Theme: None
Total block: 31
Total word: 72 (maximum allowed for a themeless)
Lots of 7-letter words in this puzzle, 24 I think. Funny how grid can be so deceptive. I felt this puzzle has more black squares than last Saturday's eight 15-letter themeless. But that one turns out to have one more block. This one by Kevin G. Der holds the record for fewest blocks (18). I bet 17 is not so far away.
I teed off perfectly with BARBARO ( 1A: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner), thanks to the crossing REBECCA (3D: Novel that begins "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"). I thought of Giacomo first. It has the same amount of letters. Giacomo is named after Sting's son, and his wife bet big and won big at the 2005 Derby.
BARBARO jumped the gun in Preakness Stakes and then broke his legs. I had no idea that an injured leg can be fatal to a horse. I read REBECCA long time ago, in Chinese. Linda mentioned a few weeks ago that dreamt is the only English word ending in mt.
Anyway, after BARBARO, my struggle started and continued until the very end. Still, I was able to fill in plenty of blanks. Good enough for me. I wonder how long it takes a constructor to build a Saturday themeless. Probably 4-5 hours at least. It's just not right for Dan Feyer to conquer the grid under 5 minutes. He needs to slow down.
Across:
8A: Libyan leader whose name has more than 30 spellings: QADDAFI. "30"? That's why we need a clear standard for romanizing Arab names. Gaddafi seems to be more common. His given name Muammar sounds weird too.
15D: Demand too much of: OVERTAX
17A: It often has branches: LIBRARY. I pictured trees, then banks.
18A: Unstoppable: ON A ROLL
19A: Stubbing victim: TOE. The image of a cigarett popped into my mind immediately.
20A: Took down a peg: DEMOTED
23A: Letter-bottom letters: ENCL (Enclosure)
25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?
26A: __ Fein: SINN. IRA's extremely left wing party. I filled in SEIN first.
27A: Red Sox pitcher Matsuzaka's nickname: DICE K. Ah, gimme. His name is Daisuke, pronounced like Dice K.
29A: Traffic stopper: RED. I asked our editor Rich Norris about this RED clue/answer duplication the other day. He says it doesn't bother him, and he will change "if a long (6 letters or more) or prominent word is duped in a clue".
30A: Out of it: DAZED. New definition of "Out of it" to me.
31A: Common Yuletide mail: CATALOG
33A: Teases, in slang: JIVES. New slang to me also.
35A: Life in the Yucatán: (retype): VIDA. Here is Ricky Martin's "Livin' La VIDA Loca".
36A: Jackal or fox: CANID. I can only think of canine. Is "id" a suffix for something, Kazie? Dictionary defines CANID as "any animal of the dog family Canidae, including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs".
38A: Manatee relatives: DUGONGS. Another unknown. They can be found at the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. No hind limb. Huge!
41A: "Platoon" actor Willem: DAFOE. Saw the movie "Platoon". Can't remember his name though. So close to Defoe, the author of "Robinson Crusoe".
45A: U.S. Marine Corps E-6: SSGT (Staff Sergeant). See this list. I suppose the ranking is different in the Army/Air Force/Navy?
46A: Power problem: SURGE
48A: 1 for H, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). H is Hydrogen. More here. Carbon is 6. Neon is 10.
49A: '60 VP: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). LBJ's VP. Gimme for any Minnesotan. Walter Mondale is another veep from Minnesota. We've never had a president though. How about your state?
50A: Like Lake Mead: MAN-MADE. It's the largest MAN-MADE lake in the world, isn't it?
52A: "Gimme __!": Columbus cheer beginning: AN O. I guessed. I surmise it's the cheerleading sound from Ohio State University?
53A: Ebbing: ABATING
55A: Reels off: RECITES
57A: Encountered: RAN INTO. Had problem obtaining this multiple word answer.
58A: Thankless one: INGRATE
59A: Magazine revenue: PRINT AD. There were only 2 letters in my brain, AD, then nothing else.
60A: Yields: ASSENTS. I only know the "Agree" meaning of assent.
Down:
1D: Downed quickly: BOLTED. Was ignorant of "Down quickly" definition of BOLT. Don't BOLT. Food is to be enjoyed.
2D: Relating to Space Age technology: AVIONIC. Also new to me. The noun AVIOTICS = AVI (ation) + (Electr)ONICS.
4D: Polar outburst?: BRR. I wrote down RAY, confusing Polar with Solar.
5D: Somewhat: A TAD
6D: More valuable, as coins: RARER. And MINT (50D: Spanking new). Both remind me of coins and baseball cards.
7D: Deafening silent, e.g.: OXYMORON. Elissa linked this list last time. Sallie likes jumbo shrimp.
8D: Used another's words: QUOTED
9D: Attach: ANNEX. I wanted ADD ON.
10D: Obsolete: DEAD. Thought of GONE.
11D: Patriotic org.: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). The other choice is SAR (Sons of American Revolution).
12D: Make a mist of: ATOMIZE
13D: Catty types: FELINES. I was thinking of the mean catty catty, not cat-like catty.
14D: Like the Aral Sea: INLAND. SHRINKING has too many letters. It's indeed INLAND.
21D: Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini). Michelle Obama likes Jason Wu's design.
24D: "I'd rather skip it": LET'S NOT. And DID OK (30D: Managed). Neither came to me easily.
26D: Safari destination: SAVANNA . I was thinking of a country rather than the general grassy plain.
32D: Little dude: LAD
33D: Carpentry guide: JIG. No idea. Which part is JIG?
35D: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" barony: VULGARIA. Big stumper. See here for more information. Wikipedia says it's a scenic, mountainous region that can't be found any where in the world. I did not know it's authored by Ian Fleming.
36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?
37D: Kabul coin: AFGHANI. I thought it's RUPEE, since Afghanstan is close to India and Pakistan where rupee is used. Anyway, Dictionary says AFGHANI can also refer to the people, same as Afghan. And the abbreviation of the currency AFGHANI is AFG.
