Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 32
The empty grid sure does not look intimidating, does it? No forbidding stacks of long letter entries or grid spanners. Just a couple of 8s and 9s, then a bunch of 7s (total 24).
But it's a tough journey for me. The clues are very tricky, epitomized by TO BE (50A. Part of a stage question). "To be, or not to be". Devious!
I'd also like to highlight the "it/its" clues in this puzzle:
7A. You might be unprepared for it: POP QUIZ. Scrabbly. Letters H & X are unused in today's grid.
16A. It makes it easier for you to lose your balance: ATM CARD. Sly clue!
27A. Its capital is Doha: QATAR. Know it only because of Doha Conference.
46A. It may be thrown in: TOWEL. Throw in the towel.
51A. Old Navy is one of its brands: GAP. I like their jeans.
Do you enjoy those "it/its" or too many for your taste?
Across:
1. Comfort food snack for some, briefly: PB AND J. It's either "Comfort food" or "snack" for me. I've never used the full term "Comfort food snack".
14. Country with a mostly red, white and blue flag: SERBIA. OK, here's their flag. Why "mostly"? It seems the flag consists of those three colors only.
15. Receiving aid: ANTENNA
18. General plan: ROAD MAP
19. Time out?: NAP. The question mark did not prevent me from thinking of sports.
20. Einstein and Planck, e.g.: GERMANS. Not familiar with Max Planck, founder of quantum theory.
22. Unproven ability, for short: ESP
23. Brew choice: DRIP. Oh dear. I was thinking of beer. Don't drink coffee.
25. One of the Allmans: DUANE. Not familiar with his name either. He died at age 24 of a motorcycle accident.
26. Scruff: NAPE
29. LP filler?: MNO. Alphabet: L (MNO) P. Nailed it.
30. Colombian title: SENOR
31. Modus operandi: SYSTEM
33. Gettysburg general: PICKETT (George). Have vaguely heard of Pickett's Charge. Could only think of R.E. Lee.
35. Weighed: EVALUATED
37. "I intend to live __. So far, so good": Steven Wright: FOREVER. I guessed.
39. Forgetful, in a way: SENILE
43. Crow: VAUNT
44. Five-time Fiesta Bowl champs, for short: ASU (Arizona State University). The Sun Devils.
47. Digging, so to speak: INTO
48. Six-time U.S. Open winner: EVERT (Chris). Tennis. Sad to hear her marriage to Greg Norman ended so quickly.
52. Urges: PRESSES
54. Accident consequence: JAM. Did not leap to me quickly.
55. Salad bar option: ITALIAN. Dressing.
57. Trig inverse: ARC SINE. No idea. I was totally confused at my high school math class. Inverse of sine.
59. Driving need: LICENSE
60. Shade of pink: SALMON. I bet this was a gimme for ARBAON. She was just talking about
salmon and coral the other day.
61. Like aftershave: SCENTED
62. Wide of the mark: ERRANT. Shouldn't be "Wide off the mark"?
Down:
1. Things to mind: PS AND QS. Mind one's Ps and Qs.
2. Radioactive emission: BETA-RAY. New phrase to me.
3. Axillae: ARMPITS. This I knew.
4. "Heroes" home: NBC
5. Bishop's rte.: DIAG (Diagonal). Don't play chess.
6. "Chapter 27" star Leto: JARED. His mug looks familiar. Don't recall his name at all.
7. "Knowing all the facts," according to Woody Allen: PARANOIA. The quote clue feels incomplete to me. I'd prefer: "It's knowing all the facts, " according to Woody Allen.
8. Two __: hockey advantage: ON ONE. Hockey clue always stumps me.
9. Class-conscious orgs.?: PTAS. Got me again.
10. Logical letters: QED. Can't jam ERGO in.
11. Not intended: UNMEANT. Man, I checked. It's in the dictionary.
12. Up the creek: IN A SPOT
13. Remote: ZAPPER. Was unaware that zapper is slang for remote control.
17. Word with kettle or steel: DRUM
21. Handbag counterparts: MAN PURSES. Just like this?
24. Major college football's winningest coach: PATERNO (Joe). Penn State. Some blog comments about him a while ago.
26. Is unobliged to: NEED NOT
28. Protect from erosion, as a riverbank: REVET. First encounter with this word.
30. Shooting sport: SKEET
32. Amer. Airlines Center player: MAV. Dallas Mavericks.
34. Tender abbr.: CTS. I don't get this one. Cents? Tender here refers to "money"?
36. Unlike matzo: LEAVENED
37. Monomaniac: FANATIC
38. Beat: OUTPACE
40. Mount Suribachi's island: IWO JIMA. I peeked at the answer sheet.
41. Part of ancient Phoenicia, today: LEBANON. Gimme, JD?
42. Gold, e.g.: ELEMENT
43. Watches: VIGILS. I was looking at my own watch and could not come up with anything.
45. __ Minor: URSA. Penned in ASIA.
