Theme: ALTERATIONS - The second word of each two word theme answer indicates someone or something that causes some sort of transformation, in plural form.
16A. Some den boxes : CABLE CONVERTERS. "Den box" gave me pause. This is the box that allows your old non-cable-ready TV to hook up to cable. CONVERTERS can also change their religions, or transform things.
22A. Hookups to many electronic devices : POWER ADAPTORS. They change the voltage from line current to whatever your device requires.
35A. Jacob Riis et al. : SOCIAL REFORMERS. They try to make things better. Riis' cause was the impoverished of New York City, 100 years ago.
44A. Currency pros : MONEY CHANGERS. They'll convert your Shekels to Denarii - for a price. But the pros have their cons, and might get chased out of an inappropriate venue by an activist SOCIAL REFORMER, who might even try to CONVERT them.
55A. Insurance investigators : CLAIMS ADJUSTERS. Per Wikipedia, they "investigate insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the company’s liability." Otherwise, an adjustment is often a small scale fine-tuning, as to your radio dial or 6th cervical vertebra.
Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, the Toledo Trombonist, blessed to have a Dan Naddor puzzle to share with you.
Today, Dan gave us three grid-spanning theme answers, plus two more at 13 letters each, making for an extremely dense and rich blend. Very seldom do we see a total of 71 theme squares on a weekday puzzle. With 36 blocks (4 cheaters/helpers), 74 words, and an averages length of 5.11, this is technically very close to a Thursday puzzle.
Difficulty seems about right for a Wednesday, though. I chunked through in 14:43. I had a feeling we were due for one of Dan's, but didn't recognize this as his style. The cluing seems a bit straightforward, not the normal Devious Dan Delights. But this is a superb puzzle: the theme is tight and coherent, and the long down fill is exquisite.
Across :
1. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte : RAE. By me. I never watched. I think she's the one in the middle.
4. Swiftly : APACE. Fast enough to walk abreast - so to keep pace.
9. Just __: minimal amount : A DAB. This was a slow fill for me. Could be A TAD, or A BIT, without the perps.
13. Dual-purpose room shape : ELL. Kitchen and dining room, perhaps. But for kitchen and bathroom, I'd say, "ELL no!"
14. Raptor's gripper : TALON. Frex, an eagle's claw, or this.
15. Academy freshman : PLEBE. Probably derived from PLEBIAN, the class of Roman common citizens of lower status than Patricians.
19. Mimi's "mine" : AMOI. Oh, my. Alliteration for a foreign word seems pretty standard, the French name clues the language.
20. Clown for the camera : MUG. Occasionally a kid will do this.
21. Pounce on : LEAP AT. Maybe you should look first.
25. Solar wind particle : ION.
26. "Alley __" : OOP. Ally OOP was a cartoon cave man. He gives me an eary feeling. Or it can be something quite uplifting.
27. Yale or Harvard : IVY. The Ivy League Schools, offering lots of tradition, and very expensive educations.
30. Form 1040 IDs : SSNS. Social Security Numbers. Somewhere out there is an identity thief who wants yours.
32. Hammer-wielding god : THOR. It seems to me I've blogged this god before. Then again, what the Valhalla do I know.
34. Gave the boot : AXED. In Valhalla, you get hammered.
38. Fruity pastry : TART. They can be interesting and quite appetizing. The first two pictures here give some hint as to the variety.
39. Community word : OURS
40. "Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you" speaker : YODA. From Star Wars the saga, a character sagacious he is; speak this way he does. More attention he should have in ESL class paid.
41. Go downhill fast? : SKI. Our cabin last week was on SKI View Drive at an elevation of 2900 feet, and the way up was SKI Mountain Road. I was concerned about going downhill fast, without SKIs.
42. Course taught bilingually: Abbr. : ESL. English as a second language. Part of the cosswordese nouveau.
43. Dorothy Gale's state: Abbr. : KAN. Dorothy from Kansas, the reference from the Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." The mean elevation of Kansas is 2000 feet. Toledo is 615.
51. Card carrier : MEMBER. Some organizations have membership cards so you can prove you belong. I am a card carrying MEMBER of the flat-landers.
53. Sound from a wowed crowd : OOH. Or from the view on Ski View Drive. The parking lot of Ober Gatlinburg was 400 feet below us.
54. Do in : SLAY
58. Shrewd : CAGEY
59. Helmsley dubbed "Queen of Mean" : LEONA. She is the hotel owner who opined that, "taxes are for little people." Riis would have had a thing or two to say to her.
60. "__ lost!" : GET. My response to Leona.
61. Specks in la mer : ILES. Islands in French. Or in the stream, perhaps.
62. Op-ed piece, e.g. : ESSAY.
63. Timeline divs. : YRS. Years. Abbrv in cl & ans.
Down:
1. Postgame summary : RECAP.
2. Crockett's last stand : ALAMO. Not our Crockett. Davey from Tennessee. The Alamo was the site of a 13 day siege and final assault that left all but two of the defenders dead. You can learn more about it here.
3. Be rude in a crowd : ELBOW. I needed perp help for this one. A rude person can use his elbows as weapons or pry bars to get ahead of the little people.
4. Enjoyed a blue plate special : ATE. I enjoyed some ice cream with a couple granddaughters this evening.
5. Pellet gobbler of old games : PACMAN. You can play here.
6. For all to hear : ALOUD. Are we allowed to say ALOUD ALOUD?
7. Line dance : CONGA. Let Gloria show you how.
8. Ltr. holder : ENV. Envelope. Anoth. Abrv.
9. Rite site : ALTAR. A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act or process. The altar is a designated place or structure for such religious activities. It also echoes "ALTER," a much too subtle hint at the theme.
10. Threw overboard : DEEP SIXED. Maybe one of our sailors can fill us in on this colorful phrase.
11. __ Kadabra: foe of the Flash : ABRA. No idea, but it was an easy guess.
12. Blue ribbon-worthy : BEST. First prize at the county fair is often a blue ribbon.
15. Before surgery, briefly : PRE-OP. People get so nervous here, they take drugs to calm down.
17. What to do after making your metaphorical bed : LIE IN IT. No sympathy here. Deal with the consequences of your actions. Nice combination, though.
18. Corrida combatant : EL TORO. The bull in the bullfighting ring. Alas, poor bull - you never win.
23. Parks in '50s news : ROSA. ROSA Parks refused to give her seat on the bus to a white man, and this caused a national ruckus. In my life time. Wow.
24. Vanishing sounds : POOFS. Does a disappearing magic dragon go POOF or PUFF?
28. Designer Wang : VERA. Here is her style.
29. Gridiron gains: Abbr. : YDS. Yards. There are 100 between the opposite goal lines.
30. Overcharge, slangily : SOAK. Another colorful phrase. Anybody know where it came from?
31. Practice grid game : SCRIMMAGE. The NFL pre-season practice games are shown on TV. Better as fill, IMHO.
32. With sincerity : TRULY
33. Part of H.R.H. : HER. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS - the Queen. We aren't supposed to have any here. Except for LEONA, I guess.
34. Surrounded by : AMONGST. AMONGST and AMIDST sound so archaic.
35. Oft-numbered rtes. : STS. Streets, I guess. But STS are usually named, not numbered.
36. They aren't champs : LOSERS. And their RECAPS aren't much fun, either.
37. "You've Got Mail" co-star : RYAN. Meg RYAN. I wanted to fit in a first name, and that just wasn't working. Looks like her plastic surgery was no great success, either.
42. Bad guy : ENEMY. But I'm his ENEMY, too. Does that make me a bad guy?
43. Islands VIP : KAHUNA. Again, from Wikipedia: Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the Pukui & Elbert (1986) as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession."
