Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 36
Barry anchors his puzzle with three 15-letter Across entries right in the middle of the grid, and intersects them with another two 15 Down grid spanners:
34A. Minor league team with a locomotive in one of its logos: READING PHILLIES. Phillies' AA affiliate based in Reading, PA. Here is their logo. Unknown to me. You can always find some Phillies' reference in Barry's puzzles.
38A. He played Will Scarlet in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves": CHRISTIAN SLATER. Saw the movie. But all I can remember is Kevin Costner.
39. New England setting: EASTERN TIME ZONE. And BOOLA (47. New England cheer word). Boola Boola. Yale's fight song. Nice New England echo.
5D. Someone to build a team around: FRANCHISE PLAYER. Like Twins' Joe Mauer.
10D. Runway displays: FALL COLLECTIONS. Loved this entry.
There are also 16 7-letter entries, including those triple stacks in each corner.
Across:
1. Move to new places?: SHUFFLE. Move the play cards to new places. Got me.
8. Exotic vacations: SAFARIS. A happy fill for JD who just safaried last year.
15. Bird known for hovering in a headwind: KESTREL. Hence nickname windhover. Hovering directly above IRELAND (17. Bunratty Castle site). A shout-out to Windhover and his wife Irish. I am not familiar with Bunratty Castle.
16. Like some birthstones: OPALINE
18. Source of relief?: BULLPEN. Relief pitchers.
19. Best Actress winner for "Two Women": LOREN (Sophia)
20. Wagner's father-in-law: LISZT
21. Look at, to Livy: ECCE. As in "Ecce Homo", "Behold the Man".
24. Suffix with fluor-: ESCE. Fluoresce.
26. 1930s Kansas governor Landon: ALF. I only knew him as the guy who ran against F.D.R. in 1936.
29. Cupcake: HON
30. Racer Fabi: TEO. Former Formula One racer. Waiting for more lessons from our racing expert EddyB.
31. Entrepreneur-aiding org.: SBA (Small Business Administration)
40. Soft & __: Dial product: DRI
41. "MS. Found in a Bottle" author: POE. I guessed.
42. Pres. title: CIC (Commander in Chief)
43. Nancy Drew's boyfriend: NED. Another guess. I've never read any Nancy Drew story.
44. Problems: ILLS
45. Where some "SNL" regulars got their start: SCTV. Second City Television. Unknown to me.
50. Child's retort: I AM SO
54. Seek acceptance at: APPLY TO
57. Mexican salamander: AXOLOTL. Stumper. Strange looking word. Strange looking too. Does it live in the water only?
59. "New York Mining Disaster 1941" was their first U.S. hit in 1967: BEE GEES. The answer emerged itself.
60. Like some academic positions: TENURED
61. They aren't on the program: ENCORES. Didn't come to me readily.
62. Gives in: ASSENTS
Down:
1. Black & Decker competitor: SKIL. I forgot this tool brand again.
2. Long lunch?: HERO. Nailed it.
3. Beta tester, e.g.: USER
4. Army post named for a CSA general: FT. LEE. In Virginia. I just found out that there's another Ft. Lee in New Jersey.
6. Author Deighton: LEN
7. "We '__ our bloomin' own": Kipling: 'ELD. Held?
8. ___ sister: SOB
9. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper: APU. Learned from doing Xword.
