Theme: Roy Orbison Hits
20A: Hit by singer who died 12/6/88: ONLY THE LONELY
35A: See 20A: RUNNING SCARED
54A: See 20A: OH, PRETTY WOMAN
Too bad today is not Dec 6. It would have been a perfectly timed tribute.
Argyle probably enjoyed this puzzle. Roy Orbison is one of his favorite singers. I was only familiar with "OH, PRETTY WOMAN". I struggled getting into this constructor's wavelength. So many unfamiliar names.
I loved the clue for OCTOPUS (27A: Entree that serves eight?). I also liked how POEM (61A: Wordsworth work) intersects RHYME (51D: Poetic match). But why "Poetic" clue when POEM is the answer? I really hate our editor's lack of attention to details.
Across:
1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.
4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.
10A: GameCube competitor: XBOX. Or "Playstation" competitor.
15A: Kiribati capital: TARAWA. See this map. Unknown to me. I did not know where Kiribati is.
16A: Top choice, slangily: FAVE
18A: Movie category: ACTION. Or "Director's cry".
19A: Footnote wd.: IBID. "In the same place" in footnotes. I wonder if there is any way to clue IBID as I BID.
24A: Jordan/Bunny film: SPACE JAM. New film to me.
32A: Peter and a Wolfe: NEROS. Here is Peter NERO practicing Chopin Etude. I've never heard of his name before.
34A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. I memorized this novel from doing Xword. Without the P, I would have filled in SESAME for 34D: Magic word (PRESTO).
41A: Ballteam skipper Joe: TORRE. I misread the clue as "Ballteam clipper Joe", so I was thinking of Joe DiMaggio. Why "Ballteam"?
42A: Hobbit ally: ELF. I guessed. Have never read Tolkien's work. Would be a gimme if the clue were "Santa's ally".
46A: Twisted wool: WORSTED. Such a strange looking noun.
50A: Enzo's automobiles: FERRARIS. Another guess. I forgot who Enzo was. I actually read his bio last week and could not understand what "mule-shoer" is.
53A: Hokkaido port: OTARU. See this map. Foreign port to me.
57A: Osbourne of rock: OZZY
59A: Arctic attire: ANORAK. New name to me also. Inuit people are of Asian race, right?
62A: Notably the '72 Dolphin defense: NO-NAME. I was not aware of this. Only knew they had a perfect season.
64A: Cornmeal bread: PONE. And TAMALE (47D: Hacienda hot meal). Do you like Thai style fish wrapped in banana leaf?
65A: Stylish: DRESSY
66A: Byrnes or Hall: EDD. I kind of like "Hall of fame" for EDD.
Down:
1D: Mount __, PA: POCONO. Is it the same as POCONO Mountains?
2D: Carson character: CARNAC. I did not know this role.
4D: Big house: STATE PEN
5D: Austrian physicist Ernest: MACH. I googled. Can never remember this guy's name.
8D: Dives like an eagle: SWOOPS
9D: "__ and Her Sisters": HANNAH. One of the few Woody Allen movies that I liked.
10D: Case for Scully and Mulder: X-FILE
11D: Bette's title character of '62: BABY JANE. No idea. I have zero familiarity with this movie.
13D: Signed, kind of: XED
21D: Ms. de Carlo: YVONNE. She played Lily Munster.
22D: Author Umberto: ECO. He escaped my memory this morning. I used to remember him.
26D: Game pieces: MEN
28D: Swiss canton: URI. Or "Spoon-bender Geller".
33D: E. Bilko's rank: SGT. Another unknown film to me.
36D: Thawed out: UNFROZEN
38D: __-Magnon: CRO. Why not "Magnon opening?". It sounds more interesting, doesn't it?
39D: Cursor relocator: ARROW KEY
50D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. This guy seems to wear pajamas all year long.
44D: Thing to do: ERRAND
45D: Certain claim holder: LIENOR
49D: Immersed: DUNKED. I SOAKED first.
52D: Boulder: STONE. I wanted ROCK.
C.C.
20A: Hit by singer who died 12/6/88: ONLY THE LONELY
35A: See 20A: RUNNING SCARED
54A: See 20A: OH, PRETTY WOMAN
Too bad today is not Dec 6. It would have been a perfectly timed tribute.
Argyle probably enjoyed this puzzle. Roy Orbison is one of his favorite singers. I was only familiar with "OH, PRETTY WOMAN". I struggled getting into this constructor's wavelength. So many unfamiliar names.
I loved the clue for OCTOPUS (27A: Entree that serves eight?). I also liked how POEM (61A: Wordsworth work) intersects RHYME (51D: Poetic match). But why "Poetic" clue when POEM is the answer? I really hate our editor's lack of attention to details.
Across:
1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.
4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.
10A: GameCube competitor: XBOX. Or "Playstation" competitor.
15A: Kiribati capital: TARAWA. See this map. Unknown to me. I did not know where Kiribati is.