38D: Frequent pizza delivery destination: DORM. I had O in place, so I went with HOME first.
39D: Enjoy the sunshine, perhaps: GET A TAN
40D: Big name in slapstick: SENNETT. Mack SENNETT, "The King of Comedy". I forgot all about him. Wikipedia says his Keystone Studios started the careers of Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, etc.
41D: Key before E: D SHARP
42D: The Aztecs' Tonatiuh: SUN GOD. I don't know what's the meaning of Tonatiuh, so complete blank here. The same as Greek Helios/Roman Sol I suppose.
46D: Seasonal temp: SANTA. I thought temp is short for temperature. Good clue.
51D: Heart lines: Abbr.: ECGS. I wrote down EEGS, which is actually the brain scan "Head lines".
54D: Like the Wizard's heartless visitor: TIN. Did not get it easily, though I love the movie and know clearly that the Tin Man has no heart. I guess I always thought of TIN as a noun rather than an adjective. So, what would be the answer for "Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total block: 31
Total word: 72 (maximum allowed for a themeless)
Lots of 7-letter words in this puzzle, 24 I think. Funny how grid can be so deceptive. I felt this puzzle has more black squares than last Saturday's eight 15-letter themeless. But that one turns out to have one more block. This one by Kevin G. Der holds the record for fewest blocks (18). I bet 17 is not so far away.
I teed off perfectly with BARBARO ( 1A: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner), thanks to the crossing REBECCA (3D: Novel that begins "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"). I thought of Giacomo first. It has the same amount of letters. Giacomo is named after Sting's son, and his wife bet big and won big at the 2005 Derby.
BARBARO jumped the gun in Preakness Stakes and then broke his legs. I had no idea that an injured leg can be fatal to a horse. I read REBECCA long time ago, in Chinese. Linda mentioned a few weeks ago that dreamt is the only English word ending in mt.
Anyway, after BARBARO, my struggle started and continued until the very end. Still, I was able to fill in plenty of blanks. Good enough for me. I wonder how long it takes a constructor to build a Saturday themeless. Probably 4-5 hours at least. It's just not right for Dan Feyer to conquer the grid under 5 minutes. He needs to slow down.
Across:
8A: Libyan leader whose name has more than 30 spellings: QADDAFI. "30"? That's why we need a clear standard for romanizing Arab names. Gaddafi seems to be more common. His given name Muammar sounds weird too.
15D: Demand too much of: OVERTAX
17A: It often has branches: LIBRARY. I pictured trees, then banks.
18A: Unstoppable: ON A ROLL
19A: Stubbing victim: TOE. The image of a cigarett popped into my mind immediately.
20A: Took down a peg: DEMOTED
23A: Letter-bottom letters: ENCL (Enclosure)
25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?
26A: __ Fein: SINN. IRA's extremely left wing party. I filled in SEIN first.
27A: Red Sox pitcher Matsuzaka's nickname: DICE K. Ah, gimme. His name is Daisuke, pronounced like Dice K.
29A: Traffic stopper: RED. I asked our editor Rich Norris about this RED clue/answer duplication the other day. He says it doesn't bother him, and he will change "if a long (6 letters or more) or prominent word is duped in a clue".
30A: Out of it: DAZED. New definition of "Out of it" to me.
31A: Common Yuletide mail: CATALOG
33A: Teases, in slang: JIVES. New slang to me also.
35A: Life in the Yucatán: (retype): VIDA. Here is Ricky Martin's "Livin' La VIDA Loca".
36A: Jackal or fox: CANID. I can only think of canine. Is "id" a suffix for something, Kazie? Dictionary defines CANID as "any animal of the dog family Canidae, including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs".
38A: Manatee relatives: DUGONGS. Another unknown. They can be found at the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. No hind limb. Huge!
41A: "Platoon" actor Willem: DAFOE. Saw the movie "Platoon". Can't remember his name though. So close to Defoe, the author of "Robinson Crusoe".
45A: U.S. Marine Corps E-6: SSGT (Staff Sergeant). See this list. I suppose the ranking is different in the Army/Air Force/Navy?
46A: Power problem: SURGE
48A: 1 for H, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). H is Hydrogen. More here. Carbon is 6. Neon is 10.
49A: '60 VP: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). LBJ's VP. Gimme for any Minnesotan. Walter Mondale is another veep from Minnesota. We've never had a president though. How about your state?
50A: Like Lake Mead: MAN-MADE. It's the largest MAN-MADE lake in the world, isn't it?
52A: "Gimme __!": Columbus cheer beginning: AN O. I guessed. I surmise it's the cheerleading sound from Ohio State University?
53A: Ebbing: ABATING
55A: Reels off: RECITES
57A: Encountered: RAN INTO. Had problem obtaining this multiple word answer.
58A: Thankless one: INGRATE
59A: Magazine revenue: PRINT AD. There were only 2 letters in my brain, AD, then nothing else.
60A: Yields: ASSENTS. I only know the "Agree" meaning of assent.
Down:
1D: Downed quickly: BOLTED. Was ignorant of "Down quickly" definition of BOLT. Don't BOLT. Food is to be enjoyed.
2D: Relating to Space Age technology: AVIONIC. Also new to me. The noun AVIOTICS = AVI (ation) + (Electr)ONICS.
4D: Polar outburst?: BRR. I wrote down RAY, confusing Polar with Solar.
5D: Somewhat: A TAD
6D: More valuable, as coins: RARER. And MINT (50D: Spanking new). Both remind me of coins and baseball cards.
7D: Deafening silent, e.g.: OXYMORON. Elissa linked this list last time. Sallie likes jumbo shrimp.
8D: Used another's words: QUOTED
9D: Attach: ANNEX. I wanted ADD ON.
10D: Obsolete: DEAD. Thought of GONE.
11D: Patriotic org.: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). The other choice is SAR (Sons of American Revolution).
