Theme: None
Total blocks: 28
Total words: 70
Noticed how this puzzle differs from Matthew Higgins' themeless? The sparse and prudent use suffixes. Two ED and several S, which are very common in any Saturday grid. I simply can't stand puzzles with oodles of affixes like ER, RE, ING, ED and EST.
Lots of 10-letter words. 12, to be exact. That results in plenty of 4-letter words, most of which are clued pretty straighforwardedly.
The clue for NEWSSTANDS (1A: Place for papers) should be in plural form. I understand the constructor's alliteration purpose in cluing MISSEND (50A) as "Mail by mistake". I just dislike the letter duplication. "Mail by error" sounds OK to me.
I am lost on ANTECEDENT (14D: Cause). What's the rationale here?
For those regulars who don't have TMS Sunday puzzle, click "Over and Over". I will publish Argyle's blog post here tomorrow morning.
Across:
11A: Caesar's partner: COCA. Stumped immediately. I need "Caesar's TV partner" to think of the Imogene COCA. I thought of Caesar salad.
15A: Pharmacist: APOTHECARY. Recognize this word when I see it. But I can't spell it out.
16A: Son of Judah: ONAN. The guy who spilled his seeds on the ground. Onanism is easier to remember than the Latin "coitus interruptus". "Can I ...?"
17A: Ballet turns: PIROUETTES
18A: Flat fee?: RENT. Nice clue.
19A: Get a whiff of: SCENT. I wrote SMELL first.
21A: Summon to court: CITE. Would have come to me immediately if the clue were "Quote".
22A: Sicilian volcano: ETNA. The insurance giant AETNA is named after this volcano. Greek for "I burn". My surname Burn-ikel has no burning desire at all. It simply means "Don't kill the child" in Viking talks.
27A: Chandler novel, with "The": BIG SLEEP. Easy guess. I've never read this book.
31A: Team spirit: MORALE. I bet those Afghan warlords' MORALE is very high now, with CIA's supply of our friendship blue pills. Viagra is a potent weapon in war on terror, correct?
36A: Abbr. on folk music: TRAD. Add a prefix S, you suddenly have Joshua Bell's expensive STRAD.
46A: Black sea port: ODESSA. Still remember AZOV the "Black sea arm"? It's quite close to ODESSA.
46A: Unskilled: INEXPERT. Only know EXPERT.
56A: Of the kidney: RENAL. And OTIC (60A: Of the ear). What is "Of love"?
65A: Facial features: LINEAMENTS. You won't believe it, but I really have never heard of this word before.
67A: Took the first step: STARTED OUT
Down:
2D: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Are you a fan of "The Lord of the Rings"? Somehow I've never developed an interest in those fantasy novels.
5D: Airport connector: SHUTTLE
11D: Washington D.C. art gallery: CORCORAN. No idea. What is their most precious collection?
12D: Body of water near Syracuse: ONEIDA LAKE. It's the largest lake entirely within NY State. I just learned this morning that the name ONEIDA literally means "Erected stone".
13D: Type of bridge: CANTILEVER. Like this one? According to Dictionary, only one end of the CANTILEVER bridge is fixed. That picture does not seem to fit the definition.
24D: Sponsorship: AEGIS. See Athena's AEGIS shield. The center is Medusa's head. Poor Medusa. She used to be pretty. But then she made love to Poseidon in Athena's temple. Bam! Athena turned her into a monster! Her ugly face could turn any onlooker into stone, maybe an "Erected stone".
26D: Hang in loose folds: LOP. Not a familiar definition to me. "Chop off" is more common.
28D: Casts light on: IRRADIATES
29D: Jefferson Airplane singer: GRACE SLICK. Easy guess. In Chinese culture, that's a very rude gesture.
37D: Examines in minute detail: DISSECTS
44D: Off the charts: EXTREME. "Off the chart" is a new phrase to me.
51D: Shipboard crane: DAVIT. Is it mainly used to lift boat?
55D: Gershon of "Bound": GINA. Don't know "Bound". Only saw GINA Gershon in "Showgirls". She was rumored to have affair with Bill Clinton last year.
57D: One-billionth: pref.: NANO
58D: Westernmost of the Aleutian Islands: ATTU. Also the westernmost of the US.
C.C.
Total blocks: 28
Total words: 70
Noticed how this puzzle differs from Matthew Higgins' themeless? The sparse and prudent use suffixes. Two ED and several S, which are very common in any Saturday grid. I simply can't stand puzzles with oodles of affixes like ER, RE, ING, ED and EST.
Lots of 10-letter words. 12, to be exact. That results in plenty of 4-letter words, most of which are clued pretty straighforwardedly.
