Theme: The Ties That Bind - The first words of the five theme answers are all homophones, with a different spelling of the "tie" sound. The village Tye Green was left out.
17A. National sport of South Korea: TAE KWON DO. Foot hand art.
29A. Longtime skating partner of Randy Gardner: TAI BABILONIA
38A. Places to order tom yum goong: THAI RESTAURANTS
47A. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition": TY PENNINGTON
65A. Overtime causes: TIE SCORES. That would be 20 to 20.
Hey all, Al here.
This didn't seem too tough for a Wednesday, pretty much sped through it. Not too much really stood out, but we'll see what can be educed from it anyway.
Across:
1. __ de deux: PAS. A dance for two.
4. Therapy center, for short: REHAB
9. Parts of fast food orders: SODAS
14. Four-legged bugler: ELK
15. Where the ecstatic walk: ON AIR
16. Salt's "Halt!": AVAST. Also a free anti-virus program if used non-commercially.
19. Having a beanpole physique: LANKY
20. "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
21. Year-end mall temp: SANTA. Argyle. Missed it by one day.
23. Jon Stewart's "moment of __": ZEN
24. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO
27. Bosom buddy: COMRADE. 1590s, from M.Fr. camarade, from Sp. camarada "chamber mate,"
33. The Trojans of the Pac-10: USC. University of Southern California. I wonder if they ever respond to criticism with: "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you"?
34. Go hither and yon: ROVE
35. Au __: menu phrase: JUS. French. Meat served in its own juices.
44. "Xanadu" band, for short: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra, with Olivia Newton John.
45. __ time: pronto: IN NO. Pronto (sp.) from Latin promptus: prompt.
46. Like some grins: SLY
52. 12 Tribes religion: JUDAISM
55. Caesar's unlucky number?: XIII. I know that some solvers dislike roman numerals, but I found this one amusing for some reason. Fifteen (the ides) could have been used if the answer was one letter shorter.
56. Schooner filler: ALE. One of my hometown favorites.
57. One of the Yokums: PAPPY. L'il Abner's sire in Dogpatch.
60. Pre-dye shade, perhaps: GRAY. If things keep going the way they are now, I'll never have to worry about gray hair. I wish there was a food remedy for that.
63. Open, in a way: UNCAP
68. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE. 97% lime, but has a thousand times higher breaking strength due to layering.
69. In first place: ON TOP
70. Prior to, in verse: ERE
71. Tiny amount: TRACE
72. Tack room gear: REINS
73. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Le Coq __": d'Or. The Golden Cockerel.
Down:
1. "Our Gang" dog: PETE
2. Word of pity: ALAS. Self-pity, perhaps.
3. Having one's doubts: SKEPTICAL. My dictionary has a picture of me by this word.
4. Heed the coxswain: ROW
5. Ambient music composer Brian: ENO
6. Brinker of kiddie lit: HANS. The Silver Skates book had an often excerpted sub-story in it about a nameless little boy who used his finger to plug the dike. It wasn't Hans, though, he was probably the first reference to speed skating in the US...
7. Operatic slave girl: AIDA. Why do famous love stories always seem to have tragic endings? No wonder guys don't want to commit.
8. Old Ford SUV: BRONCO
9. Sub meat: SALAMI. Don't read this if you like salami.
10. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin.
11. Tony of "Who's the Boss?": DANZA. Played the father of a young Alyssa Milano, who turned out well.
12. Part of FAQ: ASKED. Frequently Asked Questions. Infrequently read answers.
13. "Gypsy" composer Jule: STYNE, also Funny Girl and Pal Joey.
18. Door feature: KNOB. Funny how knockers is also spelled the same way.
22. Bricks unit: TON. Did this hit you right away?
25. "Mr. Mom" actress: GARR. Teri.
26. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes: OBOE
28. Big Indian: RAJA
29. Word of rebuke: TUT
30. Big Apple tennis stadium: ASHE
31. Drips in an ICU: IVS. Or DRS if they have bad bedside manner.
32. Open the door to: LET IN
36. Like 007's martinis: UNSTIRRED
37. Normandy battle site: ST LO
39. Wee bit: IOTA
40. Gothic novelist Radcliffe: ANN. Her books always came up with a real explanation for unreal events.
41. Operating system developed at Bell Labs: UNIX. I've spent 22 years on this so far and probably understand less than half of everything it encompasses.
42. Rice-A-__: RONI
43. Roget entry: Abbr.: SYNonym
48. "Hooray!": YIPPEE. --Darth Vader.
