Theme: None
Total words: 70 / Total blocks: 31
Average Word length: 5.54
Interesting grid design, isn't it? The two cross-shaped 8-black-square blocks, the two 3-black-square blocks along the left and right edges (called "fingers" in Cruciverb talk, as they look like fingers poking into the grid. Coined by veteran constructor Mel Rosen, who also gave us the term "cruciverbalist".), as well as those single 9 stair ladder style black squares in the middle break the grid into very open yet tightly connected sections.
Triple stacks of horizontal 10s & vertical 8s in each quadrant. Each Across 10 is also intersected by several long Downs, including a triple stacked 6s in the corresponding corner. Here are the long 10s:
1A. Ripped muscles? : SIX PACK ABS. Awesomely scrabbly start. I suspect this is the seed entry. Hope it's a gimme for you after our lively discussion of Ryan Reynolds' six pack abs a while ago.
15A. While away : IN ABSENTIA. Fell into the "while away" verb phrase thinking.
17A. Like some suits : PINSTRIPED. Perfect fit for Hillary Clinton.
60A. Contemporary folklore : URBAN MYTHS. Well, maybe this is the seed entry. Nice one.
63A. Draws : STALEMATES. Was thinking of sketching "draws". Not sports tying "draws".
65A. One may be set on a stage : HORSE OPERA. I figure it had to be some kind of *OPERA.
Only 8 three-letter fill. Multiwords aplenty, some are very refreshing.
I had my normal Saturday struggle & frustration. So many things to learn. So many ways to be misled.
Across:
11. "House Hunters" network : HGTV. I am aware of the show. Have never watched it though.
16. Flying start? : AERO. Start in words related to "flying", as in aerodynamic.
18. Right-leaning: Abbr. : ITAL. Loved the clue. Right leaning indeed.
19. Christian denom. that observes the Sabbath on Saturday : SDA. No idea. It stands for Seventh-Day Adventist.
20. Fix, as a wicker chair : RECANE
21. WCs : LAVS
22. Renaissance Faire word : OLDE
24. Hide : SKIN. Was thinking of the "conceal" meaning of hide.
25. Biodegrade : ROT
26. Prefix with biology : NEURO. Neurobiology.
28. Cut : SNIP
30. Painting on utensils or furniture : TOLE. Like this tray. French for "sheet of iron", says Dictionary.
31. Former Monterey Bay fort : ORD. Fort Ord. Closed in 1994. Named after Civil War Major General Edward Ord.
33. Ringling Museum of the American Circus city : SARASOTA. Ha ha, I know this trivia.
35. Language subfamily that includes Maltese : SEMITIC. Oh, I only know Arabic and Hebrew belong to Semitic.
39. Feverishly : LIKE MAD. Nice answer.
40. Defense against intruders : WATCHDOG. To me, a watchdog is a person or an organization, not the defense itself.
42. "Vamoose!" : GIT. "Vamoose" is used several times in that silly crossword movie "All About Steve".
43. Angelo's instrument : ARPA. Italian for "harp". Angelo is "angel". I was stumped.
44. Playing a fifth qtr., say : IN OT (Overtime). Not enough block for my OTING.
46. "This I Promise You" band : 'N SYNC. I only know their "It's Gonna Be Me".
50. Any U.S. Army E-4 thru E-9 : NCO. Oh, good to know.
51. "Iron Chef America" chef Cat __ : CORA. She stymied many last time. I like the Japanese flavor in "Iron Chef America".
53. Robbie's dad : EVEL (Knievel). Know he has a daredevil son. Not the name though.
54. Fire : SACK. Not the hot fire I have in mind.
56. City SSW of Cleveland : MEDINA. No idea. We have a Medina in Minnesota too.
58. A storm may affect it, briefly : ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). Refreshing clue.
59. "__, you noblest English!": "Henry V" : ON, ON. Shakespeare always gives me headache!
