Theme: The Double(t) Is Double(d) TT → DD
17A: Evidence of a spilled dessert? PUDDING ON THE DOG
22A: Nervous ticks?: SHUDDER BUGS
35A: Linens for jockeys?: OFF-TRACK BEDDING
51A: Slope where sycophants hang out?: NODDING HILL
57A: What a yenta exam does?: TESTS ONE'S MEDDLE
Just learned the idiom "putting on the dog" a few months ago from a LAT puzzle. Notting Hill is an affluent area in West London. Also a very romantic movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
Bitter & bidder should be interesting to work with. Latter & Ladder might not be fun. What else can you think of?
Quite a few tricky clues in today's puzzle:
54A: It may be added to impress: IVE. Impressive.
7D: Jet problem?: LAG. Jetlag.
I struggled with the multiple-word entries today.
Across:
1A: Per se: IN ITSELF. Per se is literally "by itself" in Latin.
9A: Research, perhaps: LOOK UP. Hmm, I often LOOK UP the word in my dictionary during solving. I am not cheating. Just doing my research.
15A: Statue, perhaps: MEMORIAL. I guess I understand the controversy over a Chinese designing MLK Memorial Statue. Maybe it should be sculpted by an African American. However, MLK transcended racial line.
16A: When some shifts start: AT NINE. Never know when to put AT NINE, when to put NINE AM.
19A: Symbol of love: EROS. Ha ha, I thought of ROSE. Red rose is my favorite flower.
20A: Any of the Beverly Hillbillies: YOKEL
21A: PC linkup: LAN (Local Area Network)
28A: Consider overnight: SLEEP ON. Don't think too much. Just do it.
30A: Sicily's capital?: ESS. Letter S is the first (capital) letter of Sicily.
32A: They're usually rolled outs: TARPS. D'oh, ballpark. I was thinking of dough.
34A: Hipbones: ILIA
41A: Miss equivalent?: MILE. I've never heard of the proverb "A miss is as good as a MILE". Thought of the French miss MLLE.
42A: W, once: YALIE. George W. Bush graduated from Yale. Harvard Business School as well.
43A: Sports drink suffix: ADE. Gatorade.
44A: Pinch, so to speak: NAB. I did not know pinch is a slang for arrest.
47A: Staples Center NBAer: LA LAKER. I am glad Kobe Bryant got his NBA Championship ring sans Shaq.
55A: Playground assertion: IS TOO
56A: 1961 space chimp: ENOS. I wonder why they named him ENOS.
63A: "The Joy Luck Club" author: AMY TAN. A rare author gimme for me. She is a Chinese American. "The Joy Luck Club" is the name of the mahjong club the four ladies formed. Great read.
64A: Fetch: RETRIEVE
65A: Artist's home, perhaps: COLONY. I am not familiar with this definition of COLONY. I thought of STUDIO.
66A: 2009 film based on a TV show that premiered in 1966A: STAR TREK
Down:
1D: Drives forward: IMPELS
2: __ network: NEURAL. Had problem piecing the answer together.
3D: "Finished!": I'M DONE. One blank too much for VOILA.
4D: "Dracula" (1931) director Browning et al?: TODS. I can never remember this guy. Last time the clue was "Pioneer filmmaker Browning".
5D: Hindu honorific: SRI. Sanskirt for "splendor/majesty". SRI Lanka means "Venerable Island".
6D: Cologne article: EIN. Or DER, DAS, all German articles.
8D: Rock's Pink __: FLOYD
9D: Fried fare often served with applesauce: LATKES. I don't know, I've never had LATKES or the Norwegian lefsa.
10D: Catchall column heading: OTHERS
11D: Produce amt.: ONE LB. Cherries are in season now. My favorite snack at the moment.
12D: Tease: KID
13D: Game with Draw Two Cards: UNO
14D: Takedown units?: PEG. Oh, "take down a PEG".
18D: Junction point: NODE
22D: Bandy words: SPAR. I think Chris Matthews (Hardball) has the best job in this world.
23D: Group dance done while holding hands: HORA. The Jewish wedding dance.
24D: Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC (UN - Politically Correct). And ETTE (29D: Suffix which may be 24-Down). I don't understand why ETTE is UN-PC.
25D: Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. It's actually quite sweet.
26D: Cross the threshhold: GO IN
27D: Beast with a rack: STAG. Ha ha, I just typed in "Breast with a rack" a moment ago.
33D: Shade of blue: SKY. The clue is quite Monday-ish.
34D: Flash of sorts: IDEA
35D: Arabian Sea nation: OMAN. Capital Muscat.
36D: Generic pooch: FIDO. What's the name of your dog(s)?
37D: Hightailed it: FLED
38D: Site of the active volcano Mount Agung: BALI. Guessed MALI first.
39D: Airline to Eilat: EL AL. Eilat, pronounced as ey-laht, is the southernmost city of Israel.
40D: Pickle flavoring: DILL. The only herb I use are chives. The basil at the Farmer's Market makes me headache.
44D: Xterra maker: NISSAN. My knowledge on car makers is as weak as my understanding of Bible.
45D: "I come to bury Caesar" speaker: ANTONY (Mark). "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him...".
46D: Weed __: lawn care product: B-GON. Not familiar with this brand at all. No chemical spray in my garden. And HOERS (53D: Weed whackers).
49D: Exhibit Darwinism: EVOLVE. This clue feels so highbrow.
52D: "Same here!": DITTO. Interesting to see a lone TT here.
56D: Work for Money, maybe: EDIT. I did not pay attention to the capitalized Money (Money magazine).
