Theme: Carrot and Stick
20A: Start of a Johnny Carson quip: YOU GET MORE WITH
32A: Part 2 of quip: A KIND WORD AND
41A: Part 3 of quip: A GUN THAN WITH
56A: End of quip: A KIND WORD ALONE
His original quote is "You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can get with a kind word alone." TR's adage "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." came from a Western African proverb.
A BAS la quip/quote! I've had enough. So happy we only have one left.
Balzac is always Balzac to me. I did not know his given name HONORE (49D: M. de Balzac). Not fond of the abbreviation M. "Novelist de Balzac", yes. Just read "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" the other day. It brought back lots of sad memories.
Balzac said "Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane". It seems that French are stalwart believers in the juice-perfuming/sweetening power of tisane. Have you tried the orange & rose water & mint combination? Does it work?
Speaking of orange, our crossword Orange (Amy Reynaldo) emailed me yesterday about "Marbles Amateur Crossword Tournament". It will be held in Chicago on Saturday April 18, 2009. The contest will use NY Time's Monday to Thursday puzzles from the following week. And the registration is $20. All proceeds go to charities. I hope you guys in Chicago will take part and support her effort.
Across:
14A: Set of antlers: RACK. How many in a "set"? Two? I still can't believe that deer antlers are deciduous. I wonder if there is any pain when the antlers fall off/grow back every year.
18A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). No idea. He looks like a historian who smokes heavily and collects tobacco pipes, the real ones.
19A: Org. of court player: USTA. "Org. of course player" is USGA. I still can't decide whether I like "Putter Palmer" for ARNIE or not. Nobody ever calls a golfer who puts as "putter", but Dictionary.com says otherwise.
25A: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. Forgot her name again. Now I am going to connect her with ASSE the African fox. ASE & ASSE.
26A: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. Another memory failURE for me. Why can't I remember this girl's name?
28A: Evil spirit: var.: DAEMON. Can also be spelled as DAIMON. Both unknown to me.
30A: Tux adjuster: TAILOR. Did not come to me immediately.
46A: Actor Cesar: ROMERO. I googled his name. He was the first actor to play the Joker in "Batman".
55A: Carpool-lane letters: HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle)
61A: Medical prefix: IATRO. Stumped me again. I kept thinking ITIS the "Medical suffix". IATRO is Greek for "Physician", as in IATROGENIC, "a disease or problem caused, or made worse by a physician, surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures." Look, IATROPHOBIA (Fear of Doctors). Gosh, what would you do if you have bestiphobia (Fear of clothing)?
66A: Corduroy rib: WALE. 3rd time in a week?
Down:
2D: Puget Sound port: TACOMA. Bing Crosby was born here (grew up in Spokane).
4D: Keel extension: SKEG. No idea. This picture came up when I googled SKEG. What's the function of SKEG?
5D: Italian ice cream: TORTONI. I only know gelato. This TORTONI looks delicious, with those crumbled macaroons and minced almonds. It's "named after a famous Italian cafe owner of the same name in the 19th century Paris".
6D: Wind: pref.: ANEMO. Nope! It's rooted in ANEMOI the Greek wind gods. The Roman equivalent were VENTI. Question for Ink: Wikipedia says ANEMOI are all male gods, how come the word does not end in masculine-ending S?
7D: Spanish health: SANO. Guessed. Is it somehow related to SANE?
9D: Che's first name: ERNESTO. Got it this time.
11D: Of skin eruptions: PUSTULAR. The noun is pustule, pus-filled pimple. Another new word to me.
13D: NASA partner: ESA (European Space Agency). I am glad NASA spotted the hydrogen gas leak yesterday. I shudder to think what might have happened had Discovery lifted off.
21D: Cuddly George Lucas creature: EWOK. Learned this furry creature from doing Xword. It does not look "cuddly" to me.
27D: Mother of Brunhilde: ERDA. No idea. She is the Mother of Earth. I am not familiar with Wager's "The Ring of the Nibelung". Did not know Brunhilde is a valkyrie, the girl who brings back those who died bravely in the battle to Odin's Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain.
34D: Rather or Blocker: DAN. DAN Blocker is foreign to me. Loved DAN Rather' curtain closer “And, to each of you, Courage".
37D: Me, myself and I problem: EGOMANIA. Looks good with NUMSKULL (38D: Blockhead).
42D: Disney sci-fi film: TRON
43D: Greetings: HOWDIES
44D: Singer of M. I. T.: ISADORE. Is this guy very famous? I thought M. I. T. might be band I've never heard of.
48D: Chest: THORAX. Last time I was stumped by THORACIC, clued as "Of the chest".
53D: First president of South Africa: SWART. No idea. See this list. I thought of (De) Klerk, but he was the last president of the apartheid era.
57D: Adjective forming suffix: IBLE. As in collectible. Baseball cards for me. I like old Life magazine too. What do you collect?
58D: Juanita's other: OTRA. "Juan's other" would be OTRO.
C.C.
20A: Start of a Johnny Carson quip: YOU GET MORE WITH
32A: Part 2 of quip: A KIND WORD AND
41A: Part 3 of quip: A GUN THAN WITH
56A: End of quip: A KIND WORD ALONE
His original quote is "You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can get with a kind word alone." TR's adage "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." came from a Western African proverb.
A BAS la quip/quote! I've had enough. So happy we only have one left.
Balzac is always Balzac to me. I did not know his given name HONORE (49D: M. de Balzac). Not fond of the abbreviation M. "Novelist de Balzac", yes. Just read "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" the other day. It brought back lots of sad memories.
Balzac said "Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane". It seems that French are stalwart believers in the juice-perfuming/sweetening power of tisane. Have you tried the orange & rose water & mint combination? Does it work?
