Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 32
Hallmark of Bob's Saturday themeless: three grid-spanners, all colloquial expressions:
17A. "Beats me" : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE
36A. Reservation opening : ON SECOND THOUGHT
52A. "And afterward?" : WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
He must have a notebook full of 15-letter common expressions. Besides the above three 15s, Bob also gives us 11 more multi-word entries.
D, R, S & T are probably the most frequently used English consonants in crossword grid. Today we have 27 Ts. T can start or end a word. Form consonant blend like TR, TW or ST. Very versatile, just like S, but much better looking. Too many plural S or third person singular S at the bottom/right edge can make a boring grid. Singular ASS, SOS, SAS, ASSESS is not much better.
Across:
1. "Get going!" : SNAP TO IT. I sure did not start well.
9. Bantam : PETITE. Always associate bantam with chicken, not person.
15. Consort of Gustav I : KATARINA. I did not even know who Gusatav I was. According to Wiki, he's the founder of modern Sweden.
16. Like many barber shops : UNISEX
19. Bulbs in the kitchen : LEEKS. Not light bulbs. ONIONS can be clued this way also.
20. Speed : ROCKET. Can you make a sentence for me to show how they are interchangeable?
21. Wins approval : SELLS
23. Fellow : GENT
24. Contraction of a sort : TIC. Muscular contraction. Twitch. Great clue.
25. Botanical opening : STOMA. Greek for "mouth". New to me.
27. "Oh, sure!" : I BET
31. Italian classic : O SOLE MIO. Classic what? Food? Car? Beauty? I sure needed "song" in the clue.
34. Many a Middle Easterner : SEMITE
38. Arrives at : GETS TO
39. Vaulter's target : CROSSBAR
40. Before, before : ERST
41. Cast : THREW
43. Gasteyer of "SNL" : ANA. Learned from doing crossword.
44. Main call : AHOY. Bounding main. Ocean.
45. Points at dinner : TINES. The fork points.
47. In the habit of : USED TO
50. Big fan : FIEND
56. Explosive solvent, as it was formerly called : TOLUOL. Sigh! Nope. Luckily the crossing ETUI (49D) has become a gimme, otherwise letter U can be a wild noun guess.
57. Some tiny rods and spheres : BACTERIA. Too sophisticated a clue for me.
58. Funny bit : SHTICK. Consonants rich.
59. Versatile auxiliary wind-catcher : STAY SAIL. Stumped me again.
Down:
1. Word with run or jump : SKI
2. "No way!" : NAH
3. Regardless of the consequences : AT ALL COSTS. Nice entry.
4. "Star Trek" character __ Chekov : PAVEL. Mystery answer for me. Have never watched "Star Trek".
5. Poem with the line "Who intimately lives with rain" : TREES
6. Pen emission : OINK. Nailed it. Pig pen. I've been thinking lately why Jayce says sometimes clever clues please him, sometimes annoy him. Clues such as OINK are lovely. A big "Aha" or "D'oh" when you get it. On the other hand, "Chinese bread" (normally question mark is not provided on Saturdays) for RENMINBI will irk many, simply because most solvers are not familiar with the currency. A clever clue will not help. But try to commit RENMINBI (literally "people's money") to your memory, it will come up in a puzzle some day.
7. Stats for QBs : INTS. Interceptions I suppose.
8. Touching game : TAG
9. Fake it : PUT ON A SHOW. Great answer too.
10. Pass : ENACT. As law.
11. Little sucker : TICK. Fun clue.
12. You usually can't walk to one : ISLE. Draw a blank.
13. Ger. : TEUT. OK, Teuton/Teutonic.
14. Computer filename ending : EXE
18. Utah County city : OREM. South of Salt Lake city.
21. Moe, for one : STOOGE. The other two are Curly & Larry.
22. "The Spirit" comics writer Will : EISNER. First encounter with this guy.
23. Emotionally therapeutic episode : GOOD CRY. Do you cry easily?
25. Convince using flattery : SMOOTH TALK. Beautiful phrase.
26. Badge material : TIN
27. "God's Other Son" radio host : IMUS (Don). Not familiar with the show.
