Theme: Waiting for The Great Pumpkin (12-Across) - A Jack-O-Lantern shaped Halloween puzzle.
12A. This puzzle's honoree: THE GREAT PUMPKIN. Linus sits on the pumpkin patch every Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. It never does.
27A. Strip where 12-Across first didn't appear in 1959: PEANUTS. Wikipedia says "In the 1959 sequence of strips in which the Great Pumpkin is first mentioned". Unknown fact to me. Peanuts debuted in Oct 1950.
43A. When 25-Down expects 12-Across to appear: HALLOWEEN
56A. Characteristic 18-Down cry regarding 12-Across: OH, GOOD GRIEF! The exclamation "Good grief" is popularized by Charlie Brown.
79A. 12-Across creator: SCHULZ (Charles). He was born and grew up here in Minnesota.
82A. Dog once mistaken for 12-Across: SNOOPY. Mistaken by whom? Linus?
102A. 25-Down maintained them annually: VIGILS. Every Halloween night.
104A. 12-Across tested 25-Down's faith by being one inevitably, every year: NO-SHOW
18D: Friend of 25-Down: CHARLIE BROWN
25D. Faithful crusader for the existence of 12-Across: LINUS VAN PELT. Charlie Brown's best friend.
The symmetrical partner of TOY PIANO (70D. Instrument seen in 27-Across) is not a theme answer, so I'll just classify it a bonus fill.
The puzzle has a left to right (rather than our normal 180 degree rotational) symmetry due to its special carved pumpkin shape. Definitely my favorite LAT Sunday since the switch. I could not imagine days or even months of hard work John Lampkin put into constructing this brilliant grid.
Two small quibbles regarding 2 clue/answer duplications:
50A. Sign made with two digits: VEE. And SIGN (1D. Coach's gesturing).
51A. Droll-sounding grain?: RYE. Sounds like "wry". And GRAIN (60D. Speck of truth).
Across:
1. Blockbusters: SMASH HITS. Very rarely did I nail a long 1A answer immediately.
10. Si and Am in "Lady and the Tramp": SIAMESE CATS. Easy guess.
16. Draw again, as comic book lines: REINK
17. Last Supper question: IS IT I
18. Genesis firstborn: CAIN. Adam was not "born".
19. Masked one at home: UMP (Umpire). Home plate.
22. Amt. due: BAL (Balance)
24. And the list goes on, briefly: ET AL
26. Hobbits' region: SHIRE. Hobbit ("The Lord of Rings") lived in the SHIRE and in Bree in the north west of Middle-earth, according to Wikipedia. Unknown to me.
29. Loaf: DOG IT. Loaf on the job.
31. Chestnut horse: ROAN. Sprinkled with gray or white.
32. LPGA golfer Johnson: TRISH. Not a well-known golfer, esp if you don't follow Solheim Cup or Ladies European Tour.
33. Hydrocarbon suffixes: ANES. See the singular ANE more often.
35. The king: Span.: EL REY. Why abbreviated Span.? And the French king ROI (94D. Palais resident).
37. Tropical roofers: THATCHERS. Oh my, "thatch" can be a verb also?
41. Puppy love: CRUSH
42. Elusive guy in a striped shirt: WALDO. "Where's Waldo?"
44. Italian Renaissance poet: TASSO (Torquato). Best known for his "Jerusalem Delivered".
45. "Exodus" hero: ARI
46. Eensy-__: WEENSY. Meaning "tiny" I suppose. Not a familiar expression to me.
48. Summer Triangle star: ALTAIR. See this diagram. The other two stars are Deneb and Vega.
52. Verb from Mark Antony: LEND. And EARS (63A. Noun from Mark Antony). "Friends, Romans, countrymen, LEND me your EARS", the first line of Mark Antony's speech in "Julius Caesar". Stumped me. John seems to be quite fond of cross-references.
53. Octopus costume features: ARMS. Octopus has eight arms.
55. Party girl?: DEB. Nice clue.
62. Mets' div.: NLE (National League East). Alas, no Phillies reference.
65. Some Protestants: LUTHERANS. Very strange, but every Lutheran friend I have tells me that I'll go to hell if I don't believe in Jesus Christ.
66. Scholastic nos.: GPAS. And LSATS (80D. Hurdles for future attys.)
67. Let fall, poetically: DROPT. Same pronunciation as "dropped", correct?
69. Opposes: NAYSAYS. And CON (78D. Not supporting). Pro and con.
70. Waste allowances: TRETS. The container weight is TARE.
71. Darkly complexioned, to Shakespeare: SWART. No idea. Archaic swarthy. Othello is SWART then.
73. Himalayan sightings: YETIS. The Abominable Snowman.
74. Picturesque fabric: TOILE. Very scenic.
75. Former name of Lake Malawi: NYASA (NYAH-sah). I don't even know where Lake Malawi is. Looks like it's shared by Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique.
