Theme: Just Do It
17A: Start of G. K. Chesterton quip: IF A THING IS
29A: Part 2 of quip: NOT WORTH
40A: Part 3 of quip: DOING
48A: Part 4 of quip: IT'S WORTH
64A: End of quip: DOING BADLY
Well, Chesterton's original quote is "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly".
Mr. Olschwang's distorted quip does not make any sense to me. Why would you want to waste your effort on something that's not worth doing?
This is the first time that the quip actually helped me fill in quite a few blanks. Normally I rely on the down clues for the across quip answers.
Across:
1A: Waste from smelting: SLAG. Or DROSS for a 5-letter synonym.
2A: Lie about publicly: SMEAR. I suppose so, though I associate SMEAR with anonymous sources and their sleazy tactics.
10A: Pool surface?: FELT. Why "?" mark? I don't think it's needed.
20A: Panama Canal engineer: LESSEPS. I googled his name. He was also the developer of the Suez Canal. Wikipedia says he was only involved in the early efforts of the Panama Canal construction. And George Washington Goethals is more well-known as the chief engineer.
21A: Bargains: DICKERS. New word to me. DICKER sounds very DF.
23A: Chou of China: ENLAI. It's Zhou ENLAI in Mandarin Chinese. He is our first premier and the most beloved one.
32A: Emulate a beaver: GNAW. Lots of squirrels in our neighborhood. So I would have clued it as "Emulate a squrrel".
45A: Cultural mediums: AGARS. I always thought the plural form for medium is media.
59A: Flower arrangement: IKEBANA. I like this one. Very simple & Zen-like. I think you can break IKEBANA into IKE + BANA if you have difficulty remembering this word. Eric Bana is excellent in "Munich" and "Troy".
66A: Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. OK, clue ERIC as "Actor Bana" next time then. Here is Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight". So good. What a rock muse Pattie Boyd is!
68A: Cambodia currency: RIEL. Cambodia is the only country with RIEL as its currency. I tend to confuse RIEL with RIAL, the prevalent currency in the Middle East.
71A: Swimmer Torres: DARA. She looks pretty. Saw her name somewhere before, but then I promptly forgot. Had to google again.
Down:
1D: Big name in tools: SKIL. I got this tool after cheating on LESSEPS. What does SKIL stand for?
2D: Word of woe: ALAS. Would be AH ME if the clue were in plural form ("Words of woe").
4D: Readied: GOT SET
5D: Maritime cargo: SHIPLOAD
6D: Table constellation: MENSA. New constellation to me. I always associate MENSA with those who have high IQ. MENSA is "table" in Latin. "Stupid" in Spanish.
26D: Desert plants: CACTI. The hosts for those cochineal insects.
27D: Enlightened one, in Buddhism: ARHAT. I obtained the answer from across clues. It refers to "a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana through rigorous discipline and ascetic practices". I just mentioned the Zen enlightment Satori yesterday. How is Nirvana different from Satori?
31D: Dressing pick: RANCH. I don't understand this clue. Why "pink"? (Note: I misread the clue as "Dressing pink" earlier.)
41D: Hades, e.g.: GREEK GOD
46D: LP surface: SIDE B
49D: Crosspiece of a ladder: RUNDLE. I got the answer from across clues. New word to me.
51D: Part of a knight's outfit: TABARD. New word to me. It's sleeveless. What is that logo emblazoned on his TABARD?
60D: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. I really have difficult memorizing this song. ADIA is Swahili for "Gift from God".
61D: Dodger, in MLB jargon: NLER (National Leaguer). I wish we could get rid of DH in American League.
62D: "Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine: AYLA. I drew a blank on her name again. The book is written by Jean M Auel whose surname appeared in our puzzle occasionally.
C.C.
17A: Start of G. K. Chesterton quip: IF A THING IS
29A: Part 2 of quip: NOT WORTH
40A: Part 3 of quip: DOING
48A: Part 4 of quip: IT'S WORTH
64A: End of quip: DOING BADLY
Well, Chesterton's original quote is "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly".
Mr. Olschwang's distorted quip does not make any sense to me. Why would you want to waste your effort on something that's not worth doing?
This is the first time that the quip actually helped me fill in quite a few blanks. Normally I rely on the down clues for the across quip answers.
Across:
1A: Waste from smelting: SLAG. Or DROSS for a 5-letter synonym.
