Theme: Go Fetch - The dogs mentioned, by their color in the theme, love to fetch. I considered the connected answers as one for the purpose of the theme due to their mirrored placement.
17A. With 25-Across, WWI U.S. Army command nickname: "BLACK JACK" 25A. PERSHING
17A. With 25-Across, WWI U.S. Army command nickname: "BLACK JACK" 25A. PERSHING
32A. Custard-filled pastry: CHOCOLATE ECLAIR
41A. Flip side of "Eleanor Rigby": YELLOW SUBMARINE
50A. With 64-Across, breed whose common colors begin 17-, 32- and 41-Across: LABRADOR 64A. RETRIEVER
Argyle here. A nice puzzle that a few times I had to stop over-thinking the clue and just put in the obvious, such as 15A.
I bet we will hear some dog stories today. Some like to collect the whole set.
I discovered this old clip you might find interesting. Very early use of a live figure in an animation. Clip.(3:14)
41A. Flip side of "Eleanor Rigby": YELLOW SUBMARINE
50A. With 64-Across, breed whose common colors begin 17-, 32- and 41-Across: LABRADOR 64A. RETRIEVER
Argyle here. A nice puzzle that a few times I had to stop over-thinking the clue and just put in the obvious, such as 15A.
I bet we will hear some dog stories today. Some like to collect the whole set.
I discovered this old clip you might find interesting. Very early use of a live figure in an animation. Clip.(3:14)
Across:
1. Nick and Nora Charles's dog : ASTA. Skippy (aka Asta) was a Wire-Haired Fox Terrier.
5. When repeated, island near Tahiti : BORA. Map.
9. Game with checks : CHESS
14. Disapproving fans' chorus : BOOs
15. Tied, as a game : EVEN
16. Line with many stops : LOCAL. Commuter trains.
19. Greek market : AGORA. That's Greek for market.
20. Overnight flight : REDEYE
21. Sad interjection : "ALAS!"
23. PC linking system : LAN. Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, etc.
24. Haul to the shop : TOW. This guy will do it. Image.
27. Judge : ARBITER
31. Argentina aunt : TIA. Argentina's official language is Spanish.
38. Chop : HEW
39. Gift of the garrulous : GAB
40. Sch. WNW of Topeka : KSU. Kansas State University, but if you google KSU, you will find a lot of schools with those initials!
48. Three, in Asti : TRE. In Italia.
49. Most Chaplin films : SILENTS. Before the 'talkies'.
55. Chill in the air : NIP
56. Stat for Koufax : ERA. Baseball. Stat is short for statistic and ERA is short for Earned Run Average, an important stat for a pitcher.
57. Opposite of "yup" : "NOPE"
58. Rectangular : OBLONG. Well, I thought it was just for circles; a learning experience.
62. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG. Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was a Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. GULAG was the Soviet system of forced labor camps. GULAG is an acronym and we will leave it at that.
66. Extremely overweight : OBESE
67. First African-American selected for a U.S. Davis Cup team : ASHE
68. Trillion: Pref. : TERA
69. Indian wraps : SARIs
70. Attention to "pay" : HEED
71. Brings to a close : ENDS
Down:
1. This ans. is one : ABBR. Both are abbreviations.
2. Foot bottom : SOLE
3. Tadpole, grown up : TOAD
4. One leading a spartan lifestyle : ASCETIC
5. Decorate with gems : BEJEWEL
6. Eggs, biologically : OVA
7. Summary : RECAP
8. A bobby sock is often folded down to it : ANKLE
9. Like the most elegant old autos : CLASSIC
10. Monopolize : HOG
11. Dangerous bacteria : E. COLI. Some strains are very dangerous.
12. Plastic wrap brand : SARAN
13. Street language, often : SLANG
18. Environmental protocol city : KYOTO. In Japan. The Kyoto Protocol was formed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming.
22. Commedia dell'__ : ARTE. The closest translation being "comedy of art", (shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improviso, or "comedy through the art of improvisation") and is a form of theatre that began in Italy in the year 1560, characterized by masked "types", the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.
26. "2001" computer : HAL. From the sci-fi movie, "2001".
27. In need of a massage : ACHY
28. Syngman of Korea : RHEE. First president of South Korea.
29. Knock down some pins : BOWL
30. Joplin works : RAGS. Clip(2:46). Scott Joplin was dubbed the "King of Ragtime".
33. Sigma follower : TAU. 18 and 19 in the Greek alphabet.
34. Recedes to the sea : EBBS
35. Related : AKIN
36. "Winning __ everything" : ISN'T
37. Regrets : RUEs
42. P.O. box item : LTR.
43. Florida crops : ORANGEs
44. Shared wedding vow response : "WE DO". Curious; has anyone seen a ceremony where the couple did this?
45. Studied secondarily, with "in" : MINORED
46. Perp-to-cop story : ALIBI
47. Abundantly filled (with) : REPLETE
50. Kids' blocks : LEGOs
51. Curaçao neighbor : ARUBA. Off the north coast of South America.
52. Hay bundler : BALER. Mostly big round bales(700–900 lb) these days. Image.
53. Daytime TV mogul : OPRAH. She has started her own network now.
54. Pee Wee of the Dodgers : REESE, For the most part, the Brooklyn Dodgers.
59. Pizzeria fixture : OVEN
60. Teen comedy stereotype : NERD
61. Pâté de foie __ : GRAS. Formerly known as "Strasbourg pie" in English due to that city being a major producer.
63. "Just __ thought!" : AS I
65. Common article : THE
Answer grid.
