Theme: Pun for the Money, Too for the Show. The title of an early TV game show has one word changed to a sound-a-like, resulting in an evocative and witty new show. For those who are much younger than I am, this may be a difficult puzzle, but I have never blogged a puzzle more in my wheelhouse, as these are still somehow fresh in my mind from 50+ years ago. I do love me some puns.
17A. Game show about bribery at a checkpoint?: SALE OF THE SENTRY. Really funny clue. SENTRY sounds like CENTURY. SALE OF THE CENTURY was a late 60s early 70s general knowledge game show, which began with Jack Kelly, the actor who portrayed Bart Maverick, to James Garner’s Bret Maverick, as the host. He was replaced by Joe Garagiola, a second string catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, who was a teammate of Enos Slaughter (see below).
27A. Game show about an Algerian governor's search for his spouse?: QUEEN FOR A DEY. DAY sounds like DEY. This was the most difficult because I was unfamiliar with the term Dey (Arabic: داي, from Turkish Dayı, to mean the ruling governor under the Ottoman Empire. However, because the game show was apparent and only the switching of the A for an E would sound the same, it was not too hard. QUEEN FOR A DAY was one of the earliest reality TV shows, which began on radio in the 40s, and went to TV, hosted by Jack Bailey in the 50s, a sob story with no quiz show question asked, but the audience selected the winner based on my old favorite, the applause-o-meter. This was a most distressing show, where the more horrible a woman’s life was, the greater her chance to win. Jack Bailey went on to host TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES where he stayed until he was replaced by a young BOB BARKER.
48A. Game show in which "Stuttering pig" might be a clue?: NAME THAT TOON. I wonder if Donna picked the reference to Porky Pig, when she saw the two Ts together in the answer? TUNE sounds like TOON. NAME THAT TUNE was another radio show which was brought to television in the 50s, featuring two contestants trying to name a song after the fewest notes. It was revived in 70s with a young singer then named KATHIE LEE JOHNSON, who later married football great FRANK GIFFORD, and co-hosted Live with Regis and Kathie Lee along with current media darling, Regis Philbin.
63A. Game show in which couples confess indiscretions?: TWO TELL THE TRUTH. A fun show and perhaps a new reality TV show starring our wild and crazy celebrity couples. TO sounds like TWO. This is the oddball one, as in each of the first three, it is the last word which morphs into a sound-a-like. TO TELL THE TRUTH has been a tremendously successful and resilient show airing in 6 consecutive decades beginning in the 50s, when it was hosted by the incomparable BUD COLLYER who had achieved fame both as the voice of Superman on the radio, and as the host of BEAT THE CLOCK . After hearing my mother sing, he offered her a job, but she was in nursing school, and my chance to grow up in show business was lost.
Hi, Lemonade here, with my first Donna Levin, an honor and a joy. Forgive me, but once again the puzzle has so many references to my life, I had so much fun. On to the rest of the story.
Across:
1. Equipped with 6-Across: ARMED. Okay, she started out with one of those now popular, unfair pairs, where you cannot begin to get answers until you solve the perps. The downs were okay though, so you also got 6A. See 1-Across: GATS, which is a colloquial name for guns.
10. May or Ann: CAPE. Tricky, Cape May is off New Jersey and Cape Ann is north of Boston, unlike its more famous Cape Cod, which is south.
14. Permission: LEAVE. By you leave, sire. An old fashioned word, 'Leave' has been used with the meaning of permission since at least the 9th century, and was very popular in my friend Will Shakespeare's work (more on him later).
15. Natural shade: ECRU. This common puzzle word comes from the French meaning raw, or unbleached.
16. Turow memoir: ONE L. This abbreviation for the first year of law school is a fairly new phrase which did not exist in my day.
20. Warning: OMEN.
21. Understanding words: I SEE. Mira, mira.
22. Elite octet: IVIES. We had reference to the eight IVY League schools just recently.
23. Paragon of redness: BEET. Beets are really not all that red, and in New England we said Red as a Lobster, which are not that red until you boil them.
25. Maneuver: FINESSE. Are you a direct, or finesse player?
31. Muse who inspires poets: ERATO. This is a crossword must know, as are all the muses.
32. 1,000-yr. realm: HRE. Ah, we already had an indirect reference to the Ottoman Empire, and now we have the Holy Roman Empire, which began after Charlemagne and lasted until the 1800s. The OTTOMAN ran from about 1300 to the 1920s.
33. One-time neighbor of French Indochina: SIAM. Now known as Vietnam and Thailand.
37. Arabic is one of its two official langs.: ISR. An abbreviation for Israel, whose population is 20% Arab.
38. Surfer's guide: SITE MAP. Internet surfers, fooled you?
42. "Exodus" hero: ARI. Another Israel reference, this to the engrossing historical novel by Leon Uris.
43. Suffix with grammar: IANS. Ah, we have some GRAMMARIANS among us.
45. Nonsense: ROT. That is a bunch of Rot!
46. Links coup: EAGLE. Two less than par in golf. A hole in one on a par three is also an eagle. I have never made one.
52. Biblical betrayer: DELILAH. The Torah temptress who sold out poor Sampson by cutting his hair, and the inspiration for this SONG .
