Theme: Complete Failures
18A: 1963 international treaty subjects: ATOMIC BOMBS
23A: Politicians' dilemmas: FLIP-FLOPS
37A: Heavy gamebirds: WILD TURKEYS
51A: They usually involve undercover work: DRUG BUSTS
57A: Cowboy boots and Stetson hats: WESTERN DUDS
Very tight theme. All the "clunker" words are at the end of the theme entries. And all of them are all in plural form. What other synonyms can you think of?
Wanted DRUG RAID for 51A: They usually involve undercover work. Conducted quite a few raids with the old company. But never about drug. FLIP-FLOPS reminds me of John Kerry's disastrous "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it" statement. I've yet to find a politician who never changes his positions.
I had fun chewing this puzzle. Several tricky clues. My favorite is LOCK (9D: It might be picked). I wrote down LICE first and thought I was pretty smart.
Across:
1A: Gordon Shumway's title alias, in a sitcom: ALF. Easy guess. I've never seen ALF.
4A: Minnesota twin?: ST PAUL. Nice one. "Minnesota twins?" is a great clue for ENS too.
10A: Chick follower: ADEE. How many toes does a chickadee have?
14A: Chinese chairman: MAO. I bet nobody but I thought of "Zhuxi", which is Chinese for "chairman".
15A: Piemonte city: TORINO. Italian for Turin (upper left corner). The 2006 Olympics was held there. I don't know where Piemonte is.
20A: Dietary claim: LESS FAT
22A: Kind of chop: KARATE. Great clue. I was picturing pork chop.
27A: Vacation site: ISLE
28A: "You've go the wrong person": NOT I. I always say "NOT ME" and I know I am wrong grammatically.
31A: Mil. troop unit: CMD. Command?
34A: Lightweight bayou vessel: PIROGUE. No idea. Looks very long.
39A: Triumph: PREVAIL. Verb. Victory has 7 letters too.
41A: Soft & __: Henkel brand: DRI. Holy cow! I've never heard of Henkel. Are they very famous?
44A: Señor's "Absolutely": SI SI
54A: Not necessarily against: OPEN TO. I am against closing Guantanamo Bay, and I am "Not necessarily against" torture. I truly believe harsh measures are needed sometimes.
56A: Expand the viewed area, in a way: ZOOM OUT
60A: Cholesterol initials: LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein). The bad cholesterol. The good one is HDL ( High-Density Lipoprotein).
61A: Offensive comment: SLUR
62A: Pricey timepieces: SEIKOS. Cool watch. OMEGAS also has 6 letters.
64A: Notice: ESPY. Also the annual sports award.
65A: Quirk: ODDITY
66A: Dawn deity: EOS. The goddess of dawn. Aurora for the Romans. The Romaine lettuce is COS.
Down:
1D: Italy's __ Coast: AMALFI. The answer revealed itself. See this map. Also a town in Salerno. About 24 miles southeast of Naples, according to Wikipedia.
3D: Paleontologist's find: FOSSIL
6D: Positive particle: PROTON. Nice crossing with ATOMIC BOMBS.
8D: Lateral beginning: UNI. Unilateral.
10D: Dig deeply: ADORE. Lovely clue.
11D: Capital ESE of Beirut: DAMASCUS. Capital of Syria. I trust the constructor's direction is accurate.
12D: Drop in the ocean: EBB TIDE. Nice clue too.
13D: One of the reputed Dead Sea Scrolls writers: ESSENE. Got the answer from Across fills. Don't know who ESSENE is. It's only one letter away from essence.
19D: Spot for a screwdriver: BAR. The cocktail screwdriver. Nailed it immediately.
21D: Metallic money: SPECIE. New to me.
24D: Having caught on: POPULAR. Struggled with this fill.
25D: Brouhaha: STIR. Not TO-DO today.
29D: Rubs the wrong way: IRKS
32D: MMXC halved: MLV. 1/2 of 2110 = 1055.
33D: Time to attack: D-DAY. Nicolas Sarkozy finally got his wish. Obama will be at the Normandy the day after tomorrow for the D-DAY commemoration.
35D: Antipoverty agcy.: OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity). Unknown to me. I wrote down WHO (World Health Organization) first.
36D: Drywall mineral: GYPSUM. Could not keep plaster out of my mind.
37D: Records in detail: WRITES UP. I have problem with "in detail".
39D: Pushes forward: PROPELS. "Pushes forward" what?
41D: Nap: DROWSE. Verb. Thought of SIESTA.
43D: Maker of Boulevard motorcycles: SUZUKI. Have never heard of SUZUKI Boulevard.
45D: Tristan's love: ISOLDE. I can never remember this girl's name.
46D: Loft, perhaps: STUDIO
47D: Agave fibers: ISTLES. What's the difference between ISTLE and SISAL?
49D: Blog piece: ENTRY. Like what I am writing here every day.
50D: ___ Jeanne d'Arc: STE. French for saint. Feminine.
52D: Title character not in the cast: GODOT. Got it from across fills.
53D: Overbearing: BOSSY
55D: Not exactly: OR SO
58D: "Waking __ Devine": 1998 film: NED. Nope. New film to me.
59D: Impersonated: DID. APED won't fit.
Answer grid.
C.C.
18A: 1963 international treaty subjects: ATOMIC BOMBS
23A: Politicians' dilemmas: FLIP-FLOPS
37A: Heavy gamebirds: WILD TURKEYS
51A: They usually involve undercover work: DRUG BUSTS
57A: Cowboy boots and Stetson hats: WESTERN DUDS
Very tight theme. All the "clunker" words are at the end of the theme entries. And all of them are all in plural form. What other synonyms can you think of?