The clue for NEWSSTANDS (1A: Place for papers) should be in plural form. I understand the constructor's alliteration purpose in cluing MISSEND (50A) as "Mail by mistake". I just dislike the letter duplication. "Mail by error" sounds OK to me.
I am lost on ANTECEDENT (14D: Cause). What's the rationale here?
For those regulars who don't have TMS Sunday puzzle, click "Over and Over". I will publish Argyle's blog post here tomorrow morning.
Across:
11A: Caesar's partner: COCA. Stumped immediately. I need "Caesar's TV partner" to think of the Imogene COCA. I thought of Caesar salad.
15A: Pharmacist: APOTHECARY. Recognize this word when I see it. But I can't spell it out.
16A: Son of Judah: ONAN. The guy who spilled his seeds on the ground. Onanism is easier to remember than the Latin "coitus interruptus". "Can I ...?"
17A: Ballet turns: PIROUETTES
18A: Flat fee?: RENT. Nice clue.
19A: Get a whiff of: SCENT. I wrote SMELL first.
21A: Summon to court: CITE. Would have come to me immediately if the clue were "Quote".
22A: Sicilian volcano: ETNA. The insurance giant AETNA is named after this volcano. Greek for "I burn". My surname Burn-ikel has no burning desire at all. It simply means "Don't kill the child" in Viking talks.
27A: Chandler novel, with "The": BIG SLEEP. Easy guess. I've never read this book.
31A: Team spirit: MORALE. I bet those Afghan warlords' MORALE is very high now, with CIA's supply of our friendship blue pills. Viagra is a potent weapon in war on terror, correct?
36A: Abbr. on folk music: TRAD. Add a prefix S, you suddenly have Joshua Bell's expensive STRAD.
46A: Black sea port: ODESSA. Still remember AZOV the "Black sea arm"? It's quite close to ODESSA.
46A: Unskilled: INEXPERT. Only know EXPERT.
56A: Of the kidney: RENAL. And OTIC (60A: Of the ear). What is "Of love"?
65A: Facial features: LINEAMENTS. You won't believe it, but I really have never heard of this word before.
67A: Took the first step: STARTED OUT
Down:
2D: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Are you a fan of "The Lord of the Rings"? Somehow I've never developed an interest in those fantasy novels.
5D: Airport connector: SHUTTLE
11D: Washington D.C. art gallery: CORCORAN. No idea. What is their most precious collection?
12D: Body of water near Syracuse: ONEIDA LAKE. It's the largest lake entirely within NY State. I just learned this morning that the name ONEIDA literally means "Erected stone".
13D: Type of bridge: CANTILEVER. Like this one? According to Dictionary, only one end of the CANTILEVER bridge is fixed. That picture does not seem to fit the definition.
24D: Sponsorship: AEGIS. See Athena's AEGIS shield. The center is Medusa's head. Poor Medusa. She used to be pretty. But then she made love to Poseidon in Athena's temple. Bam! Athena turned her into a monster! Her ugly face could turn any onlooker into stone, maybe an "Erected stone".
26D: Hang in loose folds: LOP. Not a familiar definition to me. "Chop off" is more common.
28D: Casts light on: IRRADIATES
29D: Jefferson Airplane singer: GRACE SLICK. Easy guess. In Chinese culture, that's a very rude gesture.
37D: Examines in minute detail: DISSECTS
44D: Off the charts: EXTREME. "Off the chart" is a new phrase to me.
51D: Shipboard crane: DAVIT. Is it mainly used to lift boat?
55D: Gershon of "Bound": GINA. Don't know "Bound". Only saw GINA Gershon in "Showgirls". She was rumored to have affair with Bill Clinton last year.
57D: One-billionth: pref.: NANO
58D: Westernmost of the Aleutian Islands: ATTU. Also the westernmost of the US.
C.C.
Windhover,
ReplyDeleteYour life sounds very intriguing. Did you grow up where you live now? Do you also grow crops?
Lemonade714,
Why "Lemonade714"? How is it related to "misspent youth"? Do Detroit Red Wing fans throw real octopuses on ice? I think man can be both handsome and rugged.
Elissa,
I agree with Wolfmom's alternative clue for ELS. "Chicago trains" is OK too. Look at the upper right corner of my blog, you will find the online puzzle.
ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF,
ReplyDeleteYou have a very cool handle.
Crockett,
Ditto your point on GATT.
Wolfmom,
ORANG has become a commonly accepted word, so I don't think abbreviation hint is needed. I am happy to hear that your mom's surgery went well.
PromiseMe,
ReplyDeleteYour word game is not well-defined as Mark's cryptic. I can't play.
JD,
Why did you want PRUNE for "Natural starter?"
BobR,
I like comments about puzzles, but I also enjoy comments about others' comments and comments about comments about others' comments.