28. Swing time? : BIG BAND ERA. Gorgeous clue/answer.
29. Flammable gas : ETHANE
30. Bright swimmers : TETRAS. Brightly colored fish.
32. "O, swear not by ... the fickle moon ... __ that thy love prove likewise variable": "Romeo and Juliet" : LEST. Man, Shakespeare gives me trouble all the time, esp his damned quotes, never know what the guy wanted to express.
33. Outside: Pref. : ECT. Or ecto. Opposite of "endo-".
35. Aurora's counterpart : EOS. Greek dawn goddess. Also learned from doing Xword.
37. Three abroad : TRE. In Italy. Uno, due, tre. Sometimes it's clued with a tricky "It's over due?".
42. Shooter's target : HOOP. Basketball.
44. Literally, "for this" : AD HOC
45. Petulant : TESTY
46. Laura of "ER" : INNES. Total stranger.
47. "That's not good!" : UH OH
48. Old man of the sea : SALT. Slang for "sailor", but why "old"? It's not used any more? Or just playing on Hemingway's book title?
49. Small tool case : ETUI
50. Great achievement : FEAT
51. Tambo Colorado builder : INCA. Was ignorant of Tambo Colorado. The Inca adobe complex in Peru.
52. Mg. and kg. : WTS (weights)
53. "Frontline" airer : PBS
54. Noon indicator : XII. Clock/watch. Got me.
55. Chess champion who succeeded Botvinnik : TAL (Mikhail). The Latvian chess champion. I don't know who Botvinnik is, but the three-letter chess guy is always TAL, meaning "rain", "dew".
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 32
Hallmark of Bob's Saturday themeless: three grid-spanners, all colloquial expressions:
17A. "Beats me" : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE
36A. Reservation opening : ON SECOND THOUGHT
52A. "And afterward?" : WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
He must have a notebook full of 15-letter common expressions. Besides the above three 15s, Bob also gives us 11 more multi-word entries.
D, R, S & T are probably the most frequently used English consonants in crossword grid. Today we have 27 Ts. T can start or end a word. Form consonant blend like TR, TW or ST. Very versatile, just like S, but much better looking. Too many plural S or third person singular S at the bottom/right edge can make a boring grid. Singular ASS, SOS, SAS, ASSESS is not much better.
Across:
1. "Get going!" : SNAP TO IT. I sure did not start well.
9. Bantam : PETITE. Always associate bantam with chicken, not person.
15. Consort of Gustav I : KATARINA. I did not even know who Gusatav I was. According to Wiki, he's the founder of modern Sweden.
16. Like many barber shops : UNISEX
19. Bulbs in the kitchen : LEEKS. Not light bulbs. ONIONS can be clued this way also.
20. Speed : ROCKET. Can you make a sentence for me to show how they are interchangeable?
21. Wins approval : SELLS
23. Fellow : GENT
24. Contraction of a sort : TIC. Muscular contraction. Twitch. Great clue.
25. Botanical opening : STOMA. Greek for "mouth". New to me.
27. "Oh, sure!" : I BET
31. Italian classic : O SOLE MIO. Classic what? Food? Car? Beauty? I sure needed "song" in the clue.
34. Many a Middle Easterner : SEMITE
38. Arrives at : GETS TO
39. Vaulter's target : CROSSBAR
40. Before, before : ERST
41. Cast : THREW
43. Gasteyer of "SNL" : ANA. Learned from doing crossword.
44. Main call : AHOY. Bounding main. Ocean.
45. Points at dinner : TINES. The fork points.
47. In the habit of : USED TO
50. Big fan : FIEND
56. Explosive solvent, as it was formerly called : TOLUOL. Sigh! Nope. Luckily the crossing ETUI (49D) has become a gimme, otherwise letter U can be a wild noun guess.
57. Some tiny rods and spheres : BACTERIA. Too sophisticated a clue for me.
58. Funny bit : SHTICK. Consonants rich.
59. Versatile auxiliary wind-catcher : STAY SAIL. Stumped me again.
Down:
1. Word with run or jump : SKI
2. "No way!" : NAH
3. Regardless of the consequences : AT ALL COSTS. Nice entry.
4. "Star Trek" character __ Chekov : PAVEL. Mystery answer for me. Have never watched "Star Trek".
