Theme: Set In
17A: 1988 biopic about Dian Fossey, literally: THE GORILLAS MIST (Gorillas in the Mist)
27A: It's too important to ignore, literally: THE ELEPHANT ROOM (Elephant in the Room)
49A: Kids' ball game, literally: THE MONKEY MIDDLE (Monkey in the Middle)
65A: Metaphorical philosophical conflict used as an album title by The Police, literally: THE GHOST MACHINE (Ghost in the Machine)
Difficult puzzle for me. I did not get the theme until I cheated and solved the grid. I had only noticed the THE in front of each theme answer.
Out of the four theme entries, "elephant in the room" is the only familiar phrase to me. Then I realized the constructor simply changed the order of the phrase and literally placed ELEPHANT in THE ROOM.
The last one is a bit odd. Maybe Jeff Chen could not find a 15-letter "Animal in the __" phrase. Can you?
Quite a few clever clues. My favorite is ADS (67D: Pitches between innings?). Excellent sales pitch.
Across:
1A: Powerful court opponent: ACER. Tennis court.
5A: Remote location?: SOFA. Remote control.
9A: City near Syracuse: UTICA. And DOME (42D: Carrier __: Syracuse stadium). Very interesting, Wikipedia says there is no airconditioning in the Carrier DOME due to the weather.
14A: Bay relative: COVE
15A: Surefooted goat: IBEX. The wild mountain goat with recurved horns. Why "surefooted"?
16A: Frigid: POLAR. STIFF would be a great answer too.
20A: Navigational aid: SONAR
22A: Oenophile's word: OAKY. Oeno is goddess of wine. I like how it crosses CASK (12D: Large container). Wish it clued as "Wine vessel".
23A: Race unit: LAP. And EAR (25A: Corn unit). Nice consecutive "unit" clues. Then TOE (45D: Corn site). A pair of different corns.
37A: Barber's device: STROP
38A: "Sicko" filmmaker Michael: MOORE. "Sicko" is too negative. Dcumentaries are supposed to be objective.
39A: Commotion: STIR. And SIRED (41A: Brought into being) & WHIR (43A: Blender sound). Three IR answers in this row (#8).
44A: Acclaim: ECLAT. Thought of WM (Kathleen Wolf). Eager to see her interview next week. What she has achieved is stunning.
46A: Kind of drive: CD-ROM. I was in the golf drive direction.
52A: __ green: PEA. Isn't strange that pea coat is always navy blue color?
53A: Source of low-fat meat: EMU. My goodness, I did not know EMU is a source of food.
54A: Pop: SODA. Sounds silly, but I really did not know what POP is when I first arrived in Minnesota.
57A: Chuck: TOSS
61A: Not happy: IRKED
68A: Archer, at times: AIMER. Not fond of the er repetition. "To love, in Paris" is much better. AIMER is French for "love", verb. Je t'aime, mon amour.
69A: Musician's forte?: LOUD. Musical "forte", as opposed to piano (soft).
71A: Subject of a promise to deliver, with "the": GOODS. Deliver the GOODS. I kept thinking of Exodus.
73A: Lion's share: MOST. So much power is concentrated in the hands of so few.
Down:
1D: John follower: ACTS. Books of Bible. I can never remember the order.
2D: Small salmon: COHO
3D: Fifty-fifty: EVEN. What was I thinking? I wanted HALF, which is 50%.
4D: Wine and dine: REGALE
5D: Paul McCartney, e.g.: SIR. Nick Faldo is now a SIR too.
6D: Decorative Eastern accessories: OBIS. Loved "Band from Asia" (OBI) clue last time.
7D: Experienced: FELT
8D: Hot rod rod: AXEL. Saw identical clue before. Still like it.
9D: Bulls' predictions: UPS. "Bears' predictions" is DOWNS.
10D: Song that begins "The sun'll come out": TOMORROW. The only "Annie" song that I know.
11D: Pelvic bones: ILIA
13D: Affectedly cultural: ARTY
18D: Hurdles for would-be doctors: ORALS. Oh, doctor degree. I was thinking of physicians.
24D: Guinea pigs, maybe: PETS
26D: Green dispenser: ATM. Green is slang for money.
27D: Tube, so to speak: TV SET
28D: Thumb: HITCH. Short for hitchhike?
29D: Novelist Zola: EMILE. "J'accuse".
30D: Blood test feature: PRICK. Ouch!
31D: Throng: HORDE
32D: Impressionist's skill: APERY. And MIMIC (47D: Copy)
33D: Marveled audibly: OOHED. Aahed too.