77. D.C. bigwig: SEN. Sometimes it's POL.
78. Vampire's home, perhaps: CRYPT. Perhaps.
87. Show contempt for, as a villain: HISS AT
89. 11-time Olympic swimming medalist Matt: BIONDI. I forgot. This guy won seven medals (5 golds) in 1988 Seoul Olympics.
90. Scannable mdse. bars: UPC ( Universal Product Code)
93. Closer: NEARER. And AT HEEL (23D. Close behind).
95. Reagan or Kennedy: AIRPORT. President does not fit. Great clue.
97. Cupid teammate: DASHER. Santa's reindeer.
101. Ultimate purpose: END USE
103. Does a slow burn: SEETHES
Down:
2. Add a profit margin to: MARK UP
3. __ Zion Church: AME (African Methodist Episcopal). I got the answer from crossings.
6. Cool, like a cat: HEP. Or HIP.
7. Post-ER area: ICU
8. Ethnic group of southern India: TAMILS. They live in Sri Lanka too.
9. Some auto maintenance store products: STPS. The motor oil additives.
10. Paris divider: SEINE. Left Bank/Right Bank.
11. Enjoyed a cross-country jaunt?: SKIED. Great clue too.
12. Showed the ropes: TRAINED
13. Legatee: HEIR. Legatee is a new word to me.
14. "Sock __ me!" : IT TO. Not funny at all. Nixon is very respected in China though. He opened Sino-US relationship.
15. River between two Great Lakes: NIAGARA. Lake Erie & Lake Ontario.
20. Alloy components: METALS
21. To some extent: PARTLY. Does "As it were" also mean "to some extent"?
22. Nonsense, euphemistically: BUSHWA
26. Periods between vernal equinoxes: SOLAR YEARS
28. Wilhelmina's daughter in "Ugly Betty": NICO. Total unknown.
30. Form into a mosaic pattern: TESSELLATE. Also a new word to me.
31. Gave a treat for a trick, say: REWARDED. I liked the clue. Evocative of Halloween.
34. Barefoot: SHOELESS. Like Joe Jackson, who should be in the Hall of Fame.
36. Pained cry: YOWL. I often "ouch".
37. Stanley Cup org.: THE NHL
38. Colt .45, e.g.: HANDGUN. Houston Astros was named Colt. 45s before.
39. Engages, as an attorney: RETAINS
40. Some drum parts: SNARES
41. NFL snappers: CTRS
47. Fair-hiring initials: EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). EOE is Equal-Opportunity Employer.
49. Worldwide fiscal agcy.: IMF (International Monetary Fund)
57. Our Gang affirmative: OTAY. Silly way of saying "Okay".
58. "You bet!": OH YES
59. Villa __: Italian landmark: D'ESTE. Have you been there?
61. Ocean-bottom fish: RAYS
64. Prevents littering?: SPAYS. My favorite clue today.
66. Whiny: GRIPY
68. Of the windpipe: TRACHEAL. No idea. Not familiar with the noun trachea either.
72. Summer tops: T-SHIRTS. OK, not a T-shirt, but super sexy, no? I am going to link Katrina Kaif's picture again when AREOLA appears next time.
74. Walked-on: TRODDEN
76. Smallest cont. in area: AUS. Man, I thought it's EUR.
81. Congo, once: ZAIRE
82. Yes or no emphasizer: SIREE
83. F and G, but not H: NOTES. Nice clue.
84. Being shown, in a way: ON TV. Another nice clue.
85. Classic grape soda: NEHI. Radar's drink in "M*A*S*H".
86. Puppeteer Tony who mentored Bil Baird: SARG. No idea. Wikipedia says Tony Sarg is described as "America's Puppet Master"/ "father of modern puppetry in North America".
90. "Nope": UH UH
91. Colombian coin: PESO. So many Spanish speaking countries use PESO.
92. Yacht staff: CREW
96. Idaho Panhandle hrs.: PST (Pacific Standard Time)
98. Radical '60s gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). I often confuse it with "Radical '70s gp" SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).
Answer grid.
C.C.
12A. This puzzle's honoree: THE GREAT PUMPKIN. Linus sits on the pumpkin patch every Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. It never does.
27A. Strip where 12-Across first didn't appear in 1959: PEANUTS. Wikipedia says "In the 1959 sequence of strips in which the Great Pumpkin is first mentioned". Unknown fact to me. Peanuts debuted in Oct 1950.
43A. When 25-Down expects 12-Across to appear: HALLOWEEN
56A. Characteristic 18-Down cry regarding 12-Across: OH, GOOD GRIEF! The exclamation "Good grief" is popularized by Charlie Brown.
79A. 12-Across creator: SCHULZ (Charles). He was born and grew up here in Minnesota.
