Theme: LILY TOMLIN (57A. "All of Me" actress whose first name is a hint to this puzzle's theme) - The first word of each theme answer is a type of lily.
18A. Father of Sam and Charlie: TIGER WOODS. Tiger Lily. See this photo. Tiger's wife Elin holds their daughter Sam, and Charlie is in Tiger's arms. The clue struck me as obscure, esp for non-golfers who don't follow the Tiger scandal.
20A. South Pacific site of large stone statues: EASTER ISLAND. Easter Lily.
35A. Continuously: DAY AFTER DAY. Daylily. The dried flowers of some daylilies are commonly used in Chinese cuisine, though the word daylily itself is new to me. We just call them golden needles.
54A. Asian draft animal: WATER BUFFALO. Water Lily. Did not know water buffalo are used as draft animals.
Hmm, we seem to have a trend for longer unifier now. At least, Jack loves longer ones. In his last PO' BOY puzzle, PO is inserted into each common phrase and no BOY is to be found.
A year ago, we would just have four theme entries with a defining LILY at the lower right corner of the grid. I do love the LILY TOMLIN hook. Symmetrically it balances out TIGER WOODS nicely. Jack also provides us with lots of nice long words with 6 or more letters. I counted 20. Awesome!
Favorite clue today is BED (12D. Something that goes with breakfast?). Bed and Breakfast. I was thinking of crossword.
Across:
1. Tsp. and tbsp.: AMTS
5. Old orchard spray: ALAR
9. Abu __: DHABI. Capital of the United Arab Emirates.
14. Separate by color, say: SORT. Wanted CODE.
15. Angle function: SINE
16. Barely flowed: OOZED
17. Hairy "pet": CHIA
22. Casual evenings: NITES. Nice clue.
23. Dull: TIRESOME
27. One might be snappy: DRESSER. Great clue too.
30. Anti vote: NAY
31. __ Kan: Alpo rival: KAL, Kal-Kan. What's the name origin for this pet food company?
32. Some game enders: MATES. Chess game.
34. They come and go: FADS. Nailed it.
39. Enter: GO IN
41. Search stealthily: PROWL
42. Abate: EBB
43. Rosemary's portrayer: MIA (Farrow)
46. Hides: STASHES
50. Mind: LISTEN TO
53. Clinton Labor secretary Robert: REICH. Man, I can never remember his name.
60. __ on the shoulder: A TAP
61. Author __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. I confuse her name with Fred Astaire's sister ADELE.
62. __ sci: POLI. Political science. Not a familiar abbr to me.
63. Pointed end: CUSP
64. Feature of Oregon sales: NO TAX. Got the answer from crossings.
65. Singles: ONES.
66. Latin I word: ESSE. To be.
Down:
1. Go up: ASCEND
2. Angora fabric: MOHAIR. Angora goat.
3. Sad, to Sarkozy: TRISTE. Good alliteration.
4. Churchill or Roosevelt, e.g.: STATESMAN
5. Star sci.: ASTR. Astronomy.
6. 10% of DXXX: LIII. 10% of 530=53.
7. Apprehension: ANGST
8. Catch from a pier: REEL IN
9. "The Soloist" co-star: DOWNEY. Robert John Downey, Jr. I've never seen "The Soloist".
10. Robbery accessories: HOODS
11. Nitrogen-based dye: AZO. Azo dye. Learned from doing Xword.
13. Psyche parts: IDS. Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of Freud's psyche definition. Lois is a master at this stuff.
19. Avis lead-in: RARA. Rara avis.
21. Samuel Johnson work: ESSAY
24. "You bet": OKAY
25. Alfred E. Neuman is its mascot: MAD. The Mad Magazine.
26. Overhead transports: ELS
28. LAX posting: ETA
29. Court decision maker: REF. Tennis court. (Update: Basketball court. Sorry for the error.)
33. Indy 500 advertiser: STP
34. Mask: FALSE FACE
35. Ownership call: DIBS
36. Speech hesitations: ERS
37. Malarkey: ROT. Malarkey is a new word to me.
38. Happy, for one: DWARF. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Stymied me.
39. Hair stiffener: GEL
40. Geisha's sash: OBI
43. Spareribs separator: MEAT AX. It's just called cleaver, isn't it?
44. Keen on: INTO
45. Musical direction after ritardando, perhaps: A TEMPO. No idea. Waiting for Jazzbumpa for more explanation.
47. Gap: HIATUS
48. Mercedes sedan category: E-CLASS. So, E stands for executive, Dennis?
49. Quaint retail word: SHOPPE. Ye Olde Shoppe. I used to think Ye stands for "you" until I read Spitzboov & Jazzbumapa's "the" discussion on the blog a few days ago.
51. Tony winner Tharp: TWYLA. Got her this time.
52. Sweater synthetic: ORLON
55. Peevishness: BILE
56. Les États-__: UNIS. The US in French.
57. Data-sharing syst.: LAN (Local Area Network).
58. Chapel vow: I DO
59. Ease, with "up": LET
Answer grid.
I just added "Search This Blog" box below "Blog Archive" at the right end of the blog front page. Simply type in "Jeannie's Meatloaf" or anything we've discussed at the blog writeup or Comments section, the related posts should appear at the very top of the blog.
C.C.
18A. Father of Sam and Charlie: TIGER WOODS. Tiger Lily. See this photo. Tiger's wife Elin holds their daughter Sam, and Charlie is in Tiger's arms. The clue struck me as obscure, esp for non-golfers who don't follow the Tiger scandal.
