Theme: Watered Down
17A: Heading for England: CROSSING THE POND
38A: Get outta here: GO JUMP IN A LAKE
56A: Very small amount: A DROP IN THE OCEAN
Will "Take Me to the RIVER" fit the above theme pattern?
This puzzle is weird. Most of the time the longest theme answer is in the middle. The grammatical structure of the above three entries felt very loose too.
I had to check the dictionary for BONESET (27D: Thoroughwort). I did not understand the meaning of "Thorougwort", thinking it's kind of disease, or something like wart. Had no idea that "wort" is a suffix for "plant".
I also forgot TARPON (31A: Florida fish). I wonder why the clue is "Florida fish"? Can't you find TARPON anywhere else? By the way, congratulations to Night Owl and other Tempa Bay fans. Matt Garza was awesome!
Across:
14A: Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE. It's clued as "Bandleader Shaw" last Saturday. Kittyb linked Benny Goodman and Woody Herman and mentioned that they are all clarinetists and bandleaders.
20A: Plainsong feature: MONOTONE. This reminds me of Ben Stein.
21A: Carried by wind: EOLIAN. Or AEOLIAN. From Aeolus, ruler of wind in Greek mythology. New to me.
25A: North of Paris: NORD. "South of Paris" would be SUD.
37A: Ducks' relatives: LOONS. LOON is Minnesota's state bird.
41A: Rams and bucks: MALES. No alliteration any more? How about "Bucks and Boars"?
47A: "Star Trek" star: SHATNER. Captain Kirk.
54A: Of the kitchen: CULINARY. Funny how I always associate CULINARY with cooking but not kitchen.
Down:
1D: U.S. Defense group: SAC (Strategic Air Command). I got it from the across fills.
5D: Fawning subordinate: YES-MAN
7D: Inert gas: ARGON
18D: Isotope of thorium: IONIUM. No idea. Its atomic number is 90, and atomic weight 230. ION is charged article, IUM is a suffix for metallic element.
19D: Ultimate conclusion: END-ALL
22D: Paper folding: ORIGAMI. Amazing ORIGAMI flowers.
23D: Lotion additive: LANOLIN. Also called wool fat. I could only think of ALOE.
26D: Washington city: SPOKANE. Unknown to me also. Wikipedia says 1974 World Fair was held in SPOKANE and Bing Crosby grew up there.
41D: NYC arena: MSG. Are you a NY Rangers fan?
51D: "Rebel Without a Cause" co-star: MINEO (Sal). See the movie trailer.
61D: Writer Hentoff: NAT. I don't think I've read anything he has written.
C.C.
17A: Heading for England: CROSSING THE POND
38A: Get outta here: GO JUMP IN A LAKE
56A: Very small amount: A DROP IN THE OCEAN
Will "Take Me to the RIVER" fit the above theme pattern?
This puzzle is weird. Most of the time the longest theme answer is in the middle. The grammatical structure of the above three entries felt very loose too.
I had to check the dictionary for BONESET (27D: Thoroughwort). I did not understand the meaning of "Thorougwort", thinking it's kind of disease, or something like wart. Had no idea that "wort" is a suffix for "plant".
I also forgot TARPON (31A: Florida fish). I wonder why the clue is "Florida fish"? Can't you find TARPON anywhere else? By the way, congratulations to Night Owl and other Tempa Bay fans. Matt Garza was awesome!
Across:
14A: Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE. It's clued as "Bandleader Shaw" last Saturday. Kittyb linked Benny Goodman and Woody Herman and mentioned that they are all clarinetists and bandleaders.
20A: Plainsong feature: MONOTONE. This reminds me of Ben Stein.
21A: Carried by wind: EOLIAN. Or AEOLIAN. From Aeolus, ruler of wind in Greek mythology. New to me.
25A: North of Paris: NORD. "South of Paris" would be SUD.
37A: Ducks' relatives: LOONS. LOON is Minnesota's state bird.
41A: Rams and bucks: MALES. No alliteration any more? How about "Bucks and Boars"?
47A: "Star Trek" star: SHATNER. Captain Kirk.
54A: Of the kitchen: CULINARY. Funny how I always associate CULINARY with cooking but not kitchen.
