Theme: None
Total block: 27
I really don't understand why Mr. Higgins continues to construct themeless. If the only weapons he has are those annoying affixes-laden "artificial long fills" (Embien's term) and obscure libraian words, then he should give up. There should be a limit on the number of ER, RE, ED, EST, ING & S allowed in a puzzle.
He could have fiddled with the grid a bit and made LANCES (55A: Knight's weapons) singular. He could have tied it in with ITO (21A: Simpson trial judge) and created a O. J. Simpson themed puzzle, with CHASE in the middle.
I really dislike the clue for ASCENDANCE (42A: Coming into prominence). The clue is asking for ASCENDING, isn't it? "Several" in the ROES (27D: Several small Eurasian deer) made me feel condescended. The clue for ARABLE (42D: Suitable for farming) is simply horrible. SUITABLE is the answer for the crossing 51A "Fitting".
I do like "Type of committee" for STEERTING (6D). Nice one.
Across:
1A: "When __ Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd": LILACS. "And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night..." Whitman's elegy for Lincoln. Nice "O Captain! My Captain!" animation.
15A: Ark's resting place: ARARAT. I always thought that Mountains of ARARAT and Mount ARARAT are the same.
16A: Soapstone: STEATITE. New word to me.
17A: Bell's clapper: TONGUE. I had no idea that the metal in the middle of the bell is called TONGUE.
18A: Horse-drawn vehicle operator: COACHMAN
19A: Lack of sufferance: INTOLERANCE. Are you OK with the clue? It feels so strained to me.
21A: Simpson trial judge: ITO (Lance). He has never written a book about the trial, has he?
22A: Himalayan gazelle: GOA. I always want YAK, which is an ox. Argyle found this GOA picture last time when we had the "Tibetan gazelle" clue.
25A: Cantankerous state: ORNERINESS. I always associate ORNERY with stubborn.
30A: Edible mushroom: MOREL. Another 5-letter edible Asian mushroom is the long-stemmed ENOKI, which has a very firm, chewy and textured taste if prepared properly.
34A: Helen's conductor: PARIS. He was portrayed by Orlando Bloom in "Troy". The guy on the left is Hector, played by Eric Bana ("Munich"). Helen's wife is Oenone.
47A: Part of APB: ALL. I had a mental block and wrote down AIR, thinking of the Air Pollution Index.
48A: Evil-doers: MALEFACTORS
53A: Compel with force: COERCE. Another "compel" clue is 38D: Compel: ENFORCE.
54A: Spotless: UNSOILED
57A: Thrust out: EXSERT. Unknown to me. I wanted EXERT.
Down:
1D: Cinch tightening straps: LATIGOS. No idea. Is LATIGO the white leather belt around the horse's stomach?
3D: Verbena plant: LANTANA. Doesitinink mentioned this Geoffrey Rush movie "LANTANA" last time. Have you seen it?
5D: Greater omentum: CAUL. No idea.
9D: Corps, pipes and officers: PEACES. Peace Corps, peace pipes, peace officers. Wow, is this a legitimate cluing? I do like it though.
10D: Portion of humanity: RACE. "Portion"?
12D: Degree of eminence: STATURE. I wish the constructor had tied in Lincoln with the clue.
14D: Ancient Greek beverage: OENOMEL. OENO is prefix for wine, MEL is from Greek MELI, meaning honey. I've never heard of this drink before. I only knew mead.
20D: Futhark alphabet: RUNES. Saw this clue before.
26D: Descried: ESPIED. I tend to confuse descry with decry.
33D: Highest point: PINNACLE. I rather like PINNACLE golf balls. Distance Doesn't Have to be Hard: Softer Feel.
34D: Winged horse: PEGASUS. I forgot. It's created from Medusa's blood. Red PEGASUS is the old Mobil mascot.
35D: Moon orbiter's apogee: APOLUNE. Absolutely no idea. It's opposite perilune, which is "Moon orbiter's perigee".
37D: Diatribes: SCREEDS
48D: Flexible type of armor: MAIL. New meaning of MAIL to me.
49D: Persuade gently: COAX. Lovely "Maggie May": "... I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn't need to COAX..."
C.C.
Total block: 27
I really don't understand why Mr. Higgins continues to construct themeless. If the only weapons he has are those annoying affixes-laden "artificial long fills" (Embien's term) and obscure libraian words, then he should give up. There should be a limit on the number of ER, RE, ED, EST, ING & S allowed in a puzzle.
