Theme: ID THEFT (36A. Web danger, and a hint to this puzzle's theme) - ID is stolen from the first word of each two-word common phrase.
17A. Like a dialect coach? : ACCENT PRONE. The base phrase is Accident Prone.
53A. Answer from LL Cool J? : RAP RESPONSE. Rapid Response. LL Cool J is a rapper.
11D. Christmas? : PRESENTS DAY. Presidents Day. Wikipedia says it can also be Presidents' Day.
25D. Herbivorous reptiles? : FLORA GATORS. Florida Gators. Shout-out to Gator Mom, who pointed out my tent dress mistake last time.
Nice pinwheel grid design, with the central hub ID THEFT, which made its LA Times debut today. Great tie-in. We don't often see a unifier in letter(s) addition/deletion/substitution puzzles.
The constructor's black square blocks along the four edges (called fingers, as they look like fingers poking into the grids) and the central parallel ladder-style break-downs give us plenty of 3 & 5-letter words, hence an early week-ish low average word length.
Across:
1. What some sirens do : TEMPT. Knew immediately that "siren" refers to the vamp.
6. 1990s-2000s Irish leader Bertie : AHERN. Alien to me. The dude on the right.
11. Pres. counterparts : PMS (Prime Ministers)
14. It may be blank : STARE. Great clue.
15. Food processor setting : PUREE. Last E prevented me from thinking of BLEND.
16. Outback critter : ROO
19. End of an academic address : EDU
20. Periods : SPELLS
21. Amount-and-interval numbers : DOSES. Drew a blank.
23. Not connected : OFF LINE. Nice entry.
26. Reel art : CINEMA
27. Knack : TALENT
28. Whalebone : BALEEN. Stumped me again.
30. New York home of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute : TROY. Who knows?!
31. Three-time French Open champion : SELES (Monica). French Open '90, '91, and '92.
32. Its symbol is Sn : TIN. Immediately followed by its symmetrical partner EAR (35. Musical knack). Knack clue echo with 27A.
38. Murcia Mrs. : SRA. Have never heard of Murcia, a city in SE Spain.
39. Nutritional stat : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.
40. Like some panels : SOLAR
41. Genesis locale : EDEN
42. Key of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 : G MINOR. Got MINOR part quickly.
44. Where the Maine sank : HAVANA. "Remember the Maine! to Hell with Spain!". Everything I learn, I learn from Xword.
46. Expects : AWAITS
48. Consequences of an all-nighter : RED EYES
49. Obsess : EAT AT
50. Titania's consort : OBERON. No idea. The King of "A Midsummer's Night Dream".
52. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken.
58. Where Nina Totenberg reports : NPR. She's the legal affairs correspondent for NPR.
59. Inuit for "women's boat" : UMIAK. Kayak means "man's boat".
60. Gives some TLC to, with "in" : TUCKS
61. Doofus : ASS
62. They're heavier than foils : EPEES. Did not know foil is a fencing weapon as well.
63. Source of brown fur : STOAT
Down:
1. Airport safety org. : TSA
2. Last letters on some lists : ETC. Etc, etc...
3. Slicker : MAC. The "raincoat" meaning of slicker is new to me. I am eager to see what funny line Lois can make out of this answer.
4. Performer with five #1 hits in his first year on the Billboard charts : PRESLEY. When was that?
5. One at the edge of the gutter : TEN PIN. Bowling lane "gutter".
6. Record label launched in 1968 : APPLE. Unaware of this trivia.
7. Pitch : HURL. Man, Aroldis Chapman can sure pitch.
8. Lover of Psyche : EROS. Yep. I am aware of their affair.
9. Toon dog : REN. Ren and Stimpy.
10. Most impoverished : NEEDIEST
12. Cable __ : MODEM
13. "Semper Fidelis" composer : SOUSA. Sousa served in the Marine Corps. Do you all like "Full Metal Jacket?". I was just telling Dennis how cruel and humiliating the boot camp was.
18. It may pop up in a clearing : TENT. What "clearing"?
22. Vending machine insert : ONE
23. Fish-eating mammal : OTTER
24. Capacitance unit : FARAD. No idea. It's named after English physicist Michael Faraday. Dudley and Jayce shouldn't have any problem with this one.
26. Bass symbol : CLEF
28. Joy of "The View" : BEHAR
29. A or Ray : ALER. AL = American League. Oakland A's. Tempa Bay Rays. The rhyming clue does not do much for me.
31. City SE of Cherbourg : ST LO. See this map. What is Cherbourg famous for?
33. Papas of "Zorba the Greek" : IRENE. Nope. Another unknown. Greek actress.
34. Family matriarchs : NANAS
36. "For real?" : IS IT TRUE?
37. Oxford fellows : DONS. Like our professors, correct?
41. Become balanced : EVEN OUT
43. Athletes for Hope co-founder Hamm : MIA. Bill G had a close encounter with her.
44. Word on a towel : HERS
45. Embraces : ADOPTS
46. Cigna competitor : AETNA. Named for the volcano Etna.
47. Mud daubers, e.g. : WASPS. Not familiar with the mud dauber wasp.
48. Smells : REEKS
50. Boy with a fishing pole in a '60s sitcom title screen : OPIE. Stumper. I've never watched "The Andy Griffith Show".
51. Highlands hillside : BRAE
54. Rock concert fixture : AMP
55. U.S. Army E-6, e.g. : NCO. What other 3-letter answer could it be?
56. Jamaican genre : SKA
57. Phila. setting : EST. I am guessing the constructor is from Philadelphia.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Like a dialect coach? : ACCENT PRONE. The base phrase is Accident Prone.
