Theme: Not I - You! Long U sound (in various spellings) is added to consonant-beginning parts of common phrases, the resulting theme phrases, some of which experience spelling changes, are then humorously clued.
23A. Organize guards? : UNITE WATCHMEN. The base phrase is nightwatchmen.
31A. How the Knicks of 1985-2000 may have rested their hopes? : ON A EWING AND A PRAYER. On a wing and a prayer. Patrick Ewing.
43A. Where the Oregon swim team practices? : EUGENE POOLS. Gene pools.
59A. Backlash from a Canadian territory? : THE WRATH OF YUKON. The Wrath of Khan.
68A. Reverse course against one's better judgment? : TAKE A U-TURN FOR THE WORSE. Take a turn for the worse. Perfect grid spanner.
78A. Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?" : TEST YOUTUBE, BABY. Test tube baby.
95A. Grateful words for a delivery company? : UPS I LOVE YOU. P.S. I Love You. Very sappy movie.
103A. Headline about declining sales of Nesquik? : YOOHOO'S LAUGHING NOW. Who's laughing now? I've never heard of Nesquik or Yoohoo chocolate milk. Don't eat any dairy products.
121A. Card in the game Car Flop Monopoly? : DO NOT PASS YUGO. Do not pass go. Yugo is the worst car in history, isn't it?
The constructor covered all the possible spellings for the long U sound, no? U, EW, EU, YU, YOU & YOO. Rather exhaustive.
Amusing theme. Heavy themage too. Nice & long theme entries. I like the title too.
Also a pangram. And no cheater square. Very John Lampkin like. But I spotted no cross-reference or clue echos, which are heavily featured in John's puzzles.
Across:
1. To blame : AT FAULT. He's to blame/AT FAULT.
8. Porch tune, maybe : CAROL. The "tune" is a duplication with the answer TUNE in 2D.
13. Spa treatment : MASSAGE. Hi, Melissa.
20. Washington's coin : QUARTER
21. Yoga posture : ASANA. Thought of Lucina and her always cheerful posts!
22. Fancy furs : ERMINES
25. Friday show? : DRAGNET. Sergeant Friday.
26. Prefix with plane : AERO. Aeroplane.
27. Lavish affection : DOTE
28. Roman's 103 : CIII
30. Oenophile's concern : NOSE. Oenophile = One who loves wine.
37. Take a shot : TRY
40. Post-OR area : ICU
41. Caspian feeder : URAL. Tried ARAL first.
42. Major ISP : AOL
48. Auto designer Ferrari : ENZO. He has become a gimme.
50. Chat room "Incidentally ..." : BTW. Needs to be reclued to avoid the "chat" duplication with the answers IDLE CHAT (29D. "Nice weather we're having" and the like).
53. Was too sweet : CLOYED
54. Meter opening : ODO. Opening for the word odometer. The clue needs a question mark. To be consistent with 92A.
55. Lab animals : MICE
57. Not stuffy : AIRY
58. Roll call response : HERE
63. Agt. under Ness : T-MAN
66. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores : IKEA
67. Lure sneakily : ROPE IN
75. Set straight : ORIENT
76. Execute perfectly : NAIL
77. Hun king of myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.
83. Ernest's unseen friend, in films : VERN. No idea. What film?
87. Chop finely : HASH
88. Mineo and a mule : SALS. Fun clue. A man and a mule.
89. Resistance unit : OHM
90. Andy's deputy : BARNEY. "The Andy Griffith Show".
92. Mock ending? : ERY. Ending for the word mockery.
93. McGregor of "Star Wars" films : EWAN
97. Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO. Annette was just talking about Oxo products.
