Theme: Am I Blue? - A timely question, now that summer is over. The first word of the four common phrases is a shade of blue, followed by the unifier in the SE.
20A. 1978 movie set in a Turkish prison : MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. It is based on Billy Hayes' book. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue, close to black.
35A. Volatile situation : POWDER KEG. Powder blue may refer to two different colors. Originally, it referred to a dark blue color, but it has since come to refer to a pale blue color. The original color is now called dark powder blue, also called smalt.
46A. White legumes : NAVY BEANS. Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black and got its name from the dark blue worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748.
57A. Big name in Danish porcelain : ROYAL COPENHAGEN Founded in 1775; its mark. Royal blue is traditionally defined as a deep to dark blue, often with a purple or faint reddish tinge.
70A. Shades of it begin this puzzle's four longest answers : BLUE. Did you consider placing BLUE as the last Across entry in 73A, Donna?
Argyle here.
I hope you all had a nice Labor Day. Now you can have a nice Tuesday puzzle. (After my write-up, I notice the hardest part is the language in the clues.)
20A. 1978 movie set in a Turkish prison : MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. It is based on Billy Hayes' book. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue, close to black.
35A. Volatile situation : POWDER KEG. Powder blue may refer to two different colors. Originally, it referred to a dark blue color, but it has since come to refer to a pale blue color. The original color is now called dark powder blue, also called smalt.
46A. White legumes : NAVY BEANS. Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black and got its name from the dark blue worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748.
57A. Big name in Danish porcelain : ROYAL COPENHAGEN Founded in 1775; its mark. Royal blue is traditionally defined as a deep to dark blue, often with a purple or faint reddish tinge.
70A. Shades of it begin this puzzle's four longest answers : BLUE. Did you consider placing BLUE as the last Across entry in 73A, Donna?
Argyle here.
I hope you all had a nice Labor Day. Now you can have a nice Tuesday puzzle. (After my write-up, I notice the hardest part is the language in the clues.)
Across:
1. Stinging flier : WASP
5. Unifying idea : THEME
10. Let the cat out of the bag : BLAB
14. Seed cover : HULL. The outer cover, the chaff.
15. "Bolero" composer : RAVEL
16. Monetary unit of Cyprus : EURO. Straight forward clue; no bread today.
17. Notion : IDEA
18. Repeated question in Matthew : IS IT I
19. Dollar dispensers, briefly : ATMS
23. Part of ESL: Abbr. : ENG. English as a second language
24. One of a "Great" quintet : ERIE. The Great Lakes.
25. Evian, e.g. : SPA. Evian-les-Bains is a lovely mountain city on the French-Swiss border.
28. Hotpoint appliances, familiarly : GES. Owned by General Electric. There is also Hotpoint appliance manufacturer in Britain but not related.
30. Peppery root veggie : RADISH
39. Because : SINCE
40. Island feast : LUAU
41. Peaceful protest : SIT IN
43. Sgts. and cpls. : NCOS
44. Real estate units : ACRES
48. Escaping, with "on" : THE LAM
50. Observe narrowly : EYE. "Narrowly" because you often squint your eyes to get a better look. The famous Eastwood squint.
51. Observe : SEE
52. "Gilligan's Island" shelters : HUTS
55. E. Coast border : ATL Atlantic Ocean.
65. Early sibling rivalry victim : ABEL
66. Mall booth : KIOSK
67. Cass's title : MAMA. Cass Elliot, of "The Mamas and Papas".
68. Scintilla : IOTA
69. Run off to get hitched : ELOPE
71. Island garlands : LEIS
72. "Robinson Crusoe" author : DEFOE. Daniel Defoe (ca. 1659-1661 – 1731)
73. Back talk : SASS
Down:
