Theme: 71, 72, and 73 across: What this puzzle does literally at six different intersections: MAKES ENDS MEET. The word "END" is contained within, and connected to both an across and a down answer, and the placement of all the connections are symmetrical in the grid.
20A. Fancy greens dish: ENDIVE SALAD. Also called Chicory. Grown in the dark to prevent greening, which would make it bitter.
32A. #1 tennis player for much of the '80s: IVAN LENDL.
38A. In reverse position: END FOR END.
50A. Feminist's concern: GENDER GAP.
58A. Bit of modern folklore: URBAN LEGEND. See Snopes.com whenever you hear something that always seems to happen to a friend's friend from work has a relative that heard this story was true. Except it almost never is. Not to be confused with the Darwin Awards, which almost always are true.
1D. Supplementary items: ADDENDA. Added to the END.
26D. Binge: BENDER. Ah, lots of arm curls. College was for far more than just studying.
31D. Corrects, as text: EMENDS. Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" + mendum "fault, blemish"
49D. Hanging: PENDENT. As in a cloth banner. Might have been pending as in waiting.
Hi all, Al here.
This is certainly an interesting construction today, but hard to put clearly into words, so a picture may help. Counting the last three across reveals at the END, there are 12 answers that contribute to the theme today. There's nothing that really unifies them other than that in the END, they are merely containers. But you know what they say: the END justifies the means. Unless I counted wrong, there are 63 out of 159 lites, or roughly 40% of the puzzle is theme-related. Solving seemed more like a Tuesday level to me, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.
20A. Fancy greens dish: ENDIVE SALAD. Also called Chicory. Grown in the dark to prevent greening, which would make it bitter.
32A. #1 tennis player for much of the '80s: IVAN LENDL.
38A. In reverse position: END FOR END.
50A. Feminist's concern: GENDER GAP.
58A. Bit of modern folklore: URBAN LEGEND. See Snopes.com whenever you hear something that always seems to happen to a friend's friend from work has a relative that heard this story was true. Except it almost never is. Not to be confused with the Darwin Awards, which almost always are true.
1D. Supplementary items: ADDENDA. Added to the END.
26D. Binge: BENDER. Ah, lots of arm curls. College was for far more than just studying.
31D. Corrects, as text: EMENDS. Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" + mendum "fault, blemish"
49D. Hanging: PENDENT. As in a cloth banner. Might have been pending as in waiting.
Hi all, Al here.
This is certainly an interesting construction today, but hard to put clearly into words, so a picture may help. Counting the last three across reveals at the END, there are 12 answers that contribute to the theme today. There's nothing that really unifies them other than that in the END, they are merely containers. But you know what they say: the END justifies the means. Unless I counted wrong, there are 63 out of 159 lites, or roughly 40% of the puzzle is theme-related. Solving seemed more like a Tuesday level to me, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.
ACROSS:
1. __ effort: A FOR. I have to believe that this puzzle did take a lot of effort.
5. Without restraint: AMOK. This word has origins in Malay, meaning attacking furiously. Portuguese amuco for "a frenzied Malay".
9. "__ luego": HASTA. Spanish lit. "until soon".
14. Merrill in movies: DINA. Daughter of E.F. Hutton, the founder of Wallstreet. You wouldn't think she'd need to get a job acting...
15. Microwave: NUKE.
16. "__ Smith and Jones": 1970s TV Western: ALIAS. Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks", since "in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone". They are offered an amnesty on condition that they stay out of trouble for a year and that they don't tell anyone about it. Naturally, the show was about them being coerced into doing certain tasks that were for the greater good, but would land them back in jail if they were caught.
17. List maker: DEAN. The Dean's list is one you should want to be on.
18. Swank's "Amelia" co-star: GERE. Hillary and Richard. Movie about Amelia Earhart.
19. Stealthy Easterner: NINJA.
23. Storm hdg.: NNE.
24. Out of sorts: ILL.
25. Cloud in Orion: NEBULA. Sheer artistry.
30. Spay or neuter: DE-SEX.
35. "I can help": ASK ME.
36. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love __: III. Golf.