62. Shuffle alternative : NANO. Both iPod types.
64. Phosphoresce : GLOW. Phosphoresce is a new word to me. Verb. Looks like a noun, doesn't it?
Down:
1. Nurses : SIPS ON. Nurse a drink.
2. When an engine might stall : IN IDLE
3. City visited by Marco Polo : XANADU. The ending DU literally means "capital". We call it Shangdu in Chinese. Shang = Upper.
4. "Viewers Like You" help support it: Abbr. : PBS
5. Tycho Brahe's sci. : ASTR (Astronomy). I recognized Brahe when I googled his image. He had a fake nose.
6. Roman goddess of agriculture : CERES. That's how we got the word "cereal".
7. Two-time 1970s NBA champs : KNICKS. Don't know. Don't follow NBA.
8. Going to great lengths : AT PAINS
9. Like national elections : BIENNIAL
10. "Justine" author : SADE. Marquis de Sade. Hmm, An Erotic Classic.
11. Salute : HAIL
12. "Not in public, you two!" : GET A ROOM. Nice entry.
13. "Get Shorty" co-star : TRAVOLTA (John). Another gorgeous one.
14. __ Act: 1919 Prohibition legislation : VOLSTEAD. Wikipedia said it was named after Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversaw its passage.
23. The Boston Symphony played its second movement to commemorate FDR's death : EROICA. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Latin for "Heroic". Originally dedicated to Napoleon. Was unaware of this trivia.
27. Surg. specialty : ORTH. Orthopedic I suppose.
29. Moralizer : PRIG
30. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. The scary African fly. I don't know the meaning of trypanosome.
32. Gogo's pal, in "Waiting for Godot" : DIDI. No idea, Sir!
34. Comparable : AKIN
35. Bittersweet farewell : SWAN SONG. Here is the origin of the phrase.
36. Drum site : EAR CANAL. Man, I was thinking of musical drum, not eardrum.
37. Resort town W. of the Delaware Water Gap : MT. POCONO. In Pennsylvania. The clue means nothing to me.
38. "Emperor __" : CONCERTO. Another Beethoven reference. OK, Jayce, tell us something about this concerto.
41. Theresa Dunn's ideal Mr., in a 1975 novel title : GOODBAR. Have never heard of the novel "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"
45. Experiments : TRIALS
47. Actress Mimieux : YVETTE. Famous for her role in "The Time Machine".
48. Like hell? : NETHER. Hot clue!
49. Midwest League's baseball level : CLASS A. Well, who pays attention to Class A league? Not I!
52. Douze mois : ANNEE. French for "year". Douze = 12. Mois = Months.
55. Not just suppose : KNOW
56. Cloying sentimentality : MUSH
57. A few rounds, perhaps : AMMO. Thought of drink rather than firearm "rounds".
61. Kisser : YAP. Both slang for "mouth".
Answer grid.
Here is a sweet photo of our Lucina and Dodo from their recent Coven gathering. This is their group photo. What were you gals cackling about?
C.C.
Total words: 70 / Total blocks: 31
Average Word length: 5.54
Interesting grid design, isn't it? The two cross-shaped 8-black-square blocks, the two 3-black-square blocks along the left and right edges (called "fingers" in Cruciverb talk, as they look like fingers poking into the grid. Coined by veteran constructor Mel Rosen, who also gave us the term "cruciverbalist".), as well as those single 9 stair ladder style black squares in the middle break the grid into very open yet tightly connected sections.
Triple stacks of horizontal 10s & vertical 8s in each quadrant. Each Across 10 is also intersected by several long Downs, including a triple stacked 6s in the corresponding corner. Here are the long 10s:
1A. Ripped muscles? : SIX PACK ABS. Awesomely scrabbly start. I suspect this is the seed entry. Hope it's a gimme for you after our lively discussion of Ryan Reynolds' six pack abs a while ago.
15A. While away : IN ABSENTIA. Fell into the "while away" verb phrase thinking.
17A. Like some suits : PINSTRIPED. Perfect fit for Hillary Clinton.
60A. Contemporary folklore : URBAN MYTHS. Well, maybe this is the seed entry. Nice one.
63A. Draws : STALEMATES. Was thinking of sketching "draws". Not sports tying "draws".