57D: Part of a winning trio: TAC. Tic-TAC-Toe. Stumped also.
58D: Musical genre related to punk: EMO
59D: Dict. division: SYL (Syllable). I wanted SYN (synonym).
60D: An hour's worth of tunes, maybe: SET. OK, Dictionary says SET can refer to "a group of pieces played by a band, as in a night club, and followed by an intermission". Is this the correct rationale?
61D: NYC subway inits.: MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority). I wrote down IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit).
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Evidence of a spilled dessert? PUDDING ON THE DOG
22A: Nervous ticks?: SHUDDER BUGS
35A: Linens for jockeys?: OFF-TRACK BEDDING
51A: Slope where sycophants hang out?: NODDING HILL
57A: What a yenta exam does?: TESTS ONE'S MEDDLE
Just learned the idiom "putting on the dog" a few months ago from a LAT puzzle. Notting Hill is an affluent area in West London. Also a very romantic movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
Bitter & bidder should be interesting to work with. Latter & Ladder might not be fun. What else can you think of?
Quite a few tricky clues in today's puzzle:
54A: It may be added to impress: IVE. Impressive.
7D: Jet problem?: LAG. Jetlag.
I struggled with the multiple-word entries today.
Across:
1A: Per se: IN ITSELF. Per se is literally "by itself" in Latin.
9A: Research, perhaps: LOOK UP. Hmm, I often LOOK UP the word in my dictionary during solving. I am not cheating. Just doing my research.
15A: Statue, perhaps: MEMORIAL. I guess I understand the controversy over a Chinese designing MLK Memorial Statue. Maybe it should be sculpted by an African American. However, MLK transcended racial line.
16A: When some shifts start: AT NINE. Never know when to put AT NINE, when to put NINE AM.
19A: Symbol of love: EROS. Ha ha, I thought of ROSE. Red rose is my favorite flower.
20A: Any of the Beverly Hillbillies: YOKEL
21A: PC linkup: LAN (Local Area Network)
28A: Consider overnight: SLEEP ON. Don't think too much. Just do it.
30A: Sicily's capital?: ESS. Letter S is the first (capital) letter of Sicily.
32A: They're usually rolled outs: TARPS. D'oh, ballpark. I was thinking of dough.
34A: Hipbones: ILIA
41A: Miss equivalent?: MILE. I've never heard of the proverb "A miss is as good as a MILE". Thought of the French miss MLLE.
42A: W, once: YALIE. George W. Bush graduated from Yale. Harvard Business School as well.
43A: Sports drink suffix: ADE. Gatorade.
44A: Pinch, so to speak: NAB. I did not know pinch is a slang for arrest.
47A: Staples Center NBAer: LA LAKER. I am glad Kobe Bryant got his NBA Championship ring sans Shaq.
55A: Playground assertion: IS TOO
56A: 1961 space chimp: ENOS. I wonder why they named him ENOS.
63A: "The Joy Luck Club" author: AMY TAN. A rare author gimme for me. She is a Chinese American. "The Joy Luck Club" is the name of the mahjong club the four ladies formed. Great read.
64A: Fetch: RETRIEVE
65A: Artist's home, perhaps: COLONY. I am not familiar with this definition of COLONY. I thought of STUDIO.
66A: 2009 film based on a TV show that premiered in 1966A: STAR TREK
Down:
1D: Drives forward: IMPELS
2: __ network: NEURAL. Had problem piecing the answer together.
3D: "Finished!": I'M DONE. One blank too much for VOILA.
4D: "Dracula" (1931) director Browning et al?: TODS. I can never remember this guy. Last time the clue was "Pioneer filmmaker Browning".
5D: Hindu honorific: SRI. Sanskirt for "splendor/majesty". SRI Lanka means "Venerable Island".
6D: Cologne article: EIN. Or DER, DAS, all German articles.
8D: Rock's Pink __: FLOYD
9D: Fried fare often served with applesauce: LATKES. I don't know, I've never had LATKES or the Norwegian lefsa.
10D: Catchall column heading: OTHERS
11D: Produce amt.: ONE LB. Cherries are in season now. My favorite snack at the moment.
12D: Tease: KID
13D: Game with Draw Two Cards: UNO
14D: Takedown units?: PEG. Oh, "take down a PEG".
18D: Junction point: NODE
22D: Bandy words: SPAR. I think Chris Matthews (Hardball) has the best job in this world.
23D: Group dance done while holding hands: HORA. The Jewish wedding dance.
24D: Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC (UN - Politically Correct). And ETTE (29D: Suffix which may be 24-Down). I don't understand why ETTE is UN-PC.
25D: Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. It's actually quite sweet.
26D: Cross the threshhold: GO IN
27D: Beast with a rack: STAG. Ha ha, I just typed in "Breast with a rack" a moment ago.
33D: Shade of blue: SKY. The clue is quite Monday-ish.
34D: Flash of sorts: IDEA
35D: Arabian Sea nation: OMAN. Capital Muscat.
36D: Generic pooch: FIDO. What's the name of your dog(s)?
37D: Hightailed it: FLED
38D: Site of the active volcano Mount Agung: BALI. Guessed MALI first.
39D: Airline to Eilat: EL AL. Eilat, pronounced as ey-laht, is the southernmost city of Israel.
40D: Pickle flavoring: DILL. The only herb I use are chives. The basil at the Farmer's Market makes me headache.
44D: Xterra maker: NISSAN. My knowledge on car makers is as weak as my understanding of Bible.
45D: "I come to bury Caesar" speaker: ANTONY (Mark). "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him...".
46D: Weed __: lawn care product: B-GON. Not familiar with this brand at all. No chemical spray in my garden. And HOERS (53D: Weed whackers).