20A. South Pacific site of large stone statues: EASTER ISLAND. Easter Lily.
35A. Continuously: DAY AFTER DAY. Daylily. The dried flowers of some daylilies are commonly used in Chinese cuisine, though the word daylily itself is new to me. We just call them golden needles.
54A. Asian draft animal: WATER BUFFALO. Water Lily. Did not know water buffalo are used as draft animals.
Hmm, we seem to have a trend for longer unifier now. At least, Jack loves longer ones. In his last PO' BOY puzzle, PO is inserted into each common phrase and no BOY is to be found.
A year ago, we would just have four theme entries with a defining LILY at the lower right corner of the grid. I do love the LILY TOMLIN hook. Symmetrically it balances out TIGER WOODS nicely. Jack also provides us with lots of nice long words with 6 or more letters. I counted 20. Awesome!
Favorite clue today is BED (12D. Something that goes with breakfast?). Bed and Breakfast. I was thinking of crossword.
Across:
1. Tsp. and tbsp.: AMTS
5. Old orchard spray: ALAR
9. Abu __: DHABI. Capital of the United Arab Emirates.
14. Separate by color, say: SORT. Wanted CODE.
15. Angle function: SINE
16. Barely flowed: OOZED
17. Hairy "pet": CHIA
22. Casual evenings: NITES. Nice clue.
23. Dull: TIRESOME
27. One might be snappy: DRESSER. Great clue too.
30. Anti vote: NAY
31. __ Kan: Alpo rival: KAL, Kal-Kan. What's the name origin for this pet food company?
32. Some game enders: MATES. Chess game.
34. They come and go: FADS. Nailed it.
39. Enter: GO IN
41. Search stealthily: PROWL
42. Abate: EBB
43. Rosemary's portrayer: MIA (Farrow)
46. Hides: STASHES
50. Mind: LISTEN TO
53. Clinton Labor secretary Robert: REICH. Man, I can never remember his name.
60. __ on the shoulder: A TAP
61. Author __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. I confuse her name with Fred Astaire's sister ADELE.
62. __ sci: POLI. Political science. Not a familiar abbr to me.
63. Pointed end: CUSP
64. Feature of Oregon sales: NO TAX. Got the answer from crossings.
65. Singles: ONES.
66. Latin I word: ESSE. To be.
Down:
1. Go up: ASCEND
2. Angora fabric: MOHAIR. Angora goat.
3. Sad, to Sarkozy: TRISTE. Good alliteration.
4. Churchill or Roosevelt, e.g.: STATESMAN
5. Star sci.: ASTR. Astronomy.
6. 10% of DXXX: LIII. 10% of 530=53.
7. Apprehension: ANGST
8. Catch from a pier: REEL IN
9. "The Soloist" co-star: DOWNEY. Robert John Downey, Jr. I've never seen "The Soloist".
10. Robbery accessories: HOODS
11. Nitrogen-based dye: AZO. Azo dye. Learned from doing Xword.
13. Psyche parts: IDS. Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of Freud's psyche definition. Lois is a master at this stuff.
19. Avis lead-in: RARA. Rara avis.
21. Samuel Johnson work: ESSAY
24. "You bet": OKAY
25. Alfred E. Neuman is its mascot: MAD. The Mad Magazine.
26. Overhead transports: ELS
28. LAX posting: ETA
29. Court decision maker: REF. Tennis court. (Update: Basketball court. Sorry for the error.)
33. Indy 500 advertiser: STP
34. Mask: FALSE FACE
35. Ownership call: DIBS
36. Speech hesitations: ERS
37. Malarkey: ROT. Malarkey is a new word to me.
38. Happy, for one: DWARF. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Stymied me.
39. Hair stiffener: GEL
40. Geisha's sash: OBI
43. Spareribs separator: MEAT AX. It's just called cleaver, isn't it?
44. Keen on: INTO
45. Musical direction after ritardando, perhaps: A TEMPO. No idea. Waiting for Jazzbumpa for more explanation.
47. Gap: HIATUS
48. Mercedes sedan category: E-CLASS. So, E stands for executive, Dennis?
49. Quaint retail word: SHOPPE. Ye Olde Shoppe. I used to think Ye stands for "you" until I read Spitzboov & Jazzbumapa's "the" discussion on the blog a few days ago.
51. Tony winner Tharp: TWYLA. Got her this time.
52. Sweater synthetic: ORLON
55. Peevishness: BILE
56. Les États-__: UNIS. The US in French.
57. Data-sharing syst.: LAN (Local Area Network).
58. Chapel vow: I DO
59. Ease, with "up": LET
Answer grid.
I just added "Search This Blog" box below "Blog Archive" at the right end of the blog front page. Simply type in "Jeannie's Meatloaf" or anything we've discussed at the blog writeup or Comments section, the related posts should appear at the very top of the blog.
C.C.
69 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - nice Thursday puzzle; excellent clues and a theme that I never would've gotten without the unifier.
Had no idea what Tiger Woods' kids were named, but once I had 'Tiger', it was obvious, and that also helped with another unknown, or forgotten, 'azo'.
The only clue that bothered me a little was 'Robbery accessories'/'hoods'; I know they're occasionally used, but it just didn't sit right. Oh, and 17A should have quotes around 'hairy' as well, since it's actually grass. All in all, though, a fun puzzle.