Wanted DRUG RAID for 51A: They usually involve undercover work. Conducted quite a few raids with the old company. But never about drug. FLIP-FLOPS reminds me of John Kerry's disastrous "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it" statement. I've yet to find a politician who never changes his positions.
I had fun chewing this puzzle. Several tricky clues. My favorite is LOCK (9D: It might be picked). I wrote down LICE first and thought I was pretty smart.
Across:
1A: Gordon Shumway's title alias, in a sitcom: ALF. Easy guess. I've never seen ALF.
4A: Minnesota twin?: ST PAUL. Nice one. "Minnesota twins?" is a great clue for ENS too.
10A: Chick follower: ADEE. How many toes does a chickadee have?
14A: Chinese chairman: MAO. I bet nobody but I thought of "Zhuxi", which is Chinese for "chairman".
15A: Piemonte city: TORINO. Italian for Turin (upper left corner). The 2006 Olympics was held there. I don't know where Piemonte is.
20A: Dietary claim: LESS FAT
22A: Kind of chop: KARATE. Great clue. I was picturing pork chop.
27A: Vacation site: ISLE
28A: "You've go the wrong person": NOT I. I always say "NOT ME" and I know I am wrong grammatically.
31A: Mil. troop unit: CMD. Command?
34A: Lightweight bayou vessel: PIROGUE. No idea. Looks very long.
39A: Triumph: PREVAIL. Verb. Victory has 7 letters too.
41A: Soft & __: Henkel brand: DRI. Holy cow! I've never heard of Henkel. Are they very famous?
44A: Señor's "Absolutely": SI SI
54A: Not necessarily against: OPEN TO. I am against closing Guantanamo Bay, and I am "Not necessarily against" torture. I truly believe harsh measures are needed sometimes.
56A: Expand the viewed area, in a way: ZOOM OUT
60A: Cholesterol initials: LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein). The bad cholesterol. The good one is HDL ( High-Density Lipoprotein).
61A: Offensive comment: SLUR
62A: Pricey timepieces: SEIKOS. Cool watch. OMEGAS also has 6 letters.
64A: Notice: ESPY. Also the annual sports award.
65A: Quirk: ODDITY
66A: Dawn deity: EOS. The goddess of dawn. Aurora for the Romans. The Romaine lettuce is COS.
Down:
1D: Italy's __ Coast: AMALFI. The answer revealed itself. See this map. Also a town in Salerno. About 24 miles southeast of Naples, according to Wikipedia.
3D: Paleontologist's find: FOSSIL
6D: Positive particle: PROTON. Nice crossing with ATOMIC BOMBS.
8D: Lateral beginning: UNI. Unilateral.
10D: Dig deeply: ADORE. Lovely clue.
11D: Capital ESE of Beirut: DAMASCUS. Capital of Syria. I trust the constructor's direction is accurate.
12D: Drop in the ocean: EBB TIDE. Nice clue too.
13D: One of the reputed Dead Sea Scrolls writers: ESSENE. Got the answer from Across fills. Don't know who ESSENE is. It's only one letter away from essence.
19D: Spot for a screwdriver: BAR. The cocktail screwdriver. Nailed it immediately.
21D: Metallic money: SPECIE. New to me.
24D: Having caught on: POPULAR. Struggled with this fill.
25D: Brouhaha: STIR. Not TO-DO today.
29D: Rubs the wrong way: IRKS
32D: MMXC halved: MLV. 1/2 of 2110 = 1055.
33D: Time to attack: D-DAY. Nicolas Sarkozy finally got his wish. Obama will be at the Normandy the day after tomorrow for the D-DAY commemoration.
35D: Antipoverty agcy.: OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity). Unknown to me. I wrote down WHO (World Health Organization) first.
36D: Drywall mineral: GYPSUM. Could not keep plaster out of my mind.
37D: Records in detail: WRITES UP. I have problem with "in detail".
39D: Pushes forward: PROPELS. "Pushes forward" what?
41D: Nap: DROWSE. Verb. Thought of SIESTA.
43D: Maker of Boulevard motorcycles: SUZUKI. Have never heard of SUZUKI Boulevard.
45D: Tristan's love: ISOLDE. I can never remember this girl's name.
46D: Loft, perhaps: STUDIO
47D: Agave fibers: ISTLES. What's the difference between ISTLE and SISAL?
49D: Blog piece: ENTRY. Like what I am writing here every day.
50D: ___ Jeanne d'Arc: STE. French for saint. Feminine.
52D: Title character not in the cast: GODOT. Got it from across fills.
53D: Overbearing: BOSSY
55D: Not exactly: OR SO
58D: "Waking __ Devine": 1998 film: NED. Nope. New film to me.
59D: Impersonated: DID. APED won't fit.
Answer grid.
C.C.
66 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - interesting puzzle today, with some very clever cluing. I thought 'Minnesota twin', 'dig deeply' and 'drop in the ocean' were just great.
I only got 'essene' and 'Alf' through the perps and needed the 'pir---' before I realized the answer for 'lightweight bayou vessel' was 'pirogue'. I'm not so sure 'writes up' is synonymous with 'records in detail', and when did Seikos become 'pricey' timepieces? I haven't bought a new watch in over 20 years, but I always thought they were just so-so.
All in all, a very enjoyable puzzle with a good theme.
Today is Applesauce Cake Day, Old Maid's Day, and Hug Your Cat Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "The trick is growing up without growing old." -- Baseball manager Casey Stengel. Amen.
Fun Facts for today:
- Nearly 49% of Americans start each morning with a bowl of cereal, 30% eat toast, 28% eat eggs, 28% have coffee, 17% have hot cereal, and fewer than 10% have pancakes, sausage, bagels or French toast.