49D: Exhibit Darwinism: EVOLVE. This clue feels so highbrow.
52D: "Same here!": DITTO. Interesting to see a lone TT here.
56D: Work for Money, maybe: EDIT. I did not pay attention to the capitalized Money (Money magazine).
57D: Part of a winning trio: TAC. Tic-TAC-Toe. Stumped also.
58D: Musical genre related to punk: EMO
59D: Dict. division: SYL (Syllable). I wanted SYN (synonym).
60D: An hour's worth of tunes, maybe: SET. OK, Dictionary says SET can refer to "a group of pieces played by a band, as in a night club, and followed by an intermission". Is this the correct rationale?
61D: NYC subway inits.: MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority). I wrote down IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit).
Answer grid.
C.C.
77 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - a good, tough puzzle today. I had lots of 'huh?' moments, but overall loved this one.
The one I knew that surprised me the most was Enos, the space chimp. I had no idea I knew it until I read the clue, and it just popped out. Three very clever clues: 'Takedown unit', 'It may be added to impress' and 'Work for Money, maybe'. My one unknown was 'Bali' for the site of Mt. Agung.
'Beast with a rack' sounds like a description of someone you'd meet in a late-night dive...
Today is Peach Ice Cream Day, and get this: Yellow Pig Day. No idea.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "If you've never been hated by your child, you've never been a parent." -- Actress Bette Davis
Friday Fun Facts:
- Cher turned down Geena Davis's role in Thelma & Louise.
- Some asteroids in our solar system are so large that they even have their own moons.
Good morning C.C. and all,...a difficult puzzle today and one I could not complete without help. C.C. I also missed the capital M in 56D and wondered why edit for the solution, then the Duh moment. I also had gone for 26D in lieu of
'goin".
C.C. what did you get when you Googled "Breast with a rack"? There were lots of unknowns today and this required a few trips to the G-spot.
Hope you all have a great Friday. I will try to get a round of golf in between showeers.
Good Morning, All. Today's puzzle was a toughie, but then I always find I need a lot of help with the Friday puzzle.
I must note that there was a big Jewish theme in today's puzzle ~ Latkes, Hora, Yenta, ElAl, and even Nissan/Nisan.
Latkes are the potato pancakes that are traditionally eaten at Chanukah because they are fried in oil. Chanukah is the holiday that commemorates the Maccabean Revolt (~165 BCE), in which the Jews regained control of the Temple. Chanukah is known as the "Festival of Lights" because when the Temple was rededicated, there was only enough oil to light the lamp/menorah for one night but the oil lasted for eight days.
Hora is a traditional Jewish circle dance.
ElAl is the official Israeli airline, and a frequent puzzle clue.
Yenta comes from a Yiddish term and is generally associated with a match-maker.
Finally, Nissan/Nisan is a month in the Hebrew calendar. Because the word is a Hebrew transliteration, it is generally spelled "Nisan", but it is pronounced the same as the carmaker.
@anon@7:55pm Thursday, I AM an organ donor, and I give platelets on an average of one pint every two weeks. It's part of the way I live, and I consider the time spent and the inconvenience just a partial down-payment on being able to enjoy life here in the good old U.S. of A.
For RISE: Oyez, oyez, oyez, all _____.
Crockett1947 (misplaced the post on Wednesday)
Good Morning All (especially if you have zuchinni),
A recipe for zuchini latkes.
My goodness! The places a crossword might take you. I enjoyed the yenta exam entry.
Takedown unit PIN fit nicely, at the start.
Tahoe is sometimes clued as an artist COLONY.
Good Morning All,
Didn't take long to go on-line to see red. Mistakes were SPED instead of FLED, PIN for PEG, NOT ME for IS TOO. Once I got going though I filled it in without much red letter help. I like Dan Naddor puzzles. Favorite clue was Exhibit Darwinism.
Hahtool, UMO is my alma mater as well. Maybe I'm dating myself but I still call in UMO. I went to my oldest's state swim meet there last year. We went to the Bear's Den for lunch. It's no longer the dark dungy place I used to swill beer after 3 hour calculus exams. They dumped a bunch of money into a rehab of the Memorial Union. It's quite nice. When were you there?
Another cool day here. Foggy this morning and supposed to clear then thunderstorms this afternoon. We had some wicked bangers last night. Kept me up but didn't bother the pups.
Have a great day!
Mainiac: I graduated from UMO back in the late 1970s. I haven't been back since the early 1990s. I'm sure I wouldn't recognize the campus anymore.
Hi all, I couldn't have completed this one on my own; only by guessing on line.
C.C.m how about badder, bidder and bitter?
argyle, I think you meant Taos, in New Mexico?
G'morning all,
I found today to be better than yesterday. Only two g'spots: AMY Tan and TODs. The rest was slow, with perp help galore, but it worked.
I started with SYN for SYL too, and had trouble getting TAC and EMO, which is totally unfamiliar to me. I don't like HOER for weed whacker, they don't hoe, they trim around shrubs, etc. Tried GET SMART for STAR TREK at first. Also thought of BY or OF ITSELF before settling on IN. Thought of MLLE too, and wondered why there was no indication of French there. The expression I knew was "missed by a mile"
Our dog's name is TRUDI.
Windhover,
Thought of you and our shared political opinions when I saw this quote today: Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less. -Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696)
Nice cool weather in WI today, cloudy and 60's predicted here.
Have a wonderful Friday!
