Theme: Gross Word - Letter C in common phrases is changed into letter G.
27A. Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR. Craft Fair. Wikipedia says Tammany Hall served as "an engine for graft and political corruption". And the term "Tammany Hall" is now used to refer to a corrupt system of buying or controlling votes.
29A. Result of a run?: STOCKING GAP. Stocking Cap. A bit of clear nail polish can fix the stocking run.
52A. Glutton for fuzzy fruit?: PEACH GOBBLER. Peach Cobbler. Sweet! My favorite theme entry today.
79A. Low-priced drink holder?: ECONOMY GLASS. Economy Class.
105A. Mr. Clean?: GRIME SOLVER. Crime Solver.
109A. Telemarketing at dinnertime?: PHONE GALL. Phone Call. Gall indeed.
37D. Award for the best flop?: GOLD TURKEY. Cold Turkey. Flop = Turkey. Fun answer.
42D. Kid in a ditch?: TRENCH GOAT. Trench Coat. Kid = young goat. Thought of Windhover and his kidding/lambing.
Normally I love the theme titles on Sunday puzzles. Always clever, succinct and to the point. Not today though. I was expecting real "gross" words embedded in each theme entry. The "Gross Word" & "Crossword" play somehow does not work for me.
The theme concept itself is marvelous. All the original base phrases are common and solid. Sometimes an unfamiliar idiom or slang can stump a non-native speaker in understanding and the subsequent appreciating of the rationale/cleverness of the newly formed theme phrase.
There's always a simple & quiet elegance with Gail's puzzles. They seldom intimidate me (I nailed most of her tricky wordplay today) and I often feel fully engaged. Sometimes I zone out halfway on Sunday puzzles. Had to peek at the answer sheet for a few person's names.
Across:
1. Junk, e.g.: BOAT. Did not fall into the MAIL trap.
5. Lawrence's men: ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
10. Adapter letters: AC/DC
14. Sired: BEGOT
19. High style: UPDO. High hair style.
20. Principle: TENET
21. Stadium replaced by Citi Field: SHEA. The old Mets' stadium. Replaced in 2009.
22. Brand on a range: AMANA
23. Hard to fathom: DEEP
24. Monthly reading for some: METER. Utility meter.
25. Markers: IOUS. New meaning of "markers" to me.
26. Railroad car: DINER
31. Before now: EARLIER
32. Cultivate: RAISE. And GREW (105D. Cultivated). I am very into clue weaving.
33. Talk about salvation, e.g.: Abbr.: SER (Sermon)
36. Wealthy widow: DOWAGER. Someone please count the total alliteration in this puzzle.
40. Childish retort: AM TOO
43. Single-minded sort: NERD
44. Excuse that's often exaggerated: SOB STORY. Got me.
45. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. Sure a mystery to me. Have never heard of this writer. She was born in Nevada.
46. "Quit fidgeting!": BE STILL
49. Gp. that supports malpractice damage award limits: AMA. So do I.
50. Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE. Nope. Another mystery figure to me. Elie is Hebrew for "high".
51. Thing to grind: AXE. An axe to grind.
55. Inferior cookware: TIN POTS
57. Day-care charges: TOTS. My sister-in-law owns a Day-care center.
58. Put in stacks, say: SORT. So simple in retrospect.
61. Dais VIP: EMCEE
62. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe Mauer, e.g.: TWIN. Hmm, this is for KQ and me. Thanks, Gail/Rich.
66. Pirate's loot: SWAG. Slang.
68. Makeup item: ROUGE
71. Ones acting badly: HAMS. Every actor hams, bad or good.
73. It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Once is enough.
75. Like Dorothy's magical shoes: RUBY RED. Silver in the original novel. Ruby red films better.
77. Identify: PEG
84. Frat party supply: KEG. And BEER (8D. Brewski).
85. Wide-eyed: AGOG
87. "Told you so!": SEE?
88. "Too much information!": SPARE ME. What I always want to say to Jose Canseco.
89. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Literally "injured" in French.