Barry G,
ReplyDeleteRITZ is clued as "It's scalloped". Why?
NYTanonimo,
Thanks for the great head covering lists.
Calef & Kazie,
How about "To thine own self be true"? Shouldn't it be "To thy own self be true"?
Karen, Frey et al,
Thank you for all the answers yesterday.
I've not been to the Corcoran Gallery of Art but looks like they're know for their American Art collection-no surprise!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting though themeless puzzle.... I had trouble with the NE since I kept trying to find a way to put in Onandaga Lk instead of Oneida...
ReplyDeleteCC. Twins 5 Yankees 4 yesterday :-)
Good morning, C.C. and gang - an enjoyable puzzle today. I like the longer-word puzzles; stretches the mind a little. I didn't like, however, the almost daily use of 'half a fly', 'Odessa' and 'Etna'.
ReplyDeleteSeveral things to relate to in the puzzle. I've always liked Jefferson Airplane/Starship - went to see them 3 or 4 times. As a kid, went to a summer camp (Onondaga) near Oneida Lake. I do 200 situps every day. And I used to have the hots for Gina Gershon.
Today is Public Sleeping Day and National Tooth Fairy Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Life has taught me that it is not for our faults that we are disliked and even hated, but for our qualities." -- Critic Bernard Berenson
And today's Fun Fact: Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
12D: Body of water near Syracuse: ONEIDA LAKE. It's the largest lake entirely within NY State. I just learned this morning that the name ONEIDA literally means "Erected stone".
ReplyDeleteOn this map of Oneida Lake, at the very right edge, you can see Veron...which is Verona, site of the Turning Stone Casino. Think there might be a connection?
11A: Caesar's partner: COCA. Stumped immediately. I need "Caesar's TV partner" to think of the COCA Imogene. I thought of Caesar salad.
Those are last names, so it's Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. "Your Show of Shows" was one of the first TV shows I got to watch. I didn't care for it much but my grandmother did and it was her
TV.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteThis one started out very slow for me. I started at the long acrosses at the beginning for quite awhile going "ERRRRRRR..." Then I looked at some of the long downs instead. And went "ERRRRRRR..." I finally put in SUSPENSION for 13, which made perfect sense and fit perfectly and was completely wrong. I finally started looking at the short answers instead and was able to get the job done.
It's always rough for me when long answers are completely unknown to me, as was the case with CORCORAN and LINEAMENTS. Even getting the perps didn't help until I got every last one. The fact that LINEAMENT crossed with DAVIT didn't help any, except that I was able to pull DAVIT out of the deep recesses eventually. It was there, but it was hiding.
Fortunately, that was it for the unknowns. Overall, a good puzzle. I mean, you just gotta love a puzzle with EVISCERATE, APOTHECARY and PIROUETTES in it...
Barry G,
RITZ is clued as "It's scalloped". Why?
I'm guessing it refers to Ritz crackers and their distinctive shape (which is called a "scalloped circle").
As for why the shape is called a scalloped circle, it's because of its similarity to the scallop shell.
ReplyDelete65A: Facial features: LINEAMENTS. You won't believe it, but I really have never heard of this word before.
ReplyDeleteAfter going to Dictionary.com and listening to the pronunciation, I am sure I've never heard the word before, either.
Good morning:
ReplyDeleteAs to today's puzzle, challenging and fun; the NE was the most difficult for me as well, not knowing the CORCORAN, though eventually it filled in. CITE is very tricky, but if you think of the root word CITATION, which is what you get from a traffic cop, you see it is both the use of a reference and a summons to court. ANTECEDENT refers to something that must come before an event or happening, thus causes it. In law, we would use condition PRECEDENT, but the prefix ante and pre are the same meaning. I too remember the Show of Shows as my first television, so that was the first word I had today. Two interesting things came from that show, (1) the Dick Van Dyke Show was a parody of Sid Caeser and the Show of Shows; (2) there was a play and movie (which starred Peter O'Toole) called "My Favorite Year" which also paid tribute to Sid and his gang. The writers for the show included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, and Carl Reiner (which led to DVD show). Woody Allen also got his start as a writer for Sid Caeser, though on a later version of the show. My son played in "My Favorite Year" for his high school musical theater group.
C. C., Lemon714 was the brand name for the 60's favorite methaqualone, which is better known as Quaalude. The lemonade variation is to show my ongoing childish side.
And yes, they are cooked Octopi that get thrown on the ice, and they even have a recipe they put out to make certain it does not really change the game. There also are elaborate ways to smuggle them in, as the idea is banned.
I enjoyed this one, but had to g'spot 11D and 12D.
ReplyDeleteI guess CITE is like being issued a citation--never would have made the connection without perp help.
