Theme: Film at the Animal Farm - Part of five theme entries (including four movies) is punnily substituted by the sound the corresponding animal make, and the clues and answers together form a funny animal "what film to watch" decision-making story.
17A. The animals were bored, and the cows suggested a __ : MOO-VIE NIGHT. The base phrase is Movie Night. Cows moo.
20A. "Great idea!" said the goats. "Let's watch '__'" : MAA-S ATTACKS. Mars Attack!. Directed by Tim Burton. Goats maa. The first two and the last two theme answers have an impressive 7-letter overlap.
35A. "How lowbrow!" said the cats. "We much prefer '__'" : THE COLOR PURR-PLE. The Color Purple. Not a familiar movie to me. Cats purr. The only entry where the pun is on the last word instead of the first. I'd prefer the central entry puns on Prince's "Purr-ple Rain", so the sound would be consistent with the other theme entries. The resulting phrase has 11 letters, nice but not ideal for the central entry. Constructors prefer a central 15-letter grid spanner as it's easier to work around.
50A. "Too serious!" said the pigeons. "Why don't we go with '__'?" : COO HAND LUKE. Cool Hand Luke. Starring the great Paul Newman. Pigeons coo.
55A. But in the end, the sheep had their way, and they all watched "__" : BAA-BAA-RELLA. Barbarella. Jane Fonda movie. Sheep baa.
Fun theme. Reminds me of John Lampkin's "Pet Food" puzzle, in which part of a common food/beverage is substituted with the sound the animal make.
The cluing is fun too. Patrick Berry uses this style in some of Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. John Lampkin also employs this clue/answer combination story in his "The Clothier's Apprentice".
The clue for ELENA (45A. Supreme Court nominee Kagan) is obviously not updated, since she just became our Supreme Court justice last Saturday. Rich Norris edits all the puzzles a month in advance, hence the error.
Across:
1. Weenie : TWERP. Was thinking of hot dog.
6. Certain alien : LEGAL. "Alien" always refers to "foreigner" rather than "extraterrestrial being" in late week puzzle.
11. With 58-Down, "Taking Woodstock" director : ANG. And LEE (58D. See 11-Across). New Ang Lee reference to me.
14. Many an IM user : AOLER. All of its letter components can be the first & second letter of any word, very construction friendly. So, you keep seeing it again and again.
15. "But I don't want to go among mad people" speaker : ALICE. "Alice in Wonderland". Was ignorant of the quote.
16. Co. in Cannes : CIE. Kazie explained this before.
19. False pretense : ACT
22. One may have an undulating floor : FUNHOUSE. I've never been to one.
26. Viti Levu is its largest island : FIJI. Stumper. I don't know where Viti Levu is. Fiji's capital Suva is in this island and the majority of Fijians live here, a la Wikipedia.
27. Salt's salutations : AHOYS. Alliteration. Salt = Sailor.
28. Nouveau riche : UPSTART
31. Piece conclusion : CODA. Did you think of "musical piece" immediately?
32. Software for creating bibliographies : ENDNOTE. Not aware of this software.
40. Check for flaws : INSPECT
41. Give __ up: assist : A LEG
42. Cry at a faith healing : I CAN SEE. Nice multi-word.
46. Abolitionist Lucretia : MOTT. No idea. She's a Quaker.
47. 1949 Gatsby portrayer : ALAN LADD. I only know Robert Redford's "The Great Gatsby".
54. Sanctioned : OK'D
60. Jar head : LID. Of course I fell the trap of reading the clue as one word Marine "Jarhead" and thinking of Dennis & Argyle.
61. "Bye!" : ADIEU
62. Say "Hi!" to : GREET. I like the consecutive "Bye" and "Hi".
63. L'École __ Roches: French private school : DES. I suppose you can deduce if you know French, since "des" = de + les. Too much for me.
64. Support pieces : BASES
65. Produce some cliff notes? : YODEL. Because there are lots of cliff and mountains in the Swiss Alps?
Down:
1. Highlander's cap : TAM
2. Seek support from : WOO. Or seek affection.
3. Jeff Lynne's band : ELO. Easy guess.
4. MLK's title : REV
5. Piano duet parts : PRIMOS. Not a familiar "primo" definition to me.
6. Turner and Wood : LANAS. Lana Wood is the sister of Natalia Wood.
7. Beethoven title name : ELISE. "Für Elise".
8. Inverse of nano- : GIGA. Nono= one billionth. Giga = billion.
9. Eight, in Aachen : ACHT. Well, gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov I am sure. It escaped me again.
10. Lithuanian's neighbor : LETT. Latvian.
11. Whistling thorn, e.g. : ACACIA. First encounter with whisteling thorn.
12. Channel for little kids : NICK JR. Total unknown to me. Owned by Viacom.
13. Laughs at a joke : GETS IT
18. Perrier, e.g. : EAU. Quite expensive bottled water.
21. Nevertheless : AFTER ALL
22. Trivia buff's fodder : FACT
23. "Here comes trouble!" : UH OH
24. Anatomical knot : NODE
25. Plant with colorful flower clusters : HYACINTH. Named after the Greek mythological figure who was loved and accidentally killed by Apollo.
28. Gender-biased, briefly : UNPC. PC = Politically Correct.
29. Sulk : POUT
30. Violas' sect. : STR (String)
32. More : ELSE
33. Informal turndown : NOPE
34. "Forgot About __": hip-hop hit : DRE. No idea. By Dre, obviously.
36. Walk-__: bit parts : ONS
37. Fervent request : PLEA
38. Give conditionally : LEND
39. Quaint "Yowza!" : EGAD. Lucina uses "Yowza!" often.
42. "Turn up the heat!" : I'M COLD. Finally it's going to cool off a bit here in MN. So hot and humid in the past few weeks.
43. Lunchbox snack : COOKIE
44. Like bitter rivals : AT ODDS. Had difficulty parsing the answer.
45. Verve : ENERGY
47. "The Zoo Story" playwright : ALBEE (Edward). Have never heard of the play.
48. Events where the dessert haupia is served : LUAUS. What is haupia?
49. Dossier abbr. : A.K.A. Oh, police dossier.
51. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : ABAB. Wish Clear Ayes were here.
52. Bupkis, in Barcelona : NADA. Bupkis is Yiddish for nothing. Another unknown to me.
53. Address site : DAIS
56. Ranch closing? : ERO. Closing for the word ranchero. Gimme, Lois?
57. Spearheaded : LED
59. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ATL
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our quick-witted trombonist Jazzbumpa, who's been on vacation with his talented grand-kids the past few days, thus the sparse appearances. All the fill symmetries have been feeling ignored, Jazzbumpa!
Finally, I'd like to say a special "Thank you" to Spitzboov for a beautiful Annin US flag (3'X5") he surprised me yesterday. When Boomer opened the package and told me the story, I was AGOG and could not stop saying "Oh, my God, oh, my God..". Boomer later showed me how to fold the flag properly.
I then discovered that the Marines raised an Annin flag in Iwo Jima, and the NASA Apollo 11 moon flag is an Annin also. I wonder if those flags draping the coffins of our fallen soldiers are Annin.
I just cast my first vote as a US citizen in the primary on Tuesday, and this flag, made in the US and sent from a former Navy "salt", means a lot to me. Xie Xie, Spitzboov! I'll never take my privileges & rights as a citizen for granted.
C.C.
17A. The animals were bored, and the cows suggested a __ : MOO-VIE NIGHT. The base phrase is Movie Night. Cows moo.
20A. "Great idea!" said the goats. "Let's watch '__'" : MAA-S ATTACKS. Mars Attack!. Directed by Tim Burton. Goats maa. The first two and the last two theme answers have an impressive 7-letter overlap.
35A. "How lowbrow!" said the cats. "We much prefer '__'" : THE COLOR PURR-PLE. The Color Purple. Not a familiar movie to me. Cats purr. The only entry where the pun is on the last word instead of the first. I'd prefer the central entry puns on Prince's "Purr-ple Rain", so the sound would be consistent with the other theme entries. The resulting phrase has 11 letters, nice but not ideal for the central entry. Constructors prefer a central 15-letter grid spanner as it's easier to work around.