45. Big Apple awards : OBIES. Annual Off Broadway awards bestowed by The Village Voice, and another part of crosswordese nouveau.
46. Cryptographers' creations : CODES. Software developers, too.
47. Orange-roofed eateries, for short : HOJOS. Howard Johnson's. Here is one of Howard's finest moments.
48. Poem of lament : ELEGY. Now is when we need Clear Ayes.
49. Not as easy to come by : RARER. Dan's puzzles are getting RARER.
50. Handicappers' methods: Abbr. : SYSTS. Systems. This relates to wagering on sports, I'll bet.
51. 13th-century date : MCCI. Roman 1201. My memories of that year are quite vague.
52. Airline to Tel Aviv : EL AL. And a frequent flyer in crosswords.
56. Pub pint : ALE
57. "Come to think of it ..." : SAY. And I say this was a fine solving and blogging experience.
Answer grid.
Here is a picture of the much vaunted Varsity Chili Dogs Dennis drove hundreds of miles for last week. Strange to have mustard over chili over hot dogs, isn't it? Here's another look.
Cheers!
JzB
16A. Some den boxes : CABLE CONVERTERS. "Den box" gave me pause. This is the box that allows your old non-cable-ready TV to hook up to cable. CONVERTERS can also change their religions, or transform things.
22A. Hookups to many electronic devices : POWER ADAPTORS. They change the voltage from line current to whatever your device requires.
35A. Jacob Riis et al. : SOCIAL REFORMERS. They try to make things better. Riis' cause was the impoverished of New York City, 100 years ago.
44A. Currency pros : MONEY CHANGERS. They'll convert your Shekels to Denarii - for a price. But the pros have their cons, and might get chased out of an inappropriate venue by an activist SOCIAL REFORMER, who might even try to CONVERT them.
55A. Insurance investigators : CLAIMS ADJUSTERS. Per Wikipedia, they "investigate insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the company’s liability." Otherwise, an adjustment is often a small scale fine-tuning, as to your radio dial or 6th cervical vertebra.
Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, the Toledo Trombonist, blessed to have a Dan Naddor puzzle to share with you.
Today, Dan gave us three grid-spanning theme answers, plus two more at 13 letters each, making for an extremely dense and rich blend. Very seldom do we see a total of 71 theme squares on a weekday puzzle. With 36 blocks (4 cheaters/helpers), 74 words, and an averages length of 5.11, this is technically very close to a Thursday puzzle.
Difficulty seems about right for a Wednesday, though. I chunked through in 14:43. I had a feeling we were due for one of Dan's, but didn't recognize this as his style. The cluing seems a bit straightforward, not the normal Devious Dan Delights. But this is a superb puzzle: the theme is tight and coherent, and the long down fill is exquisite.
Across :
1. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte : RAE. By me. I never watched. I think she's the one in the middle.
4. Swiftly : APACE. Fast enough to walk abreast - so to keep pace.
9. Just __: minimal amount : A DAB. This was a slow fill for me. Could be A TAD, or A BIT, without the perps.
13. Dual-purpose room shape : ELL. Kitchen and dining room, perhaps. But for kitchen and bathroom, I'd say, "ELL no!"
14. Raptor's gripper : TALON. Frex, an eagle's claw, or this.
15. Academy freshman : PLEBE. Probably derived from PLEBIAN, the class of Roman common citizens of lower status than Patricians.
19. Mimi's "mine" : AMOI. Oh, my. Alliteration for a foreign word seems pretty standard, the French name clues the language.
20. Clown for the camera : MUG. Occasionally a kid will do this.
21. Pounce on : LEAP AT. Maybe you should look first.
25. Solar wind particle : ION.
26. "Alley __" : OOP. Ally OOP was a cartoon cave man. He gives me an eary feeling. Or it can be something quite uplifting.
27. Yale or Harvard : IVY. The Ivy League Schools, offering lots of tradition, and very expensive educations.
30. Form 1040 IDs : SSNS. Social Security Numbers. Somewhere out there is an identity thief who wants yours.
32. Hammer-wielding god : THOR. It seems to me I've blogged this god before. Then again, what the Valhalla do I know.
34. Gave the boot : AXED. In Valhalla, you get hammered.
38. Fruity pastry : TART. They can be interesting and quite appetizing. The first two pictures here give some hint as to the variety.
39. Community word : OURS
40. "Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you" speaker : YODA. From Star Wars the saga, a character sagacious he is; speak this way he does. More attention he should have in ESL class paid.
41. Go downhill fast? : SKI. Our cabin last week was on SKI View Drive at an elevation of 2900 feet, and the way up was SKI Mountain Road. I was concerned about going downhill fast, without SKIs.
42. Course taught bilingually: Abbr. : ESL. English as a second language. Part of the cosswordese nouveau.
43. Dorothy Gale's state: Abbr. : KAN. Dorothy from Kansas, the reference from the Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." The mean elevation of Kansas is 2000 feet. Toledo is 615.
51. Card carrier : MEMBER. Some organizations have membership cards so you can prove you belong. I am a card carrying MEMBER of the flat-landers.
53. Sound from a wowed crowd : OOH. Or from the view on Ski View Drive. The parking lot of Ober Gatlinburg was 400 feet below us.
54. Do in : SLAY
58. Shrewd : CAGEY
59. Helmsley dubbed "Queen of Mean" : LEONA. She is the hotel owner who opined that, "taxes are for little people." Riis would have had a thing or two to say to her.
60. "__ lost!" : GET. My response to Leona.
61. Specks in la mer : ILES. Islands in French. Or in the stream, perhaps.
62. Op-ed piece, e.g. : ESSAY.
63. Timeline divs. : YRS. Years. Abbrv in cl & ans.
Down:
1. Postgame summary : RECAP.
2. Crockett's last stand : ALAMO. Not our Crockett. Davey from Tennessee. The Alamo was the site of a 13 day siege and final assault that left all but two of the defenders dead. You can learn more about it here.
3. Be rude in a crowd : ELBOW. I needed perp help for this one. A rude person can use his elbows as weapons or pry bars to get ahead of the little people.
4. Enjoyed a blue plate special : ATE. I enjoyed some ice cream with a couple granddaughters this evening.
5. Pellet gobbler of old games : PACMAN. You can play here.
6. For all to hear : ALOUD. Are we allowed to say ALOUD ALOUD?
7. Line dance : CONGA. Let Gloria show you how.
8. Ltr. holder : ENV. Envelope. Anoth. Abrv.
9. Rite site : ALTAR. A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act or process. The altar is a designated place or structure for such religious activities. It also echoes "ALTER," a much too subtle hint at the theme.
10. Threw overboard : DEEP SIXED. Maybe one of our sailors can fill us in on this colorful phrase.
11. __ Kadabra: foe of the Flash : ABRA. No idea, but it was an easy guess.
12. Blue ribbon-worthy : BEST. First prize at the county fair is often a blue ribbon.
15. Before surgery, briefly : PRE-OP. People get so nervous here, they take drugs to calm down.
17. What to do after making your metaphorical bed : LIE IN IT. No sympathy here. Deal with the consequences of your actions. Nice combination, though.
18. Corrida combatant : EL TORO. The bull in the bullfighting ring. Alas, poor bull - you never win.
23. Parks in '50s news : ROSA. ROSA Parks refused to give her seat on the bus to a white man, and this caused a national ruckus. In my life time. Wow.