Speaking of orange, our crossword Orange (Amy Reynaldo) emailed me yesterday about "Marbles Amateur Crossword Tournament". It will be held in Chicago on Saturday April 18, 2009. The contest will use NY Time's Monday to Thursday puzzles from the following week. And the registration is $20. All proceeds go to charities. I hope you guys in Chicago will take part and support her effort.
Across:
14A: Set of antlers: RACK. How many in a "set"? Two? I still can't believe that deer antlers are deciduous. I wonder if there is any pain when the antlers fall off/grow back every year.
18A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). No idea. He looks like a historian who smokes heavily and collects tobacco pipes, the real ones.
19A: Org. of court player: USTA. "Org. of course player" is USGA. I still can't decide whether I like "Putter Palmer" for ARNIE or not. Nobody ever calls a golfer who puts as "putter", but Dictionary.com says otherwise.
25A: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. Forgot her name again. Now I am going to connect her with ASSE the African fox. ASE & ASSE.
26A: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. Another memory failURE for me. Why can't I remember this girl's name?
28A: Evil spirit: var.: DAEMON. Can also be spelled as DAIMON. Both unknown to me.
30A: Tux adjuster: TAILOR. Did not come to me immediately.
46A: Actor Cesar: ROMERO. I googled his name. He was the first actor to play the Joker in "Batman".
55A: Carpool-lane letters: HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle)
61A: Medical prefix: IATRO. Stumped me again. I kept thinking ITIS the "Medical suffix". IATRO is Greek for "Physician", as in IATROGENIC, "a disease or problem caused, or made worse by a physician, surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures." Look, IATROPHOBIA (Fear of Doctors). Gosh, what would you do if you have bestiphobia (Fear of clothing)?
66A: Corduroy rib: WALE. 3rd time in a week?
Down:
2D: Puget Sound port: TACOMA. Bing Crosby was born here (grew up in Spokane).
4D: Keel extension: SKEG. No idea. This picture came up when I googled SKEG. What's the function of SKEG?
5D: Italian ice cream: TORTONI. I only know gelato. This TORTONI looks delicious, with those crumbled macaroons and minced almonds. It's "named after a famous Italian cafe owner of the same name in the 19th century Paris".
6D: Wind: pref.: ANEMO. Nope! It's rooted in ANEMOI the Greek wind gods. The Roman equivalent were VENTI. Question for Ink: Wikipedia says ANEMOI are all male gods, how come the word does not end in masculine-ending S?
7D: Spanish health: SANO. Guessed. Is it somehow related to SANE?
9D: Che's first name: ERNESTO. Got it this time.
11D: Of skin eruptions: PUSTULAR. The noun is pustule, pus-filled pimple. Another new word to me.
13D: NASA partner: ESA (European Space Agency). I am glad NASA spotted the hydrogen gas leak yesterday. I shudder to think what might have happened had Discovery lifted off.
21D: Cuddly George Lucas creature: EWOK. Learned this furry creature from doing Xword. It does not look "cuddly" to me.
27D: Mother of Brunhilde: ERDA. No idea. She is the Mother of Earth. I am not familiar with Wager's "The Ring of the Nibelung". Did not know Brunhilde is a valkyrie, the girl who brings back those who died bravely in the battle to Odin's Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain.
34D: Rather or Blocker: DAN. DAN Blocker is foreign to me. Loved DAN Rather' curtain closer “And, to each of you, Courage".
37D: Me, myself and I problem: EGOMANIA. Looks good with NUMSKULL (38D: Blockhead).
42D: Disney sci-fi film: TRON
43D: Greetings: HOWDIES
44D: Singer of M. I. T.: ISADORE. Is this guy very famous? I thought M. I. T. might be band I've never heard of.
48D: Chest: THORAX. Last time I was stumped by THORACIC, clued as "Of the chest".
53D: First president of South Africa: SWART. No idea. See this list. I thought of (De) Klerk, but he was the last president of the apartheid era.
57D: Adjective forming suffix: IBLE. As in collectible. Baseball cards for me. I like old Life magazine too. What do you collect?
58D: Juanita's other: OTRA. "Juan's other" would be OTRO.
C.C.
Good morning, C.C. & gang - I thought this was gonna be a speed run when I started. Wrong. Put 'spumoni' for 5D, which took a bit to correct. I still have no clue for the crossing of 'French historian' and 'Spanish health'. Perps got me lots of health, and the theme helped also, once it became apparent. I needed the g-spot for 'Mother of Brunhilde' and 'Mary of "Where Eagles Dare"'. Tough puzzle for me. Oh, and enjoy your breakfast after answering 'pustular'...
ReplyDeleteToday is both Girl Scouts Day and Plant a Flower Day. Not touching it.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion." -- Writer Doris Lessing
You guys did an amazing job with the Mensa Invitational - I think yours were better than the ones they came up with. There was also a contest to supply alternate meanings for common words. Here's some of the winners:
Coffee - The person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted - Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
Abdicate - To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Yours?
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteDon't you prefer "planting seed" to "planting a flower"? It's more rewarding. Good quote. But Doris Lessing is too cynical to me. I will never accept her comparison of Sept 11 to IRA attacks.
Barry,
I really hope your paper carries the same puzzles as ours. You are an essential part of this blog.
Katze,
Re: Ariadne (ARI) Meyers. Thanks. I did not even bother to check what ARI stand for. So happy to see you again.
Clear Ayes,
ReplyDeleteRe: Genis is an organ that is more than a "one trick pony". What does it mean? What is "one trick pony"?
JD,
Thanks. I also found out this morning that rabbits are color-blind.
