Theme: Uber-Ersatz - Part of each common English phrase is substituted by a similar sounding German word/name with a corresponding "German" clue.
17A. German version of GQ? HERR STYLE (Hair style). German title, equivalent to Mr. or Lord.
18A. Section reserved for a German composer?: BACH'S SEATS (Box seats). Johann Sebastian Bach.
23A. Car parked next to a German sedan?: AUDI NEIGHBOR (Howdy neighbor!) German car make.
35A. Germans living in the fast lane?: AUTOBAHN SOCIETY (Audubon Society). German motorways which have no general speed limit.
43A. Give a German philosopher the third degree?: QUESTION MARX (Question marks). Karl Marx.
52A. Former German chancellor's coffee sweetener? LUMP OF KOHL (Lump of coal). Helmut Kohl, chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998.
59A. Causes for alarm in the West German capital? BONN FIRES (Bonfires). Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990.
And some bonus fill:
16A. Cousin of danke: MERCI. German and French for 'Thank you".
19D. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?" SIE. German for 'Do you speak German?'
melissa bee here. what an honor to guest blog a Dan Naddor puzzle, and this one was really fun. i love heavy themeage, count 'em, six theme answers. six in german is "sechs," pronounced 'zeks,' rhymes with sex.
(Note from C.C.: There are actually seven theme answers, the first and last two are overlapped. A whopping total 77 theme squares. But Melissa's rhyming comment is precious!)
Across:
1. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" subject: COMMA. Book referred to frequently on this blog, about proper punctuation.
6. Interim measures: STOPGAPS
14. James teammate: O'NEAL. LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland Cavaliers.
15. Provided home security, in a way: HOUSE SAT. Or haus sat?
20. Freshman, probably: TEEN
21. Lubricate: OIL
22. Back in: RETRO. Everything old is new again.
30. Place follower: SHOW. Win, place and show. Horse racing.
31. Put out: EMIT
32. Comrade: PAL
40. Acidity-level symbols: PH'S. The pH scale corresponds to the concentration of hydronium ions in a solution, and measures the acidity (or basicity) of a solution. Paging Dr. Dad ...
41. Manitoba tribe: CREE
42. Prolific auth.? ANON. Ain't it the truth.
47. Relish: EAT UP
50. Bossy remark? MOO. Great clue. But this is really milking it.
51. La __ Tar Pits: BREA. Is there an echo in here?
61. Excessive: UNDUE. As in undue speeding.
62. In a tight row: END TO END
63. Paris bisector: SEINE. According to Wikipedia, the River Seine in France is 482 miles long, and there are 37 bridges over it in Paris alone. One of the final scenes in 'Something's Gotta Give,' is filmed on just such a bridge, when when Harry (Jack Nicholson), thinking he has lost Erica (Diane Keaton), stumbles out of the Grand Colbert restaurant and past the Hôtel de Ville. Remember?
64. Relieve, as of mistaken ideas: DISABUSE
65. Searches for: SEEKS
Down:
1. Search thoroughly: COMB. Like for ticks. "You never know where one might be..."
2. Ready to serve: ONE-A
3. Cougar or Sable, briefly: MERC. Mercury the automobile make.
4. Speed ratio: MACH. It is said that an aircraft is flying at Mach 1 if its speed is equal to the speed of sound in air (which is 332 m/s or 1195 km/hr or 717 miles/hour.) Named after Ernst Mach (1838-1916), an Austrian philosopher and physicist.
5. "The Nowhere City" author Lurie: ALISON (not to be confused with the American rapper named Allison Lurie). Relied on perps for this. Interesting info from Wiki: 'The Nowhere City, evokes both Thomas More’s Utopia (Greek for “nowhere”) and Gertrude Stein’s comment about Oakland, California, “There is no there there.” Coincidentally, my last guest blog puzzle had 'Utopia' clued as "More work."
6. Subway Series stadium: SHEA. The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball games played between teams based in New York City. So named in the 1920's because the subway had become an important form of public transport in the city and provided a convenient form of travel between the three city ballparks: the Polo Grounds, in upper Manhattan; Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx; and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
7. Suit material? TORT. Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit.
8. Couple's word: OURS. Aw.
9. Afterthoughts, briefly: PS'S. Post Scripts.
10. Go-__: GETTER
11. So far: AS YET
12. Not as flushed: PALER
13. Dictator's assistant? STENO. Stenographer.
17. Prefix with pad: HELI. Heli-pad. I hear Jazzbumpa groaning from here.
22. Univ. recruiter: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
23. Quickly, in memos: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.
24. "Don't think so": UH UH
25. Bitmap components: DOTS. Fooled me, I wanted DPI's.
26. '40s flag-raising site, briefly: IWO. Iwo Jima. Here is the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, and even live footage.
27. "The Maids" playwright: GENET. No idea.
28. Pinafore letters: HMS. HMS Pinafore, the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.
29. Short life story? BIO. Short for biography.
32. 2003 A.L. Manager of the Year Tony: PENA. A.L. = American League. Pena managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2005. Again from Wiki: He is the father of pitcher Tony Francisco Peña (mistakenly known as "Tony, Jr."), as well as New York Mets minor league player Francisco Peña, a prospect for the New York Mets.