2A: Lie about publicly: SMEAR. I suppose so, though I associate SMEAR with anonymous sources and their sleazy tactics.
10A: Pool surface?: FELT. Why "?" mark? I don't think it's needed.
20A: Panama Canal engineer: LESSEPS. I googled his name. He was also the developer of the Suez Canal. Wikipedia says he was only involved in the early efforts of the Panama Canal construction. And George Washington Goethals is more well-known as the chief engineer.
21A: Bargains: DICKERS. New word to me. DICKER sounds very DF.
23A: Chou of China: ENLAI. It's Zhou ENLAI in Mandarin Chinese. He is our first premier and the most beloved one.
32A: Emulate a beaver: GNAW. Lots of squirrels in our neighborhood. So I would have clued it as "Emulate a squrrel".
45A: Cultural mediums: AGARS. I always thought the plural form for medium is media.
59A: Flower arrangement: IKEBANA. I like this one. Very simple & Zen-like. I think you can break IKEBANA into IKE + BANA if you have difficulty remembering this word. Eric Bana is excellent in "Munich" and "Troy".
66A: Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. OK, clue ERIC as "Actor Bana" next time then. Here is Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight". So good. What a rock muse Pattie Boyd is!
68A: Cambodia currency: RIEL. Cambodia is the only country with RIEL as its currency. I tend to confuse RIEL with RIAL, the prevalent currency in the Middle East.
71A: Swimmer Torres: DARA. She looks pretty. Saw her name somewhere before, but then I promptly forgot. Had to google again.
Down:
1D: Big name in tools: SKIL. I got this tool after cheating on LESSEPS. What does SKIL stand for?
2D: Word of woe: ALAS. Would be AH ME if the clue were in plural form ("Words of woe").
4D: Readied: GOT SET
5D: Maritime cargo: SHIPLOAD
6D: Table constellation: MENSA. New constellation to me. I always associate MENSA with those who have high IQ. MENSA is "table" in Latin. "Stupid" in Spanish.
26D: Desert plants: CACTI. The hosts for those cochineal insects.
27D: Enlightened one, in Buddhism: ARHAT. I obtained the answer from across clues. It refers to "a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana through rigorous discipline and ascetic practices". I just mentioned the Zen enlightment Satori yesterday. How is Nirvana different from Satori?
31D: Dressing pick: RANCH. I don't understand this clue. Why "pink"? (Note: I misread the clue as "Dressing pink" earlier.)
41D: Hades, e.g.: GREEK GOD
46D: LP surface: SIDE B
49D: Crosspiece of a ladder: RUNDLE. I got the answer from across clues. New word to me.
51D: Part of a knight's outfit: TABARD. New word to me. It's sleeveless. What is that logo emblazoned on his TABARD?
60D: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. I really have difficult memorizing this song. ADIA is Swahili for "Gift from God".
61D: Dodger, in MLB jargon: NLER (National Leaguer). I wish we could get rid of DH in American League.
62D: "Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine: AYLA. I drew a blank on her name again. The book is written by Jean M Auel whose surname appeared in our puzzle occasionally.
C.C.
63 comments:
Good morning, c.c. and gang - a difficult puzzle for me today, with any number of unknowns. At least I'd heard the quote before.
Without rehashing each stumbling block, I was looking for a noun for 'bargains', didn't know the Panama Canal engineer, didn't remember 'ikebana' (which we've seen before in the not-too-distant past, I believe), and guessed at the crossing of 62D and 71A. Over 10 minutes on this one.
Today is National Noodle Ring Day - always a crowd favorite.
Have a great day.
27:14 UGH! I'm getting worse at doing this puzzle.
21 Across Baragins answer was foreign to me. I've never heard of Dickers.
c.c., I think the '?' on 10A is ok - if the clue had been 'pool table surface', it wouldn't be needed, but 'pool' by itself usually makes one think of a swimming pool (except for Lois and Rich, that is). My opinion, anyway.
Dennis,
OK, I got your point on FELT. Maybe I am catching up with you? I did not find this puzzle to be difficult. What is noodle ring? Why RANCH clue is "Dressing pink"? Why "pink"?
Ink,
I had doubt about "ancient" last time when ADANA was clued as “Ancient Turkish city”. And I still do, even after hearing Clear Ayes and Calef's explanations. I prefer clues that are tight. I used to really like Eliot Spitzer when he was NY State AG.