90. Open-bodied antique auto: ROADSTER
92. Verve: ELAN
93. Vestibule: FOYER
94. Posh properties: ESTATES. Alliteration again. Posh Spice jumped into my mind first.
95. Font flourish: SERIF. Another alliteration.
97. Film noir blade: SHIV. The prison knife.
100. Carrier more likely to be tipped: CANOE. Very descriptive clue.
101. Accumulates: PILES UP. Put in AMASSES first.
112. Burn slightly: SEAR. Or CHAR.
113. Ad infinitum: NO END
114. Utah ski resort: ALTA. The name escaped me. Close to the Salt Lake City.
115. Cybermemo: E-NOTE. I'd like to see E-LOVE someday.
116. Nail to the wall: HANG
117. Oklahoma native: OSAGE. O Sage!
118. Jupiter neighbor: MARS
119. Lost strength: WANED
120. Affectedly flamboyant: ARTY
121. Try to prevent: DETER. And HINDER (98D. Impede).
122. Dutch cheese: EDAM. Named after the Dutch town where the cheese was first produced.
Down:
1. Move slightly: BUDGE
2. Verdi work: OPERA. Have not seen AIDA for a while.
3. "Be __ ...": start of a polite request: A DEAR
4. Penthouse place: TOP FLOOR
5. Charge for cash: ATM FEE. Sigh. ATM itself or ATM combined answer often give me fits, no matter how easy it's clued.
6. Get back, as lost trust: RE-EARN. And RE-RIG (32D. Get (a ship) ready to sail again). One RE prefix is enough.
7. Start to knock?: ANTI. Start of the word antiknock. Nailed it.
9. Orchestra sect.: STR (String)
10. The way things stand: AS IT AS
11. Go for: CHOOSE
12. Court tie: DEUCE. Tennis court.
13. Port container: CASK. "Port" here is wine.
14. Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS. Great clue/answer. I always want good news first. You?
15. Leave the country, perhaps: EMIGRATE
16. Turf controller: GANG. And EDGER (70D. Turf tool). Another clue weaving.
17. Draft status: ONE A
18. Infield protector: TARP. Baseball reference is always welcome!
28. DVR brand: TIVO
29. Urban play area: SANDLOT
30. Indicators of equal pressure: ISOBARS
35. Adam's third: SETH. Brother of Abel and Cain.
36. Capitol cap: DOME. Another alliteration.
38. One of a noted quintet: ERIE. The five Great Lakes "quintet".
41. Saying: MAXIM
43. White House advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)
44. Topping for chips: SALSA
46. Push in some chips: BET
47. Right direction?: EAST. Right on the map. My favorite clue today.
48. Heavily financed deals, briefly: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
52. Pound product: POEM. Pound here is poet Ezra Pound.
53. Incidentally, in chat rooms: BTW
59. Heavenly bodies: ORBS. Poetically.
60. Hall of Fame goalie Patrick __: ROY. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
63. Beau: WOOER
65. Two-stripers, e.g.: Abbr.: NCOS
67. Fat unit: GRAM. 1 G = 9 calorie.
69. Ninnies: GEESE. Wanted ASSES again.
72. Sonnet sections: SESTETS. The last six lines of a sonnet.
74. Augustus, for one: EMPEROR. Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
76. Benefit: USE
77. Whittle: PARE
78. Bigheads: EGOS
80. Bocce pair?: CEES. There are a pair of letter Cs in the word Bocce.
81. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE
82. 1980s-'90s women's tennis player who was #1 for a record total of 377 weeks: GRAF (Steffi). And LOVE GAME (89D. Shutout for 82-Down). Shutout game.
83. Actor Cariou: LEN. Easy guess.
86. Sydney salutation: G'DAY MATE. For Kazie.
91. Drenched: STEEPED
93. Grind, in a way: FILE. Oh, nail.
95. Scholar: SAVANT
96. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY
97. Spot remover: SPONGE
100. Spelled-out: CLEAR
102. Dressing recipient: SALAD. Love Waldorf Salad.
103. Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF = Ultra High Frequency. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
104. Suffix with proto-: PLASM. Suffix meaning "tissue"/"living substance".
106. Sofer of soaps: RENA. One more alliteration.
107. Pic to click: ICON
108. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA
109. Masquerade (as): POSE
110. Pressure: HEAT. Why? I don't get it.
Answer grid.
C.C.
27A. Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR. Craft Fair. Wikipedia says Tammany Hall served as "an engine for graft and political corruption". And the term "Tammany Hall" is now used to refer to a corrupt system of buying or controlling votes.
29A. Result of a run?: STOCKING GAP. Stocking Cap. A bit of clear nail polish can fix the stocking run.
52A. Glutton for fuzzy fruit?: PEACH GOBBLER. Peach Cobbler. Sweet! My favorite theme entry today.
79A. Low-priced drink holder?: ECONOMY GLASS. Economy Class.
105A. Mr. Clean?: GRIME SOLVER. Crime Solver.
109A. Telemarketing at dinnertime?: PHONE GALL. Phone Call. Gall indeed.
37D. Award for the best flop?: GOLD TURKEY. Cold Turkey. Flop = Turkey. Fun answer.
42D. Kid in a ditch?: TRENCH GOAT. Trench Coat. Kid = young goat. Thought of Windhover and his kidding/lambing.
