Theme: LEVEL (64A: It can follow the last word of 20-, 27-, 47- and 53-Across)
20A: Not give an inch: STAND ONE'S GROUND
27A: Garage door gadget: ELECTRIC EYE
47A: Dairy Queen treat: BANANA SPLIT
53A: Solar or wind power, e.g.: RENEWABLE ENERGY
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY would be a great answer for 53A too. Needs a bigger grid though.
Great tie-in clues:
15A: Aborted, as NASA: NO-GO. Hopefully there is no more NO-GO for Endeavor.
51A: NASA moon craft: LEM (Lunar Excursion Module). The 40th anniversary of moon landing is days away.
26D: Industry bigwig: TITAN
31D: Industry bigwigs: EXECS. I like how these two "bigwig/s" mirror each other in the grid.
Thanks for the great IMPULSE suggestions yesterday. How would you clue RISE (59D: Stand) then? STAND is part of the answer for 20A, so "Stand" is not an ideal clue here.
Across:
1A: Hamas-controlled strip: GAZA. Fatah controls the West Bank.
5A: Supply-and-demand subj.: ECON
9A: Dog attractor: SMELL. Kept reading the clue as "Dog attacker".
14A: TV host Trek: ALEX. "Jeopardy!" host.
16A: Comedian Fields: TOTIE. No idea. What a strange name: TO TIE.
17A: Auburn color named for a painter: TITIAN RED. Titian often painted women with red hair.
19A: When many coffee breaks occur: AT TEN. "Coffee breaks hr." would be TEN AM.
22A: Tomcat: GIB. New word to me.
23A: Vegas job: Abbr.: DLR. Dealer I suppose.
34A: Clay, since 1964: ALI. He changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad ALI in 1964 after he joined the Nation of Islam.
35A: Four.: Pref.: TETRA. Sometimes it's clued as "Colorful fish".
36A: Like most income: TAXED. Citibank plans to use bailout money to raise their employees' salaries (and dodge the bonus restriction of course).
37A: Ship's post that secures cables: BITT. See this picture. Another new word to me.
41A: Mailroom stamp: REC'D. Ah, see this monkey belly button tattoo J.D. found.
42A: __ Mountains: central U.S. range: OZARK. Interesting, Wikipedia says OZARK might be derived as a linguistic corruption of the French abbreviation "aux Arks" (short for Aux Arkansas, or "toward Arkansas" in English). Makes sense. The pronunciation is the same.
46A: Third-century date: CCI. Roman 201.
49A: Bear lead-in: SHE. Ha ha, I was thinking of FOR, forbear.
50A: Tenn. athlete: VOL (Volunteer). University of Tennessee. The Volunteers. I simply forgot.
62A: "The Hot Zone" virus: EBOLA. Named after a river in Congo.
63A: Antique work: RESTORING. Used to love "The Antiques Roadshow".
65A: Japan is in it, with "the": EAST. And Japanese golfer ISAO (66A: Golfer Aoki). Followed Nick Price a few holes at the 3M Championship last week. He just could not putt.
67A: Hair woe: SNARL. Thought of SPLIT (ends).
68A: Smack ending: EROO. "Switch ending too". AROO is "Buck ending".
69A: Okla. or La., once: TERR
Down:
1D: Hoods' guns: GATS. "Hoods' gals" is MOLLS.
3D: Epsilon follower: ZETA
5D: Elevates in rank: ENNOBLES
7D: S-shaped molding: OGEE. Have not seen OGEE for a long time.
9D: Twinkly at night: STARLIT. "Starry, starry night".
10D: British wheels: MOTORCAR. Rolls Royce leaped into my brain.
11D: Brute question?: ET TU. Caesar's last words: "ET TU, Brute?". Great clue.
12D: Security interest: LIEN. I was in the safety/security direction.
13D: Advance: LEND
21D: East Berlin's land, initially: GDR (German Democratic Republic). Mindlessly penned in GER.
24D: Fat cat: NABOB. "Nattering NABOBS of negativism" - Spiro Agnew.
25D: "Wouldn't It Be Lovely?" singer: ELIZA (Doolittle). I was stumped. The song is from "My Fair Lady".
28D: Cultural spirit: ETHOS
29D: Writer's woe: CRAMP. Have never heard of Writer's CRAMP. Wanted BLOCK.
30D: Sri Lankan language: TAMIL. I don't like curry, do you? It's rooted in TAMIL.
32D: "Ick factor 10": YECCH. Or Yech. I only knew YUCKY.
33D: Rocker Van Halen: EDDIE. He was born in Amsterdam.
38D: One with itinerary: TRAVELER
40D: Type of heel: STILETTO. Ah, the famous STILETTO Race in Amsterdam.
43D: One claiming to have answers: KNOW-ALL. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
45D: Court worker: STENO
54D: Irving Bacheller's "__ Holden": EBEN. Absolutely no idea. I've never heard of Irving Bacheller either. Wikipedia says he founded first modern newspaper syndicate in the US. I wonder what paper it was.
55D: PBS science show: NOVA
56D: Marcia's "Desperate Housewives" role: BREE. Unknown to me also. Marcia Cross is in the middle. Eva Longoria plays Gabrielle.
57D: Jet-setter's jet: LEAR. Got the answer from Across fills.
60D: Growl: GNAR. This word just looks so wrong.
61D: Demented blacksmith in "Son of Frankenstein": YGOR. Oh, YGOR and IGOR are the same person, correct?
Answer grid.
C.C.
20A: Not give an inch: STAND ONE'S GROUND
27A: Garage door gadget: ELECTRIC EYE
47A: Dairy Queen treat: BANANA SPLIT
53A: Solar or wind power, e.g.: RENEWABLE ENERGY
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY would be a great answer for 53A too. Needs a bigger grid though.
Great tie-in clues:
15A: Aborted, as NASA: NO-GO. Hopefully there is no more NO-GO for Endeavor.
51A: NASA moon craft: LEM (Lunar Excursion Module). The 40th anniversary of moon landing is days away.
26D: Industry bigwig: TITAN
31D: Industry bigwigs: EXECS. I like how these two "bigwig/s" mirror each other in the grid.