C.C., to answer your question about Mercedes, at one time the 'E' stood for 'Einspritzung', which is German for 'fuel injection'. Sometime in the '90s, they changed all the designations so that they now just represent body style. I don't think there's any further meaning to the letters. Next time I go in for service, I'll ask one of the old heads there. Also, I liked your answer to 12D, because in our blog world, 'doing a crossword' could involve either breakfast or bed.
Today is National Jelly Bean Day. Is there a better jelly bean than a Jelly Belly?
Today's Words of Wisdom: "It's tough to make predictions - especially about the future." -- Yogi Berra
And a few Fun Facts on one of my favorite subjects, food:
- Americans will eat 90 acres worth of pizza today. I'm sure I've contributed a front yard or so this year.
- The potato chips Americans eat each year weigh six times as much as the Titanic.
- The average American eats the equivalent of 28 pigs in his or her lifetime. Nope. Not touching it.
Good Morning, CC and all. I thought at first this would be a toughie for me. I had a lot of blanks at the top half, but once I got the the bottom half, and filled in LILY TOMLIN, I knew what to look for. It was smooth sailing from there with no outside help.
I didn't know the names of TIGER's children, but after getting a few of the letters, and knowing I was looking for a LILY, that fell into place.
Easter Island belongs to Chile.
I liked Robbery Accessories = HOODS. I figured it was a double meaning clue ~ it can mean both the hood worn over the head and/or the accomplices (ie, robbers being called Hoods).
Even though I have never been to Oregon, I knew it was a NO TAX state. I used to work my state's Revenue Department.
My favorite clues were: Ribs Separator = MEAT AX
Mask = FALSE FACE
It was also fun seeing HIATUS as a fill.
QOD: Difficulty is the nurse of greatness. ~ William Cullen Bryant
Good morning CC and All, a great puzzle for a Thursday. I felt pretty smug about today’s solve until I hit the lower bottom section. The first mistake was Adele for Adela which prevented me from seeing meatax for a very long time. Also, meat ax was my favorite clue. I finally guessed at Twyla which allowed me to complete that section. I never remember Reich, but managed to get it from the perps.
This was a fun puzzle and very doable with a little help from the perps.
Hope you all have a great Thursday.
Spitzboov, from yesterday, thanks for the great photos of the volcano.
@fermatprime, from yesterday, for HBO, Starz, local channels and HD it is about $75.00 per month.
Morning, all!
Mostly straightforward puzzle today, but I got really hung up in the SW corner. I initially had ADELE instead of ADELA for 61A and couldn't make any sense of 43D as a result. I stared at M_ATEX for the longest time. It didn't help that I also had trouble parsing 50A. I had LIST_NTO and was thinking the first word was LIST instead of LISTEN. LIST INTO? LIST UNTO? And no matter what letter I selected, it didn't work with M_ATEX.
I finally went with ADELA for 61A, which got me to MEATAX (never heard of a meat ax) and then the light finally dawned with LISTENTO. I still didn't get the "TADA!" though. I had to recheck the entire grid until I discovered I had misspelled BUFFALO as BUFFULO. Oops.
Thanks again for the car advice. After talking it over with my wife, I think I'm going to look for an used AWD Dodge Charger RT with low miles. I actually just saw one for sale (2007 model with only 18000 miles), but it's at a dealership nearly 50 miles away and who knows if it will even still be available by the time I have a chance to check it out. But if not that one, I'm sure there will be others. The thought of 350HP is making me weak at the knees... ^_^
Very easy puzzle for a Thursday. Taxed no brain cells. 15 minutes.
C.C. 29d refers to basketball court. Tennis court is incorrect as tennis uses an umpire and linespeople.
Hello all. Here I am, would you believe, two days in a row posting. Am too nervous about new doctor appointment to sleep. (Hey, it is only 6:30 here and I've been awake all night. Please forgive any idiotic mistakes that I make!)
Nice job, as usual CC. Good, rather fast puzzle. (But I would rather not be reminded of T. Woods.)
JAYCE--Yes, I agree with your estimation of routers in general. My first of many was a hated Linksys. When you get to point where restarting them does no good, you know that you are out more money. At least they are getting cheaper.
DICK--Those prices seem rather more reasonable than what I am shelling out for DIRECTV. Thanks!
Here is an article I read this morning that really describes my feelings on the subject of
Link text slang. One of my daughter-in-laws uses this exclusively in emails (and does not spell check). She is an MD who let all of her kids drink plain Diet Coke as early as they could hold a cup or can. Also, as some of you know, I taught for many years. This stuff really got to me!
PS I finally got around to filling in profile (mostly), for those 270 of you who had been trying to find something there!
Sorry folks. Let's try that link again:
text slang
C.C., what a nice addition the "Search This Blog" feature is! Hand up for ADELE -- that was my change to get the completed puzzle screen. Couldn't spell DHABI the first time through -- wanted a U in there somewhere.
Dennis, appreciate your forbearance
Hahtool, do come and visit, but not to stay (We had a governor that used that as his tourism policy years ago). No sales tax, but watch out for the income tax (and property tax).
Barry G, there's no BUFFULO? LOL!
Fermatprime, interesting article. ty
Hey, CC...'a tempo' just means that the original tempo which was used before slowing down at the ritard will resume. 'A' is pronounced Ah, rather than as the long A sound. Tempo is pronounced Tempo, like the Ford car model that I drove in high school while I was learning all the wonderful music jargon that I am rarely able to recall today.