- A dairy cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
June 4, 2009 5:31 AM
Dennis,
I like "Spot for a screwdriver" for BAR too. If I were gluten tolerant, I would have toast with honey & tea every morning. What did you have for breakfast earlier?
Argyle,
Da Vinci code is great.
Crockett,
Very clever CIV Engr and "104 engineer" connection.
Chris et al,
Thanks for the answers yesterday.
Yeah, I forgot about 'spot for a screwdriver' - great clue.
Breakfast is usually around 9 and typically a couple bowls of cereal and some type of fruit. Weekends are big breakfasts; it's always been my favorite meal, at any time of day.
What do you have?
good morning c.c. and all,
this one was hard for me, took nearly twice as long as yesterday. unknowns were PIROGUE, OEO, ISTLES and SPECIE, but needed perps for lots others. i agree WRITESUP seems weak, and i never thought of SEIKO as pricey.
the ESSENEs were a jewish sect, along with pharisees and sadducees, their settlements were along the coast of the dead sea. slavery, war, and commerce were all forbidden in their culture. they aspired to purity and divine communion. very interesting story how the dead sea scrolls were (re-)discovered.
i'm shocked that only 28% start their day with coffee. i'll be in the other 72% today .. but i will go hug my cat.
Good morning, all!
I really enjoyed this puzzle. Dan Naddor does a great job with cluing. 'Drop in the ocean' was my favorite.
On the first trip through the across clues I had barely half a dozen answers, but ADEE, RESIN and PIROGUE were among them. I kept working across and down, until all but the last letter in the SE corner fell. Had I read the clue properly, I would have seen that 'agave fibers' was a plural clue. That was my DOH! moment!
C.C., I believe that the chickadee has three claws forward and one to the back.
'Piemonte' is the Italian spelling for our 'Piedmont,' a flat area leading to mountains. This is Wikipedia's entry on the Italian piedmont. Dictionary.com describes the US piedmont as: "a plateau between the coastal plain and the Appalachian Mountains, including parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama."
Dennis, my cat helped me do the puzzle today. I just took the time to give him a hug of thanks!
I might make a small applesauce cake for dessert. I prefer toast for breakfast, but I'm trying to shift over to cereal, usually oatmeal or Cheerios.
I hope you all have a great day!
My first thought for the clue "it might be picked" was "nose."
Good morning cc etal:
Not bad today - Thursdays can sometimes be a struggle, but pretty smooth this morning. Either it was easier than normal or I'm getting better ;)
SBKaren - from yesterday re: ice cream flavor question - no, it doesn't matter, but I'd stay away from nuts, berries, etc. & stick with plain old ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.).
And my first entry for PICKED was PECK. Ya know, like Peter Piper?
Caught the theme but for the life of me, DUDS just would not make an appearance.
Who or what is 52a:GODAT
As to DUDS, that's what yesterdays was! The bottom, especially.
I thought my calendar was messed up. And then came today!!! I did this one in about 95 minutes and didn't finins yesterdays, so, I know the days of the week are wrong in my world..........
CY'all Later
Good Morning, C.C. & All,
I echo others' comments about this fine puzzle. I got stuck for a while in South central because I had westernwear instead of duds. Had to G. suzuki, and guess where the answer came from? After that, it was smooth sailing.
This morning I breakfasted with orange & prune juice mixed with psyllium husks, Fiber One cereal with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, banana and flaxseed meal with soy milk. All accompanied by toasted seven grain bread with a generous dollop of peanut butter spread on it. I had my coffee as I solved the puzzle.
On alternate days I have one egg over easy with toast, home made fig preserves and seven grain toast, accompanied by soy milk, and coffee after.
I got accustomed to a big breakfast as a youngster because I had an early morning paper route which I completed before breakfast.
Dennis, re cows' milk, one of my chores growing up was to milk a cow every afternoon (my Dad did the morning milking). This would yield about four gallons of milk a day.
Cows don't follow the rule about not crapping where they eat, so it was a nasty job, accompanied by a lot of fly swatting with her tail. She did not distinguish between her flanks and my head. Her tail hair was usually embedded with cockleburrs to boot.
Oh, for the good old days!
Sorry, GODOT not GODAT.
Good morning CC et al., cute cute cute clues! My fav was the screwdriver and my first thought of course was vodka and OJ, but couldn't make the leap to 'bar'. Still have a Seiko watch and it's not pricey, but it's a good one.
Bill, good question. God OT (Old Testmt) is my guess, but not sure.
In honor of Old Maid's Day, I'm going to revirginate...today only.
Enjoy your day.
Found it!!!
GODOT
Good morning C.C. and all,..a very dicey puzzle today and one that took a lot of effort to complete. I needed some outside help as I never heard of "Metallic money" (specie), or the clue "Title Character not in the cast" (godot). Both of these were unknowns to me.
I, like C.C., originally had lice for 9D and I also had put presses in in lieu of propels for 39D. These entries caused me some problems. I finally corrected these with the help of the perps.
Over all I liked the puzzle and its creative cluing.
My God Lois "revirginate!" Is that possible??? Can I help?
Hope you all have a great Thursday.
Hope the Pens can pull off another win tonight.
Mornin'all...
This puzzle was a toughie for me. Went thru all the way to the bottom & only got a few that I was sure of. First thought for Chick follower was ADEE but wasn't sure that was what he was looking for. I too had Weatern wear instead of duds. Never heard of specie. Didn't get essene til i came here. For "dig deeply" I wanted DELVE or PROBE & for "It might be picked" I was thinking along the line of flowers, vegies or fruit.....