82A. Dog once mistaken for 12-Across: SNOOPY. Mistaken by whom? Linus?
102A. 25-Down maintained them annually: VIGILS. Every Halloween night.
104A. 12-Across tested 25-Down's faith by being one inevitably, every year: NO-SHOW
18D: Friend of 25-Down: CHARLIE BROWN
25D. Faithful crusader for the existence of 12-Across: LINUS VAN PELT. Charlie Brown's best friend.
The symmetrical partner of TOY PIANO (70D. Instrument seen in 27-Across) is not a theme answer, so I'll just classify it a bonus fill.
The puzzle has a left to right (rather than our normal 180 degree rotational) symmetry due to its special carved pumpkin shape. Definitely my favorite LAT Sunday since the switch. I could not imagine days or even months of hard work John Lampkin put into constructing this brilliant grid.
Two small quibbles regarding 2 clue/answer duplications:
50A. Sign made with two digits: VEE. And SIGN (1D. Coach's gesturing).
51A. Droll-sounding grain?: RYE. Sounds like "wry". And GRAIN (60D. Speck of truth).
Across:
1. Blockbusters: SMASH HITS. Very rarely did I nail a long 1A answer immediately.
10. Si and Am in "Lady and the Tramp": SIAMESE CATS. Easy guess.
16. Draw again, as comic book lines: REINK
17. Last Supper question: IS IT I
18. Genesis firstborn: CAIN. Adam was not "born".
19. Masked one at home: UMP (Umpire). Home plate.
22. Amt. due: BAL (Balance)
24. And the list goes on, briefly: ET AL
26. Hobbits' region: SHIRE. Hobbit ("The Lord of Rings") lived in the SHIRE and in Bree in the north west of Middle-earth, according to Wikipedia. Unknown to me.
29. Loaf: DOG IT. Loaf on the job.
31. Chestnut horse: ROAN. Sprinkled with gray or white.
32. LPGA golfer Johnson: TRISH. Not a well-known golfer, esp if you don't follow Solheim Cup or Ladies European Tour.
33. Hydrocarbon suffixes: ANES. See the singular ANE more often.
35. The king: Span.: EL REY. Why abbreviated Span.? And the French king ROI (94D. Palais resident).
37. Tropical roofers: THATCHERS. Oh my, "thatch" can be a verb also?
41. Puppy love: CRUSH
42. Elusive guy in a striped shirt: WALDO. "Where's Waldo?"
44. Italian Renaissance poet: TASSO (Torquato). Best known for his "Jerusalem Delivered".
45. "Exodus" hero: ARI
46. Eensy-__: WEENSY. Meaning "tiny" I suppose. Not a familiar expression to me.
48. Summer Triangle star: ALTAIR. See this diagram. The other two stars are Deneb and Vega.
52. Verb from Mark Antony: LEND. And EARS (63A. Noun from Mark Antony). "Friends, Romans, countrymen, LEND me your EARS", the first line of Mark Antony's speech in "Julius Caesar". Stumped me. John seems to be quite fond of cross-references.
53. Octopus costume features: ARMS. Octopus has eight arms.
55. Party girl?: DEB. Nice clue.
62. Mets' div.: NLE (National League East). Alas, no Phillies reference.
65. Some Protestants: LUTHERANS. Very strange, but every Lutheran friend I have tells me that I'll go to hell if I don't believe in Jesus Christ.
66. Scholastic nos.: GPAS. And LSATS (80D. Hurdles for future attys.)
67. Let fall, poetically: DROPT. Same pronunciation as "dropped", correct?
69. Opposes: NAYSAYS. And CON (78D. Not supporting). Pro and con.
70. Waste allowances: TRETS. The container weight is TARE.
71. Darkly complexioned, to Shakespeare: SWART. No idea. Archaic swarthy. Othello is SWART then.
73. Himalayan sightings: YETIS. The Abominable Snowman.
74. Picturesque fabric: TOILE. Very scenic.
75. Former name of Lake Malawi: NYASA (NYAH-sah). I don't even know where Lake Malawi is. Looks like it's shared by Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique.
77. D.C. bigwig: SEN. Sometimes it's POL.
78. Vampire's home, perhaps: CRYPT. Perhaps.
87. Show contempt for, as a villain: HISS AT
89. 11-time Olympic swimming medalist Matt: BIONDI. I forgot. This guy won seven medals (5 golds) in 1988 Seoul Olympics.
90. Scannable mdse. bars: UPC ( Universal Product Code)
93. Closer: NEARER. And AT HEEL (23D. Close behind).
95. Reagan or Kennedy: AIRPORT. President does not fit. Great clue.
97. Cupid teammate: DASHER. Santa's reindeer.
101. Ultimate purpose: END USE
103. Does a slow burn: SEETHES
Down:
2. Add a profit margin to: MARK UP
3. __ Zion Church: AME (African Methodist Episcopal). I got the answer from crossings.
