Theme: It's electrifying. 7D. What the perimeter answers in this puzzle literally create: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT. All the edge answers can be preceded by the word "ELECTRIC" and they make a complete CIRCUIT around the puzzle.
1A. Racer's privilege: POLE. Pole position: at the start of a race, the leading car on the inside. Electric pole: (+) or (-) as on a battery.
5A. Group of contestants: FIELD. Electric field: a point in space with an electric charge that will exert a force on other electrically charged objects.
10A. Heart, basically: PUMP. Electrical pump, such as a sump pump instead of a mechanical hand pump.
71A. Spelunker's aid: LAMP. Electric lamp, as opposed to a gas or kerosene lamp.
72A. Rhythmic element: METER. Poetic or musical meter. An electrical device to measure volt, watts, amps, etc.
73A. Make it official: SIGN. Electric sign: neon, lit up, moving, or a combination.
1D. Brahms's instrument: PIANO. They have electric pianos now that look, feel, sound and have action just like a mechanical one. Why bother? Well, they never go out of tune, and you don't need gravity to play them.
13D. Kind of nap or tie: POWER. After you: 24A. Had too much of: OD'ED ON turkey, then comes the tryptophan loss of consciousness.
32D. Summer cooler: FAN. As opposed to a Japanese hand fan. Overly enthusiastic "fans" of Japanese manga and anime (from an earlier puzzle) are referred to as "otaku". It has the sense of geek or nerd or even worse.
39D. Common observer: EYE. Electric eyes are used to open doors, and for burglar alarms.
52D. Machine with bits: DRILL. Does anyone still use a hand drill? Back in high school shop class we had to learn all the hand tools before being allowed to use the power ones.
58D. Bach's instrument: ORGAN. Organs also can be steam powered, like 54D. Locomotive propeller: STEAM.
Hi all, Al here. Don't really expect to see much turnout today as everyone clusters around their families for the holiday. Thankfully, yesterday more than made up for it.
Quite the construction today, like the "buffalo gals" of square dancing (the theme goes 'round the outside). 12 theme answers plus the unifier, which vertically splits the puzzle. 12 "regular" answers were longer than all the theme answers. It didn't seem all that difficult for a Thursday, but the fun construction more than made up for it. I only remember one other puzzle theme pattern done similar to this, but can't seem to find it.
ACROSS:
14. Victor's claim: I WIN. Nobody likes "that" kind of winner.
15. China's Zhou __: EN LAI.
16. "Bug off!": SHOO. From an instinctive exclamation, German: schu, Italian: scioia.
17. Tiny colonists: ANTS. And 23D. Queen's offspring: BEES. Bees and ants in the same puzzle. Either answer could fit both clues.
18. "Camelot" composer: LOEWE, Frederick and Lerner, Jay.
19. "Camelot," e.g.: SHOW.
20. The Wallendas don't use one: NET. The Flying Wallendas, circus trapeze and high wire artists.
21. Prog. discontinued at some campuses during the Vietnam War: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps
22. Insensitive: OBTUSE. Latin obtusus, blunted, dull. ob "against" + tundere "to beat".
26. Adjust, as wheels: TRUE. An alignment allows tires to run true.
28. Sailor's pronoun: HER. Traditionally, ships are feminine rather than neuter. A whole load of political correctness on the subject.
29. Designer Gernreich: RUDI. Designer of the topless swimsuit. ;-)
30. Church observances: RITES.
32. Watch pockets: FOBS. Low German fobke "pocket"
34. "Hulk" star Bana: ERIC. Also played Nero, the antagonist Romulan in the recent Star Trek reboot movie.
36. Three-time U.S. Women's Open champ Berning: SUSIE. Unknown to me.
40. Lie alongside: ABUT.
41. Ali G portrayer __ Baron Cohen: SACHA. I don't understand why some movies ever get made.
43. Depend: RELY.
44. Bruce who played Dr. Watson: NIGEL. He's too famous to make me fall for the first name as last name trick.
46. Bakery curlicue maker: ICER.
47. Perry's creator: ERLE. Stanley Gardner, Perry Mason.
48. Martini's partner: ROSSI. Primarily known for the Martini brand of vermouth
50. Unlike Miss Manners: RUDE.
52. Baseball SS's stats: DPS. Short Stops, Double Plays.
55. Copycat: APER.
56. Former NBAer Mourning: ALONZO. "ZO" played mostly for the Miami Heat.
59. Sanction: RATIFY.
61. Red amount?: CENT. The original 1793 penny.
63. Like BMWs: Abbr.: GER. Bavarian Motor Works, headquartered in Munich, Germany.
64. March time: IDES. The 15th. Any musicians out there momentarily want to put FOUR in there, like 4/4 time for a march?
65. Connie of "Weekends With Maury and Connie": CHUNG. Married to Maury Povich.
67. Cold water hazard: BERG.
68. Party with ukes: LUAU.
69. Take for __: fool: A RIDE.
70. Agora portico: STOA. Greek columned corridor.
DOWN:
2. Finished paying off: OWNED.
3. Scofflaw of a sort: LITTERBUG. From scoff + law. The winning entry in a national contest during Prohibition to coin a word to characterize a person who drinks illegally, chosen from more than 25,000 entries.