I really did well in this puzzle, especially for a Friday. I started off really slowly with nothing in the NW corner. Then I was sure LOOKUP and OTHERS were wrong but put them in anyway and lots of other answers just popped into my head (like ILIA). I got the theme right away, which really helped. When I finally got stuck and turned to red letter help, I only had one red letter and finished by just slogging through. COLONY was easier than it might have been, because when I was thinking about my objection to calling Sedona a resort yesterday I was thinking I'd say it was an artist colony in my comments but forgot that when I was typing. Don't really think of EROS (a god) as a symbol, but I guess that is right.
C.C. "ETTE" is UN-PC because it could be considered demeaning to women to add it to a noun to make it feminine, i.e.: dude/dudette. It is the same with "ESS" - it used to be 'actor' and 'actress' (now all actors) or steward and stewardess (now flight attendant).
Great WoW, especially for young parents to remember the first time their child stamps their foot and wails "I hate you!"
It has finally cooled off here. Much better weather for biking.
Good morning, all.
I have come to enjoy Dan Naddor's puzzles. I finished without Googling, but I needed a tiny bit of red letter help. SHUDDERBUG fell first and then 'BEDDING' in OFFTRACKBEDDING. Once I had the four long theme answers, the crosses began to fall into place.
I had the same response to ATNINE, GOIN, and IMDONE as others. I don't have any idea what EMO sounds like, and probably don't need to know.
Hatool, thanks for pointing out the Jewish sub-theme to the puzzle. I recognized most of it as I worked the puzzle, but I didn't know the Nissan connection.
My husband used to make great latkes. He used a tiny bit of Bisquick as a binder, along with the traditional ingredients.
Argyle, thanks for the zucchini version of latkes. I may try them tomorrow morning, despite having cut back on fried foods at home.
Anon@7:04 That's a great clue for RISE!
We had a dog that was a cross between a German shepherd and a beagle. My sister found the litter abandoned by the side of the road near her home, and saved one for us. My mother named him Defer as in "D fer Dog."
We have a brilliant sunny morning, with rain coming in for the afternoon, the best of both worlds. Enjoy the day!
Elissa,
I'm not sure why those feminine suffixes should be un-PC. They're derived from simple French endings to distinguish gender. If distinguishing gender is derogatory, then how can we be proud of our femininity? If we accept, by our ruffled feathers, that feminine designations are synonymous with inferiority, how can we argue for gender equality? We should wear those designations with pride!
In some cases though, -ETTE is used to mean a smaller/less important version of something, and I can see how that might seem un-PC. Really though, the whole PC thing is overdone in my opinion.
For some reason this puzzle was easier for me today than Thursday’s. I actually hit the g-spot for the capitol of Sicily until the ‘doh light came on and got ess from the perps. Other perp help was Yalie, AmyTan, tods, sri, and hora. WM, have you heard of colony for an artist’s home? Completely new term for me. I thought tarps, was a clever clue. I too, wanted something to do with baking. Argyle I will try the zucchini latkes as I still have zucchini coming in strong.
Elissa, I have already had the “I hate you” accompanied with a nice door slam so I guess I am doing something right :)
Dennis, for some reason I chuckled when I read (as)teroid and moons.
C.C. this is for you!
Exactamundo, Dennis.
Without something telling me how many letters to use, I get confused. Hmm, Crossword Syndrome?
tarrajo, 'colony' in this case means the same a community - an artists' colony, such as Taos, N.M., is where there's a large contingency of them living/working.
Argyle, we all have it to one degree or another.
Kazie: I'm with you - I agree the whole PC thing is overdone. I was just trying to explain the clue. That's why I said "could be considered demeaning". I don't think it is but, you're right, it is that "smaller/less important version of something" that might seem un-PC. But is has really changed over time. I can remember whenever someone talked about a doctor it was assumed the doctor was a man (remember the riddle about the doctor that couldn't care for the patient brought in from an accident involving a father and son). It isn't as true now. But don't get me started on the use of 's/he' or 'he/she' to avoid looking un-PC. One could bemoan the demise of the use of 'one' as an article.
Good morning, everyone.
This one just wasn't fun. It felt more of a slog. Recognized the theme although I couldn't verbalize it, and found it helpful in filling in the blanks. Didn't get fooled on ESS for Sicily's capital? and noted the capital M in Money to get EDIT. For some reason COLONY took a while, and I had to G-spot Xterra maker.
C.C., I'm sure you saw that ROSE is an anagram of EROS, right? That would be "Breast IS a rack," I think. Ditto for me on SYN. Hesitated on MTA -- I always thought that was Boston.
@dennis Fresh Peach ice cream is soooo good!
@anonymous@7:04 Thank you for rep-osting my mis-post. Some days..... Almost posted this on Wednesday's blog as well, LOL!
@argyle Nice recipe to utilize some of that zucchini bounty! The Artist's Colony that comes to my mind is Taos NM.
@mainiac I heard "NOT ME" in my head as well.
@carol See we hit 93 yesterday and are predicted to do it again today. Batten down the hatches and get out the cool drinks!
@tarrajo Lovely gift for C.C. I think see knows we vodka her!
Have a lovely Friday.
Good Morning All, I started out great with the NW corner (that seems to happen a lot on Fridays), and managed to slog through until the bottom SW. I did get AMY TAN, but wanted GARRET instead of COLONY. Then the perps, TAC, EMO, SYL, B-GONE and HOERS eluded me. That made next to impossible to fill in TEST ONE'S MEDDLE. I finally threw in the towel and came here to get those few little stoppers. Did anyone hear my "D'oh!!"?
Latkes made with shredded potatoes, egg, onion and a little matzo meal....fried until crispy and topped with applesauce or a dab of sour cream. They are so delicious. Also a good use of that summer zucchini crop, but I've found the zucchini ones don't get as crispy.
