Theme: COURT BUSINESS (33A: What chambers of commerce do, and this puzzle's title - common phrases ending with words used in court.
17A: Exterior attractiveness, to a Realtor: CURB APPEAL. You file an APPEAL to the appellate court when you are not happy with the lower court decision.
20A: Beethoven's affliction: LOSS OF HEARING. The purpose of a preliminary HEARING is to decide whether the case against you should be dismissed or go on trial.
50A: Drug safety test: CLINICAL TRIAL. You are tried by a jury or by a judge (bench trial).
55A: Replay feature: SLOW MOTION. You can file a A MOTION before, during or after the trial. The judge either approves or denies your MOTION.
Chambers of Commerce, esp American Chamber of Commerce in China, play an essential role in courting business. Great wordplay on "court".
I hope my understanding of the above legal terms are correct. LAW (49A: Bar code?) is a lovely bonus fill. Sounds so hard to pass a bar exam. Remember the JFK Jr. "The Hunk Flunks" headline? He failed twice.
Look at the first and last pair of the theme answers. Dan Naddor is really into overlapping them now. I also counted 22 entries with 6 or more letters. I am going to call it as Dan Naddor index from now on.
Definitely a tougher puzzle than yesterday's, but the theme answers all came rather easily.
Across:
1A: Paul of "American Graffiti": LE MAT. I've actually seen "American Graffiti". Don't remember this guy at all. Ron Howard, yes.
6A: Big Apple sch.: CCNY (the City College of NY). Based in Manhattan.
10A: One often looking down?: SNOB. Great clue. I was picturing someone who always looks depressed.
14A: Part of Caesar's boast: I CAME. Well, Caesar did not really speak English. "Veni, vidi, vici": I CAME, I saw, I conquered.
15A: Former manager Felipe: ALOU (Felipe). Father of Moisés.
16A: Bishop of Rome: POPE. POPE Benedict is way too conservative.
19A: Wilson of "Wedding Crashers": OWEN. He used to date Kate Hudson, who is currently seeing A-Rod.
22A: Hunk: GOB. In what sense are they synonymous?
24A: Drei minus zwei: EINS. 3-2=1. Shouldn't "zwei" (German for "two") be capitalized? All German nouns are.
25A: Flummoxed: AT SEA
26A: Embraces, as a philosophy: ADOPTS
28A: Site for sapling: NURSERY
30A: Old Italian bread: LIRA. "Bread/capital" often refers to the currency.
31A: Lined up: IN A ROW
38A: Like a banquet: LAVISH. Chinese banquet can be really opulent.
41A: Thorny shrubs commonly with yellow flowers: ACACIAS. I vaguely remember Kazie said these flowers are called wattles in Australia.
44A: Livestock food: FORAGE
46A: Billiards bounce: CAROM. Often confuse CAROM with MASSE.
47A: James of "The Godfather": CAAN. The hot-tempered, reckless Sonny Corleone.
58A: Soap actress Sofer: RENA. Forgot. I linked this picture before. I remember those flowers on her shirt.
59A: Isle where Macbeth is buried: IONA. Pure guess. Scottish Isle, 4 letter, what else could it be?
61A: Scott in a landmark civil rights case: DRED. Tangentially related to the theme too.
63A: Kind of pressure that can cause headache: SINUS
Down:
1D: Driver's documents: Abbr.: LIC. What's your eye color?
2D: Old French coin: ECU. Sometimes it's SOU.
3D: Vermont music festival town: MARLBORO. No idea. See this map. Is it named after the MARLBORO man?
4D: Early Christian pulpit: AMBO. It escaped me. I linked this AMBO before. It's "a raised desk, or either of two such desks, from which the Gospels or Epistles were read or chanted".
5D: Afternoon service: TEA SET
6D: Menu fowl: CAPON. Is it often stuffed?
7D: Staff symbols: CLEFS. Musical staff.
8D: Wordsmith Webster: NOAH. I am using a Webster's College Dictionary.
10D: Golf pro shop array: SPORTS WEAR. Of course, I was thinking of those drivers/irons/putters.
11D: Not in any way: NOWISE. New word to me.
12D: Feature of some corkscrews: OPENER
13D: Popular analgesic cream: BENGAY. My husband uses Cryogel for his bowling elbow pain.
18D: Pitchfork-shaped letter: PSIS. And NUS (32D: Frat letters).
21D: Hitter of 755 homers: AARON (Hank). The real home run king. Dennis probably has his rookie card.
22D: Hoedown dancer: GAL. Does GAL here carry a country girl connotation?
23D: Lyrical: ODIC. Of an ode.
27D: Three-time Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer winner: PAUL CONRAD. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he was the chief editorial cartoonist for the LA Times from 1964 to 1993. And he was named in Nixon's enemy list in 1973.
28D: "Parsley is gharsley" poet: NASH. Ah yeah, I don't like parsley at all.
29D: Ocean State sch.: URI (University of Rhode Island). I blanked. Did get OSU (56D: The Buckeyes, initially).
31D: Bird venerated by ancient Egyptians: IBIS. Yep, the ancient Egyptians consider the bird sacred. Thoth, the god of wisdom, has a head of an IBIS.
34D: "Spider-Man" director: RAIMI (Sam). Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this guy.
35D: New Deal prog.: TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
36D: Breeding horse: STALLION
43D: French satellite-launching rocket: ARIANE. Pronounced like ar-ee-AN. Completely stranger to me. Wikipedia says it comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne, daughter of Minos. She helped Theseus escape the labyrinth, but later was cruelly deserted.
44D: Old MacDonald's place: FARM. "Old MaDonald had a FARM, E-I-E-I-O...".
45D: Whopper toppers: ONIONS. Would have been a perfect rhyming clue if the answer were singular.
47D: Duplicate: CLONE
48D: Fighting big-time: AT WAR
51D: Members of Gil Grissom's team, briefly: CSIS. Crime Scene Investigators? I got the answer from Across fills. Have never watched CSI or any of its spin-off.
53D: Yours, in Tours: A TOI. Je suis tout A TOI, chéri.
57D: Super __: game console: NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our farmer/philosopher Windhover. The picture was taken on his 61st Birthday (12/7/2006) by his beautiful wife "Irish". I also liked this quiet view off his back porch.
C.C.
17A: Exterior attractiveness, to a Realtor: CURB APPEAL. You file an APPEAL to the appellate court when you are not happy with the lower court decision.
20A: Beethoven's affliction: LOSS OF HEARING. The purpose of a preliminary HEARING is to decide whether the case against you should be dismissed or go on trial.
50A: Drug safety test: CLINICAL TRIAL. You are tried by a jury or by a judge (bench trial).
55A: Replay feature: SLOW MOTION. You can file a A MOTION before, during or after the trial. The judge either approves or denies your MOTION.
Chambers of Commerce, esp American Chamber of Commerce in China, play an essential role in courting business. Great wordplay on "court".
I hope my understanding of the above legal terms are correct. LAW (49A: Bar code?) is a lovely bonus fill. Sounds so hard to pass a bar exam. Remember the JFK Jr. "The Hunk Flunks" headline? He failed twice.