98. College srs.' tests : GRES. Foreign students take GRE too, if they want to study for Masters in the US.
101. A, in Avignon : UNE. Alliteration.
102. Set, as a price : ASK
111. Summer quaffs : ADES. Can picture the groan in Barry G's face.
112. Navigate : WEND
113. Jumble wordplay: Abbr. : ANAG. Man, we really have some anagram experts on the blog. Awesome blossoms!
114. In __: stuck : A JAM
118. Rise again : RESURGE
125. Bridge call : NO TRUMP
126. Papal garment : ORALE. The cape over his vestments.
127. Fail : GO UNDER
128. Show contempt for : SNEER AT
129. Normand of silents : MABEL. Her name escaped me. Saw this clue before.
130. Reagan A.G. : ED MEESE
Down:
1. Turquoise hue : AQUA
2. Use a fork, in a way : TUNE. Tuning fork?
3. Off the foul pole, e.g. : FAIR. Baseball.
4. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. Stumper. "Star Wars" droid.
5. Salt Lake City athlete : UTE
6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW. Stranger to me.
7. Switch to a better model : TRADE UP
8. Saguaros : CACTI. They are in Gunghy's photos.
9. Visibly terrified : ASHEN
10. Try to sink, maybe : RAM. OK.
11. Like a family sharing a vehicle : ONE CAR
12. Pacific weather phenomenon : LA NIÑA
13. TV and radio : MEDIA
14. Sheet music abbr. : ARR. Arranged?
15. "'S a __ request": Burns : SMA. Better than the "Wee" clue yesterday.
16. Cell user's need : SIGNAL. Cellphone.
17. Tee off : ANNOY
18. Canada __ : GEESE
19. Perfumer's compound : ESTER
24. Drag : TOW
32. Number of Dvorák symphonies : NINE. Needed crossing help.
33. Breezed through : ACED
34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS
35. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Spanish for "Peace". Guerra is "war". Got me.
36. Milne tyke : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".
37. PC troubleshooter : TECH
38. Have power over : RULE
39. Lab assistant in a 1939 film : YGOR. Or IGOR.
44. Some canines : EYE TEETH
45. "Impressive!" : OOH
46. Work of Sappho : ODE. Sappho is the Greek poet. A Lesbian. The word "lesbian" is derived from her birthplace island Lesbos.
47. In a funk : LOW
49. "The Matrix" hero : NEO
50. Helmet wearer : BIKER
51. Mousquetaires count : TROIS. Three. Did not know Mousquetaires = Musketeers in French. 'The Three Musketeers".
52. Crossword inventor Arthur : WYNNE. In 1913.
55. Hammerhead cousin : MAKO
56. Anatomical passage : ITER
57. Way to make steak : AU POIVRE. Poivre is French for "pepper".
59. Demolition supply : TNT
60. Biathlete's gear : RIFLE
61. Agonize : FRET
62. Cry of distress : YOWL
64. Umpteen : MANY
65. Self starter? : AUTO. Like autograph/autobiography. "Self" prefix. Somehow I am not fond of this clue.
68. "__ moon, Alice!": Gleason catchphrase : TO THE
69. Toward the back : AREAR. I checked. It's in the dictionary.
70. Inviting, as lips : KISSY. Only know kissable.
71. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
72. Brother of Fidel : RAUL. The Castros.
73. Birds' bills : NIBS
74. Stable staple : HAY. Nice alliterative & rhyming clue.
79. Dream Team's team : USA
80. Gillespie's genre : BOP
81. Doctors hear a lot of them : AHS
82. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Incorporated. New abbr. to me.
84. "The Council of Elrond" singer : ENYA
85. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOS. Had this identical before.
86. Syllable from Curly : NYUK. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Three times.
90. Beethoven's birthplace : BONN
91. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. What's the name origin, Santa?
93. Prefix with skeleton : EXO. "Outside" prefix.
94. Court : WOO
95. Pres. before RBH : USG. Ulysses S. Grant. RBH = Rutherford B. Hayes. Blank spots for me.
96. Carousel sight : LUGGAGE. Carousel is the revolving belt in the airports.
97. "Yeah, right!" : OH SURE
99. Like coin flips : RANDOM
100. Author Welty : EUDORA. Peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Fish stories : YARNS
104. Cinema name : ODEON
105. Compass dirección : OESTE. "West" in Spanish.
106. Took four of four, say : SWEPT
107. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Just remember it as A HOLE.