4. Dinner duo?: ENS. Two letter "N"s in dinner.
5. Serious crimes: FELONIES.
6. Trying to settle a score, for short?: IN OT. Overtime, playing past the regulation time limit to break a tie game.
8. __ of averages: LAW.
9. Fade to nothing: DIE OUT.
10. Sound made with a cupped hand: PSST. Made along with, behind your hand.
11. Compliant sound: UH-HUH. Slangy yes.
12. Bullwinkle J. __: MOOSE. And Rocket (Rocky) J. Squirrel. The "J" in both names was for Jay Ward, the producer.
21. Fishing tool: ROD.
25. Sporty '70s Plymouth: DUSTER. A past friend of mine bought one with a 340 engine that was fully tricked out. That car used to scare the s*** out of me.
27. Nouveau __: RICHE. French for new rich. In these times, many unfortunate working stiffs are noveau pauvre.
31. "And how!": SURE DO. Idioms for "yes, I like it, or would like to, very much".
33. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Star Wars Jedi master, played by Ewan McGregor and Sir Alec Guinness
35. Bring up: RAISE. Rear, see to.
37. Tanzania wildlife reserve: SERENGETI. 12,000 sq. miles, only about the size of Maryland, a tiny fraction of Tanzania (362,340 sq. mi.), which in turn is dwarfed by the total size of Africa, which is over 11 billion sq. miles. You could fit the entire US, including Alaska, plus Europe and China into Africa.
38. Bad: ILL. Ill originally meant morally evil or malevolent in the 13th century. It later became associated with sickness in the sense of "it is bad to me" by the mid 15th century. It still retains the "bad" meaning in hyphenated words like ill-informed, or ill-willed.
42. Orchestrator, perhaps: ARRANGER. Rossini was the Lone Arranger of the William Tell Overture.
45. Rye buy: LOAF.
49. Cloak-and-dagger gadget: SPYCAM.
51. Nth: Abbr.: ULT. The nth degree is the utmost or ULTimate extreme.
53. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting: PADUA. Italy.
57. Cause of some floating, briefly: ZERO-G.ravity Weightlessness as in space, or free-fall.
60. "Your time __!": IS UP.
62. German fantasy author Michael: ENDE. Most famous, The Neverending Story, which was made into a movie.
66. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. Holy Roman Empire.
67. Undergrad degs.: BSS. Bachelors of Science.
Don sent along some constructor notes to C.C.:
"Earlier this year we needed to have some electrical work done. The electrician searched literally high and low for the offending circuit problem. Three hours later and about that many hundred dollars, the offensive connection was found. I figured I should get something out of that experience, and came up with this puzzle. ELECTRIC CIRCUIT fits nicely in the center, I reasoned, but the theme words that follow ELECTRIC had to be carefully arranged to meet at the corners and cross ELECTRIC CIRCUIT. I got lucky. Rich approved the idea, and at least I partially compensated my electric service call."
Answer grid.
Here are a few great photos & captions from ARI Tinbeni. Click each one for enlargement. The first four were taken 5 years ago, the last one was taken yesterday morning.
Al
1A. Racer's privilege: POLE. Pole position: at the start of a race, the leading car on the inside. Electric pole: (+) or (-) as on a battery.
5A. Group of contestants: FIELD. Electric field: a point in space with an electric charge that will exert a force on other electrically charged objects.
10A. Heart, basically: PUMP. Electrical pump, such as a sump pump instead of a mechanical hand pump.
71A. Spelunker's aid: LAMP. Electric lamp, as opposed to a gas or kerosene lamp.
72A. Rhythmic element: METER. Poetic or musical meter. An electrical device to measure volt, watts, amps, etc.
73A. Make it official: SIGN. Electric sign: neon, lit up, moving, or a combination.
1D. Brahms's instrument: PIANO. They have electric pianos now that look, feel, sound and have action just like a mechanical one. Why bother? Well, they never go out of tune, and you don't need gravity to play them.
13D. Kind of nap or tie: POWER. After you: 24A. Had too much of: OD'ED ON turkey, then comes the tryptophan loss of consciousness.
32D. Summer cooler: FAN. As opposed to a Japanese hand fan. Overly enthusiastic "fans" of Japanese manga and anime (from an earlier puzzle) are referred to as "otaku". It has the sense of geek or nerd or even worse.
39D. Common observer: EYE. Electric eyes are used to open doors, and for burglar alarms.
52D. Machine with bits: DRILL. Does anyone still use a hand drill? Back in high school shop class we had to learn all the hand tools before being allowed to use the power ones.
58D. Bach's instrument: ORGAN. Organs also can be steam powered, like 54D. Locomotive propeller: STEAM.
Hi all, Al here. Don't really expect to see much turnout today as everyone clusters around their families for the holiday. Thankfully, yesterday more than made up for it.