48. Remove: ERASE
49. Clipped: TERSE. Can you give me examples about how they are interchangeable?
52. Pub serving: PINT
53. __ tissue: SCAR
56. Football Hall of Famer Dawson: LEN
58. Point-and-shoot alternative, briefly: SLR (Single-Lens Reflex)
Answer grid.
Happy 45th Wedding Anniversary to Spitzboov! Have a great cruise to Bermuda!
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 32
The empty grid sure does not look intimidating, does it? No forbidding stacks of long letter entries or grid spanners. Just a couple of 8s and 9s, then a bunch of 7s (total 24).
But it's a tough journey for me. The clues are very tricky, epitomized by TO BE (50A. Part of a stage question). "To be, or not to be". Devious!
I'd also like to highlight the "it/its" clues in this puzzle:
7A. You might be unprepared for it: POP QUIZ. Scrabbly. Letters H & X are unused in today's grid.
16A. It makes it easier for you to lose your balance: ATM CARD. Sly clue!
27A. Its capital is Doha: QATAR. Know it only because of Doha Conference.
46A. It may be thrown in: TOWEL. Throw in the towel.
51A. Old Navy is one of its brands: GAP. I like their jeans.
Do you enjoy those "it/its" or too many for your taste?
Across:
1. Comfort food snack for some, briefly: PB AND J. It's either "Comfort food" or "snack" for me. I've never used the full term "Comfort food snack".
14. Country with a mostly red, white and blue flag: SERBIA. OK, here's their flag. Why "mostly"? It seems the flag consists of those three colors only.
15. Receiving aid: ANTENNA
18. General plan: ROAD MAP
19. Time out?: NAP. The question mark did not prevent me from thinking of sports.
20. Einstein and Planck, e.g.: GERMANS. Not familiar with Max Planck, founder of quantum theory.
22. Unproven ability, for short: ESP
23. Brew choice: DRIP. Oh dear. I was thinking of beer. Don't drink coffee.
25. One of the Allmans: DUANE. Not familiar with his name either. He died at age 24 of a motorcycle accident.
26. Scruff: NAPE
29. LP filler?: MNO. Alphabet: L (MNO) P. Nailed it.
30. Colombian title: SENOR
31. Modus operandi: SYSTEM
33. Gettysburg general: PICKETT (George). Have vaguely heard of Pickett's Charge. Could only think of R.E. Lee.
35. Weighed: EVALUATED
37. "I intend to live __. So far, so good": Steven Wright: FOREVER. I guessed.
39. Forgetful, in a way: SENILE
43. Crow: VAUNT
44. Five-time Fiesta Bowl champs, for short: ASU (Arizona State University). The Sun Devils.
47. Digging, so to speak: INTO
48. Six-time U.S. Open winner: EVERT (Chris). Tennis. Sad to hear her marriage to Greg Norman ended so quickly.
52. Urges: PRESSES
54. Accident consequence: JAM. Did not leap to me quickly.
55. Salad bar option: ITALIAN. Dressing.
57. Trig inverse: ARC SINE. No idea. I was totally confused at my high school math class. Inverse of sine.
59. Driving need: LICENSE
60. Shade of pink: SALMON. I bet this was a gimme for ARBAON. She was just talking about
salmon and coral the other day.
61. Like aftershave: SCENTED
62. Wide of the mark: ERRANT. Shouldn't be "Wide off the mark"?
Down:
1. Things to mind: PS AND QS. Mind one's Ps and Qs.
2. Radioactive emission: BETA-RAY. New phrase to me.
3. Axillae: ARMPITS. This I knew.
4. "Heroes" home: NBC
5. Bishop's rte.: DIAG (Diagonal). Don't play chess.
6. "Chapter 27" star Leto: JARED. His mug looks familiar. Don't recall his name at all.
7. "Knowing all the facts," according to Woody Allen: PARANOIA. The quote clue feels incomplete to me. I'd prefer: "It's knowing all the facts, " according to Woody Allen.