Arkrn, Ca-Jen & Bethann,
Welcome!
Mark,
I am still confused. What is the other meaning of ET besides Extraterrestrial?
Clear Ayes & Embien,
Thanks for the mouthwatering pastry information. How I wish I could have a croissant AND a pain au chocolat (with Nutella), right now!
Richshif,
Awesome comment last night.
Argyle,
"Nothing yet"? I missed the picture!
c.c., it's dressing PICK, not pink. And I have no idea what a noodle ring is, other than maybe a Spaghetti-O.
Skil is a brand of small power tools that are produced by Robert Bosch GmbH.
The portable circular saw was invented in 1924 by Edmond Michel, who founded the Michel Electric Handsaw Company along with Joseph L. Sullivan which renamed itself Skilsaw Inc. Portable circular saws are often still called Skilsaws or Skil saws. Its successor is still sold by Skil as the model 77.
n the 1950s, the company changed its name again, becoming the Skil Corporation, and expanded outside its native borders for the first time. Skilsaw remained the brand name used for the company's products. International sales began in Canada, followed a few years later by Europe. By that time, Skil had also entered the consumer market and, by 1959, had a full and successful range of DIY tools. Skil's European factory was built in 1961 in the Dutch town of Breda, followed soon after by the electric motor plant at Eindhoven.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skil
Dennis,
Holy "pick"! Something was wrong with my eyes. All I saw was "pink".
Democrat,
DICKERS is easily gettable from the down fills though. Thanks for SKIL. I was just curious to know what it stands for. Why one L is missing from SKILL?
Seattle John,
You meant you only have one puzzle in your newspaper? I thought Seattle Times simply changed NY Times into Stan's Newsday puzzle.
Crockett,
I am still waiting for someone to come up with a rationale for the theme. How is "collections" tied in with ring? What's the most sensuous meal you've ever had?
Good morning CC etal,
Unremarkable puzzle - couple of Googles, but nothing to write home about.
Sorry to shout, but IT'S SNOWING IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA!
This just ain't right.
PS - last time it snowed down here was the winter (Xmas Day, as a matter of fact) before Katrina. I'll start packing soon :)
Unknowns for me were FELT, LESSEPS, DICKERY, AGARS, THEDA, IKEBANA, RIEL, DARA, SKIL, ARHAT, TABARD, ADIA and AYLA. DICKERY reminded me of the nursery rhyme "Hickory dickory dock..." "Culture medium" made think of TV or radio not bacteria, I wanted AND SO or SINCE for HENCE and "Chou from China" made me think of "stinky tofu". I did like how ARIA was straight across from ADIA. 28 minutes, 44 seconds (online).
Martin
DICKERY should have been DICKERS. I was thinking of swimming pool so I couldn't understand why "Pool surface" was FELT.
Martin
69A online - feeble
paper - watered-down
"Nothing yet" was answer to Crockett's question about new development on CD Collection.
Picture? What picture?
Morning, all!
Well, this one started out straightforward enough. As with C. C., I was able to get the quip without needing the perps to help me out. I was pretty proud of myself for remembering ARHAT, ENLAI. I didn't know LESSEPS or RUNDLE, but got them easily enough via the perps.
The SE corner proved my undoing, however. I managed to pull TABARD and AYLA out of the cerebral cobwebs, but did not know IKEBANA, ADIA, RIEL or DARA. I finally guessed ADIO and DORA, so I officially did not correctly finish this puzzle. I dunno, I just felt that corner was just too crammed with intersecting obscure words to be even remotely reasonable. Maybe I'm just grumpy because I couldn't finish the puzzle.
Oh -- and HEWER is just an abomination. Sorry, but it is. I don't care if it's in a dictionary somewhere -- it shouldn't be. I hate it, hate it, hate it!
Other than that, though, a fine puzzle...
[Oh -- as for SKIL, I doubt it stands for anything. It's probably just a creative spelling of "skill" so that the name could be trademarked.]
Mornin'! Stumbled a few times but only missed a few. ADIA, AYLA. Didn't remember LESSEPS, MENSA. And, yes we had IKABANA not so long ago, but I still forgot it.
Never heard the quip before but, after I got it, it still didn't make sense and I was sure it must be wrong.
Twas fun though.
