Theme: CLOSING ACTS (What the last words of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across could be considered, relative to the phrases in which they appear) - Phrases ending with famous one-name singers.
17A: Pleased plus: TICKLED PINK (She used to sport pink colored hair. Love her "Get the Party Started".)
25A: Piece of royal wealth: CROWN JEWEL (She grew up in Alaska. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.)
36A: Official corporate stock imprint: COMPANY SEAL (He is married to supermodel Heidi Klum.)
46A: Kiss seeker in a fairy tale: FROG PRINCE (The pride of Minnesota. "Purple Rain".)
Two female singers, two male singers, nicely balanced.
I had trouble understanding the clue for the tie-in answer CLOSING ACTS. The theme did not come to me readily at all.
I don't understand why LA Times & NY Times do not title their puzzles. Sam's draft of gridding SINGERS (clued as "People found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across) at the very center of the puzzle as a unifying answer and Closing Acts as title would be much easier for me to grok.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 Z's, 1 J and several K'.
Across:
1A: Make like: MIMIC. Thought of CLONE.
6A: Biblical king and a captain: AHABS. Captain AHAB, "Moby Dick".
11A: Spoil the finish of: MAR. The PGA Championship ending was just perfect, unlike the British Open when everyone was rooting for Tom Watson.
14A: Long operatic solo: SCENA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before. Just Italian for "scene", an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative, according to the dictionary.
15A: Gouged-out fairway piece: DIVOT. The piece of turf golfers "gouge out" when hitting their balls in the fairway.
16A: Bad way to go?: APE. Go APE. I was stumped. Great clue.
19A: Shear (off): LOP. Wrote down RID first.
20A: Song from a choir: HYMN
21A: Shade of green: PEA
28A: Slap cuffs on: MANACLE . Shackle also has 7 letters.
31A: Slapstick actors, e.g.: ZANIES. Like those Marx Brothers.
32A: __ coin: decide randomly: FLIP A. This kind of fill is called partial phrase. It's different from multiple word fill like SEE RED because it's not self-sustaining, a la Rich Norris.
33A: Take back: RECANT. Obama did not officially RECANT his "acted stupidly" statement, did he?
39A: Draw support from: LEAN ON
40A: Spots on the tube: TV ADS. Yep, this simple multiple word got me again.
43A: Prove successful: PAN OUT
46A: "My bad": I'M SORRY. And APOLOGY (29D: 46-Across, e.g.). I love cross-references.
53A: UN workers' rights gp.: ILO (International Labor Organization). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1969.
54A: Man Friday, e.g.: AIDE. Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe's AIDE.
57A: New Mexico tribe with a Sun symbol: ZIA. No idea. The ZIA Sun symbol is featured in New Mexico state flag.
62A: Night school subj.: ESL (English as a Second Language). No problem for an immigrant like me.
63A: Group of gods ruled by Odin: AESIR. Stymied again. I can never remember this name. They lived in Asgard. Both words are rooted in old Norse āss, meaning "god".
64A: Arkansas city: OZARK. Obtained the answer from Down fills. What is this city famous for?
67A: Make good on: REPAY
Down:
1D: Yr.-round setting in most of Arizona: MST (Mountain Standard Time). Because most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
2D: Here, to Henri: ICI. Vous êtes ICI (You are here). Great picnic spot at Jardin du Luxembourg.
3D: Tuning pro: MECHANIC. Misread the clue as "Turning pro".
4D: Like an octopus' defense: INKY. Octopuses expel ink when facing predators.
5D: Devoid of wind: CALM
6D: Recipe verb: ADD. I am going to try Barb B's "Crazy for Coconut Balm" (12:35pm post in yesterday's Comments). Sounds so simple.
7D: African heavyweight: HIPPO. Heavyweight indeed, more than 3,000 lbs. They are vegetarians, right?
8D: Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW. Nope. Have never heard of this Arthur Miller play. The second partial in the grid.
9D: Forty-niners' strikes: BONANZAS. NFL's San Francisco 49ers is named after those gold prospectors who came to California around 1849 during the Gold Rush.
10D: Wall St. buy: STK (Stock). I'm used to the answer SHR (Share). Another Wall St. reference is LARGE CAP (38D: Mutual fund designation).
11D: Mozambique neighbor: MALAWI. Madonna puts this landlocked country on the map by adopting 2 kids from there. English is their official language.
12D: Orbital point: APOGEE. Opposite perigee.
13D: Wards off: REPELS
18D: Something sent with a ltr.: ENCL
22D: Peso fraction: CENTAVO
23D: Big letters in bowling equipment: AMF (American Machinery and Foundry). Competitor of Brunswick. My husband is going to have his first bowling tournament this Sunday.
24D: "I'm sorry, Dave" speaker of sci-fi: HAL. I guessed. From "2001".
27D: Jackson and Reno: JANETS. Leigh too.
30D: Was mentioned: CAME UP. Buckeye's name was mentioned /CAME UP during our discussions several days ago.
35D: Critic of the selfless: CYNIC
37D: Lakers coach who trademarked the term "three-peat": PAT RILEY. No idea. The only LA Lakers coach I know is the Zen master Phil Jackson. PAT RILEY led Miami Heat to NBA Championship in 2006.
42D: Thesaurus wd.: SYN
43D: Maker of Lipitor and Celebrex: PFIZER. Nailed it. We once owned some PFIZER stocks. "Maker of Viagra" as well.
44D: Con __: ARTIST
45D: Old cash register key: NO SALE. I learned this button from doing Xword. Don't know what's it really for.
49D: Words from one who's defeated: I LOSE. Grammatically it should be "I LOST", correct?
55D: "Young Frankenstein" role: IGOR. Sometimes it's YGOR.
56D: Knock silly: DAZE
58D: Pic taker: CAM. Is CAM here short for "camera" or "webcam"?
60D: Singing syllable: TRA. TRA La-la.
61D: It's over your head: SKY. Ah, got it this time.
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.
I am having problem uploading Answer Grid this morning. Just pop into the Comments section and ask if you need help.
C.C.