Thanks for the great IMPULSE suggestions yesterday. How would you clue RISE (59D: Stand) then? STAND is part of the answer for 20A, so "Stand" is not an ideal clue here.
Across:
1A: Hamas-controlled strip: GAZA. Fatah controls the West Bank.
5A: Supply-and-demand subj.: ECON
9A: Dog attractor: SMELL. Kept reading the clue as "Dog attacker".
14A: TV host Trek: ALEX. "Jeopardy!" host.
16A: Comedian Fields: TOTIE. No idea. What a strange name: TO TIE.
17A: Auburn color named for a painter: TITIAN RED. Titian often painted women with red hair.
19A: When many coffee breaks occur: AT TEN. "Coffee breaks hr." would be TEN AM.
22A: Tomcat: GIB. New word to me.
23A: Vegas job: Abbr.: DLR. Dealer I suppose.
34A: Clay, since 1964: ALI. He changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad ALI in 1964 after he joined the Nation of Islam.
35A: Four.: Pref.: TETRA. Sometimes it's clued as "Colorful fish".
36A: Like most income: TAXED. Citibank plans to use bailout money to raise their employees' salaries (and dodge the bonus restriction of course).
37A: Ship's post that secures cables: BITT. See this picture. Another new word to me.
41A: Mailroom stamp: REC'D. Ah, see this monkey belly button tattoo J.D. found.
42A: __ Mountains: central U.S. range: OZARK. Interesting, Wikipedia says OZARK might be derived as a linguistic corruption of the French abbreviation "aux Arks" (short for Aux Arkansas, or "toward Arkansas" in English). Makes sense. The pronunciation is the same.
46A: Third-century date: CCI. Roman 201.
49A: Bear lead-in: SHE. Ha ha, I was thinking of FOR, forbear.
50A: Tenn. athlete: VOL (Volunteer). University of Tennessee. The Volunteers. I simply forgot.
62A: "The Hot Zone" virus: EBOLA. Named after a river in Congo.
63A: Antique work: RESTORING. Used to love "The Antiques Roadshow".
65A: Japan is in it, with "the": EAST. And Japanese golfer ISAO (66A: Golfer Aoki). Followed Nick Price a few holes at the 3M Championship last week. He just could not putt.
67A: Hair woe: SNARL. Thought of SPLIT (ends).
68A: Smack ending: EROO. "Switch ending too". AROO is "Buck ending".
69A: Okla. or La., once: TERR
Down:
1D: Hoods' guns: GATS. "Hoods' gals" is MOLLS.
3D: Epsilon follower: ZETA
5D: Elevates in rank: ENNOBLES
7D: S-shaped molding: OGEE. Have not seen OGEE for a long time.
9D: Twinkly at night: STARLIT. "Starry, starry night".
10D: British wheels: MOTORCAR. Rolls Royce leaped into my brain.
11D: Brute question?: ET TU. Caesar's last words: "ET TU, Brute?". Great clue.
12D: Security interest: LIEN. I was in the safety/security direction.
13D: Advance: LEND
21D: East Berlin's land, initially: GDR (German Democratic Republic). Mindlessly penned in GER.
24D: Fat cat: NABOB. "Nattering NABOBS of negativism" - Spiro Agnew.
25D: "Wouldn't It Be Lovely?" singer: ELIZA (Doolittle). I was stumped. The song is from "My Fair Lady".
28D: Cultural spirit: ETHOS
29D: Writer's woe: CRAMP. Have never heard of Writer's CRAMP. Wanted BLOCK.
30D: Sri Lankan language: TAMIL. I don't like curry, do you? It's rooted in TAMIL.
32D: "Ick factor 10": YECCH. Or Yech. I only knew YUCKY.
33D: Rocker Van Halen: EDDIE. He was born in Amsterdam.
38D: One with itinerary: TRAVELER
40D: Type of heel: STILETTO. Ah, the famous STILETTO Race in Amsterdam.
43D: One claiming to have answers: KNOW-ALL. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
45D: Court worker: STENO
54D: Irving Bacheller's "__ Holden": EBEN. Absolutely no idea. I've never heard of Irving Bacheller either. Wikipedia says he founded first modern newspaper syndicate in the US. I wonder what paper it was.
55D: PBS science show: NOVA
56D: Marcia's "Desperate Housewives" role: BREE. Unknown to me also. Marcia Cross is in the middle. Eva Longoria plays Gabrielle.
57D: Jet-setter's jet: LEAR. Got the answer from Across fills.
60D: Growl: GNAR. This word just looks so wrong.
61D: Demented blacksmith in "Son of Frankenstein": YGOR. Oh, YGOR and IGOR are the same person, correct?
Answer grid.
C.C.
97 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - an excellent Wednesday puzzle, although I thought there were a couple very poor clues. I liked the theme once I got 64A, but I do think 'energy level' is a bit weak.
Unknowns were 'gib' for 'tomcat' (really?), and 'Eben Holden'. I've seen 'know-it-all', but never 'know-all'. 'Third-century date' is one of those clues where it's absolutely impossible to get the answer without perp help; could be any 'CC-' date. And 'She' for 'Bear lead-in' was just terrible to me. 'Nabob' was a gimme; I learned the word from Spiro Agnew's reference to "the nattering nabobs of negativism." It obviously stuck with C.C. too. In spite of the complaints, I really enjoyed the puzzle.
Today is Cow Appreciation Day - and I'll celebrate appropriately with a nice dry-aged delmonico tonight.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "I adore life but I don't fear death. I just prefer to die as late as possible." -- Writer Georges Simenon
More Fun Facts:
- Legend has it that when Burmese women are making beer, they need to avoid having sex or the beer will be bitter. (I'm not sure I wanna know just how they make the beer...)
- Giant rats have been trained to sniff out land mines in Tanzania.
C.C., yes, Ygor and Igor are one and the same. And thanks for the pic of Eva Longoria.
Off to the gym.
I loved the puzzle today! I thought it was a bit easier then yesterday's, but then, I didn't like yesterday's theme as much as the one today.
I learned some new words and/or phrases: GIB, BITT. Who says KNOWALL. I always heard Know-it-all. Did Ygor change the spelling of his name after he wanted us all to "Walk this way?" SHE Bear, really?
