Theme: Stuffed - The end letter(s) of each Thanksgiving Day food item is left out. You're too stuffed to eat the whole thing, a la Santa.
23A. Thursday meat : TURKEY WINGS AND DRUM STI(CKS)
35A. Thursday veggie : MASHED POTATOES WITH GRA(VY)
55A. Thursday condiment : HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUC(E)
77A. Thursday veggie : CANDIED YAMS WITH MARSHM(ALLOWS)
91A. Thursday dessert : PUMPKIN PECAN PIE A LA MOD(E)
111A. This weekend's fridge contents, probably, and what's missing from five long puzzle answers? : THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS
Different number of letters are left out in each theme entry. I presume the rationale is just to get a perfect 21 in each entry? Or does CKS, VY, E, ALLOWS & E together anagram to something meaningful?
Very seldom do we see 6 grid spanners in a Sunday puzzle. Tough to pull it off. No to mention a pangram and no cheater. Low word/block count as well. Amazing.
The clue for TAIPEI (71D. Southeast Asian island metropolis) is incorrect. It's East Asian. China, Japan, North/South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan/Hongkong/Macau all belong to East Asia.
As usual, I've green-highlighted John's signature clechoes.
Across:
1. Insect catchers : WEBS. Had NETS.
5. Something blown before a fight? : FUSE. And BURN (3D. Blow a 5-Across).
9. Seize by force : USURP
14. Monkees' jacket type : NEHRU. Always associated it with the Beatles. And TITLE (72. Jacket line). Book jacket.
19. Marine hue : AQUA. Dennis, I can see dark blue from Minnesota!
20. Exalt : LAUD
21. Long time follower? : NO SEE. Great clue.
22. Allium plant : ONION. Unaware of this fact.
27. Singing hindrance : TIN EAR. I just can't sing.
28. Net weight factors : TARES. And ENMESH (15D. Catch, as in a net)
29. Early Greek Cynic : DIOGENES. Not familiar with this dude. Maybe Argyle the Modern Cynic knows.
30. Sweeping matter : SOOT
32. Curse : OATH
34. __-relief : BAS
45. Bruins' sch. : UCLA
46. Lays eggs in water : SPAWNS
47. Jalisco hundred : CIEN. Spanish for "hundred".
48. Fleur de __: sea salt : SEL. Just "salt" in French. Poivre = Pepper.
49. They're raised at bars : SHOTS. Sure was not thinking of drinks. Also SAKE (4D. Sushi bar drink). Rice wine.
51. Connecting symbol between musical notes : TIE. And READ (62A. Decipher, as music)
52. Auto for Otto, maybe : AUDI. Nice sounding clue.
53. Arch opening? : MATRI. Opening of the word Matriarch.
60. Half an attention-getter : YOO. "Yoo -hoo".
61. Concur : AGREE
63. Everlasting, to the bard : ETERNE. Eternal.
64. Jenny's sound : BRAY. Jenny = She donkey.
65. Vise feature : JAW
66. Certain fed : NARC. Shouldn't "fed" be capitalized?
67. Secretary of state under Reagan : SHULTZ (George)
70. Try : STAB
74. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA. See also LIZA (103D. Gershwin title girl who can make "all the clouds ... roll away"). Had L in place, wanted LOLA.
81. Mountain spine : RIDGE
82. Postnatal bed : CRIB
83. AQI monitor : EPA
84. "... __ down in green pastures" : TO LIE. No idea. From Psalm 23.
85. Alias : AKA
86. __-garou: werewolf : LOUP. French for werewolf. Loup = Wolf. Lupus is Latin for wolf. Learning moment for me.
87. Flaws : FAULTS
90. "Death in Venice" author : MANN (Horace) (Correction: The author is Thomas Mann. Thanks, Dodo.)
96. Lip : RIM
97. Neil Diamond's "__ Said" : I AM I
98. King of rhyme : COLE. Old King Cole. Nursery rhyme.
99. Remain calm : STAY COOL
104. Succeed in : WIN AT
106. More's allegorical island : UTOPIA. Thomas More.
114. Azerbaijani neighbor : IRANI. Wow, what if the hard-to-spell Azerbaijani is the answer?
115. Gas that both protects and pollutes : OZONE
116. Hot rod rod : AXLE
117. Mounted on : ATOP
118. "Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon" author Robert : ROSE. Stranger to me.