Look at the first and last pair of the theme answers. Dan Naddor is really into overlapping them now. I also counted 22 entries with 6 or more letters. I am going to call it as Dan Naddor index from now on.
Definitely a tougher puzzle than yesterday's, but the theme answers all came rather easily.
Across:
1A: Paul of "American Graffiti": LE MAT. I've actually seen "American Graffiti". Don't remember this guy at all. Ron Howard, yes.
6A: Big Apple sch.: CCNY (the City College of NY). Based in Manhattan.
10A: One often looking down?: SNOB. Great clue. I was picturing someone who always looks depressed.
14A: Part of Caesar's boast: I CAME. Well, Caesar did not really speak English. "Veni, vidi, vici": I CAME, I saw, I conquered.
15A: Former manager Felipe: ALOU (Felipe). Father of Moisés.
16A: Bishop of Rome: POPE. POPE Benedict is way too conservative.
19A: Wilson of "Wedding Crashers": OWEN. He used to date Kate Hudson, who is currently seeing A-Rod.
22A: Hunk: GOB. In what sense are they synonymous?
24A: Drei minus zwei: EINS. 3-2=1. Shouldn't "zwei" (German for "two") be capitalized? All German nouns are.
25A: Flummoxed: AT SEA
26A: Embraces, as a philosophy: ADOPTS
28A: Site for sapling: NURSERY
30A: Old Italian bread: LIRA. "Bread/capital" often refers to the currency.
31A: Lined up: IN A ROW
38A: Like a banquet: LAVISH. Chinese banquet can be really opulent.
41A: Thorny shrubs commonly with yellow flowers: ACACIAS. I vaguely remember Kazie said these flowers are called wattles in Australia.
44A: Livestock food: FORAGE
46A: Billiards bounce: CAROM. Often confuse CAROM with MASSE.
47A: James of "The Godfather": CAAN. The hot-tempered, reckless Sonny Corleone.
58A: Soap actress Sofer: RENA. Forgot. I linked this picture before. I remember those flowers on her shirt.
59A: Isle where Macbeth is buried: IONA. Pure guess. Scottish Isle, 4 letter, what else could it be?
61A: Scott in a landmark civil rights case: DRED. Tangentially related to the theme too.
63A: Kind of pressure that can cause headache: SINUS
Down:
1D: Driver's documents: Abbr.: LIC. What's your eye color?
2D: Old French coin: ECU. Sometimes it's SOU.
3D: Vermont music festival town: MARLBORO. No idea. See this map. Is it named after the MARLBORO man?
4D: Early Christian pulpit: AMBO. It escaped me. I linked this AMBO before. It's "a raised desk, or either of two such desks, from which the Gospels or Epistles were read or chanted".
5D: Afternoon service: TEA SET
6D: Menu fowl: CAPON. Is it often stuffed?
7D: Staff symbols: CLEFS. Musical staff.
8D: Wordsmith Webster: NOAH. I am using a Webster's College Dictionary.
10D: Golf pro shop array: SPORTS WEAR. Of course, I was thinking of those drivers/irons/putters.
11D: Not in any way: NOWISE. New word to me.
12D: Feature of some corkscrews: OPENER
13D: Popular analgesic cream: BENGAY. My husband uses Cryogel for his bowling elbow pain.
18D: Pitchfork-shaped letter: PSIS. And NUS (32D: Frat letters).
21D: Hitter of 755 homers: AARON (Hank). The real home run king. Dennis probably has his rookie card.
22D: Hoedown dancer: GAL. Does GAL here carry a country girl connotation?
23D: Lyrical: ODIC. Of an ode.
27D: Three-time Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer winner: PAUL CONRAD. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he was the chief editorial cartoonist for the LA Times from 1964 to 1993. And he was named in Nixon's enemy list in 1973.
28D: "Parsley is gharsley" poet: NASH. Ah yeah, I don't like parsley at all.
29D: Ocean State sch.: URI (University of Rhode Island). I blanked. Did get OSU (56D: The Buckeyes, initially).
31D: Bird venerated by ancient Egyptians: IBIS. Yep, the ancient Egyptians consider the bird sacred. Thoth, the god of wisdom, has a head of an IBIS.
34D: "Spider-Man" director: RAIMI (Sam). Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this guy.
35D: New Deal prog.: TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
36D: Breeding horse: STALLION
43D: French satellite-launching rocket: ARIANE. Pronounced like ar-ee-AN. Completely stranger to me. Wikipedia says it comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne, daughter of Minos. She helped Theseus escape the labyrinth, but later was cruelly deserted.
44D: Old MacDonald's place: FARM. "Old MaDonald had a FARM, E-I-E-I-O...".
45D: Whopper toppers: ONIONS. Would have been a perfect rhyming clue if the answer were singular.
47D: Duplicate: CLONE
48D: Fighting big-time: AT WAR
51D: Members of Gil Grissom's team, briefly: CSIS. Crime Scene Investigators? I got the answer from Across fills. Have never watched CSI or any of its spin-off.
53D: Yours, in Tours: A TOI. Je suis tout A TOI, chéri.
57D: Super __: game console: NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our farmer/philosopher Windhover. The picture was taken on his 61st Birthday (12/7/2006) by his beautiful wife "Irish". I also liked this quiet view off his back porch.
C.C.
90 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - I've said it before, Dan Naddor never disappoints, and today is no exception; good puzzle, clever theme.
Knowing Paul 'Le Mat' helped a lot, as did the fact that 'I came' was the only part of Caesar's boast that fit, since I can never remember 'ambo'. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing. I didn't pick up on the theme until 'court business', which made the last two theme entries easy.
I needed perp help to get 'Paul Conrad', 'Rena' Sofer and 'nowise' (which I may have heard once before in my life. Didn't like 'odic'. And I'm probably one of few who didn't know 'forage' was a noun; only knew it as a verb.
Today is National Dog Day and Women's Equality Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” -- Ernest Hemingway
Fun Facts:
- Alice Cooper owns one of the 'O's in the HOLLYWOOD sign.
- It costs 3 cents to make a dollar bill and 7.8 cents to make a half-dollar coin.
C.C., I wish I still had the Aaron rookie card.
Windhover, great picture, and your better half is a real beauty. That's called 'out-kicking your coverage'.
And C.C., eye color is blue.
Dammit, Dennis. How do you get on here so fast. I was just here not 30 seconds ago and the blog wasn't up yet. You must lurk around with everything written and then just cut and paste the second C.C. posts.
Not a bad one today, either. Took about 10 minutes. I came, I saw, I conquered. I was only at sea on a few but the perps helped.
Paul Lemat played John Milner who drove the ‘bitchin’ yellow roadster with Mackenzie Phillips as his passenger. He also played ‘Melvin’ in the movie ‘Melvin and Howard.’
Glad to see URI clued as Ocean State Sch. Usually it’s the William Tell canton. Goes nicely with CCNY.
Omar is back but this time as Bradley.
Walked around Boston following the Freedom Trail yesterday and will probably go to Purgatory Chasm today. Might need to break out the Ben Gay later on for these aching muscles.
