Theme: Mal de Mer -"Mer" is added to the ends of various parts of common phrases.
23A. Response to "What's a six-letter answer for 'Silent performer'?"? : MUMMER'S THE WORD. The base phrase is "Mum's the word".
50A. Seaside vacation disappointment? : BEACH BUMMER. Beach bum. We also have PIERS (27. Spots for seaside strolls) and SHORE (30A. Spot for seaside strolls). Three "seaside" clechos (clue echos).
60A. Prison performer? : SLAMMER DANCER. Slam dancer. Slammer is a slang for "prison".
75A. Team in an agricultural all-star game? : THE FARMER SIDE. The Far Side. From Argyle. I don't get the joke.
84A. Station that exclusively plays rapper MC's hits? : HAMMER RADIO. Ham radio. Rapper MC Hammer.
118A. Like steak cooked by an enchanting chef? : CHARMER BROILED. Charbroiled.
32D. Sugary complaint? : CANDIED YAMMER. Candid yam. With a bit of toasted walnuts, delicious!
34D. More cordial old-timer? : WARMER VETERAN. War veteran.
Some of the MERs are inserted to the end of the first word, some the middle word, some the end. Nice variety. Five of the them are attached to a M-ending word.
Like Doug Peterson's last "El Week" (playing on "Hell Week" ), the title "Mal de Mer" is just a title, not a direct summary of the theme, nothing seasick, nothing mal with de mer. But French references aplenty:
70A. Capital of Nord, France : LILLE. Je ne sais pas. De Gaulle's birthplace.
104A. Idée source : TETE. Head in French.
106A. French wine region : RHONE
58D. 1956 star of Vadim's "And God Created Woman" : BARDOT (Brigitte). Gorgeous.
61D. "Les __" : MIZ
71D. M.'s partner : MME. Monsieur/Madame.
85D. Dada co-founder : ARP (Jean)
111D. Fille's father : PERE. Fille = Daughter.
Interesting theme entry placement. The grid has a nice week-day style edges, with two fingers (the black square blocks, called so because they look like fingers poking into the grid) rather than three fingers, resulting in plenty of 7s and 6s on the outside and lots of 3s in the middle, esp Downs, several are abbrs.
Across:
1. Railroad foundation : ROADBED. Had road track in mind.
8. Short chat? : CONFAB. Short for confabulation.
14. Destroys : WRECKS
20. Philosopher's term : A PRIORI. Argument without evidence/analysis.
21. Portugal's second-largest city : OPORTO. Also PORTO, from which port wine gets its name.
22. __ reason : WITHIN
25. Superficiality : FACADE
26. Memo opener : AS PER
28. Professor's end? : IAL.End to the word professorial.
31. Agnus __: Mass prayers : DEIS
32. Poolroom array : CUES
33. Loud bird : MACAW
35. The whole shebang : A TO Z. Colorful clue.
36. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time.
37. Five-time NBA championship-winning coach : PAT RILEY. Came to me without difficulty. We must have seen either his given name or surname in the puzzle before.
40. Shah's land, once : IRAN
42. Manhattan cooler? : ICE. Cocktail.
43. Siskel or Shalit : GENE. Only know former.
44. Sleeveless garment : VEST
45. Dinghy pair : OARLOCKS
47. Mountainous region in Genesis : GILEAD. No idea. In Jordan.
52. Sub in a tub : OLEO. Sub of butter. Nice rhyme. Has a Clear Aye style poetic euphony/rhythm feel.
53. Actress Lupino : IDA
55. Being, to Augustus : ESSE
56. Corn remnants : COBS
66. Full of team spirit : RAH RAH
68. Different : ODD
69. Picture cards? : IDS. ID cards.
71. Super Bowl honoree : MVP. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
72. Palindromic "before" : ERE
73. Agitated state : FRENZY
78. Roller on a Rolls : TYRE. Good clue.
79. Rhein tributary : AARE
82. Worked (up) : HET
83. Pair at the altar : I DO'S. Pair of oaths.
90. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH. I only know empathy, rooted in empath, I presume?
92. Declared : AFFIRMED
95. Powerful energy-market gp. : OPEC
96. Abbey titles : FRAS
97. Mex. title : SRA
98. Bench-presser's pride : PECS
99. "Risky Business" co-star : DE MORNAY (Rebecca). Recognized her face when I googled.
101. Flightless bird, nowadays? : SST. Now grounded, hence "flightless".
108. Heads or tails, e.g. : NOUN. This kind of clue gets me all the time.
109. Repentant one : RUER
110. Wrap-up : RECAP
112. Program file suffix : EXE
113. Relief agcy. founded in the U.K. in 1942 : OXFAM. Stands for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Unknown to me.
115. NFL ref, in slang : ZEBRA
116. Sacred birds : IBISES. Sacred in Egypt.
121. Bistro, informally : NITERY
122. Comes up : ARISES
123. Unisex : EPICENE. Does not seem to have "sex" root, does it? Not that I know what "sex" root is.
124. Yellowstone attraction : GEYSER
125. "Candid Camera" bits : PUT-ONS
126. Name of earthshaking importance? : RICHTER
Down:
1. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. Great play on "In crowd".
2. Musical works : OPUSES. Thought of OPERAS first.
3. It's exposed many times during the singing of "YMCA" : ARMPIT. Wow, let's see. Awesome clue.
4. 40% of quarters? : DIMES. Yep. I had to calculate in paper. I can't do mental math.