50A. "Too serious!" said the pigeons. "Why don't we go with '__'?" : COO HAND LUKE. Cool Hand Luke. Starring the great Paul Newman. Pigeons coo.
55A. But in the end, the sheep had their way, and they all watched "__" : BAA-BAA-RELLA. Barbarella. Jane Fonda movie. Sheep baa.
Fun theme. Reminds me of John Lampkin's "Pet Food" puzzle, in which part of a common food/beverage is substituted with the sound the animal make.
The cluing is fun too. Patrick Berry uses this style in some of Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. John Lampkin also employs this clue/answer combination story in his "The Clothier's Apprentice".
The clue for ELENA (45A. Supreme Court nominee Kagan) is obviously not updated, since she just became our Supreme Court justice last Saturday. Rich Norris edits all the puzzles a month in advance, hence the error.
Across:
1. Weenie : TWERP. Was thinking of hot dog.
6. Certain alien : LEGAL. "Alien" always refers to "foreigner" rather than "extraterrestrial being" in late week puzzle.
11. With 58-Down, "Taking Woodstock" director : ANG. And LEE (58D. See 11-Across). New Ang Lee reference to me.
14. Many an IM user : AOLER. All of its letter components can be the first & second letter of any word, very construction friendly. So, you keep seeing it again and again.
15. "But I don't want to go among mad people" speaker : ALICE. "Alice in Wonderland". Was ignorant of the quote.
16. Co. in Cannes : CIE. Kazie explained this before.
19. False pretense : ACT
22. One may have an undulating floor : FUNHOUSE. I've never been to one.
26. Viti Levu is its largest island : FIJI. Stumper. I don't know where Viti Levu is. Fiji's capital Suva is in this island and the majority of Fijians live here, a la Wikipedia.
27. Salt's salutations : AHOYS. Alliteration. Salt = Sailor.
28. Nouveau riche : UPSTART
31. Piece conclusion : CODA. Did you think of "musical piece" immediately?
32. Software for creating bibliographies : ENDNOTE. Not aware of this software.
40. Check for flaws : INSPECT
41. Give __ up: assist : A LEG
42. Cry at a faith healing : I CAN SEE. Nice multi-word.
46. Abolitionist Lucretia : MOTT. No idea. She's a Quaker.
47. 1949 Gatsby portrayer : ALAN LADD. I only know Robert Redford's "The Great Gatsby".
54. Sanctioned : OK'D
60. Jar head : LID. Of course I fell the trap of reading the clue as one word Marine "Jarhead" and thinking of Dennis & Argyle.
61. "Bye!" : ADIEU
62. Say "Hi!" to : GREET. I like the consecutive "Bye" and "Hi".
63. L'École __ Roches: French private school : DES. I suppose you can deduce if you know French, since "des" = de + les. Too much for me.
64. Support pieces : BASES
65. Produce some cliff notes? : YODEL. Because there are lots of cliff and mountains in the Swiss Alps?
Down:
1. Highlander's cap : TAM
2. Seek support from : WOO. Or seek affection.
3. Jeff Lynne's band : ELO. Easy guess.
4. MLK's title : REV
5. Piano duet parts : PRIMOS. Not a familiar "primo" definition to me.
6. Turner and Wood : LANAS. Lana Wood is the sister of Natalia Wood.
7. Beethoven title name : ELISE. "Für Elise".
8. Inverse of nano- : GIGA. Nono= one billionth. Giga = billion.
9. Eight, in Aachen : ACHT. Well, gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov I am sure. It escaped me again.
10. Lithuanian's neighbor : LETT. Latvian.
11. Whistling thorn, e.g. : ACACIA. First encounter with whisteling thorn.
12. Channel for little kids : NICK JR. Total unknown to me. Owned by Viacom.
13. Laughs at a joke : GETS IT
18. Perrier, e.g. : EAU. Quite expensive bottled water.
21. Nevertheless : AFTER ALL
22. Trivia buff's fodder : FACT
23. "Here comes trouble!" : UH OH
24. Anatomical knot : NODE
25. Plant with colorful flower clusters : HYACINTH. Named after the Greek mythological figure who was loved and accidentally killed by Apollo.
28. Gender-biased, briefly : UNPC. PC = Politically Correct.
29. Sulk : POUT
30. Violas' sect. : STR (String)
32. More : ELSE
33. Informal turndown : NOPE
34. "Forgot About __": hip-hop hit : DRE. No idea. By Dre, obviously.
36. Walk-__: bit parts : ONS
37. Fervent request : PLEA
38. Give conditionally : LEND
39. Quaint "Yowza!" : EGAD. Lucina uses "Yowza!" often.
42. "Turn up the heat!" : I'M COLD. Finally it's going to cool off a bit here in MN. So hot and humid in the past few weeks.
43. Lunchbox snack : COOKIE
44. Like bitter rivals : AT ODDS. Had difficulty parsing the answer.
45. Verve : ENERGY
47. "The Zoo Story" playwright : ALBEE (Edward). Have never heard of the play.
48. Events where the dessert haupia is served : LUAUS. What is haupia?
49. Dossier abbr. : A.K.A. Oh, police dossier.
51. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : ABAB. Wish Clear Ayes were here.
52. Bupkis, in Barcelona : NADA. Bupkis is Yiddish for nothing. Another unknown to me.
53. Address site : DAIS
56. Ranch closing? : ERO. Closing for the word ranchero. Gimme, Lois?
57. Spearheaded : LED
59. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ATL
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our quick-witted trombonist Jazzbumpa, who's been on vacation with his talented grand-kids the past few days, thus the sparse appearances. All the fill symmetries have been feeling ignored, Jazzbumpa!
Finally, I'd like to say a special "Thank you" to Spitzboov for a beautiful Annin US flag (3'X5") he surprised me yesterday. When Boomer opened the package and told me the story, I was AGOG and could not stop saying "Oh, my God, oh, my God..". Boomer later showed me how to fold the flag properly.
I then discovered that the Marines raised an Annin flag in Iwo Jima, and the NASA Apollo 11 moon flag is an Annin also. I wonder if those flags draping the coffins of our fallen soldiers are Annin.
I just cast my first vote as a US citizen in the primary on Tuesday, and this flag, made in the US and sent from a former Navy "salt", means a lot to me. Xie Xie, Spitzboov! I'll never take my privileges & rights as a citizen for granted.
C.C.
108 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - what a fun, different puzzle! Even though it had its way with me, I enjoyed the solve.
I had problems basically in every quadrant. Didn't know 'pribos' and 'end note', just to name a few. I did get a decent start in the NW, with 'tam', 'woo', 'elo' and 'rev' falling quickly, and that gave 'Moov.....', which gave away the theme.
Spitzboov, what a nice thing to do for C.C.; my compliments.
Today, in addition to being Friday the Thirteenth, is Lefthanders' Day and Blame Someone Else Day. More importantly, today is CHICKIE'S BIRTHDAY! A very, very HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Chickie - hope it's a wonderful day for you. Anything special
Good Morning, CC and all. How exciting for you, CC, to receive such a special gift of an American Flag. We all appreciate you and are glad you are our new citizen.
Happy Friday the Thirteenth!
Special Happy Birthday wishes to, Chickie!
Hahtool et al,
Blogger introduced a new Spam Filtering feature (available to a few bloggers at the moment, but will roll out for others soon) a couple of days ago. Somehow it sees posts from Hahtool, Crockett, John Lampkin and HeartRx as spams. I just discovered yesterday that those posts need to be unspammed to be published. So, please be patient. I hope Blogger solves this glitch soon.
Dennis,
If there are no beans, why it's called chili dog? Is it spicy?
Chickie,
Happy Birthday! Hope Bill brings you something special today.
Annette,
Why so quiet lately?
Jeannie,
Dairy was not part of my diet when I grew up. Vidwan might be right, many Chinese are dairy intolerant.
