Theme: None
Total blocks: 34
Total words: 70
A much better puzzle today. Boy, I saw nothing positive in yesterday's grid, not even a single hit, only error after error.
I sure liked the five run-through 15-letter words in the Across. But I've also learned that 14-letter word is actually the the hardest to construct. After filling in TAILORS (62A: Suit makers", I wondered if Tom Pruce had considered a themed puzzle with FULL METAL JACKET as one entry. You know, he can add Jerry Seinfeld's PUFF SHIRT, Monica Lewinsky's Blue DRESS and Hillary Clinton's PANTSUITS. Voila, a great puzzle for President Clinton.
Very annoyed to see ELA (19A: Old-time high note) again. Why not "She, in 2D" (Sao PAULO, Brazil) as a tie-in? Also, "Cloth finish (41A)?" for IER again? Where is the imagination? How about "The back of hotel"? Hotelier, cashier, frontier, etc.
I guess there is no other better way to clue EPH (35D: New Testament bk.). But today will be a great day to clue ISA (25A: O.T. b ) as fill in the blank IN A, as in Gertrude Stein's "Rose IS A Rose ..." That's a very lonely rose struggling to blossom.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Across:
1A: Dulled by a narcotic: OPIATED. Did not know OPIATE can be a verb.
15A: Flourish of trumpets: FANFARE. Oh, is this how we got the extended "publicity" meaning?
16A: Otitis: EARACHE. Ot(a) is prefix for ear. Otalgia is EARACHE too. Gimme for Michael Phelps I am sure. He swims so often. Plus the current outcry over his marijuana use. Total overkill from Kellogg in my opinion. Backlash is coming.
17A: Kubrick's Vietnam War movie: FULL METAL JACKET. Here is the movie trailer. I was unaware of this movie. Oh, Ann Margret is sexy, no wonder that solider asked the question.
21A: Market dips: DOWNTURNS. The clue for RISE (51D: Shine's partner?) is fine. But I want "Ascend" to balance DOWNTURNS. I don't know what kind of detailed planning Wall Street was expecting from Timothy Geithner last Tuesday. But 400 point plunge is absurd.
29A: Slights: SCANTS. Scant is always a "Barely sufficient" adjective to me. Did not know it can be a verb meaning "To treat neglectfully".
32A: Acts against heirs: DISINHERITANCES
38A: Aleutian islands connection: ALASKA PENINSULA. Here is a map. It separates the Bering Sea from the Pacific. What is Becharof?
39A: Peter Sellers movie, with "The": MOUSE THAT ROARED. Looks funny. New to me. Wikipedia says the phrase "mouse that roared" proved a durable MEME over half a century, and is still current. What exactly is a MEME? Can you also give me some examples?
42A: Manuscript encl.: SAE (Stamped Addressed Envelope). Sometimes it's SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope). Can you believe Tom Vilsack (ex-Iowa governor, our current Secretary of Agriculture) folded his photo into my SASE when I asked for his autograph? But he was very nice and later mailed me a new one.
49A: One Hemingway: MARIEL. I liked her in "Manhattan". Ernest Hemingway was dead before she was born.
52A: Change in a car?: OIL. Good clue.
53A: Management by overseeing: SUPERINTENDENCE. Funny, but I really only knew "superintendent". The verb is "superintend".
59A: Acupressure massage: SHIATSU. No idea. Did recognize the Japanese kanji (指圧) when I googled. The first word 指 means "finger", the second 圧 "pressure", so literally, "finger pressure".
61A: Nagana carriers: TSETSES. Bugger, I thought "Nagana" is a city in Japan, and the clue is asking for a Japanese airline. More used to "African flies" clue.
Down:
5D: Scottish cap: TAM. Hmm, a TAM is not complete without a kilt.
9D: One who has been to Mecca: HAJI. Oh, nice to know. Meet MN Congressman Keith Ellison, the first HAJI of US Congress. He made his HAJ pilgrimage last year.
10D: Q.E.D. word: ERAT. Quod ERAT Demonstrandum. ERAT alone is "he/she/it was" in Latin.
