Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 26
A pangram. Barry's hallmark. All 26 letters are utilized in the puzzle, including 2 Z's & 2 Q's.
This grid also has unique symmetry. If you fold it along the diagonal lines, all the black squares match each other. Very pretty. Lots of triple-stacked 7-letter words in each quadrant.
I suspect REYKJAVIK (21D: Northernmost national capital) is Barry's seed entry. Awesome fill, so scrabbly. Too bad I couldn't spell it correctly. I only know the Chinese translation. Oh, by the way, Barry is traveling and has no access to computer until Monday night. So, he won't respond to our comments today.
Very hard puzzle. Too many unknowns. A nightmare for me.
Across:
1A: Tops: BETTERS. BESTS can be clued as "Tops" too.
8A: Grows fond of: WARMS TO
15A: City WNW of Cheyenne: LARAMIE. Stumped. See this map. University of Wyoming is there. Dick Cheney's alma mater.
16A: Sister of Iphigenia: ELECTRA. I had no idea who Iphigenia is. Might have got the answer if it's clued as "Sister of Orestes". Remember this Three Furies painting? Orestes stabbed his mother to death because she murdered his father and was having an affair with someone else.
17A: Predictably: AS USUAL
18A: Ceremonious event: BANQUET. Of course I was thinking of Obama's Beer Summit.
19A: Peels: ZESTS. Noun or verb?
20A: Réunion attendee: FRERE. French for "brother". Sister is SOEUR.
22A: ConAgra spray: PAM. Did not know ConAgra owns PAM.
23A: Ferrara ruling family: ESTE. More often clued as "Italian noble family".
24A: Heat unit: THERM. Oh well, I only know BTU. THERM=100,000 BTUs. My initial thought was SQUAD, thinking heat might refer to the police.
25A: Style: MODE
26A: Caribbean export: RUM
27A: They usually lose at war: TREYS. How come? What war?
28A: Hood of "Our Gang" fame: DARLA. DARLA Hood, "typically the love interest of Alfafa, Butch, or (usually) Waldo", according to Wikipedia. Stumper for me.
29A: Low-fat breakfast brand: SPECIAL K. Oh, I did not know it's low-fat brand. Hate low-fat/no-fat food.
31A: Bit of gossip: MORSEL
32A: Place where a customer may be taken: CLIP JOINT. Does "taken" here mean "cheated"?
34A: Gel cap alternative: TABLET
37A: Urban scavenger: ALLEY CAT
42A: Like bighorns: OVINE. Bighorn is a wild sheep with large, curving horns.
43A: President of Pakistan, 1978-'88: ZIA. I forgot. This guy appeared in our old TMS puzzle before. He became the president by overthrowing Ali Bhutto, father was Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.
44A: "Saga of the Greenlanders" hero: LEIF. Son of Erik the Red. I've never heard of "Saga of the Greenlanders". It tells the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red according to Wikipedia. LEIF means "heir".
45A: Sunday outing: DRIVE. A pleasure trip.
46A: 1950s-60s TV quiz show host: MARX. No idea. Groucho MARX. The show is called "You Bet Your Life".
47A: Internet annoyance: LAG. Annoying indeed. Hit the Refresh button when you come here.
48A: Product of a fault: QUAKE. Geology fault.
49A: Helvetica's lack: SERIF. I did not know the meaning of Helvetica. It's a typeface in which characters have no SERIFS. Wikipedia says Helvetica is derived from Confoederatio Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland.
50A: Name from a Hebrew word for "God is with us": EMANUEL. Unknown to me.
52A: Of more interest to a nitpicker: PETTIER
54A: Emit: RADIATE
55A: Brobdingnagian: IMMENSE. Again, did not know the meaning of Brobdingnagian.
56A: Some small suits: SPEEDOS. Suit here refers to swimsuit, right? Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond.
57A: Test the concentration of, in chem lab: TITRATE. New word to me also.
Down:
1D: Apparel with insignias, at times: BLAZERS. Pilots' BLAZERS?
2D: Backs off: EASES UP
3D: Words to a skeptic: TRUST ME
4D: Decorator's asset: TASTE. TASTE is very subjective.
5D: Layers of green eggs: EMUS. See these eggs. Very dark green, almost black.
6D: River valley formation: RIA. Well, it's a gimme to me only when it's clued as "River inlet".
7D: Bookstore section: SELF HELP
8D: Units of magnetic flux: WEBERS. No idea. It's named after German physicist W. E. WEBER. I thought of TESLA, which is actually "Unit of magnetic flux density". One TESLA equals to one WEBER per square meter.
9D: Elevator button: ALARM
10D: Filmmaker Clair: RENE. An unknown French filmmaker to me.
11D: 1974 John Wayne title role: MCQ. Another total unknown.
12D: Dazes: STUPORS
13D: Old sewing machine part: TREADLE
14D: Common haggis ingredient: OATMEAL. Scottish seem to put OATMEAL in everything.
24D: Baldness, e.g.: TRAIT
25D: Best Picture of 1955: MARTY. No idea. Wikipedia says Ernest Borgnine won Oscar for his performance in this movie.
27D: Like many a backsplash: TILED
28D: Charitable organization, e.g.: DONEE. Struggled with the answer.
30D: Symbol seen in viola music: C CLEF. Absolutely no idea. Is C CLEF used in viola music only?
31D: Creator of Heffalumps: MILNE. Here is a list of Winnie-the-Pooh characters. I've never heard of Heffalumps.
33D: Salad leftover: OLIVE PIT. Did not come to me readily. I only make Chinese/Japanese style salad. Don't use olive or cheese.
34D: They have a lot of bills: TELLERS. So simple in retrospect.
35D: Garmin display: AREA MAP. Not familiar with the GPS navigation producer Garmin.
36D: Fighting force: BRIGADE. Sigh. Nope.
38D: Winter Palace resident: CZARINA. Wanted THE TSAR.
39D: Least substantial: AIRIEST
40D: Exempt, in a way: TAX FREE
42D: Papal vestment: ORALES. Also called fanon, "a striped scarflike vestment worn by the pope over the alb when celebrating solemn Pontifical Mass", says dictionary. Unknown to me. Maybe Argyle can find a link on those papal vestments.
45D: Because of: DUE TO
46D: Coin collector?: METER. My favorite clue. The real "Coin collector" is called numismatist.
48D: Beyond stereo: QUAD. Have never heard of QUAD hi-fi.
49D: Acct. summary: STMT. Statement. I've never paid attention to the abbreviation before.
51D: Nuremberg negative: NIE. German for "never". I only know NEIN (no).
53D: One of the "big four" record labels: EMI. A rare gimme. The other three are Universal, Sony and Warner Music.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 26
A pangram. Barry's hallmark. All 26 letters are utilized in the puzzle, including 2 Z's & 2 Q's.
This grid also has unique symmetry. If you fold it along the diagonal lines, all the black squares match each other. Very pretty. Lots of triple-stacked 7-letter words in each quadrant.