33. Fabric finish? ATOR. Finish of the word fabricator. That you again, Jazz? (Groaning, not fabricating.)
34. Bobcat, e.g.: LYNX
36. Support spec: B-CUP. I think Dan threw us a bone.
37. "Chances __": Mathis hit: ARE. Song. Also a movie with Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., and Ryan O'Neal.
38. Men: HE'S
39. Sam-__: I AM. He does not like green eggs and ham.
43. Amounts: QUANTA
44. Little rascals: IMPS
45. Hugs, in letters: OOO. XXX are kisses.
46. Easy to use, in adspeak: NO FUSS
47. Subsided: EBBED
48. Rice-__: A-RONI
49. Ministers: TENDS. Verb, not noun.
52. Place: LIEU
53. Coffee servers: URNS
54. Ancient Persian: MEDE. The Medes lived in Media.
55. Place for a pad: KNEE. Knee pad.
56. Comic strip dog: ODIE. Garfield's bane.
57. Adonis: HUNK. Du siehst echt zum Anbeißen gut aus!
58. 19th-century military family: LEES. I was unaware there were so many.
60. "The Gift of the Magi" gift: FOB. Also a set of COMBS (1D).
Answer grid.
melissa
17A. German version of GQ? HERR STYLE (Hair style). German title, equivalent to Mr. or Lord.
18A. Section reserved for a German composer?: BACH'S SEATS (Box seats). Johann Sebastian Bach.
23A. Car parked next to a German sedan?: AUDI NEIGHBOR (Howdy neighbor!) German car make.
35A. Germans living in the fast lane?: AUTOBAHN SOCIETY (Audubon Society). German motorways which have no general speed limit.
43A. Give a German philosopher the third degree?: QUESTION MARX (Question marks). Karl Marx.
52A. Former German chancellor's coffee sweetener? LUMP OF KOHL (Lump of coal). Helmut Kohl, chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998.
59A. Causes for alarm in the West German capital? BONN FIRES (Bonfires). Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990.
And some bonus fill:
16A. Cousin of danke: MERCI. German and French for 'Thank you".
19D. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?" SIE. German for 'Do you speak German?'
melissa bee here. what an honor to guest blog a Dan Naddor puzzle, and this one was really fun. i love heavy themeage, count 'em, six theme answers. six in german is "sechs," pronounced 'zeks,' rhymes with sex.
(Note from C.C.: There are actually seven theme answers, the first and last two are overlapped. A whopping total 77 theme squares. But Melissa's rhyming comment is precious!)
Across:
1. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" subject: COMMA. Book referred to frequently on this blog, about proper punctuation.
6. Interim measures: STOPGAPS
14. James teammate: O'NEAL. LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland Cavaliers.
15. Provided home security, in a way: HOUSE SAT. Or haus sat?
20. Freshman, probably: TEEN
21. Lubricate: OIL
22. Back in: RETRO. Everything old is new again.
30. Place follower: SHOW. Win, place and show. Horse racing.
31. Put out: EMIT
32. Comrade: PAL
40. Acidity-level symbols: PH'S. The pH scale corresponds to the concentration of hydronium ions in a solution, and measures the acidity (or basicity) of a solution. Paging Dr. Dad ...
41. Manitoba tribe: CREE
42. Prolific auth.? ANON. Ain't it the truth.
47. Relish: EAT UP
50. Bossy remark? MOO. Great clue. But this is really milking it.
51. La __ Tar Pits: BREA. Is there an echo in here?
61. Excessive: UNDUE. As in undue speeding.
62. In a tight row: END TO END
63. Paris bisector: SEINE. According to Wikipedia, the River Seine in France is 482 miles long, and there are 37 bridges over it in Paris alone. One of the final scenes in 'Something's Gotta Give,' is filmed on just such a bridge, when when Harry (Jack Nicholson), thinking he has lost Erica (Diane Keaton), stumbles out of the Grand Colbert restaurant and past the Hôtel de Ville. Remember?
64. Relieve, as of mistaken ideas: DISABUSE
65. Searches for: SEEKS
Down:
1. Search thoroughly: COMB. Like for ticks. "You never know where one might be..."
2. Ready to serve: ONE-A
3. Cougar or Sable, briefly: MERC. Mercury the automobile make.
4. Speed ratio: MACH. It is said that an aircraft is flying at Mach 1 if its speed is equal to the speed of sound in air (which is 332 m/s or 1195 km/hr or 717 miles/hour.) Named after Ernst Mach (1838-1916), an Austrian philosopher and physicist.
5. "The Nowhere City" author Lurie: ALISON (not to be confused with the American rapper named Allison Lurie). Relied on perps for this. Interesting info from Wiki: 'The Nowhere City, evokes both Thomas More’s Utopia (Greek for “nowhere”) and Gertrude Stein’s comment about Oakland, California, “There is no there there.” Coincidentally, my last guest blog puzzle had 'Utopia' clued as "More work."
