Theme: None
Total blocks: 28
There is slight stream of financial terms running in this puzzle:
28A: Nest-egg initials: IRA
31A: Financial specialist: ECONOMIST
5D: Wall St. unit: SHR
7D: Tax act letters: ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act)
I liked this puzzle, some of the clues are so refreshing. For example:
16A: Where Aesop shopped?: AGORA. The Greek mall.
19A: Zodiac butter?: RAM. I thought "Butter?" is even better.
33A: Spar alone?: SHADOW BOX
51A: Curly poker?: MOE
21D: Second course?: PLAN B
But shouldn't the clue for NAIL SETS (14D: Carpenter's tool) be in plural form? (Addendum: Please ignore this comment. The answer is NAIL SET. I made a mistake when I typed in the blog entry)
I had to google today. There is no way I can complete a Barry Silk puzzle unaided.
Across:
1A: Freezes: STOPS DEAD. I was brought to an immediate & complete halt by this clue.
15A: 1965 hit by the Zombies: TELL HER NO. No, no, I've never heard of this song.
16A: Crenshaw or casaba: MELON. Neither is my favorite. I like honeydew. What's your favorite MELON? How do you serve them? In balls?
17A: Backing: ENDORSING
18A: ___ Gras: MARDI. Ah, I am so hungry for some FOIE gras on toast.
20A: NASA's ISS partner: ESA (European Space Agency). Or "That" in Spanish.
21A: Melatonin gland: PINEAL. No idea.
22A: Warriors' org.: NBA. I don't think I've seen NBA clued as "Timberwolves' org." before. We have great sports teams here in MN: Twins (MLB), Vikings (NFL), Wild (NHL) and T'wolves (NBA). Oh, we have Thunder & Lightening too.
23A: Argue noisily: WRANGLE
29A: Writing-on-the-wall word: MENE. New to me. Dictionary defines MENE as "numbered, one of the words of the mysterious inscription written "upon the plaister of the wall" in Belshazzar's palace at Babylon. The writing was explained by Daniel".
35A: Pool game: EIGHT- BALL
38A: Insults wittily: ZINGS
43A: Linguistics suffix: EME. I misread the clue as "Language suffix", so I wanted ESE.
44A: Exam cramming: REVIEW. I don't understand this clue/answer. Is REVIEW here a noun or a verb?
46A: Annoyed: HASSLED
48A: Nashville-based awards org.: CMA (Country Music Association). I really do not understand Kenny Chesney's appeal.
49A: Six-feet of water: FATHOM
52A: 911 responder: EMT. Nice change from the"CPR specialist" clue.
54A: Retaliation: TIT FOR TAT
57A: "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. She "detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine". Not familiar with this Greek mythology at all. It kind of reminded me of the seamen-luring SIRENS.
58A: Make slender: ATTENUATE
59A: Exalt to the heavens: ENSKY. New to me also.
60A: Cut: SHORTENED. It seems that whenever "Cut" or "Read" are clued, the answer is always in past tense.
Down:
1D: Less flexible: STERNER
2D: Rationally defensible: TENABLE
3D: Children's card game: OLD MAID. Just learned this card game when we had WAR clue the other day.
6D: Skip out on: DESERT. I like this verb fill rather than "Sahara/Gobi" DESERT.
8D: 1993 Playmate of the Year: ANNA NICOLE SMITH. I thought of Pamela Anderson first.
11D: Alaska's fist governor: EGAN. It's clued as "Magnet and Steel" singer on Barry's Sept 5 puzzle.
12D: Marilyn's blond part?: LORELEI. Another unknown. I've never seen "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Dictionary says LORELI is "a quasilegendary nymph of the Rhine who lured sailors to shipwreck on her rock by singing". So, another SIREN?
27D: Undemanding: CUSHY. Really? Give you give me an example?
29D: 2014: MMXIV
31D: Dutch cheeses: EDAMS. Or GOUDAS if there is one more blank.
34D: Crosswise, nautically: ABEAM. It's perpendicular to the keel, isn't it? We seem to have nautical term every day now.
35D: Imposing structure: EDIFICE
37D: Old-fashioned footwear: GAITERS. Another unknown. Here is a picture. They look pretty cool to me.
39D: Comment to a sun worshiper: NICE TAN
40D: Having buds: GEMMATE. I can feel Spring.
44D: Sailor's jacket: REEFER. What's the difference between a REEFER and a pea coat?
46D: Hive product: HONEY. HONEY, you thrill me.
50D: Unrespected writer: HACK. What do you call those people who write fanfictions?
C.C.
Total blocks: 28
There is slight stream of financial terms running in this puzzle:
28A: Nest-egg initials: IRA
31A: Financial specialist: ECONOMIST
5D: Wall St. unit: SHR
7D: Tax act letters: ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act)
I liked this puzzle, some of the clues are so refreshing. For example:
16A: Where Aesop shopped?: AGORA. The Greek mall.
19A: Zodiac butter?: RAM. I thought "Butter?" is even better.
33A: Spar alone?: SHADOW BOX
51A: Curly poker?: MOE
21D: Second course?: PLAN B
But shouldn't the clue for NAIL SETS (14D: Carpenter's tool) be in plural form? (Addendum: Please ignore this comment. The answer is NAIL SET. I made a mistake when I typed in the blog entry)
I had to google today. There is no way I can complete a Barry Silk puzzle unaided.
Across:
1A: Freezes: STOPS DEAD. I was brought to an immediate & complete halt by this clue.
15A: 1965 hit by the Zombies: TELL HER NO. No, no, I've never heard of this song.
16A: Crenshaw or casaba: MELON. Neither is my favorite. I like honeydew. What's your favorite MELON? How do you serve them? In balls?
17A: Backing: ENDORSING
18A: ___ Gras: MARDI. Ah, I am so hungry for some FOIE gras on toast.
20A: NASA's ISS partner: ESA (European Space Agency). Or "That" in Spanish.
21A: Melatonin gland: PINEAL. No idea.
