Theme: Echo Words
17A: Lacking in decisiveness: WISHY-WASHY
62A: Bit of whatnot: KNICKKNACK
11D: Drag one's feet: DILLY-DALLY
28D: Travel back and forth: CRISSCROSS
I think ZIGZAG (39A: With 40A, sharp turn: ZIG & 40A: See 39A: ZAG) and TIPTOP (24D: With 44D: first-rate: TIP & 44D: See 24D: TOP) should be counted as part of the theme answers, even though they are broken (so artfully). I feel that lots of thoughts were given to the grid construction.
Here is a wonderful link on reduplicatives. Flip-flop, riff-raff and chitchat all sound appealing to me.
Great puzzle. Fantastic clue for TKOS (60D: Match ends?). I dislike the clue for SIZE (30D: XL, XXL or XXXL). Why all big sizes?
Across:
1A: "12 Angry Men" director Sidney: LUMET. Have never watched "12 Angry Men". I wonder why "Eight Men Out" is not "8 Men Out".
6A: Sharp, localized pain: STAB. Why "localized"?
10A: Picked from a lineup: IDED
25A: "Family Ties" mother: ELYSE. I googled. Looks like a fun show.
29A: Aquatic crustacean: ISOPOD. New word to me. Dictionary says they have 7 pairs of legs. Are they edible?
33A: Plunder: RAPINE. This is a new word to me also. The root of this word reminds me of canola oil, which is extracted from rapeseed. Canola stands for Can(ada) o(il) l(ow) a(cid).
35A: Latin primer word: AMO. AMO, amas, amat.
45A: Miss in Fr.: MLLE. Have you seen "Mon père, ce héros"? This is a remake "My Father the Hero". Katherine Heigl was 14 when she appeared in the movie. Very sexy bathing suit, isn't it?
46A: Artist Botticelli: SANDRO. I did not know his given name. See his "Birth of Venus".
54A: Pointer, for one: BIRD DOG. Do you like Everly Brother's "BIRD DOG"? I like their "Bye Bye Love".
Down:
5D: President after Polk: TAYLOR. Polk's middle inital K stands for KNOX.
8D: Wiesbaden wails: ACHS. See this ACH list. ACH so!
9D: Evan from Indiana: BAYH. I can never remember how to spell Senator BAYH's name. He was on Obama's VP search list.
10D: Philippines port: ILOILO. No idea. It's also the capital city of ILOILO Province. It's so named because of its nose-like shape. "Nose" is "ilong" in local Illonggo languag. See this map. It is known also for its "raw-silk and pineapple-fiber fabrics".
31D: Son of Judah: ONAN. Learned from doing Xword.
34D: Antiquing element: AGER. I don't understand this. What is AGER?
36D: Bamako's land: MALI. Ah, Ali Farka Touré's land. Wonderful "Diaraby".
45D: "Vogue" singer: MADONNA. I guessed. I've never heard of "Vogue" before. She is divorcing Guy Ritchie.
48D: Livened (up): PERKED
C.C.
17A: Lacking in decisiveness: WISHY-WASHY
62A: Bit of whatnot: KNICKKNACK
11D: Drag one's feet: DILLY-DALLY
28D: Travel back and forth: CRISSCROSS
I think ZIGZAG (39A: With 40A, sharp turn: ZIG & 40A: See 39A: ZAG) and TIPTOP (24D: With 44D: first-rate: TIP & 44D: See 24D: TOP) should be counted as part of the theme answers, even though they are broken (so artfully). I feel that lots of thoughts were given to the grid construction.
Here is a wonderful link on reduplicatives. Flip-flop, riff-raff and chitchat all sound appealing to me.
Great puzzle. Fantastic clue for TKOS (60D: Match ends?). I dislike the clue for SIZE (30D: XL, XXL or XXXL). Why all big sizes?
Across:
1A: "12 Angry Men" director Sidney: LUMET. Have never watched "12 Angry Men". I wonder why "Eight Men Out" is not "8 Men Out".
6A: Sharp, localized pain: STAB. Why "localized"?
10A: Picked from a lineup: IDED
25A: "Family Ties" mother: ELYSE. I googled. Looks like a fun show.
29A: Aquatic crustacean: ISOPOD. New word to me. Dictionary says they have 7 pairs of legs. Are they edible?
33A: Plunder: RAPINE. This is a new word to me also. The root of this word reminds me of canola oil, which is extracted from rapeseed. Canola stands for Can(ada) o(il) l(ow) a(cid).
35A: Latin primer word: AMO. AMO, amas, amat.
45A: Miss in Fr.: MLLE. Have you seen "Mon père, ce héros"? This is a remake "My Father the Hero". Katherine Heigl was 14 when she appeared in the movie. Very sexy bathing suit, isn't it?