55. __ dixit: IPSE. See, more for me; a law term meaning something said but unproven.
56. Up in the air: ALOFT.
57. They may be wild: OATS. Yes, and you must sow them while you are young, or so I have read.
59. Stage group: CREW. I tried to make this more complicated than it was, thinking about a team of horses.
66. Relax: EASE. A verb variant.
67. Slobbering canine: ODIE. Again, my first thought when I glanced through the clues was CUJO.
68. Mobile one of song: DONNA. A beautiful deception, as the Italian pronunciation is masked, and the constructor gets her name in the puzzle. This SONG is from Verdi's Opera Rigoletto and the lyrics are:"Woman is flighty Like a feather in the wind." I heard this music often as child.
69. Batik artist: DYER. All you wanted to know about this CLOTH.
70. Tech support caller: USER.
71. Worry about: SWEAT. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and its all Small Stuff. RELAX, we made it through to the Downs.
Down:
1. As well: ALSO.
2. Chew (out): REAM
3. Gander, e.g.: MALE. Not the verb; what's good for the goose? She needs a Gander.
4. It's as likely as not: EVEN BET. Nicely clued.
5. "In __ Speramus": Brown U. motto: DEO. Latin, meaning "In G-d We Hope." In English the word 'aspiration' and others come from this root.
6. Bothers: GETS TO. Those un-clued related clues like 1A and 6A are getting to me.
7. Dull discomfort: ACHE. They give me an ache behind my eyes.
8. Timber producer: TREE FARM. Hmm, too simple for me.
9. Pension start?: SUS. Suspension. A nice classic prefix clue; did you suss it out?
10. Transmits: CONVEYS. Carries etc.
11. They're not pros: ANTIS. Probably the first misdirection clue I remember from watching my parents do the Sunday Times; they are not Amateurs.
12. Famille members: PERES. Now for my French lesson, and a question. PERE means FATHER and FAMILLE is FAMILY; but is it fair because there is only UN PERE PAR FAMILLE, so how can it be plural?
13. "Family Ties" mom: ELYSE. Michael J. Fox's TV mom, a pretty California woman as seen in this LINK who was married for 15 years to David Birney, with whom she worked in Bridget Loves Bernie and now now Meredith has announced she is in a committed relationship with another woman.
18. Feudal holding: FIEF. Another essentially legal concept, describing land which was titled to an individual who could then pass ownership to his heirs in exchange for loyalty to the ruler of the land. The word has morphed into FOEFF and then FEE, which is why land transfers are now said to be in FEE SIMPLE.
19. Strauss's "__ Nacht in Venedig": EINE. A NIGHT IN VENICE, by JOHANN STRAUSS, Jr. While his father was famous for his waltzes, Junior gained favor for his light operettas.
24. Slaughter on a diamond: ENOS. The original hustling ball player, he and Garagiola were stars of the 1946 World Series where St. Louis beat the Red Sox.
26. Notion: IDEA. I have an Notion to give you a good spanking...
27. Former Cunard fleet member, for short: QEII. I love cruising, and once owned a travel agency so I could cruise inexpensively.
28. Starry-eyed bear?: URSA. Do you like Major or Minor better?
29. Make: EARN. What did you make last year?
30. Bonnie Blue's daddy: RHETT. Another GWTW memory.
34. "I hate the Moor" speaker: IAGO. More Shakespeare, from OTHELLO .
35. Woodstock singer before Joan: ARLO. I have previously ranted on ho disappointed we all were sitting in the mud in Bethel New York, when Arlo performed and refused to play even the short version of ALICE'S RESTAURANT which now that his star has dimmed, he is happy to play. I changed my avatar to my uncollected ticket to Woodstock.
36. Manner: MIEN. Another old fashioned word.
39. "__ la Douce": IRMA. A cute MOVIE starring Shirley McLaine and Jack Lemmon (coming to my aid?).
40. Points of initial progress: TOE HOLDS. Our favorite word, describing the pint we first began to solve a puzzle. You think Donna reads blogs?
41. Some motel guests: PETS. I wanted ROACH, but...
44. Napoleon vessel?: SNIFTER. NAPOLEON BRANDY is a designation of how long the liquor has aged. Oddly, I was at dinner with a nephew and his girl friend, explaining about how brandy was first distilled from wine (grapes) but is now made from fruits also, Schnapps, is a form of fruit brandy. COGNAC is a brandy from a specific region in France (just as Champagne, is a sparkling wine from a different region).
47. Recanted in embarrassment: ATE CROW. Meaning admitting you were wrong to the public, perhaps because cooked crow is very unpalatable.
49. Der __: Adenauer epithet: ALTE. Well, after this week you could not get this one wrong.
50. "That sly come __ stare": "Witchcraft" lyric: HITHER. This LOOK was featured in the song made famous by Frank Sinatra.