Long time lurker, first time poster. I like doing these puzzle but am getting flustered by the use of foreign language words.
Call me a nitpicker, but lets do the puzzle in English. High school French, Spanish, Latin and German were a long time ago.
I am okay with the occassional French eau or Spanish agua but 'trieste'? Gimme a break!
Good Morning C. C. and all.
Easy for a Thursday; no searches or erasures. Did not know Downey but the perps helped. Utilized the theme help for once. Wiki states the WATER BUFFALO is used as a draft animal, and has been domesticated 1000's of years. Favorite clues were for DRESSER and MATES.
C. C. Great search link you've added. Did a test run looking for Müüs (without the umlauts), and the entry came right up. Awesome. BZ
IMBO
Good Morning All, I had to get (18A) "Father of Sam and Charlie" started with the perps. Unfortunately, I had forgotten (5A) ALAR and that gave me a problem with (5D) ASTR, so I didn't have the "T" for TIGER.
I did know Robert DOWNEY Jr, who is a favorite actor, so I wound up getting WOODS first and then TIGER came automatically.
My big mistake was filling in DAY AND NIGHT for 35A. When that proved to be wrong, I had a tough time coming up with another similar phrase.
ADELA Rogers St. John used to be a frequent guest on the old (I mean really old) "Tonight" show with Jack Paar.
fermatprime, I'm hoping for good results and clear information at your appointment.
I agree with the article on text-speak. I use LOL or a :o) here, because I don't want anyone to misunderstand my intent. But these are students who are writing to instructors in a disrespectful and lazy (well, I think so) manner. Praise for the teachers who refuse to put up with it.
Hej to Karin P from last night. Don't start speaking Swedish to me though, I only know about five phrases. :o)
Gunghy, we know you live in Fresno. Have you mentioned where your snowed-in cabin is located? Looks like you may be driving "up the hill" toward Yosemite to get there.
C.C., the Blog Search feature is a wonderful addition.
Good morning, C.C. and friends,
This was a very doable puzzle this morning with an easy theme, once I sussed out the theme clue's name. I remember her as the famous telephone operator. I stumbled briefly over meat ax as I thought axe was always spelled with an "e". My F&W set that straight.
Was not dibs in yesterday's puzzle? I would think that Rich would not permit this, but perhaps publication dates are not set until after the editing process has been completed.
I will always remember 53A because Rush always calls his names "Reichhhhhhhhha"; why, I don't remember.
I had a suit made of mohair once. It was my favorite; I could not wear it out. I simply outgrew it (in the waist).
Have a enjoyable day.
Crocket: at least your state's slogan was better than the one a certain state, which will remain nameless, tested out a few years ago. It was: We Bend Over For Business. It came complete with a businessman in a suit and carrying a brief case doing a back flip.
i once gave a chia pet(the rabbit) to a girlfriend for her christmas gift. her "real gift" was hidden under the tree among other gifts. it was very tense until i gave her the real gift. i thought it was hilarious. she did not. she was gone before i could give her the pig for valentines day!
Hi all,
I actually finished a Thursday puzzle again!!! It wasn't easy and I had trouble in the lower half (of the puzzle), but managed to 'getter done'.
Favorite clue/answer: 22A Casual evenings/nites.
I was another one who did not know the names of Tiger Woods children...I am assuming Sam is short for Samantha? I know he had a daughter first, then his son. I don't root for him any longer, he is a big disappointment and all his PR people's words won't change what he did (or is).
C.C.: thanks much for the Blog Search addition. That is a wonderful idea and I know many of us have searched long and hard for a phrase, poem or funny statement. This will be so much easier.
Crockett: You are right on about our property and income taxes....who the %#@* would want to tack sales tax on top of those?! Guess that is why we have consistently voted sales tax down for the past 50+ years.
Hahtool: 10:06 LOL....we have a city in eastern Oregon named Bend. Could have a lot of fun with that. We also were on the national list of odd names for cities with Boring, Oregon. Guess they didn't (or couldn't) list all those wonderful cities/towns in Penn.
Carol, you're right - I spent many a time going through Blue Ball, trying to find Intercourse.
Good morning CC and fellow puzzlers,
Enjoyable Thursday x-word with nice, infrequently seen fills: mohair, angst, azo, dwarf, meat-ax, hiatus.
Favorite clues: snappy dresser (I was looking for retort or comeback), casual evenings = nites, game enders = mates, FADS come and go, and a dwarf named HAPPY.
Dennis, loved your Words of Wisdom. My license plate is NY 8 YOGI. When I was in Boston 5 years ago during a crucial season-ending Yankees-Red Sox series, I was warned to park my car underground if I expected to find its windows intact.
Something that goes with breakfast? I took two ways - a Bed and Breakfast is an inn, and breakfast in bed is a welcome luxury on vacation.
Barry, I had the same problems with AdelE, couldn't find a meat-ax or no-tax, & I was starting to MIND very much the clues in the area.
Fermatprime, I agree with you and the teachers fighting back as quoted in your excellent link on text slang.
If you think that's bad, read "Our Culture - What's Left of It" and "Not With a Bang But A Whimper - The Politics and Culture of Decline" by Theodore Dalrymple. I find these accounts painfully on target and somewhat depressing.