5. Transvaal settler : BOER. Dutch has those kind of aa clusters.
6. Make a misstep : ERR
7. Argument : DISPUTE. Followed by COHESIVE (8. Like good arguments). Another clecho.
9. Phone abbr. : OPER
10. "__ the time!" : NOW'S
11. Not to : FRO. To and fro.
12. Hotel courts : ATRIA
13. Amazing, in dialect : BODACIOUS. Crockett likes to use this word.
14. Hulk Hogan's '80s-'90s org. : WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Learning moment.
15. River inlets : RIAS
16. __ Sketch : ETCH A
17. Hardly orderly : CHAOTIC
18. "All Summer Long" singer, 2008 : KID ROCK. Great song.
19. Cold signs : SNEEZES
24. Theater section : TIER
29. '40s-'70s Coliseum team : LA RAMS. Needed crossing help.
33. It's not true : MYTH. TALE too.
37. Stew veggie : PEA
38. Cow country : LEA
39. Part of many a mtge. payment : ESC. Escrow?
41. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.
43. Trig. prerequisite : GEOM
46. Mus. ensemble : ORCH
47. Become lenient, as on crime : GO SOFT. The judge, right?
48. Offer to a dishwasher : I'LL DRY. Dishwasher does all the work for us.
49. Boss : LEADER
50. Counterfeit : BAD
51. Kentucky college or its city : BEREA. Not familiar with Berea College. What is it famous for?
54. Operations mgrs. : DRS. Directors?
57. Food company named for two states : ORE-IDA. Oregon-Idaho.
59. "Yikes!" : SHEESH
62. Modify : ALTER
63. Bethesda-based research org. : NIH. Unknown trivia to me.
64. Largest OH airport : CLE. You'd think it's Cincinnati.
65. Santa staffer : ELF
67. Car loan abbr. : APR. Annual Percentage Rate. I drew a blank.
74. Grape soda brand : NEHI
76. P-like letter : RHO
77. Makes a drink last : SIPS
80. "Cocoon" Oscar winner : AMECHE (Don). Again, recognized him only after I googled.
81. Fenway souvenir : RED SOX CAP. Man, this opens a slew of possible new entries. Twins' Cap, Twins' Program, Twins' Jersey, etc.
86. Used taxis : RODE
87. Big klutz : APE
88. JFK, but not LAX : DEM. Of course I was thinking of JFK Airport. It would really be a cool clue if LAX were named after a famous Republican.
89. Case-breaking words : I CONFESS. Nice entry.
91. When moms are honored : MAY
92. Guitar's second-lowest : A STRING. Well, Al knows.
93. Hotel soap, say : FREEBIE
94. Easy Street's metropolis? : FAT CITY. Both new slang for me. Comfortable living.
96. Stop in photography? : F NUMBER
100. Engine sound : ROAR
101. Lease prohibition : SUBLET
102. Unruffled : SERENE
103. Wall Street worker : TRADER
105. Facilitates : EASES
107. India's prime minister before Shastri : NEHRU. Intuitive guess. Was ignorant that Shastri is India's second prime minister.
109. Wealthy, in Weimar : REICH. Oh, really? I thought it's a just noun.
113. Roughly : OR SO
114. Marvel Comics heroes : X-MEN
115. Suffix with Paleo- : ZOIC
117. Half of the UAR : SYR. The other half is Egypt.
119. Thames islet : AIT. Classic crosswordese.
120. Sch. in Troy, NY : RPI. Spitzboov's alma mater.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Dennis! Hope it's a memorable one and filled with love, joy and every pleasure you desire.
C.C.
Added later: Damien Peterson is another alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Editor's Pen Name".
23A. Response to "What's a six-letter answer for 'Silent performer'?"? : MUMMER'S THE WORD. The base phrase is "Mum's the word".
50A. Seaside vacation disappointment? : BEACH BUMMER. Beach bum. We also have PIERS (27. Spots for seaside strolls) and SHORE (30A. Spot for seaside strolls). Three "seaside" clechos (clue echos).
60A. Prison performer? : SLAMMER DANCER. Slam dancer. Slammer is a slang for "prison".
75A. Team in an agricultural all-star game? : THE FARMER SIDE. The Far Side. From Argyle. I don't get the joke.
84A. Station that exclusively plays rapper MC's hits? : HAMMER RADIO. Ham radio. Rapper MC Hammer.
118A. Like steak cooked by an enchanting chef? : CHARMER BROILED. Charbroiled.
32D. Sugary complaint? : CANDIED YAMMER. Candid yam. With a bit of toasted walnuts, delicious!
34D. More cordial old-timer? : WARMER VETERAN. War veteran.
Some of the MERs are inserted to the end of the first word, some the middle word, some the end. Nice variety. Five of the them are attached to a M-ending word.
Like Doug Peterson's last "El Week" (playing on "Hell Week" ), the title "Mal de Mer" is just a title, not a direct summary of the theme, nothing seasick, nothing mal with de mer. But French references aplenty:
70A. Capital of Nord, France : LILLE. Je ne sais pas. De Gaulle's birthplace.
104A. Idée source : TETE. Head in French.
106A. French wine region : RHONE
58D. 1956 star of Vadim's "And God Created Woman" : BARDOT (Brigitte). Gorgeous.
61D. "Les __" : MIZ
71D. M.'s partner : MME. Monsieur/Madame.
85D. Dada co-founder : ARP (Jean)
111D. Fille's father : PERE. Fille = Daughter.
Interesting theme entry placement. The grid has a nice week-day style edges, with two fingers (the black square blocks, called so because they look like fingers poking into the grid) rather than three fingers, resulting in plenty of 7s and 6s on the outside and lots of 3s in the middle, esp Downs, several are abbrs.