46A: Artist Botticelli: SANDRO. I did not know his given name. See his "Birth of Venus".
54A: Pointer, for one: BIRD DOG. Do you like Everly Brother's "BIRD DOG"? I like their "Bye Bye Love".
Down:
5D: President after Polk: TAYLOR. Polk's middle inital K stands for KNOX.
8D: Wiesbaden wails: ACHS. See this ACH list. ACH so!
9D: Evan from Indiana: BAYH. I can never remember how to spell Senator BAYH's name. He was on Obama's VP search list.
10D: Philippines port: ILOILO. No idea. It's also the capital city of ILOILO Province. It's so named because of its nose-like shape. "Nose" is "ilong" in local Illonggo languag. See this map. It is known also for its "raw-silk and pineapple-fiber fabrics".
31D: Son of Judah: ONAN. Learned from doing Xword.
34D: Antiquing element: AGER. I don't understand this. What is AGER?
36D: Bamako's land: MALI. Ah, Ali Farka Touré's land. Wonderful "Diaraby".
45D: "Vogue" singer: MADONNA. I guessed. I've never heard of "Vogue" before. She is divorcing Guy Ritchie.
48D: Livened (up): PERKED
C.C.
87 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and fellow miscreants - got through this one without the g-spot, but had several cases of perp-assist. Didn't know 'Iloilo' or Sandro Botticelli, couldn't remember Sidney Lumet's last name, and never watched Family Ties.
Phillies got screwed big-time last night; what should've been the happiest day in this city in 25 years got eradicated because MLB has a total dolt for a commissioner.
Hope it's a good day for the rest of you - cold/rainy here.
Good morning CC etal,
I really enjoyed this one - so many refreshingly new clues & answers - got hung up around "iloilo", "isopod" and "rapine" crosses. Had to google "Lumet" (CC: it's a great film, you should check it out - very tense with terrific acting) and "Sandro".
Hope all have a great day!
Dennis,
I still don't understand the AGER (34D) clue. Sorry the game was suspended last night. I cannot remember anything great Bud Selig has done (except the interleague play and wild card). He wanted to contract Twins in 2001.
Chris,
Thanks. I am going to netflix "12 Angry Men". Do you know why the title "Eight Men Out" instead of "8 Men Out"?
Calef,
I had no idea that ACME, DOGMA, PHOBIA and KUDOS are all derived from the Greek.
Embine,
D'oh! Now I understand your NED Flanders' link. I am slow. Thanks for the patience.
c.c., I think an 'ager' is any treatment that gives something an antique (old) look.
CC:
No clue on "8" vs. "Eight" - I hope you enjoy "12 Angry Men" (one of my top 25 all time).
BTW, "ager" stumped me, too. I wanted some sort of chemical, but then re-looked at the word with a different pronunciation - think "age-er". Not the best clue, IMHO, a little over-tricky.
I knew yesterday was a teaser! Today was not real tough but enough so I had to get a second cup of coffee!
1a and 3d; had no clue 'til I came here.
RAPINE; Never heard or saw it but it was the only thing that would make the others right. I put it in and lo and behold I was right. That's one of those WAG's.
54a; Originally I put in FINGERS, but later had to take them out!
On that note I'll say,
CY'all later.
Haven't had much computer work for three weeks and yesterday, in less than an hour, three came through the door! So I guess I should go to work!
Morning, folks!
Well, I almost made it through this one unscathed, but in the end the crossing of ILOILO and ISOPOD proved my undoing. Both words were completely unknown to me, and I ended up with ILOILE and ISOPED as my best guesses. Of course, at first I actually had OSOPED because I was convinced that 24D and 44D were TOP and DOG, respectively. When DOG didn't fit, I realized it was actually TOP TOP, which irked me to no end until I realized it was really TIP TOP after all.
Other words I didn't know (but was able to able to get via the perps) were BAYH and, well, actually that was it. Just BAYH, ILOILO and ISOPOD. Not bad, but enough to derail me.
*sigh*
As for AGER, I have seen it many times over the years. In crossword puzzles, that is. Even though I understand what it is supposed to mean, I am convinced that it was invented by a crossword puzzle constructor and has never actually been used in any other context in real life conversation. Just file it alongside ORT and ADIT for future reference...
Morning all,
I had a difficult time with this one. For some reason the middle gave me lots of problems.
Total frustrations with last night's game. Should have been called after 5th inning. Didn't know of the new rule. It's raining now in Philly so I don't know when the game will continue.
Cold-rainy here, too. No walk today. Guess I will have to consider a gym membership for the winter.