Lemonade,
I am not 100% sure, but I think all of us will get LA Times Daily starting on March 23.
Good morning CC and all,...this puzzle SUCKED!! I almost threw this one in the trash which is where it belongs. Talk about obscure cluing, this one beats all!! I can't wait to see Barry's comments. Sure hope the rest of the day is not like this morning's start.
ReplyDeleteHope you all have a great Thursday. It's off to the gym for me.
Wolfmom,
ReplyDeleteA belated Happy Birthday! May you age backwards like Benjamin Button.
Kristen,
Re: Denis/Dennis. You've been corrupted here.
TJ,
Yeah, sure. The other Thomas does not post here often after all.
Don't you prefer "planting seed" to "planting a flower"? It's more rewarding.
ReplyDeleteYes, my DFette friend, I'd prefer the former to the latter, and to just about anything else you can think of.
When's your birthday?
Dennis,
ReplyDelete我的生日是一九七一年六月三十日.
Sorry, C.C., it's physically impossible for me to do that to myself.
ReplyDeleteMornin' All,
ReplyDelete14 items I had to look up, 14! And I was patting myself on the back for remembering Ase and Ure, Ernesto and Romero, tuns, etc.
Good morning:
ReplyDeleteI had two pure guesses which turned out to be correct. URE (she had a sad life, Mary Ure ) and RENAN.
M. is an accepted abbreviation for MONSIEUR, and as such the clue is really just Mr. de Balzac.
DAN Blocker was part of the wildly popular TV series "Bonanza" which I believe was the first series aired entirely in color. I remember because we did not have color tv in our house. He played HOSS the big cuddly brother.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteAnother nasty puzzle this morning. Seems that lately the puzzles are either ridiculously easy or fiendishly hard (in spots, at least). I blame it on the editing (or lack thereof) and will not be at all sorry to see Mr. Wiseman's reign of terror (or just plain incompetence) come to an end.
Lots of unknowns for me today, including RENAN, ASE, URE, IATRO, SKEG, TORTONI, ERDA, ISADORE and SWART. A number of those unknowns intersected, which made things even worse. I was going to say that I manage to finish the puzzle unassisted despite all this, thanks to various guesses, except that I just realized I never went back and made a guess at the URE/ERDA intersection and just left it blank. Oops.
A couple of minor points:
* My Spanish may be a bit rusty, but I'm pretty sure that SANO actually means "healthy" and that SALUD means "health".
* I really didn't need to see PUSTULAR while eating my breakfast this morning...
And thanks, C. C. I hope so, too!
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Dick. I was only familiar with Dan Rather and Blocker for the names. Blocker played Hoss on the show called Bonanza. I watched the reruns when I was a kid. I do know Errol Flynn but it took three times to get the spelling right. Pustular and anemo are new to me.
CC, I am living proof black flies are edible. I consider them protein.
Bright, sunny and "blowin' like stink" (as the lobster men say).
incomepoop- Social Security Tax, because there won't be shit left by the time I'm old enough to collect.
Have a good one!!!
Good morning -
ReplyDeleteYes I cheated. I googled and did the puzzle on the computer using the regular skill level, so it was easy for me. I find that making me mad in the morning by not being able to do something I should makes for a bad day. So I look at the clues prior, and decide at that moment how I should continue.
Off to work so I can live the life of luxury.
Try this Hoss
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All,
ReplyDeleteOK, PMT, you win. Maybe a slight addiction! But, I CAN QUIT ANYTIME.............(I think)!!!!
Not really a bad day, but had a blank for iAtro and swArt. had to fix skEg and eccE; rEnan and anEmo; urE and Erda. Never can remember Mary Ure!! The quote came really easily and that's what helped with all the rest. So, not a total bummer, but some memory problems again.
Off to pick Nancy D.'s new (used) car this AM.
CY'All Later.
Medical prefix is bad cluing with so many possibilities and crossings with SWART and OTRA. Another time waster! Bring on the LA Times!
ReplyDeleteBTW
我的生日是昨天。
WM, if what you say is true, I'm not really 63, I'm only 57 !!
ReplyDeleteI think I like this new math..
Well, I'm glad other have already griped enough--saves me doing it too. I could not get the quote--this was a first for me. Reason being I didn't know most of the perps that would have helped: RENAN, TORTONI, ANEMO, ERNESTO, SKEG, WEAR, (I looked up 25A and got ASA), TRON, ISADORE, SWART, IATRO.
ReplyDeleteAt least I'm among friends. I did know URE, HONORÉ, EWOK (if you see the movie Ewok Adventure or Battle for Endor, they are cute).
NYT, Happy Belated birthday (yesterday).
ReplyDeleteThanks Dennis-it was a good day (they aren't always)!
ReplyDeleteBTW I rec'd an email last summer with the following. Think some but not all of them have been mentioned before:
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:14:40 AM
Subject: Washington Post - New Words
Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the winners:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stop bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.) : Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:
1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has
gained.
3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men
Lol, so much for the rest of my list.
ReplyDeleteGood morning CC et al, *&^#()O&(**&^%))*&^*&)(_)EW*()&*^&^%^&W*(()
ReplyDeleteHope you all enjoy your Thurs. I'll be back after I go and have more fun...like having a few boil implants...in sensitive areas no less.
Lois, did you have a seizure?
ReplyDeleteFrisbeetarianism - belongs in the first group...along with crassword puzzle.(no explaination needed.)
ReplyDeleteNo way Jose,
ReplyDeleteI believe whoever aces this puzzle would be a winner on "Jeopardy". Or maybe it takes a "Jeopardy Winner" to ace this puzzle.
Since I watch "Jeopardy" pretty often, perhaps I will see Dennis on there some day.