11. Divorcée Lowell in an '80s sitcom: ALLIE. From "Kate & Allie".
12. Tough currents: RIPS. New definition to me.
13. Spanish name meaning "chaste": INEZ. I mentioned this trivia on the blog before.
14. Elated: SENT. I know Argyle will link "You send me".
22. Restraint: CONTROL
23. Locomotives: ENGINES
24. Cultural group members: ETHNICS
25. Like many tsunamis: SEISMIC. Great C-ending word.
26. Like rainbows: ARCED
27. Operettist Franz: LEHAR. Famous for "The Merry Widow". Hungarian composer.
28. Modern Persian: FARSI
31. Squelch: SIT ON. The bad news.
32. Designer Geoffrey: BEENE. First encounter with this fellow.
33. Comparable to a beet: AS RED
35. Morse "E": DIT
36. Light hit: PAT
37. __-Boy recliner: LAZ
44. Volunteer's words: I'LL GO
46. Prize: VALUE
47. Symbol of innocence: BABE
48. Exposed: OPEN
49. Nigeria is its most populous member: OPEC. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
51. Poetic period: MORN
52. Go back on the dele?: STET. "Don't change".
53. Defunct GM line: OLDS
55. Beginning of Time?: TEE. The beginning letter of Time. Why capitalized Time?
56. Org. in the 1946 film "Cloak and Dagger": OSS. Forerunner to C.I.A..
58. Strikes (out): X'ES
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 36
Barry anchors his puzzle with three 15-letter Across entries right in the middle of the grid, and intersects them with another two 15 Down grid spanners:
34A. Minor league team with a locomotive in one of its logos: READING PHILLIES. Phillies' AA affiliate based in Reading, PA. Here is their logo. Unknown to me. You can always find some Phillies' reference in Barry's puzzles.
38A. He played Will Scarlet in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves": CHRISTIAN SLATER. Saw the movie. But all I can remember is Kevin Costner.
39. New England setting: EASTERN TIME ZONE. And BOOLA (47. New England cheer word). Boola Boola. Yale's fight song. Nice New England echo.
5D. Someone to build a team around: FRANCHISE PLAYER. Like Twins' Joe Mauer.
10D. Runway displays: FALL COLLECTIONS. Loved this entry.
There are also 16 7-letter entries, including those triple stacks in each corner.
Across:
1. Move to new places?: SHUFFLE. Move the play cards to new places. Got me.
8. Exotic vacations: SAFARIS. A happy fill for JD who just safaried last year.
15. Bird known for hovering in a headwind: KESTREL. Hence nickname windhover. Hovering directly above IRELAND (17. Bunratty Castle site). A shout-out to Windhover and his wife Irish. I am not familiar with Bunratty Castle.
16. Like some birthstones: OPALINE
18. Source of relief?: BULLPEN. Relief pitchers.
19. Best Actress winner for "Two Women": LOREN (Sophia)
20. Wagner's father-in-law: LISZT
21. Look at, to Livy: ECCE. As in "Ecce Homo", "Behold the Man".
24. Suffix with fluor-: ESCE. Fluoresce.
26. 1930s Kansas governor Landon: ALF. I only knew him as the guy who ran against F.D.R. in 1936.
29. Cupcake: HON
30. Racer Fabi: TEO. Former Formula One racer. Waiting for more lessons from our racing expert EddyB.
31. Entrepreneur-aiding org.: SBA (Small Business Administration)
40. Soft & __: Dial product: DRI
41. "MS. Found in a Bottle" author: POE. I guessed.
42. Pres. title: CIC (Commander in Chief)
43. Nancy Drew's boyfriend: NED. Another guess. I've never read any Nancy Drew story.
44. Problems: ILLS
45. Where some "SNL" regulars got their start: SCTV. Second City Television. Unknown to me.
50. Child's retort: I AM SO
54. Seek acceptance at: APPLY TO
57. Mexican salamander: AXOLOTL. Stumper. Strange looking word. Strange looking too. Does it live in the water only?
59. "New York Mining Disaster 1941" was their first U.S. hit in 1967: BEE GEES. The answer emerged itself.
60. Like some academic positions: TENURED
61. They aren't on the program: ENCORES. Didn't come to me readily.
62. Gives in: ASSENTS
Down:
1. Black & Decker competitor: SKIL. I forgot this tool brand again.
2. Long lunch?: HERO. Nailed it.
3. Beta tester, e.g.: USER
4. Army post named for a CSA general: FT. LEE. In Virginia. I just found out that there's another Ft. Lee in New Jersey.
6. Author Deighton: LEN
7. "We '__ our bloomin' own": Kipling: 'ELD. Held?
8. ___ sister: SOB
9. "The Simpsons" shopkeeper: APU. Learned from doing Xword.
