Theme: Pun Next Door - Each of the four 2-word common expressions is interpreted literally and clued as if the first words all mean "nearby".
17A. Young woman next door?: NEAR MISS. perhaps this ONE .
24A. Adjoining floor?: TOUCHING STORY. In addition to SHADOWLANDS watch another true story, THE BLIND SIDE .
53A. Proximate coins?: CLOSE QUARTERS. For all you city people, there is always a SUBWAY RIDE .
66A. Chess piece within reach?: HANDY MAN. Since I do not have access to pictures of Windhover, would you settle for HIM ?
Happy September all, and it is the return of Lemonade and Mark Bickham, who has started to appear as a regular contributor, and whose last puzzle was the first puzzle blogged by C.C. as an American citizen.
To me this puzzle was a contradiction, with many new words, and almost a pangram, but also lots of three and four letter fill. This is the nature of the puzzle, I guess, somewhere there is sacrifice.
Across:
1. Energy: ZIP. A “Z” in the first word, a hint at a scrabbly puzzle that is missing only the letter J, hmmm. J?
4. It's an example of itself: ABBR (Abbreviation). Very clever.
8. Pure: CHASTE. They are often chased, and need to remember to use PROTECTION . Which kind of fits with 59A. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE.
14. Suffix with verb: OSE. Suffix to the word Verbose.
15. "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor : TROI. DEANNE was on The Next Generation.
16. Bring about sooner: HASTEN. When I was little, one of the torments of my little friends was this fine poetic turn, “Hasten Jason, get the Basin; Oops, Plop, Get the Mop.”
19. Green light: ASSENT. What you do not get from the CHASTE girl above.
20. Architect Saarinen: EERO.
21. Earth pigment : OCHER. From the Greek, meaning yellow.
23. Hide-hair link: NOR. Neither hide nor hair. Never understood the phrase.
28. Fireside emanation: WARMTH. Do things ever really change FIRESIDE CHAT ?
30. "__ me!": DEAR.
31. '50s White House nickname: IKE.
32. Certain fisherman: EELER.
35. Annoys: MIFFS.
39. __ Piper: PIED. Loved the 60s .
41. Police sting, say: SETUP.
43. Grimace: MOUE, which rhymes with 44. Happen as a result: ENSUE, which follows.
46. "Who Can It __?": Men at Work hit: BE NOW and of course the 80s.
48. Exhaust, with "up": USE.
49. [see other side]: OVER. So simple, but also clever.
51. Brought up: REARED.
58. Spell: HEX. Did anyone see the MOVIE ?
60. Emerald City visitor: TOTO. My ex-wife owned a Cairn terrier, who could have been the stunt double. Yes, she called him TOTO; I said she was my ex!
63. List of things to discuss: AGENDA.
68. Dividend, e.g.: PAYOUT.
69. Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO. An under-appreciated historic LEADER .
70. Letter opener?: ELL. Opener to the word letter. Did anyone fall for this old trick?
71. "When a Man Loves a Woman" singer Percy __ : SLEDGE. Oh yes, this is a SONG .
72. Insolence: SASS.
73. Generous limit?: SKY. Not sure why it is generous, but certainly ambitious.
Down:
1. Area: ZONE.
2. "Got it" : I SEE.
3. Bosc sources : PEAR TREES. Which come near by 6D. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" artist: BOSCH, who 600 or so years ago saw lots of nakedness in his Eden, but no partridges.
4. 24-hr. cash source: ATM. I had trouble with this one, because around my house the three letter word that fits is DAD.
5. French breads: BRIOCHES. If you want, here is a RECIPE .
7. Hindu poet: RISHI. This was my lesson for the day. HISTORY .
8. Old battlefield shout: CHARGE. Old? Still very common at the war zone called the mall.
9. Is suffering from: HAS.
10. Beast of burden: ASS. Okay, I will control myself.
11. Court figure: STENO; I was thinking more along these lines after watching the US Open CENTER COURT .
12. Pavarotti, notably: TENOR. Sometimes my brain is crooked, but my first thought was OBESE, sorry Luciano.
13. Datebook notation: ENTRY.
18. Part of a Clue accusation: ROOM. I amy be the world’s best Clue player.
22. Football play also called a sweep: END RUN; which is balanced nicely by 33. Charles __, major decorator of the Palace of Versailles : LEBRUN, of whom I had no knowledge.
25. Adaptable truck, for short: UTE. Oh, sure, I am going to out my UTE and convert it back.
26. "Casablanca" pianist: SAM. So BEAUTIFUL .
27. Request to a barber: TRIM.
28. Use a napkin on: WIPE, good thing we did have than next to 10D.
29. Like, with "to" : A KIN, not CLAY .
34. Somme season: ETE.
36. Links groups: FOURSOMES. Don’t tell me I am the only one who thought of THESE .
37. A hothead has a short one: FUSE.
38. Future plant: SEED.
40. Couples: DUOS. After foursomes, I wanted FRED.
42. Omens: PORTENTS, not to be confused with 56D. Pal of Porthos: ATHOS.
45. "The Three Faces of __": 1957 film : EVE.