51. Church area: APSE. Crossword staple.
52. Out: DATED. PASSE and DATED both have 5 letters.
53. His Super Bowl MVP performance was his last NFL game: ELWAY. One of the few to retire on a high note, which I guess is what Bret wanted.
54. Out: LOOSE. This took a while, but I guess it is like let the dogs out.
58. Play to __: A TIE. Kiss you sister, mister?
60. Cryptic character: RUNE. These are the old alphabets which used in Europe until replaced by the Latin one we use today.
61. Italian volcano: ETNA. In Sicily.
62. Comedy routine infielder ...: WHAT. Classic comedy, which like a crossword is based on MISDIRECTION . 64D. ... and Bud's partner in the routine: LOU.
65. QB's scores: TDS. Cheerleaders, just would not fit.
Well, there you have it, a very fun, and seemingly quick solve, filled with memories and humor. Donna at her best. Until next time, remember to eat your vegetables, and there is always room for J E L L O.
Lemonade
64 comments:
Good morning, Lemonade, C.C. and gang - truly a fun puzzle to solve today, as you would expect with a Friday-level Donna Levin offering.
As was discussed earlier, 1A and 6A immediately drive you to the perps which is not a great way to start a puzzle, but it was all good from there. I caught on to most of the misdirection; younger people or people who don't do a lot of crosswords must've really been scratching their heads with 'Slaughter on a diamond'. I thought 'tree farm' and 'toeholds' were great fill.
A bit squeezed for time as I had an extremely late night last night, overslept and I've gotta get to the gym, so more later. Lemonade, nice job with the blog; a lot to read, so I only had time to skim it.
Today is Johnny Appleseed Day, and.....oh Lord, it's Worship of Tools Day. Looking forward to the posts today.
Did You Know?:
- The sea slug does little more than eat, sleep, and copulate--actually it copulates a lot, often in orgies. One researcher at the University of Miami has witnessed as many as 10 sea slugs at a time engaging in chain copulating. (There's one more for the reincarnation list)
Morning, all!
Just heard about the tragedy in Japan. My thoughts are with anybody with friends and/or relatives there.
The puzzle started out on a sour note with the self-referential pair at 1A and 6A, but I suppose I'll overlook that and focus on the wonderful punny theme. as with lemonade, the only one that gave me trouble was 27A.
I had CAST instead of CREW for 59A, which held things up a bit. And sadly, while I'm familiar with the song referenced at 68A, I always thought it was spelled DONA, so that took a bit of getting. Great clue, though!
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. How wonderful to end the week with a Donna Levin puzzle. This one didn't start out well, with the first two entries being cross references. It didn't help that I initially thought Gander was a verb and tried OGLE instead of MALE.
Like Barry G, I also wanted CAST instead of CREW for the Stage Group in the opposite corner. But I did like the crossing of CREW and ATE CROW.
May and Ann didn't fool me. Oddly, my husband and I were discussing CAPEs around the world just yesterday.
Technically, DELILAH is not a Torah temptress since her story is found in Judges.
I was horrified to learn about the earthquake and tsunami this morning. My thoughts are with those in the affected areas.
QOD: It takes a real storm in the average person's life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls. ~ Bruce Barton
I also want to send out my thoughts for all who were under threat or have suffered from the earthquake and Tsunami, and all who have friends and family in the pacific. It hardly seems fiar for the Kiwis.
Hahtool, I know the book where Samson appears, but I love me my alliteration.
Miss red shoe, how nice to see put a a toe in our puzzling waters, though it is chilly here. Dennis, now your BH will see us in the 50's.
WM, how are sales? Miss Jeannie, Food Show time?
Daylight Savings Time, here we come
TGIF all, a tough puzzle that really kicked my rear today.
Googled:
(49D) Adenauer epithet: der alte and (5D) Brown U. motto: In Deo Speramus.
Red-letter checked:
(62D) Comedy routine infielder: "what". I initially wrote "who's". and (52A) Biblical betrayer: Guessed "I" for fifth letter as OT names many times end in "iah". Forgot "Delilah". D'oh!
(22A) Elite octet: Dimly remembered from another puzzle ("Ivies"); and WAG's: (12D) Wanted "mares". It was "peres". (thx red-letters) and (17A) Wanted "deal" of the century. It was "sale" (thx r.l. again)
Have a great weekend everyone,
Burrito34
Good Morning C.C.,Lemon and all,
I, too, send my thoughts out to all those who are effected by the
earthquake and tsunami{s}.
Thanks, Lemon, for the write-up. Back to it later.
I found myself on Donna's wave length this AM. The theme was in my memory bank from radio/early TV.
Lots of great, misleading clues;
She even worked her name in.
What's so amazing is that Donna's too young to be so up on ancient history! Thanks, for the trip down memory lane.
WH, C-J carries the LAT.
Johnny Appleseed Day reminds me of The Red Garden, forgot the author.
Anyone?
Have a nice day everyone.
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
Terrific write-up, Lemonade. So much information packed in today, and all of it interesting!