24. Vanishing sounds : POOFS. Does a disappearing magic dragon go POOF or PUFF?
28. Designer Wang : VERA. Here is her style.
29. Gridiron gains: Abbr. : YDS. Yards. There are 100 between the opposite goal lines.
30. Overcharge, slangily : SOAK. Another colorful phrase. Anybody know where it came from?
31. Practice grid game : SCRIMMAGE. The NFL pre-season practice games are shown on TV. Better as fill, IMHO.
32. With sincerity : TRULY
33. Part of H.R.H. : HER. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS - the Queen. We aren't supposed to have any here. Except for LEONA, I guess.
34. Surrounded by : AMONGST. AMONGST and AMIDST sound so archaic.
35. Oft-numbered rtes. : STS. Streets, I guess. But STS are usually named, not numbered.
36. They aren't champs : LOSERS. And their RECAPS aren't much fun, either.
37. "You've Got Mail" co-star : RYAN. Meg RYAN. I wanted to fit in a first name, and that just wasn't working. Looks like her plastic surgery was no great success, either.
42. Bad guy : ENEMY. But I'm his ENEMY, too. Does that make me a bad guy?
43. Islands VIP : KAHUNA. Again, from Wikipedia: Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the Pukui & Elbert (1986) as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession."
45. Big Apple awards : OBIES. Annual Off Broadway awards bestowed by The Village Voice, and another part of crosswordese nouveau.
46. Cryptographers' creations : CODES. Software developers, too.
47. Orange-roofed eateries, for short : HOJOS. Howard Johnson's. Here is one of Howard's finest moments.
48. Poem of lament : ELEGY. Now is when we need Clear Ayes.
49. Not as easy to come by : RARER. Dan's puzzles are getting RARER.
50. Handicappers' methods: Abbr. : SYSTS. Systems. This relates to wagering on sports, I'll bet.
51. 13th-century date : MCCI. Roman 1201. My memories of that year are quite vague.
52. Airline to Tel Aviv : EL AL. And a frequent flyer in crosswords.
56. Pub pint : ALE
57. "Come to think of it ..." : SAY. And I say this was a fine solving and blogging experience.
Answer grid.
Here is a picture of the much vaunted Varsity Chili Dogs Dennis drove hundreds of miles for last week. Strange to have mustard over chili over hot dogs, isn't it? Here's another look.
Cheers!
JzB
97 comments:
Good morning Jazz, C.C. and gang - jeez, I blew through this one before I realized it was one of Dan's. It was a good puzzle, tightly done, but I still wonder what happened to those really, really clever, misleading puzzle clues that were so much a trademark of the late Mr. Naddor. I hope there's more of them in the pipeline.
Are Howard Johnson's still around? I haven't seen one in years. Back in the day, that was the place to go for ice cream; twenty-eight flavors, if I remember correctly.
Good job on the blog, Jazz, but I was expecting something different with your 'uplifting' link...
Today is Bad Poetry Day. Got a feeling this'll be a fun day.
Here's another old one:
Every Sunday night, two elderly couples go out to dinner. The men sit in front, the women in back of the car. Mort says to Harry, "Where should we go tonight?"
Harry says, "How about the place we went about a month ago? The Italian place with the great lasagna."
Mort says, "I don't remember it." Henry says, "The place with the veal." Mort says, "I don't remember . What's the name of the place?"
Henry can't remember. "A flower. Gimme a flower." "Tulip?" Mort says. "No, no. A different flower." "Magnolia?" "No, no. A basic flower." "Hmmm....Rose?"
"That's it!" Harry turns to the back seat. "Rose, what was the name of that restaurant?"
Good Morning, CC, JazzB, and all. This was a pretty easy Wednesday-level puzzle. When I saw it was a Dan Naddor puzzle, though, I expected more puns.
My biggest hangup was thinking A Minimal Amount was A Tad instead of A DAB. My answer made Dest the answer to Blue Ribbon Worthy. Hmm...
I wasn't familiar with ABRA Kadabra, but as JazzB noted, it was an easy guess (and it worked with my erroneous "A Tad" fill).
My favorite clue was Be Rude in a Crowd = ELBOW.
I haven't thought of HOJOs in ages. They used to be the best place to go for ice cream. They had a huge variety of flavors.
Since you brought up elevations, New Orleans is below sea level. The highest point in Louisiana, Driskill Mountain, is only 535 ft above sea level. A mountain, no less!
QOD: Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Good morning JazzB and all, a quick fill today, but like others I was expecting a different type of puzzle when I saw Dan’s name. All the same it was a fun fill and a good way to start the day. I did not get the theme until I came here, but the fills came quickly and with the perps easily. And, JazzB a great write up and corresponding links.
Jazz, like Dennis, I expected more from uplifting.
Many years ago I owned a Talon, it was very fast and had all wheel drive which I really liked living in PA in the winter.
Today is Habitat day for me so I will be off for the day.
Hope you all have a great Wednesday.
Jazz, Exceptional write-up and links.
Saw it was a Dan Naddor, anticipated the puns, which probably slowed me down a bit (Damn, that was A DAB, like the old Brylcreem ads said: "A little Dab will do ya!").
Caught on to the theme at POWER ADAPTORS.
Five good ones from Dan seemed about right.
Learned about a SOCIAL REFORMER, Riis, always a plus.
Howard Johnson's are plentyful around here, Motels & Restaurants.
I'm just glad that Queen of Mean, LEONA never had-at-em!
Hahtool, Driskill Mt. sounds pretty high to me.
Our highest point in Florida is up in the panhandle, something like 345 feet. (Yup, nose-bleed area, pack a lunch if you're going to scale HER!).
Now how I just put in ELEGY for "poem lament" is a mystery to me.
Also liked AMONGST, has a nice sound.
Any puzzle with Alley OOP is OK by me.
Now for that Bad Poetry entry:
There once was a guy with some Scotch ...
Cheers !!!
Hi gang -
There once was a guy with some Scotch
Who sipped at it out on his Ranch.
He got a new fifth as an unbirthday gift
And finished it off before lunch.
On the subject of Scotch and today's theme, I wrote this in a sleep-deprived altered mental state, whilst recovering from a nasty respiratory infection.
FIFTH DAY DOWN
For four straight days I've been flat on my back.
Prospects for tomorrow -- not too bright.
But first I have to face another night
Of nose-runs, insomnia, and cough attack.
Day two they put a needle in my hip,
Pumped in some paste, a substance that is not
The amber liquid I would call a shot:
That lovely Malt, imported in green glass.
When morning comes I'll rise to face tomorrow,
Without a Scottish gift to ease my sorrow,
And if some comely lass of nursely station
Approaches from behind with medication
I'll demurr, and if you get my drift,
If she insists, then I will plead the fifth.
-- Jan. 28, 1999, 11:00 pm
My neighbor's collie has no interest in Keats or Milton, but love my rhymes. I guess he only appreciates doggerel.
To Dennis's point, I missed an opportunity with "uplifting" and ABRA. Must have been more tired than I thought.
Cheers!
JzB, reveling in bad poetry day.
Good Morning all. Nice write-up, JzB. Agree with the commont about Dan's style.
Good Wednesday challenge, but it went well enough. No look-ups needed. The long theme fills were fun. SOCIAL REFORMERS was the last to fall; with some perp help. Liked SKI and ÎLES.
Have a great day.
I love, love, love Jazz's comments. What a talent.
I'll take up Tinbeni's challenge:
There once was a guy with some Scotch
As to behavior the drink would debauch
Intellectual and shrewd
Was the Scotch-drinking dude
Til, after too much, he'd think with his crotch.
Good Morning All, OK, OK, I give up. I can't stay away any longer. A Dan Naddor puzzle AND Bad Poetry Day is just too much of a draw. I'll try to find something suitable...an ELEGY maybe?
Did you think I had DEEP SIXED you? Not a chance. I have been ADAPTing, ADJUSTing and CHANGing, but I'll probably never REFORM.