37. News organ?: NOSE. Having a nose for news, perhaps sticking it where it doesn't belong.
42. Cross over: SPAN.
45. Be less than healthy: AIL.
46. Greek with lessons: AESOP. Fabulous.
53. __ myrtle: tree or shrub in the loosestrife family: CRAPE. Also pretty. Is that how Myrtle Beach got its name, I wonder? But purple loosestrife on the other hand, is a non-indigenous weed and will choke out a wetlands area with overgrowth, and should be pulled out and burned if found.
54. Skirmish: TUSSLE. Related to tousle, as with unruly hair.
55. Where Eth. is: AFR. Ethiopia, Africa.
57. Chess pieces: MEN. I'll bet the queen doesn't like being called that, sounds like a gender gap to me.
62. Howled: BAYED.
66. Upscale hotel chain: OMNI. New to me. I don't remember seeing any of these in any of Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, but then .
67. Without thinking, with "by": ROTE.
68. Tequila plant: AGAVE.
69. It often involves steady losses: DIET. When you lose, you win. I'm on to these kinds of clues now.
70. Privy to: IN ON. Also related to "private", what you do in the privy stays in the privy.
DOWN:
2. He plays Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter films: FIENNES. Sans makeup for the ladies.
3. Where the teacher might casually sit: ON A DESK. Brings back fond memories of typing class in high school. For an elective class, a lot of the boys sure signed up for that one.
4. Rajah's wife: RANI.
5. Guardian, maybe: ANGEL.
6. Vegan's morning meal: MUESLI. Dates, oats, fruit, milk.
7. Cajun staple: OKRA. I think this was photoshopped...
8. Stabilizing part: KEEL.
9. "Water Music" composer: HANDEL. The clip is only 1:21 long. That's about long enough to get the idea, I think.
10. Clay, today: ALI. I remember it being a big deal back when Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali, but it would still raise eyebrows in certain circles today.
11. Offense: SIN.
12. Atlantic City casino, with "The": TAJ.
13. "__ matter of fact ...": AS A.
21. Sly female: VIXEN. She-fox. Or an 80's big hair band.
22. Musical based on a comic strip: ANNIE.
27. A quarter of cuatro: UNO. More Spanish, four / 4 = one.
28. Mormons, initially: LDS. Latter Day Saints.
29. Bar option: ALE.
33. Instrument in Schubert's "Trout Quintet": VIOLA. Someone likes classical music today, I see.
34. __ conditioning: AIR.
39. Provocative sort: DARER.
40. __ leaf: FIG. The usual image of Adam and 65D. First lady?: EVE being modest.
41. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.
42. Certain NCO: SGT. Non-commissioned officer, sergeant.
43. Little, in Lille: PEU. un peu de Francais.
44. "Jeopardy!" ques., really: ANS. Make sure your answer is in the form of a question. Gimmicky marketing genius, apparently.
47. Identical item: SAME ONE.
48. Summer shoe style: OPEN TOE.
51. Gets by: ELUDES.
52. Gave one star, say: PANNED. Bad movie or restaurant rating.
56. Moves like a moth: FLITS.
59. Portend: BODE.
60. Exiled African tyrant: AMIN.
61. Dreadful: GRIM.
62. Bit of Lagasse lingo: BAM. Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril on the Food Network.
63. Turkish title: AGA.
64. Asian ox: YAK.
Answer Grid.
Al
70 comments:
Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - I'm having one of those rare weeks where I just seem to be on the constructors' wave length - outside of one unknown and one screw up, everything just flowed. Having said that, tomorrow's will probably take me three hours.
I needed perp help to get 2D, 'Fiennes', and then I was off and running, all the way down to 49D, 'Hanging', where I confidently put in 'pending'. That didn't work out too well, and took a while to see what the problem was. Never did see the theme until 71A; nicely done. And my hat's off to Elizabeth Long for the construction on this one; it had to be a real bear to put together.
Al, great, informative blog. The link to the Darwin page will probably cost me a few hours today.
Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day.
Did You Know?:
- The Amazon River is home to the world's only nut-eating fish. Think I'll take South America off my bucket list.
- On an average day in the United States, about forty people are hurt on trampolines (I'm guessing Lois was one of them).
- A German gas station is employing topless assistants in an attempt to boost trade. Hmmm.....South America off, Germany on.
Morning, all!
Did the same thing as Dennis and put PENDING instead of PENDANT. At the time I entered it, though, I knew it could go either way, so as soon as the perps didn't start coming I switched it with no problem.