Across:
1. Railroad foundation : ROADBED. Had road track in mind.
8. Short chat? : CONFAB. Short for confabulation.
14. Destroys : WRECKS
20. Philosopher's term : A PRIORI. Argument without evidence/analysis.
21. Portugal's second-largest city : OPORTO. Also PORTO, from which port wine gets its name.
22. __ reason : WITHIN
25. Superficiality : FACADE
26. Memo opener : AS PER
28. Professor's end? : IAL.End to the word professorial.
31. Agnus __: Mass prayers : DEIS
32. Poolroom array : CUES
33. Loud bird : MACAW
35. The whole shebang : A TO Z. Colorful clue.
36. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time.
37. Five-time NBA championship-winning coach : PAT RILEY. Came to me without difficulty. We must have seen either his given name or surname in the puzzle before.
40. Shah's land, once : IRAN
42. Manhattan cooler? : ICE. Cocktail.
43. Siskel or Shalit : GENE. Only know former.
44. Sleeveless garment : VEST
45. Dinghy pair : OARLOCKS
47. Mountainous region in Genesis : GILEAD. No idea. In Jordan.
52. Sub in a tub : OLEO. Sub of butter. Nice rhyme. Has a Clear Aye style poetic euphony/rhythm feel.
53. Actress Lupino : IDA
55. Being, to Augustus : ESSE
56. Corn remnants : COBS
66. Full of team spirit : RAH RAH
68. Different : ODD
69. Picture cards? : IDS. ID cards.
71. Super Bowl honoree : MVP. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.
72. Palindromic "before" : ERE
73. Agitated state : FRENZY
78. Roller on a Rolls : TYRE. Good clue.
79. Rhein tributary : AARE
82. Worked (up) : HET
83. Pair at the altar : I DO'S. Pair of oaths.
90. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH. I only know empathy, rooted in empath, I presume?
92. Declared : AFFIRMED
95. Powerful energy-market gp. : OPEC
96. Abbey titles : FRAS
97. Mex. title : SRA
98. Bench-presser's pride : PECS
99. "Risky Business" co-star : DE MORNAY (Rebecca). Recognized her face when I googled.
101. Flightless bird, nowadays? : SST. Now grounded, hence "flightless".
108. Heads or tails, e.g. : NOUN. This kind of clue gets me all the time.
109. Repentant one : RUER
110. Wrap-up : RECAP
112. Program file suffix : EXE
113. Relief agcy. founded in the U.K. in 1942 : OXFAM. Stands for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Unknown to me.
115. NFL ref, in slang : ZEBRA
116. Sacred birds : IBISES. Sacred in Egypt.
121. Bistro, informally : NITERY
122. Comes up : ARISES
123. Unisex : EPICENE. Does not seem to have "sex" root, does it? Not that I know what "sex" root is.
124. Yellowstone attraction : GEYSER
125. "Candid Camera" bits : PUT-ONS
126. Name of earthshaking importance? : RICHTER
Down:
1. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. Great play on "In crowd".
2. Musical works : OPUSES. Thought of OPERAS first.
3. It's exposed many times during the singing of "YMCA" : ARMPIT. Wow, let's see. Awesome clue.
4. 40% of quarters? : DIMES. Yep. I had to calculate in paper. I can't do mental math.
5. Transvaal settler : BOER. Dutch has those kind of aa clusters.
6. Make a misstep : ERR
7. Argument : DISPUTE. Followed by COHESIVE (8. Like good arguments). Another clecho.
9. Phone abbr. : OPER
10. "__ the time!" : NOW'S
11. Not to : FRO. To and fro.
12. Hotel courts : ATRIA
13. Amazing, in dialect : BODACIOUS. Crockett likes to use this word.
14. Hulk Hogan's '80s-'90s org. : WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Learning moment.
15. River inlets : RIAS
16. __ Sketch : ETCH A
17. Hardly orderly : CHAOTIC
18. "All Summer Long" singer, 2008 : KID ROCK. Great song.
19. Cold signs : SNEEZES
24. Theater section : TIER
29. '40s-'70s Coliseum team : LA RAMS. Needed crossing help.
33. It's not true : MYTH. TALE too.
37. Stew veggie : PEA
38. Cow country : LEA
39. Part of many a mtge. payment : ESC. Escrow?
41. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.
43. Trig. prerequisite : GEOM
46. Mus. ensemble : ORCH
47. Become lenient, as on crime : GO SOFT. The judge, right?
48. Offer to a dishwasher : I'LL DRY. Dishwasher does all the work for us.
49. Boss : LEADER
50. Counterfeit : BAD
51. Kentucky college or its city : BEREA. Not familiar with Berea College. What is it famous for?
54. Operations mgrs. : DRS. Directors?
57. Food company named for two states : ORE-IDA. Oregon-Idaho.
59. "Yikes!" : SHEESH
62. Modify : ALTER
63. Bethesda-based research org. : NIH. Unknown trivia to me.
64. Largest OH airport : CLE. You'd think it's Cincinnati.
65. Santa staffer : ELF
67. Car loan abbr. : APR. Annual Percentage Rate. I drew a blank.
74. Grape soda brand : NEHI
76. P-like letter : RHO
77. Makes a drink last : SIPS
80. "Cocoon" Oscar winner : AMECHE (Don). Again, recognized him only after I googled.
81. Fenway souvenir : RED SOX CAP. Man, this opens a slew of possible new entries. Twins' Cap, Twins' Program, Twins' Jersey, etc.
86. Used taxis : RODE
87. Big klutz : APE
88. JFK, but not LAX : DEM. Of course I was thinking of JFK Airport. It would really be a cool clue if LAX were named after a famous Republican.