22A: Warriors' org.: NBA. I don't think I've seen NBA clued as "Timberwolves' org." before. We have great sports teams here in MN: Twins (MLB), Vikings (NFL), Wild (NHL) and T'wolves (NBA). Oh, we have Thunder & Lightening too.
23A: Argue noisily: WRANGLE
29A: Writing-on-the-wall word: MENE. New to me. Dictionary defines MENE as "numbered, one of the words of the mysterious inscription written "upon the plaister of the wall" in Belshazzar's palace at Babylon. The writing was explained by Daniel".
35A: Pool game: EIGHT- BALL
38A: Insults wittily: ZINGS
43A: Linguistics suffix: EME. I misread the clue as "Language suffix", so I wanted ESE.
44A: Exam cramming: REVIEW. I don't understand this clue/answer. Is REVIEW here a noun or a verb?
46A: Annoyed: HASSLED
48A: Nashville-based awards org.: CMA (Country Music Association). I really do not understand Kenny Chesney's appeal.
49A: Six-feet of water: FATHOM
52A: 911 responder: EMT. Nice change from the"CPR specialist" clue.
54A: Retaliation: TIT FOR TAT
57A: "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. She "detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine". Not familiar with this Greek mythology at all. It kind of reminded me of the seamen-luring SIRENS.
58A: Make slender: ATTENUATE
59A: Exalt to the heavens: ENSKY. New to me also.
60A: Cut: SHORTENED. It seems that whenever "Cut" or "Read" are clued, the answer is always in past tense.
Down:
1D: Less flexible: STERNER
2D: Rationally defensible: TENABLE
3D: Children's card game: OLD MAID. Just learned this card game when we had WAR clue the other day.
6D: Skip out on: DESERT. I like this verb fill rather than "Sahara/Gobi" DESERT.
8D: 1993 Playmate of the Year: ANNA NICOLE SMITH. I thought of Pamela Anderson first.
11D: Alaska's fist governor: EGAN. It's clued as "Magnet and Steel" singer on Barry's Sept 5 puzzle.
12D: Marilyn's blond part?: LORELEI. Another unknown. I've never seen "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Dictionary says LORELI is "a quasilegendary nymph of the Rhine who lured sailors to shipwreck on her rock by singing". So, another SIREN?
27D: Undemanding: CUSHY. Really? Give you give me an example?
29D: 2014: MMXIV
31D: Dutch cheeses: EDAMS. Or GOUDAS if there is one more blank.
34D: Crosswise, nautically: ABEAM. It's perpendicular to the keel, isn't it? We seem to have nautical term every day now.
35D: Imposing structure: EDIFICE
37D: Old-fashioned footwear: GAITERS. Another unknown. Here is a picture. They look pretty cool to me.
39D: Comment to a sun worshiper: NICE TAN
40D: Having buds: GEMMATE. I can feel Spring.
44D: Sailor's jacket: REEFER. What's the difference between a REEFER and a pea coat?
46D: Hive product: HONEY. HONEY, you thrill me.
50D: Unrespected writer: HACK. What do you call those people who write fanfictions?
C.C.
Where is everybody?
ReplyDeleteI found this tough but, wow, I got very very close to completing the whole thing without google! The only words I didn't know were EGAN and PINEAL, LORELEI and MENE and REEFER and MOE. I had LORELAI instead of LORELEI.
Curly and MOE, by the way, were tw of the Three Stooges. I didn't realize "Curly" was a name. I had, however, heard of the golfer Ben Crenshaw so I assumed that 10a was a proper name. When the perps spelled out "MELON" I was a bit taken aback because I hadn't heard of a crenshaw (or casaba) melon.
Mamie Eisenhower was married to President Dwight Eisenhower, who was president from 1953 to 1961. I just googled that.
I agree that NAIL SET should have been clued as "carpenter's tools". I also think REVIEW should have been clued as "Exam cram" and not "exam cramming" because "exam cramming" had me looking for a gerund, ie a ***ing.
Martin
Martin
Good morning Cc and Dfs. Nice puzzle to welcome me back from my trip to Canada. I needed some help from Mr. G to complete the puzzle. Cc I, like you, was impressed with some of the cluing today. The one that stopped me for awhile was 19A as all I could think of was butter, oleo .... etc.
ReplyDeleteGuess I am a bit out of practice since I have not seen a CW in a week. Hopefully I can do better tomorrow.
Good morning CC, etal:
ReplyDeleteNail set didn't bother me - is should be singular as it is an awl-like tool used to recess finishing nails.
Needed Google ehlp on "Tell Her No", "pineal" and "Lorelei". Was glad to see "Mardi" Gras & Fleur de "Lis" nods to New Olreans.
Workmen show up today to fix roof from Gustav tree-on-the-house.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Morning, folks!
ReplyDeleteMy weekend paper doesn't get delivered until around 8:00 AM, so I'm always a bit late on Saturday and Sunday....
Another smooth as silk puzzle from Barry Silk! Well, almost. I was able to finish it unassisted, but it took awhile. And some of the fill was a bit iffy, in my opinion. I was going to call a foul on ENSKY, but the 1913 edition of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary does contain it. However, I sincerely doubt the word has actually been used by ANYBODY in over 100 years. It reminds me of when I used to play Scrabble at college with the compact Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as our reference. You could make up just about any word you wanted, and the odds were that there would be some definition for it in the OED. But I digress...
Other unknowns today were EME (all I can think of right now is phoneme), TELL HER NO, LORELIE, GAITERS, GEMMATE and REEFER. They were all gettable via the perps, however. And, although I managed to get SHR eventually, I really wasn't very happy with it.
I'm not up on my Playboy Playmates, but fortunately ANNA NICOLE SMITH is famous enough due to her tabloid exploits that I was able to get her after a few crosses. However, I must say I am deeply disappointed that C. C. did not include a picture of her in her blog entry today. I'll blame it on the hurt finger.
Oh -- and I'm a big fan of melons in general, especially those that are large, round and firm. ^_^
C.C.,
ReplyDeleteA fanfic writer is either a genius or a hack as in "I am a genius but he is a hack". You rarely see the reverse.