Off to the Dr's for another eye check. I wish the vision would restore itself to the former state. Still really blurry. Maybe it'll clear.
CY'all later
c.c. very interesting that mensa means 'stupid' in Spanish. Good to know.
Off for the annual physical - I get poked and prodded so much, I feel like Lois...
G'morning all!
I had to google most of the SE corner, but otherwise got everything one way or another.
Yesterday I ditched early and spent the day Xmas shopping for d-i-l's parents with her help. So here are my reactions to what I found here on my return at 10:30 pm:
c.c.,
I guess to answer your remark, what frustrated me was that I had no use for any of that info, and so refused to waste the time G'ing. If it's knowledge I consider valuable, I have no problem looking it up. I guess my interest is too specialized.
Bethann, ARKRN and Ca-jen---welcome! I echo the question yesterday about ARKRN--I have a son in AR so am curious, and Ca-jen--is it CA or LA (cajun?) for you?
embien,
You mentioned WI among the places cornish pasties are popular: Just down the road aways from me is the little town of Mineral Point, which was a lead mining center in its day. Today it survives on artisans and tours of the Cornish lead miners' homes, where you'd hear stories about the pasties like you quoted. I also tried Cornish pasties in Cornwall and was sorely disappointed--no meat and very bland. I was expecting something more like our wonderful aussie meat pies--the oz answer to hamburgers.
Richshif,
You are also right about cuckoo clocks being Bavarian--they are made in several areas, and widely available in tourist shops in the Black Forest as well (Baden-Württemberg). Woodcarving was a way for the mountain people to make a living in the old time winters when they couldn't do much else, which is why you find this industry in all the mountainous areas of German speaking countries.
Although Ohio claims to have the largest CC in the world, the best site I found on them was cuckoo clock
Having been a microbiology major in college, I can tell you definitely that media is the plural of medium. That was in the days when we reconstituted our own culture media and couldn't depend on commercial supplies.
Another off day with the Trib puzzle. Know I've heard some of the words from the SE corner before but couldn't pull them out-total blank there. The MENSA constellation didn't look like a table to me so I did some searching to find out why. Discovered here that "The constellation Mensa is close to the South Pole (in Octans), and named by La Caille who originally called it Mons Mensae after Table Mountain, the name of the mountain near his observatory in Cape Town, South Africa." Picture of the mountain here reminds me of the Rockies.
BTW did you know there is also a Densa organization?! Also wondered why people would name their group MENSA if t meant stupid in Spanish and found this:
The name comes from mensa, the Latin word for "table," and indicates that it is a round-table society of equals. The name was once planned to be Mens, Latin for "mind," but this was potentially confusing. Mensa's name may also seem ironic to Colombians and Mexicans, in whose dialect menso (feminine: mensa) means "stupid". Mensa is however also very close to the Spanish word for "table", mesa, and most Spanish speakers do not see anything wrong with the name.
here.
I'll sign off now that I've written more than you ever wanted to know about MENSA!
Yesterday c.c. asked about the difference in apple crisp and brown betty. Here are my two family recipes c.1940.
APPLE CRISP
6-8 medium apples
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pare apples and slice as for pie. Grease baking dish. Layer alternating apples and sugar mixture, ending with sugar mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees about one hour or until apples are done. Serve warm or cold with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.
BROWN BETTY
Prepare as for apple crisp except for the following sugar mixture:
3/4 brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup cinnamon
3/4 cup nutmeg
1/3 cup soft butter
There are many variations on these recipes depending, I suppose, in what part of the country you reside. All are delicious and are quick to make....no pastry making at all. Enjoy!
c.c. and all,
Well, things were going great until the southeast corner. I had to google Ikebana and Riel and the rest fell into place. Why do they put all the obscure names in the same place? Seems unfair to me, especially when the puzzle was going so well. Also could not remember Lesseps and did not know Enlai but got them thru the perps.
Have a wonderful day everyone. Today is a dreary day in Southwest Florida so maybe the gym is in order.
Good morning, all.
I had the same reaction to the SE corner as Barry and NYTAnonimo.
I dislike reworked quips, and this one was particularly clumsy.
kazie, I've been to your corner of the world, and enjoyed my stay. We played a Fourth of July concert at Governor Dodge State Park, and visited the tourist's version of a Cornish miner's village (Pendarvis?).