Quite the construction today, like the "buffalo gals" of square dancing (the theme goes 'round the outside). 12 theme answers plus the unifier, which vertically splits the puzzle. 12 "regular" answers were longer than all the theme answers. It didn't seem all that difficult for a Thursday, but the fun construction more than made up for it. I only remember one other puzzle theme pattern done similar to this, but can't seem to find it.
ACROSS:
14. Victor's claim: I WIN. Nobody likes "that" kind of winner.
15. China's Zhou __: EN LAI.
16. "Bug off!": SHOO. From an instinctive exclamation, German: schu, Italian: scioia.
17. Tiny colonists: ANTS. And 23D. Queen's offspring: BEES. Bees and ants in the same puzzle. Either answer could fit both clues.
18. "Camelot" composer: LOEWE, Frederick and Lerner, Jay.
19. "Camelot," e.g.: SHOW.
20. The Wallendas don't use one: NET. The Flying Wallendas, circus trapeze and high wire artists.
21. Prog. discontinued at some campuses during the Vietnam War: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps
22. Insensitive: OBTUSE. Latin obtusus, blunted, dull. ob "against" + tundere "to beat".
26. Adjust, as wheels: TRUE. An alignment allows tires to run true.
28. Sailor's pronoun: HER. Traditionally, ships are feminine rather than neuter. A whole load of political correctness on the subject.
29. Designer Gernreich: RUDI. Designer of the topless swimsuit. ;-)
30. Church observances: RITES.
32. Watch pockets: FOBS. Low German fobke "pocket"
34. "Hulk" star Bana: ERIC. Also played Nero, the antagonist Romulan in the recent Star Trek reboot movie.
36. Three-time U.S. Women's Open champ Berning: SUSIE. Unknown to me.
40. Lie alongside: ABUT.
41. Ali G portrayer __ Baron Cohen: SACHA. I don't understand why some movies ever get made.
43. Depend: RELY.
44. Bruce who played Dr. Watson: NIGEL. He's too famous to make me fall for the first name as last name trick.
46. Bakery curlicue maker: ICER.
47. Perry's creator: ERLE. Stanley Gardner, Perry Mason.
48. Martini's partner: ROSSI. Primarily known for the Martini brand of vermouth
50. Unlike Miss Manners: RUDE.
52. Baseball SS's stats: DPS. Short Stops, Double Plays.
55. Copycat: APER.
56. Former NBAer Mourning: ALONZO. "ZO" played mostly for the Miami Heat.
59. Sanction: RATIFY.
61. Red amount?: CENT. The original 1793 penny.
63. Like BMWs: Abbr.: GER. Bavarian Motor Works, headquartered in Munich, Germany.
64. March time: IDES. The 15th. Any musicians out there momentarily want to put FOUR in there, like 4/4 time for a march?
65. Connie of "Weekends With Maury and Connie": CHUNG. Married to Maury Povich.
67. Cold water hazard: BERG.
68. Party with ukes: LUAU.
69. Take for __: fool: A RIDE.
70. Agora portico: STOA. Greek columned corridor.
DOWN:
2. Finished paying off: OWNED.
3. Scofflaw of a sort: LITTERBUG. From scoff + law. The winning entry in a national contest during Prohibition to coin a word to characterize a person who drinks illegally, chosen from more than 25,000 entries.
4. Dinner duo?: ENS. Two letter "N"s in dinner.
5. Serious crimes: FELONIES.
6. Trying to settle a score, for short?: IN OT. Overtime, playing past the regulation time limit to break a tie game.
8. __ of averages: LAW.
9. Fade to nothing: DIE OUT.
10. Sound made with a cupped hand: PSST. Made along with, behind your hand.
11. Compliant sound: UH-HUH. Slangy yes.
12. Bullwinkle J. __: MOOSE. And Rocket (Rocky) J. Squirrel. The "J" in both names was for Jay Ward, the producer.
21. Fishing tool: ROD.
25. Sporty '70s Plymouth: DUSTER. A past friend of mine bought one with a 340 engine that was fully tricked out. That car used to scare the s*** out of me.
27. Nouveau __: RICHE. French for new rich. In these times, many unfortunate working stiffs are noveau pauvre.
31. "And how!": SURE DO. Idioms for "yes, I like it, or would like to, very much".
33. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Star Wars Jedi master, played by Ewan McGregor and Sir Alec Guinness
35. Bring up: RAISE. Rear, see to.
37. Tanzania wildlife reserve: SERENGETI. 12,000 sq. miles, only about the size of Maryland, a tiny fraction of Tanzania (362,340 sq. mi.), which in turn is dwarfed by the total size of Africa, which is over 11 billion sq. miles. You could fit the entire US, including Alaska, plus Europe and China into Africa.
38. Bad: ILL. Ill originally meant morally evil or malevolent in the 13th century. It later became associated with sickness in the sense of "it is bad to me" by the mid 15th century. It still retains the "bad" meaning in hyphenated words like ill-informed, or ill-willed.