Well, somehow my post got messed up - probably too much indulgence on my part last night.
Chickie, my question was supposed to be, "Anything special planned today?"
No wonder I didn't know 'pribos' - I had 'baa' instead of 'maa'. But I didn't know 'primos' either.
C.C., it's still chili, whether it has beans or not; it's sold both ways. 'Chili' just means meat spiced with chili pepper.
Thank, CC. It was strange to see my post playing peek-a-boo yesterday. Now you see them, now you don't. At least you know I am not spam!
This was a tough puzzle, but very amusing. My first theme clue was COO HAND LUKE. That made me realize that we were looking for both movies and a story. THE COLOR PURRPLE threw me for a loop, though since the PURR came at the end of the phrase. You're right, PURRPLE RAIN would have completed the symmetry.
Thanks, too, for the explanation of ELENA Kagan being clued as a nominee.
Haupia is a coconut-based dessert that is essentially made with only coconut, sugar and cornstarch. It tastes better than it sounds.
QOD: Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. ~ Josh Billings
Good morning,C.C.and all-
Congratulations,c.c.,on your first vote as a citizen-we are so lucky to have you-I tell everyone about you.
Jazzbumpa-very sharp!
No paper this a.m.-first time 'on-line solve'-really out of my comfort zone-manuevering was a 'bear'- I was all thumbs-emergency only-nothing beats the paper,imo.
In spite of the above,the puzzle was fun and challenging; I did have to stop and think about what a goat 'says',silly as that sounds;
the NW and NE corners took some stumbling,letter after letter.
Perps and Wags kept me going.
Happy birthday to chickie!
Hope all have a nice day!
Good Morning C.C. et al.
C.C., congrats on your first vote. I wish more people in this country were as conscientious as you are! The US has one of the lowest average voter turn-outs in the world, tied with Switzerland at 54%, and only Poland being lower at 51%.
And thanks for being persistent with the spam blocker. I am on Googles "Blogger" at blogger.com, so I'm not sure why it is showing up like that.
And now to the puzzle:
Typical Friday, with my desk full of eraser crumbs. But I was determined to solve on my own, without hitting the g-spot. Two erasers and coffees later, I did it! But I have some issues with the theme. For consistency, shouldn't 20a have been "MAARS ATTACKS", AND 50a "COOOL HAND LUKE"? (Adding the extra vowels to each title ? I dunno, it just would have had more consistency that way, IMHO.
Morning, all!
Definitely a Friday-level puzzle today! I chipped away here and there before finally finishing the grid unassisted. And yes, I also kept trying to find a synonym of marine that would fit at 60A...
Good morning,
C.C. and JzB I salute you both; well done. Chickie, HBDTY and many more. I thought this was an also an extremely well crafted puzzle, with the first clue MOOVIE NIGHT ‘telling’ us, the rest of the theme clues would be Movie titles, while as a side mini theme, recognizing that all the animal sounds had a double vowel, and including WOO, COOKIE and ALBEE (and just for fun MOTT and LETT).
We also had some nice wit shown with Produce some cliff notes? : YODEL, and for our own, Jar head : LID
Did anyone else catch the "LEE ANG" connection to today? The Woodstock music festival was 41 years ago today. I was actually there, but don't remember it ;-D
'Tis better to be in a country with low voter turn out because of poor choices than a country with a high voter turn out but no choices.
Good morning everyone.
It's Friday alright, and confirmed by the puzzle. But after several passes, a nibble here, a nibble there, it finally came together. The NE was the last to fall. Loved the theme. Fun to work with. WAGS included FIJI, MOTT, and ABAB. Thought NADA, YODEL, and DAIS were very clever.Did not know NICKJR.
'Viti Levu' - I read that FIJI is a Tongan corruption of Viti. Fiji is ~2000 mi NE of Sydney
ACHT = eight. Also acht in Dutch and Low German. The 'ch' has a mild gutteral aspirated sound. In English the gh in eight has become silent. Similarly the transitions in 'neighbor' and 'freight' from their German counterparts.
Tschüß - - is an adaptation from the French ADIEU
@ Argyle
Well said! But still.... it's a sad fact that voter turnout is so low here, when we have lost so many of our armed forces to protect the right.
I certainly join in congratulating C.C. on her democratic milestone and reiterate everyone's admiration for her acumen in two lanugages!
No triskaidekaphobia here but the goat sound left me with NAA as I was not sure what Billy would say and I had no idea about the Piano Duets. Missing MAASATTACKS was embarrasing for this amatuer astronomer who lives in farm country.
BAABAARELLA was my favorite after I saw a variation of Cinderella was not going to work after working backwards.
MOTT was buried somewhere in my subconcious and was proud I dredged that up. Whistling thorn was brand new to me and had to go at it backwards too.
I am a cautious solver and spent almost 10 minutes before I dove in with TAM, WOO and REV.
YODEL was fun too but since CliffsNotes was invented here in Nebraska CliffsNotes, I was short circuited for a while.
The Legal Alien issue is big here in my hometown as we hit the national airwaves summer Fremont Immigration Law
This crossword was a tough one ... I was floored ... not a bad thing ... brings my ego doown to the ground !
CC: - thanks to you ... I finally understand how everything fits together... not that I would have 'got it' in a million years.
I have a suggestion: Please ask the blog leaders, to write their name FIRST,... on the first line ... just below the blog title ... before they write the ( rest of the ) blog ... so we know who wrote the delectable write-up. You blog leaders have your own style ... just like the puzzle creators.!! This is not just a question of appearing modest ... you are also bearing the 'onus' of responsibility.
The Color Purple: written by Alice Walker, Pulitzer prize,... movie directed by Steven Spielberg, with roles by Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg. Nominated for many Academy awards, but no winners.
Very controversial for overt sexuality, racial stereotype, racism, overwhelming derision and contempt towards the female sex, ... maybe Steven should not have directed it ( brilliant as he is ... ) .. it appeared so UN-PC.
Maybe it should have been directed by a black person ... like the movie 'Precious' ... another vicious movie with much the same genre... incest, 'dominating' sexuality, familial violence.
We realize, such things may be happening , ( hopefully... ) in less than 1 percent of all families ... yet it is so disturbing ... and the movie watchers feel like they are actually participating as obsessed voyeurs !@#
On a pleasanter note, Perrier was THE bottled water to drink in the 80's ... synonymous with "chic and yuppie wealth "... until the company itself, disclosed that the 'eau' contained traces of benzene, which was naturally occurring, and was not filtered out. Then the sales petered out.
I have preferred to remain Anon, so I can give an honest opinion ... both Purple and Precious are a form of blax-ploitation ... even though all involved ... writer, actor, director ... were blacks. In most other cultures, such books would not have been written ... Man does not have to know 'everything' about the whole world ...
Welcome, citizen C.C. I have just recently attached the following to my emails, so I share it with you -
Carl Shurz, a German immigrant and Republican leader, who helped deliver his community's vote to Abraham Lincoln in 1864, had this to say about immigration -
"All the social and national elements of the civilized world are represented in the new land . . . their peculiar characteristics are to be blended together by the all-assimilating power of freedom. This is the origin of the American nationality, which did not spring from one family, one tribe, one country, but incorporates the vigorous elements of all civilized nations on earth." (As reported by E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. 8/9/10)
13-Down = GETS IT. He who laughs last didn't get the joke.
47-Across. Shouldn't this have clued as a 1949 JAY Gatsby protrayer, since the response was Alan Ladd?
Also, the flowers of the Hyacinths can change color depending on the acidity level of the soil.
Hey Jim from Philly here. Just wanted to recommend a great site for crossword fans: http://www.crosswordese.com/ They have a 'Word of the Day' email you can sign up for that gives you a clue and a link to an explanation of the answer. Nice little daily surprise in your inbox.
C.C. Congrats on your First vote.
If the only election contest was for 'dogcatcher' I would still make it to the polls.
C'mon, face it, the themes all brought on a grin as you solved them.