53A. Answer from LL Cool J? : RAP RESPONSE. Rapid Response. LL Cool J is a rapper.
11D. Christmas? : PRESENTS DAY. Presidents Day. Wikipedia says it can also be Presidents' Day.
25D. Herbivorous reptiles? : FLORA GATORS. Florida Gators. Shout-out to Gator Mom, who pointed out my tent dress mistake last time.
Nice pinwheel grid design, with the central hub ID THEFT, which made its LA Times debut today. Great tie-in. We don't often see a unifier in letter(s) addition/deletion/substitution puzzles.
The constructor's black square blocks along the four edges (called fingers, as they look like fingers poking into the grids) and the central parallel ladder-style break-downs give us plenty of 3 & 5-letter words, hence an early week-ish low average word length.
Across:
1. What some sirens do : TEMPT. Knew immediately that "siren" refers to the vamp.
6. 1990s-2000s Irish leader Bertie : AHERN. Alien to me. The dude on the right.
11. Pres. counterparts : PMS (Prime Ministers)
14. It may be blank : STARE. Great clue.
15. Food processor setting : PUREE. Last E prevented me from thinking of BLEND.
16. Outback critter : ROO
19. End of an academic address : EDU
20. Periods : SPELLS
21. Amount-and-interval numbers : DOSES. Drew a blank.
23. Not connected : OFF LINE. Nice entry.
26. Reel art : CINEMA
27. Knack : TALENT
28. Whalebone : BALEEN. Stumped me again.
30. New York home of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute : TROY. Who knows?!
31. Three-time French Open champion : SELES (Monica). French Open '90, '91, and '92.
32. Its symbol is Sn : TIN. Immediately followed by its symmetrical partner EAR (35. Musical knack). Knack clue echo with 27A.
38. Murcia Mrs. : SRA. Have never heard of Murcia, a city in SE Spain.
39. Nutritional stat : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.
40. Like some panels : SOLAR
41. Genesis locale : EDEN
42. Key of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 : G MINOR. Got MINOR part quickly.
44. Where the Maine sank : HAVANA. "Remember the Maine! to Hell with Spain!". Everything I learn, I learn from Xword.
46. Expects : AWAITS
48. Consequences of an all-nighter : RED EYES
49. Obsess : EAT AT
50. Titania's consort : OBERON. No idea. The King of "A Midsummer's Night Dream".
52. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken.
58. Where Nina Totenberg reports : NPR. She's the legal affairs correspondent for NPR.
59. Inuit for "women's boat" : UMIAK. Kayak means "man's boat".
60. Gives some TLC to, with "in" : TUCKS
61. Doofus : ASS
62. They're heavier than foils : EPEES. Did not know foil is a fencing weapon as well.
63. Source of brown fur : STOAT
Down:
1. Airport safety org. : TSA
2. Last letters on some lists : ETC. Etc, etc...
3. Slicker : MAC. The "raincoat" meaning of slicker is new to me. I am eager to see what funny line Lois can make out of this answer.
4. Performer with five #1 hits in his first year on the Billboard charts : PRESLEY. When was that?
5. One at the edge of the gutter : TEN PIN. Bowling lane "gutter".
6. Record label launched in 1968 : APPLE. Unaware of this trivia.
7. Pitch : HURL. Man, Aroldis Chapman can sure pitch.
8. Lover of Psyche : EROS. Yep. I am aware of their affair.
9. Toon dog : REN. Ren and Stimpy.
10. Most impoverished : NEEDIEST
12. Cable __ : MODEM
13. "Semper Fidelis" composer : SOUSA. Sousa served in the Marine Corps. Do you all like "Full Metal Jacket?". I was just telling Dennis how cruel and humiliating the boot camp was.
18. It may pop up in a clearing : TENT. What "clearing"?
22. Vending machine insert : ONE
23. Fish-eating mammal : OTTER
24. Capacitance unit : FARAD. No idea. It's named after English physicist Michael Faraday. Dudley and Jayce shouldn't have any problem with this one.
26. Bass symbol : CLEF
28. Joy of "The View" : BEHAR
29. A or Ray : ALER. AL = American League. Oakland A's. Tempa Bay Rays. The rhyming clue does not do much for me.
31. City SE of Cherbourg : ST LO. See this map. What is Cherbourg famous for?
33. Papas of "Zorba the Greek" : IRENE. Nope. Another unknown. Greek actress.
34. Family matriarchs : NANAS
36. "For real?" : IS IT TRUE?