Down:
1D: U.S. Defense group: SAC (Strategic Air Command). I got it from the across fills.
5D: Fawning subordinate: YES-MAN
7D: Inert gas: ARGON
18D: Isotope of thorium: IONIUM. No idea. Its atomic number is 90, and atomic weight 230. ION is charged article, IUM is a suffix for metallic element.
19D: Ultimate conclusion: END-ALL
22D: Paper folding: ORIGAMI. Amazing ORIGAMI flowers.
23D: Lotion additive: LANOLIN. Also called wool fat. I could only think of ALOE.
26D: Washington city: SPOKANE. Unknown to me also. Wikipedia says 1974 World Fair was held in SPOKANE and Bing Crosby grew up there.
41D: NYC arena: MSG. Are you a NY Rangers fan?
51D: "Rebel Without a Cause" co-star: MINEO (Sal). See the movie trailer.
61D: Writer Hentoff: NAT. I don't think I've read anything he has written.
C.C.
69 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and gang - very fast puzzle today, with only a couple perp assists. Never heard of 'eolian' or 'ionium', and didn't remember what a 'thoroughwort' was.
night owl, congratulations on the Rays win; we're really cranked up here in Philly and anxious to get this thing started. Should be a great World Series.
c.c., still rooting for the Phillies?
Hope it's a bearable Monday for everyone.
Good morning Cc, DFs and DFettes...very easy one today. Managed to finish in Dennis time.
Cc I think that the CWs have become easier since I found your site. The reason being that all of your links and the blog's discussions reinforces the answers and they are so much easier to recall when you see the clues.
Boneset 27d was filled by the perps and was not a word I knew.
Dennis,
Yeah, I still want Phillies to win. But I want Matt Garza to win his games too. Was SPOKANE a gimme to you?
Gatormom,
What is Golddust?
Dairygal,
Your Friday comment: "Not too bad of a puzzle this morning. I got the bangs through the perps-so no google!" What does "Got the bangs" mean?
Kittyb,
Thank you for the "jamming" information. I think I need time to digest what you wrote.
Bill,
Can you give me your view on jamming also?
Also, wanted to include eolien as a work I didn't know and tried to force sailed for 21a but nothing worked when I did that.
HI, C.C. and all
I checked in at my Tribune link to do the puzzle and discovered that Saturday's puzzle is still up. It's very odd not to wake up to the crossword.
I need to get my day started so I'll be back, probably later this afternoon.
I hope you all have a great day.
Morning, all!
Late start for me today, since I'm staying home to take care of a sick 3-year-old (and I'm not feeling all that great myself).
The puzzle was a bit on the slow side, but still doable. As with C.C. and others, I did not know BONESET or IONIUM. I figured that Thoroughwort referred to a plant of some sort, but I've never heard of it, so that didn't help any. TARPON got me last time it was in the puzzle, but I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks because I remembered it this time.
All right, gotta run. Have a great one!
Morning all,
Nice easy way to start the week. I must look up boneset, never heard of it or at my age just forgot.
Really looking forward to the Phillies in the World Series. It has been so long. Was it 1980 when they won the series with some dramatic pitching of Tug McGraw?
I'm still rejoicing the newest addition to our family. I got to hold him within two hours of his birth and it was amazing. Thanks to all the well-wishers from Sunday. Those of you who have had the experience know the incredible feeling of being a grandparent. Next month my other son is getting married in Houston. My cup is definitely running over.
jeanne, yes, it was 1980 when the Phillies got their only World Series win. Philadelphia, with teams in all 4 major sports, hasn't had a championship in 25 years; I think we're due.
c.c., yes, Spokane was a gimme.
G'day to all,
I had similar problems and got quite few from the crosses. Boneset, tarpon (huge fish!) and thoroughwort were unknowns, as were ionium and eolian, but they fell in except the "n" and I guessed it.
c.c., Spokane was a gimme for me--I was there on a Greyhound bus pass in 1974, visited the world's fairgrounds, but very underwhelmed by it.
I always heard "go jump in the lake" rather than a lake. Crossing the pond, believe it or not, was an expression I first heard from colleagues in Germany when I was running our sister school exchange.
All in all though, a nice easy Monday puzzle.
