Theme: Organ Transplant - The organ is each organ-embedded common phrase is transplanted to another non-organ containing common phrase.
24A: Pool hall "Better luck next time"?: (HEART)FELT CONDOLENCES
30A: Sound of a breakup?: (EAR)SPLITTING NOISE
43A: Columbus college funds?: OHIO STATE BUCK(EYE)S
52A: Temper tantrum? (BRAIN)STORMING SESSION
73A: Steinway's idea for a large piano?: GRAND (BRAIN)CHILD
80A: Minimum for a Maybeline ad shoot?: FORTY (EYE)LASHES
91A: Place-marking lessons for readers? DOG(EAR) TRAINING
102A: Sorrows behind bars?: JAIL (HEART)BREAKS
Each of the organ is successfully transplanted to its grid symmetrical partner. Excellent!
I have never heard of base phrase FORTY LASHES, so I had a bit of trouble understanding 80A. Kidney is probably the most common type of organ plant. Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) has sparked a heated debate over his rather quick liver transplant.
There are quite a few nice long Down answers in this puzzle. I especially loved the below two-word entries:
16D: It's pressed in distress: PANIC BUTTON
61D: Segment of the western Pacific: CHINA SEAS
62D: Picnic side: POTATO SALAD
75D: "Twister" actress: HELEN HUNT
The answer just popped up to me with one or two letters filled in.
I really hope Dan will not change his style just to avoid annoying solvers with one or two obscure fills. Heavy themage, lots of non-theme fills of 6 or more letters (Dan Naddor Index) and low word count are his hallmarks.
It's like the predominance of yellow color in van Gogh's painting. It's just van Gogh. It's his style.
Across:
1A: "Satisfied?": HAPPY. Yes!
6A: Controversial initiation practice: HAZING
12A: Concert dancing areas: MOSH PITS. New phrases to me.
20A: What Mexican Olympians go for: EL ORO. "The gold" in Spanish.
21A: "Kick it up a notch!": EMERIL. "Bam"!
22A: Internal company info-sharing system: INTRANET
23A: Rockies music festival site: ASPEN. No idea. I always associate ASPEN with the ski resort and the ASPEN trees.
26A: Garish: LOUD
28A: Rock outcroppings: CRAGS
29A: Golfer Woosnam: IAN. Ha ha, I just mentioned the "hot-tempered Welsh golfer IAN" yesterday. But I misremembered his surname as Woosman.
33A: Elmer, to Bugs: DOC
35A: Squirreled-away item: ACORN
37A: Fighters' home: AIRBASE
41A: Body language?: TATTOO. Excellent clue.
48A: Colombian city: CALI. I have this image of CALI awash in drug dealing and kidnapping activities.
50A: Managed care gps: HMOS. Hopefully they will pay for your organ transplant.
57A: N.J. town on the Hudson: FT. LEE. Obtained the answer from Down fills.
58A: Junior: SON
59A: Itty-bitty bit: IOTA. And A TON (37D: Hardly hardly).
60A: They may be girded before battle: LOINS. Gird one's LOINS.
61A: Zagreb native: CROAT. Zagreb is the capital of Croatia.
62A: Furthermore: PLUS
65A: MP quarries: AWOLS. MP = Military Police.
67A: Text alternative: PHONE
68A: Romulus, e.g.: TWIN. Romulus & Remus are twins.
69A: AT&T rival, once: MCI. Acquired by Verizon in 2006.
76A: China setting: ASIA. "Japan setting" is better due to CHINA SEAS.
77A: Play a mean sax, say: WAIL. New definition to me.
78A: Stretching discipline: YOGA. Sanskrit for "union".
85A: Surgical solution: SALINE. Probably is needed for organ transplant.
87A: Back: ENDORSE. Don't you think Tiger Woods should ENDORSE Buick for free now?
90A: Concorde, e.g.: SST
99A: "24" superagent: BAUER. Jack BAUER. Played by Kiefer Sutherland.
100A: Markers: IOUS. I did not know "marker" is a slang for IOU.
106A: Cuban dance: RUMBA
107A: Taxpayer's headache: IRS AUDIT. Loved the answer.
108A: Go off on: RANT AT
109A: Diarist Nin: ANAIS
110A: Distribution slips?: MISDEALS. Poker I suppose.
111A: Ore appraisals: ASSAYS. Always thought ASSAY is a verb only.
113A: Old lab heaters: ETNAS
Down:
1D: Gets better: HEALS. Hope our fellow LAT solver Doreen is getting better now.
2D: 1940-'70s journalist Stewart: ALSOP. No idea. I do know his brother Joseph ALSOP though, from reading all those JFK books.
3D: Resident count: POPULATION
4D: Meteorologist, at time: PREDICTOR. Hmm, WM, add your comments here.