He could have fiddled with the grid a bit and made LANCES (55A: Knight's weapons) singular. He could have tied it in with ITO (21A: Simpson trial judge) and created a O. J. Simpson themed puzzle, with CHASE in the middle.
I really dislike the clue for ASCENDANCE (42A: Coming into prominence). The clue is asking for ASCENDING, isn't it? "Several" in the ROES (27D: Several small Eurasian deer) made me feel condescended. The clue for ARABLE (42D: Suitable for farming) is simply horrible. SUITABLE is the answer for the crossing 51A "Fitting".
I do like "Type of committee" for STEERTING (6D). Nice one.
Across:
1A: "When __ Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd": LILACS. "And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night..." Whitman's elegy for Lincoln. Nice "O Captain! My Captain!" animation.
15A: Ark's resting place: ARARAT. I always thought that Mountains of ARARAT and Mount ARARAT are the same.
16A: Soapstone: STEATITE. New word to me.
17A: Bell's clapper: TONGUE. I had no idea that the metal in the middle of the bell is called TONGUE.
18A: Horse-drawn vehicle operator: COACHMAN
19A: Lack of sufferance: INTOLERANCE. Are you OK with the clue? It feels so strained to me.
21A: Simpson trial judge: ITO (Lance). He has never written a book about the trial, has he?
22A: Himalayan gazelle: GOA. I always want YAK, which is an ox. Argyle found this GOA picture last time when we had the "Tibetan gazelle" clue.
25A: Cantankerous state: ORNERINESS. I always associate ORNERY with stubborn.
30A: Edible mushroom: MOREL. Another 5-letter edible Asian mushroom is the long-stemmed ENOKI, which has a very firm, chewy and textured taste if prepared properly.
34A: Helen's conductor: PARIS. He was portrayed by Orlando Bloom in "Troy". The guy on the left is Hector, played by Eric Bana ("Munich"). Helen's wife is Oenone.
47A: Part of APB: ALL. I had a mental block and wrote down AIR, thinking of the Air Pollution Index.
48A: Evil-doers: MALEFACTORS
53A: Compel with force: COERCE. Another "compel" clue is 38D: Compel: ENFORCE.
54A: Spotless: UNSOILED
57A: Thrust out: EXSERT. Unknown to me. I wanted EXERT.
Down:
1D: Cinch tightening straps: LATIGOS. No idea. Is LATIGO the white leather belt around the horse's stomach?
3D: Verbena plant: LANTANA. Doesitinink mentioned this Geoffrey Rush movie "LANTANA" last time. Have you seen it?
5D: Greater omentum: CAUL. No idea.
9D: Corps, pipes and officers: PEACES. Peace Corps, peace pipes, peace officers. Wow, is this a legitimate cluing? I do like it though.
10D: Portion of humanity: RACE. "Portion"?
12D: Degree of eminence: STATURE. I wish the constructor had tied in Lincoln with the clue.
14D: Ancient Greek beverage: OENOMEL. OENO is prefix for wine, MEL is from Greek MELI, meaning honey. I've never heard of this drink before. I only knew mead.
20D: Futhark alphabet: RUNES. Saw this clue before.
26D: Descried: ESPIED. I tend to confuse descry with decry.
33D: Highest point: PINNACLE. I rather like PINNACLE golf balls. Distance Doesn't Have to be Hard: Softer Feel.
34D: Winged horse: PEGASUS. I forgot. It's created from Medusa's blood. Red PEGASUS is the old Mobil mascot.
35D: Moon orbiter's apogee: APOLUNE. Absolutely no idea. It's opposite perilune, which is "Moon orbiter's perigee".
37D: Diatribes: SCREEDS
48D: Flexible type of armor: MAIL. New meaning of MAIL to me.
49D: Persuade gently: COAX. Lovely "Maggie May": "... I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn't need to COAX..."
C.C.
52 comments:
Good morning CC etal:
Somewhat more challenging today - had to google 1A (never a good start) for "lilacs", 16A "steatite", 34A "paris", 1D "latigos" and 20D "runes" - although I think the proper answer is "runic" as it is the term for the runic alphabet - runes could have been clued better ("oracles of advice", or "stones of knowledge") IMHO.