17A: Pleased plus: TICKLED PINK (She used to sport pink colored hair. Love her "Get the Party Started".)
25A: Piece of royal wealth: CROWN JEWEL (She grew up in Alaska. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.)
36A: Official corporate stock imprint: COMPANY SEAL (He is married to supermodel Heidi Klum.)
46A: Kiss seeker in a fairy tale: FROG PRINCE (The pride of Minnesota. "Purple Rain".)
Two female singers, two male singers, nicely balanced.
I had trouble understanding the clue for the tie-in answer CLOSING ACTS. The theme did not come to me readily at all.
I don't understand why LA Times & NY Times do not title their puzzles. Sam's draft of gridding SINGERS (clued as "People found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across) at the very center of the puzzle as a unifying answer and Closing Acts as title would be much easier for me to grok.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 Z's, 1 J and several K'.
Across:
1A: Make like: MIMIC. Thought of CLONE.
6A: Biblical king and a captain: AHABS. Captain AHAB, "Moby Dick".
11A: Spoil the finish of: MAR. The PGA Championship ending was just perfect, unlike the British Open when everyone was rooting for Tom Watson.
14A: Long operatic solo: SCENA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before. Just Italian for "scene", an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative, according to the dictionary.
15A: Gouged-out fairway piece: DIVOT. The piece of turf golfers "gouge out" when hitting their balls in the fairway.
16A: Bad way to go?: APE. Go APE. I was stumped. Great clue.
19A: Shear (off): LOP. Wrote down RID first.
20A: Song from a choir: HYMN
21A: Shade of green: PEA
28A: Slap cuffs on: MANACLE . Shackle also has 7 letters.
31A: Slapstick actors, e.g.: ZANIES. Like those Marx Brothers.
32A: __ coin: decide randomly: FLIP A. This kind of fill is called partial phrase. It's different from multiple word fill like SEE RED because it's not self-sustaining, a la Rich Norris.
33A: Take back: RECANT. Obama did not officially RECANT his "acted stupidly" statement, did he?
39A: Draw support from: LEAN ON
40A: Spots on the tube: TV ADS. Yep, this simple multiple word got me again.
43A: Prove successful: PAN OUT
46A: "My bad": I'M SORRY. And APOLOGY (29D: 46-Across, e.g.). I love cross-references.
53A: UN workers' rights gp.: ILO (International Labor Organization). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1969.
54A: Man Friday, e.g.: AIDE. Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe's AIDE.
57A: New Mexico tribe with a Sun symbol: ZIA. No idea. The ZIA Sun symbol is featured in New Mexico state flag.
62A: Night school subj.: ESL (English as a Second Language). No problem for an immigrant like me.
63A: Group of gods ruled by Odin: AESIR. Stymied again. I can never remember this name. They lived in Asgard. Both words are rooted in old Norse āss, meaning "god".
64A: Arkansas city: OZARK. Obtained the answer from Down fills. What is this city famous for?
67A: Make good on: REPAY
Down:
1D: Yr.-round setting in most of Arizona: MST (Mountain Standard Time). Because most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
2D: Here, to Henri: ICI. Vous êtes ICI (You are here). Great picnic spot at Jardin du Luxembourg.
3D: Tuning pro: MECHANIC. Misread the clue as "Turning pro".
4D: Like an octopus' defense: INKY. Octopuses expel ink when facing predators.
5D: Devoid of wind: CALM
6D: Recipe verb: ADD. I am going to try Barb B's "Crazy for Coconut Balm" (12:35pm post in yesterday's Comments). Sounds so simple.
7D: African heavyweight: HIPPO. Heavyweight indeed, more than 3,000 lbs. They are vegetarians, right?
8D: Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW. Nope. Have never heard of this Arthur Miller play. The second partial in the grid.
9D: Forty-niners' strikes: BONANZAS. NFL's San Francisco 49ers is named after those gold prospectors who came to California around 1849 during the Gold Rush.
10D: Wall St. buy: STK (Stock). I'm used to the answer SHR (Share). Another Wall St. reference is LARGE CAP (38D: Mutual fund designation).
11D: Mozambique neighbor: MALAWI. Madonna puts this landlocked country on the map by adopting 2 kids from there. English is their official language.
12D: Orbital point: APOGEE. Opposite perigee.
13D: Wards off: REPELS
18D: Something sent with a ltr.: ENCL
22D: Peso fraction: CENTAVO
23D: Big letters in bowling equipment: AMF (American Machinery and Foundry). Competitor of Brunswick. My husband is going to have his first bowling tournament this Sunday.
24D: "I'm sorry, Dave" speaker of sci-fi: HAL. I guessed. From "2001".
27D: Jackson and Reno: JANETS. Leigh too.
30D: Was mentioned: CAME UP. Buckeye's name was mentioned /CAME UP during our discussions several days ago.
35D: Critic of the selfless: CYNIC
37D: Lakers coach who trademarked the term "three-peat": PAT RILEY. No idea. The only LA Lakers coach I know is the Zen master Phil Jackson. PAT RILEY led Miami Heat to NBA Championship in 2006.
42D: Thesaurus wd.: SYN
43D: Maker of Lipitor and Celebrex: PFIZER. Nailed it. We once owned some PFIZER stocks. "Maker of Viagra" as well.
44D: Con __: ARTIST
45D: Old cash register key: NO SALE. I learned this button from doing Xword. Don't know what's it really for.
49D: Words from one who's defeated: I LOSE. Grammatically it should be "I LOST", correct?
55D: "Young Frankenstein" role: IGOR. Sometimes it's YGOR.
56D: Knock silly: DAZE
58D: Pic taker: CAM. Is CAM here short for "camera" or "webcam"?
60D: Singing syllable: TRA. TRA La-la.
61D: It's over your head: SKY. Ah, got it this time.
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.
I am having problem uploading Answer Grid this morning. Just pop into the Comments section and ask if you need help.
C.C.
75 comments:
Morning, All. A fun Wednesday. Much more of a challenge that earlier in the week, but not insurmountable. I got all the theme clues quite quickly, but was stumped by the punchline (58A). I had to read all the theme responses again before the light bulb went on and I realized what CLOSING ACTS meant. I’ve heard of Opening Acts, but never heard the feature act called a “closing act.”