Dennis: I agree we are overdue on a championship. I'm not a hockey fan but do follow the Eagles and Sixers. I think Donovan and Reid have to go for the Eagles to get anywhere. Sooo disappointing this year.
Good morning CC et al:
Pretty easy today - got hung up in same places as everyone else, but perps filled so was OK.
@ Jeanne - I'm rooting for the Rays (sorry - always a sucker for an underdog), but here's a link for quotes from &/or about Tug McGraw - one of the great characters of baseball:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quomcg.shtml
Carpe Diem!
Had I had even a little caffeine in my system, I would have completed this puzzle without the one red square I ended up with. I knew neither “thoroughwort” nor its answer BONESET. But I should have known SBA. It was the B where these two words crossed that I had my red square.
EOLIAN - Eolia was an island kingdom in ancient Greece ruled by King Eolus who bound and loosened the winds, hence the king of storms and winds. He was also an inventor of sails and a great astronomer.
@Chris Thanks for the link to Tug McGraw quotes. Loved it. "Ya Gotta Believe" will get me through this series. Would have loved to have a drink with Tug. Laughs all the way.
I agree with "go jump in the lake", not "in a lake". And I tried to make it "a drop in the bucket", but couldn't make it work.
My husband told me that 26A was IGA, so I had trouble with Spokane and boneset, although whether it was boneset or goneset didn't seem to matter. I don't google; I just come to this site to get the answers. Thank you C.C.
I got home half an hour ago and saw the end of this weeks Amazing Race and watched a few minutes of one of last week's Jimmy Kimmels. It's okay though because I bought a newspaper today and did the puzzle at school.
CROSSING THE POND and A DROP IN THE OCEAN were gimmies for me: GO JUMP IN A LAKE took longer because I didn't have the perps. I googled LANOLAN, TARPON, SPOKANE (had SEATTLE) and BONESET. I also had IN LINE instead of INKJET, EATS UP instead of USED UP, BROILS instead of ROASTS, ENGING instead of END ALL and SMACKS instead of SMITES. What a disaster! I also had to google EOLIAN and IONIUM to check if they were real words.
I think thios puzzle gives a new definition to "too easy": I was breezing through the top and bottom and then when I got to the middle I was thinking "Aha! IN LINE! Aha! SEATTLE!" and happily filling them in but then the third theme fill wasn't appearing and I couldn't figure out why. Bummer.
C.C., Take Me to the RIVER won't fit because it's 16 letters: you should try doing your own crossword just once and you'll be able to pick up right away on what can fit and what won't fit. How about CRY ME A RIVER (the Justin Timberlake song)? It's eleven letters. The you have to think of another eleven letter fill so you can have 180 degree symmetry. Hmm. PERSIAN GULF? Then you need a clever clue. See? It's not easy, is it? :)
I didn't like the clue for 63A but that's a MOOT point because I got it from the fills. :)
Martin
@ Sallie - I tried to force IGA for a while as well.
@ Martin - agree with you on "moot" - bad clue, bad answer.
Good morning, C.C. and group. Not many problems this morning. I took 15 minutes which is lightspeed for me. I like to relax and savor solving each clue. There were lots of gimmes from recent puzzles or stock answers, eg ARTIE, EROO, TENN, TALC, etc.
Kazie: I'm with you on "jump in the lake."
"Crossing the pond" is also a US Navy expression for transiting either ocean, Atlantic or Pacific.
When I was a boy, there was a grocery store in the Uptown area named the A & P. I learned it stood for the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. I just googled it and learned it still exists. Comforting to know that in some way.
Nice to see Sal Mineo's surname in a puzzle for a change rather than SAL. Does anyone know if they ever solved his murder?
Boneset has been used for constipation, fever and influenza.
Another "wort" is St. John's Wort, a small green plant used for ground cover. Also known as Klamath weed, it grows about 12 inches high and has a small yellow flower. In Oregon, it is used as a landscape plant by munipalities. An extract from the plant is an herbal used to fight depression.
Word of the day. AGGRESS: verb, to act aggressively or with aggression.
The president's decision to aggress into the Mid East has proved problematical.
I've not seen it used as a verb.