47. Very small: WEE.
50. Treat as the same: EQUATE.
52. Affectedly cultured: ARTY.
53. Biker leggings: CHAPS.
54. Corporate department: LEGAL. Okay, one clue for me.
55. Daisy variety: OXEYE. This is more properly knows as Leucanthemum vulgare, which does not sound very PRETTY .
57. Calf catcher: RIATA.
61. Chitchat: TALK.
62. Part of SRO: ONLY. SRO = Standing Room Only.
64. Doze: NOD.
65. Grooved on: DUG.
67. Elaborate affairs: DOS.
Answer grid.
Well I am outta here; like they say in Florida Click It or Ticket. Ciao.
Lemonade
17A. Young woman next door?: NEAR MISS. perhaps this ONE .
24A. Adjoining floor?: TOUCHING STORY. In addition to SHADOWLANDS watch another true story, THE BLIND SIDE .
53A. Proximate coins?: CLOSE QUARTERS. For all you city people, there is always a SUBWAY RIDE .
66A. Chess piece within reach?: HANDY MAN. Since I do not have access to pictures of Windhover, would you settle for HIM ?
Happy September all, and it is the return of Lemonade and Mark Bickham, who has started to appear as a regular contributor, and whose last puzzle was the first puzzle blogged by C.C. as an American citizen.
To me this puzzle was a contradiction, with many new words, and almost a pangram, but also lots of three and four letter fill. This is the nature of the puzzle, I guess, somewhere there is sacrifice.
Across:
1. Energy: ZIP. A “Z” in the first word, a hint at a scrabbly puzzle that is missing only the letter J, hmmm. J?
4. It's an example of itself: ABBR (Abbreviation). Very clever.
8. Pure: CHASTE. They are often chased, and need to remember to use PROTECTION . Which kind of fits with 59A. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE.
14. Suffix with verb: OSE. Suffix to the word Verbose.
15. "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor : TROI. DEANNE was on The Next Generation.
16. Bring about sooner: HASTEN. When I was little, one of the torments of my little friends was this fine poetic turn, “Hasten Jason, get the Basin; Oops, Plop, Get the Mop.”
19. Green light: ASSENT. What you do not get from the CHASTE girl above.
20. Architect Saarinen: EERO.
21. Earth pigment : OCHER. From the Greek, meaning yellow.
23. Hide-hair link: NOR. Neither hide nor hair. Never understood the phrase.
28. Fireside emanation: WARMTH. Do things ever really change FIRESIDE CHAT ?
30. "__ me!": DEAR.
31. '50s White House nickname: IKE.
32. Certain fisherman: EELER.
35. Annoys: MIFFS.
39. __ Piper: PIED. Loved the 60s .
41. Police sting, say: SETUP.
43. Grimace: MOUE, which rhymes with 44. Happen as a result: ENSUE, which follows.
46. "Who Can It __?": Men at Work hit: BE NOW and of course the 80s.
48. Exhaust, with "up": USE.
49. [see other side]: OVER. So simple, but also clever.
51. Brought up: REARED.
58. Spell: HEX. Did anyone see the MOVIE ?
60. Emerald City visitor: TOTO. My ex-wife owned a Cairn terrier, who could have been the stunt double. Yes, she called him TOTO; I said she was my ex!
63. List of things to discuss: AGENDA.
68. Dividend, e.g.: PAYOUT.
69. Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO. An under-appreciated historic LEADER .
70. Letter opener?: ELL. Opener to the word letter. Did anyone fall for this old trick?
71. "When a Man Loves a Woman" singer Percy __ : SLEDGE. Oh yes, this is a SONG .
72. Insolence: SASS.
73. Generous limit?: SKY. Not sure why it is generous, but certainly ambitious.
Down:
1. Area: ZONE.
2. "Got it" : I SEE.
3. Bosc sources : PEAR TREES. Which come near by 6D. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" artist: BOSCH, who 600 or so years ago saw lots of nakedness in his Eden, but no partridges.
4. 24-hr. cash source: ATM. I had trouble with this one, because around my house the three letter word that fits is DAD.
5. French breads: BRIOCHES. If you want, here is a RECIPE .
7. Hindu poet: RISHI. This was my lesson for the day. HISTORY .
8. Old battlefield shout: CHARGE. Old? Still very common at the war zone called the mall.
9. Is suffering from: HAS.
10. Beast of burden: ASS. Okay, I will control myself.
11. Court figure: STENO; I was thinking more along these lines after watching the US Open CENTER COURT .
12. Pavarotti, notably: TENOR. Sometimes my brain is crooked, but my first thought was OBESE, sorry Luciano.
13. Datebook notation: ENTRY.
18. Part of a Clue accusation: ROOM. I amy be the world’s best Clue player.
22. Football play also called a sweep: END RUN; which is balanced nicely by 33. Charles __, major decorator of the Palace of Versailles : LEBRUN, of whom I had no knowledge.
25. Adaptable truck, for short: UTE. Oh, sure, I am going to out my UTE and convert it back.
26. "Casablanca" pianist: SAM. So BEAUTIFUL .