Had to google spelling on perps for "oenomel" and "apolune" to make sure they were real words - never heard of either before.
I'll be looking for my beloved Buckeyes to beat Purdue & then the LSU Tigers to take it to Florida later today. Hope everyone has a great Saturday - lots of good football on TV today so chores will have to wait!
Chris,
I am fine with RUNES. Runic is mostly an adjective.
There may be no theme to this puzzle but I found a couple of trends: one was the shear number of words meaning "push" (STEER, PRESS, GOAD, COAX, FORCE and COERCE), more than could possibly be coincidence plus all the words dealing with history and the ancient world (ARARAT, ARGO, RUNES, OENOMEL, PARIS [of Troy], PEGASUS, [chain]MAIL, SETTLERS and LANCES). I also noticed that RACE and CREED were both hidden in the puzzle.
I too did not know what CAUL was and I only got STEATITE and OENOMEL from the perps. I am ashamed to admit that I googled LILACS and LANTANA: I really had no idea for either of them. I also don't understand the clues for STEERING or TONGUE, although, again, I was able to get them from the perps. I wanted ENVIED for ESPIED (I guess don't understand "descried") and SPARCER for SCARCER: I was so sure of the latter that it took me a while to notice that the P was red! I finished in just over 34 minutes, which I thought was good: this was tough.
C.C., "Coming into prominence" would be "ascending" but I can make a sentence where "ascendance" would work too: "Coming into promince is what kings do when they ascend the throne". Here the phrase "coming into prominence" is the subject of the sentence and, thus, a noun! It's weak though.
Martin
Good morning Cc, DFs and DFettes...OUCH!! This was the hammer, no make that the sledge hammer, for me. So far this morning I have spent more time on this cw than I did on the total of the last three. I really did not like this puzzle and I am not sure if it was because I had to work so hard or if there was something basically wrong with it. I look forward to seeing the others comments.
I am off to the mountain retreat for a short weekend so let me wish you all a great and fun weekend. See you Sunday night.
the metal in the middle of the bell is called TONGUE
Oooooh. I remember now: I tried putting in RINGER, which was a good guess because it gave me two black letters.
I too have never heard of LATOGOS or APOLUNE. Don't you hate that that "apo" is in the clue and the word? I guess the clue could have been "Moon orbiter's pinnacle" except PINNACLE was the answer to 33D: "Highest point".
Martin
Not really a hammer but a lot of the clues and their fills seemed stilted and really old words that aren't really in common use.
Only place I had a problem was 17a and 22a., which, of course wouldn't reveal 1d,3d and 5d. So I guess the whole NW corner went to pot!!!
Oh, and until I read the WHOLE clue for 18a, I had CARRAIGES. I didn't see OPERATOR till the down fills wouldn't work. When I looked again I had a V-8 moment!!
Ken, I'm not usually one for poetry, but that was great! Really dredged up some memories. Thank you.
CC, Strange, the first thing I thought of when I saw PEGASUS was the Mobil flying horse logo!
CY'all Later
Martin,
I don't understand your comment on "RACE" & "CREED". What makes them special? US Senate STEERING Committees generally schedule the legislative agenda and assign party members to different committees according to their seniority, expertise and influence.
Good morning CC & DF's: NW corner was the toughie. Can't believe that I would miss any clue for 'tongue'. Must be slipping. Like Martin's observation on 'push' theme...and with 'morel' on top of that? What's a girl to do! I'm off to the gym.
CC:Thanks for the links. Great job as always. Btw, if I were to play w/Argyle's equipment, it wouldn't be his modem. Besides, I expand and restore things not break them...wear them out maybe, but I'm not the culprit.
So, Argyle, need any help over there? Glad to see you back. You were missed.
Well, I really had to use the "little gray cells" today. Truly enjoyed a puzzle that didn't have sports, TV or movie actors' names!!
Good Morning C.C. and all.
STEATITE, EXSERT, LATIGO, OENOMEL, and APOLUNE were all new to me.
CAUL, RUNES, SCREEDS, GOA, SPIT are words I know that I had trouble getting from the clues.
I thought at first that I wouldn't be finishing this puzzle, since the first word I answered was 30A MOREL. Eventually, I finished the bottom half, and the top began to fall into place, but a LOT of the words came due to the fills.
This was certainly more difficult than the puzzles we have been doing for the past few weeks, but I can't say that it was enjoyable.
southernbelle...I agree. NO SPORTS! YEAH!!
