Theme: G-CLEF (69A. Staff figure, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 37-, 53- and 59-Across) - The first words of the theme answers - Every Good Boy Does Fine - yield the mnemonic for EGBDF, the notes on the lines of the treble clef.
17A. 1989 Bobby Brown hit: EVERY LITTLE STEP. Have never heard of the song. Bobby Brown is the ex-husband of Whitney Houston.
23A. "Well played!": GOOD GAME
37A. Culture Club lead singer: BOY GEORGE. He seems to be in legal trouble all the time.
53A. Serves a sentence: DOES TIME
59A. Metaphorical search tool: FINE-TOOTHED COMB
Very nice successive order!
Today's constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley is also a musician. He plays for the band Boston Typewriter Orchestra in his spare time. And he tends to sprinkle various music/musician/band references in his puzzles. So, besides the music theme and the two music related theme clues, we also have:
58A. "Watermark" musician: ENYA. I liked her "May It Be".
4D. Singer Grant: AMY
25D. "__ in a Manger": AWAY. Lovely (Celtic Woman).
26D. "Watermelon Man" musician Santamaría: MONGO. Total stranger to me. Wikipedia describes him as an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist.
35. __ voce: softly: SOTTO. Literally "under" in Italian.
57D. Rapper Snoop __: DOGG
60D. "Discreet Music" composer Brian: ENO
How was your solving experience today? The new words/names, the trickiness of the clues and the D'oh moments all felt like a Friday puzzle to me. Maybe I was just not in the constructor's wavelength.
Across:
1. Civil War org.: CSA (Confederate States of America)
4. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY. Huge presence in China. AVON too.
9. Political pamphlet: TRACT
14. Witch: HAG
15. Thanksgiving decoration: MAIZE. Indian corn.
16. "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speaker: HENRY (Patrick). I confused him with Ethan Allen.
20. Cunning trick: WILE. Wrote down RUSE first.
22. Suffix with cyan-: IDE. Cyanide. Blue color I presume.
28. Dinar spenders: IRAQIS. IRANIS too. This puzzle is only one letter J away from a pangram.
30. Caterer's container: URN. For Coffee.
32. Military action?: SALUTE. Oh, the greeting. I was picturing the real military action.
33. Stir-fry additive: MSG. Not in my stir-fry.
36. Licensing prerequisite, often: TEST
40. This, to Ricardo: ESTO. Also ESTA.
43. "What the Butler Saw" playwright: ORTON (Joe). No idea. I've never heard of the playwright or the play.
44. Did nothing: SAT
47. Page size with four leaves: QUARTO. New word to me. Makes sense, since quart- is Latin prefix for "four".
50. Words to a backstabber: ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?", Caesar's rebuke to Brutus.
51. Brit. monarch's title: HRH
52. Disentangle: UNKNOT
55. Soreness?: IRE. Without the question mark, the clue will be valid too.
56. Certain candidate's goal, briefly: PHD. Got me.
65. Unanimously: AS ONE
66. Icy look, maybe: GLARE. Tiger Wood's cold glare can be very intimidating.
68. Gas used in arc lamps: XENON. Noble gas. Rooted in "xeno", prefix for "alien"/"foreign".
Down:
1. Some baseballers do it all game long: CHEW GUM. Yes indeed.
2. Redeemers: SAVIORS
3. Lasting quite a while: AGELONG
5. Adjusted opening?: MAL. Maladjusted. Nailed it.
6. Game system played with gestures: WII. Nintendo.
7. AIDS-fighting drug: AZT. The name escaped me again.
8. Bigfoot cousin: YETI. The Abominable Snowman.
9. Second Amendment-supporting gp.: THE NRA. And THE ABCS (46. What preschoolers learn). I think one THE is enough for a grid.
10. __ judicata: decided case: RES. Latin for "thing". Res judicata = a thing adjudicated, a decided case.
11. Many an auction piece: ANTIQUE
12. Movie trailer?: CREDITS. The film enders. Very clever clue.
13. Prepare for printing: TYPESET
19. "Family Guy" mom: LOIS. Stumper. I wonder if our Lois knows.