1. Caprice : WHIM
2. Car company whose name is Latin for "Hark!" : AUDI. Sona is Latin for "Honk!"
3. Winter ride : SLED
4. Carpentry smoother : PLANE. Image.
5. Gun activators : TRIGGERS
6. Diner hodgepodge dish : HASH
7. Online party notice : E-VITE. I can just imagine the groans going up when this answer was revealed.
8. Curbside payment collector : METER
9. Cure-all mixture : ELIXIR
10. Yogi or Boo-Boo : BEAR. Cartoon bears.
11. Mandolin relative : LUTE. Short clip.
12. Second Amendment subject : ARMS. Guns.
13. Chief : BOSS
21. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE
22. They may be split in soup : PEAS
25. Water balloon sound : SPLAT
26. Marsupial's pocket : POUCH
27. Cognizant : AWARE
29. Dermatologist's concern : SKIN
31. Eat in style : DINE
32. Machu Picchu architects : INCAS
33. Pastry at a Devonshire tea : SCONE
34. "Siddhartha" author Hermann : HESSE
36. Hamilton-Burr engagement : DUEL. Hamilton lost.
37. Greek "H" : ETA
38. Rhett's last verb : GIVE
42. Pinstriped ALer : NY YANKEE. Often paired with Rhett's last noun.
45. Humorist Mort : SAHL
47. "Little Women" woman : BETH
49. Folded (one's hand), in poker slang : MUCKED. Not a term I'm familiar with.
53. Patterned fabric : TOILE. Toile, which is a French word, translates literally to 'cloth'. Its origins can be traced to Jouy-en-Josas, France, where the first commercial plant to mass produce it started production in 1760. Despite its very proper reputation, toile had a decidedly illicit beginning.
54. "SNL" staple : SPOOF. Saturday Night Live (SNL)
56. Symbols of gentleness : LAMBS
57. Pool table border : RAIL
58. Bassoon cousin : OBOE
59. Legendary Himalayan : YETI
60. Sighed word : ALAS
61. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil, to his fans : ESPO. Philip Anthony Esposito(born February 20, 1942 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey center.
62. Festive party : GALA
63. Avian Aussies : EMUS
64. Hamish's refusals : NAES. Scottish.
Answer grid.
Argyle
78 comments:
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - while this one turned into a real speed run with no unknowns, no pauses, I liked the fact that Donna got a lot of fresh cluing into a Tuesday puzzle. It's unusual to have a learning experience early in the week, but right off the bat I learned that 'Audi' means 'hark' in Latin. Or maybe after three years of Latin, I should have known that anyway.
It took me to the third theme answer to pick up on it; after the first theme answer, I was sure it was going to be 'express' that would be part of it. Favorite clue was 'Rhett's last verb'; least favorite clue/answer was 'Observe narrowly'/'eye' - I don't believe they're necessarily synonymous.
Regarding the discussion on clue echos, given my love of portmanteaus (blitch, etc.), I'd probably call them clechos.
I hope everyone had a stellar Labor Day weekend. Had house guests off and on over the past couple weeks, then closed out the weekend with a house/yard/lake full of people for an end-of-summer barbeque. The weather's been just pristine; hopefully it'll continue for a couple more months.
Today is Neither Rain nor Snow Day, celebrating the opening of the New York Post Office building on this day in 1914.
Did You Know?:
- All the lakes in the world, fresh- and saltwater combined, equal only .01 percent of the earth's water resources.
- Belgians once tried to deliver mail using cats. (Strangely enough, it didn't work)
- Sound travels a mile in five seconds through the air. Under water, it travels a mile in one second.
Morning, all!
Smooth, easy puzzle for me today. The only unknowns were MUCKED and BETH, but the peps took care of them in short order. In fact, the last letter I entered was the crossing of BETH and ATL.
I have to bring my little guy for his first full day of kindergarten today (followed by a 2-hour after school program). Gotta go get his lunch and snack ready... ^_^
Good Morning Argyle et al.
Great write-up Argyle. I almost snorted coffee out my nose when I read your explanation of 42D.
Thanks for the trivia Dennis - I always enjoy reading those tidbits. I'm not surprised about the cat delivery idea being a bust. Have you ever heard the expression "It's like herding cats"? Just doesn't happen. Unless you are in a Super Bowl commercial, that is. Apologies in advance if this has been linked before.
Good Morning, CC, Argyle and All I love Donna Levin puzzles and this was no disappointment. I just loved seeing all the shades of BLUE. Bette Midler sang "Am I BLUE."
I liked seeing Eight on THE LAM with LAMBS.
TOILE is a fabric with beautiful scenes.
QOD: Life begins at 40, but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person three or four times. ~ Helen Rowland.
Good morning:
A fun easy Tuesday, I liked Curbside payment collector : METER, which reminded me of my YOUTH .
Argyle, loved your write up, but tellus more about the sordid past of TOILE, S'il vous plait.
Dennis, AUDI is one of those Latin words you are familiar with, you just do not know it, from accepted words like AUDITORY, AUDITION. It is what makes srudying Latin still a valuable tool.