For me, the grief came right at 1A when I confidently put in EFOR instead of AFOR. I had no idea who DINA Merril was, so I guessed NINA instead. As a result, I had 1D starting with END, which made sense given all the other ENDs in the puzzle, but was obviously wrong.
The rest of the puzzle was pretty straightforward, but that mistake in the NE added quite a lot to my solving time...
Good Morning, everyone. Interesting puzzle today. It wasn't until I filled in the last three across words that I figured out what I was supposed to be looking for. Then, I had to go back and look for all the ENDS.
I had a spot of trouble in the NW corner. A FOR didn't immediately pop into my head. I interpreted 1-Down to be vitamin supplements, so ADDENDA was a long time coming. I am not a Harry Potter fan, so am not familiar with the movies. Too bad all that make-up has to distort Ralph Fiennes features. Thanks, for the real photo of him, Al.
My favorite clues were:
Clay, today = ALI
Greek with Lessons = AESOP.
I have three CREPE myrtles in my front yard, so 53-Across was a gimme.
QOD: We have to believe in free will. We have no choice. ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Good Morning C.C.,Al and all,
Al, thanks for all your effort. I am going right back to check all your links.
This was a steady pace for me; my only hang-up was in spelling CRAPE with an 'E' instead of an'A'. I was fascinated with the theme and spent a lot of time looking at the puzzle; what an effort! Thanks. Elizabeth.
69A was clever;the fill was very fresh.
More later.
Have a nice day everyone.
Good morning Al, and all, a somewhat difficult puzzle for me today. I had several misfires starting with siren for vixen and darts for flits, which incidentally, gave me farts when I inserted Afr for Africa (55A). I did not know Fiennes or Dina Merrill so that made the NW corner very difficult. My hands are up for pendant.
As a result of the above I had some angst in getting a completed puzzle today and could not complete without Mr. G.
Al, as usual an informative and interesting write up to a difficult, but fun puzzle. My hat is off to Elizabeth for her construction effort today.
Hope you all have a great Thursday.
I am not sure why my post is now showing as Richard and not Dick. Any help out there?
Hello Puzzlers - Impressive construction today! I can only guess at the effort it took to make this clever puzzle.
Pretty much what Dennis said. I never noticed it was Ralph Fiennes in that Voldemort costume. I had PENDANT instead of PENDENT, and I'm still uneasy with the latter spelling.
Had endives stuffed with tarragon chicken salad at a party. MMMMMM!
A month or two ago we had the actress CCH Pounder in the CW, connected with her role in Avatar. Reading up on her led me to the 1988 movie Bagdad Cafe, which we watched last night. Kind of an odd thing, but entertaining. Seen it?
Good day folks,
Not exactly a speed run thanks to my mistakes, but I made steady progress w/o major delays caused by my goofs. Like Dennis & Barry (and I'm sure there will be plenty more), I wanted pending. Wanted amends instead of emends, but never heard of desax. If you can be de-saxed, I'm sure JazzB can explain.
Crape was a new word. End for End & Urban Legend sort of left me saying "blah" to myself. Overall, an enjoyable puzzle in spite of my issues.
Al, a nice write up and some excellent links, especially "Water Music." Did anyone notice the comment one listener had left.... "This is real music, not like the crap you here today." My feelings too, but I'm sure there are many opinions on the subject within this blog.
Happy Thursday to all.
Good morning Al et al., like Dennis, I found this to be an unusually fast Thursday. My only slow down was PEDING, which lasted only a few seconds as ROTE I have memorized. PENDENT, or its variant PENDANT are from the Latin, and are part of a common legal phrase: PENDENTE LITE, which is pending litigation.
DINA MERRILL was mot only the E F Hutton heiress, but her mother was Marjorie Merriweather Post, from Post cereals. When she decided to become an actress, her father refuse to allow the HUTTON name to be associated with such frivolous pursuit, so to please him, she hoes the stage name of her father’s business enemy, the man who founded Merrill, Lynch. She now owns the RKO movie catalog, and I have had the pleasure of doing some work on projects which revived some of the stories. She was also married to Cliff Robertson.
One down, enjoy the day
Forgive my typo, still not seeing much; back to the doctor today. Yesterday they determined my retinas are fine, which is great news. I cannot imagine why "MOT" which is only a French word was not picked up by spellcheck, but....
@Dick, apparently you have two different separate Blogger accounts set up. You'll need to go to www.blogger.com and click the "sign out" link at the top right, then go back and sign back in with your usual email address and password.