65A. One may be set on a stage : HORSE OPERA. I figure it had to be some kind of *OPERA.
Only 8 three-letter fill. Multiwords aplenty, some are very refreshing.
I had my normal Saturday struggle & frustration. So many things to learn. So many ways to be misled.
Across:
11. "House Hunters" network : HGTV. I am aware of the show. Have never watched it though.
16. Flying start? : AERO. Start in words related to "flying", as in aerodynamic.
18. Right-leaning: Abbr. : ITAL. Loved the clue. Right leaning indeed.
19. Christian denom. that observes the Sabbath on Saturday : SDA. No idea. It stands for Seventh-Day Adventist.
20. Fix, as a wicker chair : RECANE
21. WCs : LAVS
22. Renaissance Faire word : OLDE
24. Hide : SKIN. Was thinking of the "conceal" meaning of hide.
25. Biodegrade : ROT
26. Prefix with biology : NEURO. Neurobiology.
28. Cut : SNIP
30. Painting on utensils or furniture : TOLE. Like this tray. French for "sheet of iron", says Dictionary.
31. Former Monterey Bay fort : ORD. Fort Ord. Closed in 1994. Named after Civil War Major General Edward Ord.
33. Ringling Museum of the American Circus city : SARASOTA. Ha ha, I know this trivia.
35. Language subfamily that includes Maltese : SEMITIC. Oh, I only know Arabic and Hebrew belong to Semitic.
39. Feverishly : LIKE MAD. Nice answer.
40. Defense against intruders : WATCHDOG. To me, a watchdog is a person or an organization, not the defense itself.
42. "Vamoose!" : GIT. "Vamoose" is used several times in that silly crossword movie "All About Steve".
43. Angelo's instrument : ARPA. Italian for "harp". Angelo is "angel". I was stumped.
44. Playing a fifth qtr., say : IN OT (Overtime). Not enough block for my OTING.
46. "This I Promise You" band : 'N SYNC. I only know their "It's Gonna Be Me".
50. Any U.S. Army E-4 thru E-9 : NCO. Oh, good to know.
51. "Iron Chef America" chef Cat __ : CORA. She stymied many last time. I like the Japanese flavor in "Iron Chef America".
53. Robbie's dad : EVEL (Knievel). Know he has a daredevil son. Not the name though.
54. Fire : SACK. Not the hot fire I have in mind.
56. City SSW of Cleveland : MEDINA. No idea. We have a Medina in Minnesota too.
58. A storm may affect it, briefly : ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). Refreshing clue.
59. "__, you noblest English!": "Henry V" : ON, ON. Shakespeare always gives me headache!
62. Shuffle alternative : NANO. Both iPod types.
64. Phosphoresce : GLOW. Phosphoresce is a new word to me. Verb. Looks like a noun, doesn't it?
Down:
1. Nurses : SIPS ON. Nurse a drink.
2. When an engine might stall : IN IDLE
3. City visited by Marco Polo : XANADU. The ending DU literally means "capital". We call it Shangdu in Chinese. Shang = Upper.
4. "Viewers Like You" help support it: Abbr. : PBS
5. Tycho Brahe's sci. : ASTR (Astronomy). I recognized Brahe when I googled his image. He had a fake nose.
6. Roman goddess of agriculture : CERES. That's how we got the word "cereal".
7. Two-time 1970s NBA champs : KNICKS. Don't know. Don't follow NBA.
8. Going to great lengths : AT PAINS
9. Like national elections : BIENNIAL
10. "Justine" author : SADE. Marquis de Sade. Hmm, An Erotic Classic.
11. Salute : HAIL
12. "Not in public, you two!" : GET A ROOM. Nice entry.
13. "Get Shorty" co-star : TRAVOLTA (John). Another gorgeous one.
14. __ Act: 1919 Prohibition legislation : VOLSTEAD. Wikipedia said it was named after Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversaw its passage.
23. The Boston Symphony played its second movement to commemorate FDR's death : EROICA. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Latin for "Heroic". Originally dedicated to Napoleon. Was unaware of this trivia.