8. Two __: hockey advantage: ON ONE. Hockey clue always stumps me.
9. Class-conscious orgs.?: PTAS. Got me again.
10. Logical letters: QED. Can't jam ERGO in.
11. Not intended: UNMEANT. Man, I checked. It's in the dictionary.
12. Up the creek: IN A SPOT
13. Remote: ZAPPER. Was unaware that zapper is slang for remote control.
17. Word with kettle or steel: DRUM
21. Handbag counterparts: MAN PURSES. Just like this?
24. Major college football's winningest coach: PATERNO (Joe). Penn State. Some blog comments about him a while ago.
26. Is unobliged to: NEED NOT
28. Protect from erosion, as a riverbank: REVET. First encounter with this word.
30. Shooting sport: SKEET
32. Amer. Airlines Center player: MAV. Dallas Mavericks.
34. Tender abbr.: CTS. I don't get this one. Cents? Tender here refers to "money"?
36. Unlike matzo: LEAVENED
37. Monomaniac: FANATIC
38. Beat: OUTPACE
40. Mount Suribachi's island: IWO JIMA. I peeked at the answer sheet.
41. Part of ancient Phoenicia, today: LEBANON. Gimme, JD?
42. Gold, e.g.: ELEMENT
43. Watches: VIGILS. I was looking at my own watch and could not come up with anything.
45. __ Minor: URSA. Penned in ASIA.
48. Remove: ERASE
49. Clipped: TERSE. Can you give me examples about how they are interchangeable?
52. Pub serving: PINT
53. __ tissue: SCAR
56. Football Hall of Famer Dawson: LEN
58. Point-and-shoot alternative, briefly: SLR (Single-Lens Reflex)
Answer grid.
Happy 45th Wedding Anniversary to Spitzboov! Have a great cruise to Bermuda!
C.C.
61 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - boy, did this one kick my ass. Got no traction until the SE where I got the three long down fills to get started. I think this puzzle had more deceptive clues than I've seen in one puzzle for a long, long time. From 'receiving aid' and 'Bishop's rte' to 'LP filler' and 'Class-conscious orgs.?', I was giving myself a headache trying to keep up. I'm very happy to have finished this one without g-spotting, but certainly needed lots of perp help.
C.C., no, 'wide OF the mark' is correct.
Today is both Forgiveness Day and Beauticians' Day.
Did you know:
- While performing her duties as queen, Cleopatra sometimes wore a fake beard.
- If New York City were as densely populated as Alaska, 14 people would live in Manhattan.
- Sitting Bull was not an Indian chief, but a medicine man.
Hope it's a great weekend for everyone; do something fun.
Morning, all!
I blew threw large sections of this puzzle very quickly, but there were spots that really threw me for a loop. Sadly, one of those spots was the NW corner, which is where I always start. I confidently put in MANNERS for 1D and just refused to consider that it wasn't correct. It wasn't until I had finished the rest of the puzzle that I finally went back to that section and took it out, after which I was able to piece things together. It's amazing how the presence of a wrong letter can keep an entire word hidden from view.
The other sticking place was in the SW corner where I initially put CROUTON instead of ITALIAN for 15A. It made sense at the time, I swear.
Good Morning, All
34. Tender abbr.: CTS
Yes, I took this to mean CENTS. Snopes has a short entry about using pennies as legal tender. Type in Penny Whys in the search box.(Penny wise, get it?)
If you do go to Snopes, tell me if you get a pop-under ad. It seems some sites make it easier for these types of ads to avoid the pop-up blocker, especially Netflix ads.
Was totally pummeled.
A bit of a slow start on this one but successfully completed it in 32 minutes.
Good morning everyone!
Loved the NW corner: Q's not followed by U's (twice); PBANDJ crossing with PSANDQS; AXILLAE took me right back to anatomy class so many years ago; DRIP, NBC, and ATMCARD were especially enjoyable. BETARAY too.
Thought ZAPPER was a bit of a stretch for remote. Didn't care for CTS. Loved ANTENNA and TOBE.
Tried all kinds of golfing vocab trying to get "driving need"; really thought I was ahead of them on this one!
New to me: REVET and VAUNT.
Dennis: Loved the NYC/Alaska trivia!
Good morning all. Happy cruising for your anniversary, Spitzboov. Maybe you'll have time to enjoy the scenery/area this time around.
Wow, what a puzzle. As Dennis said, lots of misleading clues. First pass through I had limited fill -- QED was my first, and was able to fill in the central southern section. Wasn't there a TRACY Allman? I thought so. Had no idea what "Chapter 27" refers to -- still don't. A ROAD MAP would have been helpful today. For our geography lesson we had SERBIA, LEBANON, IWO JIMA, QATAR, GERMANS, SENOR, PICKETT, ITALIAN (OK, I'm stretching things a bit).
C.C., unlike you I don't really care for the "Its" clues. Just leaves me floundering about.