Oh! AGER. Several years ago I worked in a furniture store and sometimes we'd receive pieces that were damaged. Instead of sending them back we'd get a deal on them and repair.
There are all kinds of materials and tools that can be used to make a piece of furniture look antique.
Chemicals. stains, icepicks, very tiny drill bits, and let's not forget chains, to make the dents that come from heavy usage over time.
On a day when one is really frustrated about something, it may be good therapy to ANTIQUE a piece of furniture!!
Good morning Cc, DFs and DFettes...nice to be back home after a long visit with my daughter and her family. Got to the horse show and watched my granddaughter win three ribbons without any spills on the jumps. Now I can relax.
Today's puzzle was a nice one to work after being gone for a few days. The NE corner gave me the most trouble as I did not know 10d and I had screams for 21a which screwed up the entire area. I also had elle for 45a and that gave me a lot of trouble getting madonna. Finally got over the DUH moment and put mlle and then the rest fell into place.
The perps allowed me to get all of the other fills which is a good thing because there were a few others I was not sure of.
Rain, wet and cold here today. Hope you all have a brighter day than here. Dennis I am afraid you will be getting this weather later today. Go Phills!
Good morning.
First off, the new picture is of the pumpkin I carved last night for Halloween. Hopy you can see it. Dennis thinks I have too much time on my hands.
A bit of a struggle in the middle with rapine and isopod. Don't know why "size" didn't click (maybe I was thinking Roman numerals).
The rest of the puzzle was easy, especially the theme answers. I did take zig zag and tip top as part of the theme even though they were split up.
Today is the day to break out your stuffed animals because it is Plush Animal Lover's Day. I just love soft cuddly things.
Cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney, 1793 (patent was applied for.)
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri was completed, 1965.
Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Cleveland, 1886.
Have a great Tuesday.
23 minutes 39 seconds... but I stopped for a while to watch a Pussycats Doll video on TV. Plus I was making a lot of notes.
I wanted FONT for PICA, SHRIEKS for SHRILLS (which gave me a lot of letters), YUK for ICK, MUSSEL for ISOPOD (especially as MUSSELS was in yesterday's puzzle), CREW for OXEN and WAR for WEB (I misread WWW as WWII). I can into trouble with the intersection of ISOPOD, RAPINE, ONAN and REPEG, especially as there were so many possibilities for "refasten" (REZIP, RECAP, REBAG and RETAG to name a few).
ILIOLO and ENERU were gimmes for me because I lived in the Philippines for two years and, besides, my wife is Filipino.
Martin
C.C.,
A while ago, you asked for the meaning of "Ah so!" but I forgot to respond. "Aso!" is Japanese and it means "So it is!" It's one of those expressions that sounds in English like what it means in Japanese (ie, "Ah! So it is!") I think you said Charlie Chan said that in his movies. (I've never seen a Charlie Chan movie.) There are two possibilities:
1) The people who write Charlie Chan movies knew the expression from watching other movies where wise old Asian men said "Aso!" These Asian men may have been intended as Japanese. Charlie Chan wasn't Japanese but Chinese so having him say "Aso" was a mistake.
2) Charlie Chan spoke English so why not Japanese? I will say things like "Qu'est que c'est? Wo bu zhidao!" instead of "What is it? I don't know!" when nobody is around or I'll say "katol" (from Filipino) when something is itchy or "sakit" when something hurts and then there's the things I say to my wife... but I know you don't want to hear about any of that.
Personally, I think it was a mistake but I could be wrong: somebody might have known "aso" was Japanese but thought it would be something Charlie Chan might say anyway.
Martin
Good morning c.c. and all -
In answer to your question as to why all large sizes (30d), I believe an attempt was being made to make us think it had something to do with Roman Numerals - so SM or LG or any other variant wouldn't have accomplished the misdirection. ;-)
I had problems as a lot of the other commenters did with ILOILO, SANDRO, and RAPINE. I didn't notice any comments about how wrong "SHRILLS" seems for piercing sounds (21a). Try using it in a sentence... "I heard some shrills coming from the parking lot." for example. It doesn't do well as a noun.
Other than that, pretty good puzzle with a well executed theme!
Good morning, C.C. and all.
I thought this was going to be a wishy-washy puzzle and then the center clues tried to whup my butt.
I had to use a lot of Bill's WAGs today.
I had "POD." I finally realized that XL wasn't a Roman Numeral and got SIZE. I don't play poker so it took a while for NO BET to materialize. Then TIP TOP finally fell into place, and I had enough to guess ONAN and AGER. I did not know the word RAPINE, or all these other clues might have come more easily.
I wanted 'shrieks' for SHRILLS. SANDRO came from the fills, as did ILOILO. I don't care for the use of IDED, or for ABCDE as answers.
