Theme: Torn Fabric
23A: As it was formerly known, channel with the slogan "play every day": GAME SHOW NETWORK (Mesh)
32A: "Enough": THAT WILL DO (Twill)
43A: Waldo of kids' books, e.g.: HIDDEN IMAGE (Denim)
60A: Couldn't rush at rush hour: SAT IN TRAFFIC (Satin)
82A: "That used to be the cases": NOT ANY LONGER (Nylon)
96A: It can be seen from the Seine: EIFFEL TOWER (Felt)
103A: Safe bronzing product: SPRAY-ON TAN (Rayon)
123A: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, e.g.: ONLINE NEWSPAPER (Linen)
Another smooth puzzle from Gail Grabowski. Very creative theme and great theme title. Out of those 8 long theme answers, I have never heard of Game Show Network. I only watch a bit of news and ball games every day. I faintly remember that the Seattle Post - Intelligencer went totally online in March. ONLINE NEWSPAPER is my favorite theme entry. It's topical. And I like the unexpected hidden LINEN fabric.
I thought all fabrics are all natural, you know, cotton, linen, satin/silk, mesh, twill, felt, etc. Nylon, rayon are man-made. I guess I am wrong.
I imagine Ms. Grabowski has a very pretty vegetable garden: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and various herbs. But I don't believe she grows or likes lima beans. Nobody ever calls lima beans LIMAS alone (64A: Succotash staples).
Someone asked last time what a cheater/helper square is. In today's grid, the single black square on the upper right corner (directly above NERO (22D: Fictional sleuth Wolfe) and lower left corner (directly below SPCA (103D: Gp. advocating adoption) are two examples. They are used to shorten fills (thus eliminate obscure answers) without increasing the word count.
Across:
1A: Dance floor flasher: STROBE. Is anyone a Phish fan?
14A: Big name in hotels: RITZ. Reminds me of PUT ON THE DOG last time. I wanted PUT ON THE RITZ.
16A: Biblical landfall: ARARAT. Noah's Ark landed on Mount ARARAT.
20A: Farm eatery?: LEA. Excellent clue.
21A: 2000s scandal subject: ENRON. My ENRON golf balls are not worth much.
26A: "The Cider House Rules" Oscar winner: CAINE (Michael). Unknown to me. Not familiar with the movie.
27A: Name to a position: APPOINT
28A: Gauguin's retreat: TAHITI. Here is Gauguin's "Two Women on the Beach" once again.
30A: Defeat: LOSS. Thought the clue was asking for a verb.
34A: Marine predator: ORCA. The killer whale.
42A: Cutter's cousin: SLOOP. Both Single-masted.
47A: Took the role of: ACTED AS
52A: Legal hurdle: BAR EXAM. And PRE-LAW (112A: Future litigator's study)
54A: Mil. bigwigs: GENS
55A: Olympics cheer: USA. Wanted OLE.
56A: Flimsy: LAME
57A: Platte River settler: OTO. "Prefix for ear" as well.
58A: Some e-mail receiver: PDAS. Wish I had some Research in Motion (the Blackberry manufacturer) stock.
63A: Candied veggie: YAM
66A: Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. I was thinking of Yukon gold potato.
67A: Tiny arachnids: MITES. And GNAT (116D: Itty-bitty biter).
68A: Crew members: OARSMEN. Helsmen too.
70A: Broadway "Music Man" portrayer Robert: PRESTON. No idea. Wikipedia says he was in the film musical as well.
78A: Site of many styles: SALON. D'oh, hairstyle.
86A: Time alert: DING. Not fond of the clue, as ALERT is the answer for 106D: On one's toes.
87A: Short flight: HOP
88A: "Bonanza" brother: ADAM. Easy guess.
89A: Strauss's "__ Heldenleben": EIN. Stumped. It's literally "A Heroic Life".
90A: Lambaste: SLAM
92A: Rub the right way: MASSAGE. I love this clue.
94A: Hard to dispute, as a theory: TENABLE
98A: Select group: A-LIST. Wanted ELITE.
101A: Ben-Gurion Airport is its hub: EL AL. Hebrew for "skyward".
108A: Watch for cops, e.g.: ABET
113D: Intending: AIMING
117A: Seasonal dancing center?: MAYPOLE. No idea. Dictionary says people dance around the MAYPOLE during May Day celebration. Must be in Europe then.