34D: Projecting window: ORIEL
35D: Country Music Hall of Famer ___ Travis: MERLE. No idea. What's his most famous song?
40D: Rushed violently: RAMPAGED
50D: Alb. and Cros. joined in 4/1/2009: NATO. Nailed it.
51D: North Carolina college town: DURHAM. Duke University.
54D: Alone: STAG
55D: Home to Columbus: OHIO. I used to confuse Buckeye with Hawkeye.
56D: Audition handout: DEMO
58D: 1952 Olympics host: OSLO. Formerly Christiania.
59D: Knock off: STOP
60D: Blue books?: SMUT. We call off-color books "yellow books" in China.
63D: Son of Seth: ENOS. Or "Slaughter in Cooperstown".
64D: Debugging application?: DEET. D'oh, the real bug.
66D: Store posting: Abbr.: HRS
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: 1988 biopic about Dian Fossey, literally: THE GORILLAS MIST (Gorillas in the Mist)
27A: It's too important to ignore, literally: THE ELEPHANT ROOM (Elephant in the Room)
49A: Kids' ball game, literally: THE MONKEY MIDDLE (Monkey in the Middle)
65A: Metaphorical philosophical conflict used as an album title by The Police, literally: THE GHOST MACHINE (Ghost in the Machine)
Difficult puzzle for me. I did not get the theme until I cheated and solved the grid. I had only noticed the THE in front of each theme answer.
Out of the four theme entries, "elephant in the room" is the only familiar phrase to me. Then I realized the constructor simply changed the order of the phrase and literally placed ELEPHANT in THE ROOM.
The last one is a bit odd. Maybe Jeff Chen could not find a 15-letter "Animal in the __" phrase. Can you?
Quite a few clever clues. My favorite is ADS (67D: Pitches between innings?). Excellent sales pitch.
Across:
1A: Powerful court opponent: ACER. Tennis court.
5A: Remote location?: SOFA. Remote control.
9A: City near Syracuse: UTICA. And DOME (42D: Carrier __: Syracuse stadium). Very interesting, Wikipedia says there is no airconditioning in the Carrier DOME due to the weather.
14A: Bay relative: COVE
15A: Surefooted goat: IBEX. The wild mountain goat with recurved horns. Why "surefooted"?
16A: Frigid: POLAR. STIFF would be a great answer too.
20A: Navigational aid: SONAR
22A: Oenophile's word: OAKY. Oeno is goddess of wine. I like how it crosses CASK (12D: Large container). Wish it clued as "Wine vessel".
23A: Race unit: LAP. And EAR (25A: Corn unit). Nice consecutive "unit" clues. Then TOE (45D: Corn site). A pair of different corns.
37A: Barber's device: STROP
38A: "Sicko" filmmaker Michael: MOORE. "Sicko" is too negative. Dcumentaries are supposed to be objective.
39A: Commotion: STIR. And SIRED (41A: Brought into being) & WHIR (43A: Blender sound). Three IR answers in this row (#8).
44A: Acclaim: ECLAT. Thought of WM (Kathleen Wolf). Eager to see her interview next week. What she has achieved is stunning.
46A: Kind of drive: CD-ROM. I was in the golf drive direction.
52A: __ green: PEA. Isn't strange that pea coat is always navy blue color?
53A: Source of low-fat meat: EMU. My goodness, I did not know EMU is a source of food.
54A: Pop: SODA. Sounds silly, but I really did not know what POP is when I first arrived in Minnesota.
57A: Chuck: TOSS
61A: Not happy: IRKED
68A: Archer, at times: AIMER. Not fond of the er repetition. "To love, in Paris" is much better. AIMER is French for "love", verb. Je t'aime, mon amour.
69A: Musician's forte?: LOUD. Musical "forte", as opposed to piano (soft).
71A: Subject of a promise to deliver, with "the": GOODS. Deliver the GOODS. I kept thinking of Exodus.
73A: Lion's share: MOST. So much power is concentrated in the hands of so few.
Down:
1D: John follower: ACTS. Books of Bible. I can never remember the order.
2D: Small salmon: COHO
3D: Fifty-fifty: EVEN. What was I thinking? I wanted HALF, which is 50%.
4D: Wine and dine: REGALE
5D: Paul McCartney, e.g.: SIR. Nick Faldo is now a SIR too.
6D: Decorative Eastern accessories: OBIS. Loved "Band from Asia" (OBI) clue last time.
7D: Experienced: FELT
8D: Hot rod rod: AXEL. Saw identical clue before. Still like it.
9D: Bulls' predictions: UPS. "Bears' predictions" is DOWNS.