37. Oxford fellows : DONS. Like our professors, correct?
41. Become balanced : EVEN OUT
43. Athletes for Hope co-founder Hamm : MIA. Bill G had a close encounter with her.
44. Word on a towel : HERS
45. Embraces : ADOPTS
46. Cigna competitor : AETNA. Named for the volcano Etna.
47. Mud daubers, e.g. : WASPS. Not familiar with the mud dauber wasp.
48. Smells : REEKS
50. Boy with a fishing pole in a '60s sitcom title screen : OPIE. Stumper. I've never watched "The Andy Griffith Show".
51. Highlands hillside : BRAE
54. Rock concert fixture : AMP
55. U.S. Army E-6, e.g. : NCO. What other 3-letter answer could it be?
56. Jamaican genre : SKA
57. Phila. setting : EST. I am guessing the constructor is from Philadelphia.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Good morning, C.C. and gang - I thought this was another outstanding puzzle, with an ingenious theme. Didn't have any idea where the theme was going until I got the unifier, which was nicely positioned dead center.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that 'baleen' came to mind so quickly for 28A; not so for Bertie Ahern or Troy, NY. Cleverest clues for me were 'One at the edge of the gutter' and 'A or Ray'. Sousa was, of course, a gimme, and I guess it's a sign of the times that the answer to 'Vending machine insert' is now a dollar instead of a quarter.
C.C., Elvis had five #1 hits in 1956: 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You', 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Hound Dog', and 'Love Me Tender'.
Today is Skyscraper Day. For most, it's also the start of the long Labor Day weekend; any special plans?
And a few 'Did You Know's about the fairer sex:
- In 1950, only 7 percent of American women dyed their hair. Today 75 percent do.
- In 1960, only 3 percent of American lawyers were women. By 2009, the number was up over 35 percent.
- Fifty-seven percent of women would rather go on a shopping spree than have sex.
Good Morning, CC and all. I thought this was a tad easier than most Friday puzzles, but a good one all the same. After I got ID THEFT, I quickly realized what I was looking for in the theme clues.
ReplyDeleteI had a spot of trouble in the NW corner. I was thinking that this time sirens might mean "alarm", so initially wrote down Sound. Having recently flown, however, I knew that was wrong because TSA is the airport safety organization.
I also wanted Blank Slate instead of Blank STARE.
I am a big Mozart, so was glad for an opportunity to listen to his 40th Symphony in G MINOR.
We had EDU recently.
I am in that 35+% in the legal profession.
Have a safe Labor Day weekend, everyone.
QOD: I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what then want and then advise them to to it. ~ Harry Truman.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle with a great theme. Like Hahtool, getting IDTHEFT helped flush out the remaining theme answers for me.
The hardest spot for me was the NW corner. I had FAA instead of TSA, and that just hid a lot of stuff from view. I had ETC and MAC early on, but just couldn't see TENPIN, PRESLEY or TEMPT for the longest time. And then, once I finally realized that that FAA might not be right, I mistakenly put SLATE instead of STARE for 14A. That didn't help much...
The abbreviation for Staff sergeant (Army E-6) is SSG, it threw me for a loop.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning C.C. et al,
ReplyDeleteLike Hahtool and Barry G, I had filled in "Slate" instead of STARE in the NW. But then I got PRESLEY and realized the mistake. That helped me get the unifier early on, with ACCENT PRONE, so I knew I was looking for missing IDs. Great unifier, and a nice Friday puzzle.
Had to dig deep for SELES, BEHAR OBERON and TSO (wanted "Gao" there). And the name Nina Totenberg was familiar, but had no idea where I had heard it. Oh well, it is a Friday, so I'll just shrug it off.
C.C., wasn't Cherbourg the last stop of the Titanic before it sailed towards America on that fateful trip?
Have a great day everyone!
Good morning CC, et al., Excellent job, CC, and excellent Friday offering. Very clever and ingenious theme. I didn't get the theme - wasn't even close- even after the unifier - until I came here. It's amazing how dumb I can be...oops, that is soooo not politically correct, esp since I'm a blonde. Rephrased I guess I am a light haired detour off the information superhighway or maybe today I'm just cranially challenged. In either case, I lost this one, but enjoyed the experience esp that NW corner, Oh yeah, baby!
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at the cross of tempt, Mac, and acc(id)ent prone which is exactly what happens when one succumbs to temptation w/out wearing a 'special' Mac (raincoat). We have at least 3 of those...and happily so.
CC, thank you for the umiak and cayak explanation. Love that! We all have our own 'cayaks' and had no idea about gender. What a hoot this is going to be.
Enjoy your day.
Good morning C.C. and holiday week end celebrants; I was sure I had linked to the Rapier, Epee and Foil page before, but if not here it is.
ReplyDeleteIs this our first puzzle from Mr. Salvia? I have seen some NY Times work of his, I think. Anyway, this is a perfect example of what Jerome was saying about how the use of short words can be challenging and entertaining. I like him, as I got the theme immediately with ACC(ID)DENT.
So last night I was talking to my son who is in Buffalo, about my impending visit, and what we would do. I started talking about places in New York State I have been, which we could visit, and I mentioned I used to go to RPI for sporting events while in college, ad tried to remember what town it was in, thinking it was Schenectady. To make a short story too long, I looked it up, and it was Troy. Then, BAM, that was in the puzzle. As was another appearance of ASS, hmmm.
Record label launched in 1968 : APPLE, when the Beatles were on top of the world, and wanted more money, they did their own label, not common in the 60’s.
He squeezed in NANAS right after IRENE PAPAS, which I found also visually pleasing.
Enjoy all
Good Morning C.C. and all.