Argyle
1. Nick and Nora Charles's dog : ASTA. Skippy (aka Asta) was a Wire-Haired Fox Terrier.
5. When repeated, island near Tahiti : BORA. Map.
9. Game with checks : CHESS
14. Disapproving fans' chorus : BOOs
15. Tied, as a game : EVEN
16. Line with many stops : LOCAL. Commuter trains.
19. Greek market : AGORA. That's Greek for market.
20. Overnight flight : REDEYE
21. Sad interjection : "ALAS!"
23. PC linking system : LAN. Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, etc.
24. Haul to the shop : TOW. This guy will do it. Image.
27. Judge : ARBITER
31. Argentina aunt : TIA. Argentina's official language is Spanish.
38. Chop : HEW
39. Gift of the garrulous : GAB
40. Sch. WNW of Topeka : KSU. Kansas State University, but if you google KSU, you will find a lot of schools with those initials!
48. Three, in Asti : TRE. In Italia.
49. Most Chaplin films : SILENTS. Before the 'talkies'.
55. Chill in the air : NIP
56. Stat for Koufax : ERA. Baseball. Stat is short for statistic and ERA is short for Earned Run Average, an important stat for a pitcher.
57. Opposite of "yup" : "NOPE"
58. Rectangular : OBLONG. Well, I thought it was just for circles; a learning experience.
62. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG. Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was a Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. GULAG was the Soviet system of forced labor camps. GULAG is an acronym and we will leave it at that.
66. Extremely overweight : OBESE
67. First African-American selected for a U.S. Davis Cup team : ASHE
68. Trillion: Pref. : TERA
69. Indian wraps : SARIs
70. Attention to "pay" : HEED
71. Brings to a close : ENDS
Down:
1. This ans. is one : ABBR. Both are abbreviations.
2. Foot bottom : SOLE
3. Tadpole, grown up : TOAD
4. One leading a spartan lifestyle : ASCETIC
5. Decorate with gems : BEJEWEL
6. Eggs, biologically : OVA
7. Summary : RECAP
8. A bobby sock is often folded down to it : ANKLE
9. Like the most elegant old autos : CLASSIC
10. Monopolize : HOG
11. Dangerous bacteria : E. COLI. Some strains are very dangerous.
12. Plastic wrap brand : SARAN
13. Street language, often : SLANG
18. Environmental protocol city : KYOTO. In Japan. The Kyoto Protocol was formed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming.
22. Commedia dell'__ : ARTE. The closest translation being "comedy of art", (shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improviso, or "comedy through the art of improvisation") and is a form of theatre that began in Italy in the year 1560, characterized by masked "types", the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.
26. "2001" computer : HAL. From the sci-fi movie, "2001".
27. In need of a massage : ACHY
28. Syngman of Korea : RHEE. First president of South Korea.
29. Knock down some pins : BOWL
30. Joplin works : RAGS. Clip(2:46). Scott Joplin was dubbed the "King of Ragtime".
33. Sigma follower : TAU. 18 and 19 in the Greek alphabet.
34. Recedes to the sea : EBBS
35. Related : AKIN
36. "Winning __ everything" : ISN'T
37. Regrets : RUEs
42. P.O. box item : LTR.
43. Florida crops : ORANGEs
44. Shared wedding vow response : "WE DO". Curious; has anyone seen a ceremony where the couple did this?
45. Studied secondarily, with "in" : MINORED
46. Perp-to-cop story : ALIBI
47. Abundantly filled (with) : REPLETE
50. Kids' blocks : LEGOs
51. Curaçao neighbor : ARUBA. Off the north coast of South America.
52. Hay bundler : BALER. Mostly big round bales(700–900 lb) these days. Image.
53. Daytime TV mogul : OPRAH. She has started her own network now.
54. Pee Wee of the Dodgers : REESE, For the most part, the Brooklyn Dodgers.
59. Pizzeria fixture : OVEN
60. Teen comedy stereotype : NERD
61. Pâté de foie __ : GRAS. Formerly known as "Strasbourg pie" in English due to that city being a major producer.
63. "Just __ thought!" : AS I
65. Common article : THE
Answer grid.
Argyle
62 comments:
Very easy puzzle for me. I have just recently begun to do the crossword puzzle online. My husband has done the paper copy of the Houston Chronicle (which is take from the L.A. Times) for years.
Good Morning, Arygle and friends. Ooohh, I loved this puzzle. I hope we see a lot more of Mr. Barocas. It was a good start to this first week of 2011. It was easy, but also with lots of learning moments.
I was not aware that Kyoto was a protocol environmental city. Thanks for the info, Argyle.
I also learned about General Pershing.
I attended a wedding last Friday morning, but the couple did not have Joint (We DO) vows. It was a traditional wedding with the bride and groom reciting their own, separate vows.
Happy Monday, everyone.
QOD: No one wants advice ~ only corroboration. ~ John Steinbeck
Good day folks,
A colorful, albeit easy solve to start the week. Theme clues brought back lots of memories. Red eye-the awful return flights from the coast and the day or two to get your sea legs back. Chocolate eclair- the bakery a block away from my childhood home and the aromas emitting from it. Yellow Submarine- always one of my favorite songs. Blackjack-a brand of chewing gum that wasn't very good.