10D: Song that begins "The sun'll come out": TOMORROW. The only "Annie" song that I know.
11D: Pelvic bones: ILIA
13D: Affectedly cultural: ARTY
18D: Hurdles for would-be doctors: ORALS. Oh, doctor degree. I was thinking of physicians.
24D: Guinea pigs, maybe: PETS
26D: Green dispenser: ATM. Green is slang for money.
27D: Tube, so to speak: TV SET
28D: Thumb: HITCH. Short for hitchhike?
29D: Novelist Zola: EMILE. "J'accuse".
30D: Blood test feature: PRICK. Ouch!
31D: Throng: HORDE
32D: Impressionist's skill: APERY. And MIMIC (47D: Copy)
33D: Marveled audibly: OOHED. Aahed too.
34D: Projecting window: ORIEL
35D: Country Music Hall of Famer ___ Travis: MERLE. No idea. What's his most famous song?
40D: Rushed violently: RAMPAGED
50D: Alb. and Cros. joined in 4/1/2009: NATO. Nailed it.
51D: North Carolina college town: DURHAM. Duke University.
54D: Alone: STAG
55D: Home to Columbus: OHIO. I used to confuse Buckeye with Hawkeye.
56D: Audition handout: DEMO
58D: 1952 Olympics host: OSLO. Formerly Christiania.
59D: Knock off: STOP
60D: Blue books?: SMUT. We call off-color books "yellow books" in China.
63D: Son of Seth: ENOS. Or "Slaughter in Cooperstown".
64D: Debugging application?: DEET. D'oh, the real bug.
66D: Store posting: Abbr.: HRS
Answer grid.
C.C.
Groan.
ReplyDeleteI cheated, of course: I used google to get THE GORILLA MIST and THE GHOST MACHINE and then followed the pattern to get the other two.
The last one is a bit odd. Maybe Jeff Chen could not find a 15-letter "Animal in the __" phrase. Can you?
How about The Cat in the Hat? But THE CAT HAT is only nine letters.
Anyway, I wanted AWAY for SOFA, RAZOR for STROP, OIL for EEL, MSATS for ORALS, GATT for NATO and SHIP for OHIO. I'm ashamed to admit that I saw the clue "Paul McCartney, e.g." and my first thought was OLD.
Wasn't DEMO recently the answer for "Part of a rep's pitch"? Here this DEMO is actually a recording handed out by the person auditioning, specifically by a singer who wants to show the casting director how well he or she can sing. Hmm. That's not how they do it on American Idol.
Martin
Toad in the hole
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, fellow solvers,
ReplyDeleteI found this puzzle to be like the result of a hard bicycle seat, literally: THE PAIN BACKSIDE.
But that isn't an animal.
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
Unfortunately, sheep's being a contraction leaves it out of contention.
I had corn site as ROW for awhile but it wouldn't fly, just like an emu. I haven't seen any emu meat in the supermarkets but you might buy it online, I suppose.
A thought for the day: If at first you don't succeed, you probably shouldn't become a bomb disposal technician.
Off to get my son's wisdom teeth cut out, so will have to do the puzzle later.
ReplyDeleteHappy holiday to everyone if I do not get the time to get back on today.
WM - I just remembered. It was you that had the interview wasn't it? You were going to send me a link if it was is in the newspaper. You must do that!!!
Good morning, all.
ReplyDeleteI met my match today. At 30 minutes, I've had to throw my hands in the air and say "I give!" I still had not finished the far SW corner. I missed SODA, THE GHOST, AIMER and PAG of RAMPAGED. I also had difficulty with the K in OAKY. Once it fell into place, I realized that it had to do with wine, but I hadn't been able to recall what an 'oenophile' was.
WM, I'm eager to hear all about the show. I'm sure it will go well!
I have a busy day, so I'd better get on with it. If I can't squeeze in the time to visit, I hope that you all have a pleasant Fourth of July.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteWe drove through rain to the Park last night, but it was dry when we got there. We started off with the National Anthem, then Americans We,, a nice march by Henry Filmore. Then it started raining. I was on the covered part of the stage, and didn't realize until the end, when we closed with Stars and Stripes Forever. It was intermittent light rain/mist in between. Everybody stayed - all 500 or so in the audience. When we were done, the rain stopped. My fan club was there in force, and we all went across the street to the Dairy King for ice cream.
Jerome - I toasted you with a medium vanilla-orange sherbet swirl cone. Beer also works.
We're off to T-town. I'll do the puzzle in the car. Still overcast and cool here.
Cheers!