Back in the say, SPAs focused more an medicinal baths, and the curative powers of the local waters, such as at EVIAN, though I liked ROAD TO WELLVILLE where Anthony Hopkins brought to life the man who began KELLOGG's corn flakes, as well as some rather different ideas. The clip is for the ladies.
My only goof was 14A when I initially inserted aril for seed cover. Never knew hull was a seed cover too. Doing the perps saved my beans and kept me from feeling blue.
Lemonade714 - Do you preview your post? Typo after typo.
Happy day-after-Labor Day, all.
Argyle, to answer your question re placement of BLUE: I always prefer to have the helper entry as the last one (either across or down), but sometimes the constraints of the grid just won't allow it. Because of the fourth theme answer, BLUE couldn't go at 64D, and there was no acceptable fill with it at 73A. I had to settle for 70A. Less elegant, I know, but sacrifices sometimes have to be made.
Enjoy your day, everyone.
Good Morning C.C.,Argyle and All,
Argyl, thank you for the dear lute piece. 'Smalt'?- new term to me.
'Ground oxide of cobalt, silica and potash- resultant powder,deep blue, used as a ceramic color'.
I have always heard of the color 'cobalt blue'
'Powder blue' is usually a pale blue, sometimes referred to as 'baby blue', but I don't think,in my lifetime,'powder blue' has ever meant any deeper blue
than a pale blue.
The puzzle was smooth,with just a
bump here and there,giving me time to perp a name: Espo and Hesse.
"Mucked' is not a new term for me-I have a rake just for that
purpose- and I don't play poker.
It certainly is a relief to finally
celebrate the NYPO building
opening. Thanks Dennis.
I'll have to take the sound results
as fact, but it does seem unlikely to me.
Wonder how they test.
Have a good day, everyone.
Argyle- I was being such a SA, that I forgot to mention your different colored 'blue' words.Well donr. How'd you do that ?
You left out 'the good part' of toile.
Ditto HeartRx re:42d.
HeartRx- Great link-LMAO
Donna- I loved the theme,
especially 'Royal Copenhagen'!
Lots of fresh.
[typos mean 'get out of town' anon]
Good morning all. Erudite writeup, Argyle. Liked the 'blue' commentary.
A good Donna L. puzzle to start the work week for us retired types. Not much harder than yesterday; but loved the 'color'ful fill. One horizontal pass and then back to get MUCKED and ESPO, and it was done. POWDERKEG was a WAG, and I liked the PEAS clue.
RADISH - "A radish will never stand in the way of victory!" stated by Gen. Steele on M*A*S*H and attributed to Marshall Foch.
Anon @7:15 - Give it a rest
Enjoy the day.
Despite being only a Tuesday, the mid south caused me some grief. Not knowing MUCKED or TOILE, I got stuck on HUTS (I never watched Gilligan, and cave, hovel or tent wouldn't fit). Amazing how the obvious escapes me sometimes.
I do know toile is cloth in French, but have never heard of it as patterned cloth. I thought of tartan, check, paisley, spotted, none of which fitted. Then I wondered if the pattern was in the weave: tweed, twill, etc.
At first I guessed BETT for BETH, but Copenhagen fixed that. ESPO was another WAG, as was GES (28A).
Donna L.,
Thanks for stopping in!
Argyle,
I also was unaware of the AUDI connection to Latin.
Brrrr.... A chilly 48 degree greeting from the banks of the Mighty Platte in Eastern Nebraska. What a fun solve with just enough fun clues thrown in to add to the enjoyment. Some comments:
RAVEL's Bolero will always be associated with us hoi polloi with Bo Derek in "10". She made Dudley Moore the luckiest, short piano player in human history.
I did not know GE owned Hotpoint and so that G was my last fill. It had to be.
I briefly had MOTE for IOTA.
GUNS for second amendment instead of ARMS
Rhett's last verb was great!
MUCKED is familiar to us who watch some TV poker and are fascinated by all the pseudo drama there
SNL had SKITS and SKETCH before SPOOF
...And now...The rest of the story(about toile).
I haven't found collaborative evidence yet but one site said Toile de Jouy originated in France in the late 1700s. the phrase literally means "cloth from Jouy-en-Josas", a town of north-central France. Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf, a French naturalized German industrialist, is said to have smuggled the technique of using engraved copper plates to make prints out of England.
The technique was used to apply prints onto cotton. Engraved wooden boards had been used previously to transfer the designs, by hand. The copper sheets could be attached to a roller and sped the process up immensely.