Good Morning Al, C.C. et al.
Thanks for a terrific write-up Al. Myrtle Beach is actually named for the Southern Wax Myrtle that is abundant there.
I had to start out by filling 1A as “_ FOR”, since I didn’t know if it would be “A” or “E”. Then I didn’t know DINA or FIENNES, so I let that corner “rest” for a while. Also had CRePE instead of CRAPE, PENDing instead of PENDENT and at 62A I put in raged instead of BAYED (as in a storm that raged, or howled). DUH.
But for some reason, that made the experience even more enjoyable, since I did finally get it all done without any help, and only one SWAG at the “I” in DINA. Then I spent several minutes trying to “make ends meet”. Really clever!
Al and Lemonade, interesting tidbits about DINA Merrill. Maybe I will remember her name next time. Glad to hear the retinas are fine, Lemonade – that really is great news!
Have a great day everyone!
Nice write-up Al and fun puzzle. When I got ENDIVE __ __ __ __ __ I started going through phrases that start with DIVE but theme was subtler than that. The bottom finished first and then top fell.
Musings
-Very informative write-up Al! Has Green Bay calmed down yet? I assume there was no rampant vandalism after the win!
-Does anyone say A MAHK’ instead of A MUCK’?
-Orion is my favorite constellation for contents and ease of finding!
-Loved III and AESOP
-CREPE or CRAPE Myrtle?
-Does it occur to you that a great deal we learn in school is useful only in Jeopardy and Crosswords?
-Dennis, yup, the Amazon is full of horrible things but I’d love to fill ‘er up in Frankfort. Might take a while.
-I am a Harry Potter ignoramus!
-I taught with a brilliant woman who had a phobia about toes. She hated OPENTOED shoes and said there should be an age where they are illegal!
-I have sat on many a desk!
Thanks Al.
Enjoyed the puzzle. Had trouble with, desex, 30 across. New word for me. Got the sex part but didn't think de was correct.
How do you know you've been married a long time? When you fail to tell your new, good blogger friends that today is your 44th wedding anniversary! She's been listening to my musings longer than any human should have to! She is my partner and best friend!
Hi There ~!
I, too, moved through this one fairly easy - I knew who Voldemort was, but can't spell Ralph's name - he was great in this movie, too - if you have a chance, see it - the ads for it did not do the story justice. Some other big names in the picture, too.
I had OFF for ILL, tough to see AIL in the grid, too, but it probably was a bear to build.
Had a math teacher in high school that I wanted to see sitting on the edge of the desk; I would have loved to have seen her open toe shoe dangling....
Splynter
Good morning All. Thank you, Al, for your excellent write up.
FIENNES was a total unknown, but I managed to tease it out via perps. Other than that, it wasn't too difficult. Wanting to spell CRAPE as CRePE and PENDing instead of PENDENT messed up that corner for a bit, but again, the perps cleaned it up. Seems there are a lot of us that made those errors.
I had a very lovely and shapely teacher in the sixth grade that often sat on her desk. Many of us guys probably have back problems today from slouching down in our seats to get a better view.
Hi all- this was a a fight for me. I have trouble with the movie/music/actor/actress clues. I had never heard of EMENDS and wanted to put EDIT but of course there were not enough letters.
The poor Myrtle! I had always spelled it CREPE...now it's CRAPE. sigh
Dennis - LOL at your reason for removing S.America from your bucket list. No sense in becoming fish food.
Husker Gary, happy 44th anniversary...may you enjoy many more!!
Congrats to MR & Mrs Husker Gary. Longevity in a marriage is an accomplishment these days.
Hi again ~!
Husker Gary - my parents are at 45years - bless you, and congratulations ~!
Grumpy1 - my teacher stretched at the blackboard, and so it was my neck that was always killing me for some reason....
Splynter
Hi gang -
Wow! Just . . . wow!
What an amazingly intricate and perfectly symmetric puzzle.
My hat's off to Elizabeth Long.
This was a bit slow to unfold, and I spelt FEINES rong. But DENA looked OK. DIAN was mysterious, though.
ILL-AIL-ALIAS-III. DINA-DEAN-DIET.
Hondo-
Once at a jam session, I accidentally knocked over a guy's saxophone, which made it unplayable. He was DESAXED, if you ASK ME. Cost me $75 for the repair.
