Theme: HOT STUFF (61A. 1979 song for which Donna Summer won a Grammy, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in the answers to starred clues). The queen of disco. - HOT can precede the first word of each theme entry.
16A. *Tennis legend nicknamed "Rocket": ROD LAVER. Hot Rod. To say any more would be 8D: a faux pas.
23A. *Mighty Mouse's archenemy: OIL CAN HARRY. Hot Oil. Oil Can Harry (an evil cat) and Mighty Mouse (Superman imitator) were Terrytoons released by the 20th Century Fox Studio. Perhaps a little obscure..
33A. *1983 film that won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song: FLASHDANCE. Hot Flash.
38A. *Stray hunter: DOG CATCHER. Hot Dog.
51A. *Deli side: POTATO SALAD. Hot Potato.
Hi all, Al here.
Today's puzzle had both easy and hard spots, I thought. I got through most of it quickly, but got a little stuck in the southwest with the proper nouns going down. The theme didn't help and I didn't even really notice it until after I was done solving, which still didn't seem as long as last week, but it still was about right for a Thursday, I'd say.
Across:
1. Minute Maid product: LIMEADE. I don't think Mr. Doll reads the blog. So close to recognition...
8. John or Paul: BEATLE. Too long of an answer to be a POPE.
14. Hotel option: TWIN BED.
15. Corsage flower: ORCHID. Corsage from Old French cors "body" (related: corpse); the meaning "body of a woman's dress, bodice" is from 1818 in fashion plates translated from French; Sense of "a bouquet worn on the bodice" is 1911, Amer.Eng., apparently from Fr. bouquet de corsage "bouquet of the bodice."
18. Early hr. to retire: NINE PM. Bed? I'm just getting started with my day.
19. Olivia of "The Wonder Years": d'ABO. After playing the hippie sister Karen Arnold, she was a voice actor in quite a few animations, including Jane in the Disney's version of Tarzan and Jane.
20. Resident's suffix: ITE. Also a mineral suffix.
22. Hebrides tongue: ERSE. Early Scottish variant of Old English Irisc or Old Norse Irskr "Irish". Applied by Lowland Scots to the Gaelic speech of the Highlanders.
27. Watch: EYE.
28. Squirrel's home: TREE. It is funny because the squirrel gets dead. From "Up".
29. Put away: ATE.
30. Claude who played Sheriff Lobo in "B.J. and the Bear": AKINS. The bear was actually a chimp. Sheriff Lobo is the one seated.
32. Profs' aides: TAS. Teaching Assistants.
35. Swing __: ERA. The days of the Big Bands, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie. One of the factors for the demise was a recording ban where the union that most jazz musicians belong to told its members not to record until the record companies agreed to pay them each time their music was played on the radio. Things haven't changed much...the music industry will never learn, it seems.
37. Granola grain: OAT.
44. Call from a crow's nest: CAW. Interesting misdirection. I was looking for a sailing term, but it was actually a straightforward clue.
47. Mozart is on some Austrian ones: EUROS. The one, the two, the five and the fifty... others?
48. Hefty ref.: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
49. Pesky yard critter: MOLE. Had to wait to see whether it would be VOLE instead.
50. Spot to stop: Abbr.: STA. Station.
55. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely": ISN'T.
57. Court cry: LET. A tennis term for the serve hitting the net (but still going over), or a distraction, like a ball rolling on the court, something requiring a "do-over".
58. Partner of void: NULL. Legally, something that is "null and void" can no longer be enforced. Both words mean empty, as in a vacuum or having no contents.
59. "The Shining" mantra: REDRUM. Murder spelled backwards. "Heere's Johnny".
65. Rio Grande city: EL PASO.
66. Showed awe over: AAHED AT.
67. Safari sightings: ELANDS. The largest African antelope, it can weigh nearly a ton. As opposed to the Royal Antelope, which is about the size of a jackrabbit, only growing to about 6-7 lbs.
68. Arachnophobe's fear: SPIDERS. I don't like spiders and snakes.
Down:
1. USPS delivery: LTR. United States Postal Service, Letter.
2. WWII battle site, briefly: IWO. Jima. Letters from Iwo Jima. and Flags of Our Fathers.
3. Means: MIDDLES. Shouldn't that be Medians? A mean is a mathematical average, and if your numbers are skewed, the mean wouldn't necessarily be the middle.
4. Intertwine: ENLACE.
5. Addis __: ABABA. The capital city of Ethiopia.
6. Cornwall neighbor: DEVON. Southern England.
7. Stamp finish?: EDE. "Finish" here indicates a suffix, stampede.
8. Faux pas: BONER. Yes, those can be embarrassing...
9. Airport north of Pittsburgh, in itineraries: ERI. Erie International Airport / Tom Ridge Field
10. Reason to see a dermatologist: ACNE. Accutane warning.
11. Legalese adverb: THEREIN.
12. Mouth the words: LIP SYNC.
13. '80s attorney general: ED MEESE. The 75th, under Reagan. Quote: "An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides."