108. Drone's gathering, briefly : INTEL. Intelligence.
109. Be off one's guard : NAP
110. __ Manor: "Batman" mansion : WAYNE. Learning moment.
115. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". Too obscure a clue for me.
116. Seemingly forever : AGES
117. Greedy cry : MORE
119. 1921 Capek play : R.U. R. Where the word "robot" was first used.
120. ABC talk show, for short : GMA
122. Put the cuffs on : NAB
123. Grass in strips : SOD
124. Bottom line : SUM
Answer grid.
Here is Part VIII of Kazie's Oz series. Various Sydney Harbour pictures. Brilliant night shots. The last installment of her trip will appear tomorrow.
C.C.
PS: I have a question for Firefox Browser users: Do the links today appear in blue color in your screen? They look gray in my computer, but blue when I go to Internet Explorer.
23A. Organize guards? : UNITE WATCHMEN. The base phrase is nightwatchmen.
31A. How the Knicks of 1985-2000 may have rested their hopes? : ON A EWING AND A PRAYER. On a wing and a prayer. Patrick Ewing.
43A. Where the Oregon swim team practices? : EUGENE POOLS. Gene pools.
59A. Backlash from a Canadian territory? : THE WRATH OF YUKON. The Wrath of Khan.
68A. Reverse course against one's better judgment? : TAKE A U-TURN FOR THE WORSE. Take a turn for the worse. Perfect grid spanner.
78A. Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?" : TEST YOUTUBE, BABY. Test tube baby.
95A. Grateful words for a delivery company? : UPS I LOVE YOU. P.S. I Love You. Very sappy movie.
103A. Headline about declining sales of Nesquik? : YOOHOO'S LAUGHING NOW. Who's laughing now? I've never heard of Nesquik or Yoohoo chocolate milk. Don't eat any dairy products.
121A. Card in the game Car Flop Monopoly? : DO NOT PASS YUGO. Do not pass go. Yugo is the worst car in history, isn't it?
The constructor covered all the possible spellings for the long U sound, no? U, EW, EU, YU, YOU & YOO. Rather exhaustive.
Amusing theme. Heavy themage too. Nice & long theme entries. I like the title too.
Also a pangram. And no cheater square. Very John Lampkin like. But I spotted no cross-reference or clue echos, which are heavily featured in John's puzzles.
Across:
1. To blame : AT FAULT. He's to blame/AT FAULT.
8. Porch tune, maybe : CAROL. The "tune" is a duplication with the answer TUNE in 2D.
13. Spa treatment : MASSAGE. Hi, Melissa.
20. Washington's coin : QUARTER
21. Yoga posture : ASANA. Thought of Lucina and her always cheerful posts!
22. Fancy furs : ERMINES
25. Friday show? : DRAGNET. Sergeant Friday.
26. Prefix with plane : AERO. Aeroplane.
27. Lavish affection : DOTE
28. Roman's 103 : CIII
30. Oenophile's concern : NOSE. Oenophile = One who loves wine.
37. Take a shot : TRY
40. Post-OR area : ICU
41. Caspian feeder : URAL. Tried ARAL first.
42. Major ISP : AOL
48. Auto designer Ferrari : ENZO. He has become a gimme.
50. Chat room "Incidentally ..." : BTW. Needs to be reclued to avoid the "chat" duplication with the answers IDLE CHAT (29D. "Nice weather we're having" and the like).