6D: "Battle Cry" actor Van: HEFLIN. Nope. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says he was also in "Shane".
8D: Woody Allen mockumentary: ZELIG. Simply forgot. Googled this film before. Woody Allen was dogged by the Soon-Yi distraction at Terry Gross's last "Fresh Air" interview.
9D: NYC subway line: IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit)
10D: Composer Paganini: NICCOLO. No idea. Bet this is a gimme for Crockett. He always nails those composer clues, including yesterday SUK (Czech composer Josef).
11D: Morning __: flowers: GLORIES. Mine have not bloomed yet.
12D: Gnatlike insect: MIDGE
14D: N.L. Central team: STL. St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols is now a US citizen.
15D: Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. OTTO I is the first HRE emperor.
17D:Machu Picchu builder: INCA
25D: "If I Ruled the Word" rapper: NAS. His original given name is NASIR.
27D: Just plain awful: ATROCIOUS
34D: Sun or Moon: ORB. Poetically.
38D: Amtrak's "bullet train": ACELA. The name is meant to be evocative of acceleration & excellence.
39D: It's similar to sporting clays: SKEET
40D: Salinger heroine: ESME. From his "For ESME – with Love and Squalor".
42D: Chorus line: ALTO. Nice play on "A Chorus Line".
44D: Old what's-__-name: HIS. I guessed. It's either HIS or HER. Don't understand the clue though. Why "Old"?
46D: Half of an old radio duo: AMOS. The other half is Andy. AMOS 'n' Andy.
49D: Farm workers? ANTS. Ant farm.
53D:__Bornes: card game: MILLE. Unknown to me. MILLE is just a thousand in French. Bornes is "boundary".
54D: John of England: ELTON. ELTON John. I was thinking of the toilet john.
56D: Cassette half: SIDE B
57D: Swiss capital: FRANC. "Capital" here refers to its money, not the capital city BERN. Switzland is not an EU memeber, so no EURO.
63D: Will: SHALL. Gosh, I can't believe the clue is this simple.
65D: Illegal firing?: ARSON. Barry Silk used this identical clue a while ago.
67D: __-dieu: PRIE. The prayer bench.
69D: Revolutionary soldier: MILITIAMAN
70D: The Kennedys, e.g.: CLANS. Timely clue.
71D: Loaf at work: IDLE. And RYE (74D: Loaf in a deli). Nice "loaf" echos.
73D: "Let's Get it On" singer: GAYE (Marvin). Here is the clip.
77D: Wild place?: WEST. Wild, Wild WEST. I thought Dan was talking about Minnesota Wild, our NHL hockey team.
81D: Jr. and sr.: YRS
82D: Subject with many unknowns: ALGEBRA. Stumped me.
83D: Milieu for John Muir, with "the": SIERRAS. John Muir founded the Sierra Club.
84D: "Isn't __ bit like you and me?": Beatles lyrics: HE A. No idea. It's from their "Nowhere Man".
86D: Request to Sajak: AN I. Wheel of Fortune. Vowels. AN A/E/I/O/U.
89D: Estate lawyer's specialty: TRUSTS. Because he knows how to set up trust fund?
91D: Dashes: DARTS
92D: In the open: OUT
93D: Rodeo rope: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA.
94D: Wine mentioned in Hungary's national anthem: TOKAY. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Have never heard of TOKAY wine either.
95D: Egypt-Sudan region: NUBIA. Verdi's Aida is set in NUBIA.
96D: Calm water metaphor: GLASS
98D: Catcall: HISS
99D: Leave quickly, in slang: BAIL. No idea. I wanted SCAT.
102D: Dandy dude?: JIM. JIM-dandy is new to me. Dictionary defines it as "one that is very pleasing or excellent of its kind".
104D: Author LeShan: EDA. This has become a gimme.
105D: USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)
106D: English singer Corinne Bailey __: RAE. Got her name from Across fills. She looks exotic.
Answer grid.
C.C.
24A: Pool hall "Better luck next time"?: (HEART)FELT CONDOLENCES
30A: Sound of a breakup?: (EAR)SPLITTING NOISE
43A: Columbus college funds?: OHIO STATE BUCK(EYE)S
52A: Temper tantrum? (BRAIN)STORMING SESSION
73A: Steinway's idea for a large piano?: GRAND (BRAIN)CHILD
80A: Minimum for a Maybeline ad shoot?: FORTY (EYE)LASHES
91A: Place-marking lessons for readers? DOG(EAR) TRAINING
102A: Sorrows behind bars?: JAIL (HEART)BREAKS
Each of the organ is successfully transplanted to its grid symmetrical partner. Excellent!