27. Request to a barber: TRIM.
28. Use a napkin on: WIPE, good thing we did have than next to 10D.
29. Like, with "to" : A KIN, not CLAY .
34. Somme season: ETE.
36. Links groups: FOURSOMES. Don’t tell me I am the only one who thought of THESE .
37. A hothead has a short one: FUSE.
38. Future plant: SEED.
40. Couples: DUOS. After foursomes, I wanted FRED.
42. Omens: PORTENTS, not to be confused with 56D. Pal of Porthos: ATHOS.
45. "The Three Faces of __": 1957 film : EVE.
47. Very small: WEE.
50. Treat as the same: EQUATE.
52. Affectedly cultured: ARTY.
53. Biker leggings: CHAPS.
54. Corporate department: LEGAL. Okay, one clue for me.
55. Daisy variety: OXEYE. This is more properly knows as Leucanthemum vulgare, which does not sound very PRETTY .
57. Calf catcher: RIATA.
61. Chitchat: TALK.
62. Part of SRO: ONLY. SRO = Standing Room Only.
64. Doze: NOD.
65. Grooved on: DUG.
67. Elaborate affairs: DOS.
Answer grid.
Well I am outta here; like they say in Florida Click It or Ticket. Ciao.
Lemonade
59 comments:
Good morning, Lemonade714, C.C. and gang - for the most part, this was a pretty smooth solve, but I did have some stumbling blocks that required perp help and in one case, a visit to the G-spot.
This was also one of those puzzles where the theme was apparent with the first theme answer, but it was still a very clever one. Lots of familiar clues, but I didn't know Charles Lebrun, and couldn't complete the crossing of 15A, the Star Trek counselor, and 7D, the Hindu poet without Google. Oh, and I had 'nap' for 64D, 'doze', but Percy Sledge made quick work of that.
Lemonade, good job with the blog; loved the Japanese subway clip. Gotta be a fun job to be a 'compressor'.
Today is Emma M. Nutt Day. Old Emma was the first female telephone operator, taking that job on September 1, 1878. Her most noteworthy quote? "I'm very thankful that my first name isn't 'Imma'". Can't make this stuff up; now I know where Lily Tomlin got her material.
Here's a joke for the golf wives:
A man and a friend are playing golf one day at their local golf course. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer.
His friend says: “Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man.”
The man then replies: “Yeah, well we were married 35 years.”
Morning, all!
Fun theme -- I loves me a good pun (or four, as the case may be). I was defeated at the end, though, by the crossing of ABBR with RISHI. I've never heard of the latter and just couldn't figure out the former. ABBY? ABBA? Nope, just couldn't get it. I finally crawled through the alphabet one letter at a time until I got the "TADA!" but that doesn't really count...
Good Morning, CC, Lemonade and all. This was a good Wednesday puzzles. I had a few false starts with the top quarter of the puzzle, but filled in the bottom portion very quickly.
I wanted Pep for Energy and it took some thinking, and a cup of coffee to realize I needed ZIP.
I really wanted Judge for a Court Figure. STENO was a "meh" fill.
Baguette also qualifies as French Bread, although not as well, apparently as BRIOCHES.
I have always been intrigued by BOSCH. Here is a detail from his Garden of Earthly Delight.
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I recalled that Charles LE BRUN was associated with Versailles. A handsome devil, no?
No, Lemonade, I was not aware of Jonah Hex.
My favorite clue today was Fireside Emanation = WARMTH.
I thought It's An Example of Itself = ABBR was a very clever clue.
QOD: At least a bad conscience can make life interesting, ~ Soren Kierkegaard
Good morning Lemonade714 , CC, et al., Great Weds puzzle. Loved the theme and the puns. Just hard enough to be challenging and doable. I would’ve gotten 53D ‘chaps’ faster if it had been cowboy or simply rider leggings, b/c bikers around here don’t wear those very often. And the same thing with calf catcher 57D. I wanted roper…riata just doesn’t flow…so what’s a couple of ‘seconds’? Minimally delaying. Fun puzzle nevertheless.
Didn’t know Rishi – Hindu poet. Maybe CA can give us a sample of those wares.
This puzzle made me laugh and the NE corner cracked me up w/ass crossing chaste, hasten, assent and chaste crossing charge and entry. Are you kidding me?
To avoid the ‘chap’s’ ‘end run’ and to stay chaste, a ‘near miss’ has to not ‘assent’ then ‘hasten’ like ‘ell’ to avoid the ‘warmth’ of ‘close quarters’, the ‘set up’ of a ‘touching story’, and the sweet ‘talk’ and expertise of the ‘handy man’ who can un’zip’, ‘untie’, unhook, anything in the blink of an ox-eye. On the other hand, however, if she were to ‘nod’ ‘assent’ then what would ‘ensue’ would be ‘akin’ to the ‘payout’ of a ‘sledge’ hammer’ on a piece of hot ‘ass’phalt. The ‘chap’s’ ‘charge’ with her in his ‘close quarters’ would ‘equate’ to the ‘sky’ being the ‘zone’d limit and him saying to her “It was so good to have you ‘over’… and ‘over’… and ‘over’.”
Lemonade: excellent job blogging. I'll pick up the links when I have more time.
I'll be back.
Enjoy your day.
Good morning Lemonade and all, a fun Wednesday puzzle and another great blog by our friend Lemonade. Not too difficult for a Wednesday, but the top center was my stumbling block and required some Google help.