Jeannie, hope your reunion with the sibs and folks is more than you anticipate. Be sure to give Thelma a BIG hug.
Kazie, I hope you can get out from under the getting home chores and get back on the blog. You've been sorely missed.
Happy last weekend of June to all. 4th of July next week? Egads. Apparently yesterday was Leon Day -- halfway to Christmas already!!
So cool, to me at least; images of revetments, riprap and groynes. groyne: "strong, low sea wall," 1582, from obsolete groin "pig's snout" (because ir was thought to look like one), from O.Fr. groin, from L. grunnire "grunt." Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Those it/its are too ambiguous. I want clues.
The NW part of the grid fell into place pretty quickly. I really liked the clue for ATMCARD at 16A. I didn't care much for UNMEANT. For the most part, it was an enjoyable puzzle.
To Dennis:
How do they know Cleo had a fake beard ? Did they find foreign hirsute DNA on her anterior skull? I guess only her hairdresser knows for sure.
Sitting Bull was no medicine man ... he was just a current congressman, whose legs happen to give out.
Good morning everyone.
Happy anniversary, Spitzboov. 45 years is impressive. We're only 12½. Of course we started late. Hope you have a great time in Bermuda.
I got about 7 done correctly on today's killer puzzle. Had DARs rather than PTAs and beer rather than Drip.
Cheers
Hi all~!
Good solid, thought-provoking puzzle today, just enough perps to get me through - W in TOWEL got me IWO JIMA, and I liked LEBANON right next to it - lots of Geography, right Crockett? We did need a ROAD MAP.
UNMEANT - groaner, but my first smile came from DIAG - love chess!
I agree, PB AND J is either a snack, or a comfort food, not both...did like to see it crossed with Ps and Qs
What's the proper word for "non-kosher"? That's the term I couldn't think of for 36D.
I am ashamed to admit, I had a MAN-BAG at one time - the little one called it the "MURSE" - it went away after that...
I am myeh about Zapper, but I did learn what my armpit is technically called!
Argyle thanks for the images - I am partial to crenelations, ramparts and parapets - castle defences. I would supply an image, but I do not know how to add the blue links to my comments.
Yup, we're at the half way to Christmas already - whoa.
Enjoy the weekend, all!!
How to post a link is listed by the blog write-up.
Splynter,
1) Non kosher = TREF.
2) Here is a simple instruction on how to get your links blue.
C.C., the instructions for creating a blue link aren't just for PCs. They work perfectly on my Mac using Firefox.
Ah, a non-crossword V-8 moment - thanks guys, and just to try it out...
Link text
And now I will check myself
Richie Splynter
Tough puzzle. I've been following this blog for quite a while but never posted until today.I do enjoy reading every post. Quite an amalgamation of brains and personalities, if I may say, which makes this blog worth following.I started solving xword puzles about 2 yrs ago and I became so addicted that I solve 6 puzzles a day. This blog really helped me a lot. C.C. continue doing a nice job.
August
Contrived fanfare...
Ta - Da !!!
Yeah, OK, I am almost there
Thanks again, my friends!
Splynter
Good Morning All, so very tough for me! I came up against those REVETments, or maybe it was groynes (thanks for the info, Argyle) time and time again.
I had penciled in (can you do that on a computer?) MANNERS for 1D, but I already knew that was wrong from Across Lite's Xes.
I'm not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV, so Axillae/ARMPITS had to be picked away at, one letter at a time.
I did know DUANE Allman. Here's Don't Keep Me Wondering. A factoid for the day is that Gregg Allman, who was married to Cher for a few years, underwent a liver transplant a few days ago. I wish him well, but he did work hard in the early years to ruin his health via drugs and alcohol.
C.C., Clip: To enunciate with clarity and precision. TERSE: Brief and to the point; effectively concise. You have made a couple of clipped,aka TERSE statements in the past week.
I almost missed the three letter fill in the center...yes...all of them, Clockwise from (29A) MNO, CTS, ASU and MAV. I finally got them with the perps, but they were my last grid entries.
Splynter, don't be ashamed of your MAN PURSE. I always wind up carrying GAH's wallet because he doesn't like to keep it is his hip pocket. And congrats on the link!
Happy Anniversary, Spitzboov.
hi all
good, fun, challenging yet fair puzzle, imo.
for those who disliked UNMEANT, I couldn't shake NONDEBT for is unobliged to @ 26D.
Clever cluing and fills: things to mind = PSANDQS. Thought receiving aid might be ONTHEDOLE. Joel tricked me into reversing the verb and noun there.
