Theme: A cold war challenge: 63A. With the ends of 18-, 32-, 38- and 49-Across, an historic demand: MR GORBACHEV
18A. Normal damage: WEAR AND TEAR
32A. End zone dance preceder: TOUCHDOWN
38A. "Pay attention!": WATCH THIS
49A. Extensive Asian landmark: GREAT WALL.
And a bonus entry (No symmetrical partner):
54D. Born 2/6/1911, speaker of the demand: REAGAN.
Hi all, Al here.
Interesting variation on the old quotation on a Thursday puzzle we used to get. Not an easy one for me to finish, and the theme didn't really help me at all. I'll just skip to the comments.
ACROSS:
1. One not standing after a strike: PIN. This clue bowled me over.
4. "Così fan tutte" composer: MOZART. Short excerpt with a prop malfunction, worth a smile even if you can't understand. Misogynistic plot roughly translates to "women are like that". Two soldiers attempt to deceive each others' fiancée (sisters) to show that women are fickle. There is also a wager involved.
10. Fuel used in smokeless briquettes: PEAT.
14. United: ONE.
15. Tater Tots maker: ORE-IDA. Portmanteau word of the Oregon/Idaho border area where the company started.
16. Humerus neighbor: ULNA. Your "funny" bone is actually the Ulnar nerve at the distal end of the humerus.
17. School gp.: PTA. Parent Teacher Associations are state or even nation wide, so dues go out and some funding is provided back in. A Parent Teacher Organization is local and does not pay dues to a wider association.
20. Object held by some Monet subjects: PARASOL.
22. "Born to Fly" singer Evans: SARA. Country appeal.
23. __ out: barely makes: EKES. To increase or lengthen. You can eke out your salary with a second job, but you can't eke out your existence.
24. Bribes: SOPS. Bread soaked in liquid. The meaning "something given to appease" is an allusion to the sop given by the Sibyl to Cerberus in Virgil's "Aeneid."
27. Exodus landmark: SINAI.
30. Cubicle items: DESKS. And red Swingline staplers.
34. Way to get up: STEPS.
36. Party drink: TEA. The whole point was to toss it in the harbor instead of drinking it, wasn't it?
37. Like Mars: RED.
42. Nimitz letters: USS. Nuclear-powered Navy supercarrier.
18A. Normal damage: WEAR AND TEAR
32A. End zone dance preceder: TOUCHDOWN
38A. "Pay attention!": WATCH THIS
49A. Extensive Asian landmark: GREAT WALL.
And a bonus entry (No symmetrical partner):
54D. Born 2/6/1911, speaker of the demand: REAGAN.
Hi all, Al here.
Interesting variation on the old quotation on a Thursday puzzle we used to get. Not an easy one for me to finish, and the theme didn't really help me at all. I'll just skip to the comments.
ACROSS:
1. One not standing after a strike: PIN. This clue bowled me over.
4. "Così fan tutte" composer: MOZART. Short excerpt with a prop malfunction, worth a smile even if you can't understand. Misogynistic plot roughly translates to "women are like that". Two soldiers attempt to deceive each others' fiancée (sisters) to show that women are fickle. There is also a wager involved.
10. Fuel used in smokeless briquettes: PEAT.
14. United: ONE.
15. Tater Tots maker: ORE-IDA. Portmanteau word of the Oregon/Idaho border area where the company started.
16. Humerus neighbor: ULNA. Your "funny" bone is actually the Ulnar nerve at the distal end of the humerus.
17. School gp.: PTA. Parent Teacher Associations are state or even nation wide, so dues go out and some funding is provided back in. A Parent Teacher Organization is local and does not pay dues to a wider association.
20. Object held by some Monet subjects: PARASOL.
22. "Born to Fly" singer Evans: SARA. Country appeal.
23. __ out: barely makes: EKES. To increase or lengthen. You can eke out your salary with a second job, but you can't eke out your existence.
24. Bribes: SOPS. Bread soaked in liquid. The meaning "something given to appease" is an allusion to the sop given by the Sibyl to Cerberus in Virgil's "Aeneid."
27. Exodus landmark: SINAI.
30. Cubicle items: DESKS. And red Swingline staplers.
34. Way to get up: STEPS.
36. Party drink: TEA. The whole point was to toss it in the harbor instead of drinking it, wasn't it?
37. Like Mars: RED.
42. Nimitz letters: USS. Nuclear-powered Navy supercarrier.
45. "Livin' Thing" rock gp.: ELO.
46. Horde member: NOMAD.
53. Worker with rattan: CANER.
55. Jockey rival: HANES.
56. Israeli prime minister, 1969-'74: MEIR. Golda
58. Diet brand word: LITE.
59. Logician's "E," perhaps: ERAT. Q.E.D. Latin: quod erat demonstrandum "which was to be demonstrated."
61. Thames neighborhood: CHELSEA.
67. Where Dover is: Abbr.: ENG.land. The one with the white cliffs. Also one in DELaware, just to confuse you.
68. Jezebel's husband: AHAB. Ahab was king of north Israel, Jezebel was a power behind the throne. After Ahab died, his son was overthrown and killed by Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat. Jehu went on to confront Jezebel and incite her court officials to throw her out a window (defenestration) where she was left to be eaten by dogs. In some interpretations, she dressed in finery and put on makeup before her execution which led to the association of use of cosmetics with "painted women" or prostitutes.
69. City WNW of Boca: ST. PETE. Direction and St. Petersburg abbrevs.
70. LAX listing: ETA.
71. Jobless benefit: DOLE. Shortened from Old English gedal "portion," later "charitable portion" Related to dæl "deal", to dole out.
72. Assembly sites: PLANTS.
73. Man cave, maybe: DEN.
DOWN:
1. Visited unannounced, with "in": POPPED.
2. See 7-Down: INTAKES. 7D. With 2-Down, engine conduits: AIR.
3. Most convenient: NEAREST.
4. Does some yardwork: MOWS.
5. Droxies used to compete with them: OREOS. Hydrox cookies, bought by Keebler then renamed. Oreo just out-advertised them. Plus, name changes will lose sales from brand-loyalty customers. I don't remember ever seeing either name.