I thought the theme was very creative and the cluing great.
In a hurry this morning, but will check back later today.
Hope you all have a great Wednesday.
Good Morning Lemonade et al.
I really liked the theme entries – very clean and clever use of common phrases. I also stumbled in the North. I remembered the Star Trek counselor’s name, but spelled it as “Troy”. So Ryshi was going to stay until I got to the end and didn’t get the “TaDah”. Took me a while to figure out which word was the bad one.
Also had a “huh?” moment on 25D. Never heard of that kind of adaptable truck. When the perps gave me the answer, I thought of some entirely different UTES !
Have a great day all!
Hello All,
Great puzzle, Mark! No cheating.
Nice writeup, Lemonade!
CC--Your blog is so marvelous! The other is quite inferior. They do not explain anything! It sure would be nice if this blog could also cover the LA Times Sunday Calendar puzzle! Is this not possible?
Just checking in to give my best regards to Jeannie. I cannot imagine the agony that Jen and you went through, having had her breasts removed only to die a relatively short time later. Did she have chemotherapy?
Must head for more sleep. Already had 4 hours. When I swim (18 lengths forth and back each, 40 feet) I find that I cannot stay awake very long afterwards. (I have to swim with someone, the only volunteer being my best friend Christine, and our time schedule is to begin roughly at 3:30 PM.)
Happy hump day!
HeartRx
Great pick up on UTES, sorry I missed it, my favorite part of the movie.
Love your witty blog, Lemonade714.
Mary
Good Morning C.C.,Lemonade714 and
all,
Abbr-very clever clue-I was
stumped,er-stomped.'Star Trek' was a blank - ditto 'Rishi'- and Bosch
wouldn't come.
Le Brun fell with perps-[thanks Hatool;enjoyed]
All hail Mark Bickham! come back and play sometime- when my wounds have healed.
Lemonade, your blog was fun and
your link for 'akin' was ingenious.
The puzzle was pleasant and it was a surprise-just not a 'pleasant
surprise'.
HeartRx-
Neat link. Thanks.
Good morning all. Nice breezy write-up, Lemonade.
Nice mid-week puzzle with fun theme words. Thought OSE, NEAR MISS, HANDYMAN, and ABBR were quite clever. Got MOUE and LEBRUN from the perps. Needed red letter help for the 'i' in TROI. It's been quite a while since we've had OXEYE, but I like the fill.
OTTO - Lemonade is right. I think it was the Kaiser coterie who were unappreciative. (Simply stated)
Warren; hope you enjoy your Hawaii vacation.
Hello Puzzlers - Same as Barry again. Got bogged down on that R in ABBR, having known very few Hindu poets in my time.
Percy SLEDGE? Never heard of him, hate his song. So there.
Star Trek Next Generation did a lot of things right. One of them was hiring Marina Sirtis to portray Counselor Troi. YUM! The gal is gorgeous. And busty. As I recall she's a native of Cyprus, raised in England.
Also had the hots for Gates McFadden, the lovely redheaded Dr. Beverly Crusher. I think she was a dancer first, certainly had the gams for it.
Great blog, Lemonade!
I took time today to explore all those great links, but have admit, I prefer the Righteous Brothers' to Clay Aiken's version of Unchained Melody. Maybe it's not as lively, but more nostalgic for me.
I really enjoyed the CW, despite my hangup in the mid north where others had the same problems. I had ABBA/ANSHI/TRON, being totally ignorant of all three references. Otherwise it was very smooth and total fun all the way with those theme answers. The first came easily and I felt totally smug about getting it so fast.
I did have to pause at BRIOCHE, thinking first of baguette or bâtard, neither of which had the right number of letters. I don't really think of brioche as bread. MOUE was another difficulty gotten only by perps. I've never seen or heard it used this way.
This is the first day of classes here, and everyone I saw yesterday asked if I was sad--of course I said: "No way!"
HeartRx,
I loved "My Cousin Vinny". I think it was the first movie I saw Marisa Tomei in too. She was as good as Joe Pesci in it I thought.
Bismarck did a lot of good things he's not really known for: one is introducing social security to Germany, or perhaps only Prussia at that time.
Lemonade: Very cute blog ... the link ups were a delight ... I thought of you when I jotted 'legal'.
The puzzle was relatively easy ... I didn't get 5 words ... I had 'nap' instead of 'nod', and couldn't figure out what 'chaps' meant. I also didn't get 'rishi' .. the perp 'Troi', being a proper noun... could have been anything.
As the only known Indian on this blog, I can confidently say, that I have never heard of 'rishi' being used synonymously as a ... 'poet'... nor 99.9% of other Indians would know of this ... Talk about an obscure xword reference !!
Most Indians would think of a 'Rishi' as a '(somewhat ) wise man,maybe even very knowledgable... even a seer ...who has foresaken common modern life...like its conveniences and obligations and marriage... lives in forest or on a mountain... and abjures possessive-ness' . Much like a 'sadhu'.
A misnomer, especially in cartoons is 'Guru' ... A 'Guru' is more akin to Rabbi, a teacher, religious or secular ... and like most Rabbis, they fully participate in modern life - get married, keep a household and socialize in the community.