27. Surg. specialty : ORTH. Orthopedic I suppose.
29. Moralizer : PRIG
30. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. The scary African fly. I don't know the meaning of trypanosome.
32. Gogo's pal, in "Waiting for Godot" : DIDI. No idea, Sir!
34. Comparable : AKIN
35. Bittersweet farewell : SWAN SONG. Here is the origin of the phrase.
36. Drum site : EAR CANAL. Man, I was thinking of musical drum, not eardrum.
37. Resort town W. of the Delaware Water Gap : MT. POCONO. In Pennsylvania. The clue means nothing to me.
38. "Emperor __" : CONCERTO. Another Beethoven reference. OK, Jayce, tell us something about this concerto.
41. Theresa Dunn's ideal Mr., in a 1975 novel title : GOODBAR. Have never heard of the novel "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"
45. Experiments : TRIALS
47. Actress Mimieux : YVETTE. Famous for her role in "The Time Machine".
48. Like hell? : NETHER. Hot clue!
49. Midwest League's baseball level : CLASS A. Well, who pays attention to Class A league? Not I!
52. Douze mois : ANNEE. French for "year". Douze = 12. Mois = Months.
55. Not just suppose : KNOW
56. Cloying sentimentality : MUSH
57. A few rounds, perhaps : AMMO. Thought of drink rather than firearm "rounds".
61. Kisser : YAP. Both slang for "mouth".
Answer grid.
Here is a sweet photo of our Lucina and Dodo from their recent Coven gathering. This is their group photo. What were you gals cackling about?
C.C.
41 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - quite the slog for me today. Started to put 'abdominals' for 1A, but noticed that 4D had to be 'PBS', so I didn't get any traction there. First real foothold was in the NE, and then I slowly made my way around clockwise with lots of perp help. Loved the long fills and the deceptive cluing; favorite answer was 'Get a room' -- I'm sure we've all been guilty of that at one time or another.
I was surprised again at an answer popping out of nowhere; in this case, when I read 14D, 'Volstead' came to mind immediately. Probably lodged in some corner along with Cal Ripken's lifetime batting average (.276). 'Didi' I think we saw before, or maybe it was in the NYT. And again, we have a relatively obscure PA location that I knew just from living nearby, but like 'Radnor' the other day, seems like a bit of a stretch in a national puzzle. Still, very much a fun puzzle.
Today is National Lighthouse Day and National Mustard Day. More importantly, today is GUNGHY'S BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday, Gunghy, and many many more. And thanks again for a great travelogue; it was the next best thing to being there.
%@#*^%#@.... curses, curses, curses. This was not even worth the half hour I wasted. Hurry Monday!
Forgot to mention - Lucina, Dodo, what a great picture of you guys! It's pretty neat that C.C.'s blog has spawned all these different
meetings.
Speaking of, Windhover, I'm checking the maps, and got your address plugged into the GPS - if time permits, I'd love to swing by that way. And from the looks of it, the mountain roads would be a blast. I'll keep you posted. Oh, and as to the Cannonball - that was my favorite event every year; a couple of us even went to the Red Ball in the run's second year, just to watch them leave.
Good morning CC, et al.,
Not a slog for me today and for a Sat that is surprising. WAGs were supported by partial fills and thus the puzzle unfolded.
Even tho' I seemed to be 'nsync' w/ Pahk, I found this puzzle disturbing in content, with the religious theme good vs evil imbeded. The grid is quite noticeable, like you pointed out, CC, and the placement of certain answers is intentional and unsettling to me. The SW corner & right side up cross is the good side and the NE corner upside down cross is the evil side. Each side has words that support its theme. Maybe his/her overall purpose was to point out that these beliefs in his/her opinion are 'urban myths' or that they are 'stalemates' with 29D 'prig' (moralizer) almost smack dab in the middle. I disliked this puzzle on those grounds. I prefer less serious, more entertaining puzzles. I did like 'get a room'...esp adjacent to hot pants 'travolta' himself. Oh yeah, baby! I'd love to dance w/him for a while.
Lucina & Dodo: great picture of you and the 'coven'. I'm so glad you got to meet. Looks like a great time.