42. Orchestrator, perhaps: ARRANGER. Rossini was the Lone Arranger of the William Tell Overture.
45. Rye buy: LOAF.
49. Cloak-and-dagger gadget: SPYCAM.
51. Nth: Abbr.: ULT. The nth degree is the utmost or ULTimate extreme.
53. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting: PADUA. Italy.
57. Cause of some floating, briefly: ZERO-G.ravity Weightlessness as in space, or free-fall.
60. "Your time __!": IS UP.
62. German fantasy author Michael: ENDE. Most famous, The Neverending Story, which was made into a movie.
66. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. Holy Roman Empire.
67. Undergrad degs.: BSS. Bachelors of Science.
Don sent along some constructor notes to C.C.:
"Earlier this year we needed to have some electrical work done. The electrician searched literally high and low for the offending circuit problem. Three hours later and about that many hundred dollars, the offensive connection was found. I figured I should get something out of that experience, and came up with this puzzle. ELECTRIC CIRCUIT fits nicely in the center, I reasoned, but the theme words that follow ELECTRIC had to be carefully arranged to meet at the corners and cross ELECTRIC CIRCUIT. I got lucky. Rich approved the idea, and at least I partially compensated my electric service call."
Answer grid.
Here are a few great photos & captions from ARI Tinbeni. Click each one for enlargement. The first four were taken 5 years ago, the last one was taken yesterday morning.
Al
46 comments:
Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - how nice is it to have a Don Hard-G puzzle on Thanksgiving? Answer: Outstanding! Loved the perimeter theme; that's gotta be a bear to pull off.
I went from thinking this was gonna be a speed run to running into complete unknowns further south. And 6D, 'inot' had me scratching my head until I finally saw the separation. Going south from there, I had unknowns in 'Eric' Bana, The Taming of the Shrew setting and Michael 'Berg'. I thought 'Cause of some floating, briefly' was a great clue, and again, I stared at 'zerog' for a bit before the fog lifted. All in all, a most enjoyable puzzle.
Al, great job on the blog, and nice fake-out on topless swimsuit. And yes, I too remember the big-engined Dusters; very unstable at speed. And thanks to Don G. for the story behind the theme; pretty neat to hear where the inspiration comes from on the various themes.
Today is the designated day for giving thanks for what we have, but I hope that you all, like me, feel that way every day. Whether it's a loved one coming home safely from harm's way, a day with less pain than the previous day, another day 'clean', or something as simple as getting to see the sun come up on the lake again, we all have a lot to be thankful for. And to make it even better, we've got one helluva great group of friends mere keyboard strokes away to share it with. Happy, happy Thanksgiving to everybody.
Morning, all! Got a lot of driving to do today, so this'll be brief. Good puzzle overall, although the north central section was awfully tricky. I've never heard of a FIELD of contestants and the clue for INOT was brutally obscure. Thank heavens I knew LOEWE or else I'd still be at it...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Good morning Al, CC and all, a fairly easy puzzle for a Thursday. There were several unknowns, but most were resolved by perps and a couple of WAGS. Al, as usual I enjoyed your blog and informative answers. Only one negative comment, where the he** did you get that swimsuit picture? Not what I expected!!
All of our guests have arrived and we will be starting the cooking festivities soon. It is such a nice occasion to have my wife’s family here for the holidays. All of my family has passed on so it is nice to have her large family around. I have so much to be thankful for, in my life, that I never know where to begin.
Thanks to all of the friends I have met here on the blog and a special thanks to Lemon for the special reunion he put together.
Wishing you all a safe and joyous Thanksgiving
Great pics, ARI. In my case the shirt should say "Lucky to be ......."
Ditto to all you said, Dennis. Why do I (and others) come here every day when I sometimes don't get the puzzle until days later? The roster yesterday is a great reason.
Thanks to each of you for making this a necessary part of my day.
Chores to do for my four-legged masters, then off to brother's (100 miles north) to play my role in the family soap opera. It's all good, though.
A great day to all of you.
Good day folks,
Enjoyable puzzle to start my favorite holiday. CC, thanks for the write-up. Without it I would have been scratching my head all day thinking about "inot" and "zerog". I badly wanted to use "bob" for 32A, but the light finally came on and "Fob" appeared. A duh moment. Besides, couldn't figure out what electrical gadget was a "Ban!"
Company arriving soon and I'm derelict in my duties.
My better half beginning to give me the eye.
Everyone enjoy the day.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! How wonderful to see (almost) everyone.
This was an easier than usual Thursday puzzle, but fun nonetheless. I initially thought the theme might be related to music, since I had PIANO and ORGAN early on on the edges. DRILL and POWER corrected that thought.
it's always nice to see a reference to Rocky and Bullwinkle J. MOOSE.
RUDI Gernreich was a new name to me.
Happy Anniversary, Frenchie!
QOD: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Good Morniing C.C.,Al and all,
Thanks, Al, for your write-up. I need to read a little later, as I'm getting ready to take my part of the dinner to Lou.
The puzzle was delightful. It took me longer than I realized. I guess I was so absorbed in it I lost track of time. That makes a perfect puzzle. The fill was very interesting and even a little tricky in places. Great words:Litterbug,obtuse,serengeti,ratify,duster,arranger,stoa,shoo,etc.