6. Extremist: ZEALOT. From Late Latin Zelotes "Member of a militant 1st century Jewish sect which fiercely resisted the Romans in Palestine".
8. Nutritional amt.: RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance. Sufficient to prevent deficiency diseases. Not necessarily the optimum amount.
9. Darkens in the sun: TANS. The color of leather, also to make leather.
10. Foul-smelling: PUTRID. From several Latin words, putridus, from putrere "to rot," from putris "rotten, crumbling," related to putere "to stink". Anyone have breakfast yet?
11. Aquitaine duchess: ELEANOR.
12. Women's tennis star Ivanovic: ANA. Photogenic.
13. Sailor: TAR.
19. Track event: DASH. Also Race, jump, heat.
21. Out of line: ASKEW.
25. Road hazard: POTHOLE.
26. Plum pudding ingredient: SUET. I've never had this. Beef fat, who knew? To hold it together, I suppose?
28. Blow away: AWE. From Old Norse "agi": fear, fright.
29. Pacers' home: Abbr.: IND. Basketball, Indiana.
31. Balneotherapy venue: SPA. Treatment of disease by bathing. New word for me.
33. "Come Fly With Me" lyricist: CAHN. Sammy.
35. Burgoo, e.g.: STEW. Reading the explanation for this reminded me of the "stone soup" parable, everybody brings something to add, meat, veggies, etc. This was new to me too. Around here, they make booyah in 25 gallon quantities, but with chicken instead of red meats.
39. Bit of dough: CLAM. Both are terms for money.
40. Org. with an interlocking rings logo: IOC. International Olympic Committee.
41. Trivial: SMALL.
42. "That's disgusting!": UGH.
43. E. Perón's title: SRA. Evita, Senora abbrevs.
44. It nearly surrounds Gambia: SENEGAL. Today's geography lesson.
47. Liqueur flavoring: ANISEED.
48. Cold War thaw: DETENTE. A borrowing of French détente "loosening, slackening" (used in the Middle Ages for the catch of a crossbow).
50. Oxygen-loving organism: AEROBE. One which oxidizes sugars or fats to produce energy.
51. Peter the Great, for one: TSAR. Derived from Latin Caesar.
52. Fungus-alga union: LICHEN. Symbiosis.
57. Butler at Tara: RHETT.
60. 1/2 fl. oz.: TBSP.
62. Halloween et al.: EVES. All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallows, continued ancient Celtic traditions. The evening prior to the day was the time of the most intense activity, both human and supernatural. People continued to celebrate All Hallows Eve as a time of the wandering dead, but the supernatural beings were now thought to be evil. The folk continued to appease those spirits (and their masked impersonators) by setting out gifts of food and drink. Subsequently, All Hallows Eve became Hallow Evening, which became Hallowe'en.
63. Moonstruck: MAD. The moon gets blamed for all sorts of lunacy...
64. 17th Greek letter: RHO.
65. Falcons, on scoreboards: ATL. Football, Atlanta.
66. Yr.-end adviser: CPA. Certified Public Accountant.
Answer Grid.
Al
76 comments:
Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - very much a fun puzzle today, with an extremely clever theme. The fact that Ms. Brethauer even got 'MrGorbachev' into a puzzle is impressive enough, but working in 'Tear down this wall' along with 'Reagan' had to be a real bear to pull off.
I caught on to the first clue, and that really let me complete the NW quickly. Put 'Oneida' for the Tater Tot maker, which left me with 'Oneos' for the Droxie clue, and it took me a while to realize Droxies were what I knew as Hydrox. Then I needed perps to get me 'Sara' Evans and 'Ana' Ivanovic (and I certainly won't forget her again - thanks, Al). The only other unknown for me was 'Burgoo' and again, the perps took care of that.
Very enjoyable puzzle; have we seen this constructor before?
Al, as always, I learned from reading your blog - great job.
My cell phone was stolen from the store yesterday (I stupidly left it on a counter) and when I realized it last night and called Verizon, they suspended it, but told me I was responsible for any charges up to that point. Has anyone else had this experience? Doesn't seem right to me, especially since credit card companies don't hold you responsible.
Kinda well-timed puzzle as this Sunday would be Reagan's 100th birthday (but I think most of us will be celebrating something else).
Good morning Al and all, today’s puzzle seemed easy for a Thursday or I was completely on Annemarie Brethauer (sounds like an aka to me, I wonder?) wave length. I got the theme when I skipped to the bottom of the puzzle for a look and knew immediately the answer to 633A. I did have pause with lichen and aetobe, but the perps bailed me out.
Hand up for Oneida for Oreida, but the downs took care of that.
Al, as usual you provided a nice informative write up this morning.
We got lucky yesterday and most of the storm passed us by. It sure is cold now, but the snow and ice seems to be over for the moment.
Two days and counting.
I hope you all have a great Thursday.
Good Morning, Friends. I thought this was an easy Thursday puzzle, but I still had a lot of fun with it and learned a couple of new words in the process.
I bet MelissaBee knew Balneotherapy without having to look up the word. I got the answer through the perps, but had to look up the meaning of the word just so I would know what it meant.
Burgoo = STEW was another new word.
I was amused by the Jockey Rival = HANES.
It was also refreshing to be clued with a Strike without having the answer be SCAB. The bowling reference to Strike and PIN was fun.
Is being on the DOLE really considered a benefit?
Snow and sleet is predicted in my neck of the woods, so the city has essentially closed down. I get to stay home and putter about the house today! I hope everyone else is able to stay safe and warm.
QOD: Several excuses are always less convincing than one. ~ Aldous Huxley
Good day folks,
The Great Wall, the Berlin Wall; How appropriate because I still feel walled in even though the sun is out today. Driveway, all 184', is a sheet of ice.
I thought it was a pretty easy Thursday until I read Al's write up and discovered I had a couple of goofs. I thought Aniseed was Aniseet & I was scratching my head how Man cave and ten made sense. Misspelled Erat as Arat because I thought Senegal was Senagal.
I still don't get the Sops/ Bribes or Nomad/Horde connection. Maybe when the ice on my brain melts, I will understand.