ReplyDeleteWow, some puzzle. First off, it contained two places I have lived, EDEN near Buffalo, and TROY, the home of my alma mater, RPI. Otherwise, a fun puzzle to solve, with an interesting theme which I only fully got near the end but it did help with ACCENTPRONE. UMIAK and AHERN were WAGs. TIN was a gimme. Liked the clues for STARE, EDU, SOLAR, and TENPIN. No searches needed.
I never heard of Murcia, either, but since Mme didn't work, and Frau was too long, it seemed to be SRA.
Enjoy the day.
Hello Puzzlers - Hand up for bogging down in the NW corner. Had to Goog AHERN, because I expected AHEARN. Had to cheat on the N in REN - I forgot.
ReplyDeleteAbout Farads: A lot of very smart people figured out some tough concepts in electricity and magnetism, (mainly) in the 1800's. Their peers and colleagues rightly honored them by naming units of measure after them. Many are familiar, such as Watts, Amperes, Volts, Ohms. Less familiar are units of magnetic strength (Teslas) and units of capacitance {Farads).
Now it happens that one Farad is a particularly large amount of capacitance. Typical capacitors, zillions of which are in electronic circuits, are small both physically and capacitively. They are measured in micro- or pico-Farads, very small indeed.
Some power circuits use really large capacitors in the 1 Farad range, and these are generally the size of a beer can. In engineering jargon these are called BFC's, or Big F___ing Capacitors. Really!
Knowing very little of what was needed today, I had to g several answers (AHERN, TROY, SELES, FARAD)to get it all out. I had STARE right from the start, but for some reason couldn't come up with TEMPT or PRESLEY until the very end. I had the unifier early but didn't make any sense of the theme answers until here. A lot of WAGS too.
ReplyDeleteIn Oz, people used to use the term "tuck in" referring to food, otherwise known as 'tucker', as in Waltzing Matilda's "tucker bag". And before a meal my dad would say: "2, 4, 6, 8, tuck in, don't wait."
Hi c.c. and all:
ReplyDeletec.c.: Thanks for the shout out. Love to see "The Gators" in a puzzle, awesome! Only reason I knew about the tent dresses was I owned a couple of them in the day! Also, had some empire waist dresses as well, probably still do.
I managed to get thru this puzzle without googling. Did not know Ahern, but got it thru the perps. And, since I got Flora Gators right away I knew "ID" would be missing in the answers so that really helped. I had mince instead of puree for awhile which messed me up, but finally changed that.
BarryG: I also had FAA at first!
Have a great day everyone!
C.C. -- Very Cute Blog - loved reading it ... I got 'IDTheft' - but had no idea on how it related.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you include name of our bloggers - ( invitation to blog ?) ... and 'pretend' you don't know something... so other bloggers can jump in with 'explanations ' ? ... all in all, very inclusive.
The puzzle , for a Friday, was surprisingly 'doable', ... little by little ... or I must be getting better... I had FAA instead of TSA - ( How could I forget ?) ... I had only heard of a 'blank check' ... but 'Apple' and 'Ahern' were gimmes.
'Doses' - amts and intervals - are medicinal doses - as in, one teaspoon t.i.d. - three times a day. I just finished 'preparing' a homemade (!!!) Gripe Water recipe ( -a gift ), for my friends grandchild ( newborn )- works fine, so far. Not popular or officially recommended in the USA, but popular in UK and eastern Asia.
Did you know the code 'Rx' as a prescription abbr....comes from the Greek astrological logo for Jupiter, "which was once placed on prescriptions to include the god's blessings, in the belief that it would help the patient recover"...(MedicineNet.com).
The logo, which I cant reproduce here, looks like the number 2, with the horinzontle bar elongated rightward, and a vertical slash, which makes it looks like the number 4... so its like a 2 & 4 combination.
Happy Friday all. It’s been a long week, and this is the first puzzle I attempted and wouldn’t you know I would pick a Friday. That being said, it wasn’t too bad. I did have to hit the G-spot for Bertie Ahern and got some red letter help with Troy, stoat, and Farad. Who knew a whale bone was a “baleen”? I didn’t but the perps took care of that one. It was funny to see PMS and periods in the puzzle. One a clue and one an answer. My “umiak” is Lolita, and I hope to get out there sometime this weekend. I may have to wear my “mac” though. My favorite clue was “one at the edge of the gutter” – ten pin; and immediately thought of our C.C.’s Boomer. Has he started his bowling season yet?
ReplyDeleteWell, everyone have an enjoyable weekend, and my friends in the NE, batten down the hatches.
Dennis, I am in the 43% bracket.
Here you go, C.C., tents in a forest clearing.
ReplyDeleteI was another victim of the NW corner, and as others had SLATE instead of STARE. Also had EPOCHS for periods instead of SPELLS and just couldn't give up on them.
I have read of whalebones - baleens ... being used in the Victorian era in England, to 'tie down' women's corsets, so it gave their waists the coveted 'hourglass' figure. Come to think of it, I think that was one of the major uses for the whalebone. I have always wondered why women have to /had to look so trim, slim and youthful, all the time, when men can 'age' gracefully as fat slobs.
ReplyDeleteRPI and BPI ( Brooklyn Polytechnic Inst.) were far more famous in 1900- 1980 as 'top' quality engineering schools. The word 'polytechnic' which indicates engineering, is somewhat misleading, in the sense, that in the UK and Europe,( and elsewhere, as in Asia ...) 'polytechnic's' are like community colleges and trade schools - not quite full fledged colleges.
