Theme: Hits for the Cycle
20A: Mom or pop, but not both: SINGLE PARENT
34A: Two fold setback: DOUBLE WHAMMY
44A: Three-pronged attack: TRIPLE THREAT
60A: "Breezing Up" painter: WINSLOW HOMER
Wow, a cycle, and a natural cycle! Wikipedia says "There have been 14 natural cycles in the major leagues." And the last player to hit for the natural cycle is Brad Wilkerson of Montreal Expos (June 24, Expos versus the Pirates).
I am not familiar with "Breezing Up" or WINSLOW HOMER. I only wish that the entry for 60A started with HOMER* to be consistent with other theme answers.
I don't like the clue for EARNS (9D: Takes home) due to HOMER. I hope it's a SILKY (25A: Soft and lustrous) puzzle to you. The intersection of AQI & AQUINO gave me lots of trouble. And I struggled with lower right corner.
Across:
8A: Mock: JEER AT
14A: EPA pollution measure: AQI (Air Quality Index). Barry crossed AQI with AQABA (Red Sea gulf) in his last puzzle. Really hard crossing with AQUINO (2D: Woman of the Year). Corazo AQUINO succeeded Marcos and she was Time's 1986 Woman of the Year.
16A: Mexican state on the Pacific: OAXACA. Have you been here before? What's the origin of this name OAXACA?
19A: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Of Denmark and Norway. Singular form: KRONE.
23A: Hydroxyl-carbon compound: ENOL. I am used to the "Organic compound" clue.
29A: Bandanna: DO-RAG. Interesting word origin from Wikipedia: "A popular folk etymology claims that the term derives from drive-on rag, a term first used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War to refer to a mulim bandage often used as a head covering."
50A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. I always wonder why Corning did not sue Anchor Hocking for its Fire-King brand. PYREX is Greek for Fire-King after all.
54A: Coral segment: POLYP. New to me. Which segment is POLYP? Is it edible?
63A: Kyoto garment: KIMONO
66A: Supercomputer maker: CRAY. I forgot. CRAY appeared in our puzzle before.
67A: Mystery man: MR. X
71A: Weekend follower: MONDAY. Ah, "MONDAY MONDAY".
Down:
1D: Ran out: LAPSED
3D: Sicilian sir: SIGNOR. It's Xian Sheng in Chinese.
7D: Talk of Toledo: ESPANOL. See this Top 30 Languages of the World. #2 for ESPANOL.
10D: Unusual stuff: EXOTICA. So close to EROTICA.
22D: Like some films: RATED R
26D: __ Linda, CA: LOMA. New to me. See this map. What is it famous for?
27D: J-O connection: KLMN. I suppose there is no other way to clue to this string of letters.
28D: "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood": YAYA. Have you seen the movie?
32D: Too, too cute: TWEE. No idea. It does not sound "Too, too cute" to me. In fact, it does not sound cute at all.
45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?
46D: Grumman fighter plane: HELLCAT. Here is a picture. I've never heard of it before.
53D: Persian victor at Thermopylae: XERXES. XERXES I to be exact. I am not familiar with him or the Battle of Thermopylae, which is "one of history's most famous last stands" according to Wikipedia. General Patton did mention this battle in the movie "Patton", but I did not pay attention to it.
55D: Nina's sister ship: PINTA. And Santa Maria.
63D: Rudyard Kipling novel: KIM. I got it from across fills. Have never heard of this novel before. More than 1/5 of Koreans have KIM as their surname, including Kim Jong-il.
64D: Union contract?: I DO. I like this clue. I DO.
C.C.
20A: Mom or pop, but not both: SINGLE PARENT
34A: Two fold setback: DOUBLE WHAMMY
44A: Three-pronged attack: TRIPLE THREAT
60A: "Breezing Up" painter: WINSLOW HOMER
Wow, a cycle, and a natural cycle! Wikipedia says "There have been 14 natural cycles in the major leagues." And the last player to hit for the natural cycle is Brad Wilkerson of Montreal Expos (June 24, Expos versus the Pirates).
I am not familiar with "Breezing Up" or WINSLOW HOMER. I only wish that the entry for 60A started with HOMER* to be consistent with other theme answers.
I don't like the clue for EARNS (9D: Takes home) due to HOMER. I hope it's a SILKY (25A: Soft and lustrous) puzzle to you. The intersection of AQI & AQUINO gave me lots of trouble. And I struggled with lower right corner.
Across:
8A: Mock: JEER AT
14A: EPA pollution measure: AQI (Air Quality Index). Barry crossed AQI with AQABA (Red Sea gulf) in his last puzzle. Really hard crossing with AQUINO (2D: Woman of the Year). Corazo AQUINO succeeded Marcos and she was Time's 1986 Woman of the Year.