12D: Make a mist of: ATOMIZE
13D: Catty types: FELINES. I was thinking of the mean catty catty, not cat-like catty.
14D: Like the Aral Sea: INLAND. SHRINKING has too many letters. It's indeed INLAND.
21D: Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini). Michelle Obama likes Jason Wu's design.
24D: "I'd rather skip it": LET'S NOT. And DID OK (30D: Managed). Neither came to me easily.
26D: Safari destination: SAVANNA . I was thinking of a country rather than the general grassy plain.
32D: Little dude: LAD
33D: Carpentry guide: JIG. No idea. Which part is JIG?
35D: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" barony: VULGARIA. Big stumper. See here for more information. Wikipedia says it's a scenic, mountainous region that can't be found any where in the world. I did not know it's authored by Ian Fleming.
36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?
37D: Kabul coin: AFGHANI. I thought it's RUPEE, since Afghanstan is close to India and Pakistan where rupee is used. Anyway, Dictionary says AFGHANI can also refer to the people, same as Afghan. And the abbreviation of the currency AFGHANI is AFG.
38D: Frequent pizza delivery destination: DORM. I had O in place, so I went with HOME first.
39D: Enjoy the sunshine, perhaps: GET A TAN
40D: Big name in slapstick: SENNETT. Mack SENNETT, "The King of Comedy". I forgot all about him. Wikipedia says his Keystone Studios started the careers of Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, etc.
41D: Key before E: D SHARP
42D: The Aztecs' Tonatiuh: SUN GOD. I don't know what's the meaning of Tonatiuh, so complete blank here. The same as Greek Helios/Roman Sol I suppose.
46D: Seasonal temp: SANTA. I thought temp is short for temperature. Good clue.
51D: Heart lines: Abbr.: ECGS. I wrote down EEGS, which is actually the brain scan "Head lines".
54D: Like the Wizard's heartless visitor: TIN. Did not get it easily, though I love the movie and know clearly that the Tin Man has no heart. I guess I always thought of TIN as a noun rather than an adjective. So, what would be the answer for "Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?
Answer grid.
C.C.
68 comments:
36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?spirits = alcohol. at a cash bar, or 'no host bar,' guests of the event buy their own drinks. the opposite of 'open bar.'
Morning, all!
Well, this one started out pretty easy, but the further along I got the more bogged down I got. I had numerous missteps that I had to go back and correct, including ROBOTIC for AVIONIC, DEBASED instead of DEMOTED DMINOR instead of DSHARP, IKE for HHH, MSGT for SSGT, etc.
Everything did eventually work out in the end, though. Well, almost everything. I finished the puzzle at just under 11 minutes, but once again I didn't get the TADA! The problem turned out to be right at the beginning. Sorry, C. C., but horse racing is another sport I don't pay attention to, and BARBARO was unknown to me. The clue "Polar comment" made me think of something a polar bear would say, so I ended up with BARGARO and GRR instead of BARBARO and BRR. Oops.
I think the only other unknown today was VULGARIA (I saw the movie some 35 years ago and simply didn't remember). I was very proud of myself for knowing CANID, DUGONGS and SENNET. And yes, being from Boston, even I knew who DICE-K is! ^_^
Melissa,
Ah, OK, that's a good clue then.
Barry G,
I was thinking of getting a BARBARO "signed" photo. But he was sick and busy.
Al,
No. I just thought that girl really looks pretty in pink. Was completely unaware of Molly Ringwald and the movie. Thanks for pointing it out the interesting connection. Yes, I meant TACK. Maybe you can provide us with one or two cryptic every day? We used to have a fellow solver Mark (a British living in Buenos Aires) who tested us once in a while.
Fred,
Thank you. Barry Silk told me once that he would not consider them cheater squares when putting at the end of theme answers. But I completely forgot it.
A.R.E,
I wish the flower were from my garden.
Jerome,
Hey! Thanks for letting us know your view on helper squares as well. Will we get your puzzle in LAT soon?
Oberhasli,
Welcome to "The Blue Zone".
Kazie,
Does DORF have the same root as dorp?
Frank,
I like the idioms you've been using. Very interesting to me.
KQ,
I have the same feeling as you do. I can't finish most of the LAT puzzles, but I've been having fun. I much prefer struggling in the majors to going back to the old TMS Daily minor league.
Jimbo,
Congratulations on winning the third "League Championship". Boomer's Friday league finished the last.
PromiseMe,
The limit for black squares in a 15*15 crossword (including NY Times) is 38. As for the removal of black squares in your comment yesterday, normally the constructors re-work the fill and make a new longer word/phrases. Most of them are after low word/low black square count.
Lemonade,
Now, that's a birdie comment @10:01pm.
Jim in Norfolk et al,
Thanks for ALEE and other answers yesterday.
You may have been pleasantly challenged by this puzzle today but I found it to be impossible and "NO FUN"! Too many quotes with 4 and 5 word clues and too many authors and people. I like a puzzle to be challenging too but not to the point that we are going to discontinue even trying! When are you going to go back to the "boring" TMS Chicago Puzzle? By the way, just because the editor of the crosswords retired didn't mean that you had to change puzzle origins!
Janet
guess it is time we give up on doing the end of the week puzzles. Life is too short to waste when you either aren't learning or having fun.
I have really enjoyed your comments about the crossword puzzles and your zeal for solving them. However, since they have changed I find that solving puzzles isn't fun anymore. For years I did not move in the morning until the crossword puzzle was solved, but now I have no desire since they are so hard. I always thought solving crossword puzzles sharpened your mind, but now it is almost impossible.
Thanks for listening.
Marti
Good morning, C.C. and gang - I was very, very surprised that I finished this one in under 10 minutes. A couple things saved me: Barbaro was a Philly horse, so I knew all about him; obviously, I knew the Marine Corps rank; and I knew what an 'afghani' was, as one of the guys back from over there gave me some coins and currency.
It's a good thing I knew those, because I'd never heard of 'Vulgaria', 'canid' or 'dugones', and I always thought 'assents' strictly meant 'agrees'. Perps really saved the day.