The theme answers were easy, but the center of the puzzle was really worth the *sigh* that Barry gave, and more.
Dick, it's nice to see you back. Congratulations to a very talented seven year old. I'm sure you're wildly proud of her! *S*
Carl...I think it was Carl....maybe it was Buckeye... I think we're past the point where we have to worry about being "late." My mother lets me stay out past midnight now. *G*
We had our first hard frost last night. We usually see it much earlier in the year. Now we're at the point where it's time to put the gardens and lawns to bed.
Have a great day, my friends!
I agree that SHRILL seems odd, but my dictionary lists it first as a verb, next as an adjective, and finally as a noun (e.g., "the SHRILL of a ship's whistle"). So it's valid.
I still don't like it very much, of course...
According to grammar rules numbers below ten are written as words and above ten are written as numbers. Don't know why. Where is John Underwood from. I know it is a common name. Just curious.
34 down is ager as in aging element
Good morning C.C. and gang. I'm usually pretty good at reading Roman numerals, so when they just didn't make sense, SIZE came to me, which allowed me to get ZIG ZAG and solve a few problems. I knew Pandora's box was EVILS, but I, too, tried to put shrieks in for 21A. In general, the middle was a muddle.
Word of the day: Eldritch /EL dritch/ adjective weird, eerie
The moans of the abandoned house gave the teen-agers eldritch feelings.
@Martin Uh? Eneru for 66A? I'm sure you meant Enero to go with TKOS. (Just wanted you to know someone reads your posts. Chuckle)
Barry: Two of the words you think are found only in cw puzzles are words that I know. My mother, a Canadian, used "ort" to mean leftovers. My late first husband, a geologist, talked about "adits" once in a while. That's also why I know words like gneiss.
I think it is a journalism rule, not a grammatical one, to write out numbers ten or less and to use the numerical notation for numbers above ten. A picky point. But I am like that. (See Eats, Shoots and Leaves.)
Re: Pandora's box. I posted a truly stupid question about Cassandra. Then googled it and found how wrong I was. So I deleted it.
I couldn't get evils; I kept thinking ills, or troubles. Was totally lost in NE corner. Agree that IDED is not a good one. Thought self for 16A, and never got off from Roman numerals for 30D. Even noted 40,30,20 In the margin. It didn't help.
I knew this puzzle would be wishy washy for me when I had to google 1A. Then I crissed and I crossed and then zigged and zagged and was able to finish with perps. When finished, my racks were perked to see stab, tip and size. Good day afterall.
mark - Buenos Aires
a Pointer is a Gun dog in UK, but bird dog was gettable.
To me a "sharp turn" is a hairpin bend. To be a "zig zag" needs to be sharp "s" bends, or a series of sharp bends ie plural "sharp turns"
The Vikings came to rape and plunder northern Britain. From school days I thought the rape was to do with abuse of women, so I didnt know that the nouns plunder and rapine were synonomous.
Have a good day all.
Cokato - "racks were perked?" That can have serious connotations.
Good Morning All, Like Kittyb and others, it was the middle of this puzzle that caused me problems. REPEG, ISOPOD, RAPINE, AGER, ONAN, and SANDRO. I finally had to check on the spelling of ILOILO because I wasn't sure of the last letter. I couldn't have figured out ISOPOD without it.
Anon@8:17 explained about writing out numbers under 10 and double digits being numerals. I asked the same question on this blog a couple of months ago. I wish I could remember who came to my rescue and explained it then.
Sallie, Pandora's Box LOL...You should have pretended it was one of the obvious answers category that sometimes shows up on "Jeopardy". Never mind, we all have "brain freeze" at one time or another
Since the Series is going to go on (sorry Phillies fans), here's another baseball (kinda) poem. It even has the word SHRILL as a nice obedient adjective.
The Great Mississippi
Up from the grasslands,
The plains, the cities,
Up from the vastness of the land itself:
Up Up Up
To the Great Mississippi.
Up to that First Field bathed in the sun,
Basking in the glory of its birth
Immersed in future time.
Further up slides the sun.
Up to the Red Stockings from Cincinnati,
The original Magnificent Machine,
The dynasty without a future.
Up to the National Association,
Swaying in its greatness.
Further up slides the sun.
Through the mouth of history slide provocative names
Once breathed on the lips of dreamers.
In what fine grave do the Elizabeth Resolutes
Troy Haymakers,
And Lord Baltimores now rest?
Up, moving up to expanding cities pocketed
In gray concrete.
(Can you hear the shrill and melodic chant of the Train Conductor calling out his roll?)