I have never heard of base phrase FORTY LASHES, so I had a bit of trouble understanding 80A. Kidney is probably the most common type of organ plant. Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) has sparked a heated debate over his rather quick liver transplant.
There are quite a few nice long Down answers in this puzzle. I especially loved the below two-word entries:
16D: It's pressed in distress: PANIC BUTTON
61D: Segment of the western Pacific: CHINA SEAS
62D: Picnic side: POTATO SALAD
75D: "Twister" actress: HELEN HUNT
The answer just popped up to me with one or two letters filled in.
I really hope Dan will not change his style just to avoid annoying solvers with one or two obscure fills. Heavy themage, lots of non-theme fills of 6 or more letters (Dan Naddor Index) and low word count are his hallmarks.
It's like the predominance of yellow color in van Gogh's painting. It's just van Gogh. It's his style.
Across:
1A: "Satisfied?": HAPPY. Yes!
6A: Controversial initiation practice: HAZING
12A: Concert dancing areas: MOSH PITS. New phrases to me.
20A: What Mexican Olympians go for: EL ORO. "The gold" in Spanish.
21A: "Kick it up a notch!": EMERIL. "Bam"!
22A: Internal company info-sharing system: INTRANET
23A: Rockies music festival site: ASPEN. No idea. I always associate ASPEN with the ski resort and the ASPEN trees.
26A: Garish: LOUD
28A: Rock outcroppings: CRAGS
29A: Golfer Woosnam: IAN. Ha ha, I just mentioned the "hot-tempered Welsh golfer IAN" yesterday. But I misremembered his surname as Woosman.
33A: Elmer, to Bugs: DOC
35A: Squirreled-away item: ACORN
37A: Fighters' home: AIRBASE
41A: Body language?: TATTOO. Excellent clue.
48A: Colombian city: CALI. I have this image of CALI awash in drug dealing and kidnapping activities.
50A: Managed care gps: HMOS. Hopefully they will pay for your organ transplant.
57A: N.J. town on the Hudson: FT. LEE. Obtained the answer from Down fills.
58A: Junior: SON
59A: Itty-bitty bit: IOTA. And A TON (37D: Hardly hardly).
60A: They may be girded before battle: LOINS. Gird one's LOINS.
61A: Zagreb native: CROAT. Zagreb is the capital of Croatia.
62A: Furthermore: PLUS
65A: MP quarries: AWOLS. MP = Military Police.
67A: Text alternative: PHONE
68A: Romulus, e.g.: TWIN. Romulus & Remus are twins.
69A: AT&T rival, once: MCI. Acquired by Verizon in 2006.
76A: China setting: ASIA. "Japan setting" is better due to CHINA SEAS.
77A: Play a mean sax, say: WAIL. New definition to me.
78A: Stretching discipline: YOGA. Sanskrit for "union".
85A: Surgical solution: SALINE. Probably is needed for organ transplant.
87A: Back: ENDORSE. Don't you think Tiger Woods should ENDORSE Buick for free now?
90A: Concorde, e.g.: SST
99A: "24" superagent: BAUER. Jack BAUER. Played by Kiefer Sutherland.
100A: Markers: IOUS. I did not know "marker" is a slang for IOU.
106A: Cuban dance: RUMBA
107A: Taxpayer's headache: IRS AUDIT. Loved the answer.
108A: Go off on: RANT AT
109A: Diarist Nin: ANAIS
110A: Distribution slips?: MISDEALS. Poker I suppose.
111A: Ore appraisals: ASSAYS. Always thought ASSAY is a verb only.
113A: Old lab heaters: ETNAS
Down:
1D: Gets better: HEALS. Hope our fellow LAT solver Doreen is getting better now.
2D: 1940-'70s journalist Stewart: ALSOP. No idea. I do know his brother Joseph ALSOP though, from reading all those JFK books.
3D: Resident count: POPULATION
4D: Meteorologist, at time: PREDICTOR. Hmm, WM, add your comments here.
6D: "Battle Cry" actor Van: HEFLIN. Nope. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says he was also in "Shane".
8D: Woody Allen mockumentary: ZELIG. Simply forgot. Googled this film before. Woody Allen was dogged by the Soon-Yi distraction at Terry Gross's last "Fresh Air" interview.
9D: NYC subway line: IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit)
10D: Composer Paganini: NICCOLO. No idea. Bet this is a gimme for Crockett. He always nails those composer clues, including yesterday SUK (Czech composer Josef).
11D: Morning __: flowers: GLORIES. Mine have not bloomed yet.
12D: Gnatlike insect: MIDGE
14D: N.L. Central team: STL. St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols is now a US citizen.
15D: Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. OTTO I is the first HRE emperor.