128A: More chilling: EERIER
129A: Corpse sniffer of film: ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog.
131A: Web page stats: HITS
132A: Celtic rivals: LAKERS. Is it because last year's playoff? Why not "Clippers' rival"? Both of them are based in LA after all.
Down:
1D: Major account: SAGA. Love the clue. Last time our editor clued it as "Big account".
2D: Spider web, say: TRAP. "Golf hazard" too. There seems to be a golf term in every LAT puzzle. Rich Norris is a golfer. Today it's STANCE (99D: Golf lessons subject).
3DL Cloverleaf part: RAMP
4D: Cakesters brand: OREO. Holy moley, have never heard OREO Cakesters. Looks tasty.
5D: Herb garden herb: BASIL. The only herb I use is chives.
6D: Prefix with centric: ETHNO. Ethnocentric is a new word to me. I do know ETHNO is a prefix for culture though.
8D: Blogger's indulgence: RANT
9D: It might be harebrained: IDEA. Love this clue too.
11D: Slow-moving critters: SLOTHS. Penned in SNAILS first.
12D: Lofty: AERIAL. New definition of AERIAL to me. Can I say "It's an AERIAL goal"?
13D: Jabber: YAK
14D: Expense report need: RECEIPT
15D: Counting everything: IN ALL
16D: Warble: TRILL
17D: Subdivided: ZONED. Got the answer with Across help.
24D: NFL fifth quarters: OTS. Or "MLB 10th-inning".
25D: "The noblest frailty of the mind": Shadwell: WIT. Again, obtained the answer with Across help. I was not familiar with his line "And WIT's the noblest frailty of the mind".
29D: Like many families: TWO-CAR. Are you OK with the clue?
33D: Pub proposal: TOAST
34D: "I can hardly wait!": OH BOY
35D: Gaucho's lasso: RIATA. The ranch in "Giant" is REATA.
36D: Circ. info holder: CD-ROM
37D: Stock add-on: ADE. Stockade.
41D: Group meeting in the Palais du Luxembourg: SENAT. I did not know French Senate meet in the Palais du Luxembourg. I thought of NATO, whose members actually meet in Brussels.
44D: Clarify: EXPLAIN
45D: Bottom point: NADIR
48D: Small and sprightly: ELFIN. Can't get PIXIE out of my mind.
49D: Bonkers: DAFT
50D: Nice friend: AMIE. Nice is the French city.
55D: Like suspicious e-mail, usually: UNREAD. My first response: JUNKED.
59D: Biblical lion wrestler: SAMSON. Samsonite is named after this Biblical strongman.
68D: "Dreams From My Father" memoirist: OBAMA. See the bookcover.
69D: Track long shots: NAGS. What a shocking performance by Mine That Bird at the Derby yesterday. I picked No Where to Hide, but he turned out to be a No Where to Be Found.
71D: Icky stuff: SLIME
72D: Harmonic and melodic: TONAL. Mandarin Chinese/Cantonese are TONAL too. Cantonese has 9 tones, Mandarin 4.
73D: Gray area?: Abbr.: ANAT. Why?
74D: Valuable vein: LODE
77D: Ruckus: MELEE
79D: It's a wrap: SHAWL. Last time SARI was clued as "It's a wrap".
80D: Subject of Randy Wyatt's play "Synonymy": ROGET. Easy guess. Have never heard of the play. Did not know who Randy Wyatt is.
81D: Mimics: APERS
83D: Cowardly: YELLOW. Did not know YELLOW is slang for "cowardly". I actually thought cowardly is an adverb.
84D: '60s protest: LIE-IN. Like what John Lennon and Yoko ONO did?
85D: Epitome of thinness: RAIL. Really RAIL thin.
91D: Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Art I presume. Why single out "Juilliard"?
95D: It includes Napa and Sonoma counties: BAY AREA. Unknown trivia to me. San Francisco is a lovely city.
97D: Southernmost of the 48 sts.: FLA
100D: Watched from behind: TAILED
104D: "The Devil Wears __": PRADA. Fun movie. Anna Wintour herself loves the film.
105D: Bank takebacks: REPOS
107D: Abbr. between a first and last name, maybe: NMI (No Middle Initial)
109D: Upscale auto: BMW. Just found out that BMW now owns Rolls-Royce.
111D: Very competitive: TYPE A. I was thinking of a normal adjective. Tricky clue. Dennis is a TYPE A, don't you think so?