Birthdays:
1785 ~ Seth Thomas (d. 1859), an American clockmaker who is well known for mass production of clocks. I own a Seth Thomas clock, albeit not one actually made by Seth.
1871 ~ Orville Wright (d. 1948), brother of Wilber.
1902 ~ Ogden Nash (d. 1971), poet who wrote the following:
A Word to Husbands
To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
When ever you’re right, shut up.
QOD: History would be an excellent thing if only it were true. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Good morning, C.C. and gang - this one was a lot of fun, and I thought the theme was extremely clever. (I met Pink and spent some time with her, early in her career, when she was with a local band and performed at a function I helped put together in our town; a really heads-up girl.)
I don't agree that 'going ape' is necessarily a 'bad way to go'; you can go ape over something in a good way, as in enthusiastically. Also, I'm still not comfortable with 'stk' for stock - I believe we debated this one before. Other than those, I thought the cluing was good. 'African heavyweight' had me trying to think of an African boxer.
Are you Minnesotans excited about Favre? I think they just became a Super Bowl contender, even though I hate these athletes bouncing in and out of retirement.
C.C., the 'no sale' key is used to open the register without a transaction.
Sallie, a beautiful picture.
Hahtool, 'closing act' isn't all that unusual, really; you'll hear people in the business ask, "who's closing?".
Today is Aviation Day. Any day's a good day to go flying.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires will sooner or later always leave to bitterness." -- Physicist Albert Einstein
Couple good quotes:
- "I have not yet been able to answer the great question that has never been answered: What does a woman want?" -- Sigmund Freud
- "A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. -- Unknown
Hahtool,
I've heard of CLOSING ACTS, but I just could not think outside the box.
Dennis,
Was Pink's hair pink when you saw her? Was she shy? Yeah, I am very excited about Favre's latest flip-flopping. Hard not to catch the Favre Fever. You are right, "going APE" is not necessarily a "Bad way to go", that's why the clue has a question mark. Hmm, what do I want?
Hey, folks!
Let's see...
Nice puzzle, overall. After I finished it, I had to stare at the theme answers for quite awhile before finally getting that the last word referred to a musical act and not a verb. I was this close to yelling, "PINK is not a verb! You can't PINK something!" Fortunately for all involved, I saw the error of my ways before needlessly embarrassing myself...
As for the rest of the puzzle, let me just say this about that:
I liked seeing I'M SORRY and APOLOGY in the same grid.
I managed to get SCENA, MALAWI, ESL, OZARK and AESIR (no "Huh?" from me on that one) with only minimal effort (well, SCENA took most of the crosses), but ZIA was a complete unknown to me. I've only vaguely heard of PFIZER, but it was enough to get me by.
I didn't mind FLIP A (although I wanted TOSS A at first) or A VIEW, but I loathed STK.
Oh -- and I liked the three Zs!
^_^
good morning c.c. and all,
this one didn't come easy for some reason. cluing was tricky for me. the theme was great, and became clear after i got PINK and JEWEL, both of whom i love, along with SEAL. can't say the same for PRINCE.
dennis, a really 'heads-up' girl .. right. we knew you favored PINK.
p.s. forgot to say, sallie, just beautiful. captivating smile.
CC ~ you and I were on the same wavelength in starting today's puzzle. I was sure (1A) was Clone, but realized the perps ruled out this response. I also read (3D) as "turning pro" instead of "tuning pro." I blame it on my bad eyesight!
I am not sure what Ozark, Arkansas is famous for. It's in the Ozark Mountains. The name "Ozark" is a corruption of the French "aux Arks", which was short for "aux Arkansas" or "toward Arkansas." Of course, that begs the question of what does "Arkansas mean. I've heard two theories: (A) it's another French corruption of "aux arcs", which means "toward the arches." There are many natural stone bridges in the area. Or, (B) the term is a corruption of the name of the Quapaw tribe.
Good Morning, C.C. and all,
(What the last words...could be considered, relative to the phrases in which they appear)
My problem was that I was looking for a connection between the first word and the last word in the phrase. "...relative to the order in which they appear in the phrase" I feel would have been better.
This is the first time I’ve written, although I love this blog. Actually, I did the puzzle and checked out this site today, in part, to avoid thinking about Brett Favre going to the Vikings. (We have an autographed ball and signed picture and live and die by our Packers.) Anyway, the puzzle theme was extremely clever and I loved the insights offered in the interview.
Barbara, welcome to our eclectic group; hopefully you'll be a frequent poster. Will you still root for Favre when he's not playing the Packers?
Melissa Bee, your perception is exceeded only by your good looks.
C.C., Pink's hair was not pink when I met her, and she was not at all shy; very outgoing and very confident.
Morning all,
I still haven’t finished the weekend puzzles due to large family gathering and a 10 month old who is crawling and exploring. Loved seeing the grandson but there is a reason they give babies to the young and grandparents just baby sit. Loved today’s puzzle, but had to put it down and restart later. Thought it was a little more difficult than a usual Wednesday, but on second go-through, it all fell into place. Did all the over 55 crowd read tuning pro as turning pro? I know I did. Did not get the theme even after I filled in closing acts. Finally wrote down the last word of each theme clue and then had my aha moment. I’m such a visual learner.
Absolutely loving all the pictures. Sallie you have a kind and wonderful smile, Kazie, what a beautiful family, and Al, enjoy those beautiful children before they are off on their own. Another hot day here; only took to the middle of August to finally have summer.
Good morning!
Sallie, great photo, with a big smile!
I only needed perps and guessing today, but I didn't get the musical stars part of the theme until I came here, despite getting CLOSING ACTS. Have heard only of SEAL and PRINCE, but not the other two, and didn't connect the dots because of them.