Speaking of days, my birth was 11/18/24.
I was muddled by the vertical middle of this puzzle. Unknowns: SWART, IATRO, SANO, ASE, RENAN, ANEMO, SKEG, ERDA (all but the last two in the middle, making use of g-spot required since the perps weren't helping). When I did get the quote, it helped.
ReplyDeleteSo, an EWOK is a small furry creature and a WOOKIE is a large furry creature. Do you think they have a common antecedent?
I loved Doris Lessing's reaction when told she had won the Nobel Prize for literature, to which she responded: "Oh Christ! ... I couldn't care less." How many people would react that way to such a prestigious award that come with $1.4M????
Back when Jeopardy was taped in New York, aired during the day and had a five day limit for contestants, my father was an undefeated champion on his five day appearance. The dollar prizes were also about 10% of what they are now.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in southern California I was on TicTacDough for a single appearance, where I completely humiliated myself. If that wasn't bad enough, it was a show they re-aired in the taping hiatus. I learned a good lesson - don't ever go on a game show.
Regarding "pustular":
ReplyDeletePus is just dead neutrophils (i.e. white blood cells) that travel to the site of infection to kill the bacteria. However, neutrophils don't live much longer than 14 hours, even without something to kill. So whenever you get neutrophils collecting at the same spot, you may get pus.
And now, there goes lunch.
ReplyDeleteJimbo, I've got a better chance of being on "Cops" than on Jeopardy.
@ NYTA LMAO with your list of Mensa trivia, particularly the last one, circumvent.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you and I will be doing the best I can to work backward.
ReplyDeleteBill@ 8:01...since I'm new at this 60 thing I'm just taking her word on it...new rule to me! ;0)
Lois@ 9:14am I think that about covers it!!!
Who knew we would one day be looking very much forward to a brand new syndicated puzzle? I know you have to be careful what you wish for, but I think Monday will be a lovely day. Does Barry Silk sell to the LATimes? Could we ask him to try?
And, since I live in the SF Bay area, I think I can see L.A. from here if I stand on my tip toes...on a clear day!
kitchen: A chicken whose house is filled with collectibles.
Good (?) morning C.C. and everyone...wow, I finally managed to keep my breakfast down but as Dennis said, lunch is questionable with all the talk of 11D. Blah!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was the most difficult in a long time. I still do not have 3D & 17A. Anyone care to help out? All the rest are filled in, but not without C.C.'s help.
Lois, sounds like this one did you in big time. LOL.
Dennis, now that your list is 'history', you can concentrate on planting...Spring is almost here.
"Double, double, toil and trouble"...that pretty well sums it up for me today...once I put down a wrong answer, can`t "see' anything else!
ReplyDeleteprominent: dance for picnic pests
sacrilege: government brown bagging it
Off-color: Michael Jackson (sorry about that!)
warlock: what the world desperately needs!
savant: brilliant picnic pest
hoary: promiscuous frost
denizen: resident of Dennis` world
macabre: what`s left when I finish my corn.
Does anyone remember (who and) where I might have seen the skit where two comics took turns doing made-up dance steps and then saying to each other, "Sha- lanje!?
Carol 3D: ACCUSE, 17A: ECCE
ReplyDeleteBoy am I glad to see you all loved this one as much as I did.
Wolfmom,
I think I can see L.A. from here if I stand on my tip toes...on a clear day!
à la Sarah P.?
Kazie...Yep! It was just sort of a running joke with C.C. I think I'm done now.
ReplyDeleteOne of the good things about this blog is to come here and find that everyone else has more or less crashed and burned. I don't feel so bad. It seems that in a puzzle where you are looking for a quote, at least some of the perps should be doable. I have a feeling that Friday and Saturday may not be worth doing. Its sort of like stealing a bunch of office supplies or messing up the books before you leave a job...ICK.
It is an amazingly lovely day, so I am going to make sure it gets used to its fullest.
Good Morning Everyone, We who subscribe to the Oregonian are in the middle of a month long test to find our future crossword. This week we have been solving the LA Times. The puzzle gets harder as the week goes on....when they say that they mean it. I have found that my thinking has become a little lazy and it is posing a challenge. The words are not necessarily obscure, not a large number of people's names and we haven't used epee or etui this week... certainly different! Clues like "one of the Papas" (Denny Doherty from Momas and Papas group) and "stubborn people won't give one" (inch) are fun. I think the group will enjoy the change. I hope we end up choosing it...working two crosswords in the morning is hard to pack into the schedule! Dee
ReplyDeleteGreetings, howdy, aloha, etc. to you all. The response to exercising was interesting. I think Dennis does the most: gym at least 3 times per week for 1½to 2 hours, a couple hundred situps daily, plus rides his bike. Or maybe the prize goes to papajim who runs 4 miles a day 5 days a week, 6 miles on the weekend. And 4-5 days a week he uses light weights and a slant board (whatever that is). He's been doing this for 32 years.
ReplyDeleteElissa is keeping up with 5 miles each way to the gym where she does 20 minutes on abs, arms, or legs.
Maria says she likes walking or a light jog 4 miles usually at least 4 times a week, and to the gym alternately to work on abs, arms, legs.
Anonymous said she walks for 30 minutes twice a day 5 days a week, and I was 283 now I'm 240.
There were 13 responses, all of which were inspiring. My favorite is from JD who wrote, "I walk and do yoga, unfaithfully." We can all relate to that, I think.
Thank you all for replying.
Dennis, some say like minds show something. I had the same problem with 18A and 8 D.