I don't see any point in keeping those of you who are interested in my absence in the dark. (If you aren't interested....fair warning...just skip the rest of this post.)
I had additional cancer surgery a couple of weeks ago. According to my doctors, I am one of those unusual people who had two primary cancers going on at the same time. Lucky for me it was discovered and I had to have a cancerous section removed from my colon on August 3rd. Not fun, but I'm recovering well with a lovely ten inch scar to show for it. I will also have about six months of chemotherapy treatments starting in September.
But wait...there's more. I also have a bone lesion on my left hip, which is a metastasis from the previous breast cancer. I'm being treated for that too.
OK, now you know. I didn't say anything earlier because I didn't want my contributions to C.C.'s blog to deteriorate into a bunch of Clear Ayes medical bulletins and I don't want that to happen now either. I'm planning on being around for a long time and that could get very boring very quickly. If anything of any real interest happens, I'll let you in on it. Thanks to C.C. and others for being so understanding.
Great blogging as usual, Jazzbumpa. Now I'll go search my archives for a really bad poem.
Good Morning Jazz et al.
Jazz, I loved your write-up. I love to chuckle first thing in the morning. It just seems to make the day go better.
Is this Wednesday? Is this a Dan Naddor? Did I miss Tuesday? How could I do one of Dan's puzzles in less than 15 minutes? But what a beautiful one, and a nice clean theme.
Jazz, just a note on 35A "Oft Numbered" clue for "STS". Streets have a lot of house numbers on them. Routes (such as Rt. 1 along the east coast) is numbered only one time, even though it is thousands of miles long. So I loved his clue for this simple three letter fill.
And I thought of a different KAHUNA for 43D “Islands VIP”
I agree about everything so far--a wonderful Naddor, nice Wednesday level, and Jazz did a great job of blogging to go with it.
I got the theme pretty fast, and the whole thing just fell into place. Not my normal expectation for Dan.
Clear Ayes,
So nice to see you back again. But I'm very sorry to hear what you're going through. Hang in there!
There once was a prude from Nantucket
Whose tongue was so long she could cluck it.
When Dennis got naughty
She got very haughty
Saying, “Let’s all take his post and chuck it.”
Clear Ayes
Godspeed on a quick recovery.
The 'C' is a blitch.
You're a nice lady.
I hope you'll change this into "Good Poetry Day."
Anon 8:11
You ruined my entry.
"There once was a guy with some scotch ...
Cheers !!!"
That's the poem, the whole poem and nothing but the poem.
Geez, when I'm sippin' I ain't writtin'.
Clear Ayes,
Welcome back! You can tell that you were missed for sure. Good to see you back in such great form. Best wishes for your recovery, and prayers for your tough road ahead.
Clear Ayes, absolutely wonderful to see you back! And if anyone has the mental toughness to handle what's been thrown at them, I've no doubt that's you. Lots of positive thoughts are being added to your own.
John Lampkin, regarding your poetry -- you're a great photographer.
CA: Wonderful to see you back! (and your front, too! :) Your positive attitude is wonderful to behold!
Good morning, Jazz, CC and all. Great writeup, Jazz. I, too, thought there would be more clever puns when I saw Dan Naddor below the puzzle. Perhaps he hadn't goteen around to a final rework of the clues.
The puzzle solved easily with just a couple of misleads. I liked the crossing of 'deepsixed' and 'axed'.
In keeping with where the puzzle is published, the theme words and the propensity of the constructors to use an "a" leadin to common words, I've changed today's theme to "The Times, they are achanging".
Bad poetry day? Hmmmm, I may be back later.
Good Morning All!
Very nice write-up today on a low stress, fun puzzle! I "congaed" with Gloria in spirit if not in body! Thanks for all the clever links!
APACE and ALOUD are at least A words that are common.
ALLEY OOP brought to mind this Top 40 song of my misspent youth Alley Oop. It ranks right up there with Witch Doctor
POWER ADAPTOR was an issue for us in Siena Italy. We lost our 110 -> 220 adaptor and had to explain this to the lovely man in a small appliance store. I pointed to the wall plug and made some motions and we all had a nice laugh and I got a better adaptor for 5 Euros than my Wal Mart special.
The PAC MAN in the puzzle was better than the one that plays pro football now (hopefully he has come around)
Well I'm off for some pasture pool.
By the way, I heard "There once was a man from Nantucket" MUCH differently!
Welcome back, Clear Ayes. You have been missed. Sorry to hear of your health woes. Know that your blog friends are all routing for you. If there is anything I can do for you, drop me a line.
We look forward to reading your poetry selections.
Although offered booze by the kettle,
For not just any drink woud he settle.
A Scotch was default,
A fine single malt,
Would put him into a fine fettle.
JzB: Very nice blog and wonderful linkups... I enjoyed the blog as much as the puzzle itself. I guess, some of Dan's puzzles were easier than others...
A nitpick ... most power adaptors not only change the voltage, but also 'convert' the AC mains to a DC current ... and that also allows us to recharge our rechargeable batteries... as in our laptops. The 'super-smart' SONY converters/adaptors can take 'any' input 110 V/210 V/220 V... 50 cps/60 cps ... and automatically 'sense' it, and 'send out' the desired output.
QOD: ( I think ... ) When bulls fight, a bull does not win ... people do. When people fight, a person does not win ... lawyers do.
( original author unknown).
Good morning all,
Nice and easy is how I would discribe today's puzzle,,tho I put ELY for 27a ..wich made 10d DEEP SEXED..and I sat there thinking how the heck could that mean "threw overboard" it should be more like under water love affair..oh well..
Clear Ayes..I am confident your strong will and mind will prevail,my prayers and good wishes for you and your family..
Here is my stab at poetry..funny thing about this is the fact I wrote it almost exactly a year ago..8/19/09 @ 5:15am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dawn Moments...!
I groggily awoke , and a small pot of coffee i brew
I sat outside , and watched how the day slowly grew
it was dark at first , and the grass is wet with dew
then dawn approached,, dressed in dark grayish hue
and little by little,, it changed to silver and a hint of blue
the moon lit the sky, smirking like a secret. only he knew
the feathery creatures sang,, and from tree to tree they flew
between the clouds,, the sun awoke and teased its way through
and the colors around me changed to something,, altogether new
now i can see purple, red, yellow, orange and lots of blue
I felt very serene, and a smile on my face widely grew
and I thanked God , for the beautiful picture for us he drew
Now, i hate to think of this as "bad poetry " since i thought i did pretty well for a non educated foreighner.
hope you all have a good day.
"Mid-nineteenth century Michigan poetess Julia A. Moore gained national attention and a wide popular following because of her inept and dreadful verse. Reviewers calling it "a mile post in the history of bad poetry," were moved to exclaim "we know nothing like it in ancient or modern literature and on the whole we are not sorry," and declared "Shakespeare could he read it, would glad that he was dead"."
"Although her poems sometimes honored people, places and events, most often they dealt with tragic and untimely death. They were always horribly sentimental. One reviewer commenting on Moore's maudlin and overly emotional verse thought that "to meet such steady and unremitting demands on the tear ducts a person should instead be equipped with a water main." The following is an example of one of her ELEGIES. Enjoy...if you can.
Carrie Monro
Once there was a lady fair,
With black eyes and curly hair,
She has left this world of care,
Sweet Carrie Monro.
Now those friends miss Carrie here,
For she was loved both far and near,
She has left them all in tears,
Sweet Carrie Monro.
Carrie's age was twenty-three,
A married lady, too, was she --
A mournful parting had to be,
From Carrie Monro.
It's just before her spirit fled
Her husband stood by her bed;
"Prove faithful, birdie, to me," said
Sweet Carrie Monro.