Have an enjoyable day.
Not much more to say about this puzzle. Finished with no perp assistance which is rare for me.
Welcome, Jacel.
Hahtool, great site for Gen. Pershing. Kyoto is where they held the summit; I don't know if the city itsself is that environmetally committed.
Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,
Quick one today with a couple erasures. What I couldn't get going across the downs gave to me and vice versa. Love Labrador Retrievers, great picture.
Thanks for the link for Gen. Pershing Hahtool.
Hooray! The kids are back to school today!
Have a great Monday!
New avatar of Lucy and Zivah. Lucy has finally stopped trying to nurse Zivah. Quite annoying hearing her suck on the dogs hair in the middle of the night. She goes to the vet to see if she is old enough to be fixed this week.
Good Morning Argyle, C.C., and especially Victor Barocas. Great puzzle for a Monday morning. I zipped right through it before I left the house to catch the train. It got my mind in a good frame for the day. I enjoyed the Labrador Retriever theme. We have a similar dog, a German Shorthaired Pointer. I think they are cousins. Our dog loves to retrieve anything thrown. She will do that long after my arm wears out. We have a place in Pennsylvania that we go to in the summer. Our dog, Jenni, is in her glory while there in the great outdoors. She is about 13 now, so we will see.
Enjoyed Hahtool's QOD from Steinbeck. Lots of truth in that.
Abejo
Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
Thanks for the great write-up, Argyle, and the interesting link to "Quit Kickin My dog Aroun". I wonder what year that was made? It certainly had to be before PETA, what with the dogcatcher bopping each of the dogs over the head with a mallet !!
This was such a speed run today, that I missed a lot of the "Down" clues until I read your writeup. Loved "Perp to cop story" for ALIBI - that was one I totally missed while doing the puzzle. After BLACK JACK and CHOCOLATE ECLAIR fell, I figured the theme would be about Labs, and for once I was right! But I shouldn't strain my arm patting myself on the back, because it is a Monday, after all.
Maniac, what a cute picture of Lucy and Zivah. That reminds me, that our cats are due for their annual checkup this week, too. One of them has been on a diet - she's about 13 pounds, and should be around 10 - for a cat, that's quite OBESE. So, no more CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS for her, I guess!
Hahtool, your Steinbeck quote made me chuckle when I read it. Like Abejo, I think there's a lot of truth in it!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Good Morning C.C.,Argyle and all,
Great write-up,Argyle.Lots of info.
It was a typical Monday puzzle; yet outstanding in its content and fill. We have a Yellow Lab and she is exceptional. We also have two other dogs of longtime family standing;hence, I really love the theme.
Thanks to Victor Barocas.
I super enjoyed Hahtool's link to
General Pershing. Thanks.
Sunshine this A.M..
Have a nice day everyone.
Good morning and welcome back to normal life (work, school, etc.). Nice blog, Argyle, particularly the pics of the labs. There is a similar matched set at the dog park that I frequent with Nora our Norrbottenspets which we recently "rescued" from our daughter ;-)
This was a good puzzle - easy but with some unusual words and clues. I did it so quickly that I was unaware of many of the down clues which became apparent when I read the blog. Nice start to the week!
Hi All~!
Well, I did about usual for this Monday, my only oops was AXE for HEW, but it self-corrected with Chocolate and Yellow - that was a learning experience for me; didn't know that was the B-side.
GULAG was the fate of Mad Max in Beyond Thunderdome - OK movie.
I see the new Oprah channel - she will rule the world one day.
Loved LEGOS as a child - still have my whole collection
Still trying to get around to moving, but the snow is still in the way....
Take care,
Splynter
Hello Puzzlers - The big learning moment for me today came with TOAD. I had no idea that hoppy-toads go through the same metamorphosis as frogs - they just seem too dry for that. Whaddaya know!
All in all a superb puzzle for a Monday. Happy 2011 everybody.
Mainiac, Love that avatar!
MH, Nora too. couldn't get your link to open.
Good Morning Argyle et al, not much to say on this pleasant Monday exercise and write-up and so I thought I would add some pictures.
It has become a tradition at our house for me to grow an Amaryllis every December for two reasons – 1. They are beautiful and 2. Even an idiot like me can grow them! Here is the Amaryllis in Sun Room. This is my corner where I solve puzzles and drink coffee from my enormous NASA mug. This is a close-up Amaryllis Up Close Up. I can’t see how you can spend $5 better this time of year in the northern climes!
Musings
-ASTA today, ASTA yesterday, ASTA in perpetuity
-Blackjack Pershing is big in Nebraska history. He was a military professor in Lincoln and the rifle company he formed bears his name – The Pershing Rifles. They are the flag bearers during the national anthem at Husker athletic events. John J Pershing Road runs along the Missouri River and it is the route we use from the west to get to Eppley Airfield in Omaha.
-Our neighbor has a beautiful yellow lab but when the son’s black lab comes out here to Fremont from Omaha with the son it is bedlam. After they nearly knocked my wife over this summer they corral and patrol them very closely! The black lab lives in an apartment in Omaha and when he gets out here, look out!
-Judge Judy is the best! She rules her time slot and people love seeing her cut through the nonsense and make people take responsibility.