:NewYawkHartfordBosstonPhilaDELphia
LouievilleCINCINnatiShecargo and Saint Louieeeeee.
Up up up
Up to the Great Mississippi.
- Jordan A. Deutsch
drdad, you're telling me! Living in Minnesota my racks get perked quite often.
Good morning c.c., DF’s and all! A nice, challenging puzzle today (and nice to have some time to do it, also); I also got stuck in the NE corner- I had no idea what an ISOPOD was or if it’s edible, the Philippine port and 12d gave me fits (kept wanting SINS). I also would have liked 3d clued “_____ en place”, a culinary term meaning ‘in its place’ or the set up one needs to complete a job.
This will be my last post about the weather, as we’re coming to the time where living in Florida has it’s perks- today’s low was 52, the high today will be 70 and not a cloud in the sky. This report will change sometime around April, so enjoy the winter.
@drdad- Great pumpkin! I have absolutely no skills when it comes to that, so I am jealous and in awe. And yes, you have too much time on your hands.
@martin- taking notes while watching the Pussycat Dolls? Hmmmm..
@dennis- I understand your frustration, but what else were they to do? Decide the WS in the 5th? As dumb as it is, I think they made the right decision. And when they do get to play it will be great baseball- both managers throwing out the sink for a 3 inning season.
Re last night- just what a man likes to see, just stick the head in and all the girls know. Thank you, ladies.
For your entertainment- here’s a clip of the guitarist I was in Ft. Lauderdale Sunday night. Enjoy.
Buckethead 'Soothsayer'
xchefwalt, what they should've done is postpone the game. They knew an hour ahead of game time that the rain was moving in and that the storm extended all the way to Virginia. They simply bowed to the pressure from Fox.
good morning c.c. and all,
a few pauses today, but managed to get it all filled in. did not know 'shrills' could be a noun. liked how tip top and zig zag crossed in the center.. clever. and we got evils on the right again.
@xchefwalt: love buckethead. i use his mellower stuff in my massage room - very moody.
C.C.,
In proper writing usage one through nine are written out while 10 and above are numbered.
Dennis,
We was robbed!
Good Morning C.C.and everyone, got through this with some help from Mr. G.,I am sorry to have to admit.
Rapine,Iloilo and Isopod were all new to me. I also thought "shrills" and "ided" were poor.
Dick, congrats to your grand-daughter! So glad she did not get hurt.
Drdad, Great Pumpkin!! Charlie Brown would be thrilled.
Cokato, we sure had fun in the shed last night, but don't you think we should let the guys back in? They were so pitiful pi--ing and moaning out in the bushes. We could generate "shrills" and "bites" and maybe some "acobatics" too...would help if the shed were larger though.
xchefwalt, good to see you here again and last night in the 'ol shed. Carol, you are assuming we will be doing something naughty that we will have to go to the shed automatically. After reading back I guess we both did. See you there, bring more whiskey this time. Boys, the doors are wide open! Drdad, so you like soft cuddly things?
I think I have finally gotten my pic on the blog. It wouldn't accept tiff, so my husband had to convert it to jpeg. I hope it's up.
@dennis- I see you point- I just think if they would have cancelled the game and for some reason it didn’t rain then there would have been more crap than now. I just heard that tonight’s game is cancelled also. Tomorrow looks good.
@mellissa- if you haven’t done so, you need to see him live. I haven’t seen anything like that since the Romantic Warrior tour with Al Dimeola, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark and Alan White.
Nice picture Sallie. I like how the sunlight comes through the slats in the blinds.
For those of you interested, game 5 of the World Series has just been pushed to tomorrow night. Wind chill factor's supposed to be in the 20's tomorrow night - should be interesting.
Good morning C.C. & all
Thank goodness for perps and strong guesses! Several overwrites again today but got to the coveted blackout without 'G'... hooray!
@Mark - IMHO - your cut on the zig zag, esses, and hairpins is correct.
@sirens - I knew from the # count it was going to be an early night so I took a nap! If you want to hold it against me, I'm game. @walt - don't let it go to your 'head'! Your rustlin' in the bushes is what woke me up.
@cokato - perky rack... hmmmmm. Or is it 'racks' as you said? I always get discombuberated by the fine points... and with that, I'll be in the shed until May.
@bill - re your 6:51AM - your 'ager' tools are almost identical to the stuff the girls keep bringing to the 'shed... not that I'm complaining you understand!
@kittyb - Not me, not me! That was the buckster.
@duggelsmack - good post! If you're new, welcome. If not, I apologize for not seeing your name before.
Have a good day y'all. I check in later if the count is good.
Carl, 1:12pm boy, I guess we did you in. You better double up on those little blue boys for tonight!
Hi all!