ReplyDeleteKazie, thanks...I had EMT for 23A which threw me off but since it was not a plural I am still confused. What does EMS stand for? Emergency Medical Service? I really wouldn't call that a 'group'. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All, 11D was an ICK for me too. I did get the quote and most of the names, except for RENAN and SWART. I have never heard of HOV and I thought TORTONI was a dessert, not an ice cream. This was not an easy one and I had to come here to finish up. Maybe Wayne Williams wants to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.
ReplyDeleteWoW, Doris Lessing got it 100% right. It is very frustrating when you tell your grandkids that you understand how they feel and they look at you like you are nuts!
C.C. What is "one trick pony"? I believe the phrase originated with small traveling circuses that had only a few acts. One of the acts might be a pony that did tricks (bowing, rearing up, counting, etc.) In a really inferior act, the pony would only be able to do one trick. (Is that right, Jimbo?) Nowadays, it has come to mean a person who can do one thing well but is otherwise unremarkable or inept. A "genis" (or alternately a "penius" :o) would be a talented penis that could do more than what it usually accomplishes. Don't ask me what that could be...tapdance maybe...recite the Gettysburg Address?? I have to stop. I'm making myself laugh at the total silliness of the idea.
Elissa, don't feel too humiliated. Years ago, I had a friend...a real stoner..who went on Tic-Tac-Dough and was a big winner. Usually, he couldn't reason his way out of a paper bag, but he did have a knack for quiz shows. Also, at one time my sister wanted our family to go on "Family Feud". My mother refused because she couldn't stand the thought of being kissed by Richard Dawson. I had no such scruples at the time, but Mom would not be swayed.
This one really soothed my egomania! I had tuns of ows all the way thruogh it. I finally gave up and came here for some answers.
ReplyDeleteQuestion...is my "rack" part of my "thorax"?
It's been a week since I posted a poem. I picked this one because the poet is very self-deprecating and the poem itself is so straightforward and wry. Ted Kooser is a contemporary American poet, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the 13th Poet Laureate of the United States. He was born in Iowa but has lived in Nebraska most of his life.
ReplyDeleteSelecting A Reader
First, I would have her be beautiful,
and walking carefully up on my poetry
at the loneliest moment of an afternoon,
her hair still damp at the neck
from washing it. She should be wearing
a raincoat, an old one, dirty
from not having money enough for the cleaners.
She will take out her glasses, and there
in the bookstore, she will thumb
over my poems, then put the book back
up on its shelf. She will say to herself,
"For that kind of money, I can get
my raincoat cleaned." And she will.
- Ted Kooser
Clear Ayes, I don't normally care much for poetry but that one I like.
ReplyDeleteOkay I'm going to try again for some humor and join the fun:
ReplyDeleteAlabastard.. a light skinned S.O.B.
NYTA.. Lymph cracked me up!
Linda.. macabre made me really laugh out loud!
Had trouble with iatro and awart. both were wag's.
jim
Clear Ayes: LMAO at the thought of the 'reciting genis', but I think math might be the more preferred subject since multiplying is the major 'thrust' of its existence. And then there's 'higher'math where the alge'bra' is removed by the real 'fungi' using logarithm. Somebody stop me!!!
ReplyDeleteLinda: I leave the picture carrying to the wife.
ReplyDeleteC.C.: As for collecting, the wife says I am a pack rat, I do not disagree. When one throws something away, he will need it the next day. I have a ton of sports cards (over 125,000) which are worth their weight as used cardboard. I do collect Guardian Service cookware, I think the first water-less aluminum cookware, started in the '30s.
Supposed to be in middle 60s next couple of days, so it is time to start planting. Good day.weather321
Carol,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, I think it's a bit of cruciverbalism, but I just guessed it because nothing else fit there. Emergency Medics?
There's more out there Dennis-just gotta dig for them. Found the following here.
ReplyDeleteEuchoria - Pleased when all the chores are done
Paymeant: the cheque is in the post
Obfuscage: to catch by confusing
Hipatitis: Terminal coolness
Inclouded: added in order to obfuscate
The Irish Mensa Test
Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it's important that we keep mentally alert. The saying: 'If you don't use it, you will lose it', also applies to the brain.
Seamus O'Brien had been hailed the most intelligent Irish man for three years running. He had topped such shows as Larry Gogan's 'Just a Minute Quiz' and 'Quicksilver'. It was suggested by the Irish Mensa board that he should enter into the English Mastermind Championships. He did, and won a place. On they evening of the competition, Seamus enters from the crowd and places himself on the Leather Seat and makes himself comfortable. The lights dim and a spot light points at his face.
Magnus says, 'Seamus, What subject are you studying?'
Seamus responds, 'Irish History'.
'Very well,' says Magnus, 'Your first Question: in what year did the 'Easter Rising take Place?'
Seamus responds, 'Pass.'
'OK,' says Magnus, 'Who was the Leader of the Easter Rising?'
Seamus answers, 'Pass.'
'OK,' says Magnus, 'How long did the Easter Rising Last?'
Seamus again responds, 'Pass,'
Instantly, a voice shouts from the audience, 'Good man Seamus....tell the English nothing....'
And more here.
Guiltar: a musical instrument whose strings are pulled by your mother. (Frank Mullen III, Aledo, Ill.)
Goodzilla: a giant lizard that puts out forest fires by stamping on them. (Sandra Hull, Arlington)
Hindkerchief: really expensive toilet paper; toilet paper at Buckingham Palace. (Dave Zarrow, Herndon)
It still hasn't stopped: With mystifying regularity, we continue to receive (often passed through several mailboxes at The Post) unsolicited entries to what's sometimes called the "Mensa Invitational," and most recently "Change a Letter, Change a Lot": The results of Week 271 have continued to orbit in cyberspace for almost 10 years, picking up forwarders' own efforts along the way.