Not to steal Hahtool’s thunder but today is National Dog day. So I guess I must be nice to my Lhasa and my Pomeranian (that damn ankle biter). LBJ was nominated at the Democratic National Convention in 1964 and it is Women’s Equality Day (aka Susan B. Anthony Day).
Have a great Wednesday.
Odic?
Morning, All. This puzzle didn't really do anything for me today. I got all the court references, and CC, your analysis of terms is correct. For me, the bar exam was necessarily so hard as it was intense. It was three solid 8-hour days of essays. It's intense because so much depends upon the outcome. Just ask KQ's husband.
My favorite clue: Whopper topper (45D) ONIONS. I knew this immediately and I don't even eat at Burger King.
My sister went to URI and my dad went to OSU, both responses to the puzzle. Too bad my school wasn't a response.
I doubt the Marlboro Man came from Vermont. He was from the rugged wild west, not the free-spirited Vermont. My guess would be that Vermont was one of the first states to oppose smoking.
Great photos, Windhover!
Birthdays today:
1906 ~ Albert Sabin, (d. 1993) father of the oral polio vaccine.
1935 ~ Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 Vice Presidential candidate.
QOD: The young fulfill the revolutions that the old prepare. ~ Napoleon
Barry G,
Not the first time we saw ODIC. Last time Alan P. Olschwang clued it as "Like Pindar's poetry".
JD,
Nouns are interesting. They can be subject, or objection. They can be verbalized too.
Barb B,
You are a sweet conjunction.
Good morning C.C. and all, a difficult puzzle for me today. Any time there are lots of movie/entertainment type clues I am at a loss. If it hadn’t been for the theme clues/answers I would not have been able to complete the puzzle.
A couple of missteps were self inflicted such as trying to force forest in for 28A, but I kept coming up a letter short. Then, for 49A, I tried to make UPC fit for LAW until I realized LAW fit with the theme. I don’t know where Paul Conrad’s name came from, but it was lurking somewhere in the recess of my mind and was an easy fill.
Great pictures Windover!
Hope you all have a great Wednesday
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. Better than the Whopper.
New England has many towns named Marlboro (Marlborough) all named after the market town in Wiltshire, England. In New England, the "l" is not pronounced.
I thought the puzzle was not one of Mr. Naddor's best; ODIC, ATSEA and LIRA are tired clues for me, and the COURT BUSINESS pun with real legal terms was not inspiring for me.
It is interesting how many times we have a discussion and then a puzzle ties in, for example, the director SAM RAIMI was very much influenced by the Three Stooges , and their films.
C.C., the pics continue to be a wonderful addition; now we know we have brains and looks.
Good Morning, Everybody.
Paul LeMat wasn't lurking, or anywhere to be seen, in my brain. And poor Beethoven suffered from hard of hearing, then lack of hearing, before he had loss of hearing.
I'd liked to send Rena on that rocket, too. Good puzzle.
Question: Was LeMat driving the coupe in the race at the end of American Graffiti?
C.C. as you know, I am from Rhode Island. I am surprised that you drew a blank on "Ocean State Sch."
Eyes are brown.
A carom shot in carom billiards is also known as a "kiss" shot. You strike your cue ball so that it strikes another ball and is deflected off it. The ball can be the object ball or the opponent's cue ball. The ball must then travel and carom off the second ball (the remaining object ball or opponent's cue ball) on the table. There is a version of this called three-cushion billiards in which after striking the first ball, the cue ball must hit three rails/cushions before striking the second ball.
In pocket pool, the carom shot is still a "kiss" shot but you strike the object ball with the cue ball causing it to "kiss" another ball and go into the pocket.
A masse, on the other hand, is a method of putting extraordinary spin on a ball. The cue stick is held in a near vertical position and, upon striking the cue ball, the ball has spin that will cause it to curve around other balls on the table. It is used quite a bit in trick shot pool.
Dennis:
How well I know it. One of the joys of being an old guy is that now, when the QB says, "Go long", you usually can.
The upside to waiting so long for my fifteen minutes is that it happened in front of a great group of people.
The puzzle? Oh yeah, the puzzle. Most of my problems stemmed from putting "spiral" for 12D instead of opener.
Otherwise a decent effort, if not fast.
Back later.
Answer: Yes, LeMat was driving the coupe. Drag race at Paradise Road from American Graffiti.
Morning all,
I may be one of the few today who didn’t like today’s puzzle. NW corner set me off on the wrong track. Didn’t know Lemat and had hard of hearing; both of those really threw off that corner. Never heard of Paul Conrad; if I ever knew acacias, I forgot it, had masse instead of carom and on and on. Not one of my best efforts. I’m getting the opinion that Naddor and I don’t mix. Since our paper doesn’t print the constructor’s name, I cannot psych myself out before hand.
Windhover, you look so ruggedly handsome. Did you grow up on a farm? Do the winter’s give you time to read all your philosophical books? Have a great day all. Oh, my eyes are blue.
g'day all,
I'm with Jeanne--I hate all the names--my normal Naddor reaction. After reading a few clues, I went through and marked all that I would have to google if the perps didn't help--21 of them! I ended up only g'ing LEMAT, MARLBORO, RAIMI and PAUL CONRAD as the perps and guesses got the rest. I spent a long time trying to come up with COURT to go with business, so of course never got the theme connections. Also tried to work VINCI in for I CAME--I forgot VICI is the past tense, I guess. Didn't know carOM or DreD either.
I did know ARIANE, because the first computer program I ever bought at school was a review game for the French text we were using, which used the Ariane rocket as the tada! effect when you got through a section successfully.
c.c.,
German numbers are mostly considered adjectives, so no capitals needed.
Windhover,
Neat photos! What is growing in the one off your back porch?
c.c.,
I forgot to thank you for the beautiful wattle pic. Nostalgia for me.
My eyes are green.
If it only costs 3 cents to make a dollar bill, I wonder if it would be cost effective to use coins that would last longer or not? Most other countries have dropped their bills for such small units, as far as I know.
I started out badly on this puzzle - didn't know LEMAT, put in 'sou' for ECU, etc. etc. even though I got the theme fairly quickly. But I slogged along. Finally made some WAGs (wild ass guesses), then turned to a small bit of red letter help and finished.
Woke to hear that Ted Kennedy had died. It is truly a loss for the country (a liberal who could cross the aisle and get things done, and who learned from his mistakes) and sad that he will not get to see Health Insurance Reform pass (and I'm still hoping it will).
My husband has set his ring tone to play "Brown Eyed Girl" when I call him.
WO: Nice pictures - what a view.
Kazie reminded me; I got COURT only after I notice the theme answers.
Not really that Ol' Blue Eyes.
Good Morning all.
I enjoyed today's puzzle but did need a little help. I've never seen American Graffiti, so had to ask my husband about Paul Whosit - he was astounded to learn I've never seen the movie. Guess we'll be watching it soon. :)
I've been lurking daily for awhile - still doing the puzzle most days but less time to post as my consulting work is starting to take off.