I'm late today as I had a meeting this morning and then got my hair cut.
I fouled up in the middle too, as well as not having time to g or mull over enough to get lumet. Size remained blank because of the Roman numeral confusion. I also didn't like ided, though guessed it easily.
Don't watch the games, but thoroughly enjoyed Boston Legal last night--what a hoot! Gerry dressed as little Bo Peep for halloween and Denny and Alan at the dude ranch!
Wisconsin has already had its first freeze and temps this week are barely in the 50's.
Kazie, here in MN we had our first freeze too. I was smart enough to bring in my rosemary, thyme and chives. Lost the last of my basil though, and dried all my oregano. It got to 22 degrees last night.
CArl, Just be verrrry careful of those tools in the dark. Someone could get chained up or poked!!!
And we certainly wouldn't want any casualties!
@cokato,
That's got us beat--our lowest so far was 28 I think. My chives are still OK outside, and I have nowhere to keep it going in the house. I have found I can freeze it in small amounts prechopped in baggies. And I made several batches of basil pesto with xchefwalt's recipe, some of which I also froze. But it doesn't keep at all--every time I get some out, my husband starts wolfing it down, using it to spread on bread or crackers. So I have to be stingy with it or I won't ever get to use it in cooking!
Hi C.C etal.
Middle was tough for me . I then put brickaback for 62a . That was it for me.
Best of luck to all you baseball fans.
Geri
Absolutely I like soft cuddly things!!
I grow my herbs in pots so I can easily move them in the house during the winter. I just never have enough basil though. It seems I use it as fast as it grows!
We had parsley in a pot outside last year, and it was lousy, but I nursed it through winter inside, and then put it in the ground outside. This year it went wild. But I don't have a lot of places to collect sun for plants indoors, so I resigned myself to just buying more in the spring.
Martin,
Thanks for "Ah so". I think in Chinese we say "Ah, zhe yang".
Dugglesmack,
Great to hear from you again. I was actually thinking of Superbowl when I saw XL, XXL and XXXL.
Dr. Dad,
Somehow the scene of the silent moon, the lonely cat and the broke fence touched me deeply.
Anonymous @ 8:17am,
Thanks for the film number response. John Underwood is from New York, NY.
Ken,
Eldritch looks so weird and eerie itself.
Sallie,
I tend to confuse Cassandra with Casanova.
Mark,
Great point on ZIGZAG.
Carl,
"Where am I and what am I doing in this handbasket". What does it mean? What's your definition of a "coveted blackout"?
dugglesmack, I haven't seen your name before so I want to say welcome!
Sallie, cute picture! It's nice to "see" you :)
Our Portland Trailblazers play their 1st game of the season tonight. This is what I enjoy as far as sports go. Baseball is ok, but moves too slow for my knowledge of the game.
I guess you guys can enter the shed tonight, we gals will bring extra booze and other "accoutrements", you bring your "toys" and we'll all play house! Yee Haw!
Brrrr, Those freezing temperatures sound pretty uncomfortable to me. Even with all the heat that is generated inside, I certainly hope C.C.'s shed has central heating.
I'm with Xchefwalt about the weather. Our California fire season is pretty much over, along with the 100° temperatures. We are having a lovely 80° day and our low tonight is predicted to be around 50°. No wonder this is my favorite time of the year.
Xchef, I love the "Pumpkins Who Drink Too Much" photo.
Drdad, That is some pumpkin! How long did it take you to carve it?
Kazie, A big Yes for last night's "Boston Legal". It is so funny and yet always touches on controversial themes. I hope the boys "in the shed" with those blue pills don't have the same problem as Denny Crane did.
Just checking to see if my new photo posted.
Clear ayes, ya know, if we treat those boys in the shed right, they won't need those silly blue pills! :) I'll bring electric blankets too.
Carol, maybe electric blankets aren't the best idea. Remember the water sports??
drdad re your 10:58 post. I guess that could also be "racks were peaked".
clear ayes,
I can't remember when I've had two laughs all in one day as good as B.L. last night and the cake recipe yesterday. But here's another cute one:
HDTV changeover
13:44 today. A slog from start to finish. Didn't know OLIN or ELYSE (gotten via the crosses).
42a: Quart fractions (PTS) should have had some indication that the answer was abbreviated, I think.
68a: ABA members (ATTS) is kinda lame. Since when have you seen ATTS instead of ATTYS for abbreviated attorneys? Let me answer that: never.
That said, the theme answers were clever and fit nicely in the grid, so all-in-all, I enjoyed it, even though it took me forever (13:44)to solve.
I got home late after dinner out and was amazed to see they were still playing baseball in those conditions. This is supposed to be the World Series--playing for the championship--and they are ankle-deep in water in some spots. I don't care how much money they get from Fox, that is a travesty to the game.