Kazie, Emergency Medical Services of which EMT's are a part.
ReplyDeleteJeannie; Yes, and, a very pleasing addendum thereto!!!
Ambulance Gp's consist of: dispatchers, drivers, attendants, and EMT's of varied skill levels.
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon C.C and Co.,
ReplyDeleteAnother tough one for me 28:13 today.
C.C.,
Apparently, a skeg's purpose is to protect and help stabilize a ship's rudder.
I was unfamiliar with the Spanish word SANO. I am sure you are correct, it is a cognate of our English word 'sane'. I could only think of 'salud'. Since I also did not know RENAN, that part of the puzzle threw me. I chose SALO and ended up with RELAN. Cést la vie!
The other part of the puzzle that was quite tough for me was the cross between SWART and IATRO. I guessed correctly, though. I did not know that NUMSKULL was acceptable for 'numbskull'. I think you have to be a numbskull to spell numbskull NUMSKULL.
It would seem that, with all of his honors, ISADORE Singer must be quite famous, at least within scientific circles.
I love Wagner's music. His politics, not so much.
I did not recall that the actor who played Hoss Cartwright was DAN Blocker. I do remember my grandfather once commenting that the man had, "dug his grave with his teeth".
Like Dennis, I wanted Spumoni, at first. I suspect that many of us did. Maria probably got it right the first time.
Once again, here is ANEMOs. I was disappointed to read the other day that many Virgin Records stores in the U.S. are closing. I bought Anemos' record VICTIMS OF PEACE at the Virgin store in Athens, Greece.
I think JD's definition of 'Liquidity' falls into Dennis' new alternate definition challenge.
Analist: A roster of those who are uptight about the fact that they know more and more about less and less
CC, Pretty good definition of Antlers. Many a set of antlers have been transformed into different types of racks (gun, coat, etc). I have read that antlers are sensitive during development until the velvet is ready to fall off. Once fully developed they begin to die which makes them less sensitive. They are used in the fall during the "rut" or mating season. I have seen a buck with an antler not quite fully shed, hanging down the side of his head. He looked more irritated than in pain. The older the deer, the more points on the rack. The buck in my pic is probably 5-6 years old. I took the picture out of the sliding glass door in my bedroom.
ReplyDeleteJeanie, yes your rack is part of your thorax which, thankfully never drops off!!
Lois at 1:10 LMAO at that!!! Proves the DF'ette Queen is back! Hail Queen Lois! Are you 'boning' up on your math skills?
ReplyDeleteBill, thanks for the EMT explanation. Taken that way, it makes sense.:)
To all of you doing the LA Times Daily test puzzle for today, I finally finished it but wonder if my brain will ever be the same. That was one difficult and fun puzzle! Odd, clever clues. I can only wonder what tomorrow and Saturday will bring as these are supposed to be harder as the week goes on.
NYTanonimo,
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! That's too big a plate of words for me to digest!
Dennis,
You need to explain your comment @ 6:38am. Do what?
Mainaic,
Incompoop is a great word. So only bucks grow antlers?
Wolfmom,
Remember the LA Times themeless Barry Silk puzzle Argyle blogged a few weeks ago? We might see his name again sometime in the future.
Nate,
ReplyDeleteAre you a doctor?
Linda,
Surprised that no comment from Dennis on Denizen? I hope the "Sha-lanje" skit is not torturing you too much. I can't help. Maybe NYTanonimo can find the link. She is good at fishing the stuff out of the Google Ocean.
Weather321,
What kind of sports cards? From which era?
C.C. said, NYTanonimo,
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! That's too big a plate of words for me to digest!
C.C., that's why I'd been spacing them out at 3 a day for the past week; it's called 'pacing', and it lets you enjoy each word more, and creates anticipation for the next day's offering. I had about a week's worth left.
Dennis,
You need to explain your comment @ 6:38am. Do what?
Lol, it's what I thought you were telling me to do in Chinese, after I called you a DFette.
Printed out the LATimes xword for today...thought I would give it a try this evening...has to be better than today's. It looks like you can only get the current and the Sunday puzzles to print w/o becoming a member. I think it will just be another mindset with a new editor. After today and yesterday I am looking forward to the change.
ReplyDeleteHighway: Moral alternative or the opposite of the sober way.
Downtown: a very sad small city
Cecede: when you copy your email before sending.
Confusion: the opposite of profusion.
Corupted: When the center of something blows up.
Leftover from yesterday:
Smerge: when you come onto the freeway too fast.
Sorry if I ruined the plan Dennis!
ReplyDeleteDennis,
ReplyDeleteDo what in Chinese?
NYTanonimo,
See Linda's 11:09am post? Maybe you can help her out.
PromiseMe,
Thanks for all the answers to my questions. You are a very meticulous reader.
Dee,
I sure hope The Oregonian readers choose LA Times Daily. It will be fun for us to work the puzzle together. Nice to see you again!
C.C...V-8 moment *head smack* Now that you remind me... I guess I forgot it was from the LATimes...that is such encouraging information and my day just got that much better!
ReplyDeleteThat's too much of a Cha-llenge-not a miracle worker!
ReplyDelete12:39 today but had to guess at the 'A' where SWART and IATRO crossed. I cry "foul". Vowel crossings of two obscure words (I assume SWART and IATRO are at least semi-obscure), should be avoided by constructors, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteThe quote was kinda funny (for a change), but the puzzle as a whole was neither funny nor enjoyable.