119. Georgia gridders, familiarly : DAWGS. University of Georgia Bulldogs. Unknown to me.
120. Macho guy : STUD
121. Peephole feature, often : LENS
Down:
1. One with his name in lights? : WATT. James Watt I suppose.
2. Same: Pref. : EQUI
5. Trout fishing gear : FLY RODS
6. Detroit labor gp. : UAW
7. Fit perfectly : SUIT TO A TEE. Nailed it.
8. Flamboyant Dame : EDNA. Dame Edna.
9. Dethrones : UNSEATS
10. In order that : SO AS TO
11. JFK served in it : USN
12. Sly Foxx : REDD. Why "Sly"?
13. Foot at the head? : PEDI. Don't get the clue.
14. Chewy candy : NOUGAT
16. "__ Hers": 1994 Pulp album : HIS 'N". Another unfamiliar reference.
17. Learning style : ROTE
18. Colleges, Down Under : UNIs.
24. Lighten up : EASE
25. Pun, usually : GROANER
26. The American one is in the thrush family : ROBIN
31. Like an ant. : OPP (Opposite). Antonym.
33. Mother of Hector in the "Iliad" : HECUBA. Mother of Paris as well. I was stumped again.
35. Oozing schmaltz : MUSHY
36. Certain Dwarf's periodic outburst : ACHOO
37. NFL ref's aid : SLO-MO
38. Detest : HATE
39. Doubly : TWICE
40. Took up (with) : SIDED
41. Stream blocker : WEIR. River dam. New word to me. Only know golfer Mike Weir. He won Masters in 2003.
42. The sun, e.g. : G-STAR. Why isn't "sun" capitalized?
43. Show over : RERUN
44. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE
50. Smug sort : SMARTIE. Another new word. Reminded me of Smarty Jones.
52. Again : ANEW
53. "It's on me" : MY TREAT
54. "Be there in __" : A SEC
56. Riveted : AGAZE
57. Like Steven Wright's humor : DRY
58. Lawrence's men : ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
59. King's domain : REALM
64. Sch. campus unit : BLDG
65. Doorway part : JAMB
66. Ultimate : NTH
67. Morsel : SCRAP
68. Narrowly defined verse : HAIKU
69. Allow to flow : UNDAM. A real word?
70. Waffle topper : SYRUP
72. Tilt skywards : TIP UP. Have never used this phrase before.
73. It's used for emphasis : ITALIC TEXT. True!
74. Faith of more than one billion : ISLAM. Don't really understand this religion.
75. African lumberer : RHINO
76. Alter, as an agreement : AMEND. OK, EMEND is "Alter, as a text".
78. Pest control brand : D-CON. Wanted RAID.
79. Making independent (from) : WEANING
80. "Arrivederci __" : ROMA
86. Stretches on the road : LIMOS. Nice clue.
87. Biblical hardships : FAMINES
88. Columbia Records jazz producer Macero : TEO. Is this guy very well-known?
89. Toasted : SALUTED
92. Hawthorne's "A" wearer : PRYNNE. In "The Scarlet Letter".
93. Begin to take effect : KICK IN
94. Cornfield chatter : CAWING
95. Mother of Apollo : LETO. Don't confuse her with "Mother of Helen" the swan lady LEDA.
99. Arouse : STIR
100. Via, old-style : THRO
101. Small batteries : AAAs
102. Prayer start : O GOD
105. Sadly : ALAS. Penned in BLUE. Grammatically wrong.
107. __ Office : OVAL
108. Ale brewer Slosberg : PETE. First encounter with this brewer.
109. Fe, in chemistry : IRON
110. Deadly slitherers : ASPS
112. Altar agreement : VOW
113. H1N1 virus, e.g. : FLU
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. Thursday meat : TURKEY WINGS AND DRUM STI(CKS)
35A. Thursday veggie : MASHED POTATOES WITH GRA(VY)
55A. Thursday condiment : HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUC(E)
77A. Thursday veggie : CANDIED YAMS WITH MARSHM(ALLOWS)
91A. Thursday dessert : PUMPKIN PECAN PIE A LA MOD(E)
111A. This weekend's fridge contents, probably, and what's missing from five long puzzle answers? : THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS
Different number of letters are left out in each theme entry. I presume the rationale is just to get a perfect 21 in each entry? Or does CKS, VY, E, ALLOWS & E together anagram to something meaningful?