Didn't know Minnesota twin either.
Every day is "Hug your cat day" for me :)
Morning all -
Here's some trivia for anyone who watches The Office. The sign on the wall in back of Michael's desk says "Michael Scott is the proud owner of a quality Seiko timepiece." I never think of them as pricey timepieces...
Old Maid's Day reminds me of when I bought my first condo in Chicago in 1990. I was single at the time, and had to sign all the documents as "Spinster" - the legal term for an unmarried woman. It was just awful! When I bought the next condo the lawyer changed it to say "single woman" or something like that - much better. Not sure if that was an IL thing, or something from years gone by, but here in WI there aren't any references like that on the paperwork anymore.
Enjoy the day.
Andrea
Hi all,
I took less time today than expected, but still close to an hour. When I started I got no traction in the north, so moved south and it all started to fall in. Never saw the theme until here though. I g'd ESSENE because it didn't look right when I got most of it, wasn't sure about CMD either but figured it must be. Guessed SPECIE, because it did sound somewhat familiar, but not sure why. PIROGUE is French for a dugout canoe or pitpan.
Didn't like ROTES as a teaching style--rather it's a learning/memorization style. Favorites were BAR and EBBTIDE.
I think at first I was expecting to know less of this XW, and was not looking for the obvious, but later with a few letters to work with it all worked out. Really appreciate the cleverness of many clues.
WRITES UP implies detail, I think, in that it also has the sense of criticism in the workplace, like reporting a complaint about someone.
Bill, thank you. It makes so much more sense than my guess Good job!
Dick: hilarious! can you help? let me think: can Dick help? Always! yep, yeah! absolutely! si,si! and with your fine upstanding morel character and deboner, I mean debonair, traits, I'm sure you can help for a long time. I'll have my people call your people. Can you start tomorrow? I'll be a little tied up today.
@ Lois if we are going to revirginate you it might be better if you are tied up, so to speak.
Not too bad for a Thursday puzzle. I had to hunt and peck but somehow managed to fill most of it in without too much outside help. I had to hit the g-spot for Tristan and pirogue. I liked the crossing of proton and atomic bombs. My favorite clues were “kind of chop” – karate and “dig deeply” – adore. I didn’t care for nap/drowse. In my opinion a nap is when you are sleeping and you can be drowsy without actually sleeping. I guessed at Suzuki for the Boulevard motorcycle. The epitome of a flip/flop politician to me is Norm Coleman. I don’t think it’s very common to change parties is it?
@Dennis, I wonder how many ounces those 200,000 glasses of milk are.
Finally a day to celebrate ME…being 34 yrs old and never being married constitutes an Old Maid doesn’t it? Wait a minute, does an old maid have to be a virgin??
An interesting thing about Specie, is that most of the time it is a precious metal, and it may be in coin form or not, but not all metal coins are specie, nor does specie technically have to be comprised of a precious metal, just a commodity of actual value.
This separates it from Fiat money as we have here in the US. Basically, Fiat money has a face value, but the material it is made from is not worth that face value.
Buenos Días
At first this looked like a real hammer. Once I caught on to the "off-center" cluing, it was a fun puzzle. My unknowns were pirogue which crossed with OEO the other unknown. Still, not too bad for a Thursday.
"Waiting for Godot" was one of my all time favorite plays. It made me smile to see this answer emerge from the perps.
c.c. Have you tried some of the gluten free breads? Trader Joe's sells many gluten free breads. This way you could have toast and honey daily.
Adios
Yay!! I finished a Thursday puzzle. Yeah, I had help,dictionary and atlas, but I did it.
Thanks Dennis-I hugged both cats. Violet didn't like it and now Georgie won't go away!
During the week I eat oatmeal with blueberries (no milk), banana, and lots of coffee. Weekends my hubby cooks breakfast and makes me fancy coffee. What a guy!
hahtool-nose picked was great. Gave me a chuckle!
My chuckle faves today-KARATE chop, Western Duds-got immed.
Screwdriver sopt, time to attack and drywall mineral-hubby does all the drywall when we remodel. Heck, we do EVERYTHING ourselves when we remodel.
DOH moments- dig deeply and drop in the ocean.
Didn't know pirougue, one of my dictionary finds!
Who wants me to send the Oregon storms their way? Know of 4 lightning strikes doing damage in the area since Sat. That's just in town, who knows about in the mountains. At least we can turn the sprinkler system off for awhile. Another stormy day today.
Thanks for all the infon about the clues. I enjoy the reading.
Have a great day.
Good morning, all. No time to do the puzzle today. Was away most of yesterday, so didn't comment on all the responses. Will be away most of today as well and probably will have to make some serious decisions about my buddy Leo the cat. Came home last night and he was stumbling all over the place. Three hours at the emergency vet clinic until o dark thirty didn't tell us much. Will try to get him in to his regular vet today.
Thanks for all of the lamping and glass blowing info and the Barry Silk link to Bananagrams. Lola, I got it at the board games store at Lloyd Center west of Macy's. Don't look for a box, though. The package looks like a fat yellow banana.
Cheers!
test
http://www.growquest.com/rose%20section/floribunda%20chihuly.htm
Linda, Tarrajo, Jeanne *,Andrea, and WM,last evening's info about Chilhuly and glass blowing was interesting.We saw glass blowers in Cabo while on our cruise; it's a shame that we have lost the love of making beautiful things by hand.Those of you who paint, make quilts,sew, etc are to be commended because it takes effort and time and a love of your craft.
Chilhuly's art is exceptional. I have a rose they named after him. I am going to try to show you, but if not above is the link.
Can u tell that the c/w kicked my a-- this am?
