name. And I too had "endow" for 30D, never having heard of ENDUE. And I am totally unfamiliar with Jack OAKIE.
Despite these difficulties, I still enjoyed this puzzle. But I want to know…do three longs make a light? LOL
ART Linkletter was a radio and television performer. He is best known for his radio program “People are Funny” and his tv program segment Kids Say the Darndest Things. This was at a time when tv was still innocent…and thoroughly enjoyable!
I am still have lots of ends to tie up and have to leave early to go pick up my eldest at the train station.
Is that Asian beauty pictured you?
@drdad Chicken maybe, but not chickie! They are much too tender and do not do well in intense heat.
Clear Ayes; Dinner? Not supper? But there are bells.
IMBO
Crap!! I left too soon. Kazie; I got the "Cracked Pot" on your first link. FANTASTIC! I passed it on to numerous friends. Thank you so much.
IMBO
Buckeye, I clicked on Publish and immediately regretted not writing "supper". But I knew you'd give me a pass. Ha Ha!
9:48 today. Unknowns: GLAIR, BENU, (Jack) OAKIE and had never seen ENDUE before (wanted ENDOW, along with c.c.)
I generally dislike the "three longs" type of puzzle--a cheap way to get 15-letter fill rather than "real" words or phrases, IMHO. This one wasn't too bad as that genre goes, though.
chris in la: you put CATSUP on hot dogs? I've heard that most Chicago places won't put catsup (ketchup) on your dog even if you ask for it--it's considered a major culinary sin. (Neon green relish, on the other hand, is perfectly OK.)
c.c., and Buckeye, glad you liked the crackpot story. Maybe that first link will work again later on. It was the flower pix as much as anything I thought c.c. would like.
@doesitinink I think you'll have to explain that one to C.C.! Thank you for the Art Linkletter clip. What fun!!
@kazie I think C.C. really got into the sentiment as well.
Drdad; How'd you miss the birthdays of George Gershwin (1898-1937) -can you believe he was only 39 when he died?- and Olivia Newton-John - 60 today. Gershwin and Debussy are great for about an hour or so - then it's time to move on.
Clear Ayes; Give you a pass? Yeah!!
I thought of you when I read this today.
One merit of poetry new persons will deny; it says more, and in fewer words than prose. Voltaire.
I'm heading to grill a rib eye and kill a few more heart cells.
IMBO
@ Embien:
I know that catsup (ketchup) on a hot dog is almost a mortal sin, but the hot dog/cheese/bacon combination requires it - you need the heart-stopping quality of the sauce to make the whole thing work to it's fullest flavor. You gotta try it to appreciate it.
Normally, though, ketchup does not come near a hot dog, I agree!
thank you!!! i cam across your blog by accident, but i am so grateful!
i really found this puzzle odd-esp. the clues! glair? egg whites are generally albumin...oh, well.
i finished the puzzle with your help.
@chris, embien & anyone with Ketchup(catsup) thoughts on hot dogs.
I know it is probably gauche to Ketchup a dog in some societies but I never eat one without it. And, I add diced onions, pickle relish, grey poupon, and often sauerkraut(home made). Without that, it is just a 'hot dog' generated from various meat scraps and I can take-it-or-leave-it with no problem. I know, I'm a 'barbarian'!
For any tube steak to pass my test, the dogs have to be spiral cut(shallow) to allow them to properly cook. IMHO - They're best when slow bbq cooked. It also works for Polish dogs as well and makes them 'fine dining'. Brots are also fabulous but need precooking before the final bbq. Filled with Cheddar cheese, they take your breath away.
I'll have to try the bacon & cheese wrap way at some point because it definitely sounds like a heart-stopper.
@crockett I often eat apple pie with an American Cheese slice. I've never tried Cheddar. Another thing to do for my bucket.
And, with that, once again I'm again outta here! This time, it's for the weekend so have a good one.
ttfn
dennis, is this a "big" one for you? Are you out celebrating? Can we plan on hearing from you tomorrow? Never did get a comment from you yesterday regarding the fine point blog. Weekend nor'easter visiting, indoor activities? I'm sure you meant catching up on some "moving". Hah!
BTW, heard for xchefwalt today, he's been out of town and extremely busy and hasn't just disappeared to the B&B as I expected. He says his life could get back to normal sometime next week. He misses us all.
Hi all,
Ditto on what Dennis said.
My googles were Saens, Gorse, Benu, and glair. Other than those, things went smoothly.
I was missing ink on my crossword so had to try to figure out some of the clues and also where some of the black squares were which made it more challenging. Also had the same problem with the cryptoquip, even more challenging to do with missing letters!