24. Helicopter's predecessor, briefly: GIRO. Or Gyro, right?
29. Der __: Adenauer epithet: ALTE. Konrad Adenauer's nickname. Der Alte is German for "the old man".
37. Delivered: BORN
39. Migratory antelopes: GNUS. Had no idea that they migrate.
40. Big name in credit reports: EQUIFAX. Wikipedia says it's considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Not a familiar name to me at all. Credit/CREDITS duplication, though of different meanings.
41. Dawn follower: SUNRISE. Wanted MORNING.
42. Hired: TAKEN ON. Did the answer come to you immediately?
44. Classic shoe polish brand: SHINOLA. Nope. Have never heard of the brand.
45. Stereotypical toy soldier: ARMY MAN. Not enough blanks for my GI JOE.
48. Hit list: TOP TEN
49. Roman emperor in 69 A.D.: OTHO. The emperor with a short three-month reign. Tripped me again.
54. Private eye, briefly: TEC (Detective)
61. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC
62. "2001" computer: HAL
63. Before, in verse: ERE. Simple palindrome.
64. OED offering: DEF (Definition). I am using Webster's New World College Dictionary. How about you?
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. 1989 Bobby Brown hit: EVERY LITTLE STEP. Have never heard of the song. Bobby Brown is the ex-husband of Whitney Houston.
23A. "Well played!": GOOD GAME
37A. Culture Club lead singer: BOY GEORGE. He seems to be in legal trouble all the time.
53A. Serves a sentence: DOES TIME
59A. Metaphorical search tool: FINE-TOOTHED COMB
Very nice successive order!
Today's constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley is also a musician. He plays for the band Boston Typewriter Orchestra in his spare time. And he tends to sprinkle various music/musician/band references in his puzzles. So, besides the music theme and the two music related theme clues, we also have:
58A. "Watermark" musician: ENYA. I liked her "May It Be".
4D. Singer Grant: AMY
25D. "__ in a Manger": AWAY. Lovely (Celtic Woman).
26D. "Watermelon Man" musician Santamaría: MONGO. Total stranger to me. Wikipedia describes him as an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist.
35. __ voce: softly: SOTTO. Literally "under" in Italian.
57D. Rapper Snoop __: DOGG
60D. "Discreet Music" composer Brian: ENO
How was your solving experience today? The new words/names, the trickiness of the clues and the D'oh moments all felt like a Friday puzzle to me. Maybe I was just not in the constructor's wavelength.
Across:
1. Civil War org.: CSA (Confederate States of America)
4. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY. Huge presence in China. AVON too.
9. Political pamphlet: TRACT
14. Witch: HAG
15. Thanksgiving decoration: MAIZE. Indian corn.
16. "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speaker: HENRY (Patrick). I confused him with Ethan Allen.
20. Cunning trick: WILE. Wrote down RUSE first.
22. Suffix with cyan-: IDE. Cyanide. Blue color I presume.
28. Dinar spenders: IRAQIS. IRANIS too. This puzzle is only one letter J away from a pangram.
30. Caterer's container: URN. For Coffee.
32. Military action?: SALUTE. Oh, the greeting. I was picturing the real military action.
33. Stir-fry additive: MSG. Not in my stir-fry.
36. Licensing prerequisite, often: TEST
40. This, to Ricardo: ESTO. Also ESTA.
43. "What the Butler Saw" playwright: ORTON (Joe). No idea. I've never heard of the playwright or the play.