Chancellor Otto VonBismarck, the foremost proponent of pan-Germany, was once asked, why he invariably drank French wine.
His famous reply ... " Patriotism stops at the stomach !".
Hi all -
Lemonade: Great job, loved the clip and quips.
I started out wrong by putting PEP in 1A, if I had looked at 1D first, I wouldn't have done that. sigh. I was with Barry G on 4A...couldn't come up with ABBR at all and the perps wouldn't enter my brain either so I had to go on to other areas.
Cannot imagine crossing TROI, RISHI, BRIOCHES (huh?) and BOSCH on a Wednesday puzzle but hey, that's just me.
Lois, very clever comment! You gave me a true LOL moment to start my day.
Dennis, the Emma (Imma) Nutt was great too. Loved the golf joke too, one of the great ones.
Good Morning All, I'm not a Trekkie, so I had to guess at "I" at the cross of (7D) RISHI and (15A) TROI. I got Mr. Happy Pencil when I finished, so I knew the "I" was correct. My other total unknown was (33D) LE BRUN, but the perps took care of that one.
Hahtool, I thought of baguettes also, but BRIOCHES was the plural that fit.
GAH is on the links this morning with "the boys" in his FOURSOME. At 68, he is the kid of the group.
Dennis, LOL, I'm not letting GAH see your "golf wives" joke....it might give him ideas.
Lemonade, terrific links today. I was amazed at the detailed TROI biography. The song links were great. I've heard Clay Aiken fans referred to as Claymates. Anybody here? A big smile for George Clooney in the morning...made my day! GAH and I are planning to see his new movie "The American" tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes.
I should defer to Vidwan on this. I'm sure he knows much more about it than I ever will. I am totally unfamiliar with the rishi poets. They were the composers of the ancient sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns called the Rig Veda. It isn't so easy to find a translation of any of the hymns, so I'm taking a chance on this one. I think it is lovely.
The Creation Hymn of Rig Veda
There was neither non-existence nor existence then.
There was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond.
What stirred?
Where?
In whose protection?
Was there water, bottlemlessly deep?
There was neither death nor immortality then.
There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day.
That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse.
Other than that there was nothing beyond.
Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning,
with no distinguishing sign, all this was water.
The life force that was covered with emptiness,
that One arose through the power of heat.
Desire came upon that One in the beginning,
that was the first seed of mind.
Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom
found the bond of existence and non-existence.
Their cord was extended across.
Was there below?
Was there above?
There were seed-placers, there were powers.
There was impulse beneath, there was giving forth above.
Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?
Whence this creation has arisen
- perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not -
the One who looks down on it,
in the highest heaven, only He knows
or perhaps He does not know.
- Translation by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty
Way to go, Lois!!!!! I was hoping someone would notice how cool the NE corner is. But not only that, this puzzle looks, feels and plays out in a wonderful way. It's a delight to my palette of senses.
BRIOCHES, BOSCH, OCHER, TOUCHING, sitting there all together. Pretty.
And, Mr. Lemonade, though you continue to bring sunshine into my drab and pathetic life, I must say I thought the three letter words are part of what makes this puzzle a gem.
HEX, ZIP, DUG, WEE, EVE, SKY.
Hall of fame- "It's an example of itself" for ABBR.
Good job, Mark. Really good.
Vidwan827, sorry I missed your RISHI comments @ 10:10. For some reason, even when I "Preview" my post, previous comments don't always show up until after I "Publish". Anyway, I was interested to see that RISHI for "Hindu poet" is pretty obscure. even in India. I think just about all of us had problems with it. Maybe it is more of a Friday fill.
Lemonade, so now I know why you were first on the other one. Real nice job on this one.
Another fine film to add to your list is The Last Station. It is the story of Leo Totstoy's last year of life. Helen Mirren should
have gotten the Oscar. MHO.
Must remember to subtrack three hours on Saturday.
Anyone want some zucchini?
Lemonade, Exceptional write-up and links.
Wednesday with two learning moments, RISHI & LEBRUN. Always a Big Plus!
Vidwan, thanks for the additional rishi info.
Themes were a tight fit for me today.
We've seen "adaptable truck" clue for UTE before.
Didn't like it then, still don't.
I have NEVER heard anyone ever refer to their vehicle with this word.
"Hey, I drive a ute!" Naaaa ...
Fave for me today was that ABBR, clever cluing.
Great write-up Lemonade. Thanks for all the wonderful music-made my day!
About UTE: I borrowed a ute in New South Wales, Australia, to drive out to an opal mine. The name "ute" is common in Oz. The vehicle was a pickup truck with a flat aluminum truck body. The sides and tailgate were designed to fold down or detach as desired. I saw lots of these rigs around; their adaptability to various tasks would be excellent, but for some reason such utility bodies are rare hereabouts.