Bonus word since today's is fairly familiar
Hypocorism: hye PAH kuh riz um.
1. a pet name
2. the use of pet names.
My granddaughter is named Margaret, but her hypocorism is "Marnie."
Dick, I agree with you that the puzzles seem easier; the reinforcement of the discussion here is the key.
@martin and chris in LA: I do not understand what your objection to the clue "debatable" for 63A. Can you explain?
@kittyb: It was someone else who said they received a refund because of the complaint about the missing clues on the Sunday puzzle, not me. I wrote to Elizabeth Taylor only because I want them to "get it right". I'll let you know if I receive a reply.
Hi c.c. and all, Sort of tough for me, I started out fairly well, until I got to 21A (eolian) and 26A SBA (what does it stand for?) Did not know Tarpon, Ionium, USTA or Boneset.
Kazie, I agree, it should be "the"lake, not "a".
Jeanne, what a sweet baby!!
Rain here today, so a wet bike ride for us, unless we can manage to go in between showers. Nothing new, we've been wet more than dry in all the years we have been doing this..sometimes even got snowed on a little - burrrr!
Good Morning All, It looks like I'll be waiting for another hour or so until our newspaper arrives and then I can work on the puzzle. As Kittyb mentioned, the online version is frozen in time with Saturday's puzzle. I'll be back then to read C.C. post and all the comments.
In the meantime, I noticed that Dick was away for the weekend for a mini second honeymoon. It's probably my age showing, but I really like poetry about mature love. Here's one for Dick and all the other folks whose relationship have grown deeper and stronger over the years.
Second Honeymoon
The blue that startled his heart has faded:
blue-grey like denim now her eyes by candlelight
across the table -- and he knows the fingerprints
of time are on him, too, though candle's bloom
is less truthful than the unrelenting sun.
He knows them both to be weathered in the cascade
of the years, beyond redress -- still, his hand
which has crept without volition over the linen
to clasp hers, touches, not the flesh time mars,
but the undimmed radiance of her love, pulsing
stronger for the passage of the years since first
he touched her. His hand tightens over hers
in that familiar reflex which has saved him,
times beyond remembering, from drowning.
- Tony Scanlon
doesitinink, I'm confused, why did you write to Elizabeth Taylor?? How is she involved in puzzles or newspapers??
Clear ayes, ohhh, that poem brought tears to MY eyes! How beautiful and how true! Thanks!
@ doesitinink re : "moot"
My understanding of "moot" is that argument is pointless, therefore (or "ergo" as constructors would prefer), there is no reason to argue or debate as the point has already been settled and so the clue "debatable" is actually "moot" in and of its ownself - IMHO FWIW - it's just annoying to me when they force stuff. I think a better clue would have been "pointless argument" or something along that line.
@carol: Elizabeth Taylor is the name of the editor of the Chicago Magazine in which the Sunday crossword puzzle appears...not Elizabeth Taylor the actress.
@chris in la: I check several on-line dictionaries. Here is a representative definition:
moot (mt)
n.
1. Law A hypothetical case argued by law students as an exercise.
2. An ancient English meeting, especially a representative meeting of the freemen of a shire.
tr.v. moot·ed, moot·ing, moots
1.
a. To bring up as a subject for discussion or debate.
b. To discuss or debate. See Synonyms at broach1.
2. Law To plead or argue (a case) in a moot court.
adj.
1. Subject to debate; arguable: a moot question.
2.
a. Law Without legal significance, through having been previously decided or settled.
b. Of no practical importance; irrelevant.
I think MOOT is often used to mean the opposite of its actual meaning, that is to say non-debatable.
Hi c.c. and all,
Did not have to google, but would not have gotten Eolian, Ionium, or Boneset without the perps.
Kittyb: I did not jam with the adults, but both my brothers often did, one on trumpet and one on clarinet.
c.c.: gold dust is fine particles of gold, like powder or flakes
moot (mt)
n.
1. Law A hypothetical case argued by law students as an exercise.
2. An ancient English meeting, especially a representative meeting of the freemen of a shire.
tr.v. moot·ed, moot·ing, moots
1.
a. To bring up as a subject for discussion or debate.
b. To discuss or debate. See Synonyms at broach1.