5. Poem with the line "Who intimately lives with rain" : TREES
6. Pen emission : OINK. Nailed it. Pig pen. I've been thinking lately why Jayce says sometimes clever clues please him, sometimes annoy him. Clues such as OINK are lovely. A big "Aha" or "D'oh" when you get it. On the other hand, "Chinese bread" (normally question mark is not provided on Saturdays) for RENMINBI will irk many, simply because most solvers are not familiar with the currency. A clever clue will not help. But try to commit RENMINBI (literally "people's money") to your memory, it will come up in a puzzle some day.
7. Stats for QBs : INTS. Interceptions I suppose.
8. Touching game : TAG
9. Fake it : PUT ON A SHOW. Great answer too.
10. Pass : ENACT. As law.
11. Little sucker : TICK. Fun clue.
12. You usually can't walk to one : ISLE. Draw a blank.
13. Ger. : TEUT. OK, Teuton/Teutonic.
14. Computer filename ending : EXE
18. Utah County city : OREM. South of Salt Lake city.
21. Moe, for one : STOOGE. The other two are Curly & Larry.
22. "The Spirit" comics writer Will : EISNER. First encounter with this guy.
23. Emotionally therapeutic episode : GOOD CRY. Do you cry easily?
25. Convince using flattery : SMOOTH TALK. Beautiful phrase.
26. Badge material : TIN
27. "God's Other Son" radio host : IMUS (Don). Not familiar with the show.
28. Swing time? : BIG BAND ERA. Gorgeous clue/answer.
29. Flammable gas : ETHANE
30. Bright swimmers : TETRAS. Brightly colored fish.
32. "O, swear not by ... the fickle moon ... __ that thy love prove likewise variable": "Romeo and Juliet" : LEST. Man, Shakespeare gives me trouble all the time, esp his damned quotes, never know what the guy wanted to express.
33. Outside: Pref. : ECT. Or ecto. Opposite of "endo-".
35. Aurora's counterpart : EOS. Greek dawn goddess. Also learned from doing Xword.
37. Three abroad : TRE. In Italy. Uno, due, tre. Sometimes it's clued with a tricky "It's over due?".
42. Shooter's target : HOOP. Basketball.
44. Literally, "for this" : AD HOC
45. Petulant : TESTY
46. Laura of "ER" : INNES. Total stranger.
47. "That's not good!" : UH OH
48. Old man of the sea : SALT. Slang for "sailor", but why "old"? It's not used any more? Or just playing on Hemingway's book title?
49. Small tool case : ETUI
50. Great achievement : FEAT
51. Tambo Colorado builder : INCA. Was ignorant of Tambo Colorado. The Inca adobe complex in Peru.
52. Mg. and kg. : WTS (weights)
53. "Frontline" airer : PBS
54. Noon indicator : XII. Clock/watch. Got me.
55. Chess champion who succeeded Botvinnik : TAL (Mikhail). The Latvian chess champion. I don't know who Botvinnik is, but the three-letter chess guy is always TAL, meaning "rain", "dew".
Answer grid.
C.C.
47 comments:
Morning, all!
I've never heard of TOLUOL, KATARINA or STAYSAIL, and had no idea that the INCA built something called "Tambo Colorado," but everything else was pretty solid today. I was definitely on Mr. Wolfe's wavelength, since I got OINKS right off the bat and the long colloquial expressions were all pretty easy to get a well.
Can I just say, though, what an unnecessarily looooong clue for 32A? Sheeesh... ^_^
Nah, didn't like it. No sale. Things like using the the wrong tense for Cast(41A; THREW) meant I didn't ROCKET through this puzzle at all.
Misspell spinnaker with one 'N' and it fit 59A just like a staysail.
Two tic's but no tock.
The race car rocketed down the home stretch at Indianapolis.
The race car sped down the home stretch at Indianapolis.
I didn't get it either. Actually, I didn't get any of this puzzle. I hate Saturday puzzles.