89. Case-breaking words : I CONFESS. Nice entry.
91. When moms are honored : MAY
92. Guitar's second-lowest : A STRING. Well, Al knows.
93. Hotel soap, say : FREEBIE
94. Easy Street's metropolis? : FAT CITY. Both new slang for me. Comfortable living.
96. Stop in photography? : F NUMBER
100. Engine sound : ROAR
101. Lease prohibition : SUBLET
102. Unruffled : SERENE
103. Wall Street worker : TRADER
105. Facilitates : EASES
107. India's prime minister before Shastri : NEHRU. Intuitive guess. Was ignorant that Shastri is India's second prime minister.
109. Wealthy, in Weimar : REICH. Oh, really? I thought it's a just noun.
113. Roughly : OR SO
114. Marvel Comics heroes : X-MEN
115. Suffix with Paleo- : ZOIC
117. Half of the UAR : SYR. The other half is Egypt.
119. Thames islet : AIT. Classic crosswordese.
120. Sch. in Troy, NY : RPI. Spitzboov's alma mater.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, Dennis! Hope it's a memorable one and filled with love, joy and every pleasure you desire.
C.C.
Added later: Damien Peterson is another alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Editor's Pen Name".
62 comments:
Hello everyone!
Good work CC, as usual. Your birthday puzzle was really amazing!
Puzzle rather difficult in NW quadrant. Had to use red letters for a while. Also, was time-consuming.
Dennis: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Vettedoe: My sincere sympathies. Was happy to hear that you already have children though. So sorry about your cousin.
I slept for 17 straight hours (only interrupted by a few short phone calls and a few necessary trips).
Feel great (even with the fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc.). There is one new item in the equation--a fiercely good air cleaner!!! Almost no clogged sinuses!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Birthday, Dennis!
Hello All ~~!!
Tough to get going today - thought I was doing well with BALLAST for RR foundation, but then all blanks til the GENE s came up, then I figured out my first entry was wrong. But others came easier, despite the clever cluing; OARLOCKS, ZEBRA, etc.
When I actually looked again at the title, I finally caught on, first with WARMER VETERAN. I usually have a hard time visualizing the long D clues.
Tried to figure out what metal was 40% of quarters; Silver? Steel? Zinc? Oh, I get it....
Personal favorite, CHARMER BROILED.
Cincinnati's airport is actually Covington, KY. I know, lived three years in Fairfield, OH.
Ah, the FAR SIDE - always a riot -thanks for the link...such a warped sense of humor, that Mr. Larson has!
Brother's B'day today, too - he's 37. We are celebrating with a BODACIOUS party at Smokey Bones.
Enjoy your Sunday !!
Happy Birthday Dennis, and many more
Happy Birthday, Dennis.
C.C. -
I just finished your 'Dennis' puzzle, and I agree with the others, brilliant and very,very cool. You do realize we all want one, don't you? Green (with envy) is everyones' dominant color today.
Your question re: 51 A:
Berea College is best known for (at least) four things:
1) It was founded in 1855 by abolitionists for the express purpose of educating blacks (Negroes at the time) and whites in an integrated, interracial setting in order to promote racial harmony. It's history includes a landmark Supreme Court case, Berea College v. Kentucky, stemming from a law the state passed to forbid interracial education. The College lost, but the law was overturned in
1954 by Brown v. Board of Education, and the College resumed its original mission.
2) Berea College is a "work college". Every student has a campus job for a minimum of 10 hours a week.
3) There is no tuition, which results in the college being named in the US News and World Report as the "best value". It is also very highly ranked academically.
4) Berea College is the Alma Mater of both The Irish (1989) and The Windhover (1995). There is a story there (given away to some extent by the dates, but there is no space to tell it here.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone.
PS:
We here also extend our condolences to Vettedoe. Your loss resonates greatly with us, and we wish you peace and happiness as you continue on.
Vettedoe: I don't use my computer on Saturday's so don't read the posts on Saturdays. I went back to read yesterday's posting and saw your note. I am so, so sorry to learn of your losses. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I wasn't really keen on today's puzzle, although there were some great fresh clues for crossword staples such as the Flightless Bird = SST and Sub in a Tub = OLEO.
I loved Used Taxis = RODE (Tricky) and Shah's Land, Once = IRAN. There is still an Iran, but no Shah.
Both GENE Siskel and GENE Shalit are/were movie reviewers.
Good Morning All, I enjoyed Damien Peterson's puzzle very much. I caught on to the MER addition early on and that made other entries that much easier.
I had a bit of a problem with (33A). I filled in MYNAH at first instead of MACAW. For some inexplicable reason, I had PETRILLO at (37A). We lived in So CA for years and I knew that PAT RILEY was the coach of the Lakers.
I laughed when I saw (3D) ARMPIT. I don't think we've been to a wedding for 20 years where the YMCA dance wasn't a part of the evening's festivities.
About (52A) "Sub in a tub"/OLEO. Yes it does have a nice rhythm. Did you know that the phrase cellar door is "reputedly most euphonic sound combination of the English language (specifically, when spoken with a British accent)"? I'll have to brush up on my "Brit-speak" to see if I can get it right. What do you think, Nice Cuppa?
Not to gross anybody out....but GAH and I went to a dinner party last night. It was rather warm, so we ate on the terrace. The food was delicious and we were enjoying ourselves, but there was a problem when a couple of tarantulas made an unexpected up-close and personal appearance. All it took was a scream from one woman guest (not me) when she saw one crawling up the back of a lawn chair and the party moved inside immediately.
Tarantulas are relatively harmless (although they can bite)and are usually slow moving, but they are not particularly attractive. We see them a lot around here, usually in October when the males are looking for girlfriends (poor saps, they don't know it will end badly). It is unusual to see them coming around people through. We'll have to be on the lookout this year.
Happy Birthday Dennis!!