I wonder what it is that we are all looking for in our crossword puzzles? Many of us would enjoy them more if there were no sports clues. Some of us would be happy if there were no pop culture clues. Some would be happy if the composer stuck to words currently in use, and others enjoy the obscure.
I like words that challenge, and clever clues. I don't mind older words, but I really dislike it when the author of the puzzle uses the SEVENTH definition of a word. An occasional sports clue or pop culture clue would be acceptable, but not an abundance of them, unless they pertain to the theme. I enjoy the themed puzzles, even when the theme has to be pointed out to me when I'm done *G* And, unless the quote is really exceptional, I'd be happy to pass on the quote.
Am I mainstream in my thinking, or off in the shallows?
Today is the Red Hat Lady luncheon. Mother has a purple boa that believes it is alive. I'll have to get a picture of her wearing it, to share.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Morning, folks!
Ayup, today was definitely Hammer Day for me as well. I've never heard of STEATITE, EXSERT, or OENOMEL. I know what a CAUL is, but couldn't get it from the clue, since I've never heard of "omentum" before. I barely remembered LATIGOS and finally managed to convince myself that LANTANA was a plant name I'd heard of somewhere and that IRON ORE is something that was likely to be "deposited" somewhere. And I did not know that a bell's clapper was called a TONGUE.
I managed to wobble through most of the puzzle on a wing and a prayer, but the intersection of TONGUE and CAUL finally did me in. It simply didn't occur to me that the clapper of a bell could be called the TONGUE, and the best guess I could come up with was the non existent word TONGLE (hey -- it sounds vaguely bell like, right?) That gave me CALL instead of CAUL, which made as much sense as anything since, as I mentioned earlier, I had NO FREAKING CLUE WHATSOEVER what "omerta" meant.
Meh.
Sorry, make that NO FREAKING CLUE WHATSOEVER what "omentum" meant. I know all about "omerta" (the mafioso code of silence). Not from personal experience, mind you...
Good morning, C.C. et al. Not too bad this morning. I had a bit of confusion with verbena which I know as a flowering plant which is not lantana. When I googled, I found a shrub verbena lantana. I guessed at lantana before googling it, so maybe I got half credit. The rest worked out OK. I wanted STANDING for 6D, but RUPEE told me I was wrong.
Like Bill, I also thought of the Mobil flying horse.
C.C. The cinch goes under the belly of a horse, it is the broad strap fed through rings hanging from the saddle. Latigos are strips of leather. Someone who knows something about horses might chime in with more.
@Bill: Thanks for your kind comment; Toby was the most dog-like in behaviour cat I've ever had.
@Kazie: The Mississippi River comes down from northern MN, rising in Lake Itasca. It flows due south splitting Minneapolis into Northeast and everything else. It then divides the two cities for a while and finally bends to the NE, coming up near downtown St Paul, then bends south again to eventually be the border between MN and WI. The river you are thinking of is the St. Croix, which flows SW, dividing the two states for much of the distance to Lake Superior. The St. Croix-Mississippi confluence is at Hastings, MN, a bit south of the Twin Cities.
Max Shulman, the creator of the Dobie Gillis character of "Gilligan's Island", wrote several humorous satires in the late twentieth century. One of them starts out with words to the effect of The Twin Cities lie along the Mississippi River like trousers legs. At the crotch is the University of Minnesota.
As I read those words as a freshman at the U, I'm certain that I giggled at such bold language for that era.
Ken: In English riding the 'cinch' is called a 'girth' and the strap is called a pillet strap. In Western riding I always called it a 'cinch' but one can 'cinch up the girth'as well. Latigo in my frame of reference is a pale tanish leather strap. That saddle looks foreign to me...like South American maybe? Anyhow, latigo is not a common term to me used around horses....of course that's not the only use for leather straps! Who's in the woodshed?
Thanks Ken, for confirming what my map search had suggested. Was your experience at the U of M like being in the crotch of something? I hope not!
Like the rest of you, I was not happy with this puzzle. I did like the lack of sports clues, but hated the obscurity of most. Maybe we just can't have it both ways. I gave up on the NW corner until I had the rest of it, starting in the SE. I used the puzzle dictionary today for a few of those already mentioned by others.
c.c., I have seen Lantana, but can't remember much about it. My husband says it was about a number of people with intertwining relationships--hence the title, since lantana is more a vine than anything else, and grows much like a weed in Oz once it takes hold.