For 11A I was wondering if I should have known Caesar's wife's name from Shakespeare's play. I never watched any Sid Caesar on Oz TV.
c.c.,
On "thine own self" I have no explanation, other than that its author may not have read the grammar rules? Poet's license? Any other thoughts, anyone?
Wolfmom,
ReplyDeleteSo glad the surgery went well. I just checked the late comments from yesterday to see what was said. Wonderful news!
Oh btw, the question C.C. was "pretty" and rugged, not handsome. We all recognize a certain type of man as a pretty boy, though taste may differ as to who falls in that category. Maybe a young Johnny Depp, or a young Brad Pitt would be an example, or now i guess the boy from "Twilight" or from "High School Musical." When Brad Pitt bulked up and became a tough guy for "Fight Club" did he keep his pretty boy look? Or is the fact that he appears to be totally in Angelina's control leave him there?
ReplyDeleteHi C.C.
ReplyDeleteI checked with an old friend who reecently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He said 'yes indeed' the little blue pills are used over there by CIA personnel. Not to 'kill by erection' but as gifts (read bribes) to local VIP. I think this would coincide with the Arabian/Islamic custom of 4 pretty young wives to a household.
Could the word for 'of love' be 'Onanism'?
Just happened to see Gena Gershon on an old rerun of "Crossing Jordan" last night. I can't blame Mr. Clinton one bit.
On using the davit - the Navy PBM (a seaplane) is equipped with a type of cantilevered davit just inside the bow hatch. When the airplane lands the pilot taxis to an anchored bouy. A crew memeber opens the bow hatch, swings the davit outside, unreels enough cable to reach the bouy and snaps onto it with a 'pelican hook'. He can crank out enough cable to situate the airplane a save distance from the bouy and there they swing happily forever more. Or until they have to unhook and fly another patrol.
That's about all I know about that.
I hope you and all your nice friends have a wonderful weekend.
Hayrake.
Good morning, everyone
ReplyDeletec.c. could not sleep, so i did it online at 02.30 hrs. I took me 39 min. Coca and Cite were stumpers
Lineaments, known in italian as "lineamenti" came easy.
But i had most fun this morning reading your posts,
does the Cia really give the blue pills ? lol
NYTAnonimo. i certainly will remember the (unknown to me))
Corcoran , since it houses Eugene Delacroix, ha ha !
Have a nice day all. I' m off to the gym
Good morning CC and all, ...nice puzzle today. Had a bit of a slowdown in the NE corner as I did not know Corcoran and had to wait for the fills.
ReplyDeleteCC like you I am not a fan of the fantasy novels. By chance, "The Lord of the Rings" was playing, last evening, on one of the movie channels. My wife was watching the movie so I sat in and watched, but did not find it enjoyable.
CC here is a definition of cantilever bridge that I found. "A bridge formed by two projecting beams or trusses that are joined in the center by a connecting member and are supported on piers and anchored by counterbalancing members." By this definition the picture you posted of the cantilever bridge is defined by the above definition.
This was a good way to start the puzzles after being gone since Tuesday.
Hope you all have a great Saturday.
I liked today's puzzle, but had to Google 11A and 16A.
ReplyDeleteThanks for correcting my statement regarding John Madden. I picked it up while working as an engineer at WMUL-TV, the PBS station at Marshall. It never occurred to me that it could be bogus.
While I worked there, we aired a salty series called "The Oneida Line", possibly from BBC. I didn't know there was a lake of the same name in NY.
Challenging today. But I'm more proud of the ones I can answer when they're like this. Went through the usual nave or apse quandary. Had to laugh when I first answered !A as recycle bin.
ReplyDeleteAs "To thine own self be true," I think Shakespeare had his audience in mind and made it pleural for that reason. Just a thought...
Dennis-I live on Oneida Lake and used to live close to Onondaga Lake. Most recently Onondaga has been re-named Hiawatha Lake-most likely due to its polluted status from Solvay chemical and Crucible Steel-They have poured millions into cleaning it up, but I will never see it completed and i am 52--just some useless info
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon C.C. and Co.,
ReplyDeleteI am quite pleased that I finally finished this puzzle unaided. It did take me a very long time, though. I had to put it down and come back to it at least three times. as was the case for others, the NE area is what gave me the most trouble. Challenging XW's that take a while, but which I finally am able to work out all of the answers unaided and get none wrong, are the most rewarding for me.
C.C.,
Grace Slick's gesture is pretty rude here, as well. As for my little game, I did not know it was supposed to be well-defined.. I did not actually afford it enough status to even think of it as a 'game'. I was merely having a little fun thinking up simple clues like the ones in XWs. What is the definition of Mark's Cryptic game?