2. Law To plead or argue (a case) in a moot court.
adj.
1. Subject to debate; arguable: a moot question.
2.
a. Law Without legal significance, through having been previously decided or settled.
b. Of no practical importance; irrelevant.
I think MOOT is often used to mean the opposite of its actual meaning, that is to say non-debatable.
"Subject to debate" and "irrelevant" seem to be a contradiction in terms to me. I suppose you could debate something that has "been previously decided or settled" as in the case of moot court but "moot" is hardly a synonym for "debatable".
Martin
C.C., I hope you don't think I was being rude earlier: for all I know you have tried once making your own crossword (just for fun) and simply hadn't noticed that Take Me to the RIVER was sixteen letters long. If I need to apologize then I'm sorry. If no offense was incurred then please ignore this post. :)
Martin
doesitinink, thanks for the Liz Taylor thing- I wondered later if that was the case. I just thought I missed something as we don't get the Sunday puzzle.
Your puzzle for Monday October 20 is completely wrong. Please take a look at it. Your answers to do not correspond to the clues.
@martin: I guess we can both debate this MOOT question. (The emphasis in the following quote is mine.)
USAGE NOTE The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the mid-16th century. It derives from the noun moot, in its sense of a hypothetical case argued as an exercise by law students. Consequently, a moot question is one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean “of no significance or relevance.” Thus, a moot point, however debatable, is one that has no practical value. A number of critics have objected to this use, but 59 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence The nominee himself chastised the White House for failing to do more to support him, but his concerns became moot when a number of Republicans announced that they, too, would oppose the nomination. When using moot one should be sure that the context makes clear which sense is meant.
I agree with Martin - "moot" = "irrelevant" & therefore not "debatable", at least in current context. If constructors are going to hit the OED for definitions I think they should make some sort of reference along those lines. Just a pet "xword" peeve of mine, but I'll let it go now.
Thanks for the repartee - keeps the brain working, ya' know?
PS - I'm just a little grumpy today because my beloved/adopted Saints got their butts handed to them yesterday by the Panthers, so I apologize for my crankiness - those of you who's teams also lost yesterday will understand I hope.
Mea culpa, still remember to carpe diem!
@chris in la: I hardly think that any source I have quoted is going back to the OED for a definition. Here is the definition of MOOT (adj) from the on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary:
1 a: open to question : debatable b: subjected to discussion : disputed
2: deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic
Though perhaps "deprived of practical significance", it is still (primary definition) "open to question: debatable". The fact that enough people have used it to mean non-debatable (including myself in the past), does not mean that it's original definition is wrong. My previous quote emphasized the importance of clarifing the sense in which the term is used exactly because MOOT is used in both senses.
@ doesitinink:
Just poking fun - I understand and agree with your point as it is legitimate, of course. Just frustrates me sometimes when a more obscure, or less "popularly" acknowledged definitions of a word are used in xwords when there are so many much more clever options available - my comments are meant as a challenge to both constructors and editors to pay better attention. Nothing personal, believe me.
Hope you're having a great day - glad we both had a break to go back-and-forth on this!
Our newspaper was delivered at last and I (shame on me) ignored the headline articles and went straight to the crossword page.
I was "blinded by science" with IONIUM, but at least I remembered ARGON.
I had never heard of either "Thoroughwort" or the answer BONESET.
"Plainsong" was also new to me.
Rather than Googling post-puzzle I just came here to check on the words I was pretty sure I had right via the surrounds.
Anon 11:34, If you tried the online puzzle, it has not been changed from Saturday, October 18 to Monday, October 20. That is why the clues/answers don't match with today's posts.
Gudday, all.
SBA= Small Business Administration, I believe.
c.c. It was Bing Crosby not Bill Crosby who is affiliated with Spokane, Wa. The College of Music at Gonzaga University is named for him.
Some obscure clues today, "Eolian", "Ionium", were posers but gotten through the perps.
Have a great day, all.
I must be off.
Anon @ 11:34am:
You must have a different puzzle than the rest of us. c.c.'s clues and answers are all correct.
Buckeye--FYI--always confusing, but Bill Cosby--not Crosby.