16A: Mexican state on the Pacific: OAXACA. Have you been here before? What's the origin of this name OAXACA?
19A: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Of Denmark and Norway. Singular form: KRONE.
23A: Hydroxyl-carbon compound: ENOL. I am used to the "Organic compound" clue.
29A: Bandanna: DO-RAG. Interesting word origin from Wikipedia: "A popular folk etymology claims that the term derives from drive-on rag, a term first used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War to refer to a mulim bandage often used as a head covering."
50A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. I always wonder why Corning did not sue Anchor Hocking for its Fire-King brand. PYREX is Greek for Fire-King after all.
54A: Coral segment: POLYP. New to me. Which segment is POLYP? Is it edible?
63A: Kyoto garment: KIMONO
66A: Supercomputer maker: CRAY. I forgot. CRAY appeared in our puzzle before.
67A: Mystery man: MR. X
71A: Weekend follower: MONDAY. Ah, "MONDAY MONDAY".
Down:
1D: Ran out: LAPSED
3D: Sicilian sir: SIGNOR. It's Xian Sheng in Chinese.
7D: Talk of Toledo: ESPANOL. See this Top 30 Languages of the World. #2 for ESPANOL.
10D: Unusual stuff: EXOTICA. So close to EROTICA.
22D: Like some films: RATED R
26D: __ Linda, CA: LOMA. New to me. See this map. What is it famous for?
27D: J-O connection: KLMN. I suppose there is no other way to clue to this string of letters.
28D: "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood": YAYA. Have you seen the movie?
32D: Too, too cute: TWEE. No idea. It does not sound "Too, too cute" to me. In fact, it does not sound cute at all.
45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?
46D: Grumman fighter plane: HELLCAT. Here is a picture. I've never heard of it before.
53D: Persian victor at Thermopylae: XERXES. XERXES I to be exact. I am not familiar with him or the Battle of Thermopylae, which is "one of history's most famous last stands" according to Wikipedia. General Patton did mention this battle in the movie "Patton", but I did not pay attention to it.
55D: Nina's sister ship: PINTA. And Santa Maria.
63D: Rudyard Kipling novel: KIM. I got it from across fills. Have never heard of this novel before. More than 1/5 of Koreans have KIM as their surname, including Kim Jong-il.
64D: Union contract?: I DO. I like this clue. I DO.
C.C.
68 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and gang. Even with a hangover that's threatening my remaining sanity, it was nice seeing a Silk puzzle today. The only thing that threw me for a moment was 'Kroner'; had no idea that was the plural form of 'Krone'. I thought 'the cycle' was a very clever theme.
c.c., Hellcats were one of the premier American fighters during WWII.
The b-day celebration yesterday was a lot of fun, albeit a bit subdued compared to previous years. The consensus was the economy and the election were the biggest factors, the election because of the implications for servicemen, and the troops in the 'sandbox' in particular. All in all, though, it was great seeing old friends and sharing war stories, etc.
Happy Veterans' Day to everyone that served; please take a minute today to think about all those who never made it home - they are our true heroes.
Have an outstanding day.
Dennis,
I am glad you had a great time yesterday. Thanks for pointing out KRONER. It completely escaped me. How weird to pluralize a noun with a letter R. What is "sandbox"? You don't drink beer, right?
Kazie,
Do you know what is rule for plural form in Scandinavian languages? Also, "In fact that is where we were all day today, visiting our son and d-i-l." What is d-i-l?
Ken,
Thanks for the Riff/Lick explanation yesterday. Very educating.
Good morning CC, DFs and DFettes.. I did not know 2D Aquino and for some reason I can never remember AQI so I needed a little help in that area. I also struggled in the SE corner as I did not know 53D Xerxes and did not know 60A Winslow Homer so I needed some help there also. I was trying to make the theme single, double, triple and quadruple which obviously did not work. Other than the above it was smooth sailing.
Dennis welcome back and happy to hear you had a good time. Also, did you get my email on sent Sunday?
CC d-i-l is Daughter in Law
Barry,
Can you give me an example of "Katy bar the door" being used as "as a humorous anachronism -- basically, when somebody is trying to sound old fashioned"?
Crazyhorse,
I guess I was mislead by your ID name. What did you mean by your son "clepped out of calculus as an incoming freshman"? Did he or didn't he take the calculus test?
Clear Ayes,
Thanks for the fine examples on CIRCLE THE WAGONS.
Dick,
Thanks. See, this little thing stumped me. When can we see your picture?