It is nice to hear your mom is doing well, wolfmom.
test
ReplyDeleteMark - Buenos Aires
ReplyDeleteOnedin Line was a BBC series (91 episodes)
Surely, "Thine" is "your" and "thy" is you. So "to your own self be true"
cantilever and davit work on the same principle of a pivot and counterweight to facilitate the lifting of the load (or bridge)
Hi gang, this is my 3rd attempt to leave my comment....don't know what happened.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble in the NE corner too. I didn't know 11 or 12D and never would have guessed ANTECEDENT for 'cause'. I could not think of CITE and a summons to court. LINEAMENTS was a new work too.
I guess handing out Viagra to the Afghanistan's (or any other group of males) would re-direct their attention!!
Wolfmom, great news about your Mom!!
ReplyDeleteAs Promise me just mentioned, the 'one finger' salute is rude here too. I am a rude person when a motorist tries to flatten me and my bike!
Good morning, everyone. I also had a hard time with 11A. Couldn't think of it for the longest time. It was my final fill. LINEAMENTS is also a new word for me. Maybe our resident engineers can explain the CANTILEVER bridge image. Looks like it's anchored on both ends to me. Ah, but Attu is really the easternmost part of the USA!
ReplyDelete@barryg Good call on the Ritz/scalloped -- I would never have thought of that!
Have a great weekend, all!
Prider, was there still a Camp Onondaga there?
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All, I was pretty intimidated when I saw the NW corner. I had to start with the Down clues and after filling in 1D, 2D, 3D and 4D, I was then able to go back and get 1A, 15A and 17A. The rest of the 10 letter fills weren't as straightforward and the NE. I had to go back and forth several times to get them filled. I did have COCA, but CORCORAN and ONEIDA LAKE were total unknowns. The perps got me through that.
ReplyDeleteI did know BIG SLEEP(27A) and GRACE SLICK(29D)...Yay!! My slowest section was the SE with the cross of DAVIT(51D) and LINEAMENTS(65A).
Your Show Of Shows was a can't miss in our house. We didn't know at the time that Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Neil Simon would be famous comedy writers, but their talents came through loud and clear.
"To thine own self", Shakespeare's plays are full of grammatical errors. It may just have been usage of the day, or maybe thine sounded better to him. If you want really bad Shakespearean grammar, how about Antony saying that when Brutus stabbed Caesar (yeah, the other one), it was "the most unkindest cut of all".
WofW sound very good if we are talking about Jesus or Gandhi, but if we switch to Hitler and Stalin, we may have another opinion.
c.c. and all,
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. As Dennis said, I too like the longer words to figure out. I also did not know the word Lineaments, but everything else fit in so I knew it had to be correct. Merrim-Webster Dictionary shows one meaning of Antecedent as:
4 a: a preceding event, condition, or cause
Wolfmom: Great news about your mom!
Best wishes to Wolfmom's mother.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to sound like a real party-pooper here, but I think doling out Viagra to aging Afghan warlords is another example of the subjugation of Afghan women. Hubby gets to reassert his position of sexual dominance and wife(wives?) gets another baby.
Re: pretty and rugged. Maybe it is time that makes the difference. For instance there is this and this.
It's been quite a while since we've heard from Buckeye. Are you out there?
The Butterfly
There is no story behind it.
It is split like a second.
It hinges around itself.
It has no future.
It is pinned down to no past.
It's a pun on the present.
Its a little yellow butterfly.
It has taken these wretched hills
under its wings.
Just a pinch of yellow,
it opens before it closes
and it closes before it o....
where is it?
- Arun Kolatkar.
First of all...A big thanks to everyone...it means a lot.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you for the ORANG clarification.
Like Sea-She-Sheila I immediately put in RECYCLEBIN for one across, but after trying a few of the downs, erased it. I seem to work puzzles in the way as BarryG and have similar problems. I initially wanted to put in Smithsonian for 11D, but of course no way...By working around I managed to finish it although I still don't get LINEAMENTS and I really never went with Sid Ceasar until there was no choice left...DUH! I used to watch both of them all the time(when I was really young, of course).
The Corcoran is about 1 block away from the White House and is especially known for its extensive collection of 19th and 20th century American and European art.
Shakespeare's work is actually distinguished by his unusal word usage. He created new meanings for a very large number of words. We have a tendency to look at things as we are used to seeing them and forget that back in Shakespeare's time the language was still largly evolving and many words had entirely different meanings than they do today...also, the spelling wasn't formalized at all. There is no actual specific spelling for Shakespeare's name as it was never written the same in the approximately 7 examples that still exist. There is a still a lot of scholarly arguement as to who he actually was.