Secretly I always suspected dem farm animals were up to something. WOOing and aparently enjoying MOOVIENIGHT.
This was a perps to the rescue experience.
DRE, the hip-hop hit ... I 'Forgot about___!'
ACACIA, that 'Whistling thorn' never heard of it.
When I think PRIMOS the term LID does come into play.
ELENA Kagan clue was timely. She beat the LAT puzzle lead time to get aworn in.
AOLER has got to leave the e-building.
Chickie, Happy Birthday!
21 again? I'm not surprised!
Don Rickles says "Have a COOKIE!"
CC:- Congratulations on your 'citizen' status and duties ... May you vote wisely, consistently ( ... and repeatedly ? lol ;-D... ).
Seriously, a Pew analysis has found that the consistent voter's characteristics are highly correlated with family income, actually SES - Socio-economic status, education, immigrant conversion status and a certain ethnicity ( which I won't mention.... ).
In voting patterns around the world, Pew reports that a vote above 82 percent maybe taken to be consistent with ABSOLUTE fraud ... certain countries like Egypt come to mind.
Good morning C.C. and all,
C.C.,
Doesn't it feel good to vote for the first time? I did it in 2004, and after 30 years here it felt terrific! I had waited until Oz decided we could have dual nationality.
In Oz, not voting by eligible citizens is a fine-able offense, hence their high turnout. You can get a special excuse if you are incapacitated, and I had myself taken off the rolls when I emigrated, since in the parliamentary system, all votes are for local representatives, and I have no way of knowing the local scene from here.
C.C., You have a special gift to remember this occasion with too. Great idea, Spitzboov!
I really thought I would bomb here when I started today. but after a while it all just flowed. I did get the theme early, and only had trouble with the goats' MAA because I didn't know what they "say".
There were numerous musical unknowns, and hence wags to get those, but I managed without the g spot. I only know Jeff Lynne from the Traveling Wilburys, so ELO was another wag.
Hahtool,
I like your new avatar photo!
Happy Birthday, Chickie!
And Happy Lefties' Day to me and any others here!
Here are some videos of the Traveling Wilburys: End of the Line, Wilbury Twist, She's my Baby,Inside Out, and Handle with Care
I'm so proud of myself. Although it took me almost 2 hours I finished without any lookups, although I had no idea what movie maasattacks referred to until I came here.
C.C.: Your excitement over receiving an American flag brought tears to my eyes. So many immigrants seem to enjoy living here but have little respect for what the flag stands for.
Anonymous: If you need a place to espouse your honest opinions, I suggest that you start your own blog or use Face Book then you can use your own identity. I, for one, read this blog because I like puzzles and warm friendly people. When I want political commentaries or so called "honest" opinions, I go elsewhere.
Happy Bday Chickie!
Great write-up CC!
Have a fun birthday, Chickie.
I played lots of single piano duets in younger years.
Thus PRIMO (right side) and SECONDO (left side) were gimmes. (DON'T LOOK IN dictionary.com.)
Russian houseguests left Thursday. Really miss all of the nice meals and many other perks. Time to catch up on crosswords.
Happy Friday 13th!
My last post just disappeared too!
I had a whole lot of links in it to the Traveling Wilburys videos. This is one of them:
video. You can link to several at the same site. It's great music!
45-Across ELENA wrong wrong wrong.
Good morning C.C. and all,
C.C.-Congratulations on your first vote.
Chickie-Happy Birthday!
Loved the theme today and with the perps was able to get it all done except the North Pole area. I had MAAS___ACKS for a long time, but simply couldn't figure it out. Did not know ELISE, couldn't imagine what the opposite of nano- was, had ocho for eight (wrong language, I now know), and as stated before, geography is not my strong suit, so had no idea who Lithuanian's neighbor might be.
Hand up for trying to find a military connection for Jar head.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am looking forward to Monday as I will be having an ultrasound done to make sure that my little bun in the oven is cooking properly.
I will wish my son a Happy Lefthanders' Day and thank my Mom again for teaching him to tie his shoes. She is not lefthanded, but ties her shoe, deals cards, and peels crawfish (among other things) like a leftie.
First off, Spitzboov, what a classy thing to do! C.C., what a gift! Just a hint of what you've created and nurtured here.
Good morning, everyone!
I didn't care for this one today. The theme entries were a bit of a stretch for me. When I make my last entry and got my happy pencil (Across lite) I didn't feel good about the solve.
Creature, there are different avenues for online solving. I prefer to go to cruciverb.com and access the puzzle from the L.A. Times archive link and solve in Across Lite on the computer. You can save the puzzle ("save as" only works for me) and work on it over time without losing the work you've already done.
Husker Gary, see many meteors last night?
Kazie, interesting information on voting in Australia. My learning for the morning.
My final entry was the crossing M in PRIMOS and MAASATTACKS and I just couldn't believe ehat that was correct. TAM was my first entry and one of very few on the first time through. I eventually worked my way up from the south to get this one completed.
Oh Chickie, a very Happy Birthday to you!
C.C., thanks for the Spam filter info. I was wondering what was going on. At least I'm in good company.
There are many chilis that do not have beans in them. The Cincinnati chili scene allows you to add beans or not depending upon your preferences. I have some cans of Skyline in my pantry awaiting an appropriate time for consumption.
Have a great 13th!
Darn blitches!
My earlier post returned.
My strange lefty experience was my right-handed Mum trying to teach me to knit left handed. Her sister interceded and told her not to worry--since both hands were needed, to just teach me right handed, so that's the only thing I now do right-handed.
DH and I stopped in Fiji for a few days on our way back here from Oz in 1974. I imagine it's changed a lot now, but we traveled on a bus with no glass windows, true "air conditioning", and luggage on the roof. We rented an apartment from one Dusty Miller, whose routine included walking his pet turtle to the seashore each day for their swim. We also enjoyed the cultural diversity, Fijians, Anglos and Indians all intermingled, albeit not always in a friendly way. I bought a sunhat there which I still have, and which became my trademark attire on the many student trips I led in Europe afterwards.
Kazie,
I just un-spammed your lost post. It's there now, at its original time. Husker Gary had to be un-spammed earlier also.
Hahtool et al,
I think I figured out the problem now. Anyone with a link in their post is deemed as suspicious to Blogger Spamming Filter and is automatically "spammed".
Creature et al,
Thanks for the nice words on my vote. Here is a picture taken that day.
In resp to Anon@ 10.09 - I am a fervent Republican, but I have read Elena Kagan's story with great interest. I am grateful to god, that we have such smart, decent and dedicated people in this country, and who will serve the US for many years to come. I only feel sorry, that she is not ( and is unlikely to get ) married and her DNA will not continue in this country after her. God knows, we need more people like her.
Hi C.C. & gang, a typical tough Friday, I think we only got ~25% done before my wife left for work. We got MOOvie Night quickly but kept looking for other animal sounds at the beginnings e.g. I had initially put down MEOW for 35A...
Re: Perrier? I can still remember eating at a seafood restaurant in Maine in the 80's when another table asked the waiter for a Perrier and I had to help the waiter understand Perrier was bottled water.
RE: haupia? It's been a long time since we've been to a Luau but I do remember seeing that white cube dessert but can't remember how it tasted... We're going back to Hawaii again this September so perhaps I'll keep an eye out for it.
When I started this puzzle, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish it--so many obscure clues. It took a while to get any traction at all, but after 40 minutes I was satisfied with it, and in the end didn't miss anything. A genuine Friday workout but fun to do. Can't remember a puzzle quite like this one.
C.C. - A beautiful person with a beautiful mind.
I usually post a comment on the puzzle before reading what anyone else has had to say about it, so now that I've caught up with everyone's comments, I'll add my Happy Birthday greetings to Chickie. Hope you have a great day.
Spitzboov,
Thanks for the linguistics lesson! Those kinds of connections are really nice. I guess 'laugh' & 'lachen' are another such pair?