Bruce
This is for Friday's puzzle by John Lamkin:
The "pair" in Au pair for 21 across is for the plural of Karats-Kts.
Howard
Good morning C.C. and all.
A real stinker today. Much Stürm u. Drang. But not rebarbative. Much back and forth but gradually got most of it. The 15 letter crosses were relatively easy with some perp help. Needed red letter help in the SE with INNES. Thought AHOY and TIC were clever. Many WAGS including KATARINA, TEUT, ETHANE, TRE, and AD HOC. The other hydrocarbon, TOLUOL, came easily from the perp hints as soon as ...UOL was uncovered.
STOMA are also openings in animals and artificial openings made in surgical procedures.
Enjoy the weekend.
Hi all~!
What broke it for me today was having the wrong "reservation" in mind - I thought it would be something like "one show tonight" like a ticket stub might say, but it left me the T, GHT in there for ON SECOND THOUGHT - and SASSY for TESTY, which gave me a foot hold with S, and Y at the bottom. I got in the zone with OINK, PAVEL, TINES and UH-OH, which helped.
While I admit it took an extra minute for me to find the wrong letter in my solution (the E in threw), the tense is correct as in the die was "cast" (although thrown would be a better synonym), Argyle.
Payday today, but breakfast first...
Splynter
Cast is one of those words that doesn't(or don't; which is it?) change the spelling to indicate tense. Is there a word for such words? I know I had several words for it!
Argyle - When ARE you going to change your avatar ? We want to see your pretty, sexy face again.
Argyle: Cast is one of those words that doesn't(or don't; which is it?)
"One" is the subject which is singular, ergo (good cw word) the verb would be singular= "doesn`t."
Ni hao C.C. Thanks for the write up. Your picture of the Renminbi brings back memories for me. My son lives in China, he teaches English at a university. I visited him last summer in Dalian, in the Li Aoning province. I have wonderful memories of my visit to China; walking on the Great Wall, the wonderful and spicy food, the people, the temples. I still have a 5 yuan. It is pink in color with a picture of two girls in profile. Very pretty.
"Anonymous" response re Friday's Au pair - I got the answer but was stuck on thinking of the "nanny' association of an au pair. Suddently I got it - Au is the chem symbol for gold. Duh!
Today's was a challenge with a number of clever clues. I did better than most Saturdays, but finally had to come to this site for snap to it (had no idea of Pavel). At first I put odor for the pen emission.
Have a great weekend y'all.
Re: Au pair - KTS
Barry G. said it yesterday: Who ever heard of a two karat gold ring? Turns out he was the closest to what Rich's orignal thought for the clue was.
This one took a little patience, but finished it OK in 44 minutes. Liked 6D (OINK) and 57A (BACTERIA), and I always appreciate a STOOGE reference, although I know not everyone would agree. Maybe my favorite Moe quote (delivered to Curly) in a film shot during WWII, "Every time you think, you weaken the nation!"
Au pair wearing a gold ring -
Maybe, the clue should have been -
A 2 ___ Gold ring; ( piece of junk ).
Toluol is another name for toluene, as in trinitrotoluene, otherwise known as TNT.
Good Morning All, My Swedish heritage kicked in and helped me with 15A KATARINA and get a foothold with the puzzle.
After that I didn't have much luck with the Across fill on my first pass, so I switched to the Downs. That was only marginally better and I spent a lot of time on my picket fences filling in one or two letters at a time.
I was happy with the 15 letter phrases and thought they were common enough that I could complete them with only about 50% of the letters. Wrong! I had WHAT HAPPENS THEN for 52A.
So the SE was where I had to call it quits and come here. 45A TINES totally escaped me, as did 57A BACTERIA. INNES, TAL and STAY SAIL were complete unknowns and the only thing I could think of for 54D "Noon indicator" was SUN.
As C.C. has been known to say, "Sigh".
I'm not going to post Joyce Kilmer's TREES today. It's been done several times before and I'm always reminded of The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest. On second thought, here is Miss Piggy's version of Trees.
Argyle, a teacher gave me a trick to remember "one of those..."