49. Non-commercial TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement.
50. Caveat __: EMPTOR. Buyer beware.
51. Computer acronym about faulty data: GIGO. Garbage in, Garbage out.
52. Quick trip: JAUNT
53. Of an arm bone: ULNAR. Radius, Ulna (lower pair), and Humerus (upper arm). Your "funny bone" is really the ulnar nerve located near the lower end of the humerus.
54. Bing Crosby's primary label: DECCA. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone." Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages.
58. Bench material: PINE
59. Hairy mountain sighting: YETI. They do exist.
61. Musical prefix with smith?: AERO. Aerosmith. Dream on.
62. River of Flanders: YSER
64. Slo-pitch path: ARC
66. Zak, to Ringo: SON
67. Early computer printer speed meas.: CPS. Characters per Second. 1 character = 8 bits = 1 byte.
Answer grid.
Al
17A. National sport of South Korea: TAE KWON DO. Foot hand art.
29A. Longtime skating partner of Randy Gardner: TAI BABILONIA
38A. Places to order tom yum goong: THAI RESTAURANTS
47A. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition": TY PENNINGTON
65A. Overtime causes: TIE SCORES. That would be 20 to 20.
Hey all, Al here.
This didn't seem too tough for a Wednesday, pretty much sped through it. Not too much really stood out, but we'll see what can be educed from it anyway.
Across:
1. __ de deux: PAS. A dance for two.
4. Therapy center, for short: REHAB
9. Parts of fast food orders: SODAS
14. Four-legged bugler: ELK
15. Where the ecstatic walk: ON AIR
16. Salt's "Halt!": AVAST. Also a free anti-virus program if used non-commercially.
19. Having a beanpole physique: LANKY
20. "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
21. Year-end mall temp: SANTA. Argyle. Missed it by one day.
23. Jon Stewart's "moment of __": ZEN
24. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO
27. Bosom buddy: COMRADE. 1590s, from M.Fr. camarade, from Sp. camarada "chamber mate,"
33. The Trojans of the Pac-10: USC. University of Southern California. I wonder if they ever respond to criticism with: "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you"?
34. Go hither and yon: ROVE
35. Au __: menu phrase: JUS. French. Meat served in its own juices.
44. "Xanadu" band, for short: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra, with Olivia Newton John.
45. __ time: pronto: IN NO. Pronto (sp.) from Latin promptus: prompt.
46. Like some grins: SLY
52. 12 Tribes religion: JUDAISM
55. Caesar's unlucky number?: XIII. I know that some solvers dislike roman numerals, but I found this one amusing for some reason. Fifteen (the ides) could have been used if the answer was one letter shorter.
56. Schooner filler: ALE. One of my hometown favorites.
57. One of the Yokums: PAPPY. L'il Abner's sire in Dogpatch.
60. Pre-dye shade, perhaps: GRAY. If things keep going the way they are now, I'll never have to worry about gray hair. I wish there was a food remedy for that.
63. Open, in a way: UNCAP
68. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE. 97% lime, but has a thousand times higher breaking strength due to layering.
69. In first place: ON TOP
70. Prior to, in verse: ERE
71. Tiny amount: TRACE
72. Tack room gear: REINS
73. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Le Coq __": d'Or. The Golden Cockerel.
Down:
1. "Our Gang" dog: PETE
2. Word of pity: ALAS. Self-pity, perhaps.
3. Having one's doubts: SKEPTICAL. My dictionary has a picture of me by this word.
4. Heed the coxswain: ROW
5. Ambient music composer Brian: ENO
6. Brinker of kiddie lit: HANS. The Silver Skates book had an often excerpted sub-story in it about a nameless little boy who used his finger to plug the dike. It wasn't Hans, though, he was probably the first reference to speed skating in the US...
7. Operatic slave girl: AIDA. Why do famous love stories always seem to have tragic endings? No wonder guys don't want to commit.
8. Old Ford SUV: BRONCO
9. Sub meat: SALAMI. Don't read this if you like salami.
10. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin.
11. Tony of "Who's the Boss?": DANZA. Played the father of a young Alyssa Milano, who turned out well.
12. Part of FAQ: ASKED. Frequently Asked Questions. Infrequently read answers.
13. "Gypsy" composer Jule: STYNE, also Funny Girl and Pal Joey.
18. Door feature: KNOB. Funny how knockers is also spelled the same way.
22. Bricks unit: TON. Did this hit you right away?
25. "Mr. Mom" actress: GARR. Teri.
26. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes: OBOE
28. Big Indian: RAJA
29. Word of rebuke: TUT
30. Big Apple tennis stadium: ASHE
31. Drips in an ICU: IVS. Or DRS if they have bad bedside manner.
32. Open the door to: LET IN
36. Like 007's martinis: UNSTIRRED
37. Normandy battle site: ST LO
39. Wee bit: IOTA
40. Gothic novelist Radcliffe: ANN. Her books always came up with a real explanation for unreal events.
41. Operating system developed at Bell Labs: UNIX. I've spent 22 years on this so far and probably understand less than half of everything it encompasses.
42. Rice-A-__: RONI
43. Roget entry: Abbr.: SYNonym
48. "Hooray!": YIPPEE. --Darth Vader.
49. Non-commercial TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement.
50. Caveat __: EMPTOR. Buyer beware.
51. Computer acronym about faulty data: GIGO. Garbage in, Garbage out.
52. Quick trip: JAUNT
53. Of an arm bone: ULNAR. Radius, Ulna (lower pair), and Humerus (upper arm). Your "funny bone" is really the ulnar nerve located near the lower end of the humerus.
54. Bing Crosby's primary label: DECCA. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone." Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages.
58. Bench material: PINE
59. Hairy mountain sighting: YETI. They do exist.
61. Musical prefix with smith?: AERO. Aerosmith. Dream on.
62. River of Flanders: YSER
64. Slo-pitch path: ARC
66. Zak, to Ringo: SON
67. Early computer printer speed meas.: CPS. Characters per Second. 1 character = 8 bits = 1 byte.
Answer grid.
Al
65 comments:
Good morning Al and All, a very nice write up Al. Like you I found this puzzle pretty easy for a Wednesday and had no problems until hit the south central and south east area. My problem was that I kept trying to insert tie games, tie game or tied game for 85A. I finally erased that entire section and started over and was able to complete that area.
Really liked the link to Alyssa Milano and since I do like salami I did not open that link, but I am damn curious and may go back later and open it.
Hope you all have a great Wednesday.
Good morning Al, CC and All,
I agree with Al that it was a bit easy for a Wednesday, but fun just the same. I caught onto the theme quickly and perps helped to fill things in. I worked it from the top down.
Nice write up Al. I always wondered why salami gives me heartburn.
Have a great Hump Day!
Morning, all!
I blew through most of this puzzle, relying on crosses to get the thoroughly unknown TAI BABILONIA. I had one minor sticking point at 57A when I initially put in MAMMY instead of PAPPY.
Unfortunately, I had a much larger sticking point at 65A when I had TIES_ORES and just couldn't think of anything to complete the word.
My brain was stuck on job overtime instead of sports overtime, and 67D was no help since it could have been LPS (lines per second), DPS (dots per second) or PPS (page per second). CPS simply didn't occur to me.
I finally just ran through the alphabet until I got the "TADA!" sound, and then I had my daily moment of D'OH!
Dick, I trust that you meant 65A and not 85A.
eddyB
Good morning Al and all.
As already stated, a relatively easy Wed. puzzle. Unknowns quickly gotten from the perps. TAIBABILONIA was an easy fill, and for once I got the theme early in the solve. Imagine that Lois will have something to say about 'ties'.
JazzB: Why is the OBOE used to tune an orchestra?
Liked GIGO. Too much of that going around.
Another clear day, here. Finally getting temps in the 50ºs.
Good Morning, CC. This was very easy Wednesday puzzle, but I had fun with the theme, once I realized it was a variation of TAE/THAI/TAI/TY/TIE. The clue right before the final long clue was "Open, in a way". My first response was UnTIE, and "Overtime Causes" (TIE SCORES) initially reminded me of something work-related. I straightened that out without too much trouble.
I do have to object to the link to the 12 tribes. I don't want to get into the theology of the subject, but that link is clearly NOT a form of Judaism.
QOD: We had to wait until FEMA and the government said we could come in. I was not prepared for what I saw down there. When you see it firsthand, it looks like Hiroshima. ... ~ Ty Pennington, on his impression of post-Katrina New Orleans.
@Hahtool, I'm sorry, I have to plead ignorance. I saw the reference to the commonwealth of Israel in google and made an obviously incorrect assumption. Is this the correct reference?
Good morning, Al and pals,
I agree with earlier posters that this was relatively easy for a Wednesday. I grokked the theme after the third ti sound, and the rest was smooth sailing. My last fill was the z in the Danza/zen crossing, which I had to Google, as I watch neither Stewart nor "Who's ".
Hahtool, I would be interested in reading your thoughts offline about the 52A clue. I enjoy reading the Bible, including the Old Testament.