44. Did nothing: SAT
47. Page size with four leaves: QUARTO. New word to me. Makes sense, since quart- is Latin prefix for "four".
50. Words to a backstabber: ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?", Caesar's rebuke to Brutus.
51. Brit. monarch's title: HRH
52. Disentangle: UNKNOT
55. Soreness?: IRE. Without the question mark, the clue will be valid too.
56. Certain candidate's goal, briefly: PHD. Got me.
65. Unanimously: AS ONE
66. Icy look, maybe: GLARE. Tiger Wood's cold glare can be very intimidating.
68. Gas used in arc lamps: XENON. Noble gas. Rooted in "xeno", prefix for "alien"/"foreign".
Down:
1. Some baseballers do it all game long: CHEW GUM. Yes indeed.
2. Redeemers: SAVIORS
3. Lasting quite a while: AGELONG
5. Adjusted opening?: MAL. Maladjusted. Nailed it.
6. Game system played with gestures: WII. Nintendo.
7. AIDS-fighting drug: AZT. The name escaped me again.
8. Bigfoot cousin: YETI. The Abominable Snowman.
9. Second Amendment-supporting gp.: THE NRA. And THE ABCS (46. What preschoolers learn). I think one THE is enough for a grid.
10. __ judicata: decided case: RES. Latin for "thing". Res judicata = a thing adjudicated, a decided case.
11. Many an auction piece: ANTIQUE
12. Movie trailer?: CREDITS. The film enders. Very clever clue.
13. Prepare for printing: TYPESET
19. "Family Guy" mom: LOIS. Stumper. I wonder if our Lois knows.
24. Helicopter's predecessor, briefly: GIRO. Or Gyro, right?
29. Der __: Adenauer epithet: ALTE. Konrad Adenauer's nickname. Der Alte is German for "the old man".
37. Delivered: BORN
39. Migratory antelopes: GNUS. Had no idea that they migrate.
40. Big name in credit reports: EQUIFAX. Wikipedia says it's considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Not a familiar name to me at all. Credit/CREDITS duplication, though of different meanings.
41. Dawn follower: SUNRISE. Wanted MORNING.
42. Hired: TAKEN ON. Did the answer come to you immediately?
44. Classic shoe polish brand: SHINOLA. Nope. Have never heard of the brand.
45. Stereotypical toy soldier: ARMY MAN. Not enough blanks for my GI JOE.
48. Hit list: TOP TEN
49. Roman emperor in 69 A.D.: OTHO. The emperor with a short three-month reign. Tripped me again.
54. Private eye, briefly: TEC (Detective)
61. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC
62. "2001" computer: HAL
63. Before, in verse: ERE. Simple palindrome.
64. OED offering: DEF (Definition). I am using Webster's New World College Dictionary. How about you?
Answer grid.
C.C.
48 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - by no means an easy solve for me today; had stumbles all over the place, but especially in the SW. Couldn't remember Equifax, 'taken on' didn't seem right, didn't know 'quarto'. And worst of all, I completely forgot the 'every good boy does fine' mnemonic and what it was for. Had to google it before the light came on. In my defense, my head's buzzing a bit from a Christmas party last night; I'm not used to drinking like that on a weeknight. Overall though, a very enjoyable puzzle.
And......Lois made it to the puzzle! And we 'salute' her for it.
Today is both Festivus and Roots Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes." -- Unknown
Dennis,
Last time when Barry Silk clued EGBDF as "Lines on a staff", you mentioned that your treble clef mnemonic is "every good breast deserves fondling."
Annette,
Thanks. But It's Dennis or Kazie who is fond of the Tim Tam cookies.
Lois,
Every Good Bird Does Fly, Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday, and Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips. Sounds familiar? Have a great trip to London.
Chickie,
What is the species name of your persimmon tree? How old is it?
C.C., thanks - it's starting to come back to me.
Lois, have a great, safe trip. I suspect you'll come back with a Bobby hat or two...
1 and a w/u. I know we're getting close because our house-sitter just got into town; a friend of mine who likes nothing better than to just hang out and watch TV. His sole responsibility consists of taking care of the fish.
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.
Epic fail for me today. Made it through most of the puzzle, but the NW corner utterly defeated me. I originally had CSA and HAG, but removed them when nothing else seemed to fit. I wanted ATONERS instead of SAVIORS, and neither CHEWGUM nor AGELONG came to me. Plus, I didn't know MONGO, ORTON, or EVERYLITTLESTEP. Oh -- and I resisted putting in RED for 18D due to it being way too obvious, and went with DYE instead. As a result, I just couldn't get GOODGAME with all the wrong letters I had in place.
On the bright side, I did get FINETOOTHEDCOMB right off the bat and was pretty proud of myself for that...