Very seldom do we see 6 grid spanners in a Sunday puzzle. Tough to pull it off. No to mention a pangram and no cheater. Low word/block count as well. Amazing.
The clue for TAIPEI (71D. Southeast Asian island metropolis) is incorrect. It's East Asian. China, Japan, North/South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan/Hongkong/Macau all belong to East Asia.
As usual, I've green-highlighted John's signature clechoes.
Across:
1. Insect catchers : WEBS. Had NETS.
5. Something blown before a fight? : FUSE. And BURN (3D. Blow a 5-Across).
9. Seize by force : USURP
14. Monkees' jacket type : NEHRU. Always associated it with the Beatles. And TITLE (72. Jacket line). Book jacket.
19. Marine hue : AQUA. Dennis, I can see dark blue from Minnesota!
20. Exalt : LAUD
21. Long time follower? : NO SEE. Great clue.
22. Allium plant : ONION. Unaware of this fact.
27. Singing hindrance : TIN EAR. I just can't sing.
28. Net weight factors : TARES. And ENMESH (15D. Catch, as in a net)
29. Early Greek Cynic : DIOGENES. Not familiar with this dude. Maybe Argyle the Modern Cynic knows.
30. Sweeping matter : SOOT
32. Curse : OATH
34. __-relief : BAS
45. Bruins' sch. : UCLA
46. Lays eggs in water : SPAWNS
47. Jalisco hundred : CIEN. Spanish for "hundred".
48. Fleur de __: sea salt : SEL. Just "salt" in French. Poivre = Pepper.
49. They're raised at bars : SHOTS. Sure was not thinking of drinks. Also SAKE (4D. Sushi bar drink). Rice wine.
51. Connecting symbol between musical notes : TIE. And READ (62A. Decipher, as music)
52. Auto for Otto, maybe : AUDI. Nice sounding clue.
53. Arch opening? : MATRI. Opening of the word Matriarch.
60. Half an attention-getter : YOO. "Yoo -hoo".
61. Concur : AGREE
63. Everlasting, to the bard : ETERNE. Eternal.
64. Jenny's sound : BRAY. Jenny = She donkey.
65. Vise feature : JAW
66. Certain fed : NARC. Shouldn't "fed" be capitalized?
67. Secretary of state under Reagan : SHULTZ (George)
70. Try : STAB
74. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA. See also LIZA (103D. Gershwin title girl who can make "all the clouds ... roll away"). Had L in place, wanted LOLA.
81. Mountain spine : RIDGE
82. Postnatal bed : CRIB
83. AQI monitor : EPA
84. "... __ down in green pastures" : TO LIE. No idea. From Psalm 23.
85. Alias : AKA
86. __-garou: werewolf : LOUP. French for werewolf. Loup = Wolf. Lupus is Latin for wolf. Learning moment for me.
87. Flaws : FAULTS
90. "Death in Venice" author : MANN (Horace) (Correction: The author is Thomas Mann. Thanks, Dodo.)
96. Lip : RIM
97. Neil Diamond's "__ Said" : I AM I
98. King of rhyme : COLE. Old King Cole. Nursery rhyme.
99. Remain calm : STAY COOL
104. Succeed in : WIN AT
106. More's allegorical island : UTOPIA. Thomas More.
114. Azerbaijani neighbor : IRANI. Wow, what if the hard-to-spell Azerbaijani is the answer?
115. Gas that both protects and pollutes : OZONE
116. Hot rod rod : AXLE
117. Mounted on : ATOP
118. "Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon" author Robert : ROSE. Stranger to me.
119. Georgia gridders, familiarly : DAWGS. University of Georgia Bulldogs. Unknown to me.
120. Macho guy : STUD
121. Peephole feature, often : LENS
Down:
1. One with his name in lights? : WATT. James Watt I suppose.
2. Same: Pref. : EQUI
5. Trout fishing gear : FLY RODS
6. Detroit labor gp. : UAW
7. Fit perfectly : SUIT TO A TEE. Nailed it.
8. Flamboyant Dame : EDNA. Dame Edna.
9. Dethrones : UNSEATS
10. In order that : SO AS TO
11. JFK served in it : USN
12. Sly Foxx : REDD. Why "Sly"?
13. Foot at the head? : PEDI. Don't get the clue.
14. Chewy candy : NOUGAT
16. "__ Hers": 1994 Pulp album : HIS 'N". Another unfamiliar reference.