I have to admit, I do like the multi-word answers; stretches the brain a bit, which is always a good thing. I really enjoy the new puzzles, but I wish we'd get the occasional Silk surprise - they're still my favorites.
Today is Pet Owners Independence Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "At 70, I would say the advantage is that you take life more calmly. You have that 'this, too, shall pass!'" -- Eleanor Roosevelt
Mr. Fun Facts has uncovered these gems:
- Saudi Arabia must import sand from other countries. This is because their desert sand is not suitable for building construction.
Andorra, a tiny country on the border between France and Spain, has the longest average life expectancy in the world: 83.52 years.
5 and a wakeup!
Melissa, do you sleep? Seems like your posts are middle-of-the-night. Need someone to read you bedtime stories?
Janet, there are no more TMS puzzles. They're gone.
Marti, anon@7:00, if you're really not enjoying the puzzles later in the week, you still have the earlier ones, right? And the more you do those, the easier the later ones will become. I hope you'll give it some time; puzzles are such a great way to start the day.
Greetings, all,
This was a tough one for me. I G'd Barbaro and Rebecca, hoping that would get me started, but bogged down quickly. New to me were Dice K, canid, dugongs & Vulgaria; couldn't get jives and jig; couldn't remember Oleg; otherwise, I did great!
I urge you anons who are complaining to hang in there; your skills will improve with practice.
I fully enjoyed today's labor which took me and hour and a half. I assume you also enjoy the effort of trying to solve the puzzles. If not, why bother?
C.C. In your picture, the jig is the entire moveable piece that is clamping the wood. A jig can be anything to prevent you from making a mistake or allowing you to make repeated cuts on multiple pieces of wood. It can be as simple as a hole in another piece of scrap wood, or as complex as the picture you linked. It may have clamping ability, or it may just provide a stopping point so that you can do repeated work with the same results every time.
At your suggestion, here's a cryptic clue to test the waters. It's like one of the examples I gave yesterday (5 letters):
Which organism contains this bloodlike fluid?
25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex
Omega is the offical watch that James Bond wears now.
Omega has been associated with James Bond movies since 1995. That year, Pierce Brosnan took over the role of James Bond and began wearing the Omega Seamaster Quartz Professional (model 2541.80.00) in the movie GoldenEye.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Watches
I looked forward daily to having a puzzle that the average person could work. but thes puzzles that get extremely dificult as the week progresses are no fun. I am going to quit trying and complain to my newspaper. CC hoe many times today did you have to use Google or other sources to work the puzzle???
Mel
CC,
At most wedding receptions the bridal party will have a cash bar meaning the guests pay for their alcohol some receptions will have an open bar meaning the bride & groom are paying for the booze. I've been to one where they just set up a table with the whiskey and those wanted mixed drinks served themselves.
THE MONKEYS DEAD THE SHOWS OVER SUE YA!
A very enjoyable morning. I'm working the puzzle sitting out on my deck, enjoying a cup of coffee while the birds chirp and the daffodils bloom. The puzzle started very slowly for me, and I nearly gave up. But a second cup of coffee did the trick - along with some google help.
My favorite clue was seasonal temp Santa. Not the frame of mind I'm in this morning, as we're finally enjoying warm seasonal temps, so a very clever stumper which eventually came to me.
Enjoy the day!
To me, the LA Times puzzels that I can't get are better than the TMS hard ones. The many items I have to look up seem more relevant. I got frustrated with TMS for too many foreign words, too many Catholic/Jewish/Yiddish references and too many obscure usages. I am apathetic about all of these. I might have changed my mind had TMS stuck around. I took up crosswords just a couple of years ago and I still feel like a babe in the woods.
"Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?Strawy, perhaps. It's a word, but not one I've seen very frequently.
How about EXEMPT ending in mt?
I knew I should have kept my mouth shut, as my streak of finishing puzzles is over. I had DUDONGS and JID, as my puzzle ending guess. I have heard of JIG SAW puzzles, but that never made any sense.
Yes, MB, I liked the CASHBAR clue, and thought SANTA was very tricky. BARBARO, because of his sad end was a gimme, especially since a close friend supports himself betting on horses. Sadly, he wins unless he gives me the horse, and if I bet, he loses. CANID, is like so many zoological terms, ARACHNID, HOMINID. My brother went out OLEG Cassini's daughter, Christina in high school; she was Tini Cassini, which was easy to remember. My third grade teacher was an 80+ woman, Mrs. Sochor, who was a very proud member of the DAR, which really confused my 7 year old brain, which interpreted her comments to mean her parents fought in the revolution. She looked old, but, WOW, that was old.
The ROLEX clue was easy, but misleading as Bond wore many watches, BOND WATCHES,. The most famous use, was the introduction of the PULSAR watch, the first LED watch. My self indulgent brother went and bought one the day after seeing the movie. The ROLEX was the watch in the first Bond movie.
I have always seen QADDAFI with the q.
Loved Willem DAFOE in Mississippi Burning, which was filmed in part in Lafayette, Alabama, a town that is still in the fifties.
i didn't know BARBARO off the top of my head so when i was first filling in 1D DOWNED QUICKLY i thought it might be MOLTED .. which doesn't really make sense but we've had some clever DOWN/MOLT clues in the past.
the BRANCH clue stumped me for a bit.
@dennis: i like the challenge of multiples too.
bedtime stories, that might help. do you know any with happy endings?
As usual, on Thurs.-Sun., I had very few correct answers. Even doing it online didn't help because I just wasn't getting it.
Having filled in my paper copy with answers from this blog, I am puzzled by 30D as Didok. Oh! It just hit me. Did OK. Certainly not a given for Managed. I managed to get some answers today, but I didn't do OK, IMHO.