AESOP was a MOREL man.
Gary - congratulations on 528 months of successful partnership with your best friend! A testemonial to great listening skills!
Cheers!
JzB (which is an ALIAS)
Thanks to all for teaching me about perps and wags and swags. I could have used them all today.
What is Storm hdg=NNE?
I have salad, but no endive. I'd rather have the chicken salad please.
I love water music....and swimming.
I am so glad for this blog! I hated waiting until the next day to try to see the answers in the paper.....and there were never any links!!!
Husker Gary, congrats on your fine ability to "hang in there"!
JazzBumpa said A testemonial to great listening skills!. I don't know if he meant yours or hers, but I'm guessing it would be both!
KarenN, I had a pause on the storm "hdg" also. Heading - abbreviation - indicates that the answer is also an abbreviation. I wanted "alee" at first, but that's neither an abbreviation, nor the correct # of lttrs. So I knew it had to be one of those crossword-y ENE, NNW, WNW, SSE or such. I had no real indication that "NNE" would be the correct heading in EVERY storm. How about southern hemisphere storms? Do ships also head NNE when they get in a gale "down under"?? So, I just had to wait for perps to give me the right letters~
Hi Al, C.C. & gang,
Crape vs. Crepe?
We had Crepe before the cross made it crape...
For KarenRN: Storm heading NNE (North North East) the direction the storm is moving...
;-)
Sorry - I meant KarenRN.
We have a local teacher who did more than just SIT on her desk.
There seems to be a GENDER GAP here also, as a local radio show pointed out.
When it invloves an older male teacher it is horrifying. But when it involves a young, good looking, female gym teacher and a football player, it is just every schoolboy's daydream.
I had a young French teacher. I flunked French and transferred to Spanish!
And Dennis and Windhover, when I said "I had a young French teacher...", I mean, I attended a Franch class which was taught by a young female teacher. That is all.
I never thought about it until just now, but a NNE storm would be a Nor'easter, a special set of conditions, which, along the east coast seems to inspire a certain sort of dread.
Sorry for the typos. Looks like that female typing teacher had an effect on me also!!
Good Morning All, I could hardly believe it..a quick trip through a Thursday puzzle. Once Across, once Down and then back to pick up a few letters that seemed to have FLITTED away.
Nice photo of Ralph (pronounced Rafe)FIENNES. Al. He is almost 60 years old now, so he looks more like this. He's still good looking and an excellent actor to boot. Who didn't hate him in "Schindler's List"?
I knew DINA Merrill and that she had been married to actor Cliff Robertson. Of course, if you don't remember him, that isn't much help.
30A, does spaying or neutering really "DE-SEX", or just sterilize? Does a hysterectomy, DE-SEX? Not according to some women I've known.
Dodo from last night, you're right. It was the Texas "Red River" in the movie. I got totally sidetracked, even though the movie is one of the best westerns ever.
Good day, puzzlers!
Wonderful write up as usual, Al; loved the music while I read.
What a tremendous EFFORT on this puzzle, so convolutedly clever and in the END, fun.
Ditto with many of you, CREPE not CRAPE, PENDING before PENDENT, OMEN then BODE.
DINA and FIENNES are familiar, she was a beautiful actress and he is beautiful, too. Thanks for the info, Lemonade, I had no idea.
I could never sit on a DESK because I am too short.
PEU is my French lesson for today but UNO and HASTA I know.
One of the joys of visiting in the South is seeing the crepe myrtle in bloom.
Husker Gary, congratulations on 44 years!
Have a delightful Thursday, everyone!
CA, I was in love with Cliff Robertson throughout my teenage years! And I was very sad when he was blackballed during the McCarthy years.
The FIENNES/DINA cross ENDed any hope of starting in the NW. Especially when Caesar SALAD looked so good. As did Let ME. GERE, HANDEL, III... No hope for the top. Yes for PENDing and CRaPE. SeMEONE???
Pendant = Around the neck, Right?
Husker, the "best friend" part always made me jealous. Guess that's why I'm out looking. Congratulations.
HeartRX, My error yesterday was to address her as KarenRX. I didn't have the class to apologize. (to either of you.)
Hondo, Classical is OK for background, but being semi-tone deaf, I don't get the thrill out of it that it deserves. I listen for the stories, which requires understandable lyrics. That's explains my predilection for country.
