Theme: ADD A LITTLE PUNCH (59. Liven up, with "to" (and a hint to how 17-, 27- and 44-Across were created) - Three basic boxing punch terms are added to the start of each common phrase.
17A. Flight from a heated argument? : CROSSFIRE ESCAPE. The base phrase here is Fire Escape.
27A. Talkative "King of Country"? : JABBERING STRAIT. Bering Strait. "King of Country": George Strait.
44A. Gene carrier responsible for truancy? : HOOKY CHROMOSOME. Y Chromosome.
C.C. here. Lemonade is on DL. Needs a bit more time after the eye surgery. Hopefully he'll be back blogging next Friday.
Nice pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once. I like that the "punched" new phrases have got nothing to do with various punch terms. Perfect adding a letter/letter string gimmick. Neat unifier.
Great looking grid too. Four cross-spanning theme entries with no cheater square.
Across:
1. Knack : FEEL. Did you get the answer immediately?
5. Big name in crackers : RITZ. Also 40D. Crackers? : WISE GUYS. Awesome clue. Great "crackers" clecho (clue echo).
9. Earthshaking news? : QUAKE. Nailed it.
14. Othello's confidant : IAGO. Achieved forever fame in Xword.
15. Not many : A FEW
16. Where to look out? : BELOW. I don't get the clue.
20. Thumbs-up : ASSENT
21. Baking shortcut : MIX. The clue "shortcut" makes me think the answer might be an abbreviation.
22. Flamboyant band since the '70s : KISS. Weird band.
23. Ask for : SEEK
25. Jack succeeded him : IKE. Both clue & answer are nicknames.
35. Allegheny, as of 1979 : US AIR. Was unaware of its previous name.
36. Karate skill symbols : BELTS
37. A.L. Central team, on scoreboards : CLE. Cleveland Indians.
38. Minor damage : DING
39. Word on the Great Seal of the U.S. : NOVUS. See here. "Novus ordo seclorum" = "New order of the ages". Novus = New. Ordo = Order. Seclorum = Age.
40. Propeller sound : WHIR
41. Gram. topic : ADJ. Grammar/Adjective.
42. Signal flare : FUSEE. Man, I did not even know this is a word.
43. Devout : PIOUS
47. Run a fever, perhaps : AIL
48. Informal rejection : NOPE
49. Big bunch : BEVY. Bevy of beauties.
52. Absorb, as a loss : EAT
55. Affects, as one's heartstrings : TUGS AT
62. Idaho flower : SNAKE. Snake River. Snaky clue without the question mark hint. Flower = Flow-er. River flows.
63. Cat's-paw : TOOL. Another devious clue.
64. Cole Porter's alma mater : YALE
65. Boss's privilege : SAY-SO
66. Office suites, e.g. : APPS (Applications)
67. Like yarn : SPUN
Down:
1. Pay stub abbr. : FICA
2. "I'm all __" : EARS
3. Obstacles to quiet on the set? : EGOS. Movie set.
4. Takes a real beating : LOSES BIG. Great answer.
5. Roof support : RAFTER
6. "__ Had $1000000": Barenaked Ladies hit : IF I. Not familiar with the song or the Barenaked Ladies, A Canadian alt-rock band. No lady there, and no one is bare or naked.
7. Six years, for a senator : TERM
8. Company in Germany? : ZWEI. German for "two". Two is company. (Thanks for the correction, Santa!)
9. Signal callers: Abbr. : QBS
10. Sportscaster Bob dubbed "Mr. Baseball" : UECKER. Here is a nice picture. He's the broadcaster in "Major League". Very funny.
11. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI. No idea. The Trans-Alai Range.