17D:Machu Picchu builder: INCA
25D: "If I Ruled the Word" rapper: NAS. His original given name is NASIR.
27D: Just plain awful: ATROCIOUS
34D: Sun or Moon: ORB. Poetically.
38D: Amtrak's "bullet train": ACELA. The name is meant to be evocative of acceleration & excellence.
39D: It's similar to sporting clays: SKEET
40D: Salinger heroine: ESME. From his "For ESME – with Love and Squalor".
42D: Chorus line: ALTO. Nice play on "A Chorus Line".
44D: Old what's-__-name: HIS. I guessed. It's either HIS or HER. Don't understand the clue though. Why "Old"?
46D: Half of an old radio duo: AMOS. The other half is Andy. AMOS 'n' Andy.
49D: Farm workers? ANTS. Ant farm.
53D:__Bornes: card game: MILLE. Unknown to me. MILLE is just a thousand in French. Bornes is "boundary".
54D: John of England: ELTON. ELTON John. I was thinking of the toilet john.
56D: Cassette half: SIDE B
57D: Swiss capital: FRANC. "Capital" here refers to its money, not the capital city BERN. Switzland is not an EU memeber, so no EURO.
63D: Will: SHALL. Gosh, I can't believe the clue is this simple.
65D: Illegal firing?: ARSON. Barry Silk used this identical clue a while ago.
67D: __-dieu: PRIE. The prayer bench.
69D: Revolutionary soldier: MILITIAMAN
70D: The Kennedys, e.g.: CLANS. Timely clue.
71D: Loaf at work: IDLE. And RYE (74D: Loaf in a deli). Nice "loaf" echos.
73D: "Let's Get it On" singer: GAYE (Marvin). Here is the clip.
77D: Wild place?: WEST. Wild, Wild WEST. I thought Dan was talking about Minnesota Wild, our NHL hockey team.
81D: Jr. and sr.: YRS
82D: Subject with many unknowns: ALGEBRA. Stumped me.
83D: Milieu for John Muir, with "the": SIERRAS. John Muir founded the Sierra Club.
84D: "Isn't __ bit like you and me?": Beatles lyrics: HE A. No idea. It's from their "Nowhere Man".
86D: Request to Sajak: AN I. Wheel of Fortune. Vowels. AN A/E/I/O/U.
89D: Estate lawyer's specialty: TRUSTS. Because he knows how to set up trust fund?
91D: Dashes: DARTS
92D: In the open: OUT
93D: Rodeo rope: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA.
94D: Wine mentioned in Hungary's national anthem: TOKAY. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Have never heard of TOKAY wine either.
95D: Egypt-Sudan region: NUBIA. Verdi's Aida is set in NUBIA.
96D: Calm water metaphor: GLASS
98D: Catcall: HISS
99D: Leave quickly, in slang: BAIL. No idea. I wanted SCAT.
102D: Dandy dude?: JIM. JIM-dandy is new to me. Dictionary defines it as "one that is very pleasing or excellent of its kind".
104D: Author LeShan: EDA. This has become a gimme.
105D: USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)
106D: English singer Corinne Bailey __: RAE. Got her name from Across fills. She looks exotic.
Answer grid.
C.C.
36 comments:
Morning, All.
I struggled with today's theme. Thanks, CC for the wonderful explanation. I got FELT CONDOLENCES straight away and thought I was off and running NOT. The later answers threw me off. I read GRAND BRAIN CHILD as being able to combine GRAND CHILD and BRAIN CHILD. Same with FORTY LASHES and EYE LASHES, and JAIL BREAKS and HEART BREAKS. Without your explanation, CC, I would still be scratching my head.
Dan must have been thinking of you, CC for both CHINA SEA (61D) and ASIA (76A)!
August 30 Birthdays:
1972 ~ Cameron Diaz
1947 ~ Peggy Lipton (Remember MOD Squad?)
1944 ~ Molly Ivans (d. 2007), journalist and columnist
1918 ~ Ted Williams (d. 2002), former Red Sox hitter. His body has been frozen.
1907 ~ Fred McMurray (d. 1991), (Remember My Three Sons?)
1893 ~ Huey Long (assassinated 1935), former governor of Louisiana (one of many colorful governors of this State!)
QOD: Anyone who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination. ~ Oscar Wilde
Old what's-__-name: HIS. I guessed. It's either HIS or HER. Don't understand the clue though. Why "Old"?
You say "Hey look! It's old what's-his-name" when you recognize someone but can't remember their name. "Old" here refers to the fact that you've known this person for a long time.
C.C., I answered the question regarding the meaning of "xian" the other day. I hope you don't mind. Did my answer meet with your approval?
Martin
Morning Good,
This puzzle gave me an ache head. I think I'll go get fast break.
