Theme: Joyous Monday - The first word of each two-word (all ten letters) theme answers are what you might be after solving this puzzle. Additionally, each "joyous" synonym contains 2- syllables, with second containing a long E sound.
17A. "Have a nice day" emoticon : SMILEY FACE. If any one has been lucky enough to have missed seeing the ubiquitous smiley face, your luck ends here.
60A. Blackbeard's flag : JOLLY ROGER. The Skull & Bones.
11D. Shakespeare's women of Windsor : MERRY WIVES. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a comedy and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life.
28D. Bar discount times : HAPPY HOURS. Typically, it is in the late afternoon and lasts longer than a single hour. Bars that are near mills with a third shift often have a morning happy hour.
Argyle here. Not much to say. Happy Hour is a euphemistic term and usually isn't all that joyous of a time.
Across:
1. Salty drop : TEAR
5. Game for little sluggers : T-BALL
10. Gathering clouds, to some : OMEN
14. "In that range" : OR SO
15. Elephant gone amok : ROGUE
16. Nevada gambling haven : RENO
19. Ear-to-ear expression : GRIN. Like a smiley face.
20. Not as risky : SAFER
21. Archaic "For shame!" : FIE. It's a general sound of disgust that seems to have developed independently in most languages. Online Etymology Dictionary. "Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard?" Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
22. Avant-__ : GARDE. French. Literally "advance guard" in a military sense; borrowed as an artistic term for "pioneers or innovators of a particular period." The advance group in any field.
23. Perry with a phenomenal success rate : MASON. Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional lawyer and crime-solver.
25. Like Tim Cratchit : TINY. The fictional character in the classic story "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
26. Kelly, to Regis : CO-HOST
29. Feature of a bad air day : SMOG
31. Needing a diaper change : WET
34. Dump truck filler : LOADER. Clip. If you wonder what he is doing, the operator of the loader is trying to flip the material to the far side of the dump box.
35. Pull, as a water-skier : TOW
36. Home with hexagonal cells : HIVE (Bee hive.)
37. Andersen character with "new clothes" : EMPEROR. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two conniving weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes invisible to those unfit for their positions or incompetent. No one wants to admit that they can't see the clothes(including the Emperor) but when the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"
39. Lifelong residents : NATIVES
41. Washer or dryer: Abbr. : APPL. (appliance)
42. Frat party buy : KEG
44. Hamster or gerbil : RODENT
45. Commandment word : THY
46. Promo recording : DEMO
47. Like a top hat and tails : DRESSY
48. Sibilant boo : HISS
50. Like Satchmo's voice : RASPY. I had forgotten about this gem. Hee, he..., I mean "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
52. Leading edge of a weather system : FRONT
54. Tupperware topper : LID
55. "Gone With the Wind" family name : O'HARA
59. Gomez Addams portrayer __ Julia : RAUL. From TV's "The Addams Family". Update: Per L-714, it was John Astin on TV and Raul Julia in the movies.
62. Fairy tale villain : OGRE
63. Kukla's puppet pal : OLLIE. "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" was an early American television show using puppets and Fran was Fran Allison.
64. Period before Easter : LENT
65. Wind increase : GUST
66. Spills the beans : BLABS
67. Swirling current : EDDY
Down:
1. Pregame coin flip : TOSS
2. Witty Bombeck : ERMA
3. "__ I care!" : AS IF
4. One to look up to : ROLE MODEL
5. Take a stab at : TRY
6. Huge, at the box office : BOFFO
7. Opposed to : AGAINST
8. Time co-founder Henry : LUCE. Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967)
9. Spike or Ang : LEE. Spike Lee, African-American movie director, or Ang Lee, Oscar winning Chinese film director.
10. Broadway Phantom's instrument : ORGAN. Erik, The Phantom of the Opera.
12. Geraint's lady : ENID. Geraint is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, Enid and Geraint.
13. Poor dog's portion, in rhyme : NONE. From Mother Goose.
18. Solver's "undo" implement : ERASER
22. Date for a jazz cat : GIG
24. The 4 in "par 4" : STROKES. (golf)
25. Facing : TOWARDS
26. Golf shoe gripper : CLEAT. Argued before it should be SPIKE. (but we had SPIKE Lee)
27. Get-up-and-go : OOMPH
30. "__ Dieu!" : MON. French
32. Levels off : EVENS
33. Easily irritated : TESTY
36. Secret place : HIDEY HOLE. Where they found Saddam. Image.
38. Dream letters : REM. (rapid eye movement, when a person is dreaming.)
40. Extreme sluggishness : TORPOR
43. Greatest of the great apes : GORILLA
46. "Spring ahead" abbr. : DST. (daylight saving time)
49. Shoreline nook : INLET
51. Wing it on stage : AD LIB
52. Croaking critter : FROG
53. Pasta sauce brand : RAGU
54. Act like a couch potato : LOLL
56. Matured, as cheese : AGED
57. Rip apart : REND
58. Superficially cultured : ARTY
60. To-do list item : JOB
61. "I'd be delighted!" : YES
Answer grid.