12. Keystone krew? : KOPS. Krew for "crew".
13. Meadow mamas : EWES
18. Contemptuous look : SNEER
19. Isn't fiction : EXISTS
24. Put the __ on: end : KIBOSH. I like the full phrase.
26. Chess jumpers: Abbr. : KTS (Knights)
27. David's kingdom : JUDAH
28. "... say, not __" : AS I DO
29. Bela Fleck's instrument : BANJO. Sweet answer for our old Bill. Maybe Bill G too.
30. "Fat chance!" : NEVER
31. Fasten, in a way : GLUE ON
32. Blessing evoker : ACHOO
33. Pelvic bone : ILIUM. Plural is ilia.
34. Like Coolidge, famously : TERSE. Hence "Silent Cal".
39. Proton sites : NUCLEI
42. "Thought you should know," on a memo : FYI
43. Like some children's books : POPUP
45. Whitewater craft : KAYAKS
46. Sites of many affairs : MOTELS. Thought of the singular OFFICE.
49. Largemouth __ : BASS
50. Bart Simpson's teacher __ Krabappel : EDNA. No idea.
51. End of the war : V-DAY. Victory.
53. "__ girl!" : ATTA
54. Sporty car roof : T-TOP
56. Pop's pal, at breakfast? : SNAP. Oh, Snap, Crackle, and Pop.
57. 2006 NSA suer : ACLU. Forever suing.
58. Afterwards : THEN
60. MGM mascot : LEO. Leo the Lion.
61. Cut : LOP
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Flight from a heated argument? : CROSSFIRE ESCAPE. The base phrase here is Fire Escape.
27A. Talkative "King of Country"? : JABBERING STRAIT. Bering Strait. "King of Country": George Strait.
44A. Gene carrier responsible for truancy? : HOOKY CHROMOSOME. Y Chromosome.
C.C. here. Lemonade is on DL. Needs a bit more time after the eye surgery. Hopefully he'll be back blogging next Friday.
Nice pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once. I like that the "punched" new phrases have got nothing to do with various punch terms. Perfect adding a letter/letter string gimmick. Neat unifier.
Great looking grid too. Four cross-spanning theme entries with no cheater square.
Across:
1. Knack : FEEL. Did you get the answer immediately?
5. Big name in crackers : RITZ. Also 40D. Crackers? : WISE GUYS. Awesome clue. Great "crackers" clecho (clue echo).
9. Earthshaking news? : QUAKE. Nailed it.
14. Othello's confidant : IAGO. Achieved forever fame in Xword.
15. Not many : A FEW
16. Where to look out? : BELOW. I don't get the clue.
20. Thumbs-up : ASSENT
21. Baking shortcut : MIX. The clue "shortcut" makes me think the answer might be an abbreviation.
22. Flamboyant band since the '70s : KISS. Weird band.
23. Ask for : SEEK
25. Jack succeeded him : IKE. Both clue & answer are nicknames.
35. Allegheny, as of 1979 : US AIR. Was unaware of its previous name.
36. Karate skill symbols : BELTS
37. A.L. Central team, on scoreboards : CLE. Cleveland Indians.
38. Minor damage : DING
39. Word on the Great Seal of the U.S. : NOVUS. See here. "Novus ordo seclorum" = "New order of the ages". Novus = New. Ordo = Order. Seclorum = Age.
40. Propeller sound : WHIR
41. Gram. topic : ADJ. Grammar/Adjective.
42. Signal flare : FUSEE. Man, I did not even know this is a word.
43. Devout : PIOUS
47. Run a fever, perhaps : AIL
48. Informal rejection : NOPE
49. Big bunch : BEVY. Bevy of beauties.
52. Absorb, as a loss : EAT
55. Affects, as one's heartstrings : TUGS AT
62. Idaho flower : SNAKE. Snake River. Snaky clue without the question mark hint. Flower = Flow-er. River flows.
63. Cat's-paw : TOOL. Another devious clue.
64. Cole Porter's alma mater : YALE
65. Boss's privilege : SAY-SO
66. Office suites, e.g. : APPS (Applications)
67. Like yarn : SPUN
Down:
1. Pay stub abbr. : FICA
2. "I'm all __" : EARS
3. Obstacles to quiet on the set? : EGOS. Movie set.
4. Takes a real beating : LOSES BIG. Great answer.
5. Roof support : RAFTER
6. "__ Had $1000000": Barenaked Ladies hit : IF I. Not familiar with the song or the Barenaked Ladies, A Canadian alt-rock band. No lady there, and no one is bare or naked.