Doesitinink,
I did not know that CULTS are considered "fringe groups". Now I think the clue is pretty good.
Jimbo,
Re: "Katy bar the door". That's a home run explanation. I vodka you!
c.c., the 'sandbox' is the Iraq/Afghanistan theater of operations. And no, never developed a taste for beer. Made the mistake of switching from vodka to rum yesterday.
dick, yes, I did get it, and as soon as the fog lifts and I remember the question, I'll email you. Thanks.
Almost completed this without google: I was able to guess at the I in AQI and SIGNOR, the A in DOMA and ANA and the T in OTT and TWEE and both POLYP and WINSLOW HOMER came from the perps but I wasn't able to figure out that "Managed" was RAN which meant that I didn't know the second A in OAXACA or the N in KROGER either. Otherwise I think I did fairly well and finished fairly quickly.
C.C., Barry Silk might have considered HOMER SIMPSON as a possible fill but couldn't make it work. Me, I would have wanted SINGLE PARENT to have been SINGLE PARENTING and WINSLOW HOMER to have been QUADRUPLE BYPASS. The HOMER in WINSLOW HOMER wasn't a gimme for me: I wasn't expecting it.
Martin
Good morning. I was here bright and early at 5:30 a.m. EST but the site was still on Monday's Xword. Now I come back and look at the comments ahead of me.
Glad to see you here today, Dennis. It sounds like you had a good time.
Not a bad puzzle today - another sub 10 minute one. Was waiting for the last answer in the theme to be "quadruple" something or other and was a bit (only a little bit) surprised to see "homer." Still, "homer" came at the end of the answer while "single," "double," and "triple" came at the beginning. This would have been a great place for Bart's dad = "Homer Simpson" and that has the same number of letters as "Winslow Homer."
Today is, of course, Veterans Day. It was originally Armistice Day and is still celebrated as such by people in other parts of the world. It is also called Remembrance Day. The U.S. calls it Veterans Day. It is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.
Nothing more need be said about today in history.
Have a great Tuesday.
I am of Danish origin and when my father (who was from Denmark) tried to teach me Danish (which I didn't want to learn) several plural words ended with "R."
Morning, all!
Ayup, super SILKY puzzle for me. One letter short of a pangram, too! Never a Z when you need one, eh?
Absolutely no unknowns for me today for a change, even if some of the answers didn't pop immediately to mind. I remembered AQI from past puzzles, remembered Corazon AQUINO from the news, knew enough Italian to get SIGNOR, have seen various paintings by WINSLOW HOMER at the local museum and have met folks from OAXACA before, so those didn't trip me up. All I know about the name OAXACA is that it is a native Indian word and not a Spanish word. Oh -- and that it is pronounced "wahaka".
The only word that came close to tripping me up (it was the last one I got) was DORAG. I had DORA_ and was still thinking it was supposed to be some sort of flag when I got 30D and it finally clicked. I live in an urban area and have seen these for sale at local stores (in addition to seeing them actually worn, of course).
Have a great one!
Martin,
I am sure Barry Silk considered and discarded HOMER SIMSPON for some reason. I love your SINGLE PARENTING and QUADRUPLE BYPASS. Very creative!
Dr. Dad,
Thanks for the R. I was not aware of this at all. I wonder how German pluralize their nouns. Add S like we do in English/French/Spanish?
Barry,
Yes, Z is woefully absent. OAXACA is so vowel intensive. Do you know how many vowels/consonants in native Indian language?
Bill,
I am glad your operation went successfully yesterday. With your sanguine disposition, you are going to feel 100% in 2 weeks' time. Where does "jiggity jig" come from and what does it mean?
Crockett,
Your 6:48pm post bested Carol and Lois, so DF. Great use of con BRIO.
Argyle,
How did your service with the Marine Corps change your life? Have you ever been to the Tun Tavern?
OAXACA is so vowel intensive. Do you know how many vowels/consonants in native Indian language?
Not really, no. I guess I always assumed it had the same number of vowels and consonants as Spanish, but probably not now that I think about it. I doubt, for example, that the native tongue would have the double RR sound that exists in Spanish. Also, in Spain the letter X is pronounced like in English (eks), whereas in Mexico it is pronounced like an H due to the influence of the native language there. In fact, in Spain the country's name is spelled Mejico in order to preserve the native pronunciation.
Good Morning, C.C. and all.
I love seeing Barry Silk's name pop up on my screen. I completed the puzzle without Googling, but there were a few words that gave me pause.
Once SINGLE was in place, DOUBLE and TRIPLE were easy to get. I, too, wanted 'quadruple' but the W for WINSLOW made it clear the answer was something else.