Not so, for RPI and BPI ... which are 'top' quality, prestigious graduate schools.
A 'clearing' is a flat empty, generally level ground , in the middle of a forest, where a tent is likely to be pitched.
Dudley: I had studied, ( but was not too familiar with ), capacitances and Farads, as a part of an Elec. Engg, course, until about 10 years ago, when I got a client who exports, massive 'Capacs'... some as large as a 12 feet high and 8 feet in diameter. Mostly coils of sturdy reinforced cardboard paper covered with wax and varnish, and other insulation, laboriously wound around a central spool. They weigh about 3 or 4 tons. Mostly used in hydro and thermal power plants.
I am so blogged out.
C.C. said: What is Cherbourg famous for?
ReplyDeleteI would venture Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Greetings from 9 days away, CC and friends. ( a quote from a favorite children`s book about dinosaur best friends.)
ReplyDeleteHad to google Irish leader, Cigna competitor, and whalebone.Wasn`t baleen a source for corset stays @ one time? (vidwan827, a chance to extrapolate :)
I pay monthly for "protection' against id theft. The protection won`t stop it but it pays for legal fees, any charges I did not make and any other related expenses incurred.
About Jennie, not only has she lost a dear friend but her parent company is being sold or at the least, on the market. I hope Jeannie`s job situation if firm. Either or both of these could keep her off the blog for a while.
Favorite Elvis hit: "I can`t help falling in love with you."
Dudley and vidwan827: I enjoy the learning you fellows provide.
Dennis: On that 57% thingy...the onus for making the stats go the other way is mostly on the guys! IMO
Baleen obviously comes from the same root as the French word for whale: baleine.
ReplyDeleteWe have problems with mud daubers under the eaves of houses here. They tend to have more black on the body than regular wasps.
I remember Cherbourg in the film title: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but I can't remember much of what the film was about.
Oops, I guess I took too long with my post. sorry, Spitzboov!
ReplyDelete@Vidwan
ReplyDeleteClever pick-up on C.C.'s rhetorical questions. I think she just tries to "test" us to see if we are paying attention.
Also liked your alternate explanation for the Rx symbol in my avatar. I always assumed it was from the Latin word "recipe". If you scroll down about 1/3 of this page, you can see the symbol. You described it very accurately! Now I wonder how it is interpreted as “an eagle”?
But that's why I read this blog every day - to learn something new. Thanks!
That was a fun puzzle with a clever theme. Red letters steered me away from check instead of STARE. The cluing was appropriately tough and misleading for a Friday puzzle. I will probably pass, as usual, on tomorrow's themeless c/w. I still enjoy the blog though.
ReplyDeleteCC's questions about Cherbourg and a tent in a clearing have already been answered. But how did she remember about my close encounter with Mia Hamm? I was riding my bike on the Strand when I passed Mia Hamm going the other way taking her twins for a cruise in a double-wide stroller. (She and Nomar Garciaparra lived in Manhattan Beach while he was playing for the Dodgers.) I would have stopped and said hello but she was well passed when my brain finally registered who she was. I also saw Maria Sharapova practicing on a local public tennis court but I am not a fan of hers. I also saw Winona Ryder at a Dodgers game. She was walking down toward a much better seat than we had. I told my daughter, Bonnie, who was a big fan. She finally got up enough nerve to walk down and ask for a autograph. Winona said OK as long as Bonnie promised not to tell anybody else so she wouldn't get mobbed by fans.
Good day, C.C. and fellow bloggers.
ReplyDeleteHave to make this quick before my NANA duties begin. I shall have my granddaughter on Thursdays and Fridays now.
Very nice puzzle from Anthoony J. Salvia. I, too, have seen his name before but not sure if here or elsewhere.
TENPIN, one at the edge of the gutter, was really clever and gave me the most pause, but then, Aha!
All the answers fell but with much thought in the process; I knew FA_RAD, couldn't recall exactly what it was; TROY was a guess and it fell in place.
SOLAR panels are all the rage here now, finally! The local power company is aiding schools to install them and eventually all schools will run on solar power.
I would guess that everyone knows a stoat and ermine are the same but in different seasons.
We are heading to San Diego for the weekend and hope to find some cooler temps. Hopefully the fashion police will not be roaming (from yesterday).
Please stay out of Earl's way, you on the East coast.
Has anyone seen A Midsummer Night's Dream with Michelle Pfieffer? That's how I recall OBERON. It's wonderfully done.
Hahtool:
Thank you for Mozart's symphony in G minor; I, too, am a fan.
Have a fabulous Friday and weekend. I'll "see" you Tuesday!
Full Metal Jacket was very exaggerated.
ReplyDeleteanon, how so?
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C.
ReplyDeleteHad a good time with this one, but it took 47 minutes. STARE was first fill and PRESLEY was next. BALEEN was a given, although I spelled it "balean" for some reason. AETNA was a given because I have Aetna and DH has Cigna. HAVANA was also a given. Had to google for SELES and UMIAK. I'm familiar with mud dauber wasps; we had a lot of them in Oklahoma.
Several others were unknowns but with WAGS, SWAGS, and Perps, it all came out at the end.
I was "sort of" watching "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" once, not paying a lot of attention to it until the girl suddenly sang out "I'm Pregnant!" I thought it was funny because of the way she sang it. The movie was not worth the time, though, IMO.