Here are two fun pictures with funny captions from today's constructor John Lampkin. Click each one for enlargement.
Happy 80th Birthday to our blog grammar teacher Sallie!
Argyle
17A. "Have a nice day" emoticon : SMILEY FACE. If any one has been lucky enough to have missed seeing the ubiquitous smiley face, your luck ends here.
60A. Blackbeard's flag : JOLLY ROGER. The Skull & Bones.
11D. Shakespeare's women of Windsor : MERRY WIVES. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a comedy and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life.
28D. Bar discount times : HAPPY HOURS. Typically, it is in the late afternoon and lasts longer than a single hour. Bars that are near mills with a third shift often have a morning happy hour.
Argyle here. Not much to say. Happy Hour is a euphemistic term and usually isn't all that joyous of a time.
Across:
1. Salty drop : TEAR
5. Game for little sluggers : T-BALL
10. Gathering clouds, to some : OMEN
14. "In that range" : OR SO
15. Elephant gone amok : ROGUE
16. Nevada gambling haven : RENO
19. Ear-to-ear expression : GRIN. Like a smiley face.
20. Not as risky : SAFER
21. Archaic "For shame!" : FIE. It's a general sound of disgust that seems to have developed independently in most languages. Online Etymology Dictionary. "Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard?" Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
22. Avant-__ : GARDE. French. Literally "advance guard" in a military sense; borrowed as an artistic term for "pioneers or innovators of a particular period." The advance group in any field.
23. Perry with a phenomenal success rate : MASON. Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional lawyer and crime-solver.
25. Like Tim Cratchit : TINY. The fictional character in the classic story "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
26. Kelly, to Regis : CO-HOST
29. Feature of a bad air day : SMOG
31. Needing a diaper change : WET
34. Dump truck filler : LOADER. Clip. If you wonder what he is doing, the operator of the loader is trying to flip the material to the far side of the dump box.
35. Pull, as a water-skier : TOW
36. Home with hexagonal cells : HIVE (Bee hive.)
37. Andersen character with "new clothes" : EMPEROR. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two conniving weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes invisible to those unfit for their positions or incompetent. No one wants to admit that they can't see the clothes(including the Emperor) but when the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"
39. Lifelong residents : NATIVES
41. Washer or dryer: Abbr. : APPL. (appliance)
42. Frat party buy : KEG
44. Hamster or gerbil : RODENT
45. Commandment word : THY
46. Promo recording : DEMO
47. Like a top hat and tails : DRESSY
48. Sibilant boo : HISS
50. Like Satchmo's voice : RASPY. I had forgotten about this gem. Hee, he..., I mean "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
52. Leading edge of a weather system : FRONT
54. Tupperware topper : LID
55. "Gone With the Wind" family name : O'HARA
59. Gomez Addams portrayer __ Julia : RAUL. From TV's "The Addams Family". Update: Per L-714, it was John Astin on TV and Raul Julia in the movies.
62. Fairy tale villain : OGRE
63. Kukla's puppet pal : OLLIE. "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" was an early American television show using puppets and Fran was Fran Allison.
64. Period before Easter : LENT
65. Wind increase : GUST
66. Spills the beans : BLABS
67. Swirling current : EDDY
Down:
