Theme: Slip of the Tongue - The first word of a common phrase is replaced by two identical letters which, when pronounced in plural form, sound like the word itself.
17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."
25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.
38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES
49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.
61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.
And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?
Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.
Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.
Across:
1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?
5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.
10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.
14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.
19. Island garlands: LEIS
21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".
22. Pained reaction: WINCE
23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.
28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE
35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.
43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.
44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.
45. Gag: JOKE
47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS
53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".
54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.
55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.
57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS
60. Really smell: REEK
64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.
66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.
67. Sit tight: STAY
69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!
Down:
1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
2. Heidi's home: ALPS
3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.
4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.
5. Game room: PARLOR
6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".
7. Military physician: MEDIC
8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.
10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".
11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?
12. Erie Canal city: UTICA
13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.
18. Think highly of: REGARD
24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".
26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.
27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.
29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.
30. Bounces back: ECHOES
35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.
36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)
39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.
40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE
41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.
45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?
46. Fast asleep: OUT
49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.
51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA
52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?
58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".
61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA
62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."
25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.
38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES
49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.
61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.
And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?
Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.
Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.
Across:
1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?
5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.
10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.
14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.
19. Island garlands: LEIS
21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".
22. Pained reaction: WINCE
23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.
28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE
35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.
43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.
44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.
45. Gag: JOKE
47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS
53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".
54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.
55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.
57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS
60. Really smell: REEK
64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.
66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.
67. Sit tight: STAY
69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!
Down:
1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
2. Heidi's home: ALPS
3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.
4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.
5. Game room: PARLOR
6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".
7. Military physician: MEDIC
8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.
10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".
11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?
12. Erie Canal city: UTICA
13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.
18. Think highly of: REGARD
24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".
26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.
27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.
29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.
30. Bounces back: ECHOES
35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.
36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)
39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.
40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE
41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.
45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?
46. Fast asleep: OUT
49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.
51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA
52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?
58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".
61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA
62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.
Answer grid.
C.C.
68 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - great puzzle today; very clever theme, and some outstanding clues.
Once the first theme answer became apparent, the rest fell pretty quickly. Got perp-lexed at the crossing of Anya and San; just made an educated guess. The rest of the puzzle went smoothly with minimal perp help. Loved 'Brest milk', 'silks wearer' and 'sign that something has turned'.
Can anyone guess which was the DFettes' favorite answer?
C,C,, you probably remember seeing Rosey Grier as Robert Kennedy's bodyguard. And NJ has no state gem; I'm guessing it was repossessed.
Today is Marooned without a Compass Day, and Saxophone Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult." -- E.B. White
Some Fun Facts about our bodies:
- One human hair can support 6.6 pounds.
- Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
- The average man's penis is two times the length of his thumb.
- The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
- Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you're standing still.
- If saliva can't dissolve something, you can't taste it.
Excuse any typing errors - damn thumbs keep getting in the way.
Good morning:
Another quiet day here in Blogville:
It was a nice puzzle, not easy, but a consistent theme and fun fill, except the ANYA/SAN cross, which was also a guess for me. The other proper names were also very obscure, but it is Friday.
Interesting that New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia have not named any gem, rock or mineral unlike the rest on this LIST . there is the New Jersey State Dinosaur - Hadrosaurus foulkii.
Good Morning, CC. I loved, loved, loved this puzzle. I began seeing some double letters and was a bit worried when I had 2 Ys in a row. My AHA moment came with II WIDE SHUT. After getting that one, I easily got the rest of the theme clues.
My biggest hang up was misspelling ROSEY Grier. I initially had ROSIE.
Favorite clues:
Brest Milk: LAIT
One of a cup's 48: TPS
Those two clues brought the same image to my mind, and it had nothing to do with the correct responses! Is that DF enough for you, Dennis?
Louisiana's state gem is also the Agate. Find you state's Gem, Mineral, or Rock here.
QOD: News is something somebody doesn't want printed; all else is advertising.
I just found out that Kentucky's state gem is Freshwater Pearl. How about your state?
pearl
Rosy had an appearance on the tv show CHiPs. He destroyed his car by hand. He said I'm sorry little car but I'm mad. I'm late for dinner mamma's gonna be mad at me.
Rosy Greer
35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 18 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
http://www.recipedelights.com/measurements.htm
Oz Grams Fl. Oz. ml Cup tbsp. tsp.