Of those words that don't change spelling, this is one. So "cast is one" -- correct -- and "that don't change" is now correct too.
Actually, I found this one fairly easy, except for -- strangely enough -- Teut. A German abbreviation for "German" is deut.
Hello Puzzlers -
I guess I'm easily impressed with grad-spanners! I enjoyed this puzzle, tricky though it was. It was hard to get a toehold anywhere to start - ANA was the first as I recall.
Nice to see Laura Innes! It's easy to suspect Scottish heritage in her case - she looks it. Lovely lady, I sez.
Speed vs. Rocket: "Just watch Dave over there! When that policeman's done with him, I bet he'll SPEED/ROCKET right outta there! O' course, Dave always was an idiot."
First long fill to fall was WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, which it did on just a few letters. I was glad to have it. Had to Goog EISNER - never knew he was a cartoonist. Reeeeally wanted EXO for ECT and changed it only when forced. I'm glad we learned earlier that SEMITEs are not just Jews (I'm still surprised at that).
C.C. - Now that you are a citizen, consider it your duty to watch both Star Trek and The Next Generation :-) . These Roddenberry creations are woven right into our landscape! When I was a school kid, I looked forward to Thursday nights when Star Trek was aired.
On a related note, I understand that Leonard Nimoy wishes to be remembered for something other than Spock. He has a permanent photographic exhibit on display at a prominent gallery in nearby Northampton. The gallery also has a big collection of Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) originals - fascinating stuff.
Happy Weekend!
Good Afternoon C.C. and all,
Great write-up, C.C.- thanks. Had same thought as you on rocket/speed . I don't believe that is a good clue. Oh well, I guess I would Like for someone to use those interchangeably in a sentence, that's all.
A different kind of puzzle for me. After a few[very few] fill-ins,name and place dogpile look-ups, then slowly crawling around; some perps to pondering punny, neat clues,to final perps. I had a past tense problem with 'throw' and 'uh uh' vs 'uh oh'.
I 've enjoyed myself; learned some things, and am now, pleasantly ready for a nap. Present tense!
My rating for this puzzle would be a 6 or 7.
Have a nice day everyone.
Good afternoon C.C. and all
I agree with you on 31A. classic what ? as soon as i had mio in there i knew but it would have been a lot easier if "song" was added to the clue .
Argyle @ 8:59 thanks for a good belly laugh because this puzzle was no fun.
Arrivederci
Hello C.C. and all you cw solvers,
Well, I am certainly enjoying my first day off full bed rest. I have been sitting on the couch reading the paper and doing the cw and sudoku puzzles all morning. And I actually got to sit at the table with my family for lunch. Small victories!
I definitely needed my books and Mr. G today, and still had trouble with the NW, but I was able to finally finish before coming here. I wanted step on it, so OINK and the poem wouldn't fall. I kept thinking onion/garlic for the kitchen bulbs and had a V8 moment when I realized it was LEEKS.
I had trouble with the middle grid-spanner b/c I refused to believe that exo was not correct for 33D. Once I realized THOUGHT was at the end of the spanner, I got the rest and that area finally filled in.
I watched many reruns of Star Trek with my Daddy, but I don't ever remember them mentioning Chekov's first name. Probably one of those things that was used only once or twice in the whole series.
"Oh, sure!" Just another example of how poorly sarcasm comes across in the written word. I had ICAN for the longest time there.
Hand up for O Sole Mio. Even after I got it, I didn't get it till I came here.
Favorites today: STOOGE, SMOOTHTALK, BIGBANDERA.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks. I shall definitely enjoy the ability to go to the kitchen to get my own glass of water or snack!
I am usually pretty lost on Saturday puzzles but this one was good for me since I am a Food Engineer ( think Chemical Engineer for food). There were enough "scientific" clues combined with getting the 3 long ones quickly helped me.
There are three main types of bacteria: coliforms, think e coli, bacillus, and coccus, anaerobic spore forming, think streptococcus which causes strep throat. Coliforms are round and bacillus are rod shaped under a microscope.
Argyle: One more tip on whether to use "doesn't: or "don't". Eliminate the negative portion of the word and your instinct should tell you which is correct.