Even if I don't do the puzzle, I've been checking in for the daily photos - I love the visual glimpse into everyone's lives that we've all learned about over time. Such a great addition - Thanks, CC!
Another thing that's been keeping me busy is planning a 5k here in Madison benefitting the Lung Cancer Partnership. After losing my mother in law last November to lung cancer, this has become a very personal cause for our family. There are events all across the country over the next couple months. Check here for more info if you're interested. If you're in/near Madison, would love to see you on Sept 27! Maybe for a blog photo!
Enjoy the day!
Andrea
Good morning CC and gang: Going out of town (which I must do in order to do anything but antique.) Will try the puzzle later.
WO: I see you robbed the cradle too! (just like my hubby.) She`s lovely and you look just like my dentist, beard and all, in your pic.
Tarrajo: Creamed corn for breakfast sounds good to me! When I had to be out of the house by 7:30 AM, I ate anything handy: pizza, cake, pie, cream-of-chicken soup. I prefer breakfast food around 10:00 AM.
A safe and pleasant day to you all.
My eyes are blue-blue when I`m not tired...blue-gray when I am. When I`m really tired, red/white and blue!
Good Morning!
I saw Dan Naddor and rubbed my hands in glee. Unfortunately could fill in only a few at first try...I CAME was my first fill. But couldnt conquer anything else in that corner. Tried from the NE, climbed down, made some guesses and finally cracked the NW.
At the end, didnt feel as satisfied as the other times with Dan Naddor.
CC, Wordweb describes hunk as "large piece of something without shape". I guess, that's how its a synonym for GOB.
My eyes are brown black
Windhover, Beautiful pics.
Morning,
I got the theme right off. NW corner gave me trouble. Also tried to put in forests instead of nursery. In 20A tried hard. Had a few I needed to g.
Great pix Windhover.
DrDad-With you about Burger King. Give me a Big Mac. Although, I'm trying to stay away from that stuff.
My eyes are blue.
Going to drag my grandson outside with me to do some weeding. If I can get his nose out of the book.
Hi C.C. & gang, We managed to finish all but the puzzle theme area before my wife gave up (she works at home on Wednesdays). I didn't remember Paul Le Mat either.
ODIT is a rather big stretch for me, how is an ode lyrical?
A picture tells a thousand words right? Here's an excellent video on a pool shot masse
Good morning, C.C. and all--
A somewhat frustrating puzzle for me today with so many actors and other people clues. Finally started in SE corner (no people there) and worked up. Although I was able to finish the puzzle with only one blank square, I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I usually do. Went to my friend G to get that last letter, the 'n' in the cross of RENA and ARIANE. Was totally confused by 51D answer CSIS as I was thinking astronaut Gus Grissom who, in researching later, I learned was the inspiration for the last name of TV character Gil.
C.C.--Yes, "gals" is a country term, with male counterpart guys. "Guys grab your gals, and join us at the hoedown."
Windhover--Handsome gentleman, beautiful lady, and idyllic fields!
Have a great day, from a "Brown Eyed Girl."
Good Morning All, I filled in the first eight Acrosses of the puzzle in record time. I thought perhaps that the LAT really had become too easy. But I had to switch to the Downs after getting 19A OWEN. I depended on the perps to get LOSS OF HEARING. MARLBORO was unknown to me, and no way would I ever use NOWISE. I liked seeing an unusual fill like BENGAY in the NE corner.
Then I hit the second two thirds of the puzzle. Besides the theme answers, there were some real toughies like LAVISH, ACACIAS, FORAGE, ARIANE and "who the heck is PAUL CONRAD". It finally sorted out, but I didn't think it was so easy anymore.
Dr Dad, If I do the puzzle via Cruciverb the night before the blog, I often write out some general comments noting what I liked and what was difficult while they are still fresh in my mind. Then I paste it in the morning and do a little editing so I don't repeat (too much) of what others have said. Most of my first two paragraphs was from last night.
My eyes are blue-green.
Of course it is nice to see Windhover, but I am really impressed to see the Irish up close. (I always wanted to have hair like that, but mine was a paler blondish-red...then it got grayer...oh, never mind.) I loved the photos. Life in Kentucky is good.
good morning c.c. and all,
do-able wednesday puzzle. did not remember AMBO. DRED and CAAN (grrr) came easily enough, but LEMAT, RENA, RAIMI and OMAR required perps. LAVISH is a good word.
hahtool and lemonade, thought of you both and imagined, wrongly, that you would enjoy the puzzle. thought 'court business' was clever. i keep waiting for a massage theme.
great pics windhover, beautiful view.
green eyes here.
daily grind has kept me from getting here much this week, will be in and out for a bit longer.
Not my favorite Dan Naddor puzzle but ultimately doable. Struggled in the NW corner as others did, trying to make HARD of HEARING work, didn't know LEMAT. Agree that ODIC and NOWISE are stretches.
My "learned something new" moment today was thanks to Dr. Dad: carom vs. masse. Thanks. And Warren, that masse video is crazy!
Good morning CC and all,
Enjoyable; the "slow" in motion was my last fill. LOL! So true. I had to "G" for ariane, iona, and Le Mat. The perps took care of the rest as I don't get a lot of gimmes at first glance.Wasn't crazy about nowise and odic, and thought atwar was a new word. :)
Carom boards were fantastic during rainy day recesses. Haven't seen kids playing caroms for years.
Argyle, fun A.G. clip.That movie turned out quite a few actors.
WH, great pictures, and what a beautiful view.
I am saddened by the news of Ted Kennedy. No matter where you stand politically, you have to admit that the Kennedys have devoted their lives to public service. This family is irreplaceable.
Reliving history:
580- The Chinese invented toilet paper! Woo Hoo!
1498- Michelangelo was commissioned to carve the Pieta
(Kazie, add the accent mark :)
1883- Krakatoa erupted killing 36,000
1903 Phillies walked 17 Dodgers
( can't imagine being at that game)
Warren, "Lyric Poetry: a short poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses thought and feeling. Though it is sometimes used only for a brief poem about feeling (like the sonnet), it is more often applied to a poem expressing the complex evolution of thoughts and feeling, such as the elegy, the dramatic monologue, and the ode."
Both Keats and Shelley wrote some "whopper" lyric odes. They make be short in the world of poetry, but they are too long to post here. If you are interested, here's Keat's Ode On A Grecian Urn, or Shelley's Ode To The West Wind. Don't feel bad if you read three lines and quit. Lyric odes are usually pretty slow going with lots of fancy-schmancy verbiage.
Members of Gil Grissom's team, briefly: CSIS. Crime Scene Investigators? I got the answer from Across fills. Have never watched CSI or any of its spin-offs.
I checked the one hundred most popular TV shows of 2009 (including shows in syndication) according to TV.com here and about one in five are police/detective dramas and about half of those are relatively new shows that came out in the past five years. Most shows have detectives working in pairs or larger groups so they can discuss the case they are working on. That formula would appear to date back to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and, apparently, it still works today.
Oh, in case anybody is wondering about the spam that appeared earlier, there was a hurricane that hit Taiwan a couple of weeks ago and there were hundreds of people drowned and still hundreds of people missing. I don't know why someone would post spam in Chinese when most of you probably can't even see the Chinese characters on your screens, let alone read them.