I misspelled PFISER/SIA, and had SEA for PEA, thinking the heavyweight (HIPSO) was a boxer or some other sports reference unknown to me. Other unknowns fell in correctly (SCENA, ILO, AESIR, OZARK) and I also missread 3D as "turning pro" at first. Contrary to Sam's expectatiion, my last fills were in the center south. The financial ones were gimmes since DH is a financial advisor.
Hahtool,
I think that marital advice verse could work just as well for "wives" as for "husbands". I know women are known to want the last word, (because we usually ARE right!) but marriages work best when both are willing to give up.
Sam was correct. I had trouble with ZIA, SCENA and AESIR and didn't like STK. I got the theme answers but never heard of the singers JEWEL or PINK or the term CLOSING ACT. I also didn't know PAT RILEY. I know MALAWI because my husband's uncle was a Southern Baptist missionary there for 30 years.
Dennis: My husband is a private pilot. We have a small plane (a Piper Dakota - single engine, 4 seats) and we enjoy flying down to southern California to visit family and up to Mendocino for lunch. We've flown as far as San Felipe Mexico and Calgary Canada. But everyday is definitely not a good day to fly. My husband has an IFR (instrument flight rules) license, but we avoid flying in the rain or if it gets too windy. Fortunately that leaves lots of flying days in California.
@Sallie, nice smile!
Had a little trouble with AESIR crossing ILOSE because of the ILO acronym and coming up with the word CLOSING for the headliner act (as others have mentioned). Could have been IGIVE, ICEDE, IQUIT etc at first without the perps. Took me awhile to see the tuning/turning difference, too. a lower case "n" looks a lot like a lower case "r" if you don't look closely enough. Otherwise, pretty good puzzle, not a speed solve, but not too difficult, either.
RECANT also kind of fits in sub-thematically with IMSORRY and APOLOGY for the Ogden Nash quote today. I have often wondered at the closeness in spelling of marital and martial...
Hi C.C. and gang, my wife and I got ~ 1/2 done before going online to save time (she works at home on Wednesday's) and to see if our guesses were right. My wife wanted the gods to be Asgard from the old Stargate series instead of aesir
but it didn't fit...
As a Wisconsin resident, I have to say, the less said about Favre the better. Not because I'm a Packer fan--I don't give a rat's ass about sport, but I'm just sick of hearing about that egomaniac and his mid-life crisis and seeing his ugly mug on the front page of the Wis. State Journal!
Welcome Barbara!
I forgot earlier, I also didn't know of PAT RILEY.
Good morning C.C. and all -
I really did not have too much trouble with this except for the theme. I have to admit that I have never heard of any of those singers except Prince and have never heard him sing - guess I didn't miss much there.
I did not know MALAWI, SCENA and I miss-spelled DIVOT so that messed up that area for a while.
Sallie - such a lovely picture and smile!!
Barbara - welcome aboard...please stay as new voices are always a plus.
Jazzbumpa - this is for you:
We have a poet among us called Jazz
It's a natural talent he has
We read with a smile;
We admire his style
and all his lyrical razz-a-ma-tazz
Mornin` CC and gang:
I have one question: Since "hippo" is an abbreviation, shouldn`t the clue indicate that? "Scena" was hard...wanted "aria' which wouldn`t fit. Couldn`t remember how to spell "divot"...but "bonanza" helped.
BTW, I had a major crush on Adam Parnell until a woman who went to school with him told us what a pompous jerk he was. And even though I would be mixing sport and coaches, when I saw "p-a-t..." I tried to fit "Patrino" in. "Large cap" is all over the financial section...which I either read or I get it read to me...grrrrr.
Hahtool: We have relatives in Springfield, MO. Are you in that vicinity?
tarrajo: There`s been lots of comments on the "supplies" lists. These have been my experiences...from the teahcer`s point of view: The "dominate" teacher in the grade-level group usually
has the say-so on what is asked for...the rest just go "what-ever" and go on to more important things.
Some of us were big on portfolios and needed more folders. Some of us did more art-for-learning projects. Teachers really do have their own "style" for teaching. A good thing to watch is which teacher gets most of the teacher`s kids. That speaks volumes! And the last reason for the long supply list was: What ever you needed, you requested it from the board before school started and even then, you might never get it. That`s when those hundreds of dollars came out of our own pockets!
I always kept a list of who gave what and if it was an item I never used, I returned it at the end of the year. There are sororities/civic clubs who help with school supplies each year. Might make some discrete inquiries. I have seen bins in Wal Mart brimming with supplies people have bought and donated...anyhow...hope this helps to answer a few of the "whys"...even though it puts not one sou in your pocket! :) (cw words come out at the strangest times!)
Sallie: We have a paneled den, too! (older house)
Nice to "see' you.
Hi all, solved today's cum a few misspellings.
I don't know which is worse: Favre's untiring or Eagle's Vick hiring.
Good Morning All, It will be a busy day, so I went to Cruciverb last night to make sure I finished up.
I'm not much of a sport fan, but I do remember PAT RILEY from his years with the Lakers. We lived in Laker territory in 1987 and 1988 and got caught up in Laker fever.
I didn't get the theme until CLOSING ACTS. That's fine with me. I love an "Aha".
I also loved the fills in this puzzle. MALAWI, APOGEE, MANACLE and PFIZER were all tough, but with perp help, they filled in beautifully.
C.C. mentioned that PRINCE is from Minnesota. He doesn't match our notions of what a Minnesota would be like. But Minnesota, with a relatively small population of about 5.3 million, is amazing for the number of accomplished people who were either born, or spent their early years there. Here is just a small list of Famous Minnesotans. There are many others. Even if they aren't yet ready to welcome Bret Favre into the fold, our Minnesota bloggers must be very proud of their heritage.
Elissa, I remember my trip from Ventura to Catalina Island in a small four seat plane. I went with a guy who told me he was a good pilot. About half way over the channel, I was wondering what had happened to my good sense...there was a lot of water down there and I didn't know the pilot very well at all. It turned out OK and I survived to tell the tale, but I haven't tried a small plane again.
Carol, Love your limericks.
Lovely photo of Sallie.
I'm on my way to a ladies lunch and then to see Damn Yankees, one of my favorites, at our local repertory theater. It should be a fun-filled day. I'll check in later.