As for Noodle Rings, they are a baked circle of noodles which can be filled with veggies, creamed lobster or chicken, or anything you choose. Here's a simple Noodle Ring Recipe.
Hi
In my background the verb "to dicker" means to bargain with someone over the price of something
Calef,
pattispa, my family likes your Brown Betty recipe, but the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook that was published in the mid sixties calls that recipe Apple Crisp!
I think the names for these very common desserts were regional once upon a time, but in this age of readily available cookbooks, and travel, and relocation, the desserts are identified by family history, as you have shown us.
Personally, I don't care what they are named, but when fall arrives in the Midwest, I want to see them on my table! :-)
Good Morning All, Right on, C.C. et al. What a dumb quip. Why bother with doing something badly that is not worth doing in the first place?
I had the same SE problems as others. I also forgot my 6th grade history and LESSEPS was a toughie.
Pattispa, Thanks for the recipes. I've been thinking about desserts for Christmas dinner and I think one of these will fill the bill.
KittyB furnished a recipe, here's a photo of a Noodle Ring. My grandmother made a pretty good one filled with creamed leftover Christmas turkey.
December 11th marks the death of a poet who is famous for only one poem, but what a poem it is!
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., was an American who enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 and was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.
In August or September 1941, Magee composed High Flight and
sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his
Spitfire collided with another plane over England and Magee, only 19 years old, was killed.
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high unsurpassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
- John Gillespie Magee
With regard to the quip in today's puzzle, the classic version of the saying is, of course, "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right." Personally, I found the reversal of this classic saying to be funny and definitely something I'd be likely to say. But then, I've got an odd sense of humor in the first place....
clear ayes, one of my very favorite pieces of verse - I've had it memorized for many, many years, since my very first flight.
Back from my physical - the doctor didn't scream or start laughing, so I guess it's all good. My visits tend to be brief: "Hi, how're you feeling?" "Outstanding." "Ok, seeya in a year."
My kinda doctor...
Did anyone but me chuckle at some of these clues:
Two toned treat
Emulate a beaver
Big name in tools
Gush forth
The two canals?
Am I truly the only DF one out here? Do I need help? I also starting laughing right away when I found out it was National Noodle Ring Day...something totally differnet popped into my head.
Good morning C.C. & all - Not a particularly tough xw this morning but stumbled a little as usual. NW and West brought out several messy overwrites but it all came together in the end thanks to perps & lucky guesses. Knew Lesseps - went through the Canal several times travelling from the Pacific to Carribe(totally historied out on the subject). And, I didn't even find the quote objectionable even though it is a play on words. I know I'm 'harping' but I liked the fact that Olschwang identified the author of that quip.
And, even though I got it with no problem I've got agree with Barry G. that 'hewer' is just ????????!!!
It's a busy day in my neighborhood so I'm outta here!
ttfn
Hi C.C. and everyone (Df's and ettes included)...this one was not a favorite and did not get solved quickly. I dislike quotes and quips too. All the hang-ups have already been discusses (and cussed).
Dennis, I'm glad you enjoyed your Dr.visit..not many of us are so fortunate! LOL
Jeannie, good one, and no, you are not the only one who thinks "df" on this blog! You certainly did point out all the goodies though....hmmmm. How about Smear, Felt, Spew, Go In, and Weak?
Not a bad puzzle, but not particularly interesting either. Though there were a few answers I could get only from the crosses, ARHAT comes to mind, I was doing well until the lower, right corner. I knew IKEBANA and there my knowledge stopped. I could not recall TABARD. I assumed that “Cambodian currency” would be either “baht” or “rial”, but neither seemed to fit. In fact the answer was RIEL. This is a common term for currencies but is spelled RIEL, “rial” and even “riyal”. I did not know the name of DARA Torres and have never read Clan of the Cave Bear. I agree with Barry. There were just too many obscure terms in this area of the puzzle. Perhaps tomorrow’s puzzle will be more satisfying.
Carol, thanks I feel much better now. I'm still snickering, but don't feel so out of the loop. How about:
Expertise, lots and lots, all over and enter?
Haven't you heard someone say "Oh, don't dicker over the price... he's not going to come down." That's how the word is usually used. Therefore, when you try to bargain, you dicker. Plural in this puzzle today.
Jeannie, those will work, maybe we're describing Dennis' visit to his Dr. - oh, wait, it probably was not that type of Dr.