Martin
Good morning, c.c. and fellow miscreants - this was one of the most enjoyable puzzles I've done in quite some time. Lots of thinking beyond the obvious and some refreshingly different clues.
ReplyDeletec.c. and martin, I had no problem with 44a - the act of cramming for an exam is certainly a review, to me. And if you've ever had a 'cushy' job, it was one that required very little of you. Also, years ago I was a part-time ski instructor, and wore gaiters for any kind of powder skiing.
And with all the pictures you link to, c.c., you missed 8d?? I was kinda looking forward to that one.
"Seamen-luring sirens"?? Yeah, this would be the place, even if you did spell it wrong...
Enjoy this last weekend of summer; only 6 months 'til spring!
Oh -- and a NAIL SET is not a set (group) of nails. It's a device to hold a nail in place while you hammer it. So it's definitely singular. I'm not sure why C. C. referred to the answer as NAIL SETS, since it's actually NAIL SET in the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBarry,
ReplyDeleteMy issue with the clue is that it led me to immediately guess ***ing. "Exam cram" is better.
Consider:
"I have to review for the exam" = "I have to cram for the exam" (not "cramming").
If "review" was intended to be a noun then "cram session" could have been the clue.
Martin
Truly enjoyed this puzzle. My brain really had to work, but didn't need to look at Mr. G to finish. Great way to start off the weekend!
ReplyDeleteGood morning CC and solvers,
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the TMS editor changed the entire NE corner of my original puzzle. I think it was changed to make it easier to solve. Instead of providing my original answers, I thought I'd provide my original clues for those answers that changed if you want to try and figure it out:
10-A: Japanese translucent screen
16-A: Hack's remark
18-A: Reunion attendees
21-A: Like some car radio buttons
25-A: Forensic evidence
29-A: Track event
31-A: Avoid waste
10-D: Don't be greedy
11-D: Bagel center
12-D: Latin for "The Work of God"
13-D: 1956 Literature Nobelist Juan Ramon
14-D: Kind of tuition
My favorite type of music is 1950s/60s oldies, so I try to work songs from that era into my puzzles when possible (e.g. 15A: TELL HER NO).
Have a nice weekend!
Barry Silk
Hey [other) Barry!
ReplyDeleteYour original clues were certainly a bit more obscure, but still gettable with the help of the crosses. Never heard of SHOJI, and JIMENEZ was just a good guess, but HOP IN, ALUMS, PRESET, DNA, MEET, ECONOMIZE, SHARE, HOLE, OPUS DEI and INSTATE are all pretty straightforward.
I have to say, though, I kept looking for a Q somewhere to see if you'd done a pangram again....
Cushy as in a Cushy Job, a sinecure.
ReplyDeletemartin, I still think the clue/answer for 44a is correct as written. Exam cramming IS a review.
ReplyDeletebarry, good of you to check in, and yes, I certainly preferred your clues/answers; a bit more challenging. I only knew shoji from having been in Japan. And certainly keep up the references to 50s and 60s music - the best there was.
Good morning, C.C. and fellow DF's.
ReplyDeleteNot too bad this morning. Needed the perps for alot of them but everything fell into place.
Clue for nailset should be singular because it is not referring to a set of nails. A nailset is a sort of punch that you hit with a hammer so that the head of a nail goes below the surface of the wood, i.e., the nailset is used to "set the nail."
You can then put a filler in so the nail is invisible when the wood is painted or stained. Alas, Barry, I think you are wrong because I never heard of a nailset being a device to hold the nail while you are hammering it.
Wanted to put "stops cold" as I think that is more appropriate for the clue that has 'freeze' in it.
Watermelon or cantaloupe.
I have had foie gras but stopped eating it after finding out how the essentially torture the poor geese to enlarge the liver for this expensive delicacy. It tastes great but I just can't bring myself to eat it anymore.
Didn't like it because I don't think cramming for an exam is simply 'review'ing the topic. Cramming is something you do the night before because you didn't study/review the topic well before the exam.
Tit for tat. That will get some of the DF's going.
Vanessa Williams played Circe opposite Armand Assante's Odysseus in the 1997 TV movie "The Odyssey."
Today is Love Your Teeth Day (in China). Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs on this day in 1973.
It is also International Eat An Apple Day. I like Granny Smith apples. What about everyone else?
Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn/Fall. Damn! Where did the summer go?
Have a great Saturday.
Alas, Barry, I think you are wrong because I never heard of a nailset being a device to hold the nail while you are hammering it.
ReplyDeleteAlas, you are correct. I was thinking of something else. Strangely, I just checked your link and saw the pictures of them. I've seen them all my life, but never knew what they were called.
Good morning, C.C. and DFs
ReplyDeleteYEA!!!! A Barry Silk puzzle to start the day! And a visit from Mr. Silk, too.
The upper NW corner was the last for me to finish, and I had to tease it out letter by letter.
Oddly, it was a lot of the short words that gave me grief today: ESA, NBA, EME, MENE, ENSKY. GEMMATE was new to me.
I SO wanted 'Siren" where CIRCE fit!
Do you suppose he created this puzzle just to keep our Sirens and their followers going??? ANNA NICOLE, LORELEI, CIRCE, MELON, TIT FOR TAT??
C.C., do you have any idea how old Mr. Silk is?
Dick, how was Canada?
Chris in LA, nice to see you're still with us.
HI, southern belle!
dr.dad, I like golden delicious.
I have to get my day started, with a trip to the Farmer's Market, so I must be going.
Has anyone heard from Buckeye lately??
Have a good day!
Martin,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Ben Crenshaw comment, though casaba starts with a small letter "c" and it's not a common name. How about "Casaba and crenshaw"? That would be more misleading, wouldn't it? So you also call a fanfic writer a HACK? Oh, by the way, I am aware of the nutritional and medicinal value of potato skins. I still don't like them.
Dick,
Welcome back! I was wondering where you had been.
Chris, Ted and Southern Belle,
Hey! Nice to hear from you again.