Too early in the morning for me. Of course tarantulas don't go "through" people, "though" it is unusual to see them around people.
I'm glad to hear you got some well deserved rest fermatprime. Does 17 hours mean you will now be sleepless for a couple of days? I hope not.
WH, interesting information about BEREA. I'm sending the website on to my daughter to run past our high achieving, but underfunded 17 year grandson. Who know?
Here's a caution to anyone undertaking Barry Silk's GOLQ puzzle. You'd better be familiar with your Golden Oldies and the artists who performed them. I got stuck on a few of the lesser known "top 100 hits", but it was still fun to reminisce about many of them. I wonder if Barry wanted to fit an extra "A" into the middle of 5D and make the clue "1961 Del Shannon #1 Hit"?
C.C. and Sputniks (Russian for fellow travelers), Space references are an occupational artifact since it has been my life for 50 hoax-free years.
When I joined this amazing blog, I felt on the outside until I received a very nice personal note from Dennis and so it is with gratitude that I wish him a happy birthday! Working as a sub gives me that same feeling when I walk into a new building and no one acknowledges you or gives you the time of day. "Hello and welcome" can be a very nice phrase!
I misread the theme and thought it was simply wordplay with double m's and so I had SLAMMERJAMMER which cost me the five cells I did not get! LILLE, MIH and BEREA were new so there was no help there.
.EDU also bothered but got corected to .EXE. ARMPIT and FATCITY were enjoyed here.
Question - Name the wonderful movie that included the erudite phrase "Bodaicous Tatas".
Could 54 down drs stand for doctors in an operating room?
Good Morning C.C. et al.
I didn't get a chance to do the xword yesterday, so I only learned this morning about your losses Vettedoe. I am so sorry to hear it. But you must get comfort in knowing that so many people in your extended blogger family are here to support you.
C.C., I really enjoyed the write-up as always. I also had a problem with 108A "Heads or tails": NOUN. I wanted a plural "something" as the ans. And 121A "Bistro, informally" I had "eaTERY" for the longest time, which didn't help the SW corner any. Then I had "WasteS" in the NE instead of "WRECKS"...Well, that WRECKED a lot of answers in that section, too. I did manage to finish the entire puzzle, but it was a slog.
Dennis, Happy Birthday!
"The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down." - T. S. Eliot
Make it a great one, and remember: Never, never act your age!
Good Day C.C. and all,
Happy Birthday, Dennis!
Got all but Square 114- I forgot the 'x' and couldn't decide on the 'g' or 't'.
Caught on to the theme fairly quickly and it helped. Kept wanting 'dunker' instead of 'dancer'- its hard to let go sometimes- a good reminder to keep an open mind!
Overall, a nice puzzle. Tiny print is drawback.
Fermatprime, glad you got some sleep. Ive been meaning to ask you
your profile question: Who was the first female mathematician? Your credentials are impressive,also.
C.C.,my french dictionary has this: Epice-Spice; Epice'[accent over the last 'e']- fig. 'spicy story','hot'; sound 'sexy' to you
WH-a nice summary of Berea College.
Hope you can shorten story to our scale or make it into 5 parts. Dying to hear it!
CA- The town is lovely, as well. On a pretty spring or fall day, Berea is a good driving day trip for pals, for lunch and shopping.
strong artistic emphasis in the shops; glass, metal and leather works,and, of course oils,collages and other media.Its small,so walking is fun.
Anon 9:47- Yes.
This is my first post on this blog, so please forgive my ignorance.
I do not understand or 'get' 76 down, RHO? Would be very happy to receive an explanation! Thank you. :)
Welcome, Susan!
'Rho' is a letter of the Greek alphabet aand the symbol of 'Rho' is 'P' shaped.
Any one else?
Anon 9:47-Sorry, I missed the question mark in C.C.'s write-up. I believe you are correct.
Husker Gary, "An Officer and a Gentleman"?
Happy birthday Dennis!
I like tarantulas. We used to have one as sort of a pet until I left it outside in the sun too long.
HeartRx: I had trouble with Head or Tails. I tried COIN and TOSS before letting the perps settle on NOUN.
I also had toyed with MANGER instead of RAMADA for Inn Crowd Option. I was thinking in lines of "there was no room in the inn" so Joseph and Mary went into the Manger.
How appropriate that the blog be blitch-in' on Dennis' birthday. I've gotten an error screen twice.
Dennis, I hope you're out having a wonderful Birthday! Most of us stumbled upon this blog via googling an answer. But I think many of us stayed because you (or C. C.) welcomed us and encouraged us to join in on the fun! Thank you for all you do for this blog, ensuring that it's a fun, friendly, caring, and enlightening retreat.
Annette
happy birthday Dennis!
hopefully your Phillies will clinch it today. that would be a nice addition to your celebration.
BTW C.C.,
Regarding the cartoon from "The Far Side":
Gary Larsen's humor is sometimes very subtle. In this cartoon, the two "bugs" that are talking are representations of "gad" flies. "Yee gads" is an old mild oath, which is sometimes shortened to "Gads" or "Gad". Hard to explain, but I hope it makes more sense now?
Hi all: as you know I don't do the Sunday puzzles but wanted to check in to say a few things.
Dennis, a very, very happy birthday! You make this blog so much fun and I count you as a friend. Enjoy your special day and try not to get arrested :)
Vettedoe, I read about your double loss and am so very sorry. I think your good attitude will help you in the days to come and you know you can count on us.
C.C., what a wonderful puzzle you constructed for Dennis (and for all of us to enjoy). That was the most original birthday present I have ever seen. Please do more!
Hello Puzzlers - Due to busy days, I just got back to C.C.'s birthday puzzle (well done!) and the bonus Silkie Oldies. Neither was a walk in the park for me, and come to think of it today's was a workout also.