Chilhuly rose
JD,
Congrats--the link works! Beautiful rose too.
Jazzbumpa,
I also wanted to thank you for the glass works yesterday--very intriguing.
Andrea,
I had seen the glass sculptures at the Kohl Center too and didn't have a clue about them, so thank you!
Good morning, CC et al:
Got St. Paul, abs and pirogue right away. Wanted westernwear for duds, low carb for less fat, and hdl for ldl...the rest I didn`t have a clue (or time to ponder them) UICH!
tfrank: From your post I would guess you are a regular guy! Sorry...my bunch is infantile enough to think that stuff is funny and I guess it has rubbed off on me.
My breakfasts vary. I may have ordinary breakfast food once or twice a week (when I do breakfast meat...I usually cook enough for hubby to have several AMs) but I`m just as happy with leftover pizza, cake or cookies. One of my favorite, winter breakfasts (when I faced play-ground duty) was cream of chicken soup. Another must-be-outside-during-cold-weather tip: After a hot shower, slather on a good lotion or even a light layer of petroleum jelly. It "locks in" warmth. I adapted that from long-distance swimmers.
Jeannie; Good to hear from you. On behalf of my grandchildren, I thank you for the Transformers and Star Trek gear. When ya`ll have such promotional items, it really does influence their choices of where to eat.
BTW: One of my favorite guilty pleasures is "Star Trek Enterprise." But then, I`d probably watch Scott Bakula read the phone book (as well as Tom Seleck and Sam Elliot, in their salad days.)
"Lonesome Dove" will re-air some time soon, on
the same network which recently aired "Ghost Busters" on it`s 25th anniversary. But enough about high-brow culture...
May not be on much for a week or ten days...I will probably lurk some...just to keep up with you guys...no mean task, I tell ya!
Woo Hoo, it worked!
Sorry, Forgot some others who added interesting info about glass blowers(gaffers).
Jazz,I cracked up over your slider thingamajig. Very funny!
Lois, you may want to hide your EVOO today, or maybe not.
Crockett, my Golden had a stroke a few years ago and he couldn't walk straight.I hope Leo is OK; I'm sure he has no clue what is happening to him. Give him hugs from all of us. My poor old Parsley(16 1/2) keeps losing weight. Yesterday he got his shots, a mini pedicure and lots of hugs that he would have rather done without.
Puzzle talk? I'd rather not. I did great on the NW corner and then,SHAZAM! A dab here, a dab there, and lots of erasing. I filled in Dawn Deity and said Amen to this.
Gotta get house ready for rug cleaners. Where did all this stuff come from??
Good morning C.C. and all:
Once again I had to start at the bottom and work up...hmmm, anyway, I was able to finish with the exception of 21D SPECIE and 31A CMD. I have never heard the term 'metallic money'.
I loved the clue 'DIG DEEPLY' - I must have spent over 10 minutes before the V-8 moment hit. I kept thinking of shovels. Other favorite were: 'DROP IN THE OCEAN' and 'SPOT FOR A SCREWDRIVER'.
I was really pleased with myself for a Thursday puzzle.
We were talking not too long ago about the things that stay in the background of your brain...this is how I was able to get 45D (ISOLDE), 47D (ISTLES) and 52D (GUDOT)
There was a quote in our paper today that is apt for this phenomenon: "Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all" (John F. Kennedy)
I was also surprised by the fact that only 28% have coffee for breakfast. What about all those Starbucks places? Or the phrase: 'oh, I can't open my eyes until I have my coffee'. Do they mean JUST coffee or coffee with something else? I have 1 cup every morning with toast.
Dennis, I agree with you on the Seiko watches. Are they now in the category of Rolex? I heard that most young people don't buy or wear watches anymore, they use their cell phones to see the time.
Tfrank, no offense, but I would call your breakfast "COLON BLOW" lol.
Lois, why oh why would you want to revirginate??? Tell me it ain't so!
Oh Dick, you bad boy....Lois will love the rope tricks, she has a 'thing' for cowboys!
Crockett, I am so sorry to hear about Leo! Give him a big, gentle hug for me.
(I spelled 'GODOT' correctly in the puzzle but did not on my last post)
JD, that is one beautiful rose!!
Treefrog, we (in Portland) are supposed to have thunderstorms this afternoon. Nice they held off during the parade for the children yesterday...it was sunny and hot. The navy is in town for the Rose Festival, ships arrived yesterday and in 9 months there will be additions to our fair city's population...true! It happens every year. These men are serving their country, gotta love 'em!
Hi C.C. I could tell you are anxious to know more about the Suzuki Boulevard motorcycle. OK. This thing is a high quality motorcycle, very sharp looking and nice and pricy. I've been scraping my monthly pittance together in hopes of owning one some day. I love riding them and they are a great way to get around town so long as nobody hits you and kills you unexpectedly.
Best to you and all your folks. Remember the troops on June 6.
Crockett: I am thinking good thoughts for you. A tough decision. And when one puts down a pet, it hurts for a long time.
But at least I was able to hold my dog in my arms and tell her she was a good dog, as the needle went in.
Best wishes.
MelissaBee, I thought 28% was low as well for coffee drinkers. I'd have guessed 28% didn't drink coffee. I don't drink it, but seems like everyone I know does.
tfrank, damn, does that breakfast even pause?? You've gotta be incredibly, uh, efficient. And I think I'm glad I never had the cow-milking experience; you paint quite the picture.
Lois, I gotta ask - how does one 'revirginate'? Is there a kit?
Andrea, that's really funny about 'spinster' - it has such a negative connotation.
tarrajo, I'd assume 8oz glasses, so 1,600,000 ounces. And as to your last question, just do as Lois and 'revirginate'. I'll be curious to see how that works out for you two.