Dr. Dad,
I like honeycrisp apples. I like everything HONEY related, esp honeyed nuts. I love my HONEY.
Barry,
ReplyDeleteRE: NAIL SET. My bad. I wrongly keyed in the plural form when I entered the blog entry earlier. What did your wife say about the fruit peels? Do you know what's the meaning of "IANJK"? Cokato wrote down this word at her 12:28am comment last night. I could not understand it. Sorry for not including Anna Nicole Smith's picture, but I dislike her image and the life she has led. Too much for my taste.
Dennis,
Re: "Seamen-luring sirens". Sorry about the misspelling. I am sure you have the MOREL capacity to forgive me.
Argyle,
Who are Prof. Venus Monroe & Duncan Campbell?
Kazie,
Thanks for the spray information last night.
Kit,
ReplyDeleteYou don't know how happy I was hear from you again. I should have noticed your absence earlier but I really thought KittyB was you. Please always feel free to post whenever you are inclined. I am interested in what you have to say about puzzles or non-puzzle related stuff.
Clear Ayes,
What exactly is an "outreach" or "outreaching" person?
KittyB,
Kit said (1:53am comment, Friday) that Buckeye might not have electricity in his house due to Hurricane Ike remnants. They are in a state-wide emergency right now.
Barry Silk,
Thanks for checking in. Is that you on the right?
Good morning, C.C. and all. I had a couple of googles this, but the ones I did google, 15A(zombie hit - great tune), 20A(ESA), and 21A(Pineal), did the trick to fill in the rest.
ReplyDeleteI did have nail gun or nailer for 14d(I have 3 nailers), but Fleur de LIS put me back on track. I never heard of mene either.
Cool weather in Portland, great day for Saturday chores.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."
ReplyDelete=Winston Churchill
The photo is another M. C. Escher's work.
The fun of the older cartoons and The Three Stooges was on slaping themselves and/or arguing till one of them was so upset that... And as I have grown older the less I like 'em. It's bad example to kids: (young ones as well as the older ones as myself)...
Watermelons, cantaloupes, or any melons, fresh fruits, fresh veggies, you name 'em are great sources of freshness and vitamins. The peels of some fruits, as C.C. mentioned yesterday, are where the real stuff is (enzymes, vitamins, etc). drdad is more into the pharmacologic advantages to these than myself.
c.c., You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteLorelei IS the correct spelling. In German "ei" rhymes with "eye", "ie" rhymes with "ee".
Heinrich Heine wrote a poem based on this legend that was later set to music and the song is now played on the tourist boats that pass the "Lorelei Rock" as they cruise up or down the Rhine. the story is that eventually she lured a prince to his death on the hidden reefs on this narrow curve in the river, and when the king, his father, came after her, she leapt onto a white steed (froth in the water?) and disappeared beneath the surface, never to be seen again.
Cushy is like a cushy job, really easy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun puzzle! The upper, right corner gave me a run for my money. I wanted to put NAIL SET for 14D but did not know the word MENE...so I was correct but confused. My only error was the S in ESA (20A).
ReplyDeleteI too take some exception to the clue "exam cramming". If I had studied well prior to the exam, I did not need to cram, only review. But I did love the clues "Curley poker?" and "Zodiac butter?"
Barry, the pirate, @7:16 - Your comment about playing Scrabble with the OED made me laugh.
BARRY SILK: Thank you for reading and commenting on this blog. Your original for the upper-right corner was even more of a challenge than what we have. It is a shame that your puzzle was so reworked.
cc: I wonder why so many of Herman 'Melville' novels have a second title.
I think that sub-titles were fairly common at one time in literature. Perhaps Clear Ayes would know more of the history of sub-titles.
cc: What did that bearded guy say in the pirate phone talk? I could only hear "Arrrr, leave the attorney" then I could not understand what he said after that.
It was something like “Arrr…we be the attorneys who can ?bescuttle? for ye.” I am not certain of the one word but think the intention of the clip was funny anyway.
cc: How is "Burn after Reading"?
I loved the movie! There were many loose ends in the plot, but that did not matter to me. All the performances were top-notched, and the humor was dark and quirky, just as I like it.
Last night I saw “Ghost Town”. This is a great film. If anyone goes to see it I would be interested in reading their comments.
To Anyone: I have noticed that some people are able to include text that has special attributes, italics or bold, for example. Can you tell me how you are able to do this? I have tried to type my comments in Word, then cut and paste here, but the special formats do not come across. Thank you.
BTB-One scene in "Ghost Town" shows the character played by Ricky Gervais setting out a newspaper folded to a crossword puzzle by Will Shortz.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone!
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the unique cluing of this puzzle. I was not driven to google since the only holes in my grid were the first e in 29a and the s in 7d. The clues seemed too obscure to be easily found.
The posters from the NW seem to have disappeared. Where is Crocket and Barb B? Unfortunately, since we get the puzzle much later than those of you on the East coast, most of the clues have been discussed by the time we check in. I still enjoy reading the commentary from my fellow Oregonians. Have a satisfactory Saturday all.
Lola...is your new picture one of an Australian shepherd?
ReplyDeleteGood morning, all. Nice puzzle, with no G-spot visits. I almost went there but the perps filled things in. MENE, ENSKY, GENNATE and GAITERS were new to me. I didn't think of gaiters as "footwear."
ReplyDelete@doesitinink You need to use HTML tags to get the special effects. Look under the text box and it gives you a few choices. The key is to first apply the tag and then cancel it. To make THIS bold, I'll enter , type the word THIS, then enter . The / cancels the prior usage of that tag. So: THIS. i is italic. THIS And they can be combined THIS.
@lola Hey, I'm here. It's only 0830! I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I spent most of it sleeping. Better today.
OK guys, I'm off to find an Anna Nicole Smith link -- wish me luck!
Tschuß
@doesitin ink My explanation didn't come through the way I wanted it to do. You type caret b caret then the word caret /b caret to get bold, caret i caret WORD caret /i caret for italics.
ReplyDeleteI know my previous post is a mess, but I'm going to leave it up because it will be counted as a comment even if I do delete it.