14D: __ up (excited): HET. This phrase has negative connotationn, right? You can't get HET up over Valentine's Day, can you?
18D: Beattie or Blyth: ANN. Easy guess. I have never heard of writer ANNE Beatties or actress ANN Blyth. Is ANN a nicknam of Anne?
22D: Oder- ___ Line: NEISSE. Poland is Polen in German?
23D: Mr. Fixit: TINKER
24D: Knocks off a boater, e.g.: UNHATS. I did not know this kind of straw hat has a special name "boater". UNHAT sounds like a made-up word.
25D: Sustain: INCUR. As in "Sustain a financial loss"?
26D: Inscribed stone: STELE. Or STELA.
27D: Syrian strongman: ASSAD. The current Syrian president. This guy is unbelievably articulate.
30D: Went by dugout: CANOED. Of course I was thinking of baseball dugout, not the dugout boat.
31D: "Broken Arrow" co-star Michael: ANSARA. No idea. He was born in Syria. Was "Broken Arrow" a popular TV series?
33D: Entertainer Massey: ILONA. Another unknown. Wikipedia says she was born in Budapest and billed as "the new Dietrich". Her legs are so long.
43D: Skull cavity: SINUS
45D: Observant: ALERT
46D: Last movement of a sonata: RONDO. Learned this from doing Xword. Wikipedia says it could be also the last movement of a symphony or concerto.
47D: Crapshooter, for example: DICER. I only knew kitchen DICER.
48D: Huskies' burdens: SLEDS. Is Balto the most famous Husky sled dog?
55D: Bakery buy: PIE. Wrote down RYE first.
56D: Performance grants org.: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). Interesting. I don't know its chairperson has to be appointed by the president.
57D: 601: DCI
C.C.
Total blocks: 34
Total words: 70
A much better puzzle today. Boy, I saw nothing positive in yesterday's grid, not even a single hit, only error after error.
I sure liked the five run-through 15-letter words in the Across. But I've also learned that 14-letter word is actually the the hardest to construct. After filling in TAILORS (62A: Suit makers", I wondered if Tom Pruce had considered a themed puzzle with FULL METAL JACKET as one entry. You know, he can add Jerry Seinfeld's PUFF SHIRT, Monica Lewinsky's Blue DRESS and Hillary Clinton's PANTSUITS. Voila, a great puzzle for President Clinton.
Very annoyed to see ELA (19A: Old-time high note) again. Why not "She, in 2D" (Sao PAULO, Brazil) as a tie-in? Also, "Cloth finish (41A)?" for IER again? Where is the imagination? How about "The back of hotel"? Hotelier, cashier, frontier, etc.
I guess there is no other better way to clue EPH (35D: New Testament bk.). But today will be a great day to clue ISA (25A: O.T. b ) as fill in the blank IN A, as in Gertrude Stein's "Rose IS A Rose ..." That's a very lonely rose struggling to blossom.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Across:
1A: Dulled by a narcotic: OPIATED. Did not know OPIATE can be a verb.
15A: Flourish of trumpets: FANFARE. Oh, is this how we got the extended "publicity" meaning?
16A: Otitis: EARACHE. Ot(a) is prefix for ear. Otalgia is EARACHE too. Gimme for Michael Phelps I am sure. He swims so often. Plus the current outcry over his marijuana use. Total overkill from Kellogg in my opinion. Backlash is coming.
17A: Kubrick's Vietnam War movie: FULL METAL JACKET. Here is the movie trailer. I was unaware of this movie. Oh, Ann Margret is sexy, no wonder that solider asked the question.
21A: Market dips: DOWNTURNS. The clue for RISE (51D: Shine's partner?) is fine. But I want "Ascend" to balance DOWNTURNS. I don't know what kind of detailed planning Wall Street was expecting from Timothy Geithner last Tuesday. But 400 point plunge is absurd.
29A: Slights: SCANTS. Scant is always a "Barely sufficient" adjective to me. Did not know it can be a verb meaning "To treat neglectfully".