Normally I love the theme titles on Sunday puzzles. Always clever, succinct and to the point. Not today though. I was expecting real "gross" words embedded in each theme entry. The "Gross Word" & "Crossword" play somehow does not work for me.
The theme concept itself is marvelous. All the original base phrases are common and solid. Sometimes an unfamiliar idiom or slang can stump a non-native speaker in understanding and the subsequent appreciating of the rationale/cleverness of the newly formed theme phrase.
There's always a simple & quiet elegance with Gail's puzzles. They seldom intimidate me (I nailed most of her tricky wordplay today) and I often feel fully engaged. Sometimes I zone out halfway on Sunday puzzles. Had to peek at the answer sheet for a few person's names.
Across:
1. Junk, e.g.: BOAT. Did not fall into the MAIL trap.
5. Lawrence's men: ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
10. Adapter letters: AC/DC
14. Sired: BEGOT
19. High style: UPDO. High hair style.
20. Principle: TENET
21. Stadium replaced by Citi Field: SHEA. The old Mets' stadium. Replaced in 2009.
22. Brand on a range: AMANA
23. Hard to fathom: DEEP
24. Monthly reading for some: METER. Utility meter.
25. Markers: IOUS. New meaning of "markers" to me.
26. Railroad car: DINER
31. Before now: EARLIER
32. Cultivate: RAISE. And GREW (105D. Cultivated). I am very into clue weaving.
33. Talk about salvation, e.g.: Abbr.: SER (Sermon)
36. Wealthy widow: DOWAGER. Someone please count the total alliteration in this puzzle.
40. Childish retort: AM TOO
43. Single-minded sort: NERD
44. Excuse that's often exaggerated: SOB STORY. Got me.
45. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. Sure a mystery to me. Have never heard of this writer. She was born in Nevada.
46. "Quit fidgeting!": BE STILL
49. Gp. that supports malpractice damage award limits: AMA. So do I.
50. Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE. Nope. Another mystery figure to me. Elie is Hebrew for "high".
51. Thing to grind: AXE. An axe to grind.
55. Inferior cookware: TIN POTS
57. Day-care charges: TOTS. My sister-in-law owns a Day-care center.
58. Put in stacks, say: SORT. So simple in retrospect.
61. Dais VIP: EMCEE
62. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe Mauer, e.g.: TWIN. Hmm, this is for KQ and me. Thanks, Gail/Rich.
66. Pirate's loot: SWAG. Slang.
68. Makeup item: ROUGE
71. Ones acting badly: HAMS. Every actor hams, bad or good.
73. It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Once is enough.
75. Like Dorothy's magical shoes: RUBY RED. Silver in the original novel. Ruby red films better.
77. Identify: PEG
84. Frat party supply: KEG. And BEER (8D. Brewski).
85. Wide-eyed: AGOG
87. "Told you so!": SEE?
88. "Too much information!": SPARE ME. What I always want to say to Jose Canseco.
89. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Literally "injured" in French.
90. Open-bodied antique auto: ROADSTER
92. Verve: ELAN
93. Vestibule: FOYER
94. Posh properties: ESTATES. Alliteration again. Posh Spice jumped into my mind first.
95. Font flourish: SERIF. Another alliteration.
97. Film noir blade: SHIV. The prison knife.
100. Carrier more likely to be tipped: CANOE. Very descriptive clue.
101. Accumulates: PILES UP. Put in AMASSES first.
112. Burn slightly: SEAR. Or CHAR.
113. Ad infinitum: NO END
114. Utah ski resort: ALTA. The name escaped me. Close to the Salt Lake City.
115. Cybermemo: E-NOTE. I'd like to see E-LOVE someday.
116. Nail to the wall: HANG
117. Oklahoma native: OSAGE. O Sage!
118. Jupiter neighbor: MARS
119. Lost strength: WANED
120. Affectedly flamboyant: ARTY
121. Try to prevent: DETER. And HINDER (98D. Impede).
122. Dutch cheese: EDAM. Named after the Dutch town where the cheese was first produced.
Down:
1. Move slightly: BUDGE
2. Verdi work: OPERA. Have not seen AIDA for a while.
3. "Be __ ...": start of a polite request: A DEAR
4. Penthouse place: TOP FLOOR
5. Charge for cash: ATM FEE. Sigh. ATM itself or ATM combined answer often give me fits, no matter how easy it's clued.
6. Get back, as lost trust: RE-EARN. And RE-RIG (32D. Get (a ship) ready to sail again). One RE prefix is enough.
7. Start to knock?: ANTI. Start of the word antiknock. Nailed it.
9. Orchestra sect.: STR (String)
10. The way things stand: AS IT AS
11. Go for: CHOOSE
12. Court tie: DEUCE. Tennis court.
13. Port container: CASK. "Port" here is wine.
14. Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS. Great clue/answer. I always want good news first. You?