I liked the theme, but thought it should have consistently changed the second word, like “The Newlywed Came”…(Game show about what happened on the honeymoon?). Nah, that would never make it past the censors.
When SNIFTER emerged, I immediately thought of Tinbeni. A toast!
I loved the misleading clues and great fill. WHAT could have been very dull fill, unless it was clued as Donna did it. Then it invokes chuckles!
I am listening to news about the earthquake and tsunami - horrific. My heart goes out to the thousands who will be affected by this disaster.
Good day folks,
Lemonade, a super blog with excellent links, especially the Three Tenors. This was not a quick solve, but I was able to make steady progress. The NE corner was the last to fall.
Favorite clues were "ate crow"...... a dietary staple for me and "toehold"....... a necessity for any crossword puzzler. Hand up for 'cast" too and I wanted safe bet for 4D, which contributed to my dilemma in that corner.
I've many friends in Japan from my days of working for a living. I pray they are alright. We had many successful ventures together and lots of fun times.
The monsoon season has returned to Ct for the day with more flooding expected. Thankfully, our house is immune from the excess water.
Enjoy the weekend and be safe.
Hondo
Good morning all. Lemon, great commentary. Thanks for all the detail.
Donna delivers. I usually find her on my wave length and today did not disappoint. The pun style of the theme was lots of fun to unravel. Especially liked QUEEN FOR A DEY and SALE OF THE SENTRY. It had German, ALTE, EINE; Latin IPSE, DEO, URSA; and French, PÈRES. Also liked SUSpension and grammmarIANS. CAPE was cute, ALSO. Lots of lush fill like TOEHOLD, SNIFTER, and ATE CROW.
Stay dry.
I am getting old, forgot to mention the Clecho OLD< 52D and 54D
This was a difficult one for me....even perps and wags didn't help. Yes, the CJ does have the LAT puzzle everyday....but no author. Good idea about contacting the paper to ask to give credit. That way at least I know who to be complaining about when I can't solve :)
Instead of a litany of the ones I had difficulty with, on a positive note,here are the ones that I found fun:
May or Ann = Cape
They may be wild = Oats (although I first thought of aces)
Some motel guests = pets (so cute, roaches wouldn't fit)
Recanted in embarrassment = ate crow (didn't have ANY trouble filling that in:)
Happy Friday.
If only I would have filled in all the ans. I thought were correct. Lack of confidence? Thanks for the The tenors rendetion of "Donna" Had no clue.
Lemon; Great write-up.
DONNA, What a FUN Friday. Enjoyed your self "shout-out."
Really liked the themes, but SNIFTER was my fave today.
Burrito34: I ALSO put in 'whos' at first. After all, WHAT is the second baseman. Easy fix.
I hope all our West Coast buddies are safe today.
OK, y'all can wait if you want to ... but I am NOT losing an hour of my weekend.
I sprang forward at 5:00am ... which made it 6:00am.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Hi all, and lemonade, a wonderful fun blog!
After a day away yesterday, I had to EAT At the puzzle in the evening, finally finishing all but the far NE--last letters of SAD and PIA meant I missed DATES too.
Today was similar, in that, other than oAts, I had OUTS for some reason, and no idea for A TIE, my main problem was with the NE. I had NAME for CAPE, MERES for PERES, and blanks here and there around those. No clue as to the significance of elite octet, or ELYSE, and couldn't come up with SENTRY. Other than those, other unknowns were WAGged successfully.
Hi There ~!
That's a good one, HeartRx, too bad it wouldn't fly ~!
How about a game show about breaking into crates?
The PRISE is Right...
Fun puzzle, got stumped by DEY, plus, I have never heard of that game show, but the others I knew about - and I didn't get to TV until the 70's. SALE of the SENTRY broke the theme for me.
I agree with most about the opening two clues being circular, but I got them, and the only corner I was stuck on was the NE w/ELYSE.
Rain here, too, and I got the weekend off ~!
Yea ~!
Splynter
Lemonade,
I was going to say the plural pères works if it's an extended famille. Otherwise I have no explanation.
Also, I hope I'm wrong, but with the earthquakes moving around the "Ring of Fire", from Chile to Christchurch and Japan, Alaska could be next. It sounded as if the earthquake-proof buildings in Japan did their job. If only there were more of them.
Hi gang -
Big DNF today. In truth, after the dismal pair of 1A - 6A, my heart wasn't in it. Other gripes: 17A - Bribery and SALE do not go together. This makes no sense. 43A IANS - no hint that this should be plural. 8D SUS - horrible self-referential affix clue. 12D More French - MEH!. 13D ELYSE Weird spelling of a name from a 30 yr old sitcom I never watched.
I did get QUEEN FOR A D_ _, and TWO TELL THE TRUTH. The theme is clever and original.
DONNA is a brilliant puzzle meister, for sure. Some times the puzzle get me, and I don't mind that. But I want a fair fight, and this wasn't.
Gary @ yesterday: Like a trombone - I dunno.. OUT OF TUNE is way too many letters. BLATTY, perhaps. Let me know if you figure it out.
Till then lo siento.