6. Cool, like a cat: HEP. Or HIP.
7. Post-ER area: ICU
8. Ethnic group of southern India: TAMILS. They live in Sri Lanka too.
9. Some auto maintenance store products: STPS. The motor oil additives.
10. Paris divider: SEINE. Left Bank/Right Bank.
11. Enjoyed a cross-country jaunt?: SKIED. Great clue too.
12. Showed the ropes: TRAINED
13. Legatee: HEIR. Legatee is a new word to me.
14. "Sock __ me!" : IT TO. Not funny at all. Nixon is very respected in China though. He opened Sino-US relationship.
15. River between two Great Lakes: NIAGARA. Lake Erie & Lake Ontario.
20. Alloy components: METALS
21. To some extent: PARTLY. Does "As it were" also mean "to some extent"?
22. Nonsense, euphemistically: BUSHWA
26. Periods between vernal equinoxes: SOLAR YEARS
28. Wilhelmina's daughter in "Ugly Betty": NICO. Total unknown.
30. Form into a mosaic pattern: TESSELLATE. Also a new word to me.
31. Gave a treat for a trick, say: REWARDED. I liked the clue. Evocative of Halloween.
34. Barefoot: SHOELESS. Like Joe Jackson, who should be in the Hall of Fame.
36. Pained cry: YOWL. I often "ouch".
37. Stanley Cup org.: THE NHL
38. Colt .45, e.g.: HANDGUN. Houston Astros was named Colt. 45s before.
39. Engages, as an attorney: RETAINS
40. Some drum parts: SNARES
41. NFL snappers: CTRS
47. Fair-hiring initials: EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). EOE is Equal-Opportunity Employer.
49. Worldwide fiscal agcy.: IMF (International Monetary Fund)
57. Our Gang affirmative: OTAY. Silly way of saying "Okay".
58. "You bet!": OH YES
59. Villa __: Italian landmark: D'ESTE. Have you been there?
61. Ocean-bottom fish: RAYS
64. Prevents littering?: SPAYS. My favorite clue today.
66. Whiny: GRIPY
68. Of the windpipe: TRACHEAL. No idea. Not familiar with the noun trachea either.
72. Summer tops: T-SHIRTS. OK, not a T-shirt, but super sexy, no? I am going to link Katrina Kaif's picture again when AREOLA appears next time.
74. Walked-on: TRODDEN
76. Smallest cont. in area: AUS. Man, I thought it's EUR.
81. Congo, once: ZAIRE
82. Yes or no emphasizer: SIREE
83. F and G, but not H: NOTES. Nice clue.
84. Being shown, in a way: ON TV. Another nice clue.
85. Classic grape soda: NEHI. Radar's drink in "M*A*S*H".
86. Puppeteer Tony who mentored Bil Baird: SARG. No idea. Wikipedia says Tony Sarg is described as "America's Puppet Master"/ "father of modern puppetry in North America".
90. "Nope": UH UH
91. Colombian coin: PESO. So many Spanish speaking countries use PESO.
92. Yacht staff: CREW
96. Idaho Panhandle hrs.: PST (Pacific Standard Time)
98. Radical '60s gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). I often confuse it with "Radical '70s gp" SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).
Answer grid.
C.C.
39 comments:
Morning, all!
Challenging, but fun, puzzle today. It helped, of course, that I knew all about the Great Pumpkin and could get most of the theme answers with no perps. But I stumbled on many of the same unknowns that C. C. mentioned. SARG, NICO, NYASA, SWART, and THATCHERS all gave me trouble, although fortunately I was able to get them via the perps. I also needed a lot of perp help to get ALTAIR, TASSO, DROPT and BUSHWA, but at least I was vaguely familiar with all of those.
My only minor criticism of today's effort is that I'm not sure STPS is really a valid plural. STP is the name of a particular brand of fuel additive, and it just seems wrong to pluralize a name if there's nothing else with that name. But maybe that's just me...
Hi Barry G.
STP products
I see they have branded some anti-freeze, too.
Had some troubles with this puzzle but worth it to finally see THE GREAT PUMPKIN.
Good Morning, CC. As soon as I saw the pumpkin grid, I knew I was going to have fun with today's puzzle. The puzzle was challenging, but not impossible.
Even though I am not a fan of Peanuts, I was able to fill in most of the theme answers ~ The Great Pumpkin is just so engrossed into our culture.
There were a lot of clever clues. My favorites were:
Masked one at home: UMP
Droll-sounding grain: RYE
Prevents littering: SPAYS (This one made me laugh!)
QOD: I'd kill for the Nobel Peace Prize ~ Steven Wright.
@Argyle: That's my point. You would say "STP Products" but not STPS.