Good Morning All, This one was a trial for me. I got a few words across, then filled one or two up and down, and then back to across to search for one...word or even...one...letter...at...a..time. It was pretty slow going. I finally had to "G" STEATITE and OENOMEL. I only got LATIGOS, PEACES, APOLUNE and EXSERT with the help of the surrounds. I knew the word RUNES, but I didn't know it was the "Futhark alphabet". INTOLERANCE, ORNERINESS, ASCENDANCE and MALFACTORS looked like picket fences right up until the last few fills. Then, Mr. Higgins tossed in MOREL, just to taunt us.
JD, Funny comment to Ken last night....no matter what anybody else says. :o)
Buckeye, She stopped at Tierra del Fuego? I would have thought a chip off of your block would have kept on going until she popped in to say "Hi" at McMurdo Station. Sounds like you are a very proud papa.
Yesterday I teased Geri about the Canadian "eh". I got very used to "eh" because I lived in Ontario for five years when I was a teenager. My youngest sister was born there. My love of poetry began with a freshman textbook, "Grass of Parnassus - An Anthology of Verse for Canadian Schools". Bliss Carman, who is probably the best known Canadian poet from the early 20th century, wrote this poem about October.
A Vagabond Song
THERE is something in the autumn that is native to my blood—
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.
The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.
There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.
- Bliss Carman
Hi C.C. and everyone, I googled myself silly in trying to solve this HAMMER of a puzzle...once again all those obscure words!! I see we have the edible mushroom back again, so that made it a little more palatable, especially since we also had a little "tongue" in there. Ok Lois, I guess I am the one in the woodshed..are you in here too? As Carl said, it's dark in here.
Bill and Ken, I thought the same thing when I saw "winged horse". Guess it's our age showing, but I so clearly remember the "flying red horse" on the Mobil gas signs.
Kittyb, I share your likes and dislikes as to the puzzles, but as was said we can't have everthing, huh? Please do take a picture of your Mother in her purple boa...how cute!!
Ken, on a serious note, thanks so much for the poem yesterday. Our male cat (Laurel's brother, Hardy) was like the cat in the poem and your Toby sounds very much like him. Hardy would hear our car in the driveway, and wait for us to come in the side door; meowing at us just like he knew we'd understand him.
Good morning, c.c. and gang - Wow. This was by far the toughest puzzle I've done without the G-spot. Thank God for the perps. Had to do this one online, which I don't like anyway.
Overall, I thought a lot of the cluing sucked. I don't think it was misleading by intent either.
I've never seen the word 'orneriness'; hell, I can't even say it. Didn't have a clue on 14d. I was glad, however, to see 'morel' clued as an edible mushroom.
Have an outstanding weekend; see y'all next week.
C.C.,
Could it be that you had the wrong definition of RACE in mind? You said previously that the Han Chinese RACE makes up 19% of humanity: that would be a "portion of humanity" as the clue states.
It is not uncommon for American politicians to talk about Americans of "all colours, creeds and religions". By "colours" they mean race and by "creed" they mean ethnicity. I know the answer to 37D was SCREEDS but I thought maybe Higgins was trying to put the words "race" and "creed" in the same puzzle.
Martin
carol, I'm really sorry about your loss. One of the few times I've cried was when we had to put our 12-year-old Akita down; it's a pain like no other.
I can't remember the details, but there's a great poem/story about the Rainbow Bridge, where our pets wait for us after they die. Might want to check it out when you're up to it; I'm sure it's online somewhere.
mark - Buenos Aires
KittyB - 100% agree
Good morning
C.C.- I can't imagine how hard this puzzle must have been for you today.Obscure is right, but I had to look up apogee, omentum, descried and Futhark before I could figure out the answers. And then there was no mention of caul when reading what Dr Oz had to say about those fatty aprons some people accumulate.
Another Gr bev. I found was something called kykeon, which was a barley gruel with water and herbs added.
Gotta run. Thanks for your help on this one, C.C.!!!!!!!!
Dennis @ 10:46am,
Some of the edible morels are toxic if eaten raw.
@ Kazie. Glad to get your straighted out on Mpls-StP geography. When I've more time, I'll share a funny story about being naked in a basement due to ending up in Ol Man River.