11. Divorcée Lowell in an '80s sitcom: ALLIE. From "Kate & Allie".
12. Tough currents: RIPS. New definition to me.
13. Spanish name meaning "chaste": INEZ. I mentioned this trivia on the blog before.
14. Elated: SENT. I know Argyle will link "You send me".
22. Restraint: CONTROL
23. Locomotives: ENGINES
24. Cultural group members: ETHNICS
25. Like many tsunamis: SEISMIC. Great C-ending word.
26. Like rainbows: ARCED
27. Operettist Franz: LEHAR. Famous for "The Merry Widow". Hungarian composer.
28. Modern Persian: FARSI
31. Squelch: SIT ON. The bad news.
32. Designer Geoffrey: BEENE. First encounter with this fellow.
33. Comparable to a beet: AS RED
35. Morse "E": DIT
36. Light hit: PAT
37. __-Boy recliner: LAZ
44. Volunteer's words: I'LL GO
46. Prize: VALUE
47. Symbol of innocence: BABE
48. Exposed: OPEN
49. Nigeria is its most populous member: OPEC. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
51. Poetic period: MORN
52. Go back on the dele?: STET. "Don't change".
53. Defunct GM line: OLDS
55. Beginning of Time?: TEE. The beginning letter of Time. Why capitalized Time?
56. Org. in the 1946 film "Cloak and Dagger": OSS. Forerunner to C.I.A..
58. Strikes (out): X'ES
Answer grid.
C.C.
47 comments:
Well, as if Saturday isn't good enough by itself, we get a superb Silky.
I really enjoyed this one, as it challenged the hell out of me. Took a while to get any traction, especially after putting 'Harrier' instead of 'Kestrel' in the NW. Loved the five 15-letter fills, especially since 'Reading Phillies was a gimme; that really opened up the middle for me. Put 'CEO' reflexively for 'Pres. title' and 'Irani' for 'Modern Persian', which didn't help matters, and had a lot of unknowns, all fortunately perpable, including 'Axolotl', 'Liszt', and 'eld'. Too many favorites to list; just a lot of very clever clues.
As C.C. mentioned, that 'Axolotl' is one strange salamander; kinda neat-looking, though. I also liked seeing Geoffrey Beene - I used to love his suits back in the corporate days.
Today is Police Officers' Memorial Day, National Chocolate Chip Day, and Armed Forces Day. Take a minute to think about the men and women who are currently serving to keep us safe.
Hope it's a great weekend where you are.
My biggest trouble was with the (11D) divorcée in the NorthEast, (and the story of my life). I went from Alice to Alley before ending up with ALLIE.
Morning, all!
Lots of challenges in the puzzle today, but it ultimately left me bloodied but unbowed. I've been waiting to see AXOLOTL in a puzzle again after first seeing it years ago. And CHRISTIAN SLATER saved my bacon in the center of the grid.
I've never heard of a SOB sister before, and had no idea who TEO, LEHAR, ALLIE or the READING PHILLIES were. I've never heard of ETHNICS before, either. As I said, lots of challenges, but fortunately there was enough stuff I did know that I was able to muddle through unassisted in the end.
Favorite clue today was definitely "Go back on the dele" for STET. Hee-hee!
Good Morning CC and All,
Slow start but once I got some traction with Safari I worked the puzzle from the NE to SW. I guessed Christian Slater which led to perp help filling in Reading Phillies, along with some red letters. Fun puzzle.
Had no idea about the salamander but the picture reminded me of a sea slug I saw diving with my nephew in STX. If you put your hand near it, all of the flowery stuff was pulled in and he looked like a purple slug.
Off to work for a bit.
Have a great Saturday.
Good Morning all.
A great Silkie puzzle. Enjoyed his many excellent clues. Fav's were BULLPEN, HERE, and STET. KESTREL was good fill, but thought of sea gull first. Need a few red letter help but most of it filled in by going back and forth.
As Dennis noted, today is Armed Forces Day. Thanks to all who have served and to those protecting us today. A special wish for a safe tour for Jazzb's stepson and for Gunghys's son, a Hospital Corpsman Third Class (medic) in Afghanistan. I salute them both.
In honor of the day here is a performance by the US Navy Ceremonial Guard Drill Team
Enjoy the weekend.
I
This one definitely took some effort, but I managed to work everything out without error or help after 54 minutes. Among the trickiest ones for me were 2D (HERO) AND 18A (BULLPEN). I had no idea that Cosima Wagner was Franz Liszt's daughter until today. Nice to see AXOLOTL in a puzzle. Tsunamis are often caused by earthquakes and are technically called seismic sea waves, so I guess that makes them SEISMIC. A fun Saturday workout.
Hello Puzzlers - Took a serious butt-kicking on this one. Wrong toe-holds everywhere, hopeless attempts at the grid-spanners. Would never have finished without red letters and Goog.
Who ever heard of a sob sister?
Coffee. Now.
Dudley
When I got that SOB sister, all via perps, I thought WTF, moved on to my 2nd Mug.