"It makes it easier to lose your balance" was simply an awesome clue as was "knowing all the facts" and "part of a stage question."
All in all, excellent Saturday quality. I'm proud I figured out about 75% of it!
Have a great weekend everyone, and Spitzboov, enjoy your anniversary and cruise.
I and 13 of my nearest and dearest are now evicting everyone else from Manhattan and sending them to Alaska.
Stanley here one last time. Now my last post has been deleted. I never accused Dennis of deleting anything and Frechie's post was on Thursday.
I am just an old friend who received an e-mail. I thought I could help.
Happy blogging folks. Toe the line!
Hope some read this before it is deleted.
Stanley
Poor Stanley's memory doesn't even last for 24 hours. His post from yesterday, June 25th, 7:06 pm does accuse Dennis of deleting posts. No apology for that mistake, or for the heinous crime of mispelling both fermatprime's and Frenchie's names.
good morning c.c. and all,
great puzzle, made me sweat a little. nailed ps and qs right away, which gave me a false sense of 'i got this.' ran around in circles for a while with the sneaky clueing. lp filler had me picturing grooves in a vinyl record, and driver's need was so easy it was hard. never heard of vaunt or revet.
splynter - murse ... HAHA. (okay, LIS (laugh inside).
last week i was doing an in-room couples massage and the wife was in her robe doing the la times crossword while we were settiing up the tables. told her about the blog ... maybe she'll visit.
for all the events and celebrations i've missed, happy birthday, bon voyage, happy anniversary, and welcome home! i think that about covers it. oh yeah and one more ... good riddance. snort.
have a great weekend everyone.
Stanley, try this. Nothing of yours has been removed.
ClearAyes, I'm with GAH - my wife always has my wallet in her pocketbook when we're out. I don't like unnecessary bulges either.
koufaxmaravich, I have a feeling Alaska will be less than thrilled.
anon@9:19, whenever women ruled back in that time, they evidently wore beards.
August, thanks for coming out of the darkness into the light. Now you just need to turn blue and tell us a bit about yourself.
Good morning C.C. and all,
After filling in a measly 7 or 8 answers, I filled in Serbia, Pickett, Duane, Qatar, and Jared with the help of Mr. G. Still was a slow slog.Beta ray, zapper and Iwo Jima were WAGs for me.
Barry, manners also slowed me down until Qatar told me otherwise..
I laughed OUT LOUD at paranoia (picturing Woody Allen), arm pits and man purses (sorry Splynter).
Loved the stacking of need not.. to be...senile.
I have to admit I did not finish the NE corner or the T in vaunT/reveT, or the S in arSine/Slr . Thanks C.C. for all the information.
clever:ATM card
Yes C.C., Lebanon was almost a gimme as I had the LE already. It was part of the Fertile Crescent. One of the activities we did for that unit was to frost a cake with a map of Mesopotamia including Egypt.Most groups(4) did the Red Sea with red licorice.
BTW, Hatshepsut also wore the fake beard that denoted she was a pharaoh in every way.
Have a lovely Saturday.
No defence. I am sorry that you never learned to read. The 7:06 post just suggested that Dennis was playing dumb about a Windhover
post. A lot of people read it and know the truth.
Keep beating a dead horse if it makes you happy.
Stanley
Dennis.
DKNTWULJSPXVMRAHCHFOVZG.
Happy?
Stanley
Man oh man this puzzle really clobbered me. As I did last week, I didn't do Thursday's, Friday's, or today's puzzle until today. It was a mistake last week and was a mistake again this week. My brain is fried.
I had to look things up and STILL couldn't get a few entries. Never was able to finish the whole puzzle.
I also put ASIA in for 45D: ____ Minor. But finally getting EVERT made me realize it should be URSA. Still didn't help much, though.
REVET totally stumped me, and still does. I haven't read all your posts yet today, so I will say I don't quite gets CTS either, except that it refers to money, ie legal tender. Some of you might have already explained this. I kept thinking of "tender" in the sense of loving and caring. I guess that is the whole point.
Dare I type LOL? I will (and did) because I too kept looking at my watch, and thinking of SEIKO, BULOVA, ROLEX, etc while trying to figure out 43D. I was tricked, fair and square.
Interesting cross of Ps and Qs, and PB and J in the NW corner.
Wasn't Serbia just in a puzzle? Clued as Hungary neighbor? I can't see any colors other than red, white, and blue in their flag either.
One of my favorites is ATMCARD.
Well, gonna go watch the US play Ghana in the world cup now. Then take a time-out nap.
Best wishes to you all.