Have a good Wednesday.
Morning all.
This one wasn't as easy for me - it took several times around with a few fills each time before things started to come together. I was eventually able to complete it, with two exceptions: the cross of avast/styne and ulnar/nacre. I knew unlnar, but didn't know nacre, so left it blank to come here and find the answer. Now that I see the answer grid, I realize I had Delta for Bing's record label; I thought unlap was a weird answer for open, in a way... uncap makes much more sense!
I once met Ty Pennington in the Outer Banks, NC. Just as good looking in person as on TV. This was back when he was on Trading Spaces, just before Extreme Home Makeover came out.
Nice writeup Al, as always. Think I'll find some Thai food for lunch today instead of salami.
Enjoy the day!
Great write-up, Al.
I did check out the salami, and saw nothing really offensive there. Europeans eat many forms of sausage and bacon which are cured and not cooked. They all taste much better than the watered down varieties usually the norm here.
Tfrank,
you have two posts that you should trash.
I had no real trouble today either. The last fill was XIII because I wasn't thinking of our concept of an unlucky number, but the Ides for Caesar. Other than that there were no difficulties despite not knowing several of the proper nouns.
However, I did try FORK for OBOE until perps stepped in. The theme fell after the second one, so that helped too.
The AU JUS one reminded me of a pet peeve in restaurant menus where they have things like "and au jus" or "with au jus". If they're going to use French they should know enough to avoid such obvious repetition, since "au jus" means WITH juice.
Al: Yes, that is a better link. The reference to the 12 tribes of Israel refers to the 12 sons of Jacob.
Tfrank: I would be happy to converse with you offline on the subject.
As to Caesar's unnlucky number, I realized that the response had to be in Roman numerals, but was also thinking Ides. Not enough roman numerals for the space provided.
I always thought the Ides of March was exclusively the 15th.
New picture is my little Grandson, he was "one" on the 7th.
Hi Al, C.C. & gang, My wife and I finished today's puzzle once again without needing outside help. All of the hard to spell names were corrected by the crosses.
For Chickie, my wife does the web site for BHC and always keeps the date of the next sale or event on it too. The next pottery sale is May 1st & 2nd.
Hello Al, C.C. and fellow bloggers,
Thanks, Al for the very nice write up. I'm surprised to learn that you are a skeptic!
My zen moment came halfway down when I scanned my fills and saw the theme; very nice. Interesting use of "tut" on 29D, not the usual Pharoah reference.
Four legged bugler was my fav although I may have seen that before or something similar.
My first reaction to Caesar's unlucky number was also "ides" but realized it was too short. "Ides" means 15 so it can be used for any month. The ides of April will soon be upon us!
This was just right for a Wednesday and a very balanced use of long answers. I liked that.
From yesterday, I had forgotten about clotted cream and now I think, how could I? When I visited the UK I absolutely went gaga over it; luckily it isn't sold in the U.S. or I might weigh 300 pounds.
Have a lovely Wednesday!
Good Morning All, thanks for blogging, Al.
I did an axle (no triples for me) when I saw TAI BALILONIA. I bet Robin had the same reaction.
Maybe the difficulty level didn't seem like much for a Wednesday because our solving skills are getting better. We can now click on Al's "Dream On" link.
SKEPTICAL and UNSTIRRED, as well as EMPTOR, were favorites.
"No wonder guys don't want to commit. Wait a minute Al. As I recall, in most operas, it's the the woman who dies. Not just AIDA, but Cio-Cio San, Mimi, Carmen, Lucia, Violetta and even Salome all die, or are dying, by the end of their operas. OK, sometimes the guys die too, but not with the regularity of the ladies. The sopranos may wreak havoc with the fellas, or they may simply be a pawn of fate, but they always pay the price for being a diva.
Nothing about the salami link put me off. It's nice to know that the salami we get from our Italian friends next Christmas has the capability of outlasting us.
I've wet-cured pork loin to make a version of Canadian bacon. The technique is similar to "brining" a turkey and it is juicy and delicious.
Oooops. I have forgotten more than what I remember.
Ides means the middle of he month, not 15th.
"Shaken, Not Stirred" is how 007, James Bond orders his martini.
UNSTIRRED was an uninspired TUT, TUT moment.
The 5 TAE, TAI, THAI, TY, TIE theme was good.
Like a few others I thought about the "Ides of March" as I entered the XIII (13th for unlucky). Maybe the best Roman Numeral clue ever.
FYI the Ides of each month are as follows: The 15th day in March, May, July, and October. The 13th in the other months.