I suspect REYKJAVIK (21D: Northernmost national capital) is Barry's seed entry. Awesome fill, so scrabbly. Too bad I couldn't spell it correctly. I only know the Chinese translation. Oh, by the way, Barry is traveling and has no access to computer until Monday night. So, he won't respond to our comments today.
Very hard puzzle. Too many unknowns. A nightmare for me.
Across:
1A: Tops: BETTERS. BESTS can be clued as "Tops" too.
8A: Grows fond of: WARMS TO
15A: City WNW of Cheyenne: LARAMIE. Stumped. See this map. University of Wyoming is there. Dick Cheney's alma mater.
16A: Sister of Iphigenia: ELECTRA. I had no idea who Iphigenia is. Might have got the answer if it's clued as "Sister of Orestes". Remember this Three Furies painting? Orestes stabbed his mother to death because she murdered his father and was having an affair with someone else.
17A: Predictably: AS USUAL
18A: Ceremonious event: BANQUET. Of course I was thinking of Obama's Beer Summit.
19A: Peels: ZESTS. Noun or verb?
20A: Réunion attendee: FRERE. French for "brother". Sister is SOEUR.
22A: ConAgra spray: PAM. Did not know ConAgra owns PAM.
23A: Ferrara ruling family: ESTE. More often clued as "Italian noble family".
24A: Heat unit: THERM. Oh well, I only know BTU. THERM=100,000 BTUs. My initial thought was SQUAD, thinking heat might refer to the police.
25A: Style: MODE
26A: Caribbean export: RUM
27A: They usually lose at war: TREYS. How come? What war?
28A: Hood of "Our Gang" fame: DARLA. DARLA Hood, "typically the love interest of Alfafa, Butch, or (usually) Waldo", according to Wikipedia. Stumper for me.
29A: Low-fat breakfast brand: SPECIAL K. Oh, I did not know it's low-fat brand. Hate low-fat/no-fat food.
31A: Bit of gossip: MORSEL
32A: Place where a customer may be taken: CLIP JOINT. Does "taken" here mean "cheated"?
34A: Gel cap alternative: TABLET
37A: Urban scavenger: ALLEY CAT
42A: Like bighorns: OVINE. Bighorn is a wild sheep with large, curving horns.
43A: President of Pakistan, 1978-'88: ZIA. I forgot. This guy appeared in our old TMS puzzle before. He became the president by overthrowing Ali Bhutto, father was Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.
44A: "Saga of the Greenlanders" hero: LEIF. Son of Erik the Red. I've never heard of "Saga of the Greenlanders". It tells the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red according to Wikipedia. LEIF means "heir".
45A: Sunday outing: DRIVE. A pleasure trip.
46A: 1950s-60s TV quiz show host: MARX. No idea. Groucho MARX. The show is called "You Bet Your Life".
47A: Internet annoyance: LAG. Annoying indeed. Hit the Refresh button when you come here.
48A: Product of a fault: QUAKE. Geology fault.
49A: Helvetica's lack: SERIF. I did not know the meaning of Helvetica. It's a typeface in which characters have no SERIFS. Wikipedia says Helvetica is derived from Confoederatio Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland.
50A: Name from a Hebrew word for "God is with us": EMANUEL. Unknown to me.
52A: Of more interest to a nitpicker: PETTIER
54A: Emit: RADIATE
55A: Brobdingnagian: IMMENSE. Again, did not know the meaning of Brobdingnagian.
56A: Some small suits: SPEEDOS. Suit here refers to swimsuit, right? Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond.
57A: Test the concentration of, in chem lab: TITRATE. New word to me also.
Down:
1D: Apparel with insignias, at times: BLAZERS. Pilots' BLAZERS?
2D: Backs off: EASES UP
3D: Words to a skeptic: TRUST ME
4D: Decorator's asset: TASTE. TASTE is very subjective.
5D: Layers of green eggs: EMUS. See these eggs. Very dark green, almost black.
6D: River valley formation: RIA. Well, it's a gimme to me only when it's clued as "River inlet".
7D: Bookstore section: SELF HELP
8D: Units of magnetic flux: WEBERS. No idea. It's named after German physicist W. E. WEBER. I thought of TESLA, which is actually "Unit of magnetic flux density". One TESLA equals to one WEBER per square meter.
9D: Elevator button: ALARM
10D: Filmmaker Clair: RENE. An unknown French filmmaker to me.
11D: 1974 John Wayne title role: MCQ. Another total unknown.
12D: Dazes: STUPORS
13D: Old sewing machine part: TREADLE
14D: Common haggis ingredient: OATMEAL. Scottish seem to put OATMEAL in everything.
24D: Baldness, e.g.: TRAIT
25D: Best Picture of 1955: MARTY. No idea. Wikipedia says Ernest Borgnine won Oscar for his performance in this movie.
27D: Like many a backsplash: TILED
28D: Charitable organization, e.g.: DONEE. Struggled with the answer.
30D: Symbol seen in viola music: C CLEF. Absolutely no idea. Is C CLEF used in viola music only?
31D: Creator of Heffalumps: MILNE. Here is a list of Winnie-the-Pooh characters. I've never heard of Heffalumps.
33D: Salad leftover: OLIVE PIT. Did not come to me readily. I only make Chinese/Japanese style salad. Don't use olive or cheese.
34D: They have a lot of bills: TELLERS. So simple in retrospect.
35D: Garmin display: AREA MAP. Not familiar with the GPS navigation producer Garmin.
36D: Fighting force: BRIGADE. Sigh. Nope.
38D: Winter Palace resident: CZARINA. Wanted THE TSAR.
39D: Least substantial: AIRIEST
40D: Exempt, in a way: TAX FREE
42D: Papal vestment: ORALES. Also called fanon, "a striped scarflike vestment worn by the pope over the alb when celebrating solemn Pontifical Mass", says dictionary. Unknown to me. Maybe Argyle can find a link on those papal vestments.
45D: Because of: DUE TO
46D: Coin collector?: METER. My favorite clue. The real "Coin collector" is called numismatist.
48D: Beyond stereo: QUAD. Have never heard of QUAD hi-fi.
49D: Acct. summary: STMT. Statement. I've never paid attention to the abbreviation before.
51D: Nuremberg negative: NIE. German for "never". I only know NEIN (no).
53D: One of the "big four" record labels: EMI. A rare gimme. The other three are Universal, Sony and Warner Music.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Morning all,
ReplyDeleteWas up very early this a.m. because of being in bed by 8:30 last night. Bad headache due to sinus problems, [ugh]. Actually had less problems today than Friday’s puzzle. At least I finished today’s puzzle with some red help. Had to look up spelling of Reykjavic; knew the answer just couldn’t spell it. I’m only sure of two cities in WY and one of them was Laramie so that was a gimme. @CC, treys would be a three in cards and therefore a low value card and war is a child’s card game where higher card takes the pile. I also wanted Tesla instead of Webers so that area was last to fall. At one point many Navy blue blazers came with a gold insignia on the pocket. Style or mode from the past.
Knew Helvetica because of years of teaching word processing. Today was a better day, no headache, and a much better attitude. Have a good weekend all.