Dennis: by the time you get back up this way, I'll be able to run. Hope you have time to slow down to 30 so we can at least salute each other. I'll send you my phone #. Safe travels. That must quite a dog... and the deal is, I understand that. My Dad's at the theater were the best ever. Hope they're as good as you remember.
Happy Birthday, Gunghy! I hope your day is absitively, posolutely superlative in every way. I also thank you for the photo-venture. I do love that part of the country.
Enjoy your day.
Good day to all,
I haven't posted here in a while, been real busy, early mornings, and by the time I get to the puzzle to comment, someone has already said what I wanted to.
Now that I look at it, lois, there is a hint of an "good vs. evil" theme going on with the crosses; Scientology (unmentioned), next to SADE, ROT, AT PAINS...compared to ARPA, and GLOW, GOODbar....
Spent my honeymoons and first anniversary at the Poconos Caesar's Palace resort - the ones with the champagne glass hot tubs....erotic, wonderful place to kick back and be a couple - definitely the place to GET A ROOM!
Had WATER_ _ _ for the defense clue, and was stuck in "moat" mentality, but WATCHDOG was a good answer - only came after I switched to red-letter...it's been awhile, and I ran over the half hour mark, too, for a non-Sunday puzzle.
Always enjoyable !
Great weekend out on the Island here in NY, too bad it won't last.
Make it a good one.
Splynter
Impossible to finish.
C.C. Excellent informative write-up.
Dennis, MT.POCONO was a gimmie for you, all perps for me.
SARASOTA being the Ringling Museum city was a gimmie for me.
Then I was back to the perps for MEDINA, OH a town of 25,139 (2000 census) SSW of Cleveland, I've never heard of.
I guess it's all about location.
Had I been alive at the time of the VOLSTEAD Act: 1919 Prohibition legislation ... well I would have died.
1d Nurses, SIPS ON, is also something I never endorse.
EVEL Knievel being "Robbie's dad" is pretty obscure for all but their motorcycle jumping enthusiest.
As to what was played to commemorate FDR's death, EOOCIA, well I was born in '52 and don't remember it.
For "Emperor____" my first thought was Penguin.
Don't KNOW why but there was something about GET A ROOM and later STALE MATES in the grid that brought on a grin.
Two Mugs of Java time limit used up.
So in the end, a DNF.
Hi gang -
After hitting "reveal word" for the fifth time, I am officially giving up.
JP 1, JzB 0
Upon further review, my problem yesterday with GAS UP was I had CAPPED instead of GAPPED for "like some teeth." That gave me CASUP, which still makes no sense.
Anyway - gotta run. Many adventures today. Maybe I'll find a brain somewhere . . .
Cheers!
JzB
Could a puzzle have two seed entries?
Happy Saturday all:
I generally find Joon’s puzzles difficult, but this was probably my fastest Saturday all year. Of course it was not skill, but when you have a puzzle with so many long words, if you fill those the rest fall like the Maginot line. I do not even know why I put HORSE OPERA in as the answer, but like the rest, it fit and it was the fill.
I also enjoyed the symmetry, and while I understand the comments about religious sub-text with the clues and the grid, I did not see that aspect. I liked the corner with GLOW, KNOW, ONON, NANO, and as mentioned, the GET A ROOM, TRAVOLTA juxtaposition. Like hell: NETHER is great, as well as right leaning: ITAL.
Did not know the EMPEROR CONCERTO but it filled, easily, and EROICA proved music is my weakest puzzling topic. I know what I like, but do not pay much attention to titles.
There are so many cities named MEDINA and Cleveland seems to be a weak area for corner contributors.
The movie LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR was very well done, with Diane Keaton abandoning her comedic ties to Woody Allen and going a very frightening world. The movie also had my birthday mate, Tuesday Weld , from Dobie Gillis fame, and a young Richard Gere.
Happy Birthday G., good to see you Splynrer, I wish all of our 'old' regulars would stop by and let us know they are okay; and great write up C.C.
I think #40 is "watchdog"" in the literal canine sense.
2D IN IDLE, to me, was the lamest answer.