Al, thanks for the informative write up. At least I now know what Balneotherapy is and Ana will be a lasting image.
From Zhivago's look alike dacha, have a good day everyone.
Good Morning C.C.,Al and all,
Thanks, Al, for all your new, good information.
The puzzle was easy today, for me, merely because of the perps. 'Droxies' meant nothing to me; I've never heard it, although I have heard of Hydrox cookies- eaten my share of them, as a matter of fact.
I wanted 'Oneida' instead of OREIDA. And I can never remember ELO.
I thought the theme was well done. I got REAGAN right away and the theme fell easily. Of course, DETENTE was well placed.
fav was Jockey rival: HANES.
Overall,Annemarie had extremely fresh and well thought out clues and fill. Her name is not familiar to me, but then I never saw constructors names except Sunday, before coming to the corner.
Hope everyone's safe and warm.
Good Morning Everybody.
Somewhat related trivia: Burgoo King (1929–1946) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series(1932) but who did not run in final race.
Burgoo King was named for a local grocer famous for his burgoo stew.
Morning, all!
No time to do the puzzle today (had to get up early to shovel and have a phone meeting in a few minutes). Just wanted to let you know I was alive and still suffering no apparent symptoms of a concussion. I have, however, managed to contract a nasty head cold... ^_^
Good Morning Al, et al, This one gave up its young fairly easily but was very nice. Monday’s puzzle remains the worst for me this week. We have been to the Reagan Library and Berlin and have vivid memories of both. His library in Simi Valley is atop (Cwdese!) quite a winding road on a hill that our bus had to negotiate and has a spectacular view along with incredible artifacts of his presidency including, thanks to T. Boone Pickens, his actual Air Force 1!
When we ate lunch at the top of the radio tower in Berlin, even though the wall had been down for a few years, you could easily see the division between the gray, old decrepit East Berlin and the new, shiny West Berlin. Freedom is amazing and I hope that is what the Egyptians can get after all their current struggles! Wouldn’t it be ironic if they used all this 21st century communication technology and wound up back in a 12th century society? Young people there want blue jeans and iPods not burkas.
Nice effort on write-up Al!
Musings
-Theme really helped with Gorbachev
-All my Swingline staplers were gray, Al.
-Aren’t our New England friends famous for following the Thoreau’s practice of eking out an existence! Ah, to suck out the marrow of life.
-I always have trouble situating my A’s and I’s in the Sinai
-I never thought ELO was a big deal but they live on in Crosswordland!
-A Seinfeld discussion debated whether LBJ or Golda Meir was the ugliest world leader
-Jumpin’ Jehosophat Al, what a nice tale of Jezebel!
-Seinfeld also dreaded the “pop in”
-I remember Hydrox but not Droxies
-Tennis, Dennis?
-Nothing determines the success of mayors like snow removal and pothole repair. Omaha’s mayor defeated a recall 51% - 49% two weeks ago.
-I feed SUET to my birds here!
-The IOC is most famous for taking bribes to award the games to cities and severely chastise athletes who are guilty of even a hint of bad behavior
-I admired many things about Reagan but, at this time of year, I most remember his and JFK’s practice of cutting taxes which actually raised more revenue in D.C. which is what we need if we keep putting more people on the DOLE
Good morning! Very informative write up, AL. Nice visual aids too.
I thought this was easier than most Thursday puzzles. OREIDA was a gimme and that helped out the top. Droxies didn't ring any bells. I was thinking mythology or video games (nice misdirection) but when OREOS emerged I remembered that Hydrox cookies were sometmes called Droxies.
I liked the theme, with Reagan's 100 coming up, and agree that it must have been a difficult construct.
38a reminded me of the old joke, "What are a redneck's last words?" Hey, Bubba, WATCH THIS!
There were a few unknowns, but they all filled easily enough with perp help.
I changed my avatar to a pic of a critter that likes to sun himself in our back yard on almost a daily basis. So far, there haven't been any reports of pets disappearing, but the Muscovy duck population seems to be down a little. As long as he stays down by the water and doesn't come knocking on our door we'll co-exist with him.
Good Morning Al, C.C. et al.
Thanks for the interesting write-up, Al, and all the links. Loved the “Cosi fan tutte” one, HaHa!! But I was convinced that he was somehow going to flip it down the front of HER dress, not his own pocket, LOL!
I agree with Dennis about the difficulty of getting the entire quote, including Mr Gorbachev AND the “extra bonus” of Reagan thrown in, for good measure. Wow! Dick, I wondered about the name too: could it be an anagram, like “Rare, inhumane beater”?? But no, I think she is the genuine article.
This puzzle seemed really easy for Thursday, to me. I didn’t need to gg anything, unless I wanted to read more about some topic. I got the “TEAR DOWN >>>> WALL” early on, so figured it had to do with the Berlin Wall. Then I was wondering, is this some kind of anniversary? After reading the wiki article, I realized that – no – this was just a clever puzzle!
68A AHAB – I filled this one in quickly, but when I read your comments, I started to wonder, where did the expression “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat” come from? Again, off to gg more about that. I found several explanations, but no definitive answer.
19D DASH, could also mean “little bit” – I put a DASH of poblanos into the Chili last night, but that made it too hot to be edible!
40D For IOC, I can never remember the order of the initials for some reason. Had to wait for perps to arrange them for me.
One mistake was putting Stair instead of STEPS for 34A “Way to get up”. Again, “Super-Perps to the rescue” !!!
Barry G., glad to hear you’re feeling better. But shouldn’t you try to “milk it” a little longer, so you don’t have to go out and shovel all this stuff? What a mess in my driveway…after the snow, we got freezing rain. So now it’s a frozen sheet. I tried to use the snow-blower on it, but the darn thing just skated over the top and didn’t do a thing. DH asked, “How do we get the ice off?”. My logical answer: “Wait until spring, and it will take care of itself…”
Grumpy1, I’d mow a wide berth around that fella !!
Have a great day everyone!
Good Morning Folks: Glad to be back to work after yesterday's blizzard. I shovelled about half the day. Boy, am I sore.