@kazie. In her posting this morning, c.c. said Bill Crosby grew up in Spokane. I was reporting it was Bing Crosby not Bill Crosby or Bill Cosby, whom I suspect c.c. was thinking about when she posted. Just a point of clarification.
IMBO
"Plainsong" reminded me of this piece from NPR about the Finnish Men's Shouting Choir. It almost sounds like something out of a Monty Python skit! But hang on to the end when the group "sings" the US National Anthem.
Sorry Buckeye--I thought the slip was yours rather than c.c.'s.
I was glad to learn that some lexicographers cling to the historical sense of "moot", even if they are wrong. lol
"I didn't foul him" the star basketball player screamed. "The point is moot, " said the ref. "The whistle blew."
The clue "debatable" jarred me when I got the answer as did it with others here.
@Clear Ayes: You contribute so much with your fine selections of poetry.
Hi All,
A note to let you know my 93 yr old mom had her breast removed last Thurs. She is doing very well. Only in hospital over nite.
Have nurse once a day and care givers twice a day. I go at night to empty her tubes.
She is up and about all over the place.
Moot?? New to me or I have forgot. Got stuck on a few today.
Have a fun day everyone!
Geri
Geri,
Glad to hear all went so well with the surgery. Sounds like she's a ball of energy.
11:05 today. I had to solve in the newspaper because the online puzzle still links to Saturday's Barry Silk puzzle. I've no idea if that slowed me down much--I do know I can type much faster than I can write (by hand).
I didn't know 27d: Thoroughwort (BONESET), but I did know it was a plant since there is an herb, mugwort used in the online game I play, Asheron's Call.
I had only ever seen 21a: Carried by wind (EOLIAN) as AEOLIAN before, but the spelling in the puzzle seems to be OK, according to dictionary.com.
@c.c.: SPOKANE was a gimme for me as I live in the northwest (Oregon). I went to the world's fair in 1974, back in my sports car rallying days. As others have mentioned, I believe you meant Bing Crosby, the most famous native son of Spokane.
@doesitinink 8:27: you refer to a red square, implying that you did the puzzle online. Where did you go to find it (the Chicago Tribune site isn't today's puzzle)?
@embien: I work the newspaper (print) version of the crossword puzzle. The "red" squares are because I overwrite my wrong answers with a red pen, rather like a teacher correcting homework. LOL. And no, I am not a teacher.
Æolus is the Greek God of Wind. The spelling "aeolian" is a direct deriviative from that origin while the spelling "eolian" is derived from the original spelling. The terms are synonymous.
I emailed a tribune.com editor this morning and complained (politely) about the online puzzle being stuck on Saturday. I just received a nice email from the editor saying the problem was fixed. Sure enough, the puzzle has advanced to Monday, October 20. Anybody who can work the puzzle online only, you are good to go.
Chris & Doesitinink & Martin,
Re: MOOT. I thought Clear Ayes covered the List of Common Words With Opposite Meanings a couple of month ago.
Embien & Ken,
Thanks for the St. John's Wort & mugwort. Good to learn these new words. I googled and found out that I actually ate mugwort before (with glutinous rice balls).
Martin,
I like your "CRY ME A RIVER" & PERSIAN GULF. I should have counted mine.
Argyle,
Who designed the Big Egg in Albany? What's the story behind it?
JD,
But what do "Tosca la ha" and "Bubbles, put on the coffee" mean? Is "Bubbles" a nickname for his wife?
Clear Ayes,
I don't understand your comments on Tijuana for Spring Break & Cabo San Lucas for Spring Break a week ago. Is one better than the other or what?
hi everyone! once i got the theme clues done, everything else filled in relatively easily. ive never heard anyone say a drop in the ocean before, maybe im just really young? ive only heard drop in the bucket. i didnt like 29A (mom's mom) because ive never seen anyone spell it with an ie.
go phils! (im officially on the bandwagon now)
and go penn state nittany lions! we had a great win this weekend against michigan :]
have a good night!
Buckeye,
Sorry about Bing Crosby mistake. I always confuse him with Bill Cosby. I don't understand your following comments:
"So lets all take a deep breath and agree to agree. Me bringum' peace pipe with funny smelling 'tabacky in it and we'll all giggle and get a severe case of the "munchies".