I never heard "ute" in England but wouldn't be surprised.
good morning c.c., lemonade, and all,
i never know what day it is anymore (working 7 days a week will do that - it's all monday to me), so when i find time to do the xword i don't even think about day or difficulty level. this one came relatively easily with a few exceptions.
i got 'near miss,' early on, and understood the theme, but it didn't help in getting the remaining theme answers. it's an example of itself/abbr was very clever, and somehow i nailed it right away. tried RUMI for hindu poet, even though he was persian and sufi. never heard of rishi, but roshi is the japanese word for teacher so i tried that too.
whenever i see otto, i think of him, particularly lately, since in january the world lost miep gies, and this month the famous tree outside anne frank's window.
very well done, lemonade, great clips. the robinhood bit is just classic. i've heard of those overcrowded subways, but never seen them - crazy.
i agree that shadowlands is just a beautiful movie. right up there with remains of the day, another stellar hopkins performance.
had a houseguest the past week, getting back to the normal routine now - looks like i've missed a lot. lois, glad to see you've recovered. jeannie, chin up, girl.
Clear Ayes: You probably know more about the Vedas than I will ever know. My concept of religion ( all the various ones ...) tends to be more casual and 'earthy'... does it make the adherent a better person ?
The translator of your cited work - Wendy Doniger, caught my eye. She is originally jewish, born into a socialist and atheist family, with a Ph. D. in Sanskrit ( Oxford) and D.Sc. in Hinduism ( Harvard), now with Catholic leanings, at present, a Distg. Prof. of Comp. Religions, Univ of Chicago. She has written her latest 'Hindus - An Alternative Approach' ... which was very heavily criticized ( and appreciated.... ) in India. I can imagine someone trying to get a 'fatwa' against her....
I read and reread it ... it is charming, knowledgeable and HILARIOUS ! I am glad that there are other hindus, who can keep an open mind and find humour and amusement in their religion ... it would be a sad day on earth if it wern't so.
my favorite handy man.
Red's my favorite handyman...
Then there was the Anti Handy Man .
For those of you unfamiliar with the role MIEP GIES played in the Anne Frank story, I suggest you read the link, and remember her words, "We should not wait for government to make the world a better place." This is not a political statement, but an affirmation of the joy and responsibility of life.
Jerome:
Of course you are correct, some of the fill was scintillating, and I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle, but ETE and UTE and DOS and USE etc. were the price we paid for the wonderful theme puns and other cluing. Perhaps I am trying to avoid being a sycophant, but I enjoy every puzzle on many levels and if all I say are the things I like, no discussion like this can proceed. I too loved having the clue BOSC and BOSCH and BRIOCHE etc. all together.
You all are very kind in your comments on the blog, but the idea of puzzle solving is to entertain and enlighten ourselves. With a blog, we get to expand that horizon, and for me, keep my memory alive and relive the good ones.
Will we get a Mark Bickham interview C. C.?
Give me "Star Trek Enterprise" with Scott BaKula anyday!
Do "Red" and Windhover have the same tonsorial technician?
Lemonade- In your post you used the words THE, WAS, FOR, AND, and other common, often tiresome three letter words. Why? Because without them nothing we write or say would make any sense. We would all sound like idiots. Ditto for a crossword. You can't write one without some boring, overused words. It's an impossibility, and I'm not sure most solvers understand that yet. Those dreaded three letter words are some of what ties fill together and help make a section of a puzzle interesting, readable, and coherent. My next puzzle for the LAT has ALI in it. Love the guy. But I'm sick of having to use that name in a puzzle. Oh, I could use ANI, ARI, or AMI, but hey, isn't that just as exciting. They all elicit a big "Meh". "Well, don't use them" a solver might say. Again, my point is, constructors HAVE to. Those pesky little buggers aren't going away. Ever.
Jerome: Well said! Only a constructor (or a budding one) would understand what you mean.
Thanks melissa bee for James Taylor. His voice is so mellow and easy to listen to. None of the warbling (yodeling?) histrionics up and down the scales that are TOO popular today, he's just a great singer of great songs. And who would say that bald isn't sexy? The guy was hot back when he was Sweet Baby James and he has just improved with age.
Vidwan827, thank you too for the information on Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty. It was just a wild card choice to pick her translation, so I'm glad she is a real expert. I also enjoyed the "Your guess is as good as mine" tone of the Creation Hymn. It is amazing that much of the Rig Veda (also Rigveda) were composed as early as the 10th century BC (western calendar) and preserved orally for over 2000 years until they were written down in the 14th century AD.
Good day, everyone. Lemonade, your witty blog provided me with some chuckles and food for thought. Nice job. Thank you.
I'm late for the festivities today; this semester I am in a power yoga class and it wipes me out. I go for a massage, then a dip in the got tub to regain my sensibilities.
Great puzzle today from Mark Bickham. I loved the puns and caught on to the theme which helped greatly.
My hands are up for the top center and although I erred on ABBR. thought it a fantastic clue.
I had a glimmer of an idea about TROI but also spelled it TROY .
Also had BAGUETTES in mind first, but NEARMISS directed me to BRIOCHES.
Will have to check the links later, but did glimpse at George Clooney. He makes me want to be young again. Mama mia!
I hope your Wednesday is lovely.
Oops. That should be "hot tub."
~Part 1~
Dear C.C., Argyle, Lemonade714 and folk,
Good puzzle and very enlightening write up L.! Nice simple theme.
Well I had several holdups in the north central. OK, quite a few.