15. Leave the country, perhaps: EMIGRATE
16. Turf controller: GANG. And EDGER (70D. Turf tool). Another clue weaving.
17. Draft status: ONE A
18. Infield protector: TARP. Baseball reference is always welcome!
28. DVR brand: TIVO
29. Urban play area: SANDLOT
30. Indicators of equal pressure: ISOBARS
35. Adam's third: SETH. Brother of Abel and Cain.
36. Capitol cap: DOME. Another alliteration.
38. One of a noted quintet: ERIE. The five Great Lakes "quintet".
41. Saying: MAXIM
43. White House advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)
44. Topping for chips: SALSA
46. Push in some chips: BET
47. Right direction?: EAST. Right on the map. My favorite clue today.
48. Heavily financed deals, briefly: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
52. Pound product: POEM. Pound here is poet Ezra Pound.
53. Incidentally, in chat rooms: BTW
59. Heavenly bodies: ORBS. Poetically.
60. Hall of Fame goalie Patrick __: ROY. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
63. Beau: WOOER
65. Two-stripers, e.g.: Abbr.: NCOS
67. Fat unit: GRAM. 1 G = 9 calorie.
69. Ninnies: GEESE. Wanted ASSES again.
72. Sonnet sections: SESTETS. The last six lines of a sonnet.
74. Augustus, for one: EMPEROR. Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
76. Benefit: USE
77. Whittle: PARE
78. Bigheads: EGOS
80. Bocce pair?: CEES. There are a pair of letter Cs in the word Bocce.
81. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE
82. 1980s-'90s women's tennis player who was #1 for a record total of 377 weeks: GRAF (Steffi). And LOVE GAME (89D. Shutout for 82-Down). Shutout game.
83. Actor Cariou: LEN. Easy guess.
86. Sydney salutation: G'DAY MATE. For Kazie.
91. Drenched: STEEPED
93. Grind, in a way: FILE. Oh, nail.
95. Scholar: SAVANT
96. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY
97. Spot remover: SPONGE
100. Spelled-out: CLEAR
102. Dressing recipient: SALAD. Love Waldorf Salad.
103. Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF = Ultra High Frequency. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
104. Suffix with proto-: PLASM. Suffix meaning "tissue"/"living substance".
106. Sofer of soaps: RENA. One more alliteration.
107. Pic to click: ICON
108. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA
109. Masquerade (as): POSE
110. Pressure: HEAT. Why? I don't get it.
Answer grid.
C.C.
57 comments:
Good Morning, CC and Friends. This was not one of my favorite Sunday puzzles. I struggled quite a bit. I agree with your assessment, CC, with respect to looking for gross words in the theme responses instead of replacing a C for a G.
I misread Two-Striper for Two-Stripper, so really scratched my head over that one.
QOD: Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. ~ Napoleon
Morning, all!
Nice puzzle with a great, well-executed theme. I sailed through most of it easily, but once again ground to a halt in the SE corner. Unlike yesterday, however, I did finally manage to get through it unassisted, although it was quite a grind.
Much of the problem was caused by putted ASSES instead of GEESE for 69D, which led to a lot of other missteps (such as RUBYISH instead of RUBYRED for 75A). I also had HAMPER instead of HINDER for 98D, which seemed to fit so well that it didn't occur to me for quite awhile that it could possibly be incorrect. Ooops.
Oh -- and HEAT for "pressure" threw me for a loop until the very end, until I finally realized that if you "turn up the HEAT" on somebody you are "putting pressure" on them. The two words are not literally synonyms, but they have metaphorical equivalence.
I have never read Nevada Barr but she does have ties to some of our group, anyone remember her from commercial in your world? For several years, she pursued a career in theater. “In New York she served as a member of the Classic Stage Company and performed in several off-Broadway plays. After five years in the Big Apple, she moved to Minneapolis, where she did more theater work and appeared in several television advertisements and industrial films.”
The puzzle seemed pretty straightforward, and I did not read the theme, so it came fairly easily once the words filled in; I would have been confused by GROSS WORDS as well. I particularly like Court tie: DEUCE., Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS.
My unknowns, Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE, Utah ski resort: ALTA, Sofer of soaps: RENA I have seen her on some shows, but had no idea of her name.
Patrick Roy is the best goalie ever, IMHO. His name is said like RWA, even though the French spelling of his name would be ROI.
Font flourish: SERIF, is one of those words I sort of knew, but now with it appearing so often in puzzles, I will never forget it.
My childish comment, I do not believe Scholar: SAVANT is true, as many savants do not study at all, they just know. I also am sure we are familiar with the term idiot savant . If you are a Savant, you are an expert, but you do not have to be a scholar to have acquired your expertise, IMHO.