Charley the schipperke was originally named Harley. He was a not very well cared for rescue dog, so we wanted to give him a new start with a new name.
With the EROS/ROSE anagrams, I feel strangely compelled to point out that EROS is SORE spelled backwards...
@al They have a pill for that now!
Good morning, everyone.
I disagree about ette. I heard Rush refer to a professorette, and he truly meant a university professional. That is demeaning. When someone takes a noun and adds ette to it to demean someone I take exception! There are other examples, but not for here or now.
I also agree that outing Valerie Plame was betrayal. That belief has nothing to do with politics; it has to do with one's sense of fair play and ethics.
End of rant.
Cheers. Enjoy this beautiful day.
I would like to know, can anyone delete anothers comment that is posted?
No.
c.c.'s husband.
Good afternoon all,
Worked outside this a.m. and didn't have a chance to do crossword until lunch. Must say I did alot better over lunch than breakfast. May have to try that more often. Still think that generally Friday puzzles are more difficult than Thursday puzzles even though they are both rated 3.
If anyone is interested, there alot of places to download Mahjongg; I use Kyodia Mahjongg and really have fun with it. BTW, Sallie, I totally agree with your two points-well said. Have a great day all.
Good morning CC and all,
I've given this c/w a respectable memorial due to the fact that I had only 10 gimmes on the 1st go around... not enough even for a puzzle perper. I node nada.
CC, you should buy a "Mr. Lincoln" rose. They have long stems and smell divine.
Tahoe? I don't picture it as an artists' colony. It has beaucoup galleries, but not much local art. Has anyone been to Tubac? It is so. of Tucson, and everyone who lives there is an artist. I don't think their streets are even paved.
I drew mostly blanks going down the across list but made enough progress with the downs to build on. Ultimately a satisfying puzzle for me, rewarding patience. I did have to go to the G-man for latkes and Tod Browning. And I made a few lucky guesses that helped.
I actually caught on to the DD replacing TT trend early and thought C.C. might have a link to some photo of a zaftig starlet who had double-D's for TT's.
On second thought, I apologize for that last remark. I guess my mind is in the gudder this morning.
A very attractive couple they are.
As long as we're making rose recommendations,
my vote goes to a variety called "Ingrid Bergman". It is a beautiful red rose (redundant, because all beautiful roses are red), prolific bloomer, long-lasting when cut, and easy to grow (or else I couldn't grow it).
If you must have yellow, there is one called
"Toulouse Lautrec" that is very nice and aromatic to a fault.
Cheery good morning...the fog has arrived...ahhhh. We are going to take a quick jaunt to the County Fair to say Hi to my paintings...it is always fun to see them in situ, so to speak. Pleasanton is always at least 10 degrees hotter, so have been waiting for the fog.
Dan Naddor seems to be the Friday constructor of choice and I hadn't been doing too well the last few weeks. This one actually seemed easier than Thursday's. Had to start in the NE corner and worked around, but actually got the theme and pretty much like all the theme clues/answers. I thought that W meant Bush and after I had a couple of letters...Voila! Totally didn't get ESS until I got here...D'oh!
I think Amy Tan is a Bay Area resident(SF?) and remember the stories about her writing The Joy Luck Club. C.C. thank you for the link on the MLK statue and I had no clue there was an issue about the artist...The arguement that only a person of color should be chosen to sculpt a person of color is absolutely ridiculous! It would mean that I could only paint chubby grey-haired ladies if you follow that line of reasoning out to its most ridulous length...Stoopid!
There have been numerous artist colonies in Calif...Big Sur and Mendicino(both on the coast) are still currently very active. Dennis pretty well covered it. A lot of the areas are very touristy, but that works well if you are trying to sell your work.
I would dearly love to get some of that rain that others are experiencing but it looks like there is an El Nino forming off the coast of S. Amer., so we may get some relief this winter.
C.C...those pictures of you and your husband are adorable...really, you are incredibly cute and you two look very happy...
Great day to all...another busy day in the works.
Well happy Friday to all of you! As usual, I had to go to the SE corner before I got any traction at all. After that it was still a toughie. I DID get most of the long answers but not the theme. As I dislike 'play on word' clues and answers, I did fairly well on this.
(pat on back:)
Crockett, you can bet on the cool drinks later today!! Our A/C is already on and it's only 10:54! Yikes....I'm glad I watered by back yard and tomatoes and containers early.
The front yard is on a sprinkler system, so no worries there.
Kazie, (9:24) good for you!
Elissa, you too.
Sallie,(11:06) I agree with you as well.
So funny about that 'ette' addition to a word...it can be demeaning or refer to something small as in kitchenette. I hate all the PC c--p in our lives today! It just makes all our lives more tense, but I guess it does wonders for the Mrs. Kravatz's among us.
C.C. the pictures of you and your husband are so nice! You make a great couple.
KittyB: love the name "Defer" for your dog! What would you name a cat?
JimmyB: you're comment about the zaftig starlet and today's theme was hilarious. Your mind wasn't too far in the "gudder."
I thought "kiss" instead of "eros."
CC, so great to see you and Boomer. All I can say is cute!
Sallie, loved your rant, agreed wholeheartedly
I applaud all of you who could solve this c/w without help.
Reliving History
1897- 1st ship arrived in Seattle carrying gold from the Yukon.
1917- the British Royal Family changed the family name from Hanover to Windsor
1941- Joe Di Maggio's 56 game hitting streak ended
1955- Disneyland opened. They started construction on the same day, 1 year prior.