32A: Acts against heirs: DISINHERITANCES
38A: Aleutian islands connection: ALASKA PENINSULA. Here is a map. It separates the Bering Sea from the Pacific. What is Becharof?
39A: Peter Sellers movie, with "The": MOUSE THAT ROARED. Looks funny. New to me. Wikipedia says the phrase "mouse that roared" proved a durable MEME over half a century, and is still current. What exactly is a MEME? Can you also give me some examples?
42A: Manuscript encl.: SAE (Stamped Addressed Envelope). Sometimes it's SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope). Can you believe Tom Vilsack (ex-Iowa governor, our current Secretary of Agriculture) folded his photo into my SASE when I asked for his autograph? But he was very nice and later mailed me a new one.
49A: One Hemingway: MARIEL. I liked her in "Manhattan". Ernest Hemingway was dead before she was born.
52A: Change in a car?: OIL. Good clue.
53A: Management by overseeing: SUPERINTENDENCE. Funny, but I really only knew "superintendent". The verb is "superintend".
59A: Acupressure massage: SHIATSU. No idea. Did recognize the Japanese kanji (指圧) when I googled. The first word 指 means "finger", the second 圧 "pressure", so literally, "finger pressure".
61A: Nagana carriers: TSETSES. Bugger, I thought "Nagana" is a city in Japan, and the clue is asking for a Japanese airline. More used to "African flies" clue.
Down:
5D: Scottish cap: TAM. Hmm, a TAM is not complete without a kilt.
9D: One who has been to Mecca: HAJI. Oh, nice to know. Meet MN Congressman Keith Ellison, the first HAJI of US Congress. He made his HAJ pilgrimage last year.
10D: Q.E.D. word: ERAT. Quod ERAT Demonstrandum. ERAT alone is "he/she/it was" in Latin.
14D: __ up (excited): HET. This phrase has negative connotationn, right? You can't get HET up over Valentine's Day, can you?
18D: Beattie or Blyth: ANN. Easy guess. I have never heard of writer ANNE Beatties or actress ANN Blyth. Is ANN a nicknam of Anne?
22D: Oder- ___ Line: NEISSE. Poland is Polen in German?
23D: Mr. Fixit: TINKER
24D: Knocks off a boater, e.g.: UNHATS. I did not know this kind of straw hat has a special name "boater". UNHAT sounds like a made-up word.
25D: Sustain: INCUR. As in "Sustain a financial loss"?
26D: Inscribed stone: STELE. Or STELA.
27D: Syrian strongman: ASSAD. The current Syrian president. This guy is unbelievably articulate.
30D: Went by dugout: CANOED. Of course I was thinking of baseball dugout, not the dugout boat.
31D: "Broken Arrow" co-star Michael: ANSARA. No idea. He was born in Syria. Was "Broken Arrow" a popular TV series?
33D: Entertainer Massey: ILONA. Another unknown. Wikipedia says she was born in Budapest and billed as "the new Dietrich". Her legs are so long.
43D: Skull cavity: SINUS
45D: Observant: ALERT
46D: Last movement of a sonata: RONDO. Learned this from doing Xword. Wikipedia says it could be also the last movement of a symphony or concerto.
47D: Crapshooter, for example: DICER. I only knew kitchen DICER.
48D: Huskies' burdens: SLEDS. Is Balto the most famous Husky sled dog?
55D: Bakery buy: PIE. Wrote down RYE first.
56D: Performance grants org.: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). Interesting. I don't know its chairperson has to be appointed by the president.
57D: 601: DCI
C.C.
53 comments:
15 minutes 50 seconds (online). Only unkowns were HAJI, ISA, STELE and ILONA.
The concept of a meme was first by Richard Dawkins in _The Selfish Gene_. The ides is that culture survives by natural selction and memes are analogous to genes. The word meme is itself a meme: every time it is used in public, some people are exposed to the word for the first time and if they like it they use it and pass it on to others. We subconsciously select the words, ideas and concepts that we like and reject the ones we don't like and thus the fittest ideas survive. A meme doesn't have to be "correct" to be successful: rumours, superstitions and stereotypes are all memes.