4a. ABBR
21a. OCHER, an art related one mind you!
5d. BRIOCHES, a French one, mind you!
7d. Hindu poet/RICHI, CA, are you familiar with this poet? I don't know very much about Hindi(u)culture but I do know it is becoming more readily available. Still, it's kind of remote for a desert dweller such as myself..
15a. TROI...Beautiful woman, ZZZzz...subject.
16a. hasten
It didn't totally fall into place but those are the breaks!
Pretty straightforward puzzle. Took 17 minutes. No difficulties with anything.
Bismarck was the chief architect of German unification, which he achieved through a series of short, successful wars, culminating in the proclamation of the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. He did in fact introduce the first social security program, which German socialists had long been agitating for. To undermine their appeal to the masses, he stole their program, put forward a government-sanctioned version of their plan, and took credit for it when it was implemented. Every state decision he made had a Machiavellian aspect to it.
~Part 2~
I'll say I was distracted as my grand puppy is here for the day
and speaking of 60a. 'TOTO" Carlos is a ringer! LOOKS LIKE A TOTO?
He even helped me type...It was cute. He has a lot of zip!
1a. energy/ZIP I had zip but it seemed too easy so I changed to erg. Not for long, though!
8a. Pure: CHASTE.
59a. loosen/UNTIE
16a bring about sooner/HASTEN. I'll add hasten with the 'protection' link. very funny, L.!
15a."Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor : TROI I know nothing about Star Trek except what I've learned through x/words. Science fiction means absolutely nothing to me! Today's name is new for me.
19a. Green light: ASSENT...the fun just keeps escalating!
20a. Architect Saarinen/EERO...He has so many incredible designs to his credit.
FYI: ARCH IN ARCHITECT
70. Letter opener?: ELL. Naturally I fell into this one today! What the 'ell?
71. "When a Man Loves a Woman" singer Percy __ : SLEDGE Very sexy song! A man in that compromised position...Ha! Ha! You guys...I'd like to say '
just kidding' but...!
36. Links groups: FOURSOMES so the link shows a four and then some? Hmmm. Plump, too!
I'm out.
Another named storm has developed in the Atlantic. I hope all of you along the east coast heed the evacuation warnings.
Today marks the 2nd Anniversary of Hurricane Gustav, which hit Louisiana. It closed the entire state government for about a week because so many power lines were down and there was no electricity. The landscape of much of southern Louisiana was changed due to all the trees that were felled by the winds.
Hi gang -
Nice puzzle. Clever theme, lots of good down fill.
ABBR is clever, but I still don't like it, especially crossing the obscure RISHI.
Yesterday, we had what might be the ultimate Toledo experience. Dinner at Tony Packo's, then the Mud Hens game. The last place Hens took a home and home from the first place Louisville Bats.
Rehearsal tonight. Gotta run.
Cheers!
JzB
Hi everybody. Thanks to Lemonaid and others for the links to cool stuff.
Nice puzzle today; I enjoyed solving it. Ran into the same trouble with ABBR and RISHI, which I had in as ABBA and AISHI until I came here and saw the error of my ways. At least I knew TROI.
I was struck by so many appearances of the "EN" sequence of letters in the NE corner: hastEN, assENt, stENo, tENor, ENtry, and assENt. Two appearances of ASS, too.
Been working more than usual lately. Just spent a couple of hours making up a schedule of tasks complete with completion dates. The managers love 'em, but frankly I don't think they're worth much. At least I get paid for doing it. LOL
Best wishes to you all.
I forgot to mention, as gradeschool kids we heard and said that "Hasten Jason" taunt many times. What a blast from the past!
Although my name is not Jason, I have been nicknamed and called Jason, and JC, most of my life, to distinguish me from my father. I was and am exceedingly proud that my best friend since highschool named his first-born son Jason in honor of me. He, in turn, is the proud papa of two sons, neither of which is called Jason.
Melissa bee, thanks for the James Taylor rendition of "Handyman" very smooth...I do love the original as well (Jimmy Jones, 1960).
CA: well said about the "warbling and histrionics up and down the scales", that is so true in today's music. I don't for the life of me know why that is done....one does not have to hit every note in the scales in one song! I can't stand listening to it, and of course it is played endlessly every where one shops. Arghh!
Hi everyone,
Add my name to list of people who had trouble with the north central. I had all but the BBR in ABBR.
Loved the Tim The Toolman Taylor video. What a good show that was.
The LAT had to use a picture of Nadal with the ball over his mouth?! I was going to link to a better, sexier picture, but I couldn't pick just one! You'll have to Google for yourself. Vamos Rafa!
@ Clear Ayes, we're going to see The American tomorrow, too. I recorded The Men Who Stare At Goats last night, and we're watching that tonight.
@ Dilbert, find some cars with unlocked doors. Or just set one on the hood.
JazzBumpa: ( hope I spelled it right ...)
I read in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, last week, that Tony Packos has gone into bankruptcy ( or receivership ) ... apparently they defaulted on their mortgage loans to Fifth Third Bank.
The restaurant business is fraught with uncertainty ... the most incorporations and openings and the most closings and bankruptcies....
I'm now certain you're in Toledo, only a 'holler away.