Martin
Hi Gang -
Windhover - Great Pix. What I'd like to know is why you call that lovely red-haired colleen "Irish?"
Warren - An ode is a type of lyric poem, hence ODIC. Ugly word. I don't much care for it.
Beethoven wrote his most aetherial and sophisticated music while completely deaf. This is seriously beyond my comprehension. Upon hearing String Quartet #14, Opus 131, in C# minor, Shubert is said to have remarked, "After this, what is left for us to write?"
Back to the puzzle. Timely theme, as my lovely wife is on jury duty. She might get to serve on a major crime case, which could tie her up for weeks. I hope we'll find out this afternoon.
This cow-brown-eyed critic was wondering why there was so much trouble in today's puzzle. It's only Wednesday, but this is playing worse than a Friday for me.
Then the analyst kicked in. Sixteen proper names (9 of which were totally unknown), including 10 people, two commercial products, two obscure geographical references, and a foreign missel launcher. Counting the latter, a total of 6 foreign words, letters and numbers, along with 7 abbreviations. OK - go Bucks, but still . . .
I couldn't get ACACIAS, because I insist on spelling IBIS with an "X." That one's on me.
The rest, though - PHOOIE!
Take a ten letter name, sandwiched between a foreign word and another name, and cross it with a stack of three other names and you have the intractable SW corner - though I do know OMAR BRADLEY and DRED SCOTT (probably the worst decision ever handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court.)
This was certainly a puzzle built for the convenience of the constructor, lacking in clever cluing, or, for my money, any sense of fun.
I rate it somewhere between a failure and a SINUS headache (a subject about which I have waaay too much experience.)
But, neither a lousy puzzle experience not a sinus headache is the end of the world, so I bid you all -
Cheers!
Good morning everyone. Your comments about my puzzles help me take the pulse of the "audience". I'm glad you're all so outgoing!
I'm curious -- many of you were put off by the "junk" in today's puzzle (ODIC, NOWISE, LEMAT, etc.). My style has been to give you plenty of snappy themage as well as what CC dubbed a high "Dan Naddor index" (lots of non-theme fill of 6 letters or more). It's inevitable that an ambitious fill yields a bit of junk, no matter how long I sweat over the construction. And I try to keep the "junk crossings" as easy as possible.
Would you rather see less theme and fewer long non-themers in return for no junk and primarily colorless 4-5 letter fill?
Thanks for the feedback.
Mr. Naddor,
my two cents worth, for free:
I am a midpack solver; the late week
puzzles kick my rear, but
I can solve most puzzles if I spend enough time, and on
the tougher ones, am willing to Google a bit.
I rarely complain about anything in a puzzle. I don't watch TV more than 5-6 hours a year, so those references and names are mostly unknown to me. But I solve puzzles to exercise my mind, learn a few new things regularly, and commune with this group. The thing I like best about the LAT puzzle is the large variety of styles among the various constructors. So for my money, do the Sinatra thing (your way). You make 'em , we'll solve 'em.
Dan, I wouldn't change a thing. I look forward to your puzzles because they're both clever and fun. You haven't disappointed yet.
And thanks for checking in, and actually caring about what we think; it's very much appreciated.
Ambitious puzzle. But we're used to that from the Big D. Nice, wide open NE and SW corners. 59 theme squares and 4 of the themes are stacked.
APPEAL, HEARING, TRIAL, MOTION, and COURT are not used in ways that have a legal meaning. A little deception going on there.
Fun stuff- Golf shops do sell SPORTSWEAR. However, on a golf course you can hear many a SPORT SWEAR. Mainly, "Oh shit!"
LOSS OF HEARING= A FLOSSING HERO.
8 down- NOAH. He was the creator of a little known biblical commandment. Standing at the ark's entrance he shouted, "First STALLIONS, LIONS LAST!"
Hello, all. Good to see Dr. Dad and Windhover, Irish and his weedy back yard.
Hahtool; Glad to see the OSU heritage.
"Ambo", "Paul Conrad", "odic" "nowise" -all "iffy" for me, but got through the perps.
I don't know if anybody mentioned this when we were talking about school supplies, but we mentioned "Crayola" crayons as the best. I have some of the original "Crayolas" from when my kids were really kids. (64 box).
They changed some colors and their formula a while back. The new formula can be washed off the walls where our "little spawns of Satan" often developed their artistic skills. Hence, the colors are not as pure as they used to be. IMHO.
A number of years ago, I took an old set of 32 "Crayolas" and sneaked them to my grand kids. When they started to draw on the wall I pointed it out to my daughter. She said, "These new "Crayolas" wash off". I smiled and said, "We shall see, grasshopper"!
I must be off!
The theme answers came easily enough, but I still didn’t connect the dots. From our blog, I’ve found that people who practice law are anything but dull.
Thank you Dan Naddor, for checking in with us.
I didn’t like or dislike the puzzle; since I’ve only been doing crosswords a year, I’m in no position to judge the quality of a puzzle. I had to google some things that should have been obvious, like AMBO and IBIS, but consider it part of the learning curve. Just have to get those words imbedded in my memory banks. I know there have to be junk crossings, and I really appreciate it when there easy. What I really like is when they also provide a giggle. My favorite today was BAR CODE. And the stacking of the theme words was rather elegant, I think.
Windhover, thanks for introducing us to Irish; great pictures all around. Your place is lovely. Looks very peaceful.
Odic doesn’t make a lot of sense to me unless I think mel-ODIC.
Eyes are hazel. My mother’s name was Hazel. A name I don’t hear often.
Welcome Andrea1263. I hope we see your picture some time in the future.
Dan, I'm a Jeopardy junkie, so I like people and place names. I may grouse a little, but hopefully I learn a lot. As far as I'm concerned today's puzzle was just about right for a Wednesday.
Blue eyes.
Doreen
Mr. Nador--
Thanks for your input. If my earlier post seemed like grousing, please forgive me. It's simply that I don't know most names when it comes to TV, movies, and sports. (On the other hand, OMAR, DRED, and NOAH were gimmes for me today.) I admire your constructing skills, and agree with Windover--"You make 'em, we'll solve 'em."
Hi c.c. and all:
Not too much trouble for me today. Did not know Paul LeMat; however I did see American Graffiti. I had teaset it, so didn't know for sure if it was LeMat until I came here. Guessed on Rena, but somehow Ariane sounded right. As others, I had hard of hearing, but saw the light! Did not know Raimi but got it from the perps. Oh yes, and had Sports gear at first, but obviously saw the error of my ways.
Dan Naddor: Thanks for dropping by! I thought the puzzle was challenging, but doable. I do like theme answers so that helped me out a lot.
Buckeye: What can I say, once again you cracked me up! I loved the crayolas' story. I did not know that they are now washable!!! I guess that dates me...
Dr. Dad: Great to see you on!
Windover: Wonderful pics of both you and your lovely wife. What a great backyard view!!!