Barry G
ETHNICS had me thinking "Is this some new 'Politically Correct' way to address eash other?" Another WTF.
Kid-speak, I AM SO got a laugh.
Not having any, when these come up I'm almost always at a loss.
All-in-all a slog, but an enjoyable jaunt as I SIT ON my LA-Z-boy, sipping java, solving.
Good Morning All, Very much a "hunt and peck" puzzle for me. Quite the satisfaction when I finally got Mr. Happy Pencil.
I stuck SEA GULL in at 15A and when that didn't work, I tried BUZZARD. Finally...KESTREL.
Fortunately, I got a toehold with 17A "Bunratty Castle site", IRELAND. The mirky smudge in the bottom right of this photo is me at Bunratty in 2007.
Further down in the grid, I got ALF, so I entered LISZT for 27D. Ooops, turned out to be LEHER. Both of those guys were named Franz.
CHRISTIAN SLATER came to the rescue and got me on the right track. I remember seeing that movie and thinking that Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham was the best thing about it.
I never (really...never!) would have filled in 34A READING PHILLIES without the perps. But once I had CHRISTIAN SLATER and EASTERN TIME ZONE (Thanks, 37D LA-Z-Boy), it was at least doable.
Was New York Mining Disaster 1941 really 59A BEE GEES first U.S. hit? I liked them, but I'd never heard this one before.
I must have missed AXOLOTL the other time it was in a puzzle. C.C.'s cute link photo somehow reminded me of Hello Kitty. Kitty was a granddaughter favorite for several years.
45A SCTV stands for Second City Television. SCTV was a Canadian sketch comedy series in the 70's and 80's. It was also broadcast a little later in the U.S. It was a very funny show. There are dozens of SCTV clips on YouTube if you want to take a look.
Mainiac, who would have thought that a slug could be so beautiful?
Spitzboov, loved the drill team clip.
Very, very tricky puzzle, but doable if you've got the time. The "X" crossing got me, but I think everything else finally fell into place with perps (TEO), some lucky guesses (POE), and whatever the mental equivalent is of "elbow grease". As difficult as it was, there are still some clues I never even saw until I read the blog!
1A SHUFFLE can refer to many other things besides playing cards: music in a play list, anyone involved in a reorg., etc.
7D I liked the Kipling quote. It sounds so 'in your face'!
8D SOB Sister isn't something I've heard used either, although I was googling "Soul Sister" yesterday. My guess is she's the BFF that talks you thru a bad breakup.
55D Time is capitalized in an attempt to further throw us off, making us waffle between the "Beginning of time..." history route, vs. the "Beginning of Time" route when the magazine was first published. So it was capped just to add a double-whammy of confusion to the clue!
My gratitude to all of you who are currently or have served in the armed forces! We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.
Maybe it's regional but I've heard the term, SOB SISTERS frequently. They are "persistently sentimental do-gooders" that often will turn into NIMBY's (not in my back yard) when they are affected. A recent local example was the relocation of a soup kitchen. The sob sisters were all for keeping the soup kitchen open...so long as it didn't move to their neighborhood.
Hello all, I spot CC earlier. She's tiny.
Fuzzy-Wuzzy is an 1892 poem by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling used the vernacular of the British infantry soldier of the time. Fuzzy-Wuzzy wasn't meant as a racial epithet. It was a nickname given to the Hadendoa tribe of the Sudan because of their elaborate hairdos. Kipling's poem is an ode to the fighting prowess of the enemy during the Mahdist War at the Battles of Tamai and Abu Klea. It is a longish poem, so I'll only quote the verses that referred to today's puzzle at 7D.
We took our chanst among the Khyber 'ills,
The Boers knocked us silly at a mile,
The Burman give us Irriwaddy chills,
An' a Zulu ~impi~ dished us up in style:
But all we ever got from such as they
Was pop to what the Fuzzy made us swaller;
We 'eld our bloomin' own, the papers say,
But man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oller.
Then 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid;
Our orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' did.
We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'ardly fair;
But for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square.
BTW, the Martinis in the poem were Martini-Henry rifles. Too bad! It would have been a much more pleasant war if it had been sloshing with with other kind of martinis.