1. Pregame coin flip : TOSS
2. Witty Bombeck : ERMA
3. "__ I care!" : AS IF
4. One to look up to : ROLE MODEL
5. Take a stab at : TRY
6. Huge, at the box office : BOFFO
7. Opposed to : AGAINST
8. Time co-founder Henry : LUCE. Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967)
9. Spike or Ang : LEE. Spike Lee, African-American movie director, or Ang Lee, Oscar winning Chinese film director.
10. Broadway Phantom's instrument : ORGAN. Erik, The Phantom of the Opera.
12. Geraint's lady : ENID. Geraint is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, Enid and Geraint.
13. Poor dog's portion, in rhyme : NONE. From Mother Goose.
18. Solver's "undo" implement : ERASER
22. Date for a jazz cat : GIG
24. The 4 in "par 4" : STROKES. (golf)
25. Facing : TOWARDS
26. Golf shoe gripper : CLEAT. Argued before it should be SPIKE. (but we had SPIKE Lee)
27. Get-up-and-go : OOMPH
30. "__ Dieu!" : MON. French
32. Levels off : EVENS
33. Easily irritated : TESTY
36. Secret place : HIDEY HOLE. Where they found Saddam. Image.
38. Dream letters : REM. (rapid eye movement, when a person is dreaming.)
40. Extreme sluggishness : TORPOR
43. Greatest of the great apes : GORILLA
46. "Spring ahead" abbr. : DST. (daylight saving time)
49. Shoreline nook : INLET
51. Wing it on stage : AD LIB
52. Croaking critter : FROG
53. Pasta sauce brand : RAGU
54. Act like a couch potato : LOLL
56. Matured, as cheese : AGED
57. Rip apart : REND
58. Superficially cultured : ARTY
60. To-do list item : JOB
61. "I'd be delighted!" : YES
Answer grid.
Here are two fun pictures with funny captions from today's constructor John Lampkin. Click each one for enlargement.
Happy 80th Birthday to our blog grammar teacher Sallie!
Argyle
65 comments:
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - a fun puzzle today, even though it was a Monday one. John's unique take on clues can make even the simplest puzzle enjoyable. As Argyle points out, even the theme is above Monday level.
Jeez, I hate that smiley face. Hate it. I do like the one that has a bullet hole. I like 'boffo' much better than the 'boff' we saw previously. Had to grin at the juxtaposition of 'tiny'/'organ'. I always liked the word 'torpor' - to me, it sounds like what it means. 'Hidey-hole' made me laugh. And whenever my wife is feeling 'testy', I usually try to offer a test tickle. (Yes, pre-ashamed)
Argyle, nice job, and great links; I especially liked the Satchmo one. John Lampkin, excellent camo in the second picture - I swore I was looking at a 4-point buck.
Today is Different Colored Eyes Day. Good day to be a Husky. But more importantly, today is SALLIE'S BIRTHDAY! A very, very Happy Birthday, Sallie, and many, many more.
Given today's puzzle, a few thoughts on happiness:
- "Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know." -- Ernest Hemingway
- "Some cause happiness wherever they go, others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde
- "What's the secret to a long and happy life? Young women's saliva!" -- Tony Curtis (Hey, he said it, not me)
Dennis,
Yeah, you should be pre-ashamed. You have a deeper SPO problem than young August!
Argyle,
Agree with you on CLEAT. Those pros do wear metal spikes, correct? What's your handicap?
Lois,
What caused your toe surgery? Too much horse-riding in Oklahoma?
Good morning everyone. Nice write-up Argyle.
Happy Birthday, Sallie. Hoch soll sie leben. Dreimal hoch!
Easy Monday, but as is my wont, I did not get the theme itself. Overall a fun solve.
Regarding the theme, can you think of a more appropriate word for smiley but still fitting the parameters.
I mean I have no trouble saying someone was HAPPY, MERRY or JOLLY but to call someone SMILEY? Meh.
My golf handicap? Honesty.
Spitzboov et al,
Blogger seems to have a delay problem in publishing comments recently. Do wait a couple minutes and refresh the Comments section before you decide to re-post again. Normally your previous comment has made it safely.
John,
I really like the extra layer of tie-ins in your Monday puzzles. Today's long E sound and the M & M one with first word being terms of address both have a narrow focus. I have a question regarding the grid design. Once you have all the 10-letter theme entries, did you decide to go with pinwheel design immediately or you also toyed with putting them all in Across?
Good morning Argyle and all the little sweaters.
A fun run that while quick, was filled with with new stuff. It is nice to have such a tight theme to start the week. And the proper names were all very much in the culture.
I like seeing DIAPER: WET being next to LOADER, as I will always recall the fun days of changing.
Raul Julia played Gomez in the two movies made of the Addams Family , it was John Astin, father of Sean Astin from the Lord of the Rings movies, who charmed Morticia on the television version.
John L., I think you should take a trip to Oz with our own Kazie; with your flair for composition and her skills with the lens, the result would be awesome.