-Sandy Koufax was the anti-Favre! He got out of the game when he knew he couldn’t perform at a high level anymore and did it with class and never looked back! He also kept his pants up.
-Oranges had a rough year in Florida this past winter and I am anxious to see what the trees on the space center look like next week
-Peewee Reese wouldn’t have the size to play today but he was a giant in my eyes when he was an advocate for Jackie Robinson back in the 50’s
Good morning Argyle and all.
Pretty much a walk in the park today. Interesting theme using a dog (breed). No unknowns. Essentially a top to bottom - cap-a-pie - solve. KSU was a WAG.
I would have clued 17a BLACK JACK Pershing as a WWI ARMY commandER nickname.
Jacel - Welcome aboard
Today at 1900h UT, the Earth is at perihelion in its annual orbit around the sun.
Have a good day.
Good morning Argyle et al,
I had an easy time with this Monday puzzle, but then so did all of you!
You want dog stories? We had two female dogs when we lived in the country--a Black Lab and a German Shepherd. We only got the shepherd pup after the lab was showing her age, and for a while it was OK, but after our son tried cleaning the lab's teeth with human toothpaste, it seemed to cruel their relationship, and afterwards we had to keep them apart. So if the shepherd was loose, we'd let her in one door just as the lab went out another door when she had to pee.
Earlier on, when we only had the lab, she came home so proud one day, carrying a trout she'd fished from the neighbor's pond, and couldn't understand why we gave her a time out in the kennel for doing so.
The shepherd liked to "help" with things. So one day DH was digging the garden and looked around to see her digging with her paws beside him.
Now we just have our Golden, "who" (note the humanoid reference) gets attention by just resting her head on our laps until we take notice.
Good morning Monday! (and CC, Argyle, et al)
Interesting that Nick and Nora's dog was 1d in the Sunday puzzle and 1a today. Would that be a delayed Clecho? It seems that we can go for months without seeing a particular word and then it shows up several times in a short period of time before disappearing again.
Always one to look for a good conspiracy, maybe there's a secret constructor's net where they circulate a word and see how many different ways it can be clued.
This was a fun and quick solve, like Mondays are supposed to be.
In our neighborhood, there are quite few labs that we see doing their daily chore of dragging their owners around the neighborhood. There are two owners that must be quite lazy.. it takes two labs each to drag them out.
I've never owned a pure lab, but did have a lab/shepherd mix. She was with us from about 6 weeks old until she died at age 18.
I'll go back and take a look at the links now. Have a great day, all.
Argyle, I liked that picture of the baler. 'Back in the day' I spent a few summers baling hay, but those were the rectangular (oblong?) bales. The difference? Well... back then the cows got three square meals a day. Now they get a well rounded meal.
Good Monday to all you Puzzlers. Nice, easy fill today. I heart Mondays!
No dog stories, but my friend has 2 Bernese Mt. dogs, a Sheltie (The Princess) AND a Borzoi. Is she nuts? You bet! Now she's got stories.
I wanted to put the word out to all you San Francisco/San Jose, Ca puzzlers that the Silicon Valley Sodoku/Crossword Puzzle contest is schedule for Jan. 29th & 30th. It is held in Morgan Hill (about 25 m. south of San Jose) and is a well run and a fun event. The last 2 yrs. Tyler Hinen (sp?) attended as a special guest. I would link the website but I haven't figured out how to do it, even with C.C.'s instructions printed out in front of me! Check www.svpuzzle.org for details.
Wishing all a happy and healthy new year. Hope to see some of you in Morgan Hill on the 30th. My sister and I will be there with bells on along with our mechanical pencils!!
That would be Tyler Hinman! Sorry for the misspelling.
Hi gang,
Fun, fast and easy so I'm a happy camper. Nice start to the first Monday of the year.
It's still cold and windy here which is not good for any kind of exercise and we are getting antsy.
My sister has a golden retriever named Jake...she says he can understand several words and now they have to spell some and he's even picking up on that! Dogs are smart!! We had family stop by yesterday and they had their little Pomeranian mix with them..what a sweetie! She is so well behaved - but sadly doesn't like to ride in vehicles, so she didn't want to get back in their car to go home (about a 90 minute trip).
Hi gang -
Dog-gone good puzzle, and a fine write up Argyle. Interesting cartoon clip.
Except for the "B" ALIBI saw filled in by the PERPS.
Even an ASCETIC needs to go to the LOCAL AGORA once in a while.
ASCETIC and REPLETE make an interesting symmetry.
A few warm days and some rain took away all our snow.
Jacel and MH - don't recall seeing you here before. Welcome!
That's all I got.
Cheers!
JzB
Thanks Argyle
• According to Wiki, about 3 million people in the US suffer from a fear of Greek market-places . I don't know if the numbers have risen since the EU bale-out of the Greek economy.
But seriously, Agoraphobia (fear of open/crowded spaces) accounts for more than half of all debilitating phobias - and 2/3rds of sufferers are women.
(I assume most cruciverbalists have a similar aversion to open spaces...).
• Solzhenitsyn's GULAG ARCHIPELAGO, which was an intentional rhyme in Russian - ARCHIPELAG GULAG - was remarkable on many levels. By the time it was published, though, Kruschev had already denounced most of Stalinism. However, a key point is that Solzhenitsyn placed the responsibility of creating these forced labor/slave camps on the shoulders of Lenin (not Stalin), who had viewed them as an essential part of the Communist system (even if Stalin had developed them further for his own purposes). In short, Leninism, the last hold-out of "respectable" Bolshevism, was debunked.