Good morning, C.C. and all,
This was an excellent puzzle this morning! Have we had Brendan before? I really enjoyed your interview with him.
Thanks for all the mnemonics, C.C. I am totally non-musical; never had any training, don't know how to read music, etc, but had all of the EGBDF clues answered before I got to theme clue. Thanks to perp help, I had already filled in gclef but knew only that it was a musical term
This was a good way to start hump day, although I don't think many people except retailers will be working today. Around these parts, most people take the week off.
Jean and I will be going up the coast about forty miles to have Christmas dinner with my sister and her clan, which will total twenty-six, including us.
Be safe, be well, and thankful for all your blessings.
Good Morning All,
It has been awhile since I posted, but have been following the blog almost daily. Wanted to take a moment to wish a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Finally ready to start the festivities here with the arrival of son and dil later today and older son and dil and grandson tomorrow. Lots of cooking, baking, etc. so let the good times roll.
As I was doing the puzzle today, I kept thinking I know this is a Wednesday. Puzzle really did seem more difficult but really enjoyed it even though I needed some red letter help. This past year I did a credit check on myself and got a good laugh. A representative from the credit union called me and said I have good news and bad news. Their records showed I was deceased--but the good news was I was paying my bills on time!! Took a couple of phone calls and letters, but finally got it straightened out. So even though you might not be taking out a loan, it is a good idea to do a credit check once a year.
Have a wonderful holiday all.
How fun; though SHINOLA was most famous for its use in a comparative phrase. Had no clue as to the theme, initially thought I would not finish, but things began to click and it was done. Certainly some nice fill, and much I did not know, like "Watermelon Man" musician Santamaría: MONGO; 1989 Bobby Brown hit: EVERY LITTLE STEP; "What the Butler Saw" playwright: ORTON, but I managed to get it all through the perps. Some nice work with fill like Certain candidate's goal, briefly: PHD; Movie trailer?: CREDITS.
Running out of time and energy; enjoy the day.
@Chickie, I'd like to have your persimmon bars recipe. The nuts are delicious. Thank you.
Hungry in Chicago
Good morning CC et al., Struggled with this one but loved the theme. CC, you never cease to amaze me. I do remember all those mnemonics for the G clef. Fun times. Dennis' is the breast - I mean best. I love Family Guy and Stewie. My HS students found out my name is Lois and that I teach piano too. That set them free. Now they frequently come in saying, "Lois, Lois, mom, mum, mommy, momeee, maMA..etc" and we go thru the routine. When they get to 'Hi', I like to give 'em some smart ass answer like, 'You're what?" or 'So what else do you want for Christmas?" We laugh. It's all in fun.
Dennis: thank you for the
'salute'. I just love seeing a man erect. I do plan on checking out the Bobbies, with and without their hats. I'm really going to see just how big Ben is. I think it's a myth. Thank you and CC both for the well wishes. I hope you have a great and safe trip as well. Since I'll be celebrating New Year's before you, when you raise your glass to the New Year, just know that I have already done that and that you have been saluted, cheered, toasted to not only in the proper Queen's English but in every accent that I can find (esp cockney). It may be unintelligible but heartfelt just the same.
I'm off to 'The ABC-s'tore to get some vodka. CC, I never buy that without thinking of you....because I 'vodka' you! I hope you have an especially good holiday. Thank you for all you do for us. You're phenomenal.
Hope all have a very happy holiday and all travelers stay safe.
I think I made this puzzle harder than it actually was. CC, great job getting the theme. It was a fine puzzle, but there were several unknowns that really stumped me in a few areas. QUARTO and SHINOLA among them. They made it difficult for me to complete without help.
The celtic woman version of Away in a Manger was beautiful. And I loved the reference to Amy Grant. I have both of her Christmas CD's and she is one of my tops to listen to. Her Breath of Heaven is awesome, but here is another of my favorites.
I am awaiting a piece on the morning show on a new gadget to find a lost cellphone. DH lost his a few weeks ago shoveling the snow - haven't found yet and only a month old. Ouch! If this gadget is for sale I am out to the stores to buy one later today!