TWEE is not in my vocabulary. I don't know why, but it brings to mind the word "yar," as used in the "Philadelphia Story." Katherine Hepburn's character is speaking of a sailing ship, and she describes it as "yar." Is TWEE another East Coast word?
It took me a while to come up with the Q in AQUINO and AQI. OAXACA, KRONER and ENOL all fell into place through fills.
I think the HELLCATS were featured in just about every WWII film I've ever seen.
Good to see you made it back, Dennis. We were celebrating in spirit with you.
Bill, I hope you're resting comfortably. If you've been prescribed pain meds, take them early enough that they can do some good. We'll all be watching for you.
dr.dad, I didn't realize you were Danish. One of my nieces has fallen for a Danish boy, and she will be spending Christmas in Denmark with him and his family. She has just turned 18, and it will be the first time she will be away from her family at Christmas.
hmm...I suppose that was TMI, but this group seems like family to me.
And with that, I need to take care of the rest of my family. Have a good day, everyone!
In response to Crockett's last comment on Monday night:
"@kittyb Was there ever any doubt?"
Crockett, as I recall you hid your light under a bushel for a bit, but no......there's no doubt now!*G*
bill, congratulations on the successful surgery; never a doubt.
Hope your vision clears up faster than mine is...
C.C. - German is a bit tougher for plurals. They add letters to the noun in a lot of cases but also the article that precedes it changes as well. An example of this is "The Man" = "Der Mann." Plural "The Men" = "Die Manner."
Also, "The Woman" = "Die Frau." "The Women" = "Die Frauen."
"The Child" = "Das Kind." "The Children" = "Die Kinder."
Hard to keep German straight sometimes.
With regard to TWEE, I believe it is strictly English (i.e., from England) slang. I've never heard it used here on the East Coast, although it certainly could be in the process of migrating over here.
Good morning, C.C. and clan. No problems today, the puzzle just worked itself out. I needed various fills to work the North side, but it finally jelled.
@Bill: Great to hear your good news. It seems all of us were never in doubt.
@Dennis: Glad you had a great time. I still have some old shipmates that I gather with now and then. There isn't any feeling like it. Thanks for your salute to veterans and the moment of silence.
After stopping typing for a bit, here's to the Corps, a great and proud outfit.
PS. Did you ever read "Sledge" by a Texas Marine by that name. He was a rifleman first in Peleliu and then Okinawa. It is arguably the most telling tale of a battlefield environment.
WOTD: CABOTAGE KAB uh tahzh noun
1. trade or transport in coastal waters or airspace or between two points within a country
*2. The right to engage in coastal trade or transport.
Some assert that the problems could be resolved if the government would relax restrictions on cabotage.
c.c.,
d-i-l = daughter-in-law. Sorry, I thought I'd seen that used here before.
The "-er" plurals are common in German too. I don't know the rules in Danish or Swedish, but I knew the word from having traveled there, and I assumed it's like German.
But German does different things to different words for the plural--it's one of the headaches of learning the language, and I don't know if the Scandinavian languages are also weird that way.
Not only does German add a variety of things to make words plural (-e, -er, -en, -s (French or English borrowings), and sometimes no change at all except for the article), but often the vowels in the stem of the word are modified with Umlauts, so drdad's example of Mann is really Männer in the plural. Then all those articles have to change (both in the singular and plural) to reflect the case endings for Nominative, Accusative, Dative and Genitive!
It's quite a challenge to speak correctly, but somehow even little kids can do it in German speaking areas! Learning German really helps English speakers better understand grammar in their own language too.
As for the crossword today, I found it to be a stinker. Knowing nothing about baseball, I don't understand the "cycle" thing. I didn't know AQI, OAXACA, DORAG, OTT, TWEE, CRAY or HELLCAT, but did guess that one. By then I'd gotten so impatient, I came here and didn't even think any more about 8A, or 8D, which would have given me 16A. So ended up with a few blanks.
The S-E corner was fine for me. I got Winslow Homer from perps--hadn't a clue otherwise.
mark - Buenos Aries
Yes indeed, "twee" is English. Perhaps not cute. Its used more in the sense of over elaborate, fussy decor. imagine laura Ashley cottagee stuff with flowers, frills, embroidery, swags and tails etc
Polyp is ineteresting. i only know the word used in describing small growths that they find in a colonoscopy, hopefully non-malignent.