Stan, what happened to "here one last time" at 11:31? I guess you UNMEANT it. You revealed your true identity, as if we didn't already know. It really is a "dead horse", accept it, Stan. That alphabet craziness is just weird.
BTW, if when you wrote "No defense" at 12:21 and were writing about me, "No deletes", maybe you should be the one to learn to read. I also think the "lot of people (who) read it and know the truth" are just you and your alter-ego.
No more blog disruption from me. This post really is "here one last time". Please join me in going away, Stanley.
Thank you for the welcome,Dennis. I have always admired your knowledge and the way you handle yourself in this blog. Like C.C., I'm of Asian descent. I came to the USA 17 yrs ago.I work as an RN in one of the nursing home facilities outside Philadelphia. Back home, I was a physician for 12 yrs before coming here. Too many requirements here to get an MD license so I decided to put into use my 2nd profession. No regrets since its an allied profession to medicine. I just miss the cries of newborns though since I use to deliver lots of them back home.Now I'm in the opposite end taking care of the older generation. No regrets too because I see myself being next line.
August
ahhhh.....the soothing sounds of vuvuzelas....
Regarding Allman: No Tracy. She's Ullman.
Morning, C.C. etal,
Spitzboov, )got it right this time) best wishes on your anniversary and bon voyage. I'm sure you'll both enjoy your cruise.
JD, Cameron is adorable, just like your other two little guys! What fun they'll be in a year or two. But the best time for me is Cameron's age right now! it just doesn't last long enough!
Tracy Ullman, Crockett. I had to G Duane. Didn't know the Allmans. I'm sure my kids did.
As for today's puzzle, see JD's par. 2 and par. 5 for my comments. It's plagiarism, but you're not copyrighted, are you, JD?
Melissa B. I love your 'bundle' of greetings, especially the last one.
Argyle, I'm off to Snopes!
Oh, BTW, I very often LOL at many of the comments.....and other things.
Hello Puzzlers - Man, I must have been on the right wavelength. I did the puzzle last night, shortly past midnight EDT (when it becomes available on a VA. newspaper site) and chugged right through. Only the NE was mean to me - couldn't see enough of POP QUIZ, and ZAPPER just isn't the same as "clicker". I allowed myself one red-letter solve to get that corner Z, and the rest followed.
Man Purses: I get enough crap from my co-workers for carrying an L.L. Bean canvas tote bag with various supplies, usually tools. I wouldn't dare tread closer to the purse line! So I cope with the man hip pocket wallet bulge discomfort.
C.C.: I never knew that Mt. Suribachi was the summit on Iwo Jima until I read Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. The book explains the story behind the famous Rosenthal photo of the flag-raising there. It's not exactly light reading, but fascinating.
PB and J, mmmmmm. I discovered years ago that PB and Honey also makes a nice sandwich, with the right bread.
Good day, C.C. and puzzle folk.
Yowza! What a Saturday punch. Left me out of breath especially the NE corner.
Actually, the bottom went quickly, VAUNT, TOWEL, TOBE, INTO got me started, tripped a bit with PINT where I wanted ales, but ITALIAN AND LICENSE changed that.
ASU! My alma mater, good to see it there.
Climbing up I finally had to Ggle PATERNO and LETO and could not think of QATAR even though we've seen it before. SENILE? Perhaps.
Hand up for liking ATMCARD and PBANDJ crossing PSANDQS as well as driving need.
And for disliking UNMEANT and CTS; not fond of sports references either.
I believe most female pharoahs were required to wear beards when acting in an official capacity.
Kazie is very likely recovering from jet lag after such a long flight.
I truly hope you are all having a great Saturday.
PSANDQS, PBANDJ, POPQUIZ, ZAPPER, FANATIC... EVERT, REVET. Fun Stuff!
Not so fun-
Who gives a hoot that there's an OWLET in a TOWEL.
PICKETT'S charge was a group of PET TICKS.
DRAT, MAC! I lost my ATM CARD!
Ever seen A NUDE DUANE?
It was UNMEANT that the Pointer Sisters are a NUN TEAM.
In old Roman forts it took LVI GIS to maintain VIGILS.
King Tut never used MANPURSES, but it makes a good RAMSES PUN.
My farmer pal, IOWA JIM, says you can always raise something in IWO JIMA.
Can't help. I'm still lovin' Spitzbumpa!
CC; Of the few I was able to get on my own, "salmon" was one of them.
Favorite clue? "Remote" yielding "zapper". We call it the "blipper."
35 pints of peas in the freezer!
Was soaking my thumbs in a paper, bathroom cup which leaked in my lap. The astringent caused some painful red welts. Suffice it to say I won`t be wearing my salmon, polka dot bikini for a few days!
harrietv, Thanks for the Allman/Ullman correction. You too dodo.