No chance to do the puzzle yet today, but I wanted to share this tribute from today's comics to make you all smile:
Crossword Pluggers
AVAST to all the sailors out there. I know Jeannie has her Lolita. Lois is going on a cruise soon (;o). There are those who have never sailed or been to sea, but most of us can understand the emotions this poem engenders.
Sea Fever
I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
All I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
- John Masefield
Surprisingly easy puzzle for a Wednesday. 12 minutes. Work has consumed my life recently, so I haven't had time to do more than post my times for the daily puzzles and scan over the recent posts. Still a lot of hurdles before Spring Break, which is mercifully on the horizon at last.
Hi Al, C.C. and everybody -
This one didn't give me too much trouble even though I didn't know 47A...most of the letters filled in with the other answers.
60A had me stumped..I was not thinking of hair and wanted to put in ecru for a moment...that didn't last long.
I put in OUNCE for 71A because I had the CE but that messed up that corner for quite a while.
Spitzboov: Glad you asked about why the oboe is used to tune an orchestra, I want to know too.
Kazie: just curious, why did you tell Tfrank he had 2 posts he should trash?
Carol,
One of those peeves--there were two repetitions of his first, and C.C. must have erased them shortly after I noticed it. I guess I'm glad you asked, because I felt bad about it after they were completely gone, feeling I'd over-reacted.
I'm rather tense right now since my son is still agonizing over his decision to move back to Germany. He can't decide between staying here to be close to us, where he likes the job better than what he'd be doing there, and knowing that the quality of life would be better there and his wife happier being close to her family. It's been a long awaited final answer and he still can't make up his mind after a months-long process. It's wearing on us all.
Thank you, Tinbeni, for setting the record straight on "ides"; I was feeling really embarrased by my faux pas, but have settled on the realization that my brain is now permanently set on "addle":
addle: confused, muddled (Webster' seventh collegiate dict.)
I apologize heartily.
Any puzzle with Ty Pennington in it is a winner for me. I finished unaided by Mr G, but got some perp and red letter help on avast, nacre, d’or and Yser.
CA thanks for the poem…funny I was looking Lolita over the other day now that the 2 ft of snow has melted off of her. I’m itching to get back on water that isn’t frozen.
Papajim, what an adorable little fellow. Love that red hair. Are you a redhead?
It’s cold and raining here today so I thought I would share a quick and easy soup recipe with you. This one is for you Clearayes.
Cream of Mushroom soup
½ lb of criminis, ½ lb shiitakes, ½ lb button mushrooms roughly chopped through a processor with one tbls of lemon juice
1 tbls butter
1 minced shallot
1 tbls fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups of chicken stock
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbls water
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large soup pot sauté the shallots, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf in butter until the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the heavy cream, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 min. Add cornstarch and cook an additional 10 minutes stirring constantly. I serve it with a toasted swiss cheese sandwich.
Jeannie - Beef can trigger arthritis pain. I love your blog.
Lucina my comment was not in any way aimed at your comment. We don't play "gotcha" here.
Years and years ago, probably High School, when I first heard "the Ides of March are upon you," I looked it up because I thought it only referred to March.
It was used the other day by Joe Kernan (sp?) on CNBC Squawk Box, my usual background TV as I solved the puzzle. He said "the 15th each month." Well, within a few minutes he had to correct himself.
What I always found interesting is how (why?) the Ides were placed on the 15th (March, May, July, October) as to the 13th for all other months.
Cultural quirks abound across the world, and by our modern standard, the way the Romans kept track of the date was pretty strange. Three key dates occurred in any month--the Kalends (the first day), the Nones (the fifth or seventh day), and the Ides (the 13th or the 15th day). In general, the Nones and Ides occur earlier on months with 30 days and later on months with 31 days. The Roman calendar system, before Julius Caesar's day, had ten months of 30 days each, which didn't work out too well. September, October, November, and December were then months seven, eight, nine, and ten, following the Latin numbers septem, octo, novem, decem. Caesar brought Cleopatra and a solar calendar back to Rome from Egypt. The Romans then ended up with a better calendar but one filled with anomalies from the old system. Incidentally, dates were reckoned backward from the Kalends, Nones, and Ides, as in "Four days before the Kalends of September." They also always counted the first day in the string, so four days before the Kalends of September would be August 29, and the Nones always occurred nine (inclusive) days before the Ides.
Bob thanks for the additional info.
I found most of that stuff after my comment in about 3 minutes.