53. Was too sweet : CLOYED
54. Meter opening : ODO. Opening for the word odometer. The clue needs a question mark. To be consistent with 92A.
55. Lab animals : MICE
57. Not stuffy : AIRY
58. Roll call response : HERE
63. Agt. under Ness : T-MAN
66. Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores : IKEA
67. Lure sneakily : ROPE IN
75. Set straight : ORIENT
76. Execute perfectly : NAIL
77. Hun king of myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.
83. Ernest's unseen friend, in films : VERN. No idea. What film?
87. Chop finely : HASH
88. Mineo and a mule : SALS. Fun clue. A man and a mule.
89. Resistance unit : OHM
90. Andy's deputy : BARNEY. "The Andy Griffith Show".
92. Mock ending? : ERY. Ending for the word mockery.
93. McGregor of "Star Wars" films : EWAN
97. Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO. Annette was just talking about Oxo products.
98. College srs.' tests : GRES. Foreign students take GRE too, if they want to study for Masters in the US.
101. A, in Avignon : UNE. Alliteration.
102. Set, as a price : ASK
111. Summer quaffs : ADES. Can picture the groan in Barry G's face.
112. Navigate : WEND
113. Jumble wordplay: Abbr. : ANAG. Man, we really have some anagram experts on the blog. Awesome blossoms!
114. In __: stuck : A JAM
118. Rise again : RESURGE
125. Bridge call : NO TRUMP
126. Papal garment : ORALE. The cape over his vestments.
127. Fail : GO UNDER
128. Show contempt for : SNEER AT
129. Normand of silents : MABEL. Her name escaped me. Saw this clue before.
130. Reagan A.G. : ED MEESE
Down:
1. Turquoise hue : AQUA
2. Use a fork, in a way : TUNE. Tuning fork?
3. Off the foul pole, e.g. : FAIR. Baseball.
4. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. Stumper. "Star Wars" droid.
5. Salt Lake City athlete : UTE
6. "Ben-Hur" author Wallace : LEW. Stranger to me.
7. Switch to a better model : TRADE UP
8. Saguaros : CACTI. They are in Gunghy's photos.
9. Visibly terrified : ASHEN
10. Try to sink, maybe : RAM. OK.
11. Like a family sharing a vehicle : ONE CAR
12. Pacific weather phenomenon : LA NIÑA
13. TV and radio : MEDIA
14. Sheet music abbr. : ARR. Arranged?
15. "'S a __ request": Burns : SMA. Better than the "Wee" clue yesterday.
16. Cell user's need : SIGNAL. Cellphone.
17. Tee off : ANNOY
18. Canada __ : GEESE
19. Perfumer's compound : ESTER
24. Drag : TOW
32. Number of Dvorák symphonies : NINE. Needed crossing help.
33. Breezed through : ACED
34. Astronaut Grissom : GUS
35. Guerra's opposite : PAZ. Spanish for "Peace". Guerra is "war". Got me.
36. Milne tyke : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".
37. PC troubleshooter : TECH
38. Have power over : RULE
39. Lab assistant in a 1939 film : YGOR. Or IGOR.
44. Some canines : EYE TEETH
45. "Impressive!" : OOH
46. Work of Sappho : ODE. Sappho is the Greek poet. A Lesbian. The word "lesbian" is derived from her birthplace island Lesbos.
47. In a funk : LOW
49. "The Matrix" hero : NEO
50. Helmet wearer : BIKER
51. Mousquetaires count : TROIS. Three. Did not know Mousquetaires = Musketeers in French. 'The Three Musketeers".
52. Crossword inventor Arthur : WYNNE. In 1913.
55. Hammerhead cousin : MAKO
56. Anatomical passage : ITER
57. Way to make steak : AU POIVRE. Poivre is French for "pepper".
59. Demolition supply : TNT
60. Biathlete's gear : RIFLE
61. Agonize : FRET
62. Cry of distress : YOWL
64. Umpteen : MANY
65. Self starter? : AUTO. Like autograph/autobiography. "Self" prefix. Somehow I am not fond of this clue.
68. "__ moon, Alice!": Gleason catchphrase : TO THE
69. Toward the back : AREAR. I checked. It's in the dictionary.
70. Inviting, as lips : KISSY. Only know kissable.
71. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
72. Brother of Fidel : RAUL. The Castros.
73. Birds' bills : NIBS
74. Stable staple : HAY. Nice alliterative & rhyming clue.
79. Dream Team's team : USA
80. Gillespie's genre : BOP
81. Doctors hear a lot of them : AHS
82. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Incorporated. New abbr. to me.