1959- Dr Leakey discovered the oldest human skull. ( I think there have been more recent discoveries since Lucy)
1972- 1st 2 women began training as FBI agents at Quantico
1975- Modoc, the elephant, died at age 75-oldest non human mammal
1976- ABA merged into the NBA
This puzzle is an uDDer delight and shows why Dan is published so often.
All the theme answers are clever and fun, and take up a whopping 67 squares of the grid. There are 14 six letter fill words, all interlocked or stacked. There's 2 sets of stacked eight letter words. All this in a 15x puzzle. On top of this there's 4 nice phrases- SLEEP ON, IM DONE, LOOK UP and STAR TREK.
Odd one- The existentialist writer and philosopher SARTRE sits inside of STAR TREK. I always thought of him as a little spacey.
JimmyB, LMAO
As for parenting my kids are at an age now that they know better than to say the words. But I really enjoy when they are pissed at me and stomp up stairs. I always tell them its not quite loud enough. Hee Hee. Wife then wispers "Dadio Assholio!"
Have a great weekend!
Outta here headin' for the beer!!
KittyB and Kelev,
We had a cat we called "Cefer" once. I first got the idea from a radio DJ in Sydney, called Malcolm T. Elliott, whose dog was Defer.
Sallie,
I can see that anything Rush would say could be construed as demeaning for SOMEONE! It all depends on the way words are used and the intent of the speaker. In your example, it was an obvious made-up word intended to be a put-down.
c.c.,
I agree with the others, they certainly are nice photos of you both!
Jerome, I tend not to analyze puzzle construction, so I'm always appreciative of your analysis - makes me see the puzzle in a whole new light; thanks.
Still waiting to hear from Moon - hope things went well today.
No peach ice cream in the freezer, but I did have some peach yogurt that I just popped in there. I'll stir it up several times in the next couple of hours, so it isn't too icy. I'm so looking forward to a dish this evening.
Our coastal California cousins have had a little cool down, but we foothillers are still sweltering. Not even 11 AM yet and our shaded thermometer reads 101. By 2 PM I expect closer to 105. Ten months of the year, we love it here, but July and August are either "get out of Dodge" days, or close it up and turn on the A/C. Most evenings cool down, but we have had the past few nights in the 80's.
Not many roses here. It is too hot and they require too much water. Our luxury item here is the grass in the back yard. Other than that all our plants are low water. Our summer water bill is still a head-shaker. I hope WM is right that some autumn rain will be on the way.
"Yes" to Sallie, Elissa, Carol and Kazie and all the other women who won't be minimized. "Ette" is fine to define gender, as in the cute DF-ette, but no woman would stand to be called a teacherette, doctorette or astronautette.
Very nice photos, C.C.
Oops, Not even 11 AM, should have been changed to 1 PM. I started my last post in the morning and then had a friend drop by for some iced tea before I could finish. She stayed longer than she had intended because it is just too infernally HOT outside.
Dennis- I don't take puzzles too serious. At their most basic they are simply fun little boxes filled with little mysteries (words) that we're challenged to discover. Through a constructor's point of view I like to offer up a perspective that some solvers might miss or not think about. If I analyze it certainly isn't meant to be done in some academic way. Like you and others on this site, I'm just tryin' to have some fun. I'm glad you appreciate my small efforts.
Hi Gang -
Didn't think I'd make through this one. Looked hopeless at first. Perseverance paid off, though. SHUDDER BUGS is quite a stretch, but it was my first theme answer, and helped a lot with the others. Lots of good, fresh fills: IMPELS, NEURAL, EVOLVE.
And, speaking of Rush: DITTO.
But, RESEEK? A quasi word-like letter sequence for the convenience of the constructor. Humbug. And, yes, I know it's in the dictionary. I relooked.
We had an exquisite evening for our concert in the park.
A SET often is an hour's worth of tunes. Alas, I had to get it from the perps.
But, why is the answer to more caring the German word for CHILDREN?
Two granddaughters had an overnight, and are staying with us today. Great fun, but I'm getting tired.
Cheers!
@anonymous@11:31 Thank you for doing the archive digging to come up with the pictures of C.C. and boomer. I hadn't seen them before!
@jerome It's always nice to get your perspective of the puzzle from a constructor's viewpoint. There is so much depth beyond what I see and enjoy. C.C. has been tutoring us, and now we get a guest presenter! Very nice.
@jimmyb That was very funny!
@jazzbumpa Come on gramps, can't let those kiddies get the best of you! I'm surprised that you would need the perps to get SET!
Jazz,
I'm sure you're joking about KINDER, but a good observation nevertheless. ein Kind, more of them -> Kinder. In English, a kind person can be kinder if they try harder--i.e. more kindness, and isn't that what all "Kinder" would need?
Kevlev, our very old cat is called ED. When he adopted us, my stepdaughter named him Edwina Scissorhands, in keeping with his very wicked claws and a swift left. The first doc we saw at the animal hospital told me Ed was a female. The second doc, a few months later, looked at me curiously and asked if she could take the cat back into the lab for a moment. When she returned, she said, "I don't know how to tell you this....but your cat has boy parts." I laughed. Actually, I howled with laughter! Needless to say, we stayed with the second doc and became fast friends.
So, Ed is actually Edward Scissorhands. We didn't want to confuse the dog by calling him "Cefer." Thanks for asking.
Sally, way to go, girl!
C.C., I love the pictures. I bet you make each other's hearts sing. *S*
Love the cat story, KittyB. My grandmother found a tiny, tiny kitten that she assumed was a male so she named it Tiny Tim. When she took it to the vet, she found out it was actually female, so she changed the name to KatieTim.