7. Six years, for a senator : TERM
8. Company in Germany? : ZWEI. German for "two". Two is company. (Thanks for the correction, Santa!)
9. Signal callers: Abbr. : QBS
10. Sportscaster Bob dubbed "Mr. Baseball" : UECKER. Here is a nice picture. He's the broadcaster in "Major League". Very funny.
11. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI. No idea. The Trans-Alai Range.
12. Keystone krew? : KOPS. Krew for "crew".
13. Meadow mamas : EWES
18. Contemptuous look : SNEER
19. Isn't fiction : EXISTS
24. Put the __ on: end : KIBOSH. I like the full phrase.
26. Chess jumpers: Abbr. : KTS (Knights)
27. David's kingdom : JUDAH
28. "... say, not __" : AS I DO
29. Bela Fleck's instrument : BANJO. Sweet answer for our old Bill. Maybe Bill G too.
30. "Fat chance!" : NEVER
31. Fasten, in a way : GLUE ON
32. Blessing evoker : ACHOO
33. Pelvic bone : ILIUM. Plural is ilia.
34. Like Coolidge, famously : TERSE. Hence "Silent Cal".
39. Proton sites : NUCLEI
42. "Thought you should know," on a memo : FYI
43. Like some children's books : POPUP
45. Whitewater craft : KAYAKS
46. Sites of many affairs : MOTELS. Thought of the singular OFFICE.
49. Largemouth __ : BASS
50. Bart Simpson's teacher __ Krabappel : EDNA. No idea.
51. End of the war : V-DAY. Victory.
53. "__ girl!" : ATTA
54. Sporty car roof : T-TOP
56. Pop's pal, at breakfast? : SNAP. Oh, Snap, Crackle, and Pop.
57. 2006 NSA suer : ACLU. Forever suing.
58. Afterwards : THEN
60. MGM mascot : LEO. Leo the Lion.
61. Cut : LOP
Answer grid.
C.C.
Good morning CC,
ReplyDeleteRe: Lemonade on DL,
Gets an old Reds fan hot when you use that baseball lingo.
Talk to me.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteThis one came very close to defeating me. Most of it was fine, but the west central section was just a minefield for me...
Some of the damage was self-inflicted, since I put in JUDEA for JUDAH and BONGO for BANJO (hey -- it fit!) But I had no idea that USAIR used to be ALLEGHENY (I refused to even consider the answer might be RIVER) and absolutely couldn't parse the clue for ASIDO to save my life.
Redemption finally came when I figured out the theme and was able to put HOOK at the beginning of 44A (I originally tried ADD A LITTLE SPICE for 59A, so the theme was slow in coming). I then reconsidered BONGO and finally realized that BANJO also fit there (Bela Fleck who?) With those in place, I made a WAG of USAIR and that let me finally understand what 28D was looking for.
I hope everybody who celebrated it had a great Thanksgiving. Food was mightily delayed at my brother's house due to problems with the oven, but I didn't mind since it let me watch the entirety of the Pats/Lions game without being too rude. And besides, there were plenty of appetizers to munch on while we waited...
Good Morning, CC. So nice to "see" you again. You have been missed. I hope Lemonade comes off the DL soon and is back to his old self.
ReplyDeleteBoy, this puzzle gave me a workout. It didn't help that I am not up on my boxing terms. Was unaware that Cross could relate to boxing.
I got fooled by the Idaho Flow-er, and tried to fit Syringa into too few spaces! Any one in our group from Idaho?
I also tried TUGS On instead of TUGS AT.
My favorite clue was Company in Germany? ZWEI.
We had a nice Thanksgiving with friends. It was so warm, we could even eat outside. Today is rainy and cold, however.
It's a state holiday here ~ Acadian Day.
No shopping for me on this Black Friday. I try to avoid the stores between now and the end of December.
QOD: Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to? ~ Clarence Darrow.
C.C. Wonderful write-up.