The theme was so much fun!
FAv clues:Cause of some floating
and trying to settle a score, for short.
Enjoyed all the folks from yesterday and hope our bunch stays active. I can see how the time can overwhelm, but don't be gone for long. You all mean too much .
Have a nice Thanksgiving, everyone.
Tinbini: Forgot to mention your great pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Good morning, All! Thanks for the great write up, Al. A few had me going this morning until the light bulb went on. Perps surely helped. A fun puzzle all around though.
Off to prep the bird and other goodies. Small family; only the 4 of us but we'll be enjoying dinner together and be thankful that we're together.
Happy and safe Thanksgiving to everyone!
Al, Really enjoyed your write-up and links. (OK, I'll admit that topless pic wasn't what I was expecting ... but it did get the biggest laugh).
THIS was a pure joy today.
Got up at 3:11 am.
Went and started peeling about 500 potato's for the Salvation Army.
(They told me they have more than enough volunteers for later today.
Seems the homeless and less fortunate Americans get a wonderful dinner every Thanksgiving.
Then tomorrow we will forget about them and bitch about their panhandling and sleeping on park benches).
Don'G' your puzzle was very FUN to do.
Fave was ZERO G ... subtle ...
My only rant would be that the answer to 22A was really OBTUSE !!!
I'm thankful for C.C.and all the blogger's Argyle, Melissa Bee, Lemonade714, Jazz, Al and the commenter's here.
And for my West Florida Sunset's.
Y'all have a wonderful and safe Holiday.
Cheer's !!!
Highly enjoyable and doable puzzle. I had to g'spot Susie and Alonzo, but otherwise managed to tease it all out. I really went in the wrong direction for bees, wrong kind of Queen. Liked the theme, extremely clever construction.
I'm still awaiting the weary travelers awakening, so this will probably be my first ans last today. I'm very thankful that the rain was wet and not icy as we drove the 70 miles there and back to get them from the airport last night.
Tinbeni,
Very nice to see your face. Lovely photos!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Good morning all;
Nice pics Tinman, I guess they were kidding when they told me your face looked like the view of a northbound horse.
As always, Don has presented a well thought out theme with many fun clues. My youngest did not get in until 4:00am, and I was up before 8 , but it is all good. When your boy works for a brewery, you end up with a fridge holding 2 mini-kegs, a growler and 8 six-packs of locally brewed and organic beer. Please note new avatar.
As always, Al, your write isas smooth as the new bourbon I bought, and yesterday was fun. Enjoy the craberries today as they will offset all the other calories and FOOTBALL!
Anyway, as I was saying, now I have enough beer to toast each and every one of the 77 different posters, who came so very close to my goal of 150 for the day.
In fact there may be several multiple toasts for this wonderful crowd and our two resident teachers Jerome and John Lampkin.
Good Morning All, I got about half of the puzzle done last night, but haven't had time to finish this morning. It is out the door right now for us. I have the homemade streussel coffee cake, so the natives will be restless if we aren't there by 9 AM. Maybe I'll be able to finish the puzzle this evening.
A special thanks to C.C. and her merry band of wonderful bloggers.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everybody, you are the best!
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Not too taxing a puzzle today (22 minutes), although there were some unknowns that I had to figure out from the crosses, like 34A ERIC, 36A SUSIE, 41A SACHA, 52A DPS, and 62D ENDE. It always seems to be the names that get me most often.
Nothing much to comment on today and no time for it anyway. Hope everyone has a great day.
Good Morning Al, C.C. and all,
No time to do puzzle yet, but I wanted to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving just in case I don't get back today.It has been a good year and I have so much to be thankful for.
Good morning all -
I got my days mixed up and missed Lemonade's reunion yesterday, so definitely wanted to check in today. Ths was an enjoyable puzzle to pass some time while I wait for the turkey to finish thawing under a stream of cold water.
Although I haven't posted in quite a while, I do follow the blog regularly - it is as much a part of my morning routine as my cup of tea and making Zoe's lunch. All of the bloggers do such a great job - thanks for the time you put into this to make it enjoyable and educational for all of us. CC, continued thanks to you for what you've created.
I'm recuperating from surgery to fix a hiatal hernia - which means I get pureed Thanksgiving... fortately lots of my favorite dishes qualify - mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pie filling. Not sure I'll go as far as putting turkey in the blender, and no leftover turkey sandwiches, but that's okay. We'll be spending the day with family and close friends, which is the truly important part.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here.
Lemonade, you crack me up. "Very close" indeed! Still, your idea of a mass "check in was a good thought and much appreciated.
Hats off to Don for another bright idea. He conducted himself very well. Thanks Don for providing the blurb at no extra charge!
It's worth pointing out that this puzzle uses 80 entries, two more than the 78 max usually allowed. This is unusual, especially for a Thursday. However, sometimes an editor will allow some leeway when the theme idea warrants it, as this one certainly does. That central 15 unifying makes it a challenging grid to fill.