Sad will memory pass o'er
That loved form that is no more --
She's waiting on the other shore,
Loved Carrie Monro.
Sweet Carrie Monro,
Dear Carrie Monro,
And her friends will not forget
Sweet Carrie Monro.
Heart -
Yeah, I thought about house numbers while working the puzzle, then forgot about them while blogging. Mind like a steel sieve.
I should have linked the Alley OOP song, but Gary took care of that. Thanx!
C.A. -
I'm so glad I summoned you. You are a vary brave lady, and your positive attitude is an inspiration. Welcome back. I know you will pull through in great form.
I thought I was a bad poet, but you guys are making me feel humble.
My poetry isn't quite up
To the standards of a collie pup.
With my mind in a fog - er ... I'll write canine doggerel,
Then rest up with Lilly von Schtupp.
Cheers!
JzB who does expect a nap sometime soon
I agree with everyone on this type of Dan Naddor’s puzzle, mainly because I finished it unaided. Only problem I really had was I had no idea who Jacob Riis was but the perps gave me social and part of reformers so I made a WAG. I thought “den boxes”- cable converters was very clever. Does anyone have a den anymore? I immediately thought of brylcream for “dab”….a little dab will do ya. My dad used brylcream if you remember from the wedding photo that was posted. Deep sixed refers to a fathom being six feet deep. Vera Wang designs beautiful wedding and bridal attire. All in all a fun puzzle.
What made my day however was hearing from you Clearayes. The blog hasn’t been the same without you. You are a trouper, and one of my heros!!
Dennis, nice wieners.
My bad poem:
I spend my day catering to the King
Buying whoppers and fries and fish
But when he’s not looking
You can find me cooking
Up all kinds of zucchini dishes
Hey, it’s bad poem day, isn’t it?
Good morning all,
Jazz, your write -ups and links are artistic! Thanks for the fun-now, to your pun{while under the gun}; shall we say,less kinks,
its euphuistic!
Oops..
Have a good day everyone.
Hi gang-
I loved this puzzle and was so glad it was a Wednesday because I could never solve a Friday-Saturday Naddor puzzle. As others have mentioned, this one didn't have all the misleading clues but it was fun.
HoJo's: must be an east coast thing, I thought of cupcakes or Howard Johnson hotels. Not ice cream stores.
Great write up Jazz! Enjoyed all the links.
CA: So great to hear from you again!!
We all missed your wit and insight, and of course, your poetry offerings.
Your wonderful attitude will carry you far.
There lives a pretty, young Chinese Missy,
Whose blog on the xwords is xquissy,
To her, we applaud,
At 10 Giga baud*,
With a yes-yes ... and a oui-oui ... and a si-si
*Baud, after Emile Baudot, early telegraph pioneer, is pulses-per-second, a unit of speed of transmission, as on the internet.
'Si' means 'yes' in Spanish and in Hokkien (Chinese).
Clear Ayes: My prayers are with you. Keep the faith. God Bless.
Bad poetry is like a pun
sometimes it's sort of fun
as you hear people groan
over words that you hone
you hope that they aint' brought a gun!
CA. I love your attitude..it is the attitude of a winner. My prayers are with you and yours. I have enjoyed following you for a while and am so glad you are back on the blog.
Yes, I do believe its the worst poem,I've ever read, however, your introduction is magnificent! Bravo!
Thanks for sharing.
Clear Ayes,
I am a cancer survivor myself, and know how difficult it is to go through all the surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. You sound like a very brave woman, and I admire your strength and positive outlook. You go, girl!
Now for my bad poem:
There was a young man from the hicks,
Who was addicted to cancer sticks,
He’d hack and he’d cough,
Till he blew his socks off,
And now he’s sailing the Styx.
Jazzbumpa, C.C., et al,
Pretty straightforward crossword solving today.
Jazzbumpa-Great write-up and links. I especially liked the MUG! And yes, Charlotte Rae is the older lady in the middle of that picture. She was the "house mother" for the girls on the show. PACMAN always reminds me of my late grandmother - she loved to go to the arcade and play Ms. Pacman. Love Gloria Estaphan-such a strong woman.
Dennis-thanks for the laugh of the day-cute joke.
ClearAyes-glad to see you back. Sending prayers and good thoughts your way. That is a lot to deal with all at once, but I hear you are a strong person and if anyone can handle it, you can.
To all the wannabe poets and poetry sharers-that was some good bad poetry. Is that an oxymoron? Reminds me of the jewelry making contest for the ugliest piece. Do the people who enter really want to win?
Now for my quick medical moment: I had my second ultrasound and the little bean is doing fine. S/he even "jumped" for us. Doc says keep doing what I am doing because it is working. I asked if I could at least go to Mass on Sunday and he said yes, if I say a prayer for him. I told him to consider it done! So I am still on house arrest, but with a yard pass now and then. Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes.
HeartRx.. am not trying to spoil your "bad poem" debut.
am just not sure about the timing or the subject of it. considering...
Clear Ayes, so good to hear from you. I most sincerely wish you the best.
I deleted a post in the mistaken belief that you were going to have radiation treatment. Fortunately I went back and checked. It's chemo, with which I do not have first-hand experience.
I do believe that you have the strength of character and heart to successfully go through the next part of your journey.
Beyond bad!
There once was a blog birthed by CC.
It caused many a "haha" and "heehee."
Though we often bump heads,
(Usually, when we`re off meds...)
At days end, we usually straighten it out.
Spring has sprung.
Fall has fell.
Where I live
Is hotter than it`s ever been!
Wow, the poems have certainly lived up (down?) to expectations. HeartRx, yours made me laugh out loud.
Good morning JzB and all
AND...woohoo, welcome back CA!OOH,
we all really really missed you.Your sense of humor is amazing. On "Bad Poetry Day", you arrive giving us another perfect...but bad, poem.LOL!
JzB, another spectacular and fun write up.Loved the snapshot of the Smoky Mts..never been there.Loved Gloria's conga clip.Kenny Rogers remake was worse than Meg's me thinks.Good catch on altar/alter
This is the 4th Dan Naddor puzzle that I have been able to solve without help.The unknowns came easily with perps, and I did need them for the theme answers.Loved having axed crossing deep sixed.
Favorites: elbow and Pacman
Maniac, loved your bird story yesterday.
Buckeye,a truism @ 6:34...even though I am learning more and more every day, a dab about everything, I know I know nothing.
anon @ 8:11-kudos!
HeartRx..best one yet..this is exactly what CA would want on this blog
@Camille,
I certainly did not want to offend anyone with my "bad" poem. Not only am I a cancer survivor, but I have lost two sisters to lung cancer, and my mother to breast cancer. Through all our tribulations, each of us knew how important a sense of humor was to keep us going. We often made up silly puns or jokes about cancer, just to shrug off a bad day. So I hope that my "bad" poem is taken only in the way it was meant, simply to put some silly humor into a bad situation.
Great puzzle, Duck!
You're beautiful, Clear Ayes.
Not so pretty-
You wouldn't want SOCIAL REFORMERS to be FORMER CIA LOSERS.
GROAN, YE MENSCH, if thou joins the MONEY CHANGERS! It's an ANGRY SCHEME... NO?
It's poetic that CABLE CONVERTERS
becomes C.C. VERSE, NOBLE ART.
Do you remember the line from the Elvis song, "KAHUNA"?
" A HUNKA, A HUNKA burnin' love"
Afternoon Jazz, CC and all you poets, (Wow on some)
I echo other folks thoughts on it saying it was a Naddor grid but feel some pizazz was missing. Still a fun solve and unlike me to finish with lead.