C.C. Thank you very much for the Sunday puzzle link. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that Barry Silk's puzzle will turn up as our Sunday NYTimes offering this week...80)
ClearAyes...great links. There was also Gregory Peck among many others. My youngest daughter(who will be 30 in a few months) thought that he was extemely "hunky" back when she was in high school...
ReplyDeleteHey Clear ayes, I'll take the second "this"...ohhhh yes!!
ReplyDeleteYou also make a good point on the Viagra that I had not thought of.
My folks watched 'Your Show of Shows' and since we only had 1 TV, I watched it too...I didn't understand half of what was funny. Too young/naive. There were a lot of great comedy shows in those early days; George Gobel, Red Skelton, Milton Berle...and so on. Good memories and they didn't have to use the 'f' word every 5 seconds. Can't put the genie back in the bottle as the old saying goes.
C.C. Lest i forget , thanks so much for the link on the Sunday puzzle
ReplyDeleteDennis, inre WoW, I find the statement to be true, for example, i found out some men dislike or feel threatened by an intelligent or beautiful woman, so that is my take on that.
Prider. All i will say is there no useless info. in some small way we all make a difference
Argyle, looking forward to tomorrow, tomorrow . . .
Puzzle ! You seem to have some white nites
You either go to bed late or you get up early which is it ?!
Maria -
ReplyDeleteYes, they really do. Please see explanation immediately above your 9:57 post. It's for real.
Hayrake
ClearAyes, me too, me too,
ReplyDeleteI' ll take the 2nd -This-
My God, some me do age very well, wof . . wof
byt, lovely poem
I'm tired of Ernie Els although I do like him.
ReplyDeleteAs for lineaments...I have a master's degree in English and never heard of this word either.
Maddid
Like others, I had trouble with the northeast corner. I got corcoran and oneida lake but wanted suspension for the bridge and was ignorant of the full definition of antecedent.
ReplyDeleteI got big sleep only because I like the movie and have seen it numerous times. Don't the old
1940's movies have class
Lineaments is new to me and I likely will forget it next time.
I wonder if people with interests or backgrounds in the arts are more or less likely to be crossword puzzle aficionados than those with interests in the sciences? I'm sure someone has looked at this before.
Seattle Sam
Yes,
ReplyDeletedear Anonymous, i read it and it is incredible, it must be part of the US strategy on how to make friends . . . of course it could backfire if,
Women Unite or something , now i'm just rambling on
good afternoon,
ReplyDeleteWorked the puzzle early but no time to post until now. I got one freebie with 11d, as I have been to the Corcoran. To, but not in. About 10 years ago, I was in D.C. For a farm meeting and saw an ad for an exhibit that sounded interesting. After a Metro ride and a hike, I found the gallery closed for the day. Paid off this morning, though.
C.C. :
I have a 97 acre hill farm where I try to farm as close to subsistence as possible, given the need to produce income. In the past I farmed on the industrial model prevalent in the US, but found it unsatisfying. In 1991, in my mid-forties, I took a hiatus, returned to school at nearby Berea College (mentioned by someone else on this blog recently) and took a degree in political science and philosophy. When informed a few years later that I had returned to farming, a former professor said " I didn't teach you a damned thing!".
The only crops I grow are various feeds for draft horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens, and a very large garden. I market nearly everything direct to consumer, removing myself as much as possible from the prevailing economic system. Sorry for such a long and personal and off-topic post, but you asked. Maybe someday we will have a face to face xword blog convention where we can all get drunk on absinthe, drop some lemon714 (another fact I learned on this blog) and spill our collective guts. Count me in.
Are any of you familiar with the John Prine song Spanish Pipe Dream or the Wendell Berry novel The Memory of Old Jack? Both are, in a sense, about me. And that is quite enough about me.
Windhover
Windhover...I think what you have decided to do with your farming is hugely important and needs to be the model, again, for the future of American farming, Bio-diversity. Too much junk going into the land and the livestock, too many people having to lose their land to big agri-business. But this is something I can get "het" up about. Thanks for the book recommendation...will check it out.
ReplyDeleteI got out my really big, unabridged, 1973 Randsom House dictionary...
LINEAMENT: A feature or detail of a face, body, or figure considered with respect to its outline or contour.
Sentence: His fine lineaments made him the very image of his father.
Still obscure to me...but...there you go.
Good afternoon C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteI fell apart in the SE corner again! Usually I have trouble filling in long words, but did well in the top half of the c/w, although I did G 11A and 12A, and did not know Coca.Flat fee was a good clue, but I was thinking flat tire, and nothing came to mind.I had to switch to the "downs" for the 2nd half, but came to a rough patch with extreme, peered( I had stared), nano,sate and I am very ashamed to say I had Wake for Attu. Duh! What was I thinking?