Good Morning, All. This is John Lampkin's second puzzle in 8 days! This was a typical Monday as far as ease goes, but I liked the cheery start to the work week.
BOFFO, or variations thereof, must be the en vogue crossword word.
In additional to being a gambling mecca, RENO is also the home of the National Judicial College. I took some classes there several years ago.
I didn't realize that Old Mother Hubbard has such adventures with her poor dog.
The LOADER clip was hilarious, Argyle.
My favorite clue was the Date For a Jazz Cat = GIG
Happy Birthday, Sallie. I hope you have something special planned for your 80th. Among other things, my sibling and I threw a surprise party for our parent's 80th earlier this year.
QOD: A life spent making mistakes in not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. ~ George Bernard Shaw.
Good morning Argyle and all.
Argyle, what a perfect link for Satchmo! He parlayed an improbable voice into wild success just because he exuded such joy. How can you listen to that and not have a smiley face?
Oops, sorry Dennis. Put a bullet hole in that! Your wry humor and list of pessimistic quotes has given me an idea for a sequel with songs:
LET A SMIRK BE YOUR UMBRELLA
SMILE, THOUGH YOUR WIND IS BREAKING
A tip of the hat to Kazie for her series of stunning shots. She inspired my idea to post photos related to the theme. Thanks, Kazie!
C.C. your grid question is excellent. To keep this short, I'll answer that later.
Can someone please explain to me what SPO is? Thank you.
I enjoyed today's cheerful offering, John.
Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,
Straight forward puzzle today with some nice twists in the clues. Nice job John and thanks for dropping in.
Great write up Argyle!
And a very Happy Birthday to Sallie!
Have a great Monday.
John, 'smile, though your wind is breaking' almost cost me a mouthful of cereal.
Eaves Dropper, C.C. will be more than happy to explain SPO to you. She has a very DF mind, by the way.
Ironic to have a theme of "happy" on a Monday. I know that my husband would not think that was the day of the week that he smiles the most.
My only two missteps were BONE vs. NONE (they both work don't they?) and I kept reading "Bad hair day" so could not figure out what word I was looking for.
Raul Julia played the attorney Sandy Stern in "Presumed Innocent". Not the best movie adaptation but a great book. I just finished Scott Turow's latest "Innocent" and really enjoyed that one also.
Awesome pics John. What a fun sense of humor you have. Happy Bday Sallie and many more.
Have a great day all.
Hello Puzzlers - Certainly an uncomplicated puzzle today. I was glad that we had seen BOFF lately so that I could recall BOFFO. The theme escaped me until Argyle's post.
HBDTY Sallie!
Would a 50's dance humiliation be "ChaChagrin"?
Would a Butcher's declaration of his role in life be "ISlaughter"?
Would an overnight flight span be "RedEyeBeam"?
Too early in the week for me to think of others :)
C.C. posed an excellent question:
Once you have all the 10-letter theme entries, did you decide to go with pinwheel design immediately or you also toyed with putting them all in Across?
At the risk of putting some of you to sleep:
Four 10’s is one of the most constructor-friendly grids there is because it can pinwheel. To see why, take the blank grid for this puzzle and enter only the four theme entries. You will see that all the other fill words contain no more than one letter of the theme. This is a good thing because including two or three theme letters in a fill word limits the choices.
Also notice that all six sectors of the puzzle include theme letters with the pinwheel. It’s harder to do that with four 10’s all across. It’s easy to see that two of the corners would suffer. That is, a solver would fill in the blanks without the reward of an “Aha!” when the theme is revealed.
Having said that, I always take time to quickly sketch out different layouts since pleasant surprises can sometimes lie waiting there for the patient constructor.
Since we talked about central entries a while back, note that there is none here. There is a block. That is because a central entry by its very nature is a “hot spot” that begs for a theme entry. It’s true that many constructors and editors even don’t care too much about that, but I do. It’s akin to having a sonnet where the last couplet doesn’t have perfect rhyme. It feels off, perhaps only vaguely so, but off.
Solvers sometimes ask, “Do you actually think about this stuff when you are creating?” The answer is, “Yes.”
Good morning Argyle, C.C. and everyone.
A very enjoyable solve, straightforward cluing but nicely
presented.
Saliva, an elixir of life? No wonder bird's nest soup is so delicious and expensive.
Happy birthday Maam Sallie. Toast to more years of crossword solving!!
Have a good day everyone.
August
Argyle, Excellent Write-up on a
easy, breesy (with that GUST) Monday.