Crockett, good luck with your buddy; do let us know how it goes.
Carol, "colon blow" - beautiful.
Hayrake, great to see you - where've you been?
After all the burger talk yesterday, I stopped at Barnes & Noble last night to look for some new burger recipes - found Bobby Flay's new book, Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes. In addition to some great burger variations, and sweet potato fries, which I love, there's a recipe for a Toasted Marshmallow Shake, which has my mouth watering even typing it. I'll be sure to waddle to the computer over the weekend and let you know how THEY were.
@Dennis revirginization.
You first Lois.
Also, Dennis you never answered me to what you (choked) on yesterday afternoon. You seem fine now.
Holy Sh*t!!! They really do that??? Hey, best of luck, ladies.
As to the choking, yes, I'm all better now. My advanced age precludes me from remembering precisely what caused it, but I'm sure it was warranted...
Still almost morning...Pretty much what everyone else said. Printed and completed last night because I had a hair appointment this am, so, at least my hair looks good. The rest....well....
Filled in, but didn't get the theme, until I came here and I am now sure that these puzzles are getting tougher...not a good sign for re-instatement in the Mercury News.
Went round and round with this but finally realized that I actually knew all this stuff but it was, again, the tricky cluing that caused all the head scratching. Agree with everyone on the Seiko thing, but got PIROGUE, GODOT, EOS...etc. MelissaB thanks on the ESSENE, which I have seen before but got from perps and now, I am more likely to remember it.
Crockett...so sorry. We went through that a few months ago with the 16 1/2 year old cat, she couldn't jump up on anything and wandered around with her head tilted to one side. They cleaned her teeth, gave her a shot of something and a blood test showed an elevated thyroid...weight loss. She is on thyroid medicine and is pretty much back to normal although she has limited the height of a bed or chair as her "jumping up" limit. Best of luck and I hope it is solvable.
JD...I can see why they named the rose after Chihuly...evocative of his "platter" pieces. We thoroughly enjoyed the massive show at the de Young in SF last year.
tarrajo...glad you liked the glass info...the video made me feel good that I had pretty much remembered everything correctly. Not bad for a member of the CRS Club. ;o)
Breakfast is usually goat yogurt, homemade granola, coffee, latte(to do the blog) and occasionally eggs and toast. Really prefer the whole bacon/eggs thing as a dinner.
Cool and lovely today...chance of rain on the horizon...
This CW took me much longer than usual to solve. I was reminded of my l01 year old mother-in-law many times today as she used to tell me that I was "cheating" on the puzzle when I used the CW dictionary (which by the way is pretty well worn). Bless her. I would tell her I was really "learning", not cheating!
I had many red letters today, before I finally finished the whole puzzle. I wanted Omega, or Movado for the pricey timepiece. Of course red letters popped up all over the place. I agree with everyone else that Seikos are good watches, but not as pricey as some.
Nice cool weather today, and rain maybe. For us in June this is very unusual.
Chickie
20:34 today. I really struggled with this puzzle, especially in the California section.
I've been out of town with no Internet the last few days, so I'm catching up today. No time to blog.
Only 28% of Americans drink coffee? That surely seems low. Here's a quick article that cites a higher #.
www.ehow.com/about_4572236_how-many-americans-drink-coffee.html -
Good afternoon c.c. and all,
Had a busy morning, so i just finished, wasn't as bad as i expected.
Let's see, had no problem with the upper half , loved seeing Torino, my own home town, and such a beautiful city, (nostalgia). :(
Had Robot for Godot, had no idea.
Specie, never heard of it, will have to investigate that further.
Al, sorry, it's probably just me, but after reading your post on species, i was more confused than before. I will read it again and see if i can comprehend, but thank you.
Carol, Holy Moly, you take the prize today, with Colon Blow !
I was falling off my chair from laughter.
Now, i' ll have to scroll back up and see what TFrank has for breakfast. What fun !
Oh, and Ebbtide, fell in but, don' t quite connect it with a drop in the ocean, after today, i'm sure i will.
See u later, alligater
Oh, and i don' t think Italy could exist w/out coffee, espresso, capuccino, etc.
Good puzzle with good theme. I liked STPAUL (easy guess for us Minnesotans), KARATE, BAR and ADORE. Had to g-spot a couple of answers, but did okay. I thought LICE at first for something to pick having gone through an episode of that twice with our daughter years ago. It is something you absolutely NEVER forget. Unfortunately, we quickly learned the meaning of "nitpicking".
Almost always end up eating cereal for breakfast. It is part timing, but somehow eggs don't appeal to me early in the morning, and I am one that needs to eat right away. However, I am aware that we should get some protein first thing too, so often I will have a piece of toast with peanut butter before I leave the house.
CC - I have Millet bread that I get from health food stores, and it is awesome. You should try that in the morning sometime. It is gluten free.
Crockett - Hope all goes well with Leo. Keep us posted.
Dennis, I am waiting for someone to get that WoW trick someday. Don't believe it has ever happened, but I do believe the reverse has.
Dennis - I wonder if your breakfast fun fact means 28% have coffee only, not coffee with other stuff. That makes sense to me - I know lots of people who say their breakfast is coffee. Plus I know you realize the totals exceed 100% so there must be various permutations in there somewhere.
Lois - was going to suggest you create some sort of 'revirgination kit' and market it when tarrajo shared that it actually does happen. Sounds like way more than I'd want to go thru so maybe you could pretend you did and go from there. I also imagine you've gotten plenty of offers of help - what guy wouldn't like to join in that task, especially is props are used.