I'm gone; be good, all.
Hi.
seen. TG for Clarion Hotels. Usually stay at that one when I go back.
714. Great news about the retinas.
I can only wish.
take care.
Clear Ayes: Ralph Fiennes is actually only 48. He was born in December 1962. He did, however, have a long relationship with Francesca Annis, a woman nearly 18 years older. He is a good actor and generally selects high quality roles.
I forgot to mention that I had to give up sitting on desks. A couple of girls accused me of trying to look down their blouses. I had to take to kneeling instead. The main accuser was fat dirty and always wore a over-sized sweatshirt,singularly unattractive.
gunghy,
I'm not totally classical. The key phrase you used was understandable lyrics. I don't want to get too deep into this, lest I get thrown into the Amazon River because I'm not in the market for a voice change. But, I think our tastes are similar.
Good afternoon everyone.
I couldn't believe I slept 'til 8:45 this morning. So I am way behind.
As usual, didn't figure out the theme. Having PENDING held me up. I go by the "rule" that if the clue ends in ing, so does the answer. Learned a lot today.
It was a beautiful work of art, this puzzle. And Al, your picture helped make it clear. Thanks. Great write up.
Happy anniversary to you and your wife, Husker Gary.
Lemonade, such good news about your retinas. Worth a celebration.
Cheers (Hey, I've been using this sign off since July, 2008.)
Second post: I don't like SAME ONE for identical item. The clue really implies two items, one being identical to the other. I couldn't get clone in there, but that would be closer.
So, this was kind of amusing...Today's Buttersafe Webcomic...
Good Afternoon, folks. Great puzzle Elizabeth. I bet it took a lot work. Nice write-up, Al. Thanks for posting, C.C.
I never really got started until I got down to the mid-South. Then I caught half the theme and got those phrases (horizontal). I never caught the vertical ones. Just did not look close enough at the description at 71A. I did get all the answers, however.
7D had RICE instead of OKRA for a while. Fixed that.
21D had SIREN instead of VIXEN. Fixed that after a while. Probably why I could not get started up North.
Enjoyed the puzzle and was able to finish before I got to work. Just could not post until now.
See you all tomorrow.
Abejo
I apparently found this puzzle a little harder than most of the rest of you. I enjoyed it though.
Al and everybody: If you care, there are two well-known nebulae in Orion, both shown in your links. One is the Great Nebula, barely visible to the naked eye and beautiful in a small telescope. Then there's the aptly-named Horsehead Nebula. It's the one with a dark area cut out that looks like a horse's head.
Congrats on 44 years Husker Gary!
Dudley, I saw Bagdad Cafe years ago when it first came out. I can't remember too much about it but I remember that I liked it.
Hondo, yes, being a fogy I don't like most of today's music. But then I remember my father feeling the same way about Elvis and Chuck Berry. (He changed his mind about Elvis when he heard Elvis's version of some familiar hymns.) I like old country music, old pop music, old rock and roll music, Scott Joplin rags, standards and most anything by Mozart.
What Carol said…she and I are usually on the same page. I never did catch onto the theme because I just couldn’t get enough of the answers. Addend? Emends? Huh? I also didn’t know either Dina Merrill or Fiennes; also being a Harry Potter ignoramus as Husker Gary so eloquently put it. The best part of my puzzle experience today was your write up, Al.
Happy Anniversary to Gary and his lovely wife. 44 years is quite the accomplishment.
Gunghy, it is good that you didn’t suffer any repercussions on those false accusations.
It’s a gray and dinghy day today in MN.
Whereas many of y'all were on the constructor's wave-length ... well, for the second day in-a-row, I never got near it.
Though I did enjoy the MAKES-ENDS-MEET theme.
OK, here is how it was ... at 30A, "Spay or neuter" all I could think of was WINCE ...
Then I thought "Time for a BENDER" ...
But it was a FUN DNF just thae same.
Thanks Elizabeth !!!
Cheer's !!!
Good afternoon Al, C.C. et al,
Great Thursday puzzle..I got it, although I did look up Alias.Never noticed the dead ends..thanks Al!
Clay today-Ali...an a-ha
Have always been a tennis fan, so Lendle was a gimme, and even though I've read the books, seen the Potter films, I had to have a few letters before I could fill Fiennes.