Good morning!
I got through it in about 51 minutes. Lots of red help, many clues I didn't even see until I came here. That's my problem with online solving--you don't look at the clues if you already have them filled. Didn't really catch on to the theme.
c.c.,
FORTY LASHES would have been a common punishment during colonial times for misdemeanors, especially for sailors on her majesty's ships.
On last night's discussion of strange names, FUCHS simply means fox in German. What about Crapser, or Schweinfuss (pig's foot), Koch (cook), Faust (fist), Froh (happy), Glasbrenner (glass burner), Hirsch (stag), Imhoff (in the yard), Kahler (bald one)?
I got these just going halfway through our local phone book. Most don't seem funny in English unless you know what they mean in the original German.
Good morning.
I agree with Hahtool. I didn't see the 'transplant' until I read C.C.'s explanation. No trouble solving the puzzle, though.
Thanks for the great explanation, C.C.
Good morning.
I enjoyed puzzle and appreciated the theme, which was very clever but really hard for me to grasp, even once I got most the letters through perps, prayer and prune juice. (kidding about the prunes...) Other than 91A, the SE corner was quick to fill so I got false bravado and limped along for huge portions of the rest. Favorite fills were "Moshpits" at 12A, along with its cross 16D "Panic Button." Thought that 110A ("Misdeals") was a tad awkward. Having WAIL next to YOGA was inspired: not very flexible here.
So many international words/names today...Those were fun. Rumba,Anahis, Niccolo, el oro, Cali, Croat, Crete; Iota, El Al, the list goes on. I enjoy those and we don't many of them very often. Good mental workout!
Very occupied & preoccupied this week & weekend. Sorry to be a recluse. Ill family member, lots of doctors and tests and theories but no solid answers. Dealing with everything long distance makes it tougher. She's basically housebound for the first time in 70 plus years, which is temporary, but still anxiety provoking. The lady wants to swim and rumba and play bridge, but not happening for her yet. Enough said....
Thanks everyone for distracting me---the wonderful photos, interviews, write ups, stories poems, etc. etc. PLUS the best comments on ANY blog make the days a lot more enjoyable!
pjb
You didn't list 109A: Diarist Nin: ANAIS. I enjoyed the puzzle, but ended with absolutely no clue about the theme and an empty box at 109. Didn't know either Corrine Bailey RAE or Ms Anais. Really hate it when two totally unknown words cross. Mr Google to the rescue.
"Jim Dandy to the Rescue" was a very popular R&B song in the 70s(?), must have been before your time. Lucky you...
Jim Dandy to the Rescue
I didn't completely recognize the theme until I copied the theme answers to a note pad and realized the grouping was A B C C B A. If I was able to solve from the top, straight down, instead of jumping around...it probably wouldn't have made a difference.
I do not always do Sunday puzzles, but when I saw it was Mr. Naddor's I jumped in with both feet. The theme was wonderfully crafted, ridiculously complicated and I too did not see the transplant angle, even though, like all of his puzzles, once you see it, it is head slapping moment. Many wonderful clues, I thought EL ORO, TATTOO were wonderful answers. I do believe actually, the CORNEAL TRANSPLANT is the most common, and do not believe we have perfected the BRAIN or EAR transplant.
When we were young, many people had begun using the phrase coined by ANN LANDERS, FORTY LASHES WITH A WET NOODLE . She also, began the phrase, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE . She and her twin sister, DEAR ABBY, influenced our culture for many years.
MILLE BORNES is one of many card games introduced when I was little, all of which combined the concept of a deck of cards, and a new game. Speaking of card games, MISDEALS occur in any game, though probably more in games like BRIDGE, where the whole deck is dealt.
The ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL has been around for many years, and helped make ASPEN a retreat for artists and actors. It is also this week end.
Tiger Woods did in fact ENDORSE Buick, for free, by playing in the BUICK OPEN in Michigan two weeks before the recent PGA, and may have run out of gas mentally by competing and winning two weeks in a row before the PGA.
Interesting birthday list, as CAMERON DIAZ and PEGGY LIPTON have a basic similarity.
Finally, where I live, MIDGES are an unbelievable problem, despite spraying and if anyone knows how to be rid of them, please let me know.
Enjoy, and thank you Mr. Naddor.
PS, ANAIS NIN is one of many regular crossword puzzle answers, so I can understand it being left out inadvertently.
Good morning CC et al., Like everyone else, didn't grok the theme until I got here. I don't know how you do it, CC. You are amazing!
Really like this puzzle. So many mind benders and twisted clues. Loved how Elton, Sound, SideB are aligned. And then how 'loins' and 'studs' are close together w/phone -just gives reach out and touch somebody a whole new dimension. Also loved seeing Paganini here. Loved playing his La Campanella...need to find that again. Had no idea there was a Ft. Lee, NJ. There's a Ft Lee near Richmond that an old flame went to. Almost had that guy 'AWOL'.