Martin
Martin,
I need some examples.
Chris,
Williams has never replied my emails. He also stopped communicating with our regular constructors since the Tribune bankruptcy announcement in Nov.
Lemonade:
Re: Purim=Lot. And ESTH. Now I liked the lower right corner. Interesting intersection.
Hayraker,
Very intriguing information on Ibn SAUD and how he conquered those tribes.
Crockett,
You seem to know lots of obscure words!
Anonymous @9:58am,
Thanks for the extra inform on those Jewish surnames.
Clear Ayes,
Great link. I've got those names printed out and will study later.
PromiseMe,
The G in Barry G is Goldberg.
Good evening from India,
Got stuck at places but finally manged to finish with some googling. Didnt know Kubrick's movie once I got that the rest just crumbled
Good morning CC and all, a very doable puzzle today. Not too much trouble and got all of the fills.
I did not know 49A "Marile" but got it from the perps. I knew the answer to 16A as in my young years I had many problems with my ears. Sure glad those times are past.
It sure was nice to see Buckeye back and learn about all of his relatives names. I sort of liked all of them especially Guderamerdingstrassaholzer and Haywood Jablowme. Buckeye you reall are nuts LOL.
Got things to do today so I will see you later. Hope you have a great Saturday.
Marie,
Thanks for "Sono Porci Questi Romani". So funny: These Romans are Pigs.
Wolfmom,
Any good news to report?
I need some examples (of memes).
Okay. I gave the example of the word "meme". Foreign words are memes too: Englsih speakers know Japanese words like tsunami and karaoke and they had to have been introduced to English at some point and passed on. Customs are memes: putting up a Christmas tree and hanging stockings are memes. Recipes are memes, especially if they've been handed down for generations. Religious and scientific concepts are memes: the holy trinity, e=mc^2 and global warming are all memes. Superstitions like not stepping on cracks, breaking mirrors, crossing the path of a black cat or stepping under a ladder are all memes. How's that?
Martin
Good morning, C.C. and gang - well, unlike the other posters, I thought this one sucked.
Again we get 'offed', 'inlaw', 'unhat', 'Sao Paulo' etc., all of which we've had very recently. Nobody says 'unhat'. Nobody calls a crapshooter a 'dicer'. And what the hell is 'tinker'?? If you're a Mr. Fixit, you're a tinkerER. I know that the word is also technically a noun, but c'mon, let's not get too obscure. I did, however, like the layout; I've always enjoyed the 15-letter answer arrangement.
C.C., yes, 'Broken Arrow' was a popular TV show in the 50's. And I also thought of Nagana as the city in Japan, but it's actually Nagano.
Full Metal Jacket certainly brought back some memories of boot camp at Parris Island; I didn't find the Vietnam portion of the movie to be very accurate.
Today is, of course, Valentine's Day. It's also National Organ Donor Day, the perfect day to give your heart to someone.
Today's Words of Wisdom, apros po of the day: "How unnatural the imposed view....that passionate love belongs only to the young." -- Writer May Sarton
Thanks, Dennis....After I read the first few comments I thought maybe I was alone in thinking this was a bear. Some of the answers don't even seem like REAL words.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a difficult x word, but let's try to keep the answers in the near present and not a lot of obscure words that are either made up or so old that they haven't been used in a thousand years.
I know, all I do is B****!
Happy Valentines Day anyway.
CY'All Later
Willy Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel tonight. It's gonna be good day anyhow!!!
Morning, all!
A tough puzzle today, especially the center section of stacked 15s, but ultimately an enjoyable one. Only minor quibbles today (I couldn't believe 47D was really DICER, for example, and I'm not sure why DAMES was clued as "widows of knights" instead of just spouses).
Those long answers did cause me some consternation, but fortunately I knew them all and was able to get them once the perps started filling in. A special thank you goes out to Michael ANSARA, familiarity with whom saved my bacon in that section of the grid (I didn't know he was in "Broken Arrow," but recognized his name as an actor).