84. "The Council of Elrond" singer : ENYA
85. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOS. Had this identical before.
86. Syllable from Curly : NYUK. Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. Three times.
90. Beethoven's birthplace : BONN
91. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. What's the name origin, Santa?
93. Prefix with skeleton : EXO. "Outside" prefix.
94. Court : WOO
95. Pres. before RBH : USG. Ulysses S. Grant. RBH = Rutherford B. Hayes. Blank spots for me.
96. Carousel sight : LUGGAGE. Carousel is the revolving belt in the airports.
97. "Yeah, right!" : OH SURE
99. Like coin flips : RANDOM
100. Author Welty : EUDORA. Peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Fish stories : YARNS
104. Cinema name : ODEON
105. Compass dirección : OESTE. "West" in Spanish.
106. Took four of four, say : SWEPT
107. Oahu outsider : HAOLE. Just remember it as A HOLE.
108. Drone's gathering, briefly : INTEL. Intelligence.
109. Be off one's guard : NAP
110. __ Manor: "Batman" mansion : WAYNE. Learning moment.
115. Hardy's "obscure" stonemason : JUDE. Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". Too obscure a clue for me.
116. Seemingly forever : AGES
117. Greedy cry : MORE
119. 1921 Capek play : R.U. R. Where the word "robot" was first used.
120. ABC talk show, for short : GMA
122. Put the cuffs on : NAB
123. Grass in strips : SOD
124. Bottom line : SUM
Answer grid.
Here is Part VIII of Kazie's Oz series. Various Sydney Harbour pictures. Brilliant night shots. The last installment of her trip will appear tomorrow.
C.C.
PS: I have a question for Firefox Browser users: Do the links today appear in blue color in your screen? They look gray in my computer, but blue when I go to Internet Explorer.
43 comments:
Little girl with the mirror is Mable Normand
Good Morning, CC and all. This was a real toughie for me today. Even after I completed the puzzle, I still had some trouble teasing out the theme. Your explanation is wonderful, CC!
I didn't like the Reagan AG clue, because the response included both the first and last name: ED MEESE, where as the clue didn't.
I misread Mousquetaires Count as COURT, so that made it difficult to answer.
My favorite clue was Friday Show? = DRAGNET
In honor of Kazie, here is today's QOD: The world can't end today, because it's already tomorrow in Australia. ~ Charles Schulz
Morning, all!
Nice puzzle, great theme, smooth fill. Me like! ^_^
I blew through most of the puzzle, but ground to a halt for awhile in the SE corner. I had MINE for MORE at 117D, AEON for AGES at 116D and NET for SUM at 124D. And then, a little higher, I had BAGGAGE for LUGGAGE at 96D and BOHN instead of BONN for 90D. Don't ask why, please....
My lack of French knowledge made UNE and TROIS difficult to get at 101A and 51D, but I was surprised to actually get AU POIVRE right off the bat at 57D. I guess if it's a French cooking term, I'm more likely to know it. That's how I cook my steaks all the time, BTW. Oh -- and what French taketh away, Spanish giveth, so PAZ was a gimme at 35D.
All my links are in blue today, C.C., and I'm using Firefox.
Hey to all,
My links are blue, in Firefox, too. Great construction, didn't notice the "total" use of the 'long u' sound, and my personal favorite is "UPSILOVEYOU", only because I spend my mornings 5am to 9am loading up the brown trucks for the Hamptons.
I believe Ernest & "VERN" started out in commercials, too.
I floundered on GOUNDER, until I re-read the blog, and realized it was "go under"....ugh
Yes, ARR is short for arranged in music, yes, SMA was here again, learned something new with Au Poivre, and had the wrong carousel in mind, again.