That said, the excellent grammar and witty points of view expressed on this blog brighten my day!
Make it a great Thursday.
I managed to finish the puzzle with just one visit to Mr. G and that was for Reich. Adela, Triste, rara and unis all came with the perps. I am not sure I like “peevishness” – bile. Stomach acid maybe? I thought Rosemary’s baby was a very disturbing movie. It still disturbs me when I run across it.
C.C. nice search engine tool addition. My meatloaf came up but for some reason I can’t pull up the eagle link that Kazie posted. Surely those eggs have hatched.
Good news regarding my Mom. She is coming home today. Isn’t that amazing?
Dennis, here in Minnesota you have to get to Aitken before you get to Remer.
Some of my favorite town names in Louisiana are: Dry Prong and Cut Off.
Good morning all and Happy Earth Day!
Today's puzzle was fun,pretty smooth run, although I had to look up Reich and Adela.I know I should wait until I'm stuck before I go searching, but I have no patience when there is a name and I know I don't know it. Jeez, that was wordy!
Liked "happy, for one". Didn't like the clue "listen to" with mind as the answer, but I do see the connection now that I'm blasting away.
Did anyone else put "a pat" instead of "a tap" at 1st? And I guessed phys instead of poli at 1st.
Was dibs really in yesterday? We used that word a lot as kids, esp. to get in the front seat.
Another Latin word, so another Latin quote:
"Fama malum quo non aliud velocius ullum." Virgil
Nothing moves faster than gossip.
Eagle cam
Good afternoon, all.
CC, wonderful addition.
Anon @ 11:15 Thanks for the eagle cam. It's better than the one I have that gets all the chatter from the college.
Cheers
C.C. means?
Chief Cruciverbalist.
Good day, C.C. and fellow bloggers.
Lilies for a Thursday theme was a beautiful bouquet, although I finished it easily without it.
Robert Reich wrote a humorous book about his years as labor secretary, Locked in the Cabinet, and he was interviewed just this week on CNN.
Last week I saw The Soloist from Netflix; it's worthwhile if you haven't seen it.
"Triste" is also Spanish for sad.
No major problems that perps didn't assist. Really liked the clues already mentioned, especially "something that goes with breakfast" BED, considering the chatter about that recently; and "pointed end" as I had no idea that is the meaning of "cusp" and have only seen it in astrological and astronomical contexts.
I haven't tried the new link yet, but shall soon.
Jeannie, cheers for your Mom.
Happpy Thursday everyone!
Steve @ 9:28
Re: using English. There are many areas where the solver may be "weak'. Maybe languages isn't their thing. Others lack depth in sports, the theater, or music. Perhaps one is short on math terms or arcane geography or science.
I like it when the constructor and editor attempt by judicious use of themes and perps and clever clueing to not only broaden ones knowledge of words. but also to continue to force the challenge of the solve.
That is why it is a puzzle.
Fermatprime: Thank you for the link about English and text-style writing. As a retired English teacher, I cannot imagine accepting such. Further, I think that teachers allowing, much less asking, students to call them by their first names, is part of this slippery slope. Way back when I taught at a Community College, I had come from elementary teaching, and I wouldn't have dreamed of allowing my first name to be used by students. Some of them were older than I at the time, but it was a matter of respect. Same for the language.
(My 50ish-year-old boys still say they have to think twice before using first names for adults!)
Cheers
Happy Earth Day all.
Jazzbumpa: You summed this puzzle up just right. Good in parts, TIRESOME in other.
At "Father of Sam and Charlie" I had a WTF moment and thought: "Well I know it isn't me."
Then ANGST crossed TIGER WOODS, well that seemed descriptive.
Searched out the theme reveal clue, as is my habit, and once I had Lily Tomlin they all fell in place.
With --O--E I had 'ye olde' before SHOPPE.
AZO, nitrogen dye was a learning moment.
TRISTE & UNIS expansion of my Non-English vocabulary.
C. C., the new link is fabulous! I was thinking I was confusing my puzzles, but now they are all at our fingertips. Donna, two weeks apart, yesterday and now Jack Mc only 13 days apart. Hmm, maybe we need to start constructing our own. Puzzle was fun, but not hard, except MEAT AX, which was okay, but silly.
Go Thelma!
Hey Dennis (10:45) LOL - sure hope that trip was worth the effort!
Spitzboov 12:29 - very well said and so true!
Quit raining here for now, so our bike ride should be nice. :)
I had trouble sleeping last night, so I did the puzzle online at about 1 am. I don’t remember much about the experience to write, other than it did distract my thoughts enough to help me get to sleep. The few unknowns I had were filled in by perps.
My mother’s name was Adele, but Grandpa used to call her Della. We picked up on it while he was living with us, and now use it as a term of endearment for her.
Dennis: I was reading the blog during a break at work and had your 10:45 post up on my screen when my mgr. came by to discuss our current project. I barely had time to minimize it!
Jeannie: I’m glad to hear your mother's recovering so quickly!
Sallie: My grade school principal later became a friend of the family. When I started high school, he was working there in a different capacity, so I'd stop in to visit him sometimes, and even enjoyed a dance with him once at a fancy event. Now, as an adult, he wants me to call him “Frank”, and I just can’t do it! (While we were dancing, I discovered that he’d been on his way to ask his wife to dance, since it was ‘their song’. I tried to bow out, but he insisted we finish our dance. Talk about feeling special! “Moon River” has been my favorite song ever since.)