114D: Foot part: INCH
115D: Radar's soda: NEHI. Learned from doing Xword. I've never had NEHI. Wikipedia says it's a a brand of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group now.
118D: Find a space: PARK
119D: Bee's charge?: OPIE. The Mayberry kid. This has become a gimmie to me. Ron Howard is so talented.
120D: Unwelcome eyeful: LEER. No LEER/OGLE wobbling this time.
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A: As it was formerly known, channel with the slogan "play every day": GAME SHOW NETWORK (Mesh)
32A: "Enough": THAT WILL DO (Twill)
43A: Waldo of kids' books, e.g.: HIDDEN IMAGE (Denim)
60A: Couldn't rush at rush hour: SAT IN TRAFFIC (Satin)
82A: "That used to be the cases": NOT ANY LONGER (Nylon)
96A: It can be seen from the Seine: EIFFEL TOWER (Felt)
103A: Safe bronzing product: SPRAY-ON TAN (Rayon)
123A: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, e.g.: ONLINE NEWSPAPER (Linen)
Another smooth puzzle from Gail Grabowski. Very creative theme and great theme title. Out of those 8 long theme answers, I have never heard of Game Show Network. I only watch a bit of news and ball games every day. I faintly remember that the Seattle Post - Intelligencer went totally online in March. ONLINE NEWSPAPER is my favorite theme entry. It's topical. And I like the unexpected hidden LINEN fabric.
I thought all fabrics are all natural, you know, cotton, linen, satin/silk, mesh, twill, felt, etc. Nylon, rayon are man-made. I guess I am wrong.
I imagine Ms. Grabowski has a very pretty vegetable garden: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and various herbs. But I don't believe she grows or likes lima beans. Nobody ever calls lima beans LIMAS alone (64A: Succotash staples).
Someone asked last time what a cheater/helper square is. In today's grid, the single black square on the upper right corner (directly above NERO (22D: Fictional sleuth Wolfe) and lower left corner (directly below SPCA (103D: Gp. advocating adoption) are two examples. They are used to shorten fills (thus eliminate obscure answers) without increasing the word count.
Across:
1A: Dance floor flasher: STROBE. Is anyone a Phish fan?
14A: Big name in hotels: RITZ. Reminds me of PUT ON THE DOG last time. I wanted PUT ON THE RITZ.
16A: Biblical landfall: ARARAT. Noah's Ark landed on Mount ARARAT.
20A: Farm eatery?: LEA. Excellent clue.
21A: 2000s scandal subject: ENRON. My ENRON golf balls are not worth much.
26A: "The Cider House Rules" Oscar winner: CAINE (Michael). Unknown to me. Not familiar with the movie.
27A: Name to a position: APPOINT
28A: Gauguin's retreat: TAHITI. Here is Gauguin's "Two Women on the Beach" once again.
30A: Defeat: LOSS. Thought the clue was asking for a verb.
34A: Marine predator: ORCA. The killer whale.
42A: Cutter's cousin: SLOOP. Both Single-masted.
47A: Took the role of: ACTED AS
52A: Legal hurdle: BAR EXAM. And PRE-LAW (112A: Future litigator's study)
54A: Mil. bigwigs: GENS
55A: Olympics cheer: USA. Wanted OLE.
56A: Flimsy: LAME
57A: Platte River settler: OTO. "Prefix for ear" as well.
58A: Some e-mail receiver: PDAS. Wish I had some Research in Motion (the Blackberry manufacturer) stock.
63A: Candied veggie: YAM
66A: Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. I was thinking of Yukon gold potato.
67A: Tiny arachnids: MITES. And GNAT (116D: Itty-bitty biter).
68A: Crew members: OARSMEN. Helsmen too.
70A: Broadway "Music Man" portrayer Robert: PRESTON. No idea. Wikipedia says he was in the film musical as well.
78A: Site of many styles: SALON. D'oh, hairstyle.
86A: Time alert: DING. Not fond of the clue, as ALERT is the answer for 106D: On one's toes.
87A: Short flight: HOP
88A: "Bonanza" brother: ADAM. Easy guess.
89A: Strauss's "__ Heldenleben": EIN. Stumped. It's literally "A Heroic Life".
90A: Lambaste: SLAM
92A: Rub the right way: MASSAGE. I love this clue.
94A: Hard to dispute, as a theory: TENABLE
98A: Select group: A-LIST. Wanted ELITE.