Your ENERGY LEVEL must be down, Dennis, if you though this clue was weak! Did you know that on July 15, 1979, Jimmy Carter proclaimed a national energy supply shortage? This supposedly established strict temperature restrictions for non-residential buildings, requiring them to maintain temperatures at 72F, summer and winter. Someone forgot to tell my office. It's like a meat-locker in summer.
Totie Fields immediately came to me. I think she was on some game show years ago.
My favorite clues were Clay, since 1964 (34D) and the Stiletto heel (40D).
On this date in 1834, the Spanish Inquisition, which had officially begun in 1478 when Ferdinand and Isabelle asked permission of the Pope to "purify" the people of Spain, was ended by official decree. The official decree came shortly after the last burning was organized by the Inquisition.
On that note, Happy Wednesday!
Goode morning C.C. and all,..a good puzzle today. If I draw a diagonal line from the NW to the SE everything west fell easily, but I struggled with the east and particularly the NE. Biggest problemm was I put "ten am" in lieu of "atten" which really screwed up that section.
Never heard of "Gib" for "tomcat" nor did I know "Ebon Holden", but they fell to the perps. I did manage to get the theme today which helped.
I agree with Dennis on "She" bear and Third-century date could have been anything with cc.
Hope you all have a great Wednesday. For me it is off to the links. Dennis I have sent more great weather your way.
Good morning, all.
The center of this puzzle was tough for me. I finally pieced it together, but needed help for the B in GIB, and the T where ADIET and TETRA crossed. Both of those words should have been easy clues, but I just couldn't get my mind away from loosing Las Vegas style.
GIB, BITT, ISAO, YECCH, EBEN, GNAR and BREE were unknowns to me, but most of them fell to the perps. Dennis' second paragraph pretty much says it for me, too.
I deserve a pat on the back for getting EDDIE! Where do these bits of data come from? My step-daughter's choice of music must have rubbed off on me.
Time to go to exercise. Have a good day, everyone.
Dennis - your 7/14, 5:12 P
Yes, I did check it out. 155 MPH is the top speed. It's right there in the Owner's Manual.
This morning I zoom to the tennis club.
Happy Hump Day y'all.
Dennis & Dick,
Actually only 4 choices: CCI, CCV, CCX and CCL. I guess "Early third-century date" would have eliminated CCX & CCL. Dennis, I agree with Hahtool, your ENERGY LEVEL must be low. What did you do yesterday?
Barb B,
Venal= Corruptible. A venal judge.
Venial= Pardonable. Venial sin vs. mortal sin. I confuse them often.
PBJ,
TOT UP is not an abbreviation. Or were you thinking of TOTE UP?
Warren, Al et al,
Thanks for the great answers/links yesterday.
Good morning. A nice puzzle today. For some reason I thought it was a little easier than yesterday. There were quite a few unknowns, but I got almost all of them through the perps. Wasn't familiar with TITIAN RED, GIB, EBEN, TOTIE or BITT. I thought RISE clued as Stand was a little weak. I got RENEWABLE ENERGY right away as that is the field that my husband practices law in. He works hard with companies starting businesses for biofuels, wind power, solar power and the like. I think it is a great field to be in.
My boys sat in a LEM when we visited Cape Canaveral this last spring break. Lots of fun. I too hope the Endeavor gets off okay. This off to space stuff is so incredibly risky.
Exercise is done for the day an on to many tasks. We get our tour of the Twins new stadium this afternoon. Joe, Justin and Joe did us proud in the All Star Game last night. Hope we don't lose any of them once the new stadium is up and running.
Good Morning, Everyone,
Re: GIB. (via OneLook.com) from Webster's 1828 Dictionary: GIB, n. A cat. [Not in use.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913: Gib (?), n. [Abbreviated fr. Gilbert, the name of the cat in the old story of Reynard the Fox". in the Romaunt of the Rose", etc.] A male cat; a tomcat. [Obs.]
I think we can be forgiven for not knowing this use of GIB.
Now here is someone who really 'appreciates' a cow: Brent Dragon, after winning the Milk Bowl (an annual race) at Thunder Road in Barre, VT.
Hi all!
Not too bad for me today. But I didn't like EXECS --no abbreviation in the clue.
Unknowns were GIB, SHE, EBEN, TOTIE (I only know of W.C. Fields), BITT, YGOR and didn't know how to spell YECCH. I agree GNAR seems weird, I always forget LEM and ISAO, and I wanted SCENT for SMELL for a long while.
I wondered why a letter sitting in the mail room would need a stamp saying RECD since it's obviously there and hence received, but I guess there'd be a date with that.
Hi c.c. and all:
I got the top and then the bottom and finally muddled thru the middle. I googled Gib and Tamil. I had "slump" for writer's woe; Ger for GDR; send for rec'd; and knowing instead of "know-all". As others have said I only knew know-it-all. Also, I wanted a plural ending for British wheels even though I saw motorcar right away I just figured it was wrong. Finally I saw the light and put it in and the rest of the middle fell into place. I only got Bitt, Eben, Titian red and Bree from the perps.
Favorite clue: Brute question?
Have a great day everyone!
I finished this puzzle with a little red letter helped but it was a slog. I wanted 'scent' for SMELL, 'yucky' for YECCH, 'block' for CRAMP and 'Igor' for YGOR - each answer as good as the other. Unknown - GIB, BITT, EBEN, GATS, GNAR. Forgot ISAO. I thought KNOW ALL was a bogus answer and it was going to be my least favorite answer until I saw Argyle's post on GIB - obsolete in the 1828 dictionary! Give me a break. On the other hand, I got a lot of other stuff (SHE, TOTIE, CCI, etc.) very easily.
I'm feeling really cranky, because of the heat here - third day in the 90s. I told you that we are spoiled brats about weather in CA. If it is a little hotter or a little colder or a little wetter, we start to complain.
That monkey tattoo is really rude. I can't imagine living with something that probably seemed funny the night you got drunk in your 20s for your entire life.