After a tough day where I did not even attempt a crossword puzzle, I came back for this! I managed to finish in 26:39 without any g’s, but it was hard work. After 10 minutes and very few filled spaces, I almost threw in the towel, but the theme appeared in the MIST, and I logged my way through.
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with all the controversy about the Philosophy of Rene Descartes, but I eventually saw the G_ost and , then the puzzle was done GHOST IN THE MACHINE .
No golf for clues, but finally, C.C., a good round from LAURA DIAZ .
Did not like ACER AIMER or APERY; liked HITCH, SMUT and ADS.
Have a safe and fun week end
Good morning, all -
ReplyDeleteAnd it is a better morning than last Wednesday when I got a message from Microsoft to update Internet Explorer. Of course, I did update and restarted the computer.....and voila, I couldn't get on the Internet at all! Lost IE plus all the bookmarks, tool bars, etc. Mainly all the goodies, such as HP Smart Web Printing. Tech support helped me get on Firefox....guess I'll get used to it in time....old dog, new tricks, etc.
Today's puzzle was doable, but took a looooong time! I thought 'green dispenser' ATM was a great clue....after the fact.
Gotta go. Company arrives shortly.
Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July.
I had no fun today. Got most of the top third, a smattering elsewhere, g'ed a few with minimal success and gave up. Specific issues not worth listing, but everywhere there were several possibilities, I had the wrong ones. Never got the theme, and only solved the first one without understanding the principle of it. Never heard of monkey in the middle (I think my kids called it "piggy"), and wiki didn't list the Police album in 65A.
ReplyDeleteAargh! The weather is too good to waste more time on this today.
Groan...I think losing wisdom teeth might be easier than this puzzle. In Chicago, we grew up with "pop" & rarely heard "soda." Soda to us meant an ice cream soda--my favorate.
ReplyDeleteMy best "pop" story is about my older brother--3 years my senior at 80. He went to a nice ribs place and ordered: "I'd like a full order of ribs and a Coca Cola with my meal." The waiter came back almost immediately with the Coca Cola and said, "Don't drink it til your ribs arrive."
(I got knocked off google again and had to resign in with that goofy copy these letters--which were impossible to read--directive)
Good Morning All, Thank goodness I was up a little late last night and did the Cruciverb version. It was a pretty long slog. I had heard all of the theme clues before and with a lot of perp help got them filled in.
ReplyDeletePerps were messing with my brain for a while. TYPES was my "Blood test feature" and APERY was a "what the heck is that?" word.
I had RANDY Travis for CM Hall of Famer for a looonnngg time. I'm not a country music follower and I had never heard of Merle Travis. The only other Merle I know is Merle Haggard.
When my brain is more awake, I'll check out Lemonade's GHOST link. It is a little too early for philosophy for me! That is definitely a two cups of coffee subject.
We've had an ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM a few times on this blog. Luckily, he has always had a big enough door to back out gracefully.
"Corn site" was a very tricky clue for TOE, after we had EAR for "Corn unit"
Aren't archers always AIMERs? If it were only "at times", the history of William Tell, Robin Hood and most of the Crusades would have turned out very differently. Well, maybe Jeff Chen was borrowing ANNE ARCHER from yesterday.
Martin...Paul McCartney, old? True perhaps, but please don't remind us!
Vern, keep the stories coming. LOL
Speaking of LOL, our OHIO fill reminded me of Buckeye. Don't stay away too long, Bro.
@CA, Apparently Longfellow didn't aim:
ReplyDeleteI shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth I know not where.
But since he's long dead, I would hope that other archers don't follow his example...
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThis was a Friday puzzle for sure! I never did understand the theme. Had to look at the answers a few times (I print those out too, just in case I start to pull too much hair out). 'Course that would save money on trips to the hairdresser! LOL.
Shouldn't 6D indicate a plural, as "Decorative Eastern accessories"? OBIS is plural.
I have never heard of Monkey's Middle either...wondering what era that was from.
Still don't understand 69A Musician's forte...Loud?? How come that is a forte?
Interesting how prick and horde are crossed by sired. :o
Martin & Argyle,
ReplyDeleteThink of some dragon, tiger or lion phrases. Argyle, thanks for the great Exxon information the other day.
Anonymous @4:59pm,
Is my blog entry too long for you too?
Scooter,
Sylvia Bursztyn will be back in mid-July.
Kazie,
I checked, Tyro is rooted in Latin "tyro/tiro", meaning new recruit.
Happy tres de julio!