In Uk, Scan. currency is often written plural kronas, single = krona. In Wikiped, singular is krona and plural is kronor, ie with an "o", not an "e"
Another 85 degree spring day here.
best wishes to all
Ken,
I thought I recognized a French base in cabotage, so I looked it up and here's what I found:
cabot = bull-head (fish), cur (dog), corporal (military)
cabotage = coasting, coastwise traffic
caboter = to coast
caboteur = coaster
cabotin = bad actor, barn stormer
cabotinage = self-advertizing, barn-storming
Amazingly broad usage!
Good morning C.C.and all, great puzzle today, I had a fun time with the small exception of the NW corner..not knowing 2A & D kept me 'puzzled' for awhile, but I did manage to get them with out a google, just a lucky guess.
Dennis, glad you are operational even if it is with one eye open. Glad you had a good time.
C.C. Looking at the picture of the coral polyps I noticed that the little orange centers look like closed mouths with serrated teeth..I'd hate to stick my finger in one of those. I'd like to see them open.
I love Winslow Homer. He is famous for his paintings of the sea and for good reason. He is the only artist that can paint the sea (or water)to actually LOOK like liquid, especially the ocean. He achieves the depth, light, motion and movement.
It is absolutely pouring in Portland..and will only get worse as the day goes on..guess I'll have to wear scuba gear if I am going out :)
Happy Veteran's Day
mark - Buenos Aires (again)
Rudyard Kipling (Rudyard is a lake near Leek in Staffordshire) wrote the poem "If..." A very stirring poem.
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs" - it starts
and ends.."you´ll be a man, my son"
Do you know it Clear Ayes?
C.C.:
Just started doing this puzzle. Enjoy your write-ups.
I only mention another puzzle because you stated the ways to clue it were limited:
In today's NYT the clue for KLMN was
(29A: OP's forerunners.)
For those familiar with case endings or declensions, let us not forget the vocative, locative and instrumental cases of Polish. Russian doesn't use the vocative, but you Latin scholars would recall the oblative. Or is it ablative.
One of the Balkan languages, Hungarian, I think, has 30 cases. Bulgarian is a slavic language and has much in common with other slavic tongues.
mark - my very favorite Kipling work. Damn near had it memorized earlier in life. Reminds me a bit of my personal 'words to live by' - this is JFK paraphrasing Teddy Roosevelt:
"The credit belongs to the man who is in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself at a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and...if he fails, at least fails daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
ken, yes, I read 'Sledge' - probably the best description of combat I've seen in print -- you could feel the texture in his words. Gave me a couple bad nights. The most accurate visual portrayal remains 'Private Ryan'; I wasn't right for a week after the first 20 minutes of that one.
Ken,
Yes, It's ablative = by, with or from the noun, right?
In German the accusative and dative are roughly the equivalent of English direct and indirect object when there are no prepositions, but each preposition governs nouns in one of the cases--accusative, dative or genitive.
This puzzle went relatively smoothly save for AQUINO and OAXACA. In both cases I knew the answer but needed the crossing words for the spelling! I had a few issues with the answer to “bandana”, which M-W on-line defines as “a large often colorfully patterned handkerchief”. While DO-RAGs are often neither colorful nor made from handkerchiefs.
@cc: Thanks for the explanation of the puzzle theme. I was confused about how Winslow Homer fit in! Now I know what a “Natural Cycle” is too!
Last year, the Art Institute of Chicago had a major exhibit of works by Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper. Thought the Hopper pictures were superb, it was Winslow Homer’s oils and watercolors that totally blew me away. They were dazzling! I was especially amazed at some of the techniques he employed to achieve some of his effects.
Hi c.c. and all,
I had trouble in the Northeast corner for awhile, but it finally worked out. For 14A I had API (which I thought was Air Pollution Index), so that made 1986 Woman of the Year Apuino. Oh well...
Bill: Glad your eye surgery went well, wonderful news!
Dennis: Sounds like you had a wonderful B'day celebration.
Kittyb: I'm sure your niece's family will miss her, but what a wonderful opportunity for her to go to Denmark!
Have a wonderful Veteran's Day everyone!
Good Morning All, A morning with Barry Silk is always enjoyable. I had a little trouble with the cross of AQI and AQUINO and both TWEE and CRAY were new. Nevertheless, it all came together fairly quickly. I'm still hopefully waiting for that Silk pangram.
Doesitinink, I agree about the "bandanna" clue. DO-RAG doesn't conjure up a cowboy with a colorful bandanna around his neck.
I knew KRONER. I have cousins in Sweden and have visited several times. I don't speak Swedish, but it is always wise to have a working knowledge of local currency when traveling.