40+ years ago, when I first researched this area, I would have had to go to the Library, cross referenced a bunch of sources and still not have obtained a concise explaination as you cited after a couple hours of study.
Wiki gets a bad rap (sometimes deserved) for its GIGO.
But sometimes it has good DIIO, data in, info out.
Hi gang -
Nice puzzle today, thematically rich with 5 long answers.
Al - great job, my skeptical friend. if I were to ever grow up, I would want to be you.
I had TIE SCORES and ON TOP, but could not come up with SON, CPS, nor REINS. I'll have to look up "tack room."
My reason for tuning to the oboe is an opportunity to ogle Christina, our cute red-haired oboist. It's obvious (to me at least) why you don't tune to the trombone. Tuning to the tuba would make sense for low brass.
I actually had no clue, and did a little searching on line. Of what I found, this seems most reasonable.
The reason the orchestra tunes to the oboe is because they can not adjust their instrument. All intontation relies on the embourchure.
It is also an instrument that is the middle of the tonal range, therefore it is better to tune.
Oboes also have the ability to project over the orchestra and can be heard during tuning. Could you imagine trying to tune to a violin?
Brass instruments have tuning slides that can be pushed in or out. Woodwinds move the position of the mouthpiece in or out. Strings adjust string tension. Evidently the oboe is tuned at the factory and is not adjustable. Temperature effects pitch. I don't know how oboists compensate for that. Maybe we all go sharp together.
The common spelling of knob and knocker made me think of an alternate spelling for Dors
Cheers!
JzB the occasionally in-tune trombonist
Now that I think about it, increasing temperature makes wind instruments go sharp, but strings go flat, since the string tension is slackened.
Sometimes life aint easy.
Cheers!
JzB (who slides through life)
You may be right, Clearayes,about us getting better at solving. I'm sure I am. That said, as 'easy' as this puzzle was , I still had one blank: just couldn't get the 'c' in 'tie scores'. Couldn't even imagine what to ask Mr. G about either that or 'cps' so I left it blank till now.
Very good blogging, Al. And Bob,it must be wonderful to have had a real classical education. I had one class in 'Greek Words in English' in college and loved it. That's the extent of mine as far as classics go.
I still haven't managed to make much use of themes, even if I get them. Today's was pretty obvious, but I just went plodding through without much attention to the 'tis' until I came to the blog!
Maybe it's some sort of mental block.
Lucina, you may hate me for mentioning this but I think Trader Joe's has clotted cream. At least, I know they have creme fraiche, which is much like it except that there's buttermilk in it. Look on the top of the cheese section. I love it, too, especially with strawberries!
Jeannie, thanks much for the mushroom soup recipe. My favorite.
Another way to POP (put on pounds)!
Clear Ayes,
Your poem reminded of some time I was fortunate enough to spend with my grandfather in my late teens. He was recovering from some Chemo treatments and couldn't drive to his check ups in Bethesda, so I was his chauffeur. We had a blast and in particular this one evening.
We had gotten back to his house after eating at his favorite restaurant where the waitresses adored him, and called him "Commander". Of course we had a couple of JDs and were feeling no pain when he rolled me into his living room for a night cap. He pulled out this old 78 LP that had a bunch of Sea Shanties on it and lyrics written on the album cover. Things really got rolling, especially during this one. When the song was over we heard someone banging on the front door. The cops said the neighbors complained about the racket and that they would have to "haul us away" if we didn't cut it out!
Great fun!
Jeannie: Thank you for the Cream of Mushroom recipe. It looks easy, and sounds delicious! I'm so glad you posted it, after reading your post from yesterday. I hated to see you stop sharing recipes... Our family uses cream of mushroom soup in our macaroni and cheese. It makes it so creamy, and I love the flavor from all the little bits of mushroom throughout!
Good afternoon everyone. Al, nice job but please explain your comment on 55A. I'm confused.
tfrank, did you NOT see your post at 8:52 AM?
I thought au jus meant in juice. With juice would be avec jus, non?
Broadly speaking the ides is also the 7 days before the 15th or 13th (depending on the month).
The ninth day before the ides is the Nones--pronounced with a long "o" and a "z" sound for the "s".
Doreen
Hi C.C., Argyle, Al...
This puzzle is good as it presented a challenge for me. I'm happy to learn the details relating to Caesar, ides, orchestra tuning, oboe, the recipes, etc. I learn a lot through this bog. Thanks everybody.
Anon (Doreen),
You confused me more. Are you saying that the ides isn't the 15th?
@Jeannie - your soup sounds delicious. I love mushrooms, but husband doesn't, so I may have to make this one next time he's working late. YUM!!