There really weren't any total unknowns for me today at all, in fact. I had no idea what "Nagana" was, but obviously knew what TSETSES were. And, while I've never heard of Chris REA, I knew who Stephen REA was. ASSAD also took awhile to become clear, since I was thinking of "strongman" in the literal sense (maybe a famous biblical giant or something) and not in the figurative sense. So all these words were easy to get with the help of a few perps.
And yes, C. C., that is indeed my last name. I don't recall PromiseMe asking about that, to be honest...
Hi all, I thought I was so clever when I got the top part (through 17A). Then it went downhill rapidly!
I agree - too many overused and obscure words and some that are not real words.
Dick, I have tried to figure out what Buckeye's name starting with "G" means. I got the other one but not this and I know it is something risque! I would ask him, but his appearances here are rare. Thanks!
It just dawned on me that this puzzle has a theme after all: TINKER, TAILOR, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 spy novel by John le Carre. Hearing Dennis complain about TINKER made me think where I had heard the word before.
Martin
On the "tinker"...waaaaaaay before my time...men used to travel around in wagons repairing cooking pots. They were called "tinkers".
A favorite tongue-tier is:
(supposedly addressed to the tinker but obviously after tinkers were long gone))
"Are you aluminuming them?" (He answers)
"No, I`m copper-bottoming them."
Good morning CC et al., Same complaints as Dennis, but Holy Valentine's Day Hotwick! 'Racy' thoughts made me laugh and remember that I knew a 'mouse that roared' once. A Napoleonic complex for sure. Down turns, het up, rise... all 'pie' in the sky. Then comes Full Metal Jacket. Not only a movie, for me it was a chastity belt! So much for 'standards'.
Cherish the one you're with. Happy VD.
Happy VD?? Now there's a first...
Good morning:
A nice challenging start to the day; yes some irritating duplications from recent puzzles, but the 15 letter words were fun. I don't think you can say Le Carre's book is the theme, without the others, SOLDIER and SPY, as answers.
"The Mouse That Roared" is a wonderful satire on international politics, and along with "Dr. Strangelove" among Peter Selelrs best movies. (I also loved "Being There" both the movie and the book upon which it was based).
In "Broken Arrow" Michael Ansara played Cochise, the most famous of the Apache tribal leaders who fought against the intrusion of Europeans into Apache lands. The name of the show, symbolized the broken treaties of the Europeans, who proceeded to make deals with the Natives, and then reneg on them. The most famous story being the capture of Cochise's father in law, during a white flag truce. The soldiers then executed him, though I cannot recall the name.
Michael Ansara later married Barbara Eden, who became famous on "I Dream of Jeannie." She was the ultimate heartthrob of one of my uncles, even without a belly button.
Lois... LOL...are we back to "spotted dick"? As Dennis pointed out some days ago, there are shots for that!
Good Morning C.C. and Co.,
Finally finished after 25:03. UNHATS, NEISSE and ALASKAPENINSULA hung me up. I was thinking they wanted something more specific for the last one. I, too, was thinking of Japanese airline for Nagana. I knew the Japanese city of Nagano, but figured there might be a Nagana, too. Additionally, I had never heard of ILONA Massey.
"What exactly is a MEME?" Apparently, it is Turkish for 'boob'. Here is an example of a Turkish Boob.
Hello to all:
Been preparing for a contiguous-state jaunt, will wave to each of you as my stretch limo goes by (remember the dark windows may prohibit your seeing me...)I leave you with a clue from a self-composed, "puny/rhyme time" xw:
Incorrect underwear
CU in March!
WRONG THONG?
Carol: LOL At least it's treatable! Never met a leopard I didn't like.
Hello C.C.,
31D: "Broken Arrow" co-star Michael: ANSARA. No idea. He was born in Syria. Was "Broken Arrow" a popular TV series?
I was looking into the two "Broken Arrow" movies to find him.
5D: Scottish cap: TAM. Hmm, a TAM is not complete without a kilt.
That reminds me of that old Scottish song."What does a Scotchman have under his kilt"? A-Wang --A -Wang.
Have a happy St Valentines day.