'Happy' times.
Loved how Panic button crosses Ohio State Bucks - made me think of Buckeye and Nurse Ratchett. Where is he?
Argyle: LOL you're right. Any method today wouldn't have helped me either. Thanks for the link. You rock!
Enjoy this gorgeous day.
Good morning all,
When I saw Dan's name, I knew to put on the thinking cap....this would not be an easy puzzle. Pleasantly surprised I could finish though. CC, I would never have thought of transplants....got the body parts tho. All in all, an easy Dan Naddor puzzle...but my head hurts!
Good Morning All, About that theme... I never did "get" it until coming here. I looked, studied and dissected and although I had all the words, I still didn't see the connection between the first four phrases and the second set of phrases. Now that C.C. has explained it, it seems so obvious. Well, if not obvious, at least understandable. Thanks to C.C. for the "Aha!".
I had my share of unknowns, FT.LEE, IRT, NICCOLO, ACCELA and RAE.
It was nice to see our area SIERRAS appear with our local "old what's HIS name", oh yeah, John Muir.
BTW, we still have some fire activity around Yosemite, but the wind isn't blowing right at us. Here's a webcam looking east toward Half Dome inside the park. What a shame. This is about what we are putting up with, farther west of the park.
The whole puzzle had just the right combination of easy, difficult and very difficult fills. I really enjoyed seeing the unusual eleven letter POTATO SALAD and PANIC BUTTON. There were lots of other interesting nine and ten letter words. I particularly liked ATROCIOUS, CHINA SEAS and HELEN HUNT.
Seeing HELEN HUNT's name made we wonder, "Whatever happened to?" She has only made ten movies since she won an Academy Award in 1997 for As Good As It Gets. Unfortunately, not many of those movies were well received.
"Doh!" of the day was FRANC for "Swiss capital".
Good morning, everyone!
C.C., no, I actually had to look up NICCOLO -- I wanted NICOLAI, but that didn't work out. Never caught on to the theme -- on cruciverb, the theme is not readily apparent. The first theme entry I got that was "missing" an organ was OHIO STATE BUCKS, which is actually fine -- BUCKEYES is usally shortened to BUCKS. It's easier and makes more sense to shout "GO BUCKS" than "GO BUCKEYES!"
argyle@ !LOL
@kazie I certainly agree with you on missing clues/answers doing the puzzle online. I'll get to the blog and read through it and see a clue reference and think "I don't remember seeing THAT in the puzzle." Have to pull up the saved file and take a look, and by golly it really WAS in the puzzle!
@pjb Hope that your family member heals quickly and is back on the circuit soon.
@lemonade714 Sorry you have to put up with midges. When we went to Scotland they were not active, but we read that they could be quite a nuisance.
Have a great Sunday!
Good morning, all!
I was excited when I saw Dan Naddor's name on the puzzle today, and he certainly didn't disappoint! I have to admit that I was almost finished before I totally got the theme. I realized that some of the theme fills named an "organ" and some did not, but the AHA moment of the symmetry was slow in coming. When it did, I just sat back and marveled at Mr. Naddor's creativity and ingenuity.
Some favorite clues were 35A ACORN, 42D ALTO, and 82D ALGEBRA. 53D MILLE Bornes was a trip down memory lane. I haven't played that game since I was a teenager.
The newspaper finally came, so now I'll tackle that puzzle, constructed by Sylvia Bursztyn.
Enjoy the day!
I think I may need one of those BRAIN transplants.
PJB has quickly become a valued contributor to this blog. His posts are always interesting, insightful and amusing. I meant to wish PJB and his family well and hope that the illness he spoke of has a rapid recovery.
And...inquiring minds want to know. Lois, how was the date last night. You seem pretty chipper this morning.
Argyle, Thanks, for "Jim Dandy". Laverne Baker was amazing.
Good morning CC and all,
Sunday puzzles are usually out of my league, and this one was no exception. I went thru it as I know I alwys learn from trying, and then learn even more reading your excellent commentary, CC.I don't know how you do it. This was a strong c/w all the way to the bottom.
Loved seeing Nubia. When the Aswan Dam was built in the 60's it covered so many of the ancient temples dating back to 3100 B.C. Much of that culture lies under Lake Nasser.Egypt obtained gold, ivory, ebony and incense from there..oh, and peacock feathers and leopard skins.
For anyone not familiar with Romulus and Remus story
I'm flabbergasted! I can't believe Dan created such a disjointed, wreck of a puzzle. And what is Rich thinking to even consider publishing it! Honestly, that's what I'm thinking. At first.