@Kazie - would no doubt be tough to have you son so far away, but it would be fun to go visit!
Tinbeni:
I was really chiding myself; one of the reasons I like this blog so much is the consideration for one another, the banter and the general acceptance.
Dodo:
Thank you. I plan to try the clotted cream from Trader Joe's. If it's anything like what I remember, you might see me on the Biggest Loser.
MR ED- Ides is not always on the
15th of a month. Some months it is on the 13th.
I think some folks are still thinking the clue: "Caesar's unlucky number?" refers to Ides. Neither the clue or answer have anything to do with a date. 13 is thought to be an unlucky number. Caesar was used in the clue only to give a hint that the answer would be in Roman numerals.
Jeannie, Thanks so much. I'm glad you remembered my fondness for mushrooms. The made-from-scratch recipe sounds delicious. I have three friends over for lunch once in a while (we play cribbage) and the soup and sandwich lunch will sound simple and they will be pleasantly surprised when I serve something so luxurious.
Tinbeni and Dodo: (FYI) I have a graduate degree in ancient history from Duke University and have a fair background in Latin and Greek (Attic and Koine). I also taught Latin and Greek exclusively for ten years (I do history now). Everything from beginning Latin and Greek to Cicero, Livy, Virgil, and Xenophon. So I guess I have had a "classical" education in the truest sense of the word. And incidentally, the Nones actually means, I believe, "the nines" or "the ninth"--the ninth (not seventh) day before the Ides. Count backward nine from 15 or 13 (including the 15 or 13) and you get 7 or 5--the days of the month on which the Nones occur.
Bob, there was a lot of reference to 'nones' in the Brother Cadfael series. I think in those it was refering to time of day (prayers). There are quotes in Latin in some English novels. I wish I had translations or better yet could read them myself.
Jeannie, I wonder what would happen if you used clotted cream or cream fraiche in your mushroom soup. You might have to slice it!
Hello.
I'll pass this along since a few
of you might be interested.
Just took Jill to the train station
for a trip to Sacramento where she will meet with a group of Legislators to disscuss retired CA
teacher's benefits.
eddyB
Hello All--A fairly easy puzzle for me,(as others have stated). I did have one hangup in the SE corner. I put in wps for Words per second for the Computer printer speed meas., then couldn't figure out what word for overtime at work was spelled
swore--. My forehead still smarts from the slap when I came here and found the correct answer.
Thanks Al for the informative writeup. I didn't open the Salami link, as I had salami for lunch and thought I'd better let good be good.
CA, The poem today is one of my favorites. Recited outloud it is especially musical.
Annette, Thanks for the cartoon. Isn't that WHY we do the puzzle?
Papajim, No doubt a proud "Papa". Your grandson is a cutie.
Caesar's unlucky number is my lucky number as it is my birthday day. I've always contended that there are no lucky or unlucky numbers, just what you perceive.
Jeannie,
Another great recipe for my computer recipe file. Cream of mushroom is one of our favorites. How would this be in the pork chop recipe I made this past weekend? I think it would have less sodium in it and be a bit healthier.
Bob: My first love was History and Geography. Then took an Accounting course on a bet from a Frat. Brother (who was bitching about how hard it was).
Turned out I have this 'thing' with numbers, financial analysis, tax law, etc. (as I said in my profile, its like breathing).
But when we had Julius Caesar and that "beware the Ides of March" quote so many years ago, I was curious.
I love to tell my clients "Beware the Ides of April are upon you." They think my reference is Tax Day, April 15th and then I let them know I like a few extra days, I meant the 13th.
ALAS, the "Ides of April" has an inept PR Man.
Your info would have been hours of research without the internet. I always laugh because with this gizmo we have virtually all the Libraries of the world at our fingertips.
Chickie: You are correct, there are no unlucky days (unless your last name is Caesar).
Its like Disraeli said:
"Man makes his fortune and calls it fate."
Jerome, Thanks for the crossword explanation. I instantly wrote Ides and had to erase.
Bob, Thanks for your explanation of the cultural quirks. Very interesting reading. I'm with ya on the work consuming life. Wicked busy up here and lovin' it.
Barry, Good to hear from you again. I penciled Plow Snow, which the perps wouldn't allow for 65A.
The snow is just about all melted in the backyard. How are the mid Atlantic states coming?
anon@ 3:46,
'Avec' is literally 'with' in French, yes. But in food terminology à and its other forms (au, aux, à la) are usually the way they express extras served with the main item.