Hope everyone survives the upcoming weather. We are anticipating our trip to possibly be shortened due to travel hitting a standstill. Oh well, at least we don't HAVE to be somewhere.
Stay warm and safe for the holidays all.
Good Morning All,
I had a really good time with this one. It took quite a bit of work. I actually got the theme once Gclef came to me. This rarity was due to a trading dirty mnemonics with my youngest's drum teacher at last night's lesson (really bad and out of ear shot of the lad). Quarto is new to me and I didn't get Equifax until I got Xenon. Lot of head scratching in that section.
And its always good to see Lois!
I had to go to the state capital to meet with MDOT yesterday about getting a project going in town. Speaking of budget problems, MDOT used to spend $50 million a year on road reconstruction. Now its $10-$15 million and the project list is growing. We've started our budget process and it looks ugly here too. Hopefully we won't have to cut services/positions. It appears this is the case most everywhere. Its kind of like banging your head against the wall. It feels good when you stop.
Safe travels to those hitting the road for the holidays! May your routes be freshly paved.
Have a great day!
Good morning, all -
This was a challenging one, but overall enjoyable. The ABCs was the easiest for me, as Zoe sings it with gusto every day.
It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been solving and following the blog mostly daily. The increase in the difficulty level of the puzzles has coincided with a number of consulting projects starting to come in, so completing the puzzles has taken all the time I have in the morning.
So, just wanted to pop in today and wish everyone a very happy holiday, and safe travels for those of you hitting the road. Thanks to all of you for helping keep my mind occupied during my year of career transition - here's to great things for everyone in 2010!
Andrea
Good morning all!
Nice to see you back, Andrea. Dot was asking about you when I emailed to see if they were ok last week.
I had the same unknowns as C.C. but everything fell in for me without problems. I especially liked BORN. I have never seen or heard of SHINOLA, all we ever had in Oz (the last time I had shoes that needed shining) was KIWI. Didn't know EQUIFAX either, but perped it.
I learned the clef mnemonic as "every good boy deserves FRUIT", but I didn't know it was a G CLEF, being just as unmusical as TFrank said he was. The G just seemed appropriate for the end of DOG-.
In case we don't all congregate tomorrow, I hope you all have safe travels and a wonderful holiday--whatever gets celebrated where you are.
Good Morning All, This one was pretty tough for a Wednesday. I don't read music either, but I did figure out the theme mnemonic anyway, thanks to 69A G-CLEF.
I had no idea about EQUIFAX. Jeanne is probably right and we should get a credit report even though we haven't borrowed in years.
I didn't really like THE ABCS. When asking little children, I've always said, "Can you say YOUR ABCs?" Their answer is, as the little song goes, "I can say MY ABCs." THE NRA was alright because that is how it is referred to.
I'm out of it enough to never have heard a Bobby Brown song, much less a hit. On the other hand, I knew BOY GEORGE, Joe ORTON and MONGO.
I hope we see Brendan Emmett Quigley puzzles more often at LAT.
Almost didn't remember Seinfeld's Festivus. If you were a fan, you won't forget the "Feats of Strength" and "Airing of Grievances".
Loved today's WOW.
Quite a grinder compared to yesterday. Found early traction in the NE-SW axis except had etho for OTHO. (Think we had Otho last week.) Also guessed at Mingo, which at least gave me ORTON. Agree with Lemonade about the SHINOLA comment:-)
Enjoy the Holidays safely.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble with this one. Monday and Tuesday were so easy compared to this one. I thought SW would never fall and still wasn't sure of "quarto" until I came here, even though the perps fit. I wanted "quatro." I understood the theme, even though I didn't know it was called "gclef."
I took piano for about six weeks when I was 12 and I think that was one of the few things I learned. My teacher and I both realized I had zero musical talent and Mother agreed. I'm glad I had the experience, though.
Merry Christmas to everyone. Be safe. Have a great time and enjoy your families.