The Republican questioning of Judge Sotomayor yesterday really got rude. It is hard to imagine how Sen. Sessions, with his history, had the gall to accuse her of being a racist. Did you know that after Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House roof, that Ronald Reagan had them removed when he moved in. Was that really necessary? A early view of the Republican view on alternative energy. (As I said, I'm cranky. Sorry.)
Good morning CC et al., Good puzzle w/a couple of question marks, like Ygor? (Hahtool, LOL w/your comment) and Gnar is just painful. Loved seeing the Okla ref -makes me miss my cowboy
terr. Wonder how the 'she'ep are doing on those 'starlit' nights, which are for me a source of 'renewable energy'. Nothin' better for 'restoring' one's mojo than seeing a beautiful sun'rise' in the 'east' in the Wichita Mtns and 'smell'ing the sweet scent of 'corn' and wheat in the wind. Becoming a 'traveler' and saying
'no VA',where we are 'taxed' beyond reason and saying hello OK
'terr' 'merit'ing strong consideration. W'eben holden' onto that idea for a while now. But will go visit the 'dlr's in LV next month and hopefully 'net' more than just a 'smackeroo'. In any case, ya 'know all' is good.
Carol: your 7:09 yesterday cracked me up. You are so funny.
Enjoy this gorgeous day.
Trying this again. I realized that I posted earlier in a different account, and it showed up as Karen instead of KQ. My apologies as I know there is another Karen that sometimes posts. Just trying to see if everyone is awake this morning.
CC, thanks for the link to Starry Night. STARLIT alluded me a little because of this song. It is on my ipod.
Argyle, thanks for the reference to GIB and your forgiveness for my ignorance of the word. I can go on with my day now.
Dennis, good to know there is a use for giant rats.
Re: Monkey Tat
I'm a monkey's uncle if that is a real picture!
Kazie -
Yes, there would be a date. Or maybe a fig.
Back when I was a kid, one of the radio DJs had a poem (maybe part of an ad for the State Fair? )that include the couplet:
I kissed you, limpid brown-eyed cow that gives us milk and cheese/ And now I lie here sick in bed with hoof and mouth disease.
Why would I remember that 50 yrs later?
Agree with Dennis on the puzzle except for ENERGY LEVEL, which is a perfectly fine phrase.
I'm AMUSED imagining the bearer of the monkey tatoo on go-to-work-naked day.
A propos of nothing, I was searching for a new avatar pic, and found this picture of my favorite trombone: the King 2B Silversonic. (aka the holy grail.) The bell is solid silver (and heavy for a pea-shooter!) with a gold wash inside. I've had one since 1963.
Just a side note on the GDR: In German it was the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), and it was, of course, anything but democratic, being the communist controlled zone.
If you wanted a phone installed, it sometimes took years to get one, repairs too. There's a joke that a guy wanting the phone put in was given a date for installation two years hence. He checked his calendar, and said: "That won't work. The plumber is coming that day!"
If you wanted a car, there was only one choice: the Trabant, and there was a waiting time of 15 years.
GNAR------GIB???
Both outdated words and we're supposed to know them???
Good thing there's perps!!!
Well this one was a tough one for me today. I had to hit the g-spot for Titian red and that pesky Greek clue Epsilon follower zeta. Got plenty of perp help with titan, Totie, gib, bitt, and gats. Favorite clue was “smack ending” – eroo. I just didn’t enjoy this one today. By the way, I have a hard enough time walking in stiletto’s so forget about running in them.
For cow appreciation day I am going to go out and have a big chocolate malt.
Dennis, where ever did you dig up that tidbit on Burmese women and making beer? Sometimes I think you just make some of these up. If it is a true FF, I don’t want to know how they make beer either.
Hi All,
Not too bad today. I brain faded and put down ALEC instead of ALEX. What the h-gib??
Totie Fields was a comic in the late 60's early 70's. I used to see her on the Mike Douglas show. I know I'm dating myself. I graduated from high school in '66.
Didn't like GNAR,GDR, or EBEN. Never heard of BITT.
I did get the theme quickly.
Carol-thanks for the geezer vision!! I'm going to Costco today. Hope I don't see any crack.
Will also go to the local farm stand and see if the corn is ready yet. YUM!!
Hubby is celebrating his 65th birthday today. I need to go find some German Chocolate Cake for dessert tonight.
Hope everyone has a great day. I have grandkids. We will swim and then hang out. I think they are going to watch Ghostbusters this afternoon.
Good Morning All, I had time this morning to finish the puzzle and to check out some of the comments for the past few days.
I have the same "Huh??" as most everyone else. I managed to finish up, but I spent some time at Google, post-puzzle. Who the heck is EBEN Holden? What is a GIB? (thanks, Argyle). I've heard of GNARly, which is either nasty or cool, depending on the use, but GNAR is totally new for me. I wanted BLOCK for 29D and YGOR was an unknown variation.
If I remember correctly, the first time I saw YECCH (or maybe it was BLECCH) in print was in a 1950's Mad Magazine. I don't think I've seen it since, so I wanted YUCKY.
Pretty YECCHY monkey tattoo. I kinda feel sorry for the guy in another 30 years or so. It looks like he is well on his way to a hang over beer belly. If he thinks his tattoo looks good now, he might very well change his mind in the future. Here's a photo of a 1960's tattooed mama. Fair warning....this is the 2009, 40 years later version. Maybe this demonstrates why I'm not a tattoo fan.
Hi all, I had to look up words today! Like others here, GIB and BITT were new to me.
I actually got the answer to 64A! I had solved 20A and 'ground' being the last word in the answer, I thought I was so smart in thinking 'cover' was correct for 64A. That's what I get for skipping around too quickly.
In honor of Buckeye and Lois, I made up 2 limericks to share with all of you.
There is a blogger named Buckeye,
who's humor's the far side of wry,
he can, with a twinkle,
give a word a new wrinkle,
and make us laugh 'til we cry.
There is also a blogger named Lois,
who, now that she's got to know us,
in her DF way,
changes the puzzle to say
what the constructor wouldn't dare show us.
Clear Ayes,
What a sight! I'm amazed someone that old would have gone in for so much ink back then. I certainly wasn't anything I would have contemplated EVER! Her boobs remind me of a woman I once knew who said hers were so droopy she had to roll them up to put on a bra.