As to DAR, my late mother-in-law wanted to know if I was eligible. As my relatives are all Canadian, I still queried my mother. She replied that we were Canadian because we left the U.S. because of the revolution, but I was eligible to be a Daughter of the Empire. So I told my mother-in-law only the last part (and let her put that in her pipe and smoke it). Never heard another word about the DAR.
Good Morning All, I don't have much time for posting today and tomorrow. A couple of the Swedish cousins will be spending the weekend with us and it is an opportunity for more cousins to show up for a mini-reunion.
I liked today's puzzle. For some reason BARBARO and the spelling of QADDAFI came quite easily. Same thing with DUGONGS...I must have seen a National Geo special about them.
Of course there were some stoppers like AVIONIC, DICE K and SUN GOD, but all were helped by the perps.
I like Willem DAFOE too. He doesn't make many comedies, so he was especially appealing in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.
Have a great sunny weekend.
Hi c.c. and all:
Had to google Barbaro, Dice K, Dugongs, Sinn, Canid and Vulgaria. I had Frat instead of Dorm and wouldn't change it even though I googled Dugongs. For some reason Dorm never popped into my head. I was also sure Lake Meade was some kind of tide. Pretty much crashed and burned, although still had a majority of answers right. I will keep trying to plug through these and hopefully they will get easier.
It was a tough but ultimately doable xword this morning. Embarrassed to say I had to linger over it quite a bit longer over my breakfast than usual, at almost an hour. Yikes. Definitely my worst time in awhile. I did however enjoy the tricky deafening silence, cashbar, and atno clues. I had an awfully tough time locking down Qaddafi, knowing a few of the other spellings. It was fun to see the puzzle constructor had acknowledge that bit of intentional trickery with in his clue. I also got tripped up for a bit with "spike" for a power problem, until "surge" popped into mind as an alternative answer.
I didn't see many dollar words again here for a Saturday puzzle, except for Canid and Dugongs. I'm not too sure about sol as a truly proper "la" preceder (apparently it's a variant of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Do-re-mi-fa-SO-la-ti-do lyrics), but then again, one must make allowances for xwords.
I'm going to vote in as one regular anonymous poster who DOESN'T mind that the puzzles get tougher as the week progresses. I'm growing to like the new LAT puzzles more as I hang in with them. Wednesday's puzzle this past week was particularly fun.
I liked today's puzzle, even if I couldn't finish - I usually play with it for a while, and return later in the day if necessary - sometimes more than once - till finished or at an impasse.
Just did soso today. I never heard of a DUGONG; didn't know VULGARIA or DAFOE; DIDOK & CANID had me stumped. So here's hoping I'll remember & be smarter next time.
Happy weekend to all.
Jeannette
Hello c.c. and comrades. Well, won't get into today's puzzle except to say that my five day successful journey when "lights out" today. Too many multiple words and obscure ("dugongs") words for ol' Dad. I'm in trouble when the answer to a clue still shows up with a red line under it on my spell-check.
Am I wrong or is the answer to 44d is "looses"? Don't remember ever using that word.
The purpose of the LAT, I suppose, is to work your mind around word usage rather than discovering new words. I'll continue giving it the "ol' college try" but I'm not hoping for great success on the Sat. puzzle for quite some time.
Melissa bee, I know some bed-time stories that have VERY HAPPY ENDINGS. I would be happy to relate them to you.
c.c. Yes "gimme an "O"" is a cheer at Ohio State. The cheerleaders yell, "Gimme an O!" The crowd responds "O". Then, the cheerleaders yell, "Gimme an H!" Crowd, "H". Then "I" and finally "O". At the end the cheerleaders yell, "Wadda you got?" and the crowd responds, "Uh... er...could you run through that again, a little slower?" (And you wonder why I have trouble with multiple word answers.)
WOW. Never go to a Doctor whose office plants have died.
I must be off
Good morning, everyone. Another educational day on the blog. Had to work on this one, and used the red letters to help me get through. There were some very clever clues here.
@al What a great explanation of "jig" for C.C. I think you covered it nicely.
@barryg. So good to see you again.
@anonymous@11:56 Even if you do not elect to get an account and join the Blue Group, signing something at the bottom of your post helps us to make references to your post.
Morning all...actually got more of this than I originally thought I would. REBECCA right off along with a few others. Got DAFOE(although I originally put DEFOE) and got totally stuck on the SW corner. Had NID of 41A and when I came here to get the answer, had a V-8 moment and the rest of the corner filled in. I also wanted GRR for 4D.
I feel like I am am basically starting to understand the cluing and only really get into trouble when I out guess myself...I had to change the QADDAFI spelling twice before anything made sense...it is daunting to know that you have 30 chances of getting it right. I knew the answer but wasn't sure which would be the favored spelling. I also like the multiple word clues, they don't seem to present much of a problem.
Beautiful day...so I'm outta here :o)
Hi C.C. & gang,
We managed to finish the puzzle today with some help from Google. Neither of us follow horse racing either.
Re: Jigs? My first experience of making and using jigs came from Norm Abram e.g. see his table saw jig link. I made one of these for my table saw also.
I started out online in Master mode and after one run of As and Ds I switched to Regular. I was surprised at how few red letter assists I needed.
As to Presidents from my home state: I grew up in PA and now live in CA. James Buchanan (only bachelor president) was from PA. Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were from CA. One VP from PA - George Dallas (under Polk). One VP from CA - Nixon (under Eisenhower).
Herbert Hoover was also from CA.
Good afternoon CC and all,
Again, very clever clues, but I am overtaxed with fri and Sat c/w.At least the G-ing is more fun than with the old obscure words.
I did have a problem with the clue for Vulgaria. I have read Chitty,Chitty, Bang,Bang to my classes several times over the years, before that silly movie, and most of it took place in France,even though the Potts lived somewhere in the English countryside.The original REAL car was built in 1920 by Count Zborowski on his estate near Canterbury.It had a pre-1914 war, chain drive,75 horsepower Mercedes chassis in which was installed a 6 cylinder Maybach aero engine-the military type used by the Germans in their Zeppelins.In 1921 the count won the 100 M.P.H.Short Handicap at 101 m.p.h.