17. Gaucho gear: RIATA. Spanish for cowboy and lasso (Lariat)
21. Half of seis: TRES. French for six and three.
23. Giant of a Giant: OTT. Mel Ott, Baseball. Right fielder, played his entire career for one team. First NL player to exceed 500 home runs.
24. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA. Brother/partner of George Gershwin, the latter is probably most famous for "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue", neither of which have words.
25. Difficult computer of film: HAL. I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that. (2001, A Space Odyssey).
26. "Blah ...": YADA. Seinfeld's version of "Blah blah blah".
31. "Krazy __": KAT. This comic strip was old before I was born.
33. Sprat's taboo: FAT. Jack Sprat could eat no fat...
34. Old TV knob: HOR. Horizontal hold. I suppose "abbrev" isn't necessary because the label for the knob wasn't spelled out...
35. "Foucault's Pendulum" author: ECO. Umberto. Foucault's Pendulum has been called "the thinking person's Da Vinci Code, but it is more a satire on the futility of conspiracy theories and those who believe them, rather than an attempt to proliferate such beliefs.
36. Farrier's tool: RASP. A pedicurist/shoer for horses, a specialized blacksmith.
38. Obama's first social secretary __ Rogers: DESIREE.
39. Move more goods than: OUTSELL.
40. Pop's pop: GRANDPA.
41. Pigeon shelter: COTE. A small house for animals. Related: cottage, and coterie (circle of acquaintances).
42. "Macbeth" setting: HEATH. A wasteland.
43. N.J. summer setting: EDT.
44. Plan a heist (with): COLLUDE. From Latin colludare (to play with).
45. Cookbook words: A LA. In the manner of. Chicken a la King.
46. Marry: WED.
49. Shake alternative: MALTED.
52. "Stand and Deliver" star: OLMOS. Edward James.
53. Ready to be drawn: ON TAP. Beer.
54. Sashimi cousin: SUSHI. Sashimi is raw fish served sliced, but as-is. That means no rice bed or roll, but it is often served alongside daikon and/or shiso. The word sushi refers to the rice (the Japanese word su means vinegar, and shi is from meshi, the Japanese word for rice, hence sushi is 'vinegared rice'.
56. Air__: budget carrier: TRAN. News to me, I had never heard of this airline before.
60. Amer. currency: USD. United $tates Dollar.
62. Defense gp. founded in Bogotá: OAS. Organization of American States. All the countries of North and South America except Honduras (suspended in 2009 due to a coup d'etat), Iceland, and Greenland (simply not members).
63. Way off: FAR. I still don't think I understand...
64. NBA stats: FTS. Basketball, Free Throws.
Answer grid.
Al
16A. *Tennis legend nicknamed "Rocket": ROD LAVER. Hot Rod. To say any more would be 8D: a faux pas.
23A. *Mighty Mouse's archenemy: OIL CAN HARRY. Hot Oil. Oil Can Harry (an evil cat) and Mighty Mouse (Superman imitator) were Terrytoons released by the 20th Century Fox Studio. Perhaps a little obscure..
33A. *1983 film that won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song: FLASHDANCE. Hot Flash.
38A. *Stray hunter: DOG CATCHER. Hot Dog.
51A. *Deli side: POTATO SALAD. Hot Potato.
Hi all, Al here.
Today's puzzle had both easy and hard spots, I thought. I got through most of it quickly, but got a little stuck in the southwest with the proper nouns going down. The theme didn't help and I didn't even really notice it until after I was done solving, which still didn't seem as long as last week, but it still was about right for a Thursday, I'd say.
Across:
1. Minute Maid product: LIMEADE. I don't think Mr. Doll reads the blog. So close to recognition...
8. John or Paul: BEATLE. Too long of an answer to be a POPE.
14. Hotel option: TWIN BED.
15. Corsage flower: ORCHID. Corsage from Old French cors "body" (related: corpse); the meaning "body of a woman's dress, bodice" is from 1818 in fashion plates translated from French; Sense of "a bouquet worn on the bodice" is 1911, Amer.Eng., apparently from Fr. bouquet de corsage "bouquet of the bodice."
18. Early hr. to retire: NINE PM. Bed? I'm just getting started with my day.
19. Olivia of "The Wonder Years": d'ABO. After playing the hippie sister Karen Arnold, she was a voice actor in quite a few animations, including Jane in the Disney's version of Tarzan and Jane.
20. Resident's suffix: ITE. Also a mineral suffix.
22. Hebrides tongue: ERSE. Early Scottish variant of Old English Irisc or Old Norse Irskr "Irish". Applied by Lowland Scots to the Gaelic speech of the Highlanders.
27. Watch: EYE.
28. Squirrel's home: TREE. It is funny because the squirrel gets dead. From "Up".
29. Put away: ATE.
30. Claude who played Sheriff Lobo in "B.J. and the Bear": AKINS. The bear was actually a chimp. Sheriff Lobo is the one seated.