Dick - good luck with the pens. If they win tonite, I think they've got a shot at the whole shebang. If with wings win, there's always next season.
Chickie - as far as I'm concerned there's no cheating in xwords - all's fair if you get them solved.
ChrisinLA - will let you know how that ice cream thing works out.
Oh, by the way, enjoyed the puzzle. Tough but easier for me than yesterdays - after all it is Thursday. Liked the 'dig deeply' and 'chick follower' clues - most everything else has already been said.
Linda-pizza is a great breakfast! Only reason I eat in the morning is because I have to take my drugs. How the H did I miss that Ghostbusters was on? That was one of my youngest sons favorites.
Crockett-Love to you and Leo.
Carol-never made it up there for the Rose Festival. I don't like crowds. Thunder bumpers are moving in again. About 2PM here. It's making it hard for the high schools this week. Graduation inside or chance it outside.
Chickie-I'm about to purchas a new CW dictionary. My second one is literally falling apart. I'm thinking of giving it to my just turned 6 year old grandson. He'll love reading the section of mountains etc. Heck, half the time he walks around with a dictionary.
KittyB - didn't log back in last night so I'm glad Jeanne found the links to Chihuly's work at the Bellagio. It's the ceiling centerpiece in the main lobby (which is huge - it's hard to describe the actual size of these pieces) and also located throughout the casino area - above the various bars and seating areas and throughout public areas. I cannot imagine how much they spent on his work; had to be astronomical. There is also a Chihuly glass shop there with small works and books; if you ever get there definitely take a 'look-see' - just walking thru the various casinos is entertainment in itself.
Good Afternoon All, Checking in a little late, so just about all my reactions to the puzzle have already been mentioned by other posters.
I wasn't familiar with pirogue either. When I first saw it, I confused it with pierogi.
Hahtool@7:02 :o) Your answer to "it might be picked" brought me right back to Linda's nickname.
Linda, Yes, my husband does have a white beard. It is trimmed pretty short right now for summer. He lets it go in autumn so he can be a credible Santa for the grandkids.
tarrajo, fascinating AND disturbing article about "revirginization"
I always start the day with a cup of coffee! My breakfast is usually two slices of toasted wholegrain bread with a light shmear of butter, along with another cup of coffee. I also like some low-fat fruit yogurt, or sometimes a piece of fruit.
Crockett, I hope Leo recovers and you have a lot more time with your buddy.
Al said @ 9:45 AM
...Fiat money has a face value, but the material it is made from is not worth that face value.
My question is what do we call money, like our penny and nickel, that cost more in material and labor to produce than the value of the coin? Specious?
"Pennies are now made from copper-coated zinc, so the metal in them is worth about 1.12 cents. Adding in the Mint's cost of making a penny boosts a coin's overall cost to 1.73 cents, while a nickel costs 10 cents."
@Maria, sorry if I confused you.
The clue was for Metallic Money, so I was pointing out that, for instance, while US coins are metal, but they are not specie. They do not contain enough precious metal to be worth their face value if you melted them down (which is illegal anyway). They have their value because the government says they have that value. That term for that is Fiat currency. Paper money is also Fiat currency, for the most part. There are still some old bills in curculation like gold and silver certificates that you could supposedly trade in for their value in those precious metals.
I was also pointing out that Specie does not necessarily have to be metal, like the clue implies, although most of it is. In less developed nations, anything will pass as currency in trade, as long as a value is placed upon and benefit derived from it. Good luck paying your taxes with it, though.
Is that a better explanation, or a worse one?
@Argyle, I like your term "specious" for money that costs more to produce than it is worth.
SandbridgeKaren - I agree with you that the 28% is those that have coffee only.
As for pizza for breakfast - yummmmm. When I was in college I worked at a deep dish pizza parlor. Every shift we got to order a pizza, and I would only eat half, then bring the rest home for another meal. It was often my breakfast and I loved it. I ate a lot of pizza those days, as I was so broke I needed all the free food I could get. College kids don't seem to have that same experience these days.
Dennis, my mom just made some rhubarb cake yesterday and shared with me. I am not a rhubarb fan, but I love her rhubarb cake. Very similar to Applesauce, so I guess I took advantage today didn't I?
CC - I would like to see Morneau or Mauer in there for Minnesota Twin some day. How about you?
Hi c.c. and all,
Well, just finished it! I did it pretty much from the bottom up and then left the North and Northeast corner until now. Sometimes I find it is better to walk away and come back fresh. I did end up getting everything correct without any googling. I liked the clues: Spot for a Screwdriver; Minnesota twin?; Dig Deeply
Never heard of Godot; and wouldn't have gotten Pirogue except for the perps. It seems Mondays thru Thursdays go well for me, but Fridays and Saturdays not so much.
Have a wonderful evening everyone!
I forgot to answer in my earlier post that I always have coffee before eating anything. Then either oatmeal, lite english muffin or bagel or a yogurt. Maybe once every week or two I will have an egg sandwich.
Tarrajo, Carol, SBKaren, no surgery below the horizon for me! My form of revirgination does not involve the 'z' as in revirginiZation...that's Z for zip-loc! No thanks. Even tho' I was 1/2way kidding (esp about abstinence)
I really do subscribe to the theory. There's no expense at all really just abstinence (optional), Kegel exercises and ab crunches. The only 'kit' needed is the 'package' that is used to check the effectiveness of the aforementioned program. I think that's where Dick comes in :). There are programs that sell 'tools' out there claiming the Kegel exercises don't work on their own, but I swear they do. That program is given to new mothers during Lamaze classes, which is funny b/c it just leads to more lamaze classes eventually. It's good for men and women in reducing incontinence and prostate pain in men. Google 'Kegel exercises' if you want. I rest my case.