I thought today's puzzle was great. Thank you A. Brethauer and R. Norris. Thanks for posting C.C.
A special thanks to Al for a great write-up. Enjoyed all definitions and historical references. Great photo of the tennis star. I could not hear an audio clips because my computer has no sound card. Oh well. A Detent (from detente) is also part of a pawl and ratchet assembly. We used to call them a "Dog."
Initially, I thought the puzzle was going to be real tough. But, after getting the theme quite easily, the rest fell into place.
Enjoyed the CHELSEA answer because that is my youngest daughter's name.
The them came together quite easily. I remember Reagan and his demand of Gorbechev. Almost like it was yesterday.
Nice write-up of Jezebel and Ahab. I got the answer without trouble, but did not know the history. I'll have to read my bible a little more.
Well, since I was able to make it to work today, I had better get at it.
Thank you to the expressions of sympathy on the passing of my father-in-law. I will let my wife know when I talk to her. She is still stuck in Pennsylvania.
Abejo
Good Morning All,Not much time for chatting this morning. Another one of those annoying medical tests at 8:30 this morning. So we have to get out of here in about 15 minutes. No coffee or breakfast either, so I guess I should be happy that the appointment is early in the morning.
So, quickly....I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. Thought the theme was right on given Reagan's upcoming birthday.
"Droxies" is a new one for me too. Is it an east coast name?
For some aesthetic reason a STEW named "Burgoo", just doesn't sound appealing to me.
Gotta go for now. Have a good day.
Thanks Al
Definitely a BISTRO for me (from the Russian word for "fast"). My era I suppose. Super theme. Once I saw "TEAR" and "DOWN", the whole thing fell into place (pun intended).
Sure makes you feel your age, when a "historic demand" still seems to be ringing in your ears from first hearing. At least it wasn't a "historical demand".
Plenty more cold-war clechoing too.
DETENTE (already mentioned)
GREAT WALL
RED
TSAR
ST PETE (the original, formerly Leningrad)
MAD (our MUTUAL friend)
(USS) NIMITZ - Cold war carrier
TEA (PARTY)- well, revolution-speak anyway
ATL (NATO ALLIANCE)
Any more?
NC
Some very familiar fill - OREIDA, EKES, ASKEW, SPA, PYA, SRA, UGH - but otherwise nicely put together, Ms. Brethauer.
NC
My sympathies to the Easterners dealing with the snow that escaped us and kept going.
Al, your blog was a learning experience for me today. Thanks for explaining the origin of OREIDA.
I'd never heard of DROXIES, but, as I've remarked before, Hydrox sounds like laundry detergent to me, maybe that's why they changed the name.
Lots of unknowns for me here, but picket fencing through it meant that perps did their job and it all fell together very easily, especially for a Thursday.
I got the theme quickly with only the first two in place, when I came across the unifier with allowed me to fill in the ends of the others and it was all downhill from there.
I was not aware of balneotherapy, but the root of the word reminded me of the French for whale: baleine. This gave me the mental image of people rolling about in the spa waters like huge whales--not a pretty picture!
Dennis,
I hope you don't have any horrendous rude awakening as a result of losing your phone. Now if you just had a cheap Tracfone, nobody would want to steal it!
I can't find anything on Annemarie Brethauer but the name sounds very German. Maybe that's why I was on her wavelength today.
Sun's out here, so I have to get busy. Have a good one.
I found this link to today's constructor in a 2008 issue of Ohio Mag
Grumpy: I like your new avatar. Last spring there was a large 'gator swimming in the lake that is downtown in my city. It caused quite a stir. Animal Control came and carted it away before it ate any pets or birds that hang out in the water.
BarryG: Glad to hear from you and know that you aren't too worse off from your fall.
Kazie
Happy to see that your Queenslanders battened down the hatches and showed some true Oz spirit in the face of Yasi. Category 5 Cyclone? No worries mate.
Let's just hope no more serious flooding ensues.
I liked the story (recounted on the BBC website) that a woman gave birth during the height of the storm in one of the evacuation shelters - and was aided by a British mid-wife vacationing there. The birth was considered -"powerfully emblematic of a profound relief being felt in Northern Queensland tonight", according to a local reporter. A bit melodramatic, perhaps, but heartfelt.
NC
Hi Al, C.C. & gang,
It was a tough start today, I think my wife and I only got ~25% done before she left for work.
After I got the start of 63A MR_R-C
Somehow I remembered Reagan's tear down this wall speech but I had to look up how to spell Gorbachev...
After that broke the rest of the puzzle went very quickly with tear down this wall.
For Dennis, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your cell phone. If you're interested in getting a new one I'd recommend the iPhone4. Verizon is starting to offer it too? Both my wife and I have one and there is a 'find my phone' app that permits you to locate a lost phone and either lock it with a password or delete everything on it. The iPhone connects to iTunes which can restore lost data in this event (assuming that you get the phone back).
Hi all -
Ouch, this one hurt my remaining brain cells. I did get it done, but sure had to have some help.
I looked DROXIES up in the dictionary and there was no listing....well, duh, I had no idea that they were a cookie! I knew them as Hydrox since forever. Also, I didn't have 4A,20A and 24A filled in so there was no help from them.
I put EASIEST in for 3D and that worked for about 10 seconds...sigh.
This is pretty much how the whole puzzle went until I DID figure out what the theme was and got REAGAN (54D). But as Dennis said, it didn't really help with the other pesky answers (a true Thursday stumper).
BURGOO and BALNEOTHERAPY were both new to me.
I didn't know what Plum Pudding was made of and when I saw SUET, I said UGH!!! It just does not sound tasty at all. I'll bet birds would love it though, especially in winter.
I think maybe ORE-IDA is easier for us on the west coast.
Al, great job on the write up....I always learn something valuable. :)
Hatool, I guess if you are jobless and have run out of any other options, the 'DOLE' would be of benefit to you...better than when there was none (think the Great Depression).
Barry G., glad to hear you’re feeling better. But shouldn’t you try to “milk it” a little longer, so you don’t have to go out and shovel all this stuff?
Sadly, there's nobody else to do it and it has to be done for safety's sake. I just bought about 40 pounds of ice melt, though, so hopefully that will help things a bit...