@dee: generally speaking it is protocol to avoid posting spoilers to other puzzles. I'm off to do the LA Times puzzle now. http://www.cruciverb.com/puzzles/lat/lat090312.puz
I just wanted to say "thank you" for all the help your site has given me this past year. My newspaper, The Oregonian, in Portland, Oregon won't be carrying the Star Tribune crosswords any longer. In fact, this week they began a month-long trial of four different sources. This week has been The L.A. Times puzzle. Like the N.Y. Times puzzles these get harder as the week goes on. Today's was a challenge (at least for me!). These are available online and are interactive so I solved the last two words by trial and error. Not the best but it works. Then we vote on the best of the four.
ReplyDeleteI believe you mentioned something about the Star Tribune ceasing the puzzles or their entire operation in the near future. This made more sense when I saw what happened this week here in Portland. If there will be no more Star Trib puzzles what are you going to do? I sure have enjoyed your answers to the puzzles with links so I can actually learn something or see a face. Means more and we learn more! I was always surprised when you got words I didn't have a clue on and vice-versa. As a non-English speaking person you do awfully well! Keep up the good work whatever happens.
Gary
Argyle,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you liked Clear Aye's poem? Or it it an ironic answer?
Wolfmom,
No problem! Your memory will get better tomorrow. Remember the Benjamin Button's reverse aging? Sarah Palin is done, so is Bob Jindal. Let's focus on Tim Pawlenty. Articulate, idealistic, realistic (Hope is not a plan) & morally MOREL. You can see him from your house. He appears on MSNBC and Fox occasionally.
It took me a long time and a little white-out to straighten out the lower, middle section of the puzzle where IATRO and SWART crossed. Even when I had everything in place, I had a difficult time believing that IATRO was correct. I had similar problems with the upper, right corner too but with less luck. I could for the life of me not remember Mary URE, and I spelled TUNS as “tons”. So I had three incorrect squares. I had a false start too in the upper middle section where I initially filled in “spumoni” instead of TORTONI for 5D. I have never heard of TORTONI but got it from the crosses, despite the fact that RENAN was one of them. But what else could 18A be? RENAN is such a French-sounding name!
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to work the NYT puzzles this week and actually completed an entire Thursday puzzle!
DAN Blocker played the part of Hoss in the Bonanza tv series. Michael Landon, who later starred in Little House on the Prairie was the youngest Cartwright son. But it was the oldest Adam played by Pernell Roberts that captured my heart. I was a real sucker for the dark, handsome ones! Likewise, unlike Clear Ayes, it was not Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide that captured my attention, but the trail boss Gil Favor played by Eric Fleming.
@Dennis…wonder quote from Doris Lessing. She is my favorite author. As for being cynical…to quote Oscar Wilde, “No, I am not at all cynical, I have merely got experience, which, however, is very much the same thing.”
@NYAnomino…thanks for the complete lists of the Mensa Invitational and Washington Posts winners! I had a great laugh and am in fact still chuckling over “walk with a lisp”.
Good afternoon C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteHow depressing that was!! My 1st run thru reading the 37 across clues, I came up with only TEN answers. One of them being woo. This was no woo!And on my way down, way down, I had a moment. I remembered etui, a word that we all use so often.
I loved ALL of the word play today, so many clever ones. I'm still picturing a genus maybe doing "Downward Dog" or the "Hokey Pokey"
CC, I have some old Life magazines. E-mail me if you are interested.
I collect Cinderella books. I have about 80 versions. My newest is written in Japanese; bought in Tokyo on business trip.
Today is also Canberra Day, their official birthday celebrated with a balloon fiesta. In Jaipur, India, they are having an elephant festival with a procession.
Fun Facts
There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
The average man's penis is 3X the length of his thumb.( the men will be busy for the next few minutes I suspect)
CC, the odds of a doe having antlers is 1 in 10,000. This is caused by hormonal imbalances that negative affects on the animals overall health.
ReplyDeletePoor bucks, not enough horny does!!
Yuk! Yuk!
I saw on CNN today that Sarah P's daughter has broken off her engagement. I think she must have been made to look like she would marry to legitimize the baby they had. Just as well she had the sense not to get stuck in a futureless marriage just for her Mom's political career.
ReplyDeleteInk,
ReplyDeleteWhat's your answer to my ANEMO (6D) comment?
Mainiac,
So your criteria for "horny does" are ANTLERS only? That's so shallow!
JD,
Do you have a 1950 Life magazine with Jackie Robinson on the cover?
I need to apologize for my frequent typing errors; these damn 4" thumbs keep getting in the way.
ReplyDeleteJD, The Hokey Pokey?? I can't stop giggling. WOW, some thumbs, Dennis...perhaps you can demonstrate.
ReplyDeleteDoesitinink, Hmmm, Pernell Roberts and Eric Fleming, eh? Not only dark and handsome, but definitely rather mysterious older men. You apparently knew something back then that I didn't know. Over the years I have learned to appreciate more mature men. We have a 90 year old friend who is one of the most charming, well educated and funny men I know. (Oh yes, except for you, Buckeye.)
C.C. I think Argyle was being sincere. Perhaps he related to what he would have thought under the same circumstances. He likes a poem that says what it has to say right upfront without any flowery language and then gets the heck out. Nothing wrong with that. If you look long enough, there is a poem to please everyone.
C.C., My pleasure. I always enjoy your posts, so naturally, I read every word. a while back I asked you if you were aware, while growing up, of the enormous popularity of basketball in China. Either you never answered or I somehow missed it. Were you aware of it?
ReplyDeleteProzaic: a drug used to rein in the annoyingly poetic
Embien, that link didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteCC, Sorry for the poor play on words. Bad joke........I'm all thumbs on the blog today.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Genis is a spelunker...what with his love of cave exploration and all.
ReplyDeleteDennis and Mainiac, I guess sometimes being all thumbs is a good thing!