It is Sunday, I live in the Sunshine state, so why am I still waiting?
Lemonade: I agree, I was a bit troubled by the Scholar/SAVANT item. I also never considered a NERD to be a Single Minded Sort.
Adapter letters: AC/DC
enjoy this AC/DC Classic "shook me all night long"
AC/DC
Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR.
The Supreme Court made it legal this week that corporations can spend as much to elect or defeat a candidate. They are under the mistaken impression that the first amendment to the Constitution spells out that money is equal to free speech.
I moved the rest of my comments to my blog just so I would not violate the no politics rule here.
My blog
Massachusetts rules!
Lemonade 714,
Are you familiar with Miikka Kiprusoff goalie for the Calgary Flames?
He is my favourite.
Mikkaa Kiprusoff
I also like Maple Leafs goalie Vesa Toscala
Vesa Toscala
Red:
let me guess, you are of Finnish heritage? Certainly KIPRUSOFF is very talented but TOSCALA is struggling as a GOALIE . I just thought Roy was an artist in the goal; when Montreal thught he was washed up and went to Colorado and led them to two Cups, it was great. Brodeur may have the most wins, but Roy was so entertaining to watch.
Good Morning All, Is it too late to be swept away in a foothill rainstorm?
My most un-favorite puzzles are those that are made up of short three, four and even five letter words. I gave up counting, but this one had at least 18 three letter words, 50 four letter words and 40 five letter words.
Then again, there were quite a few entries I didn't know, like SHEA being replaced by "Citi Field", Nevada BARR, sculptor ELIE, TWIN for Joe Mauer, Patrick ROY, or RENA Sofer.
I agree with Lemonade and Hahtool, who had a problem with the SAVANT clue. A Savant is "one who knows, or is wise", but not necessarily by being a scholar. The clue "single minded sort" that was used for NERD, could almost have been used for SAVANT. NERDs often have many interests, they are just often off the beaten path that the rest of us usually tread.
Does it sound like I didn't like this one? I did like the theme entries, and Gail Grabowski's clever clues were fun. But like I said, many of those "shorties" were tough for me.
New avatar of, either a black Rorschach ink blob, or perhaps it is Charley the Schipperke in his usual cross-pawed relaxing position.
Oh, Clear Ayes. So glad to hear from you. I was worried because it had been so many days, and knowing of the terrible rains in CA, I was afraid you got washed away. Hope all is well with you.
Beautiful dog!
Good afternoon C.C. and All, a very easy puzzle for a a Sunday. I was able to complete this puzzle without any outside help. I had a few hick ups, but was able to resolve them with perp help. My first error was 1D where I put “nudge” for “budge” which gave me Noat for 1A and this caused me to stare at that section for awhile before the Doh moment.
Overall a very fun puzzle today.
I hope you all have a great Sunday.
The puzzle was really straight forward and on my wave length today. I liked the clue “name on a range.” I thought the clues for name on a range and carrier more likely to be tipped were very clever clues.
For some reason I tried to select between “badness” and “goodness” for 14D before “bad news appeared with the solution to 36A “dowager.” And finally 38D always stumps me for a bit as I keep thinking of music when I see quintet.
Thanks to all for their concern during my absence. Just a 3 day + electrical outage...no harm, just a lot of aggravation.
I've mentioned before that Ezra Pound (52A) was charged with treason for his support of Mussolini and the Fascists during WWII. I've also recently mentioned that he was not a fan of poet Amy Lowell. As for me, I like some poems, not all, from each of them.
This Pound poem must have been written later in his life when he had already spent some time in a mental hospital. I love the imagery of his poems as his children.
Further Instructions
Come, my songs, let us express our baser passions.
Let us express our envy for the man with a steady job and no worry about the future.
You are very idle, my songs,
I fear you will come to a bad end.
You stand about the streets, You loiter at the corners and bus-stops,
You do next to nothing at all.
You do not even express our inner nobilitys,
You will come to a very bad end.
And I? I have gone half-cracked.
I have talked to you so much that I almost see you about me,
Insolent little beasts! Shameless! Devoid of clothing!
But you, newest song of the lot,
You are not old enough to have done much mischief.
I will get you a green coat out of China
With dragons worked upon it.
I will get you the scarlet silk trousers
From the statue of the infant Christ at Santa Maria Novella;
Lest they say we are lacking in taste,
Or that there is no caste in this family.
- Ezra Pound
Stockman, ipo is not I.P.O. (initial public offering) it is a Hawaiian word I have a fondness for the locals after living on Molokai for 4 years. Good catch though!