ReplyDeleteBlue books and pitches between innings were my favorites today. I never could align my thinking with Mr. Chen so it was tough sledding today. I did manage to finish with only one error. I put case instead of cask which gave me oaey for the oenophile word. Since I didn't know what I was looking for, it seemed okay to me. Hee!
The one real quibble I have is with 6D. Shouldn't the clue be accessories since they want the answer in the plural form? It took the longest time for me to add the s to obi. Oh well, such is life.
Have a great long weekend! Hasta luego
carol: Monkey in the middle is a children's game. It's like keep away.
ReplyDeleteJerome,
ReplyDeleteI think your 7:54pm response to Argyle's LIKE A ROCK illustrated my "All EAR's are split between two words" well. What I meant is that all the themed EARS are split between 2 rather than 3 words. Thanks for kaiser/tsar/Czar & Caesar connection.
KQ,
I was hit by a shank also. Not sure if will go to Hazeltine this time. WM's interview is next Friday.
Tarrajo & Jeannie & Clear Ayes,
I've never made egg rolls myself, as I am gluten-sensitive. I don't use sauce in my cooking either. Hot oil & julienned veggies/seafood & a quick stir-fry. That's all. Also Jeannie, sesame oil is not suitable for cooking. It's for salad.
JimmyB, Zac & Zabradan,
ReplyDeleteWelcome. Do chime in, even if you have only one cent to add. In this economy, every penny counts!
Vern,
I enjoy your posts very much. You sound like a fun guy.
Al,
Re: "Smelly flower?": ODOR?
@C.C. Close. ODER (the German river). A pun.
ReplyDelete@Carol, Forte is Italian for loud.
It is also in a sense means "strength", which can mean both loud or "good at".
The instrument which we call a piano is actually a pianoforte (soft-loud) because you can vary the dynamics by pressing harder or softer on the keys with your fingering technique, as opposed to a harpsichord which only plays at a set volume level depending on which foot pedal is held down.
Here are the other dynamic music terms.
How can I resist posting the poem In Defense of Fort McHenry which was written in 1814, by Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you will all recognize the first verse. There are three other, rather obscure verses, although only a handful of us really older folks can (might, perhaps, hopefully) sing the last verse beginning with "O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand"
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
The poem vividly describes, bombs, rockets, battle, blood and death. Maybe not the best image we would want our children to have of ourselves as a nation.
This poem was set to the music of a British drinking song "The Anacreontic Song". 18th century Americans must have been higher voiced and more determined that we are, because it is famously unsingable in its 1 1/2 octave range.
To get around the difficulty of singing it, many of us have just stopped. It is too often performed in stadiums by rock groups, rappers, guitar virtuosos and musical showoffs, who give it a romantic ballad twist with a little bit of yodel effect tossed in for good measure (YUCK!). Is it time (I think so) to give up on it and make it either My Country Tis Of Thee, (OK, it has the same tune as God Save The Queen, but that is no worse than an English drinking song) or, how about America The Beautiful, a very singable song?
I remember back when I was young and TV stations used to actually sign off at night, they played TSSB and then went dark or to a test pattern. I can't remember the exact details, but one station used to play the third verse with a female singer and an acoustic guitar in a very pretty folk-song type arrangement. They had to stop doing it because of complaints from (apparently ignorant) people about the "communistic corruption" that was being perpetrated by "changing the words" to the song.
ReplyDeleteHere's the third verse:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Lola, thanks for the info on the Monkey's Middle. It must be a regional name.
ReplyDeleteAl, thank you too for the musical info. I (obviously) know nothing about music.
CA, very well said about groups, etc fracturing our National Anthem...it never ceases to amaze me how many times they can ruin it.
Good Afternoon All,
ReplyDeletePreparations for the fourth and many, many storm water issues have kept me from puzzling. Taking a quick look at the comments from the last two days I don't think I missed much.
I have to work this weekend. The Town is starting to fill up and we are having one of the few fireworks displays in the area. Hope the weather holds. Part of the family is coming to visit Mom. Her new knee is doing well but she's pushing herself too hard. Man is she stubborn.
Happy 4th everyone! Be safe!
Morning All...Toughie today. I started it last night watching TV and basically played around with it until 11pm, when I was ready to go to the LAT website and print off the answers...at which point I filled the remaining spaces and completely surprised myself...got the TA DA in my head.:o)
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you, and you are just amazing!!! I did figure out that everything was missing "in the" but never truly got the meaning until I came here..D'oh! Very clever. The Gorillas Mist helped me on the way to the theme fills.
I also had CASE and had to change, Like CA I could only think of Randy Travis. Liked remote location clue, musician's forte, and kind of drive. Again, on finishing, none of the answers were tough...just the clues.