Instead of 30d MON being clued "___Dieu!"
I would like to see a "Hey___!" Yeah, a bit of Jamaica.
OOMPH & LOLL, OK, should I have "Get up and go" or just "Act like a couch potato?"
KEG & HAPPY HOUR, yup, my faves.
ADLIB crosses BLABS EDDY, Hmmm ...
Good Morning All, What a cheery puzzle theme to begin our week. Thanks John L. ...a couple of big smiles at your photos and an interesting lesson on crossword construction.
Nothing difficult today, which is as it should be on a Monday. At the same time it wasn't boring for me. Words like AGAINST, OOMPH, RODENT,GORILLA and HIDEY HOLE were all enjoyable fill.
I loved 4D. It reminded me of the line, "Who'll be my ROLE MODEL when my ROLE MODEL is gone?" Oh heck, here's the song with Paul Simon and Chevy Chase. More funny times to start off the day.
Happy birthday to Sallie. Enjoy the day.
Fairly easy Monday puzzle, maybe a bit harder than usual. 12 minutes.
Thanks John. You made my day.
G'morning all,
Great job with fun links, Argyle, thank you!
John Lamppkin,
The explanation of the grid formation is way above my head, but very interesting. I'd go nuts just trying to find fill, let alone getting the grid pattern to work in such a complicated way. Hats off to you for what you've created! And the photos definitely work, though I think the antlers would be more convincing if you were down on all fours.
Sallie,
Have a wonderful celebration of your 80th! Enjoy every minute!
I had no real trouble with the XW today, except that I'm not familiar with BOFFO and having only seen BOFF here before was uncertain how to end it until MASON appeared. Everything else was pretty clear cut. Some clues didn't get read, and in my haste to get to the sudoku, I forgot to look for the theme connection too.
Nevertheless, I hope you all have a jolly, happy, merry and yes, smileworthy day!
Eaves Dropper,
I defer to Dennis. Or maybe August. I insist so.
John,
Thanks for pointing out that none of the fill contains no more than one letter of the theme entries. I am not quite clear on your central block explanation. Is it flaw? Or does it remedy the flaw of putting a non-theme odd letter word in the center?
Hi all -
Great puzzle to start the week. I had fun with it and that is what it's for.
27D (OOMPH)was a fresh answer, have never seen that before, and grinned to see it next to LOADER. (Argyle, cute clip on that).
Only one I didn't know was 59A (RAUL JULIA).
Dennis (5:30) loved your reason for feeling 'pre-ashamed'. I get that offer too.
Sallie, I hope your day is special and that you get all your wishes granted! Enjoy :)
What a nice fun puzzle to solve after a long weekend in too much sun! I even got the French answers in Avant Garde and Mon Dieu! Aren’t you proud of me Lemonade? I haven’t heard the term “boffo” for huge since high school and torpor is as Dennis pointed out a great word for extreme sluggishness. I got Enid and Luce via the perps or perhaps I didn’t even read the clues. Kazie, I too kept trying to come up with a word for a “bad hair day”. Funny how your mind reads into things. John, I enjoyed completing your puzzle but don’t see myself constructing one anytime soon. How long does an average Monday puzzle take you to construct?
Sallie, enjoy your 80th birthday! If I didn’t know your age I would never have guessed the pretty lady in the bright beautiful clothing could be that age! It must be your flair for living out loud.
Dennis….hang your head (well you know what I mean).
Easy breezy even for a Monday. I stumbled on the NONE/bone poor dog clue, but perp fixed that. Didn't know RAUL Julia, but perps also took care of that. Didn't articulate a theme, but I knew it had something to do with the cheerful words.
Happy BD, Sallie. Many "happy" "jolly" "merry" "smiley" returns!
Hahtool, if the GBS quote is true, I must be the most honorable person around. I've certainly many my share of mistakes!
I did not understand very much of the explanation of the grid. My hat's off to those who make these CWs. I just enjoy doin' 'em, don't want to make 'em.
Re: Eaves Dropper,
I defer to Dennis. Or maybe August.
Let's cut to the chase: It means Sexually Pre-Occupied.
C.C. Because of its placement, a central entry draws attention to itself. My own personal taste is that if there is a central entry, it should be theme-related. For example, JOY RIDE could have gone in the center here clued as, "What the other four entries in this puzzle take you on, in a way."
Damn! Now I think of that! Rich, stop the presses!