BTW, Ian Fleming spent a number of years in the Intelligence Service during WWII, which qualified him to write all those James Bond spy thrillers.
Good Afternoon C.C. and Co.,
C.C.,
I had to get DICE K from the perps.
My last fill was the 'J' for 'JIVES and JIG. It was last because I had mistakenly thought I had finished the puzzle and did not realize that I had left that square blank.
Al, I was going to say what you did about which part is the JIG. One thing I would add, though, is that you could even consider the horizontal surface part of the jig. Basically, everything except for the cutting blade.
There has never been a US President from Montana. The most powerful politician from Montana was Mike Mansfield who was the longest serving majority leader in the history of the Senate.
According to Wikipedia, Lake Mead is the largest man-made lake (reservoir) in the US. However, it is nowhere near the largest in the world either by surface area or volume of water. Lake Volta in Ghana has the largest surface area and Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe/Zambia is the largest by volume.
DAR reminded me of the clip of Marian Anderson who was banned from Constitution Hall by them. What a shameful chapter in their history.
ASSENTS does mean agrees. It just used in this clue to mean that the person finally agrees after initially being opposed to whatever it was. The usage is more akin to what we more commonly think of as 'acquiesce'.
15:56 today. A super-nice puzzle with no unknowns except VULGARIA. QADDAFI was especially entertaining because the clue let you know that any of the letters could be almost anything--even when you know the answer! Now, that's major fun.
I also liked the clue for SANTA, which, interestingly, I filled in with no crosses. Don't ask me how I intuited that!
Anonymous 11:56: I'm not too sure about sol as a truly proper "la" preceder (apparently it's a variant of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Do-re-mi-fa-SO-la-ti-do lyrics), but then again, one must make allowances for xwords.Actually, sol is correct as Rodgers & Hammerstein incorrectly used "so" as a homonym for "sew" (a needle pulling thread) so that the song would work. (I suppose they could have made it sol: an orb above your head", or something and eliminated generations of confusion.)
The technical term for making names out of notes is called SolfegeThis discussion comes up regularly in the NY Times blog whenever sol is used in this sense in that puzzle.
I had never heard of Mack SENNET or DICE K and, though I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a child, I do not recall VULGARIA. I got those from the perps.
Again according to Wikipedia, Tonatiuh means "Movement of the Sun".
'Like the wizard's brainless visitor: STUFFED'
"Pet Owners Independence Day" is an OXYMORON.
Anon@9:52, Exempt ends in 'pt'.
Sallie, I think DID OK is meant in the sense that one didn't do well, just ok.
If someone had asked me yesterday how to spell QADDAFI, I would have told them Q-A-D-D-A-F-I. I guess that is just the only way I recall having seen it spelled.
"Dreamt" is a common misuse of the past tense "dreamed." The misuse occurs so often, that it becomes an acceptable use. I still use "dreamed." But then I also use "dived" instead of "dove," another misuse that has gained acceptability.
As for Presidents from my state, how about Ronald Reagan (not born in California, but lived here and was governor), and Richard Nixon (born here, but lost the election for governor). "They won't have Richard Nixon to kick around any more," was the famous quote as a result of that loss.
OXYMORONS are interesting. Everyone has his or her own idea of what is an oxymoron. I would assign my students to find as many as they could. One sophomore boy said his father told him "military intelligence" and "intelligent woman" were oxymorons.
Doreen
lemonade,-jig saw puzzles-great connection!
Al, good explanation
stamp collectors- didn't our air mail stamps used to saypar avion? While working out avionics that came to mind.
A few weeks ago we had something about manatees. I remember Kazie saying they were called dugongs in Oz. Unfortunately, I put hyraxes as they are strangely related to the elephant, who are related to manatees.
Lastly,I had loosen until I read what Buckeye said. Obviously, assentn isn't a word, but is looses???
My daughters are elible for membership in the DAR, but I never did the paperwork.Funny how the "family tree" gets more important as we age.
Crockett1947: Point taken. I'll leave some initials at the end of my posts in the future. I've never been one for online ids in forums though, knowing how they may attract spam and uncivilized behavior eventually.
Buckeye: yes, "looses" is the correct answer, as in:
The lord of the manor looses his hounds on the intruder.
An obscure usage, to be sure, but not quite as much IMHO as the "reune" answer that appeared in one of these xwords of a couple weeks ago.
Anon-HP
Thanks for the clarification and Solfege link, Embien.
Anon-HP
Just a brief stop at the computer - almost 80 and sunny here; been out playing all day, and now I'm gonna go park my ass firmly in the command chair on the dock and keep a sharp lookout for enemy submarines. Never can tell. Those damn Somalian pilots may have decided to go underwater now.
anon@9:52 you really were kidding about 'exempt' ending in mt, right?
Lemonade, Bond had an Oyster Perpetual, didn't he?
Melissa, you're in luck - I just happen to know several that have multiple happy endings. And they're even better the second time through...
Sallie, "let them put that in their pipe and smoke it" -- loved it, haven't heard that in years.
Clear Ayes, "Swedish cousins"???? Female? They didn't previously appear in beer ads, did they? If so, where exactly are you again?
g8rmomx2, anon@11:56, the perfect attitude. They will get easier the more we do them.
Buckeye, this blog will never be boring as long as you visit. And you're right, 'looses' is pretty archaic; technically correct, though.
embien, thanks for the new word - never heard of 'solfege' before.
Al of "Which organism contains this bloodlike fluid?":
I'll bite. A few possibilities have come to mind, although I'm expecting your "official" answer lies elsewhere.
pARaSitE (an anagram for pita SERA, which I expect one might say is the yogurty sauce you might find in a Gyro) One recipe here:
Gyro recipeTerpsICHORe - the Greek Muse of dance and choral song. Technically not an organism, but I thought the mix of godly blood and one of the Greek muses a curious link.
OctoPUS or PUSsycat - which I believe are self-explanatory.