Here is another song using the slang meaning of 14D Elated: SENT. Minnesota based blues band Rockin' Daddy & The Rough Cuts performing the song "Yes, She Sends Me"
i'm taking a break from putting in the garden. around here may 15 is the standard date for doing this. last year i was done on may 1st.(great weather) three years ago it was may 23rd.(very wet) i should have been done by now but its been hectic lately.
i put in tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, watermelon, onions and some herbs. i have a certain heirloom tomato that is the star.
anyway, i have to put up a fence because of a local deer herd that is exponentially growing. this is the reason for the break. pounding in the stakes is hard on my back.
i usually do not look at sat puzzle but today i tried. i gave up after 30 mins.
but...i also wanted sea gull instead of kestrel.
ireland was easy for this fair hair and skin boy.
the main reason for my comment however is sctv(was a gimmie). i always assumed second city was a reference to chicago. i guess thats the american arrogance comming out!
john candy was a favorite of mine...planes, trains and automobile, uncle buck, stripes, vacation, home alone and many more.
harold ramis is a comedic genius. was involved with caddyshack, animal house, ghostbusters, groundhog day, stripes and many others.
Hi gang -
Spitz - Thanks for the call out for my step-son Tom. We'll get to see him first week of June. Then he leaves toward the end of the month.
Virtuoso puzzle today, fer sure.
I recognize SOB sister, though I haven't heard it in a long time.
I don't recall ever seeing IRELAND spelt out in a puzzle before. Quite refreshing.
I learned AXALOTL (though I see spell checker hasn't) when I was a kid - from MAD magazine.
I have to carp about New England setting. E T ZONE could just as easily be clued as Michigan setting, South FLA setting, N.Y. setting. Misdirection and trickiness are fine. That level of vagueness is not playing fair.
Chekov said if there is a gun on the mantle in the first act, somebody had better shoot with it by the third. JzB says if the clue specifies New England, it can't apply to Michigan.
I did enjoy seeing two Hungarian composers, though why they share a German first name is a bit of a mystery.
Our concert last night was nothing short of amazing. First the
Hebrides Overture, originally titled "The Lonely Island" and at least partly inspired by Mendelssohn's visit to Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa.
Then Weber's Der Freischutz Overture
And The Emperor Waltz. I'm not a big Strauss fan, but this was fun to play.
(I have quibbles with the some of the tempos in these links - but hey - that's artistic freedom.)
The grand finale, of course was PICTURES. After months of anticipation, I have to say our performance was more than I could ever have expected. Every moment of every section was the best we'd ever played it. What a great thrill!
But enough self referential clap-trap.
Cheers!
JzB - I AM SO a trombonist!
1A SHUFFLE - As in "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" from "42nd Street".
i shuffled the placement of certain plants this year. always trying to improve my yield. peppers are there now(better sun, i hope). lettuce, herbs and spinach over there. tomatoes still in the same place, although the varieties have been shuffled. i put the cherry plant closer to the gate since the little ones always want to pick those!(i don't want them tramping through my garden)
yes, i am that mean gardener..."stay outta my tomatoes and get off the grass!!"
Hello All--I have done the puzzle for the last three days, with lots of Googling, and lots of time spent erasing and redoing. I have finished each day, but not until late in the evening. Today's puzzle seemed the easiest of the three for me.
I liked the clue Source of relief. I think it is the epitomy of a Silk puzzle in that it leads you astray. Many of the clues today did the same.
I must have been asleep when the Axoltl Salamander appeared in a puzzle before. This is my first introduction to that somewhat odd looking creature. He is now in my special Crossword Dictionary.
I, too, have been gardening, but trying to clean up the deck pots and the front yard. I have to plant about a dozen more petunia plants this morning, then I'm finished for a bit.
Rain is predicted for the beginning of the week, so I guess I'll leave all the covers on the umbrellas, and the patio chairs for at least another week. Just when I think our rainy weather is over, we get another storm coming in. I shouldn't complain as the rain is very needed.
SOB Sister, hmmm. I thought it was a a tag given to journalists who wrote columns like "Dear Abby". According to an online dictionary, it is "a journalist, esp a woman, on a newspaper or magazine who writes articles of sentimental appeal".
Seen not heard, The Second City started as improv theater in Chicago. SCTV was an offshoot of the Toronto Second City troop. Can never get too much funny business going on.
Great links, Jazz. I tried to find the Bing Crosby pop version of The Emperor's Waltz, from the 1948 movie of the same name, but no luck.
CA & Argyle:
Thanks for the info on SOB sister. I ran a brain scan and still had "not a clue" though the cob-webs were cleaned out.
Seen, not heard:
Your avatar looks a bit familiar.