Hi There~!
Well, I sssmoked this one today, and I think it was because I was not looking directly at it -
usually, I don't attempt the theme answers until I do a run through of the D clues, so I have some letters to work with -
But WEAR AND TEAR seemed right, and when I got to 63A, I knew who he was, and that gave me THIS for "WATCH THIS"....nice
(although I did have CHINA WALL first, and I thought that sounded terrible).
I wondered about the timing of this puzzle, too - thought maybe this was the anniversary of the speech, so thanks for the info on RR's B'day this Sunday - yup, 100.
I too, have never heard of Droxies, but did know of Hydrox cookies.
My only goofs were COKE for PEAT (it was a WAG) and I got suckered on DEL for ENG.
Decided it was easier to shovel a brand new path to the driveway, than to chip the ice off the one I previously dug - was just warm enough last night to cause the ice and snow to start to "schluff" off the roof - sounded way cool...
Splynter
Very nice puzzle ( I finished it - yay !)...
Thank you, thank you - Ms. Annemarie Bretheuer ! I was worried - it being a Thursday - but I gave it a shot and there was no reason for concern ... What, me worry ?
Al, your blog was informative, inspiring, charming - ( insert 9 more adjectives - ). You Da' Renaissance man !
Musings:
What WAS the prop object in the tenor's hands, in 'Cosi fan tutte' ? Seemed like a golf ball or a gutta-parcha or paper-wad orb. How does the prop relate to the story ? Is it used as some sort of metronome ? Is it how Italians enticed women in those days ? - seemed to work, even now, he got 3 hugs out of it.
Balneotheraphy - hmmm ... I guess some people are so lazy, they'll pay to be bathed. I guess some of us would gladly pay to have an appropriate companion to bathe right along with us -.
Argyle - Wise Solon (redundant)- Thanks for the "Burgoo King" racehorse clip - I notice Burgoo King died in 1946 - and Burger King was estd. in 1946 - hmmm - I wonder where the horse meat turned up. (STRICTLY lol ...) - I personally prefer the Chain.
@Grumpy1
Thanks to the link to Ms. Brethauer. Good story, except for the last part - NYT crossword the nirvana?
Faux pas to the max!
NC
Dennis:
Since it's free advice day, I thought I'd throw mine in, and of course you know free advice is worse just what you pay for it.
I have the iPhone 4, purchased after the tragic end of the original iphone3GS. If you must have an iPhone, they are now selling the 3GS for $50, to clear the inventory I
assume. My opinion of the 4 is that they rushed it out to compete with the Droid, and it has some well publicized flaws. Buy the 3, toss it (or not) when the 5 comes out, rumored to be June.
But, since you had the Droid, I think, already, you'll probably go back to it. Like I said, just free advice.
Have you, uhh, measured the ice yet?
There you go, MB, another post to
damnyouautocorrect.com.
I meant to say of course, "worth what you pay", although worse could work just as well.
Back to work, cold has complicated life at WHF this week.
To those who feel Ronald Reagan's 100th is going to be ignored or overlooked - the Superbowl half-time show is going to have a 'special' on him ... no, no wardrobe malfunction ...
Hahtool - 'Is dole really considered a benefit ?' ... In the UK, it is paid out of general govt. funds - much like 'welfare' - and you don't have to have, 'earned' it.
In the US, it is funded out of SUTA and FUTA funds - (State Unemp. and Fed. Unemp. )- whose contributions ( read, Taxes ) are paid strictly by the employer - so I guess, the workers' could think that they 'earned' it - altho' they never paid for or into it. In any case, the current benefits have been extended so long, that it comes out of the 'deficit' anyway.
Husker Gary - Whether Golda was ugly may be debatable - but David ben Gurion often called her 'the only man in my cabinet' - and personally I feel, that of all the female world leaders, she was the most deserving. Just a personal opinion.
.... As for wishing the Egyptians - freedom, they have worked so hard for - be careful of what you wish for, you may get it. Consider the alternatives. Would you rather have a benevolent but ruthless, dictatorship ( Mr. Mubarak or the Shah of Iran, or even Mr. Saddam ) or would you rather have a zealot, theocracy, demogoguery - virulently anti-american ?? ( - and the choice is not even yours ... )
Great write up, Al. Thanks for the Ana shot.
Dennis - My records do not show a previous Annemarie Brethauer puzzle (unless it was a Sunday, perhaps).
I think this was our easiest Thursday puzzle in a while. Thanks, Annemarie.
Dennis- Re: the theft of your cell phone - My sincere sympathies.
I had an ATT cell phone stolen (long story) - and the perps had 18 pages of charges - including 180 calls to S. America (Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia) - but I called ATT within 3 hours and they waived all charges.
Important !! - Get a videocam in your store - and look at your customers with a slight jaundiced eye - and chain your new phone to your belt. Live and learn.
NYT = Name Your Trivia
LAT = Laugh And Think
NC
I enjoyed the puzzle and the write up. I got the theme but had trouble figuring out the 'Mr.' in MRGORBACHEV.
I enjoyed the photo of Ana Ivanovic. I also enjoyed the photo yesterday of the pool player with cue, balls and rack. But Ana can really play her sport unlike the pool player (I'm guessing).
What's the rule for using 'a' or 'an'? I thought I knew it but I discovered several years ago that it was a little more complicated than I thought. It's not just: use 'a' before consonants and 'an' before vowels. Today, both 'an historic' and 'a historic' have been used here.
From late last night: So Chickie, where did you visit in southern California? Anywhere near us?
Later...
Puzzlers, the Deleted Comment at 11:23 was mine. I answered Anon's post about despots, tyrants, theocracies, etc and my cursor hovered over the Publish button for quite a while. After I did publish, I realized I was falling into the political/religious area C.C. steadfastly hopes is never breached and so, boom, Garbage Can!
Anonymous posters preclude the possibility to respond off this blog and so I will refrain from Lucy Van Pelt's admonition, "Everyone is entitled to my opinion!" and hope we all do the same whether we have the courage to sign our posts or not!
Good day, super solvers.