Anon-HP
Dennis, my recollection is that Bond started out with the Submariner, by Rolex, but I am sure the answer is in the link I posted.
I have stopped in Orlando to pick up my youngest, too nice to be on the computer today, see you all later.
It appears to me that the current puzzle maker/editor has a harder time to make the puzzle work than the previous person as he/she has to use two, three, and four word answers. To me, this is a serious weakness, not an interesting challenge for the person who completes the puzzle. Please go back to the style of Monday, Tuesday,and Wednesday puzzles for the last days of the weeek.
Doncha just get a bit tired of all the whining???
"Santana"
"The lord of the manor looses his hounds on the intruder."
Thank you HP for the "looses" explanation. The last time I "rode with the hounds" the lord of the manor yelled, "Let them bitches eat!!" Then we kick started our Harleys and went after that "red devil." I guess he "looses" his dogs on that fox.
I learn more good stuff on this blog!!!
BTW. When quoting someone else, how do y'all get it in italics? Maybe I'll learn more good stuff.
IMBO
Oy Vey! I finished but it took me a lot longer than Dennis and Barry G.!
I didn't know DICE K, or VULGARIA. I must have tried half a dozen spellings for SINN before it clicked, and I really enjoyed "Seasonal Temp" once I got past the DOH! moment. *G*
Embien, thanks for the explanation for Anon H.P In my head, I hear "so" for the fifth step of the scale, but in the texts the term is SOL. I was all set to jump in when I found your response.
Sallie, my grandmother was incensed that her only son chose to marry a divorced woman. I've heard that she tried the DAR snoot on my mother, only to find that my mother's people had actually arrived in the States earlier than my dad's relatives, another "put that in your pipe and smoke it" situation.
If you count both birthplace and political base, Illinois claims four presidents: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan and Obama. Reagan was the only one born in Illinois.
Clear Ayes....have fun with the Swedish relatives. I think several of the guys are looking forward to hearing about it tomorrow! *G*
To all who say that it gets easier....it does, but it takes commitment. It's worth it.
Point of clarification and updativeness (See Fred). I seems that Pia Zadora had nothing to do with the Golden Buckeye Retirement Village. After a brief lawsuit, her name was removed. (Our rent went up a TON). It's now just Golden Buckeye Retirement Village. (GBRV) Please make a note so that you will not be "at a looses" with my future posts. (I love to use words I just learnt - as in drempt).
IMBO
Also, far be it from me to cause controversy anywhere, but I feel it necessary to point out to Elissa that Herbert Hoover may have lived in Ca. but was born in West Branch, Iowa. My ex brother-in-law worked for the National Park Service and was Director of the Herbert Hoover National Birthplace. I say he "worked" in the past tense because he is retired not because he "went over the rainbow to visit Dorothy and Toto".
IMBO
Had a heck of a time with it today. I got jig right off. My husband does woodworking. The rest of it sucked!!
Guess I need to get used to the format of these. Far different from what our paper was carrying.
Was a nice break after I spent the afternoon working in the yard.
Kitty B-beautiful quilt. I haven't made a full sized one. I have done many small ones. Mostly to be donated to Shriner's Hospital.
My first thought this morning on la preceder was ooh, as in ooh la la! But then the clue should have read la precederS.
One might have expected the The LA Times puzzle editors to have taken yet another tack on that clue. In that vein, a la succeeder could be CAL.
Buckeye: start the text you want in italics with <i>, and end it with a closing </i>
anon-hp
PS, to one of the other anon posters, regarding the multi short-worded answers:
That's been my chief beef with the change as well. The old Saturday TMS puzzles (to my recollection) were stronger in their big word constructions.
1775 Paul Revere began his ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass, warning American colonists that the British were coming.
1923 The first baseball game was played at Yankee Stadium in New York City, with the Yankees beating the Boston Red Sox 4-1.
Anyone seen at game at Yankee stadium? Are the hot dogs better as they claim?
1942 An air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
1955 Physicist Albert Einstein died at age 76.
His best invention??
1956 Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Boy could she dance...It helps to have a partner though. I can dance, but haven't found the right partner...HMMM
1989 Thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing.
1999 Wayne Gretzky, the National Hockey League's all-time leading scorer, played his last professional game, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
There are a few people that are at the top of their games. I will name just the one's that come to mind...Michael Jodan, Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, Jack Nicholson, Tiger Woods, Mickey Mantle, Walter Peyton
2002 Police arrested actor Robert Blake in the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. (Blake was later acquitted of murder but found liable in a civil case.)
GUILTY...RIGHT UP THERE WITH OJ. IMHO
2006 Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes had a baby girl, Suri.
What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie? Mine was Top Gun.
Lemonade, I was out there at the "marker" with a "neutral grip", with a "neutral stance" trying to take a "naked shot" towards the "nearest point of relief". Who wood get in the way but one of those "obstructive" "observers" from an "outside agency". Just when I was about to "Out-to-in-blow". I HATE when I am left "open face(d)".
Uhh-YUCK!! I was way out in left field with this one. Waited too late in the day again. I got a few but the lower left corner had me stumped. Didn't like "dead" for obsolete either. I thought of "aged" or really wanted to cram in "passe".
So much for spring here, we have 2 feet of heavy snow. Trees are snapping off all over the place. :-(
Today's puzzle left my brain dazed and overtaxed, definitely was not on a roll. Still fun and challenging learning how to approach clues from a different perspective. Favorites: Seasonal temp, stubbing victim. La preceder was a total stumper till I got here, was convinced it was a Spanish word.
Not a big Tom Cruise fan (he's too self-aware IMHO) but did like him in Spielberg's Minority Report, and in minor roles in Tropic Thunder and Magnolia.
Sunday's puzzle should be interesting!
Hi C.C and gang,
Tid bits...
I don't get the Province Sat so have the Vancouver Sun delivered. Today there were 2 New York Times c/w, one by Barry C Silk and the other by Eric Berlin. Both edited by Will Shortz.