Carol, great limericks.
Here is a link to a picture of my boys in the LEM. Or at least that is what I think they are in.
Yuck! I'm really sorry I took a gander at that tatooed lady. Anyone contemplating a tat needs to see that photo.
Y'all are completely right, of course, about 'energy level'. I must've been operating on an alternative energy source this morning, 'cause when I got back from the gym and reread my post after a couple people questioned it, I couldn't figure out why the phrase didn't compute. Anyway, mea culpa.
Isn't Totie Fields the one that lost a leg or two?
Hayrake, glad you're living large.
C.C., what did I do yesterday? Well, I guess it was too much sex. I know, I know, I should use a partner.
KQ, there's great videos on youtube taken from inside the shuttle cabin during a launch; very impressive to see.
Argyle, great research on 'gib' - jeez, no wonder none of us had heard of it.
Elissa said, I can't imagine living with something that probably seemed funny the night you got drunk in your 20s for your entire life.
I suspect there's a few married people that would second that.
tarrajo, the Fun Facts today are true. Might not always be the case every day, though.
treefrog, Jersey white corn is just now coming to market - it's so damn good, you don't even need butter.
ClearAyes, regarding the picture you linked, fortunately for my vision, my eyes were immediately drawn to the background, just behind the security guy. I hope to be able to move on sometime this afternoon.
Carol, your limericks are awesome! How 'bout one for 'anon'?
Carol, VERY good! Limericks aren't easy to create...especially ones that don't start with "There once was a man from Nantucket".
Kazie, Kelev & Dennis, I had to laugh at the security guy and his lady friend in the left-side background of the picture. I think the photo may have been taken at the Sturgis, SD, motorcycle rally, or another similar event. Sturgis is well-known for its kick-back, almost anything goes attitude.
BTW, when I said I wasn't a tattoo fan, I know it is just me. Maybe it is because my ex had a couple of not very well done tattoos. Also, it an age thing. I am a little too old to appreciate the modern take on extensive body art and piercings.
I didn't think I would get an opportunity to post this poem, but this is the day.
Tattoo
What once was meant to be a statement—
a dripping dagger held in the fist
of a shuddering heart—is now just a bruise
on a bony old shoulder, the spot
where vanity once punched him hard
and the ache lingered on. He looks like
someone you had to reckon with,
strong as a stallion, fast and ornery,
but on this chilly morning, as he walks
between the tables at a yard sale
with the sleeves of his tight black T-shirt
rolled up to show us who he was,
he is only another old man, picking up
broken tools and putting them back,
his heart gone soft and blue with stories.
-Ted Kooser
Elissa, we Oregonians are known for complaining about the weather too. I think it is just human nature. I, for one, would love 73 and partly to mostly sunny. Trouble with that is, I know I would yearn for the rain and a change in seasons!
Yesterday's discussion of 'Nude Day' brought a comment on a radio show I was listening to this morning. Someone asked if there were any nudist golf courses anywhere. Turns out there is one in Naples, Fla. Isn't that where one of our fellow blogger's resides?
Is it Maria?
Dennis, how's this?
There's a troll out there named anon.
His mind is a bit more than gone.
He's rude and he's crude
and we don't know the dude,
but we think he's the devil's own spawn.
Well, here goes!!
There once were some bloggers, (ANON)
Most certainly born to be blond.
They can't take the hint,
when they see it in print,
to stay in the land out beyond.
Morning all...I struggled a bit with this last night...same reasons, same words as most others. Had YUCKY for awhile, put in EROO and took it out and put it back in. This time I remembered LEM and was okay with YGOR as C.C. had once discussed alternate spellings. Still don't like GNAR, but thank you, Argyle, for GIB...I feel less stoopid now.
GAZA gave me ZETA but I, like others, did a WTH on SHE bear...I always have trouble with Aoki because we had a very famous restauranteur out here named Rocky Aoki who started up Benihana a terrific Japanese restaurant that was as much theatre as restaurant. He died just over a year ago on July 12, 2008.
I also agree with Kazie that EXECS is definitely an abbr. Also, I don't really consider the Ozark Mtns to be located in the Central US any more than the Rocky Mtns are Central...South eastern would be a better clue. And for RISE...how about bread baking step?
As Elissa said...another scorcher for us...96 here yesterday...praying for fog!
Both Bill and Carol, great Limericks...but Bill may come under fire for the blond thing.
Dennis...Georges Simenon is one of my favorite writers...very prodigious and most of his work has been translated over the years...he created Maigret...a French detective. Most of the stories are closer to a short story form rather than long novels...a great read and very evocative of mid 1900's France and especially Paris.
I just couldn't stop without doing this:
Here's a salute to C.C.
Without her, where would we be?
She finds all the themes,
her wisdom it seems
is something way beyond me!
Hello:
I certainly agree on the GIB (actually a castrated cat according to one dictionary) and GNAR and KNOWALL being pretty bogus clues, but they all filled from perps; BITT must have hit home with you boating fools, TJ and Jeannie, but overall it was an interesting puzzle. We all need to do the bottom first to help with the themes.
As for a Connecticut comedienne, TOTIE FIELDS , she had so many health problems it was very sad. She mostly made fun of herself and her audience as her act, but she was pretty funny.
The stiletto race must have as many injuries as the running of the bulls.
Thanks, Hahtool, for reminding us of the 300+ year inquisition, another highlight in the expression of humanity.
Not a lot to add to other comments about the puzzle. It was hard for me, but doable. I am well now after suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for 10 years, so ENERGY LEVEL made perfect sense to me. I have a niece who hasn’t recovered, so it’s often a topic of conversation. Now I have renewable energy, a cause of celebration.
I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other about tattoos, but I did enjoy seeing Lorraine Bracco being transformed in the movie Medicine Man. And I was surprised to find that I liked the aged tattoo woman in CA’s link. I can’t say why, unless it’s admiration for the woman’s invincible spirit. But the monkey tattoo? Not.
Thank you CC, for explaining Venal and Venial.
Carol, love the limericks.
I join the crowd who never heard of BITT, GIB, and GNAR. Loved the "Brute question?" clue, though.