But, all in all, I enjoyed the adventure,so many great words, like eviscerate. Can't wait to fill in "over and Over".Maybe I'll bug my family while we are all watching the Sharks play this afternoon.
C.C., prunes are a natural laxative.
Dennis, I always like your W of W. After thinking about the one today, I do think that we dislike in others,the very things we dislike in ourselves.My youngest daughter has some of my faults, and she was harder for me to raise as we argued more in those middle school years. You'd think it should have been easier since I knew what she was going to do before she did it.
Wolfmom, great news about your mom.Don't ya just love those glossy prints of the ordeal?
Why does Seattle John sign Seattle Sam?
ReplyDeleteHi C.C. and gang,
ReplyDeleteI had problems with the NE corner also. Imogene Coca wasn't aproblem unless you misspell it as COCO. 18A I had RATE, wasn't thinking of flat as living quarters. 21A was thinking WRIT but did not have it penciled in. Usually think of subpoena as a summons to court. Had APSE for NAVE at 40A. With those missteps I couldn't get the corner so that I could guess at some of the unknowns.
Here is a Jefferson Starship song for everybody. Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now The scenes are from the movie Mannequin starring Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy.
In response to the Michael Bolton link, I leave you with Do You Want To Touch by Joan Jett Forgive me I couldn't resist. The voices in my head told me to do it.
Argyle, I, as with others, am looking forward to your blogging tomorrow. Thank you, C.C. for providing the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteDennis, I do not really get Mr. Berenson's WoW. Are not our 'faults' also 'qualities' of ours, albeit bad ones?
Also, I did not know that about Brazil nuts. Thanks.
I gotta run, the Tom Kha Gai is not going to cook itself :)
Seattle John (Sam?)
ReplyDeletere Science or Arts crossword workers:
I have always been miserable with Science subjects and strong with History, Language, Geography, etc. In my opinion it is the interest in words and vocabulary that attracts most people to crosswords.
Mark - Buenos Aires:
re. Surely, "Thine" is "your" and "thy" is you.
In my experience THOU is "you" and both THY and THINE are possesives.
Calef.
Good afternoon C.C. and gang.
ReplyDeleteThe octopus tossing tradition dates back to the Detroit Red Wings 1952 Stanley cup run. Back then it took eight playoff wins to win the cup. Eight tentacles - eight wins.
The game is stopped and the zamboni driver picks it up and swings the creature over his head. Of course the crowd goes wild.
Sadly he was threatened with a fine from the NHL and so ends another tradition.
PromiseMe: Re: Tom Kha Gai...Num num num!
ReplyDeleteCalef: I would agree with you that the art of intersecting the words, the design of the puzzle and the vocabulary are all reasons to get hooked on xwords. As the challenge becomes greater, the result is more satisfying. My husband has a much more scientific and logical mind and he loves to do Sudokus...
RichShif: I had the same issues with APSE and WRIT...it is fun and, I think, less frustrating, when we come here and find that other people's brains function the same as ours.
Waiting for a German(ed) Chocolate cake to come out of the oven. Yummy!
12:46 today. Didn't know CORCORAN and that held me up quite a bit. I just had a flat tire on my truck the other day so my mind immediately went in that direction instead of the British apartment. Took me the longest time to come up with "Flat fee" though I've seen it before in puzzles.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't access the Gina Gershon link that c.c. posted (came up "403 forbidden" error), so I offer this one in its place Gina Gershon
C.C. and all:
ReplyDeleteI cannnot understand 'cite' being a summons to court. Cite is a verb and means to me to charge someone with a violation. If you want someone in the Court, you send them a formal Summons.
Antecedent really escaped me. I believe all your explanations are credible.
'Apothecary' = drug store or a dispensary for prescription drugs. So, the clue pharmacist threw me - is 'Apothecarist' a word?
I guess today was a hard puzzle for me to solve.
Realtor from Pinellas
"'Apothecary' = drug store or a dispensary for prescription drugs. So, the clue pharmacist threw me - is 'Apothecarist' a word?"
ReplyDeleteDuring the course of a family reunion trip to Lexington, Virginia, my sweetie and I had the opportunity to visit an historical landmark. It was once owned by one of his distinguished ancestors ... who was an 'apothecary' (not to mention, George Washington's best friend).
So, no, 'apothecarist' is not a word. Both the store and the profession bear the same name. I can see how the profession might well have been named 'apothecarist', though.
Embien, Those Gina Gershon photos reminded me of when G.A.H. and I saw Bound. He kept on saying that it was a terrific "film noir" and he liked the humor, etc. But what I noticed was that he most interested in the lesbian sex scenes between Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. Guys will be guys!