Spellunker: one who is literally fascinated by caves
ReplyDeleteDoesltinInk: Pernell Roberts,(sigh). Here`s how I "got over him". I had a neighbor who went to school with him in southern GA. She told me he was arrogant and stuck on himself even then!
ReplyDelete@cc…Sorry, I missed your question about ANEMOi. Anemoi is nominative, plural referring to the Greek Gods of the wind, Boreas (north), Notus (south), Zephyrus (west) and Eurus (east). Anemos (άνεμος) is nominative, singular. Here is a nice list of Greek words with English derivatives.
ReplyDelete@Clear Ayes…my exception to the dark, handsome, mysterious attraction was with Man from U*N*C*L*E. I always preferred the blond David McCullum over the dark-haired Robert Vaughn. Perhaps Illya Kuryakin was just that much more mysterious.
@Linda...but I was "in love" with Adam Cartwright, not Pernell Roberts. And Adam Cartwright was not arrogant and stuck on himself! So the "fix" would have not worked on me, I think.
Dennis, Clear ayes, Jeannie: kind of puts a new meaning on the term: giving someone the "thumbs up". LOL
ReplyDeleteHi C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteAnother tough one for me today. Many unknowns and too obscure to guess! Did not have Air and Sea Rescue this time.
Here is a Johnny Carson and Don Rickles scene from the Tonight Show. Johnny Carson I could spend hours reviewing skits and characters that Johhny did.
C.C.
ReplyDeleteI wish to extend my gratitude to you for the Crossword Corner. I have been using it for most of a year to help me deal with clues and answers that would not come to my aging head. It has been a major part of my activities.
I get the South Florida Sun Sentinel and I do not know what they have in store. I wanted to thank you before it is gone, if that is what happens.
I am of the opinion that the photo of a skeg shows a sharp underwater ramming device used by warships such as the trireme in the ancient Mediterranean Sea. I didn't look it up so I may be wrong.
Calef
Enjoyed the Johnny Carson skit RichShif. Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeletere skeg
ReplyDeleteI decided to look it up and I am wrong.
Calef
CC, no I do not have that issue, but I have 2 copies of the very 1st issue: Nov. 23, 1936.I have West Point in 1941, 3 Kennedy issues , 1978 Mickey Mouse and lots of 1982. 1984 john and Caroline K.,1988 martin l. King..
ReplyDeletegotta run..babysitting today
Liebrary: The place where many a teenage boy claims to be going while really heading to the house where his girlfriend is babysitting
ReplyDeleteBrutal puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell me what "(var)" means in a clue? Seems like it should stand for "completely obscure so dont even think about it".
Singer of M.I.T. reminded me that we had a college we called MIT near my house.... but the initials stood for "Mom I Tried".
CC - I collect ball cards... but only 1968 Topps. Mom sold my entire collection in a garage sale for 10 cents. It's still painful!
BobR, it means a variation in spelling.
ReplyDeleteCC and Dennis:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the blog plan if the
Trib stops doing puzzle or folds?
Linda - we're gonna play charades. And dance.
ReplyDeleteDennis: I`m so there!
ReplyDeleteRe: Selecting A Reader
ReplyDeleteI found the poem to be poignant; an interesting choice for his reader. She is beautiful yet poor and what is the loneliest moment of an afternoon. Just having washed her hair indicates she is keeping odd hours, I think.
She likes his poems but she remains pragmatic and will clean her raincoat. Yet she is the one he is writing the poem for...or to.
I may see about getting one of his books myself. What the Hell, I don't even have a raincoat.
Why is it raincoats only bring to mind flashers? I do not know many adult males who wear them anymore. March 23 is the Monday we learn what puzzle will be puzzling us, thanks for the information C. C.
ReplyDelete@dennis: Embien, that link didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Dennis, I just checked and you have to have already installed AcrossLite software app to open the link to the LA Times. You can download AcrossLite here: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/litsoft.html
Once you install that software, the link I posted will work.
You can open the LA Times puzzle in their own applet via this link:
http://games.latimes.com/index_crossword.html?uc_feature_code=tmcal
@wolfmom Do you have many clear days? (tongue firmly placed in cheek)
ReplyDelete@dee Amen, sister!
@all Remember folks, we've still got a full week of Mr. Williams as editor.
@jeannie In your case, probably so....
@lois And not to mention the first derivative -- oops, just did!
Good night, all.
Dan Blocker played Hoss Cartwright, the middle son, on "Bonanza".
ReplyDeleteI thought "numskull" was spelled "numbskull", with a "b". You know - a numb skull - as in a person who's head is too numb to think.
You are a nitwit liberal i guess.
ReplyDeleteDan Rather is a liar and not a very nice man.
@ anon March 13 2:11 PM,
ReplyDeleteAt least I don't resort to name calling when arguing.
If you want to debate politics that's fine I will debate you all day because I like a good argument but if you want to resort to name calling you won't get any attention.
If you want to talk about lies. I can name some Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, he tried to obtain yellow cake from Niger, lies to Congress, lies to the 9/11 commission. His biggest lie "Major Combat operations have ceased America and her allies have won mission accomplished!"
He who lives in glass houses should not throw stones!
Dan Rather used information he believed to be true. Unlike Mr. Bush who knowingly used false information to further a political agenda. If you don't like Mr. Rather because you think he lied then you must really hate Bush, Cheney, Limbaugh, O'Reilly , Hannity and Glenn Beck. I almost forgot Rupert Murdoch & Roger Ailes!
And I said all of this w/o resorting to name calling!
ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF
Way too esoteric. We all like a challenge in the morning but this one was ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteway too esoteric. We all want a challenge in the morning but not a "hair puller".
ReplyDelete