ReplyDelete"Look out BELOW" ... probably used a lot in mountain climbing ... not a popular past-time here in Florida.
Well this was an excellent adventure.
A 5th gem in-a-row.
OK, the brain-cells were required to re-connect.
Without the perps I would have been in right-field.
Hmmm, MOTELS, yeah that's the ticket.
And that Idaho flower, SNAKE ... subtle Sam and a "V-8 can" head slap.
Fave was SNAP, Pops pal.
Wanted silent for TERSE but it wouldn't fit.
From yesterday ... and the photo's:
Carol, That PROUD TO BE AN OLD GEEZER was a joke gift when I turned 55, 3 years ago.
I live in a 55+ neighborhood ... but was only 50 when I moved in.
Villa Incognito was owned by my best friend Charlie who was 60 at that time.
97% knew I was a proper resident but a few blitches said to me "You're not old enough!"
So at 55 I became "legal" ... even to them. jeez ...
Gunghy
I liked your returning G.I. photo's from Tuesday.
When my Company cohorts and I returned home to the U.S. we were NEVER greeted.
(damn, that seems like a life-time ago).
To all
Those are probably the only 5 photo's taken with me in them in the last 15 years.
Though I am considering taking a Sunset photo so you can see where I "Toast" you all each evening.
Cheers to all later!!!
"Look out below!" Sort of the equivalent to "Fore!" on a constuction site.
ReplyDeleteThe King of Country Music - George Strait: short clip(1:59).
8D. Company in Germany? : ZWEI. German for "two". Two is a crowd. No, drei is a crowd.
Eins is lonely, zwei is company and drei is a crowd.
I muddled through with lots of trial/error, WAGs, etc. Even when I was done I didn't get the theme since I'm not much of a boxing fan. But it was enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI've been MIA all week due to spending the holiday in Vail, CO visiting my daughter and doing some skiing. Fabulous skiing. Although it was -6F when the lifts opened at 9AM on Thanksgiving Day. It eventually warmed up to 10F. But it was sunny and 9" of new snow. No complaints to say the least.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Get better Lemonade.
Now that the day of giving "Thanks" is over, allow me to relate to y'all a story that happened many years ago. In fact, 30 years ago - TODAY! This happened in Billings, Montana.
ReplyDeleteI was having breakfast (the day after Thanksgiving) with my wife and two daughters - Paige and Eryka. I said, "The turkey was quite good yesterday, but not as good as when I was a youngster. We raised our own turkey, and when Thanksgiving came around we killed it and had it for dinner. It was the best."
"Oh, dad." said Paige. "I bet it wasn't all that great."
"Yes it was, Babe. I'll prove it to you".
So we went to Ed's Hardware Store and I bought some wood and chicken wire and built a pen in the backyard. Then we went to a local turkey farm - Sam and Ella's Turkey Emporium - (I was the only person who ever bought a bird from them - after all, who would want a Sam and Ella turkey), bought a young bird and took it home.
For a year we raised that turkey; got it all fat and juicy, and my kids named it - of course, TOM. When the following Thanksgiving came along, they refused to let me kill the ugly, old bastard. Consequently, we had to eat our dog.
The blessing of getting old is the fantastic memories you have gathered throughout your miserable journey.
I must be off!
Hi C.C. and all:
ReplyDeleteSorry that I didn't make it on Wednesday or Thursday to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, but I do hope everyone had a great day with family and/or friends. My daughter came into town and we had our custom pool table delivered after nearly 3 months waiting!
Fun puzzle today! Off soon for a hair cut and pedicures for my daughter and myself.
This was a wake-up call after the relatively easy ride we've had the previous four days. Kept reading "Pay stub abbr" as "ticket stub abbr" so FICA didn't make a lot of sense. Another dent in a V-8 can for sure. Had never heard of fusee either. Loved snake for Idaho flower.
ReplyDeletePatiently waiting for lunchtime and a turkey sandwich.
Had a wonderful day yesterday - and the Saints dispatched the Cowboys which made it even better!
Lemonade - incude my wishes for a speedy recovery.