Good morning C.C. and all, another very fine puzzle today. Most of the puzzle was easy as I have been a fan of Charlie Brown (Peanuts) for years. Being familiar with the comic strip made a lot of the answers gimmes. I got most of the puzzle without any help other than perps, but there were a few new words for me and I had to guess at the cross between 25D and 44A.
I thought there were several really neat clues/answers which provided a few groans and aahs. I like the difficulty level of the puzzles this past week and hope they continue in this direction, difficult but doable.
I agree with Barry G on the plural of STP.
Hope you all have a great Sunday.
Whenever you see a special grid, you hope it will be fun and this was, though not a walk in the park. I was very pleased with the wit in: Masked one at home: UMP, Cupid teammate: DASHER, Party girl?: DEB, Droll-sounding grain: RYE, Prevents littering: SPAYS.
I had to work very hard to fill in, and even guess the answers which I thought were obscure: Italian Renaissance poet: TASSO, Summer Triangle star: ALTAIR, Waste allowances: TRETS, Former name of Lake Malawi: NYASA, __ Zion Church: AME, Nonsense, euphemistically: BUSHWA, Form into a mosaic pattern: TESSELLATE, Puppeteer Tony who mentored Bil Baird: SARG. I managed to get them all, but even for a Sunday, it was a lot of unknowns.
Because I have worked with LPGA golfers both as a lawyer, and when I had my travel agency, I know LPGA golfer Johnson: TRISH , who is really obscure, having not won in the US in 13 years. If you wanted to go with someone most people never heard of, I would suggest TRISH STRATUS .
I also appreciate the link to Bollywood star, Katrina Kaif , and her lovely picture, but you can also develop an appreciation for T Shirts .
Have a great day
Good workout today, took me quite awhile even though I clued into the theme fairly early on; it definitely was important to me today to get some of the perps. I didn't have to G anything or reveal any letters, but did have to keep reworking some answers until I finally got the happy pencil.
@C.C. Yes, Linus is sitting with Sally and when Snoopy appears, Linus faints (just under a minute into the clip), thinking it is the great pumpkin. I'll be forever grateful to Charles Schulz for introducing me to Vince Guaraldi
If PRO is the opposite of CON, then what's the opposite of PROgress?
I didn't fill in the Siamese clue for a long time because it seemed just too easy. I thought he wanted mischievous or something characteristic instead.
Nixon appearing on Laugh-In was probably highly significant in his re-election. George Schlatter, the show's creator said this: "[Nixon] said the rest of his life that appearing on Laugh-In is what got him elected. And I believe that. And I've had to live with that."
Al,
I hate to burst your bubble, but PRO has two meanings: in favor of and forward. So at least one opposite to PROGRESS would be REGRESS, and I guess CONGRESS does a lot of that too!
A fun fill for me today, albeit with some definite needs for red letters, perps and guesses, but no g'spots.
I didn't like END USE as a phrase--totally unheard of by me anyway, and BUSHWA was unknown. Dragged TRETS out of the memory bank somehow. Thought RYE for WRY was a bit of a stretch.
Not familiar with DOG IT either. In Oz we'd say bludge, and those who do it are bludgers, also can mean to sponge/cadge (something off someone).
Thought SPAYS very clever
C.C.,
The continent of Europe is bigger than you think, if you realize that officially it goes all the way to Moscow. Mostly we tend to think it only includes Western Europe, which was perhaps its political extent during the cold war. Oz is the only island continent.
I was in Villa d'Este in 1970. Lots of interesting fountains there, spouts from multiple boobs, etc.
Hahtool,
Loved the QOD!
Also agree on STPs.
Good comments and fun clues...btw toy piano is thematically related...and lutheranism is just one brand of protestantism...
miguel
Good morning!
This was both a thing of beauty and a welcome challenge. I had notes on what was unknown or funny, but Lemonade713 and Mme Kazie had better renditions of nearly identical lists, so no need to repeat. Took a little bit of coffee to finish the grid, an omelet, plus lots of guessing and a nictotine patch. No complaints, except maybe for SARG, or TRISH (Johnson)--who I don't know, despite golf being a sport I follow. Add DOG IT which may as well be Estonian because I have no clue what it means. So, I did learn some things today, which is good.
I did know "tessellate" from doing mosaics. Laying tile is relaxing but cutting tile involves much swearing and practice and the accidental flying around of tiny pieces onto the floor or into eyes if one isn't careful. Zero actual talent here, but it's a fun but dangerous hobby.
C. C., yep, "dropt" is pronounced the same as "dropped." Your blogging was very very good today. I hope you're feeling better. And BarryG as well, and WM's husband. If I forgot someone else, mea culpa, por favor!
Am glad to see the LAT ramping up again. Would rather have a puzzle be too difficult than too watered-down. Will write the Trib to say thanks this next week if it keeps up.