Let me introduce myself -- I get the wednesday NYT and stumble on the Thursday.
This is always my favorite puzzle of the week and today's was good. I missed the elie erie cross but used google on the name. I should have got the great lake.
Anyway, today's puzzle was perfect for me -- took maybe an hour and a bit. I really enjoy all this commentary -- but had a lot of trouble with typing in those weird names for fooling computers. They kept fooling me! But I did finally get a handicapped one.
BTW -- how do you get your pictures onto the comment pages? These are some mighty fine comments by penguins, dogs, and the like.
Dr J
Hello everybody!
I'm a long time lurker and I decided to join in the fun you all seem to have.
Today's puzzle was not difficult, though I agree that the theme: Gross Word was confusing. The theme entries were easy today, not so usually.
My favorites today was Phone Gall, since I used to hate those dinner time telemarketing calls. Thank you to the Do Not Call List.
We're having a brief January thaw here in Michigan, I awoke to rain this morning. I'm always glad when the precipitation does not require shoveling.
Gracie
Well, I finally finished the puzzle, without googling or using very many red letters, but it sure wasn't an easy one for me! Walking away does work wonders... A lot of nice tricky clues, I was just slow to catch on to them today. NW and SE were my biggest trouble spots.
80D must've been another tribute to you, C.C.!
I can't believe I missed 100A Carrier most likely to be tipped: CANOE. My sister's gone canoeing today and said she was bringing her Flip video camera. I told her "Flip" is the last word she should be using before getting into a canoe! The one time I tried a solo paddle on the Allegheny River, I tipped the canoe while climbing in, right in front of a bunch of people. I wanted to run off and cry, but since they were all avid canoeists, I had to suck it up and climb back in.
I've never heard the word ANTIKNOCK before...
Lemonade714: Waiting for what? Hopefully not waiting for the sun to come out today...
Good morning CC and all,
Woke to a beautiful sunrise and clear skies...2 hrs later we are waiting for the sky to open again.Our reservoirs are being replenished.
CA, I was elated that you were not in the midst of a muddy mess. Aren't you close to the snow line? Brrrr..can't imagine not having heat.Our daughter had to use candles one morning; she said it was comical changing diapers.
Today's puzzle was very doable for me today, although it took awhile.The abbrevs always slow me down, and the unknowns like isobars,Rena, and, of course I never grok the theme answers. I laughed at each one as it filled.Geese being ninnies gave me pause.And, I wanted septets, as sestets is not familiar.
I decided not to use Mr G today but used my thesaurus 3 or 4 times, and Bob gave me Shea.Loved the tennis clues.
My favorite goalie is Nabokov. He is really hot right now.
Welcome, Dr J and Gracie! It's great seeing so many lurkers deciding to join in the fun lately.
Dr J: Here are instructions on adding a photo:
- While logged in, click on your blue name to view your profile.
- Click on the blue button that says "EDIT PROFILE".
- Scroll down to the Photograph section.
- Click in the circle by "From your computer:"
- Click on the "BROWSE..." button.
- Find your photo, and click "OK". It may take a minute to display.
- Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the page and apply the changes to your profile.
Welcome Gracie, love your picture. Where were you?
CA, forgot to say hi to Charlie.
BTW, the thesaurus gave me savant for scholar.
Annette, enjoyed your canoe story.
Robin, Where do I find your e-mail address? Dot
Hi everybody. Speaking about the pictures, would it be possible to be able to display larger photos? Even when I click on "View Full Size'" they're not very large. I think being able to see larger photos would be a big plus.
Bill G.
Good afternoon everyone.
I've been gone to the north. Alabama that is. To try to get new hearing aids that work better for me. These are complicated, small, and do work better for some things. So we'll see.
I enjoyed seeing Ellis Peters yesterday, and I was rereading one of her books. And today, Nevada Barr. She is one of my favorite mystery authors. All of her books center around the protagonist who is a National Park Ranger, so the action takes place in various parks. Great fun.
Cheers.
JD, the picture was taken in bella Venezia last year. So beautiful. I spent 10 days in Italy, including Rome, Florence, and finally Venice.
Gracie
Bill G, After you click on the avatar "View full size", click on "View" tab (upper left corner usually), then on "Zoom". That should help.
Hi DR John H, Welcome. As Annette, of the funny/embarrassing canoe story, said, don't forget to go to the end of the page and "Save Profile"
Also welcome to Gracie. I thought I recognized Venice in your avatar.
ipo, I think you made your appearance during my wet/dark "mini-vacation. Nice to see your smiling face.