Well, we had an exciting evening. About 5, we had an extremely intense storm come through, complete with what they're calling a 'mini-tornado', which has never happened in this area before. Tons of trees and power lines down, and all three Philly stations had their news helicopters parked overhead; we were the lead story at 10 and 11. Quite a bit of destruction. Was out from 5:30 until after 2 this morning trying to help where I could, but it'll be quite a while before everything's fixed. Very lucky that our immediate neighborhood only had branches down.
ReplyDeleteJeannie, I'm glad your recovery has been speedy, and tarrajo, I'm happy for you; I know you're beyond excited.
I'll get to the crossword a bit later, but at first glance, it looks like a real bear.
Wow! Really hard puzzle for me today. I always scan through the puzzle and only write in the ones I am positive are correct. Today? Zero on the first pass. My next step is to g-spot the references to names/places. If I still can't get going I G using the clue with the word 'crossword' at the end. That way I can peek at the answer without seeing the entire grid. Too much typing today to be fun.
ReplyDeleteDennis-Living in central Alabama I have seen too many tornados. Really cool that you were out helping. So many people don't know where to begin after the destruction. Once a Marine, always a Marine? You may have received a lot of crap here in the past, but I think you're a pretty good guy.
Speaking of crap, Anon @11:10 pm last night...You have gone WAY over the line this time. Do you, by chance, live in a glass house?
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters ... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls ... Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another ... Whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God."
-Excerpts from Romans 14:1, 4, 12-13, 22
Dennis, good that you are okay. Yes, it is a real bear. I got the top half but just couldn't click on much on the bottom half of the puzzle at all. Clever clues alright, but too many of them unknowns for me.
ReplyDeleteI knew MARTY. That has been a long time xword fill. I rented it once to see what it was all about, and found it very slow. Must have been a bad movie year. Should have known EMANUEL right off the bat, and SPEEDOS - my boys are competitive swimmers after all. Daniel Craig is my favorite too, however, he is not wearing a speedo in this picture. He certainly looks good though.
CC I believe it was CZARINA, not TSARINA. Also, here is a link to an Orale. It is the cape that goes over his other vestments. Very fancy. I wouldn't want to wear all that clothing myself.
Have a great weekend. Hubby is home on the golf course. He seems to be doing much better.
Hey, This puzzle was a REAL hard one. I got top right corner no prob. Also remembered Darla Hood from Little Rascals. A Red Hot Chili Peppers song makes reference to Darla Hood as well. Needed a lot of red letter help today. Some of the answers though seemed so obvious after solving. Good luck to all who attempt this one.
ReplyDeleteReliving history.. no paper yet!!
ReplyDeleteThree important birthdays-
Francis Scott Key (1779)
Yves Saint Laurent (1936)
Jerry Garcia (1942)
1790- the 1st US cencus was taken (3,939,214)
1831 London Bridge opened
1873- Cable Car service began in SF
1960- Chubby Checker released "the Twist"
1971- George Harrison held a concert in NYC for Bangladesh. Here's "My Sweet Lord"
1976- Liz Taylor divorced Richard Burton for a 2nd time (her 6th divorce)
Tough for me: lots of red letter help. I too had to look up the spelling of Reykjavik.
ReplyDeleteThe only ones that I got on the first try were TABLET, ERRED and EMI. Worked my way from from the bottom.
The NW was the last to fall. I use to eat Special K every day but even after getting the K, I couldnt connect the dots.
Have a great weekend. I'm off to my books to prepare for a 4 hr+ interview on Monday.
Being a swimmer myself, I thought today's most clever clue was "some small suits" for SPEEDOS. Remember Mark Spitz in 1972? Check him out, 3rd from top, in all his historic glory, albeit scantily clad.
ReplyDeleteStill not getting 32A CLIPJOINT answer. Can someone enlighten me?
Dennis, I'm relieved that you are Ok. Hope everything is cleared and your area comes back to normal soon.
ReplyDeleteI dont know much about weather phenoms..what causes a 'mini tornado'?
Missed your post..will check back during my breaks.
Katy,
ReplyDeleteI looked up Clip joint on Wordweb:
"A place of entertainment where high prices are charged for poor entertainment"
Following is from wikipedia:
Clip joint
For Sat. puzzle it is CZarina instead of TSarina. Has to work with AlleyCat and Zia.
ReplyDeleteAHA! moment... Per wikipedia, "customers are tricked (ie "taken") into paying money and receive poor goods or services, or none, in return. Typically, clip joints suggest the possibility of sex, charge excessively high prices for watered-down drinks, and then eject customers when they become unwilling or unable to spend more money.
ReplyDeleteThanks Moon!
G'morning all,
ReplyDeleteThis was struggle on paper for me. I looked up quite a few things. Total unknowns were: PAM (I had DDT at first), TREYS, DARLA, ZIA (guessed), LEIF, MARX, SERIF ( thought it referred to Switzerland and put TARIF, thinking about their banking), EMANUEL, IMMENSE, TITRATE (I had PIP for PIT which didn't help), WEBERS, RENE, OATMEAL, MARTY, CCLEF, AREA MAP (never heard of GARMIN), MILNE, EMI.
Not all those had to be looked up, but I just didn't know what to put until perps helped me guess some of them. Like others, knew Reykjavik but not the spelling, likewise, with DDT I misspelled TREDDLE. For IMMENSE I guessed INTENSE until I looked it up. My first real traction was in the NW, although that took time as well. I think I liked clip joint best.
Growing up with school uniform blazers, we had to earn our school insignias to be stitched onto the pockets through either sport or academic honors.
Dennis, maybe what you got was what passed through here Wednesday night--thunderstorms, several tornados sighted, but mainly crop damage reported.
Good Morning, C.C. and all,
ReplyDeleteA real challenge today that needed a lot of red letter help. My biggest D'oh moment was for alarm. I tried to picture every button an elevator could have except that one.
As a former naval person, I have had a lot of experience with clip joints, both as an habituee and as a Shore Patrol officer. They abound around military bases and cause many fights to break out. A sailor who has been at sea for a while is an easy target for these joints. His main interest is booze and broads, and common sense departs after a drink or two.
Thank goodness I don't do that sort of thing anymore.
danabw @ 7:35,
Amen, brother.
So Helvetica falls into the sans-serif class. Why only negativity to describe fonts in French? No one calls the opposite avec-serif, just simply serif. Apparently Roman and Gothic (also called Grotesque) are also opposing terms for fonts with and without the little ink-wasters. Did you know that the ink in printer cartridges is more expensive than blood?
ReplyDeleteBack when I was in college, you only had two "font" choices, pica and elite, and that's only if you could afford two manual typewriters, or an IBM selectric. Back in high school, homework papers and reports were still hand-written. Those poor teachers... Whatever happened to penmanship anyway?
Just to make this post a little interesting (too late?), Women's speedos are not all that small, so depending on your frame of reference, it could make that clue all the harder to come up with.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteDennis, it is obvious that you are a most morel person. Good for you, especially for being helpful in the middle of the night.