Is it an alt. for the Reds?
Annette:
Did you catch Lolita yesterday?
I watched it for the first time in probably 35 years. By todays standards it is pretty tame. I imagine when it came out (when I was 10) it was fairly racey.
Hello.
Liked this grid. Knew Teo, of course (also a previous ans).
Could go on for hours about F1 racing but will not clog CC's inbox.
Quals for the Monaco GP were today.
Probably the best known of all the races in the series. Driver/team standings are very close this year
with McLaren leading Ferrari.
Tv coverage is on SPD channel (607
on DirecTV). Most of the drivers I grew up with have died or retired.
Preakness tomorrow. Tripple crown?
One of the male chicks in SJ has died. Wonder if Papa falcon wil also eat this one.
Anything to keep my mind off sail boats.
eddyB
Hi, all,
Plodded through this one after considering throwing in the towel at first scan. But working away, almost letter by letter I finally finished, but not without G-ing for 'Reading Phillies'. Remembered the Reading Railroad from Monopoly, that detestable game! Also Fabi/Teo. Had a hard time with 'fluor suffix' even with look-ups and had to depend on perps to straighten me out.
I believe 'sob sister' was a very, very old label for any journalist (male or female) who handled 'sob stories' or 'Dear Abby' type pieces. Dad and Grandad were both newpapermen and that must be where I learned it as a 'tot'. Maybe they still use it, but since t.v. has become the be news source, joournalese may have changed.
Don't know much about 2nd city but have met several Chicagoans in the acting biz who feel
the reference is their home town.
I teach Kipling's poem "Fuzzy Wuzzy" fairly regularly in history class. As the poem suggests, the Red Coats at Abu Klea (January 16-18, 1885) recognized how lucky they were to have survived the attack of the Mahdi's Dervishes (Fuzzies), who disdained the considerable stopping power of British Martini-Henry rifles and field cannons and broke into one corner of the British defensive formation (the square) before being driven back with heavy losses. As always, the British were highly outnumbered and had to rely on their superior technology. As Kipling says, the papers say we held our own (eked out a very narrow victory). The Red Coats at Abu Klea, incidentally, were part of a relief column on the way to Khartoum to rescue Major-General Charles George Gordon who was besieged at Khartoum. The action at Abu Klea helped to doom Gordon, whose force was massacred there on January 26, 1885.
I think the 'be' up there was supposed to be 'big'. Also, excuse the typo in 'journalese', please. It does make the word look sort of Dutch? Think so, Spitzboov?
Good afternoon, C.C. and fellow puzzlers.
This was a gravel road camouflaged by a silken cover. Wow, Barry!
I went through the same struggles as most of you, heading right for the center which filled in fairly easily. But there was enough misdirection to wear down my tough eraser.
Irani for Farsi, fluor (ides) for fluor (esce), in a ring for opaline and so on and so on, until I took a long break to mull it over. I did not recall "axolotl" and in fact forgot to fill the "x" until the blog.
I had read that Liszt was Wagner's F-I-L but couldn't get "sent" in my head as "elated". Thanks for the clips.
Re Franz, a German name in Hungary; those countries have shared a border back and forth throughout history. I am sure Bob can further enlighten us.
Sob sister: it may be a journalistic term, but I have heard coaches use it in reference to whining players or poor sports. I'm sure that tweaks the meaning somewhat.
This was great fun and a good challeng though I have yet to check all the links; but must do a little work today!
I hope you are having a super Saturday!
C.C.- I think your SHUFFLE explanation is correct.
Fun fact- Nancy Salomon wrote a Tuesday puzzle in 2007 that has the NYT record for most Z's in a
15x crossword- 18. Her first long entry is FUZZY WUZZY. Must have been a bear of a puzzle to make.
Sorry, the only Fuzzy-Wuzzy poem I know goes like this:
Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy-Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy-Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?