Dudley, try cruciverb,com and select the LA Times archive -- it should be available to you at 10 pm Eastern time. I know someone who makes grilled PB&Js!
ARBAON, that's a lot of peas! Hope you heal soon.
Good afternoon CC, et al., This was a difficult puzzle but I love the misdirections. Cute, cute, cute. Interruptions kept me from finishing but I can echo Melissa's comments.
I'm a big fan of man satchels. I want to share the role of being the family's pack horse. "mom (honey) can you hold this?" was the mantra.
Happy anniversary, Spitzboov. Wish you many many more. What an accomplishment!
Enjoy this gorgeous day!
Hello C.C. and other crosword fanatics. I have used this blog in the past to help me figure out the meaning of answers, but never posted. I guess because the only time I would do this puzzle was when I was at my Mom's house. We had a different puzzle in our paper until recently. The Times Picayune, New Orleans, ran a contest and has decided to run the LA Times crossword in addition to the Newsday crossword. YAY for us! I prefer a good challenge. Anyway, now that I will be doing this puzzle with y'all most days (I have an almost 3 year old, nuff said) I figured I would chime in when I can.
I always have to look at all the questions for the Saturday puzzle at least one time through before I get an answer and things start clicking. Today, it was pop quiz.
I cannot believe I didn't get PB&J right away. My husband eats that at least once a day, sometimes two (loves to have it as a bedtime snack).
Dudley - PB and Honey is really tasty if the honey is fresh. My grandfather kept bees for several years and that is some good stuff. Cheese and fresh honey on bread is also very, very good.
While I am not nearly as good at doing crosswords as y'all (I use a pencil, Scrabble, crossword and regular dictionary, and Google quite frequently. I love doing crosswords, though. On Sundays when I am at my Mom's, we don't get out of our PJs until we finish!
Oh yes, and today was not a wasted day. I learned something new: the technical name for my armpits.
vettedoe, welcome to the posting side. I think your comments will be an asset to this group!
This was very tough. Usually can guess a few; not on this one.
This was really a struggle. I had to work hard for almost every answer. But it was an enjoyable journey. Thank you perps and red letters!
Most deceptive clue: "LP filler". I couldn't see past the music industry. That was a GOL - Groan Out Loud!
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Joe Paterno was a household name.
My niece and her fiance worked a job in Qatar a few years ago, otherwise I'd never heard of it until the puzzles! They're now working on the oil spill in the Gulf.
Lemonade, (and Dennis, if you happen to be in town then) did you notice in yesterday's paper that Will Shortz will lecture down here! March 10, 2011 at the Crest Theater in Delray Beach. The 2 previous months have actress Jane Russell, and author James Patterson (whom I think you read).
Welcome to August, harrietv, and vettedoe!
Just back from lunch with five other ladies of a certain age. I'm afraid Jerome was right. I detected a little bit of cackling going on. Of course that is one of the perks of getting older. We can get away with a lot of less inhibited behavior that younger people might be embarrassed about. (Let the singing, laughing, toasting and table pounding begin!)
We ate on the restaurant terrace and it was lovely. I'm glad we went today. The weather around here is heating up and we expect some 100's in the next few days. I'm not a hot weather person. I wilt when the thermometer pushes 100.
I like Melissa bee's LIS acronym. I'll try to remember that one.
August, harrietv, and vettedoe, come back and stay awhile.
Argyle:
Thank you for the link on revetments,riprap and groyne. It just sounds like a different language to me so I appreciate the illustrations.
ARBAON:
35 pints of peas? Do you make pea soup? I love that. Hope your hands heal quickly.
welcome August, harrietev, and vettedoe; I hope you join the fun.
Spitzboov:
Congratulations on your anniversary! I hope your cruise is fantastic.
The traditional flag of Serbia is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Serbia.svg
I assume it's this one they were referring to as being only mostly red, white and blue.
(black again! :(
Argyle: We have many relatives who, for reasons legitimate and otherwise,
would not shell and process fresh peas. We like to have them when they dine with us. We love them, too, a carry-over from midwestern relatives.
Lucina: Thanks for the health wishes. These peas are what`s called "field peas". There are several varieties; conk, lady, black eye, purple hull and others. You season them with smoked meat (turkey is the most healthy) and serve with picante sauce and home baked cornbread with fresh, vine-ripe tomatoes.
No meat is necessary since the corn is a grain and when mixed with the peas, makes a complete protein.
Flags of Serbia .
Annette, thanks for the info; though having seen Mr. Shortz on How I Met Your Mother the thrill is gone.