17. Learning style : ROTE
18. Colleges, Down Under : UNIs.
24. Lighten up : EASE
25. Pun, usually : GROANER
26. The American one is in the thrush family : ROBIN
31. Like an ant. : OPP (Opposite). Antonym.
33. Mother of Hector in the "Iliad" : HECUBA. Mother of Paris as well. I was stumped again.
35. Oozing schmaltz : MUSHY
36. Certain Dwarf's periodic outburst : ACHOO
37. NFL ref's aid : SLO-MO
38. Detest : HATE
39. Doubly : TWICE
40. Took up (with) : SIDED
41. Stream blocker : WEIR. River dam. New word to me. Only know golfer Mike Weir. He won Masters in 2003.
42. The sun, e.g. : G-STAR. Why isn't "sun" capitalized?
43. Show over : RERUN
44. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE
50. Smug sort : SMARTIE. Another new word. Reminded me of Smarty Jones.
52. Again : ANEW
53. "It's on me" : MY TREAT
54. "Be there in __" : A SEC
56. Riveted : AGAZE
57. Like Steven Wright's humor : DRY
58. Lawrence's men : ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".
59. King's domain : REALM
64. Sch. campus unit : BLDG
65. Doorway part : JAMB
66. Ultimate : NTH
67. Morsel : SCRAP
68. Narrowly defined verse : HAIKU
69. Allow to flow : UNDAM. A real word?
70. Waffle topper : SYRUP
72. Tilt skywards : TIP UP. Have never used this phrase before.
73. It's used for emphasis : ITALIC TEXT. True!
74. Faith of more than one billion : ISLAM. Don't really understand this religion.
75. African lumberer : RHINO
76. Alter, as an agreement : AMEND. OK, EMEND is "Alter, as a text".
78. Pest control brand : D-CON. Wanted RAID.
79. Making independent (from) : WEANING
80. "Arrivederci __" : ROMA
86. Stretches on the road : LIMOS. Nice clue.
87. Biblical hardships : FAMINES
88. Columbia Records jazz producer Macero : TEO. Is this guy very well-known?
89. Toasted : SALUTED
92. Hawthorne's "A" wearer : PRYNNE. In "The Scarlet Letter".
93. Begin to take effect : KICK IN
94. Cornfield chatter : CAWING
95. Mother of Apollo : LETO. Don't confuse her with "Mother of Helen" the swan lady LEDA.
99. Arouse : STIR
100. Via, old-style : THRO
101. Small batteries : AAAs
102. Prayer start : O GOD
105. Sadly : ALAS. Penned in BLUE. Grammatically wrong.
107. __ Office : OVAL
108. Ale brewer Slosberg : PETE. First encounter with this brewer.
109. Fe, in chemistry : IRON
110. Deadly slitherers : ASPS
112. Altar agreement : VOW
113. H1N1 virus, e.g. : FLU
Answer grid.
C.C.
30 comments:
Too tired, but I did want to say WOW< nice job JL!
The only 'anagram' I found with the missing letters was So Wacky Elves, which I guess is seasonal.
Loved the reference to DIOGENES who used to wander the streets of Athen carring a lamp telling people he was searching for an honest man. I am sure you all have seen the illustrations. He did this to irritate the guys in power.
Maybe more later, yhanks C.C and John wonderful ride/
C.C., 13A PEDI is a prefix (at the head of a word) meaning foot, as in pedicure.
Seemingly confusingly, pediatrician (doctor of children) also starts with PEDI. The root words are PED & POD. Both mean FOOT. PED comes from the Latin ped. POD comes from the Greek podos. In Greek, paidos means boy. Someone walked (agogos) the boy to school, on foot. Paidos became PED; his companion became a teacher (PEDagogue). The doctor who cared for the boy became a PEDiatrician.
Good Morning C.C. and all,
What a fun puzzle! Great job, John.
CRANBERRY SAUC was my first theme fill. That and, of course, THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS gave me permission to put in the others however they fit. Not your usual crossword approach.
Stumbles along the way included nets instead of WEBS, arete instead of RIDGE, hey you instead of YOO-hoo and thru instead of THRO. Got it done with no lookups today.