And thank you, Al; I so enjoy your insights.
Like others I initially thought this would be difficult but after filling the first two theme answers and REAGAN I did as Kazie and filled the last word. From there it almost flew off the pencil.
I debated ENO and ELO, then CLAM emerged and also had CHINAWALL at first.
Annemarie (also the name of my oldest friend of 50 yrs)certainly
crafted a clever puzzle. I salute her.
To anon at 10:38
MOZART was Austrian not Italian.
For many people who suffer from debilitating illnesses, such as fibromyalgia and others, any kind of SPA bath is a benefit and a relief. It is easy to label people "lazy" when one has no experience of that.
Please don't laugh all you snowbound people, but last night we had a hard freeze (no snow) here in AZ that required covering our plants. The Golf tournament
activities were cancelled and perhaps today as well.
I know that doesn't even fall into the same category as what you are all experiencing and I do hope you stay safe and warm, especially you, Barry.
Still, try to have a good Thursday.
Husker,
No qualms here, the following comment is neither political nor religious, it is common knowledge and fact, and I do believe, arguable.
Anon:
Does the sun shine where your head is? Can you see your shoulder blades from there?
Yes, unemployment insurance is funded by payments from employers. Those payments are as much a part of the employees' compensation as 1/2 of FICA payments, health insurance, vacation, and other "benefits". That is why one is only eligible to draw unemployment benefits if one has been previously (and recently) employment. You may argue over the length of the payment period, and your argument may be valid. But UE is as much an "earned" benefit as is SS.
Also, no, we do not get to choose (at least openly) who governs other countries. And why should we? The stupidest f------ idea on the planet is that any country, person, ideology or entity poses an existential threat to America or the American way of life. Any suggestion otherwise is demagoguery of the highest order.
Husker Gary, WH, the anon is Vidwan. C.C. and I have both asked that he go back to using his name, but so far, to no avail.
I love this puzzle, primarily because it is one of the few Thursday puzzles I've completed without any help! Love the theme. Happy 100th Birthday Ronnie!
Bill G:
The rules for "a" and "an" are still the same including, "use 'an' when the 'h' is silent such as: an hour, an honor, etc. Many people pronounce historic with a silent h while others do not.
Thanks, Al. Morning all.
I thought this was an easy puzzle for a Thursday. The theme came easily after the first couple of theme entries. The word Droxies led me to think mythology at 5D, but when OREOS came with perps, it dawned on me. I have a dim memory of Hydrox, but never heard them called Droxies. (That reminds me of the commercial for contacts on which a woman is complaining because she still has to wear "readers" along with her regular contacts. That irritates me. What is wrong with saying "reading glasses"?)
SUET was a given for me because my sister made a plum pudding nearly every Christmas. She complained that it was hard to find a hunk of suet in the stores. Didn't know SARA or CAHN, but perps got them. No lookups or red letters today. Yippee!
Anon @10:44, don't employers consider any contributions they make on the behalf of an employee as part of the salary? Ergo, it would be a benefit rather than a dole. The laid-off employee paid for it by not ever being given the money. To me a dole is an outright gift and is not synonymous with unemployment payments. It is called unemployment insurance.
HuskerGary, you and I think a lot alike. Thanks for your comments.
We are still in the deep freeze. Local schools and other entities are closed today because of ice on the roads. The early morning temp was 6 degrees. We are having a heat wave now - it was 12 degrees at noon. On the other hand, we are expecting highs in the mid-60s by Sunday or Monday!
Keep warm and safe.
This was so fast that I had WATCH THAT and never noticed that I changed 40D to AOC and that I had TMALL as an answer.
The one year I decided to teach summer school, it was canceled due to a financial crisis. We were allowed to apply for unemployment. After that experience, I will never consider it a gift. I turned it down after I spent 6 hours in line , then found out I could not leave town. I didn't really think we deserved it, but peer pressure got me in.
I'm glad to see that most from the storm path are on the blog. Let's be careful out there.
Hi all.
Just read an interesting interview
with the speech writer who inserted
the quote in the Brandenburg address. It was inserted after State had approved the speech and they had a hissy fit when RR said it.
Have to mow the back yard so I can find Daisy.
take care.
The use of suet and lard was from a time when people were interested in keeping weight on, not off.
'Dirty Jobs' just had a segment on scrapple. I found that to be interesting after the discussion of scrapple last week. Even after finding out what's in it and how it's made, I still want to have some with a couple of fried eggs.
Lucina: Yes, thanks. I did discover the subtleties of the rule for a/an several years ago. For example, 'a one-dollar bill' is correct since the 'o' in 'one' is pronounced as a 'w'. Interestingly, Brits pronounced the 'h' in herb and would say 'a herb.' We don't pronounce the 'h' and would say 'an herb' or it would sound like 'an erb.'
Even though I don't want to go, it's off to the gym for me.
Hello everybody. A quick in and out to say hi and make a few brief comments, then back to work for me. Real busy lately.
I loved this puzzle, and like many of you I found it easier than I expected for a Thursday. Near-gimmes such as MOZART, OREIDA, and ULNA at the top (beginning) gave me hope that I might be able to do it easily, but also fear that I was being lulled inot thinking it would be easy but then hit a wall further down.
Very clever and enjoyable theme!
The balneotherapy reference reminded me of Melissa's comment yesterday about washing 'em down and hosing 'em off. Made me laugh.
Even with quite a few three-letter fill(s) and abbreviations, I didn't mind because the puzzle was so much fun overall.
Which leads me to comment that as I have been working my way through the book of NYT puzzles I got for Christmas, I have rarely ever felt pleasure from, chuckled over, or smiled at them. They all strike me as mechanically done, almost assembly-lined, with rarely a trace of humor. Any "originality" in them is devoted to coming up with new and "original" ways to frustrate and mislead. I honestly have gotten images in my head of the constructors and editor cackling evilly and rubbing their hands with glee as they exchange glances and exclai, "Haha, that'll screw 'em up good!"
I mention all that as a way of expressing how wonderful the LAT puzzles are. The attempt of the constructors and editor(s) to entertain us and give us a pleasurable experience shines clearly in every puzzle. I definitely appreciate that.