16A: Top choice, slangily: FAVE
18A: Movie category: ACTION. Or "Director's cry".
19A: Footnote wd.: IBID. "In the same place" in footnotes. I wonder if there is any way to clue IBID as I BID.
24A: Jordan/Bunny film: SPACE JAM. New film to me.
32A: Peter and a Wolfe: NEROS. Here is Peter NERO practicing Chopin Etude. I've never heard of his name before.
34A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. I memorized this novel from doing Xword. Without the P, I would have filled in SESAME for 34D: Magic word (PRESTO).
41A: Ballteam skipper Joe: TORRE. I misread the clue as "Ballteam clipper Joe", so I was thinking of Joe DiMaggio. Why "Ballteam"?
42A: Hobbit ally: ELF. I guessed. Have never read Tolkien's work. Would be a gimme if the clue were "Santa's ally".
46A: Twisted wool: WORSTED. Such a strange looking noun.
50A: Enzo's automobiles: FERRARIS. Another guess. I forgot who Enzo was. I actually read his bio last week and could not understand what "mule-shoer" is.
53A: Hokkaido port: OTARU. See this map. Foreign port to me.
57A: Osbourne of rock: OZZY
59A: Arctic attire: ANORAK. New name to me also. Inuit people are of Asian race, right?
62A: Notably the '72 Dolphin defense: NO-NAME. I was not aware of this. Only knew they had a perfect season.
64A: Cornmeal bread: PONE. And TAMALE (47D: Hacienda hot meal). Do you like Thai style fish wrapped in banana leaf?
65A: Stylish: DRESSY
66A: Byrnes or Hall: EDD. I kind of like "Hall of fame" for EDD.
Down:
1D: Mount __, PA: POCONO. Is it the same as POCONO Mountains?
2D: Carson character: CARNAC. I did not know this role.
4D: Big house: STATE PEN
5D: Austrian physicist Ernest: MACH. I googled. Can never remember this guy's name.
8D: Dives like an eagle: SWOOPS
9D: "__ and Her Sisters": HANNAH. One of the few Woody Allen movies that I liked.
10D: Case for Scully and Mulder: X-FILE
11D: Bette's title character of '62: BABY JANE. No idea. I have zero familiarity with this movie.
13D: Signed, kind of: XED
21D: Ms. de Carlo: YVONNE. She played Lily Munster.
22D: Author Umberto: ECO. He escaped my memory this morning. I used to remember him.
26D: Game pieces: MEN
28D: Swiss canton: URI. Or "Spoon-bender Geller".
33D: E. Bilko's rank: SGT. Another unknown film to me.
36D: Thawed out: UNFROZEN
38D: __-Magnon: CRO. Why not "Magnon opening?". It sounds more interesting, doesn't it?
39D: Cursor relocator: ARROW KEY
50D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. This guy seems to wear pajamas all year long.
44D: Thing to do: ERRAND
45D: Certain claim holder: LIENOR
49D: Immersed: DUNKED. I SOAKED first.
52D: Boulder: STONE. I wanted ROCK.
C.C.
78 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and gang - I thought this was a decent puzzle today. Lots of fresh clues. I've always been an Orbison fan, so the theme was a bit of a gimme once the first one became apparent.
I didn't know that Kiribati was now the name of the island group that contains Tarawa atoll, site of one of the greatest battles in Marine Corps history. Other than that, everything came pretty quickly.
Today is Bathtub Party Day - take advantage of it.
Have a great weekend - they're talking the s-word here in the NE.
BABY JANE crossing SPACE JAM and PNIN? That was mean. Other unknowns were PONOCO, ERTE, TARAWA, TORRE, WORSTED and OTARU. I wanted PARKAS instead of the obscure ANORAK and I had guessed ELM instead of OAK, COMEDY instead of ACTION, SUNKEN instead of DUNKED and TOE instead of LEE. The funny thing is that when the theme became clear I started typing in PRETTY WOMAN for 54 across but there were too many letters!
According to wikipedia SMERSH was an actual counter intelligence agency created by the Soviet Union in 1943. The acronym is short for SMERt' Shpionam which is Russian for "death to spies". The author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming, was an ex-navy commander (like his character James Bond, introduced in 1952 in the novel Casino Royale) and the former personal assistant of Rear Admiral John Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal (British) Navy, this after having attended (like his character James Bond) Eton College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
I had tried to fit in SPECTRE for SMERSH. SPECTRE was introduced in 1961 in Thunderball, the ninth James Bond novel. It stood for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. SPECTRE was the evil organization supporting Dr. No in the 1962 movie even though they weren't mentioned in the 1958 novel (the sixth James Bond novel). SMERSH was mentioned in the second James Bond movie, From Russia With Love but SPECTRE became the main villain in that as well as five subsequent James Bond movies.
Martin
Dennis,
Except ELF & MEN, I saw no fresh clues. Maybe you meant fresh fills? What is "Ballteam" in 41A? I love my bathtub. Have never had a party there. Have you?