Good morning, everyone.
Nice solve, nice interview with the constructor, and nice write up.
AESIR was a gimme -- seen it enough to remember it now. Loved the scrabbly feel. Wanted CORPORATE SEAL for COMPANY SEAL, but of course that was way too long. Also thought I LOST for I LOSE. And stumbled around on NO SIR/CLOSING ACTS for a bit.
Beautiful picture of Sallie. What a marvelous smile!
@carol Nice Jazz tribute.
So in today's Oregonian above the crossword is the following announcement: "Our old crossword puzzle is available again. Shall we bring it back?" WTH? No other information. Don't see amy announcement on cruciverb.com. Could prove to be interesting.
Hi Gang,
Glad to be able to check back in. I did have to look up some clues. Not enough to make it a pain. I too am guilty of reading 'Turning pro'. Heck I do it to newspaper headlines. When I say 'What the h was that?' I discover my misread was much more exciting.
Didn't get the theme until I came here.
Sounds like everyone has been busy. I did skim the posts of the last couple of days.
I read the school supply list. I can explain why in Kindergarten they request Crayola crayons. I taught it for many years. A good portion of the off brand crayons are crap!! The colors aren't true or they are too waxy. Drives the kids bonkers.
Gonna be a sizzling 105 in So OR today. Great day to stay inside.
I looked up Pat Riley and see that he replaced Paul Westhead, who wasn't getting along with Magic, as the Lakers coach. Westhead was my high school English teacher in 1967, where he coached our basketball team to the state finals. What a team - the average height was probably 5'11". We got our clock cleaned at the finals, where the other team's shortest guy was half a foot taller than our tallest guy, as I remember it.
CA - We have flown to Catalina Island. That postage stamp sized runway on the top of the mountain in the middle of the island is a harrowing experience. And then you have to ride 45 minutes in that rickety bus down to Avalon. Feh! Next time I'd take the ferry. But if you want to give flying in a small plane another try, if there is an airport near you we can fly up and give you a ride.
It was impossible. I got the easy ones of course, but never recognized the theme, and there were so many unknowns that I just folded my tent and moved on.
Sally, you are a lovely woman.
Barbara, welcome, from another Barb. Hope to see your picture soon.
Carol, I love your limericks. I regret that I haven't saved them all. I keep trying to remember them.
We have a severe weather warning today because of the heat. So glad for air conditioning.
Good morning CC et al., Great puzzle and just hard enough. Loved the theme. The perps took care of the unknowns and had some good guesses.
Vivid memories of LV 'came up' with 'a view' - so beautiful from the Ghost Bar esp., and had to laugh at the 'I lose' entry. It just keeps getting rubbed in, but it was worth it. Such fun! "Maybe next time" is my mantra - on a lot of different levels. My favorite entry was 'Frog Prince', the story of which is my SOP...I just keep kissing those frogs thinking..
"maybe next time"...the eternal optimist. No hurry tho'. Can't say 'I'm sorry'. 'No sir'! A lot of those frogs are worth kissing.
Welcome, Barbara. I hope you stick around and join in.
Carol: What a great limerick and tribute to Jazz! You rock! Just outstanding!
Sallie: Beautiful picture! So nice to 'see' you.
Linda: great explanation of supplies. School starts here next Th for teachers. Kids come after Labor Day. Am looking forward to it. I know I can win there anyway. It's all good.
Enjoy this gorgeous day.
Good morning CC and all,
Much tougher clues today.I also misread "tuning pro". I didn't understand the theme until I read the interview(another great one, CC). Like Argyle, I was trying to make connections between the 2 words. I did G Pat Riley and Pfizer, and, like Sam said, had trouble with the corners, but I only left one open square, the S in mst/scena.I enjoyed it because at first I didn't see me getting anywhere.
Sallie, lovely picture. So nice to see you.
Carol, another fabulous limerick!
Today is Bill Clinton's birthday and on this day in 1960, Sputnick carried 2 dogs and 3 mice into orbit...all lived.
Here's an unusual animal/hippo story that I saw recently.
another heat wave in Oregon? We have pretty thick fog so far this morning. It should be a big help to the fire fighters.
12:32 today. I apologize for not reading all the posts as we are practically out the door (going to the beach, which is about 90 minutes away).
@sallie: wonderful picture. Made me immediately think of Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors
Can't PINK be a verb? I know there are pinking shears, used in sewing, and I thought to PINK was to put a scalloped edge on some cloth.
Gotta run. See you all on Friday.
Sallie, I love your dress, looks like your avatar, but with a prettier smile, for sure.
Crockett: did you vote to bring the old puzzle back? I voted for it yesterday. Anything is better than the pap they have now!
What is it with all of us? I read 3D as TURNING as well. I stared at that for a loooonnng time, and since I didn't know SCENA, it didn't help.
Treefrog, I hate to tell you but Crayola crayons are crap too. I bought some a few years ago and the colors are not even close to what I remember. If that brand is bad I can only imagine what the off brands are like.
Hi Sallie,
Beautiful smile and I love your blouse!
Geri
What a great entry, FROG PRINCE. We're not likely to see this again for a long, long time.
9 phrases in the grid. That's terrific. It's often difficult to work in 3 or 4.
BONANZAS, PFIZER, ZANIES, and CENTAVOS... neat stuff.
Cool crossings- NO SIR, AESIR, IRS.
How apt that we have a puzzle with one-named singers that ends with the theme words cloSING acts.
@carol Haven't gone to the poll yet.
@jerome Once more you give us added depth. Thank you!
Hello All--I enjoyed this puzzle, and only had to look up Aesir, Eno and Pat Riley . I had Pat R., but not being a big sports fan this escaped me. I didn't know any one the singers, except Prince, so the Closing Acts didn't make sense until I read C.C.'s explanation of the theme.
Most of the unknowns, ILO, MST, and ZIA,I was able to get with the fills around them. I thought that the Tuning Pro Clue was very clever and Mechanic was one of my first answers.