1/2__14__1/2_____15_1/16__1____3
1____28__1_______30_1/8___2____6
So a cup is 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. That makes more sense if 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
I had to google a lot today. I feel so guilty: I had to google to get ANYA, ADELE, JAPE, ALAN and ENO. I wanted HONOUR or ESTEEM for REGARD ("Think highly of"): the clue is misleading because "High REGARD" is a good thing but you can presumably have low REGARD for somebody too. (It comes from the French regarder = to look.)
I also wanted GET for SEE, SCORES for ECHOES (because a team that SCORES is possibly coming back from behind and, besides, I thought "Tumblers and tongs, e.g." would be plural), JOKE or JOSH for JAPE (only to get really confused becuse JOKE appeared later in the puzzle), ARCADE for PARLOR and UNTIL for AS YET. Indeed, I was ready to complain that "UNTIL" didn't mean "Up to now": in the Philippines people will say "UNTIL now" to mean "still" which is wrong (as in "Until now I haven't been paid" to mean "I still haven't been paid": I usually interpret a sentence like that to mean he or she has only just been paid). Come to think of it, STILL would be another possibile answer to the clue "Up to now".
I found the top left hand side difficult (obviously) so I went to the bottom hoping to work my way up the puzzle. I thought of I'S WIDE SHUT right away and then changed it to II WIDE SHUT when I got IOS. I then went through the possibilities: CC = sieze, PP = peas, UU = youse (as in youse guys), YY = whys, GG = geez and TT = tease and that helped me to get the other four theme answers.
I forgot to mention that yesterday's puzzle had the answer and clue LET ME at 'em and my first thought was "UP AND at 'em" which is a common Britsih expression used when getting up in the morning.
Martin
I just noticed something misleading about the link I just gave: ounces and grams are measures of mass but fluid ounces, mls and cups, etc. are measures of volume. A gram of water is a ml of water but a gram of milk would be more than a ml of milk. I apologize for passing on misleading information.
Martin
So Dennis, you were telling us before, yours was twice the normal size? (four thumbs?)
Speaking of sizes, I never thought about the number of teaspoons in a cup, (it's 16 tablespoons C.C.), and I was thinking bra cup sizes.
I don't know if WI has a state gem, but I do know this puzzle had 20--count 'em--TWENTY NAMES!! I think Fridays are "get Kazie mad Days". I take back all I said about Dan last week, these names were much more obscure and numerous.
Because it was such a struggle because of those NAMES(!), I can't say I liked or enjoyed it at all, but I felt very smug when I finally filled in the last clue having had no help other than perps and guesses.
I don't remember seeing JAPE before either, but the theme was clever and made for easy guessing after the first one.
AS YET = STILL = SO FAR
Sorry, I'm tired.
Martin
Morning, all!
Terrific puzzle today. A tad on the easy side once I grokked the theme, but very enjoyable nonetheless. I was actually quite surprised to see it, since I thought the LA Times puzzles didn't go in for that sort of wordplay, but I'm glad they made an exception today.
I think the only unknown for me today was IRINA, but that was easy enough to get via the perps.
Oh -- and I initially had JOKES for JAPES and was surprised to later see JOKES as the correct answer elsewhere. I wonder if the constructor planned it that way, or whether it was just me...
this is the funniest thing I have seen!
Onion
BISCUITS & GRAVY
Good morning C.C. and all, another struggle for me today. The only theme answer I got was 61A “IIwideopen” and all the rest remained until they appeared from the fills or I had to cheat. I got off to a bad start when I tried to put Palin in for 1A, but could not make it work. Adele Simpson came out of the dark recess of my mind and I don’t even know how her name got there in the first place. Irina 44A came from the perps (I bet CA knew this one).
I also misspelled Rosey as Rosie just like Hahtool.
The puzzle was creative in its clues/answers, but I was not particularly enamored with today’s crossword.
I guess I am not the only one that had a DF reaction to One of a cup’s 48 and Brest milk.
Kazie, I agree with your reaction to today's puzzle.
Hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend
Sorry anon I do not see anything funny in your clip!
Windhover,
Fayette County
BISCUITS & GRAVY
Morning all:
State Gem- Texas Blue Topaz
11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END? It's an anagram or the N & O are reversed ;~) Sorry couldn't help myself...
DF's are probably thinking of ccing something other than the day with clues like brest milk and silk pjs!
Biscuits & Gravy - Great bit of satire. Thanks for the link.