Martin,
Thanks for the information on Ian Fleming. I did not know he also attended Eton.
Barry,
I asked you this question yesterday: Did you miss those DF days?
Mark from VA,
How long did you serve in the Navy? Were you in the war zone(s) also?
Richshif,
I like your interpretation on the fruitcage. I guess Verna Suit's puzzle was indeed a "Sledgehammer" for some.
Jimbo,
I am so sorry to hear about your rib. I hope it heals soon. What's your bowling average?
Kit,
What a nice surprise to hear from you last night!
c.c., I thought there were several fresh ones: smersh, tarawa, no-name, yvonne, carnac, etc.
'Sgt. Bilko' was a character played by Phil Silvers on the Phil Silvers Show, a comedy from the 50's. The Steve Martin movie you referenced was based on that show.
A bathtub party? Sure.
Hey Rich
the wringer type washer you mentioned brings back memories. My mom had a friend who lost an arm at her elbow after getting it caught in the wringer. I was convinced that Chuck Taylors made you play basketball better.
16:55 today
not struggling at the end of the week for me means that I will on Monday & Tuesday of next week.
C.C.,
Yeah. It seems as though Ian Fleming based James Bond on himself. Similarly, I found it odd that Tom Clancy's character Jack Ryan described himself as somebody "writes books for the CIA" in the movie The Sum of All Fears. It seems to me that the last thing the CIA would want is somebody writing books about what they were doing, let alone paying them to do it. Sure enough, Tom Clancy and his character Jack Ryan attended the same High School, Layola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland.
Martin
Dennis,
I would call those fresh fills. To me, fresh clue means a new way to clue a crossword regular. For example, if SOW (33D: Boar's mate) were clued as "She's a pig", then I would call it a fresh clue.
Martin,
Maybe you can think of more authors with similar pattern when you go to bed?
Crockett,
I still remember your missed opportunity with Mantle/Maris & Yogi Berra autographs.
Clear Ayes,
Thanks for the explanation on "liquid measure". Great poem. It reminds me of the "Year of The Cat" we discussed a few months ago.
Barry, I have only recently started reading your "corner site". I find it very interesting. I love crosswords. It is my favorite hobby. I feel however ,after reading other comments from your fans, very un-with-it. I take as much time as I have to solve the puzzle but, sometimes it takes after work hours. sometimes I can't solve it entirely. That's when I get upset. Then I go to your site and most times say, "oh,now I get it. I guess I'm out of touch. Anyway thanks for the challenge and, the fun. TJ in ohio
1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.
Macs don't crash they don't need virus protection and their computers and parts are all made by the same company so it is faster than a PC which the parts are made by several different companies and the parts don't work or play well together. I prefer Mac to PC. Did you know that Microsoft WORD works better on a MAC than a PC? Yes MAC is more expensive but worth every penny! My MAC is 7 years old and still is as fast as the day I bought it!
4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.
I wanted SPECTRE
"Only the Lonely"
"Running Scared"
"Oh, Pretty Woman"
Morning, folks!
Quick post today, since I'm on a tight deadline. Nice puzzle for me. Didn't know TARAWA or OTARU, but got them via the perps. I also didn't know RUNNING SCARED was by Roy Orbison, but the other two songs I got easily. Other than that, very easy.
Barry,
I asked you this question yesterday: Did you miss those DF days?
Not really. I was just wondering why they suddenly stopped. If there was an official memo, I didn't get it... ^_^
15A) Kiribati capital - Tarawa / map The name "Kiribati" is the local language equivalent of the word "Gilberts" and is pronounced "Ki-ri-bas."
59A) Artic attire - anorak / view
1D) Mount Pocono, PA area map
The whole area is known as the Poconos. A larger regional map.
Pocono means "stream between two mountains," and takes its name from the Delaware River, which flows there.
Good morning, all.
Another easy one. Was stumped for a bit with Kiribati and Smersh (could only think of SPECTRE)but not for long.
I loved Carnac.
(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)
CARNAC: The La Brea Tar Pits.
ED McMAHON: The La Brea Tar Pits.
(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)
CARNAC (reading): What do you have left after eating the La Brea Tar Peaches?
If the audience groaned a bit Carnac would cast a comedic curse, e.g., "may a rabid holyman bless your nether regions with a power tool", or "may your only son become the goalie on a nude hockey team".
Yvonne De Carlo also played Sephora, the wife of Moses (Charlton Heston) in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments."
Today is Bathtub Party Day, National Communicate With Your Baby Day, Special Kids Day, and International Volunteer Day, and The Day of the Ninja. Also, the Abbott and Costello Show debuted on this day in 1952. They only made 52 shows but those ran in syndication for decades.
TGIF. Have a great day.
Anonymous at 6:09 a.m.
It is not Barry's 'corner site.'
It is C.C.'s corner site. And she does an excellent job, if I do say so myself. Read her profile and you will find that to be quite true.