Hello Puzzlers - Looks like a quiet day here at the Corner - I hope everybody is resting and not shopping.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason today's puzzle was a quick solve - must have been the coffee. I did get snagged on JUDAH, never heard of Bela Fleck, and missed the "flow-er" punchline completely even though we've had that before.
Haven't looked up FUSEE yet. I remember the word as it relates to antique pocket watches (a clever drive mechanism), but that has no relation to highway flares.
Thanks for pinch-hitting C.C.! Best wishes to Lemonade for a speedy recovery.
Good morning CC and solvers all. Nice writup.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping Lemonade gets off the DL and back in the game quickly.
I figured out the theme and got all of the theme entries but had to do a wag for the EDNA/SNAKE cross. I have never watched an episode of the Simpsons but EDNA was the only name that I could think of that fit. I never heard of a "snake flower" but left it in anyway. I didn't figure out the tricky clue until I came here.
USAIR slowed me down for a bit but finally got the head slap moment on that one.
Argyle, we never used "Look out below!" on construction sites. "Headache!" said it all.
The "Big bunch" clue almost messed me up. I put down BODY instead of BEVY, which gave me DDAY instead of VDAY. I finally figured out that there is a VDAY and not just VEDay and VJday and got that straightened out.
Fun Friday CW. Made me wake up a few dormant brain cells for the first time this week.
Uh, Buckeye... that was more of a miserable memory from a fantastic journey! Yes, you must be off... either your rocker or your meds!
ReplyDeleteGo Bucks!
Thanks, C.C.
ReplyDeleteWho'd a thunk it? FUSEE really is a word: "A colored flare used as a warning signal for trucks and railroad trains." (The Free Dictionary by Farley.) Even after getting all the fills, I did not discover a theme. Not a boxing fan. Some words just work out with perps and you still don't believe them. UECKER (Yecker?) is one of those words. I had QUAKE on first pass, but took it out when UEC appeared for the name. I fell for the Judea/JUDAH error. When SNAKE came up as a "flower," I said "Well, okay, if you SAYSO." Thanks for clearing that up, C.C.
It was 18 degrees when I got up this morning. Did I feel sorry for those poor simple souls who camped out over night to catch the B.F. sales? NOT!
Had dressing and cranberry sauce for breakfast. Yum!
Lemonade, wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle did away with my confidence in trying to solve these pesky, clever Friday thingies. Oh, I tried but there were just too many unknowns to make it fun for me.
I always have trouble with the play on word clues.
Tinbeni: do you enjoy living in a 55+ community? I have a friend who lives in one, but she doesn't really care for it all that much...there is no one very close to her age, they are mostly all in their 80's and older(she just turned 68).
Buckeye: Wow, that was some story! Does cranberry sauce go well with dog? How was the grrrravy??
Lemonade: I am thinking of you, I hope things are improving!
I'll be roasting our turkey today.
Hi C.C. Best wishes to Lemonade.
ReplyDelete"Look out below" means Watch out, I just dropped something from above!
Why is MIX a baking shortcut? It's just a necessary step, isn't it?
Due to various body defects and laziness, I haven't gotten much exercise lately. We belong to a tennis club/gym and I'm going in for an introductory lesson for an upper-body workout in an hour. I need to get some strength back.
I can't wait for the leftovers today!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGreat write up, C.C. This was not one I was able to finish completely. Not being a boxing fan, I didn't get the theme, as usual. Missed flower again! I hope I learn soon. Even though Ike was the one I voted for the first time I was old enough to vote, I missed that too.
Lemonade, hope you are completely recovered soon.
Cheers
MIX refers to using a pakaged mix as opposed to "made from scratch". Definitely a shortcut.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteThanks for subbing today, C.C. and a great write up.
Lemonade, I hope your eye heals quickly. Positive thoughts going your way to be soon removed from the disabled list.
Hand up for missing flow-er and how many times have we seen it?
Also had JUDEA first, then JUDAH when ADJ and HOOKY appeared.
My late DH was an avid boxing fan so CROSS, JAB, HOOK were familiar.
Fav clue was company in Germany? ZWEI.