Mexico is a very popular vacation site for Californians. We are familiar with the culture and a lot of people speak enough high school Spanish to order a meal, ask directions and get a hotel room. I've never been to OAXACA, but G.A.H. and I have vacationed in several beautiful areas of Mexico. Our favorite (so far)is Cancun. It is touristy, but there is good reason for that. The beaches are amazing, the food is delicious and day trips to the astonishing Mayan/Toltec ruins of Chichen Itza, Tulum and Xel-Ha are easy drives.
"Nahuatl" is the most common native language in Mexico. Various dialects are spoken by over 1.5 million people. There are dozens of other languages spoken in more isolated areas.
Hi all,
We are back from my son's wedding in Houston and it was beautiful. Plus the weather was in the high 70's and thought I would freeze upon returning to Philly late last night. Weddings are a wonderful way for family and friends to get together and celebrate.
The "Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood" is a good movie depicting the sometime tense relationships of mothers and daughters. But I liked it because it also shows the strength of women and their friendships with other women. "Steel Magnolia" was also a good movie showing the importance of women's friendships. I think women get strength from one another.
Good morning everyone! Ah, Barry Silk. Another near pangram. TWEE? Don't think I've ever heard that one before. Does a "natural cycle" mean that the bases increase at each at bat? I think the arms are the polyps. Don't know if they are edible, though. #3 for espanol? The wiki article on Loma Linda has a few oddities about the city. The YAYA link didn't work for me. The 64D clue was very clever.
C.C., thanks for the con BRIO comment. There is a limerick that uses that term as well, and I might be able to find it around here somewhere.
@kazie On the train to Salzburg we met a Jamaican who was studying a German script for a musical that he was going to be in. He said that he's lost so much of his English and native jargon because he has to concentrate so hard to learn German. I think it's a struggle for "older" people, but the kids just pick it up naturally.
@lickety-split That's a devilish clue from the NYT puzzle!
@doesitinink I couldn't get your Hopper link to work either. Wonder if it's my Firefox?
@jeanne I also think that women get strength from each other, and they need a female-only environment to accomplish that -- no guys hanging around muddling up the situation.
Have a great Tuesday/Veterans Day (no apostrophe by government decree, LOL)!
@crockett1947: I think the problem must be at your end as I am able to access the picture from the link in the blog. But...here is the url for the painting http://wanderling.tripod.com/nighthawk.jpg.
DoesItinInk1946
Kittyb,
Your niece will have a fabulous time, but warn her to watch her waistline! The food is fantastic and plentiful! My husband had gone to spend Christmas there with relatives before I met him, and expected to stay a few days. They kept insisting he stay longer, and it stretched into weeks!
Jeanne,
You look lovely in that wedding outfit!
I think coral polyps are the tiny animals that produce the coral and live inside it. Wiki says "A coral "head", commonly perceived to be a single organism, is formed from thousands of individual but genetically identical polyps, each polyp only a few millimeters in diameter."
I must be getting old(er). I am sure of that because today is Golf Addicted Husband’s 67th birthday. I don’t understand how I could be married to an old guy, but somehow the years have sneaked up behind us and are standing there laughing at us. He has mastered the art of being a good husband and is, at this moment, “Swiffering” the kitchen floor, after having vacuumed the carpet in the rest of the house. I’m certainly not going to trade him in for a newer model now!
I found the poem I was saving for today. Yesterday, I mentioned I don’t post serious poems very often. November 11th is one of those days that calls for some reflection. It is a day meant to honor not only the veterans who have survived, but also to commemorate those young men and women who didn't.
Our Canadian allies call November 11th Remembrance Day. On August 19, 1942, over half of the 6,000 Canadians and British troops who participated in the catastrophic Battle of Dieppe were either killed, wounded or captured.
I first read this poem when I was attending school in Canada. It made a vivid impression on me and I have never forgotten it. It was written by Mona McTavish Gould , the sister of Lt.-Col Howard McTavish, who was killed in action in Dieppe
This Was My Brother
This was my brother
At Dieppe
Quietly a hero
Who gave his life
Like a gift
Withholding nothing
His youth.....his love
His enjoyment of being alive...
His future, like a book
With half the pages still uncut -
This was my brother
At Dieppe -
The one who built me a doll house
When I was seven
Complete to the last small picture frame,
Nothing forgotten
He was awfully good at fixing things
At stepping into the breach when he was needed.
That's what he did at Dieppe
He was needed.
And even Death must have been a little shamed
At his eagerness!
-Mona McTavish Gould
Good Afternoon All!
Number One: Dr's this AM. He said everything went according to plan. OH! That was AFTER the girl removed the eye protector, the tape, my right eyebrow and half of the right side of my forehead!!