We had a couple of NASA clues today. What do you think the chances are we have a lunar theme on Monday?
Oh My Gawd. It's contagious.
'Twas a lurker who went by Anon
Who dithered whenever we'd fawn
On Dennis or C.C., acting DF or teasy.
But now (Hooray!) looks like he's gone.
Besides, it's Woden's Tag, and you know what that means.
Cheers!
I forgot to say earlier that KNOW-ALL seemed ok to me. I guess it might be more a British English thing.
I remember my introduction to Simenon in my last year of high school French. We had to read one of the short stories on Maigret, or maybe it was an abbreviated version of something longer.
Some excellent limericks!
Did you know that there is a site containing thousands of free ebook to read? It is Project Gutenberg
I was curious about the obscure Eben Holden and found it available at www.gutenberg.org. I don't know if I will read it, but it is nice to know that it is available if I want to.
BarbB, I understand your feeling about the woman in the photo. I appreciated the idea that she was totally comfortable with her own image. Hey, we are all headed in the "older" direction (some of us more than others). But I wouldn't have cared for the tattoos, even if they had been on a 25 year old body....some of the guys might feel differently.
Eben is also available on line at Google Books.
Rise - The distance between the crotch and waistband in pants, shorts, or underwear.
Another RISE is how a sportsman shoots gamebirds: "on the rise".
Argyle, just guessing here, but mentioning a 'rise' in underwear may spark a whole new conversation thread.
Carol and Bill great limericks. Bill, I’ll even forgive you the blonde remark.
Do any of you Floridians or Californians have a good recipe for lemonade? Mine is a little tart.
There was a blogger who would only lurk,
because it seems, he was a total jerk.
Nothing nice came from his words;
Just his pathetic little mental turds,
That made the rest of us quite beserk.
Lo-li-ta always had a big heart; and was convinced that she also was smart;
so she started playing a new game
that made a bad pun of my name
that was both sweet and quite tart
Kazie--the image was too much to take. With apologies in advance:
An old woman tried suicide you see,
But the deed didn't set her free,
She aimed at her breast but you know
the rest,
She shot herself in the knee.
WM, I thought about the blond thing and then hit "Publish" anyway.
The devil made me do it.
Apologies to all the natural blonds out there!!!
Hello All--An interesting puzzle today. I had the same troubles as just about everyone else. Wanting Block for writer's woe and Gib, Gnar and Bitt were unknowns. All of them new words for me today. The crossing words fixed the problems for me today but I did have to google Totie Fields and Eddie Van Halen.
Lemonade beat me to the Castrated male cat bit. My dictionary has three entries for Gib, the first being Gilbert nickname and male cat, specif: a castrated male cat.
Wow! We have some truly great limercick constructors in our midst. Carol, Lemonade and Bill--salud.
Made jam this morning while it was still somewhat cool in the house. Canning and jam making are always during the hottest days of the year.
Lemonade- It was chronicled in Norse sagas that there was a cult of legendary Viking warriors called the 'Berserks', or 'Berserkers'. They rejected the bow as a weapon, favoring the sword and ax because they relished close-up, toe to toe battle. That was their bliss. Some stripped naked before combat and painted themselves blue. Some wore dresses made of bear skin. Their major claim to fame was fearlessness and fighting with uncontrolled rage. Hence our modern use of the word Berserk.
"Perps". I find it curious that the only people who use the word are solvers. I don't know any constructors who do.
Lemonade, I can assure you I was just looking for a good lemonade recipe. Although you are probably sweet and refreshing, not tart, I would think you would be more like a hard lemonade.
Jerome,
There is an interesting episode on HISTORY CHANNEL about the Vikings and berserkers.
Thanks Jeannie and Chickie.
Dick..just giving you a bad time...and as you spelled blond without the e...it would only tick off the guys.
Kazie...you probably read a whole Simenon story, some are quite short.
Jerome..I actually knew the Berserker origin, just had never heard about painting themselves blue...Always thought that naked/blue thing was just a Celtish aberration along with the leek tied to the forhead...that's the Scots for you.
I just got a postcard from my Scottish friend who is currently over there. Her final sentence was..."Its been raining quite a bit, but threatening to ease off by August..."
Celtic! And I proofread! Darn!
Off to Berserkeley for a Michael Chiarello booksigning...and if the lines are too long we're eating at the French Bistro across the street...win-win.
Jerome, have you seen 'perps' used in other crossword blogs?? It was just a word I came up with about a year ago, obviously a shortened 'perpendiculars', and it sorta caught on here. That'd be pretty neat if it had 'cross-pollinated'.
Jeannie, you've not lost your touch - a great line.
12:23 today. How much did I hate this puzzle? Let me count the ways: GIB, BITT, SHE, YECCH, YGOR (I always want IGOR). GNAR, on the other hand, was a complete gimme, being total croswordese and seen in many, many puzzles.
Theme was OK, but nothing earth-shattering for me.
@jerome: re: "perps". Not only do no constructors use this term, you won't find it on any other crossword blog either. This was a made-up term (I think by Dennis) that somehow caught on and is only found in this blog (short for "perpendiculars"). The term you'll see everywhere else (by constructors and other solvers), is "crosses".
I never use "perps" myself. Why use a made-up abbrv. that is not in common usage when there is a perfectly acceptable term ("crosses") that is already in the crossword language?
Dennis - I have not forgotten you in the limerick frenzy:
Dennis is a man belonging to Mensa
I am a woman belonging to Densa
Their words are so wise,
all of 'those' guys,
but to me, nothing makes sensa.
@WM: Michael Chiarello! I loved his "Napa Style" TV show on Food Network.
I, too, am having dinner at a French bistro tonight (most assuredly not the one you are going to). I may have steak au poivre and undoubtedly a nice bottle of Oregon pinot noir (so many good ones to choose from). Perhaps a nice Belle Pente (preferably Murto Vineyard). Yumm!
Carol, you are truly amazing - just outstanding work.
embien, apologies for a term that you obviously find so offensive. Here I just thought it was a fun term.
Dennis, I like "perps" right up there with g-spot.
Argyle, I can't believe you used crotch and rise in the same sentence and nobody touched it.