At least, that part is true. Whether he pilfered the plans for printing hasn't been proved.
Good puzzle. Wanted STEW for HASH, but that totally went out the window, quickly. HEARTRX thanks for the clip on cat herding. I had never seen it and it is SO funny. So clever. LEMONADE--forgot how good Road to Wellness is. Will go to Netflix and re-rent it. ANON-it's time to get over yourself or you could go F*%# yourself. Have a great time.
Hi all - Love Donna L's puzzles and today was no exception. Fun clues and answers. I loved 22D.
I forgot what Caprice meant but the perps took care of it.
HeartRx- would you explain why Argyle's comment on 42D was so funny, I didn't get it. I probably just need more coffee. :)
30A (Peppery root veggie) got me thinking (again)of the radishes I buy - they are not 'peppery' and they used to be. I don't understand it...I loved that little kick in a salad. Does anyone have any idea?
Argyle, you are adorable.
@carol, re Argyles comment on 42D: "Damn" Yankees.
Argyle, Lemonade, you guys have hit the big-time: You've got groupies! You need to start selling autographs now.
Carol, maybe you've just gotten enured (like that crossword word?)to the radish tang, and need something spicier now.
chapstick, well put.
I too had aril for HULL and eau for SPA but I got them straightened out without any red letters today.
When someone discards his hand in televised Hold-em, the commentators say, "Into the muck."
They may be relatives but I enjoy the sound of a mandolin much more than a lute.
Al, thanks for the 42D help, I wondered why 'GIVE' had anything to do with the Yankees. DOH (I'll get my V-8 can out now) :)
Dennis, what would you recommend I use for my salad 'kick'????
@ Carol,
Al already made note of the reference to "Damn Yankees". But it struck me as hilarious that Argyle picked up on the previous clue ("Rhett's last verb" - GIVE) and used his last "noun" to refer to the Yankees. Very clever, and the reason I read this blog ;-D
Argyle - Your blog was very readable, chatty and interesting ( I have used up all the other superlative adjectives on your earlier blogs ....). But if I may ... suggest ( humbly ) that you should cater to the LCD - the lowest common denominator. When you make your cryptic jokes ... indeed, they are very clever ... but somebody is not going to get it ... and considering that we average only an hour or so on the blog ... you may leave them somewhat frustrated. If I may say, your clever remark would have been just as funny, if you had explained the cryptic comment immediately afterwards.
Al: thanks for the 'damn' explanation, I was going to reply to it, but was caught up in a phone call.
On 'Blue', ... if I may add my 2 bits ... One of the greatest chemical 'trade' secrets - patents, copyrights etc. that the Germans lost because of the WW II was ... in addition to manuf of Sulfuric Acid, Nitric Acid ( for gunpowder and fertilizer ) and 'Bayer' aspirin ...
....were the patents on a color of blue called 'Phthalo-cyanine Blue'
( after Phthalic Acid ) . Because of its 'fantastic' properties on reactive-ness and color fastness etc. it was single most important dye, ink and pigment for the next 40 years...
( Google,Wiki the PhCBlue BN, and the page will show you atleast 50 more types of Blue)... if you are feeling blue.
Mornin' all
I've read that the phrase "I don't give a dam(n)" originally referred to the "dam", an Indian coin of low value (1/40th of a Rupee, as it happens) - so that the phrase would mean "I attach little value to what you just said".
So adding the "n" to make it a profanity really doesn't change the meaning, although its effect would be greater.
So did Rhett swear at Scarlett or not?
NC
Carol - Regards the 'radish' ... it could be either you have 'grown used to' the spicy-ness of the radish, or todays 'hybrid' agro-culture has produced a 'milder' radish to cater to the taste of the majority of buyers.
May I suggest, a dash of horse radish, with a pinch of ground-up raw black mustard seeds, with a touch of grated ginger and over the whole mixture .... just 'wave', three times, an orange scotch bonnet ( habanero type - ) pepper... this will split open your palate, and cure your appetite and anything that ails you, including your sinuses...
Never thought of Audie Murphy as a Latin lover.
Vidwan, I do appreciate your suggestions for my salads...I believe you are correct when you mention that the radishes today are purposefully grown to be less 'zesty'. If I had room, I'd grow my own. As to the horse radish - no thanks, I can't get near the stuff. My hubby loves it though, and we travel 35 miles just to get a jar of some specially made horse radish for him. Just opening a jar clears up my sinus cavities and probably the neighbors too :)
Hello All--A clever, but easy puzzle for me today. I loved all the references to the color blue.