6. Subway Series stadium: SHEA. The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball games played between teams based in New York City. So named in the 1920's because the subway had become an important form of public transport in the city and provided a convenient form of travel between the three city ballparks: the Polo Grounds, in upper Manhattan; Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx; and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
7. Suit material? TORT. Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit.
8. Couple's word: OURS. Aw.
9. Afterthoughts, briefly: PS'S. Post Scripts.
10. Go-__: GETTER
11. So far: AS YET
12. Not as flushed: PALER
13. Dictator's assistant? STENO. Stenographer.
17. Prefix with pad: HELI. Heli-pad. I hear Jazzbumpa groaning from here.
22. Univ. recruiter: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
23. Quickly, in memos: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.
24. "Don't think so": UH UH
25. Bitmap components: DOTS. Fooled me, I wanted DPI's.
26. '40s flag-raising site, briefly: IWO. Iwo Jima. Here is the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, and even live footage.
27. "The Maids" playwright: GENET. No idea.
28. Pinafore letters: HMS. HMS Pinafore, the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.
29. Short life story? BIO. Short for biography.
32. 2003 A.L. Manager of the Year Tony: PENA. A.L. = American League. Pena managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2005. Again from Wiki: He is the father of pitcher Tony Francisco Peña (mistakenly known as "Tony, Jr."), as well as New York Mets minor league player Francisco Peña, a prospect for the New York Mets.
33. Fabric finish? ATOR. Finish of the word fabricator. That you again, Jazz? (Groaning, not fabricating.)
34. Bobcat, e.g.: LYNX
36. Support spec: B-CUP. I think Dan threw us a bone.
37. "Chances __": Mathis hit: ARE. Song. Also a movie with Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., and Ryan O'Neal.
38. Men: HE'S
39. Sam-__: I AM. He does not like green eggs and ham.
43. Amounts: QUANTA
44. Little rascals: IMPS
45. Hugs, in letters: OOO. XXX are kisses.
46. Easy to use, in adspeak: NO FUSS
47. Subsided: EBBED
48. Rice-__: A-RONI
49. Ministers: TENDS. Verb, not noun.
52. Place: LIEU
53. Coffee servers: URNS
54. Ancient Persian: MEDE. The Medes lived in Media.
55. Place for a pad: KNEE. Knee pad.
56. Comic strip dog: ODIE. Garfield's bane.
57. Adonis: HUNK. Du siehst echt zum Anbeißen gut aus!
58. 19th-century military family: LEES. I was unaware there were so many.
60. "The Gift of the Magi" gift: FOB. Also a set of COMBS (1D).
Answer grid.
melissa
77 comments:
Melissa,
I've never heard of Audubon Society, though AUTOBAHN appeared easily. Beautiful blogging & links. Danke schön! I think Dan went through a period of overlapping theme entries.
Warren,
Happy belated Birthday!
Lemonade,
What a classic ode you composed! It should even warm up the heart of Luxor.
Fermatprime,
Thanks for the mummies link the other day. The Uighurs (Muslims) in China do look more like Europeans than Chinese.
Dodo & MJ,
Great pictures. Nice to finally "see" both of you!
Annette et al,
PJB shall return to the blog soon. He still reads the Comments every day.
Spitzboov, Kazie and EddyB,
Thought of you guys when I solved this puzzle.
Good Morning, CC and All. This was a fun Dan Naddor puzzle. It was custom made for Kazie. I hope she has a chance to do it while she is in Little Rock.
I seem to have remembered a tad more German from my college course than I thought. The only theme clue that seemed a bit off was LUMP OF KOHL. I understand the pun, but since the clue referenced a sweetener, I was looking for something sweeter than a LUMP.
Some great clues. Some of my favorites included:
Dictator's assistant: STENO
Short Life Story: BIO
Bossy Remark: MOO (and that cow with guns link is hysterical!)
Suit Material?: TORT also came easily to me, even though that is not my area of practice.
I also liked the Eats, Shoots and Leaves" reference, since grammar and punctuation is a common theme here.
The Audubon Society was named after John James Audubon, who painted lots of birds and plant life in the 1800s. He spent a lot of time in Southern Louisiana. The Zoo in New Orleans is named after him. It's worth a visit if you are ever in the Big Easy.
In honor of our California friends, today's QOD is by 5D: As one went to Europe to see the living past, so one must visit Southern California to observe the future. ~ Alison Lurie
With Dan Naddor I always know the Puns were coming, today's CW was one of his best.
Seven themes, a classic.
The German parts were easier than the puns. Audi & Autobahn I had quick but Neighbor and Society a bit of a slog but that is what the perps are for.
My faves were the QuestionMarx and Lump fo Kohl (although coal doesn't sweeten my coffee).
FarbricATOR did get a groan.
Tort brought a smile. I'm sure Lemon laughed at that one, too.
Also like the Comb/Fob O'Henry Magi memory.
Genet & Mede learning time, always a plus.
End to End, a great Friday LAT
What a wonderful Friday, Dan Naddor and his irrepressible wit, and a most entertaining blog. Thank you MB.
Du siehst echt zum Anbeißen gut aus! You look really good enough to eat.
Not many Americans have read JEAN GENET because he wrote about unpopular and violent themes.
If you think of sitting at tea in London, and the hostess asks you, “One lump or two?” you will understand the lump of Kohl.