101A: Ben-Gurion Airport is its hub: EL AL. Hebrew for "skyward".
108A: Watch for cops, e.g.: ABET
113D: Intending: AIMING
117A: Seasonal dancing center?: MAYPOLE. No idea. Dictionary says people dance around the MAYPOLE during May Day celebration. Must be in Europe then.
128A: More chilling: EERIER
129A: Corpse sniffer of film: ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog.
131A: Web page stats: HITS
132A: Celtic rivals: LAKERS. Is it because last year's playoff? Why not "Clippers' rival"? Both of them are based in LA after all.
Down:
1D: Major account: SAGA. Love the clue. Last time our editor clued it as "Big account".
2D: Spider web, say: TRAP. "Golf hazard" too. There seems to be a golf term in every LAT puzzle. Rich Norris is a golfer. Today it's STANCE (99D: Golf lessons subject).
3DL Cloverleaf part: RAMP
4D: Cakesters brand: OREO. Holy moley, have never heard OREO Cakesters. Looks tasty.
5D: Herb garden herb: BASIL. The only herb I use is chives.
6D: Prefix with centric: ETHNO. Ethnocentric is a new word to me. I do know ETHNO is a prefix for culture though.
8D: Blogger's indulgence: RANT
9D: It might be harebrained: IDEA. Love this clue too.
11D: Slow-moving critters: SLOTHS. Penned in SNAILS first.
12D: Lofty: AERIAL. New definition of AERIAL to me. Can I say "It's an AERIAL goal"?
13D: Jabber: YAK
14D: Expense report need: RECEIPT
15D: Counting everything: IN ALL
16D: Warble: TRILL
17D: Subdivided: ZONED. Got the answer with Across help.
24D: NFL fifth quarters: OTS. Or "MLB 10th-inning".
25D: "The noblest frailty of the mind": Shadwell: WIT. Again, obtained the answer with Across help. I was not familiar with his line "And WIT's the noblest frailty of the mind".
29D: Like many families: TWO-CAR. Are you OK with the clue?
33D: Pub proposal: TOAST
34D: "I can hardly wait!": OH BOY
35D: Gaucho's lasso: RIATA. The ranch in "Giant" is REATA.
36D: Circ. info holder: CD-ROM
37D: Stock add-on: ADE. Stockade.
41D: Group meeting in the Palais du Luxembourg: SENAT. I did not know French Senate meet in the Palais du Luxembourg. I thought of NATO, whose members actually meet in Brussels.
44D: Clarify: EXPLAIN
45D: Bottom point: NADIR
48D: Small and sprightly: ELFIN. Can't get PIXIE out of my mind.
49D: Bonkers: DAFT
50D: Nice friend: AMIE. Nice is the French city.
55D: Like suspicious e-mail, usually: UNREAD. My first response: JUNKED.
59D: Biblical lion wrestler: SAMSON. Samsonite is named after this Biblical strongman.
68D: "Dreams From My Father" memoirist: OBAMA. See the bookcover.
69D: Track long shots: NAGS. What a shocking performance by Mine That Bird at the Derby yesterday. I picked No Where to Hide, but he turned out to be a No Where to Be Found.
71D: Icky stuff: SLIME
72D: Harmonic and melodic: TONAL. Mandarin Chinese/Cantonese are TONAL too. Cantonese has 9 tones, Mandarin 4.
73D: Gray area?: Abbr.: ANAT. Why?
74D: Valuable vein: LODE
77D: Ruckus: MELEE
79D: It's a wrap: SHAWL. Last time SARI was clued as "It's a wrap".
80D: Subject of Randy Wyatt's play "Synonymy": ROGET. Easy guess. Have never heard of the play. Did not know who Randy Wyatt is.
81D: Mimics: APERS
83D: Cowardly: YELLOW. Did not know YELLOW is slang for "cowardly". I actually thought cowardly is an adverb.
84D: '60s protest: LIE-IN. Like what John Lennon and Yoko ONO did?
85D: Epitome of thinness: RAIL. Really RAIL thin.
91D: Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Art I presume. Why single out "Juilliard"?
95D: It includes Napa and Sonoma counties: BAY AREA. Unknown trivia to me. San Francisco is a lovely city.
97D: Southernmost of the 48 sts.: FLA
100D: Watched from behind: TAILED
104D: "The Devil Wears __": PRADA. Fun movie. Anna Wintour herself loves the film.