I, too, had Eau, and Aril as my first choices, but they were soon fixed with the perps.
From the comments on the blog, I don't think any of us are feeling blue this morning thanks to Donna Levin.
My learning moment was about Audi and the word Hark. I took Spanish instead of Latin in High School, so I struggle with Latin words.
Dennis, very informative facts today. Who knew that all the lakes constituted such a small amount of our water resources?
Have a great day everyone.
Carol, I've heard that the growing condiditons, soil, water, minerals, etc. have a lot to do with whether radishes have a bite or not. Also the variety of the seed planted.
My mother used to plant a radish that was called icicle radish. It was long, white, and had a kick like horseradish! I hated those. I haven't seen them on the commercial market, however.
Good day, Argyle, C.C. and cyber friends.
It's good to be back on the blog, but I can tell you San Diego was superb! You can't beat cool temps, the beach and Sea World!
Now I'm back to 100 plus and believe me, no one in southern Arizona will be BLUE because summer is waning. Winter is our best season.
I love Donna Lavin puzzles! A great Tuesday offering; short but sweet and clever.
Part of ESL, a given for me
Rhett's last verb, GIVE (I still don't get the joke but then I'm neither a New Yorker nor a sports fan).
Did not know Cyprus used the EURO.
Loved the Hawaii references: LEIS, LUAU.
And I had WILE before WHIM revealed itself.
Otherwise, a lovely run on this xwd.
I hope you are having a marvelous Tuesday! Lots of laundry after a
trip.
Lucina, I figured you would enjoy San Diego. Did you find Horton Plaza and that restaurant I mentioned? The San Diego zoo is wonderful but it's so big, it takes most of a day to enjoy it. The southern California weather has been unusually cool this summer. It's usually pleasant but this summer has had very few hot days.
If I understand the joke myself, Rhett's comment was, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" with "damn" being the last noun. Then using damn as an adjective, you get the expression and the play, "Damn Yankees", with Yankees being an American League team whose home uniform has pinstripes.
Lucina - 'Damn' Yakees may have a popular comment, amongst sports fans of that era ... but I think it is better known for the play and the movie, of the same name.
Hello everybody. Welcome back, Lucina; I'm glad you all enjoyed the San Diego activities and weather.
Wonderful writeup, Argyle. Informative and funny. Loved your perceptive "I can just imagine the groans going up when this answer was revealed" observation (7 down) and your reference to Rhett's last noun (42 down). I laughed out loud at that one.
Although the puzzle was a nice easy-ish Tuesday-level, I enjoyed it because of the fresh clever cluing and because of some nice fills. For example, like some of you, I thought "They may be split in soup" was a very clever clue, and TRIGGERS, ELIXIR, and NAVYBEANS were fabulous fills. Thank you Donna Levin!
Sometimes it happens in a puzzle that an across word and its crossing down word are both unknown to me, so that neither one helps toward solving the other. This puzzle didn't have any of those. Thus I was able to solve TOILE from the crosses even though I didn't know TOILE even after having solved it. To me, that's how a puzzle should be, and how it can be a pleasant learning experience.
Dennis, thanks again for the "Today is xxx Day" reminders and your tidbits of "Did you know?" knowledge.
Frankly, my dears, I do give a damn. Best wishes to you all.
Nice Cuppa - Your theory of the word, 'dam', being used to end the epic 'Gone with the wind', ... as the Mughal coin seems to me to be more likely pure speculation.
I am originally from India, and have collected Indian ( and British -Indian ) coins and have read up, quite a bit, on indian numismatics...
The 'dam' was last used by the Mughals, before the 1700's, and the value of 1 by 40 was was not a fixed value, but a nominal, speculative value ... 'dams' not being convertible to Rupees.
More to the point, I doubt Rhett Butler , handsome as he was, ( nor his creator M Mitchell ) would have been savy enough to use an obscure Mughal indian coin to end their story line...
Nice theory though.
Does anyone know what is the meaning of today's Google home page?
Yes, it is interactive.
The radishes (those plain roundish ones with red skins and white interiors) that we have been growing in our back-yard garden are just coming in about now, and by golly they have plenty of that peppery zip! Whoo! I had almost forgotten that they really taste like that. Tomatoes, too! A zillion times better than tomatoes available in the supermarkets these days.
Veni, vidi, audi, ate shoots and leaves (ate, shot, and left?)