Hi c.c.:
My eyes are Hazel
Well, Ive been waiting, so now that Buckeye has checked in, I can go ahead and post. I have to leave for a meeting of the socialist farm group I belong to in a liitle while, so I'll see you all tomorrow.
CC:
thanks so much for posting our pictures.
My eyes are, like BarbB's, hazel.
The Irish', like Elissa, MJ and others, are Van Morrison brown, and about a mile deep. Once I looked in them, 20 years ago this month, I never really had a chance.
Jeanne @ 8:05:
you got the rugged part right, but.......
I did not grow up on a farm. My Dad and his were farm equipment dealers since 1921. Maternal grandparents farmed, guess that's where I got the virus. It's the only thing I've ever done just because I wanted to. It puzzles me why anyone would want to live any other way, but then many people feel the same about their vocation.
Linda:
so what you are saying re: your dentist is that you associate me with a pain in your face? And here I thought I was being a pain in the a __.
As for robbery, that cradle was rockin' when I found it, so......
When I told Irish what you said, her reply was, "So did he get her drunk, too?"
Kazie@ 8:47:
that's alfalfa, with a little orchard grass and timothy mixed in, just before third cutting about three weeks ago. AKA the
"Queen" of 44A, the "King" being corn. Like most things in nature, the king is an annual, starting from scratch every year, while the queen is a perennial, and very productive.
Thanks to all for your comments, and in the spirit of the best comic strip ever, "Calvin and Hobbes", what did I/we learn from this experience?
That I'd rather be a star on Crossword Corner than on a sidewalk in Hollywood.
Let's do this again tomorrow, or as Ernie Banks said, "let's play two."
Larry
Dan,
I do object to too many names, but despite the number of my unknowns today, I only g'ed four of them. So not too bad. I don't object to the abbreviations as long as they aren't too obscure.
Jerome,
Your flossing reference reminds me that my childhood dentist used to say if you take care of your gums, the teeth take care of themselves.
JD,
I don't know which way it would go--it's Italian, isn't it?
Ted Kennedy's death marks the end of an era. Sad day for his family--they just lost Eunice a couple of weeks ago.
Andrea1263,
I could very well be in Madison that day, but I won't be running! How would we (any other takers?) recognize you?
DN,
My two cents is that you are the most beloved LAT constructor at this time. The expectations are wildly high for you and for good reason. There are times when you do the stacks and the themes and those corners still come out looking pretty sweet.
When things don't turn out that way, then there is (some)unhappiness in the air. I think the question that every constructor has to ask is ambition versus solid construction. The hope is that more times then not, solid construction is the prioity but right behind it there's some impressive ambition to connect with. I see too many NYT puzzles with dizzying ambition but the puzzle falls flat with just really horrible fill.
I personally have always liked your puzzles and know that it will be a workout with some frustration but I always seem to finish them correctly with great satisfaction. Stay the course!
Hey, Dan!
With regard to "junk" such as ODIC and it being a necessary evil to make the rest of the puzzle have some pop to it, I appreciate what you're saying. This is a case, however, where better cluing might have made the "junk" more bearable. As Barb B pointed out, ODIC could have been clued as a suffix to "Mel."
I personally didn't think that LEMAT was junk, btw, since (a) I've seen the movie and (b) he has shown up in crosswords many times in the past (although perhaps not the LA Times puzzle).
David, welcome, and your point was stated about as eloquently as can be said. Excellent points. Hopefully you'll stay and contribute to our blog; C.C.'s the best and this is just a great group.
One more;
Jazz, to answer your question, I call her that because she's ill tempered until you get a couple of Guinness in her, and after three or four she's reciting James Joyce and singing along with Van. Only Brown Eyed Girl comes out "You're my Brown-Eyed Squirrel". I'll bet Irish Jim
knows what I'm talking about.
Now I'm late AND in
trouble.
Creating crosswords isn't tough work. Digging a ditch is tough work. Teaching a room full of easily distracted kids is tough work. Being a nurse is tough work. Holding down two jobs to feed your family is even tougher. A constructor does, though, put in a lot of time and effort to create a puzzle and almost always for pretty crappy pay. And for absolutely nothing if the puzzle is rejected. That said, I'd like to share an observation. Most constructors don't participate in crossword blogs, and I'm sure many don't even bother to read them. Why? Many of today's posts answer that question in an obvious way.
Hey, Dan, great puzzle!
Hi C.C. and gang - I'll see if this 'publishes' this time, I had my comments all done, hit the publish bar and got a message that it couldn't be accepted of some such. Anyway, I'll try again.
Mr. Naddor, good of you to ask for our opinions on your puzzles and of what we enjoy or don't. Since I do not follow current TV shows, movies or songs/singers, etc...I am not the 'norm'. I do keep a notebook of those names, etc and it does help. Today's puzzle was difficult for me but I did finish most of it and I only cursed a little bit.
Windhover: Great pictures...your 'Irish' is lovely. Being a beer drinker myself, she and I would probably get along. I am married to an 'Irish' too. Great fun the Irish!!
Dr Dad: I loved Boston and we walked the Freedom Trail, went through Paul Revere's house, visited the Old Church (they still hold services there) and had a Sam Adams beer in a pub across the street from the cemetery where Sam Adams is buried. Also ate some killer clam chowder and potato/corn chowder. ps: all the talk about kissing balls is going to get 'you know who' all het up! She is also a damn good pool player!
Elissa: Cute ring tone!
My eyes are hazel.
Jazz (12:02) LOL
13:50 today. Those who have read previous posts from me know that names are my Achilles heel, so it's no suprise that this puzzle took me so long (plus a total guess at the 'A' in LEMAT and AMBO. (I am with Andrea in that I've never seen American Graffiti.)
And to Dan Naddor. Theme, theme, theme! I loves me a good theme, and this was a good one. For that I'm willing to forgive an overage of names (at which I suck) and the occasional weird term (ODIC, I'm looking at you).
Windhover, I loved your pics.
"Blue eyes cryin' in the rain" here.
Jerome, I certainly hope that Dan et.al. realize that the 10% rule is in play here, as it is in most subjective blogs. There will always be a dissenting element, but by far, the majority are very much enjoying the 'new format' puzzles.
I just went back and reread all the posts today, and if I'm Dan, I'm feeling pretty damn good about the overall tone.
FWIW.
Mr. Naddor -
So good of you to drop by. And a bit of irony that you pop in within minutes of my rant (or was that still just a whine?)
I do appreciate a good theme, and today's was fresh, clever, and well executed. In trying to ponder your trade-off question, I end up scratching my head. Colorless 4 and 5 letter fills are not enticing, so I wouldn't urge moving in that direction. But I have no feel for the alternatives.
Regarding crossings, it's a problem when obscure fills cross. For me, anything pop culture is going to be obscure, including actors and directors. So crossing LEMAT with ECU, where I had filled in SOU - which, unfortunately, fits with CURB APPEAL - rendered that corner impossible.
Therefore, I never got MARLBORO. Missing the C, O, and R,of 33A, I couldn't figure out what kind of BUSINESS we were in, so the theme eluded me as well.