105D: Bank takebacks: REPOS
107D: Abbr. between a first and last name, maybe: NMI (No Middle Initial)
109D: Upscale auto: BMW. Just found out that BMW now owns Rolls-Royce.
111D: Very competitive: TYPE A. I was thinking of a normal adjective. Tricky clue. Dennis is a TYPE A, don't you think so?
114D: Foot part: INCH
115D: Radar's soda: NEHI. Learned from doing Xword. I've never had NEHI. Wikipedia says it's a a brand of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group now.
118D: Find a space: PARK
119D: Bee's charge?: OPIE. The Mayberry kid. This has become a gimmie to me. Ron Howard is so talented.
120D: Unwelcome eyeful: LEER. No LEER/OGLE wobbling this time.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Good morning, C.C. and gang - no time for the puzzle, but C.C., Gray's Anatomy has long been considered one of the definitive works on the subject.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, less than before, but I'm probably still typed as an A personality.
Hope it's a great Sunday for everyone.
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteOh, I suppose that's how the TV series got its name? Good clue then. You strike me as being aggressive and assertive occasionally.
Kazie,
Yes, I got OTTO & "wealth" connection from baby name origins.
Maria,
Nice to see you back.
Linda,
不客气 (Bu Ke Qi).
Richshif et al,
Thanks for the answers yesterday.
Lola,
ReplyDeleteYou are one tough customer. I enjoy John Underwood, Doug Peterson & Allan E Parrish puzzles too. As far as I know, Alan Olschwang is not one of those LAT regulars. His puzzles do pop up in USA Today occasionally. Not quip/quote. And they are all pretty good.
Toby,
Happy Birthday! And I hope you enjoy your Alaskan cruise next weekend.
Anon HP,
Great points on MGTS yesterday. I enjoyed your take on RIPS too. As for "Big house brick" (7), I don't know where to break the line. Big House, brick? Big, house brick?
Good Morning, C.C. and Dennis, if you're still here,
ReplyDeleteHere is the link for the famous "Ya' Got Trouble" by Robert Preston in Music Man. Some good aliteration.
It's kinda phunny. Phish come phrom this area, yet I've never been to see them. I liked the link I phound of then sing barbershop; "Toot- Toot- Tootsie".
Now here is a link for fancy dancing around the Maypole(which we still did, when I was younger) but if you watch it, be sure to read the info that goes with it. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteTwo-car ?? I think that is probably a four car. I have an old truck for yard work, a traveling car(Lexus)a work car
ReplyDelete(1990 Honda) andd a toy( 1986 Jag) all of my neighbot have at least three car. One on of the people at work has six cars. He has one for each child who are still at home or school, and three other cars. One is a which is a sports car. And a large insruacne bill each quarter. Maybe we all should just buy a Smart Car or the new Volt and give up some of the vehicles.
Great Puzzle !! This "smooth" one was just right with lots of words you could just work out. I finally got "Elfin" when I realized the clue was "Sat in Traffic" instead of "Sat in TRansit"
This lady needs to submit some additional Sunday crosswords
abogato in alabama
I thought 42A Cutter's cousin was the most ambiguous clue today. It must be a big family. I thought of the insect repellent, chopping or sawing, someone getting inline in front of you, the home team in the movie, "Breaking Away"(very good, I might add.), just about any device with a sharp edge, a horse drawn sleigh, or a SLOOP.
ReplyDeleteI misread land fall as land fill and that gave trouble in the NW, otherwise, I had a good time with today's puzzle. I spotted twill as a theme answer, so I wrote out the rest of the theme answers and torn fabric was easy to spot.
I better save my last two comments for later.
Thanks C.C., and regarding
ReplyDeletethe cryptic clue, big house / brick is the direction to take. I crafted the clue with a single answer in mind, one that I hope won't seem too arcane.
Best,
anon-hp
Anon-HP: for "Big House Brick(7)" my guess is COMMONS, as in a large university hall, or the House of Commons in England (that's a pretty big house), and also it's a name for the ordinary bricks used in buildings. Again, like yseterday, I have a feeling there's a different answer.
ReplyDeleteHow about changing one word of that clue for today's cryptic? The answer to this is what I got stuck on trying to figure out yours:
1)Remodeled house brick (5)
and here's a second one:
2)Plumb abyss to find a little one inside(4)
@Linda, I'm missing something for the two-part explanation for SORRY yesterday. It could certainly be a clever regular crossword clue if your spouse's brother didn't like you, but is there a second part re-definition of the clue I'm missing?