No, if memory serves that was a couple of months ago. Carol, what ever happened to your pretty picture? It's been missing for some time now.
Thanks to all who have made me feel quite welcome on this blog!
Clear Ayes - I am actually from New Orleans so my name was supposed to be a play on "cajun" as my name is Jen. But I've lived in CA a few times - once in Santa Cruz and once in Long Beach. Beautiful state with lots of great hiking! Never could get the surfing thing down.
But alas, I have been misplaced in Arkansas so I don't get to see it snowing in Louisiana, which is completely unfair!
I thought the quote was was rather cynical and pessimistic. All in all I didn't like this puzzle very much. But then again, since I'm fairly new to puzzles, I like the easy ones and this was not easy to me.
Carol, yes, you put your 'finger' on it. I'll still never understand why he insists on doing it in the waiting room, though.
And I really wish he'd stop calling me 'sweetie' while he's doing it...
As a huge baseball fan, I csn tell you nobody uses the term "NLer". Terrible clue that I've seen before. Wish they'de get rid of it.
17:44 today. No googles (I never google unless I totally give up on the puzzle, which happens occasionally with the NY Times), but a long time spent on some of the words.
As others, the SE was my worst area. Jean Auel is an Oregon resident (or was--did I read somewhere that she had moved?), so AYLA was a gimme. I can never remember RIEL and IKEBANA, even though I know those words. My last fill was actually RUNDLE--the only word in the puzzle I'd truly never heard before.
I dislike "quip Thursdays" anyway, and this puzzle did nothing to alter my view. The only bright spot for me was finding GNAW crossing HEWER (I don't share other's dislike of that word).
Like embiem I do not understand why people dislike the word hewer. If I chop a log I'm a chopper. If I eat an apple I'm an eater. So if I hew a tree I'm a hewer. What is the big deal?
Calef.
So many, many lines...
Martin,
I bet you are the only one who thought of "stinky tofu" with the "Chou from China" clue.
Argyle,
I understood your "Nothing yet" response. I just wanted to know where that "nothing" Santa went.
Dennis,
How long have you been "Stupid"? 30+ years? What does your "So many, many lines..." refer to?
NYTanonimo,
Very informative post. Thanks.
Pattispa,
Thanks for the recipes. Look very simple and doable to me.
Clear Ayes,
I remember Reagan quoted that poem on his Challenger Disaster address. Do you know what are "laughter-silvered wings"?
Ink,
As I said on my blog entry, Cambodia is the only country with RIEL as the currency.
Vicnic,
I agree, both NLER and ALER are Xword words.
Calef,
I don't have problem with hewer either. It's the excess of affixes like RE, ER, ED, S's that bothers me.
C.C., 40+ years.
The 'so many, many lines' comment referred to Calef's 3:05 post.
The beams in most old houses were made from logs that were hewn into shape using an adze. So someone doing that work is a hewer; I've never heard of an adzer. LOL It will probably be in a puzzle next week now.
What does "DF" mean? Haven't been able to figure it out from the context.
Doreen
Doreen,
My take on DF is DeFicient, referring to those who DeFace the original word meanings so they can be DeFunct in DeFiling the normal intentions of our puzzles. They are usually DeFiant in this cause, and I feel DeFerence towards their creativity. DeFinitely DeFlating to see how cleverly they achieve these new DeFinitions!
Dennis,
I feel dense. I still don't get your "many, many lines" comment. You need to explain it to me.
Argyle,
Holy cow! Adze is a verb also. I did not know that!
Doreen,
DF stands for dysfunctional. Dennis first used it to describe the audaciously distorted thinking of the blog posters here.
Kazie,
Wow! What a creative post!
Argyle et al,
Clue: sixth and seventh of eight? Answer: LATI
Why?
c.c., musical scale
Dennis,
I presume that your comment about my post re hewer was a criticism, but the truth is I do not understand it. I appologize if I am aggravating you, although I do not think my post was exceptionally long. It took only 5 lines on my screen.
Calef.
calef, no, not at all - I meant there were 'so many lines' about words with "er" added to them, including many DF ones.
Sorry if you misunderstood. Your post was on target.
Dennis,
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti. How could it be eight?
Calef,
I don't think Dennis means your post is long. He has something else on his mind I am sure. I am eager for him to address it also.
Hi C.C. and all,
Dennis, believe it or not felt did not come to me at first. I was fixated on a swimming pool. Second time around I had a DUH moment and got it.