32. Profs' aides: TAS. Teaching Assistants.
35. Swing __: ERA. The days of the Big Bands, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie. One of the factors for the demise was a recording ban where the union that most jazz musicians belong to told its members not to record until the record companies agreed to pay them each time their music was played on the radio. Things haven't changed much...the music industry will never learn, it seems.
37. Granola grain: OAT.
44. Call from a crow's nest: CAW. Interesting misdirection. I was looking for a sailing term, but it was actually a straightforward clue.
47. Mozart is on some Austrian ones: EUROS. The one, the two, the five and the fifty... others?
48. Hefty ref.: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
49. Pesky yard critter: MOLE. Had to wait to see whether it would be VOLE instead.
50. Spot to stop: Abbr.: STA. Station.
55. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely": ISN'T.
57. Court cry: LET. A tennis term for the serve hitting the net (but still going over), or a distraction, like a ball rolling on the court, something requiring a "do-over".
58. Partner of void: NULL. Legally, something that is "null and void" can no longer be enforced. Both words mean empty, as in a vacuum or having no contents.
59. "The Shining" mantra: REDRUM. Murder spelled backwards. "Heere's Johnny".
65. Rio Grande city: EL PASO.
66. Showed awe over: AAHED AT.
67. Safari sightings: ELANDS. The largest African antelope, it can weigh nearly a ton. As opposed to the Royal Antelope, which is about the size of a jackrabbit, only growing to about 6-7 lbs.
68. Arachnophobe's fear: SPIDERS. I don't like spiders and snakes.
Down:
1. USPS delivery: LTR. United States Postal Service, Letter.
2. WWII battle site, briefly: IWO. Jima. Letters from Iwo Jima. and Flags of Our Fathers.
3. Means: MIDDLES. Shouldn't that be Medians? A mean is a mathematical average, and if your numbers are skewed, the mean wouldn't necessarily be the middle.
4. Intertwine: ENLACE.
5. Addis __: ABABA. The capital city of Ethiopia.
6. Cornwall neighbor: DEVON. Southern England.
7. Stamp finish?: EDE. "Finish" here indicates a suffix, stampede.
8. Faux pas: BONER. Yes, those can be embarrassing...
9. Airport north of Pittsburgh, in itineraries: ERI. Erie International Airport / Tom Ridge Field
10. Reason to see a dermatologist: ACNE. Accutane warning.
11. Legalese adverb: THEREIN.
12. Mouth the words: LIP SYNC.
13. '80s attorney general: ED MEESE. The 75th, under Reagan. Quote: "An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides."
17. Gaucho gear: RIATA. Spanish for cowboy and lasso (Lariat)
21. Half of seis: TRES. French for six and three.
23. Giant of a Giant: OTT. Mel Ott, Baseball. Right fielder, played his entire career for one team. First NL player to exceed 500 home runs.
24. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA. Brother/partner of George Gershwin, the latter is probably most famous for "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue", neither of which have words.
25. Difficult computer of film: HAL. I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that. (2001, A Space Odyssey).
26. "Blah ...": YADA. Seinfeld's version of "Blah blah blah".
31. "Krazy __": KAT. This comic strip was old before I was born.
33. Sprat's taboo: FAT. Jack Sprat could eat no fat...
34. Old TV knob: HOR. Horizontal hold. I suppose "abbrev" isn't necessary because the label for the knob wasn't spelled out...
35. "Foucault's Pendulum" author: ECO. Umberto. Foucault's Pendulum has been called "the thinking person's Da Vinci Code, but it is more a satire on the futility of conspiracy theories and those who believe them, rather than an attempt to proliferate such beliefs.
36. Farrier's tool: RASP. A pedicurist/shoer for horses, a specialized blacksmith.
38. Obama's first social secretary __ Rogers: DESIREE.
39. Move more goods than: OUTSELL.
40. Pop's pop: GRANDPA.
41. Pigeon shelter: COTE. A small house for animals. Related: cottage, and coterie (circle of acquaintances).
42. "Macbeth" setting: HEATH. A wasteland.
43. N.J. summer setting: EDT.
44. Plan a heist (with): COLLUDE. From Latin colludare (to play with).
45. Cookbook words: A LA. In the manner of. Chicken a la King.
46. Marry: WED.
49. Shake alternative: MALTED.
52. "Stand and Deliver" star: OLMOS. Edward James.
53. Ready to be drawn: ON TAP. Beer.
54. Sashimi cousin: SUSHI. Sashimi is raw fish served sliced, but as-is. That means no rice bed or roll, but it is often served alongside daikon and/or shiso. The word sushi refers to the rice (the Japanese word su means vinegar, and shi is from meshi, the Japanese word for rice, hence sushi is 'vinegared rice'.
56. Air__: budget carrier: TRAN. News to me, I had never heard of this airline before.
60. Amer. currency: USD. United $tates Dollar.
62. Defense gp. founded in Bogotá: OAS. Organization of American States. All the countries of North and South America except Honduras (suspended in 2009 due to a coup d'etat), Iceland, and Greenland (simply not members).
63. Way off: FAR. I still don't think I understand...
64. NBA stats: FTS. Basketball, Free Throws.
Answer grid.