Have a happy, everyone, and once again, thanks to all.
Good Morning Al, C.C. et al.
Great write-up, Al. Most of all, thanks for the "topless bikini" link -- LOL
Tinbeni, great to "see" you. Love the T-shirt. I'll have to find one like it for DH, heh heh.
Favorite answer was "INOT"...took a few dents to the V8 can when I finally saw "In O.T.". Great job Don Hard G Gagliardo. Also liked "BEES" for "queen's offspring" and ANTS for "Tiny colonists". I sure was all over the place on those clues.
I'm off to start some side dishes. Since we are having cornish game hens, I didn't have to get up at 6 A.M. to start a turkey - and for that I am TRULY THANKFUL !! Have a great day everyone.
Hi all.
Just have time for a quick hello
and to wish a great week-end for
everyone.
Thank you and take care.
Yesterday some bloggers were talking about numbers. I found this in our local paper this morning and was surprised at the numbers and how rare this situation is.
The professional football schedule has three games scheduled for Thanksgiving day and they are shown below with the teams season won/lost record.
Patriots (8-2) playing Detroit (2-8)
Saints (7-3) playing Cowboys (3-7)
Bengals (2-8) playing Jets (8-2)
Sure struck me as coincidental.
Good morning, Al, CC solvers and constructors all. This was a nice puzzle from Don "not so hard today" G. Most of my comments on the puzzle... what Dennis said.
Thanks, Al, for taking time to do a great writeup on this holiday morn.
Lemonade, that's what I call a properly stocked fridge. Need any help cleaning it out?
Barry G, the term "field" is used most often in horse racing and stock car racing, e.g. "a field of 33 cars" or "a field of 12 horses", but is used in other contests. It was one of my easier entries today.
I made a couple of lucky choices for ANTS and BEES (our Melissa has sure been getting her share of shoutouts lately) and those choicees really helped with some perps.
I got the "electric" part of the theme early and knew that the entries around the sides would be related to electric. The only one that gave me a problem was trying to put our old friend "ACS" instead of FAN. After some head scratching I finally reread the clue and realized it was singular and everything else fell into place. Like others, I stared at ZEROG for a long time before seeing the break. IN OT came much easier since we've seen that sort of cluing recently.
The bird is in the oven so we'll be sitting down for a small family gathering (only five of us) in about 3 hours. I'll have lots of turkey sandwiches to enjoy for the next several days. Life is good..
Here's wishing you all a really enjoyable holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
I really enjoyed reading all the comments yesterday, wonderful turn-out. Thanks Lemonade for the idea!
Question to anyone...what time do people eat to have a turkey in the oven at 6:00 am??? A turkey breakfast?? It does not take that long to roast the thing so I don't understand putting it in so early. Maybe if 'dinner' is at 1:00 you'd start the bird at 9ish, depending on it's size.
Tinbeni, great pictures of you! You don't look old enough to be wearing that T-shirt. :)
Happy Anniversary Frenchie, neat day for it!
Oh, the puzzle: a bit difficult for me with many strange names but thought the theme was very clever!
Thanks, Al. Morning C.C. and everyone.
Oh, "G" for SUSIE and ALONZO. The rest of the names came from perps and WAGs. The word that gave me the most trouble was RATIFY. I wanted something on the "punitive measure" side of it. I worked for the power company for 33 years, so the ELECTRICCIRCUIT theme was interesting and fun.
Quiet T-day here. Older son will be over later today. He has to work (TV station.) For most of the day, it will be just us.
I'm thankful for this blog. Doing the cw is just not as much fun without it.
Here's hoping everyone has a great day, lots of good eats, and lots of visiting time with family and friends.
Carol,
It just takes me a long time to "get going" in the morning...first thing is to brew coffee, make breakfast, do the crossword, take a shower, etc etc etc. Then I have to start the stuffing...by the time I get the turkey in the oven it usually IS around 9 am.
So this year I opted out. Turns out, the cornish game hens purchased two days ago are still frozen solid in the middle. So....we may be eating around 10:00 tonight, unless I get out the blow torch LOL !!
I enjoyed the puzzle and the write up. I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving. Our son, daughter and grandson are coming over this evening. Lots of leftovers for tomorrow. I can't wait to start noshing on the celery stuffed with cream cheese and chopped walnuts.
Two comments: Aren't most marches in 2/4 time? Just a vague memory of some old factoid. And regarding Nigel Bruce. Does it seem odd to you that he played Dr. Watson as such a bumbler? You would think a clever fellow like Sherlock Holmes would have clever friends.
Another enjoyable puzzle today to go with the previous three this week. I entered "Alonso" for "Alonzo" and couldn't figure out what "serog" was until I came here and realized my mistake. Another V-8 can to the forehead!
Just my DH and me for dinner today, but we're leaving nothing out. I'm off to the kitchen to start the pecan pie.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. And a special thanks to Al for such a great writeup.