As for Axolotl, it wasn't actually an LA Time puzzle in which I last saw it. I think it was the NY Times some time last year. But it was so bizarre that I committed it to memory just waiting for it to show up somewhere again.
done with the garden for today...and yes my back hurts!! i know you are not to mix advil and great lakes eliot ness but....
tinbeni: your are correct sir. i am not sure of the year but it is an early logo of the cincinnati red stockings.(circa 1890?) they were the redlegs in the 1950's for a time when "the reds" was not a good name for america's pastime.
the cincinnati reds is baseball's oldest franchise, dating back to 1869. i have a beam bottle my grandfather from ky gave me that commemorates the 100 year anniv in 1969. maybe dennis or windhover can tell me if it has any monetary value. it will always have value as a reminder of ol' grandpa leslie.
eddyb: i never responded to your inquiry of a few days ago. yes, i am a fellow race fan. not a avid fan, but fan none the less. i've been to indy several times. as a boy, as a teen and as an adult. the track is only an hour and half away and every year someone calls to invite me. i've been to practice, time trials, qualifying and the race. been to gasoline alley, played the golf course and sat in every corner and straight away. have not been lately...i guess i'm getting too old!
I cringe when I see a Barry Silk on a Saturday morning. And Mr.Silk did not disappoint. For some reason the left side came easy and it was entirely filled in while the right side remained mostly blank. I was able to get READING, CHRISTIAN, and EASTERN but had no idea how they finished up. Had to Google madly to come up with most of the names.
Favorite learning moment was AXOLOTL. What a bizarre little bugger!
We happened to visit Bunratty Castle the same year as Clear Ayes. The new avatar is of some of the fowl that live on the grounds.
2nd Verse
Fuzzy-fuzzy lost his crop
At the North Pole barber shop
Fuzzy-Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy-wuzzy.
Or was he?
I actually heard this on the radio - WJR, Jimmy Launce, some time in the 60's.
Off to hear the Detroit Symphony tonight. The big kids putting on an all Mozart performance.
Hope it's as good as Fuzzy-Wuzzy.
(I seriously recommend against following the link. Really. What sense does NY make? You have been warned!)
Cheers!
JzB the why-do-I-remember-these-things? trombonist
re: armed forces day. i am not a veteran but i would like to thank all the veterans here on the blog. i have an employee in the air force. one of my best friends was in the coast guard for 20 years. close family friends(brothers) are in the army(1 in fort wainwright, AK and 1 in iraq). another employee served on a submarine(he is adamently against the recent female acceptance). my brothers best friend was a marine and now services f16s at an ohio nat'l guard base in springfield, oh.(178th fighter wing)
those are the ones that i first thought of when i read dennis' comment. i am sure i will remember several more before the night is over.
anyway...thanks to you all!!!
I forgot to give a shout out to all our Service Men and Women! Thank you for all you do, including my grandniece, Michelle, the shortest person in the U.S. Navy. But she is mighty.
Hi everybody.
This puzzle clobbered me. I only got maybe 2/3 of it. Distracted by the telephone lineman coming today to repair our staticky-noisy telephone line, which not only killed our DSL but made even normal voice calls almost inpossible. Now that the landline is fixed (wow I guess copper really corrodes over time) we still can't get DSL, probably because it blew our modem out. They're sending us a new modem for free under warranty, and until it arrives I'm using good ole dialup. Therefore, not much to say today, for that reason and also because I really got clobbered by this wonderful puzzle!
Best wishes to you all. A genuine pleasure reading everything you all have to say.
JazzBumpa, I just can't not get all excited about the pieces of music you mentioned you play! I love them all! Do the trombones participate in that great horn opening right after the House on Chicken Legs? My cousin used to tell us kids Baba Yaga stories when she used to babysit us, and I was always entranced. Also, do you enjoy the trombone parts in many of Rossini's overtures, particularly La Gazza Ladra? (In the band arrangement, we tenor saxophonists loved it.)
Best regards to you all.
Dodo questioned whether "joournalese" looked 'Dutch'
It does 'sort of' look Dutch with the triple vowel. The Dutch word for log-book or journal is journaal; pl. journalen. The aa has the sound of 'a' in 'arm' only longer. In the plural it's an open syllable (jour-na-len) so the a isn't doubled. Written Dutch is virtually 100% phonetic so the orthography is quite consistent. There are no umlauts and only a very occasional dieresis.
The triple vowel combinations in Dutch are: aai, oei, ooi, eeu, ieu
See what your typo caused? :-)
Good evening CC and all smartie -pants,
Jeez, this was a corker! Barry Silk is just too clever. A V8 would not have helped me get teo, CIC, Poe, SCTV, apu, Ft. Lee, Inez, Lehar. I guessed a bunch when the perps gave me a letter here and there, but my list of 12 gimmes did not get it done, so I cheated.
Loved all the added information,poems and links.
prize = value?? why?