Hahtool, we also own a Seth Thomas Clock, not made by Seth Thomas. The works are by Seth Thomas, the clock by someone else. Antique clocks are one of our loves. We have 5.
Sallie, Nice to see you!
Barbara, stay with our group. We love new voices.
C.C. I really enjoyed Samuel Donaldson's interview. Some interesting insights into his crossword construction. Thank you.
Cheers, late, as usual. I started this last night and realized I was too sleepy to make sense of it(that's my excuse anyway) and so left it half finished. This morning things seem to make more sense and thank goodness there were enough perps to give me guessing letters.
Really liked all the themes and cheerily filled them in with absolutely no clue until I came here...D'oh! I guessed at OZARK as I had the O and K and filled in a number of others the same way.
No clue on ZIA as I haven't yet compiled the American Indian tribes list for reference and AESIR...nope. Spelled MYERS as MEYER and realized I needed an S at the end...erase and rewrite, put in EDISON after Con...nope again, and also read Turning...even with the larger letters from the Cruciverb print out...*sigh*
HIPPO was a given after I rejected Rhino and once I got FROG PRINCE(loved it!) PFIZER filled itself in. So, in the long run, I finished with no outside help. YAY!
Hi Barbara please stay with us.
Sallie...you are lovely and elegant and I can so see you working with opera and symphony people...they must feel glad to have you.
C.C. thank you for another terrific interview and continuing to show us all these lovely faces.
Kazie@ 9:58 am ...just LMAO...;o)
Dennis..great WoW and quotes today and Hahtool, terrific QoD...so terribly true and people still keep re-writing it.
Great, fun puzzle today. I did get the theme. I kept looking at the last words of the theme entries and wondering what they had in common. When I finally penned in Closing Acts, the aha came.
Nice interview with Sam, always enjoy info on constructing. In my next life.
Jerome, always love the additional insight. You are so good at parsing those things out. I am lucky I get it all finished.
Barbara, welcome. I am a big Favre fan also, as well as a Packer fan, although I have lived in Minnesota almost 35 years. I too have a signed picture. My father-in-law was an official for years and knew Favre. I am not a Viking fan, but if that is what Favre wants, I am glad he is getting his chance. Isn't quite the same for me. I am tired of seeing it on TV though.
ClearAyes, yep, they make them good here in Minnesota country. Not being a Prince fan, I wouldn't count him as one of Minnesota's better exports, but that is just my opinion. As I am an import, I cannot claim to be of the same quality.
I am afraid that Mauer is going to ditch us Minnesotan's for a better contender for the World Series. My youngest has the view that they only win when he wears his Twins jersey (he is 15 so it is not a little kid thing). Last night we turned on the game and they were down 0-5. I told him to get that jersey on. This morning he woke up, looked at the sports section, and said "See mom, the jersey works". The won 9-6. Imagine that!
Jeanne, I am under 55, as I believe CC is also. I read it as turning too. Oops.
As I am writing this, my weather radio goes off telling us of tornadoes once again. North of me, probably closer to Tarrajo and CC. Hope everyone is safe.
Lovely picture Sallie. Beautiful blouse too.
Hi, Gang -
Carol - You made me smile and blush. Thanx.
Jerome - I really appreciate the way you see through, into, and behind the puzzle.
Lot's to like in today's entry, as has been pointed out. There are things I don't like, though.
FLIP A - easy fill, but aesthetically displeasing. It MARs the grid.
ZANY is an adjective. I know that it gets force fit into nounerized situations, but you can't make me like it.
Tuning Pro - Yeah, MECHANIC fits, sort of, but I find the answer vaguely dissatisfying. Tuning engines is some small portion of the MECHANIC's task list.
The closest definition of CYNIC I could find, that is anywhere the clue, is "A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness; A person whose outlook is scornfully negative."
"Critic of the selfless" pretty much misses the point.
Pluralizing a proper name always strikes me as a lame fill. Today we get two. Meh!
Never heard of SCENA. Crossing it with ICI is bad form.
Tolkein had The Return of the King.
Lucas has The Return of the Jedi
Hardy had The return of the Native
Bruegel had the return of the Hunter.
Edwards had The Return of the PINK panther.
O'Bannon had The Return of the Living Dead.
Alas, You all get the Return of the Whiner.
Cheers!
Jazz - you are welcome! Always love your stuff.
Limericks are funny in that the minute one mentions them, everyone's thoughts go to 'there was a young man from Kent' alas. BUT I do have an answer for that:
Pity that person from Kent
His reputation is sorely bent
He's not really a jerk
but people just smirk
'cause he's coming from where he
just went!
@carol Sounds like the gent from Kent had more bent than his reputation!
Geri,
You inspired me for the Picture of the Day idea. Thank you so much.
KQ,
Just heavy rain in our area. As for the picture, we actually played golf in Billings, but hit a few balls for fun at Roosevelt National Park on the way back home.
Linda,
We've covered HIPPO & RHINO before. They don't need abbreviation hint as they are commonly accepted words now.
TJ in Osseo,
I am sorry I once insinuated you being the anonymous who made the late night posts. I apologize.
HI C.C
Thank you, that is very nice of you to say that.
I'm loving it, sounds like the rest of the gang are enjoying the pictures as well.
All the best,
Geri
Great photos again!
Sallie--lovely, warm smile.
Al--Happy looking family.
Elissa--Loved the caption "Wife and Kids"--stunning wife, good-looking "kids".
@JD--DH and I got such a kick out of the hippo video. Thank you!
@Carol--Clever limerick-ode to Jazzbumpa!
@Tarrajo--The list for Grady's school supplies looks excessive. Twelve red pens but no black or blue pens? Hopefully you have some of the items left from previous years, and maybe he'll have a teacher as thoughtful as Linda to record and return unused items at the end of the year.
As for the puzzle today, I join the "turning" crowd!
Guday fellow putthewordstogerherinpropersequenceologists. (See Fred). Not much to add, other than agreeing that "Hippo" today and "Uke" yesterday were not clued as abbr. Maybe everybody just accepts "Uke" as the name of an instrument, like "Sax" and "Bone". (Have a ball. D.F.ers).