Good morning C.C. and all,
At 1st glance of the c/w I thought it was going to be impossible with those long words. Decided to work down, and I was surprised at how quickly I was able to fill 'em in. Had to go back and forth as neisse, tinker, and unhats (horrible word)had me stumped.Interesting variation of superintendent. Haven't heard of het or rondo.
Looked up Becharof Refuge and it seems to be just that, a huge refuge for all kinds of wildlife,etc, and contains Alaska's 2nd largest lake.
Have never heard of Balto, but the 2009 Iditarod begins on March 7th. I'm hoping Jeff King gets his 5th win.Last year he came in 2nd. This year he has put "Salem" back in his team. So we'll see. There will be 17 rookies this year.
Happy Valentine's Day to all.
"Each day comes bearing its own gift. Untie the ribbons."
(hope it isn't a spotted dick! :)
Good Morning All, I couldn't get enthusiastic about today's puzzle. I liked the long Acrosses, but ERE, ELA, EIN, TET, SST and EEL were some too often used three letter fills.
CC. A couple of specific memes are "the shooter on the Grassy knoll" theory in the Kennedy assassination, Bigfoot and just about everything to do with the internet ie. blogs, email and our own g-spot Google. As Martin said, "correct" doesn't matter, only that it catches on and is passed on.
It intrigues me that so often this group will discuss a subject or person and then it will show up in a puzzle within a day or two. Kazie treated us to The Goons yesterday and Peter Sellers popped in to say "Hi", today.
How about "The back of front" for IER? That would be diabolical.
I was able to get the north and the south, but the middle was a bear for me.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day. I get to go sing some love songs and deliver some roses to some lucky ladies today. Did 4 performances yesterday and have 4 today. This is a fun day of singing!
Linda,
Incorrect underwear
Commando no-no?
What an odd puzzle...I eventually finished it but with a lot of that "dancing" around again. The first thing I put in was MOUSE THAT ROARED, being a Peter Sellers fan, and FULL METAL JACKET fairly quickly afterward. I actually knew HAJI and a few of the other odd things but had to go to One Across for for ASSAD...The 15 letter spaces were definitely interesting but overall, I wasn't that enamored of the puzzle. Something with a Valentine's theme might have been more interesting.
C.C. To answer your question...Nope. No 1st, 2nd or
3rd so I don't have to go back tonight, which is fine because we are expecting an actual "big" storm this evening. I'm fine with it, I just want everything to go out the door tonight so I don't have to go back and pick up anything. Interestingly, I was one of the only people that had 6 pieces of work in the show...so maybe that counts for something.
Crockett...I really like that clue, and, I might even be able to figure it out...eventually!
Happy Flowers and Hearts Day.
JD...re: Cakewrecks(yesterday). So glad you went to the site...Its hysterical! Jen(who runs the blog) posted a series of photos, including the finished piece, made from 5,900 cupcakes. I usually check out this blog every morning, just for a good laugh. On Sundays, she posts beautifully executed cakes as a contrast to the rest of the week.
Also, thank you for asking...see above answer.
Hi,
I get sort of annoyed at those among us who gripe about clues and words that come from time periods before their lifetimes. As an elderly man who had a background in history and classics those are often the things that come easiest to me. There is a wide variety of users of this blog, and we need to be more accepting of the differences among us.
Calef.
Linda; NO NO Speedo?
Grievus briefus?
Crockett, I agree that the center was the hardest. Ireally had a time getting going at all. I think I was intimidated by those long strings in the puzzle. You do singing Valentines! My husband got so much joy from doing them. He sang with a barbershop chorus, the Senante-aires, and they went out in quartets. He was able to be with the group who sang for the Governor's wife one time.Toby
Happy Valentine's Day everyone. There are so many beautiful love poems that it is next to impossible to choose only one. But this is just about the most elegant proposition I have ever heard. What lady could resist? Try it gentlemen and let us know, in the most elegant terms of course, how it works out for you
Love's Philosophy
The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In another's being mingle--
Why not I with thine?
See, the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower could be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea;--
What is all this sweet work worth,
If thou kiss not me?