Good morning.
Didn't get the theme that C.C. did but once I got the first answer the rest were pretty easy.
I hated IIWideShut!!!!!!! Where in the hell was that movie going? Down!!!
Today it has become "just the fax, maam."
Odor and reek together.
Why, in most renditions of the balcony scene, does Juliet peer around as if she is looking for someone when she says 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Wherefore in the days of Shakespeare and still today does not mean 'where' but rather why. She is not looking for Romeo but is asking why he is (called) Romeo.
Anybody remember Rosey Grier and Ray Milland in the bad sci-fi show "The Thing With Two Heads". Almost as bad as IIWideShut.
I agree with Dick on the Onion clip.
Here's hoping everyone has a great Friday.
Once the theme answers were apparent, most of the rest fell pretty well except for the NW corner.
UTICA was a gimme since I can see it out of my window.:-)
Had ½ inch of snow last night. First of the season.
I didn't think the Onion clip was hilarious, but it was funny--the Al Qaida guy trying to get all the credit due for something so horrendous, versus the conspiracy guy arguing just as strongly for his theory. As much as anything the humor was spoofing those talk shows where people try to shout each other down all the time and you can't hear any of what they say.
Dr. Dad,
I agree about "wherefore"--it's a question versus "therefore" which gives a reason for something.
They are both related to their Germanic origins, where still in modern German "wo" meaning "where" and "da" meaning "there" are prefixes that can be added to any preposition to get the same effect:
Wofür? = for what reason (literally: wherefor)
Dafür = for that reason (therefor)
That last example isn't really the best--dafür is used more in the sense of "on the other hand" or "in contrast". But you can see what I meant.
Best puzzle of the week, IMHO. Enjoyed the wordplay: geez louise, eyes wide shut, and of course, c.c.'s the day (a nice homage to C.C., don't you think?). Like Dennis, I had to guess on the anyA/sAn intersection, but otherwise I was able to fill in the rest without too much head scratching. I thought I had read that Norris had planned to ramp up the difficulty again, but I haven't seen much evidence of that this week. Maybe that's partly due to my having become more inured to Norris's editorial style now.
Kazie: on WI having a state gemstone, I believe the answer is that they do not (at least per the official state websites and blue book). They do however have a a state rock (red granite), mineral (galena), and fossil (trilobite). You may find a few non-state websites claiming it's ruby.
Best,
PanGraham (formerly anon-hp)
This was a very clever puzzle and I caught on to the theme when I got CC the day and GG Louise. I did get some perp help with Eloi, and eno. It was kind of a DF puzzle solvers dream with brest milk, silk PJ’s, jockey, and erect. The crossing of great, erect and jockey caught my attention too.
Dennis interesting FF about the body. Now comeon…how many of you guys have measured your thumbs?
It’s going to be unseasonably warm here this weekend with sunny days and 60 degrees. I won’t even mind the yard work tomorrow.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Did not get the double letter trick until I looked it up. Irritating, but clever. WI does not have a state gem but has a state mineral, fossil, soil, rock, and etc.
C.C. San, love your blog.
Good Morning All, It has been a couple of months since we had a Susan E. Peterson puzzle. I wish we'd see her puzzles more often. Today's puzzle was really fun. The double letter word sound theme answers were clever and inventive.
I liked all the name fills, even if some of them were a little obscure, but it is Friday after all. I remember IRINA Rodnina and her partner winning the World Figure Skating Championship in 1973, even after their music stopped in the middle of their performance.
I had no problem with ROSEY Grier. Besides being a great football player when the LA RAMS were a team to be reckoned with, his hobbies were needlepoint and knitting. Who's going to argue with that?
I think we've seen Brian ENO, ADELE Simpson, ANYA Seton, IONE Skye and LEEZA Gibbons enough, so they shouldn't give us too much trouble.
DF-ette moment?? I had to laugh when I saw that UNDER was under (BAR) WARE (wear?), and JOCKEY was UNDER WARE.
I certainly didn't know that California's gemstone is Benitoite. It's very pretty.
This puzzle could have contained only 8 squares and I'd have loved it. GGLOUISE made my day. The rest was icing on the cake.
PanGraham- I'm guessing that you're one of, oh, maybe three people in history to use "inured" in a sentence. But I don't know if you should be praised or reviled. At any rate, such uniqueness must be noted.