Dr. Dad,
I wonder if anonymous was addressing his comment to Barry Silk. He may have seen Barry Silk's name at the top of the site a few days ago when it was his puzzle and assumed it was his site.
Martin
Yeah, so many damn Barrys around here, you need a scorecard to keep track.... ^_^
Good morning CC and All. Nice puzzle today. It was not a runaway like yesterday and required some thinking. I struggled a bit with the NE corner until I remembered XBOX then everything else fell into place. I did not know Kiribati's port nor Hokkaido port but got them from the perps. Hokkaido has been in the puzzle many times before and I should remember it by now.
I liked Roy Orbison so the theme clues came easily.
CC the Pocono mountains are in north eastern PA and is a very nice mountainous place to visit. As mentioned before Mount Pocono is located in the Pocono mountainns. That area was/is best known as a place for honeymooners.
Hope you all have a great Friday
Totally enjoyed today’s puzzle. I had to google, but it was fun.
Peter Nero was a gimme for me. I’m not a music critic by any means, but IMHO, Peter Nero sounds pretty heavy-handed compared to Ashkenazy.
Loved seeing the clue Enzo’s automobiles. Enzo is a key character in Garth Steins novel ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain.’ Garth Stein is an interesting author – each book is about totally different characters and story lines.
I wish I hadn’t seen Baby Jane - Joan Crawford and Betty Davis were so horribly realistic that the bazaar situation seemed plausible. Yuk
I love my Mac. No viruses, no repairs. And if you like windows, keep in mind that it was designeded to look and work like a Mac - but it isn't nearly as user friendly.
G'day all!
I had to google a bit today for TARAWA, PNIN, SPACEJAM, I misspelled SMIRSH, so didn't have ERTE. Couldn't think of FAVE, XBOX, or IBID until after the googling of the others. Otherwise it all came together OK, some from crosses.
Didn't we have OTARU a while back? I recognized it when it was partly there.
I object to STATE PEN not being clued as an abbreviation--anyone else?
Geography lessons(Kiribati, Mount Pocono, Dana Point) are always good. Yes, in those bygone days of puzzle solving, an atlas or even an actual globe was always close by. Love everyone's vocabulary here . . . G-spot, NE corner, hammer. You are a fun group!
@ Dr. Dad Your Carnac was so spot-on. Yesterday you commented that the internet would explode by 2010. We survived Y2K, didn't we?
@Dick Your senior citizen poem yesterday hit the spot. Now it's sore today.
@Anonymous Your military acronyms (TDY, DDSM)gave me flashbacks. Thought I was still "stationed" somewhere.
@Clear Ayes Your Love Sonnet XI caused me to fan myself . . . til I remembered Dick's poem.
@Doesitinink Now that's a great name.
@C.C. Your work is greatly appreciated.
@Barry Your teflon-coated brain comment just became mine.
Verse of the day:
Praise the mutilated world
and the grey feather a thrush lost
and the gentle light that strays and vanishes and returns
Mark - Buenos Aires
Do you know what E.T.´s short for?
mark, it's not ExtraTerrestrial?
mark - Buenos Aires
No. its because he has short legs
Interesting editing on 17A: Did anyone else notice that in the paper it's clued "break down" and on-line it's clued "shed tears".
Also, shouldn't 12D be clued Eggs:pref. (wouldn't a single egg be an OVA).
Have a good weekend.
C.C.
My sanctioned average is 156 with a high game of 224
My team has won two championships and is currently leading the pack for a third.
Rib is healing nicely. May be able to rejoin the crew by the year's end.
I'm still reading all the comments and enjoying them. Have little to say about the puzzles since I am usually unable to finish them without help.
(Usually do about 90%) Also would just be a repeat of what others had to say.
Anyone remember "Val O Milk Dips"? Muffin style Chocolate with creme filling. mmmmmgood.
Six ounce cokes in a glass bottle for 5 cts, and hamburgers were a dime.
Pumped gas for 16 cts a gal. (Much later)
@anon 9:41,
No, a single egg is an OVUM--OVA is plural. But it's asking for a prefix, which could have any ending. Think OVULAR,OVATE, OVOID, OVARY/-IAN,OVAL, OVIDUCT, OVICIDAL. OVIPAROUS, OVIPOSIT, OVOLO.
Yes, I looked several of these up, but you see the point. It's why I hesitated and didn't know what they wanted so didn't get IBID.
C.C.: yes, you will hear from us Mac users. We are loyal, trustworthy, and pure. The idea of "windows" was stolen from Apple. And the ease of using, the lack of viruses, and the feeling of camaraderie among us is obvious.
My husband is a pc user, so my son calls ours a cross-platform marriage.
I failed miserably in the top half of this puzzle. But it's always fun to come to you and get the answers and then read the comments. Thank you.
Good morning cc and all
I haven't commented for a while. Wednesday puzzzle was bad! I finally had to come here to finish. Yesterday and today were much easier.
Several things I didn't know and how to google, but most came from perps.