It's too long for most of us with a day-job to read now, but I do recommend "One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich" if you've never read it.
• I am thinking of Clecho-like words for crosses of words with contrasting meanings, as discussed the other day. I am thinking of "cloxy" or "cloxmo" which combines Clue, the X crossing, and oxy as in oxymoron. But I am sure someone here can do better.
NC
My 1/2 black lab 1/2 boxer grand dog WINSTON .
....or maybe "croxy" ?
NC, How about "contranswer", for contrasting answers. In this case, it is the answers that provide the "echo", and not the clues, right?
Good afternoon everyone.
Nice write up, Argyle, as always.
I've been out of commission for a few days with a sore throat and runny nose. It's the first since I moved to Florida in 1988!. I'd forgotten how miserable one feels. Much better today, and happily it's Monday so I could do the puzzle. And having dogs is an absolute plus.
50A gave me yellow and therefore submarine. Had no idea otherwise.
It's a gorgeous day in Naples. Hope all of you are recuperating from the awful storms of last week.
Cheers
Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all,
Great puzzle, Mr. Barocas, and Argyle, you never disappoint.I always pick up new facts from your write up.I didn't know about Kyoto either.
Environmental issues are a problem everywhere. It takes so long to do anything with so many dissenters. It was just revealed that SJ's water supply has a high level of chromium 6. "Officials" are debating about what is an acceptable level. In the meantime...... sigh
Hahtool, thanks for slipping in Gen. Pershing, and I ALWAYS enjoy your QOD.
Lemonade and Mainiac, sweet dogs, lucky cat.Since our Golden died a few years ago, we dote on our grandpup, who is a marmaduke sized yellow lab. He backs up to the couch and sits.If I'm on the couch he gets on his haunches and gives me a hug.This should be the day I TRY to add a picture to my blog. hmmmm-maybe
Thanks Garlic Gal! puzzle fest information
Did the puzzle in between packing away decorations...about the time I think I have them all, I see another something!
"minored" wouldn`t come to me...mainly because "nip" wouldn`t, although we have one today and have had for far too many days...relatives tell me grapefruit are already $1.00 each! "Agora" is a California town name...lots of words that are fun to say; aruba, eclair, "choc-oh- lah-tay", gulag, ascetic,bejewel, oprah. In case you have`nt heard, she was named for Orpha in the Bible...but it was mis-spelled by whom ever named her (I read somewhere.)
My dog story: Someone came to pick up a child at my home and the one I drive for took some goodies out to the car. Her little dog (a dachshund/chihuahua mix) caught him on the middle joint of the left, index finger and got a plug clear to the bone! It bled for nearly 24 hours! The dog had had his shots (and we wanted to give him another one with the shot gun!) but immobilizing the joint and keeping it dis-infected has enabled it to start healing around the edges. Thank goodness it`s not his dominate hand.
To Garlic Gal - Thanks for the tip...I'll look into it and might go!!
...LOVED today's puzzle...
Hello everybody. Warm Monday greetings to you all. (Warm greetings, not warm Monday. LOL)
Welcome, Jacel Morgan.
Hahtool, John Steinbeck sure had a lot of insight into human nature, didn't he, and had great talent in expressing it.
I liked this puzzle a lot. Doesn't matter if it is easy or hard; the amount I like a puzzle has no correlation with its difficulty. What I like are awesome fills such as ASCETIC, REPLETE, BEJEWEL, and ARBITER, clever but not too misleading clues, and, less importantly, a cool theme. To me, the visual, physical esthetic is not important, and I hardly notice it. Odd, though, because as an engineer, when I design something, the esthetic and "elegance" of it is almost as important as the "content" of it. Maybe that's because I am the "constructor" of it.
Anyway, good puzzle; thank you, Victor Barocas.
And thank you, Argyle, for providing us with informative writeups and interesting links, week after week.
To Anonymous at 7:43 PM last night: yes I saw and appreciate your post about Ashok Kumar. Thank you.
GarlicGal, thanks for the info about the upcoming Silicon Valley Puzzle Fest and for the URL. Thank you, JD, for the link.
I have no dog stories, shaggy or otherwise :)
Best wishes to you all.
Nice Cuppa, thanks for that inofrmation about agoraphobia. I have heard of it but never put 2 and 2 together to associate its name with the word agora. A lovely learning moment. Also about how archepelago and gulag rhyme in Russian. Very cool.
Husker Gary, that is quite a pretty Amaryllis you have there! I bet it has a powerful scent. By the way, that is a heck of a sofa/easy chair you have there, complete with cup holder!
Rose, yikes about the finger! I trust it will eventually heal completely.
Best wishes to you all again.
Jayce: Re: "Ashok Kumar" - you're welcome. Complete bio on Wiki, should you be further interested.
EddieB : Re: 'Asok' of the 'Dilbert' comic strip - ( the name ) - Not to flog a dead horse - but should you be interested - Wiki has a full page 'bio' on him - just Wiki 'Asok (Dilbert) '.
- and you can read the Cartoonist Scott Adams' version, on how the name came about. Straight from the horses mouth, that is.