We got stuck in a restaurant last night because a wild wind and rain storm came through. We didn't mind because it was a convivial atmosphere and companions. When we finally got back to the house, the ground wasn't even wet. Apparently it just skirted the west side of town. Our pine trees need the rain; they are dropping needles all over the yard.
So, I'm picturing this family camping... in a clearing. Dad gives the kids a little TLC before they go to sleep at night. Does that make dad a Forest Tucker?
ReplyDelete@Jerome, I give that pun an "F", but you're a trooper for trying.
ReplyDeleteLucina, I'm sure you will enjoy San Diego. We are about two hours north and it's been an unusually cool summer. Today is still in the 60s and may not get to 70. However, tomorrow it is supposed to get to 85. I hope not.
ReplyDeleteAt the very top of Horton Plaza, an outdoor shopping mall, is a very nice restaurant. I'm not sure of the name (maybe Napa Valley Grill?) but it's at the very top level at the far end of the mall.
Hi everybody. Just a few notes I jotted down. I'll write more coherently later.
ReplyDeleteTIN EAR = lack of knack. haha
True, I had no trouble with FARAD; got it right away.
Isn't Cherbourg famous for umbrellas? LOL (There was a 1964 movie called The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.)
WASPS, awesome fill!
Good Morning All, Yay Lois...Unifier...schmunifer. I still didn't get it until I came here. I thought this puzzle wasn't too difficult to get, even though the theme eluded me right up to (and even past) the end. Inserting "ID" into the answers just didn't occur to me..Maybe that does make it difficult. Ya think??
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of them, but the names came very easily. PRESLEY, AHERN, SOUSA, BEHAR, SELES, IRENE, MIA, OBERON and the ever popular OPIE were all gimmees.
I did not know FARAD (that dratted scientific stuff again!) and UMIAK was iffy, even thought I figured it had to end with IAK. 63A started out as SABLE, but the perps finally convinced me otherwise.
Dye my hair? OK Dennis, where are you hiding the camera in my bathroom. Not that I care who knows. After the past year, I am happy to have hair to dye!
Hahtool, "advise them to to it"...maybe "advise them not to do it"? That always worked for me.
Spitzboov & Kazie, gorgeous Catherine Deneuve, striking sets and memorable music, one of the first modern opera movies, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is a favorite.
BTW, GAH and I did see "The American" yesterday and I was correct in my skepticism of our friends' opinion. We liked it a lot. They said "boring and slow", we said "tense and measured". The trailers make it look like an action/adventure thriller, but it is a character study (even though there is enough murder and mayhem for most viewers). All things considered, George Clooney is buff and gorgeous and is in just about every scene. That would give it an "A", even if I didn't like the plot.
Hot..hot..hot...it was 102 yesterday and will be close to the same today. No respite until after the weekend. Phew!
Hi all.
ReplyDeleteMozart's 40th symphony is sublime, his most beautiful, I think. The first time I ever heard it, when I was a wee tad, played on my dad's old 78 RPM record player, I fell in love with it.
It was when I filled in PRESENTS DAY that I got the theme, which is really cool. That led me to getting the other theme answers more easily than I otherwise would have. I still can't see a connection between "coach" in the clue and PRONE in the answer, though. I wanted something like PROF.
Some of my faves: blank STARE, gutter TENPIN, disconnected OFFLINE (happens to me altogether too often!), real art CINEMA, and bass CLEF. Gimmes include FARAD, IRENE, SOUSA, HAVANA, AETNA, and SELES.
Next time you ever listen to Heartbreak Hotel, pay special attention to the magnificent piano playing during the bluesiest parts. Presley sure had some excellent backup musicians!
Jeannie, I hope your job at BK is secure.
Lucina, good to know solar panels are gaining in popularity there. It makes a lot of sense.
Skyscraper Day? Wow.
C.C. "Everything I learn, I learn from Xword." You're so cute!
Best wishes to you all.
"Forest Tucker"? *groan!* LOL
ReplyDeletekazie, in my family we used to say "tuck it away" or something like that to mean eat. Maybe it's an English (British) thing, too.
Yes, Al, to be an F Trooper one does need FORTitude and COURAGE
ReplyDeleteJayce, Arbaon, all others. I work for a food distributor that BK has contracted to deliver their groceries. BK will still need to get their whoppers and fries no matter who owns them. It's my understanding that a latin company bought them and are going to try to expand the market more overseas. Thanks for your concern though. What thoughtful people we have here on this blog.
ReplyDeleteClear Ayes: that is what makes the quote so funny. Your kids won't do what you tell them so reverse psychology ... Of course, Truman only had one child - Margaret.
ReplyDeleteHahtool, oops, misread that it was what you want, rather than what they want, and then advise them against it. "to to" makes sense now.
ReplyDeleteI warned you I was rather dull this morning. Beside the "thinking" movie, we started our chorus practice last night. My brain is crammed full of holiday songs I've never heard of. I don't read music either, so it always takes several weeks of practice before it starts to sink in.
Clear Ayes, do you sing the soprano or alto part in the chorus?
ReplyDelete@Jerome, if you try to keep that up, you'll wind up with Agarn your face...