Bestbird,
I have a friend who does that with her zucchini too. Wouldn't you love to be there to see the owner's reaction when he/she finds a gigantic zucchini in their car? I made ratatouille with some of mine and other garden produce tonight.
Well I enjoyed all the talk today as well as the puzzle, but Frenchie dear, the Arizona sun has obviously gotten to you, as your grand puppy is neither the same color, nor breed as the great dog actor TERRY who had a long caeer, and was all black with a broad face and head, and grey tinges. Time to netflix the movie.
For the non-Star Trekkies among you:
DEANNA TROI
Frenchie's grandpuppy, flopped on the floor, looks like maybe a Yorkshire Terrier youngster with a puppy trim. Although Terry/Toto was mostly black, according to the AKC standard a Cairn can be any color other than white. They have a hard outer coat and Frenchie-pup looks very soft to the touch. He's cute whatever breed he is.
Hands up for not liking the warbling style of today's pop singers. Barbara watches American Idol. I'm sure some of them have excellent voices but I don't like their style of singing or their choices of today's popular songs.
On a different topic, I don't stay up late enough to watch the late night talk shows but Barbara records some of them that I'll watch while I'm eating lunch. Letterman seems tired these days and Leno isn't much better. But Craig Ferguson is a very funny fellow. He just says things in a funny way.
Greetings from Memphis, TN at near 9 pm. I could not find the LAT puzzle and so did a very clever NY Times puzzle with a fantastic My Fair Lady theme spread over 7 across clues.
Did this one at the Drury Inn and really wanted PETER for that certain fisherman and did not know EERO, TROI or LEBRUN. Got 'em through the back door (perps).
Graceland surprised me in that the house is smaller than I thought and the house is now swallowed up by urban sprawl in a tough part of Memphis.
We also saw the Peabody Ducks march and that was cool although if my grandson asks, "Papa, what did you do in the hotel?" and I respond, "We watched 5 ducks walk 40 feet into an elevator. Dang, between the ducks and the ceremony, it was cool!
Hi all,
A fairly hard puzzle for me but eventually got most of it.I had oxe for ass for a long time but, of course it didn't fit.
Thanks Lemonade for the subway ride on close quarters. It was so funny I couldn't stop laughing and my husband couldn't figure out why a crossword puzzle was so funny.
51A 'brought up' reminded me of the book Anne of Green Gables when the couple who adopted her wanted a boy to help on the farm but wanted one young enough to be 'brought up' properly. Of course they got a girl by mistake but decided to keep her.
I enjoy this blogg a lot and always look forward to reading it.
Thanks everyone!
Marge
Hello All, I didn't know several of the proper names, so different areas of the puzzle were difficult to fill in.
Le Brun, Bosch, Troi, and End run were all unknowns. Some were done with perps, but others had to be looked up on Google.
I did part of the puzzle about noon, and finally finished up all but one square after dinner. I did not know Rishi, and the Clue for Abbr, was just not coming through at all.
Good job, Lemonade in making the blog very enjoyable today. I always learn something new. My learning today was about Rishi.
Letter opener was one of my favorite clues today. Of course the puns for the theme answers were all very clever, and I did manage to get all of those.
Anon @ 2:07:
If you're speaking of my pic in the blog archive, w/beard, when that picture was taken December 7, 2006, (61st b'day), I had not enjoyed the services of a tonsorial technician for nearly 10 years (April 1997). I have since cleaned up somewhat, but my barber generally does not remember my name between visits, or else (twice) has gone to his reward and must be replaced.
@heartrx- your UTE link is a grand blast from the past!
@Dudley, you've never heard of Percy Sledge? What are you, 17?
(just kidding!) You don't like the song? Try listening to the Michael Bolton stylings!!!
@Lois, remarkable! You've done it again! I thought of you the other day, I was at the chiropractor's and as I was waiting for my turn, a young man came over and said my name and said, "Come on over here, we are going to do some neck stretching!!! I lay down where he gestured and it was one of the most incredible 30 minutes of my life!
@CA, The Rishi Poetry is so peaceful...kind of like a whisper.
thank you for taking the time to introduce it to us. I actually understood it to be a single poet with the surname Richi, so I stand corrected.
@VIDWAM, your description was very well put. You pose many good ways of looking at the possible meanings of 'richi". Thanks.
@Dog Fancier, yes he is a Yorkshire Terrier. He is soft, his coat is silky and tangles easily. With this shorter haircut, we first felt shocked. We're adjusting now. Under the coat, there was not that much to him! He's very small; about 4-4.5 lbs. He'll be a year old sometime in the Fall. Thanks for looking at my link and commenting on it!
@Kazie, how about this one for French bread, Beignets
@Bob, you are still my hero!
@Dudley, beautiful photographs! You are a beautiful couple!
@Jayce, you always have very well thought out comments. Today, I liked the blurb about your name, adorable!
@714, OK, you've got me on the Yorkie/Cairn point! However, I'd like to think Tia Maria looks like Chloe/Beverly Hills Chihuahua CHLOE, TIA. Will you give me that one?
@Fermatprime, I thought about you last night when I had insomnia! How have you been on that count?
@Jeannie, holding up OK?
I'm out.
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