It took me awhile to figure out how to spell Hester PRYNNE. Just last month we visited the Old Manse in Concord, MA where Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter and then I "read" the book on CD, no help for spelling.
Have a good day and enjoy those THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS...
Good Morning, CC and Friends. Wow! John sure gave me a workout this morning. Good puzzle. Ironically, the first two theme clues I figured out were missing the E, so I initially thought the rest of the theme responses would also miss the E. The missing DRUM STI(cks) corrected that.
My "aha" moment was with the Jacket Line = TITLE. I was mislead into thinking of the article of clothing, of course.
Dame EDNA.
QOD: Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. ~ Aristotle.
Morning, all!
A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle with a fun theme. I sussed out the theme early on, so that prevented a lot of confusion. The only theme answer I had trouble with was PUMPKIN PECAN PIE ALA MODE, since I've never heard of a pumping pecan pie combo before.
I got a bit stuck at the end when I mistakenly put in AGAPE instead of AGAZE and SMARMIE instead of SMARTIE. That left me looking at some guy named SCHULMP and wondering why I had never heard of him before...
Hi All ~~
Early on, I thought the puzzle might be taking the combination of missing letters from the first main answers to spell out the final unifier, so I figured I,K,S might be missing from the first answer, since they could be found in the last. But when I got to mALLOW, I realized just the ends were cut off, which made the puzzle easier, both to construct and solve...
- but a good idea for next year's puzzle?
I have never heard of PUMPKIN PECAN PIE, and I had AGAPE, too, and figured SCH**P might not be right, either.
Hand up for NETS instead of WEBS, too, and since I kept reading 5A as "...before a f-L-ight", I had no idea - although I suppose many fuses were blown at airports this weekend, too !!!
Wanted to add this chart for 42D today.
See you this week -
Splynter
Good Morning C.C.,and all,
I haven't posted for the last two days, and have sorely missed it.
I've worked the puzzle each day, a little here and there; not the best circumstances.Had almost no snags on Friday ,yet slow-going,and couldn't finish yesterday's.As I looked it over, last night, I realized my concentrating powers had been shut down by distraction and age. A good night's sleep helped tremendously with John's this morning.
The theme was fun and I caught onto it almost from the turkey. I remembered John's hint to 'save room for his puzzle on Sunday'; thanks, John .
I kept 'thru' and let 'Rusen'stay. I would have changed it, if I hadn't let perp take care of name, as I am wont to do.
'Foot at the head' was a fun clue.
Thank you, C.C. for your nice write-up. I had the same thought on all those leftover letters; maybe that's why I raid the fridge, when I should be tossing.
I am going to take the time today, to review all the posts and C.C.'s interview with Victor Fleming. Also to catch up on photos.
Back later, I think, after I get home.
Have a nice day everyone.
Good morning, C.C. et al.
Wow! Is this a great puzzle or what?
John really worked on this and gave us some fun for Sunday. My hands are up for NET instead of WEB and AGAPE not AGAZE but no time to reread it as on Sunday I allow myself only an hour and later will be too busy.
Thanks for your explanati8on of foot at the head? Al. What a great clue.
Always glad to see a little Spanish there, CIEN.
C.C. I agree with you on the wonderful and clever cluing, just not enough time to comment on all.
My daughter wants to learn how to cook a turkey and trimmings so we are having it all over again today!
Have a fantastic Sunday everyone!
Good morning gang.
From John's comment the other day, I was expecting a Thanksgiving theme ( or maybe a real turkey). This was very creative! It was sort of like my mashed potatoes... Mostly smooth but a few lumps here and there.
I didn't catch the leftover theme until the unifier so I kept trying to fit in something else in place of the obvious. It worked on the first spanner, TURKEY WINGS AND BREASTS, but that sure screwed up the NE. I finally went with the obvious perps and caught onto the leftovers.
Not sure about the pumpkin pecan pie, but we had apple pecan pie for our dessert. There's one small slice left in the fridge and I'm looking forward to it, along with a turkey sandwich in about an hour.
I had Rosen as a wag, but didn't like the looks of THRO and changed it to THRU, so I ended up with one wrong letter. Are we sure his name wasn't Robert Rusen? I still don't like THRO. If i had been doing this online, I would have had a scarlet letter "O" instead of Hester's "A".
Barry G, I had those same two mistakes also but I knew George SHULTZ so that smoothed out the lump there.