Party time!
I went back and read yesterday's late comments. Thank you Kitty B. and Linda for the kind words about my daughter's graduation. The class as a whole were pretty awesome. All doctorate or Master's graduates--165+ of them.
Thank you Sandbridge Karen for affirming my not "cheating" when I use a CW dictionary.
Treefrog--I thought my 6 year old grandson was the only one who read the dictionary before bedtime! Don't you love them?
Chickie
@ Dennis 12:53P
Thank you for the kind word Dennis.
I'm flighty ya know.
I'll have to stick around now long enough to find out how that revirginization thing works out.
I'm hoping for it to turn into a packaged product. Could turn the economy around.
Hi C.C. & gang,
A hard puzzle for today, I had to use the online in red again.
For K.Q. I never found enough time yesterday to answer your question about Halifax. Yes we toured the area and they told us all about that explosion.
Chickie, SB Karen is right...I remember reading what Will Shortz (editor of the NY Times C/W puzzle) said, 'it is your puzzle and you can solve it as you see fit'. So look up anything you want:)
Treefrog, I'm with you on crowds - I hate them so I do not participate in any of the Rose Festival activities personally. I just hope for good weather for all those who do.
Speaking of weather, we just had some severe thunder storm warnings and storms go through our areas. Too much media hype though, geez, I thought the apocalypse was coming!! Now I know we in the immediate Portland area did not get what some of the surrounding ares got, but still, I wish they would not make sooooo much of this! People who came from the Mid-West and South would laugh at what the media was reporting. End of rant :)
Hey Lois (and all you gals), forget the ab crunches - Kegel's are great for all the things Lois mentioned...also, your men will be happier. Nothing like some 'suction' from a well-toned 'area'. Whew!
Hayrake - maybe you could find a way to package revirginization and viagra. I'll buy into that IPO in a New York minute.
melissa bee,
where can i find the story of how the dead sea scrolls were (re)discovered.
@Lois...I am happy you chickened out on the so called surgery. Me too. I religiously practice my Kegals each and every day sitting at my desk. Having given birth just once in my life Lamaze helped a great deal. I am happy in my life considering myself an "old maid." I am still learning though. That's why I come to this awesome site.
@Dennis...it's still nice to know we girls teach you something.
Hello all. I made it back and finished the puzzle as well. Started in the SW corner and worked my way north, then was all over the place until everything got filled it.
Leo the cat is still with us, but very unsure on his feet. He'll start a round of steroids tonight and we'll see how he responds.
Lots of words filled from perps, but I nailed PIROGUE. Don't know why, but I just KNEW that word.
Never thought of a SEIKO as an expensive watch. I've paid $25 for my last four or so SEIKOs. You can PROPEL an agenda or a canoe.
"Waking NED Devine" was a cute film -- one of my mother's favorites.
@dennis Appropriate day for Leo.
@tfrank I had the same ending for WESTERN.
Thanks for all the good wishes for Leo. Will keep everyone posted as things progress.
@tarajo Dennis isn't the only one who learns on this blog.
To add to sbkaren's 4:03.You don't need to like gambling to enjoy Las Vegas. Just walking thru the many diverse casinos is interesting. The Bellagio has a Gallery of Fine Art , now showing works of Lichtenstein, Warhol (his "Soup Cans") and other pop artists.The ceiling art is called Fiori di Como and is made up of 2000 glass flowers. The Picasso restaurant has a collection of P's original art work. Most hotels have some kind of exhibit..old cars, motorcycles,etc. Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam are both spectacular too.
some of you have college students returning home; enjoy your time with them, even if they do leave shoes and cereal bowls and cr-- all over.
Will be gone for a week...
Crockett, great news about Leo!!Hugs from all!
@Crockett...I hope your kitty holds on. I enjoy reading your comments here. I love your spunk and zest for life. I try to teach my little guy all those things. So far, so good. Talk to me when he's a teenager; then we'll know how good I did without his dad in his life. Notice, dad is not capitolized.
C.C.,
Do you remember the goings on at Tinnamin Square in China 30 years ago? Also, did you get the answer for 'title character not in the cast' on your own knowledge?
For that matter, did anybody?
I've had coffee every morning since I can remember.
Speaking of virgins, in high school this girl I knew got pregnant in her senior year. She had a secret abortion(this was in the '50's). She told me the Dr. told her she was still a virgin. True story. I wonder if she re-virgined or was having pipe dreams?
Does anyone do the puzzle in the N.Y.Times? I tried it but gave up on it. This is almost as ridiculous. I always thought an x-word puzzle was geared toward general knowledge, not obscurity. I would give up on this one if this site didn't exist. At least you can find the answers and I enjoy the cameraderie here.
your clue for 51a is good but your answer should have been drug busts goes with the rest of your puzzle
Okay this bugs me....capitalzed. (mispelled from the last post)Sometimes I type too fast. Hey...the "Little Guy" scored a goal today at his soccer game. He forgot to do the "Hi Mom" from the sidelines though. I mustered up a cheer anyway. Go figure.
anon @10:41,
Who are you addressing as "you"? No one here is repsonsible for the clues or puzzles. We are mostly just lowly solvers like yourself. Occasionally a couple of the constructors "visit", but not often.
Crockett,
Glad to hear Leo rides again! Cats do have nine lives, you know, so maybe he's got a few left.
Luxor,
I did know GODOT. Saw that play at the same theatre in Sydney where I saw Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore many years ago. I found it intensely boring. The two characters on stage spent the whole time talking about Godot coming and when he was expected, but he never came. I think it was meant to be allegory for the coming of Christ.
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