CA, So glad you are back! Positive thoughts! Keep us posted.
Jazz, Great write up as usual.
Dennis, Mustard on a chili dog?
HeartRx, your "bad" poem was fine as far as I'm concerned. You're right about having a sense of humor about cancer. Can't hurt (except that first day after surgery...OUCH!!) and laughing certainly helps.
Camille, I appreciate your concern, but I wasn't offended in the least.
Sallie, I had radiation treatments the first go through. I know what you meant.
Thanks to everyone for the nice welcome back.
C.A. Seems we have spent this summer keeping the medical profession in fancy clothes and cars. (Also, not over-riding c.c.'s blog with menial details of our afflictions.) I know you will do well - it's in the genes.
My bad poem.
We should face all our hardships with hope;
Using pills and humor and dope.
So when the "anons" come writing,
All caustic and smiting.
Just say, "Hey! Go piss up a rope!"
I must be off!
I forgot to mention that my new avatar is titled "self imposed prison 8-9 hrs aday". Kind of the opposite of "work release".
HeartRx.
didn't mean anything "bad"..my sister is going thru chemo and radiation as we speek cause of the cancer stick ...and thats exactly what she calls it...
it just hit closer to home thats all.
sorry about your losses.
Good afternoon Jazz, CC, et al.,
'OOH', a Dan Naddor! Perfect Weds in my book. Great job, Jazz, on everything. You really do have the knack. Thoroughly enjoyed your efforts.
CA: So good to see you back. You remain in my thoughts and prayers. You have been 'thor'ly mithed. Your 'elegy' is perfect!
Jeannie: you make me laugh so hard.
Dennis: like Jeannie said, great weiners but also great buns. Looks like they are getting man-handled.
Vidwan said:
The 'super-smart' SONY converters/adaptors can take 'any' input ... and automatically 'sense' it, and 'send out' the desired output.
I can do that too. Love that job description!!
Varsity Hot Dog Family BAAAD POEM:
There once was a small hot dog lad
Who tried not to be like his dad,
Not chili'd nor cheese'd
He did as he pleased
Buns and all, he was plainly had.
Vettedoe: good news! Keep it up!
Morning everyone! This is a very SPECIAL DAY, bad poems or not! Clearayes is back! CA, you can't imagine how much you've been missed. I'm with Jeannie, you are an inspiration! Which is why
you've garnered this great support group out here in space! Has there ever been a closer bunch than all of us who are apread all over the country? All of us are pulling for you together!
Since the constructor is never named in our daily paper, I finished this almost as if it was a Mon/Tue puzzle. What a surprise when I found it was a Dan Naddor! Very straightforward clues for the most part. I liked it a lot. I liked your writeup even more, Jazzbumpa. You're good!
Yea yea yea, we heard from CA.
Okay, that is about as poetic as I get. But we are so excited to have her back, and I was very concerned about her health. Still am, but looking forward to its improvement. You had a tough road already forged, and more to come. Hang in there girl, and please do not leave us hanging for so long again.
Nice puzzle today, although I agree is was a little less Naddor-like than usual. Especially as I didn't have any problems with filling everything in, but for the occasional misstep corrected (A TAD vs. A DAB - the latter being much more fun).
So many of these fills hit me right on today. We had to buy power adaptors for my sons dorm rooms (well surge protectors I guess but I liken them to the same thing), and the claims adjuster was just out to my house a few weeks ago. Hmmmm.
We are mired in Brett Favre news around here, and the boys are disappointed as the Thome walk off homer was minimized for Brett. What a game the Twins put on last night and we had the good fortune to be there watching. We have been having lots of fun moments with our kids the last few weeks before take off.
Have a great day all.
Mainiac, yeah, I know, but it works.
Buckeye, you are indeed a pisser.
Lois, I wondered, when I read Vidwan's comment on converters, if you'd pick on that. You never disappoint. And I loved the poem. Matter of fact, I've loved all the poems; this is an amazingly talented group.
@ Clear Ayes,
Thank you for understanding my sense of humor. I would have been truly distressed if you had been offended.
@Camille,
I am so sorry to hear about your sister. Believe me, I know what it is like to be helpless when it comes to someone you love. But I would like to share this little gem from my own sister when she was going through her courageous (and humor-filled) battle:
She had to have a tumor removed from her upper right arm, and they removed a short section of the bone as well, piecing it back together with surgical pins.
A few weeks later (yes, I said "Weeks" - she had amazing strength and stamina), we were out playing golf, and she hit a rather pretty shot. After some self congratulations and a bit of boasting, she turned to me and said "Ya know, I think that cancer surgery cleared up my slice!!" God Bless her, and all those out there whose lives have been touched by this frightening disease!
bad poem part II
HeartRx mentioned cancer stick
and I went on to nit pick
Clear Ayes was ok with it
and now I feel like a prick .
At least 300 calories in one chili dog.
Here's my shot. Please laugh Aloud!
After leaving us for a brief respite
Our girl CA has made our day
Returning with her
Typical zest for life
The timing is perfect
On bad poem day
For this group
is always ready to go
No matter what direction
Just to play
Puzzles are on the main menu
Difficulty, constructors, Pangrams, etc
We still often dabble
Into other venue
Whether topics are difficult
Or even delirious
Some are much more hospitable
And CC asks “Please stay away from the political
As well as the religious”
With everyone contributing stuff Just for fun and laughter
Sharing bits of lives
No cares or worries hereafter
Right now, personally
My mind is on a chili dog
Man I’m hungry
Oh yeah!
This is one hell of a freakin Blog!
Happy Hump Day
Hello everybody. Gosh, what a great morning! A terrific puzzle, terrific blogging, terrific links, terrific (terrifying?) bad poems, and terrific participants!
There once was a man from McGann
Whose limericks just would not scan.
He thought it just fine
To end the last line
Quite suddenly.
Best wishes to you all.
Dan Naddor has set the bar so high that anything less than wicked cleverness seems A DAB disappointing. But I'm OK with a merely mildly amusing Dan Naddor puzzle.
Which makes me think of counting our blessings. And you, Clearayes, my dear, are definitely one of this blog's most cherished blessings. I admire your modesty in wanting to spare us your medical journey, but please know that you serve a greater good by sharing how one classy lady faces her life challenges with poise, dignity and a raging good attitude. You inspire me.
At least 300 calories in one chili dog.
Yes, thank you, Doctor. And I ate probably a dozen or more during the week. Great, huh?
Mainiac, great poem.
JimmyB, boy, that's well said. My compliments.
Good Morning ( er, midday )Jeannie, Thanks for another avatar with your glowing personality showing. In these times,being a work prisoner is far more preferred than being on a 'released from work'.
That very same man from McGann,
Whose limericks would not scan,
Sitting under the sun
Sometimes would have fun
Cramming absolutely as many words into the last line as he possibly can.
Thank you, JD @ 12:09 for the kudos. Didn't mean to ruin Tinbeni's poem -- thought it was an invitation to compose some bad poetry with his suggested 1st line. Apparently not so, but that would be a fun way to start a bad poetry day.
Fun blog! Anon @ 8:11
There once was a mozzie from Ozzie
who, when reading bad poems, felt nauzzie.
(Sorry :)
Clear Ayes, I wish you all the strength and good humor you need to get through this. And what better source is there for both than this blog?
My favorite entry today was: 24D Vanishing sounds: POOFS!
Dennis, those chili dogs look much more appealing than they sounded – I’m glad you posted them.
Nice new avatar, Jeannie!
I'm enjoying everyone's creative efforts!