An E-4 in the army can be a corporal (NCO) or a specialist (not an NCO).
SGM Gene Carter (R)
meangene, right you are; if the clue had said Marines, Navy or Air Force instead of Army, it would've been correct. When were you in?
ARRRRRGH!! This one kicked me pretty hard, but I finally slogged through. The little stuff, like ON ON and NANO killed me, not the long answers. (Loved GET A ROOM, obvious from the "G")
Hands up for MEDINA! I lived in Hinckly Township, located in Medina County. Medina is the county seat. It is pronounced with a long I sound, not an E sound like the Medinas in the rest of the world. That entry plus URBAN MYTHS opened up most of the SE corner.
EVEL was a gimme and I don't follow motorcycle stunts. Over the years Evel Kneivel and then his son Robbie have been in the news so many times, it's almost impossible not to have heard of them.
SARASOTA was a gimme for me, but MT POCONO needed perp help and a lot of memory bank searching.
Happy Happy Gunghy, and many more!
Best clue ever for me-'get a room', it's classic.
Overall it is a tough puzzle, I could not finish it, my hat's off to anyone who did.
Dennis, I think the Army added the 'E' to the rank designation between 1957 and 1961.
I was just at Mt. Pocono Thursday to Mt. Airy casino. Nice place.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUNGHY!
Dennis, which of the two is Lucinda on the pic?
Lucinda's on the left.
After persevering between other chores all morning, I finally got a few more in and gave up with only 15 empty tiles. Many of what I got were WAGs and done with perp help but absolutely no idea of what they were.
Those that finally stumped me were: ORD, sEMITic, oRTh, eroIcA, aRPA, ONOn and nANo.
Happy Birthday to Gunghy!
Great photos of the 'coven' girls. What about a label for who's who in the group?
Just Curious- Yup.
Good afternoon everyone.
Great write up C.C.
I'm with all of you who didn't do well with this one. I got only seven correctly before coming here. Had loo instead of lav and mug instead of yap, which didn't help. I thought of urban myths, but mug put the em in the wrong place.
Interesting insight, Lois. I don't look at puzzles that carefully.
Have a most happy birthday, Gunghy, and thanks for the travel pix.
Great photo of Lucina and Dodo. Who else in the coven?
Cheers
nice writeup, CC. a pleasure to read.
thanks for the nice comments. i did try for a striking grid pattern on this one, as a couple people have observed, but i certainly wasn't going for any outright good-vs-evil subtext. funny, though, there really is quite a bit of that in there if you're looking.
SIX-PACK ABS was indeed where i started with this one, but in a themeless grid you can generally choose several seed words to build around. GET A ROOM crossing LIKE MAD was my other starting point. for the other two corners, i didn't put anything in to begin with, but just tried for the cleanest and most interesting fill. the upshot was that almost all of the ugly entries (RECANE and ORTH and the like) ended up in the little sections towards the middle where the different sectors came together. not my cleanest grid ever, but i'm pretty happy with the long stuff.
It's my party, so I'll gripe if I want to.
I liked the long fills, but the cities and names got me again. If Medina is SSW, then Mt Pocono is NW. By the way, Google map or mapquest Mt Pocono. You have to get down to street level before its name shows up.
Anyone else put in AT IDLE?
Is there any special reason I should know the Emperor Concerto?
Re trypanosome: It's the name for the organism with which the fly infects us.
Trypanosoma brucei - a major human pathogen that causes sleeping sickness.
Trypanosoma cruzi - a major human pathogen that causes Chagas disease.
Gogo and Didi are nicknames that the main characters in the play use to refer to each other.
Cat Cora is cute. I might have to start watching TV.
Off to a tract meeting, see you all tomorrow.
Good morning all - I'm happy to see that there are others as hooked as I am on good crosswords. I just wanted to say thank you for this morning's help! I was stumped for a while because I had "Guard Dog" instead of "Watchdog" - that led me online to see what in the world the Boston Symphony played - which led me here...I had no clue (pardon the pun)...I do have a question. I used to look forward to the L.A. Times magazine puzzle, but I haven't seen the magazine for a while. I also thought they were publishing two puzzles in different sections of Sunday's paper, but I can only find the one in the Art's and Books section. What happened??