After seeing what was available, I think I'll pass on that link.
ReplyDeleteCrockett1947 Thank you! See, I can do italics now!
ReplyDelete@Barry at 7:37: Good job in solving that corner so quickly! Although I do strive for pangrams, it's not always possible to do so without having awkward fill. Surprisingly, constructing themeless puzzles for TMS is a bit more challenging than for other publications such as the NY Times. The reason for this is that the TMS editor does not allow partial phrases (e.g., IN AN, IF I, etc.) under any circumstances. Without that flexibility, it is somewhat harder to generate 'interesting' fill. Other editors allow partial phrases (limited to perhaps one or two per puzzle) to reduce obscure words and have more vocabulary with 'pizazz.'
ReplyDelete@cc at 9:34 - No, that is not my picture! I have no idea who it is... just someone who happens to share my name.
For those of you who are curious about what I look like and my age, you will have the opportunity to find out in person. As I mentioned in a post several weeks ago, I am planning to give a presentation on crosswords at the Fairfax County (Tysons Corner Regional) library on Saturday, January 17, 2009. The library is located in Northern Virginia (Washington DC area). I'll provide more details closer to day of the event. Hope to see some of you there.
Barry Silk
Hi C.C. and gang, and hello to Mr. Silk.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the puzzle with the exception of the SE corner. I just could not come up with anything in the way of an answer there...thanks to C.C., I managed to finish. I loved the clues on 51A and 19A. Clever! I still do not understand 59A, it seems like an archaic word to me. I know, I should look it up!
Crockett at 10:37pm Fri.: I do not have a recipe for orange chicken - don't care for it.
Don't care for melons either...neither does my son, weird huh???
Dick, welcome back - sure hope you had fun and good weather!
Lola, Beautiful dog! Such a sweet face.
Ken, you are right about this being a good day for chores, it sure looks like Fall outside - all grey!
Yes doesitinink, I am an Australian Shepherd. We are an independent breed, used to thinking on the run. Making our own decisions comes as easily as breathing. I'm glad you enjoyed the picture.
ReplyDeleteLola: I know all about Australian shepherds. My Lacey, the tri-color in the photo, died at age 10 this spring. She is missed by the entire family.
ReplyDeletedoesitinink: I was so sorry to hear about your Lacey. These dogs are so human they are truly part of the family. It is so sad that their life span is so short.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All, What a nice puzzle Barry Silk puts together. I had to go to perps to get started, then reverted to horizontals. I did have "Stiffer" for 1A to begin with, but even though it was incorrect, it helped me to get STOPS DEAD and TELL HER NO. After ANNA NICOLE SMITH unfolded, it seemed to go pretty smoothly.
ReplyDeleteMAMIE Eisenhower was the last "seen, but not heard" First Ladies. Jackie Kennedy came next and all First Ladies since have been high profile women.
Last Saturday, one of our guests brought a huge bowl of mixed MELON balls. I wish I had taken a photo for all of our dfs. Not having that to share, here is Schweaty Balls, a classic skit from Saturday Night Live.
Marilyn Monroe was a much better actress than she was given credit for when she was alive. "Bus Stop", Some Like It Hot and "The Misfits" were very well acted and showed her real beauty to advantage.
Doesitinink and C.C., you got me thinking about subtitles and I did some Googling. It was the trend to offer a short additional description, so that buyers would have an idea of the subject matter. There is an article Subtitles, if you are interested in reading more.
Doesitinink, I think you and I have pretty much the same taste in movies. I'm hoping I get a chance to see the Ricky Gervaise movie before it goes away. Unless it is a blockbuster, one to two weeks is about all they last around here. Thank goodness for Netflix.
C.C. I had to go to Wikipedia here. "Outreach is an effort by individuals in an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. Unlike marketing, outreach does not inherently revolve around a product or strategies to increase market share. Typically non-profits, civic groups, and churches engage in outreach."
An "outreaching" person (and this is strictly my take on it) is a "people person", someone who is really interested in hearing the views and opinions of others. We have a lot of "people people" on this blog!
Crockett, I'm the one with the orange chicken recipe. I'll dig it out and post it later.
Thanks, Crockett for the instructions for Bold and Italics. And thanks to Doesitinink for asking.
ReplyDeleteThe Schweaty Balls link didn't come through, so here it is again. Maybe it will work this time.
My favorite apple is Pink Lady, which is a cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams. It comes from Australia...Yeah, Kazie, and is so tangy-sweet and crispy.
I wasn’t able to check in yesterday, sorry.
ReplyDeleteC.C.
I’m not sure which dolls you’re talking about. I googled and found Seminole Dolls. They have no arms, and they’re so cute, and they do look like DeGrazia figures, and vice versa. Not babies though. I collect Cabbage Patch dolls. They take up a lot of space, but I feel like I have a lot of cute kids hanging out with me.
Barry! You’re a df too? What a pleasant surprise.
Hi Lola! Thanks for missing me. Glad to see that sweet doggie again.
I really enjoyed today’s puzzle, which is not surprising, since it’s from Barry Silk. They always look daunting, and I feel so pleased when I figure them out. I’m not sure I would have done as well with the original clues. I knew Shoji, and opus dei – so it’s a maybe.
Thank you for the comments, Barry Silk – it’s such a treat to hear from you.
Gaiters are not that old-fashioned in the northwest, where it rains more often than not.
Ensky was new to me too, and also to MS Word, as it is underlined in red, as I write it. It does make sense.
My favorite melon is cantaloupe, served with ice cream.
And I particularly like One Sweet Honey Bee.
Mene , Mene , Tekel , Parsin; Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
No, "nailset" should not be plural. A "nailset" is a singular tool used to countersink nails.
ReplyDeleteC.C., a "cushy" job is one with little to no responsibilities. It is a plum job, basically receiving a check for doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteHi c.c. and others:
ReplyDeleteLoved this puzzle, but did have to google a few. Love the song Tell Her No by the Zombies, one of my favorite oldies.