I thought this was one of the most clever themed puzzles I have ever completed, albeit with a little help from MR.G for 1949 Gatsby – Alan Ladd and The Zoo Story playwright – Albee. The only movie I hadn’t heard of was Barbarella. I got some red letter help and made some WAG’s for Coda, Mott, primos, and acacia. I too thought of our Dennis when I saw the clue Jar head – perps filled in lid and that was my aha moment today. My favorite clue was “produce some cliff notes”- yodel. I kept thinking of the cliff notes that were notorious for cheating. Oh, and just when I memorize “ecole” they throw a “des” behind it. All in all this was a fun Friday puzzle.
Spitzboov, what a wonderful gift to give our newest citizen. C.C. you look so cute in that picture on the day of the primary vote!
Chickie, I hope you do something fun on your birthday today. Maybe you should break out one of those wonderful apple cakes!
Good afternoon C.C. and all.
Happy birthday, Chickie. Hope you get your wishes.
Jazz: great picture. Thanks for sending it.
Spitzboov: what a classy thing to do to send C.C. a flag. Had to look up Annin to see what kind of flag that is. Interesting.
And C.C., thank you for sending us that picture of you at the voting precinct. It's a great one, and congratulations on that first vote.
As for the puzzle, after moovie night I had trouble figuring out the others. Had purr as the beginning of 35 and got nowhere. I don't see the real connection with lowbrow and the movie; I don't see the connection with nouveau riche and upstart. But the ideas were fun to play with – even though unsuccessfully.
Cheers
Good morning C.C. and all,
Fridays are always difficult for me, and I had so many WAGS, like Fiji. I loved the theme and moovie night came easily. Then I couldn't wait to see what the 4 others were, so I kept at it.Fav clue/answer was yodel.And I really laughed at "I can see!" my bad
Didn't know that hyacinths changed color with the acidity...I know hydrangeas do..which was my 1st choice. The scent of hyacinths are too overwhelming to put in vases.
Nodes didn't come easily although like Julie Andrews I had some removed from my vocal chords and my singing voice was never the same.I only sing to my grandsons.
Happy Birthday Chickie! You didn't say anything yesterday when we had coffee!Have a lovely day.
Spitzboov, I can't think of a nicer tribute to C.C.Well done!
Good day, C.C. and fellow puzzlers.
Congratulations, C.C. on your first vote! And, Spitzboov, I echo the sentiment, what a classy thing to do.
Egad! Yowza! Yes, C.C. I love that word and it is applicable to today's puzzle.
Very early on I realized the theme would be animal sounds merged with movie names, but until the COLOR PURRPLE emerged, it was tough slogging for a while.
First, I had TINA Turner and much later recalled LANA. GIGA had to be slowly pried out and I finally had to consult my German list of numbers for ACHT. I liked the ALICE / ELISE cross and Lucretia MOTT sprang out from some recesses.
If I have eaten haupia before, I didn't recall, but I hope to try it next week when I'm in Hawaii. Luaus are fantastic food orgies!
I can't say that I loved this puzzle, but it was a wonderful challenge, just right for a Friday.
Happy birthday, Chickie!
Anon@8:52:
In case you have not noticed, the bloggers have set days:
Argyle on Mondays and Tuesdays
Melissa Bee, Lemonade, or Jazzbumpa on Wednesdays
Al on Thursdays
C.C. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday
You can find all this and more information on the side bar of the blog.
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone! The packing for Hawaii is nearly finished.
I love these myths.
Hyacinth was a beautiful youth loved by both the god Apollo and the West Wind, Zephyr. Apollo and Hyacinth took turns at throwing the discus. Hyacinth ran to catch it to impress Apollo, but he was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground, and died. A twist in the tale makes the wind god Zephyrus responsible for the death of Hyacinth. The youth's beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant archery god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. Apollo did not allow Hades to claim Hyacinth. Instead, Apollo made a flower, the hyacinth, from Hyacinth's spilled blood.
Jeannie:
You made me laugh when you wrote that BARBARELLA was unknown to you! It wonderfully emphasizes the generational gap on this blog; where else could we all come together in a common pursuit?
Boots, Anonymous-8:52 a.m., and All,
I've only been party to this blog for a few weeks, so regard this comment as green. I feel that a nice feature of the blog is that while its main focus is the LAT xw, members enrich the daily exchange with various asides-- often light or incidental, but sometimes deeper to the heart. The blog wouldn't be the same if it were solely xw info. So I didn't mind Anon's comments, though I felt that I prefer them not anonymous. Together with Anon's lighter notes re Perrier etc., the post was a bit long, but it wasn't ranting. If from time to time we can engage in brief exchanges on such issues while maintaining respect & civility, I see more grace than harm in it. Of course, the collective wisdom of other longer-tenured members of the group can prevail. Briefly, I never had any trouble with The Color Purple; in some sense, I felt the acclaim it received (partly for its faithful usage of the vernacular dialect, partly for its acknowledgment of struggles) was uplifting of the African-American community. IMO.
Reel nice puzzle. Had me smilin'.
TWERP, ICANSEE, FUNHOUSE, and NICKJR... Yes!
Had a great evening yesterday. We watched a flick with Roary Calhoun, Cawny Selleca, and Neighthan Lane. Music by Bayonce. A truly epic film with a cast of thousands of Honkies and Hisspanics.
Good morning CC, et al., Fun puzzle! I thought it was cute and LOLd at a few of the entries- 1A right off the bat...
Weenie? Twerp was not where I went w/that one! I love how that crosses 'woo'. 'I can see' how that cross would provide 'a leg' up to any 'upstart' who has a certain 'end note' in mind...yeah,
like turning his ranch'ero' into a 'fun house' and doing something that involves 'cookies' and
'yodel'ing with 'Alice', 'Elise', and two 'Lanas'. Depending on his 'energy' level, I doubt that his 'piece conclusion' is called a 'coda'. 'Egad'! It could be called a 'plea' if the girls aren't 'legal' age. FYI: always
'inspect' ID's. That simple 'act' can determine who 'gets it' as an 'end note' 'after all'. Cover your 'bases', boys!
Happy Birthday, Chickie! Hope your day is a very memorable one!
CC: congratulations on your voting day. How exciting for you. What a proud moment - and even to have that flag as a momento. That is spectacular! We are all so happy for you.
Spitzboov, your thoughtfulness and generosity know no bounds. Brought tears to my eyes. You Rock!
Enjoy your day.
C.C.,
I have never been "unspammed" before! I hope it is isn't contagious!
I embarrassed to say I did not look at the Perseid meteor shower last night. The temps were over 90 and the dew point over 70 well into the evening. Maybe tonight...
Oddly enough, I did brave the below zero weather to observe the Lunar Eclipse in Feb of 2009 and I stood on a college observatory rooftop in 1986 in equally cold, windy weather to see a blur at 2 am over Omaha that Dr. Carlson told me was Halley's Comet.
A solar eclipse on a beautiful spring day is the only time I (and our entire school) got to see a transient event with some degree of comfort. It got dark enough for a minute for the street lights to come on at 10 am.
A lot of American flags are made in China, like so much other stuff sold in the U.S. Are labor costs really low there C.C.?
Dennis, you are crrect about chili, but please be aware of: con = with, and carne = beans; hence chili con carne
Hello everybody. Happy birthday, Chickie.
Spitzboov, you are a classy person to give such a classy gift to another classy person.
I am of two minds about today's puzzle. One on hand I enjoy and appreciate the cleverness and the puns, yet on the other hand I didn't feel that "aah" factor after I finally got it done.
I couldn't complete it without "cheating," ie, looking some stuff up. Had to look up Viti Levu to get FIJI, whistling thorn to get ACACIA, for example.
After filling in MOOVIENIGHT I wanted MEOW somthing for 35A, but was okay with the PURRPLE answer. Also, I wanted an R in MAASATTACK and and L in COOHANDLUKE, but got a certain satisfaction out of solving them anyway.
I also see no connection between Nouveau riche and UPSTART. I wanted something like UPSCALE.
And hands up on thinking of a marine for Jar head.
At least I very quickly pencilled in ELISE and CODA.