CA, I'm with you on changing our Nat'l Anthem and would vote for either one and I think both glorify the the good things about our country.
C.C. I agree that all goats are sure-footed...haven't heard of any sliding down hills...even dairy dairy goats are very agile.
SouthernBelle...I also changed over to IE8 and it blocks me from downloading photos and I have to load them as files...it has a weird security system that we have tried to override...sigh
Well, this will most like be it for me today...lots to do. Since some of our blog friends will be joining us this evening I will try to post some photos as my avatar over the next week.
Great Day to you all! Hope Dennis is having an awesome time. Good to see you Lemonade...and thank you so much to everyone for your enthusiasm...it means a lot! :o)
CC - great call on the theme. I never did figure that out, but knew right away that the biopic was Gorillas in the Mist. Funny, how I didn't find the puzzle nearly as difficult as I expected today to be, but still couldn't capture the theme.
ReplyDeleteFavorite clues were Green Dispenser ATM and Corn site TOE.
I believe that an IBEX would be sure-footed as they manage the crags in the mountains well. One would have to be sure footed to do that when all you have is hooves.
Interesting observation on Moore's "pseudo" documentaries. I agree with you, and don't care for his work much. However, I think many documentaries these days have an angle they are trying to present.
Being an avid Hawkeye fan, it saddens me that you would confuse them with the Buckeye's. However, I suspect Buckeye would disagree wholeheartedly. Buckeye, where are you anyway? We miss you.
Hi C.C. & gang, -- once my wife got the theme it turned out to be an easier puzzle than a normal Friday?
ReplyDeleteRe:Alpine Ibex
"These ibex are strong jumpers and sure-footed climbers, which allows them to move with ease in their mountainous abode"
MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE was the scourge of all youngest of three brothers growing up in New England. It is not like keep away, it is keep away, and when you are shorter than eveyone else, you actually never get anything but frustrated. We had some sun here in the "sunshine state" but it has left the building, and so have I. WM, you are the best.
ReplyDeleteAl, LOL, thanks for the Longfellow reminder.
ReplyDeleteAlso, An early '50's memory of my father standing up in the living room (YES, can you believe it, at home!) while TSSB was played on the TV at sign off time.
Jazzbumpa, Remind Sammi that it will get better. The discomfort will lessen. Our 10 year GD Rachael has changed her band color several times as fashion statements. She is going with green at the moment, but pink, purple and orange have been in her mouth wardrobe.
C.C. thank you too, for the chinese cooking tips. I'll try sauceless stir fry. I've never had sesame oil for salad. Do you mix it with vinegar? You remind us that what we get in most Chinese restaurants, although tasty is not authentic.
Have a wonderful evening WM. REGALE (Mirriam Webster #2 def. : to give pleasure or amusement to) us with a nice lost post describing your triumph.
Good morning CC and all,
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I did not see a pattern, except for the THE, so I came here and cheated on monkey middle (never heard of it either, Carol) and ghost machine.I have admired Dian Fossey and Jane Goodal for years.I'd rather have a gorilla that a guinea pig for a pet.For emu I wanted to put eel, but it was already spoken for.Thought of PEZ for gr. dispenser.not really
Anyway, it was a hard one today. It's impossible for me to calculate time, because on these beautiful days, I don't sit for long at a time..little things to do, like dead head roses, water the tomatoes,cucumbers,etc,feed the birds,...
BTW, how is experienced felt?
sofa took awhile to grok.Kept looking at your explanation, CC, until it clicked.DOH
I s'pose "service ender" has been used before but I liked it.
Merle was a good guess, very country, don't ya think?
Jazzbumpa, your show sounded great! Wish we could have been there.
Hello All--I was truly surprised that this Friday puzzle was easy for me. I got three of the four theme entries early on and that helped. I kept wanting another animal for the fourth, but it wouldn't appear. After I finished the puzzle I Googled Ghost machine and the aha moment of "in the" hit me.
ReplyDeleteI liked the tube clue=TV Set, also Pitches between innings=ads. I left out deet for the longest time trying to fit in a computer programming bug of some sort.
Carol: I'm not sure what era Monkey in the Middle Comes from but when I started teaching in the middle 1950's it was a playground game and it is still played at our school today. Same name and all.
Hello, all. What a grand day this is starting out to be. The new vertical blinds are installed, old stuff gotten rid of, the house is open and breezy, summer is here in So. Calif.!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was #5, SOFA for remote location.
I associate "blue books" with the little books with blue covers filled with notebook paper (purchased in the college book store), in which to write our college essay exams. I was floored by the question on my first essay exam ever and turned in an empty blue book.