Good day, puzzlers.
Not feeling well today as something I ate disagreed with me violently at 3 A.M.
I still feel weak but the puzzle was easy enough that even in my weakened condition I could zip through it. So glad the brain cells were not affected.
You all have a lovely Monday!
How about "anticross"?
Lucina; We attended several holiday open houses "replete" with refreshments. At 1:30 in the AM, 'bitten finger' awoke with both stomach miseries... it lasted around 12 hours. We thought he`d gotten some bad food...(it was all homemade and I 'eschewed' it because of that...) but we have since found that
a 12 hour virus is going around. I attribute the fact that I missed it to my daily "Activia." Hope you feel well soon. It took him 2 or 3 days to get his appetite back, a rarity for him.
As to "asta" showing up so often, some letter combinations just do that when you`re constructing...as in "r,s,t,l,n,e" and the vowel "e" appearing the most frequently on "Wheel.""C,d and m are the next most frequent as is the vowel "a".
I`ve been remiss in not saying I appreciate our bloggers. I sincerely do. Thank all of you...Sunday to Sunday.
Hola Everyone, I did the puzzle on line early this morning, after a rather sleepless night. I whizzed through the whole thing without a red letter. It was a great puzzle, and thanks to Argyle I had some learning moments as well.
I especially liked the Labrador Retreiver theme as they are the dog of choice in our family. Could be because we raised two Lab Guide Dogs, and now our daughter has a kennel. Her black lab Carmen will have pups in the early spring. Nothing like a litter of lab pups.
Her litters are usually a mix of blacks and yellows. Polly, the yellow lab was here at Christmas.
She is the dog in my avatar. That's my dog story!
Hahtool, great QOD today. So true.
Welcome Jacel. Join in on the banter. Try it, you'll like it!
I'm cooking up a big pot of Ham Bone Bean soup today. This can cook while I'm putting away the rest of the Christmas decorations.
Lucinna, feel better soon.
Hi all!
What a fun puzzle!Yes, it was a typical Monday puzzle but had fun clues and answers and I got most of the answers. Like some of you I didn't see some of the clues until I read Argyle's answers.
Hahtool-thanks for the Pershing site, I put it on my favorites so I can go back and read the whole thing.
I remember Syngman Rhee very well. He was in the news a lot in the late 40s and all of the 50s.
Argyle, I loved the early cartoon also. I noticed Disney's name was on it.
I knew KSU of course, having in Kansas 10 years. When I looked for other schools, etc. with the same initials, the 1st one mentioned was Kennesaw State Univ. in Kennesaw, Ga. We went past it a couple times a day when we were there last month. When my daughter first moved to Ga. in 1992 it was a community college. It has grown tremendously since then, became a university, has students from all over the state, etc. and has just built a new athletic field which has the 1st girls soccer field in the world (or so they said.)
Husker- your amarylis is beautiful. It makes me think of the Christmas Cactus my daughter gave my husband. We packed it in one of those large heavy paper Christmas bags with handles that had been used for a large present. We put paper under and around it. When we went into the hotel that evening on the way home, the handles broke and it fell on the floor and the large pot it was in broke. It was too cold to leave it in the car all night. So he had to nurse it carefully the rest of the way home. he repotted it a couple days ago.
Happy New year, all!
Marge
How can you people standhaving a dopg. yechhh!
A dog
Lemonade, I always figured you were intelligent.
Does CC ever come by anymore?
Marge and Jayce, thanks for the kind comment and yes, the amaryllis is beautiful but it has no scent. The first Christmas flower I bought was a Paper White Narcisis that was beautiful but had a very unpleasant odor! Do you remember the movie with a character named Amaryllis?
BTW, I love my little nook with my recliner, coffee and my LA Times puzzle. You can probably sense that my room has a lot of windows and so I am in Nirvana out there!
Good Afternoon All, D'oh! I didn't check the new calendar yesterday and I got my doctor's appointment wrong. I went this morning and the appointment is for next Monday. Like I don't go to Modesto enough!
Anyway, I got a little shopping done and got home in time to do Monday's puzzle. Loved it all. I really enjoyed seeing LABRADOR RETRIEVER pop up. Our neighbor Lisa, the yellow lab, trots up the hill almost every day to say hi to GAH (and get a biscuit).
It is nice to see that, other than crosswords, most of us have a deep affection for our loyal canine friends.
I had to smile at the dis-connect between 50A LABRADOR and 64A RETRIEVER. PN said yesterday that he(she?) enjoyed going straight through left to right without skipping around. I don't see that was possible today, unless it was just a semi-lucky guess.
Dodo, from last night, I laughed a lot at your 5:14 and 7:58 comments. I'm an online solver, but when I do paper solving, I use a pencil. It doesn't bother me if the marking is a little light, I know if the fill is correct or not. Our house has a half drawerful of pencils, pens in different colors and bunches of Fine and Ultra Fine Sharpies, so I have lots of choices for different purposes.
BTW, welcome to PN and Jacel.
Rose@3:05, I have a friend who rarely will eat food at another's home, unless she knows them very well. OTOH, GAH and I will try just about anything that is offered at an open house, or progressive lunch or dinner. We've had some wonderful "beg for the recipe" dishes and some things we carefully placed back on the side of the plate, but we've never been sick. Fortunately, neither one of us has any food allergies. How about the rest of our blog members? How do you feel about eating food made by unknown hands? (Forget about restaurants...we all have to have to make a leap of faith sometime and we all hope some standards are involved.)