Tsunami hitting OR. Volcano in Indonesia. Floods in PA. Bad news everywhere today.
JzB
I was nowhere close to completing - so I 'hied' here - only, I first tried out another blog.... then I came here and I am glad I did. Lemonade, you cater to the LCD - lowest common denominator - you explained it like you were writing to a fourth grader - which is exactly what I needed. ( reminds me of a courtroom scene in 'Philadelphia' ? - movie about a lawyer with AIDS ? - Denzel Washington ).
Donna, I'm sure your puzzle is very clever (as a compliment - ), sophisticated and witty - only to me it was like trying to understand the 'Three Tenors', when you are illiterate in the opera and the Italian, and tone deaf to boot.
'Un Pere par famille' ? duh, they're French - always something out of the ordinary - anything is possible.
Jeez, I don't even know my east from west, therefore to clarify my earlier post, the NW was the last to fall.
Back to tooling around.
Good morning all,
My write-up would have been VERY similar to JzB's if I hadn't kept on plugging away for an hour. I'm not quite ready to really enjoy these harder (more clever) xwds, but this was doable. So many clues were Greek to me. For me, it was pretty much a sight puzzle-could see the answers, but clueless.
Lemonade, all of your details were perfect. Thanks!
Donna, I really did enjoy your theme, and was able to fill them all with laughs.
The water is receding up in Crescent City and they are expecting a 7 foot surge any time.
We are able to see The water recede over in Santa Cruz.Silly surfers are still out there!
Alternate QOD: My mother is Jewish. My father is Catholic. When I went to confession, I brought a lawyer. - Bill Maher
Informative write-up and elegant puzzle! Those Game Shows were standard fare in my childhood, fixed or not! Remember Dr. Joyce Brothers?
Jazz, the answer was VALVED which seemed odd to me for an instrument with a slide. Maybe that makes for one long valve.
Golf yesterday was great in 60F. No EAGLES and the ground is still hard!
URSA Major was the slave's Drinking Gourd they were following North.
I like my CROW with a touch of humility!
Good Morning All, Fun blogging, Lemonade. It was a walk down memory lane for me too.
I'm smiling about this puzzle. My grandmother would not miss "QUEEN FOR A DaY". She would "tsk" and sigh over the misfortunes of the contestants. I think the draw was to watch women who had it worse than you did.
My father was quite a good NAME THAT Tuner He had an excellent memory for music and could usually get the name within a few notes.
I tried FRERE, SOEUR, MEREs and finally hit upon PEREs for 12D fill. Jazz, I don't think French words are any more "MEH" than musical terms.
Yep, I fell for CUJO at 57A and "Wild" ACES at 57A too.
I turned on the TV for late news when I got home from chorus practice last night. The broadcast live from Japan was horrifying. Looks like there will be some (much milder)after effects along the California shoreline.
JzB, there is psychology to all efforts, and I understand the reaction to seeing another unclued pair, but there was much to like in this puzzle. I also believe BRIBERY is often about SELLING: such as votes, either by Politician or Legislator, a Juror, a Judge, or in this case, the sale of unimpeded entry; I think the connection is strong enough.
The tsunami effects here are very mild compared to the horrific devastation overseas.Boats, not people, are floating out of the Santa Cruz Harbor.
Happy Friday, my cyber friends!
Wonderful blogging with detailed explanations, Lemon, thank you and especially for the link. I LOVE DONNA E Mobile! Love Donna Levin, too!
My first TOEHOLD was ELYSE as I saw her recently on Oprah.
Great misdirection which first led me to NAME then CAPE, MERES which changed to PERES and yes I susssed SUSpension. However I missed NAME THATTOON with NAMET _CARTOON but otherwise fared well overall.
Wagged EINE as I've learned a bit of German here, thank you Kazie et al.
DELILAH is also a recent book by India Edgehill.
Wasn't Queen for a Day also hosted by Art Linkletter?
QUII was clever as was gander, MALE which could have been ROAM.
Spring break this week! Have a beautiful Friday!
On a long ago trip to Russia and other points East, when our bus stopped at the Russian border to Finland, the guards boarded and very pointedly "suggested" that we buy some cheap medals on a ribbon for $5 American dls. We got the idea that our bus could be held if we didn't cooperate.
Sale or bribery?
Dennis- Worship of Tools Day. Is there a morel to this story?
I struggled, I cursed, I talked to myself, I ran through the alphabet at last five times to see if I could form words in my mind that fit the clues, I Googled a bit and somehow I managed to get everything but three words in the SW: The two "OUTS" and the "BIBLICAL BETRAYER."
Darn my Catholic upbringing! We just did not pay much attention to the Bible, so the only betrayer I knew of was Judas of course, and even having "_ATED" and "_OOSE" and running through the entire alphabet for the first letters, nothing occurred to me that fit "out."
In hindsight, "DATED" was a good one (though I of course considered it as part of my alphabetic rundown, I only thought of the going on a date sense of it, and "dated" being past tense, it just didn't seem to fit), but LOOSE for OUT, as in the dogs are loose/out? Gonna have to give that a big, "Really, Donna?"