Embien...we'll see if we can get some photos...if you are on Facebook, you can become a fan of his. He posts a lot of interesting stuff. He is one of my favorite cookbook authors because the recipes have few ingredients, rely on fresh and are always wonderful.
I reproduced an awesome salad we had at his new Bottega restaurant in Yountville(just across from Thomas Keller's Bouchon and down the street From the French Laundry). You need a mandolin or very sharp knife: Shaved raw brussles sprouts, shaved asparagus, sieved egg, slivered Marcona almonds, microplaned aged Pecorino and a fresh Meyer Lemon vinaigrette. That, along with grilled wild salmon(with the NapaStyle espresso rub) and saffron risotto made for a lovely dinner. I have also had some really lovely Oregon Pinots.
Carol: absolutely loved the Dennis Limerick...way to go! :o)
Dennis...I personally like perps...no offense Embiem.
Gotta get ready to brave the traffic to Berserkeley...TTFN
jeannie, check my 1:33 post.
And yeah, I got grief about 'g-spot' too.
Dennis, I am with Jeannie. I use "perps" in almost every post I make regarding the puzzle.
Jeannie, I can't believe you just used touch/crotch/rise in the same sentence. Look out...Lois is out there...
Good afternoon CC and all Limrickers.(new word ?)
Thought I was doing a Tues X word until I hit 32 d Yecch and had mental block on CCI 46A.
How about court Baliff's order, for stand.
WM did not know Rocky Aoki had died. Actually ate in the Benihana in Tokyo. There are many Benihana copies here on the Grand Strand.
Favourite clue type of heel.
Kazie, have never heard of a Know all only a know it all.
CC Nick Price is one of natures gentlemen. Used to smoke like a chimney. Not sure if he still does.
Jimmy, S. Carolina.
Dennis- I'm cool with "perps". That someone can just simply make up a word and it gets used by others is a fascinating thing about the origin of words.
Lemonade- Thanks for the History Channel link.
I think "perps" is more than acceptable. It is what makes us unique.
Thanks for all the heartfelt poems, but I stand by what I have stated in the past. It’s the comments like the last couple posted by the sleazes that bring this blog down. It’s a crossword blog that C.C. has worked very hard to create.
Some of you might find this interesting: Benihana hot air balloon.
Ok, let's try this again - repeat after me: IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE.
Irish Jim,
I wonder if you, like I, often forget what we've heard here versus at home? Sometimes I use a slang expression and don't remember if it's an Oz thing or an Americanism.
I just looked up "Know" in my Concise OED and sure enough, it gives: "know: ~all, one who ~s, or professes to ~ everything"
good afternoon c.c. and all,
agree with many about today's puzzle. didn't love KNOWALL, didn't know BITT, GIB or TAMIL. nailed NABOB, learned from our old puzzles. rarely think to look ahead at the clues to see if one identifies the theme.
great limericks today.
'Why use a made-up abbrv. that is not in common usage when there is a perfectly acceptable term[...]?'
because it's funny :).
speaking of funny, hayrake@8:13, owner's manual .. funny.
Clear Ayes: You are the second person from whom I have learned about the Gutenberg Project this week! I checked out the website and think it's wonderful that so much literature (and other books) are so available.
Um, MelissaBee, perhaps a little background on the picture??
Irish Jim @ 4:11,
Nice "new" word.
Just please don't switch the L and the R.
Anon @ 4:19:
you may not see it as such, but this is intended as a compliment: Relative civility in speech becomes you.
Melissa B,
is that moon full?
Dennis @11:17 "married people" as well - LOL. I hadn't thought of that.
Dear Husband tells me that a BITT is sometimes called a 'Sampson post.' I was not familiar with either term. Here's the definition: "A vertical post, usually one of a pair, set on the deck of a ship and used to secure ropes or cables." (The Free Dictionary)
I love the limericks!
Clear Ayes, thanks for the Project Gutenberg link.
Melissa bee..The photo looks to me like Girls Just Want To Have Fun!
Jeannie, Lemonade Recipe
1 Make a simple syrup by heating 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Boil, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.
2 Extract the juice from 4 to 6 Meyer lemons, enough for one cup of juice. Other lemons can be used, but I think the sweeter Meyer lemon is the best.
3 Add the juice and syrup to a pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice. Serves 6.
Simple syrup using a ratio of 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water is often used for cocktails. The syrup can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of months. Makes the best summer mojitos, or other cocktails.
the pic was taken on our way back from gwo. had reservations at cafe gratitude in san francisco. when 'love shack' came on, the entire staff (and subsequently, our table) ran into the aisles and started dancing.
Kazie,
You could be right. I guess after 40 years the mind plays tricks.
Windhover, LOL, took me a while to get that one. I actually lived in Limerick for 4 years.
Jimmy, S Carolina
Loved all the limericks. Had my chuckles for today.
Boys loved watching Ghostbusters. It's fun to see the next generation enjoy a fun movie their parents liked.
Forgot about Eddie Van Halen this AM. When my youngest was in kindergarten Van Halen was his favorite band. All the other kids talked about Barney. Amazing what happens when older brother is 11 years older.
Enjoyed catching up this PM on all the posts.
Jeannie and Tarrajo - who is touching who's crotch and getting a rise? Inquiring minds want to know - so do voyeurs LOL
Lois, 'ball's in your court!
Dennis (11:17) I too, missed that 'married people' line....LOL that is a good one, fortunately for me when I sobered up, I decided to keep Joe. :)
Well, this is #5 folks...I haven't hit that for a long time. In fact, there has been more activity today than in a long while, and it's nice to see.
Have a wonderful evening all.
There was a young lass with zucchini
Who fast needed uses big, not teeny
I tried one, a cake
Another, a sauce bake
But my fave was a "gratin" from Jeannie
I'm new to this blog, a high school librarian on summer break who's enjoying relaxed summer mornings with no alarm and time to do the crossword. I must admit to being a bit perplexed by the usage of 'perps' as all I could think of was perpetrators. So glad to be enlightened after reading today's posts.
Thanks for cluing me in -- how cool to find out that you are the 'perps' who coined this word!