Sun's out! Time to explore the world on foot....
Good Morning All, What a fun and funny puzzle.
When I looked at the grid, I wasn't sure if it was a cat, a dog, or maybe a wolverine. Duh!
I was "hunting and pecking" and didn't have any theme answers until I came to 79A. I already had ZAIRE (81D), so SCHULTZ popped into my mind pretty easily. After that I zipped back to the theme clues and filled all of them in without a problem.
I haven't read the PEANUTS strip in years, but it has been around for so long that I remembered It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown from 1966, when my daughter was four years old, and for its annual rebroadcast for quite a few years after that. For those of you with little ones, I'm sure it will be on TV again in the next week or so.
The theme fills helped greatly with my unknowns, which were pretty much the same as other posters. I had to guess at the cross of NICO and TRISH, but "I" seemed to be the only sensible letter. I was pretty sure nobody would name their daughter TRASH or TRESH.
Hahtool, LOL at QOD. Steven Wright is one of the funniest comedian/philosophers ever.
Hi C.C. & gang, I recognized the puzzle grid as a 'jack-o-lantern'?
Very clever and a peanuts theme throughout.
FYI, A couple of years back we visited the Charles Schulz museum in Santa Rosa
They had the entire town decorated with peanuts characters and our photo club had a contest to find all of them and take a picture of each one.
Hello all.
I'll quibble with the quibblers.
The clue was products. Accept it and move on. John needed an "S".
Interesting football game yesterday. Navy beat Wake Forest
13 to 10 w/o throwing a pass. WF was 17/25.
Lucy started her own pumkin patch this year.
eddyB
Double Duh! "I'm sure it will be on TV again in the next week or so. It better be on by next Saturday, since that is Halloween. In my forgetful defense, we don't get any "trick or treaters" where we live. However, we do have a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the pantry just in case. And if, as in years past, nobody shows up, the peanut butter cups are our favorites.
An October Night
The wind whispers
A wary warning
There was plenty, still
Early this morning
These primal urges
Are hard to fight
An unholy diet
A dark appetite
The pavement scrapes
With scuttling leaves
I'll pull the drapes
And hope to deceive
The moon suffocates
In ominous clouds
Shut off the lights
Heartbeats too loud
Then the neighbor's gate creaks
But it's not the wind
That seeks to feast
On fearing humans
Red brake lights
A car crawls by slow
The shadowy shapes
On my dark doorstep know
That the empty window
Of my house lies.
The horrible truth
Hides deep inside
Everything tonight
Could have been just dandy
But now the demons have wrath -
Cause I ate all the candy!
- Charles Audette
Hello All--What a fun puzzle today. From the jack-o-lantern grid to the Great Pumpkin fills it was a walk down memory lane. I don't read the Peanuts strip very often, but the "Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was a must see when my children were little.
I didn't know Bushwa, or Tesselate, but they were obtainable with the fills around them. Red letters helped me along today as I wanted a latin word for Mark Anthony's noun and verb. It was too easy and I was looking for something else.
C.C. The word Eensy is in a children's song and finger play that most pre-schoolers and Kindergarteners learn early on. It is:
Eensy Weensy spider,
Climbed up the water spout,
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain,
And the Eensy Weensy spider
climbed up the spout again.
The children make the spider go up the spout by manipulating their fingers and raising their arms above their heads. They wash the spider out with a downward throw of their arms. They make the sun come out with a big circle of their arms above their heads and then up go their fingers and arms again to make the spider go up again.
CA, "The Great Pumpkin" not scheduled this year that I can find. However, ABC has scheduled "A CB Thankgiving" for 11/26. Also, 11/26 is our 43rd.
eddyB
Greetings to all from the constructor, with thanks for the warm words and kind praise. I swore early on that I would never post regarding my own puzzles, but will make an exception since I’m particularly proud of this effort.
C.C. is correct. This took hours and hours at every stage. THE GREAT PUMPKIN popped up as possible fill while creating another puzzle and it stopped me in my tracks. Once the fact turned up that this is the 50th anniversary, I knew I had a puzzle. Fortunately, editor Rich Norris is a Peanuts fan and believed in this project as soon as he saw it. The challenge in creating the grid was to eliminate as many blocks as possible. The fill was brutal since there was no way that the grid could be adjusted in any substantial way. Hence a clam or two like STPS, which was totally an act of desperation.
In reply to some comments:
Yes, I love cross-referencing, especially when it can be done without forcing the solver to look up another entry. It's a fun way to tie fill together and adds to the liveliness.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first jack-o-lantern grid.
TOY PIANO turned up gratuitously so I left it in, but carefully clued without reference to TGP since it has no grid-mate.
Other stuff: I tried to get LUCY in there and gave up. Speaking as a jazz pianist and teacher, I'll say that Vince Guaraldi is one of my heros. His stuff is unique, subtle, yet evocative and immediately accessible listeners of all ages.