Happy Thanksgiving from a big turkey on the blog! Lovely write-up Al, and note Don, although the topless swimsuit link turned out to be bait and switch! What fun! The Sacha movies are not anything people in our circle go see but in the words of H.L. Mencken, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” There are many things in our country that make money but can be offensive if you turn to that channel or buy that ticket! So Don’t!!
Creature’s comment covers my view of this wonderful puzzle as it was at a very nice, doable level!
Musings and temporary missteps –
-IWON for IWIN
-OBTUSE reminded me of a line from one of my favorite movies - Shawshank Redemption
-wanted SHE for HER
-That red CENT will buy a heck of a lot more today than it did in the 18th century (nice link Al)
-I thought the B in BMW meant British until we visited Munich. BMW’s will never see my garage, I’m afraid.
-Spelunking is something my claustrophobia will never allow!
-Liked INOT eventually
-Law of averages guarantees that even I might say something useful eventually (infinite monkeys at infinite typewriters…)
-ADE for FAN
-ZEROG is a big part of orbital space flight and is caused by Falling Toward Earth
while going 17,500 mph and not from absence of gravity in outer space as is widely believed. Gravity in low Earth orbit is 99% of that on the surface. The Tower of Terror is probably the best place to replicate that feeling.
Time to go help set the table and prepare for visitation for the short people! Have a great holiday all.
HeartRx, It takes me a while to get going in the mornings too, thankfully when I did fix the Thanksgiving dinner for the family (until 3 years ago), we ate at about 5:30pm so that gave me all day to prepare. I can certainly understand an early start if you plan on eating at noon or 1:00.
Your little game hens will be ok, they sound like a yummy alternative to the 'big bird':)
Good morning, Al, C.C. and all.
Happy Thanksgiving Day!
And thanks, Don G., for a fun puzzle. It seemed easier than most Thursdays, but then time is precious today.
Hand up for wondering about ZEROG until the blog, ZERO G makes so much more sense.
I had no idea about racer's privilege POLE so that's my learning moment as well as ENDE, SUSIE Berning, and designer RUDI Gernreich. They all emerged nicely.
Yowza! What a great turnout yesterday! Thank you, Lemonade, for organizing that. I'm so proud and privileged to be part of this group and I can't thank C.C. enough.
Now I must prepare my side dishes and luckily have only about 30 miles to drive.
WH, love that soap opera remark, but that's us, too.
Tinbeni, thanks for sharing your great photos. Handsome guy!
I hope you all have a delightful day!
good morning c.c., al, and all,
great puzzle, although i was expecting a thanksgiving theme. super writeup - thanks al for the dedication on the holiday eve. now you can relax, eat, and power nap. that swimsuit is just wrong. the penny though, is beautiful.
barb b is here, and more visitors coming later today and over the weekend. did most of the cooking yesterday because for some reason people like to schedule spa treatments on thanksgiving day - so i'm off to work.
so nice to hear from missing and newbies yesterday, hopefully it will start a trend.
happy thanksgiving all - my favorite day of the year.
I hate to admit it but I didn't even know what US Open it was even after the answer. 36Across. Three-time U.S. Women's Open champ :
This golfer competed under her maiden name, Susie Maxwell, from 1964-68. After marriage, competed as Susie Maxwell Berning and then Susie Berning. She was 1964 Rookie of the Year on the LPGA Tour and Most Improved Player for 1967. She won 11 times on the Tour, including 1965 Western Open and the U.S. Women's Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973.
One thing I am thankful for (and I'm sure I'm not alone), no more Wayne Robert Williams.
Hi gang -
Pause in the action here - bird is in the roaster, and everything under control - for a while. Challenge is to get everything done at the same time - or at least close.
I got a charge from this great, electrifying puzzle today. Wouldn't have come up with FOUR for march time, since marches are actually in 2/4.
In other current events, we talked to Tom on skype this morning. He's doing well, and said that they had something more or less turkey-like for dinner today.
Lions and Pats just traded punts. Nobody's losing yet.
Cheers, every one, and be thankful!
JzB
One thing I am thankful for (and I'm sure I'm not alone), no more Wayne Robert Williams.
Argyle, six stinkin' days a week here in the Philly Inquirer.
Well, it's almost time for the great turkey fryer experiment; be sure to check the evening news for possible updates. Should I pass overhead, I'll be sure to wave.
Bill G: I agree that Nigel Bruce was a poor choice to play Dr. Watson. In Arthur Conan Doyle's originals (4 novels and 52 short stories if memory serves), he is quite competent and a worthy colleague for Holmes, although not Holmes' equal. He was also a veteran of the Afghan Wars. Another of filmdom's many missteps in casting. No better reading than Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, especially when read in order. For my money, only Jeremy Brett came close on film.
Hi.
I have more time than I thought I
had. We are having dinner with Ali's parents. I hope that means
what I hope it means. I keep hoping for a grand child.
Have a happy and take care.
Hey, all
I forgot to say last night how thankful I am for all of you. C.C., you are a goddess.
Number one son decided that a six hour drive (probably more since the route goes through L.A.) was more than he could handle after his flights back. Dinner will be at my parents, although cooked here by us. It's easier to move a complete dinner than 2 delusional parents. My brother is here from OZ (Hi, Kazie) and a sister is in from Guelph, Ontario, so it'll be lively.