Hey Dennis, I'm giving your post Two Thumbs Up!
Dennis:
Last time you posted this "fact" it was 3x thumb length. But here's the real question: From where does one measure, in either case? From the web or from the wrist? In the other case, I think the braggarts measure from the 'taint.
Biscuits:
Got it, both times. We're practically neighbors. Buy you a beer sometime and we'll talk about these people.
Windhover, you're right - it is 3 times. I was already thinking of the FF after that one, and screwed up; good catch. I should learn to re-read my posts before sending.
As to the starting point for measuring, 'taint no hard and fast rule. (That's such a great word)
TGIF everyone!
Arizona gem stone is Turquoise, nice eh?
I am having an affair with Google today. My G-spot just could not be satisfied! I really bombed on this puzzle....... Mr. G tells me everything will be better tomorrow!
Have a great Friday.
Before I got the theme, I tried to shoehorn "carpe diem" into 25A. I also puzzled a long time because Germs and Great were next to each other.
Did not like all the names. I knew Alan and Rosey. Also knew Irina, but spelled it Irena first. Adele Simpson sprang to mind, but I don't know why; I know zilch about designers. Had to Google several today.
I guess I am the only one who thought of the America's Cup for 35A. Thought it had something to do with the contiguous 48 states.
Beautiful weather here - cool nights, mild days. Ideal.
I thought it was amusing to see that WI has a state soil (antigo silt loam) and four official cows. Thanks for that, PanGraham.
Dick has my number as far as ice skating stars go. I've eased up watching competitions in the last few years. There are just too many of them to keep up.
"In April 2009, The Onion was awarded a Peabody Award which noted that "the satirical tabloid's online send-up of 24-hour cable-TV news was hilarious, trenchant and not infrequently hard to distinguish from the real thing." If satire doesn't offend somebody, then it isn't satire.
Dick, PALIN for 1A?...now that's funny.
good morning c.c. san and all,
fun fun fun puzzle today, theme answers were genius. been playing lightfoot's 'wherefore and why' in my head since filling in 38a. when i got to 45a gag, i had --KE, and tried PUKE, which would have been a little shocking. oh. JOKE. right. Four J's seems like it might be a record.
dennis, i think the favorite answer goes hand in hand with your thumb fact. and about your typo and windhover's correction, let me just say .... whew.
Robin said, My g-spot just could not be satisfied!
Sounds like you might need outside intervention.
Melissa, lol at 'puke'. And as to your last comment, it all goes hand-in-hand, doesn't it?
:) < does that count as # 2 comment?
@dennis, Would you rather have one in the hand or two in the bush?
11:37 today. Favorite themeage (by far) was GG LOUISE. I got the theme early on with PP PORRIDGE (though you should have seen the mess I made of the NW corner at first).
11d: Interminably (ON END). Can someone explain this to me? I don't get how they are synonymous. NO END, yes, ON END????
embien, the best I can come up with is when something goes on for days on end; in other words, interminably.
crockett, yes.
robin, yeah, a post is a post.
Anybody know where you can get Viagra?
Dammit, Windhover, you've gotta stop the anon posts.
GG Louise! One little conversation about DF-ness having faded into the past, and look what happened today! And it wasn't the women either, for the most part.
I'm really starting to like the LA Times puzzle. Does anyone here do the Newsday puzzle? It is edited by Stanley Newman, a crossword guru. What is your opinion of that puzzle. We get it here in addtion to the LAT.
It's good to read all of your comments again. My computer got THE WORM THAT STOPS THE COMPUTER, and that ended my computer for good. Waited for Windows 7 before buying a new one. I'm back.
Doreen
RussT asked: "I'm really starting to like the LA Times puzzle. Does anyone here do the Newsday puzzle? It is edited by Stanley Newman, a crossword guru. What is your opinion of that puzzle?"
I wonder if it's the same one that's in the Chicago Sun Times? (Today's is called SEE 1 ACROSS.) Stanley Newman edits that one. If so, to me they seem straightforward and bland compared to the LAT puzzles.
c.c, how about RR . ars gratia ardis.
and then there's BB . bees wax.
you have UU - use it or lose it
also pp for pees and que's or cues
Doreen,
Welcome back. We missed you. We're missing others recently also, but I can't remember exactly who. I think the Viagra has my brain drained
Dennis @ 4:30:
Wasn't me, bro, and as the boys in Pink Floyd said, keep your hands offa my stash.