Finally, Charles Schulz is a total genius for creating this masterpiece of satire that apparently offends no one while poking serious fun at a big sacred cow.
Thanks again to all. --John
I'm not a big fan of Halloween, so I didn't recognize the grid as a jack'o'lantern until I had the first theme answer. Thought it was a smilie face.
This one was pretty hard for me. I had to work it online because our paper doesn't carry the L.A. Times Xword on Sunday. I'd rather have it on paper - not fond of working puzzles online. I feel like I'm cheating if I use the red-letter help. If I google something, I at least have to make some effort.
Would never have gotten STPS without fills for the reason mentioned by others. I thought it was an acronym for something.
I do not like "kindergarten" clues like "eensy-..." or "itsy-...."
Thanks to Linda, et al yesterday for the advice about using cinnamon for arthritis relief. I got some cinnamon pills so it will be easy to take. Hmmmmm - I wonder if cinnamon rolls count?!
Time for a nap! Stayed up till after 2:30 am visiting with son who just got in town yesterday for a week.
John Lampkin,
Thanks so much for stopping in to comment. I can't even imagine the patience such a project must take. You should be justifiably proud of this creation!
What a pleasant surprise to see John Lampkin stop by with some constructor comments. I never will be a crossword constructor, but I know a good one when I see it (even if I thought it was a wolverine to begin with, LOL) and particularly when I am solving it. "The Great Pumpkin" was the best Sunday puzzle I've seen in a long time. It made me think (HARD!), but wasn't impossible. It had a great theme and was clever, punny and funny. Thanks a lot, John.
Love, love, love this puzzle. More, please!
I'm going to get killed. I should have said 11/26 is our 44th.
eddyB
John Lampkin,
What a delightful puzzle and theme! So nice to have a unique grid that was challenging, yet fun. I am awed by your talent as a constructor. Thank you for today's very pleasurable adventure!
Hi all...just absolutely laughed as this puzzle came out of the printer...took it out show my husband even before I started on it! What fun, how clever and what an absolutely head scratching, aha, and DUH! moment puzzle...I stayed up very late(or early) working on it. It came together slowly although all the Charlie Brown references fell immediately. Pretty much the same clues gave me grief but the one that totally hung me up until I came here was the SW corner cross of 84D ON TV and Vigils...Had ON TO and just could not think of anything that started OI-IL- Seriousy DUH moment!
Thank you John Lampkin for stopping by and you should be exceedingly proud of such a terrifically fun effort and what a great Halloween gift.
CA...perfect poem as last year when I when to pull the massive bag of candy I had bought at Costco from the refrigerator in the garage, I found that dear hubby had been snacking...normally not a problem but last year we had quite a few very cute and very young Trick-or-Treaters...it was a close call...this year he is under strict orders to wait and I am trying to keep him supplied with other munchies.
Side effect of too many visits to hospital and Dr.'s offices is now he has a cold, which I seem to be fighting off...not sleeping well, so neither am I...one of these days I WILL get to start painting agian...7-8 weeks and counting.
It is the most perfect Fall day one can imagine and so I am going to enjoy it!
24:37 today. Definitely above-average difficulty for me for a Sunday.
I've never been a huge Peanuts fan (old ones are being rerun in The Oregonian here), but I was amazed by the clever grid and the generally fun puzzle. For a grid like that I'm willing to forgive some of the clunkier entries (but TRISH Johnson? Really?) SPAYS, however, was a special favorite--wonderfully clued.
Good afternoon everybody.
Thank you to John Lampkin for a delightful puzzle, even tho I couldn't get several of the answers. It was fun with Charlie Brown.
And thank you ClearAyes for a most apropos puzzle.
And thank you C.C. for the great job you do to explain what I don't get. And for the links.
Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.
Hi gang -
The LW just informed me that "IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN" will be on ABC Tuesday and (possibly) Wednesday, at 8:00 EST. Check your local listings.
I'm very late to the party today.
Fabulous puzzle. Great RYE humor, TESSELATED visual, clever clues, lots of fresh fill, and a 50th anniversary theme. WOW!
Like WM, printed it off and showed the LW, even before starting to fill.
I had also kinds of trouble in the mid-section. Made it through slowly, after breakfast, lunch, trimming some shrubs, taking a walk on a warm fall afternoon, shooting some pix, watching some football, blogging . . .
And, it was a No G-spot Sunday.
As several have pointed out, it's STP products, not STPS. But I understand acts of desperation, and will not quibble, as long as you all promise to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put STP oil treatment in your crank case. Aftermarket fluid additives are an absolute sham, and have no value whatsoever to the END USEr.
Trust me on this.
And stick with the type of engine coolant recommended in your owner's manual. There are different varieties, and they are not compatible.