I didn't like the Babyjane movie either, it was just to creepy. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were horrible.
Doesit
I knew everything on your list. We had milk delivered by a horse drawn cart when my oldest son was a baby. What fun!
I love this site, you are all so smart and I learn something every day.
Thanks
Oops
Meant to add, I'm a Mac user also. They are so much easier than PC's. I bought a new one last January. Just pulled it out of the box and plugged it in. Love it
Good Morning All, Lots of proper names today. I know some of you are annoyed by so many of them.
"A" at the cross of MACH and TARAWA was a lucky guess. I don't know why I remembered SMERSH. I've seen most of the 007 movies, but I'm not a devotee.
17A CRY was almost part of the theme. For my money the very best of Roy Orbison is his Crying duet with k.d. lang. It gets to me every time.
Well-versed, "Clear Ayes Your Love Sonnet XI caused me to fan myself . . . til I remembered Dick's poem." LOL. Isn't that the truth?
Your verses are very well chosen.
Dr. Dad, Carnac was my favorite Johnny Carson character. It was the "back and forth" between Carnac and Ed McMahon that made it FDLF (fall down laughing funny).
Kazie, I agree with you on STATE PENitentary. Good catch.
Jimbo, take good care of yourself.
Thanks for the OVxxxx lesson. I guess I should have taken latin in HS.
This was a very easy puzzle. The only unknown for me was TARAWA. I did stumble a bit on Ernst MACH (pronounced ‘max’). I was familiar with this physicist but remembered his name as Max Ernst. (D’uh!)
I really liked the 27A clue “entrée that serves eight”. The answer was very unexpected.
Sgt. Bilko initially came from a tv series named The Phil Silvers Show.
A most famous Ferrari is the one owned by Robin Masters and driven by Thomas Sullivan Magnum. I did not watch this series in prime time but discovered it in reruns. When my oldest was an infant, she took her last bottle at 10pm, and Magnum P.I. was the only thing of vague interest on tv at that time of the evening.
I vaguely remember watching The Pinky Lee kids show. But my favorite show when we finally got a television was Crusader Rabbit. I felt so lucky when I finally got my “magic screen” to watch it with. The magic screen was a thin piece of clear plastic that would adhere to the television screen. Throughout the half-hour show there would periodically appear a “clue” (a line) that you had to trace onto your magic screen with a special marker. After all the clues had been shown and you had traced all of them onto your magic screen, you could see the answer to the mystery puzzle of the show! Does anyone else remember this early tv show?
Bubble Bath Party Day? This could be fun in my new “soaker” tub! All my life I wanted a tub in which I could submerse my shoulders and legs at the same time, and when I recently rehabbed my bathroom, I got my wish!
@crazyhorse…My granddad was a milk man for many years and delivered milk with a hors-drawn cart.
c.c.
You are doing a great job, my mornings with the crosswords have become so much fun since i discovered your corner blog and,
mr. Dad thanks for the memories
I loved Johnny Carson he was one in a mil.
Carnac the Magnificent ! I was thinking of the "redneck" character also but couldn't remember
the name
Oh sorry, I meant Dr. Dad
thanks again for the memories ...
Good morning, C.C. and all.
TARAWA, XBOX, and TORRE were all words I was familiar with, but needed help from the fills to finish.
PNIN, SPACE JAM, OTARU, and NO NAME were words I didn't know, which came from the fills.
The C/W was easy enough that I didn't need to resort to Mr. G.
J.D. and Clear Ayes, thanks for the comments on "Australia." I hope to see the movie before Christmas.
C.C. My mother has needed more care than usual the past week, and Thanksgiving preparations tied me up for a bit. I'm glad to have the chance to do the puzzle in the morning, and then check in here. I'll have to take a crack at Wednesday's killer and then see what everyone had to say.
Buckeye, you made my head swim with your post about Happy Pillow Talk. *G*
Great poems, everyone!
ttyl
well versed @ 8:38.
Yes, we did survive Y2K but that was a programming error not a capacity error. Unless something is done to adjust for the usage of the internet (sites, blogs, etc.) the internet will be overwhelmed possibly by 2010 and there will be no more capactiy. The room will be full. Of course, someonw will figure out a way to increase the room size but probably not until the situation reaches critical mass.
Maria @ 10:57 -
Floyd R. Turbo American (with no pause between words)might be the redneck character you are thinking of. . He was a stereotypical right-wing extremist wearing a plaid hunting coat and cap, who offered "editorial responses" to progressive causes or news events.
After yesterday's poem, I discovered this one. A different poet and a different place and century, but it seemed to be an interesting commentary from a woman's point of view. While the man might be prowling around searching for his lover, maybe this could have been his wife, who was just glad to get out of the kitchen. Sumangalamata was a Indian woman poet in the 6th Century BC.
A Woman Well Set Free!
A woman well set free! How free I am,
How wonderfully free, from kitchen drudgery.
Free from the harsh grip of hunger,
And from empty cooking pots,
Free too of that unscrupulous man,
The weaver of sunshades.