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
"incorrect underwear"
Vegetables of the impending? (this is getting curiouser and curiouser.)
Anonymous, 9:15 A.M. was correct that tinkers traveled through town and farms repairing pots and pans. This was back in the day when people didn't through out worn articles and buy new. They repaired the old. The tinker would solder a "dam" over a worn part of a pan, which was either thin or had a small hole, making it usable again.
I used to hear my uncles use the expression, "I don't give a tinker's dam," to express they didn't care about something.
Whenever I would wish I had something, my mother would say:
If wishes were fishes, then
beggers would eat.
And if wishes were horses,
then beggers would ride.
And if ifs and ands were pots
and pans, we wouldn't need
tinkers would we.
Doreen
Correction: "throw" instead of "through." One of these days I'll proofread.
Doreen
@tobylee Welcome to another Oregonian! I know the Senate-aires well. They are an awesome group of guys.
Calef, Your point is well taken. Mea culpa. Sometimes we forget that one of the perks (another meme) of crossword solving is learning new words.
I learned something new last night. (No, not that! I already knew about that one. :0) My first exposure to Portuguese fado was totally enjoyable. Ramana Vieira is an American, so that makes her expertise in the genre unusual. She sings in both Portuguese and English, so even dopes like me can enjoy the lyrics. Here's a sample of her singing Despi A Alma. Perhaps "fado" will show up in one of our future puzzles. I'll be ready.
JD I believe you have gone over to the DF side, but I did like your comment at 12:06. LOL
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, something else very romantic:
Put the Weight On My Shoulders
--------------------------------
Put the weight on my shoulders
Take the load off of your mind
Cause the headwinds that blow
Will fade away in time
Rest yourself on my waters
Take the lifeline from me
Rise above what has passed
And let yourself be free
I only know what love must bear
Through laiden times I will be there
And when your down I'll break the fall
'Cause the weight on my shoulders
It ain't no weight at all
I only know what love must do
When fortune cries I'll follow you
And when your down I'll break your fall
Put the weight on my shoulders
It aint no weight at all
Put the weight on my shoulders
See you star how it shines
Cause they're so many dreams
Left to find
Put the weight on my shoulders
13:38 today. Easy-breezy Saturday puzzle. I love all that long fill. The last thing to go into the grid was ALASKAN (I had the PENINSULA part, but had no idea that something as simple as "ALASKAN" could be correct.)
I started out with DOW DOWNS for 21a: Market dips, but of course it didn't fit. I was slowed a bit there by thinking in my mind "some word that goes with DOW".
And isn't it time we referred to 52d: Fast plane, briefly (SST) as "former fast plane"? I mean, they are no longer flying are they? (Admittedly, the planes presumably still exist, I suppose, in museums and mothballs.)
@c.c.: 47D: Crapshooter, for example: DICER. I only knew kitchen DICER.
I've shot a lot of craps in casinos and read books on the subject and I'm here to tell you that no one (and I mean no one) has ever referred to a craps shooter (the proper term) as a DICER. The dictionary is the only place where this usage can be found.
@promiseme: ALASKAPENINSULA hung me up. I was thinking they wanted something more specific for the last one.
ALASKA PENINSULA is the actual name of the peninsula, not just a general term, so it is specific.
A puzzle with three adjacent 15-character answers is truly awesome. How did he do it? I finished this puzzle with no errors and no google. I got bogged down a bit in the middle where the unknown-to-me names ILONA, REA and ANSARA crossed with the long answers I was trying to fill in. And I would have found the puzzle even easier had I read the clue 32D as “widows of knights” instead of “wiNdows of knights” and not been thinking of “lion’s share” (most) for 49D instead of “lion’s fare” (MEAT).
@cc: In what way are 14-character answers more difficult than 15-character ones?
FOR VALENTINES DAY
A SENIOR'S LOVE STORY
An original,
By: Hardan Young
For three score and ten,
They'd both been together;
Through rain, sun and snow,
Yes, all sorts of weather.