An elderly aunt asked me to call her by her first name recently too, but I just can't do it!
Hear! Hear! Spitzboove and Lucina!
Spitz, the use of a few foreign words compared to the many, many remote sports and rap music clues is negligible! Give us a break, complainers.
And Lucina, (Fermatpriime too, if I'm remembering correctly), I'm in complete agreement re: the informality that appears to be accepted by educated teachers who should know better! I'm also a retired English teacher.
I'll add a hand up for Adele; I'm ashamed that I didn't know that. But "meatax?" Never heard of it; what's wrong with "cleaver?"
Back to theming,again. Even when I got Lily Tomlin I didn't get the flower business! I had all the theme answers before I had Lily, too.I guess there's no hope for me!
C.C. How thoughtful of you to add the search feature! It's a real boon especially to newbies! Thanks for all you do!
I always enjoyed going through Rabbit Hash and Gnaw Bone in rural Kentucky and Indiana, respectively.
On interstate 12, there is a sign announcing the next exit that reads: Baptist Pumpkin Center. That always makes me laugh.
Yes, I completely agree. Text spelling would not be allowed were I still in an elementary classroom. My grandddaughter is not allowed to use it either.
In Arizona you might drive through Why, Bahgdad and Ajo (meaning garlic in Spanish).
This puzzle certainly gave me more trouble than it should have. There weren't too many unknowns but the brain is just not clicking. All this sleep deprivation is doing me in. This morning I awoke to the alarm at 5 am as I had forgotten to reset it from the other day when I had to take my son in for his EEG - another sleep deprived day of course. Oh well, it was a good theme and I did get most of it with lots of time spent.
Here is the scoop on my seizure boy. All tests were absolutely clear, and the neurologist believes that he is an extremely low risk of ever having another seizure. His take is "everyone is entitled to one seizure in their lifetime". Surprise to me. They do not think his earlier incident was a seizure either, just passing out from exhaustion. One really doesn't know though.
Bad news is that, given these circumstances, there is no law keeping him from driving:-( Life would be so much easier if we had that in our pocket. They want him to take anti-seizure meds for 6 months, we would rather he didn't. The doc said "common sense" would dictate that he only drive locally - no highways for 6 months, only if he takes the meds. Of course, being a 17 yr old, his only focus is how does he get to drive regardless of how limited it is. We will be getting a second opinion we think next week. We hate to see him take potentially needless drugs, especially as he has a history of not taking his medications on a consistent basis (he has ADD). Unfortunately, this could actually cause more seizures which would ultimately label him an epileptic. So we have a lot to think about.
Thanks all for thinking of us in this trying time. Hopefully next week will be more restful.
Hi all,
Ditto to Bob. Wow, a 15 min. Thurs. With no G-spotting, even though I was doing it in bed, as usual. All those names, and I still didn't struggle?? Thank God for a neice named Twyla and the fact that I'd seen Tharp last week.
I never saw the theme until I got here and CC set me right.
CC, I'm not a big tennis fan, but I have heard the linesmen referred to as refs.
Fermat, Nice article and it seemed that I spent half my class time explaining the difference between formal and informal voice. (And I taught science.)
Crocket, Dubai
CA, Huntington Lake, Home of the High Sierra Regatta. NE of Fresno on Highway 168. The boat is Gunghy's Den.
Dennis, After Intercourse, aren't you in Paradise??
On a bike ride through Southern England, we went through a town called Loose. The first thing we saw was a large sign directing us to the 'Loose Women's Institute.' My then wife for some reason refused to let me visit, even after the locals explained quite emphatically that it is pronounced Looz.
A few years back, we stayed at the Hotel Krapi outside Helsinki.
If you are interested in interesting place names this site could help you.
KQ, that's mostly good news. I hope you get it all sorted out, to both "seizure boy" and your satisfaction. You have some hard choices to make. Best wishes with all.
There's a Bagdad in California too. There was a very good German (in English) movie titled "Bagdad Cafe" that was filmed near the original Bagdad on the famous Rte 66.
We have California's Bummerville, not too far away from where we live. I'm not sure how it came by its name, but it sounds like some disgruntled 60's hippies got fed up and headed south to Dunmovin.
fermatprime,
I just read your updated profile, and was much impressed with your accomplishments. Thank you for the info. Just out of curiosity, is your user name related to your being a mathematician?
I noted you like Martha Grimes. My wife is currently engrossed in her latest book, "The Black Cat". I am also a fan and have read most of what she has written. I have often wondered how she, and Elizabeth George, both Americans, can write so authentically, to my mind, about British characters and locales. I enjoy meeting other bibliophiles. Do you like P.D. James?
Boogers.
Spitzboov:
Hear! Hear! Believe it or not, sports terminology is often like a foreign language to me and many musical terms are unfamiliar, as well as math and science when it's technical, but I'm open to learning. That's the fun and enjoyment of solving and as you wisely say, that's why it's a puzzle.
KQ, your son is on my prayer list; please keep us posted as to his progress.
TFrank,
I waited two years for Black Cat having read all of Martha Grimes, and it went way too quickly, especially as she did little to resolve the Harry Johnson arc. Personally, I think she has gotten carried away with the dogs and the cats, and needs to reinvigorate the the cast of characters which are human. Introducing and then paralyzing a love interest seemed cruel. Mungo is nice but give me some Northants.