Have a great evening everyone!
HI EVERYONE
C.C. RE 3.2 license
Minnesota has more then one level of liquior license. a general license lets you sell any alcohol as long as it is less then 140 proof, IE. 70% alcohol.
A 3.2 liesense is for selling alcohol of 3.2% or less by volume, also know as "non intoxicating malt liquor" A much cheaper license and cheaper liabilty insurance. It was used mostly by pool halls and small bars where the municipality controlled the sale of booze. As in a city owned on and off sale liquior store.
To prevent competition the city fathers would only allow 3.2 licenses to private places.
Now as far as the "non intoxicating malt liquior" tag goes. Well, as one whao used to compete in many a softball tournament and " went for the beer trophy" I can tell you that it IS intoxicating L O L . Many people swear that 3.2 beer gives you a much worse hangover. Hence the term "3.2 blues" WHEW! I didn,t know I could talk that long R O F L L M B O
Incidently, before you ask, the beer trophy is a sales gimmick that the sponsering org. of the tournement uses to increase it's sales of beer. A huge cheap impressive tropy is given to the team that drinks the most beer. A huge hit for teams that lose out in their first two games. They can go home with the pride of winning the beer trophy!
@ cokato NO NO Buffalo Lake 56304 ! Not the lake by Buffalo (zip code 56303) called Buffalo Lake. We are on hiway 212 between Glencoe and Olivia.
t c every one
oh, and to the rest of the d f's,
did anyone hear about the two blondes that walked into a bar?
You'd think one of em woud'a seen it !
L M A O
WHOO
P.P.S. C.C.
How about our freacking twins!
@ cokato I chat yahoo, so my pik and profle is availble @ whooinhell2000@yahoo.com My profile is a couple years old, it needs updating.
one more thing gang
dennis re. your 5:49 post about Johnny Appleseed.
Wondering if anonymous at 7:36 is my second x-wife, cause she used to say somthing about some place underground freezing before I could attempt that.
WHOO
Happy Birthday Dennis!
whoo, I bet you are happy now that 212 is completed. Smooth sailing now. Now that the bridge is open again in Delano, getting to the cities is easy again. How boneheaded for the state to work on Hwy 12 and Hwy 7 at the same time! I find that the longer I have lived out here though, the less I need to go into the cities. I work in Rogers and if you haven't been there in a while it would blow you away. There's everything there now including Cabelas, Target, Cub, Lowes, and lots of restaurants. So if I need to make a Target run or whatever, I just do it on my lunch hour.
cokato: you actually sail Lake Waconia? WOW ! I am so jealous! I love that lake. ALSO, I know the answer to your question on men that you have on your profile.
CC - Although the raspberry cake looks yummy...I just can't imagine the real thing without the flower/flour!
Some things just require tradition.
Thanks for continuing to be such a great leader and setting out fresh bait for the DFs and DFettes.
Sorry I haven't posted much lately... work has been !@(%&$ (@%&*#&*+
sinneD this is for you -->yppaH yadhtriB
@ Dennis Happy birthday whatever number it is. I hope someone blows out your candle tonight!
Greetings, C.C., and the whole gang -
I liked the puzzle today, flew through most of it, then going back to fill in the blanks, had trouble with 43a (Highland plant), Gorse, 63a (Funny Jack of Hollywood), (Oakie) I don't remember ever hearing of him.
Also, didn't know 29d Composer Saint-_ (Saens) or 30d (Provide with a trait) Endue.
But I finally got all of them (even if it was with help). Learn something new every day.
Had a little trouble with the longs and shorts.
I was very proud of the fact that I remembered Egg White (Glair) from a xword a long time ago.
TTFN
Night Owl
Hey guys - just got back in -- thanks so much for all the birthday wishes; you guys are the greatest.
cokato, yes, this is a milestone one - the 26th time I've hit 40. I guess as long as you feel 40, that's all that matters, right? And to you and carol, could we work out a spanking alternative?
Going out again in a few; thanks again for the wishes.
Hello all: I'm new here. Thanks for the help with grose and endue (both new words to me) and rasher??? it's much easier to say slice.
Dennis, Hope you are enjoying a very pleasant Birthday evening.
RE The Great Hot Dog Debate..I prefer them with yellow mustard, chopped red onion and sauerkraut. They do have to be kosher hot dogs, not from any religious standpoint, they just taste better.
Mamao4, I enjoyed your profile. Very nice photo and I agree about lunching with pals. Can't have enough good friends.
Hi Jen, Keep posting.