KittyB: I also finished the NW corner last. I had at first Investing for 17A and Stiffer for
1D and it threw me for awhile.
Barry Silk: It's always a treat to hear from you on this blog. Thanks also for including your original clues, that was fun! I got the answers pretty quickly without googling, but only got Shoji from the perps. Maybe the editors should give us a little more credit and leave your original clues intact!
Drdad: I haven't checked your site lately, but I will today to find out what city we are visiting!
Have a great day everyone!
Let's see...
ReplyDeleteC. C.: I asked my wife and she thinks it may be a cultural thing since neither her parents nor her friends growing up ate the skins. And if I had to guess, I'd say that IANJK stands for "I am NOT just kidding".
Barb B: I'm not a DF! I just, er, really, really like melons...
Wow, I missed a lot of comments last night.
ReplyDeleteClear ayes, thanks for your kind comments on my explanation of music. There are times when what I write sounds as clear as mud to me, so I'm glad that you've been able to understand my explanations.
My bad, argyle. thought that was you in the majordomo pic. You're still a good-looking dude! *G*
jd, thanks for the info on the banana holder. I'll look for it tomorrow.
LOL@ cokato and the "self-furling jib" comment
Hey, kit, I'm so glad you posted. I hope you've come through the blow from Ike safely. Don't be a stranger; there's always room for you here, late or not. Thanks for the heads-up on Buckeye.
flyingears, Thanks for the Churchill quote. It's perfect for a situation that has arisen with one of the youngsters in my family....a bit of bullying.
doesitinink, thanks for asking about the HTML coding for bold and for italics . I've been wondering how to use them.
Crockett, thanks for the explanations on the HTML!
Lola, my niece and her husband have been transfered from Australia to Kazakhstan, and their Australian shepherd went with them! He's definitely a family member. They had to import 250 pounds of dog food to feed him!
DENNIS! YOU have to go here Barry Silk speak, on our behalf!
G8rmom, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who was slowed down by the NW corner. You know....misery loves company. *G* Has your daughter settled on a hospital yet??
Oh -- and I forgot to mention....
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big fan of apples, but I discovered Honey Crisp apples last winter and fell in love with them (despite the extreme cost compared to other apples). They soon went out of season, but then I discovered Pink Lady apples, which are almost as good. Then those went out of season as well. Lately, I discovered Jazz apples from New Zealand, which are not nearly as good as the other two types, but better than anything else currently available in my neck of the woods.
I can't wait until Honey Crisps come back in season....
ohh mannnnnnnnn.....
ReplyDeleteDennis...you have to go to HEAR Barry Silk speak.
Good afternoon CC & DF's: Good puzzle but got stuck in the SE corner. 'Reefer' is a jacket? Guess my concept could be considered a 'wrap' of sorts. 'Wrangle' as an argument cracked me up. I never saw any cowboy argue cattle into a pen. Not used to that defintion. And 15A is a foregin phrase to me. Never am told that, but I like the music...and the era. I see we're playing tit for tat with 8 ball(s) and melon(s) today. Wait! There's moe! That's just warming us up! Then comes 'sterner' (less flexible) crossing 'ram' and 'elicit', ending with
ReplyDelete'attentuate' and 'shortened'! Holy hot wick! I think this was a 'honey' of a 'review'! Well, I'm ready for the test tonight.
LOL with Barry's comment. Your DFness is showing. Love it!
Mr. Silk: Your clues would have been more of a challenge for me, but fun just the same. It is so nice of you to drop in and chat.
Enjoy this grayt day.
No time today (solved at the restaurant while having breakfast). What a pleasure to have another Barry C. Silk puzzle. He is becoming my favorite constructor! Unknowns were MENE, ENSKY, and EME, all gotten from the crosses.
ReplyDeleteDo constructors keep a list of 15-letter things to put in the long fill (e.g., ANNA NICOLE SMITH)? I always wonder how they come up with all that stuff that fits perfectly.
I also get confused by clues such as 48a: Nashville-based awards org. (CMA) because there are also the ACM awards (CMAs and ACMs are the two big country music awards shows every year.) Anyway, both are three-letter acronyms, so I never know which one to fill in.
I'm thinking that c.c.'s unknown doll might be Kachina dolls? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachina
Ah Lois, you really are our the Queen of the Sirens! Also First Lady of "D.F.ness" you just proved it by your last comment...LMAO.
ReplyDeletekitty b: Why did your niece and nephew have to ship 250 lbs. of food for their Aussie? Was it special food, or is dog food not available in Kazakhstan?
ReplyDeletebarb b: Thanks for the reference to mene, mene, tekel, parsin. I had no idea that the saying about seeing the writing on the wall was a biblical reference. I thought it was very clever of Barry Silk to use this clue in light of our current financial upheavals.
It's nice to see all the North Westers posting again. TTFN
Trying this Bold, italic, and Bold Italic thing. Wow, it worked. Thanks, crockett!!!!
ReplyDeleteFor Crockett, this is kind of an East meets West version. The chicken should marinate overnight, so it isn't a spur-of-the-moment recipe.
ReplyDeleteOrange Chicken
Serves 4
1 cup orange juice
2 tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp orange zest
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually cut them into 2 or 3 pieces for easy portion size.)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium orange, sliced thin
Combine the first seven ingredients for marinade and pour into a gallon-size zip lock bag. Add chicken pieces, turn several times to coat. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
Next day:
Place flour in a shallow dish.
Beat egg in another shallow dish.
Remove chicken from bag. Save the marinade.
Dip chicken in flour, then egg, then in flour again.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and oil over medium heat.
When the skillet is hot, add chicken and cook until browned and tender, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Remove chicken and cover to keep warm.
Add reserve marinade to skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. (I think the salt from the soy sauce is enough, but add salt here, if desired.)
Arrange chicken on a serving plate and pour sauce over chicken.
Garnish with orange slices.
(If you like a thicker sauce, you can add a tsp of corn starch to the marinade mix before you add it to the skillet.)