On 40D the newspaper has "sources of many cracks" but I think crackers would have been much funnier and more tricky.
IKE jumped out with Jack clued, and my first fill was TACIT for Coolidge then WHIR and PIOUS made TERSE obvious.
We had a delightful T-Day dinner with ALL the trimmings including pork loin. Then three rounds of Scrabble; I won two.
No shopping for me today, I'm taking a page from g8trmomX2 and going for pedicure and nails.
Have a wonderful Friday all!
Good Morning All, Thanks to a kind Samuel A. Donaldson, this puzzle came pretty easily. I didn't know FUSEE Thanks for the explanation, daffy dill.
ReplyDeleteGAH is a big boxing fan, so the theme popped out after CROSS and JAB.
(62A) "Idaho flower" almost got me. We haven't seen the fabulous "flower" hint for a while. But the light bulb went on and since I already had perp BASS, SNAKE
I haven't had time to go back to the previous puzzles this week, but I have skimmed over the comments. So nice to hear from so many people on Wednesday. I was pleased to see that brother Buckeye has been visiting. Tarrajo and PJB, Hi to you too!
fermatprime, I'm sorry if I sounded flippant with my remark about your elderly friend. I had no idea she was so incapacitated. I hope efforts on her behalf help her to improve.
BillG, I glad to see you back too. I'm wishing you great success with your new life.
We had a terrific Thanksgiving yesterday. My daughter took over the cooking (her husband has been family chef for 20 years) and she pulled it all off wonderfully. The grandkids were charming and funny (that isn't always the case with teenagers) and our eleven year old Rachael made a special pecan pie for Grandma. I getting ready to have a piece of "sent home pie" for breakfast. Too good to resist.
I didn't have too much trouble with this one (31 minutes). Last part to be solved was the SE corner. I never understood the theme or needed to until coming to the blog this morning. Also didn't get the "flow-er" reference at 62A, but it didn't matter. Didn't know EDNA at 50D either, but it was the only reasonable solution.
ReplyDeleteThe region of modern Israel wasn't called Judea until Roman times, roughly 1000 years after David. In David's day it was called Judah, named for one of the sons of Jacob.
A few short Keystone Kops scenes:
KEYSTONE KOPS
A little slow today but finished with only one lookup. C.C probably knew 39A but I could not recall NOVUS. Could only think of E. Pluribus Unim and none of it would fit.
ReplyDeleteFUSEE seems to be the new word of the day. Never heard the term, though as young juvenile delinquents, we often swiped the flares from the local train tracks.
My last hang up was the cross at 61D and 63A. Didn't know the association of Cat's Paw with TOOL and had TOeL thinking Cut = LeT.
Spending a much quieter day with just my son's and daughter's families. That's about 40 less people than yesterday's crowd.
Cat's paw tool.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon C.C. and all.
ReplyDeleteQuite a workout today but the challenge was fun. Learned how to spell FUSEE, NOVUS, and KIBOSH. Got the theme words easily enough with perp help, but did not appreciate the full theme until coming here. ZWEI was a slam dunk. Thought Idaho flow-er was extremely cleverly clued. (Could not thing of a flower that spelled like sn__e.:-)). KAYAKS helped bring in SNAKE.
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Got to go say bye to my brother, so I'll comment later. But lots of hands-up.
ReplyDeleteSince no one seems to have heard of him, here's some Bela.
Good Afternoon C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteThanks for filling in for Lemonade, C.C. There must be a lot of work putting these blogs together, and we all appreciate the great service you do all us faithful fans! But I hope Lemonade is back with us soon, fully recovered.
FUSEE was new to me, so I am happy to have learned something today. Loved ACHOO for "Blessing evoker" and TOOL for "cats-paw".
Hand up Tinbeni for getting sucked into the deception of "Idaho Flower" for SNAKE river. I actually have a picture in some box somewhere of me wading in the Snake river in northwestern Wyoming. Since the picture is in a box, and not a digital one on my computer, you can guess that it was "several" years ago. All I remember is that it was numbing-ly frigid, because it comes right off the Tetons and it was April. Brrrrr!