Great blog!
Lucina, good to have you back; San Diego is indeed a wonderful place. Going out to see an old buddy in Manhattan Beach in a month or so, and I definitely want to spend some time in San Diego.
Carol, nice setup. I'd suggest something with more 'balls' to it if the radishes have become too bland.
Argyle, forgot to mention -- outstanding blogging today; one of your best.
Anon@12:41, the Google home page looks the same to me; no theme. What're you seeing?
My only error today was spelling ELIXIR wrong, otherwise smooth sailing, although I did have to use the perps for a few answers.
Loved the theme. Isn't it funny that Navy Beans are white?
Lucina, I didn't know you were going to San Diego. I just love our time spent there. We have done so much there already, but it seems there is always something else, or just repeating is fun too.
Here is a description of what is surmised by today's Google Logo. Very cool interactive nature, but usually when they have a different picture, there is a description. This one doesn't give you that. I just saw a piece on the Sunday morning show where they interview the artists that do the special logos. That would be an awesome job if you had artistic ability wouldn't it?
Have a great day. Weather is way to fall like here. We need some Indian Summer.
Since I was in Tennessee last week, I am just now finishing last week's puzzles (paper and pencil seem more appropriate). On last Thursday's 3*, did the blog here dwell on the fact that the palindromes that were to be the theme, that the words were in fact not palindromic (e.g. radar, race car, et al) but merely words that when spelled backwards made perfectly good other words. I suspect that did come up and I don't know if previous blogs can be accessed.
Regarding todays interactive Google logo, ...
just like the, earlier interactive logos ... the Pac Man game, and the Buckminster Fullerene C-60, soccer ball shaped, Carbon molecule on Sept 6th, ...
... according to some speculation appears to be a celebration of an anniversary of the JavaScript language applet ...or
... to show off their HTML5 capabilities ...or
... CSS5 code use in their Google Chrome browser ... or
... your guess is as good as mine.
O.K. I'll try to explain!!
The letters are formed from multiple small dots or balls(more likely). And, when you move your mouse near the GOOGLE the balls scatter and bounce around like a lotto/bingo machine. They then settle back to form GOOGLE.
Make sense?
Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all,
Argyle, another informational and enjoyable write up.My only problem today was really dumb..had trouble with 60D, wanted ahhs, but when it proved to be alas, I read it as "ah-lahs" and wondered just what the #*!* that word was!!! I also misspelled Sahl as Saul which took a minute to fix.
OK guys, are you telling me you actually watch people play cards on TV?????? Poker has mucked up the travel channel!
I agree with Kazie on toile, and enjoyed Argyle's info.
Barry, I have fond/sad memories of my girls going off to kindergarten. Now I go to Face Book and see all my daughters' friends kids on their first day. How time flies!
HeartRx, loved the commercial and got wrapped up watching all the others in that bunch. Very funny.
Hahtool, loved your QOD!
and Donna, thanks for visiting us. I love your xwds and today's theme was lovely. It reminded me of one of the best instrumentals of the 60's...Love is Blue.
Thanks everyone.
I grew up on Chicago's Southside where we were Chicago White Sox fans. In the 60s & 70s we repeated in second place behind the Yankees and many of claimed (tongue in cheek) that we never knew that they weren't the Damn Yankees. I guess I got my comeuppance by winding up working for 17 years near Gand Central Staion in NYC.
Al, do you know why the interactive Google home page is not available to IE users?
Good afternoon Argyle, CC, et al., What a fun puzzle! The theme completely escaped me...so what's new? Argyle, I loved how you put the colors of blue into the blog, which made me realize that my girls have powder and almost royal blue eyes. Always just called them baby blues and bright blues. So, guess I'll let them know what's what now. Also cracked up w/your Rhett 'noun' comment. Any puzzle that has pool table 'rail's plus 'leis' of any sort has got to be a favorite of mine. Loved it. Just missing a brew...which I'm going to go get right now and perhaps pursue the other aforementioned favs as well. Going to go take care of some blue balls. Rack 'em up!
Enjoy your day/night.
The funny Google logo doesn't show up up in Internet Explorer 7 (it looks like the regular everyday Goodle home page) but does show up in Mozilla Firefox.
@Dennis, it works for me with IE8, but not with IE6. If you have IE8, then it might be a security setting...
Hello Puzzlers - Chiming in a bit late today, I hope it's not too late to congratulate & thank Donna for her fun puzzle!