Kazie, I'm sure that you are not alone in finding this too technical. But as you said a day or two ago, you think about composition when you frame your photographs. It's very much the same principle at work, just a different art form. One doesn't have to understand the principles to enjoy a photograph or a puzzle, but for those of a center mind-set, seeing the principles at work adds to the pleasure.
Er, rather... a CERTAIN mindset.
@Spitzboov, thank you. My old dictionary does not have this entry.
Good Monday, Argyle et al:
Cheerio! What a happy puzzle!
Though it was quick to fill with many familiar phrases and names, it brought many grins with its cleverness.
I didn't quite hit upon the theme but knew it had to do with cheerful; I mean, SMILEY, MERRY, JOLLY, HAPPY were all good omens.
And ever since retirement, Mondays, as well as any day of the week, have been gleeful for me.
Your photos are wonderful, John, thank you for sharing. And I always love your puzzles which I would rather solve than understand the complexities behind them. It's amazing to me how much goes into this construction.
And Fred Jackson, if you are lurking around, I really enjoyed your puzzle from yesterday.
Sallie, happy, happy birthday!
Everyone, have a spectacular Monday!
Well, I had a bit of trouble sitting for this one. Not because of the puzzle, John's are always fun, but because I'm having a hard time sitting. I finished 13 miles short of 4000 in 11 days. Actually got back late last Thursday, but the rushed trip was because my daughter's future in-laws were arriving Friday to scout potential wedding sites, so I had to drive them around the mountains this weekend.
Now I've got a 2 day hiatus before I return to the lake to race in the High Sierra Regatta. Life is rough.
This was a great puzzle to return to. Easy, I had to read several clues just to see what I filled; but the clues are always worth reading when John is constructing. Oops, I just realized that I left the O out of the MASON/BOFFO cross. I must have been moving fast.
My favorite was Dump truck filler. I spent a while looking at 'gravel' and 'stones' before I went to perps for a hint.
Kazie, I love your photos. I'll get there someday. I have some pictures to share, but I'm going to give people time to forget yours. You take photographs, I take snap-shots.
Happy birthday Sally. I figure that at 80, I won't even be able to find the crossword, let alone solve one.
Good to 'see' you all, this is the drawback of refusing to get a smart phone.
Fast solve...favorite clue: "Home with hexagonal cells" (I kept picturing white collar prisons...they have all sorts of "perks." Can anyone say Bernie Madoff?)
Argyle: I always enjoy your blogging and HBD to Sallie. You are a ♪♫•*¨*•..good "young" girl..•*¨*•♫♪•
"Smile though your wind is breaking
"Smile though your tummy`s aching.
"If there`s a bean in the pot
"You will not.
"Need it. Smile through your social mishaps.
"Smile when your belt wants to snap.
"You`ll find that methane treats you vile
"So you just smile."
Let no one ever tell you this blog has no class!
Pretty hard for a Monday with Torpor and Luce, among others.
I did not like this puzzle. I loved it! A perfect Monday, and with a little extra OOMPH. 35 black squares only opens up the center east and west nicely.
Favorites- HIDEYHOLE, BLABS, OOMPH, BOFFO, and GORILLA. Surprised at WET being clued as "Needing a diaper change".
Not so Boffo-
The British say you can find a SMILEY FACE in LIMEY CAFES.
GOLLY JORGE, you're a JOLLY ROGER!
A VERY WISE MR. has MERRY WIVES.
I've heard it said OPRAH PUSHY during HAPPY HOURS.
A tip of the hat, John.
Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all,
Fun c/w, fun write up.Argyle, loved your handicap answer!
Some words, like boffo, I don't pay attention to the 1st time around because I foolishly think they are one-timers. Made that mistake with Omoo,and epee.
Theme? I just noticed that there were lots of Y's..7 of them.
Smiled at hidey hole, blabs Eddy,and oomph. I wasn't sure on that 2nd O.Speaking of loader,last night we decided that corn was the very worst thing in a diaper.
Sallie, have a great b'day!
CA, I so enjoyed the comical clip of Simon& Chevy Chase.
John and Kazie, wonderful pictures!
Frenchie, I enjoyed your write up the other night using the c/words.
Fred, great puzzle yesterday. Congrats! I had to change Los to Les Miserables to get a shout out.Don't know how the O got there.
Speaking of loader,last night we decided that corn was the very worst thing in a diaper.
Well, so much for lunch -- and I brought chocolate pudding for dessert too...