Also 13 two word answers, which I am still trying to get used to.
"Ici" has been around so often (as has Brian Eno") we should always get those. "Scena , "Zia" and "Aesir" were gotten thru the perps.
Glad there was only one "Rap" reference. Not really into rap. A few years ago, my 19 year old girlfriend, LaFonda Peters, tried to teach me about it but then ran off with a rapper named "Ice P". I lost all interest in it after that.
Clearayes: glad to hear you got to see Damn Yankees, today. 91 years ago TODAY, I saw the Broadway opening of "Yip! Yip! Yaphank", a musical revue by Irving Berlin featuring Army recruits from Camp Upton in Yaphaank, N.Y. STUNNING!! Ever see it? It was great fun before we went off the "Whip The Kaiser".
Well, I gotta go and perform a minor surgery here at the GBRV. It seems Tara Dickoff was getting arduous, kissing M. Balmer on the neck. She suddenly sneezed and buried her upper plate in M's neck.
The fun never stops around here!
I must be off!
WM, thank you ever so much for Con Edison; I knew Con __ reminded me of something but I couldn't think of what.
Ok It's a blouse. On Sallie, that is.
Aw, gee, there was sumtin' else i wanted to say, but the Gin&Tonic has got the better of me.
Hi ya'll,.
Was able to complete this one by googling Pat Riley, Aesir and Myers. The rest came easily by the surrounds. I think I can forget the rest of the week though. I can usually do alright on the MTW's.
Beautiful picture Sallie. Proud to include it in my album.
Howdy one and all!
Puzzle was a treat, several AHA moments, but I missed the theme by two kilometers and a furlong. Dennis, what you said about Pink has been mentioned by others: she is smart, hardworking, talented and gracious. The boyfriend of a friend frm NYC does outdoors audio work for several of the morning news-like shows, such as Good Morning America and Today Show, and said they love having her on because people of all ages seem to appreciate her music, she's articulate, reliable and easy to work with. Queen Latifah (a.k.a. Dana Owens) and Cyndi Lauper apparently fall into the same category.
Congrats to our poets! We have by far the best writers of bad poetry on the internet. Writing badly is very hard work. I'm one of the poor sods who can't write good or bad poetry, so I stick to other media. Perhaps a film could be made: "The Bad Poets' Society."
Some ingenious person found my little commentary on "Please send to school only items on this list" (last night's posting) and asked if she could use it in a speech....Wow. Sure, I replied, thanks for asking, because (a) by posting it I was essentially waiving all rights anyway (b) no need for an attribution but (c) I would love to see what she does with it, because what I wrote was half-baked and could be worked into something much better.
Long and short of it: what we write here has much more reach than we realize. Bad poets, good poetesses and writers of pithy sayings, beware! They're onto us. Incidentally, her search sequence was "school supplies, asthma inhaler." Who knew?
Two bowling terms in two days....argh! C.C., good thing you have Boomer around, right?!
Sallie: what a nice smile. It's interesting how we conjure up mental images of what people don't know might look like. i'm never even close!
@LINDA: No, I am not from MO. I don't believe I have even been to or through that state.
I did see Prince perform years and years ago when I lived in Boston and he was just getting his start. He was playing at some club near Fenway Park. I couldn't tell you anything about the other singers in today's puzzle.
I lived in Boston in the 80s, when the Celtics were really hot. I remember seeing them play against Pat Riley's team. I was in the nosebleed section, so couldn't get a really good look at him, though. Those Celtic days, however, gave me the "leg-up" to answer (37D) today.
Today was my turn for the colonoscopy. I am finally awake and alert following the procedure. Fortunately, everything is normal
Enjoyed reading all the poems and limericks!
P.S. Whose more fun - the "birthers" or the "town hall meeting mobs"?
I vote for the "Mob". When you can hold up a picture of Barak Obama with a Hitler (the worst "fascist" in world history) mustache on it and then call Obama a "socialist" I get an expression on my face that is like a baby kitten gets when it sees it's first ball of yarn. I know it's there; I just don't know what the hell to do with it!
Oxymoronic or just plane moronic?
IMBO
Honestly, I thought I fixed the mistake before hitting PUBLISH. The last part should read "people we don't know." Sorry!
46 y/o here and include me in the "turning pro" category. Last week I read "plague" for "plaque."
The eyes & the mind are having a contest here, to see which one goes out on me first. They're neck & neck, so far...
I'm about half-way through a lovely small book called "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society". A journalist/author receives letters from people she doesn't know about the German Occupation and the aftermath on the islands off the coast of England.
She has pictured these people in her mind, has formed opinions about their personalities and then goes to Guernsey to meet them. She is met at the ferry by a group of her "new friends" and feels at home immediately. Does this describe our Blog Family?
This book has been on our Mercury-News best seller list for paper-back fiction for many weeks. A fun read and not too intense.
Buckeyeyouneverceasetoamazemewithyourblogentries! Keepitup.
It's 4:30 here and 106. Maybe we will break that record.
Carol-the Crayolas I have around here for the grandkids must be old ones. They are in great shape. Loved the limerick!
I never sent my kids to school with more than 3 pencils. They were such good sharers they would always be giving them away.
Chickie-I read that book a few months ago. Really enjoyed it.
Iwillgodosomethingconstructivenow.
Jerome, I always enjoy your UP version of the c/w. Did you happen to read Pickles" yesterday? Earl's wife is trying to have a conversation, and Earl tells her that "listen" has the same letters as "silent". He later goes on to say that "Earl Pickles" has the same letters as "lack replies".LOL!You and Brian Crane have a similar gift.
Chickie: Before you joined us, (andI`mSOgladyoudidcausewewerereally comingapart!) I mentioned reading that book...it hadn`t made the bestseller list yet...I really enjoyed it, also. Never having lived in an enemy-occupied country (yet)...we have much to be thankful for. BTW, it might get a bit more intense...
Thursday`s comin`
Sure as heck.
My poor copy
Will be a wreck.
But "git `er done"
Is what I will.
I will not leave
An empty fill!