Favorite clue: Rhett's last verb, definitely.
I enjoy Google's special celebration logos. My favorite interactive one was Pac Man, of course. I wish iPads were free to run stuff like that.
Cuppa: what about the expression "tinker's dam/damn"? I heard Eric Idle use the phrase "tinker's cuss" on the Python architect sketch, suggesting it's "damn". However, a tinker's dam is supposed to be a real thing, a sort of form to hold molten tin in place until it cools, as used in the repair of long-ago kitchenware.
RE: Google's interactive logo ... ad infinitum, ad nauseam ( Nauseam spelled 'correctly' per lemonade and a recent xword clue ...).
I notice, when you get the Google web page, thru Google Chrome, the little balls not only move , ... But increase in size, the further they are displaced from their 'original' positions...
... but if you get the Google webpage from Int Exp 8, the google balls still move, but do not increase in size as they 'approach' you. Curious.
Bill G:
Yes, we did go to Horton Plaza but not the restaurant as we had to go to the airport to pick up my son-in-law who flew in after working on Saturday. I did go to Border's bookstore, however, as I finished my book the night before and I cannot be without one.
Thank you, all, for the good wishes. I do love San Diego and have since my college days as I attended the University of San Diego so I am familiar with the zoo.
We have decided to make that an annual Labor Day, end of summer, trip so when the baby is older she will surely enjoy the zoo.
OH! Now I get it. And I did love that Rhett Butler clue. The quotation "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" is not in the book. It was added in Hollywood.
Tata for now.
Hi everyone!
Nice puzzle and no problems! No lookups needed.
Here's what I'll always remember Ravel's Bolero for. I just watched it again and I still get chills. Just perfection.
Hi all!
I enjoyed the puzzle today,had to look a couple things. I did pull up hull 14A. We always hull lima beans, peas, nuts and any vegetables that come in a pod or shell.
I laughed too, at the Damn Yankee joke, but not until Al explained it.
Beth was a given- I read Little Women when I was 10 or 11 and all the other books Louisa May Alcott wrote about the March family and saw all the movies too. I knew Beth had to be it, as Meg, Amy and Jo didn't fit.
Also loved the cat herding link.
I never took Latin- It wasn't required anymore when I went to Nursing school. I took French last two years of H.S. but don't remember much. Hey!It's been 60 years!
Clear Ayes, We saw the movie 'The American" yesterday. It did move slow but wasn't boring. I didn't like the ending- did he live or die?
Have a good evening, all!
Marge
REgarding Little Women by Louisa May Alcott...
There is another book called 'March' ... which is a fictionalized story about the father from 'Little Women' ... Mr. March, whose was the absent father in 'Little Women' ... who had gone off to war, leaving his wife and daughters by themselves... the author, Geraldine Brooks has recreated a fictionalized account of Louisa's real father, Bronson Alcott's letters, as a chaplain, from the Am Civil War.
So ... this book, 'March' , is a fictionalized story of another character of a fiction book ....
The book ... 'March' by Geraldine Brooks, won a Pulitzer Prize, for fiction, in 2006.
Vidwan, just another reminder - post limit is five; you're currently at at six.
Bin gawn all day..hav`nt dun the puzle yet...thiz post is just fur Anon. @ &7:15! No kneed to thank me!
Does anyone remember who else sang Blue, Blue My World is Blue? This isn't the version that I remember.
An EMU.
Good afternoon, puzzlers.
This seemed more of a Monday effort. The only "oopsies" I had were eau for SPA and turnip for RADISH. At the end, I still didn't get the "ta-da," so I went back over it and found a typo that made 19A arms instead of ATMS, which meant I had crossed ARMS with 12D.
The only time I have heard the word MUCKED is when someone said they "mucked out the stalls" but I knew all the perps were right. I don't watch or play poker.
I didn't know the "hark" clue, but I had the first three letters, so I knew it was AUDI. I studied Latin on my own several years ago, but I have only the rudiments of the language. It is interesting how one can suss out the meanings by looking at our English words, as Lemonade714 pointed out with auditory and audition.
Come on, anon, let's not get into picking on typos. My hands are so stiff from arthritis that every other stroke is a typo. I try to catch all of them with "preview" but sometimes one of two slip through the system.
Enjoy your Tuesday, or what's left of it.
Lucina, I just finished rereading Gone with the Wind and that line is in the book.
"He drew a short breath and said lightly but softly:'My dear, I don't give a damn'.