Damn, that stuff sticks well!
Anyway, the gas bubble is in place and holding the retina in place.
It'll be a couple of weeks till it dissipates and gets out of the way so I can see again. “Take it easy, no lifting over 5 pounds, no reading, no computer work, no driving!”
That’s what HE said. I guess you know that’s not what I said!
But all seems to be well and I WILL take it easy for a while.
CC, Second line of the Nursery Rhyme It means “quickly”
Today’s xword. What the devil is TWEE? The only thing that I di9dn’t know. The rest was really good. Barry Silk didn’t stump me today like he did last week!!
OK, this is long enough! One more thank you for the good wishes and I’m outta here!
CY’All later
clear ayes, thanks - poems like that truly resonate with me.
Dennis, You're welcome. The poem only takes a minute to read, but like you said, it resonates.
Sometimes a poem can accomplish what prose can't, at least in as few words. It is such a touching personal poem, I get choked up whenever I read it. Nothing wrong with that.
CC
It means my son took the test, passed it and did not have to take the course.
I liked the puzzle today. Lots of fun
Seymour Cray was a Minnesota boy.
The Mexican state of Oaxaca has produced a host of leaders; Emiliano Zapata, Benito Juarez, the Don himself, Don Porforio Diaz; hero of Cinco de Mayo, president of Mexico from 1876-1911, mother of foreigners, stepmother of mexicans, and some other caudillo whose name escapes me.
Don
Auburn, WA
10:15 today. I spent a bunch of time in the NE since I originally wrote in SONORA instead of OAXACA and it took some time to sort out my mistake.
No time to blog today. Happy Veteran's Day to all our vets (and their spouses).
@clear ayes Thanks for the poem. In memory of my uncle, David Manford Crockett, 12 Mar 1925 -- 25 Jun 1944.
Actually was able to complete this without checking with your blog...with the exception of Aquino/AQI.
I have actually been to the City of Oaxaca, but can't tell you the origin of the name. They are very famous for their beautiful black pottery which is "polished" with a stone before firing but uses no glaze. Years ago there was a very famous potter, Dona Rosa, who created beautiful pieces. We spent some time with her and she must have been in 80's or older at the time(early 1970's)
The term TWEE is actually Brittish(I believe). I have heard the word used by a Scottish friend and I found it in my UNDERSTANDING BRITISH ENGLISH book. Twee, adj.-affectedly dainty or quaint.
Crockett, I'm glad the poem meant something to you too.
RE: Women friendship - A woman friend of mine (Ha..who else?) told me about a longevity study that had been conducted in China. One of the interesting observations was that women, at least those in the rural areas, spent several hours each day working, talking, joking and (probably) commiserating with other women, without the company of men. The conclusion, with a lot of other factors considered, was women who have close associations with other women live longer than women who don't have the close woman-to-woman bond.
I don’t know if I’ll live longer, but I do know I’d be a lot less cheerful without all my girlfriends.
Mark in Buenos Aires, I have read “If”, although I don’t have it memorized. I’ve already “poemed” for the day, but here is a link for anyone who would like to hear Rudyard Kipling’s If recited very effectively by Dennis Hopper.
Good evening CC & DF's: Good puzzle w/the only problem being in the NE. Learned something new.
Welcome back, Dennis. Glad you had a good time. I always heard that it was ok to mix light liquors just not light and dark ones. Guess that's a myth. Of course, it might have a lot to do with the quantity consumed too. Hope you're feeling better tonight.
Bill, glad to see you up and about. Had to laugh at your description of getting the bandages off. I'm glad it's over for you and that your humor is still in tact, even though your eyebrow (or 1/2 your face)isn't.
Please take care.
Clear Ayes: thank you for the poem, This Was My Brother. It makes the loss personal. And the Kipling poem IF...always has been one of my favorites.
Ah, there you are, Lois. I was thinking about what would be on your list and put an "R" where there should have been an "X" today.
45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?
You could make plywood out of any trees but usually it is only the cheap woods that are used. They cut the wood into thin layers and bond them together, with the grain of each piece perpendicular to the preceding one. The end result is a piece of wood much stronger than an unlayered piece, plus, they can be much wider than most trees, 4x8 3/8" thick, being a common size.
Santa, baby, I take that as a high compliment indeed. Does that mean that I can expect you to be coming in my chimney in a few weeks... and bringing me some very interesting toys?
geez Lois, I hope 'Santa' doesn't come in your chimney....what a loss, to say nothing of the mess.
Don't worry, Carol. You haven't seen my chimney. It's all good.