ReplyDeleteBest trivia from the show: The Hekawi tribe supposedly derived their name from an incident in which the tribe became lost, exclaiming "Where the heck are we?", which then became "We're the Hekawi". The original scripted name for the tribe, 'Fugawi', was changed after the censors discovered the sentence "Where the Fugawi?
I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteDo not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
Morning, All
ReplyDeleteLMAO, Lois, at your p.c. self-portrait! With school days looming, I hope you won't lose your sense of humor! Couldn't happen, surely!
Clearayes, I recently watched "Umbrellas" again, just for the sheer pleasure of looking at DeNeuve and hearing that wonderful music! I'd forgotten how long ago that was filmed. She was just a girl, and soooo beautiful. I never knew she had a liaison with Mastroanni which resulted in a child, son, I think. I imagine any child of those two must be something to feast the eyes on!
This was another great puzzle! I had FAA right off and FLIRT for the across, but working back with the downs steared me away onto the right foot.Many gimmes in it, too: baleen, Seles, Aetna, Eros, Sousa....the only real hangup was FLORAGATOR, which even though I caught the theme with ACCENT PRONE, didn't occur to me that it was a theme fill. For one thing, I didn't know the key of Mozart's 40th, I'm ashamed to say, since I'm also a Mozart lover. So I ended up with FLORAEATER. Somone hand me the V8 can!
I wanted SABLE, too and hung on for a while until finally STOAT hit me and solved those three-letter nasties that I needed the perps for!
I wonder if BALEEN is the only part of a whale's bones that's used? I think of it as long slender strips, like teeth in a comb. That would be way too small for scrimshaw, woudn't it? More trivia to investigate!
Lois, at your p.c. self-portrait! With school days looming, I hope you won't lose your sense of humor!
ReplyDeletedodo, to the contrary, I think the school experiences only further her sense of humor.
Jayce, yes, the 40th is great. I like the Hafner, is it the 28th?.something like that. In fact, did he in his short life write anything that wasn't beautiful?
ReplyDeleteID THEFT. Great idea. Excellent execution.
ReplyDeleteFLORA GATORS, my favorite theme entry.
Creating funny phrases by pulling ID from a common word is no easy task. It's more difficult than your normal drop a letter(s) theme.
My contribution (and not close to as good as Anthony's) is... Seedy Lincoln dealership? CONTINENTAL DIVE. Yours?
Bill G:
ReplyDeleteThank you. I know I shall enjoy San Diego! Even 80 is 25 degrees less than here. Yowza!
Dodo:
I'm proud to say I, too, am a Mozart aficionado. I love his music! And, alas, he died too young. But what a legacy he left.
Have fun, everyone. I shall miss you! I'm off.
Who says corporations don't have a sense of humor? There is a Toronto-based company (Northport Systems, I think) that offers a range of products related to GPS navigation. Their product name is - wait for it - Fugawi! Appropriate, don't you think?
ReplyDeletewww.fugawi.com if interested.
About BALEEN: A former employer chose to decorate the company offices with accumulated native treasures from B.C. and Alaska. Among those was a single baleen plate from a baleen whale (or so I was told; makes sense). It was about 8 feet long and shaped like the blade of a slightly curved sword. At the thickest, it was an inch or two, and the greatest width was perhaps 8 inches. The hairs were still in place at the trailing edge, I'm told those filtered plankton. I don't know how big a baleen whale is but that one piece suggested a truly massive mammal.
Incidentally, another of the treasures was a full-size totem pole custom made for the owner by a Haida woodcarver in B.C. We had a special place built in the atrium to erect it. Its height was around 20 feet. It was a condition of the carver's commission that he and some fellow Haida be on hand to hold a traditional ceremony at its raising. The ceremony included a ritual tossing of eagle down, which is illegal to possess in Canada except for certain tribes.
Clear Ayes: Our chorus finishes its "Vaudeville" show next weekend at which time we will start practicing Christmas songs. At least the smaller group I belong to does more updated Christmas songs such as "Pavane for a Silent Night" and a couple of Kerby Shaw arrangements which are truly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou'll be fine and will probably learn to read music along the way.
Doreen
There is a wonderful example of BALEEN at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire. There is an interesting exhibit documenting the short life of a humpback whale. Some of her baleen can be seen in the first few slide under Tofu.
ReplyDeleteAfternoon all -
ReplyDeleteI just got back from a "restful" 4 days in the mountains. My BIL and I were planning to re-pipe the drains. They tended to run very slow, especially in the winter. My BIL discovered early on that the line was almost plugged. The line went from 4 inch down to 3 inch and the bottle neck caused the line to fill with... He started to dig out the line because we had to replace it all. After a short time, I heard, "*!$&$@##*, I just found the septic tank! I looked over and saw him waist deep in the ground. So from a simple job of redirecting a few pipes, it became a rush down the hill for supplies and a complete replacement of the sewer system. The original system was a 3X3 redwood tank. Fortunately for him, by the way, the ground is so porous that the tank was almost empty.
Oh, hand up for FAA. In fact TSA was the last fill. It's been at least 10 years since I've flown anywhere.
There are 2 kinds of whales: Baleen and toothed. The toothed are like the Sperm whale, hunters. The baleen whales are filter feeders. The baleen are special bones in their throat. After the whale gathers a mouthful of water, it uses it's tongue to force the water through the baleen. This traps the small creatures like krill that they feed on and expels the water.