I agree that documentaries should be more positive. Just received I.O.U.S.A. from Netflicks. It's about how we got into this budget mess and some steps necessary to get us out. It's supposed to be very good and gives hope for a successful recovery. Will probably watch it tonight.
My daughter is on her way. Then we're off to a Japanese Shiatsu massage this afternoon followed by an early dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant.
Have a safe Fourth.
Doreen
22:51 today. It took me a while, but I loved, loved, loved this puzzle! Lots of clever cluing, and a sparkling theme that took me a long time to suss out (I always like it when it takes me a little time until the aha comes.)
ReplyDeleteI am among the crowd who filled in RANDY Travis instead of the old-timey MERLE at first. (My country knowledge is mainly 1980's and later, by which time MERLE was dead, or at least past his prime).
@c.c. asked what MERLE Travis was famous for and I think his most famous song was Sixteen Tons, which was made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford (he had a TV show, back in the day). MERLE Travis was well-known as a virtuoso guitar player in the country genre (along with Chet Atkins). Les Paul was, of course, the more famous guitarist, but he was in the jazz/pop part of the music world. Merle Travis
I'm not sure what problem people are having with IE8. I installed it a month or so ago on my primary computer and have had no problems whatsoever. (I'm on XP, though, and not Vista.)
A comment on 6d clue in the other LA Times xword blog indicates that the print version of the puzzle had it as "Decorative Eastern accessories", so perhaps they corrected it in the newspaper and didn't update the online version.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the LA Times puzzle in my newspaper, so I can't verify this--maybe someone else can?
Embien et al.,
ReplyDeleteYes, the 6D clue was plural in my paper too. I meant to mention it earlier but forgot.
In response to Embien, yes, the print edition of the LAT had the clue in the plural.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you for the Sylvia B. info. I like solving those Sunday puzzles.
ReplyDeleteScooter
Another Friday struggle, especially NW and NE corners. Got stuck trying to make ASHE work instead of ACER, and RADAR instead of SONAR. I'm embarrassed I never figured out OAKY and CASK, especially since I've made a few bottles of wine in my time.
ReplyDeleteAl: thanks for the education on the pianoforte. Now I know why they're so anxious to get the new pianoforte in all the Jane Austen movies I've sat through with my wife.
Clear Ayes: I vote for America the Beautiful. That way we'd still be distinctive during the Olympic medal ceremonies. Either one would give me chills during those moments.
Have a Happy Fireworks Day!
C.C., I disagree with our puzzle maker's definition of SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging). Even though originally designed by copying techinques used by dolphins and bats to find their way, the military folks soon found it works best underwater and it rapidly moved into the world of underwater target acquisition. RADAR soon displaced SONAR as the aid to navigation of choice while SONAR went to work almost exclusively searching out underwater targets. When you watch the U-Boat Kapitan listening to the 'ping ping ping' he is homing in on another merchant marine target with his SONAR equipment.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think the builder of today's puzzle is a little whacko anyway and you, dear C.C., are brilliant as always figuring out what the heck he is talking about.
A very happy Independence Day to everyone.
Hi all, Didn't like blue book. When GIs returned from Japan after WW2, they brought back little cartoon books that were EROTIC.
ReplyDeleteKQ: the only thing wrong with The D60 is that it will take me a life time to learn how to use it. (Old dog and new tricks). When I installed IE8, my screen went white. Had to unplug it to reboot evry thing. It wasn't installed on the XP machine. I'll be so happy when I figure out this space thing. We allow younger people in our pinochle club. But they have to act our age.
The secret may be just to keep typing.
Just a quick check in.
ReplyDeletePuzzle wasn't any fun today!!
Have a great holiday weekend.
Reliving history:
ReplyDelete1608- City of Quebec founded by Champlain
1861- Pony Express arrived in SF from NY
1886- 1st NY Tribune printing using 1st commercial linotype machine
1911- Ty Cobb hits in his 40th straight game (did not get a hit the next day)
1939- Lou Gehrig Day; Gehrig makes his "luckiest man" speech
With further research, I see that this really happened
on the 4th
a happy 4th to all!
...am off to WM's reception, "Altered Landscapes"- very exciting!!!
Well, for some reason both the LW and I have had headaches and been all out of sorts today. So I can't fairly comment on the difficulty of the puzzle. I saw the theme, but couldn't wrap my head around it until I came here. Now, all the "literally"s make sense.