Wow, Clear Ayes! That looks like an awesome recipe. I am definitely going to have to try that. Just as soon as I figure out what a shallot and orange zest is....
ReplyDelete[Kidding! Well, sort of. I know zest is part of the peel, and isn't shallot a member of the onion family? I've never cooked with either one, but I'm sure I can find some at the local market easily enough.]
c.c. said@9:21 AM
ReplyDeleteArgyle, Who are Prof. Venus Monroe & Duncan Campbell?
They were two of the characters I portrayed at Salem School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Refer to my September 19, 2008 7:52PM post.
Argyle et al,
ReplyDeleteI solved a puzzle the other day that has the below answers as the theme entries:
LIVING LA VIDA LOCA (Ricky Martin song)
ROYAL ALBERT HALL (London Landmark)
LINCOLN MEMORIAL(Washington Attraction)
The theme title is "52 of a Kind". How so? What does 52 refer to?
FYI - 5D online clue: Nasdaq unit
ReplyDeleteprint clue: Wall St. unit
Carol: So what chores did you get done? I am overhauling garage/shop and spent several hours there. I also went to recycling, returned some things to Andy and Bax, picked up a couple of movies from "Movie Madness", best vides store in the US of A. Walked dog, cleaned up kitchen and made a veggie manicotti. I'm not a vegetarian, but meat wouldn't add much to it.
ReplyDeletelola, there isn't adequate pet food in Kazakhstan right now. There isn't even adequate food for the people, so my niece and her husband decided that it was necessary to bring dog food with them to assure that Jack would stay healthy.
ReplyDeleteBarry, we'll have to teach you how to do fresh zest.....fresh is ALWAYS better!
Lois, we bow to your superior DFness! No one could review a puzzle as you do! *G*
Barry, Here's a good photo of orange zest. As you can see, be careful to just grate the top colored layer of peel. The white layer underneath is bitter. You can use a vegetable peeler if you don't have a "zester".
ReplyDeleteShallots are readily available at most markets. They have a milder flavor than onions.
C.C. All I can think of for "52 of a kind", is a deck of cards. "Of a kind" is two, or three or four of a specific denomination, like four Jacks, or 3 Tens. But what does it mean? I'll be darned if I know. Where are our big time puzzle solvers...Dennis?, Drdad? Barry? We need an answer here.
Xchefwalt, now that I've said fresh is always best, I wonder if zest needs to be dried before it's used? I've always grated the rind and used the zest immediately, but I came across a website that goes on to give instructions on how to dry the zest in a 200 degree oven before storing it.
ReplyDeleteI do know that jars of zest sitting around for years loose their potency.
Could you advise us, please?
Should that be "LIVIN' LA VIDA LOCA (Ricky Martin song)?
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, 52 is the number of cards in a deck; doesn't help.
52 = LII Roman numerals
ReplyDelete52 weeks in a year
ReplyDeleteAll right, I just picked up a fresh shallot, some dried zest (not fresh, sorry) and some sherry. I know it's supposed to be dry sherry, but they only had it in liquid form... ^_^
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm gonna go marinade the meat and I'll try cooking it tomorrow after the game.
And C. C. already asked me about the weird theme. All I could think of was playing cards and days of the week, and neither helped any. If the answers were pangrammic, I'd say it was all the letters of the alphabet (capitals and lower case), but that doesn't work either.
hello c.c. and all,
ReplyDeleteenjoyed this puzzle alot, all my thoughts have already been posted.
drdad i also wanted 'stops cold.' curly poker was great, got that right away. learned pineal in massage school. did not know ensky, and agree with lois about wrangle .. never heard it used that way.
i would have known shoji, as i have one in my home, and several in the wellness center where i work.
@barry: et tu!!!! your df was hiding behind the melons all this time. who knew?
@kittyb: i agree fresh zest (or whatever) is always best. i hit the farmer's market today too on my way home from work ... still some great stuff even this late in the season.
@kit: nice to see you're still here.
@clear ayes: i'm logging that recipe.
enjoy the weekend .. it's a beautiful one here on the west coast.
Ken: it must be "kismit" (hope I spelled that correctly) about the "veggie" manicotti. I have a recipe for spinach and cheese manicotti that I found in "Cooking Light" about 5 years ago that is a favorite of ours: Here goes: It is also titled "Manicotti made easy":
ReplyDelete2 cups (8 oz)shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (16 oz)carton low fat cottage cheese
1 (10 oz)package frozen chopped spinach, thawed,drained, and squeezed dry
1/4 cup (1 oz)grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (8 oz)package manicotti (14 shells)
1 (26 oz)jar tomato & basil pasta sauce
Cooking spray
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 375
Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, cottage cheese, and the next 5 ingredients (through black pepper) in a bowl. Spoon about 3 tablespoons cheese mixture into each UNCOOKED manicotti (it makes it easier to stuff the shells when they are uncooked, they don't break so easily, I use my fingers instead of a spoon to "stuff" the mixture into shells :))
Pour 1/2 of the tomato-basil sauce into a 13x9 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer over the sauce, and top with the remaining sauce. Pour 1 cup water into dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella evenly over the sauce.
Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375 for 1 hour or until shells are tender. Let stand 10 minutes before serving, or pasta will be chewy.
You may adjust ingredients to suit your tastes.
Ken, I was so busy getting that recipe written down I forgot to mention that we also think that Movie Madness is the greatest thing since; well, you know!
ReplyDeleteChores: still working on cleaning out our "attic" - got to dispose of lots of things. Kitchen floor is still screaming for a scrub...think I'll just get ear plugs and let it scream on.:) Maybe tomorrow (ain't that always the rationalization?)
Argyle: I'm sure you are every bit as handsome as a majordomo as that picture. I looked around a little at that Salem school and it's very interesting. That's all new to me. How long ago did you do that? Fascinating, really.
ReplyDeleteThanks, kitty b and Carol. We can all share that 'twisted' crown, I think.
Clear Ayes: thank you for the recipe. It sounds very good. I will also try it the next time I find the kitchen. It's around here somewhere. Now, is it 'lost' or just 'mislaid'? Oops, maybe that would be ME! Must be definately 'lost' 'cause we know I never 'mis-laid'. Ohhhh, somebody stop me!!!