CC, good to hear no damage. Lots of it around though.
Tarrajo, Jeannie, have we heard from you today? Any tornado your way?
ThepictureIwanttoseemostofallthebloggersisBuckeye
Cute clip of Pink with Ellen.
I forgot to mention some god news. Stepson Tom (currently in Afghanistan until late Nov.) is based in VA, and is up for his next assignment soon. Of many possible foreign and domestic locations, he's winding up in Florida. They'll be moving in Jan.
His wife and their three kids arrived here about 45 minutes ago, and are staying until Sunday. Between now and then, the house will be crawling with grandchildren. We don't get all 11 together very often, so it's always quite a treat.
Not sure if I'll be posting or puzzling the next few days.
Cheers!
JzB the having a houseful trombonist
Ooops. That's GOOD news.
JzB who can still neither type nor proof
Good evening, All.
Well, I'm three for three. I worked this one out during a 15 minute break in the meeting I attended all day today. If I can get tomorrow's puzzle unaided, I'll be ready to get my
clock cleaned on Friday in good humor. My new rule is no outside help. If I can't complete it, I give up and try again tomorrow. Of course, after I quit I'll still come here for education
Linda, darlin':
it ain't cool to ask someone where they live when you won't give it up yourself. Just sayin'.
Clearayes:
was that "26 miles across the sea, sandy Catalina is a waitin' for me", as in the '50's tune? Damn, I must be old.
Twenty-six miles across the sea
Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me.
After all the comments, I wanted to open the picture of Sallie but didn't know how. Any hints?
I was able to read "tuning" but thought of a piano tuner and couldn't make it fit. Misread "spots on TV" at first and thought it read "sports". Unfortunately the answer I wanted ("boring") didn't fit.
Hahtool,
So glad everything was normal today with your procedure. It's always a relief, isn't it?
Buckeye,
How we get along when you're gone, I don't know! I too, am awaiting your picture with some of the characters you tell us about.
PJB-Chicago,
Good warning--always take care to avoid clearly naming others or giving too much out.
Tarrajo,
I would buy what they suggested up to your level of comfort, and only send to school what he needs a couple at a time. If questioned about it, express your concerns about loss or theft, and say when he needs more, you will dole them out then. 10 red pens seems excessive in the extreme. They must expect the kids to be losing them all the time like teachers do. I used to hang onto my possessions at school, and not let anyone get away with forgetting to return them. It's amazing how careless some people are that way. My pens ran dry before I relinquished them.
TO ALL PARTIES HERE.
THE POST AUG.19, @12:10 WAS NOT POSTED BY ME AT ALL.
I have the b**ls I was born with and will never, repeat, never post without using my name. I have posted unfavorable comments in the past and always used my name. So please , don't believe that crumb who posted as luxor aug.19@12:10 AM
The post was with the posts at the end of the Aug.18 puzzle.
Thank you.
Luxor,
Maybe you should go blue to avoid further contamination of your reputation.
Jazzbumpa,
You must be delighted that your son will be in the safety of the USA. I'm happy for your whole family as well.
it was easy
Kazie, I don't know how. can you help me?
I ruthlessly ran through my memory bank, and for the life of me cannot remember ever once using a red pen in school. Teachers, in those days, at least, were the ONLY ones to use red pens; I have heard that some teachers today use orange or green to seem less "authoritarian." Regardless of which color pen is used, whatever the teacher writes on a student's homework or exam is important and to be heeded. I still laugh when thinking about 7th grade and Miss Kerfluffle (not her real name) writing "Neatness Counts" on a "Social Studies" final. She was passing on advice that took me at least twenty years to truly understand. She later became a nun. Really.
I suspect she would be running the Vatican now, if she had her druthers.
What are druthers, anyway? Can someone have only one druther? Hmm.
@Kazie. I apologize but cannot figure out your warning. I know you to be a very gracious and well-learned person, but cannot quite figure out the origin or nature of your comment. Donnez-moi un coup de main, SVP.
Tomorrow is a day off; time to review insurance paperwork and get a proper haircut. A walk along Lake Michigan may be in order....
Be well, everyone.
PJB, it's your good warning I think she meant.
"Long and short of it: what we write here has much more reach than we realize. Bad poets, good poetesses and writers of pithy sayings, beware! They're onto us.
I would say that Luxor is not LUXOR and that JDK in blue is anon...
Santana
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.
MamaRuth, (if you're still up) I have no idea why the link didn't work. I went back to the original post and it still works but when I used the 'Show Original Post' it didn't work.
Argyle,
I had the same experience earlier with the photo too.
PJB,
I was referring to your comment about what we reveal about ourselves and who can see it. Luxor, or someone posing as him also emailed me asking about going blue. I can't really remember how I did it, but it didn't seem difficult at the time. But it's over a year ago and I don't remember all the steps.
Argyle; Thanks; I was afraid that I had somehow crossed some line of propriety. Never, I hope, would I intrude on someone's right to privacy. My worklife credibility is based on not "naming names," and my life outside work, solving crosswords, writing/performing semi-humorous stuff, & advising on healthcare blah-blah-blah policy for the uninsured pretty much falls into the same category.
To be frank, once I'm done with the workday, I'm ready to think/talk about anything else....like zucchini, football, Janet Reno, Tibet, maple syrup, good/bad poetry, strep throat,....the list goes on.
Thanks again.
PJB,
I simply thought you were warning us not to reveal too much of ourselves to whomever might be lurking out there.
@Kazie, thanks! I was so hoping that I'd not offended you. You live just north of me, and I absolutely respect your opinions. Your warning is hereby heeded! We could use your wisdom here in Chicago; the number of students learning French and German continues to fall every year. Very few schools offer Italian or Latin. Many offer no foreign language instruction whatsoever. As always, I am in your circle of fans. I don't use the word Grande Dame lightly, but you are one! Pjb
@LUXOR Considering that the posting last night was NOT from you, I still stand by what I wrote -- it just applies to the appropriate party.
Peace!
Just an FYI for everyone - luxor/JDK/anon are all the same person, including the original apology. It's all a game; don't be the pawns.
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