BTW, remember that "Better living through chemistry" slogan back in the sixties? It finally came true in MY sixties.
Kazie:
better reread, Dennis, Crockett and I (me?) are just innocents in this game, desperately trying to keep up.
Crockett:
Two what?
Hello All--A difficult puzzle for me. There were so many names and unknowns today, that I used Mr. G. way too much. I misspelled Anya (Anna) and also had esteem for regard so those areas had to be entered erased, and entered again--more than once. Sigh.
I finally did get the double letter clues after I realized that you COULD have two pp's and two yy's together and still make sense. Doh! Once again, we're indebted to C.C.
I've learned something about our CA gemstone, Benitoite. It is a rare, blue in color and triagular shaped stone. There is a mine open to the public (for a price)in Colalinga, CA. This mine allows you to take home a small zip lock bag with rocks which are imbedded with the benitoite. However, if you find something larger than your zip-lock bag, they will negotiate a price. Some websites had pictures of faceted and polished stones and they reminded me of deep blue sapphires. I had never heard of Benitoite before.
RussT- Stanley Newman is a highly respected Editor/Constructor. The Newsday stable of constructors are a great bunch, but Stanley keeps the weekday puzzles at a Monday difficulty level. However, the Saturday puzzle is probably the toughest one anywhere. It's one of my favorites.
Jerome: re your earlier post, definitely reviled. My old brain must have still been in xword mode when I posted that this morning, when words like esne, aler, neato, and egad spew forth more readily.
Clear Ayes: Yes, those particular WI state symbols amused me too.
A word of wisdom, Robin...ignore the anons (I know it's hard to do) I find you witty and you seem to be on the same wavelength as several others here.
Good catch Windhover on the 3x vs 2x. I was going to mention it but figured Dennis' thumbs got in the way when he was typing. Also thanks for all the links to viagra. I'm not getting any younger you know. I'll file that info away for future reference.
Jerome, had to laugh at the "two thumbs up" critique on Dennis' post this morning.
I just got back from helping my friend with the catering job. You wouldn't have BELIEVED the house it was held at on Lake Minnetonka. The kitchen looked like it belonged in a 5 star restaurant. I was drooling to be sure. It's a pity as I am sure that the "mistress" of the house rarely uses it. Oh, and she was a bi-ach.
In case you didn't read the late night comments last night...I am curious what type of stuffing you use.
Here is something that popped into my head today. In school "A" is excellent, "B" is very good, "C" is average, "D" is below average and "F" is failing. Why are cup sizes on bras reverse? Except for the "C" which is considered the average cup size for women.
kazie, what Windhover said.
Jeannie, you picked a dangerous day to ask what I used for stuffing...
Robin, if you have any questions about what just happened, please email me.
@windhover Ask dennis, he said "yes."
Dennis:
Thanks from me, too.
And now that I have another post, I'll ask:
who or what is on the other end of that leash?
Jeannie:
my stuffing recipe contains, as many do, the words "repeat as necessary".
Ah...Robin? What is on the end of the leash in your avatar? Surely not that cute little doggie?
only comment today- I believe "dapper dan" appeared in Oh,Brother, where art thou?".Anyone know?
No Argyle and Windhover, the guy on the end of the leash is Noah, a Staffordshire Terrier. Thanks for noticing!
Windhover, two in the bush is......a start.
Robin, great-looking dog. You could tell by the size of the leash that there wasn't gonna be a toy poodle on the end of it.
I wasn't sure it would even be a dog!
MR. ED,
I like your list, esp Use and Cues. Welcome to our blog.
Melissa & Dr. Dad,
Great to see both of you back! Hi to Barb B.
Repeat as necessary is not in my stuffing recipe Windhover. I am now curious about yours. More broth?
Dennis, I am not understanding why this a dangerous day to ask about stuffing. I thought that was yesterday.
Doreen,
Forgot to welcome you back as well.
Hi gang -
Longish day in T-Town. Had dinner at Packo's with my mom, and drove home well after dark.
Today's puzzle was slow going for me, but I made it through, sort of. I did it in the car while the LW was driving, so g-spotting was out of the question.
One gaffe - I had WENT for SENT @36D, which gave me TWP for "one of a cup's 48". Baffled the hell out of me.
Another gaffe - ON END for interminably? No. Just NO!
Other than that, liked the very clever theme, and most of the fills. The names were spread out, and didn't make me WINCE. ELOI are becomming regular visitors. Well, why not.?