So, I'd say my problem with this puzzle wasn't junk, but obscure crosses, per my rant. But that might be unique to me.
I do appreciate your efforts.
Cheers!
Kazie, you're right-Italian meaning pity. ALT+0224 should do the trick to give Pieta an accent mark...have not mastered it yet.
CC,my eyes are blue and my cataracts are all gone
Mr. Naddor, your puzzle was wonderful. This group is so diverse and most of us had a good time with it. If you want to read about some not so good times, go back about a year ago when there was so much whining. We are enjoying these puzzles even if some of us rookies can't complete them. That's why we have this little corner of our world.
Dan Naddor: My two cents: I'm a relatively new regular solver. I've tried puzzles over the years, only to be frustrated by cultural references (sports, TV, popular music) that were unknown to me. The internet and electronic puzzle solving have made it possible for me to jump in with both feet and I'm getting better, but remain frustrated by crosses that are 'junk' (as you call it) or cultural references with other junk or cultural references.
for Martin? I regularly get spam emails in what I think is Chinese characters but I just add them to my junk file.
;-)
Re: Marlboro Music Festival
How many have ever heard of it?
How many ever heard of Marlboro College or Marlboro, VT.?
And Dan, if you're still reading this, why did you think people would know the answer?
Anybody not wanting to waste a post on their answer, may email me.
I would like to add; I bet a lot more work went into the constuction of this puzzle than in the solving of it!
@Dan, FWIW, I think you should stick to your own formula. It would be boring if all constructors did all the puzzles the same way. The worst thing I can say about a puzzle is that everything in it was so common that I don't have anything interesting to say about it. You puzzles manage to regularly challenge me, and that's a good thing.
Think I solved the NYT puzzle today faster than this one but that's just a guess because I did it on paper and wasn't really watching the clock that close. I enjoyed them both but thought this theme hung together a little better than the NYT's. How many of you do both puzzles? What did you think?
Fell into some of the same traps as others-tried HARD of hearing, FODDER and SPIRAL first; didn't know RENA, RAIMI, LEMAT, PAUL CONRAD, CSIS or AMBO-but it eventually came together.
I'm a green eyed lady.
Thanks for the write up cc and for a fun puzzle Mr. Naddor.
That's a very funny clip, NYT. The band couldn't look less interested in playing if they tried!
great puzzle today...
I thought it would have been neat if 22A answer had been "guy" --So guy and gal would cross.
Now I'll go back to lurking...
Windhover: I love to tell jokes but many of them are in dialects - English, German, Italian, Irish etc. They are next to impossible to write down and get the full effect. However, with respect to "Irish", I'll write this joke, but everybody must read it with an Irish accent.
Mike tells his wife, Patty, that she's lookin' poorly and she should go see a doctor. Patty relents, goes to the doctor and returns home.
"What did the doctor say, Patricia darlin'?"
"Well, Michael, he told me to bring him a specimen. What in God's name is a specimen?"
"I don't know, but take yourself over to Mrs' O'Leary's house and ask her. She knows everything".
Patty comes back ten minutes later; her dress is torn, she has scratches on her face and arms, her hair's a mess and she has a bloody nose.
"What in God's name happened to ya, Patty? You're a fair mess!"
"Well, Mickey, I asked Mrs. O'Leary' 'What's a specimen'. The ol' bat told me to 'piss in a jug' and I told her to 'go shit in her hat' and the fight was on!"
My eyes are deep, cold, steel blue, much like the famous Baron Wilhelm Von Broadbone, the "Don Juan of the Bavarian Alps". (Known to his friends as "Ol' Boney".) I'm sure you all are familiar with him and his glamorous history.
IMBO
Dennis- I was trying to give a possible reason for a lack of participation by constructors when it comes to blogs. Puzzles are fair game for criticism and if you're going to put your work out to the public it's best to have thick skin. People love to moan and groan and whine and grump and grumble and let all the world know how much they don't like this and how much they don't like that. So, if I'm a constructor here's some of what I get to hear today-
"This puzzle didn't do anything for me"
"Not one of Mr. Naddor's best"
"I didn't like today's puzzle"
"I hate all the names"
"Didn't feel satisfied"
"Frustrating puzzle"
"Not my favorite"
And the ever lovely "I rate it somewhere between a failure and a SINUS headache... lousy puzzle"
All who made these remarks have a perfect right to do so. But it doesn't mean a constructor wants to hear it. What's to be learned from such criticism?
I could be very wrong, but if I'm Dan, a very passionate man, I wouldn't be "Feeling pretty damned good about the overall tone" expressed in today's posts.
Mr. Naddor:
I think I was the first to express a "little" disappointment with today's puzzle, and I want to clarify. You are my favorite, because your themes are intricate and witty, and your clues just subtle enough to make them all a challenge. My comments were only relative to your normally exquisite puzzles. Normally the only response I have is something like, "That tricky bas...., now I get it." Maybe I am just grumpy but ODIC is ODIOUS, and LIRA, maybe could be old MALTESE bread, or old Italian weight. I enjoyed, but you have me spoiled.
Hello All--DN,one of my first comments to myself for today's posting was that obscure word/name crossings meeting other obscure crossings are difficult and almost impossible for me to decipher. So this was my whine for the day.
I managed to finish the puzzle by Googling place names and proper names--mostly those others had trouble with.
I really had to eat worms though, because Paul LeMat is the Uncle of one of my former 2nd grade students. He did "Burning Bed" during the time I had his nephew in class.
I do like clues which lead you astray and when you finally have that AHA moment it makes you feel great about solving that part of the CW. My AHA moments today were snob and law. A puzzle like today's is a challenge, but a great learning experience and my "word notebook" is filling up.
C.C. I'm another Green Eyed Lady.
Oh Buckeye!!! LMAO at your joke...it's sounds so true of what would have transpired! Thanks for an afternoon brightener.
Windhover, I think you and "Irish" have yourselves a little bit of paradise from the view you sent us. Great pictures of you both.
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony is an amazing work. Of course, it was composed after Beethoven was totally deaf. It is lyrical and almost pictoral in some of its passages. It is amazing to me that someone could compose as he did and be deaf! This is one of my favorite works.
Geez, now Jerome's going to have us all qualifying our remarks! Let me be the first. I'm Mr. "Not my favorite" and I stand by that, but what has to be kept in perspective is that this blog is, for the most part, a collection of solvers. We share what we like and dislike, what we find difficult or easy, what makes us giggle or what gives us the AHA! moment. And occasionally we even talk about crosswords!
So I guess what I'm saying is my remarks are typically meant for the usual supportive community of fellow solvers. If a constructor wants to tiptoe in this minefield then I have even more respect for him (or her). It's like the teacher that occasionally hangs out with the students; they both have a better appreciation for what makes them tick, what challenges them and how they can each better their game.
Sorry, I hope that didn't sound like a rant.
Jerome, we're both on the same page on this one. And 7 critical remarks out of 60-something still supports the 10% rule. The last one you cited, in my opinion was unduly harsh. These guys are busting their asses for our entertainment and we should always put ourselves in their shoes before ripping them.