There once was a man named McNamiter/With a tool of prodigious diameter/But it wasn't the size/Gave the girls their surprise/Twas his rhythm, iambic pentameter
CA, I, too, have missed you. Welcome back. My cancer survivor is my sister. she had a sarcoma that is supposedly 100% fatal if it spread. 6 years, 3 surgeries and half a colon later she has been declared a miracle. She credits most of the recovery to a positive attitude. She, and you, are heroes to me.
Deep six first referred to burial at sea. The legal requirement for dumping a weighted corpse is 6 fathoms of water. I'm not sure why they picked 6. (Or who 'they' are.)
To my friends from LA and FLA, Fresno is 300 ft, but my cabin is at 7200 and I'm looking up at the peaks. Do stop by, Y'all.
There was a young lady from the sticks
who love the term deep six.
When told it meant the sea,
She replied, "Deary me,
I thought they were talking about...
maya angelou, look out!
Just realized that I forgot to comment on the puzzle. At first glance, I thought there was nothing that I knew. Then I got Talon and everything just flowed. The only actual problem I had is I put in Social REPORTER for 35A. Hey, it works with pooPH.
I really wanted to participate in the Bad Poetry fun. Alas, after many attempts, I find that I'm incapable of writing poetry that isn't astonishingly moving and beautiful.
Jerome, it's a curse, huh? My problem is that my poetry would be so God-awful bad, that some might actually think it's good in an avant-garde kinda way.
Yeah, Dennis, just like the stuff the Beat Poets wrote.
Alas for the days of bad poetry:
The kind that was written to the beat
Of a bongo by the beat -
The be-bop beat Generation.
Alas for goatees and berets:
Worn by the unwashed unshorn -
A burr or even a thorn
For a past generation.
Alas - we spared them the rod
Said an old-timer sot
And now just look what we got:
The damned beat generation.
Alas for Ginsberg, who gave us
The post world-war growl
With the shriek and the HOWL
From his beat imagination.
Cheers!
JzB
Little Mary took her skates
Upon the ice to frisk,
Wasn't she a little fool,
Her little *
anon @4:27, brilliant.
Hey Jazz, "Howl" wasn't too shabby. At least Ginsburg and the Beats weren't smarmy academics. However, nobody, but nobody (and this will piss some people off) wrote more god-awful poetry than Rod McKuen. "Listen to the Warm". Even the title makes you want to pummel him to death.
CA: How nice to see your smiling countenance once more. Glad you are amongst us again. Sorry to hear about your travails, but I hope your treatments will be successful. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers
Anon @4:27pm - Cool!
There once were some poets ablog
Who felt they could hold us agog
With output enthralled
Which really appalled
So "DEEP SIX" was wrote in the log.
Hi everyone,
This was an interesting puzzle-I got most of it before coming to the blog.
KQ I saw where Favre was doing his regular thing again. He'll probably be un-retiring forever. The first year after he left the Packers I missed him but now he's just another quarterback.
I feel for you CA. This past year both my son and husband have been fighting cancer. My son had surgery last fall and had a colostomy for several months, had both chemo and radiaton. He's doing OK now but they may have found some recurance a couple weeks ago.He'll find out for sure soon. My husband had prostate Ca and had rediation. He's doing fine but still gets very tired.
Have a good evening all!
Marge
Stop it, stop it, stop it!! You guys are slaying me with your poetry!
Clear Ayes, I don't know you well because I'm a newbie here, but your strength of character *will* get you through this ordeal.
JazzB, your write-up and links had me laughing! Exceptional!
ESL: At the public library where I worked part time, we had an ESOL program. I learned there is a difference between ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and ESL (English as a Second Language).
The Alamo: Someone recently posted a photo. Sorry, I can't remember who took the motorcycle trip through there.
JazzBumpa's link to HandicappersTips.com: I'll bet no one here bought their $197 deal.
Jacob Riis: Did anyone else think he looked like Cliff Claven of "Cheers" fame (aka John Ratzenberger)? "You know, it's a little known fact..." Doesn't that apply to crossword puzzles.
Good day, all!
Hello All--I was half finished with the puzzle when I realized it was from Dan Naddor. I was able to finish entirely without a single lookup, something I can't say about every one of his CW's.
I liked the Poof answer for Vanishing sounds. I like to say that word!
I did yesterday's puzzle while waiting for people to come to the polls to vote. It went too fast and I was left without something to do, except read children's books to while away the time. (We had our polling place in a school library).
While hanging our American Flag at the polling place, I thought about you C.C. and your recent first vote as a citizen. We had one first time voter yesterday, and it was fun to see her excitement.
CA, It is so good to see your smiling face and read your daily poem again. You are in my thoughts.
Veetedoe, Keep up the good work, and know that we are all keeping you in our thoughts, as well.
Dennis, speaking of codes we are certainly enjoying the "Rubicon" episodes.
A deep mystery so far.
Sorry Vettedoe, I misspelled your name. My apologies.
I also florgot to tell you Jazz thanks for the many links to puzzle answers. You did a great job of blogging today's puzzle.
Dennis, nothing but salads and no desserts for you for a week. Those hot dogs looked lethal!
Just a heads-up -- it seems some posts are disappearing again, and it's another blitch, not something any of us are doing. Hopefully it gets fixed quickly.
Chickie: We have been watching Rubicon also. It is an intriguing. We are also hooked on Mad Men.
Clear Ayes: good to "see" you.
K.Q.: don't worry...Thome is getting his due. we all heard he has 12, twelve, XII, career walk-off homeruns!
my poem?
there once was a man from Ohio
who couldn't write poetry
to all the Rubicon fans:
did you notice the t-shirt on the unexplained computer geek(appeared briefly in the first two episodes)...it read "Callahan Auto Parts Sandusky, Ohio".
that is a reference to Tommy Boy.
his second t-shirt read "NIN" which is reference to **Explicit Lyrics**nine inch nails
are these just fun references or do they have plot implications?
Finished in 18 minutes with no errors. Medium difficulty puzzle.
My first introduction to Charlotte Rae was as Sylvia, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauzer (Al Lewis), on "Car 54 Where Are You?" She never failed to break me up in that role with her overdramatic hamming.
Somehow, I doubt the pioneer muckraker Jacob Riis ("How the Other Half Lives") would have appreciated so much as sharing the same puzzle with Leona Helmsley.
When I was out visiting my parents, I used the word remiss. I still haven't been able to work in afresh. And what in hell is ecash anyway?? When I shop online I always use credit. Not ecredit, VISA credit.
I was out visiting my parents because my older sister has stopped fighting to put them into a home and accepted that they will die in their own beds. So she arranged for a Hospice to come out and evaluate my mom. Mom's doctor was willing to certify that she is terminal, so they will be able to work with her. Not much that they can add to her care. She was an RN and has always resisted meds, so as she was complaining of pain in front of the evaluating nurse, she was emphatically refusing even Tylenol. At least they'll look in on her and things will be in place when needed.
Well drat:
My poem for CA has gone the way of the disappearing post. My best to you and your recovery; if you need anything, I be here.
The town in Florida is Britton Hill, which really is in Alabama. Some surveyor must have gotten drunk; anyway I find the STATE ELEVATIONS very interesting. I also want to include a link for the surviving HOJOS .
John L and Jerome, you are both priceless.
Thank you anon for your nice post on my avatar. I am now sorry I titled it the way I did as I am very thankful for my job, and enjoy it most of the time. I too, know many that are without a job. Shame on me.
My other bad poem of the day:
The winds in Savannah were heavy,
On the balcony Dennis was steady,
As the winds grew strong, the wife put on a thong, and decided to add a new teddy; and in the end, all was ready.
Clearayes, welcome back to the insanity, knowledge, and commaraderie. I for one have missed you very much.
Buckeye, you get my vote for the best bad poem......is that the worst?