Hello All--I'm with those who had a slog today. There were too many unknowns and obscure names for me to finish everything. I had the same mistakes as you did, Sallie. The little words will get you every time.
Mt. Pocono, Didi, Cora, and Goodbar were just a few that tripped me up. And Robbie? Robbie who? I didn't have enough perps to help out until the very end.
I have to agree that this was a very clever and well thought out puzzle, especially with the long fills. I just wasn't on that wave length today. I had to give up.
Dodo and Luciana, Great pictures.
Thank you for sharing.
HBTY, HBTY, HB to Gunghy, HBTY. and many, many, more. Aug. is a great Birthday month.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Hi everybody.
Just a quick in and out as this is and has been a busy week.
Loved Thursday and Friday puzzles. Very clever cluing, refreshing fills, and many fun "aha" moments. Today's was more in the "chore" category, although I did like the fact that there were many long fills.
The Emperor Concerto was Beethoven's fifth and last concerto for piano, and he did not call it the Emperor. He was pretty much down on emperors by then, having had a bad experience with dedicating is "Eroica" symphony (symphony number 3) to Napoleon. It was supposedly a guy named Cramer who later nicknamed it the Emperor concerto, probably because of its powerful themes and heroic emotion. My dad loved it, as do I, but it used to drive my mom crazy to hear it so often, because she thought all it was was a bunch of scales. I can sort of see her point, actually.
Well, gotta go. Happy birthday Gunghy! Wishing you all a fabuous weekend.
Here is a fun and sparkling performance of the Emperor concerto by a fellow named Friedrich Gulda, who's son just happened to be a classmate of my daughter-in-law way back when. From his looks, you would think Gulda is a goofball, not serious, but he is an accomplished musician who takes obvious delight in the music, as you can tell from the happy expressions on his face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhlKkTgP5cE
Enjoy :)
Hello Puzzlers -
A tough Saturday battle. DNF. Well, I did finish, but needed about 5 Googs and a pair of Reveal Words. First big fill was GET A ROOM - a handy phrase - which I wrote right in with confidence. Everything else was a tug o' war. Fell for pretty much every mis-lead! Too many unknowns to mention.
Oh well, Saturdays are supposed to be Varsity level. G'Day All!
Good evening all you puzzlers and I mean that in the most literal sense.
The lower part of this was a stumper for me. This morning I finished the upper part, all the way to SW corner where MT. POCONO, MEDINA, CORA, and MRGOODBAR beat me. I read Looking for Mr. Goodbar and saw the movie, but that was eons ago! Then I had to leave.
Lemonade, I like the way you described the fills falling like the Maginot Line because that is the way I see it, too.
My first fill for Ohio was Toledo so that blocked the section and by then it was late and my brain was MUSHy so I just quit (I hate that) and came to C.C. for help.
We have actually seen EVEL Kneivel before as well as the EROICA.
I guess we in the West know Alioto but you in the East know Medina although there are many Medinas in the world and it's even a common surname in Spanish.
For a while ARPA, Angelo's instrument baffled me, but then it sounds exactly like Spanish harpa because the h is silent.
And I see that I must continue my French lessons; DOUZEMOIS was unkown to me.
Nice job, Joon Pahk, you do manage to fool me so often. My goal is to complete one of your xwds.
Happy birthday, Gunghy! I do hope it's been terrific and thank you for your road show.
Thanks to all for the kind words. Dodo and I, (I'm on left, she's on right) spent some quality time together. The second photo is of some of my travel buddies and one of Dodo's friend, Rita, second from right. I thought C.C. would be thrilled to know what friendships she has spawned through this blog. Thank you, C.C.
I hope your Saturday and all weekend is just great!
My friends are from left to right: Kathy and Joy. Dodo, I and Rita in the center.
You cannot imagine how much fun we had "cackling" and getting acquainted.
Dang, I like you guys! (Guys includes gals :)
Sorry, I'm high on Beethoven. lol
Good evening, all.