I salute all of you who have given service to our country. Since I have laryngitis AGAIN :-( I will do a quiet drinking toast.
JD, think of 'prize' as a verb. If you prize something, you value it.
Tinbeni: I recorded it, but I haven't watched yet. I'll report back when I do. I have a feeling I'm going to have the same experience as Carol though, but will give it a good try at some point.
EddyB, I hope you weren't counting on "Preakness tomorrow. Triple crown?". I'm sure you are much more involved with auto racing today anyway. OTOH, I predict that Lookin At Lucky, First Dude, Jackson Bend and Yawanna Twist will be a terrific bet on the superfecta ($17,126.00) Talk about a valued prize! :o)
JD, I've had my laryngitis hanging on for three weeks now. I can talk, but am still having trouble singing with our chorus. Now I know what a 14 year old boy feels like. It's a very bad allergy year.
Like JD, a toast to all who give up so much of their own lives to serve their country.
Man, oh man! This one knocked me on my patootie today. Was able to whittle away at most of it on paper, but after an hour plus, I came to the computer and turned on the red letters. Interestingly, the three central 15-letter across entries came fairly easily with the perps, but the NW and SW gave me fits. A great Saturday puzzle, all in all.
I want to add my gratitude to all our service people who give of themselves to keep us, and so many people around the world, safe. And a special shout out to Gunghy's son, Jazzbumpa's stepson, and Lucina's grandniece. Thank you, all!
Enjoy the weekend!
To all of the heroic men and women who have been defending our shores these past many years, as well as those who fought in the previous wars, I salute you and your families. Everyone gives up so much so you can defend our country.
Memorial Day is coming soon and we should all fly our flags in honor of those who are fighting and those who have given their lives so we can enjoy this American way of life.
Jazz "I seriously recommend against following the link... Really!"
I should have listened to you. I've watched about a half dozen of Robert Me's YouTube videos. They are like a train wreck that you just can't turn away from. My slack-jawed favorite so far is from the musical Carousel, What's The Use Of Wanderin, which, in the real world is actually "What's the Use of Wond'rin'?".
Is that an upended inflatable mattress between them? What's with the pillow..and then Fuzzy Wuzzy clutching? What are those books he is reading? No comment on drifting off-key, or on the comb-over (his). Totally fascinatin'.
"L'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace!"
That's it for me today. I have to get back to Robert and Shalene.
OK, so this one was tougher for me than most of Silk's efforts. I did finish after about 25 minutes of brain sweat. Happy to see my old friend Axolotl, which I discovered in Mad Magazine well over 50 years ago.
But I STILL don't get "STET" as an answer for "go back on the dele"... what's a dele?
Dele means an editors note to delete something. Stet means I changed my mind and to leave it in instead.
Holy cow. Ditto Clear Aye's "I should have listened to you" regarding the Fuzzy Wuzzy link and JzB's caveat. I say (not sing) the Fuzzy Wuzzy first verse somewhat frequently, and so I clicked on the link. I've never heard of Robert Me, and I hope I do not ever again. The train wreck analogy is apt. I went from an initial giggle or two, to idle speculation on the irony of the combover (did RM "lose his crop in a New York barber shop"?), to a "what the heck does NY have to do with bears?" confusion, to the final slack-jawed freeze frame minute or two - "really, something's gotta happen - a great last line - SOMETHING?! My first thought after the 6 and some odd minutes watching? "Please, please don't let that have permeated my long-term memory!!"
I learned, though, and did NOT even contemplate clicking on CA's "Wanderin" link. (OK, I contemplated it, but my sense overrode my curiosity.)
About the puzzle - Barry Silk is extremely clever, and I sure wasn't today. Googled some names, but knew it would still be an uphill battle, doubly so because short on time today. Enjoyed reading the answers in the blog, though.
OtB
Spitzboov, Thank you for remembering my son.
I went fishing all day, so this is real late.
SOB and FARSI were first, followed by AXOLOTL and TENURED. So I whipped out the SE and then things got ugly. IRELAND had to be too easy, so SHANNON went in. MS meant abbreviate, so E. A. P. had to be. And, of course, all those names I had to google. The term slog doesn't cover it.
CC, you are correct in assuming the Axolotl never leaves water. unlike most amphibians that have a infant tadpole-like stage then metamorph into a land dwelling adult, the axolotl never loses the gills. Oh, for you, check out the Chinese Giant Salamander
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