My cat's name is the same as my name ~ Hahtool.
26:00 today. I never could get the SW corner as COLONY wouldn't come to mind and EMO is a total unknown to this country music fan. I found all the theme entries to be clever and entertaining and generally enjoyed the puzzle except for that darn COLONY.
@jerome: Thanks so much for your analyses of the puzzles. I really enjoy reading about cluing/construction issues, especially since I've never constructed a puzzle myself (though I have read a lot of books about constructing, and crosswords in general).
I agree with @c.c. that Notting Hill is a very enjoyable romantic comedy.
No dogs here, though we had cocker spaniels in our family when I was a child. They were all named after composers, etc. Our favorite was "Mozart". His mom was my grandmother's cocker and was named "Bebop" (after the music style).
I came into the cat kingdom when I started dating my wife 42 years ago, and we have had cats ever since (currently only one after "Shadow" died a couple of months ago at age 22--super old for a cat). Our cat is white with black splotches and we named her "Yin". She had a brother, "Yang" who was black with white splotches (he fell victim to the coyotes in our area).
Hello All--My brain was mushy today. I had a hard time with this puzzle and came back to it several times. I had to g-spot and come here to finish it up.
Total unknowns were Eno, and Sri, and Enos. I just couldn't get my mind around Xterra as I was looking for a computer game maker, not car maker. I also had pastry dough in mind for tarps, put in carts when that wouldn't work, then came here for help. All in all my brain was scrambled.
With all the information on kissing last evening, I though kiss might fit for Eros, but that wouldn't work either.
Such lovely pictures of you and your husband C.C.
When I think of an artist colony I think of Ojai, CA. Still a small town and working artists abound.
Not it to me is still the ultimate playground assertion. Is too (Is not) is reserved for bickering bothers and sisters! I told you my brain was scrambled today.
@Kazie, It seems the "C for Cat" and "D for Dog" names are an Aussie thing. I have it on good authority from an acquaintence (an Oncologist in Victoria) that they are pronounced Ceefa and Deefa. His daughter had a little lamb that he helped name "Legga". Now if I could only figure out what a Galah is, and why it would be named Hedfa. We won't need to get into the dangers of drop bears and sickle-tooth stabadagas I hope...
Al,
Here's the scoop on galahs. Be sure to read the bottom part as well on the slang usage. They're actually very beautiful in the outback if you see a whole flock of them in flight. But they are generally thought of as stupid birds. I have no idea why one would get the name Hedfa (unless Head for the [hills]?)
I'm wondering if Malcolm T. started the ceefer/deefer trend? It was in 1971 that I first started listening to him, and last I checked he was still working.
Chickie, You brought back some nice memories of Ojai. My daughter attended Ojai's Happy Valley School and graduated in 1980. Ojai was quite the artists' haven from the 1940's and beyond. My daughter was very fortunate to take several ceramics classes from the well-known artist and potter, Beatrice Wood. Sadly, my daughter didn't have much of a knack, even with the famous teacher. After Ms. Wood died a few years ago at the age of 105 (let's all move to Ojai!!), she left a large portion of her estate and collection to the school, which is now known as Besant Hill School. The school is doing very well!
GAH and I had our first 15 anniversary dinners at the Ranch House in Ojai. It is a beautiful town and is one of the places I missed most after we moved north.
Good evening all. C.C: You and Boomer do look wonderful together. Great pix.
Embiem: My Schipperke was named Fledermaus because when I got her and was lying on the floor to play, she came leaping on me. I said to my self, "You look just like a bat." Tada. Fledermaus. ( I am an opera fan.)
I just heard that Walter Cronkite died.
CA: One of my daughters lives in Ojai and has raised her family there. They love the small town atmosphere.
WM: Amy Tan is also a San Jose State U. grad. I'm not sure of the year, but the early 70's. Her book "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is an excellent read.
I just heard a breaking news item that Walter Cronkite has just died. He had such a long and distinguished career in broadcasting. He was 92 years old.
Crockett -
The kids ALWAYS get my best. They generally have their A game on for me, too.
Kazie -
Really, it's true -- KINDER is German for children. ;-)
But, yes, being kinder to KINDER gets everything off to a good start. Not bad for everyone else, too.
C.C - as many have said, great pix - and you do great job with this blog.
Hatool -
Cronkite was one of the real journalists, like we don't have any more.
The Oscar Meyer Weinermobile crashed into a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090718/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_wienermobile_wreck;_ylt=AmYqdqKeGOhzE.IYlQOaV.B34T0D;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1NDFjOGRqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNzE4L3VzX29kZF93aWVuZXJtb2JpbGVfd3JlY2sEcG9zAzkEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNvc2Nhcm1heWVyd2k-">house in Wisconsin.
Yikes!
Here's another try at that link.
house
No dogs now -- just Leo the cat. However, at one time, I had 4 dogs (Terri, Allspice, Gen-Gen, Lucy, Peppermint Patty), 2 cats (Jeep and ??), a rabbit (Robert), a nutria (Hoppy), and probably a couple of unnamed chinchillas. It was a real menagerie.
Jazz,
I meant that you were joking in wondering as to why it was the answer--I figured you knew. I wasn't doubtful that it meant children.
I have been watching the Walter Cronkhite retrospective too. Sad that they aren;t still as principled as he was.
Kazie -
I know. Hence the emoticon. Just couldn't resist taking it another step. I'm weak that way.
Cheers!