After my mini rant on affixes yesterday, I saw in the Wayne Williams Daily Crossword an unforgivably egregious example of gratuitous word splitting.
40A Tail of a fib or spat? ULA
Now I'm not joking. This actually made me angry. Just fracture any damned word any damned where, and if one of the pieces is a word the other piece is a damned fill? That is disgusting.
When my kids were little, I used to say nothing made me appreciate my children more than spending time with somebody else's. Now I'll say nothing makes me appreciate Rich Norris's editing more than working somebody else's puzzles.
I probably won't stop grousing, though.
Cheers!
JzB the Tetraonidae Trombonist
Hmmm. Not such a good link.
As I was saying, why not.
Cheers!
JzB
Third time's a charm.
Why not?
Sheesh!
Cheers!
JzB the link-inept trombonist
I don't see the beef with ON END. Sometimes I work at the computer for hours on end, and before I know it, I've spent days on end doing little else. It makes you visualize the hours or days stacked one on top of the other ON END or END TO END.
@Kazie, That was what I understood for on end as well. Getting late today and I still have hours of work to put in yet. I'd have some cafe au lait with milk to keep me awake, but I prefer tea.
@Hutch, yes, Dapper Dan was a (not real) brand of pomade that George Clooney's character used. Good music in that movie.
Love Gwen Stefani, Hey Baby!.
Maybe you've seen Rosie Grier in this piece of cinematic awesomeness: The Thing With Two Heads.
Good morning: for reasons that don't bear mentioning, this is my first chance to post all day. I wish I could say me being awake involves something interesting or DF but no, my life just isn't that fascinating just now. I keep my fingers crossed that my luck will turn!
I enjoyed the puzzle, although I had to wrestle the theme to the ground to get it to 'fess up what the heck was going on with all those doubles. I did think of Kazie when I hit the 12th proper name.
II Wide Shut wasn't just a BAD movie, it was spectacularly bad. Nicole Kidman looked like she had been recently embalmed.
The word JAPE is like the face of a beloved. Every time I see it, it's like it was for the very first time. It will probably be like that forever. Cruise was like a 2nd grader doing Othello: he said the lines okay, but you could tell he had no idea what they meant.
DF-NESS ALERT
Viagra: I believe that doctors should only prescribe the blue "wonder drug" if the requestor brings a signed and notarized note from his designated bedmate: Example:
I, Darlene Whifflesnozz, hereby give my assent for Dr. Cuddlebum to prescribe Viagra for my man-candy Horace Eiderhoven at the rate of no more than 4 (four) tablets in any 45 day period. Horace agrees to provide the party of the first part no less than 24 hours advance notice of his intention to take said medication for the prescribed purpose."
We can allow the attorneys among us to hammer
out the language.
Many a female comic has performed an entire set about their mixed feelings toward Viagra and its sister drugs (e.g. Cialis) but male comics tend to avoid the topic. Food for thought.... The material I have done is not the slightest bit racy, and I keep thinking it's time to retire it (drug has been on the market a long time now) but the comedic bits still work, so I still dust'em off and try not to act bored during the performance :-)
DF ALERT OVER
I was in Denver during Elway's heyday and he was treated there like Mike Ditka is here in Chicago. Elway sold cars, whereas Ditka got involved in steaks and restaurants.
Irina Rodnina skated right past me. I'd forgotten about the time the music stopped during their big show.
Dennis: the EB White quote is definitely a keeper. It sounds like a dumb thing to worry about, but I hope I can think of one memorable line before I expire for good. Otherwise, my tombstone will read only:
Shhh. He's finally sleeping...
which actually isn't half bad.
I figure it would be kind of tacky to put a recipe for a really good Mojito on the marker, but I do figure that would at least draw the right sort of people to stop by and visit! Maybe also give out little holy recipe cards with the Tater Tot appetizer from a dispenser? Hmmmmm.
Okay, sorry to be irreverent.
Will be back when I can be!
Oops, I garbled up the location of my astute critique of Tommy Cruise's acting chops, which of course was said in jest, but once that paragraph is in its rightful place the post does make at least a little sense!
PJB
Three No refers to a bid where no suit is trump. It is an abbreviated bid for three no trump 3NT in the card game of bridge
Well ...
Seeings how it's late and we are discussing 'taints' ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwIxkzQxppg
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