Oooohhh THAT chimney!! Well that's a 'whole' 'nuther story! Hey whatever works and Merry Christmas - hope Santa brings you a BIG 'candy cane'. HO HO HO
Argyle,
How did your service with the Marine Corps change your life? Have you ever been to the Tun Tavern?
No, I've never been to Tun Tavern.
Marine Corps change my life? Nobody ever said, "My how you've changed." so it's just been my life and that's that, I guess.
I did learn a MacBeth soliloquy while standing endlessly at attention during boot camp.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
but I've always been fatalistic.
a candy cane and a couple of tangelos.
Argyle, that is so strange! I learned the same soliloquy for a high school play. Thanks for writing it out here, as I forgot a few words.
ps be sure to wear your 'stocking' when visiting that chimney.
Carol: that's the plan. Did you peak at my list or are you just that good at ESP?
Santa, baby. Hurry! Can you come here first?
Lois, very good at ESP!! (Erotic Sex Play) ;)
g8rmomx2, I feel the same way about my niece having the chance to travel at an early age. She will be gone for two weeks. She will have just graduated from high school, and when she returns, she will begin her freshman year of college. I think it's perfect timing, and I really hope she won't be homesick toward the end of the visit.
Kazie, this girl is as thin as a toothpick. Frankly, I'd like to see them put a few pounds on her. I think she'd be healthier.
Clear ayes...thanks for the poem.
@Dennis: I agree with you about the vibrancy of Sledge's narrative. Altho' I've not been in combat (Not a lot of riflemen on submarines), his is the best description of it I've read.
I was thinking George H W Bush was shot down in a Hellcat, but I checked and it was a TBM Avenger. The Avenger has the long cockpit that carried the President's 2 crewman. It looks similar to the Dauntless, a balsa and paper model of which I built as a 12-year old.
@Clear Ayes: That is a very touching poem and the better for the closeness of the two.
I don't know if you've seen "Then She Found Me" with Helen Hunt and Bette Midler. It is billed as a romantic comedy, but it's not. It is the tale of a woman who was forced to give up a baby(Midler) and Hunt(that baby) who wants to have a baby so badly. There is humor in it, but beneath that is a very beautiful story about women.
@Kazie: Polish and Russian use the Accusative and Dative in the same way. Both also support the locative or sense of location. (I was at the house of Bill has both genitive and locative constructions). Both support the instrumental, eg, by, with, etc, which sounds similar in function to the Latin ablative.
Also some particular verbs or prepostions simply demand a particular case.
Ken,
That is really interesting. I have always thought German was complicated--that sounds even worse. Do those cases in Polish and Russian take on the job of prepositions, or do they use prepositions as well? The Latin dative and ablative usually replace to/for (dative), and by/with/from (ablative).
German also has verbs that govern things in either accusative or dative, and some prepositions that take accusative when indicating movement towards a place, but dative if the thing is already in position.
e.g. "The book fell on the floor" (acc.), but "The book was lying on the floor" (dative).
I've always learned and taught the four lists of prepositions according to the cases following them, a list for those always taking dative, those with accusative, the either acc. or dative ones, and the genitive ones. Most genitive ones have parallel genitive forms in English--in spite of, because of, etc.
You guys are getting too erudite for me. Good night!
Re Dieppe poem posted ll November 2008, your Veterans Day, our Armistice/now Remembrance Day is dedicated to the memory of our "Fallen". McTavish, like all our war dead from the South Africa/Boer campaign up to today's losses, has an individual identity file on our online-only VIRTUAL WAR MEMORIAL, created by Vets Affairs a decade ago. Just search the Surname for GH McTavish to learn more of the man. Some confusion about the age of Mrs. Gould in 1942 - the doll house incident would have been during the Great War; when her brother died she was early 30s, a mother and wife of an army officer. It is wonderful to see that this poem resonates with an ally and after all these years. Regards, Flora in Ontario Canada.
Re previous post, re Dieppe poem.
Anyone with kin who settled in Canada before the World Wars might search the surname in our online-only interactive VIRTUAL WAR MEMORIAL of Canada. A lot of US-born are among the war dead in our uniform(s). Many files have no contributions to recreate their civilian and military identities, as the project is likely not well known in your country. If looking for people who joined up for the 1914-1918 war and luckily came back, Vets, look for them in our Archives CEF ATTESTATIONS. Just google phrases in caps to access.
Flora,
Thanks. What's the name of your newspaper? The puzzle lags so far behind.
C.C. Sorry, nothing to do with newspapers and crosswords. Was just adding re Clear Ayes interest in the Dieppe poem, if she is still a participant in your group.
Flora,
Yes, Clear Ayes contributes every day.
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