Of course, then I have the head slap moment and realize I'd been bamboozled by my own narrow thinking. It's an ORGAN TRANSPLANT, you fool! They even told you so before you started the puzzle!
Ah, life is back in order. The universe is humming along nicely. The sun is brilliant... and so is Dan's puzzle.
PJB--I hope you and your family can get answers soon, and that there will be rapid recovery for your ailing family member.
Clear Ayes--Gov. Schwarzenegger gave a press conference here in So. Cal. about an hour ago. He stated that there are eight "huge" fires raging statewide. The fire in the mountains north of LA has consumed 35,000 acres in a little more than one day, with flames as high as 80'-100'. The good news is that there are no winds to fan the flames. The bad news is that there are no winds to blow the smoke away to allow for accurate aerial drops. Thousands have already been evacuated. Another devastating fire season.
12A: Concert dancing areas: MOSH PITS. New phrases to me.
I can show a clip of a mosh pit but I can't explain it!
57A: N.J. town on the Hudson: FT. LEE
Fort Lee is the NJ end of the George Washington Bridge where it crosses the Hudson River to Upper Manhattan. There is a lot more history to it and worth a Google. Thomas Paine, who was in Fort Lee with Washington’s army, wrote the famous words, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” after the abandonment of Fort Lee.
61A: Zagreb native: CROAT. Zagreb is the capital of Croatia. Map
94D: Wine mentioned in Hungary's national anthem: TOKAY Variant spelling alert!
(O Lord, bless the nation of Hungary)
For us on the plains of the Kuns
You ripened the wheat
In the grape fields of Tokaj
You dripped sweet nectar
Tokaji is rather sweet and is typically drunk as a dessert wine. (not from personal experience)
I grasped early that the theme had something to do with body parts, but, like Hahtool said, I'd still be scratching my head were it not for C.C.'s explantation.
A lot of clever clues, though. I didn't have access to Google so had to soldier on, but I don't think it would have helped me much anyway. It's a good Sunday if I can complete the puzzle in less than an hour. Needless to say, not today.
Whoooeee! What an incredibly fun and doable puzzle even if I didn't get the theme until I came here!( C.C., you never cease to amaze me!!!) Maybe it was because everything I filled in was making sense. I even noticed the body parts in the lower half and was scratching my head as to what was happening in the upper half...D'oh and D'oh!
Loved the cluing, text alternative, resident count, what Mexican Olympians go for...too may to list...wow..tight, clever and fun with terrific clues. I am also happy that today I don't have to eat worms on Salinger heroine and old lab burners.
Had the NI for 10D and guessed at an Italian version of Nicholas, messed myself up briefly on the Sajak...had AN A, took a bit to change it to "I". No other real hangups because anything I got stuck on was helped by perps and guessing. Just an absolutely great puzzle...!
C.C. PREDICTORS...hahahaha...guessers! Fog came in last night so about 20 degrees cooler and slight breeze. Having lived in this area for my entire life, I think I can make better guesstimations than those "weather people"...LOL.
PJB...well wishes to your relative and I hope you get answers soon...not knowing is more difficult because you can't proceed until you know. Hope she is back on her feet and dancing soon.
CA, thanks for the webcam links...that is what our sky looked like most of last summer with fires burning all around, no matter which way the wind blew, we got smoke and ash...stay safe inside.
KQ...I guess I didn't realize that there were so many fires in the Southland...haven't been paying as much attention as I should...bad time of year with Santa Anas so at least a good thing that there is no wind to fan the fires, even if it means the air is bad.
A lovely day to you all.
PJB,
Let me add my hopes that your relative regains her health asap.
I have to admit, now that I've had most of the day to mull it over, that this was a fun puzzle, and quite a bit easier than most Naddors or Sundays so far. Even though I can't do them fast. I think if it were on paper, I might get more out without any help. As it is, the red help is too easy to access and too tempting to avoid. I'm not confident enough to attempt it at master level either.
c.c.,
Your powers of analysis are amazing. I never would have connected the dots on this theme!
CA: LOL! Nothing for the tabloids from last night. Even tho' it wasn't as exciting as KY w/Ky bourbon ale and Windhover, it was very enjoyable. Very nice Italian dinner, drinks afterwards at a fabulous piano bar, and a lot of good conversation and laughs. He's a retired Col. and reasonably staid...a good complement to me. Plus he has a sailboat. Kept thinking about Jeannie. I'll make room to see him again next wkend. Very nice indeed!
PJB: meant to say earlier that I hope your ailing loved one has a diagnosis soon and a speedy recovery. I fully understand the difficulty of distance at any time but esp at times like this. You're in my prayers...
as are those of you in the fire regions. I hope you all stay safe and out of harm's way. Thanks for the links, CA. MJ, those stats are Scary!