JD, Yep, it was pretty chilly, but no snow. Low 40's at night. It's getting cloudy again...coming from your direction...Thanks a lot :o)
One of the pleasant results of our recent wind and rain is that our neighbor gave us a huge bag of ripe Meyer lemons that fell off his trees. I've spent a couple of hours zesting and juicing. Both the zest and juice freeze well, so I should have enough for several months, at least! Lemon pie for post-game dessert tonight? Very possible.
Lemondade linked us to idiot SAVANT, the more appropriate term is autistic SAVANT. The link provided by L714 is informative. Thanks L714--with so much discussion surrounding ASD (autism spectrum disorder) your link is timely.
Okay, three times and OUT. This is the third try to get a comment published on your blog. I'm a lurker and would like to get "in". No soap. I guess I'm not too well versed in computerese. Pleeeeze tell me what to do.
Good Afternoon All.
It is a beautiful day here in AZ. I do so enjoy Gail Grabowskis puzzles. Not to say they are easy and are time consuming, but time well spent. Gails cw is the only Sunday one, I even attempt.
Lemonade, I loved Patrick Roy, he was a life saver for the AVs! Very nice on the eyes too.
Hahtool, QOD: hilarious and I love your mama llamas! Charlie the Skip is adorable CA! So glad you are ok.
Dot, I just emailed you so you will have my addy. You can click on anyones name and if they have posted their email, just click on 'EMAIL' and you have it!
Welcome IPO, Gracie and Dr John. I am new here also and it is addicting fun.
Go Vikings. I would love to see them in the superbowl against the Jets! Have a wonderful Sunday!
Welcome, Dr. John H, Gracie, and Dorothy -- you've come to the best place for fun LA Times Crossword discussion; thanks for joining us.
Dorothy, I'm not sure what your question is - you're here and you're published.
Welcome to all the newbies. Annette, on what part of the Allegheny did you dump the canoe?
G'DAY, C.C. and all,
I always enjoy Gail Grabowski's puzzles, and today was no exception. Her themes are always creative and often amusing, IMHO. She is a frequent contributor to Stan Newman's Newsday puzzles (which, BTW, I am happy to be able to access again through Stan's site after Newsday.com imposed a usage fee in December).
Favorite theme fill today were TRENCHGOAT and PHONEGALL. Favorite non-theme clue today was for 100A, CANOE.
Stories of canoe experiences reminded me of trips on the Colorado River in high school. We would canoe down stream for a few hours in the morning, find a beach in a cove about noon, set up camp, and then play in and out of the water for the afternoon. Gunneling was a favorite activity, where one stood on the gunnels at one end of the canoe and made the canoe bob up and down in the water like a see-saw. More challenging was double gunneling, with one person at each end of the canoe. You had to get the rhythm going just right to make it work. So much fun!
Welcome to the newbies! Glad to see you all coming in blue.
@CA-Welcome back. I missed your poems.
BillG do you have a mac? I go to view picture, view full size then hit command and + to enlarge. That might work.
Dorothy-Many of us have commented in the past that we have to put our passwords in more than once before we can post. Perhaps that's what happened for you?
well.......maybe Indy and the Vikings! ;)
You guys can also send your pics to C.C. for entry into the BlogPhotos folder, where they are stored full size.
IPO, glad you enjoyed the link, and sorry for my unPC terminology, it is just what I was raised with. I often typ without thinking.
Robin, so did you live in Colorado or are you a Coyote fan who appreciates opponents? BTW, what is it with the term "addy?" I recently met a young lady and she wrote me a text and said she was sending her addy, where does the "Y" come in? You will have to wait another 40 years or so if you want to se the Jets in the Super Bowl, sorry.
Interesting how new posters always seem to come in bunches, kinda like oats...welcome all
CA, good to see you back.
Lemonade I did live in Colorado and still do. I am in Phoenix with an ill family member. ' Addy' is address as you have guessed. Just a silly term. Bunches of oats.......u r 2 fny!
Bob, Cocoa is darling. Is he a house rabbit?We had a lop, Pierre, who came in every evening, but went out with our Golden every morning.
Hahtool, wonderful llama photo!That must have been a very exciting trip.
Yesterday I was going to post the 9 panhandle states..forgot :]
Alaska, Connecticut,Florida, Idaho, Maryland,Nebraska, Oklahoma,Texas and West Virginia.
Someone was worried that we were losing bloggers the other day. I figure we have around 40 all the time who post pretty regularly. There are about 15 who come and go, and we miss many of you, but love having new posters all the time.Dorothy, don't give up. I have to put my password in twice every time.
Hahtool, love the llamas too.
Dorothy and JD, I never sign out, so I'm always here and ready to post when I come back to the blog.