Moon, good luck on your interview. Four hours? Wow.
danabw, it is usually best to ignore the trolls that badmouth some of us. lecturing just gives them the recognition they so clearly are trying for. It's very hard to do, but keeps the whole blog from being bogged down with this kind of trash.
And tarrajo, best wishes on your happy homecoming.
I got nowhere on this puzzle. got three words down correctly.
Cheers.
Good morning CC and all,
ReplyDeleteDennis, I can't imagine what it is like being in storms like that with trees falling down. I was not surprised that you were out helping everyone, a very morel guy!
What a fun ride this c/w was. Although it took an hour, I really did finish it down to the last t in titrate.Because the words were long (BTW, beautiful puzzle Barry), I went thru all A's, then the D's. I was surprised at how many gimmes I had to start.
My daughter lived in Laramie for 2 yrs while her hubby finished masters in Struc engin. She said she had to drive to Fort Collins to buy Scrabble.
Darla,Special K, alleycat, ovine, quake came easily, and Reykjavik was one of my daily geog. questions for my class.
I was not familiar with haggis, garmin,or brobdingnagian.
I remember Iphigenia was Agamemnon's daughter.In some myth she bragged that she was as good of a hunter as Artemis, so Artemis wanted her sacrificed.Somehow she escaped with her sisters,Orestes and Electra.
Laughed when I saw Heffalumps. I have 3 of those silky stuffed things in my daughter's old bedroom.I had forgotten what they were.
Loved the clue"coin collector", and "some small suits"
Have a great day
Jimbo: Couldn`t find your post...on what date was it?
ReplyDeleteDennis: You could teach anon a thing or million about
good-hearted charity and "live and let live." My sincere admiration is yours.
Windhover: Friends can disagree without being disagreeable. We are the proof!
Jeannie: After all is said and done, you and Tarrajo are exceptional women doing wonders under less-than-ideal circumstances. My hat is off to you both. I had a scare like yours last year...people on this blog were very supportive then, too. Thanks for the kind words. Now, would you help me pray some sense into my paper editor to put the LAT puzzle back in my paper?! :) And for those who would say, "God can`t be bothered by such trivia", you don`t know the God I know. He loves me so much He knows how many highlighted and regular hairs I have on my head!
Linda,
ReplyDeleteJuly 30th at 10:19 PM.
A FANNIE FINALE.
give me a break, those weren't clues.
ReplyDelete55 across? really, who wrote this, that person needs a shrink.
I worked the puzzle last night and wasn’t going to comment today, until I saw C.C.’s comment that it was a nightmare for her. Then I knew I was in good company. I usually love Barry Silk’s work, but this was just hard, with no comic relief. No fun at all, just a sigh of relief that it was over. (Sorry Barry, I still vodka you.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, CC, I think in that picture SPEEDO refers to the suit, since it’s the only small thing I can see.
Jeanne, glad you’re feeling better.
Dennis, glad you’re ok. Not surprised you’re out and about – running to the fire, not away from it. Atta boy!
Argyle, 1:26 am, high five! Perfectly obvious, isn’t it? Also not Buddhist.
JD, just read the your limerick from yesterday. You have serious talent, and a great sense if humor. Don't stop! Can you write one for the new babe? (grandson, I mean)
ReplyDeleteAl,teaching Penmanship is a thing of the past in most schools; it isn't tested and schools/teachers are now judged on test scores.Most of my 6th grders came without knowing how to write any cursive, and many can't read it.So many things are being lost, like creativity, ethics,... sigh
ReplyDeleteMoon, good luck on that looong interview on Mon.Go get'em!
Kazie, when I got olive, I wanted to finish it off with oil, but then petty came to mind filling in the p.
For those of you unfamiliar with heffalumps
Jimbo; Got it! The last post was before 10 and the one before it was 1 something..."cornfusing!".
ReplyDeleteWe have widowed aunts at the end of a day`s travel...going and coming. One has a half Jack Russell, half Feist dog and as he gets older, he gets more and more "protective" of her. We can barely hug her hello or good bye! So, someone has written some of your life down, huh?
CC: I will sincerely try to do the puzzle on line before I post from now on...I just hate to do it without my coffee,paper spread all over the den table and with my little sharpie, retractable lead pencil...I hate change...is that a sign of getting on in years? :)
Hey gang - only have a couple minutes, then back at it. Far more damage than it appeared last night. One house took 3 trees, and a 4th tree got their car. Just stuff down all over. Almost stepped on a live wire, which would've been interesting. Always wanted curly hair...if you 'google news' "medford lakes", there might be some pictures there.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came in to shower a bit ago, i took a look at the puzzle, and started to fill in some answers when I finally got some traction. I can't repeat all the words that came outta my mouth, some are unprintable, others I don't think are real words. This one's a real bear, and it's gonna take some time later. Good job, Barry.
Thanks for all the good words, but I'm not doing anything any of you wouldn't be doing.
Al, thanks so much for the women's speedo pic; now can you PLEASE tell me where Ocean View is, so I can go there and drown??
BarbaraB, made me laugh out loud; great line.
Anon, 'brobdingnagian' is not that unusual a crossword word.
Hopefully more later.
Hi all...I love that this was a Barry Silk puzzle and I usually think that I will eventually get it solved, just because I so like how he constructs...slog, slog, slog. Left it alone last night and finished up quickly this morning.
ReplyDeleteKnew LARAMIE...been there,ELECTRA from perps,DARLA, MILNE, SPECIAL K, MARX, SERIF, TABLET, ALLEY CAT a few others and of course, QUAKE because I live in Calif.
Didn't understand why a brother was answer to 20A??? Couldn't think of a French word for alum...A few things that didn't seem obvious last night became clear this morning. REYKJAVIK is one of those really fun words and I guess I have always remembered it because in the Pat Boone version of Journey to the Center of the Earth they had to start out from there and it just always stuck. Remembering things like that must be what makes it more difficult to remember where I set my glasses down.
And to anon@11:29am...Brobdingnagians comes from the classic Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift and if you don't or won't read they even made it into a TV movie a few years ago with Ted Danson(of CHEERS fame) as Gulliver. But that's ok to let your stupidity hang out for all to see. We thank you for you input.
Had a fabulous time at SFMOMA, became a member because it only cost $25 more to join for 4 people for a year than it did for the entrance fee just for 2 people for 1 day. Wonderful O'Keefe paintings, quite a few I had never seen before. The Ansel Adams photos were paired with her work and I never actually knew that they were quite good friends. Also a fabulous Richard Avedon photography exhibit and an exhibit of the contemporaries of Modigliani. Finished up with a terrific lunch at a restaurant down the street.
I so want to get painting but have to take care of things for mom today.
Cheers to Tarrajo at having your lovely son home.
Dennis glad everything is ok...and Al, loved the sans-serif...I had never thought of it quite that way.
Kazie...doesn't réunion mean the same as reunion(approx)?
Great day to you all
Good Morning All, Maybe I should list the fills I got the first time around, rather than the ones I didn't know. We haven't seen Barry Silk for a while and he nailed us when he did show up!
ReplyDeleteI managed to get started in the NE corner with ELECTRA, DARLA, TREADLE and OATMEAL and worked backward from there.