Quite of few unknowns for me. Not a big baseball fan so AL and NL team designations are a problem.
Dickers came to me once I considered bargains as averb instead of a noun.
The quip I was thinking was " If a chance is not worth doing, its worth doing again." Which off course didn't work. I was thinking of something along the lines of a task not worth doing, is not worth doing twice. Which generally shows that tasks that are done poorly because of their insignificance, are doomed to be done twice. Forgive me for rambling.
Dennis.
OK
Calef.
Mark - Buenos Aires
c.c. normally we think of eight notes being a scale - do you know the "Sound of Music" - "Do a dear, a female dear" etc, and so 6 and 7 of 8 - do re me fa so la ti do = lati
"What´s ET short for" - most people will say Extra Terrestial
but the answer is "because he has little legs" Its a schoolboy joke about our unprecise English
How about -
"What does DNA stand for"
Answer: "National Dyslexic Association"
"What´s ET short for?" - "because he has little legs"
in other words
"Why is ET short? - Because his legs are little."
Schoolboy jokes rely on unprecise English.
There are really only seven notes in the scale?! I did not know that. (Thanks to Sound of Music) There is high doh and low doh and Homer Simpson "Doh!"
Just a quick stop at the blog. G.A.H. and I were shopping today....PHEW! The mall stores were pretty busy and Costco was a madhouse. I'm glad we had some left-over pot roast from last night. I'm not going to have time to cook this evening. Tonight is the first holiday concert for our chorus. I've got about an hour to get ready.
Ca-Jen, Nice name. Welcome to all the new kids on the block.
Dennis, Glad you liked the poem. It is one of my favorites too.
C.C. laughter-silvered wings - One of the dictionary definitions for silvery is "Having a clear, softly resonant sound: a silvery laugh".
Wings are silver-colored metal. The poet gets such joy from flying that he is saying the wings are colored/covered with his laughter, or maybe even God's laughter.
Clear Ayes,
One of the TV stations in DC had a video of a single jet with a pilot flying and that poem was recited with some music. They played this nightly at station sign off.
C.C., I really don't know what you and Argyle are talking about when he throws those comments into the blog. So, I just started letting my mind roam. When I came up with CD meaning Cross Dressing, I conjured up a picture of Portland's Darcelle, who has made a very good living putting on shows as a cross-dresser. I've never been to one, but the image of his hands completely covered in gaudy rings came to mind, so I just threw that into the mix.
The most sensuous meal I've ever had was a steak that was cooked perfectly and was very tender and juicy, in a steak house on the southeast edge of Moab, UT. I went back many years later and couldn't even find the restaurant, although I searched mightily for it.
Alas, things did not go well this morning.Add these words to Martin's list of unknowns: nler,enlai,rundle,mensa,and,of course,the inane quip. I did know Lesseps, but shouldn't it have had de in front? Couldn't forget Ayla after reading Jean Auel's books; the last 2 were surprisingly sexually graphic.
I liked how gnaw and hewer were joined with the w (thinking woody)
C.C., what are those baskets doing on the cacti??
Pattispa, thanks for the recipes. I sometimes use fresh peaches instead of apples . One question,are the measurements correct? 3/4 c. of cinnamon and same for nutmeg? I haven't used oats or br. sugar in mine, so I'd like to try it.
I'm looking forward to a new dawn, a new puzzle. :)
Clear ayes, I thought that poem was exceptionally lovely. Hope your concert went well.Left-overs are a way of life in our house.
Clear Ayes: Thank you for that poem and the history of the young pilot/poet. Coming from a family of pilots, we had that poem framed for my brother when he made his first solo flight. He still has it hanging in his office.
pattispa, thank you for the recipes. Haven't had Brown Betty in years and am now inspired to make it.
I personally think 'hewer' is hilarious and stimulates the imagination with such hot possibilites that even the most frigid of ice queens would DeFrost.
jd,
Maybe tsp instead of cup for the nutmeg and cinnamon?
The baskets are to collect the cochineal bugs for harvest. The photo was linked with that explanation the day that was in our puzzle.
I think there would be lots of examples of miscued acronyms. I remember a school inservice once when they mentioned O.B.E. and said "what does it mean to you?" I immediately thought (out loud) "Order of the British Empire", but they were of course referring to "Outcome Based Education"
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