Best wishes to you all this fine Friday the 13th.
I thought chili con carne meant chili with meat, which implies to me that plain chili (sin carne) has no meat in it. I seem to remember my mom would usually buy canned chili, and on special occasions would buy chili con carne, which was more expensive.
I forgot to mention, HB-DAY Chickie!
I didn't get to see the Perseids, either. But I have a good reason...
I sat down on the couch to watch TV and all of a sudden, a BAT swooped over my head. After several frantic runs around the house with a broom in my hand, I finally cornered him in the front guest bedroom.. . SO, with broom in one hand (and much yelling and screaming), I managed to open EV'RY window in the room before I ran out and slammed the door on it. Then I sat there in the LR, hoping to GAWD he had the sense to find one of those openings. Of course, my husband is out of town and won't be back until tonight. So guess what HIS first job will be? Go shut the windows!! Because, by now, I bet that Bat has gone out and gotten all his friend bats, and some of the neighbor squirrels, along with a couple raccoons and skunks, and they're all in there having one big party.
Hello Puzzlers -
Hand up for congratulations to C.C.C.! Welcome to the Democratic Process.
My Annin Flag Story: Having had a pressing deadline to get a 3' x 5' American flag, I had only one store to visit last night: Wal-Mart. I was pretty skeptical about my chances, because I was determined that I would buy ONLY a flag made in America. Well, YOWZA! The big box had a good supply of well made Nylon flags from Annin, a real, old, American company! Happy me.
Once home, I looked up the Annin site and read their history. They've been around a long time and have many honors to their credit.
I have heard that some states do not allow foreign-made flags to be sold, but have no idea whether Mass. has such a policy. Flags ARE exempt from tax, and there is a rumor that dry-cleaning places will clean flags free of charge. I'm glad such respect exists.
G'Day all!
Carne does indeed mean meat, in Italian too, I think. It, or its Latin origin, is also the root of the word Carnevale, the period preceding Lent, when people were meant to enjoy their last taste of meat before the fast. Carne = meat, vale = farewell, hence farewell to meat.
Oh, baa/maa made a simultaneous appearance today.
Crockett1947:
i looove to go to Sam's Chili. it is just up the hill(price hill) from downtown cincy. i always get a 3-way and a cheese coney. you'll see Bengal players in there with a 5-way and 3 or 4 cheese coneys. Reds players like to go there also(when they are not brawling).
btw, loove was a reference to what our British visitors think of cincinnati chili!
I loved this puzzle! In case no one else has pointed it out--piano duets have two parts: the upper is the "primo" and the lower is the "secondo." Both are great fun to play!
Delurking to say...I have been reading the comments and posts on this blog since I started constructing -- the comments and feedback are incredibly useful, so keep them coming! To add just a quick note, my original central entry was actually BONEIGH AND CLYDE, which Rich nixed because it wasn't as close a homophone as the other puns -- turned out to be a good thing though, because I think this version is better fill-wise than the original :)
Kazie, very interesting. I never before associated carne with Carnevale. Thank you!
Hi gang -
We're just back from an excursion to the Smokey Mountains. I don't like announcing to the world that my house will be unoccupied for a week, so I didn't say anything in advance. We did have wireless in the "cabin" so I was able to keep in touch - sort of.
Came home to long green grass, and an even greener swimming pool - much to my chagrin.
C.C. - congrats on your first voting opportunity. And thanks for the call out and pic.
Spitz - Very classy, amigo. If I ever grow up, I want to be you.
Chickie - Happy birth day!
I believe chili is any concoction made with chili peppers. Variations are endless, and both meat and beans are optional additions.
For CODA, I did think of musical piece immediately, but then figured that was on the wrong track. Sometimes you can over-think things.
Lots to like in today's puzzle - cute, clever theme, and some truly wonderful fill: HYACINTH, AFTER ALL, END NOTE, INSPECT and FUN HOUSE!; plus creative cluing: "cliff notes", "salt's salutations."
Still, I have mixed feelings. The theme lacks both tightness and coherence. AOLER looks more lame each time I see it. C.I.E., -ERO, EAU: MEH! OKED is misspelt. DES is dross, and cluing it an internal partial of something in French to artificially raise difficulty to Friday level is gratuitous obscurantism that makes it worse, not better. My advice: eschew obfuscation.
We can be AT ODDS without being either "bitter" or "rivals"; "nevertheless" and AFTER ALL do not properly correspond; neither do "more" and ELSE, nor "give conditionally" and LEND, nor "gender-biased" and UN-PC. These are all reasonable fill with not-quite-right cluing.
On balance, a good, but flawed effort.
Kinda like life. IMBO.
Cheers!
JzB
It is good and nice that there is a US manufacturer of the US flag - but it is not so nice that that Manf.- Annin has a monopoly. In the Crains economic news, the U S Dept of Just. has been trying to get a consent agreement, because Annin has bought out most of its competitors... thus making it a 'natural' monopoly.
Its bad enough, that ALL the entire US banknote currency paper is manufactured by just one company (!!) ... since 1879 (!) ... Crane & Co., of Dalton, Mass. And this because of their lobby-ists, and the 'help' of late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
No country ( even the mighty USA ) can or should allow any private monopoly on ANY product... it goes against all notions of laissez-faire ( let 'free' ) economics, and economists would consider this disastrous in the long run.
Cry at a blog miracle, "Rose is blue!"
Mr. Lim: A very amusing puzzle, challenging but satisfying.
CC: Excellent blogging as always.
Favorite fills were "coohandluke","baabaarella" and "I can see."
Anyone ever been to a "faith healing" or have Mr. Lim and others only seen this phrase in some B movies?
A very happy birthday, Chickie.
Spitzboov, I`m naming my first born after you...you`re another of my heroes on this blog.
Jerome: heehee (groan) haha (groan) :)
And in honor of the "cliff notes"
knock knock
who`s there?
little, old lady.
little old lady, who?
I didn`t know you could yodel! (groan!)
Jazzbumpa, well said!
gGerry said I guess 'laugh' & 'lachen' are another such pair?
Yes, I think so. Here are a few other examples of the 'gh' equivalent sounded in German:
Eng <> Ger
enough <>genug
light <>Licht
to plough <>pflügen >plögen (L. Ger)
daughter <>Tochter >Dochter (L. Ger) "
C.C., that is a GREAT picture of you after casting your ballot! Does the little sticker indicate that you voted?
HeartRx, you should just march right in there and tell that bat to scat. Hope he's gone!
Seen, I'm a Skyline fan myself, never tried Sam's. I always hit the Skyline downtown near the library when I'm in town for a few cheese coneys.
Julian, thanks for stopping by!
Arabon, congrats on being blue. Ha HA Ha.
Per The Wall St. Journal: The city of Karachi, Pakistan has 388 'foreign' flag manufacturing facilities ... who can 'make' flags of any country in the world ...with a very short time deadline ... for the sole purposes of having them burnt, during appropriately staffed, timely public demonstrations. Thus they can make flags, of the 'enemy' country of choice ( or 'of the day' ... ) ... with a scant 2 hour notice.
The flags, are especially made of loose woven, nylon - styrene copolymer, fabric, and are extremely inflammable - and have proved so efficient at their duties - that several flag burners, in the midst of their excitement and enthusiasm, ... have themselves 'caught fire', and have had to be hospitalized, during these flag burning sessions.
You have one guess to name the most popular country ( flag ) of choice.
JD:
We do like our myths, don't we? The problem is that those colorful stories of the gods jerking the chains of humans (and each other) are seen by modern people as quaint and quite ridiculous, at the same time they will kill you (or have you killed) for pointing out examples of modern mythology.
Anon'@ 2:17,
Speaking of mythology, you aren't going to trot out that old dead stalking horse "laissez faire" on us are you?
Let (us be) free only applies until capitalists get their collective teat in the wringer, and then they want a bail out like any other crack w---e. As for economists, the practitioners of the "dismal science", they don't agree on anything. Modern economics is just another failed religion, and economists are its voodoo priests. The Greek Oracle was more accurate and honest.