She silently watched him go up the stairs, feeling that she would strangle at the pain in her throat."
In the movie, I believe he walked out the door.
I'm used to using the expression "to muck about" as in wasting time. I sometimes told students to stop mucking about and get on with their work. Once they accused me of saying f***ing about, and I had to explain the Aussie idiom to them.
Hahtool,
I seem to remember it being sung in French. Andy Williams wrote the lyrics, so his French wife, Claudine Longet (sp) may have sung it. I had the Paul Mauriat instrumental album.
Marge
'The American' - George Clooney- aka Jack - did he die ?
He died in Clara (Violante's ) arms, ( unless you see a sequel coming out). Based on the box office receipts, so far, that 'appears' to be unlikely.
Welcome back Lucina. Your trip sounded great. I'm glad you enjoyed our somewhat cool CA summer weather while in San Diego. I'm sorry you have to return to such heat.
Arabon, your creative spelling gave me a good laugh. I understood every word!
Donna Levin, we always enjoy having constructors stop by and have a chat.
@Hahtool, both Andy Williams and Claudine Longet recorded Love is Blue. He in English, she in French. I seem to recall that Andy had a variety show that he sang it on. It was recorded by other artists as well, notably Al Martino and The Lettermen. The wiki page.
Hey all;
Thanks for having my back, I admit I was rushed today, with holiday yesterday, and another starting one tomorrow night, but I usually am more careful.
I adored the PAUL MAURIAT version, and while I cannot find a video Claudine Longet was also well done. Sad life.
LCD - never!
Lemonade, am I invisible? See Love is Blue @1:08
JD: I am sorry. I saw your link, but was wondering about the vocal version. The one I found was not the one I remembered as a kid. I also was not aware of the instrumental version, which is very beautifly.
Hi gang -
Excellent, Argyle. Nice, colorful puzzle, Donna. Not much left unsaid at this late hour.
I had some problems in the top section, going through ARIL and HUSK before being forced into HULL. Then, OLIO - STEW - HASH. Interesting cross with MIGNIGHT EXPRESS, that.
I think the blandness of RADISHes is due to the general flavorlessness of commercial produce. We had some home grown peaches the other day and they were awesome.
Tigers took the Sox to extra innings, but lost last night. Now ahead 4-1. We're trying to help the Twins, any way we can. One more Twins-Sox series before it's over.
Aha - now 6-1. Peralta hit a double, scoring two, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it.
Cheers!
JzB
Try this UK link for the bouncing Google logo
Pretty straightforward puzzle. 14 minutes. Not much to comment on.
Hi all,
Nice Tuesday puzzle by one of my favorite constructors. (Belatedly, I also really enjoyed Sunday's puzzle, John!!!) Hand up for mistakes mentioned earlier, including eau, wile, stew, and misspelling elixir. Learning moments: ravel, sahl, and espo; relearning moments: inge and
toile.
For those interested, here's a link to a page with a video of today's google doodle.
Otis
Love is Blue was also recorded by Al Martino. He and Englebert Humperdink were my mom's favorites
No worries, Hahtool. I just wondered why Lemonade posted the same instrumental.
Donna Levin, I enjoyed your puzzle today!
Wow, it generated a lot of comments for a Tuesday!
The only thing I can think to add are links to two of my favorite "blue" songs - "Blue Velvet" and "Blue on Blue" by Bobby Vinton.
Annette, how about Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins, not Elvis?
I went for a bike ride along the beach today. It's the first day after Labor Day and I had the bike path almost to myself. I loved it! Of course, there's the downside of no bikinis.
When Kazie said she said mucking about and her students thought she said "f***ing about, it reminded me of something that happened to me. I was playing in a faculty/student volleyball game. A student served a hard one to me and the ball went off my arms out of the court. I said "sh*t" automatically and was quickly embarrassed about it. By the time I got back to class after lunch, the story had grown exponentially to where the students who hadn't been there had been told I had yelled out the F word.
JD:
I knew I should have looked that up. I was paraphrasing something I heard on TCM about Gone With the Wind. That should show me not to rely on second hand information or perhaps my erroneous memory of it. Thanks.
Speaking of home grown fruit, my s-i-l's mother brought some of her tomatoes from South Dakota and I ate them whole, just like that. I can't recall ever tasting that delicious, juicy flavor in a tomato! It was unbelievable.
Have a good night everyone! We'll see what surprises tomorrow brings.
The last(?) word from the little blue man. Last words.
Post a Comment