Oh well,
On to other things,
Splynter
Morning all! It's going to be a hot one today, so I guess the best thing to do is stay inside with the AC on, a cup of coffee in my hand, the B.O. on TV and a crossword in my lap.
This one wasn't very difficult for me because I got 23A and 31 A early, and figured out the theme involved "You" in some form or other. The French clues were a breeze. But I had "El Nino" for 12d, so that section took a while to sort out. Then I remembered my "asana" from yoga classes and all was zen with the puzzle after that.
C.C. - I thought I saw a few clue echos, but maybe I'm searching too deep? - 40a "ICU", 41a "Ural", 97a "Ewan", 5d "Ute", 6d "Lew",100d "Eudora", eg.
Good morning C. C. and everyone.
Quite a tough slog today, but ulimately doable. No lookups needed. After getting EUGENE POOLS, the theme began to come out of the mist. Liked ON A EWING AND A PRAYER; a WWII song. Got OXO from last week's discussions. For AREAR, tried 'abaft' first. Other clever clues included those for NOSE, DRAGNET, AU POIVRE, and LUGGAGE.
Sunday's is usually a stem winder, but I thought this was a little more difficult than usual. A worthy challenge.
Hello Puzzlers - Really clever theme today, that must have been another bear to construct. Managed a no-peeky but it took a while. Unknowns: MABEL, ASANA, NEO, ORALE. Took lots of UTURNs.
'Nother HOTT day in store for Mass., this is getting old. Stay safe, sane, & hydrated, wordsmiths!
Links show in blue on first viewing, but after they have been clicked, show as gray. HTML and other browser languages typically allow different colours for visited and unvisited links.
Cheers!
Happy Sunday all:
It is so sad how often Hollywood fame has led to tragedy as it did for MABEL NORMAND who looks like such sweet, pretty little girl in the link.
Amazing how often clues appear in spurts, NYUK, NYUK, NYUK
C.C.- I once had HAOLE in a grid but canned it because some considerate it a disparaging word. I liked your A HOLE idea because that's what a HAOLE might be.
UI has YOU sound too.
Anon@1:20, please give an example of UI with a long U (YOU) sound. The only words I could think of were GUIDE and BUILD. Nope, no long U (YOU) sound there.
Anon@ 1:32,
NUISANCE, SLUICE?
CRUISE, JUICE?To bad I posted too fast before.
I was trying to think of a simple word that had two U's and quickly thought of USUAL. Then I realized UNUSUAL has three. Then it struck me that there's a common, simple word with four U's and it's only six letters long and the other two letters are the same! Any guesses?
Hello puzzle solvers extraordinaire,
I figured out that the theme was to leave something out, but did not realize it was the U sound until I got here. I liked all of the theme clues and only cheated on one, by mistake. I thought that perhaps there really was a "Car Flop Monopoly" and googled just that. This blog came up as one of the possible sites, and, well, you can't exactly un-read something, now can you?
Off the foul pole? FAIR made me think of my Daddy, God rest his soul; there was a bar I used to go to in my younger days called Mako's; thanks for the memories.
AREAR - being a former accounting type person, I have only seen it pluralized.
Unknowns: ASANA, ORALE, MABEL Normand (she was very pretty).
C.C.-I also had ARAL for 41A for the longest time.
Ernest and his unseen friend Vern were originally from commercials and got a full-length film or two. I remember one called Ernest Goes to Camp. They were shot so that it looked like Vern was holding the camera. Sometimes Ernest would ask a question and the camera would move up and down or side to side like Vern was shaking his head. Erenest's catch phrase was "Know what I mean, Vern?"
Barry G.-I don't feel so bad now. I had a lot of the same incorrect answers you did in the SE corner.
Splynter-Don't feel bad. Until I got to the blog, I could not for the life of me figure out what a LANINA was.
Jerome-Don't know the answer, but what about usury?
Kazie-Thanks for more great pictures. The night ones are beautiful.
All in all, I guess I am getting back into the groove. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.