Lemonade: Being surrounded by water, I'm surprised that we don't have midges. Never heard of them. Do you live in the country like where you are 4wheelin' in your avatar?
25:28 today (while watching golf on TV, so the time is probably not a good indicator of puzzle difficulty today).
What a glorious, clever puzzle. I saw nearly immediately (OHIO STATE BUCK(eye)S) what the theme was about, but didn't get the transplant bit until after I was finished with the grid. Very clever, and a whole buncha fun to solve (made more fun, I guess, by my incomplete understanding of the theme--I kept looking for missing organs, and not the ones transplanted in other words). Just shows the theme can be fun even when you're at sea.
I didn't understand @crockett's statement about not seeing the theme when using cruciverb.com. It's right there in bold next to the date--right on top: "Organ Transplants".
@chickie: (from Saturday). What a wonderful story about your dad's table. It warms my heart to read about your treasure. So, another degree of freedom to the warmth firewood can bring. Thanks for sharing.
Am I completely off my rocker or am I the only one whose Aug 30 2009LA Times puzzler came this morning with the theme 'Quote of Many Colors' By Sylvia Bursztyn? First clue 1A is 'Brand of screenwriting'
HELP!!!
Welcome Esmefalk!
You are not off your rocker. To get the puzzle that's discussed here, click on the "LA Daily Crossword Online" link in the upper right corner of the blog. Here in SoCal we get a different version in the paper on Sunday only. If you want help on the puzzle in the newspaper, go to the LA Times website and follow the links to the crossword. I'm glad to see another "southlander" here. Please visit again! Hope you're not in the fire's way!
@embien I went rooting around and find the theme, just where you said it was! I think I'm conditioned to NOT look for one, so I didn't even notice it!
MJ, thanks so much for explaining that to me. Maybe I already knew that because I have been here many times but I guess never on Sunday! i think my lazy sunday brain is in charge today.
Jill - Antelope Valley
MJ, by the way, what possible explanation does the Times have for replacing the puzzle with our local printed one? Thanks again.
Wow, a great day puzzle-wise, with both Dan Naddor and Merl Reagle. Only my second time ever with a 'double your pleasure' day, and the first one wasn't crossword-related.
Certainly didn't get the full extent of the theme until I was done, and had looked at the theme answers, then the title, then the theme answers, then the title, and after a few more of those, a lightbulb started flickering, and finally the 'well, I'll be damned' moment. I thought this was a great puzzle all the way around and that the theme was as good as it gets.
Needed lots of perp help, which was as it should be, and I thought 'China setting' was the cleverest clue.
Hope it's been a great weekend for everyone; my thoughts are with all of you in the area of the fires, and certainly with PJB and his family.
esmefalk. The crossword that appears in the dead tree version of the LA Times is blogged (minimally) here. (Sorry if that link upsets some here, just trying to help another person.)
Hey gang -
I think this is my first time posting on a Sunday - and I'm arriving very late. We went to T-Town today, and I found the puzzle in The Blade. The Theme title was printed right at the top, over Dan Naddor's byline.
OK, sometimes the puzzle gets you (well, me, actually.) And so it was today. Even with the Title in full view, I couldn't connect the top theme answers with those on the bottom.
Maybe what got me on the wrong track was not realizing that EYE was missing from OHIO STATE BUCKS. I think I even referred to them as "BUCKS" in my ranting comment on Dan Naddor's Wednesday puzzle. So, I didn't look at that and think that something had been extracted. Eye-yi-yi.
I'll just have to say the theme was too subtle for me.
BY THE BY, as a genuinely poor bridge player, I can assure you that MISDEALS are both real and clumsy.
I had no idea TOKAY was mentioned in Hungary's national anthem. Thanks, Argyle. That quote reminds me of "amber waves of grain," and just makes me love my heritage that much more. Tokaj is the eponymous town in the wine growing region. The wine is properly called "TOKAJI."
Hungarian indicates place of origin with an "I" suffix. This occurs in surnames like Szegedi - people from the town of Szeged. Also surnames are given first - same as in Chinese. Is that right C.C.?
That's enough for tonight.
Egészségére!
Toledoi Jaszbumpa the only partly Magyari trombonist
Embien,
I just had a look at the other blogsite, and boy, do I prefer the way ours is laid out, and c.c.'s style of commenting! The puzzle girl thinks it's cute to make exclamations like "Ooh, ouch. This one hurts a little.", referring to the ONOS clue. A bit over the top IMO.
c.c., you're our favorite!
Kazie, you're right - no matter how some may try to promote the other site (which is getting a little tedious), there's none better than right here.
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