I really enjoy Dan’s cluing, and of course TORT was a gimme, a word unknown to many, and not my favorite which is SWEETER .
C.C., the poem was fun as are the people on the blog; say hello everybody, you are all off enjoying the early spring I guess. Happy Friday
Morning, all!
Great puzzle overall. My knowledge of German (the language as well as the culture) is much better than, say, my knowledge of French, so the theme answers came to me pretty quickly. My sister actually works for the Audubon Society, so that made that particular clue even easier.
The NW corner, however, thoroughly brutalized me. I did eventually get it all unassisted, but I probably spent a good 5 minutes (almost half my total solving time) trying to figure out what the heck was going on. I know the book "Eats, Shoots & Leaves," but kept thinking about NOUNS or GRAMMAR instead of COMMA. Similarly, I know full well what a MACH number means, but I never thought of it being a "speed ratio."
Add to that the fact that I'd never heard of ALISON Lurie, had no idea who "James" was (for a while I was wondering whether New Testament apostles could be considered "teammates") and thought that Cougar and Sable were both some sort of sports MASCot, and, well, you see my problem.
I finally guessed that 1A was COMMA, though, and that set me on the straight and narrow path. It was just so weird to have such difficulty in one small section of an otherwise straightforward puzzle, but I guess we all have our areas of expertise and ignorance, eh?
Dot: Good luck with your cataract surgery next week.
Good Morning Melissa, CC and All,
When I saw Dan's name I new this would be a challenging Friday grid. I wasn't disappointed and enjoyed every minute of it. I had German in high school which helped a bit but really had to dig deep. Spelling was one of the probs that sent me online. Zie instead of Sie, Opie instead of Odie (Duh). Really fun!
The crocuses are out and the tulips are coming. There's a chance they will have snow on them Sunday. Strange weather here.
Have a great Friday!
Forgot.....
Happy belated birthday to Warren!
MelissaB, Great write up as usual. I'm going to hum Cows with Guns all day.
Hey gang - just thought I'd check in. Got back Tuesday afternoon, and surprisingly had power and no damage. Had a great vacation, and am slowly pulling myself out of vacation mode. Our Florida hosts were most hospitable with the weather; it broke into the 70s the day after we got there, and stayed there throughout. I kept up with the blog, and I hope all the various maladies have successful outcomes. Also nice to see everyone happy at the same time. Hmmm -- maybe it was my absence...
As to today's puzzle, I thought this was Dan at his best. Loved the theme, loved the interwoven clues. As with every posthumous publishing of a Naddor puzzle, it just emphasizes what a great and talented mind and person we've all lost.
I thought I'd 'outclevered' Dan w/8D, 'Couple's word' when I confidently put 'fore' in, thinking of Fred Couples and completely missing where the apostrophe was, and of course that didn't work out too well. I was pretty well tuned into Dan's wavelength with the rest of it, and finished in about 10 minutes, smiling all the way. Favorite clue, also one of my favorite words: mach.
Warren, belated Happy Birthday. I've got you on the master list now.
Melissa Bee, a superb blog effort - although I'll have this damn 'cows with guns' earwig with me for quite a while.
Lemonade, your blog and poem were just outstanding. I'm sure C.C. has you on the rotating 'guest blogger' list now.
Good morning Melissa, C.C. and all. Great reminder of a gifted clever talent. Melissa, great write up. 57D "Good enough to take a bite out of?" I doubt you were getting PALER!.
Really enjoyed today's cw. As usual first pass almost bupkus. But then wiggled my way back and the fills slowly came. LUMPOFKOHL was first theme fill and the pattern emerged. No searches nor erasures.
Thought QUESTIONMARX was cleverest clue. Many other good ones like BCUP, TORT, and LIEU.
Should generate much back-and-forth.
C.C. I did salivate a little. Thanks for your thoughts.
Go forth and enjoy the last day of Winter
Fun puzzle - how could you do this one and not think of Kazie!
Nice writeup Melissa.
Off to catch up on things at home after being gone on business for several days this week. Gotta get stuff done before it snows tomorrow - ugh. How quickly we get spoiled by 70 degree temps!
Enjoy the day.
The bitter whine is made of sour grape.
c.c., thanks for the correction, i just counted wrong. guess i just wanted sechs.
ooooh oooooh (jumping up and down, raising hand)
Good morning, everyone.
MelissaB, nice write-up! Sure enjoyed seeing all of these great puns from the late great master.
Looking forward to PJB's comments again. He's been missed.
@hahtool One lump, or two? References sugar cubes.
@dennis Good to see you back on board.
Gotta run. Have a great Friday!!
I inwardly groaned when I saw the theme answers had to do with German and wasn’t even going to attempt it. But since it was a Dan Nador puzzle I knew it would be entertaining and I wasn’t disappointed. I am still waiting for the day when I can complete one of his puzzles unaided though. I had to hit the g-spot for Allison, and Genet. I wanted wool for suit material, and didn’t care for ready to serve – one A. Favorite clue today was place follower, show. When I saw cougar, and sable I immediately thought, “Could you wrap a Cougar in a sable?”
Great write up Melissabee, and as for my favorite link…Ich bin jetzt vollig abgelenkt aus meiner arbeit!