CC - To add to Dennis' early comments, Mercedes-Benz sells 4 ranges of cars in the US, called C-, E-, S-, and M-Class. S-Class is the most luxurious and by far the most costly. M-Class is the SUV model. The Class letter precedes the model number, which roughly represents the engine displacement. Suffix letters seem to be going away, but when they were common, they made some sense in German and/or English. Example: D works for Diesel in either language, but TD for Turbo Diesel is more Anglicized in my opinion.
Probably more than you wanted to know.
Note: There is an adorable little car called the A-Class which is essentially the same as the Smart Car. I have only seen them in Europe and Australia - as usual, the niftiest cars are unavailable in the States.
Hello All--I enjoyed the crossword today. I did find the theme right away and so filled in the long answers before some of the rest. Some of the unknowns, such as "The Soloist" co-star-Downey, and Nitrogen based dye-Azo were gotten with the perps, so no lookups today.
My favorite clue today was "One might be snappy" for Dresser.
C.C. Putting in the Blog search was a super idea. You keep making it better and better for all of us.
The rain has gone away for a few days, anyway, so I was out early to plant some of the bedding plants I picked up at the nursery a few days ago. It is still chilly, but we do have nice sunshine.
I've enjoyed reading about the odd place names today. Where do they come from? This would be a neat look up if you could find the source behind the naming. I was born in a small town called Lead Hill. We knew the source as they mined Lead nearby. Loose and Bummerville would be interesting to research.
Good evening CC, et al., Had a little trouble w/the south but it all worked out with the perps.
55D 'Bile' for 'peevishness' only made sense to me in terms of Hippocrates' (400 BC) personality trait theory based on the surplus of any of 4 Humors (body fluids) found in the body. One humor was yellow bile and that person was described as irritable. Otherwise, I didn't grok that at all. Who goes around saying, 'Man, that guy is really touchy..must be full of bile!'or 'Gee, what a bile bag!' If that is the reasoning, I'd say that is a little obscure. My only complaint for today tho'...well, meat ax wasn't very 'cleaver' either to me. But past all that, I enjoyed it all.
Having 'mo-hair' crossing 'chia' made me laugh, esp w/that crosing Churchill who had no-hair.
Loved seeing 'ids' (CC, you made me LOL w/your comment). I try to 'reel in' my Id but that just causes 'angst'. I'd go 'mad' if I couldn't live on the 'cusp' of "should I" and 'okay' 'I do'. "Nay" just isn't in my vocabulary. It keeps the 'nites' interesting and the stories (not 'L-iii's (lies)) about the 'ones' I 'let' go or the 'mates' that got away from getting 'tiresome'...to me anyway. It's all good.
KQ: that's good news about your son, but what a dilemma. You all are still in my prayers. Keep us posted on the second opinion. I think that's a very good idea too.
Update: Brooke is awake, alert, eating, weak, but enjoying visitors. She's a fighter. Your thoughts and prayers are working. Thank you so much.
Jeannie: Yea for your mom! Hope she has a speedy recovery. Modern medicine is utterly amazing!
Dennis: Bird-in-Hand is near Blue Ball, not far from Intercourse (that I found...avatar) and on the way to Paradise, as Gunghy said. Short Pump is just up the road here. Can't loiter there. Ya get in and get out pretty quickly.
i always laugh when i pass the exit for Big Bone Lick State Park on I-75 just south of Cincinnati.
ask WH what a Lick is
Jazzbumpa: The two Old English letters you describe were called the "eth" and the "thorn." The "eth" was used when "th" was pronounced as in the word "thin" and the "thorn" was used with the pronunciation of words such as "then." "Eth" was a little more aspirate.
An ex-student of mine met and married one of my daughters when they were in college. It took him a few years to stop calling me "Mrs. Hagen" instead of "Mom" even though I had a last name change between the time he had been in my class and they married. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and he now calls me "Mom."
Doreen
Doreen, I smiled about your son-in-law's discomfort about what to call you. It seems to be a universal problem, particularly when the "caller" is quite a bit younger than the "callee". I made it very clear to my future son-in-law that he should call me by my first name (he never was a "Mom" kind of guy). Now, my older grandson's girlfriend calls me "Joeysgrandma", as all one word. She wouldn't want to be so formal to call me Mrs. Mugwump, or so personal to call me Lullibelle. Does anyone else have a story about what they call their inlaws, or what their s-i-ls and d-i-ls call them?
Lois, it's wonderful that Brooke has such courage. We're rooting for her!
I am trying to figure out how we got on the topic of strange town names, but Minnesota is known for Embarrass which is also the "Cold Spot" of the state (I think it ranks up there with International Falls for cold in the nation too, but not sure). Their record low in 1996 was -64. Brrr. Apparently they sometimes have hard frosts in the summer making it very hard to even grow flowers.
Femaprime, enjoyed the article and sent it to my ex-principal and pals. I would think all teachers are struggling with that, along with the cell phones in the classrooms.
CC, you are wonderful. The new blog search is going to be very helpful.xie xie
Jazz, watching Lily was a treat. Speaking of lilies, we've decided to pick all my lilies on Sat for my daughter's baby shower. I was worried when it got so cold, but it looks as if I'll have at least 3 dozen.
Carol, gorgeous tulips!!!!
KQ, good news, and yet a lot to ponder. Getting a 2nd opinion is a good step.We're all keeping our fingers crossed and saying a few prayers for both of you. You need sleep!!!!