Al
66 comments:
Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - damn, what a struggle. I maybe had 20% of the answers filled in after my first run through the puzzle. Eventually got everything filled in, but I needed a bunch of perps to get there.
Good theme, which I didn't get until the unifier. I didn't even know Minute Maid made Limeade. And I'll always associate Edward James Olmos as the Lieutenant on Miami Vice. Didn't know Olivia D'Abo. Didn't know Desiree Rogers. Didn't like 'aahed at'. But did love the puzzle - a great challenge, at least for me. Felt very good when I got the last block filled in. Can't wait to see Lois' take on a couple of the clues.
Al great job, great links. And I had the same question about means/medians as you did.
Today is Canada Day, Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, and International Joke Day. And a very Happy Birthday to ARBAON - hope it's a great one for you.
Did you know:
- If aircraft carriers ran on gasoline, they'd get about six inches to the gallon.
- Charles Dickens always slept facing north. He thought it improved his writing.
- If a female ferret goes into heat and can't find a mate, she'll die. (ok, one more added to the list of reincarnation candidates)
One small correction, Al, otherwise a great job. 21D is Spanish not French.
Good Morning. First off, Happy Birthday to ARBAON! Hope you have a good day. (This must be the week of birthdays - 3 in a row. Who's a year older tomorrow?)
It took me a while to get traction. I had difficulty with the NW corner. LIMEADE isn't the first Minute Maid product that popped into my head. Also, I was over-thinking the call from a crow's nest. Was expecting something from a ship's crow's nest, not an actual bird's nest.
I think DESIREE Rogers left shortly after her first big party got crashed.
Mozart is on some EUROS was my favorite clue today. And finally John and Paul being properly clued to give us the BEATLES!
Crockett from last night - YES, seeing Trombone Shorty is definitely worth making the trip to New Orleans! Do come on down!
QOD: Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awful comfortable while you're being miserable ~ Clare Boothe Luce
Good morning Al, C.C. and the rest.
Wonderful write up Al, and very educational, thank you.
We begin the puzzle with my arch-enemy LIMEADE, who is always green with envy when he knows I am around.
I thought this was rather easy for Thursday (Happy July!) I did enjoy the reference to LIPSYNC, which reminded me of high school and the great entertainer LLOYD THAXTON . I do not really remember OIL CAN HARRY even though I watched Mighty Mouse, and could still sing the theme song if I could sing. Growing up in New England I recall this OIL CAN better. I also always loved CLAUDE AKINS .
I guess the puzzle just hit my age group.
Also, you have to love Jack Nicholson and the The SHINING .
“Way off: FAR. I still don't think I understand...” I think this simply what is says, e.g.
“Where is the store? It is a way off.”
Old TV knob: HOR, I think TV being and abbreviation makes the clue.
I have flown AIR TRAN, it is primarily an East Coast carrier, okay.
Wow, a birthday streak! HBDTY ARABON and many more.
Good Morning Al, CC and All,
I got some traction in the SW in pencil then everything turned to mud. I wrote Kingbed and PKG in the NW which blew that corner up and refused to erase Rash in the NE. Coop instead of Cote screwed up the Potato Salad (I made a wicked one last night). Once the red letters gave me Beatle, everything else fell into place. I didn't like AAhed either.
I sometimes feel like a short order cook and a taxi cab these days. My oldest is bussing tables and my youngest has a different sports camp every week. I feed then drive somewhere. Luckily, most everything is within 20 minutes round trip.
Looking forward to Lois' post!!
Great write up Al!
Yep, this one had its way with me, up down and sideways. And then it ate my lunch.
I did not know DESIREE, RODLAVER or OILCANHARRY. Plus, I misspelled 5D as ABIBA instead of ABABA, so even when I correctly guessed DEVON for 6D I was left wondering who the heck RON LIVER was. Oh -- and I also initially put RAINS instead of AKINS for 30A, which didn't help matters any.
As with Dennis, I wasn't fond of AAHEDAT.
Ah well, it all worked out at the end, and I guess that's all you can ask for.
Happy Birthday ARBAON!
Morning all,
Ouch!! Thursday puzzles are usually my favorite and this certainly was a good one but more difficult than normal. Took me quite awhile to get a grip on it. Actually, the NW corner was the last to be filled in, but looking back on it I wonder why. Air Tran is probably an East Coast carrier. They have great prices from Allentown to Florida. Many years ago did aerobics to “Hot Stuff” and didn’t get the theme until I was finished with the puzzle. Then Hot Flash gave me the light bulb to the theme. Can you believe how far TV’s have come in our lifetimes. Now you need a course “Remotes for Dummies” to maneuver your TV.
Loved Olmos in “Stand and Deliver” and since I taught at an inner city high school of over 4,000, I could relate. Can you believe I have never had sushi? It just has a “ick” factor to me I can’t get past. NJ setting had me originally thinking of abbreviations for Jersey shore towns. My favorite is Stone Harbor and will be going there the end of July. Cape May is beautiful with Victorian houses but the beaches aren’t as nice.