Example: cast does -or- cast do
one does - or one do
That's what I used to teach my students. It was helpful to them. When I attempted the usual grammar lesson, their eyes would fog over.
Doreen
Hello everybody. Well, there were some annoying clues and some pleasing clues in this one. Mostly annoying, though.
Some entries could be looked up, such as PAVEL, KATARINA, INNES, IMUS, EISNER, "Tambo Colorado," and TAL. Once having filled those in (with much help from googoolala), I found it possible, barely, to fill in a little bit more, but not much. Too many clues that could mean anything.
STAYSAIL, ROCKET, and TOLUOL, for example were total WTFs.
TINES was pretty cute, but still unattainable to me except via the perps. I had _INES for quite a while before the T finally dawned on me.
This is one of those puzzles that only reveals its cleverness, and over-cleverness, in hindsight, only after having filled it.
I wanted SPINNAKER, of course, and I was going for something like BUCKYBALL just above it, even though I knew neither would fit. Even after I got B_C__ERIA I could get "bucky" out of my head. That's my problem, of course, not the puzzle's. Bit still, I feel there is no way anybody could fill in BACTERIA from the clue until after having first filled in some of the downs that cross it. I guess that's the name of the game, though.
UNISEX??? I wanted SALONS. PETITE??? I wanted WEIGHT. And I never considered LEEKS to be a bulb, like onions and garlic obviously are. Again, that's my fault for not seeing a leek really to be a different kind of onion.
Botton line: sigh! It was just too damn hard to be fun.
Best wishes to you all.
@Doreen, your examples make no sense.
Yep, I wanted TOLUENE and was unhappy that it was TOLUOL, but I accept it.
For the longest time I wanted something to do with SEX AND THE CITY for 36A. perhaps because I had EXT in for 33D. THE CITY finally gave way to THOUGHT, but I still was fixated on the SEX part, thinking (for too long) that ON SEX AND THOUGHT was the right answer. It sounded like the title of a thesis or book, and I liked it even though I couldn't see any connection with any of the several meanings of "reservation." Funny :)
O SOLE MIO came rather easily, but only after I got the O (from STOOGE) and the LE_M_. A classic indeed!
ROCKET makes me think of the skyrocketing over-use of the term "skyrocket" as a verb by the news media. What ever happened to "rose rapidly" or "increased greatly"? Easier to say, too. Try saying "skyrocketed" five times fast! LOL
Ah, our evolving language.
Very cool about the renminbi, C.C. You can believe I will now be able to nail it if it should ever appear in a future cw!
BTW, I just made a big pot of cream of potato and leek soup last night, and have just enjoyed a bowl of it for lunch today. C'mon over! No, wait, ON SECOND THOUGHT it's all gone now.
C.C.- In days of yore "old salt" was a sailor's term. It's just a neat bonus that the clue sounds like the Hemmingway title.
I wonder if an old salt ever said
I ATE CRAB BACTERIA.
In O SOLE MIO is the South Sea sequel to "Typee". "OMOO'S LEI"
There's KARATE IN KATERINA.
It's the naked truth. In the BIG BAND ERA the BARE GI BAND played the "Stars and Strips"
Why didn't Don PUT ON A SHOW. HO WAS NOT UP.
Mau Mau is an Au Pair... no?
Re BACTERIA
I should have mentioned yesterday that BOTOX is produced by a rod-shaped bacterium (Clostridium botulinum). An even more famous rod is Bacillus anthracis (links below), the causative agent of anthrax. The infective agents of course are the spores - those can be ground to make the infamous white powders. The spores germinate in your body to make the rods. If you find rods in your blood it may be too late.
General advice: avoid white powders of all kinds.
rods
spores
I'll try that second link again.
SPORES
Never accept white powder in the mail. lol
Just back from a day away, so in thanks to C.C. for her wonderful explanations, I have to say I only had 13 correct answers and gave up before leaving today. Simply couldn't get on the wavelength at all.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!
I had to smile in sympathy at C.C.'s frustration with Shakespearean quotes. Most native English speakers don't get his flowery Elizabethan verse either. He is definitely not an easy read.