I also got some traction with LARAMIE, REYKJAVIK, SPECIAL K, MILNE and ALLEY CAT.
One of my uncles was named LEIF. He pronounced it "Life", although I've also heard it pronounced "Lafe" and "Leaf". Those Scandinavians are a contrary bunch!
Where is our friend Dr. Dad when we need him? WEBERS, THERM and TITRATE are all scientific terms that he would have a nice concise explanation for.
This puzzle was a "spanker", but when it is Barry Silk who is doing the spanking, we don't seem to mind so much.
Watching a clip of The MARX Brothers can start your day with a smile. This one is for you, Buckeye.
Barb B, Argyle, OR Jewish, Muslim, B'hai, Hindu, Zoroastrian (I've left a lot out, I know), or any person of conscience with no affiliation at all.
Holy smokes! I didn't know Barry Silk was a daredevil. It's not for the meek or timid to put REYKJAVIK any place in a puzzle. Much less right down the middle, knowing you've got to cross it with real words and phrases. However, Barry did just that...and beautifully. It doesn't get much better than SPECIALK, CLIPJOINT, ALLEYCAT, and QUAKE.
ReplyDeleteHow many remember the album by Eric Clapton named "HELVETICA" and the hit song from that album "I Shot the SERIF"
Dennis: As a Katrina survivor, I can tell you your neighbors truly appreciate the help you are providing. I wish you all the best. Mother Nature can really pack a punch.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, "Réunion attendee". I started out with élève, thinking of a school reunion, but after a (long) while realized that families have reunions too.
ReplyDeleteI do think that, in general, the puzzles are coming to depend too much on foreign words. French, Spanish and German pop up quite regularly. I took four years of French in my Canadian high school, but many Americans are not familiar with even a basic word like frère.
I agree with Sallie@10:27. It is essential that we totally ignore the trolls. No feedback....no satisfaction.
Dennis, Glad to hear that you are safe. I came across this article on Philly.com. We Californians get so concerned about our summer heat waves and lack of rain that we tend to forget that the other end of the spectrum can be so much worse.
Jerome, Still want to know about the meaning of those brackets.
Tarrajo, Have lots of fun with LGJ today.
I haven't attempted the puzzle yet for today but wanted to make comments re. recent postings.
ReplyDeleteJimbo, I did not see your Thurs. 10:19 P.M. post until you referred to it yesterday. Then read it. Thanks for the story even though it was sad. Does Leona Bruce's book have other stories about your family? I have copied down the name & will look for it the next time I go to the library.
Linda, Welcome Back.
Windover, It is not the info from the 'Insurance Industry shills' that concerns us Conservatives, it is the info from the backers of the HC reform that raises questions. Most people agree that the HC industry & insurance practices need overhauled. But when it is in the hands of people like Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, Obama's Special Health Policy Advisor, it is scary. In the January issue of "The Lancet", he said that "If health care is to be rationed, he prefers 'complete lives systems' which would 'discriminate against older people'. Some time ago in a Hastings Center Report, he said 'health services should not be guaranteed to individuals who are not participating citizens i.e. patients with dementia.' Are we talking about health care for everyone or health care for those the government deems worthy of health care?
Space here does not allow for quotes of many of the questionable parts of the proposed plan, but it would be good if everyone could read some of the proposals - such as Sec 1145 p.272 where treatment of certain cancer hospitals is open to rationing. Sec. 142 p. 42 - Health Care commissioners will choose your benefits for you. Etc, etc.
Even our liberal Senator Herb Kohl does not agree with part of the plan.
There is certainly a lot to consider.
Dot
19:22 today. What a wonderful, scrabbly puzzle. REYKJAVIK right smack dab in the middle (obviously the seed for this puzzle)! Wow! It hardly gets better than this in a Saturday themeless.
ReplyDeleteMy missteps included plopping in TESLAS where WEBERS belonged (never heard of a WEBER before), and that made 8a become TAKES TO instead of WARMS TO. Another big problem was filling in TSARINA with no crosses (remember I solve "downs first"). Then I put in TINIEST for "least substantial." Took a while to get that corner worked out, especially since I didn't know ZIA.
My one and only experience with a CLIP JOINT was when I was with a few college buddies in Vienna, Austria. We went into this club where they were advertising cheap drinks (we were college kids, after all). The maitre d' immediately sized us up as being rich young Americans and plopped us down at a stage-side table where the only option was an expensive bottle of champagne instead of the cheap beer. Turns out we had to go sit at the bar in the back of the room to get the cheap stuff. Fortunately we did that and weren't stuck with a horrendous tab for the champagne.
It was very handy to pretend a lack of language understanding when we were subsequently approached by the local ladies of the evening (obviously in the employ of the club). I'll bet that would have been really expensive had we taken that path. We could have been really CLIPPED.
Hey, Gang -
ReplyDeleteI still can't spell Rekyvik. Had to G -spot Units of Magnetic flux. Wanted Henrys, which are - actually, I don't know what they are. Also, McQ, LEIF (to my chagrin) and ELECTRA. Wasn't she in the opera Carmen?
Like Kazie, I misread Helvetia. What does Switzerland lack? A COAST! Took a while to recover from that.
Final fill for me was the T in TABLET. I really wanted CAPLET, which was silly, since I already had BRIGADE. Thusly the obvious becomes the oblivious.
C Clefs are an abomination in the sight of god and man. There is absolutely no excuse for them. They are anachronistic relics of medieval music notation.
Symphonic trombone music, especially European, uses these clefs, Alto for 1st part - which might be, but almost never is, played on an alto trombone, and tenor clef for 2nd, which I play.
A couple years a ago we performed American composer Howard Hanson's 2nd Symphony - an absolutely gorgeous piece of music. My part bounced back and forth between bass and tenor clef, promiscuously, and for no reason I could discern. In one passage I had a half note A that repeated for several measures, and there was a clef change in the midst of it?!?
In another place the publisher missed indicating a clef change. At rehearsal, The conductor looked askance at me and said, "Just play any note in the chord."
"What's the chord?" I asked?"
"D," He responded.
"That's why my G sounds so bad," I said.
G on bass clef is D on tenor. G (the forth) is horrible against the F# in the chord. Really, really horrible.
Dennis - I applaud your heroic efforts last night. You are one good guy!
TJ - Give LGJ a hug from Bumpa.
Cheers!
Hey, all!
ReplyDeleteI started this one off quickly, got bogged down with a bunch of plausible (yet completely) wrong answers, but managed to pick myself up and ended up finishing it at just over 10 minutes.
Incorrect answers that bogged me down included RINDS instead of ZESTS, TIDBITS instead of MORSELS, ELAN instead of MODE, DDT instead of PAM and SEWER RAT instead of ALLEY CAT.
I knew REYKJAVIK, but like many couldn't remember how to spell it until I had nearly all the crosses.
EMMANUEL was a gimme because of an aria from Handel's "Messiah" (quoting scripture) that includes the line, "And they shall call his name Emmanuel, God With Us." I used to sing that every year at Christmastime.