I do hope that the constructors who follow this blog realize that the vast majority of us continue to be thrilled with the switch to LAT, with their contributions, and fully support and appreciate their efforts.
Touche, JimmyB. You said it very elegantly. Comments on this blog are not disrespectful of the constructor. There are the words of solvers and pertain to clues we like, dislike, can relate to, remind us of funny stories ...
Anyone who puts any work out in the public arena must realize there is some degree of disagreement, whether that work is art, music, politics, crossword construction ... No one's work is going to be perfect or to satisfy all audiences.
I would hate to see this site become a place where we have to temper out comments to be always rosy about all clues and words.
Some of my most valuable lessons in my writing came when I received the most criticism.
Jerome--I'm the "frustrating puzzle" (for me) you mentioned. It's been pointed out before that we need to be careful how we word comments. I guess I'm a slow learner. The frustration was with myself for being so ignorant of celebrity names. My frustration had nothing to do with Mr. Nador's construction or clueing. It was a fine puzzle. The problem was entirely mine, not his.
Mea culpa
Late afternoon here for me and there were 71 posts, all of which I read and now it is much later... and much has already been covered.
It is very cool that Dan Naddor popped in and I would have to say please do not change your puzzling style...at all. I print the puzzles off Cruciverb the night before...A) so that I can actually read them, and B) so that I can have a running start when my brain is functioning. I know that when I see Mr. Naddor's name attached to the puzzle that I am in for some work and that there will be a lot mumbling and erasing and WTF moments, but a lot of AHA's. I do not Google or otherwise look things up because I truly believe that a well constructed puzzle will give me enough letters in the fills to at least do some WAGing
(that's where those goofy words come in). Naddor puzzles never disappoint and I have eventually solved every one.
I have only been solving since last October, but with C.C. and Argyle's most excellent blogging(you too, Dr. Dad) and all of the interesting information that I pick up here, it is getting to be an easier process and a lot more fun because I am understanding the beauty of the design. So, Mr. Naddor...just keep a doin' what your doin'. We'll continue to bitch and gripe and love every minute of it and become better solvers in the process.
Ex...didn't know MARLBORO but it came from the fills as did ARIANE. didn't know LEMAT, although it sounded vaguely familiar and with L-M-T an easy guess.
On Beethoven I would say that it is amazing but not surprising that he wrote such beautiful music while deaf...you hear it in your head. Mozart was said to have written all the orchestral parts simultaneously because he already heard the music in his mind. I find that painting moves faster if I have visulized it in my head even before making rough sketches. The idea, image and colors have to be there first.
WH...absolutely lovely photos and the Irish is just as beautiful as I pictured her.
Linda@9:43 am...Y'all shoulda thought that one out first. ;o)
Great rest of the day to you all...eyes are hazel...leaning toward green depending on my mood...but fortunately our daughters and granddaughter got my husband's startlingly beautiful and luminous baby blues. Paul Newman had nothing on them.
Hey! Finally got a chance to try the puzzle even though I hate to do it by afternoon light...
Caught on to the court room theme fairly early but three of them were at the end of the clue...and "courtbusiness" stumped me a while because it didn`t fit the pattern. I also had "hardofhearing' and that slowed me down. I don`t watch soaps or programs like CSI so I finally came here for 6 or so answers. That`s what the cite is for! Bring it, Mr. Naddor!
Irish: You have my sympathies. :)
WM: Elucidate, please. Use my E-mail if necessary.
Do we really have to apologize to Dan Naddor for not enjoying his puzzle or some of his cluing? Since he has many puzzles published by the LAT, I think his ego is strong enough to accept some criticism from a few of us here. Maybe I will enjoy his next puzzle, but maybe not. I will certainly let my opinion known on this blog--without apologies.
no problem Linda...just thought your cradle robbing comment was a teensy bit over the top and inappropriate. That easy.
JimmyB- I never hinted, suggested, or implied that anyone should qualify their remarks. Ever. People should always speak their minds and cast the consequences to the wind. Holding firm to one's beliefs is to be admired. If a person wants to dis a crossword puzzle, have at it. If someone feels like standing on a mountain top and shouting to the world a particular puzzle stinks, hey, good for them. But allow me to say I think the content of what's being said might be uninformed bullshit.
That said, JimmyB, how about a beer? It's five o'clock here.
At the risk of ruining my image, let's put this to bed. Opinions are truly like assholes, we all have one and know of many others.
I don't see any positive outcome from further back-and-forth on the subject and there's no point in further alienation. Agreed? Suffice to say we all have great respect for Dan Naddor.
Jeez, I don't like this peacemaker crap...
Mr. Naddor,
I have the distinction of being the least qualified to solve puzzles on this blog. (My view only) And when I see your name, I know I'm in for a bad time.
However I did manage to solve this one with only three or four Googles, which is very good for me.
If you came down to my level and I could do the puzzle in four or five minutes, I would be deprived of the "aha" moments and would really feel no satisfaction in completing it.
So, sometimes, it takes me all morning to work it out and sometimes I don't finish; But I still relish the challenge and feel good about myself if and when I am able to complete one.
All that is to say "Stay the course". I enjoy trying.
C.C. Old man---Baby blue eyes.
Linda, Was you able to read my E-Mail?
Jimbo, so nicely said! I agree, sometimes I feel like I am defeated in some of these puzzles, but when I find the answer in the recesses of what is left of my mind, I truly feel good. There are few enough things that make us feel like we were kids again! To delight in something is fun.
Windhover,
No doubt she is a fine Irish Coleen. I do understand what you mean, Reminds me of my drinking days.
Great pictures of a true farmer.
All the pictures recently have been an eye opener, such a distinguished looking group as well as being brilliant.
Thanks to CC for that addition to the Blog
Also am a brown eyed man.
Dennis, we need someone to keep this blog in order. You seem to do an excellent job. Keep up thhe good work.
Jimbo: Yes...thanks for Ben Stein...he`s always on target.
WM: Since the remark was not to you, I can`t imagine why you were offended. You and I both know WO can take care of himself. If he is offended, I`m sure he`ll let me know and I`ll apologize...it was a joke and not meant offend anyone.
Just a point of clarification.
I said "a lousy puzzle experience," not "a lousy puzzle."
Rather a large difference, I think.
I didn't damn the puzzle - at least not with that statement nor in that specific way. I described my subjective relationship with it.
Earlier, I gave a detailed list of specific problems - all IMO, obviously. What is to be learned from such criticism is the specifics of things that annoy solvers - or at least a certain subset of us. Whether that has any value to a constructor is not mine to judge.
My goal here is to explain, not participate in a contentious back-and-forth. Hope I was successful.
Good night, all, and -
Cheers!
Well, so much for putting it to bed...
Dennis:
Care to join me in a little cat-herding?
I'll join you as soon as this cradle stops rocking.
hmmm...maybe they got Wednesday's and Thursday's puzzles mixed up.
Thought the following worth reading after some of the comments posted today.
How to Give Kind Criticism, and Avoid Being Critical
DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the Universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be careful. Strive to be happy.
--Found in Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore. Dated 1692.
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