Speaking of DONNA, I'm going to have to return to the blog when I finish writing this post, because I still don't know why DONNA is a "Mobile one of song."
In spite of those minor gripes and my DNF, it was mostly a fun and challenging solve today.
Oh, no, Jerome is finally corrupted.
C.C.,
It had to happen sooner or later!
Lucina,
Your border experience is reminiscent of the "charity" box that was always near the border crossing at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. As we went back into the west, we were urged to "donate" since taking it over was illegal and the East German money was worthless in the west anyway. I did manage to smuggle out a five mark bill and some coins in my shoe over the years.
Returning from Russia in 1970 I managed to get dollars in exchange for Rubles but I can't remember the rate. I know someone else said I was lucky to get as much as I did.
I love Donna’s puzzles. I do prefer the Mon-Wed offerings though. I thought the theme was really clever and caught onto it when I got “sale of the sentry”. The only one I didn’t know of or remember was Queen for a dey”. I think that might have been a little before my time. I needed some red letter and perp help with OneL, Hre, and Deo. I even managed to get ipse dixit, I think because it’s just fun to say. My favorite today was “elite octet” – Ivies.
I enjoyed your blogging effort, MFCounselor; but I must disagree about beets not being red. I have boiled and peeled enough of them to know that they will stain your hands very red. I have since learned to wear gloves when handling them. Oh, and the foodshow is coming up March 28th-29th. This week is kind of like the calm before the storm.
C.C. Jerome has been corrupted for a very long time now.
I loved this puzzle - thanks, Donna, for a great masterpiece. Lemonade - terrific writeup as always. I too, had "name" for 10A at first, but when "nonveys" made no sense at 10D, I corrected my error. Also had "cast" for crew and who's for what, but was able to work those out as well.
It wasn't a speed run by any stretch of the imagination, but a wonderful workout that reached into those little corners of my brain where some obscure facts from the past were hiding.
My thoughts and prayers are with those in Japan and elsewhere suffering from the earthquake and Tsunami.
Cheers for a great weekend, everyone.
Good afternoon, all. Thanks for a very informative blog, Lemonade.
I struggled in spots with this one, but really liked the puzzle. Name before CAPE, and safeBET slowed things a bit, but eventually it all fell in place. QUEEN FOR A DEY jumped out at me with the Q and U in place and from there I knew what to look for in the theme answers.
Lemonade, cruising is also one of our favorite escapes. We have just a few days shy of a year at sea in the last six years. We haven't sailed on any of the Queens, though. We were in the area where the tsunami hit India and Thailand about two months after it hit and saw a lot of the devastation. Our heart goes out to those affected by today's quake.
Jerome, yes, I'm sure there is a morel there somewhere. I just about split laughing at that comment.
Things I decided to verify after completing the puzzle:
What's the difference between DEY and BEY among Ottoman governors? Found only very fuzzy, nearly meaningless answers.
Although DELILAH was indeed the biblical betrayer, tangentially, she did NOT cut off Samson's hair. Judges 16:19(KJV)says she had a "man" (servant/slave?) do it, perhaps because Sammy was sleeping on her "knees" (lap?)
First learned that tidbit from a recent QI episode.
I, too, found this entire puzzle to be very much on my wavelength; didn't need any outside help, but had to wait for perp help quite often.
Drove into Omaha to sub today and have a full week next week. I'll be glad to see the Sun below the horizon instead of in my face for a while.
Luciana, Art Linkletter's House Party ran in the afternoon near Queen For A Day if I remember correctly.
Marti's game show was the best but...
Game show that is supper
FAMILYFOOD
Game show where tinsel town frightens
HOLLYWOODSCARES
Game show about bad quarterbacking ability
PASSWIERD
Game show about Homer's respsonse to what breath mint hit him
TICTACDOH
Jeanne, I am subbing at a high school that is called the Elkhorn South High School STORM. When I was at the middle school that feeds this high school, we called ourselves, you guessed it, the calm before the storm.
Good luck at your show! Do you have any entries or is that how it is done?
Hello.
First thought on seeing Donna -
Ritche Valens.
Normal calm water at Ohioplye SP
(PA) has turned into raging white
water due to heavy rain and snow
melt.
Boats for sale at Santa Cruz harbor
- Cheap.
Matt clued dangling organ as uvual. DF?
take care.
Hello everybody. I have not yet read any of today's blog or comments. I am posting simply to say that as soon as I started today's puzzle, right off the bat I saw 1A and 6A cross reference each other, so I walked away. I'm going to go to the office and maybe return to the puzzle later today. Best wishes to you all.
Hi all - Ah, Donna Levin got me good today! I had trouble all over the place and not even my V-8 can got into the act. Oh well, I did learn a lot.
1A and 6A got me too.
All men worship their tools! (apparently so do sea slugs)
Thankfully we had much ado about nothing in the tsunami warnings all up and down the Oregon coast.
Pictures from Japan are terrible to look at!
Hi C.C., Argyle and folk,
Lemonade714, make my jello shots, K?