I like tarantulas too. My wife can't even look at a spider normally, but even she had to admit that the huge orange-kneed tarantulas of Costa Rica were beautiful. It was fun to tease them out of their caves on nighttime nature walks. They look like this.
Thank you soooooooo much Firefly for explaining the RHO thing to me.......obviously I have a LOT to learn. :)
Dennis: You are one lucky guy. C.C. does not even reply my mail. Happy Birthday and may you enjoy many more.
Green with Envy
Susan-I use the name Creature on this blog. I guess you saw Firefly on my profile. I'm not sure why I put it in there. Some folks here aren't crazy about Creature. It is a play on my last name and I say it sometimes in fun to my H, so I guess I'm stuck with it.
Know you will enjoy being an active part of this blog. This is a great group, and you will feel blessed to be a part of it.
Have you filled out your profile? I haven't completed mine, maybe because I'm not sure about parts
of it. Oh well, later.
Again welcome!
Hi all.
Cleveland was two airports - Burke
and Hopkins. They use Burke for auto races now and then.
The Cincinnati airport is across the Ohio in Kentucky.
90s again today.
Take care.
Greetings, all.
All I can say is Meh! Of course my reaction is completely subjective. Like a poem, a puzzle can engender many different, and sometimes conflicting, feelings. Today, for me, no spark.
I was curious about EPICENE, so I looked it up on dictionary.com and here's one of the definitions they gave for it:
"belonging to, or partaking of the characteristics of, both sexes: Fashions in clothing are becoming increasingly epicene."
LOL to me it sounds like a geological epoch, like pleistocene or miocene.
So I learned something new today :)
By the way, Covington, KY, is a far more interesting and fun place than Cincinnati. Nice nightclubs and restaurants, some with a view of Cincinnati and the baseball stadium across the Ohio river.
"Cellar door", eh? Eeeenteresting!
Best wishes to you all.
Dennis, Happy Birthday from a lurker of about 2 years. You and C.C. have made this such a fun place to hang. It is the first place I go to on-line each weekday morning.
Happy Birthday, Dennis! I'll raise my glass in a toast to you this evening!
This is a WFL (will finish later) puzzle for me as the family is coming for lunch soon, so I haven't read the blog or the comments yet.
Enjoy the day!
You don't get 54 down? Could "Operations mgrs." = "Drs." mean Doctors (managing the operations in surgery)?
C.C. - very nice blog ... the puzzle was beyond me, and I had some medical emerg. to attend to - so nothing got done.
Vettedoe - I would like to extend my condolences and sympathy for your loss.
Just a little bit of my 2 bits worth...
CLE - Cleveland has 4 airports - Clev Hopkins Intl , Burke Lakefront ( now only for corporate travel and Labor day airshow) , Cuyahoga County Airport ( Richmond Hts/Highland Hts) and Lost Nations airport ( now rarely used).
Covington Ky, ( across the border and across the Ohio river , from Cincinnati, OH .... ) is the actual facility that processes the mail sent to the Internal Revenue Service in Cincinnati, 45999. About 340,000 people work there for the IRS.
63 A. Bethesda based research Org . - NIH - the National Institutes of Health, is an arm of the U S Dept of Health and Human Svcs. It itself, has 32 different institutes on all medical and allied research.
It is the largest grantor of money for grants, next to the U. S. Dept. of Defense... ( > 30 Billion $ )- to medical and para-medical - biochemistry, microbiology etc. - It is often referred to, by scientists, reverentially as 'God on Earth'.
OxFam is the best known relief agency, around the world ... next to the U.S. Govt. and the International Red Cross - . OxFam has been very active in Darfur and in Afghanistan.
Finally, 109 Down, wealthy, in Weimar - REICH . Reich is similar to 'empire', but not quite, ... more as in 'nation' ... the Reichsman family ( Canadian, jewish originally german ) - originally owners of Olympia and York, skyscraper in NY City, were the richest Canadians in the 80's and 90's.
Didn't anyone else notice the connection between 58D and 99A?
Rober Vadim made two movies with the title "And God Created Woman".
The 1958 version starred Brigitte Bardot, his 1988 version starred Rebecca DeMornay.
The plot of each had little in common, but both served as a vehicle for a beautiful actress.
Hello, C.C. and fellow puzzlers.
Dennis, I hope you are having a blast to celebrate your birthday!
Today, I finished most of the puzzle before church and just now had a chance to complete it.
The upper through central part was a nice walk in the park with with only a few bumps and bruises, starting with RAILBED before ROADBED emerged; also took a while to suss out BEACHBUMMER and eerily, I, too had PETRILLO at 47A maybe because of Sofia Petrillo of the Golden Girls. Anyway I never corrected it and only reallized it when reading the blog.
The SE corner gave me fits for a long time until CHARMERBROILED eased itself out.
And gadzooks, now I have to learn German! I'm just getting the hang of French and did fill those in very well, but had to search for wealthy in Weimar.
Windhover:
Thank you for the info on Berea College; that's really interesting. I plan to visit a friend in Cincinnati in the coming year and perhaps we'll drive there. I love Kentucky, anyway, it is so beautiful and richly green.
Many clever clues here:
sub in a tub, OLEO
roller on a Rolls, TYRE
flightless bird nowadays, SST (fresh new clue)
I have a friend who owns two macaws and keeps them in six-foot tall cages and they are definitely noisy!
Fermat:
How wonderful that you were able to sleep and finally rest. I hope it continues.
Both bonus puzzles, C.C.'s tribute one and Barry Silk's were fun solves. Fortunately there were enough knowns to offset the unknowns in the Silky and so no research was needed.