I got DARLA eventually simply because I knew she was a character in the old "Our Gang" serials, but I had no idea what her last name and thought the clue was implying she was a gangster of some sort.
I think the only total unknowns today were RENE and WEBERS. ORALES and MCQ were almost unknown, but they were vaguely familiar enough that at least they looked right when I got them via the crosses. But having RENE, WEBERS and MCQ almost side by side made the NE corner the last to fall.
To add to Dot`s info: Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel is Rob Emmanuel`s brother.
ReplyDeleteAccording to other info I have gleaned..."Assisted Suicide" info will be an option that will be REQUIRED to be presented to the elderly and those in poor health. (My opinion: that will put us on a slippery slope wherein "quality of life' will be the issue and the decision will NOT be the patient`s to make,eventully.)
Patients who do not have as many "resources" invested in them (infants) will be a lower priority than older children or teens in whom "society" has "invested" in the form of education and prior health care.
But the clincher is that there has been a rejected proposal to "force" congress to be covered under the same health care plan the general public will get.
It just stands to reason that when there is X amount of health-care dollars, there will, of necessity, be "rationing." I`m afraid none of us will like the criteria for said rationing.
"The scariest words I ever heard were, `I`m from the government and I`m here to help` ". Ronald Reagan.
Whether your opinion is "for or agin`", it`s vital that you contact your Congressmen and Senators before Congress resumes in September.
Clear Ayes- C.C. was correct yesterday when she stated "The square brackets suggest non-verbal behavior..."
ReplyDelete[Uh-oh!]: Gulp
Taking a big swig of a drink can be defined as taking a gulp. However, the kind of gulp you take when you're afraid or anxious [Uh-0h!] is non-verbal, or, wordless. It's merely a sound in the throat. The bracketed clue suggests that.
I looked at the plethora of ultra conservative websites that have taken Dr. Emmanuel's quote out of context. On the other hand, here is the complete Lancet article. It is titled Principles for allocation of scarce medical interventions and is a philosophical treatise, complete with objections. When faced with the problem of allocating hearts, kidneys and other organs for transplant, some system would have to be in place to assign priority. Dr. Emanuel, who is a well respected bio-ethicist and is, incidentally, a leading opponent of state-assisted suicide, presented a thoughtful presentation to be considered in only the most dire of situations.
ReplyDeleteI know that Wikipedia has to be taken with a grain of salt, but it is true that the United States in the only wealthy industrialized country that doesn't have Universal Health Care. Surely we can do as well as Trinidad and Tobago, or India.
And once more from Wikipedia, but can certainly be verified from other sources, Life expectancy by country.
Finally, there are 44 countries that have a lesser infant mortality rate CIA chart (yes, that CIA) than the United States, with 6.26 mortality out of 100,000 live births. That is totally unacceptable. The lack of prenatal care for the poor in this country is a leading cause for this shameful statistic.
tfrank - my husband and I both spent lots of time in overseas ports in our time in the Navy. When I read him "common sense departs after a drink or two" he said "doesn't usually take that much, if you've been at sea a while".
ReplyDeleteJazz - my husband, the trombone player, agrees with you. (I had to get him to translate your post for me - not a musical note in my body or in my education until I met him.) He said all you need is a base clef.
Kazie - Garmin is a maker of GPS (global positioning system) devices for navigation in cars, boats, planes and on foot. Well known to me, since I worked for Magellan, one of their competitors.
KQ - It was a different time when MARTY won an Academy Award. It was up against some pretty good pictures: "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing," "Mister Roberts," "Picnic" and "The Rose Tattoo"
I think there is a tremendous amount of misunderstanding about what health care reform will be and what the various options mean. The biggest problem is that Americans can so easily be taken in by scare tactics. The quintessential example is this comment from a woman at the Raleigh Town Hall meeting: “I don’t want government-run health care. I don’t want socialized medicine. And don’t touch my Medicare.”
ReplyDeleteAs for being forced to elect assisted suicide - that's a laugh. As a long time supporter of Death with Dignity, I am much more concerned that it is not an option more readily available and appalled at the idea that the Congress tried to keep Terry Schiavo on life support. Talk about scary "I'm from the government I'm hear to help."
The public option is an option. And if the insurance companies can't compete then that's their problem. Somehow FedX manages to compete against the USPS.
That's my rant for the day.
Good afternoon, all.
ReplyDeleteDennis, you are an inspiration helping out your community after your terrible weather. A student of mine, who became a friend, was a rabbinical student, and would quote pithy Talmudic sayings, many of which have stuck with me. One of the best was along the lines of "When a person extends a hand to help another, G_d throws a party." So, Dennis, I think that parties should be thrown in your honor here on Earth, because if there is a Heaven, it surely can wait. (I'm not religious, but I did have a soft spot for one smart, pretty lady Rabbi who passed out coloring books entitled "Stepping Stones to a Jewish Me" to her non-Jewish friends for birthday presents!)
Doing today's puzzle was like a bad marriage; twenty five minutes into it, I was looking for a good lawyer and slapping myself upside the head wondering where I had hidden the pre-nup. An hour's therapy with Dr. Google, consultation with a few wise relatives, and a tear or two, and we parted as friends, her back to REYKJAVIK, me to LARAMIE, no hard feelings, few regrets and minimal scarring.
@JD; since this browser doesn't allow me to copy/paste the recipe into this or any blog, (blame AT&T), I'm trying to post it on my blog via SMS. Will let you know once it lands.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who sweated the grid today. The potato lady at the farmers' market this morning actually asked me if I'd had a "rough start to the day"!
Later......
Good afternoon all,
ReplyDeleteJust taking a break from watching the Indy cars going around and around at the Kentucky Speedway.
I would like like to see a raising of hands from those who knew who Iphigenia. Please raise your right hand while I take a count.
The peaches I bought when everyone was talking about Melba, are now soft enought that I don't need my chain saw to cut off a slice.
Withb my EE major, I wouldd have to eat worms if I didn't know what a weber is.
Remember one clip joint where a 400lb woman asked me to buy her a glass of champagne. Bet it was going to be ginger ale.
Back to Sparta, Kentucky. They had 6" of rain so every thing was pushed back untill to night.
eddyB.
Hello All--Another stumper for me today. I wanted exceeds for tops, and Eminate for radiate, and rinds for zests, so you know the problems from then on. I did get some of the longer words, and phrases, and Googled some more, but had to come to this site to finish up. Sometimes going with my first thought or gut feeling for an answer is much better than trying to make it harder than it is. I eat Special K all the time, but wanted a company name.
ReplyDeleteTreadle was a given, and that NE corner of the puzzle was the easiest for me. I still have the old treadle machine on which I did ALL of my sewing until the late sixties. Then hubby and my girls took pitty on me and bought an electrified machine as a Christmas Gift. I've made everything to frilly dresses, doll clothes to coats on the old machine and it stood me in good stead for many years.
I'm not blue, again. I don't know what keeps happening, but my password isn't accepted, I change it and I still don't turn blue until I've gone through at least two to three password changes. This is getting old.