Have a great day; we are enjoying the cooler temps and lower humidity in our area. Happy Birthday to ARBAON.
Good Morning: Finished everything in about an hour. Had trouble with the SW corner. Even after filling everything in I didn't understand REDDRUM until reading the blog. I never saw The Shining. For me, Thursday morning puzzles begin the tough part of the weekly parade of puzzles. We missed Alex, but received much needed rain from the storm. It's amazing how something over 400 miles away can affect our weather.
Good Morning: Finished everything in about an hour. Had trouble with the SW corner. Even after filling everything in I didn't understand REDDRUM until reading the blog. I never saw The Shining. For me, Thursday morning puzzles begin the tough part of the weekly parade of puzzles. We missed Alex, but received much needed rain from the storm. It's amazing how something over 400 miles away can affect our weather.
Good morning Al and All.
Six theme entries all running across always makes for a challenge to the constructor, so tip of the hat to Robert A. Doll for making it work.
Al, thanks for blogging and for your comments, which are educational and fun as always.
All, yesterday Jerome posed a wonderful puzzle poser of the day, which paraphrased was "Why does an entry that crosses the central square always have to contain an odd number of letters?" (Today there is no entry that crosses the center square since it's a block.) See yesterday's comments from 11:39 > for the answer.
Now it's my turn! Actually there are two types of situations in a legitimate 15 x 15 puzzle where an entry spanning a central square can have an EVEN number of letters. By legitimate I mean that published examples exist, or if one were well-constructed an editor would likely accept it.
So today's puzzle poser: What are the two types of grid layouts where an entry using the central square can have an even number of letters?
I'll give a bright, shiny new nickel to the first to come up with the answer.
John, is it when a special character, like an ampersand or a number is substituted for a word in the answer? The total length may still be odd, but the character isn't technically a "letter"...
Anon@6:17, you are correct; the answer to 21D is in Spanish, I claim sleepiness, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Closely related though, is Catalan, which is kind of a cross between French and Spanish, but distinct from either. There the numbers are sis and tres.
Al, Great informative write-up.
Personally, I think Grover explained "near/FAR" very well, but now I am exhausted.
Liked the theme since I searched out the reveal clue right off the bat.
ROD LAVER and DOG CATCHER were my faves since I like HOT Rods and HOT Dogs (esp. this July 4th weekend).
Addis ABABA is a great name for a city.
USD & EUROS both in the grid, very CNBC(ish).
SUSHI & Sashimi are cousins?
Is that on the mothers side?
OK, I don't mind remembering things like "80's Attorney General" ED MEESE.
But now I'm suppose to remember things like "Obama's social secretary?" DESIREE Rogers?
Along with the AAHED AT, they both earn a "Boo/Hissss!"
ARBAON Happy Birthday!
21 Again? I'm not surprised!!!
Good morning everyone. A very informative write up Al.
Took me a tad longer than my usual
Thursday solve.I didn't even get the theme until I read the blog. I was looking for HOT being STUFFed in the starred clues.
In Statistics, the MEAN is the mathematical average of all the terms in a distribution. To calculate, add all the values of the terms divided by the number of terms. The MEDIAN of a Statistical distribution depends on whether the the number of terms is odd or even. If the number of terms is odd, then the middle term would be the MEDIAN but if it is even, it would be the average of the two middle terms. The terms in a distribution are arranged in a progressive mannner.
I can't wait for Miss Lois' take on this puzzle.
Can't resist sharing this joke( not an original take):
Q:What happened to the man who had a BONER while delivering a speech to group of women?
A:He did not get a STANDING OVULATION.
C.C., I'm from the Philippines.
August
No Al.
What I mean exactly is that when you look at a blank grid, there are 4, 6, 8,... white squares in a row that cross the center.
Hint: These puzzles are rare.
I have to agree with Barry G. I had trouble all over today. I thought my main problems were with the NW, but on coming here discovered I didn't know squat anywhere else either: I had TOMATO for POTATO, didn't see LET, know nothing about horror movies which I refuse to watch, so missed REDRUM (had RUN). I g'ed ROD LAVER, (should have known him), OILCAN HARRY, and ECO, had ON TOP for TAP, with OOHED.
Happy Birthday to ARBAON!
Thanks Al, for the nice blog job!
I have most of the photos up and sorta sorted, but not labeled yet. For some reason my panorama maker needs reloading so I have to do that too. Add to that the freezer is playing up (popping the reset button on all the outlets in the garage where it lives), the shower hose in our bathroom is leaking, and stuff is coming in already for the next newsletter.
Now I have to bath the dog and shower myself after our walk.
Great write-up, Al. Nice links, like always.
ARABON, happy birthday to you!
Hahtool, I don't have to go that far. He's here in Portland this weekend. Will be to New Orleans in April next year, though.
Have a great Thursday!
If I have to write my name, Rose is easier than ARBAON...(you all already know that,I`m sure!)and it`s seems the Glitcher won`t let me stay blue...