Shinola was used during WWII and the saying went" they wouldn't know shit from Shinola"
Hello All--This was a tough puzzle for me and I had to Google some of the names and the Bobby Brown Hit. I did get the theme as I had the first letter for all of the theme answers and the light went on. However I had Takes on for Hired so even with the F for Fine, I had Fise. I never did get the answer until I read C.C.'s account.
Some days I get it and some days I don't. That's life.
C.C. Our persimmon tree is about 18 years old and is a Fuyu. I let the fruit get very soft before I make the Persimmon bars but we eat persimmons every day for weeks as I only pick enough to bring inside to ripen gradually.
We have loved the tree for its beauty, and for the fruit. I received it as a sapling for Christmas one year from my girls and their husbands.
Ah, anonymous 11:45; by using the art of tact, I included the reference in my link to Shinola the same information, to avoid offending those who do not wish crude language on a public blog. It is however, how I learned of the shoe polish, as my father in the grand tradition of eastern europe, loved convoluted cursing.
Dennis, The WOW was a LOL!
Bill G. I posted the Spiced Nuts recipe as the last post on Tues. Dec. 22nd.
Anonymous, I would like to send your recipe via e-mail so if you contact me, I'll do that.
Great puzzle. Made me work to get this one!
@barryg So good to see you!
@tfrank Sounds like a lovely holiday gathering. Have a great time!
@lois Have a great trip to London. Be sure to look up a Beefeater or two!!
@jeanne Funny credit check story.
@lois Well, we all know that Dennis is no boob.
May all who celebrate have a Blessed Christmas and let's ALL have a Bountiful New Year!!
@lois Have a great trip to London. Be sure to look up a Beefeater or two!!
Lord, so many, many lines...
@dennis Think that might get things bouncing around here?
Chickie, thanks for the reminder about the spiced nuts recipe yesterday. I am looking forward to trying them.
Nobody else has mentioned it so it must be just me but I had a problem with 3D, Lasting quite a while, AGELONG. I eventually got it, but while it kind of makes sense, I have never heard it or seen it before. It seemed like a made-up expression. Is it familiar to any of you?
Hi C.C. and all -
Difficulties all over but especially that SW corner. 37D really got me - I think I dented my V-8 can! That was a terrific, tricky clue and answer. I had to hit the 'solve' button on most in that corner, even though I DID get 59A.
48D was another great clue/answer (HIT LIST/TOP TEN). I was thinking more along the lines of a hit man and his 'list'. Do they make lists?
Dennis - have a wonderful trip! Hope you keep in touch (LOL) while you are away.
Lois - stay safe and have fun with all the Brits. Beefeater - LOL... that's our Lois, could be more appropriate for our naughty girl.
C.C. hope you and hubby have an enjoyable yule. Thank you for all you do here, you have made my days more fun and I have learned so much from you and all the fellow solvers!
CA - I have never heard of Bobby Brown either...but I got Boy George (even though I have never heard of Culture Club). Funny how the mind works huh?
I have heard of Watermelon Man but didn't know Mongo.
This is the quote featured in the WRW puzzle today. Sir John Squire: "To a land where the sky is as red as the grass, the sun as green as the rain." WTF??
Good afternoon C.C. and all, another difficult solve for me today. I had a lot of missteps along the way today. I had esta for 40A which ended up giving me barn for 37D and it took a while to figure out my error there. I also had etta for 58A which gave me s*itola for 44D and I thought this was a strange name for shoe shine, but I remembered an old expression from my youth “s*it from shinola” and then the aha moment.
Also, for 1D I tried to force scratch, but nothing else fit with that word. For 42A I wanted took on, but could not make it fit with the crosses.
There were some unknowns today that required trips to MrG’s website.
Cold here this morning, only 10 degrees, but probably better than for those of you in Minnesota and upper NY.
Hope you all have a great Wednesday and here’s wishing all of you a Merry Christmas or whatever you are celebrating. Safe travels to all that will be going someplace for the holidays. Lois, please watch out for all the cockneys in England.
Very disappointing to see so many proper names crossed. I guess I should put away my dictionary and buy a copy of People magazine!
Just dropping by to wish CC and the gang the Merriest of Christmases! (and for 714 and our other Celebration of Light friends, Happy Hanukkah!)