Calm now, and serene I am,
All lust and hatred purged.
To the shade of the spreading trees I go
And contemplate my happiness.
- Sumangalamata
@ Sallie
I agree Apple makes a fine fine product. However stating Windows was stolen from Apple is incorrect. History is as follows:
-Invented by Stanford University
-Refined by Xerox
-Stolen by Apple (law suit thrown out due to statute of limitations)
-Licensed to Microsoft by Apple
Apple didn't like what MS did with the license agreement and sued but lost on nearly every count.
11 dthinking Midler not Davis was stuck for a while33d Bilko was a cartoon then a series with Phil silvers before ernest B and the movie 3dskylit ouch
and 19A footnote Ibid double ouch,footnote to what.
nate
Good morning C.C. and all,
very enjoyable puzzle today. I remembered the Poconos from "Dirty Dancing." I left anorak and noname without some letters; other than that, the new words smersh,otara, mach, and Tarawa fell into place. I had swoons for swoops for a minute."G" gave me PNIN and I read a bit about LOLITA, as I have never read it.Nabokov certainly had a full life.
At 1st I was sure the ref. to Bette was B. Midler, but then realized that she wasn't really known until the 80's when she was in "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Ruthless People." I've heard that her show in Las Vegas is worth seeing.
Roy Orbitson left us with so many great songs.Argyle, thanks for the links.
@well-versed, keep those lovely verses coming. so short, but so powerful
Dr. Dad, gotta love those Carnac bits! You remembered that?
C.C., did you know that you quoted a Carson line.... "I did not know this." ? You probably did. :-)
Dennis and Drdad, I am throwing a bathtub party. Don't go running scared and don't be too dressy. Let's get dunked!! It's my fave kind of action!
Good morning C.C. and everyone.
Top half gave me fits for awhile - I moved on to the middle and pretty soon 35A came to me. Then I realized it wasn't Ricky Nelson they were referring to...also the date of death was too late. I loved Roy O. too.
Barb b and Crazyhorse, I agree on Baby Jane....very creepy and it stuck with me for days.
Jimbo, sure glad to know your rib is healing nicely. I'll bet you are eager to get back to bowling.
I read all of Ian Fleming's novels before there were any James Bond movies, then saw the movies as they came out and they were surprisingly good! I just don't get to movies anymore, none of them seems interesting enough, and if they are, I'd prefer to rent them and watch at home (more comfortable). :)
It would be fun to have a bathtub large enough to have a party in, but I think the hot tub has pretty much filled that bill.
Have a great Friday.
DrDad,
Thanks for the Carson memories. I too loved both those characters, as well as his "fork in the road" direction skits. But other than Carnac, I would never remember their names. They're selling sets of DVD's of his best on TV now, but about a $100 is more than I care to spend on them.
clear ayes,
Thank you for your poems, and for always reading and reacting to posts previous to yours. You are obviously a very caring person.
KittyB,
Hope your mother continues to improve. It's not good to have worries around this time of year--there's enough tension as it is.
I had most of the letters for Tirawa, and then remembered Tirana was the capital of somewhere (turns out it's Albania). Then I finished the others and realized eagles just don't "snoop." Interesting background history on Kiribati's name from Argyle.
By the way, the clue for IBM was dated -- since they sold the ThinkPad line to Lenovo, they don't actually make PCs anymore.
Good morning, everyone! Did not know SMERSH, PNIN, MACH, BABY JANE, YVONNE, ECO. Peter NERO was a popular pianist in the late 60's and early 70's. I may even have an LP or two of his still. I know SGT Bilko from the TV series.
@martin I also wanted SPECTRE but couldn't make it fit the perps.
@tj This is C.C.'s Crossword Corner. You can read all about her in her profile.
@jeannie Come as you are?
Have a great Friday!
Crockett, by all means.
Good morning C.C. & all - A rather nice xw this morning. Fairly tough but not overly so. Cruised right along till I got to the south. Thanks to the perps, I got the blackout. Even with family in Alaska and numerous visits there, I've never heard of Anorak but it's probably a term not used much. I love Roy Orbison so 20A, 35A & 54A came very easily to me. But, is 45D (lienor) even a legitimate word or just a constructor's fabrication. It seems to fall under the radar for any official definition.
Y'all have a nice day.
doesitinink, yes, I remember Crusader Rabbit. Didn't he have a very strange voice for a rabbit, kind of like Maxwell Smart?
For all of you Hugh Jackman fans, I just read his interview in the Dec issue of Playboy. Their interviews are always good. Clear ayes, he says that he will likely perform on Broadway next in a musical, Houdini, scored by Danny Elfman.Hugh's brother called him a "bloody poof" when he wanted to take dance lessons as a kid.
Carl.
From Answers.com:
definition of lienor - Individual holding a lien.
Calef
11:41 today. Anything over ten minutes puts the puzzle into the "tougher" part of the scale.