@Lola, same for UNCLE. I can see that possibly being the answer in a regular xword, but it would leave me scratching my head trying to ferret out the second meaning hidden in the clue.
Not a bad solution, Al, just not the one I had in mind. I'd better refine my clue phrasing to:
ReplyDeleteBig house in brick (7)
I'm off for now, but I will post later this evening PST.
Best,
anon-hp
1 last comment and I'm really off!
ReplyDelete1) Adobe - abode
2) Baby - PlunB ABY ss...
anon-hp
20:17 today (I guess about average for a Sunday puzzle). A clever theme and some interesting fill (especially the Seattle newspaper one). I enjoyed looking for the various fabrics in the theme answers (I didn't use the theme to help with any fill today, for some reason.)
ReplyDelete@c.c.: Game Show Network is watched in our house all the time as they have the poker shows on it (High Stakes Poker and World Poker Tour).
My wife is a big fan of poker although she doesn't play it at all. (I guess she's interested in the human interaction.) I play poker, but mainly online on PokerStars (there aren't card rooms in Oregon as there are in other states, like California).
I've never seen Gray's Anatomy TV show, but isn't it a take-off on the famous anatomy textbook? I think there's a Dr. Gray in the TV program and that's how they adopted the name. Ah, Wikipedia to the rescue: Gray's Anatomy.
Good Morning All, There is a reason that I'm not very good at cryptic puzzles. So often I can't seem to find hidden words within words. That is what happened AGAIN (!) with this morning x-word. I got all the theme answers and even though I knew what the theme was, I didn't connect the dots and see what was hidden in plain sight.
ReplyDeleteI originally had HIVE for OPIE, RING for DING, GOLD for LODE and SEAR for CHAR. It always seems to be the short words that trip me up in the beginning. The perps straighten me out, so I eventually got all the fills.
I think American elementary school kids still have parties and dance around the MAYPOLE. In Sweden, there is a big party during Midsummer (around the end of June) with dancing around the midsommarstång. In English it means a "midsummer pole". Oddly enough, it is also called "maypole" even though the party is in June.
Here's a German Ikea commercial that parodies all the traditional Swedish midsummer celebrations, from the Frog Dance around the pole, gallons of homemade aquavit, tons of fish, wrestling, the evening "activities" and finally, to the morning after. You don't need to speak Swedish or German to get it. It says the commercial was banned. I guess the Swedes didn't think it was funny. For me, it was LOL.
Robert PRESTON was a gimme. My mother was in several little theater productions of The Music Man and the album (remember those?) was played regularly at our house. Another obscure personal connection is that my daughter attended a school where the director was the co-author of the story on which The Music Man was based. BTW (7D), thanks Argyle for the musical link. Nice memories.
Nice straightforward puzzle today with no real tricky parts. I think someone needs to come up with a more creative clue for aper, apers. Maybe simian caretaker, or gorilla groupie ?
ReplyDeleteC.C. - When it comes to English I always tell my students, "Never say never!" Especially conversational English and noncount nouns. My husband puts 3 sugars in his coffee and hates limas and peas.
The puzzle in the Chgo. Trib today had black circles in all the squares with the theme answers. Was this a mistake or was it to help figure out the theme? I didn't like it - reminded me of the National Enquirer
puzzle.
Hello Everyone. I'm rather pleased with myself for finishing a Sunday puzzle without any outside help.
ReplyDeleteC.C. The Lakers and Celtics had a long rivalry throughout the 70's and eighties. First it was Wilt 'the stilt' vs. 'the big O' and then Magic vs. Bird. For a long time they were the dominate franchises in the NBA. I believe the Lakers have played in almost half of the league championship series.
My paper here in Reading also had the circles around the themed answers. I didn't like it either.
Steve in PA.
We didn't get to watch the Kentucky Derby live yesterday, but we saw it later in the day. Wow, the rest of the field looked like they were snoozing when Mine That Bird came up in the stretch. I read that a $2 Superfecta paid $557,006.40. I wonder if anybody got the first four finishers. I bet there were a lot more torn tickets on the ground.