According to British Royalty.net, the title (59A) HRH (Her/His Royal Highness) seems to belong to specific royals, other than the monarch. Elizabeth II is HM (Her Majesty)and is addressed as "Your Majesty", or "Ma'am". This is very important for Lois to remember when she is at that Buckingham Palace New Year's Eve party. There should be Beefeaters all over the place....Party on!!
Oops, HRH was 51A, not 59A. And I haven't even had a glass of wine yet. I'd better go remedy that situation right away.
Just checking in!
Fun puzzle, spiffy theme, lots of wordplay... True to form, I knew the obscure (ORTON, MONGO, QUARTO) and did pratfalls with the more regular items: MSG, TLC and TYPESET. Still not crazy about AGELONG, but yep, it's legit. As C. C., ClearAyes et al said, THE ABCs was (were?) iffy for me, unlike THE NRA. (I mean the inclusion of the definite article!)
Very Happy to see a BEQuigley opus in the LAT. His puzzles in the weekly alt paper "the Onion" and available on his website are a nice change of pace from the daily paper, and I usually carry a few around in case I get delayed. He uses words and clues we might not find in the LAT--lots of cleverness. Never boring.
Safe travels, enjoyable times and happy memories are my wish for each of you. Start some new traditions, perhaps, or revive an old one!
Hi C.C. & gang, my wife and I had some trouble with the bottom left, is that the same as SW Dennis? I went online and we quickly finished it that way with me checking our guesses.
Now I know why I've never heard of Bobby Brown
In this clip he sounds more like Michael Jackson?
It's not the kind of music I like either.
Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips
CA - LOL - I think Lois IS the Beefeater!!!
Every Good Boy Deserves Favor *
Even German Bands do Fine *
Every Girl Buys Designer Fashion *
Every Girl Buys Designer Flip flops *
Every Good Bubble Does Float *
There was a member of Santa's team
Who lead with his nose as a beam
But the reindeer named Blitzen
Didn't know Shinola from shitzen
So from Santa he's sure of a ream
Hi all, I didn't have but about 15 min to attempt the xword today and that just wasn't gonna cut it. I had trouble all over the place as it seems is the norm, so I don't feel so bad.
The storm has hit here in the midwest and I have lots of open field roads I must take to get to where I am going; which is work tomorrow from 8-1pm. We have to put in 5 hrs. I am tempted to go to bed right now, head out really early, put in the obligatory hrs and head home to escape the worst. I did manage to buy my last gifts on my lunch hour (hence my 15 min attempt.) Also hit the grocery store and as Lois would call it the ABC's store so my cupboards are stocked for the snow in. Thankfully, I really don't have anywhere I HAVE to be.
My EGBDF is Every Good Blonde Deserves Fun.
Lois, enjoy your trip to England. If anyone can make that guard flinch it's you.
Dennis, you lucky dawg...hope your trip goes off without a hitch and I hope you have kept in contact with that dude you took the boatride with last time around.
Linda, darlin' good to see your name and well wishes again. You are missed here on this blog. I hope your holiday is a very memorable one. I miss you, and thank you; YOU know...
C.C. in case I missed it, what are your plans for the holidays?
Also, talking traditions...I have one that I carry over. My Mom for as long as I can remember has made lasagna on Christmas Eve; and IMHO mine is the best I have ever tasted. My Mom said so, so it must be true ;)
In spite of all the names of unknowns to me, we solved the puzzle without g-help. I did get all the theme entries easily.
Andrea, glad to see you again. What is your new career?
Linda, Good to hear from you.
I want to wish CC and all the other solvers a very Merry and blessed Christmas. I hope the weather permits all planned gatherings. right now, it is doubtful that all the family will be able to travel to Madison. with the greatest of effort, I succeeded in finding 20 ornaments that typified each individual to use as placecards at our dinner - ranging from a church to a semi to hockey equipment to spider man. Now if people can't come, it will be wasted effort. But I've told them all I'd rather they would be safe than risking their necks to travel if we have the predicted freezing rain or 18 in. of snow in NW Wisc.
The best to you all.