ReplyDeleteLots of clever things to like, but some quibbles as well. Don't like AIMER for "archer." ACER is a cheat. No two ways about it. Sure, it looks and sounds like a word, and you could use it in a sentence - But you wouldn't!
6C clue was also plural in the Freep.
C.C - The mountain goat needs to be more sure-footed than the average old goat (me, frex) 'cause - well - he lives on a mountain.
Back in 2ledoo the 50's we played MONKEY IN THE MiDDLE, which is exactly keep-away. I remember it well (but not fondly), having often been the monkey of choice. Once the kept-away item was my hat.
C.A. Thanks for your concern. Sammi is a tough little kid, and she's adjusting quite well. I think brightly colored appliances somehow make the whole ordeal more tolerable.
We played AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL last night, along with lots of marches, the ARMED FORCES SALUTE, and Lee Greenwood's GOD BLESS THE USA. It's everybody's favorite concert.
Cheers!
C.C.,
ReplyDeleteIt's not an animal but I just thought of diamond in the rough.
Martin
At long last, I think I have entered the blue zone! (yelps of glee can be heard in my corner of Chicago) This was a tough puzzle, but rewarding--so,thanks to "Mrs CC," as LGJ calls our host, and
ReplyDeletethe rest of you, I mustered the courage to chip through the grid without hurting myself--or innocent bystanders! Makes me want to make 53A on the grill--perhaps that would "emuecue?" Happy Independence Day to everyone!
clear ayes,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you re our national anthem being changed. Who picked the one we have and when?
regarding
ReplyDeleteWell, this is day two of Jeannie days as I took off Thursday, Friday and Monday. Believe you me folks, it was much needed time off for me. I finally just completed the puzzle and surprisingly it was doable. Very clever clueing. Some of my favorites were remote location; sofa, green dispenser; ATM; tube TV set.
ReplyDeleteC.C. thanks for the clarification on the use of sesame seed oil. I should have made it a little more clear that I don't use that as my frying agent, but just add a couple of drops of it for flavor. Sesame seed oil goes a long way. I use a variety of oils...mostly olive oil and canola. If I am going to fry something I use peanut oil.
WM, I wish I lived in CA so I could be there for your showing. You are a very talented artist and am awaiting your daisy painting.
Tarrajo, I hope you enjoyed your alone day to the fullest and had some fun and let your hair down. So far, I haven't read or heard anything too outrageous on the news.
Jazz, my prayers are with your Sammi.
Dennis, we haven't heard from you today so I hope that means you cleaned up with your poke'er face and have headed out to an unknown location.
Lois, hope you made it home okay and enjoy your time on the water tomorrow. That is my intention.
Lemonade...I hope you get to spend some time with your kids tomorrow on the patio or at the pool. I am hoping to have a hard lemonade at some point tomorrow.
Jeannie, believe it or not, I can't quite enjoy my time off not knowing what LGJ is up to. They are in a remote area that evidently has no cell phone service. Believe me I have tried. All I know is he is due back tomorrow mid-morning and hope he comes home in one piece. I trust the people he is with. Today I spent my time at a local lake and got my lily white skin burned. I have snipped off an aloe plant spire and am rubbing myself down with the nectar. Yep, it feels really good you guys...
ReplyDeleteC.C. I cheated and bought egg roll skins at the market today. I did buy all the other ingredients for our somewhat "authentic" Chinese dinner tomorrow night. Brady and I are going to attempt rolling the egg rolls tomorrow. Thank you for the tip on the sesame seed oil. We are going to go with fresh stir fried veges with chicken and little shrimp.
Lois and Jeannie, sorry I let you down on Tarrajo's big day out. No news in MN. I did enjoy a few adult beverages though. C.C. how you can drink Long Island ice teas is beyond me. I tried one in your honor and lets just say...WOW.
WM, I hope your showing went well. I too, wished I could have seen it.
Dennis, I hope you cleaned up at the tables. I don't mean bussing them either.
Windhover, what's next for you? I see they are throwing hay here now.
Good news...the corn is way over "knee high" for the 4th of July, which is a catch phrase for us Minnesotan's up here. It usually means a good crop is coming.
Tarrajo, I am sure LGJ is okay and enjoying his time away, much to your chagrin. I bet it's hard if he's your be-all and end-all of your days. I am hoping to hear that you "catch" a fellow. I am thinking you have put away your running shoes. Right? You are too cute to go unnoticed. I am still in awe of you and all you do. Theme night dinners once a month? What other little tidbit are you going to share? Good for you that you have him help you in the kitchen. My brother knows how to cook thanks to my Mother's influence. Dennis, you should take heed. It's never too late to learn.
ReplyDelete