When I was a little girl, I recall my mother in the kitchen baking pies, she'd put us in front of the TV and that happened to be a show she had playing. I have fond memories and loved seeing that there was hope for the most dismal of situations.
27A. Game show about an Algerian governor's search for his spouse?: QUEEN FOR A DEY As you pointed out, lemonade714, 'DEY' was obscure and I didn't know it, but I can still name that tune for the Queen for a Day theme song..."Queen For A Day, who will it be..."
~part 1~
~part 2~
48A. Game show in which "Stuttering pig" might be a clue?: NAME THAT TOON. I would be a contestant on name that tune. Their prizes weren't that good, though.
1. Equipped with 6-Across: ARMED.
6. See 1-Across: GATS
I don't know, these blind references...sometimes I like them, sometimes I think they are not fun or a challenge,
just busy work devoid of brain challenging value (IMO).
~part 3~
Today, 'gat' wasn't indicated to be an abbreviation and I just don't think the Gatling Gun abbreviation is its commonly accepted form.
Out of curiosity, how do you fellow bloggers weigh in on this puzzle construction technique?
18. Feudal holding: FIEF Great explanation, lemonade! You are so knowledgeable! I'm always pleasantly impressed by your write ups! Excellent! Thank you!
28. Starry-eyed bear?: URSA. Since we have the hot tub, I star gaze on a regular basis. I need a good, simple sight recognition manual. ...any suggestions?
I'm out.
Frenchie:
Like most solvers I don't care for the referential clues but today the downs were easy enought that ARMS and GAT simply emerged.
Jeannie:
I'm glad you commented about the BEETs because that was my thought and the ones I buy are so red as to be almost purple.
Worship of Tools day: would that be kneeling? Just asking.
Wow. I feel like a dinosaur. All those gameshows are indelibly etched in my memory, so I figured the theme would be pretty easy for most solvers. That shows what I know. I apologize to those who found this one too difficult.
FWIW, the clue for DEO was a shout-out to my alma mater. I didn't expect most of y'all to know Brown's motto off the top of your heads, but it was my own private little homage to Camp Bruno.
Thanks for all your comments, both good and bad, on the puzzle. It's always gratifying to get input.
-- Donna
I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup. Thanks. It was appropriately hard for a Friday.
Very sad news about the Japanese earthquake. Best wishes for all. Oz too. When will it be our turn?
I remember really enjoying Irma la Douce. Also, The Apartment and The Trouble with Harry, all starring a young Shirley MacLaine. I thought she was adorable and very appealing. Sexy in an innocent sort of way.
I don't think of GAT as an abbreviation. Just a slang word for gun from old Raymond Chandler novels and others of that era.
I saw the ISS again last night; this time, passing directly overhead. I could barely resolve the bright spot into two bright spots side by side (from the solar panels) with my 12x image-stabilized binocular. Then I turned them on Orion and could easily observe the Great Nebula. I wish I lived in a darker location. I remember really enjoying the dark sky and the Milky Way through binoculars from Sequoia National Park years ago.
Good evening all.
Didn't get the old TV shows. Didn't watch them. But I truly enjoyed La Donna e Mobile. Have heard it often, and loved hearing the three tenors this afternoon. Thank you Lemonade. Also liked reading the whole script of 'Who's on first". Never before heard (read) the whole thing.
Was glad to get Erato, Cape, Delilah (which I got from the opera), and of course grammarians.
Bill G., thanks for info about Flybys (didn't see ISS last night, to much ambient light I guess, and thank you for the answers to my questions last night.
Cheers
I remembered all those shows! The "Queen for a Dey" one really made me laugh. The show from that clue was equally funny. Now instead of prizes the "Queens" get highlighted in "People" magazine and product endorsement deals.
Damn, I should come up with a sob story. I could dust off my tiara!
Fun puzzle, but a bit of a challenge.
Have a great weekend!
Donna: thanks for stopping by. I love your puzzles. Although I might not have remembered watching all those game shows, I had heard of all but one. This was just the right difficulty for a Friday.
Lucina! I am shocked! Absolutely shocked! LOL!
Lemonade -
Bit of a stretch, but point taken.
C.A. -
Granted, musical terms are in foreign languages as well. But they are used, in context, every day by English speaking people. Some thngs are Meh!, others are Meher!
Jerome - (snicker)
Donna - You are a classy lady!
Gary - VALVED?!? Wow. That's just flat-@$$ wrong. There is such a thing as a valve trombone - I have on moldering in my basement. But it's the oddball. "Like a trombone" should be UNVALVED. That's what keeps it from being a tenor trumpet.
IMBO - to play my unvalved hand operated, wind powered pitch approximator. BTW - our 18-yr-old guest violin soloist is AMAZING!
Cheers!
JzB who is not amazing
Donna L.:
Thanks for you comment.
I just knew that DEO was another "shout-out" to your Alma Mater ... but I doubt that I know any "U's" motto.
(The perps got it for me).
Damn, being "already" on Daylight Savings Time is great ...