Dot
G*d.
I originally wrote IT'S MY PREROGATIVE for EVERY LITTLE STEP. ELP was Bobby Brown's first single after leaving New Edition and going solo so it didn't come to me right away. I also had first ETERNAL then AGELESS for AGE LONG and GOOD SHOT for GOOD GAME. I finally got the NW corner and gave up because it was giving me too much trouble.
I did finish the Sudoku though.
Martin
Dot, your ornament procurement will never be wasted. The moment perhaps. It is one of those things us midwesterners deal with. I am sure they will be more than happy recieving them any day of the year.
Money has been tight this year and I didn't have the time as I did 25+ years ago to re-create gifts I sent many moons ago. I would have though. My biggest bane is not being able to hug my fam and give em crap later in the day and kill them at any board game. Oh, and my Mom's hot crab dip is a killer too.
If this Jeannie could blink herself anywhere it would sadly be in the snowbelt of lower Michigan.
Carol, LOL, You may be right. But Beefeater or Beefeatee, as Lois would say, "It's all good".
Jeannie, it is really tough to be without your family during the holidays. I hope you get to see them at other more temperate times of the year. Your comment about board games made me laugh. My dad was THE Trivial Pursuit player. He used to drive the rest of the family nuts because he had a photographic memory and never forgot anything...some fun times.
Clearayes, my best game was "Scattegories: go figure. For some of you not privy to the game a dice is rolled with a letter. It's up to you to fill in the categories that start with that letter. The down side is if anyone matches you your and their point doesn't count. Fun game. The ticker gets on my nerves though.
Just looked outside and it's nasty. I have made an executive decision not to wade my way in tomorrow for a mere 5 hrs. My commute would probably be 1 1/2 hrs each way.
Jeannie: I'm glad you made the decision to stay home, where it's safe and warm. I hope you don't lose power and are still able to at least be in touch with your family by phone, email or skype!
Enjoy your lasagna. It sounds delicious! Christmas Eve will be my niece's 30th birthday, so our non-traditional C-E dinner will be her choice - Buffalo Wings and carrot cake. I may try to sneak in a tray of shrimp cocktail, to have at least one of the Seven Fishes.
Safe travels and enjoyable holidays, everyone!
My boss is a prety good guy. He'll understand. Now the responsible part of me comes out as I am supposed to cover a couple of peeps...It's just not worth me traveling that distance. I know I chose where I live but COME-ON. It's crappy outside.
No Mainiac, not the fish.
You guys are killin' me!
Dennis: so many lines is soooo true! LOL
Crockett: Beefeater or two? I'll be there 7 days...I plan on putting such a sparkle in the London Eye that the standard GB Fireworks will look like a gnat's lit fart in comparison. I'll have a Beefeater or two for appetizers!
Dick; I assure you that I'll be watching out for the Cockneys in Eng! I think they had better be watching out for me as well... their name alone exposes their vulnerabilities. They could end up walking with a lisp.
CA: LMAO beefeater/beefeatee - it's all good! Truer words were never spoken/written! And thank you for the lessons on British etiquette. I'll remember what you said. I've been practicing my curtsies/curtseys, just in case I get to meet the Queen. She'll proably think I'm a pretzel by the time I meet her. A pint or two will go well w/me then for sure!
Carol: You are so the Queen of Limericks! Well done and hilarious! You should write a book. As far as being THE BEEFEATER...LMAO...I'll be repeating Jackie Gleason's line the whole time I'm there, I'm sure...How Sweet It Is!
Jeannie: I'll try my best to make 'em do more than flinch. They sure got the hang of 'stone face' and 'standing erect' . They give it a whole new dimension. Guess that means they're well hung.
My kind of guys...well partly anyway - stone face, not so much. I'll toast to you at New years for sure!
Dot: your efforts will never go unappreciated no matter when your special gifts are given. They'll be treasured forever regardless. That is so sweet!
Coming into share this Christmas song by Darlene Love that appears on David Letterman.
Merry Christmas to my KY friend Windhover and my favourite blonde blogger Jeannie! And all of the bloggers here.
Darlene Love
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