Dodo, most scrimshaw was done on the teeth of the sperm whale or on walrus tusks. Most bone came later after whaling restrictions made the teeth hard to come by.
Dennis, the lake by contract must be kept full from June to Labor Day. Southern Cal Edison will start dropping it Tuesday. So my plans for this weekend, after going to Berkeley to watch Cal beat up on an over-matched UC Davis, are to return to the lake to pull the boat for the season. Guess it's time to pray for snow.
Hello All--A great Friday puzzle. I managed to get the ID theft clue and after Presents day I knew that ID was missing from the other theme answers.
ReplyDeleteHowever, like Dodo, I put in FAA and Flirt so the NW corner was a problem right off. I also had put in Pulse for Puree and so the whole NW third of the puzzle was empty. I started off with PMS and got almost all the rest of the answers with lookups for the Maine/Havana clue.
With looking up Ahern, and Troy the NW section gradually began to fall.
I thought One at the edge of the gutter and It may be blank were two of the best clues today.
I'm so glad C.C. was able to clarify Aler for me. Even after I had it filled in it didn't make a bit of sense! Duh! Didn't we have Aler just a couple of days ago?
Hahtool, thank you for the Seacoast Science Center Baleen Whale slides. They were so interesting.
ReplyDeleteC.C. mentioned Knack being echoed in the clues. If gift had been used as the clue for talent that would have been avoided.
Kazie, I loved your Dad's before the meal rhyme.
Jayce, a person coaching (teaching) someone in a dialect would be prone to an accent.
Jayce and Doreen, I sing alto, although it seems like my range gets narrower every year. One of these days I'll only be able to chime in on one note. After 68 years and 4 years as a member of this choral group I rather doubt I'll learn to read music (other than understanding that the notes are either going up or down). Fortunately, being a great (good?) musician isn't a prerequisite for our chorus. All we need is love of singing and the guts to get up in front of an audience. We haven't been booed off the stage yet. Our director does challenge us though. The first song she assigned last night was In Dolci Jubilo in Latin....Yikes!
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle to start off the weekend! I wanted to say hello after almost a 1 year hiatus.Never fear though I am puzzling everyday with you-what would I do with out CC and all the gang's collective brilliance? Joan in Illnois
ReplyDeleteClearAyes: My singing range is shrinking, also. Once, I sang second soprano...my music teacher explained that, as we age and our estrogen levels decrease, our vocal chords thicken and we loose the higher notes first. That wasn`t something I wanted to hear...I don`t want to wind up a bass!
ReplyDeleteboomermomma, good to have you back with us.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you folks use google to solve.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone use ink?
Anyways, I liked the puzzle a lot today. I wonder. Maybe it's because I got it all right with no mistakes. In ink.
And the tenpin was quite clever.
Anon. at 10:11.
ReplyDeleteWell aren't you a clever person! Ink yet. Very impressive. I use whatever I need. Brain first. Then Google. Then red letters if necessary. Whatever it takes. A DNF is not an option.
So how are you at solving quadratic equations?
Anon@10:11, I think most of the "folks" here know that "anyways" is as ungrammatical as "anyhows". Apparently they know something you don't and they don't have to Google it either.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, denigrating the posters on this blog won't get you anything except deservedly mocked.
bill g and grammar teacher,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to offend.
I think using google is cheating. But whatever. I'm just surprised the hard core puzzlers would use it.
I suck at solving quadratic equations. It's been 30 years.
Anyways, my idea of puzzling is in ink. And no help.
A good day to all.
Good Afternoon C.C., Argyle and folk,
ReplyDeleteToday's puzzle is good. What an odd theme! Fun, though.
59a. interesting that Inuits have a word distinction between boats for males and females: (m) kayak, (f) umiak...Now I have a new bit of trivia to drop at parties with my kayaking friends.
62d. foil...not tin foil..(grin!)MY mil HAD ONCE SAID, "NOBODY CALLS IT TIN FOIL ANYMORE" AND IT MADE ME LAUGH AS MANY PEOPLE USED THAT OUTDATED NAME FOR ALUMINUM FOIL WHERE I COME FROM.
9d. Toon dog : REN. Ren and Stimpy. Don't you think my dog looks like Ren? TIA.
18. It may pop up in a clearing : TENT. What "clearing"? asked C.C./// bush removed makes a clear opening for a tent to be pitching.
34. Family matriarchs : NANAS Not in my fam.! We have mémère(s)in my family!
I thought Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson...Pres. fit.
@Arbaon, 10:46am , so what's your point? about men VS women. First the Inuits, then the shopping vs sex compliments of Dennis, now are you intimating that men own the responsibility to make themselves irresistible. I read Dennis' fun fact to Peter and he said I may fall into the shopping preference category. I said that's not fair! I would want to have sex either before or after 'cause I'd be so excited about what I was going to buy or what I had bought. A win-win situation.
In the sentiment of honoring American workers, this year many Americans are trying to get back to work. The latest jobless rate numbers show that unemployment went up .1 percent in August.
A happy and safe Labor Day from me to you as I wish positive energy for success to those in the employment hunt.
I'm out.
Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 war film surrounding the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, West Indies. A portion of the movie was filmed on the island itself.
ReplyDeleteArgyle,
ReplyDeleteWhy the Grenada comment on this one-week old post? Strangely, it went into Awaiting Moderation and needed to be rescued.