Both tough too.
One thing I have to say is that you have a lot of patience with us.
It's nice to get remarks about all the changes but I just don't like it when some are rude. No need for that. IMHO as Buckeye would say,
Best to all,
Geri
Just an additional..."It happened on this date" 103 years ago at 5:11 in the morning(also a Saturday)the Great Earthquake of 1906 struck San Francisco.
My grandmother was living in San Francisco and was 5 years old at the time. She, her 2 sisters and mother spent the first night, out of the rain, sleeping on a cable car. They eventually were able to move into a tent and, because he worked down in Redwood City at the time and couldn't get back into SF...their father was unable to locate them for 3 months...a good part of their day was given over to standing in line for unlabeled canned goods to see what they had to eat for the day.
Just wanted to pass that one along...apparently there are still 2 survivors still with us. Big remeberance celebrations starting at 5:11 am today.
Oberhasli...so good to see you in blue.
Buckeye...great fun as always...hope things are ok at the GBRV since Pia pulled out...
Thank you, treefrog! I'm sure the Shriner's Hospital appreciates your gifts. We've donated small quilts to the Linus Project in our corner of the Chicago suburbs. I have a blue and green puzzle quilt to use as my icon when we get further into warm weather.
Anon H.P. - I looked at "la preceder" and tried to shoehorn TRA into place. At least I was on the musical track.
"103 years ago at 5:11 in the morning(also a Saturday)the Great Earthquake of 1906 struck San Francisco."
Yes, and they lied like hell about it. The government officials conspired with the media to cover it all up. I would not be surprised if your grandfather could not find your grandmother and her two sisters because they would not let him into the city. The city today, no doubt, has such a big 'Remembrance Day' due to the modern awareness of the actual magnitude of the tragedy. It was far, far worse than anyone outside of the region could have imagined. Officials feared that if the true severity of the disaster were known, it would not only derail the development of the burgeoning city of San Francisco, but possibly also that of all of California ... or even the whole West Coast.
Jeannie,
re: Paul Revere
It is a common misconception that Mr. Revere rode through the streets shouting, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" Had he done that, the people would have been all but certain that the man had just escaped from the funny farm (GBRV?). The people, in what is now the United States, were all British citizens. They were part of what was known to them as British America. That was the whole problem. Their own government, in London, was trying to bilk them for all they were worth while giving them no say in the matter. From a British perspective what we call the US Revolutionary War was a civil war.
In contrast to the often heard, "The British are coming! The British are coming!", one also often hears that Paul Revere rode forth declaring, "The Red-Coats are coming! The Red-Coats are coming!" This is much more plausible.
Didn't fair too well today on this puzzle. Like the CASHBAR and SANTA clues the best. There were a few I knew right off the bat - like REBECCA which surprised me that I remembered the book where Manderly was the name of the estate. CC you amaze me. I never figured out what AN O meant, despite my husband being in Columbus today watching my daughter play at OHIO STATE of all things. How moronic is that? Then again, I spent the morning shopping for prom tuxedos for one son, and the afternoon watching the other play a 4 hour, yes 4 hour high school baseball game - end score 23-22 and we lost in the 7th. He batted 7 times. Brutal!!! No one can think properly after that.
Jeannie - We were in Yankee Stadium last year as part of our summer vacation. I did not try the hot dogs as I am always skeptical of eating them. The food we did eat was not at all quality though. We all like Dome dogs a lot though, and the Metrodome food is much better. The place is a dump, the seats were numbered in weird orders, and the fans are just brutal. Not really a place for kids and the language is pretty harsh. We thoroughly enjoyed it though. We visited Shea during the same trip. We look forward to returning to the new stadiums someday.
I crashed and burned today. No time to do more than a few before taking off for the day, and by the time I got back tonight, my "heart" was not "lined" up with it. i googled a couple of things that got me started, but this website kept coming up on the g'spot, so I gave up and came home to you. So no puzzle comments from me.
c.c.,
I checked and found dorp in Webster's, listed as being from Old High German, so it must be related to Dorf. In addition, the letters f,b,p,v often are interchanged in words developed in German and borrowed into English. Also happens with t <-> d.
I got canid but it sounded made up to me, though I went with the flow. Not sure about the -id ending, but your definition seems to suggest it's part of the original Latin.
Doreen,
Both dreamed and dreamt are listed as correct in my 1965 Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, as are both dived and dove (dived is listed first). In fact, the pronunciation for dreamed is given as either "drem(p)t" or "dreemd".
PMT...That was my great-grandfather...and you are correct...the "city" was off limits to everyone...so families suffered for a long time because there was very little in the way of help for anyone. My grandmother(remember, 5 at the time) had to stand in line for hours to select a can of food...she chose the largest she could carry and when she got back to their tent, she found out that they were eating canned peaches for dinner...
Nowadays, it is not so much a celebration as a remeberance...at Lottie's Fountain...because, here in CA, we are always just a heartbeat away from the very same thing. It is also a good time to remind people to be prepared...just in case.
I haven't decided yet if I want to try the Sunday LA times(if it is printable) or just stick with my NYT Sunday offering...I AM making progress with those...
You know...I think that I have misspelled REMEMBRANCE twice today...the same exact way...brain is faster than fingers :o(
#3
@wolfmom The puzzle is printable, and it's tough, but I got it done without any G spot or switching to regular level: 1 hour 8 minutes.
Up late tonight. Did Sunday the Sunday xword already. An entertaining puzzle all in all with some clever turns of movie pharses, but not much of a vocabulary builder. Liked the tail with a point guy clue best.
Anon-hp
C.C., you must be preparing your daily entries here before the crack of dawn, CST. I can hardly believe you do the puzzle AND post your solutions by that time each day. And it sounds like you're doing it all fair and squarepants too. You're amazing!
-Anon-hp
@anon-hp And we're just one letter short of a pangram (F). I thought there were LOTS of clever clues that required some thought.
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