All in all, it seemed a little easier than the usual Sunday puzzle, but it sure wasn't a speed run for me. It was fun, though. Thanks, John, for a great way to wrap up the Thanksgiving weekend.
C.C. et al, A very pleasant run with no errors after accumulating some erasures from blind alleys! I first thought CK would be left off each leftover clue but soon disabused myself of that and then tried to see a pattern and even discern if I had an anagram to figure out! Not so much!
LEFTOVERS that had to be defrosted –
-Nets for Webs too
-ONUS for Curse
-SEL? No, SAL, No, Oh, SEL (I’m a Morton’s man myself!)
-SAKE not SAKI (basically a teetotaler so…)
-DEFEATS for UNSEATS
-ASTAR until GSTAR appeared from my astronomy background. BTW, the Hubble Space telescope is finding some G Stars with little “Goldilocks” planets in orbit around them in deep space. Life there? Hand up for LIKELY!
-Liked Stretches on the road clue and African lumberer!
-Wanted plagues for biblical hardships. Poor Job!
-AGAPE for AGAZE
-Have never gotten an H1N1 or other flu shots. Thoughts from the group?
Off to church and to finish Christmas shopping! God bless lists!
Good morning, all. A nice run today, although it took awhile. Hand up for nets instead of webs.
For the longest time, I had "chins" for "They're raised at bars." It just wasn't working and I finally discovered my error.
Favorite clue - "Auto for Otto, maybe."
Pumpkin pecan pie (with or without the ice cream, although whipped cream is a must) is really, really good.
Thanks C.C. and John for a great start to my Sunday. Now if the Broncos can beat the Rams, it'll be dang near perfect!
Cheers to all!
Good morning. Thanks, C.C.
I had many of the same errors as everyone - nets/WEBS, arete/RIDGE, et al. I knew SHULTZ, but I thought it was spelled Sch..., so I left it until I got enough downs in the section to make the correction. I knew the Scarlet Letter reference, but I entered the first name Hester at first. That messed me up in SW for quite a while. DIOGENES was a given to me for some reason. Didn't know Dame EDNA then and still don't. Although I knew the sun was a star, I didn't know GSTAR. Thanks for the chart, Splynter. I've heard the word UNSEATS many times, but UNDAM sounds like a made up word.
The theme was fun and easy. Very clever, John!
After several very cold (18-20 deg.) nights, we have warmed up some. I'm glad. Cold weather and arthritis are not compatible.
See ya!
I just finished and enjoyed the puzzle and write up very much. I'm going to post as if I were the first one here though I'm guessing some of these comments will have been made by others already.
John got me on a few clever and misleading clues. 72A Jacket line, 52A Auto for Otto, 86D Stretches on the road and 75D African lumberer for a few. Good stuff!
I love Dame Edna!
I'm thinking 15A Marine hue doesn't refer to the Marines but an ocean (marine) color. Aqua is the color of ocean water sort of.
PEDI for "Foot at the head" is because pedi is often a prefix I'm thinking and is at the head of words like pedicure.
Husker Gary, I've gotten flu shots often with never a bad reaction. I didn't get the flu but who knows if I would have if I didn't get the shot.
Hello Puzzlers -
Hand up for NETS, AGAPE, hey YOU, and A STAR. CRANBERRY SAUC was my first theme fill, and I happened to notice that the ending "E" was available just around the corner, at the end of ETERNE. So I got the idea that this might be a tricky wrap-around thingy. It looked plausible with the next fill - POTATOES WITH GRALIC - well, sorta. (I do prefer garlic to gravy to jazz up my spuds.)
Pretty soon it all cleared up. Thanks, John, that was fun! I love seeing so many grid-spanners. I imagine it was tricky to create.
Lucina - We'll be right over! Our leftovers are already et.
Good Morning All, I had to laugh at (27A) TIN EAR. Our chorus group has one or two of those, but our director is so generous, in the last four years, she has asked only one person to drop out.
It was interesting that Lemonade's Wiki article about (29A)DIOGENES mentioned that he was an (22A)ONION eater. With his other behaviors, he must have been a pretty disgusting guy to be around.