I sure hope this rant doesn't offend any of our more sensitive souls or newbies, but I've been a good bird of predation for weeks and just couldn't stand it any longer.
In the tradition of Shane, I say, "Come back, ClearAyes, come back."
How times have changed... When I was in Pakistan in 1978, backpacking from Quetta to Lahore toward India, I noticed no animosity. Indeed I was the recipient of gracious welcomes. Hopefully those sentiments will return within a generation.
Yes, "carne" means meat, so chile con carne = with meat.
Julian:
Thank you for stopping by with your comments. I love it when constructors do that and thank you for a treat of a Friday puzzle.
1957 Ford RanchERO.
Unusual two-tone blue; anybody remember seeing anything like it?
Dear Ones, Wow! So many exciting things going on today! Not to mention this Friday puzzle! I feel the same way Kazie does, proud that I was able to finish it.
Two look-ups, never heard of Jeff Lynne or ELO, so had to search and I had ribo for the longest time and finally called my musical daughter who gave me primo, which changed Baas to Maas. The rest all came through WAGs and perps. Not too many gimmies today.
Lucina, I just reinforced your mention of generation gap with my lack of info re: contemporary music and entertainment. In fact, I guess ELO and Jeff Lynne exist in the memories of most of you,so not exactly contemporary! Same thing with "Mars Attack".
CC. Love your election day pic! Did you have to prove your age at the polls? You look barely old enough to vote! What a wonderful gift from Spitzboove; couldn't be more appropriate! Nice work, Spitz!
Chickie, HBDTY, and many more! Have a ball.
Vettedoe, it's good to hear from you. How are you getting along?
Hahtool, your posts have never disappeared on my pc. Interesting?
HeartRx, I think it's Ang Lee. And I'm with you in deploring the voter turn-out.
Lucina, Have a marvelous time in Hawaii! We'll miss you along with Clearayes and now, Annette.
C.C., Maybe some of our 'family' are vacationing. Surely the faithful will be back ASAP.
Jazzbumpa, wonderful picture! For a grandpa you look very young! It must be the trombone playing. Wait! I just read your post. Glad you had a good vacation and that you're back. Love "eschew obfuscation" and "gratuitous obcurantism" (is this a real
word?).
Boots, I'm in your corner! Hear!Hear! I think it would be fair to at least identifywhich "anonymous" one is. Could they all use anon 1, anon2, etc.?
Mr. Ed, Lucina has probably caught this already. Carne does not equal beans, it's meat.
Have I covered everybody?
Oh, question. Will someone define "meh" and its origin, please? I would be most grateful.
Hey! I just got a message saying Sorry, we were unable to post your comment! And it's wiped out! I put lots of work one that. What can I do now?
Well at least I remember this! HBDTY,Chickie!
Winhover, why are your rants always so mean spirited? It seems that the purpose of your comments are to end the conversation and not to contribute to it.
A product of capitalism and competition is that neat little gadget you use called the iPhone. In addition that device would be even more impressive if Apple would open up competition and allow other providers to provide service(Verizon,Sprint, etc.).
Long time lurker and fan of this community(including Windover).
At the risk of arousing the ire of some, this is my 6th for today, making up for the times I only have time for one or two.
Jazz,
I think 'Cie' is just an abbreviation of the word 'compagnie'.
Don't confuse the French verb 'faire' with the English adjective 'free'. 'Laissez-faire' literally translates to 'let (it be) done'. In other words, don't interfere and let things happen as they may.
The 'ch' to 'gh' shift explained so well by Spitzboov also accounts for a lot of those other redundant gh spellings in words like 'thought' (dachte), through (durch), and although (obgleich), right (recht/richtig depending on its sense).
I also forgot to mention the photos today. Jazz looks most professional in his, and of course C.C. looks very pleased in hers.
@Crockett,
I know they call bear poop "scat" so I wouldn't want the bat to be doing that all over the guest beds...maybe I should tell it to "guanoutta here"??
Windhover, you speak from my heart!
dodo
Most of the local wags say there would be a greater voter turn-out if only there were a "NONE OF THE ABOVE" line on the ballot.
Thank you for saving my sanity many days. When I am utterly stuck I turn to you - and PRESTO my puzzle is solved. I cannot tell of the many days and nights these almost, but not quite, solved puzzles have haunted the corners of my mind. In addition, it is always redeeming to me that others thought some answers really didn't fit well or were almost unknown.
Again, my sincere thanks.
it seems as though friday the 13th was very lucky for this jarhead.
HeartRX - Here is my bat story. Some years ago, when my grandmother was in her mid-80s and I was in my early 30s, I was visiting her. One evening, a bat flew into the room where we were sitting. I did a "duck and cover", but my grandmother very calmly went to get the broom and gently swatted at the bat until she got it to leave the room and the house. I felt a bit foolish afterwards, letting my elderly grandmother take care of the bat, but I wasn't going near it!
As Kazie noted earlier, in some countries, voting is mandatory. Uruguay is another such country where its citizens are mandated to vote or face fines.
LTL:
Mean-spirited? That really hurts. Couldn't you at least say "colorful" and mean-spirited? If you'd like to be that little angel perched on my right (get it?) shoulder, I guess that's ok, but I'd really like to know you better first. We can begin that process with you spelling my avatar correctly. Please?
As for the iPhone, I know that we learned in 4th grade (for me that was 1954) that every good thing flows from
competion based in the free enterprise system. But having read beyond that level later in life, I have come to believe that innovation is possible without cut throat competition, that is, without "winners" and "losers", and that cooperation and shared responsibility are desireable goals. I have ceased believing in the perfectibility of the human race.
I have never intended for any rant to cut off further discussion. As proof of that, I offer you the last word. Today, at least.
Peace out.
dodo, I don't think your long message was wiped out. I saw it and enjoyed reading it.
If I post a message that is longer than a certain (unknown) length, I get a dialog box that says I am about to mavigate away from the page and asks my permission to do so. If I click YES, my browser is fed a blank page, but my message is correctly posted here. If I click CANCEL, then sometimes the result is that my message gets posted here multiple times.
@dodo, here is a site to look up internet memes such as MEH. It's an expression to indicate indifference. I'd comment further on it, but, meh.
WH:
The misspelling of your avatar was an honest mistake and I apologize. I noticed it just as I clicked on "publish". I did, however, spell it correctly the second time. From now on I will use WH.
As to competition, I believe Darwin covered that.
The last year for the Ranchero.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/
ride_images/4/289/3781/
38221890002_large.jpg
here are my favorite Rancheros. I just never noticed how many variations existed.
Jayce - thanks!
dodo - BIG thanks! I hide my age behind bifocals and a trombone bell. The LW and 11 grandkiddies keep me young. But my motto is: What I lack in youth, I make up for with immaturity!
Rather a lot of invention and innovation comes out of universities and other research facilities funded by the government. (Gasp!)
Free enterprise is a good system, but not perfect. Like all things human, it needs an occasional nudge (or kick) to stay on the right path.
I'm stumped for symmetries today, alas.
Cheers!
JzB
HO Ho HO!
Got me good on that one.
Happy birthday, Chickie!
Congratulations on your first voting experience as a US Citizen, C.C.! That’s a nice picture of you. All I know is that I’m looking forward to cancelling out my neighbor’s gubernatorial vote! ;-)
C.C., I had family visiting last week and am still trying to catch up. Also, the pace has picked up a little bit at work. By the time I finish the puzzle and read the blog, there’s seldom anything left of interest to add. I appreciate that you noticed my absence though! I’d also wondered about whether your dairy issues were physical, religious, or moral – so I’m glad Jeannie finally asked, and you were willing to share.
I had to google a couple names, and had put ‘PRIBOS’ initially too. I also thought of our resident Marines when I saw 60A. Otherwise, it was a fun theme! BAABAARELLA threw me off for a bit since it contained the animal sound twice, instead of just once like the other theme entries.