I hope your Sunday is going well!
Thanks, Widwan, for the interesting information. We have seen NIH several times in xwds but I have not researched it myself.
@Dennis, what birthday gift did CC get?
Good evening, everyone.
Happy birthday, Dennis. You are surely well-loved on this blog. Let us know how you celebrate this day.
I see that few have already pointed out that operations mgrs. are doctors.
And congratulations, Fermatprime, on having a really good sleep finally.
WH, thanks for the information about Berea College. I'd heard of it, but knew nothing about it. Most interesting. Too bad the state took away its purpose for so many important years.
As to the puzzle, I got only Slammer dancer of the themes. And about ten of the others. Thank heavens tomorrow is Monday, so I will stop feeling stupid.
Cheers
Yes, David Keith said "Bodacious Tatas" in the movie An Office and a Gentleman. At the time Debra Winger was dating the governor or Nebraska - Bob Kerry.
There are days when it is not great to be in Nebraska because of the weather, this ain't one of 'em! It is gorgeous out and we are supposed to have gorgeous fall weather for weeks!
Even though they played badly yesterday, Go Huskers!
I wasn't going to sign in today, although for once I tried the puzzle online but without red letters, wouldn't have got very far.
Vidwan827,
About Reich. The dictionary does say 'empire', but I think of it as 'regime' or 'realm' in the noun form. They say 'Frankreich' for 'France', so not necessarily 'empire'.
There is a related word, 'Bereich' which means 'realm' in the figurative sense.
But as an adjective, it means 'rich' or 'wealthy', so 'Reichmann' would be 'rich man'.
The verb 'reichen' means 'to reach', 'stretch' or to 'hand' (something over). So inasmuch as a realm extends to the 'reach' of the empire or regime, I guess it all makes sense.
p.s. Joann and I listen to the 50's station on Sirius Radio in the car and today we had the 8 and 5 year old grandkids in the back. The Crew Cuts song Sh-Boom (Life Could be a Dream) Goofy Lip Sync came on and the two of them sang along and knew every word. Geez, Papa, that song is in the move Cars.
Cars Version
What goes around...
Vidwan827,
Just noticed the name you quoted was Reichsman, which would translate as "man of the realm/regime/empire", hence 'citizen' rather than just a wealthy man.
Hey, where is Dennis? With it being his birthday an' all, he should be here.
C.C. Excellent write-up.
Oh, today is Dennis Birthday?
Well I'm heading out for the sunset toast.
Here's to you! Hope you have a great time.
Now I remember why I rarely do the Sunday puzzle (unless it's a rainy day).
First off, though "I get the theme" add 'MER' to a familiar phrase, get new wacky phrase. This BEACH BUM found this puzzle to be a BUMMER.
(Ed.Note: I circle the number of a clue I question as to being:
(a) Too obscure
(b) Too misleading
(c) Too lousy of a clue (IMHO)
Monday thru Thursday, I'm surprised if I have one clue # circled. Friday and Saturday, maybe 2 or 3.
Today, when I finished I had 18 circles with the word "boo" next to four of them.
My least fave was at 121A, Bristro, informally = NITERY. Never heard them called that before.
66A, Full of team spirit = RAH RAH. Not equivocal.
I wanted SNEERY to be back for an encore.
Dennis, here is your Happy Birthday SMOOCH!! I hope you enjoy your day and your spanking later.
Vettedoe, I am so sorry to hear about the baby. I was hoping the best for you. Having suffered through a couple of deaths lately, I can understand your grief. Depression is such a horrible thing to suffer through as those of us that don't have it, don't quite understand what kind of hell those who do go through.
Fermatprime, good for you on the sleep! It sounded like you needed it.
My my, what do I see peeking out of the right side of Bardot's..top?
Tinbeni- I did find 'nitery' to be a 'made-up' word. I guess its a 'navajo weave'.I'm too tired to fight the fight.It's hard to fight for saving something that I never thought existed.
Good evening,
I have enjoyed this blog for months and decided to post tonight. This is a highlight of the week to read all of your thoughts and knowledge. I look forward to learning every week. It's great to read the positive feedback you give one another, so much fun!
Good evening C.C. and all,
Even though I rarely have time on Sun. to finish the xwd, I always read your write up, C.C.You continue to amaze me.Since no one else said anything about SST( and most of you LOVED the clue), I had to ask my DH to tell me what it was.Ah-ha..a little late. Yes Sallie, I'm waiting for Monday too.
Oh, for Inn crowd option..I was thinking beds..like king, queen, but, of course I knew this was wrong.
Husker Gary, loved clip of "sh-boom"; I've not seen "Cars".
Bill, we also had a pet tarantula for a few years.My sister loved all animals and we had snakes, toads, frogs, lizards, birds,etc."Harry" had to be removed from our living room when people came to visit, and Mom made my sister wear a heavy jacket when Harry crawled on her arm. Thinking about it makes me laugh. My Mom was such a sweetie, and weighed about 95 soaking wet.
a big welcome Susan!
My favorite Far Side cartoons are the ones about Neanderthals.I need to learn how to add a picture like Dudley did with the tarantula.
HB 2 UUUUU HB 2 UUUUUU
HB dear Dennis, HB 2 UUUUUU
May U drink 1000 beers,
May U........ :-)
OMG - JD, that B-day song to Dennis was soooo cute!
The tarantula thingy gave me chills...I truly think I might keel over if I ever saw one, much less have one crawl on me....jaysus!!!
I think most people are more afraid of spiders and snakes than any other animal. I wouldn't mess around with a spider that could be seriously poisonous to humans (like a brown recluse) but a tarantula moves slowly and so far as I know, doesn't pose much, if any, danger to humans. When I find what appears to be a harmless spider around the house, I try to capture it in a Kleenex and deposit it outside. I think they make little battery-operated vacuum thingies to do the job but I don't have one.