They vacationed on V-Day,
In a location named Tyre;
The heat from the sand,
Set her gnarled feet afire.
A deep groan she uttered,
When he stepped on her bunion;
His kisses brought tears;
He'd just eaten an onion.
She "carped" now and then,
She wanted Niagra;
"Too romantic," he said,
Since he'd lost his Viagra.
She constantly said,
That although he was tall;
Old age had certainly,
Made his Johnson quite small.
But though she was cranky,
There was one certain bet;
As life scurried by,
He still loved her yet.
(BTW - What is a woman's "Yet"?"
I must be off!
Buckeye you old reprobate! I don't know what a 'yet' is but that reminds me of the old song lyric "sittin' on my la la, waitin' for my ya ya.....
Embien, I understand that. What I meant was pretty much what you said, "I had the PENINSULA part, but had no idea that something as simple as "ALASKAN" could be correct." I, too, was looking for something less simple; perhaps a name derived from an Aleutian word. Thanks, though.
DoesItinInk, Do you time yourself? I, too, finished it without Google(I never use it or any other aids). I also had no mistakes, but it took me just over 25 minutes. Martin did it in slightly under 16 minutes. He does his online, though. I don't know it that would make it quicker for me, as I have not tried doing it that way.
Buckeye,
Yet = hitherto
Anagram for hitherto,
'Oh, her tit'!
@ embien =
I lived in Nevada about 15 years; spent 50% of my time at the blackjack tables, 25% of my time at the crap tables and the remaining 25% eating, drinking and flirting with the sexy female dealers. I whole heartedly support your position that "dicer" belongs in the kitchen, not in a casino. Playing dice works, shooting craps works and even 'crapper' works.
Isn't the term SST a generic thing meaning any airplane capable of supersonic speeds - not to any particular airplane?
Hayrake
Hayrake, yes. Other planes have had the SST designation as well.
Clear Ayes,
Uncanny, isn't it? How often it happens that way, that what we discuss ends up as a feature soon after. If it hadn't been for Eccles in yesterday's XW, I never would have thought of the Goons.
Today I'm late checking in because I was gone all day and had no time to do more than get the XW done before leaving. I can't say I found it easy, but then nor was it too challenging. I was stumped on SCANTS--the only thing I left undone this morning, but filled it in as a guess before coming here. I can't imagine it as a correct usage either as a noun or verb. No googles though.
Happy Valentines Day to all!
c.c.,
Yes, Polen is the German for Poland, but it's also the plural for the people of Poland--ein Pole, zwei Polen.
Kazzie...your mention of ECCLES from yesterday(which seems to be a very bad abbreviation) reminded me of another British food...ECCLES cakes: a round turnover filled with currants. It could be clued as a current filled turnover.BR
Martin did it in slightly under 16 minutes. He does his online, though.
I usually do it online and save having to buy a paper but then I have to wait until late in the afternoon my time so I sometimes buy a newspaper and do it in the morning. Doing the puzzle on paper is less satisfying for me though because I usually don't finish at all (not without googling I mean) whereas if you do it online and you have a few letters left then you can guess and be told when you've got everything right. I go one step forward and use the red letters so that when I am wrong I get told right away: this saves a lot of time because I sometimes fill in wrong answers and waste a lot of time, say for example not being able to fill in the perps because I was so sure about a fill that turned out to be wrong. In the case of 15-letter fills, this helps a lot because if you take a guess then chances are some of the letters will turn black and you'll get a better idea what the right word is. Actually, fifteen letter fills always have the advantage of a lot of help from perps: sometimes it's the three letter words that get me because they are usually abreviations or acronyms but the 15-letter fills are usually more straightforward. Plus, when you get a fifteen letter fill you've completed a whole row and you're getting through a puzzle a lot faster that way.
I somehow neglected to mention previously that I didn't know ANSARA or RONDO.
Martin
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/sidjames/126/lingerie_annmarg.jpg
the link doesn't work.
there's no picture of Ann Margaret
:-(
http://www.webhorror.com/screamqueens/ann_margaret/ann_margret_08.jpg
this is a link that works. :-)
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