JD, so much for the ONLY vegetable that Dennis would eat. Shame on you!
Mon Dieu! I love this blog!
At this moment I'm laughing quite loudly at the clever quips by John Lampkin, Dennis, ARBAON, JD and all others.
John Lampkin:
I hope my remarks did not sound negative about your explanation; far from it. I really enjoy that you visit us and share those insights with us. It's a happy symbiosis of constructor/solver roles.
Dudley:
Good for you! What an amazing accomplishment. I'm sorry about your, er, rear end problems.
Jeannie, you just can't throw a hanging curve like that - so many lines...
Hey Lucina: Methinks you intended that mention of the - let's call it Sorbonne - for Gunghy, n'est-ce pas?
Due to my enthusiasm over Kazie's pix, I finally uploaded a photo from my trip to Oz to use as an avatar. It's my wife and me on the rocks at Mooloolaba Beach on Queensland's lovely coast. Feel free to gush and to praise its artistic merit and attractive subjects.
Dennis, you eat 'veggies' too?
JD: LOL - that brought a mental picture I could have done without! I don't blame Dennis for losing his appetite :-)
Hello All--A fun, puzzle today. I smiled all the way through. The fills were a little longer than most Monday answers, but that just made it more interesting.
My Solver's Undo instrument didn't see much action today. I didn't say the Nursery Rhyme all the way through and put in Bone instead of None so had to use it only once.
HBDTY, Sallie, and many, many more.
John L., your construction explanation was very educational. Also enjoyed your photos. Such imagination!
Arbaon, Yes, we're pretty classy here on this Blog.
Our street had a Huge dump truck and a loader right opposite my front door this morning. We also had within a block's length, the Postman, two garbage trucks, a gardener's truck, the Solar installer's truck and the P.G.and E. truck. It was noisy and busy for about an hour and a half. Nice and quiet now, thank goodness.
Sallie:
Happy 80, I hope the next 80 are ven more fun.
Dudley, send the pic to C.C. so we can get it big enough to see if you speak the truth
ciao, for niao
Hi gang -
Wow. everyone is in good spirits and rare form today. Can't tell you when I've ever had this much fun just reading the blog.
HBD, Sallie!!
John - lot's of fun with the puzzle. Love your technical insights.
Argyle - terrific, as always.
I needed some perp help today. Biggest problems were bad HAIR day (yup, me 2) and in the top center. After I entered ROUGE, nothing else worked . . .
This jazz cat has a granddaughter watching GIG on Friday, with the LW as COHOST.
For symmetries I saw ORGAN and INLET, and decided to just stop there.
Would a champion baker be a ROLL MODEL?
IMBO. Almost dinner time, and rehearsal tonight. Jazz Fest next Sunday.
I missed yesterdays puzzle, but since it's one of Fred's I'll be sure to backtrack for it.
Cheers!
JzB who has been known to AD LIB
I loved Raul Julia. He was also in Havana with Robert Redford and Lena Olin, another favorite crossword fill. Julia was a wonderful actor, who tragically died at an early age of a brain hemorrhage and stroke at age 54.
Dudley (the do right):
Gush, gush, praise, praise.
Also, I once had legs like that. Your wife`s are nice, too :)
Hey, puzzlers!
A delightful Monday puzzle! Like Jerome, I loved it! Did the 'bone/none' thing and if I had just proofed the whole thing before coming to the blog, I would have caught it. Whoever heard of an 'omeb'?
Kazie, I'm with you as to the secrets behind crossword construction! I'm sure I could read John's explanation ten times over and still not get it! "As if" I care! No offence, John? I just don't have that kind of a mind.But I am happy that you do.
Sallie, a very Happy Birthday to you! Welcome to the octogeneration! Nice to have you aboard; now we are three, unless some of the more secretive members are withholding important data!
C.C., I looked further into the Coolpix picture and found I can order an already printed manual. After I probably killed a couple of trees! Well, I'm now well-fixed for scratch paper.
Fred Jackson, I finished your puzzle last night online with much enjoyment. Today I looked at yesterday's local paper (the Stockton Record) and caramba! there it was! I hope you get royalties or something. They often have a Merle Reagle on Sunday but never the LAT.
Lois, thanks for the explanation of the workingss of your 'condom'.
I can understand that one! Also I hope your pain is lessening and healing lies ahead.
Vette - - - ( can't remember the rest of your name), my same hopeful wishes for your recovery, as well.