ReplyDeleteRichShif, nice to hear from you again. Today's poem applies to you as well as Melissa bee, Jeannie, Xchef, Ken and others.
Seattle John/Sam asked about the interests of crossword solvers. From what I see on this blog, it is quite an OLIO (how's that for fitting a X/W word into a post?). Martin and Dr. Dad are science guys. We just found out today that Windhover has a philosophical bent as well as being a farmer. Wolfmom is an artist. Dennis is interested in just about anything. I enjoy poetry, books and movies. We have a lot of teachers and former teachers. It goes on and on. I think the one thing that ties us together is curiosity. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't learn something here.
To Lemonade714 --
ReplyDeleteMy real name is John but when I lived in Maine I was AKA Sam. When I lived in New Jersey my aunt labeled me Jersey John. Sometimes at my age I get confused.
As a mathematician/engineer/scientist I believe that somewhere there is an equation or algorithm that can be used to solve any crossword puzzle. If there isn't, we technologists will always be at a disadvanatge.
Seattle John
@clear ayes: Embien, Those Gina Gershon photos reminded me of when G.A.H. and I saw Bound. He kept on saying that it was a terrific "film noir" and he liked the humor, etc. But what I noticed was that he most interested in the lesbian sex scenes between Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. Guys will be guys!
ReplyDeleteAppropriate, because I just saw Brad Paisley in concert last night and this song was one of the hits with the crowd. I'm Still A Guy
According to Webster, and this was bugging me all day as I drove to Madison and back, thee is the objective form of the nominative thou, and thy and thine are both possessive forms, as I explained earlier: think of "thy" as an adjective, and "thine" as a pronoun (used without a following noun), but "thine" can replace "thy" before a word beginning with a vowel, hence "thine own". Voilà! Mystery solved! Shakespeare wasn't so wrong, and all it took was looking in the good old dictionary.
ReplyDeletekazie, As per your explanation, it sounds like a case of 'euphonic imperative', wherein the need to make the language flow takes precedence. If Thine may replace Thy in cases where the following word starts with a vowel, one might figure that it is due to the ease with which the phrase rolls off the tongue. Just a guess, since I am no linguist such as yourself.
ReplyDeletePMT,
ReplyDeleteI think that sounds reasonable. Kind of like the reason for elision in French--only for the sake of sound.
When c.c. first asked the question, I just made a gut reaction, somewhat confidently because it agreed with Calef's attempt at explaining it before I came on the scene. But then I started to wonder if we were right after c.c.'s follow-up question this morning, but I didn't have time to think about it more before leaving today.
I've never had any in-depth studies in the development of English, but have developed some theories of my own through comparisons with the other languages I know, together with my meagre knowledge of history. So it was good to be vindicated by Webster.
Embien, I did not take any personal offense to Clear Ayes post stating that, "Guys will be guys!". Sure, most guys like girls. That's a good thing. However, to suggest that guys who like guys are not real men i.e. less masculine (as does Brad Paisley in the video you linked) is absurd. Think about it. Gay men who live in communities totally comprised of men, communities devoid of women, live in the most hyper-masculine environment of all.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, his political/philosophical leanings aside: Brad Paisley is a poor excuse for a musician. He is flat out boring! If you want to hear some music that actually requires active listening and a perceptive mind then lend an ear.
@Promiseme
ReplyDeleteBrad Paisley's song has nothing whatsoever to do with gays. Nothing.
I was raised on jazz (Dave Brubek, Louis Armstrong, etc.), though I admit I'm not currently a fan. The Dave Holland Quintet is very, very good, but you can't really compare that kind of music to country. There is quite a bit of musicianship involved in playing the guitar well, after all. (speaking as a piano and guitar player)
Maybe country guitar isn't your style, but to call the guy "boring" doesn't do his guitar skills justice. old brad guitar
Hayrake,
ReplyDeleteGina Gershon broke her silence and spoke out about the Vanity Fair article that linked her to Bill Clinton. Promoting her Broadway play "Boeing Boeing," Gershon appeared on Monday's "Live with Regis and Kelly." With Mario Lopez in for Regis, Gershon told the hosts her side of the story.
"It is such a crazy, outrageous lie that has nothing to do with me... Journalists, it's so scary, because they get these rumors, hearsay, put it in the story, and it goes around the world in a minute... Vanity Fair never even did fact checking.... These irresponsible journalists - they're not accountable for anything."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/09/gina-gershon-breaks-silen_n_106023.html
ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF
This is late,but,the Sat.puzzle was for me!I am a CORCORAN and saw that clue 1st!Many times visited the Corcoran!You American's should be ashamed,it is the oldest gallery in D.C.and far and away,one of the most beautiful!I am Canuck,and even know this,easy puzzle for me on Sat!Thx Tom
ReplyDelete