Welcome all, I am so fascinated by how some difficult puzzles are handled so easily and easy nes agonized over...
Sorry to see the US fall, but it was exciting; they just seem to have lapses
Another Serbian flag with gold trim.
Hello All--I ran around and around this grid until I was quite dizzy. When my head finally stopped spinning I came here to finish up the unknowns. There were many.
I'll copy JD and Dodo with my comments. Plagairism is accepted at times, especially when your head is spinning.
I made blueberry jam this morning. Our berries are finally ripening. Raspberry and Blackberry jam next. I don't have quite enough of each of those yet, for a batch of jam.
I'm afraid we've been greedy and eaten our fill for a couple of weeks. It is too tempting when you have four cups of berries in the fridge and cereal for breakfast. We also have ice cream with berries, and just berries with berries. I love this time of year.
It is going to heat up the next few days, close to 100, so will wilt along with CA.
Welcome to all the new posters. Have a great weekend everyone.
Hi gang -
Spitzboov - Happy anniv & enjoy your trip, your rascal.
Mostly brilliant puzzle today. Lover the misdirecting clues. Hate the alphabet string.
Couldn't put VAUNT - VIGIL. Got the rest of it, though.
We were en route to T-Town, the LW driving, when I cam up against "It's capital is Doha." Wow, I said, I cold use some help from Amanda. Just before school ended, she had a big test on countries, their capitals, and filling in outline only maps. The LW suggested sending her a text. the ans, QATAR, came back in a trice.
Amanda's uncle Tom left for Afganistan on Thus, and has a layover now in Qatar for couple days. Odd coincidence. But cool that I can get help from a granddaughter.
My V8 moment came when I realized that the book a grabbed on the way out the door to support my printed off puzzle was a world Atlas. the ans was literally at my finger tips.
Jerome - Great anagrams, as always. What is Spitzbumpa? can't track down a reference.
Cheers!
JzB who occasionally will use strawberry JAM on a PB&J
Aha -
Used the find feature to locate Spitzbumpa on Wed.
I've haven't been reading the late posts recently. My loss, I guess.
Anyway, I am proud and delighted to be associated with SB.
Cheers!
JzB the occasionally ERRANT trombonist
Jazzbumpa, thank you for the great laugh I got from your AHA moment! So glad I'm not the only one losing it these days...
dodo and Chickie, I sure don't want to be standing alone when I admit it was a bit hard for me. On the other hand, I'm always happy for those who can speed thru. I would hate to do a Monday puzzle every day, and know that many of you can't wait for the end of the week.Wed is good for me.
Big welcome to Tim, Harriety, August and Vettedoe(do you use an atlas too? I do...a kids' edition..much faster).
dodo, I kind of like babies when their eyes are open and they show a bit of personality. That's Grady right now (11 mo) and still so very cuddly.Truman is picking up the pre school lingo.."poo poo head" and can be a pain if he's tired. Tomorrow he gets to meet his cousin,"Camera"LOL!He's been calling him "Baby Laser" for the past 9 mo.(family nickname)
Barbara and I saw the ISS again tonight and coaxed some of the neighbors out to see it too. It's too easy to take something so amazing for granted.
JD. Grady is already 11 months old? Wow, time really does fly, doesn't it? Yes, I guess really any early childhood age is cute and funny. They're just so NEW at Cameron's age. Almost makes me want to weep! I guess I'm looking at this from the standpoint of not much hope for little babies in my family for a long time: Joe is going to be 30 and shows no signs of settling down, nor does his brother Tom, 26. The other two are just young teens, 16 on July 2, for Jacquie, and 15 for Nick in November! They are all sweethearts but not too cuddly~!
Jazzbumpa, I think it was when I got to the 'z' in spitz--- that I got way off the track! But I love ya both!
ARBAON, I'm still typing my ID, etc. in. Otherwise I guess I'm a nonentity!
JD: When my sister was having her 3rd child, the 2nd one decided to call him Chance, because there was a 'chance' it could be a girl, and a 'chance' it could be a boy.
Once born, he was named Theodore, after his daddy. But when he started school, he didn't like being called 'Theodore', 'Theo' or 'Teddy Bear', so he started using Chance.
He just graduated from high school this month, and still goes by Chance!
Thanks for the welcomes.
JD-No, I don't use an atlas. I really suck at geography. Sometimes I will use google and then choose maps if there is a geography question that I cannot get from filling in the words that cross it.
Vettedoe,
I copied and pasted your post to Sunday blog. JD and others might not come back and read responses posted on a previous day's blog.
Welcome aboard!
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