A beautiful grid, with lots of learning moments today. Among them, that:
-the Italian word for harp is ARPA
-I didn't remember how to spell the French word for "year" from high school French class (45 years ago)
-the TSETSE fly transmits trypanosome
HB-day Gunghy! Hope you are celebrating in style.
Lucina and Dodo, thanks for sharing the photos. It looks as if you and your friends were having a great time.
Al-Thanks for the DNA/RNA explanation from yesterday. You have a great knack for explaining scientific data in terms a layman can understand.
Jayce-I enjoyed listening to the Emperor concerto. Thank you for the link.
Enjoy the night!
Joon
Thanks for the puzzle and for stopping by. How do you structure a themeless, as opposed to have the structure superimposed by a theme? Were the crosses part of your visual plan?
enjoyed all of the puzzle...shocked it unfolded...i was feeling my way all the time...never certain,yet it gave way...lots of perps..51a,32d;62a left me blindsided...tech challenged;really enjoy this blog..thanks, my maiden voyage,ml
Joon: thanks for dropping in. I'm glad you explained your intention and thought processes when creating this puzzle. I went way Freudian this morning, but I never discount the influence of the unconscious mind. I'm a firm believer in cognitive power, both conscious and non. Occupational hazard, I guess. I appreciate you taking the time to join us. We all love to hear from the constructors and learn what the motivation was and how the puzzle came into being. Thanks again for sharing all that.
Jayce: thanks for that Beethoven link. It is intoxicating! Love that stuff!
good night all, ladies no love for Richard Gere? I am surprised
Lemonade714,
I loved Richard Gere in "Chicago". From what I remember from the history of the movie that I read, he was not much of a dancer, but took lessons to play the part. I don't watch many movies, but that's one I really enjoyed. He had great moves, and really impressed me.
It's been a lo-ong day and I just now had a chance to look at the links. Yes, I do love Richard Gere! He was and remains a handsome hunk of a man.
I've seen many of his movies and loved Chicago. He definitely earned the Oscar with that one.
Good night, all. I hope Gunghy had a blast today on his BDY.
Hi, all,
This one was a killer for me! I filled it all in piecemeal as I had many interuptions all day and just "finished" it a short while ago. The quotes around 'finished' are there because it got to a point where I just filled in letters that seemed to look right. I got most of the long ones, but those little ones!! Deadly! Oh well, can't winnem all!
I got my first glimpse of the pix of our gathering just now. They do look like us. We were having such a good time; if only it could have been a little longer! Thanks for getting the pix in, Lucina. I'm ashamed to say I didn't have my new camera with me, C.C. But Lucy's friend Jeanetta did a great job with hers. Actually, folks, the coven is another group that includes Chickie, Clearayes, Carol, JD, and WM(whom I don't know). Wouldn't want to steal their name. I'm hoping they'll meet again and include me. It would be just great if it would coincide with Lucina's next visit.
Then both she and I could become wiccans (is that the right term?)
Happy Birthday, Gungh. Live it up even if it's a little late in the day!
Thanks for the visit, Joon. Great puzzle, but tough!
Jayce, thanks for the music; I too am a Beethoven devotee, also of many other composers, though! But when you remember that B. was deaf as a post! Miracles do happen. I guess he would put his ear to the floor to "hear" the vibrations when his music was played.
Oh, Just remembered: I don't understand "nano" = shuffle alternative? Can someone explain, please?
Night, all.
Dodo, "nano = shuffle alternative" refers to Ipods, which are Apple devices, initially for listening to music but now for video and much more, that come in four varieties: Shuffle, Nano, Classic, and Touch. This Wikipedia page has a photo of the four lines. Don't have one myself, being somewhat of a Luddite.
Re earlier in the week: Hi back to you, WH. Just checked out a Berry book from the library. Looks good. As others, I am impressed with your minimalistic (?) lifestyle.
Lemonade: greetings. Milo's probably in the barn bailing the grandkittens out of mischief. Looks like a funny film.
'Night.
Whoops. Hunch was right; not a word. Should be "minimalist".
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