I'm going to go out and see if I can buy a book of them. Heck yeah I'll happily pay for their work.
Ana Ivanovic is a very pretty woman.
Annemarie Brethauer is a clever and skilled constructor.
"Burgoo" made me think that it was something orinating in India.
We too used to put suet out for the birds in winter. The birds apparently loved it because hordes of them would descend upon and devour it. My mom also used to make something she called suet pudding, which I don't think had any plums in it, but by golly it tasted pretty good on a cold winter evening.
Sorry your phone got stolen, Dennis, and even more sorry you got nailed with a hefty bill.
Al, thanks once again for an informative and interesting writeup. I gather you know a lot about and are very discriminating (that's a compliment) about vitamin supplements and other supplements. Good to be careful not to overdo it.
Lucina, we were amazed at how cold it got there in the Phoenix area. Holy cow!
Grumpy 1, that was a funny redneck joke. Thanks!
Was below 30 degrees out this morning, but is forecast to be around 60 today. And sunny.
Best wishes to you all.
Bill G, speaking of scrapple (again), we have an old Amish cookbook that we picked up when we used to live near Lancaster Pennsylvania. You know you're in for an interesting experience when the recipe begins, "First boil the hog's head."
I can only assume the use of the word "the" implies that we all know WHICH hog we're talking about, namely the one we slaughtered this morning. LOL
Daffy Dill, Thanks for the kind comment. We all post and wonder if anyone ever reads or cares about our musings.
I am still proud that I pulled back from the brink and did not launch into the diatribe I envisioned in my retort for Vidwan (anon.). Everyone should ask themselves before hitting Publish Your Comment, "Does this post fit in the guidelines what C.C. has set?" She deserves that consideration.
How cool was it that she picked up the blog when our other good friend reading up on Balneotherapy? Just kidding MB! I once showed up at 8 am on the 9th when my jury duty was at 9 am on the 8th. Oops!
It is 12F here with full sunshine and so the ice and snow are actually melting! 71F? Not for quite a while!
Everything you ever wanted to know about Droxies and then some.
Good Day, All,
A pleasant surprise with this enjoyable puzzle! It went and together for me without any lookups and very few erasures.
I don't remember either Hydrox or Oreos until I went to Chicago after college. There I was introduced to Hydrox, which, like Kazie, I thought very inappropiately named! Later, in California, I found Oreos and assumed they were the same cookie just named differently. Now I know: wrong! I wonder if that is true with Best Foods Mayo and Hellman's Mayo, of the midwest? I have assumed for years that they were the same product, from the same producer. Wrong again? Never heard of Droxies until today!
Am I dreaming or did I read aomewhere in Al's blog that Annamarie Brethauer is 93? It hasn't been mentioned in the comments. Gotta check back.
Hello Everyone ~~
An easy but fun puzzle today. A great theme, and the theme answers fell easily. My only problem was misspelling SENEGAL and thus messing up 59A. I didn't notice it until coming here. Thanks, Al, for an information-filled and entertaining write-up! I really enjoyed the links. Always loved ELO.
Lots of ice has been added to all the snow but it's bright and sunny, so we'll hang on to that.
Grumpy ~~ really liked the redneck joke! :-D
Enjoy the day ~~
Where has Jeannie gone???
dennis, from yesterday:
Yes, I'd like to sign up immediately for one of those, assuming I could reciprocate in kind.
ok i squeezed you in for the first available appt. you'll need to drink a little extra water.
Husker Gary,
You better be careful that Dennis
doesn't take you to task for too long a post. I've seen him do it already.
As far as remembering Reagan, I think of him every time I see a commercial on t-v, it was one of the industries he de-regulated.
The disturbance in Egypt is being manipulated by outside sources.
If they prevail, the U.S. will have another enemy in the Arab world.
MR ED, do try to get your facts correct. I've pointed out to people that overly long posts will cause the post to duplicate itself, or will give an error, but publish the post three times in a row.
C.C. had stated earlier that she doesn't care about the size of the first post, but would like subsequent posts from an individual to be concise.
And as always, sticking to one's own business is always a good course of action.
Is it true that Burgoo is a Kentucky toss=all stew made with squirrel brains and possibly, road kill ? I mean it is understandable considering a lot of them are hill billies and living on a bare subsistence lifestyle. I dont mean to hurt anybodys feelings.
Hi all,
This was a fun puzzle! I had to look some up but I uaually do. Got the theme when I looked at 63A and realized it was the Reagan Quote. I also thought detente next to Reagan was interesting.
I never knew sop was a real word. Wikipedia says it is also bread soaked in a liquid. It is also an acronym for many groups. When I was a little girl in Indiana, I used to visit the neighbors and one day stayed for lunch. We had ham and the custom in our area was to add water and I don't know what else to ths skillet after the ham was cooked and call it sop. Then we put it on bread. That day when it was time to ask for seconds I said" Could you please pass the slop?
We lived in Dodgeville for 11 years and because the early settlers there were from Great Britain, many of their customs were english, like pasties and plum or suet pudding. They were all very good but I never got the recipes. They also made good tea biscuits.
I had a hard time finding the answer to 55A, but I wasn't amused. I just felt dumb-it should have been obvious. Oh well!
I also thought of england for Dover as I remember the song "The White cliffs of Dover" during WWII.
Have a good evening!
Marge
Husker Gary said:
We all post and wonder if anyone ever reads or cares about our musings.
Yep. True. Especially when somebody responds to somebody who said the same thing you did but said it later.
-Or responds to your post - but cites some other poster -
Hi gang -
Quick in and out today. Skimmed the write-up. Haven't read the comments.
Great start with "one standing after a strike." Then MOZART. Lots of fun. Original kind of theme, I thought.
Placing DETENTE next to REAGAN appeals to my hyper-active sense of irony.
Subbing with a different band tonight - rehearsing for a Valentine's Dance.
Lots of music this month.
IMBO. Cheers!
JzB
Jayce posted, (sic) "Burgoo" made me think that it was something orinating in India.
Freudian slip perhaps ? lol, ;-)
Ooops. Meant "originating" lol.