Hello fellow cruciverbalists and Happy New Year!
Thanks to Argyle CC and Victor Barocas! Fun, easy puzzle. Wonder how many people have never seen a Thin Man movie but know Asta only from overuse in puzzles!
AGOURA is in CA, not AGORA!
Have been under the weather (more than usual) lately, so haven't worked a puzzle in a while. A friend got me to work Saturday's monster with him. We have some complementary knowledge in this regard!
I had no pets as a child. After marriage, I had to have some. At one time I had FIVE dogs and THIRTEEN cats, not to mention many turtles, rabbits, ducks, geese, chickens, a goat, fish of all sorts, guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards, a ferret and a horse. (Some of these "belonged" to the kids.) Today just have one dog, two cats and perhaps 13 turtles. My dog is finally using the doggie door in the slider BOTH ways.
Whoopee!
Don't see how I can survive without a DOG. Latest four were adopted. Current is shepherd mixed with god knows what. Really would like a purebred LAB to keep her company!!!
Hope someone eventually reads this!
Had about EIGHT hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. If what I did to accomplish this works again, I will tell you about it!
CA--I have problems with sodium, wheat, caffeine (and, of course, uncooked alcohol). I do not eat much when I go out, except to my dear friend Chris's place. (Her husband is now building her the "Taj Mahal" of kitchens.) I don't go out much!
Good evening Argyle, CC, et al., Thank you, Argyle, darlin'. Excellent job as usual. You are amazing!
I agree this was a fun puzzle with a wonderful theme. I do love me some black lab. Some clue/answers were missed b/c the perps filled in the area so well.
Hahtool: Enjoyed the link on Pershing. I remember the Pershing missile being rolled through town in an Army convoy from Ft Sill, OK. It moved v e r y slowly.
We had a black lab mix that saved our lives from a home invasion a few years ago. 3 armed men came in the back, holding a 357 magnum to my son's head and tried to rob us. Bruno kept barking and wouldn't stop. They realized they couldn't do it, pistol whipped all 3 boys and ran off. They were never found. Bruno died just a few months ago at the age of 17. When Betty White came thru town in Oct, I got her to sign a Cmas tree ornament of a black lab - a Bruno -and she kissed it when she found out that he was a hero. Both Betty White and that ornament are treasures! That's my dog story.
Enjoy your night. I'll be back.
What a delightful puzzle. What's not to love when Labs are involved? Our grandpuppy is a 90-pound yellow Lab named Guiness(their spelling, not ours) who is a hunk of love and makes a great pillow for our grandchildren.
We've had a number of dogs over the years - the best was an Afghan/Samoyed mix (Afghan ears, Samoyed butt) named Shasta. She was like our third child. When her arthritis got so bad that she couldn't stand up after we helped her get off the floor, we made the heart-wrenching decision to put her down.
Life just doesn't seem the same without a dog, but we're on the road so much, it just doesn't seem fair to adopt another one.
Lots of great cat stories, too, but I'll save those for another time.
Marge - KSU immediately triggered thoughts of Kent State University, my alma mater. I graduated a year before the horrific events that took place on the hill.
Thanks, Argyle, for the great comments and links.
Hope this great puzzle is an omen for a wonderful week ahead!
This was a good puzzle because we were able to solve it! We have Ashe quite often but I never knew before that he was an African-American. One realy can learn from these puzzles.
After a couple says their individual "I do's", our pastor always says "and now, to you ____ and _________, do you mutually promise ....." and the couple answers, "We do". Years ago, when my sister got married, the vows were worded, "Will you, ". Marion was used to hearing,the vows requiring an "I do" answer, so as she nervously replied, she ran the two together and said, "I woo". The guests found that pretty funny.
I've tried to post this three times and can't get it to work, so I will send it anonymously.
Dot
Fermatprime:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND CORRECTION!
We had an Old English Sheepdog who lived to a ripe old age. She became incontinent and had to be helped to a standing position when she was lying down. When she hurt her leg and couldn't walk much anymore, we had to put her down. Geez, what a sad day that was.
CA, I've never had any qualms about eating food prepared by others.
Chickie, your hambone bean soup is making my mouth water. Is it close to Senate Bean Soup?
Jayce, with your interest in the aesthetics and elegance of stuff, I'm guessing you're a Mac user. :>)
I'm convinced you could look a long time before you found as interesting, intelligent and thoughtful group of people as those who frequent this blog. Happy New Year everybody!
To Clear Ayes:
I enjoy eating food anywhere, any time. I have eaten food at potlucks, pitch ins, and tureens all my life. I have never gotten sick at these. I got food poisoning about a year ago at a Wendy's Restaurant. Had a salad with chicken strips. Haven't gone back since. I was trying to eat healthy and have a salad. Bad idea, on that day. But, in summary, food prepared and cooked by my friends and Masonic brethren have never made me sick. Abejo
Interesting food comments, folks. If you have sensitivities or allergies, eating anyplace but home can be a problem. I used to bring a delicious cashew/chicken pasta to our ladies lunches. But even though I clearly labeled it, I found out one of our attendees was allergic to nuts, so I switched to another dish....just in case.