Buckeye, Thanks for the Voltaire quote. It's so true.
Here's a favorite example of how a few perfectly chosen words can create a complete picture in our mind's eye.
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
-- Carl Sandburg
3.2 beer? OMG, disgusting. My Minnesota-born husband calls it p***water. Is Minnesota the only state that has this stuff? years ago in lakes country restaurants, you could walk in with your own booze for set-ups and order 3.2.
Hot dogs: Nathan's are wonderful steamed and than grilled a bit, with peppers, diced sweet onions, mustard & relish. The contrasts of sweet/sour, crunchy/cooked are terrific. Umm, hot dogs at 10:30 pm??
hi again
@ bea 10:39 yeppers! I take it that your hubby has never been to IOWA then. all beer is 3.2 there. state law.
Just another way of proving the point that all trees in minnesota lean south
Why? because IOWA sucks!
it is okay c.c. it is an old minn/iowa rivalery
L M A O
WHOO
YOu should hear what they say about us lol
Hey CC & DF's, DFettes:
Barely here, going there, a touch and go.
Dennis: Happy Birthday. I wish you many many more. I'll see that your candle is blown and your spanking awarded all by proxy. And I will toast to your continued good health and happiness 'til the cock crows and the sun rises, or 'til the cock rises and the sun crows. Either way I'll make sure you have a good time at any rate...by proxy. Happy Birthday!
hi C.C. and anyone else who is still up
I did the puzzle enroute to Lake Tahoe , and without any help(except my husband who was glued to talk radio)I had a great time because I couln't cheat. I ended up with 8 blank squares, like the g .in glair and gorse.I know Bes in Egyptian myth., but never heard of Benu.Oakie? no clue.. I thought Benny
I did understand Rhubarb yesterday after looking it up.
Just wrote to let you know I will be gone for a week, unless I can find this c/w in a local paper. Also, this PC is very odd. I'm not used to a red dot for a mouse. It does not flow.l
Dennis, "heading" out again at 8:39pm? You definitely are quite the MOREL guy. Here I am typing my way at the computer...whoo, please enlighten me to the answer of my question on my blog space. Not only is Lk Waconia a nice place to sail, but you can sure catch your share of fish on that lake. Bass, walleye, crappies, sunnies...fun. And good to eat as well. Check out the In Towne Marina website.
c.c.; Hope you got last night's posting on Kant's a priori and life evaluation. They are not related. The great thing about posting late is that few people read it. Oh well, I usually post things most people ignore.
Pluribus ignoramus individulis
She shed a tear,
my heart wept.
IMBO
Just checking in before closing off for the night. See JD and Cokato is still awake. Are you sailing this weekend, Cokato? Have a good one, either way.
Buckeye, I should have known you'd still be awake! Very nice couplet.
I shall now go back to ignoring your post.
Good night, Clear Ayes!
Please,not yet. Listen to Phillipe Entremont (sP) and the N.Y doing Rach"s second p.c. Quite acceptable,
IMBO
C.C., It's 3:00 a.m. and I know it's at one hundred posts, but just had to thank you for the wonderful picture. I think that's a saw-whet owl; they're the smallest owl in eastern North America. Absolutely adorable! I really appreciate it. How odd that I'd just read a wonderful article about them today in my October edition of Ohio magazine! I think you read my mind.
Loved the links. Never heard of glair, endue or benu. Strange words. Knew rasher but have never heard anyone actually call bacon that; most people use slice, I think.
Kazie, loved the cracked pot video; so very touching.
Embien et al, I always have ketchup on hotdogs - culinary error or not. Chopped tomatoes are great on them as well; try it, you'll like it.
Calling lunch "dinner" is common in the south where I grew up; still used a lot there today.
Dennis, happy birthday. May you have many more.
Good night, and good morning, all. Thanks again, C.C.
Kit
Hi C.C. and the gang -
I told you I am a Night Owl - Anyway, the comments were great today.
Dennis - Happy Birthday to you and many more!
Buckeye - I have to show my ignorance again. You sign off with IMBO. Would you care to enlighten me as to what that means?
As you have probably seen I am a very curious person. I can probably make a pretty good guess but then, again ....
Everyone have a great day and keep on puzzling!
Night Owl
Hi All -
C.C. I know you said the owl pic was for Kit, but I just had to take a peek.
It is a beautiful owl. Someone took great care to get that photo - or was very lucky. I have a small owl figurine collection.
Also I wanted to thank you for your blog and all that you do for this Crossword. It must take a lot of your time.
Thanks and keep on puzzling!
Night Owl
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