I like the Sunset (and my "toast" to you wonderful people) at 7:35 pm.
OK, here's the deal ...
I NEVER have "even a sip or a nip" until Sunset.
EVER !!!!
But since I live my life on "Zagreb-Time" (6 hours earlier) this "time-change" thingy is NEVER a problem.
After-all, it is always "5 o'clock somewhere."
Cheers and a safe weekend to one-and-all!!!
Donna, thanks for coming out to play; I wish you had mentioned if the TT in NAMETHATTOON inspired the stuttering pig reference, but it is all good. I had a blast with this one. Where are all the hidden posters, time to step up and bring the week home. Cupcakes will be served.
Hahtool:
I've only heard ......
Hello everyone!
I really liked this puzzle and I never thought I'd be able to say this about a Friday puzzle! Thank you Ms,Levin. And Lemonade, I loved your blog as well, so thank you, too!
I almost finished it without any help, but finally gave up on the southwest corner. Once I got Delilah, though, things fell together including the last theme phrase. So I cheated a little but not too much!
Now I can read the comments!
Hi all,
Fun puzzle, Donna! No cheating. Loved the theme.
Informative write-up, Lemon, as usual.
I liked GRAMMARIANS and SUSPENSION! Also, TREE FARM.
Dog ate something peculiar again and barfed last night. Fortunately, she cleaned it up. However, I was awake for good after only a few hours' sleep. Had to keep shooing her out.
Had just finished watching a NOVA with a friend. It was partly devoted to earthquakes. Compared Haiti to California. Had enough of the creeps without finding out about Japan late last night. Feel very sorry for the afflicted ones; but not for he people who were taking pictures here and were swept out to sea.
Wish there was an easier way to count lines (I've got eyestrain today)! Maybe more later!
Loved this puzzle but needed lots of help. I don't know much about French, but in Spanish father is padre and parents are los padres. Wondering if it could be the same way in French?
Lucina...snort,snort.....:-)
Donna, thanks so much for stopping by.You know you are a favorite of this group.
Fermaprime, you could have omitted your 3rd paragraph if you were worried about lines. None of us would have missed that ditty.
@Lucina, point well taken! The puzzle fell much more expediently than many Friday puzzles tend to fall for me. That was a gift! I fear I sounded harsh and that wasn't my intention!
@Dodo, grammarian reminded me of you!
@MS Levin, thanks so much for stopping by today. I am typically tickled pink with your construction style and today was no exception.
@eddyB, my husband and I are thinking of getting a boat in San Diego and we were just thinking you are right! There won't be a better time...though, in all sincerity, my heart goes out to all affected by these catastrophes. It's simply tragic.
@BillG,Thanks for the 'gat' clarification. My weaponry knowledge about is very limited.
Now tools I know a lot more about. My husband gives me access to his and it's amazing what can do with them...
Have a great weekend all!
Frenchie
Donna,
good to hear from you. thanks for stopping by.
Kalendi,
The French plural definite article is les, not much different from Spanish los or las, except it doesn't show the gender difference like Spanish. French mother is la mère, father le père, brother le frère and sister la sœur.
Lemonade, my thanks, as well, for the three tenors clip. Is Carrera still around. I never read or hear anything about him and wasn't he in remission from some kind of cancer?
Good Evening, folks: Great puzzle, Donna. thank you very much. Great write-up and posting, Lemonade and C.C. Thank you two very much.
Enjoyed this puzzle a lot. I had to jump around to get a foothold. That happened in the middle.
The theme was pretty slick. Good job.
My losing corner was the NE. I wanted EIGHT for Elite Octet (ie: the NCAA Playoffs). I could not get that out of my head. IVIES made everything work.
RUNE was great. I just read a book about the Kensington Rune Stone in Minnesota, discovered in the 1800's, but supposedly buried there by Scandanavians and Cistercian Monks in the 1300's. Way before Columbus. I am a believer. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Hola Everyone, Very late to the party tonight. I did finally finish the puzzle but not without a lot of CW Dictionary help. I didn't know Dey, but that was cleared up in my new dictionary.
I've never heard of Sale of the Century/Sentry. That is a show that wasn't on my radar.
My puzzling experience today was almost exactly like Kazies, with the NE corner the last to fall.
But I do have to say that Donna Levin's puzzles are some of my favorites, even though they take me a long time to finish.
I was glued to the TV this morning, watching all the tsunami events develop. what a tragedy. My heart goes out to everyone.
I love reading the blogs but feel like such a tyro (great crossword answer) afterward. Having received an advanced degree, I dont feel as if I am too much the idiot. But I will have to admit this was not the "piece of cake" all you experts seem to make it. Only missed a couple of words, but took me quite a while. Thanks for brightening my day with the answers, the explanations and the blogs.
I love reading the blogs but feel like such a tyro (great crossword answer) afterward. Having received an advanced degree, I dont feel as if I am too much the idiot. But I will have to admit this was not the "piece of cake" all you experts seem to make it. Only missed a couple of words, but took me quite a while. Thanks for brightening my day with the answers, the explanations and the blogs.
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