All your birthday wishes are very thoughtful...I`ve probably "heard" it here more than I will all day, out loud! Don`t plan to actually celebrate until the weekend. It`s always so nice for people to have parades and wear my favorite colors for my birthday (red/white/blue.) Sometimes, they even put on a fireworks display for me! :)
Had "wherein" and "inlace" which wouldn`t jell for a while. I found "aahesat" and "collude" clumsy...but I know such contrivances are often necessary to make the gird come out "right."
Dennis: Speaking of mammals and their estrus periods:(you started this with the ferret info...) Golden hamsters can have a liter every 15 to 17 days and can become pregnant in as little as 24 hours after giving birth. They are prone to eat their liter without intervention and the newborns are used as pet snake food frequently. If these didn`t happen, they would have taken over the world! If that`s TMI, indulge me...I`m 29 again, and again and again and again...(and a few more times.)
Pretty easy puzzle today. Nothing really difficult. 20 minutes.
Hi Al, C.C. and gang, it was another tough Thursday that I finished online after my wife left for work. I think we got ~1/2 done before then.
I can still remember when Rod Laver was on top of the tennis heap.
Dennis: you remember Olmos from Miami Vice? Wow, I can only remember him from his roll as Admiral Adama on Battlestar Galactica.
Good Morning All, I bet the "I don't like proper names" people aren't too happy this morning.
It certainly was a tough one, but I really enjoyed it. I had a "Big Empty" at 3D, 4D and their crossing 16A and 19A, so I had to start at the NE and work my way clockwise around the grid.
That worked out fine, except that, even though I had 61A HOT STUFF early on, I had problems figuring out the theme connection. In that same area, I got AAHEDAT, but I had to look several times before I understood what it was.
In the SW, I didn't know DESIREE or TRAN, but the perps kicked in just fine.
When I finally got 38D DESIREE, I liked the way she was set off by her political gridmate, Ed MEESE at 13D.
I loved 59A REDRUM. "The Shining" was a terrific psychological thriller. Everybody knows Jack Nicholson plays great crazy, but Shelley Duvall was perfect as the wife.
Lots of helper squares in today's puzzle. It is unusual to see them inside the grid.
Truly a LOL, Lemonade. I had totally forgotten Lloyd Thaxton. That link a an unexpected trip down memory lane.
I won't almost forget a birthday today. Have a great one, ARBAON!
John Lampkin, I thought of your own terrific "pumpkin" grid from last October. I know that one wouldn't apply, but would a "picture" grid of some kind be one answer to your question?
Don't you just hate it when you lose your whole write up?
Good morning Al, C.C. and all,
I really enjoyed your write up today, Al, because, like Kazie, I didn't know squat.I got the 1st six answers and then came to an abrupt halt, and continued on wagging here and there, and relying on perps.
Theme? What theme? Yes, I know, Mr. Doll did a great job, but I didn't. I left 3 blanks: the 1st/last letter to AahedaT. Is that akin to Who dat? and the D (EDT/OED).Abbreviations still stump me.
I enjoyed Googling Mighty Mouse; had forgotten it existed, and Flashdance brought back memories of the loose, off the shoulder sweatshirt phase.Remember all that sweat flying around? Oh, Michael Nourri just joined the cast of All My Children.
Tennis was a big part of my life during those Rod Laver years. The size of his left arm always aahed me.Couldn't have all been due to that rocket serve.
Roses to you, Arabon.
another try
Hello Al and everyone!
Happy birthday, Rose. Isn't it wonderful that the entire nation has a party for you?
Yes, JD, my entire post just disappeared as well.
Great theme from Robert Doll. It helped me with DOGCATCHER and it's really good clue, stray hunter.
FLASHDANCE is forever embedded in my memory because it was the first VCR tape my late DH rented along with that newfangled contraption, the VCR player which forever changed our lives.
And EDwin MEESE, remember how he and Mrs. Reagan sparred and the media had a field day until he was relieved of his duty?
Air TRAN flies from here; I have taken it to New York although I had heard it was out of business.
And Giant of a Giant will now help me to remember OTT's team, something which up to now has eluded me.
Have a wonderful Thursday, all; I'll take a variety of ice cream to my daughter's for dessert today.
Al, your blogging is enjoyably informative. Thank you.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
Clear Ayes is 100% correct. If you take a picture grid with top to bottom symmetry, it is possible to have an even number of squares cross the center.
Sometimes picture grids have no symmetry at all.
Very rarely do we see a the second category I'm thinking of, a grid that has no picture or symmetry but still works, like this gem by Mike Torch:
http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/3/2004
Clear Ayes, a bright shiny new nickel seems like hardly enough. If you fly to NY, I'll treat you to lunch!
Wow, I'm tickled that I got one of them. I'm making my plane reservations today, John L. Who said that there is no such thing as a free lunch? In the meantime, I'll go out to lunch with my husband to celebrate. See you all later.