More good news-Brooke! Lois, how long do they think a heart will come her way?I know they can't pinpoint it due to numerous variables, but they must have some kind of time frame.
Chickie, I looked up your Lead Hill thinking it might be the same place we are visiting in May. Not even close.We'll be SD's Black Hills;this Lead is near Deadwood.
Seen not heard,
After your 10:29 post, I wanted to ask if you were from anywhere near Kentucky, because I'm pretty sure my brother married that girl.
After your late post, it looks as though I was right.
By the way, as SNH suggests, I do know what a "lick" is. It's a natural salt deposit where animals gather for their necessary salt intake. There are many of them here in the Bluegrass, and several towns are named after the salt deposit near them. Big Bone Lick, in Gallatin County (right across the river from Buckeye) is so named because dinosaur bones have been excavated there. There is also Blue Licks, the site of a Revolutionary War battle that occurred when British and Indian forces attacked a party of settlers which included the brother and sons of Daniel Boone, who were there to gather salt for their settlement near Lexington, about 35 miles away.
My home town, May's Lick, Ky. , is named after a salt lick located on the property of the original settler, George May.
Pop Quiz later.
In other news, when I returned to college at the age of 46, the PS dept. Chair was 10 years younger than me. In class, he was always Professor B. On the basketball court, in the weight room, at the pub, he was Mike.
My Dil's and my Sil call me Larry, at my request. My grandchildren call me Grandpa Larry, but at some point, when we can share a beer, I'll become just Larry, or at least hope so.
Jeannie, hope Thelma is doing well tonight.
Lois, I have been remiss in sending you "noted" thoughts about your Brooke. Please let it be known she is in my prayers as well.
Funny aside; both of my sisters who live about an hour away both went to visit at the hospital last night. Both had the exact plant, same color. Karen, the oldest whispered to Steph the youngest..."wonder how long before...you know". Dad overheard and said, "wonder what? When she can pee?" They almost peed their pants laughing. Mom's 76 and Dad's 74. Dad slapped himself aside the head and said "Damn, I forgot to ask that!" Mom just giggled.
For everyone reading this...a sense of humor gets you far in life and relationships, in my honest opinion. See fermatprime, I didn't even use IMOP.
I am also from the old school where I call some of my mother's best friends of 30+ years Mrs. So and So; and all my Aunts are still Aunts.
L714,
Thanks for your comment on the book. I have not read it yet; Jean finished it about 30 minutes ago. I am looking forward to it.
IMO, her writing is inconsistent. I like her Richard Jury novels, but am lukewarm to some of her other efforts, like the series with strange pub names as titles.
Good night...
Doreen -
Sorry, but Old English orthography was nowhere near as defined as you suggest. Nor was spelling. Cyning Ælfred campaigned for spelling consistency in the 9th Century, with some success, but it was coming unraveled (probably due to texting) even before William the Bastard invaded in 1066.
Every source I've checked indicates that Eth and thorn were used interchangeably, and eiþer of ðem could represent the voiced or unvoiced "th" sound.
Cheers!
JzB who could spell his name with either a thorn or an eth in it.
Oops, sorry if my comments interfere with your enjoying the book. After you read it I will be happy to discuss in detail
I should clarify my earlier remarks. I believe the bones found and on display at BBL State Park are actually those of mastodons, wooly mammoths and similar extinct critters. But they are guaranteed to be at least 6600
years old.
Sorry to stop in so late, but I was gone all day and only just got through skimming hastily these comments.
The puzzle was quite easy today for a Thursday. Only unknowns: AZO and Tiger's kids' names, both resolved with perps.
I too felt that TRISTE was a bit hard for non-Francophones, and was surprised by its appearance. Because of haste in preparing to leave, I missed "getting" the theme--didn't even look back for the connection after Lily appeared.
I'm leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend celebrating the 25th, so won't check in again until Sunday night at the earliest. I wish all experiencing various Ängste the very best, and hope all turns out as well as it seems to be doing for Jeannie's Mom.
Fermatprime,
I certainly share your pain over the texting jargon. I like the professor's reaction to it, sounds like what I might have done were I still teaching. But then the kids all thought I was nuts for insisting that spelling mistakes were deductible errors, in English, French or German!
"See" you all after the weekend!
WH, that's old enough to be Mister Mammoth to me.
I remember the first time in my class that a boy, wanting my attention, called me Dude. We straightened out that problem rather quickly.
Another boy had trouble asking me a question without including the word 'Like' in his question. He said, "Mr Graham, like, can you take the square root of, like, a negative number?" I responded, "What a good question." Could you try to ask it again without using the word 'Like'? He made several attempts in vain. He just couldn't do it. We all had a smile, I said "Don't worry about it," and I answered his question.
Somebody please explain to me how "like" became so pervasive in our language. I can't stand it! Remember when the educated Caroline Kennedy gave a speech that both began and ended her political career? It drowned under all those likes! It was unbecoming.
JD, My Lead Hill is in Arkansas. It is a small town not too many miles from Harrison in the Ozarks.
I think there are several Lead Hills in the U.S.
I was on the computer earlier and an ad for the postal service flat rate box said we no longer have to weigh boxes under 70 pounds. I was just wondering how to know a box is under 70 pounds if you don't weigh it? Looks like weather in KC might screw up the Twins game tonight. Friday bowling is finally over for the season so I have a free night to watch baseball, if there's a game.
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