We just got back from Beehive, a fun musical with many the songs from the girl groups of the 60s. Very enjoyable!
Per today's newspaper: Brigitte Bardot's birthday is Tuesday, 9/28 She will be 76.
Hey gang - apologies in advance if there's mistakes/typos - it's been a long day already. Suffice to say, too much food, too much drink (JD, I never got the taste for beer), and a lot of friends made this a most interesting day. Eagles won, but the Phillies lost, so there's that too.
I can't thank you all enough for all the birthday greetings - when they come from people you hold in high regard, it makes them all the more special. This is indeed an outstanding group.
vettedoe, jeezus, what you've been through recently. I have the utmost admiration for your positive thinking and have no doubt that it will get you through what has to be an incredibly difficult time. My thoughts are with you.
As to the puzzle, I sat on the dock early this morning and did the Silky 'oldies' from yesterday, today's LAT one and Merle Reagle's Sunday puzzle. All three were a real treat, but I really liked being taken back in time with the Silky. Nicely done, Barry.
Susan, Rochestergirl, welcome to the group - good of you both to join us. Hopefully we'll hear lots from you in the future.
Think I'll be taping Rubicon & Mad Men tonight - I have a feeling it's going to be an early night. Thanks again; you guys are the best.
Gosh Carol, I guess you won't be coming to visit me in October :o). I was kind of "icked out" when we first moved here and heard about the tarantula migration that takes place every year about this time. Although we see the boys crossing the roads looking for their sweetie pies, last night's visit was really a rarity. They are really kind of slow and goofy looking. I can't help but feel a little sorry for them. Even if they get away from their bad tempered spouses, they still don't live for very long past mating. The ladies are known to live for much longer. I think most pet taratulas are females.
Welcome to Rochestergirl and Susan. Come back often.
creature and Tinbeni, I am OK with NITERY and have heard it used....although it has probably been decades. I do think of it as being interchangeable with a "night club" where there is entertainment as well as food. I think of a "bistro" as more of a small rustic restaurant.
Dennis, Glad to hear you had a great time.
OK, the Phillies loss is just a delay. What is the magic number ... ONE?
SHEESH, My 1-A team, NY Yankees are practically in ... but the RED SOX are being a major pain.
Now the 1-B team, my local Tampa Bay Rays bit-the-dust to the Mariners.
Creature: You once asked about my profile and I explained the CPA Firms too you. A little info (Bio)
I think is OK on-line, just not too much "direct" information.
Susan (Like my sister) Welcome to a group of interesting people with many different opinions. We may have different reactions to a puzzle or certain clues but we share the FUN hobby of doing crossword puzzles. All I can say is I have been checking out the various CW sites and my enjoyment and solving ability has improved a lot in the last year.
Jayce: Thanks, I was wondering if I was the only one who had that opinion re: the puzzle.
Though I guess I would never use the term 'Meh' ... not my style ... Is that a "The Simpsons" term?
Hi.
Missed Rubicon @6. Will watch it @9 or tomorrow.
Copied Merl's to do after I do Monday's LAT.
Am proud that I said nothing more about airports. It would have set me off before.
Sun has set and AC is still running.
Take care.
Bill G: I am also one who takes little spiders outside in a tissue.
Interesting side effect of that is that they are such a wonderful addition to our back yard in protecting our flowers and tomatoes from insects. We have 4 webs with happy, fat spiders sucking on various insects.
CA: I had no idea tarantulas were in your area or that they migrated. We have large caterpillars that make their presence known in the fall here (they have black and rust colored stripes)...they are everywhere on the bike path we use each day. They are sort of cute and people say they predict the 'winter weather'....don't know if that is true or not.
@CC: Early in his career, Don Ameche portrayed Alexander Graham Bell in a movie. In our house whenever the phone would ring and someone else would get it, my father would ask, "Who was that on the Ameche?" He kept that up until the day he died, and as a result I will never forget Don Ameche's name!
Carol, I find it interesting that spiders with a brain the size of a pinpoint can weave a geometrical web that we would have no hope of duplicating. Also, birds with a brain the size of a peanut can build a secure nest that I couldn't manage even with a mechanical engineering degree. Do the bird's parents teach them to do that or is it all innate and contained in their DNA? If a robin were raised (in captivity) around mockingbirds, would it learn to sing different songs? So much I don't know...
Dennis: Happy Happy birthday@! I toasted to you many times tonight and my friends were saying...who? If only they knew, their hearts would be toasting too. It's all good. The bottles of scotch, beer, wine (red and white), and vodka were all (among other things) bottomed up in your honor! I hope you had a memorable day/night.
Welcome, Susan and Rochestergirl. I hope we hear more from you both.
Dennis, it sounds like an ideal start to your birthday!
WikWak, what a wonderful memory of your dad. Growing up, I bet you rolled your eyes when he said it, but don't you just love having that special reminder of him now?
Magic Number = ONE (times two!)
Dennis and SEEN, I think our respective teams will eke out that ONE to make it to October.
After the World Series ... I may get into football.
Bill G
I don't think the Robin could sing the Mockingbirds song.
(I know I couldn't ...).
wikwak paddy whack, doggy got a bone
hey Dennis, glad you enjoyed your day; susan (not our first susan) and rochestergirl, welcome
tough sports day here in Miami, Jason Allen you are a bad boy
nite all
Help! I don't get it. 76 down. I solved the puzzle but do not know why RHO is the answer to P-like letter. Thanks. LS.
Greek letter Rho is P shaped.
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