Clearayes, my hand’s up for being one of those people who doesn’t like all those proper names. I had to hit the G-spot for Rod Laver and Desiree Rogers. I never did get the theme and that’s usually an indication that I would have trouble and I did. I have never heard of Oil Can Harry, and don’t understand residents suffix: ite?? I got Eco, Ott , Ira, and Olmos via the perps. All in all, I wish I had gone outside on my lunch hour and taken a walk. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all!
ARABON, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
In honor of International joke day, here’s mine:
Two fish were swimming upstream when they hit a cement wall. One fish turned to the other and exclaimed “Dam”.
International Joke Day:
A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Say, why the long face?"
Al said: "3. Means: MIDDLES. Shouldn't that be Medians? A mean is a mathematical average, and if your numbers are skewed, the mean wouldn't necessarily be the middle."
I agree with you, though means 'tend' toward the middle so I think it's a fair clue. 'The product of the means equals the product of the extremes.'
I enjoyed your blogging.
C.C. I'm glad you had a good day yesterday and that your Twins won.
Loved Tuesday's puzzle! Liked yesterday's puzzle a lot. Didn't so much like today's.
Liked ALL the writeups and blogs.
More later.
Two cannibals were eating a comedian. One turned to the other and said, "does this taste funny to you?"
Wow, I don't need to write anything today, as my experience with this puzzle today is almost exactly Barry G's experience. Eeeenteresting.
A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walked into a bar. The bartender looked up, saw them and said, "What is this, some kind of a joke?"
To what N.J. summer setting does EDT refer? I don't get it.
Thanks!
Jayce, I often have similar experiences with the puzzle a la BarryG.
EDT = Eastern Daylight Time.
jayce, eastern daylight time
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Eastern Standard Time. Thank you! [Bonking myself on the head with a soft nerf bat]
er ... double bonks!
Hi gang -
Tough puzzle today. Mixed revue from me. For some reason the proper names didn't bother me, except for OLMOS. Who dat? COTE did, though. Good theme. AAHED AT is close to being inexcusable, even with July 4th fireworkd in mind. REDRUM means nothing to me. YADA . . .
Though that Mike Torch puzzle displayed RARE, TENABLE CONVENTIONALITY, it was ASYMMETRIC, and not TRITE.
HBD Rose. You have my grandmother's name. (Wow - I've mentioned both of my grandmothers this week.)
Considering the etymology of ORCHID, crossing it with BONER is all the joke we need. But, after a couple of cold ones, the rabbi and the minister ask the priest why the ladies in the convent are called nuns. "Simple," he answers, "They don't have nun, they can't get nun, they don't want nun . . ."
Cheers!
JzB your humble tromBONER
AirTran is more or less a competitor of Delta and is based in Atlanta but when I googled them I saw that a lot if the airports they serve are in the Midwest are actually served by Frontier in a code share. AirTran and ValuJet
merged in the 90s and when a MIA-ATL flight carshed to a fire exacerbated by Chemical Oxygen tanks in the cargo area caused a horrendous cabin abd cockpit fire they adopted the AirTran name.
See Wicapedia for this info.
This has been a strange week for me. I had trouble with Tuesday and solved today's on paper. Strange.
If it weren't for the fact that Dennis lives in NJ, I would give a DF meaning to EDT.
'Splain that one, Lucy.
Dennis,
Think:
Little blue pill.
Just a guess.
Happy Birthday, ARBAON! And I thought it was nice that we were often given a summer vacation from school starting on my early June birthday.
Dennis, people sometimes use Limeade as the base for homemade margarita’s.
“Hahtool said… Who’s a year older tomorrow?” My niece/godchild will be 25 tomorrow...!
I watched Mighty Mouse some, but it wasn’t a favorite, so I'd forgotten OIL CAN HARRY & had to google it. Then I recognized his photo.
My other 2 googles were ‘Addis’ ABABA, and ‘Foucault’s Pendulum author’ ECO. Others were unknown, but guessable from the perps.
I was looking for the base form of ‘collusion’ for 44D, but didn’t realize it used a D instead of an S, at first. I don’t think I ever heard a perp (the other kind) say “We colluded on this heist, so they’ve gotta share the heat on this one!”
If this one makes it to Leno...you heard it here first (and he owes me.)
Sharia law will never make it past our Constitution. Why? Because it secures our right to bear(bare) arms!
OMG, Rose, aaaaaaaaargggghhhhh! You win! :)
Hello Puzzlers - Had to settle for a DNF today (did the CW on newsprint). Too many unknowns: OLMOS, DESIREE, OAS, D'ABO for starters. Made the OOHED for AAHED mistake, and OIL MAN HARRY. Gave up with roughly 10 squares empty or wrong.
HBD to you, ARBAON!
Kazie - Sounds like your freezer is tripping a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI). The part I don't understand is why it would knock out adjacent GFCI's. You do mean that there are test and reset buttons at each outlet, right?
Flashdance: I lived in Pittsburgh for a short time, and it just happened to coincide with the release of Flashdance. I remember having to suspend disbelief at the ease with which Richard Gere found a parking place for the Porsche, right smack in front of his destination. It amazed me to see how fast the movie fads hit the street, with leg warmers and Jennifer Beale-style sweatshirts...