Crockett: thank you for the italic, bold instructions. Always wondered about that myself.
Flyingears: great photo. M.C. Escher is just so cool! Gotta wonder about his mind set!
Hi C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for anyone who didn't "tune in" today. What a day: 2 yummy recipes, a visit from Barry Silk, great critiques on melons and apples, a thumbs up on "Ghost Town",a lesson on how to use italics& bold ,a new Escher picture, Lola's beauty,AND most of us learned new words(some of us more than others).Thanks to all!
Lois, it was fun while it lasted. My guess would be that Salem first started in 2000. I found out about Salem when I joined the Warner Bros. official Hogwart's School site. They had great graphics but didn't DO anything. It was just a message board. Then somebody posted a message that Salem was the place to go. There you would find all the things you were looking for in a school that Hogwart's(WB) didn't provide. Pretty awesome, huh? We had kids (and adults) from around the world. There were chat rooms for the four houses and a common room, plus message boards. We held quidditch matches, which were in a special chat room and consisted of asking Harry Potter trivia questions.
ReplyDeleteOne sub-site was where students could try their hand at fanfic and some were pretty good.
clearayes, you have hit the nail (once again) on the so called head. I am an outreach person. I care about what people think of me all the time. I remember not being invited as a young girl to a birthday party and my Mom had to explain to me that not everyone will like me in life. I am getting better at it, but I still go out of the way trying to be nice to anyone I run acrossed. I wouldn't ever be the one to complain about service.
ReplyDeleteI hit publish before I was finished. Yes, I do sail two to three days at a time. Thank God for naturally curly hair and cute swim attire. I do manage to still look my best when possible. Tans help when it comes to makeup. By the way, today was a fantastic day in MN. Had an awesome day on the lake. Looking foreward to tomorrow as well as the boat has to come off it's bouy next weekend. So all of you, think of me next weekend as my summer officially comes to an end.
ReplyDelete@clear ayes Thank you for the recipe. That's what I was looking for -- something that would have the flavor and not be all that intensive on the cooking side (deep-fat frying, etc.). I will definitely give that a shot, probably next week.
ReplyDeleteKen, you were a busy guy!
Thank you all for the props on the HTML tags. Makes me fell that I changed the face of the blog somewhat, LOL!
Carol, I really like the Vegetable Manicotti recipe. I have a vegan cousin and I'm always looking for things to serve when she and her husband come to dinner. They do make an exception for cheese once in a while, so it is nice to have something new to serve. (I guess I'm easily amused, but I really like being able to Bold Italic too.)
ReplyDeleteBarry & Crockett, good luck with the Orange Chicken. Let me know what you think.
Lois, good luck with finding the kitchen. We know you have other more interesting things to occupy your time.
Cokato, I remember one late night post you had a few weeks ago. I could see that you were more concerned about others than yourself. (That's nothing to do with hair color though.:o)) Don't forget to take yourself into consideration. I've had to learn that myself.
Argyle, The hobbies we hear about are so interesting. A nephew is involved in an role playing site. I don't know which one. He has talked about all the highly educated, intelligent people he has met. I guess you can include yourself in that group.
Lola & Doesitinink, Australian Shepherds: You can see the intelligence sparkling in their eyes. Who's smarter, their owners or the dogs? I've heard from other owners that the dogs win that argument more often than not.
Melissabee et Al, Lucky folks having a nearby farmers' market. Nothing within 30 miles here.
JD, I'm totally with you on today's posts. So many interesting comments. I didn't mention it earlier, but MENE, ERISA, SHR, EME, REEFER and ENSKY were all new. My X-word folder is getting to contain quite a list!
Hope to hear from Buckeye and Xchefwalt tomorrow.
I'm still trying to come up with some kind of answer for C.C. on "52 of a kind". So far, no luck. Maybe tomorrow morning, after that second cup of coffee, the light will dawn. Even better, when I log in again, maybe somebody else will have already figured it out.
clearayes you are a wise and insightful woman. Bless you. I guess inadvertantly, that is why you have posted here from the start as "clear Eyes".
ReplyDeletexchefwalt, where are you? At the B&B? If so, I am missing you as I am not there this weekend. Hope all is UP and STANDING there.
Drdad thanks again about helping me post my picture. Haven't tried the link instructions yet.
Dennis, where are you this Saturday night? I hope you are being a MOREL guy whatever you are UP to.
Just got in and been catching up on the blog.
ReplyDeletec.c., the three clues take up 52 spaces, but I still can't figure out '52 of a kind'. Maybe I'll have an epiphany overnight.
cokato, enjoy the boating; the last days are typically some of the best. And as far as caring what people think of you, you've got nothing to worry about.
You all have a great night -- seeya tomorrow or Monday.
@dennis If the clues were run together without spaces, I get 46. C.C., where was this puzzle?
ReplyDeleteC.C., Kittyb, and Melissa, thanks for the kind words of welcome. We were very lucky here compared to lots of others. About 8000 more people back on the grid today, still about 50 thousand in our area out. Buckeye is probably still out as well; in fact, there are more outages in his immediate area than there are in mine. It's been a rough week for everyone but we're still far better off than Texas and Louisiana, so most people are grateful it's not worse. We had temporary outages and lots of branches and leaves to clean up, but no major damage at my home, though many others in the county lost roofs and/or outbuildings. I can't complain.
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle today. I managed to finish without checking for answers. Really enjoyed all the comments and links. So many interesting and intelligent people posting here; makes for a great end to the day. Happy Sunday, all.
Kit
Barb B & Embien,
ReplyDeleteSeminole Dolls & Kachina Dolls are not what I have in my mind. I need to research more. I saw them in an antique store before. I remember there is a specific maker's mark on the right foot of the dolls and they don't have arms.
Crockett,
The puzzle is from Newsday, September 19.
crockett, I counted the spaces as well; got 52. Coincidence? Maybe.
ReplyDelete