ReplyDeleteHorse Racing
The Sun rose slowly over the Downs
Deceiving the early risers with its promise of warmth
The half-light gave a spectral air
As the first blue-blooded aristocrats
Moved out of the mist – slowly gaining flesh
Then the Snort Snort of the bellow like lungs
And the Thump Thump of hooves on the dewy ground
Much later the milling crowds
As all throng together with thoughts of winning
See, there walks your pick of the day – how fine
Yet is he right – does he look a winner
The tension mounts
The starting gate opens
And then it is over
Silence settles with the sun
With only the fluttering of torn up dreams
To give a clue to the spectacle
- Shaun William Hayes
For those of you who were interested, here's a photo of the product of the temari ball class. This one was "simple". I understand they get much more complicated.
What an enjoyable puzzle. I had to think hard about a lot of them, and it was fun. Love those AHA moments.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t grok the theme until I read CC’s comments. Clever.
Of course I thought of MelissaBee with ‘rubbed the right way’ clue. I liked ‘biblical landfall, ‘succotash staples’ and ‘bank takebacks.’
I wouldn’t have recognized Maypole if it wasn’t May, and/or if I hadn’t read about a Maypole dance in the paper I picked up Calif. Today is the last day of vacation; I’ll spend the rest of the day driving home. Sigh.
One the other hand, I plan to take another trip in a week of so. I have to check out MelissaBee’s digs. She claims I’ve only been there once since she’s lived there. Could that be possible? Thank goodness for phones and email.
Good morning all,
ReplyDeletedidn't finish the puzzle - got about half way but was having considerable trouble with so many that I decided to finish up later.
Toby, a very Happy Birthday to you!
Your cruse sounds like great fun too...perfect time of year for it.
Argyle (8:27) I watched your maypole clip but where was the info to read???
Clear Ayes, Great Ikea clip - LOL. Can you imagine drinking Aquavit from gal jugs??
Hi, Carol,
ReplyDeleteTo the right of the video screen is a grey box (with 'Subscribe' in yellow in the corner) which gives the user name of whoever posted the clip and when. Just under the date is a button, (more info), that will expand whatever the poster has to say about their clip. Note: Some posters don't have anymore info than what is already there and others may have quite a lot.
Usage experts: In the foregoing, is 'whoever' or 'whomever' correct?
And why?
73D Gray area?: Abbr ANS: anat
ReplyDeleteThe actual spelling should be Grey area? For Grey's Anatomy (a medical textbook).
Anon, 3:14
ReplyDeleteSorry sir, but it IS GRAY'S ANATOMY.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray%27s_anatomy
Argyle,
ReplyDeleteI believe you are correct in your use of whoever.
Who is subjective and whom is objective. If you are confused you can always test it by substituting he and him.
He posted the message.
Whoever posted the message . . .
I posted the message for him.
I posted the message for whomever wanted to read it.
Probably more than you wanted to know!
This puzzle was enjoyable to me because I was able to finish it. The previous 2 weeks I was stuck and had to look up the answers which thankfully you publish. I enjoy reading CCs comments too. I don't see how some of the solvers can finish these puzzles in 20 minutes. They must be geniuses & are candidates for "Jeopardy". It takes me hours.
ReplyDeleteArgyle,
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting around to the puzzle for today, but I'm answering your grammar question. I think it's "whoever", as it is the subject of the following verb. I hesitated at first, thinking it should be an object form after the preposition "of", and that's probably your dilemma too. But I believe that this is a truncated form of "the user name of whomever the person was who...".
Let's face it, English is complicated! If the whole thing was in there, whomever works, but without the details, it would sound worse than whoever. I'm no English major, but maybe someone else can improve on this.
Joyce, Thanks for the clear explanation of when to use "whoever" and "whomever". I'll have to remember the "he and him" test.
ReplyDeleteDonnie, LOL, I love Jeopardy, but I don't do 20 minute puzzles on the weekends...or Thursdays or Fridays either. I usually walk away several times and then come back when my brain has "defuzzed". There are some people here who enjoy the challenge of timing themselves and some who don't. Some are "strictly on paper with pen" and some, like me, are mostly online solvers. Everyone is different. Most of the puzzle constructors with whom C.C. has had interviews tell us to not get discouraged, to keep on practicing and we'll get better. That seems to be pretty good advice to me.
C.C. GAH says Keira Knightly looks downright sick-scrawny in that photo. She's a pretty girl who needs some meat on her bones.
I was curious and "g'd" Type A and B personalities. It sounds like most people would be combination AB, rather than a strict Type A or B.