(I am now fully distracted from my work!)
I understood the pun and reference to LUMPS of sugar. I just didn't think that particular clue worked as well as the other theme clues. Isn't a lump of coal what naughty children get from Santa?
Hi Melissa, C.C. & gang, this was a bitter sweet puzzle again from Mr. Naddor and we finished `50% of it before my wife left for work. Pun's are hard for me to get usually so I finished it on-line in under 17 minutes.
Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday wishes, I got lots more here than I did at home.
What's the word that would define the last link to Du siehst echt zum An... in the write up, DF?
;-)
Hello all.
Also thought about Kazie probably
missing this one.
Reread the O. Henry short story.
Lump of coal?
One of Dan's best! Danke.
eddyB
Good Morning All, Still no cruciverb.com, so I had to figure it out this morning. I am not a morning person...this was tough for me. I'm glad melissa bee did such a good job of explaining some of the fill.
The theme answers were actually the easiest. Familiarity with Dan Naddor's quirky sense of humor, prepared me for puns. They were all terrific.
As puns on German words, I thought all the theme answers were fine. I had no problem with LUMP OF KOHL. If the phrases had to be true as well as puns, they would fall short in a couple of places. There is no magazine named HERR STYLE (at least I don't think so). BACH didn't really have back seats reserved either.
The proper names got me today. O'NEAL, ALISON, GENET, and PENA stopped me in my tracks.
The punny clues for TORT, STENO and B-CUP were all head slappers.
I enjoyed seeing "The Gift of the Magi" FOB. I first read it in freshman English class and have reread it several times. Although Della in the story received a set of COMBs, I also caught the homonym COMB. Fun fill.
I pretty much missed the last couple of days. Great poem, Lemonade714. Happy late B-day to Warren. Dot, you'll be very pleased after your cataract surgery.
I think/hope my internet connection is fixed now. "Surfer Jason" and "Silent Bob" (whose real name is Justin), our local ISP guys were here yesterday afternoon and got it going again. We only have one high-speed service in our area, so everybody knows the lads (I don't get to use that word very often) by their nicknames.
I would like to know, did anyone finish this puzzle without looking at the answers? I couldn't and didn't. 64A is out of sight.
Mellisa, you did a good job with it, especially the 'B-Cup'.
Jazzbumpa and Fermatprime:
Jazz, I listened to The Les preludes clip you included the other day and instantly recognized it as the background music to the old Lone Ranger radio program. I have several hundred radio episodes of the Lone Ranger so it's fresh in my mind. The William Tell Overture was used for the opening and closing of The Lone Ranger, but the incidental music throughout the stories was often bits from Les Preludes. Les Preludes was also used as the main soundtrack to the three Flash Gordon movie serials from the 1930s( which I also own).
Listening to the clip you provided has moved me to obtain the complete work on CD. It is so wonderful! You've got to stop posting all this music,Jazz, before I go broke!
Good Afternoon Puzzlers, I don't get the overlapping theme comment. What am I missing?
Hi Melissa, C.C. and all -
WOW, what a puzzle - I really loved it, and realized again, what a gift Dan Naddor had. I usually don't do well with 'pun' clues/answers, but I was on the right wave-length with this one AND, I don't speak any German, but you really don't need that ability to get the answers. I did need help with several but still enjoyed the whole thing!!
So many great clue/answers..22A BACK IN/RETRO, SUPPORT SPEC/B CUP, DICTATOR'S ASSISTANT/STENO !
50A... BOSSY REMARK - thanks Melissa for the 'earworm' (as Dennis said)..loved that clip. Seems though, that the cows shown (with udders) were referred to as 'HE'...hmmm.
I sure hope Kazie sees this one!
Welcome back Dennis!
Warren, happy belated birthday, hope you did everything you wanted to do ;)
Would some kind soul please explain 60D to me??? I read all of the remarks on it, but have to confess ignorance. I don't understand FOBS. Thanks.
Cruciverb is dead!
Re: 50A... BOSSY REMARK
This is how farm kids learn geography:
BOSSY
I would like to know, did anyone finish this puzzle without looking at the answers?
Ayup. More than one person, I'm sure.
Would some kind soul please explain 60D to me??? I read all of the remarks on it, but have to confess ignorance. I don't understand FOBS. Thanks.
In the story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, one of the characters gives a watch FOB as a gift. A watch FOB is a small decoration attached to a watch chain (back when people wore pocket watches) that usually dangles out of the pocket holding the watch or from the button on the vest where the chain is attached.
It rained here a few days ago and I looked out my kitchen windows at a pretty dreary sight. The grass was green, but none of the trees had leaves. This morning I looked out and every oak tree is loaded with leaves. Do they wait until everybody is asleep to pop out their leaves? It certainly seems that way. I hope your Spring is springing as well as it is here.
To The Thawing Wind
Come with rain, O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;
Give the buried flower a dream;
Make the settled snow-bank steam;
Find the brown beneath the white;
But whate'er you do to-night,
Bathe my window, make it flow,
Melt it as the ice will go;
Melt the glass and leave the sticks
Like a hermit's crucifix;
Burst into my narrow stall;
Swing the picture on the wall;
Run the rattling pages o'er;
Scatter poems on the floor;
Turn the poet out of door.