I really enjoyed John Lampkin's post Thanksgiving offering. It took me a while to catch on to the LEFTOVERS theme. Maybe I had a little problem because WINGS and DRUMSTCKS are always leftovers. We are thigh and breast people around here. The MASHED POTATOES AND GRAVY are always long gone by the next day, so I wouldn't think LEFTOVER on that one. I'm not a pumpkin fan either, so I don't even pay attention to anything that is a leftover pumpkin concoction.
Loved seeing Neil Diamond (I AM I SAID), Steven Wright (DRY) and Flamboyant Dame (EDNA) clues today.
Still there were some names I'd never heard of. ROSEN, PETE and TEO were three head scratchers.
Looks like it has rained out around here for a while. I know we need it, but GAH gets cabin fever when he is stuck in the house for too long.
Time for that last piece of purist pecan pie..no pumpkin...no apple...just crust, gooey filling and pecans!
Hi everyone,
I loved how this puzzle rejuvenated all those tired old leftovers for us!
My favorites were: NO SEE, TITLE (Jacket line), Old King COLE, WATT, ITALIC TEXT.
For some reason, I liked UNDAM!
The perps finally helped me out with MATRIarch.
I noticed several mini-themes too: insects/animals, literary references, foreign references, musical references.
Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle, John. Nicely done!
Annette
Hi all.
Now we know what "Heh, Heh" means.
Teo very well known if you love good jazz. Produced a lot of Miles Davis work. Also plays Sax.
Take care.
Hello all and thanks for the words of appreciation. It is always satisfying to have one's work enjoyed by so many.
Yes, CC and all who were wondering, it would have been great if the leftover letters spelled out something like PEPTO BISMOL, or NOW IT'S TIME FOR A NAP. Maybe next year!
Thanks CC for yesterday/s interview with my bud Vic Fleming. The crossword community is a friendly bunch to begin with, but Vic stands out as a kind and generous soul, ever ready to help anyone who asks for help or advice. And he sure can craft a puzzle besides!
Hello everybody. This was a kick-ass puzzle in many ways! Fabulous, even. I couldn't help but notice I called Lemonade's "hoarse gift" joke a GROANER the other day and it was one of the fills today.
I didn't put in either NETS or WEBS until I finally got WATT. Hands up for wanting THRU and RUSEN. Having studied philosophy, I got DIOGENES right away. But I had to work very very hard to get most of the fills. Couldn't remember how to spell SHULTZ, thinking it might be SCHULZ.
Even after I finally got MATRI from the crosses it didn't make sense to me for several minutes, then it was forehead-slap time.
At first I put in PUMPKINPIE..., which prevented me from getting TAIPEI. I lived there for two years way back in the early 60's.
Overall, awesome fills, cluing, and theme. Thank you, Mr. Lampkin, for giving us such pleasure. And thank you, C.C., for shining light on what everything means, how it comes together, what stumped you, and what you liked.
Best wishes to you all.
Happy Holiday C.C., Argyle and folk!
Wow, This medicine is making me drowsy. I found the puzzle to go on ad nauseam.
I found all the previous notes to be true for me, too. I love the Diogenes reference as well. I digress a moment to say, I call my husband 'Socrates.' Ha! Ha!
Loved the theme and the ease with which it rolled.
My daughter and I had incredible pedicures Wed.! I swear my toes curled!
I do have leftovers in my fridge but not for long as my son is home until this evening. My fridge is like his craft table. He snacks between scenes...speaking of which, it was really quite a scene to see my husband going on with the Gator game. Damn you, FSU!
I'm thankful for the puzzles, puzzle makers, doers, commentators all!
I'm out.
What a JOY-RIDE!! It didn't come easy, but that was mostly from self inflicted errors: neRHu, DioNYSIS, agaPe, LAYME not to lie, MER not sel, ARETE, thrU (which I left). It didn't help that I didn't read a couple of the easy clues like 45A until really late in the process. Just skipped them.
John only had 6 names clued, but I didn't know one of them. That's bad, even for me! He also puts in some clues that are soooo easy and obvious that I'm afraid to put in the correct answer.
from wiki: Macho is mostly a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes a person displaying manly characteristics, such as domineering, fierceness, bravado, chauvinism, etc., in ways that are showily and histrionically tough. A macho person has an attitude of being overtly masculine and virile. Some of the most macho guys I know are running on Napoleon Complexes, definitely not STUDS.
C.C. - The sun is actually named Sol. No capital necessary.