In the case of 32D, it is particularly confusing because a chunk of Juliet's lines was left out.
"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
LEST that thy love prove likewise variable."
Pretty fancy talk for a 13 year old! But all she is saying is that since the moon waxes and wanes every month, it isn't a very good object to use to swear steadfast undying love.
Have a good evening everyone.
Hi Guys, It's a good thing the Huskers kicked Washington's butt today. This puzzle was fun in places but frustrating and oddly clued in lots of others. I did finish but Dr. G gave me plenty of injections.
O Sole Mio ties Joann's and my last two trips together (Italy and Tennessee). It is a beautiful Italian song but Elvis made it into one of my two favorite E songs - It's Now Or Never! BTW, when you go into Italian restaurants, the wandering mistrels play about 6 songs over and over for the Americans to enhance their tips. O Sole Mio is certainly one of them, especially for those who think it originated with the King.
Any thoughts on what the other "stock" songs Italian groups play to solicit American Euros?
Evening, folks.
Well, as is often the case, I am on a different wavelength than many here. On Fridays and Saturdays that I find impossible, many find quite doable. And days like today, which I find quite enjoyable and mostly doable (with a lot of thought and putting the puzzle away for spells), others find impossible. I thought it was a bear, but that's what I think Saturdays should be, at least at my solving level.
My first half hour with the puzzle generated a mere four words in 'firm' ink, and another half dozen lightly inked in. I thought I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE, and I ran errands for a few hours. Like Jayce, I'd fixated on certain answers, and I couldn't get them out of my brain. After picking up the puzzle again, five minutes in, and I was breezing along. OK, maybe not breezing, but another half hour, with a final three google name lookups, and I was nearly there. Doing the crossword in spells is often the only way I make significant progress on Fridays and Saturdays. That might be harder to do if you solve on-line, I guess.
I don't have a problem with rocket. The song rocketed to the top of the charts. The song sped to the top of the charts. In this example, the former sounds better to me. But, maybe this is due to where I am from/live. Commentary on this blog often reveals regional differences in language. Take 'stang from yesterday. I, and others apparently, have heard this term enough for it to be familiar. Yet others were TESTY and said THAT'S NOT GOOD.
On the other hand, I have a big problem with NAH for "No way!" No Way with an apostrophe indicates never, not on you life, no way Jose, forget about it, and so on. NAH, as it is said around these parts, is usually accompanied with a shrug and often followed with phrases such as "I don't think so" or "probably not". There is nothing emphatic about nah; it can even be somewhat noncommittal.
Nope would have been a better clue, in my opinion. I had reluctantly penned in NOT for 2D, and this was one of the last wrong answers I THREW out (others were EPI for 33A, MUSLIM for 34A, and SKETCH for 58A).
LEST my post go on too long, I'm out.
Evening, folks.
Part I of rejected post:
Well, as is often the case, I am on a different wavelength than many here. On Fridays and Saturdays that I find impossible, many find them quite doable. And days like today, which I find quite enjoyable and mostly doable (with a lot of thought and putting the puzzle away for spells), others find impossible. I thought it was a bear, but that's what I think Saturdays should be, at least at my solving level.
My first half hour with the puzzle generated a mere four words in 'firm' ink, and another half dozen lightly inked in. I thought I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE, and I ran errands for a few hours. Like Jayce, I'd fixated on certain answers, and I couldn't get them out of my brain. After picking up the puzzle again, five minutes in, and I was breezing along. OK, maybe not breezing, but another half hour, with a final three google name lookups, and I was nearly there. Doing the crossword in spells is often the only way I make significant progress on Fridays and Saturdays. That might be harder to do if you solve on-line, I guess.
Hi again,
Part II of rejected post:
I don't have a problem with rocket. The song rocketed to the top of the charts. The song sped to the top of the charts.
In this example, the former sounds better to me. But, maybe this is due to where I am from/live. Commentary on this blog often reveals regional differences in language. Take 'stang from yesterday. I, and others apparently, have heard this term enough for it to be familiar. Yet others were TESTY and said THAT'S NOT GOOD.