Muumuu
The links show up blue in both Firefox and Internet Explorer, and show up gray in both browsers after they have been clicked on.
Yay windhover! And you just won an autographed 8x10 glossy of Dennis wearing one over his black leotards.
Hell, Jerome,
It's so hot here lately, I'd wear one myself, sans leotard. But send the pic asap.
I guess cruise, juice, nuisance, and sluice would fill the bill if they were pronounced crYOOse, jYOOce, nYOOsance, and slYOOce instead of crOOse, jOOce, nOOsance, and slOOce. My sister used to get one case case for pronouncing news as nooze rather than as nyooze, but hey, tomayto tomahto, eh?
Hello hardcore solvers; so few are here today, it has to be that.
C.C., thanks for the shoutout; I am an upbeat, positive person.
This puzzle started really well for me; the top fourth just zipped along, my very first fill being ASANA where I often find myself. Then all the way to 31A, ONAEWINGANDAPRAYER where the theme answer emerged itself as did EUGENEPOOLS.
Then I hit a brick wall and slid down to the sides and bottom, completed the SE before I had to leave for church.
However, on my return I stubbornly clung to BAGGAGE instead of LUGGAGE and in a RUT instead of AJAM. Finally, feeling frustrated I did as vettedoe and ggled the card in car flop monoply and as she clearly noted, you can't not see what's there.
Finishing this felt more like a slog than a triumph with many unknowns, like ATLI, MABEL, JUDE, BMI and my downfall, French TROIS and AUPOIVRE. I had A_POIVR_ for a long time until YUKON lit in my brain.
After reading the blog, I could appreciate the theme more and found it quite clever.
HASH as finely diced was really hard to accept.
And I salute Mr Arthur Wynne, inventor of crosswords! Hear! Hear!
Wonderful pictures, Kazie; the zoom feature is great!
I hope all have a spectacular Sunday!
Would the Hai River through Beijing be called the Hai Ho? (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
Oh.
ruin, bruin,
Vettedoe - I'm "puzzled" about AREAR too. Wikipedia has both arrear and arrears, but not with a single R. I didn't dig any deeper than that, however.
As I recall, Earnest was a commercial character played by Jim Varney- A southern good ol boy who always refered to vern, "My buddy Vern" , or Vern says, etc. I can't remember what the product was, but the character became so popular that there were 2 or 3 movies with Earnest (Earnest Scared Stupid, Earnest Goes to Jail, I can't remember the third) I haven't seen the movies, so I don't know if Vern ever shows up. Just so you know.
And, use, utility, useful, utilize
Note: In English we use the article "an" before vowels, except when the "u" is long.
a utility pole
a useful gadget
a use for something
a university degree
Jayce - Did you know there are 131 people in the USA named "Hai Ho"??
...and if 2 of them were employed at the same company, their boss could call them back from break by saying "Hai Ho, Hai Ho...it's off to work we go"
( I can hear the groans...)
@CA - You are in my thoughts.
Quiet Fan
Groaning at what you said, HeartRx! And are there really 161 people with that name in the USA?
Not only is CA in my thoughts for a quick and pleasant resolution, but HeartRx, you are my new hero; sorry Jerome....
Dudley - Now I am really confused. I checked the Merriam Webster website for the word arear and it is not on that page (it is, however, in the unabridged edition, to which, for a fee, you can get access). However, arrears is listed and is the meaning I had in mind.
HeartRX - groaning, but laughing.
Arear
Happy Sunday to all!
Man, oh man, did I struggle with parts of today's puzzle. Although I pretty much NAILed the top half, the South gave me fits.
Had AJAR and ED MEESE, and confidently filled in MinE instead of MORE, and heM instead of SUM. Also misspelled MABEL as Mable which was the way my grandmother spelled her name. Little by little, I was able to correct my errors, but the Magic Rub eraser had a good workout along the way.
I thought the theme was very clever. Absolutely loved 78A: Answer to "Man, where can I find good music videos online?"/TEST YOU-TUBE BABY.