If you haven't tried pumpkin pecan pie, you are really missing something good. But use whipped cream.
The sly Redd Foxx jumped over the lazy brown DAWG.
Cruciverb just erased my hard work! I guess it wasn't finished cause I didn't get the congrats. But I'm not doingit over!
Hello everybody, C.C. thank you so much for your writeups! They help so much. I didn't understand "mo see" till your explanation.
Lemonade, I haven't told you I think you and your boys are a handsome threesome and you all seem to enjoy each other a lot! It's lovely to see!
Clearayes, I loved your pix, too! What a grand trip!
I just took a look again at all our pix and there are some I guess I didn't mention. Ithink they're all terrific, all of you: J.D.& Carol, Lucina, Tinbeni, Jazzbumpa & grandkids, MJ, Gunghi, If I've forgotten any just blame it on a senior moment. I love all of them, especially the family ones. Oh, yes, Lemon, I'm impressed with your nephew, too, and he adorable baby!Lucky you! Oh, oh, Melissa Bee and Santa, too. MB your weekend with the girls looks like fun !
Sooo nice to see all of you friends!
Now I must rad the comments. I can see that I left out a couple of letters, if I remember correctly. Of course the perps may have filled in some I thought I missed. Oh, well, it was a fun puzzle, John, as yours always are. Just challenging enough but not desparation=making! Thanks JL
Oh, C.C., it was Thomas Mann who wrote "Death in Vemice" a great short novel and one of my favorite movies!
In honor of your great puzzle, John, here's the world's worst poem-
I'm a country bumpkin
gorging on a pumpkin...
Hand me a napkin,
Thank you Mr. Lampkin!
Good evening C.C. and all,
This was a toughie for me and took longer than a usual Sunday.The top 3rd had so many that I would never have thought of; felt like pulling teeth to fill them: bas, enmesh, tares, Diogenes, equI, so as to, fleur de sel,& unis.
On the other hand, I was bound and determined to fill the theme answers, and figure out what the LEFTOVERS spelled.ha,ha
Found no FAULTS( except loup- garou..wtf?) and was pleasantly surprised to see Pete Slosberg, who made micro brews come to life with his Wicked Ale.In the late 80's,Pete had the 2nd largest microbrewery.Sam Adams is still #1 but Sierra Nevada is now #2.DH was friends with Pete while working at ROLM(which had been bought by IBM). Pete later went on to create expensive chocolate candy bars, and now he is a travelin' man.
Al, very interesting about pediatrician.
Splynter, I loved your chart, but it showed me how much I do not know or even understand.
Dodo, on behalf of Aaron, Devin and I. thank you. I agree, Splynter, your chart eminded me of the vast universe of knowledge I do not have. Growing up around a largely French speaking population, the Loup Garou was used to quiet many a restless child, with fear. Technically (my apologies JL) it is not a werewolf, as it can change forms on its own, without the full moon.
Once again JL and Jerome, thanks for stopping by to add to our fun; was it also your thought by having a Thanksgiving puzzle run on a Sunday, it too was a 'leftover' theme?
Well, I will try and actuall work some tomorrow, so it is early to bed for me; nite all
Hello all!
Many thanks to CC and John!
Managed to slog through today without any cheating, but it took a while. Hands up for the common mistakes people have discussed! Really liked the theme. Just an amazing puzzle.
Still in extra pain from Thanksgiving. It will take more time. Friend made savory pork chops and brought them over to eat last night. Had a wonderful showing of Thomas Levin doing Emperor Concerto. Then an Italian movie with very realistic sex. Fortunately, I fell asleep and he left!
HUSKER GARY--I read several online health-related reports. Here is what Dr. Mercola has to say: flu shot and
h1n1. Or, just go to mercola.com and search 'flu'.
Personally, I have been off shots for decades. A good friend died from a pneumonia shot. I take all sorts of vitamins and have not had the flu since leaving my parent's house. (My mother always became sick after a flu shot, but kept taking them.)
Adios!
In addition to Splynter's star chart, here's a visual to give you an idea how big some of the biggest stars are.
I'll add one more about stars. To remember the order from blue to red colored stars, use the acronym "Oh be a fine girl, kiss me right now sweetheart."
O B A F G K M (R N S)
I actually learned this from an old Fred Saberhagen "Beserker" short story.
How about "slacky vowels" for the missing letters:
cks vy e allows
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