I think I've mentioned that my youngest sister's 18 year old son is autistic. He doesn't have any savant talents, but he is an intelligent kid. His problems are mainly with social skills. He just can't carry on a conversation without telling you exactly what he thinks. He is very "single minded". He likes what he likes and has no patience for things he isn't interested in. He is going to college, but he is finding it difficult to fit in. OTOH, he hasn't expressed that he feels a lack of social outlets. Their biggest problem was that, because he is so high functioning, it took a long time to have him properly diagnosed. Fortunately, my sis and B-I-L are very involved in his life and are finding new programs that can help him deal with his problems every day.
Since I really am unsure about creating a link, I thought I would practice and send you a link to this really enjoyable video about a friendship between an orangatan and a dog. I hope it works and I hope you like it.
Neat video
Apparently it worked even though the instructions say they are for a PC and I am on a Mac.
Bill G
Bill G what an adorable video! Good Job!!!!
Hi gang -
I was pulling for the Jets, but they fell short. Good Vikings - Saints game in progress. Favre is getting beat up pretty bad, but man is he tough and gutsy. The LW and I have been Saints fans since Katrina, But I like the Vikings, too. I'll be happy to see either one knock off the Colts. Should be a great Super Bowl.
Welcome newcomers. It's great to have some fresh faces.
I rather liked the theme title. It accurately illustrates the G for C substitution. OTOH, though - Cross and Gross don't rhyme, and all the relevant words in the puzzle do. Aint English wonderful?
Every jazz band has a bass, but very few have a trout.
Cheers!
JzB
I think this should have been the Super Bowl match up. Two excellent teams but I have a soft spot for the Saints. Favre seems a little too much like a hired gun. Now if the Lakers can win too...
If a gambler can't cover a bet, the person he is paying takes his "marker." Thus an IOU. Could be a piece of paper he signs, or something tangible as collateral. Damon Runyon wrote a rather famous short story called "Little Miss Marker," about a gambler who left his 5 year old little girl as collateral with a bookie.
Jeannie: Every time I've checked in on the game, the score's changed, but they're still tied! You must not have finger nails left at this point! After all that excitement, how are you ever going to fall asleep tonight???
And Hooray, Colts! So glad to see NY out of the running...
Go Vikings! :-)
Go Vikings!
Congratulations to the Saints - they deserved it; should be a great Super Bowl, and hopefully, they'll get one more win.
GEAUX SAINTS!!
"C" Change is a better title than "Gross Words".
Dick: My father belonged to a couple local canoe clubs in PGH. This one was called Sylvan. It's clubhouse is in Verona, right next to the Oakmont Yacht Club. I don't think they were too thrilled having our clubhouse and docks next door. I didn't go far once I got in though because the current on the river was pretty fast and I wasn't sure I was strong enough to fight it my first time out there alone. On a windy day, it was pretty hard to go back upstream with 2 paddlers!
JD: Thanks for posting the panhandle states. I had a few, but not all, so I was wondering about the rest. Not enough to pull up a map though...
Well, I'm sorry the Vikings didn't make it for all our blog friends from MN. But I don't mind the Saints winning so much. New Orleans has been through so much since Katrina that this will be a nice comeback for the entire city.
"C" Change is a better title than "Gross Words".
I like it! Why not tell us the name of this clever person?
The "G" in Gross Words was I think a clever play on the ... wait for it ... name of this type of puzzle.
Crossword became 'G'ross Words.
Change the 'C' to 'G' ...
duh!!!
@Tinbeni, clever only to you.
No mass appeal.
No Lemonade714,
I'm Italian/Irish. I was a fan of the now defunct Kentucky Thoroughblades. Both goalies were on the San Jose Sharks. The T-Blades was a farm team for the Sharks.
Robin my dear, take it from one of the older but wiser brigade, you cannot be too cute, too rich or too funny. Two out of three aint bad.
I am sorry for sticking my foot in my mouth about your present circumstance, and I hope it all goes well. I have very pleasant associations with both p;aces.
Red State Democrat:
How ironic that they were both Finnish goalies
Never knew they had hockey in Kentucky
good evening C.C. and the group,
i found myself bothered by savant an nerd ann was relieved to find them covered already, though i am still disgruntled by scholar even if i am now aware scholar for savant is acceptable.
Daniel Tammet's biography,
"born on a blue day," is a fascinating and educating work on tammet's experience being an autistic savant.
sorry to say, being new to blogging, i don't know how to create a link. i wanted to put a link about tammer and his book, but couldn't. i will make a point of learning how to do it for the future.
welcome to you bloggers newer than me. i look forward to reading your input and feel certain you will enjoy the lively interaction here as much as i do.
good night all, i am so tired, i'm off to bed.
@my fellow phx. resident, the rain had gotten me down and as i bounce back to sunshine i find i'm chili today and hoping for hot tamale! right, lemonade714?
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