OK,
I can see that the snow and ice has made us all a little pissy, and I didn't even get any (snow, that is). A quick aside - that reminds me of the famous Smothers Brothers bit about mules, which I'll bet someone can find on YouTube. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, maybe Lemonade can come on later an soothe these savage breasts (not talking about you, Lois). I will say that Dennis has a good point about MYOFB, though.
And Spokane Sam,
You don't know the half of it, brother. Last summer I was driving down the road in my rusted out '69 Charger and came upon two of my neighbors fighting over a road killed snake - quite a delicacy in these parts. I sicced my pit bull-border collie mix guard dog on 'em, and while they were distracted I got the snake. Good eatin', my friend. That's a lie about the squirrel brains, though. We use those to tan
the snake hide. It made a damned fine belt, and my sisters wife is wearing it to hold up her jeans. (It is winter here, she don't usually wear none in the summer.
If you ever make down this way, stop in. And if you see any snakes along the road (you can usually find a good mess right in front of those little country churches), bring 'em on in.
By the way, Spokane? Isn't that where all those wingnuts that hate the guvmint live?
WH, my friend, you need a freaking hobby...
Windhover,
Snakes are still in hiding, but I passed 5 fresh skunks on the road today. Do you have any good recipes for skunk?
The only advice I find on the internet is "shoot the sum-bich and bury him deep."
Take one of them along to your neighbor's Superbowl party, you'll have a smorgasbord of recipes to choose from.
Whipping along this afternoon until I hit a pothole. Jezebel's husband was not known! I must get thyself to Bible study !
I loved the theme today. Reagan was a favorite in our house.
Thanks for the comment yesterday, Clear Eyes. I _am_ the prettiest Virgo in Winston-Salem. Of course, that is because I am the only one on this blog from W-S.
Tata!
For WH:Gary Mule Deer is the only mule clip that came up?
I think we have some serious cases of cabin fever around here.
California could use the tourist dollars, so come on down, relax in the sun and forget about the snow for a while.
Good evening all:
I take a couple of days off to rest my eye etc. after being sick last week, and we are sniping again. WH, I appreciate the confidence, but I am rather grumpy myself today and seem to have mislaid my VOICE OF REASON. It is easy to get off topic, especially when faced with an interesting puzzle which celebrates a very loved and very vilified leader of the free world. I was impressed with the research by Grumpy finding out about our constructor, whose by-line I have seen on the Chronicle of Higher Education crossword puzzles. Stay warm and remember, spring follows winter.
well i am off to find some snakes, and a walk in the park, literally.
ciao Frenchie and Jeannie wherever you are. Also, our missing fishie.
WH - the "wingnuts" live in remote areas of Idaho. I think Spokane is a fairly moderate city.
Much as I hate to do this, I want to make a remark about the word 'DOLE'. I understand it as being akin to welfare, not unemployment benefits. The latter are earned. Welfare (when not taken advantage of by a certain part of our population)is a buffer against total ruin. Most people would rather not have to go that route, but are grateful to have it until they can get on their feet again. Granted there is rampant miss-use of it.
Warren: That Gary Mule Deer clip was funny! Thanks.
Even when politics gets disguised and creeps into our posts, I'm impressed with how moderate, thoughtful and reasoned most everybody's opinions are. That is, with the notable exception of a few of the anons.
Hello C.C., Argyle and folk,
Things feel a little chilly on the blog today,HMMM!
As Lucina mentioned, our Scottsdale weather has been very cold. Today, 46 degrees with a predicted drop to 27 degrees overnight. This is the last night for freeze and I could not be happier! With Peter working in Del Mar, CA now, I go out to cover the plants. It's not shoveling, but, brrrr.
My chuckle for the day,
55. Jockey rival: HANES. OK, I admit, I tried 'horse' first, ha! ha!
39. Bit of dough: CLAM. Both are terms for money. I'm reading, "The Big Oyster, History on the Half Shell" by Mark Kurlansky and he points out hard shell clams were the currency for the Lenape Indians and the Dutch, 1600's Hudson Bay area. Wampum.
This was a good one!
50d. Oxygen loving organism/AEROBE
@Dennis-sorry about the phone...I worry about that, too. So much can be accessed through the phones, now.
I'm out.
Hello, everyone, I thought I would stop by for a little entertainment after my class, but it sounds more like we need a referee.
I offer you the same package as Clear Ayes, but in Arizona. In another week the temps will be in the 60s and you can forget about all that snow.
Have a very good, restful night!
rest up my pretties for you must work soon, it is Friday!
Being this late I don't imagine many will see it, but I had to chime in on the burgoo topic...
It seems that it means different things to people in different parts of the country; I have indeed encountered places where Burgoo was a stew comprised mainly of whatever was mostly in season.
Where I grew up in western IL it is made (always during late June through late July, centering around the 4th of July) in huge (I mean HUGE) kettles, cooked over wood fires outdoors. It's a mixture of beef and fowl and vegetables, and is cooked at least overnight, stirred frequently with canoe paddles. The cook-in-charge is called the soupmaker, and certain soupmakers get to be so well-known that local churches, VFWs, etc., compete to hire them for their burgoos. Usually there is both table and kettle service, meaning that you can eat it there or bring your own containers and take it home. Lots of people take home gallons of the stuff and freeze it for later consumption. Great stuff!
Hola Everyone, This is a very late posting as I had another busy, almost never ending day of class, errands, and a visit with my sister in the late afternoon. She had knee replacement surgery on Monday and came home yesterday. Just two days in the hospital. I couldn't believe it.
I had to chime in about the puzzle, because it was such a famous quote and we all remember when that wall came down. I thought the theme to be very clever and well done.
Also, Senegal was a quick fill for me as that is where my Grandson is doing his Peace Corp stint. I've had the African map pretty much in front and center since he left last August.
WH, would possum go well in that stew you mentioned? My daddy did go possum hunting quite a bit while growing up!
Bill G., We were quite a bit north of you in Ojai. One daughter's family lives there. My husband has business in Fillmore.
Dennis, lighten-up man.
Just a test post as I have been enjoying reading the blog and may wish to post again.
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