@Carol: I'm glad you enjoyed my poem. I'd give anything to be able to read a pet's thoughts. have you ever read any Rita Mae Brown books with her talking pets. They're well done.
@JD...Uh huh!!! Alright..who's been spreading those stories about me?? I'll spread 'em out like peanut butter.
I am happy to report that I had only 3 red squares in this devil of a puzzle. Barry, I laughed out loud at your comments. They so mirror my own, except that I did know LANTANA. And as for me, “omerta” is not the only word in today’s puzzle of which I had NO FREAKING CLUE WHATSOEVER!
ORNERINESS is what someone who is ornery has. My granddad was described as ornery, but in southern Indiana, the word was pronounced “onery” (on’-ree).
When I was quite young my parents and I would go out in the spring to pick MOREL mushrooms. They are among the safest mushrooms to pick because they are distinctive looking and cannot be confused with others that are poisonous. We would take them home, soak them in salt water to drive the bugs out that hid in their deep crevices, then batter-fry them. I remember them as being most delicious! In Barbara Kingsolver’s wonderful book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she describes her family’s adventures in morel picking that was very like what I remember. The only thing she mentioned that we did not do was to collect the morels in a mesh bag “so that the spores can scatter as you carry your loot home.”
I want to back up what kittyb had to say about different varieties of tastes in the puzzles. I enjoyed today's puzzle because there were references to ancient history, which I expect some others detested. We need to accept that we are not all alike, and that is OK.
Calef
Fine day to all!! A rather difficult puzzle today. My "A to Z" got a real workout. I knew "Latigos" because that was the name of a character in a few Louis Lamoure novels and I looked it up years ago and found it to be part of a saddle. Also, remembered "tongue" as a bell clapper. (Don't like those two words that close together). No "G" spot but a lot of look-ups.
Chris in la; Beloved Buckeyes???? God love ya. Go Bucks and Tigers.
(I've got some bucks on the purple and gold tonight).
My dear daughter would have kept going, but she realized it was getting cold again. I talked to my granddaughters this morning (in Billings) and they are going outside to build SNOWWOMEN. They're supposed to get a foot of snow today. 3' to 5' in the mountains.
My condolences to all who have lost your pets. I gave up having them for two reasons. I'm barely able to care for myself, let alone a helpless animal, and I couldn't take the pain when I lost one. I'm a "wussy" with a capital "P".
For you folks, I will paraphrase Mark Twain.
When You go to heaven, do not speak to St. Peter first. It is NOT your place. You can ask him for an autograph, that is fine, but do not say, "That is the price of fame". Hell is full of those who said that. Finally, leave your dog outside. Heaven is earned by favor. If it were earned by worth, the dog would go in, and you would stay outside.
Halloween in nearing, so here is the start of a few Halloween jokes.
A skeleton walks into a bar and said, "Give me a beer and a mop."
Embien, you're turn.
I must be off!!
OOPS!! Embien; It's YOUR turn.
IMBO
Oops! I just realize I typed "omerta" instead of "omentum". I know what omerta means!
Hi c.c. and all,
I had to google about 4-6 words in this one. Others that I did not know I only got through the perps.
chris in la: Be careful, be very careful, lol! I am a huge GATORS fan as both my daughters did their undergraduate degree there and my oldest daughter is in her fourth year medical school at Gainesville. I'm okay with the Buckeyes though as we have a friend who is a huge fan and many relatives of mine were from Ohio including both of my parents who were born in Ohio. But, after all that has been said, GO GATORS! BTW, we have the game taped as we are attending a wedding at 6pm followed by the reception which my husband has already asked, "How long do we need to stay"?
GO GATORS! GO TEBOW!
Obscure librarian words? I guess that’s why this was so easy for me. I’m immersed in them on a daily basis. I find obscure words easier to deal with than obscure names. The words I didn’t know were filled in with the perps. It felt a little pedantic, but it’ s nice to feel competent on occasion.
I like the clue for INTOLERANCE (lack of sufferance) because it’s such a good description of bigotry. Also liked the two variations on compel, COERCE and ENFORCE, as opposed to COAX. And how can I not like LATIGOS? Not because I know how to saddle a horse, but because it’s part of the whole cowboy aura, and has a nice sound. I know it’s kinda silly, but I like to keep a few illusions.