Dennis, I'm SO glad that your immediate neighborhood wasn't too damaged in the storm. Your neighbors are lucky to have such a concerned and helpful friend. Take care as it can be dangerous work clearing debris.
There is no such thing as too much information when faced with making decisions which will affect us and future generations. That is yet another thing which makes this blog so special. Whether the opinions/facts expressed are ultra-conservative or ultra liberal...and everything in between...they get it "all out there" so that all of us can make informed decisions.
ReplyDeleteYay, CC!
Elissa,
ReplyDeleteThanks for GARMIN. I kind of came to that conclusion when I g'ed it.
WM,
Yes, réunion is like reunion in English, or more specifically a meeting, but Réunion is also a place name, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Since it was capitalized in the clue, I was also wondering about a misdirect of that sort. It's actually a French Département d'Outre-Mer (overseas department).
I'm sorry to prolong a discussion about non-crossword, possibly inflammatory subjects.
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I appreciate the discussion about health care. Some very salient points were made, and good resources offered. Thanks to all of you.
I think our country has become a very scary place. How is it possible that there is a class of people called the working poor? That term should be an oxymoron, shouldn't it?
We can't afford an 'us against them' mentality. We're dying here, and partisan politics are counter productive.
I surrender!!! I thought yesterday's puzzle was bad.....
ReplyDeleteI gave up and looked at CC's answers. That top left corner had me stumped but good. Oh well, at least I can wait for Monday and start my week off with an easier puzzle.
@Jerome, I Shot the Sheriff, not serif.
ReplyDeleteThose who are wealthy enough to have opted out of government-run Medicare and Social Security are very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband had to have knee replacement surgery it was a relief to know that we didn't have to count on our secondary insurer (at least we have a secondary!), which would only have paid 80% of the original $180,000 hospital and doctor bills. Of course, the negotiated Medicare payment was much less than $180,000. We wound up paying approximately $1,000 out of pocket. With other medical bills, it is Medicare that has come to our rescue. It is literally a life saver.
Well, you all know where I'm coming from, so that will be all from me on this topic. High five, Elissa, WH, WM, Kazie, JD, et al. Left hand only, I'm saving my raised right hand for EddyB.
EddyB, Right hand raised for both Iphigenia and Electra...I took a classical mythology and literature class in college.
Jerome, I was the one who thought brackets meant an onomatopoetic sound, ie hiccup, sniff, etc. C.C. was the proponent of "non-verbal".
Carol, Hope you have de-apricoted yourself by now and have all the jam in the pantry where it belongs.
Jerome -
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're a little too ELITE for some posters.
Every time I go to COSTCO, I eye that big 75 lb bag of Purina Troll Chow, but have to stop and remind myself that we don't feed them.
EddyB -
I know Iphigenia, but we are the most casual of acquaintances, and I am not familiar with her family tree.
Elissa -
Sorry for posting in musickese. Hate it when I need translation. Is hubby an active player? What kind of music, horns, etc.? You/he (or any of my friends here) can email me at jazzbumpa@gmail.com.
Linda -
We pay twice as much per capita for health care as other industrialized countries, for much, much worse than average results. Pharmaceuticals pretty much own the government, which is why getting health care similar to what they have in every other first word country on this planet is so difficult. Even the AMA is on board with the Obama plan. That ought to tell you something.
The other reason is the right wing disinformation campaign that spews lies about about rationing, euthanasia, and loss of choice. Lies - every bit of it.
Medical care is so rationed now, that 40 million people don't get any.
I'm 2 1/2 years away from medicare, and can hardly wait for the improvement. Two years ago, while I was still working, with employer provided health care that cost me a couple hundred dollars a month, I got an infection in my finger. Cost for treatment was over $2000, out of pocket.
Looking forward to a better future, I say:
Cheers!
We had a major storm here last night as well...it must have headed east. Dennis good to know your property was somewhat safe. Hey, don't you have some curly hair anyway...somewhere?
ReplyDeleteTarrajo, hope your reunion with LGJ was phenomenal. Don't force feed the zucchini right off the bat though unless it is disguised.
Linda, once again I say "Welcome back" as you are a breath of fresh air to me, anyway.
Jazz: My husband last played trombone on a regular basis when he was in the USC Marching Band (he marched in 4 Rose Parades and countless USC games)in the 70's. Now he just brings the horn out from time to time and plays a few bars of "Sentimental Journey", which I claim saves us bundles on exterminator bills - scares away the critters. I keep telling him that when he retires he should join the Los Altos Town Band. They play the local festivals and parades.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm only up to three, here are some additional Shots from the Jazz Fest.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Ca, excellent links! I hate the scare tactics of the most recent ads. The "he said/she said" doesn't work for me, there's too much being taken out of context.
ReplyDeleteanon, I think Jerome was playing with the words.
Eddy, I'm raising my hand for once, but I didn't know the president of Pakistan.
BTW, those stuffed "things" I have held onto are Puffalumps, not Heffalumps, maybe because they are puffy versions??
Yoo hoo....calling Carol...Is it jam yet?
Bummer!! As bad as yesterday. Got a few answers then looked up a bunch, names/places. Had to look up the spelling of Reykjavik. Lower right corner killed me. Was discussing treadle sewing machines yesterday with the grandsons. Looked up photos to show them. I have a hand crank portable.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed discussions today.
Finished sewing room project. After a trip back to the store to exchange lights and fan. Went to fan with halogen light and remote. Now he's thinking to redo it and put the fan on it's own switch. I give up!!
Smoke from fires coming into the Rogue Valley. Hope the humidity drops soon:{
Me again.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to thank JD and Jazzbumpa for their PEEDEE poetry last night. [hands clapping].
Typeface "Helvetica" was the subject & title of a really good documentary in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the font's creation. Many "s'posed to be good for ya" shows bore me but that one, which has been on PBS at least once, was fascinating. Worth checking out. Goes into design, advertising, psychology, urban planning, etc., with some great designers throwing some brain cells at what could have easily been a two-martini snoozefest.
Two puzzle quibbles: 1) Special K [29A]isn't a brand, it's a product name; Kellogg would be the brand. ~~ Oh, and check out the nutritional info before you fill up on it. Healthier than haggis, heck yeah, but still not ideal. ~~
2) I think this has been blogged here before, but the word 'zests'--of 19 across fame--is not quite synonymous with "peels", because peels contain the "bitter pith" plus the zest.
Yeesh, my picky Virgo birthsign just exposed itself, eh? Hmmmm..."Bitter pith" would be a great novel or movie title maybe?? Just thought of that....Or how about "Pith for Brains" --say it out loud, it's fun.
True story: 16 across clue, "Sister of Iphigenia." My first thought, really, was "How can a blood disorder have a sister?" --A little bit funny, maybe, but really just sad that my noggin misfires that way!
Dot,
ReplyDeleteThe book is out of print, but there are copies on the internet (for a price).
The book I quoted from is in our university library.
(Angelo State University in San Angelo, Tx.)
Yes it has quite a bit to say about my dad as well as many other "Roadshow People" and early settlers.
I copied several pages dealing with our part of the book and if you are interested, I will be glad to make copies for you and Linda and anyone else that will give me their mailing address.