My problem with this one was BABY JANE, SPACE JAM and PNIN crossing. I am among those who thought of Bette Midler instead of Bette Davis for the 11d clue and even after BABY JANE got filled in I was scratching my head. I never remember PNIN.
@Democrat in a red state: Macs don't crash they don't need virus protection
My friend, you are definitely in danger of infection. There are many well-known viruses that infect Macs.
Oops! Juxtaposition on spelling lienor on my part! Duh!!! Should have had that second cup of coffee then wrote!
@Democrat in a red state: Macs don't crash they don't need virus protection
Admit it -- their best attribute is simply they look so nice. They may cost a bit more but they feel worth it. A classic luxury good appeal. I use a PC but am a bit jealous of Mac owners. The old saw about no viruses is really just a rationalization.
Dennis,
You still have not answered my question on "Ballteam" (41A)? Is it even a word?
Democrat, Sallie, Barb B & Crazyhorse,
Wow, I did not know we have so many Mac users.
Argyle,
Thank you for the wonderful links you bring to us every day. You make me believe Santa does exist!
Maria,
I am glad you like this blog. Hope to hear from you often.
KittyB,
Sorry about your mom. You will have to hurry up with the Wednesday puzzle. Chicago Tribune only keeps a 7-day archive.
Clear Ayes,
This line "free from the harsh grip of hunger" strikes me as odd. Was she starved by her man?
Anon @ 11:22am,
Thanks for the Windows information. I thought it was initially developed by Microsoft itself.
J.D,
No, I didn't know that Johnny Carson said "I did not know this". Under what circumstance did he say that? For comical effect? FYI, Nabokov wrote the first Russian crossword.
Dougl,
Hope I can remember Tirana next time. Thanks for the IBM PCS information. I was not aware of that.
Kazie & Dick,
Maybe OTARU (Hokkaido port) appeared in other newspapers. It's the first time I saw it in TMS puzzle.
Kazie,
"Big house" is a slang, right? I thought STATE PEN is slangy too. Thanks for the OVO/OVI. I did not realize so many words start with those 2 prefixes.
Well-versed,
Your comments are greatly appreciated as well. Would you please give the origin of your quoted verse from now on? Thanks.
Anonymous @ 9:41am,
Yes, occasionally you will find different clues for the online puzzle and the syndication papers.
Jimbo,
When did you score the 224? How often do you bowl?
Crazyhorse,
Nice to see you again.
Night owl,
Hello!
Kazie,
Is MACH pronounced "max" as Ink said in her 10:40am post?
Mark,
Why did you suddenly ask for E.T.? I am missing your thread of thinking. Is it related to today's puzzle?
Gatormom,
Nothing inspiring lately?
The Tea Time Movie Skit with Art Fern and Carnac the Magnificent were my favorite Carson sketches on the Tonight Show.. Hard to explain but here is Wikipedia explanation as well as some You Tube Tea Time & Carnac skits... Some jokes are geared to that time so they may not seem as funny.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnac_the_Magnificent
Read all the way to the bottom....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnwyQFe3wRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_442dZzW7R0
Sadly Carol Wayne drowned in Mexico under suspicious circumstances....
Hi CC:
Enjoyed the puzzle of 12/5. Anorak was a snow job, but it worked in. Do I understand you are a "former naval person" ??
I retired from the Navy in '71. Have a good week-end.
Oh... I'm back on the blog, but I can't sign up.
Charles
Sam, Art Fern was one of my favorites as well - "take the Slausen cutoff, cut off your Slausen" -- "may the sewers of Rangoon back up into your breakfast". Nobody better than Carson.
c.c., I've never seen 'ballteam' written that way; only as two words.
Wait a minute. Sam, Carol Wayne drowned??? How could that woman possibly drown??
Not a bad puzzle. I just would have been so much better if they could have worked Roy Orbison's name into it some how.
'Mach' rhymes with 'Bach'. The 'a' is like in 'father'; the 'ch' is guttutal (in the back of the throat).
My favorite Roy Orbison video - Pretty Woman with some pretty interesting backup:
Orbison
Hi C.C. and all,
No real problems today, only had to use dictionary to get Tarawa. Did not know Mach so the first "a" in Tarawa elluded me.
Don't forget the super group that Orbison was involved with; The Traveling Wilburys with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan. Here's End of the Line for you to enjoy.
Party in the Bathtub Day sounds like a winner to me. With this cold I lost my voice, and as with doesitinink, when I remodeled my bathroom I put in a deep soaking Jacuzzi tub complete with heater...I think that it is calling me. Good thing my fingers aren't broken or I would really have trouble communicating.
You're right, Dennis. And so is Sam. If Carol Wayne died of DROWNING, it had to be suspicious!!!
I must be off.
Embien and Red State: It is well-accepted by Mac groups and those who write about computers that Macs don't need virus protection. There was a scare early this week that turned out to be a sham. The thought is that when Macs become as widely used as PCs that then some idiots may devise viruses for Macs. Difficult to do because the fairly new ones and new ones run on Unix.