LANTANA is one of my favorite flowers. I can’t keep them alive in Oregon over the winter. It grows into great bushes in Texas. They have a bitter, pungent fragrance that I love, but I wouldn’t suggest using it as perfume. I haven’t seen the movie.
I’m not very fond of SCREEDS. Too much of that going on these days. I prefer to look at the bright side. You know, as in ‘what you focus on, you manifest.’ This blog manifests humor and good friends.
Kittyb, I hope you post a picture of your mom; I’d love to see her in her boa.
Carol, I’m so sorry for your loss. I felt crushed when my 14 year old min. schnauzer died. My family indulged me with a funeral in my back yard, complete with granite gravestone and flowers. It helped give me some closure.
Ken, I can’t wait to hear your story about being naked in a basement.
Hi C.C. and all,
Had problems with NW corner and in a few other areas. Didn't complete until I checked here. I kept wanting to put peace in 9D, but the plural bothered me. I understand why the plural was used but my mind association was that the plural be on the second word only. Other words just did not feel correct in the puzzle. Coachman elluded me as I was thinking hansom, I thought coachman would be an attendant to the passengers not the driver.
BTW, I have just seen a reference to the woodshed the past couple of days. I forget who was exiled to it, but is it a bad thing if Lois joins you without the whips?
Go to go for now. League bowling.
To CC et al: First time on. I loved CAUL. My mother was born with one and kept it wrapped in tissue and put away until she died and it was buried with her. It is a membrane covering the face of a newborn and must be carefully removed. Lore has it that people have special ESP and some think they are witches. I didn't like the S on PEACE. Thought that was sloppy. As for LANTANA, all I had to do was look in the back yard. Beautifully blooming with delicate purple clusters. I thought this one easy and only had six look ups.
12:52 today, but I had three wrong letters, so the puzzle defeated me. I missed TONGUE, CAUL, PEACES, and STEATITE. I had DONGLE instead of TONGUE (giving me LANDIGO and CALL), and STLATITE (giving me PLACES instead of PEACES). Ugh. I suppose I should be happy that I finally got GOA after all these years. APOLUNE and OENOMEL were new words for me and I still don't know what CAUL is (except in the Asheron's Call game. Amazingly, LANTANA was a gimme for me (I still don't know just why).
@buckeye: My turn for what? I'm sorry, you lost me.
Playing catch-up from yesterday...
"c.c., Some time ago kittyb mentioned that her high school nickname was "Bee Bop". I lost a dear H.S. friend about 10 years ago with the same moniker. My mind is as dense as a wall, but sometimes things (like perfectly cooked pasta) stick to it." Buckeye, 8:24 October 10
Buckeye, my sweet, you have me confused with someone else. "Kitty" is actually my nickname. But, if it makes you feel better to call me "Bee Bop," go right ahead. *S*
jd...I had to laugh when I read your comment last night. I'd love to make the trip East that you were thinking of, but I should have said that we were planning a day trip to Utica, Illinois. It's near Starved Rock, on the Illinois River, and the trees on the bluffs are absolutely gorgeous this time of year. Perhaps you and I will have to visit New York one day. *S*
Harriet....yer killin us! EASY?? We'll have to keep an eye on you. Maybe you can whoop Dennis on future puzzles. *G*
Lantana...I have some in my garden that looks like
this.
I also have some "Homestead Purple Verbena that looks very much like this photo of Luscious Grape Lantana.
It's a puzzlement.
Harriette, welcome to our crazy, fun world! I am with Kitty though when you said you thought this was an easy puzzle. I stand in awe!!!
Kitty, thanks for the pictures of the Lantana,very pretty, esp the purple. I have verbena in my flower beds but they are the small variety: in both red and purple. They smell soooo good!
We had such a "Fall-like" morning and when the fog burned off, the sun came out and still it was only 42...so beautiful. I found a poem that seemed to fit:
Autumn Fires
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Robert Louis Stevenson
Hi All
I'm with most of you. very difficult puzzle today. Had to G a lot. Didn't know the clapper was called tongue!
Harriet, welcome and I am also in awe that you thought this was easy.
Football saturday, but both my teams are losing.