Anon- But it was from the "Helvetica" album... right?
ReplyDeleteTreefrog...where abouts on the Rogue? My husband's sister lives in Grants Pass and we have property outside of town...hadn't heard of any fires yet.
ReplyDeletegood afternoon c.c. and all,
ReplyDeletetoday's was definitely hard, but not near as hard as yesterday's. yesterday's was the first puzzle i wasn't able to finish on my own in a very long time. knowing barry silk's style definitely helped with the solving. i had the same thought that REYKJAVIK was the seed fill. all i had was the K when i saw the clue, but knowing how scrabbly silk's puzzles always are, i knew the answer immediately. same for OVINE and QUAKE. liked SPECIAL K, it was my daughter's nickname in soccer.
warren and elissa: i worked for bnr/nortel from '84-'98. not alot of good news coming out of there lately.
lois: congratulations! i'm assuming you survived, looking forward to pics.
fred and jerome: great puzzles, both of you.
barb b: LOL!
dennis: glad you're all ok. sounds like you'll need to book a massage soon. i had a client today sporting a marine t-shirt: 'pain is weakness leaving the body.' hadn't heard that one before but i think i'll quote it when someone says i'm hurting them ...
my favorite orale.
Hi, There is about an hour before the IRL cars race. Great first race with a lot of side-by-side and three wide racing. Another podium finish for Ana. Hope she moves up next season. Would love to see her race Danica side-by-side.
ReplyDeleteHave to run to the bath room and make pop corn.
BTW: You may lower your hand if you haven't yet.
eddyB.
Finally got here, Hello everybody,
ReplyDeleteI did the NE corner then was abducted for a breakfast that developed into a Sunday drive(ok, a day early). Returned to a phone call; baby sister's car wouldn't start so I pulled a Saab starter from one of my spares. Lost some blood on the last bolt but the bleeding has stopped now, so it's time to read the comments.
@eddyb Have to run to the bath room and make pop corn. I sure hope you meant Have to run to the bath room and then go make pop corn.
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading the Modesto Bee. Front page news is that the insanely successful "Cash for Clunkers" government program has been funded for an additional $2 billion dollars. It's too bad that only Democrats can apply. I"M KIDDING!!
ReplyDeleteThat's #5. Nite, all.
PJB -
ReplyDeleteThanx! BTW Two martinis are more than I cane handle. (I make one and it's really good.)
Eddy B-
I make pop corn in the kitchen.
Hand is down.
Melissa B -
Good Orale'
IMHO pain is a pain. Just sayin' . . . Julie asks me, "Is that too much?"
"No," I groan through clenched teeth, "Just enough."
Elissa -
I most heartily encourage joining the town band. I'm pretty much a community band kind of guy - even the symphony is an amateur community effort. Music is the most fun you can ever have, without getting drunk or taking off your clothes!
Jerome -
I think Clapton drove to that recording session in a TEAL CHEVI.
#4
Cheers!
Hi Dennis,
ReplyDeleteJust watched our local news and your area was featured here in Vancouver.
Hope things warm up for you soon.
We are fighting fires here due to a heat wave.
Talk about climate change eh!
Take care and keep safe.
Best,
Geri
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI tried the puzzle, didn't do well. I always enjoy a Barry Silk puzzle and I did finish parts of it but guess my head is more into my jars of apricots. I canned 21 pints yesterday. Not jam, just the apricots in medium sweetening. I leave the skin on and just cut them in half (and take out the pits :)).
Anyway, lots of stuff going on here lately, and not all of it good.
CA (5:03) my left hand is raised to you (and others).
JD, loved your limerick of yesterday!!!
Maybe we should start a 'limerick day' on here.
Jazz, yours was very clever too!
Lois, if you are reading this, hope this weekend is all you want it to be and much more. We will all eagerly await your pictures of the wedding if you care to share one or two with us.
Windhover, glad you survived your visit with Lois, I really knew it would be a good one!
We have had internet provider problems in our neighborhood for many days (months actually, but not too bad until the heat hit) so it has been difficult to get on line much of the time. They think they have solved the problem finally. We will see..I am not too optimistic at this point because we have been told that before.
Dennis, hope you are ok after the storm.
An hour and a half and one big Gin & Tonic later, I'm caught up. Another ten minutes and I can start tomorrow's.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Bee, my daughter, Shelby, worked for Bay Net/Nortel about the same time as you.
ReplyDeleteTime for a walk....
Argyle: how do you get tomorrow's puzzle today?
ReplyDeleteJazzbumpa- Teal Chevi? That's as bad as Serif Palin.
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout this-
Clue- What do you find in senator Thurman's grave?
Theme answer- SEVENTY SIX STROM BONES
I suspect the trey answer refers to the card game war
ReplyDeleteJerome -
ReplyDeleteI give. My effort was Palin comparison.
But now, I really want to see the rest of that themed puzzle!
Argyle -
What gin do you prefer?
#5, and out.
Cheers!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteCrockett1947: You are right. It was a bad way to say that I was in a hurry. Used the microwave in the kitchen for the pop corn. I watched the first race on the computer and the second on TV.
It almost doubled my TV viewing time for the week.
Thanks to all for taking part in the survey.
A little over two hours to go before I am able to down load tomorrow's grid.
eddyB.
@kelev and all The next day's puzzle is available on cruciverb.com at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time in the Archives section. This is an Across Lite version, but I personally prefer it over the applet that is on the L.A. Times website. You can set it to show you errors (like red letters) or not. Sure beats waiting until 11:00 p.m. Pacific time for the puzzle to be released on the L.A. Times website.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your well wishes my crossword blog friends. Brady Joe is safely ensconsed in his "pre-man lair" and snoring soundly. We had a good talk and he told me he missed me and loves me. Okay, a collective "awww". Mama is, I can't explain it.....
ReplyDelete@tarrajo So nice that Brady Jo is home and you are feeling the love. Have a great rest of the weekend.
ReplyDelete@buckeye You haven't seen Lois go zipping by, have you?
@TarraJo; Glad to hear LGJ is home,
ReplyDeleteand that he enjoyed himself, 'though all us guys miss our moms when we go away,even when we won't admit it....
Amazing how kids they look different sometimes even after just a short while away. At least that's what my folks used to say when I went to camp and came home! Will "see" you for the Sunday puzzle wrap up; let's hope Dennis's area doesn't get hit with more bad storms. I just got back from a quiet night out, no one got into any trouble or brawls, lol, so that's a good evening here in Chicago!
'Night. pjb-chgo
EddyB--a solution to hard peaches and nectarines is to put them in a paper bag until they ripen. You have to check them often to get them out when they are soft but not yet rotten. Sometimes they go right from hard to over-ripe and rotten.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to read all the comments when I've had a hard time with the puzzle. Seems like the end of the week (Thursday, Friday and Sat.) ones are harder than they used to be. Some days all I can manage are a few words on the first pass through. Sometimes I get a second wind and a lot more answers when I try again later in the day. Other times, like today, I give up and come to cc's blog instead of looking up one clue at a time on Google or in the dictionary.