Hi all, I am going through LGJ withdrawl. I just put him on a plane to visit his Grandma and Papa for TWO WEEKS. He's excited as they live on a lake and he can fish with Papa everyday and I know he will eat like a King as my Mom is an excellent cook. I am still not sure what to do with myself though. Any ideas? The house is very silent all of a sudden.
Tarrajo -
When my girls were young and away for a week or so I would clean their closets, dressers, and rooms from top to bottom. I'd paint the walls, wax the floors etc so when they came home everything would be spic and span. They still talk about how they looked forward to seeing what I had done while they were gone.
Noooo!!! Not the weinermobile! Dammit, that was gonna be my retirement job.
Crockett, "possibly a couple of unnamed chinchillas"?? Were they unsure?
Tarrajo: Lord have mercy, girl, email me for suggestions...put on your seatbelt.
@tarrajo Two whole weeks?! You could re-paint his room in some gnarly color that he'd love and really surprise him when he gets home. Take some serious personal time while you have the opportunity. When in doubt, read.
I think we've seen the last of tarrajo...
@dennis I'm not really sure if we had the chins at the same time as the others, but it certainly seemed that way!
Sallie, Charley is our second Schipperke. They are the best little dogs. GAH has always been a dog person and I can't imagine that there will be a time when we don't have one. Of course, as we have grown older the pooches have grown smaller. When we first got together we had Dalmatians and now we are down to Schips. Who knows if Chihuahuas are in our future?
tarrajo, good suggestions, all. Just be sure to enjoy a couple of luxury, "it's all about me" sleep-in days. Mothers of young children don't get enough of those.
Crockett, Did I ever tell you the story about the aunt who raised chinchillas in her garage and when she got tired of it, set them all loose (maybe 200 of them) in Los Angeles' Griffith Park?
@clearayes No, you didn't tell me about that aunt. My goodness, I imagine that caused quite an imbalance in the eco-system for a while! 200?!
'Nite all, I'm fairly sure that's my 5 and out. See you tomorrow.
Like others, I thought of ROSE instead of EROS but originally put in RING. Enjoyed UN-PC after I finally got it. Got parts of the theme clues -- NODDING HILL, MEDDLE, PUDDING -- but took some time to get the whole answers.
We often finish the puzzle late in the evening so my comments are written very late. Does anyone read them?
The trick to good zucchini latkes is squeezing out as much moisture as possible. The trick to good potato latkes is grating the potatoes. Many people (including my mother)make the batter in the blender but the grated pieces of potato are better. The blender method works well if you are making very large batches. Make sure the pan and oil are hot or the first side of the first batch will be undercooked.
Tarrajo--Enjoy the peace and quiet and sleep late. Start a project or try a craft you don't normally have time for. Unless your child is very young, I wouldn't re-decorate or paint his room without him. My son (now a college graduate) has a fit when I even go in his room to deliver clean laundry. When he was little, I cleaned out drawers and closets and organized things but I wouldn't know where to start now and he would hate the "intrusion."
Dennis, you've not seen the last of Tarrajo...remember LGJ is the guy on vacation. I still have to work the upcoming two weeks; I'll just have to adjust. Lois, I will definitely e-mail you with questions on WTF to do with myself now. Do you know any cowboys in MN?
Crockett, Brady is really particular about his room as I made him help me paint last time around. He picked one wall purple and the other gold...go figure.
MamaRuth: Sometimes I read the late night posts before I go to bed; sometimes I read them in the morning to see if I missed something; sometimes I skip the whole thing.
Tarrajo, so finally your kid is with two people who can raise him correctly. Maybe you should have thought about that before you taxed your state to help provide for him. Signed MN taxpayer.
Anon, go away. You don't know that Tarrajo has taken any MN taxpayers help and to assume that is assinine. From what I understand from her profile is she has a respectable job and claims she has a home. If she got help to get in her home so be it. Get off her back. As far as I can tell she's doing and done the best she can and seems like a good parent. It can't be easy to live her life, so get off her back once and forall.
Another MN taxpayer.
Signing my name, J Peterson Owatonna.
Dennis...its okay...they are going to repair the house and the Weinermobile...I remember when little Oscar came to the area...I think I was a teensy kid. Your dream retirement job still awaits.
Tarrajo...bite your tongue and hum for bit until the urge to answer stupidity passes...we've got your back. As does the second anon@12:49
MamaRuth..many of us check the previous nights posts and us WestCoasters have extra hours to play catch up.
Nighty Nite.
WM, thanks for the advice. I still don't know why these anons come after me though. I posted twice today. Once about the puzzle the other about already missing my son.
Thanks, J Peterson from Owatonna, MN and all else that "have my back." I really do try my best and question most every step.
Anon 12:34
WTF! Lay off aleady. Your act has gotten stale.
Surely there are other blogs that you can spew your crap on. Your posts are immature, unwanted, and unnecessary.
Get a clue. We don't want you here.
Tarrajo has received and earned our respect. Something you will never have.
@Tarrajo: we who have gotten to know you here, ALL of us have your back! I just got off the phone with one of the comedians I mentor--he had a good set tonight, but he let a heckler get under his skin, so we had a chat about "thick skin" and realizing that not everyone is going to love/appreciate him all the time: the funny thing is that we'd had pretty much the same talk when a woman he'd been dating showed him the door. You (and he) already know that stuff, but sometimes maybe we all need to be reminded! Most of the best lessons I've learned have needed an occasional refresher.
Do take some TJ time & enjoy a good movie or book, make what YOU like for dinner, for a change, etc.!
Time for me to rest up for the Saturday puzzle, the farmers' market, & company.
Night, all!
Tarajo--There is nothing like parenthood to make a person question everything they thought they knew. Just remember there are no correct answers and do the best you can.
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