Thanks for a terrific write-up, C.C. There were a couple of answers that made no sense until coming here. (For example, I couldn't figure what drone's had to do with INTEL technology.) Doh...
HeartRx, no groan here. Thanks for the chuckle!
Enjoy the day!
Thanks for stepping through the door I opened for you, HeartRx. You finished (in fine style!) what I started :)
HEllo wordies,
This was a DNF for me, pretty unusual. After getting to the blog, though, I'm surprised at how many I got right before I started looking things up. I guess I just wasn't attuned to this one. I didn't get the theme and even when I found out what it was (from you, C.C., thanks) I didn't like it and it didn't seem that it would have done much good. I got tired, so I quit!
Some clues I liked: switch to a better model; Doctors hear a lot of them. Still don't like RAM, try to sink. I could use some explanation there. Or HASH, chop finely. Has anyone ever seen a recipe telling you to 'hash' onions? Those just don't work for me. Oh, well, ya can't win'em all.
Lemonade, thanks for the Mabel Normand info. I knew I'd seen something called "Mack and Mabel". Was it ever filmed? I don't know when or where I could have seen it live. Wherever it was, it really made Mabel look bad: drug addicted and promiscuous; a real mess. It's nice to know another opinion. Young girl led astray, I guess. She certainly was pretty. I remember my parents mentioning her sometime or other. I don't think they were big movie goers, too poor in those days!
Come back, CA! And Windhover it's good to hear from you for a change. How are you holding up in the heat? It seems to be hot every where..... except in Manhattan
Beach! Lucky you,Bill G.
Keep cool, everybody
The puzzle was quite difficult, IMO. Any reference to Star Wars, or Star Trek, are lost on me. I did not know Mabel Normand. Didn't know VERN.
Even though it has been 40+ years since I took college French, I can dredge up a lot of it when necessary. JUDE is not obscure to me - it is one of my favorite books and author.
Had a very relaxing evening. I made a cup of raspberry tea, which smells like every little New Age tchotchke shop I've ever visited. I got some crumpets, which, unfortunately took the form of saltines! Then I dimmed the lights ans sat down to watch "Masterpiece Mystery." Inspector Perot in "The Third Girl." A most pleasant evening!
Best pix yet, Kazie. Keep 'em coming!
Dodo, you're right, I am lucky. The predicted high for tomorrow is 73 with a gentle sea breeze. I didn't even know about Manhattan Beach when I first came to California in 1963. An acquaintance lived here, heard that I was looking for an apartment and offered to show me around. I lived in two apartments, Barbara and I got married and lived in two others. Then we made an offer on a house, remodeled the house when our third child arrived and have been here ever since.
Do you get Huell Howser on PBS? I used to enjoy him but he's worn out his welcome with me. Tonight he was being a shill for Confusion Hill, a house built on the side of a hill in the redwoods, perpendicular to the slanted ground but at an angle with regard to gravity. So when you are in the house, it seems as if you are standing on a slant. He must have said, "Oh, my gosh!" about twenty times. It is in a beautiful area along route 101 in a area called Avenue of the Giants. We've driven up and down the cost several times. The scenery though Big Sur and the redwoods is just wonderful.
Mack & Mabel was a broadway play with every thing going for it; Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters in the title roles, music by Jerry herman, choreographed by Gower Champion but it was a FLOP .
What did you thinnk?
To me, I gave AREAR a pass though I didn't like it much. It seemed in the same crosswordese family as ABOIL and AROAR, words that nobody uses or reads except in crosswords.
Re. Mack and Mabel, I can see why it might have been a flop. From what I saw, it didn't grab you with an emotional story like South Pacific or Oaklahoma, no memorable and catchy songs like The Music Man or Guys and Dolls. I'm such an old fogy (fogey?) when it comes to musicals. I love the old classics but have a hard time warming up to the more modern ones. I would rather see The Music Man for the third time than most new musicals for the first time.
Post a Comment