On the other hand, I have a big problem with NAH for "No way!" No Way with an apostrophe indicates never, not on your life, forget about it, and so on. NAH around here is usually accompanied with a shrug and often followed with phrases such as "I don't think so" or "probably not". There is nothing emphatic about nah; it can even be somewhat noncommittal.
Nope would have been a better clue, in my opinion. I had reluctantly penned in NOT for 2D, and this was one of the last wrong answers I THREW out (others were EPI for 33A, MUSLIM for 34A, and SKETCH for 58A).
I’m out.
Hello, C.C. and gang.
Lovely blogging, C.C. and thank you for the remnimbi clue, I'll save that.
It's late but I just now got to the puzzle. Yowza! What a head scratcher. My first fill was STOOGE and that led to GETSTO, ERST and the grid spanner, ONSECOND THOUGHT. Very clever cluing.
After that I jumped around, had many picket fences and really wanted MOOD___ for 23D, but soon GENT became apparent.
LEEK has been seen before but I wanted LEAK for pen emission, so the eraser had a workout and in bits and pieces it all emerged.
Very clever clues:
little sucker, TICK
main call, AHOY
pen emission, OINK
old man of the sea, SALT, with a shoutout to Hemingway
I did not know PAVEL, had PEVEL and KATERINA, so corrected that on the blog. Otherwise, a good Saturday conclusion.
Great misdirection from Robert Wolfe, and isn't that what Saturday puzzles should be? I liked it.
I hope your weekend is great!
RE "Doesn't" versus "Don't"
My vote goes to "DON'T" in this sentence
"Cast is one of those words that DON'T change the spelling to indicate tense."
...as I read it, the clause beginning at "that" is dependent/adjectival, defining or restricting "words".
The verb within the clause should therefore agree with what is being defined - hence plural form.
NC
Husker Gary, I'm thinking Santa Lucia might be one song that minstrels like to sing for tourists.
Am I the only one who wishes the mint would stop minting pennies? I've just stopped using them. Parking meters won't take them. If there's a tip jar, I put them in (along with other money as appropriate). At the supermarket, there's a little plastic charity box for small change. Otherwise, I just tell the clerk that I don't want the pennies. They sometimes seem surprised.
Bill, Yup!
Santa Lucia
O Sole Mio/It's Now or Never (Is that Elvis song familiar to you C.C.?)
Volare
Return to Me
That's Amore'
Come Back to Sorrento (My Fav!)
Arrividerci Roma
Feniculi Fenicula
The minstrels try to make you think you are all compadres and should tip well!
Any others?
ps C.C. Question 2, is Elvis known in China?
Can't resist this beautiful link to Pavarotti and, yes, Meatloaf. Enjoy a great voice and a decent effort.
Return to Sorrento
Yes! I hope to return.
On don't/doesn't, I have to agree with Nice Cuppa. "That" refers to "words". "Cast" is only one of those words, but is not the antecedent of the dependent clause; "words" is. So "Cast is one of the words that DON'T..." is correct.
Return to Sorrento. I couldn't think of the name but I love that song.
Jordan again. I guess they did an ultrasound on the infected gland in his neck. If it was filled with puss, they were going to have to operate to drain it. But that wasn't needed and he should be home tonight or tomorrow. I don't know how long he will be home from school because of the scarlet fever and mono.
Husker Gary, that sounds like the song lists from a few CDs I have!
Bill G:
That's great your little guy is improving. Are any lasting effects expected from the scarlet fever? In the past there have been, but maybe medicine is more powerful now.
Lucina, apparently it's very closely related to strep throat but with a rash. Penicillin defeats the germs. So, as far as I know, no long-term effects. He still has a rash and is uncomfortable but everything should go away with time. Thanks for asking.
I know he's had a tough time in the hospital, hooked up to an IV and unable to eat because of the problem with the gland in his throat. I remember being in a hospital as a kid, first for tonsils and later for appendix. I hated it, especially the anesthetic part.
No time to catch up, except for (fer) to say, sorry folks, but I erred. Sub 'explanation point' for 'apostrophe' earlier.
yep, it is ...
otis
the polar bear
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