Had to laugh at Buckeye's turkey story. My neighbors raised one years ago, and treated it like a pet, too. But the hard hearted dad actually did do it in for Thanksgiving. The problem was, that the kids had been secretly feeding it extra "rations" every time they went by the pen. The turkey ended up being so big, that it wouldn't fit into the oven!
And that's another reason to consider Cornish Game Hens as an alternative ;-D (they came out great, BTW).
Have a great BF everyone - I'm staying home and putting up Christmas decorations!
My father used to call railroad flares "fusee"s.
ReplyDeleteHi all and pinch hitter C.C.! Lunch at BK today with grandkids so turkey, etc will be staple for next 5 meals or so!
ReplyDeleteMusings -
-I did not know George Strait's title but a couple took us to a of his concert years ago. He was motionless and even his jeans were pressed with a crease. I did read his wife and kids travel with him and that has kept their marriage intact.
-Loved Zwei clue!
-kIbosh not kYbosh!
-Sites of affairs? No Tell Motel!
-When we went the extra mile at school, all we got was an "attaboy" or an "attagirl"! That and a dollar got you a Snickers out of the vending machine.
-Poor Crackle didn't make the cut with his buddies today!
Husker's season is on the line in 2 minutes. I hope they are as embarrassing as the coach was last week?
C.C., the NOVUS link did not open for some reason.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteI had all kinds of trouble with this one, and left gaping holes in the mid-section. NEVER got "fat chance." NOVUS? -- No way. FUSEE - too confusee. GLUE ON - I was stuck with CLIP ON.
Of course, I got LOSES BIG, having watched the Lions yesterday.
Great puzzle today, but I'm glad I wasn't blogging. Had to read C.C.'s explanation twice to suss the theme. Great job madame hostess.
Lemonade - speedy recovery, sir.
The first theme entry had me looking for portmanteau phrases, a la CROSS FIRE + FIRE ESCAPE, so I was totally befuddled.
The house seems so empty and quiet now. Beth and the kids left after lunch. After 3 days with 3 kids all the time, and 5 other cousins in and out at various times, it was a non-stop playathon.
Now - - - zzzzzz . . .
Gunghy - thanks for the Flecktones clip. Those guys are amazing.
Well, I don't have to run, but I've run out of things to say - so . . .
Cheers!
JzB
Hi C.C. & gang, my wife and I teamed up on today's puzzle and finished it quickly that way.
ReplyDeleteWe had a good turkey day and leftover lunch today also.
I couldn't resist posting this link to Look out Below! It explains our current financial woes pretty well I think.
;-)
Hi all, glad to hear that everyone's get together was a good one yesterday. I had a little bit of trouble on this one and had it not been for "red" letter help, I wouldn't have finished it. Not being a baseball fan I had no clue who Bob Uecker was so had to hit the g-spot for that. Other perp/red letter help included Zwei, Iago, and Alai. I have never heard of a "fusee" so that one was basically a WAG. Favorite clues were "bleasing evoker" - achoo and "signal callers" - QB's. Grumpy1 you are right on with the baker's shortcut "mix" as that is cheating in my book whenever you cook or bake something. Read the box sometime, folks...there are things in there you have never even heard of.
ReplyDeleteTinbeni (Ari) you handsome devil, thanks for sharing your pic's.
Huskergary, what did you have at BK? Speaking of numbers and the memory of those...I suffer a lot with trying to keep those out of my head when trying to sleep. Did you perhaps have a 40104 w/76730 holding the 77600? (Whopper w/cheese holding the onions?)
My dinner was a great success and I even won a few hands of Texas hold'em. Not too many leftover though as my friends are on to me and brought their own tupperware containers to bring home a "sampling". LOL...
Good to see some of those that have been missed of late. Thank you my favorite counselor for putting that together, and although I enjoy your blogging, it was good to C.C. behind the helm today. Keep improving and don't drink too much of that brew.
Everyone enjoy your weekend. It's still cold here, but the sun is out so as Lois would say, "It's all good."