Clear Ayes,
Great to see you back!
Anonymous/Luxor,
You are just a heartless animal, a stupid talking horse.
Frenchie,
Your 4:27pm post safely reached my mailbox. I don't know why it's lost in the Comments section. Possibly because of the length. Try to break it down into several parts next time, OK?
Good Day C.C., Argyle and folk,
"just a bit of bagatelle," today:
Tues. from creature:
"'Atremble' is a stretch; 'Aquiver' is what came to mind;
'Afresh' was a stretch;'anew' is what came to min;
'Asea' was a stretch;'at sea' is what came to mind."
Today:
@ creature, @Spitzboov, @Tinbeni...do you ever feel like they're just yanking your chain?
4a apace
9a adab...'a little dab'll do ya...Brylcream.
19a amoi Does it still count if it's in French?
15a plebe/Academy freshman.
Is plebe just used in military academy?
I, erroneously, thought the second word in each case referred to televisions and their accoutrements:
16. cable converters cable box
22a power adapters those cords and connectors my son fools with when we get some new thing to improve our TV watching experience. The most recent being the change to blue ray.
35a social reformers sounded like technical jargon for something reformer, transformer...informer...TV keeps us informed, doesn't it? Or is that deform?
44a moneychangers remote control, of course! When my daughter was about 4, she got the hang of using the remote control for the TV. She would be watching TV. My husband would have the remote and he would change the channel. She knew something was wrong. She'd look around. Then he'd put her channel back on. After a short time of this she would ask for the 'remoter' to hold herself. Her word was a mix of remote and controller which we obviously called it at the time.or maybe she thought controller was her dad's name, I've been known to say that to him on occasion!
55a claims adjusters this one was a gimme, we needed to adjust color, tone, vertical, etc. It was actually our first TV/remote control and a treat for the 4 of us. The year was 1990! We still have it in one of the bedrooms. Prior to that, We had a very small, 12", BW portable TV. my mother had given it to my sister and me when we were in high school...It was a 'Sony, No Baloney' ( their very old advertisement tag line.)
hmmm:
15d preop
24d poofs
26a oop
53a ooh
Your vacations sound so relaxing, I'm envious of the weather you describe, I hope health is high for all today.
@Buckeye. I love you! It makes my day when you comment! Do you date married women?
@Lemonade714, Haven't heard much from you lately. I know your sons visited. The picture is great! I hope to hear some of the tales from Aaron's job and if spending the summer in Italy really does feel like work. The 3 of you have probably walked over to the beach, probably lounging right now, with your toes in the beautiful white sand and watching some of those thong bikinis! Ride some of those waves for me,k?
@ Annette are you doing the same? Do the buff men still wear those shapely, skimpy Speedos?
If any of you are in my area, please stop by for a visit. You are welcome in my home anytime!
I'm out.
Jerome -
You're right, of course.
I'm not exactly sure how high in my cheek my tongue was tucked, but it was up there somewhere.
At least it's better than McKuen.
Cheers!
JzB the howling trombonist
I tried to come up with a ditty
To send to C.C.'s blog.
But I'm in such a fog
Cause you left me agog
With your rhymes, so show me some pity.
CA, so glad to hear from you & I wish you the best in the coming months. Isn't it astounding, how everyone has someone close to him who has or has had cancer? I was in my mid-teens when I first knew anyone who had cancer. Now its an epidemic.
Dot
Frenchie, most often it's the men who are NOT buff that wear the speedos...
The last time I was at the beach (the night we were supposed to get together!), I was eyeing a nice, buff surfer while he peeled off his wetsuit, rinsed off, dried off, and packed up the car. He happened to be parked right in front of me. I tried to look interested in the beautiful sunset.
When he couldn't find the key for his board, I was very happy to whip out my flashlight and help him search around the car...
On that note: Happy Dreams, Ladies!
Evening folk,
I am the casualty of a disappearing comment!!!
@Jazz, creative, inventive and just plain funny write up!
@CA, I'm glad you made an entry today, I didn't know where in the hell you had been!
I agree with a comment made that this puzzle may not have been given its final coat of shellac. I liked it and felt smart with my finish time! I liked most of the words.
Your vacations sound so relaxing, I'm envious of the weather you describe, I hope health is high for all today.
@Buckeye. I love you! It makes my day when you comment! Do you date married women?
@Lemonade714, Haven't heard much from you lately. I know your sons visited. Your avatar photo is great! I hope to hear some of the tales from Aaron's job and if spending the summer in Italy really does feel like work. The 3 of you have probably walked over to the beach, probably lounging right now, with your toes in the beautiful white sand checking out some of those thong bikinis! Ride some of those waves for me,k?
@ Annette are you doing the same? Do the buff men still wear those shapely, skimpy Speedos?
***********************************
In honor of 'Bad Poetry Day'
***********************************
I once went down to the shore
I noticed a Speedo clad god named Thor
He gestured to me with his hammer
At which time I started to stammer
We twisted and flailed
and spouted like whales
And it's there on that beach I got nailed!
If any of you are in my area, please stop by for a visit. You are welcome in my home anytime!
I'm out.
the one that got away...
Post it again.
Good Day C.C., Argyle and folk,
"just a bit of bagatelle," today:
Tues. from creature:
"'Atremble' is a stretch; 'Aquiver' is what came to mind;
'Afresh' was a stretch;'anew' is what came to min;
'Asea' was a stretch;'at sea' is what came to mind."
Today:
@ creature, @Spitzboov, @Tinbeni...do you ever feel like they're just yanking your chain?
4a apace
9a adab...'a little dab'll do ya...Brylcream.
19a amoi Does it still count if it's in French?
15a plebe/ academy freshman Is plebe just used in military academy?
I, erroneously, thought the second word in each case referred to televisions and their accoutrements:
16. cable converters cable box
22a power adapters those cords and connectors my son fools with when we get some new thing to improve our TV watching experience. The most recent being the change to blue ray.
35a social reformers sounded like technical jargon for something reformer, transformer...informer...TV keeps us informed, doesn't it? Or is that deform?
44a moneychangers remote control, of course! When my daughter was about 4, she got the hang of using the remote control for the TV. She would be watching TV. My husband would have the remote and he would change the channel. She knew something was wrong. She'd look around. Then he'd put her channel back on. After a short time of this she would ask for the 'remoter' to hold herself. Her word was a mix of remote and controller which we obviously called it at the time.or maybe she thought controller was her dad's name, I've been known to say that to him on occasion!
55a claims adjusters this one was a gimme, we needed to adjust color, tone, vertical, etc. It was actually our first TV/remote control and a treat for the 4 of us. The year was 1990! We still have it in one of the bedrooms. Prior to that, We had a very small, 12", BW portable TV. my mother had given it to my sister and me when we were in high school...It was a 'Sony, No Baloney' ( their very old advertisement tag line.)
hmmm:
15d preop
24d poofs
26a oop
53a ooh
Your vacations sound so relaxing, I'm envious of the weather you describe, I hope health is high for all today.
@Buckeye. I love you! It makes my day when you comment! Do you date married women?
@Lemonade714, Haven't heard much from you lately. I know your sons visited. The picture is great! I hope to hear some of the tales from Aaron's job and if spending the summer in Italy really does feel like work. The 3 of you have probably walked over to the beach, probably lounging right now, with your toes in the beautiful white sand and watching some of those thong bikinis! Ride some of those waves for me,k?
@ Annette are you doing the same? Do the buff men still wear those shapely, skimpy Speedos?
If any of you are in my area, please stop by for a visit. You are welcome in my home anytime!
I'm out.
Frenchie: Your posts are so disorganized and windy. You repeat too often.
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