Cokato, first let me say your new picture is really cute!! Now, you are correct, I forgot about the water sports, we'll just have to warm those boys up ourselves...shouldn't be difficult! (I was going to say hard, but that evokes a whole new picture, and not an image we want.) They'll be that way soon enough:)
Kazie, thanks so much for that HDTV clip. LMAO.
RE: Comments
For those who have posted for three or more times today, please save your comments to tomorrow. Thanks.
C.C. You asked for a take on "Where am I and what am I doing in this handbasket" that I used in a post yesterday. If you'll recall, I was expressing displeasure over the state of politics in this country. The expression comes from "going to hell in a handbasket" which means everything is going downhill. That phrase might apply to anything that is deteriorating in condition from "my body" to "a car destined for the junkyard" to "politics in this country". If you add 'where am I' it's simply questioning why you're along for the ride. I have no clue where the phrase came from but it is widely used today and even appears on bumper stickers. In that application it usually says "where am I going and what am I doing in this basket". It probably has deep roots back in history but I don't think you'll find it on 'G'. It's just street slang that seems to have evolved from the 16th century where the phrase "going to heaven in a wheelbarrow" seems to have originated. They both seem to mean the same thing.
Question part two: Coveted means highly desired. In my usage, blackout means filling in all the boxes with correct letters and thereby completing the puzzle.
& Since I just burned a count anyway;
@bill - Son, you're preaching to the choir! The girls never let us(males) get our hands on aging tools. We're always the test dummies. And yes, they have aged us.
ttfn
Would have gotten the puzzle if it were not for my paper service cutting off the bottom of some clues. only got 5D from the across fills and had no idea on 36D, 50D, and 63D got from across fills. So I had no idea what their clues were.
Hi C. C. and all,
Not to bad of a puzzle today. Was not familair with Lumet and "mise en scene". Have seen isopod before as have rapine.
in re to last evening's comment about Lois and I having a lot of the same interest: Yes, I did check her profile and observed that we both are involved in bowling and pool. Going by other posters' comments, I don't know if this is a good thing or not.
re: cokato's perky racks Sounds like the woodshed is a very interesting place to be. All I know about the women of MN is that they put so many blankets on the bed that they hurt my feet. They love the "crushed" feeling.
richshif, you almost made me fall outta my chair - in your description of lois' profile, I misread "bowling".
Yes, I'll be guarding the woodshed from far beneath it...
Good evening CC & DF's: This puzzle 'esso'so. Thanks for the links CC. That was some swim suit!
Cokato: Great pic. What's in the cup?
drdad: You are so talented! Wow, who knew! Can't wait to see the next one. Do you trim bushes?Edward Scissorhands style?
Dick: congrat's to your girl! That is so dang exciting, isn't it? I love it!
Walt: good to see you pokin' back in. You were missed!
Where's Buckeye? Is he in the shed or under it??
And Argyle? Computer trouble again?
Well, since most of you are 'out', I'll just join you in the 'shed w/my supply of drinks for all and my large, soft cuddly things..uh, pillows. The guys can bring the munchies...I'm thinkin' nuts and fruit.
Party on!
What can I say, Lois. I prefer the bedroom to the woodshed.
Arbyle
Dennis: LMAO..that is hysterical! Leave it to you to misread one of my good clean indoor activities. Of course, I'm not saying you're totally wrong in your error, however.
richshif: Are you 8 ball or 9? Where do you play across the JRB?
Lois, that was at a foodshow after the night before "appreciate your business" party. Definitely coffee in there. Hey girls, lets head out to the shed and have some fun. We can discuss it in the morning. Richshif, not too many blankets here and no flannels either. I am kind of hot blooded living in this weather. Shoot 60 degrees is shorts weather here.
Ladies, please watch where you walk. And wear skirts.
Good afternoon, everyone. I had an early flight to Boise this morning, so the newspaper wasn't even here when I left the house. Back home in Portland now, and I found this one to be a bit of a bear! I finally went to Mr. G to finish this one off.
Did not know LUMET, MISE, ELYSE, RAPINE (should have known that one!), SANDRO, and ILOILO. Could ILOILO be considered a theme answer as well? On 30D, I think all big sizes so solvers would think Roman numerals. I know I did!!
Yes, that is a very sexy bathing suit!
On 34D, an AGER is something that makes an item look older. Some people distress furniture to make it look more like an actual antique with real wear and tear from being around for a long time.
@bill FINGERS -- LOL
Cokato's got perked racks! That's what I always think of when I see the word PERKY (Miss March 1966).