Doesn't that double H at the top center of the grid look strange?
IMHO, Rye for WRY is a wonderful word play. But I love a slice of well-bread, upper crust humor.
C.C. All Christians will tell what your Lutherine friends say. It is integral to the belief system. That's all for religion.
Cheers!
JzB the auto fluid knowledgeable trombonist
Geaux Saints! (Sorry, Lemonade.)
Good evening: I wrote a comment earlier in which I thanked ClearAyes for the poem and made some unsolicited shout outs for a novelist, a poet, and a musician I think are worth checking out. Hit the wrong key, perhaps, & the message went bye-bye into the vapors of our cybersphere. To telegraph a recap: Book: (loved by bookclub). Falcon Hawk by Glenway Wescott: Short, smart, and features a very observant narrator. Check Amazon for reviews. Poet: Lisel Mueller (b. 1924, Hamburg, Germany). Writes in English, lives in Chicago; and won a Pulitzer. Even poetry-haters and the French kids I taught English to loved her work. Music: Jeff Buckley Check out YouTube for his version of Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah, which has less to do with religion than the sparks that fly when two people fall in lust. Make sure it's Jeff's cover version, not someone else's. Enough to make a grown person grab a hankerchief. It's from the CD "Grace" which takes a little getting used to but worth the effort. He died young, and I stupidly missed his show in Denver.
Now you have the best advice I have for excursions beyond LAT puzzles. Your mileage may vary.
Thank you John Lampkin for your comments today on that great puzzle. Insights into the construction and thought process are always welcome.
Also, thank you Clear Ayes for that little poem. There is a children's book out that talks about the ghosts and goblins coming to the door, and the throngs of feet coming up the steps. The narrator cautions her children about being out and about on such a night. At the end there is a picture of a mother cat and her kittens under the steps of the front porch. Mother cat is the narrator. I wish I could remember the name of the book, but it has been more than 15 years since I've read it and the title escapes me. I gave all of my "read to" books to my daughter who is a first grade teacher, so can't go to the bookshelf any longer to find something I want to reference.
Halloween is one of the children's favorite, favorite holidays.
While looking up the children's Halloween book on Amazon the title and even the author came to me like a bolt out of the blue.
"Scary, Scary, Halloween" by Eve Bunting is the book I mentioned.
WM your granddaughter would love it, as would all the other preschoolers we hear about on the blog.
Just got off the phone with my (88-year old) mother and our regular Sunday visit. After the usual weekly chit-chat, our conversation turned to crosswords. She gets the Universal crossword in her paper, and she had some questions about a recent puzzle. I went on-line and found that she had the answers spot on. Then I shared with her about today's LAT puzzle and what fun it was, and told her that I would send her a copy along my filled in copy. I also found that John Lampkin has a web site, so I printed up his bio for her. It appears that he is musically gifted (I would say the same about Mom), and I know she will appreciate his diversified talents.
G'nite, all.
PJB:
what do I need to do to get my number back?
Hahtool
an entertaining game, which someone had to lose
How nice to hear from the constructor. In my teens I would try to construct puzzles, without much success, but have not tried this for a very long time. I admire anyone who can do it and would not be too picky about some acts of desperation. I thought this one was a lot of fun and recognized the Jack O' Lantern right way. I loved the same clever clues as others did. UMP, SPAY and RYE especially.
I know all about having the candy disappear before the event. We do not allow the packages to be opened beforehand anymore but afterwards they are fair game if anything is left. We get about 100goblins at our house, some of them extremely small, and also some who have really grown out of the trick or treat thing but keep on coming back anyway.
I should find out how to register properly.
Audrey in Ingersoll, Ontario
C.C. , I guess you don't know what a tracheatomy is either.
C.C. , I guess you don't know what a tracheatomy is either.
ClearAyes, I obviously meant to compliment you on your choice of poem, not puzzle. Just now read what I had posted.
Audrey: Welcome!
Lemonade, I'm bad with numbers. 714 it is. My apologies.
WM, here's hoping you get to paint soon. We understand here that you're faced with many pressures but do take a little time to enjoy the changes that Autumn makes in the light and the colors outside. There were more than twelve shades of grey in the sky this evening. Blueish, purply, pinkish, and other colors I can't spell.
Chickie; I vaguely remember that book, I think. I loved scary books as a kid and dressing up for Halloween, but I never thought there were monsters under the bed, because big sister told me she had scared them all away! She denies this of course.
Wow! What a fun puzzle. I'm a BIG Peanuts fan and I just loved the design and how all the references were intertwined into the grid.
Stared at the completed puzzle and couldn't find my error. Had HOWL for YOWL, and don't know enough Spanish to know that EL REH was wrong.
Loved reading the blog comments. Time to see what Monday's puzzle looks like.
Peace.
Post a Comment