We are all agreed it looks like Argyle once again nailed the correct use of who/whom. And I too used to teach to substitute he for who and him for whom.
ReplyDeleteThe way I always suggested was to rearrange the sentence: ...which gives the user name of he who posted the clip, therefore, whoever posted the clip.
Hey, I solved almost all of this one, albeit helped by going online for the last parts. Naples News also had circles, and I never tumbled to what it was about. I surely should have.
Tomorrow the Naples News will have yet another puzzle along with LA Times for us consumers to vote on. That's the third one to consider after about two week trials. Good grief.
And wasn't the Derby exciting? Had a great time watching it. Glad I wasn't betting. The paper says the trainer decided to drive up from NM only after 2 or 3 front runners dropped out. He said he'd never have a chance like that again, so he took it. But for a win of 6½ lengths! And to see him squeeze to the rail. The jockey said it was a small horse!
Cheers.
Argyle, thanks for the maypole info...I look forward to reading whatever is there. I know the maypole dances are very old, going back in some form to the Druids. For some time in the middle ages the dances were forbidden by the church because it was believed they were heathen. This 'ban' continued for several hundred years.
ReplyDeleteDonnie, don't feel too bad. Most of us cannot do these puzzles in 20 minutes. Sometimes we can't finish them at all, in fact I do think some of us are partially bald do to our efforts. It will get better the more you do. I am better at solving the more difficult ones than I was just a year ago, but I still struggle at times. It would be boring if they were all as easy as Monday :)
Happy Birthday Tobie! Hope yours is as good as mine was.
ReplyDeleteJoyce and Argyle,
I posted the message for whomever wanted to read it.I think this example has the same dilemma as Argyle's initial one. The one word does duty for both object of the preposition in the first clause, and the subject in the second.
I actually managed today's XW with no help. I was going to do it online, but then printed it out and it all came together fairly easily, with only one erasure. Fun and satisfying. I too wanted ELITE for A LIST at first. And as usual, had no clue as to the theme before coming here. Very creative and clever.
c.c.,
I don't think you would say "it's an aerial goal". In fact, I don't think I like it as an equivalent for "lofty".
Also, Michael Caine has been a long-standing star in more than 100 movies of note. The first I remember was "Alfie".
The Shadwell quote (25D) reminded me of the saying "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit." Maybe that's derived from his original quote.
Hope everyone has had as beautiful weather as we have here today. I have to get out in it again before it's gone.
Kazie, I have also heard the phrase, "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit". I checked good old Wikipedia and it says Oscar Wilde was the originator of the phrase. Knowing Wilde's reputation, perhaps he said it sarcastically.
ReplyDeleteMy father used to say that sarcasm was a coward's defense, in that, if you hurt a person's feeling with a cutting, mean spirited remark, you could always say, "Aww, can't you take a joke? You must not have a sense of humor."
I try to stay away from sarcastic remarks, but I also think that if you are going to dish it out, you'd better be able to take it.
Somebody please tell me what the circles in the answers mean.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Luxor: It may be too late to answer your question about the circles. They indicate the fabrics C.C. highlights in her comments. That is: linen, twill, satin, rayon, etc.
ReplyDeleteOK I'm back, and AFAICT, no one has posted the answer I had in mind for the following cryptic clue:
ReplyDeleteBig house in brick (7)
I had a feeling this cryptic clue answer might prove a little too arcane. To put those of you who have taken a shot out of your puzzling misery, here's my solution:
CLINKERdecoded: "clink", like "big house", is slang for a penitentiary/jail. It's a word that appears IN the word "clinker", which is a type of brick that's heavier, denser, and usually darker in color than a regular brick. You may find more about them here and here.
Best,
anon-hp
I decided to give today's c/w a try before bedtime, and found the going so easy that I stuck with it to the end. I found the SW corner the most difficult, but most of the puzzle was fairly easy to solve. I thought today's crossword was easier than Saturday's, and maybe even easier than Friday's.
ReplyDeleteTobylee...Happy birthday!
Clear Ayes, that's a beautiful picture of temari class project. Did you enjoy the class?
The Chicago area is just beginning to warm up. May 15th is usually our last frost date for the Spring. I hope to have time to get into the gardens this week. We've had so much rain that the weeds will be easy to pull, and it's a good time to get purchased plants into the ground.
Thank you Sallie. I appreciate your help.
ReplyDelete