Busy day, I thought this was anamazing puzzle, filled with so many theme words, but it still was over in a nonce.
I could not let the day pass without a little chance to watch Tai and Randy who skated to gether for so many years.
Such as au gratin and à la mode, we will have you all speaking french and studying Latin before we are through
Great blog AL, lot of fun links. I enjoyed the theme, very cute and yes CA I do remember Tai Babilionia and Randy Gardner. I had a pair of goldfish named after them. They skated with John Nicks in so cal. Interesting to see John Nicks still coaching Sasha Cohen.
Hey I am ready for the big salami, it has been ages since I've had one!
CA I Loved that poem, beautiful. Kazie I share your anxiety. It is so hard when family can't figure out where to "BE" Andrea I love Top Chef too. Is yours going to audition?
I hope all are having a great evening!
PapaJim, your grandson is adorable!
Miss CC's explanatory answers. Today's host is too subtle.
Hey Lo-li-ta how goes the food wars? When is the spring food fling? Do you have the mushroom recipe without the mushrooms? I'm just not much of a fungi eater.
No Salami for the little girl, c'est bien dommage. Did you like little Tai?
Dennis, you enjoying the 79 degree days? Too nice to sit and do puzzles...I guess that explains the drop in comments.
Nite all
big XXXXOOOO
Jerome, just saw your explanation for 'Ides", very clear and enlightning. I thank you.
Mangesh.
Why don't you do the puzzles online either through Cruciverb or directly on the LATimes site? I am patient but three months is a long wait.
Keep us posted
okay, no one wants to play
Dodo: Yes, the "nones" you refer to are the mid-afternoon prayers followed by Catholic clerics. I think the basic term still means "nine." The Romans counted the hours (horae) from sunrise to sunset, so the "ninth" hour would correspond to around 3 PM, the middle of the afternoon. The classical Latin adjective for "ninth" was "nonus-a-um" but "nones" is medieval Latin, probably reflecting some evolution of the word over time.
Mainiac, I went to your link and the voices and the visuals put me in another era! It was so great. Between that and CA's poem, I feel like a character in 'Treasure Island'. Shiver my timbers!
a bit late to say hi, but my computer just came home from the hospital, and it's good to be back.
Al, nice write up. I'm afraid to look at the salami link; I know it's not healthy.
BTW, I had to change balony to salami to continue filling in today's c/w. YES, I KNOW that it is misspelled, but our newspaper prints such a tiny puzzle; it looked great at the time.I'm not a 5 minute gal.
So, I am your Wednesday Goldilocks; this was just right for me. Learned nacre, ELO, caveat emptor and avast, so thanks Gary Steinmehl; especially loved the word skeptical!
Upon checking my results of a completely filled puzzle with no G-ing, I found that I had put itty in lieu of iota, so yes, I spelled Judaism, Judyism, and ELO was ELI.tut,tut
Papajim, your grandson is adorable!!!
JzB, thanks for explanation of why an orchestra uses the oboe... so much better than, it fit because it is a 4 letter word that begins with o.It worked for me.
CA, that poem was one of my Grandfather's favorites. He recited and sang many sea poems and shanties at the dinner table. If we knew it, we sang or recited too.Sometimes he was in a mood and would say,"History is all the bunk!" LOL
Andrea and Robin,
Thanks for your kind thoughts. The indecision is what's hard to take over such a long time. He knew last June that he might be going, and has of course waited until the crunch to make a final decision, but is still prolonging it. He enjoys the creativity of the engineering job here, but when he's over there it's more putting out fires and preventing problems while dealing with an absent management he has a lot of tension with.
PapaJim,
Your grandson is really cute. I kept meaning to mention it earlier today, but with my preoccupation forgot every time.
CA, what do you think he means when he writes, "And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over"? The word "trick's" feel good but I don't understand it.
~ Bill G.
I was really pleased that so many of you were familiar with Mansfield's poem. I loved your story, Mainiac and your link to "Haul Away Joe" was terrific. I do enjoy a good sea shanty.
Bill G, I looked up "long trick" in association with the poem and I came up with "Seaman's job on a given day, such as steering the ship". Since the poem is a metaphor, comparing life to a sea voyage, the "quiet sleep and sweet dream" is the hope for a peaceful afterlife after the job is done.
Clearayes, you nailed it. There is something to be said about anchoring and going below to nap out. I have had my quietist sleep and the most pleasant dreams listening to the the waves lap up against the hull, and the leaves rustle in the trees.
Thank you for my lull-a-bye. Need them these days.
Lo-li-ta.
Post a Comment