Correction: I meant Michael Nouri, not Richard Gere. Was mixing it up with An Officer and a Gentleman, which had a similar story line.
Wow! Disappearing comments for several of us today. Just put in my password, twice and everything went away!. Gave me error 404 whatever that means.
It must be Thursday, as I had trouble all over the place. I won't try to put in everything, but I,too, didn't like aahedat. I misspelled Co(a)lluded so had male for Pesky yard critter. Looked good to me. Both my hands are up for all the proper names today.
My first for sure answer was tres. I didn't know that Minute Maid sold Limeade. Now I do.
Arbaon, Many happy returns of the day. I hope you have something special planned for the weekend celebration.
CA, Congratulations on your free lunch. When do you plan to collect?
My favorite joke is from a "Pickles" comic strip by Brian Crane.
Two old men were sitting on a park bench. One says,"Ummm". The other one says, "If you are going to discuss politics, I'm out of here".
I read this on the day we had a special election in our area. I read it aloud to the Election Board and we all had a good laugh.
Dudley,
Thanks for trying to figure it out. Apparently all the outlets in the garage were controlled by the one with the ground fault protector near the freezer. The electrician just replaced it with a regular one, since we have another gfci one right outside the garage door to use if needed. The appliance store said that freezers and refrigerators should never be on the gfci's because their compressors tend to trip them whenever there's a power surge. They were surprised this was the first time it had happened.
That was one long lunch with GAH. On the way home, we have to drive on a two lane highway for about 25 miles. There was a horrible traffic jam and with one one lane each way, there was no way to get around. It turned out that somebody had jackknifed their vacation trailer and it had partially gone off the road. The road is one of the ways to get to a couple of popular local lakes. The holiday weekend must be starting early. It didn't appear that anyone had been hurt, but it took us over two hours to get home.
Jokes? How about Bad Jokes from A Prairie Home Companion?
Chickie: That was my Alter Kocker joke from a couple of weeks ago!
How about this ~ A young man tells his grandmother that he is studying to become a doctor of philosophy. "That's wonderful!" says his grandmother. "What kind of disease is 'philosophy'?"
FYI - I saw that the movie "Ma and Pa Kettle" will air on TCM this Saturday night at 10 pm. I remember at least one person here had said they'd never seen any of their movies.
Perhaps it is a Southern California movie, but Edward James Olmos (52D) gave an outstanding performance portraying Jaime Escalante in the movie "Stand and Deliver." Late 1980's, if I remember correctly. I would highly recommend watching this movie if you have not done so already.
Mr. Escalante was a teacher in an East Los Angeles high school, mostly Hispanic students, where the "scores" were often low. He went above and beyond to encourage his students to learn and excel at math. Jaime Escalante passed away from cancer about three months ago, well documented in the LA Times local editions.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSE! And many more.
Enjoy the night!
My favorite comment is Barry's "I was left wondering who the heck RON LIVER was." Hahahaha!
Hello all,
I have had a busy couple of days. I have been doing the puzzles, but have not had time to post or read your comments. I have been trying to finish a couple of bracelets for the Fourth of July and have to get my house cleaned for my company that is coming next week, then after they leave, I am having out-patient surgery on Friday.
So that is my next couple of weeks in a nutshell (if you care).
Nothing earth-shattering in the puzzles the last few weeks. I hope I'll be able to get back to reading all your comments and making some of my own soon. In the meantime, I just wanted to drop in and say Hi. So Hi.
vettedoe, thanks for stopping by. Hope that the surgery is successful and that you're back to 100% quickly. Don't worry about sharing whatever here. There are those who may object, but sometimes it just helps to share your "News of the day" with your friends. Have a great evening.
Kazie - Sounds like you've got the freezer problem sorted. I am suspicious of the store's claim about fridges being connected to GFCI's (because I think your freezer exhibited a different problem), but have too little direct experience to refute it.
I cannot believe I missed bad joke day' Nobody called.
vettedoe, I'm with Crockett about sharing "whatever". We have all told personal stories at one time or another. I think it makes this a much more personable blog than one in which we just discuss crosswords puzzles and only crosswords. That's how we met, but the extras are what keeps us friends. I hope your surgery goes well. Let us know when you are feeling better.
Lemonade, ;o) I'm sure you'll make up for it very soon.
Happy Birthday, Rose. Have a great time tonight.
Hi all,
My son takes Air Tran all the time from Atlanta to Milwaukee. Its cheaper to rent a car in Milwaukee than to psy extra to fly to Madison.
As for twin beds in hotels, I haven't seen any in years. They are usually Queen or King. Not very many doubles anymore either.
This puzzle was fairly hard but not as bad as some
Hate spiders but liked the clue on 68D.
Have a good eveni ng!
Marge
Re spiders: I respect them. If I find one in our house, I try to catch it with a Kleenex and take it outside. There's a little battery-operated vacuum thingie that might be easier. The only critters I don't care much about are mosquitoes, fleas and flies.
Whoops!
I meant 68A
Sorry
Marge
post for deletion testing
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