Carol
ReplyDeleteLiving here in a 55+ isn't so bad.
There are 27 holes of golf that I can play for free any time (it's included in the homeowner monthly fee).
Our Club House and Pool area would probably rival any private country club.
And I actually like to wash my car with my neighbor who at 81 washes his Cadillac DTS by hand too.
Then I have a neighbor 99 (100 on January 1st) who served in the Pacific theater in WWII. He reminds me of my Father who flew 25 times in a B-17 over Germany.
And they sometime call me "the kid"!!!
Tinbeni, your community sounds like a good place and if your neighbors are a lot older, at least they sound like they are in good shape and enjoying life like they should :) - I just think my friend picked the wrong one to move to...but how does one go about checking that out? Not easily done. Sometimes you have to gamble.
ReplyDeleteMy turkey is in the oven, and starting to smell delicious. Dinner yesterday at the niece's house was less than fun. None of the people we expected to see were there, and the few that were, we didn't know. They also had very young children (this included our great-niece's and nephew's) so the noise level was high and since we are not used to small children crying and yelling, we excused ourselves as soon as it was polite. Whew! we were glad to get home!
C.C., I would have thought the answer for 66A-office suites would be apts. (apartments)not apps.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I ever heard the term apps used was on the commercial for the I-Phone. What do you think?
Mr. Ed, that confused me too. I got to thinking that if Office was capitalized, it might be Microsoft Office and the suites were applications like Word. Just a thought.
ReplyDeletewell, isn't this convenient. I looked for some answers to the puzzle I was working on and found this site with the exact puzzle I was working on with all the answers.
ReplyDeleteBill G,
ReplyDeletethat's a thought. clever.
password won't work, so i'm anon.
MR. ED
The term apps for applications has been around for a lot longer than the iphone in the computer community. The iphone brought the term into a more general usage with their "there's an app for that" commercials.
ReplyDeleteNo need to capitalize office. Microsoft has trademarked the capitalized Office, but there are or were several other office suites. Corel and openoffice.org are two that come to mind.
Jeannie,
ReplyDeleteI just had a double cheeseburger but my 8 yr. old grandson had a double whopper and made a game effort at it. He got 2/3 of it down!
I thought Tinbeni's T-shirt was fun but he looks way too distinguished to be called a Geezer! I remember the first time I got asked if I wanted a senior discount. Yes I do, but is it that obvious that I qualify?
I have some kiddie pics up, from
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving in Bumpaland.
Cheers!
JzB
C. C.,
ReplyDeleteThank you; unlike Wally Pip, I hope to be back in the line up soon, thank you for taking over; I guess I have been not resting enough with my kids in town. We can be seen together in my avatar.
JzB, great pics.
Eli, I am glad you found us, we are here for your entertainment pleasure everyday including Christmas. Since I saw you were a male, and the avatar is of a female and a baby, if you are the baby, I am impressed. C'mon back.
To each of you who honored me by posting Wednesday, and who have sent healing wishes, thank you, thank you. It all helps.
Good night friends.
ReplyDeleteBuckeye, what a great Thanksgiving narrative. Visit often, please.
Jazz, thanks for the pix. Good looking bunch.
Lemonade, glad you checked in. Hope all is well soon.
Did any Firefox user have problem opening my 39A NOVUS link?
ReplyDeleteLucina,
ReplyDeleteI relinked NOVUS. Santa found out that Internet Explorer did not support the SVG markup. I am using Firefox.
Jazzbumpa said, "
ReplyDeleteI have some kiddie pics up".
Why??
Novus link opened fine for this Firefox user.
ReplyDeleteFusees were a staple of my boyhood summers... easy to get and fun to play with. Illegal to do most of what we did then nowadays, I suppose.
And--
I've always seen "Look out below" used in nautical novels set in the days of sail (a la Hornblower, etc.), when something was dropped from the rigging above.
We had a very nice family day yesterday, and today spent the evening at my youngest son's wedding and reception. TWO Thanksgiving days in a row for us! (And a very nice daughter-in-law as well.)