MH, Same problem with Norrbottenspets link. I was curious since I had never heard of them and looked up a Wikipedia link for this lovely lovely Swedish dog. You're fortunate to have such a rare breed.
Lemonade@10:59, Winston looks like the typical easy going unruffle-able lab....great dog, great photo.
fermatprime, I hope you really have figured out how to keep getting a good night's sleep. Let us know how you fare.
Hahtool, re: QOD...it's funny because it is true!
creature@8:33, as you obviously know, three dogs can easily fit in to most families as well as two or even one.
Sallie, Charley says, "Hi!".
Lois, I remember your story about Bruno. Whatta guy! How nice for you to meet Betty White, one of the biggest dog champions that ever lived.
I don't know where this phrase came from, but it is a good thing to try to "Be the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are".
I do eat home prepared food from people I know (potlucks etc...) I didn`t know any of these people and the tour lasted from 5 to 7:30...that`s a long time for sausage balls to be out! I ate some celery from a veggie tray...and some HOT soup at the beginning of the tour. He ate everywhere we visited...and it could just have been a virus...So far, we`ve never gotten sick after a restaurant meal except once and that was because they used peanut oil and didn`t tell us.
Re dogs: some good advise for us humans; Wag more, bark less!
As to eating in places other than our home, we seldom go to restaurants unless we are traveling. We have never had any problems there but we don't have any food allergies. I am be cautious about parties, potlucks, picnics because I never know how long food has been left out at the wrong temps. I took a food preservation course about 9 years ago because I wanted to learn how to can fruit. I was so surprised to find out how easy it is to poison yourself and anyone else by bad habits in the kitchen. I guess my Mom just knew the safe, clean way to do everything and I learned from her so I had very few bad or dangerous habits to overcome. What I needed to know was how to safely can and freeze foods we enjoy. Mom was no longer around to advise me, hence (don't you love that word?) the classes were so enjoyable. I passed the test at 100%.
Lois, BEST dog story ever;brought tears to my eyes.
MH, I had wondered what kind of dog was in your avatar...a beauty.I chuckeled that that you rescued her from your daughter.Brings back memories. That is how we acquired one of our dogs.She went to college and left the dog.
CA, at least you got the month and day right..2 out of 3. ;-)
As a teacher, I was always getting homemade cookies, tamales,cupcakes from families.I have to say we didn't always eat it, but never got ill. Sometimes we'd do a quick run to Carl's Jr to get a salad for lunch, but I found out pretty quickly that whatever they put on their greens didn't agree with me 2 hours later.
Chickie, I'm also making ham bone soup. I use the pkg. of mixed beans, lentils,etc. from The Honey Baked Ham Store.Smells goooood.
Hi mtnest995! What a darling avatar, grandchild?
Hello all:
Bad computer problems, so I will be trying to fix them before Friday. In the meantime, for those of you unfamiliar with the life and death of ARTHUR ASHE he was a class act, who sadly became infected with AIDS thuorgh a blood transfusion, and who helped cause the changes in blood handling that made it much safer.
Winston is an amazing dog, who spent 8 hours in a car in each direction and did not complain for a second.
Thank you, my friends, for your good wishes. I feel slightly better already. My daughter came and gave me some TLC as well as cream of wheat. I've learned that is one food an upset stomach can tolerate.
What I ate had been in my refrigerator though I don't recall for how long. It looked and smelled fine, but oh what a deception! Normally I have a cast iron stomach.
Nice dog stories. Our two dogs, the papillon (tiny toy) and the chow mix (large) loved each other. They played and nudged each other all day. It was too cute for words and we didn't have a camcorder at the time.
Argyle, terrific blog, and C.C. you know my sentiments!
I thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle. Two grid spanner's on a Monday? Very impressive!
Dot, loved to see you chiming in today. Hope all is well with you and Irv.
Night, all.
Hello everyone,
It feels good to be home again!
After having had to put down my 22 year old cat last Palm Sunday, I spent my Christmas holiday falling in love with my niece's german shepherd. Leaving him was sad, but seeing today's canine theme brought a smile to my face!
Now to savour your comments again...
Annette
BTW--Newest avatar is "Grand-Dog" Gunther, in honor of today's dog theme. I know I've mentioned him before, but don't remember if I've shared the story that Gunther was adopted from a rescue group. He was originally named "Army" by his rescuers, because he was discovered in a trash bin behind a Salvation Army Store. I spoil him almost as much as I do Drake.
Okay, over and out. :}
My new avatar is my latest love interest - Henry, I miss you!
I don't know how long I'm going to be able to resist getting a new pet...my head says never, but my heart's saying "NOW"!
Good Morning folks. Enjoyed the easy puzzle, David. Good jump start for a Tuesday. I got it done at home before I got on the train and bus. By the end of the week that all changes. The theme became obvious right away. I am a shoe person of a sort. I wore Mason Shoes for about 35 years. They were made in America, in Chippewa Falls, WI. They fit great and were priced just fine. They were mail order. When they shut down their factory and moved all the machines out of the country, I quit buying them. Now I buy Red Wings, for work shoes. They are of the highest quality. I needed a pair of dress shoes and bought Allen Edmonds. Best dress shoe I ever owned. Made in America. I would buy another pair in a heart beat. Yes, they are expensive. But, you get what you pay for and, the money stays in the country and helps a US worker. My two cents. Abejo
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