Red State: don't let them scare you into buying unneeded protection.
C.C. "This line "free from the harsh grip of hunger" strikes me as odd. Was she starved by her man?"
My guess is that in India, 2,600 hundred years ago, most people were hungry a lot of the time. It probably wasn't that her husband starved her, it was just that she was low on the list of priorities in his life. As long as he ate, it didn't matter to him if she ate or not. She was probably married at a very early age and obviously didn't love her husband and he didn't love her either.
There isn't a lot of information about Sumangalamata on the internet. Her name means "Sumangala's Mother".
"She was the wife of a hat and shade umbrella maker and was a member of the earliest community of women followers of Buddha. Many of these women left accounts of their practice in poems, which were then collected in a volume known as the Therigatha."
My favorite Carson skit was the "Copper Clappers" with Jack Webb.
Dick, Here's your Copper Clappers
This is for Dennis!!
Johnny would often joke that Carol Wayne (like Dolly) would never drown with those large breasts of hers - but ironically that's exactly how she did die. To this day, the exact circumstances leading up to her death in 1985 remain a mystery. She did lose weight and was thin when she drowned. I guess he “Mae West Breasts” were no help!!
Carol Wayne's troubles started in 1980 when Johnny Carson threatened to quit his lucrative role as host of the popular 'Tonight' show. He demanded that NBC cut the show from ninety-minutes to sixty.
The network was having a very bad year, and the nightly talk show was its biggest profit center at the NBC had no choice but to reluctantly agree to Carson's demand. Freeing up this time led to the creation of 'Late Night with David Letterman', which became another hot property for the network and Carson Productions - so everyone came out a winner. Except Tom Snyder who was also let go(ironically Dave hired him at CBS to follow him!) I sure use ironically a lot!! Anyway Guilt maybe??/
Carol Wayne wasn‘t so lucky. The new sixty-minute format meant that Carson had less time for skits starring familiar characters like Aunt Blabby, Floyd R. Turbo, and Art Fern. As a result, Carol Wayne's appearances on the 'Tonight' show became fewer and farther between.
Carol Wayne was no longer in demand for daytime game show appearances either, that genre was dying on the vine. In 1980, she divorced her husband.
In 1984 a thin, pale Carol Wayne declared bankruptcy due in large part to a cocaine and alcohol problem. It was said the entertainer was reduced to being an occasional escort for wealthy businessmen in order to make a living.
According to published reports, Carol Wayne was on vacation in Santiago Bay, Mexico with Los Angeles car salesman Edward Durston on January 10, 1985 when (it has been reported) the couple had a argument about where they were going to stay that evening (they were scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles the next morning).
Durston checked into a hotel and Wayne reportedly left to walk down the beach (to cool off?). That was the last time anyone saw her alive. A local fisherman found her limp body floating in the shallow bay waters three days later.
Mexican authorities wondered how Carol Wayne came to drown in waters four feet deep, fully clothed. There were no cuts or abrasions, so a fall from the nearby rocks was ruled out. The coroner stated that death occurred 3 - 4 days earlier and the body tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
Suspicions were raised: Carol Wayne had to be identified by workers at the resort where the couple had been staying earlier in the week. When locals went to look for Wayne's traveling companion, they discovered that Edward Durston checked out three days earlier - leaving Wayne's luggage at the airport with a message that she would pick up her bags in the morning.
Carol Wayne could not swim, and reportedly did not like to go too near the water. So how did she happen to be found dead in calm and shallow waters?
Carol Wayne's death is still unsolved, But authorities don't think it was a drowning. A drowning, yes, of course, but there is much more to it than that." What more, we may never know.
As an aside, many readers may remember the (alleged) LSD related death of Art Linkletter's daughter Diane. She jumped (or fell) from a sixth floor apartment building in 1969. Ironically Diane Linkletter's companion the night she was killed was Edward Durston.
Hope this has been helpful...
SAM
Sam - outstanding! Thanks for taking the time; great information.
C.C., "I did not know that" was Johnny Carson's favorite expression, but I don't think it was for a laugh.He must have learned so much from his guests that it probably became a habit. Then it was like a trademark remark. I sent you an article from USA Today, since I'm not a "linker" yet.
Dennis, while watching Roy Orbitson sing, I thought of 2 things: how lucky those people were to be there, and how many of them may have ended up with lung cancer. Did you notice how thick the smoke was?
JD, I too wondered if those people realized what they were witnessing and how lucky they were.
c.c.,
Is MACH pronounced "max" as Ink said in her 10:40am post?
I would pronounce it with the German "ch" sound at the end, though one of the Google results says what Ink said. I think that's just ignorance of how to pronounce the German "ch".
In fact, when I found out he was a physicist, I thought the terms Mach 3 or Mach 4 etc. denoting speeds times the speed of sound may have been named after him. This, and my pronunciation, seem to be confirmed by Wiki.
Max Ernst was a German artist, not the same person.
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