@mark. We had a road back in Ohio named Zig Zag Road, and all of the corners were right angles, which is a very sharp turn.
@xchefwalt Good to see you!
@sallie Yes, your pic is there.
@cokato Nice new pic!
@embien In the printed puzzle, the clue for 42A was Qt. fractions -- must have been an error on the online version.
@michael Did you try to find the clues online? I almost had the same situation the other day when the left hand edge of the clues were missing, but they were only turned under, so I actually had them.
Hope to be back to more regular posting tomorrow. Have a good evening/night.
@Lois 8-ball play on APA league at Q-Masters on Monday evenings.
O.K. If I'm headed to the woodshed, I might as well jump in with both feet. When my wife has perky racks, she says she is cold and leave her alone. I don't understand a Thief River Falls MN girl not handling this VA weather. Says it is a different type of cold. Headed to the woodshed and have a selction of wine from Naked Mountain Vineyards, their motto ....Drink Naked!
BTW Dennis, be careful you don't want to reinjure that toe falling out of your chair.
richshif: Welcome to the 'shed. Me too (8 ball). How are you ranked? I'm all of a 4...whoo hoo! out of Break Away in NN. Absolutely love the game. Past that, I like what and how you drink. You are definately 'shed qualified.
Dennis: a skirt? we'll be overdressed! Refer to richshif's last comment.
Arbyle: (that 'b' cracks me up): is your preference at all negotiable?
@Lois,
I'm a 3. Years ago I moved up to a 4 and lost every match. Put back as a 3 and have been there since. I don't understand why as my win/lose record is very good. Seems like my matches may take a lot of innings.
I've been holding off on my third post of the day to see if Buckeye would show up with that poem he was talking about last night. If he logs up now, I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to put in my 2 cents worth.
Richshif, I suppose you know about Landon Shuffet, the (now) 10 year old pool expert. I used to play "just for the fun of it" pool with G.A.H., but there isn't any place close by now. I am always impressed by anybody who can do the math. Figuring those angles is very tough.
Have a good evening everyone.
clear ayes, Thanks for the link. Heard of him but don't follow enough to know many famous players. Although, Jeanette Lee, woodshed, Hmmmmmmmmm????
Now you lowlifes are censored to just posting up to 3 to 4 times on this blog. New it would catch up to you one of these days. You have ruined this crossword blogsight or have fixed it; I am going to say fixed it. First limited to 100 now your debachery can only be limited to a couple of posts. Bravo for you C.C. for raining in what originally was for x-w solvers.
Good job C.C. now the repeat offenders are afrade to coment on your blog. Their are a lot of repeat offenders if I count write.
what the hell is going on here....? Is anon at 8:56 and 9:02 running this blog? He/she/it cannot even spell!!!!I don't care if I am over the limit!!!
hey, ignore anon and the phony misspelling - i think we all know who it is, and the need for attention. if we all ignore it, it goes away. Just recognize baiting for what it is.
Carol, my centiments exactly. I was just heading out to the shed for a soak and a ??? (who knows until you get there) and I read this first to see what I should bring. Give anon bait though, and there he/she goes. I will e-mail you and others tomorrow to come up with an alternative to our non-crossword bantering. As far as I am concerned, that is as much fun as attempting the crossword, which is why we all know each other anyway.
Geez just realized I mis-spelled sentiments. Please don't think I am aennon asshole.
Cokato, I don't have your e-mail addr. but mine is on my profile,as you know. We can have fun with this another place. Talk to you to you and everyone else tomorrow. I'm through here.
It never ceases to amaze me the extent that some poor pathetic creatures will go to for attention.
test
We always try to be polite here when we know that the spelling is a typographical error, but when it is obviously pure uneducated ignorance....
Incorrect: new
Correct: knew
Incorrect: blogsight
Correct: blog site
Incorrect: debachery
Correct: debauchery
Incorrect: raining
Correct: reining
Incorrect: afrade
Correct: afraid
Incorrect: coment
Correct: comment
Incorrect: their
Correct: there
Incorrect: write
Correct: right
Again - our anon friend is desperate for attention - if we ignore her, she goes away. And the spelling errors are intentional.
Thanks Carol and Carl for the welcome, and thanks c.c. for remembering me!
I don't show up all that often. It's usually when a puzzle stumps me, makes me mad, or if I'm just curious what other folks have to say about a word or clue I thought was a bit irregular. That's when I'll pop in and pop off! I always enjoy reading all of the comments you guys make, and of course occasionally I'll learn something!
later...
I had a bit of trouble with this puzzle because my local paper left out several clues!?!?
I haven't been around a newspaper to do the crossword in two months and when I return I get stumped because of a stupid error.
Very frustrating.
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