- Robert Frost
Carol, what Barry G. said. A FOB is an ornamental doodad attached to a pocket watch chain.
Carol - I'm a newbie here, but I can explain FOB. In The Gifts of the Magi, a short story by O. Henry, a devoted couple of modest means sacrifice their only fine posessions to buy surprise gifts for one another. The man sells his prized inherited pocket watch to buy his wife a lovely set of hair combs to better display her beautiful hair. At the same time, she has cut off and sold her long hair to buy him a watch fob to better accent his pocket watch.
A watch fob is a decorative medallion typically attached to the chain of a man's pocket watch. The fob is visible even when the watch isn't. It is usually adorned with a monogram, or an emblem meaningful to its owner, such as a Masonic symbol or a corporate logo for instance.
WOW, you all type fatser than I do!
Good day, Melissa Bee, C.C. and all.
What a brilliant puzzle. I love puns (a minority, I know) and seeing Dan Naddor's (RIP) name, knew it would be good.
I flew through the bottom two thirds, nothing seemed out of reach and loved most of the clues.
Like Barry G., the morthwest corner completely stumped me. First because I immediately wrote "usage" for 1A, then "auto" seemed right for cougar and sable and, of course, knew nothing of Alison Lurie. Had to Ggle that one. Finally, erased the whole corner and started over. Comb hit me like a lump of coal and it all fell in place. Took much longer than it should have.
Fav clues:
bossy remark: moo
suit material: tort (I've read plenty of John Grisham's novels to recognize that.)
Loved all seven theme clues, and yes, a lump of coal is what naughty children get in their stocking from Santa.
Melissa:
Loved the adonis link! And your commentary throughout was delightful. Thanks.
Mr. Ed:
I never look at answers. That is a cardinal rule with me. First, I don't have them as I use the newspaper, and secondly, even if I had them, would not look. That's the fun of solving xwds.
Carol:
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry is worth reading. It's a short story, less than three pages.
Enjoy your Friday, all. Tomorrow will be spring!
Hi Gang -
When I saw Dan's name on a Friday, I knew we were in for a treat. But WOW! This exceeds expectations, and might be my favorite Dan puzzle ever.
Melissa - terrific blogging!
My first long fill was AUTOBAHN SOCIETY, and I've been smiling since.
True I don't like affixes, but HELI didn't bother me much since it was an honest clue. As to ATOR, well, I'll just pretend it didn't happen.
Very busy today, and going to a fundraiser tonight for the education of the kids of one of my <a href="ttp://jazzbumpa.blogspot.com/2010/01/wth-friday-somber-edition.html>former colleagues</a>, who died recently. He was my son's age. This, along with thinking about Dan has put me in a somewhat somber mood.
But what a wonderful legacy Dan left us!
IMBO. Cheers!
JzB the somber, smiling trombonist
Ach .
Heres the link for anyone who's interested.
<a href="http://jazzbumpa.blogspot.com/2010/01/wth-friday-somber-edition.html>former colleagues</a>
Cheers!
JzB the fumble-fingered trombonist
Total Fail. I give up.
JzB
the mystified trombonist
Dudley, Welcome. Your synopsis of "The Gift of the Magi" couldn't have been better. LOL, now nobody has to read it. Seriously, maybe it will interest people who are unfamiliar with this touching Christmas story to read it. Here it is.
Alas, your HUNK is a gay.
anon, and your point is ...?
Carol, Yes, it is the view from our kitchen window. We do love it.
Anon@1:55, no "Alas", just more people to appreciate his HUNKiness.
This is #4, I'd better save the last one for later. Have a good afternoon everyone.
Good Afternoon All! I was just about to google an answer to that northwest top corner when it finally fell into place. Took me awhile, but it was kinda fun. That hunk picture is an "EWWWW" for me - too hairy.
We have a snow storm blowing today with low temps, after 60's yesterday. I've got camembert aging in the fridge that I made. Too bad you're not closer to share :-)
Re: JazzB
I think this is where JazzB was trying to link to:
former colleagues
oh, and dennis, see me after class about that outburst ..
Good afternoon, everyone.
Great post, Melissa B. Loved the Adonis. Thanks.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Dennis is correct. The belated goes before "happy birthday, Warren". His birthday wasn't belated (as far as we know), it was the wishes that were belated. So it's not "happy belated birthday".
(I guess you can tell I was once an English teacher.)
Great fun with the German puns, even though I didn't get them all.
Cheers
Hello everybody,
I can only repeat what so many of you already said. Wonderful puzzle, wonderful wordplay. I actually laughed out loud when I finally said AUDI NEIGHBOR aloud; loved it. When I was a kid my family used to love to play word games with each other and deliberately mispronounce words to make them sound funny.
Thank you all for making this such a good blog, well worth reading.
Dudley,
Look at HERR STYLE and BACH'S SEATS in the grid, HERR sits atop EATS. It's called overlapping. Same with LUMP and IRES of the last two theme answers.
Fun puzzle today. Took a little thought here and there, but not too much, which is a good thing late on a Friday afternoon. 28 minutes.