Anyone remember poor Moaning Myrtle, a muggle born witch/ghost who haunted the bathroom? She came to me after filling in Crape. Our little town has those beautiful trees everywhere. We finally planted one a few years ago also.
Lemonade, good news about your eyes. I am so amazed at how much you are able to do..hugs
Oh Lucina, I was also a big fan of Cliff Robertson. Weren't they a stunning couple? He starred in one of my all-time favorite movies, CHARLY.He was also Spiderman's Uncle Ben.
Maybe later some of you can tell us some of your town's urban legends. We have the Winchester House close by where Sarah believed that the ghosts were going to get her, so she kept building rooms and dead ends until the day she died.
AND, there is supposedly a ghost haunting a near-by Toys R Us.
Happy Anniversary Husker!!
Jeannie, thanks for the travel guide. No, we've never been; it looks beautiful. Closest would be my aunt's cabin on Vinalhaven,in Maine.
Jeannie: I agree with your assessment of Nova Scotia. My parent used to take us vacationing to Cape Breton when we were kids. Even though we were kids, we still enjoyed the beauty and unpronouncable town names there.
Anyone else think of RITZ instead of OMNI for 66-Across?
Yes! Yes, JD, they were and in those days the magazines and newspapers hardly ever had the salacious gossip; only when it was undeniable and utterly scandalous did they publish details.
Arizona has so many looney and outrageous real stories and unbelievable characters that they outshine any urban legends we might have. People in our state create headlines just being wild and crazy I'm sorry to say.
WH, from last night – I just went back and caught up on the later posters, and almost peed my pants when I read your comment @8:11. I guess I’ll leave that to everyone’s imagination….
Gunghy, no problem! Just imagine what would happen if someone came on the blog with the handle “RNRX”?
Al, I got a chuckle out of Buttersafe today. Wonder what this corner would do if we were ever given a puzzle like that? (Aaaaaaaaaa…never mind).
JD, yes I remember “Moaning Myrtle” in the girls room very well. Wonder if she “craped” very often in there?
One of the interesting legends in this town is the story of how the entrance to the cemetery on Main Street was built so narrow. You can read the story
here.
Thanks, Al, for a great write up. Really enjoyed the links, especially Water Music.
Hand up for crepe, pending, Ritz. Took awhile, but I finally corrected those errors and was able to finish with no look ups. Thought this was a bit easier than a normal Thursday. This week is waaaay better than last!
Cliff Robertson was also fantastic in Obsession - a 1976 thriller costarring Genevieve Bujold. Oh my, did I just date myself?
Congratulations Husker Gary! We'll be celebrating 40 years in September and it seems the time has just flown by.
Fabulous news from you, Lemonade.
Four day weekend coming up for me! See all you tomorrow.
Cheers
Hatool - LOVE the Singer quote - thanks...it goes in my *quote* book for future reference.
Lemonade714 - thanks for the Dina Merrill info...very interesting.
This is NOT an urban legend; a croc has been seen in the Hudson River, near the GE plant. They even snapped a pic.
Lemonade, I'm so glad to hear your "retinas are fine" news. I hope it just keeps getting better.
Happy 44th anniversary to Husker Gary and his wife.
Hahtool@11.46 , LOL, no wonder he looks so good. I didn't proof read my earlier post and didn't notice the 60 instead of 50 typo. I wish I could get back 10 years so easily.
Dudley, I loved Bagdad Cafe. The theme Calling You, sung by Jevetta Steele, really added to the story. Well worth the viewing.
DINA Merrill sort of took over the "cool aristocratic blonde look" roles that had been vacated by Grace Kelly when she married Prince Ranier.
Al, loved the funny Buttersafe link.
Argyle: I knew it, but I had to look. Funny...
Argyle: Loved the croc in the Hudson. Like Seen, I, too had to check out that "critter" in the river.
Lemonade: Glad to hear you and your eyes are healing. Look forward to "seeing" more of you and your witty comments in the future (and, of course, every Friday).
Thanks, Erieruth!
Hi.
A friend of a friend was admitted to St V's in Toledo. Please say a prayer for Jonny Lee. Might help.
Sharks can move into first with a win and a PHX loss tonight.
Watched Salt last night. Angelina
plays a Russian spy.
More storms lining-up in the Pacific.
Take care.