What are "tabcky" and "munchies case"?
Ken,
Can you also explain to me your following comment:
"@Dick, what goes around comes around. I ate all the eggs but do have a couple raw ones for you. As you know, if you drop your hands back while catching them, you can get pretty far apart. Oops...hit you in a bad spot...the hands. Sorry 'bout that."
Geri,
I am glad all is well with your Mom.
Gatormom,
Keep posting your idea on other possible theme answers. I enjoy reading and analyzing them.
@Cc.. glad it was the hands you hit with the eggs and not somewhere else!
Dick,
I don't understand Ken's egg comment to you at all. Maybe you can explain to me?
C.C. said @6:07pm...Argyle, Who designed the Big Egg in Albany? What's the story behind it?
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza (commonly known as simply the Empire State Plaza and less formally as The South Mall) is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York. Rockefeller was inspired to create the new government space in 1959 upon the visit of Princess Beatrix.
The Egg, completed in 1978, was designed by Wallace Harrison to accommodate many events and performances.The engineer responsible for the application of the design, along with any changes to it, was Peter A. Steinborn. It is located in the northest corner of the Empire State Plaza.
The Egg, as suggested by its external shape, is an amphitheatre. It actually houses two amphitheatres, the 450 seat Lewis A. Swyer Theatre and the 982 seat Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre. Architecturally, there are no other known buildings like The Egg in the world. Although it appears to sit on a small platform in the Empire State Plaza, a concrete girdle that surrounds The Egg is attached to a stem that goes down six stories into the Plaza to support the weight of the inclined building.
The building's curved exterior defines the interior statement as well. There are virtually no straight lines or harsh corners inside The Egg. Instead, walls along the edge curve upward to meet gently concave ceiling light for celestial effect. The backs of performing areas are fanned - inviting one inward - providing an intimacy impossible in a conventional theatre. And throughout, walls of Swiss pearwood veneer add warmth and enhance the acoustics in the theatres.
(Personally, I think Rocky wanted the Plaza as a memorial to himself. Argyle)
And now for the Sunday puzzle, as published in thGlens Falls Post-Star on Oct. 19, 2008.
21*21, 76 blocks, Edited by Linda and Charles Preston, no constructor given. Tribune Media Services
Theme: Fun
23A)Retrees' shipboard outing - pleasure cruise
111A)"_____" Tears: Freyd/Goldstein - Smiling through
66A)On cloud nine - tickled pink
crossed by
33D) Play ground? - amusement park
3D) Stadium performers - cheerleaders
16D)Dolts - chuckleheads
58D)Cool comedian - Good Humorman
62D)Victory chortle - the last laugh
I didn't care much for that last clue but overall it was a good puzzle, putting me in a Good Humor. (history of Good Humor Ice Cream) I never would have got 111A except we just had it in another puzzle.
Greetings C.C. and all –
C.C and Dennis - Thanks for the congrats. Matt Garza really did a fantastic job. The Rays did exactly what they were supposed to do – they were a great team. Yes, it should be a great World Series!
Chris in la – At least there is one more person rooting for the Rays. Go Rays!
Jeanne, etal – I had always heard “go jump in the lake” also. I guess there was not enough room for "the."
Geri – Glad to hear your mother is doing well. Only an over nite stay? They sure are making hospital stays short now.
As for the puzzle I did not know thoroughwort/boneset, ionium, eolian, but all were gettable. Other than those, I didn’t have much trouble.
Have a great day and keep on puzzling!
Night Owl
What puzzle is that anon @11:34 working? They should check their puzzle. I have the same answers as C.C. Maybe they are working an October 20, 2007 puzzle that they found on the back of their toilet while doing their morning job. It certainly isn't today's puzzle that's for sure.
For those interested, I am still a bit north of Dennis in "beautiful" Paterson, NJ. I'd rather it be in Medford Lakes because Dennis said it is really nice there and I googled and saw photos of the place. Dennis, you must pick up the ball for "Today is" as I am not getting to the puzzle until later on in the day. I am actually doing some lab experiments for a change.
Hi All,
Thanks for your good wishes. Mom stayed in hospital over night only because she is 93, otherwise out the sameday! Amazing.