Fun puzzle today. Took a little thought here and there, but not too much, which is a good thing late on a Friday afternoon. 28 minutes.
Melissa,
OK, now I am intrigued, who is guy in your HUNK link?
Haltool,
I loved your St Patrick's Day picture as well.
Jayce,
Were you with the US Embassy in Taiwan?
Sallie, thanks for pointing out my (and others) mistake in saying 'happy belated birthday'... it makes me want to look in the greeting card section to see if it is properly phrased on the cards. Anyway, I never gave the phrase a thought until today and when I read what you said, it made perfect sense. I will not make the mistake again :)
Not often that my favorite answers are four letter words, but today it is Ready to serve, onea, and suit material, tort!
A word about Mach Number-- It is not a constant, but varies with the square root of the absolute temperature. Thus, it is a much lower speed at high altitude where the temperature is very cold. I believe the number melissa bee quoted was the speed of sound at sea-level conditions; I didn't go look it up.
ClearAyes, MelissaB, and especially anon,
Never forget: being bi instantly doubles your chances.
But you knew that.
Glen C., you're correct; Mach 1 is approximately 760mph at sea level.
JB
If you had not had the " after your = you would have had your html hyperlink; keep trying.
C.C. what makes you think Luxor has a heart to be warmed.
Dennis welcome back, I need your help, cannot keep up with all the flirting all by myself, girls are dropping off like flies.
Speaking of flies, that was quite the provocative pose for your hunk, MB. Quite the commanding commando
Happy Birthday Warren, the celebration last a month, so I am fine
Good evening Melissa and All, a bit of a slog, but an enjoyable one. I seemed to remember enough of my German to complete today's puzzle.
This has been a very busy day and I am late getting to the cross word. Not much to comment on since I am so late. Now I know how the left coasters feel.
A belated Happy Birthday to Warren and a welcome back to Dennis.
Hope you all have a pleasant evening.
Good Morning melissa bee, CC, Argyle & folk,
@melissa bee: Good job today!
@lemonade714: Good job yesterday!
@Warren: to you, a belatedly, bubbly birthday! ...hope it was your best!
@Dot: good thoughts being sent your way!
@melissa bee: I wanted sex, too; oh, sorry I meant sechs, too!!!
@Bob: Take your temperature! You must be coming down with something bad to be off your track like this!!! lol
@windhover: Touche!
BTW melissa a great write up this morning.
Lemonade, you're doing just great all by yourself; you surely don't need help.
Frenchie, I just noticed I don't have your birthday on the master list; if you like, you can post it here or email me with it. Anybody else that may not have given theirs to me can do the same.
C.C. - Thank you for your explanation. The fact that the two pairs of theme answers overlap is obvious; is there more to it? Is there some additional cleverness, say, in the placement of those overlaps that I am too dense to observe? I ask because of your mention to Melissa about seven, not six, theme answers - I gathered that the seventh was buried in that overlap.
Meanwhile, thank you for your blog! I began lurking here a few months ago after admitting I had a crossword addiction problem. It helps to know I am not alone.
Just a quick note, my wonderful parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary tonight. That's quite an accomplishment. I asked my Mom and Dad what the secret was seperately and they both said the same thing..."alway's show affection every day." I am a bit teary as I couldn't be at the sibling dinner but we are throwing together a shindig (for you WH) over Memorial Day weekend so some of the southern folk my Mom is related to can attend.
Lemonade, my sweet/tart you have kept up very well.
Dennis, what happened after class?
Anon, I DGAS if that hunk is gay, he was still eye candy. I can appreciate the well, you know...MB, great job on finding that one.
c.c., i have no idea who the hunk is, he just visually fit the clue/answer.
jeannie, i knew you'd appreciate him.
dudley, i was confused too about how the overlapping related to the number of theme answers. after re-reading c.c.'s comment i don't think they are related - two seperate observations. 1) seven theme answers, 2) some overlap.
What an awesome puzzle today from Dan Naddor! So many delightful puns and clue misdirections. New word for the day for me is DISABUSE. My only hiccup was in the NW as I confidently entered "Panda" for 1A. Took a V-8 break before coming back to the puzzle and (D'OH!) immediately recognized my error.
melissa bee-Great write-up today, Thanks for all the fun facts and links!
Warren-BHBTY! Hope you enjoyed your celebration last night!
Gotta go back and finish reading the blog from yesterday. It's amazing how work eats into pleasure/leisure time. :)
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Jeannie - please offer my congratulation to your parents on their 50 years together. I miss my folks everyday, so enjoy yours!! I know you will. Also, thank you for the wet burrito recipe, JD was kind enough to copy it and e-mail it to me...sounds so good.
Sallie: Update on the 'belated birthday' greeting. I was at a local store this afternoon, and could not resist checking out the card section. What do you think???? the birthday card section had 'Happy Belated Birthday' cards displayed proudly. I guess I was in good company, even if it is grammatically incorrect. I did learn a good lesson, but is it now one of those things that is in the modern lexicon?
Honestly folks, who cares whether the hunk was gay???? Eye candy is just that, we are looking at him, not sleeping with him!! LOL - Lighten up!