Dinner here includes a "Heritage free range" turkey. My sister and brother are full believers in the organic movement, so that freaking bird cost over $5/lb. Fortunately, they wanted a dinner time meal, so I didn't have to get up at 6:00 to deal with it.
About the puzzle: I can do with less interesting themes if it will cut down on the number of names. Counting fictional characters, there were 14 of them in the puzzle. Sadly, the only one that I got right was SACHA. No, I have never seen one of his endeavors, but somehow that one stuck. I knew ALONSO, I thought, but SEROG made no sense. Even filling C_UNG at 65A took a WAG.
Tinbeni, nice set of pictures, although I am really partial to the ones I posted yesterday. Oh, thank you to those that made the kind comments about them.
Have a great afternoon, all of you.
Thought I'd let you know I am a teacher, too. Over twenty years of 8th grade drama and creative writing. I loved it but finally retired after budget cuts did away with my drama program and I was given remedial English instead of creative writing.
I am now trying to establish a career in real estate but it is really difficult to get started.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Enjoyable puzzle, but enjoyed your write up, Al, even more.You cleared up hre,in ot, and dps.sheesh!
Great link to the Serengeti.What I thought was aloe was probably sisal.
very weird otakupicture.The topless swim suit reminded me of that Jim Carrey picture.
Clever placement of piano and organ. Mr G.
Turkey's in the oven and I'm ready to roll..table done..desserts ready. Need to set out the munchies.It's the last 1/2 hour that becomes chaotic as we make the gravy, biscuits and mashed potatoes.No getting around that.
hugs all around
Outstanding Don. And more proof that you're one of the best.
Proof that nobody can cook up turkeys as well as I-
LITTERBUG- Flea among puppies.
ICER- Sailor's response.
RUDE- Regretted boorish behavior.
ROSSI- Antarctic ocean.
RATIFY- Fink on a friend.
IDES- Doesn't seek, to Ringo.
DRILL- What's gone in a B.B. King song.
FELONIES ruin ONE'S LIFE.
SERENGETI- Golf fans there say, "Seen TIGER?"
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT- Our blog host asked Don if it were true that the theme surrounds the perimeter of the grid. He replied," TRUE, C.C., I CIRCLE IT."
Good Thanksgiving afternoon, everyone.
Al, great write up. I especially liked learning about the Serengeti and the red cent.
Don G., a very creative puzzle. Thank you.
Tinbeni, the pix were wonderful to see. Handsome man.
DH and I have had a most satisfying Thanksgiving all by ourselves. Kids too far away and too busy, even though we have two sets of kids.
We went out!. No fuss, no bother. It was just a great idea of DHs.
Lemonade, the response yesterday was fun and made me remember all the bloggers we've not heard from for a while. That was a most thoughtful idea. Thank you.
Cheers
Not too bad for a Thursday offering. 19 minutes and a little head scratching on INOT and ZEROG.
AND, as I read Dennis' post about separating it was DUH and the light came on.
Had ELECTRICCIRCUIT early but then some of the APPLIANCES on the outer ring didn't seem to fit.
Oh well, nothing to grouse about. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
CY'ALL Later
jerome,
Loved your takes on the clues, LOL. Do we see a xword puzzle from you on LAT?
The Cornish Game Hens came out Graaaaate! I think this may be a new THXGVG tradition for us. DH had the idea to put them into a zip-lock bag of water to thaw...after 1.5 hours in the oven, they ended up just perfect. AlI I did was rub with olive oil, salt and pepper, and stuffed the cavities with a wedge of lemon and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Then basted with a mix of white wine, olive oil and chicken stock. Reduced the juices to make a sauce, and served as is with the sauce. Easy-peasy, and OH so tasty.
I like turkey, but this dish was just so "je ne sais quois". We had sides of "Shoe-peg corn casserole", Potatoes gratins (with creme fraiche and gruyere cheese), collard greens, and broccoli with hollandaise. After that, pecan pie and squash pie for dessert. Now I am STUFFED, and am enjoying the N.O. Saints / Cowboys game. Pats won earlier, so I am a happy camper.
What did y'all have for dinner that was your favorite? Curious to know how different parts of the country / world celebrate and enjoy. Thanks to all for this outlet!
Garn! I'm slowing up in my old age. I only managed to have two dinners today. Good thing I came away with some leftovers.
I give thanks to one and all. Good Night.
Home after spending the day with my grown children and grandchildren, my siblings, their children and grandchildren; a houseful with 50 plus. I love these times.
Al, the topless swimsuit is so wrong. And the debate on the political correctness of gender pronoun for ships is a crock of she-it.
Tis late! Today was in the upper 60's, but when my concubine left, we had snow showers. Life in Ohio!!
Hope all went well and may I be the first to wish you all a "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR".
Life being as it is, my Holter Monitor test results will not be available until December 4th,---2014. Can't wait to see the results.
Love y'all. I must be off!!
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