You know, reflecting on embien's little tirade about 'perps', I've realized one of the big reasons why C.C.'s blog is so great (and to me, the best): we don't hew to whatever is deemed the 'official crossword protocol'. Rather, we have fun with the puzzles, and if we want to make up words that people accept and use, so what? Are we less proficient solvers because we say, for example, 'perps' instead of 'crosses'? I think not. Would we have a problem with someone on the blog still wanting to use 'crosses'? Of course not. As long as we all have fun solving these things, I don't see any harm in a little creativity once in a while. If it's not fun, and yes, even 'anon' is humorous, then why bother?
Anyway, just my thoughts - what do you all think?
I don't have any problem with "perp", or other semi-invented words that find their way into the language with rapid regularity. Melissa bee is right. It is a fun word. I use it and think it fills the bill perfectly. I enjoy the way this blog starts with the daily puzzle and often veers off in strange, often amusing and sometimes amazingly informative paths. If we were limited in our language, we wouldn't get to all the neat subject we crash into.
I don't think Embien's post was quite a "tirade" though, more of an expression of a "peeve". His opinion is OK by me too.
The wonderful thing about English is that we aren't restricted to only one word for a thing or action. As new things and actions appear, we have words at the ready to describble (describe in writing?) them...and if we can't find a word we want, we'll make one up and see if it catches on.
Welcome Katy.
That 5 for me. Have a nice evening.
JimmyB, your rimerlick (okay that was Windhover's DF comment) made my day. Dennis is so right, let's reflect: G-spot, morel guy, perp, DF, Dfness. This is truly a nice blog where ideas, answers, triumphs, defeats and any angst you might be going through are addressed. You can also be forgiven and welcomed back into the fold. Yes, we all met because we are intellegent people that enjoy putting together a puzzle.
C.C. we've had our differences in the past, but you have truly put together one hell of a blog.
Dennis -
I like "perp" and "G-spot." (Had to have perp explained, but I figgered out the G-spot on my own.)
English probably has more synonyms than any other language, with its mixed Saxon-French-Latin heritage, and all the foreign words that have krept in over the centuries.
Still hate KUDO, though.
One concert down, two to go.
Cheers!
I came across this blog quite by accident a few weeks ago. I must say, I quickly became hooked. As noted above, the conversations start with the puzzle then move off in different, but interesting directions. I quickly realized what 'perps' meant, but was a bit startled the first time I saw a reference to the g-spot.
Kelev, Katy, thanks so much for joining us; I hope you'll stick around and post frequently. There's a great group of people here.
Jazzbumpa-
Bravos at a math puzzle tournament?
Sudoku kudos
C.C.-
How about a side note for abbreviations?
DF is used often and morel guy appears now and then. G-spot is an obvious play on words and 'via the perps' is a creative term from Barry's past contributions.
As the list of terms grows, it would behoove you to have a way to enable newbies to quickly acclimate.
More crossword corner words
grok - I don't grok that clue.It's a real word, so we used to use it for fun.
vodka, or cavier, or any extravagant word used as a toast -- I vodka you, for instance.
I thought Emblen was just expressing his individual bias, not criticizing, but I could be wrong. How 'bout it Emblen? We are discussing you, in front of you. I know you'll feel free to speak further for yourself.
Welcome new posters. It's good to hear from you.
Kind anon...we don't get too many of those. Here is the dictionary as I know it being a long time "lurker" -someone who checks the blog every day or so and is too timid to put their info up. "perp"- means getting an answer from a clue via either by the "crosses" as embien would say or the "perpendiculars." I can't quite come up with the visual for being a "morel" guy, just picture a big morel mushroom...(you micht have to g-spot that) "g-spot" means having to Google an answer; "DF" means a dysfunctional person usually a male alluding to something sexual; "DF'ettes" means the counterpart of males alluding to something sexual as well; meaning the female species. I guess I covered that pretty well...Dennis?
I agree on the unique nature of our group. English, as it has been said, is also unique for its diversity in the world of languages. So our new inventions are just another facet of that diversity. If we are here to discuss a language exercise, i.e. these puzzles, then why not be creative and play with the language itself a bit?
"Perps" is less typing than "crosses" too, which is advantageous to slow typists such as I am. And I have to admit to an inner giggle every time I use it, morel or g'spot, thinking of their other meanings.
Welcome to the new posters too!
Good evening all,
Carol, you really know how to celebrate cow appreciation day, starting a limerick parade! Bill, Jazzbumpa, Lemonade, Vern and JimmyB, they were fun!
Anyone get a mental picture of those rats being trained to sniff out land mines?? Yeccht!
I bombed where you all bombed in the c/w today. Got Eddie and Totie (saw her in LV once), but did not know Eben or Ygor.
and nabob; it looks like it should be 2 words, like adiet. no clue
A venial sin is talking back to your mother. I was forgiven every week of my youth.
Jeannie, your recipe looks yummy and can't wait to try it.
Mensas and us densas NEED perps, some more than others.I need a perp to get a perp, and maybe it will give me another perp.
That little nudie tattooed lady could have been from the Seattle World Naked Bike Race, where they all did yoga on the city lawn when the race was over. That is a better picture than those rats!
Almost forgot... CC, I loved seeing "Starry Night" again!!!
I check CC's blog when I am totally stuck on an answer, though I usually try to do as much of the puzzle as I can first. I had figured out the meaning of "perps" from context but was glad to read today's discussion of it and other similar terms. Thanks to tarrajo for your definitions. Enjoy most of the comments but don't write often myself.
My husband and I usually work the daily puzzles separately, then combine answers. We "tag team" on the Sunday Merl Reagle puzzle, taking turns until most of it is done. Then we consult my 89 year old mother who knows lots of things we don't and trade answers with her.
@mamaruth That is such a great way to do the puzzle! It's a real family expedition. Sounds like a lot of fun.
is the ginger roots picture c.c.?
@anon@1:13 I do believe it is! C.C., so nice to see a posed picture of you. The prior one we had seen was difficult to see your face. Now, we need to see boomer next to you to get a height comparison. I have the sense that you are a petite person -- maybe 5'4"? Thanks so much for sharing!!
@anon@7:55 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 _____.
Have a cool evening, all.
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