Hi everybody. I don't know why but I had no idea about sport spec. The crosses helped me get to bcu_ and I went through the alphabet trying to get something to fit. Nothing made sense. D'oh!
I don't follow college basketball much but I knew my alma mater, Cornell, was in the NCAA tournament. They did very well today but I'm guessing they are living on borrowed time. Ivy League schools agree not to give athletic scholarship so they're usually not competitive with the big schools that do.
Could not resist:
So what if the young hunk is gay
lots would want him that way.
What is it Anon,
afraid of his brawn..
or that he might be good in the hay??
Good evening Melissa,CC and all,
Delightful puzzle...best of Dan.I usually find his waayyy too hard, but today I couldn't wait to solve those 7 theme answers.Danke
Melissa, very refreshing blogging, Thanks
CA, beautiful view! It reminds me of Three Rivers where I lived for awhile.Our trees also leafed-out overnight. Soon the squirrel nests will become invisible.
Kudos Carol, have missed your poems.
Any word on cruciverb.com?
Sallie, I'm afraid I'm a creature of Hallmark, just going with the "happy belated", but I'll try to correct it in the future.
Clever Carol, funny limerick.
And a happy 50th anniversary to your parents, Jeannie. That really is a hallmark of excellence!
Clearayes, you upsurped me for my coveted number. But in honor of my parents, I bow. MB, gay or not that physic is putting me to sleep tonight.
Spitz -
Thanks for fixing my link.
Lemonade -
I must have goofed somehow copying the link code. Was in a hurry, and that always makes things harder.
Fred -
Ah, that music stuff. it's in my soul. Yours too, it seems. I can't help myself. And If you can't hold yourself back - well, we're collaborating to help the economy!
Had quite a nice time tonight. Good meal - with a sundae bar, saw some former colleagues, and got to help out a good cause. The LW and I won a box of fancy peach flavored tea bags and a box of almond cookies as door prizes.
Struck out on the raffles, though.
Some of the cookies made it home. I think they'll go well with the tea.
Off to T-town tomorrow. I'll check in if I can.
Cheers!
JzB the cookie-loving trombonist
JB said: The LW and I won a box of fancy peach-flavored tea bags
Is that peach/ginger tea in a cylindrical can? If so, we bought some of that and I really liked it.
Sorry about the double post today. I got an error message after typing in my Username and Password on the first try so I did it again. Looks like both postings were accepted though.
Adonis was a Greek god (probably originally a Semitic god from the Near East) who was always depicted as a young, handsome young man. He was the focus of a mystery cult made up principally of women.
Frenchie: I'll be lucky to have any gray matter left by the time Spring Break begins next week.
There was one other German bonus fill: 4D MACH, as in "Mach schnell!"
Melissa B: Nice job blogging, especially the Adonis! Now why would anyone do any manscaping and lose that mesmerizing focal point we just couldn't draw our eyes from...?! What an attention getter!
Carol: Great poem!
Hello All- Very late in finishing the puzzle today. There isn't much more that I can say at this late hour that hasn't already been said. I didn't finish the entire puzzle on my own, but did get the theme entries, so felt good about that. Dan Naddor keeps us on our toes even now!
Dot--Good thoughts are coming your way for your surgery.
Sallie--I've made the Happy belated Birthday mistake. Thanks for the heads up. I'll remember that from now on. As is often said here on this blog, "We learn something every day."
Melissa Bee--Great commenting and super links. That hunk is a real Adonis!
Jeannie, Happy 50th to your parents. By the way, we made the wet burritos and they were delicious. Just finished the last of them for our lunches today.
Carol-- you outdo yourself every
time. A funny limerick, as usual.
Melissa - Oh dear, I see now that I got waaay off track! There are seven themed answers after all, having nothing to do with overlap. Somehow I could not count properly until a bit of German beer had entered the equation. I hope I can redeem myself! - Good Weekend, Puzzlers!
Why,oh,why have I lost my identity?
I had to register all over again last time I wanted to post and then it was wiped out anyway. What have I done now?
Melissa Bee, you're great! A terrific blog.....AND as Jeannie says, "eye candy"! Even I am salivating and if you've read my bio you'll know that's almost a miracle! I've had enuf of those D-cup broads! MB, give us more of same!
Oops, I just dropped a stitch!
@jeannie Looks like my bride and I share the wedding anniversary with your folks -- just 23 years later! Our 27th today, and we had a great meal and evening out together. She said she'll keep me for another year!
Dennis (March 19, 2010 6:17 PM)
January 10, 1954
A photo will be forth coming as soon as possible, At the moment, I don't have a recent one to send. Thank You for taking time to contact me
Dear CC,
the Anglophone name "Lee", Leigh and Leagh are all basically various misplellings of laye and lee.
A "laye" is old English (probably Germanic) term for a newly deforested meadow or perhaps more open "glade".
Additionally "lee " refers to the side of the hill or even ship more protected from the elements or wind.
In modern nautical esp yachting jargon windward is where the wind blows FROM (upwind)- leeward is where it heads TO (downwind).
Until circa 1880's no-one would have thought it could possibly be Asian- but there you go- one of those funny coincidences- like Sanskrit tri and English three.
Post a Comment