Kazie, there was only the Spanish version of the Coolpix manual. I think I must have purchased an 'irregular'; it was from Amazon, Sure hope it's not too irregular!
Dodo:
I hope you read my post from late yesterday.
Have you turned over the manual? Sometimes the Spanish is printed on one side and the English on the other and they meet in the center. If it's a thick manual you might not notice it.
Oh, my goodness! Mon Dieu!
Yes, I meant Gunghy; please see my second post, Gunghy.
Thanks, Dudley. Nice gams.
Hey guys, Mr. Lampkin is the one who started it with "needing a diaper change"....corn..too many letters.
Dudley..lovely layout..lovely legs.
Lucina,
I thought you were talking about JD's problem. While the behind is admittedly sore, I am amazed at what else hurt. Who would expect the triceps to ache? I couldn't figure out what was stressing them. Other strange ones are a stiff neck and aching soles of the feet. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was getting old.
Lucina:
Thanx!
Dodo:
All the syndicates pay us a one-time flat fee for our puzzles.
I've heard the Newsday puzzle is syndicated to around 100 newspapers. So you will run into it here and there.
Gunghy, if that WERE my problem, I don't think I'd advertise it.
Lois, how's that condom working for you?
Gunghy: you rode your bike 362 miles per day??? I am no good at math but 4000 miles less 13 miles = 3987 miles divided by 11 days = 362. What did I miss? Is your bike motorized? What kind of bike? Am I way off here? :)
Carol, I wish I could do a bicycle like that. The most I ever did on one of those was 100 miles and I was in my 30's at the time.
No, I currently ride a Yamaha XVC1900, commonly called a Raider. It's a large cruiser similar looking to the Harleys. The 1900 refers to the CC's in the engine. That makes the engine bigger than the one in my first car.
I spent Thurs afternoon through Sunday morning in San Antonio at a conference and Sunday afternoon and night in Austin at Willie Nelsons July 4 picnic, so if you want to do the math, I rode 1735 miles from Fresno to San Antone in 3 days, and 2250 in 4 days on the way back. Since I insisted on doing some sight-seeing on the way back, The days were long: On the bike by 7:30 and sometimes finishing at midnight.
JD, I really loooove looking at your babes; they are such cuties! What is more adorable than a 'smiley' infant? Dudley, you and your spouse have great legs but it would be nice to see you faces.
Lots of sparkling repartee today. It's a laugh a minute in this classy blog!
Lemonade said:
Dudley, send the pic to C.C. so we can get it big enough to see if you speak the truth
Now if I do that, it'll blow the whole illusion! Fact is, I've always been a skinny dude, not easily mistaken for a linebacker. This is advantageous in my world of small aircraft, where weight is the enemy.
ARBAON is right: my wife has the good legs.
Gunghy- If CC'S in the engine, get her out of there! Quick!
Gunghy, thanks so much for the explanation of your 'bike' trip...I knew it had to be something like that and don't know where I got the idea that it was non-motorized cycling. Maybe just my bias. Anyway, sorry for your 'sore end'. I applaud your stamina!
Lois, hope you are feeling no pain. That condom covering sounds like a winner :)
JD,
I'm definitely jealous of those cute little guys of yours. Maybe some day I'll have some grandbabies.
Dodo,
I'm sorry, maybe I was away when you spoke of where your Coolpix Nikon came from. that might explain it though. If the person who passed it on lost the manual they had used. They must have left the Spanish one in the box like I did with mine, since I knew it wouldn't get used.
Goodnight all!
Nice, smooth puzzle today. My biggest goof was confidently putting TUG instead of TOW, which was quickly corrected.
I like the pinwheel placement of the theme fill!
My favorite clue was 36A Home with hexagonal cells: HIVE
John, thanks for getting our week off to a happy start!
Ghungy, how's your tan? I have spent so much time on Lo-li-ta lately in this extreme MN heat that I can't see myself coming out of the shower but for tan lines. BTW, my "seater" has had her work moving back and forth tacking. I am the one working the jib. I much prefer running the tiller.
There's your curve ball Dennis...so many lines...
My repeated mistake on the spelling of your name Gunghy...and my apology. Must be sunstroke. Yep, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
No, Kazie, this was brand new; in fact it took me half an hour just to get the box open. But maybe the packaging was why I got a good price on it. Of course, what with buying a manual and the paper and ink I wasted, plus the paper jams, etc., etc., etc. it probably wasn't such a good deal after all.
Caveat emptor, y'know!
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