ARBAON, thank you for the YODEL joke! I quickly forwarded it to my sisters, who loved it too. Our grandfather used to amuse us with his yodeling, so it brought back a wonderful memory.
I'm a lot calmer around bats as a result of having gone spelunking several times in caves of south-central Indiana --seeing hundreds hanging from cave walls/ceilings, or occasionally sharing tight quarters of a crawlspace passageway with a justly disturbed little critter. No point in panicking in such an intimate (& confined) situation.
A couple years ago, I was out in the yard mowing, and my kids called out the window "Hey Dad, there's a BIG BUG flying around in the house." "Yeah, yeah", I thought, and belatedly made my way inside. "THAT's a bat!"
LTL, not the biggest deal but it's nice to get names right: your two swings at windhover's avatar together merge to cover it correctly: 'Winhover'+'Windover'='windhover'!
Hello All--First of all, thank you for all the lovely Birthday wishes. We have a full, happy weekend planned with our family, so life is good.
Tinbeni, yep, 21, again. It's a great age.
As for the puzzle, I struggled with the top middle portion as Legal just would not come. Alien was extraterrestrial in my mind, so that didn't get filled in. Acht, and Lett were also blank.
I managed to get all the theme answers--so clever--except the Maas-Attack. I had Maas, but the rest didn't come. I had forgotten Cie (shame on me) and Nick, Jr. was totally unknown.
My French and German are very lacking, so clues with those roots are difficult to get without lookups.
I thought that Jar head/lid and Produce some Cliff notes/Yodel were super clues.
C.C. I must congratulate you on your first voting adventure. Good for you.
JzB:
You are correct. I have been involved in that process. Believe me that the competition for those grants is VERY cutthroat and borderline fraudulent.
Also, do not forget that "funded by the goverment" really means "funded by the people".
I agree the system is flawed but it has created a nice standard of living.
Btw, Windhover, I noticed the second spelling was incorrect too! Again, I am sorry.
LTL:
Actually, I don't think he did, unless you're referring to BOB Darwin, an obscure university professor of economics, rather than CHARLES Darwin, the naturalist.
And in any case, it seems unwise to base the conduct of human affairs on the survival of the fittest, i.e., the law of the jungle, even if it does (or has) deliver the iPhone into my hands and allow us to have this discussion
By the way, you did misspell it both times, just in different ways, which is no big deal. WH is fine, and your apology, while unnecessary, is accepted.
I also realize that I have erred; I promised you the last word, which you may now have. I've got to stop anyway, I feel a Sally Field moment coming on. I really do like you, though.
HeartRx: Re; your Bat problem ...
Have you tried Garlic cloves, bulbs and shoots ... ? I've heard that bats are deathly afraid of Garlic cloves ... ( or is that vampires? )
... maybe you could try an echo locator ... or use a radar gun ... the ultra high frequency sound waves of the gun would interfere with the bat's own natural UHF sound emissions, and cause the bat to get confused, and nonplussed, and it would try to escape and to leave you alone...
... now all you have to do, is to get hold of a trooper with a radar gun ...
Voting joke ...
To celebrate CC's first official vote, here is a little joke of pre-Gorbachev Russia.
A Russian goes to the polling booth in Red Square, and stands in a queue. He is then given a folded ballot, by a party functionary... and told to drop it in the ballot box...
The Russian voter tries to open the ballot, and look inside, ... and this enrages the party functionary, who asks him ,' What are you doing ?!!!'.
The Russian voter says,(meekly ...),' I'm only trying to find out who I am voting for ...'
The official says,' You idiot, you cannot do that ! ... Why do you think, this is called a secret ballot... ?!?'
HeartRx, park this baby out front and all your bats will flock to it.
Heart Rx:... I just realized that the radar gun may cause a small problem ... the bat may confuse the ultra hi frequency sound emissions from the radar gun ... to be amorous inquiries from another bat ... and it may start following you around...
... be careful ...
A final pass this evening-
Crocket 1947-Thank you for the
online puzzle instructions.I haven't had time to try it today,but I will.
Boots-I agee with your posts to anonymous 100%;thank you for saying that. In fact,what's with Anon 10:49 and Anon2:17...Same Anon?
Vettedoe-Luck on your ultrasound.
C.C. loved that pic!
Good evening all.
Chickie; Happy Birthday. Hope your day was very special. Coincidently my BH's birthday is today also.
Best wishes for many, many more.
It's now quite late, but I know some of you are still here. If you watched ABC World News you saw the two young men whose mission it was to correct spelling mistakes across the country!
And who says that this young generation doesn't care?
I love it and I salute Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson for their initiative and dedication to correct spelling.
C.C.:
I forgot to comment on your very lovely photo. What a nice commemoration of this day.
JZB:
Your photo is lovely as well; you look like the ideal grandfather.
Dodo:
Your comment posted and was filled with your usual sparkly wit.
vettedoe:
I hope all is going well with your little "bun."
Windhover, clue me in as what you are trying to say here:"at the same time they will kill you (or have you killed) for pointing out examples of modern mythology."
Forgot to say, C.C., that your picture is absolutely darling and you look very proud.We are all so proud of you.
JzB, you rock!
I wonder if all those people who make spelling and grammatical errors just didn't have a good education. Or maybe they were taught the right stuff but it didn't stick.
The English teachers at our school stopped teaching formal grammar and spelling for a while and taught grammar and spelling through literature, reading and writing. It seemed to work OK but the kids didn't know about subjects and objects and lots of other stuff that I was taught. They knew it was wrong to say, "Can me and Johnny go out to play," but they didn't know why. I think I learned a lot from the tedious task of having to diagram sentences. It gave me a visual sentence of some of the things that comprise language.
Argyle:
no i have never seen a 1957 Ford Ranchero. thanks, however, for showing it to us.
i had a buddy that drove a 70's era El Camino and i always liked the concept. except when Suburoo manufactured the Brat. thank heavens natural selection took care of that.
C.C.:
congratulations on your first vote! i noticed your "i voted today" sticker. remember what i suggested to you on 6/3/10 and save that sticker(if you"re the sentimental type).
Still blue Rosie!
My last post has disappeared..if it pops up, excuse the redundancy.
Argyle; Two very astute and pithy comments re voting.
WH: Why the cynicism today? Reads like a person badly hurt by someone/something. Hope that`s not the case.
CC: An adorable pic...do you get mistaken for Boomer`s daughter? (no offense, big guy!)
Dennis: Did you see the hint about aloe preventing "that" problem from eating starchy beans?
On that elegant note, I bid you all a buenos noches, mi Amigos and Amigas.
If what you post here dosn't meet with a certain person's approval, it gets stopped from being posted. WHY!
Because the blog belongs to that certain person, you dipstick!
Vidwan, why do you insist on posting under different aliases instead of 'Vidwan'? Even relative newbies like myself recognize your syntax.
Julian, thank you for stopping to say hello, I really think your final mix of theme words flowed together beautifully, like a little story inside the puzzle. You are more than welcome to comment anytime.
Carne: Meat
Frijole: Bean
Rojo: Red
Negro: Black
Arroz: Rice
Pollo: Chicken
Asade: Roasted
a start fo rthe Cuban/Mexican eating experience
Lefthanders RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Greetings folk,
Thanks for all the positive comments for me about JACK, our dog. Having your support helped me get through a tough week.
The puzzles were mainly difficult for me this week.
26. Very funny person: RIOT. I get the slang of it, but it takes more than one person to create a riot!
5. Missal site : PEW. In spite of the spelling discrepancy, I wanted to think missile site. When I turned to missal/pew...I had to laugh. It tickled me!
65. "It's crystal clear" : I SEE I laughed about this joke recently, "A man went into his psychiatrist's office with plastic wrap fashioned into briefs, nothing else on. The psychiatrist looked him over and said, "I (can clearly)see your nuts!"
I worked on following the instructions I was given by Al. The proof will be in this pudding once I post this...otherwise, I'm back to follow the instruction for as many times as it takes me to get it right.
I'm out.
@al, so far, so good! Now I just have to focus on getting my avatar displayed!
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