Fun but tough puzzle for me today. I finally had the "A Ha" moment and finished it! I am still a bit under the weather, but on the mend.
Congratulations on 40, Husker! Time doesn't just fly it whizzes by.
We too will celebrate 40 years this summer. A famous actress introduced us when i was almost 16 and we have been together ever since. We married when I was just shy of 19! What were we thinking?
Thanks for the informative posts. I learn something new everyday. Yall are a really interesting as well as bright bunch!
Hi all!
Had to go to derm for biopsy. Also about a hundred spots were burned and I was in agony for quite some time! (Can usually cope with 10 or so.)
Blog was great reading. Great puzzle Elizabeth! I knew most of the names. Did anyone see RALPH FIENNES in "The English Patient?" Long, long tragic story.
Choked on CRAPE also.
Interesting write up, Al!
The dog must have had an intestinal problem as she woke me up every 2 hours. My helper managed to get my corpse up and ready to go.
Jeannie, I missed your interesting entries also!
Am barely able to keep awake now. Just thought that I would say hello! We are in for more rain this weekend. Roof is leaking yet again. (Evil construction guy.)
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thank you all for your wishes; I am awaiting the early puzzle on Cruciverb, and all day I have been thinking I am going to get a Dan Naddor to blog. Hmm, see you all at 5;30CST.
Lemonade...are you giving us a "heads-up" ???? If so, I will stay up all night waiting for the Friday puzz !!
eddyB: Super8, New Stanton the first night, then on-site for 3 nights. Something about ski-in, ski-out that's appealing.
Done.
Fermatprime, it seems it is one health problem after another for you and for that I am sorry. I wish I were near you to give you any aid you needed. I am happy however, that you do have a care giver to give you a hand. Thank you for thinking of me. It has been a couple of trying months in the work place and in my personal life as well.
Lucina...Hi! I missed you as well. Just out of curiousity how tall are you that you couldn't perch yourself on a desk? Oh, and you never did tell me how that roasted vegetable dip recipe went over.
Congratulations, Elizabeth! This theme was a work of art.
Dina Merrill is beautiful, but Cliff Robertson was one of my first movie star crushes when I saw him as The Big Kahuna in "Gidget".
Al, loved the comic. Probably would still take me 15-20 minutes.
HeartRx@4:47- LMAO
Argyle, yeh, you got me too!
Lucina, I remember reading all those magazines. The agents did everything to cover up gossip in those days. My sister was in a movie with John Saxon,and Sal Mineo.To curtail any gay gossip, Sal Mineo and my sister had to go out on a publicity date which became a 4 page spread in Photoplay.
Some folks were talking about music likes and dislikes today. I am with Gunghy as I really like the lyrics to songs more than the song itself. However, when lyrics and music come together, I am stolen. here is one of my favorites...this too. I did a lot of this in Michigan in my day.
Jeannie, I think you may have posted a link to 'Harvest Moon' once before. I wasn't familiar with it before but I really enjoy it. Very lyrical. I didn't know they still wrote music like that in 1993. Nice video too.
Hi.
Just finished the Friday puzzle between hockey games.
Jeannie:
Thanks for asking; I'm 4'11" and once my principal game looking for me and accused me of leaving my classroom. I was standing in the midst of 9 & 10 year olds.
I did make the dip and they loved it. The problem with making something that good is now they expect it all the time!
Hello C.C., Argyle and folk:
I give myself an a for effort today and an f for comprehension as I failed to get a single clue to theme. I once again extend my full appreciation to this blog. It's great to be able to come here to see that which 51d.'d me.
53a. AGAVE/these are beautiful plants. I'm having my yard redone and these are definitely in the scheme! BEAUTIFUL AGAVE
9d. "Water Music" composer: HANDEL. First impressions...INITIALLY, Debussy came to mind...Debussy, Clair de lune (piano music). This feels more like water music to me. It's all about impressions.
33. Instrument in Schubert's "Trout Quintet": VIOLA. Someone likes classical music today, I see. Ha! Ha!, I agree, Al. This music gives me the impression that Shubert was romantic.
@Husker Gary, congratulations on your 44th...so wonderful for you both!
@Grumpy1 and Splinter, occasionally, a nun would lean on a desk, though, I never got a chance to see up the skirts. Their habits didn't allow! I was curious. Do you think they wore panties? Probably, granny panties! Not a pretty vision!
On that note...
I'm out
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