Geri
I find your blogs interesting...It is funny to see that everyone has only heard "Go jump in the lake", I have only heard "Go jump in a lake". Maybe that's how we say it in Oregon.
Keep up the good work. I finally did well on a puzzle today. Got messed up with tarpon because I thought it was tarpin. Couldn't get 21D either so missed the first letter of eolian.
Have fun! Go Blazers
-Ski
Ski, I am in Oregon and i have never heard the expression "go jump in a lake", it has always been "the" lake. You must be young, not that that is bad :).
Geri, so glad your Mom did well with the surgery, but geez if I'd had that surgery, I'd want to be in more than a day or 2 - on second thought, since a hospital is a hotbed of bacteria and viruses, maybe not. I think it's insurance companies that "kick" everyone out early, they love your premiums, but sure hate to pay for anything!!!
C.C. "I don't understand your comments on Tijuana for Spring Break & Cabo San Lucas for Spring Break a week ago. Is one better than the other or what?"
I believe Buckeye and I were kidding around about the "differences" between University of California campuses and California State University campuses. There really are very few differences, but alumni always think their school is better than the other. I was joking about one school going to Tijuana for Spring break and the other going to Cabo San Lucas.
Doesitinink, G.A.H. and I just finished an afternoon viewing of "In Bruges". We liked it very much, but I can understand your reticence to recommend it. It is a very very dark comedy. A viewer can't be offended by crude language and eventually a lot of violence. Even so, all the characters had a sense of decency and honor and were (don't ask me how) likable.
Geri, Glad to hear about your mother. I hope she keeps up with her speedy recovery.
Ken, I am definitely going to use "hypocorism" in the near future.
C.C. I think that was the day we were passing egg dishes around. Earlier in the day, Dick has passed one to someone and so it went and later in the day, someone passed, I think eggs benedict, to me.
So, in jest, I said to Dick "What goes around comes around." That part meant that as he passed eggs to someone, the eggs had come full circle. The expression has other meanings, but it generally means that if someone behaves rudely or badly, eventually it'll come back on them in an adverse way. An example might be if someone said "Gee, I don't like the way that woman wears her hair and her make up is terrible." and then finds out that that woman will be the new boss and she knows what was said about her. That may be too lengthy, but "you get what you deserve" says it all.
The second part about passing him raw eggs was just in humor that I couldn't pass him a cooked egg dish like an omelet as all I had were raw eggs. The rest of it about hitting him in the hands implied that he hadn't caught the eggs well and they'd broken in his hands. Humor was intended throughout the paragraph.
ooooo, I'm late again
No reason to rehash the problems I had with the puzzle, as they were the same as everyone else's. Even after "G"ing I didn't understand stable isotopes or something being monatomic and chemically inert.Alas
Indian Sage is another kind of thoroughwort.
Shatner is still a wonderfulactor in Boston Legal. Does anyone else watch it? Sal Mineo was a gimme. My sister was in one of his movies in 1956, "Rock Pretty Baby".That was an era of those movie magazines to promote the "stars".My sister had to go out on a date with Sal so they could publicize it in the mag. Memories of her preparing for that night are still very vivid. I was in 6th grade.
embien, what kind of sports car did you take on those rallies? We had a TR3 . I was an awful navigator!!
kittyb, how wonderful to have 4 babies to cuddle!!
Geri, such great news about your mom.Hope she continues to have a quick recovery.
C.C., I don't really think his wife's real name was Bubbles. It just sounded funny.Maybe somebody could translate "tosca la ha" for us... as a teenager I only knew he made everyone laugh.
The following wikipedia page renders the issue of MOOT moot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_self-contradicting_words_in_English
Martin
c.c., Re "agree to agree" was a take-off of the often used "agree to disagree" which is often used in political discussions today. The argument of where the Missouri Universities was solved so we should all agree to agree.
The peace pipe is an old Native American custom. Adversaries would sit down and smoke a peace pipe to indicate they would "agree to disagree" peacefully and I said I would bring some funny smelling "tabacky" (tobacco- marijuana) which can lead to bouts of hunger for snacks called the "munchies."
Hope that clears things up a bit. I'm not as lucid as ClearAyes.
IMBO
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