Drat
Have a great rest of the weekend
Harriett: Welcome, most learned one. Not too many found this easy. It became easier as I read all of the answers.LOL
barb b, I love reading all of your comments because they are always positive and teach me something.
calef: I will be upbeat and say i really liked 5 of the 6 ancient history clues. Oenomel was ridiculous.
kitty b: I'd go ANYWHERE to see the trees change colors in full array. I have 5 Liquid Ambers in my yard and each Fall I wait to see how gorgeous they will be.It takes awhile as it doesn't get too cold here.
Ken: You are a smooth one. Can't wait to hear your basement story. Did it include peanut butter?mmm You must have been in the woodshed when the rumors were flying around.
Harriet: Welcome. I found what you said about the caul and your mom fascinating. I don't mean to pry, but I'm curious about it. Did she have special insightful abilities? That is a hereditary trait, right? Anybody else in your family have that? You can email me if you'd rather. I just think this is so interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Almost a cinch puzzle today-just if I had put steering instead of standing, could have figured out that corner. The rest was easy.
Carol, my dfette freind. I didn't do the puzzle today(SAT)but I read the posts yesterday afternoon/night and am so sorry for your loss of Laurel. If I could, I would give you a big HUG!!
Condsider yourself wrapped in a BIG embrace drying your tears on my shoulder.
Kittyb; I'm so sorry for my error. I noted the "Bee Bop" on a sheet of paper and I guess I misread it or screwed it up somehow. Mea Culpa.
Embien, Your turn to tell a Halloween joke.
An ugly OSU win, but we'll take it. At this time the Gators are eatin' up the Tigers. Will retire to my cave to observe the outcome.
IMBO
buckeye, did you happen to see the big Minnesota Gophers win over Illinois? We are now 6-1 Look out!
Greetings C.C. and all -
Harriette - welcome to the group.
Harriette & Bellensav - Great going for you - since you both thought this was an easy one!
It wasn't all that easy for me - ditto all the rest of you that said NE corner was very challenging. Actually, some of the other obscure words had me looking up also.
I haven't posted lately - if I had it would be to say the same thing most of you said about the puzzles.
Ken - you addressed Carol about Rita Mae Brown's books and her talking animals. I think I have read all her books unless she has a new one out. I really like her books. Have you read any of "The Cat Who ..." books by Lilian Jackson Braun? Or the cat books by Shirley Rousseau Murphy? There are more authors that write about animals and "their people." Maybe you have read some of them.
TTFN
Night Owl
Cokato, thanks soooo much for your kind words about Laurel, and the big hug...one big one back to you :)
My computer is up and running; but I caught it before it got out the door. Had to put a second modem after it quit on me last night.
It was a beautiful day here and I'd like to share it. Here
It's a strange derivation for the word screed. Middle English screde, fragment, strip of cloth, from Old English scrēade, shred.
One meaning is diatribe and the others have to do with leveling concrete. But how did either one come from original meaning?
Futhark was easier: The Old English runic alphabet named for the first six letters: f, u, th, a, r, k
for C.C.
last Sunday's Glens Falls Post-Star
Oct. 5, 2008
Theme: Objets d'Art
Edited by Linda and Charles Preston
No constructor given. 21*21
Tribune Media Services
22A) Desired cultured Tahitian gems - black pearls
103A) Storied gem - Hope diamond
That seems to be the only two themed answers?! Maybe I am missing something. There are two long down fills.
34D)Start of a romance - boy meets girl
38D) Necessary for the broad-beamed - stretch pants
There were two other 11 letter across fills.
44A) Replaced the mom-and-pop stoers - supermarket
79A) Girl's best friend? =- hairdresser
I hope tomorrow's makes more sense.
CC / DFs / DFettes / et al...
By no means an easy c/w but managed most with perps but good ol' Mr. G came in handy today.
Latigo - Mostly have only heard this in cowboy speak - hence it is in the title for an artist that I really admire - Charley Russell - Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX displays Russell and Remington quite often.
A Tight Dally and a Loose Latigo, 1920
Oil on canvas
G'day C.C. & all
I had to come back to civilization yet once again for repairs. Found a flaw in the last fix. Drats!!!
Anyway, I was reading the Saturday comments(thanks dennis) & wanted to offer this to anyone who has lost a pet. Hopefully, someone else hasn't posted it already...
"Rainbow Bridge"
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly, he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then, you cross Rainbow Bridge together………
Anonymous
And, with that.... Sissy waiting at Rainbow Bridge exactly four months today.
With that, I'm outta here.
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