Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 29
Triple stacks of 10s are very common in themeless. But we don't often see grid structure like today's: black square in the middle, a pair of 7s flanked by a pair of 12s. Often you'll find short-entries in the middle.
Here are marquee answers:
1A. Closer's bane : BLOWN SAVE. Baseball. Could also be Home Run or Base Hit.
15A. "My Father at 100: A Memoir" author : RON REAGAN. I like him a lot. Very articulate.
17A. Spoiled brat, stereotypically : ONLY CHILD. Made me think of China's "One-child policy".
31A. Thematic musical release : CONCEPT ALBUM. New to me.
39A. Like architecture involving cedar shakes : SHINGLE STYLE. I bet it's a familiar term to Splynter. Have a look at his work. Isn't it gorgeous?
58A. Band with the 1997 double platinum album "So Much for the Afterglow" : EVER CLEAR. Are they very famous?
61A. "This doesn't look good, guys!" : WE'RE TOAST. I've been hassling Dennis about the validity of some colloquial expressions.
63A. Drains : ENERVATES
Probably my favorite Brad Wilber puzzle. Quite a few entries resonate with me, esp the stacks in upper left corner.
Across:
10. Like some drinking cups : CONIC. Lots of whining about CONED last time.
16. Race arbiter, at times : SLO-MO
18. Fibonacci, by birth : PISAN. Identical clue in a Dec 2010 LAT.
19. __ mission : ON A
20. Eagle relative : KITE. Husker Gary must be thinking of golf score "eagle".
21. Comic strip units : PANELS
22. __ Lisa Vito: "My Cousin Vinny" role : MONA. Easy guess.
24. Tree with above-ground roots : BANYAN. I wouldn't want to look like this if I were a tree.
26. "Out of Sight" co-star, familiarly : J-LO. With George Clooney.
27. PMs or GMs : LDRS (Leaders). PM = Prime Minister. GM= General Manger. Not a good fill. Nice clue.
29. Sleeper, for one : CAR
30. Surge in sales : BOOM
35. Environmental summit topic : ETHANOL
38. Gluck opera based on a Euripides play : ALCESTE. No idea. Gluck is a German opera composer.
41. Hand over : CEDE. Power.
42. Cheerios grain : OAT
43. Pinned arrangement : UPDO. Was worried the clue might be asking for the wrestling "pinned".
46. Galoot : APE
47. Feature of some Birkenstocks : T-STRAP. Sandals.
50. Ruin : SINK
52. Cattle drive gear : RIATAS. Or reatas.
54. Brash radio host : IMUS (Don). And 30D. Cover-ups involving 54-Across? : BLEEPS.
56. Org. with June finals : NBA
57. Country on the Gulf of Guinea : GABON. West Africa.
60. Pax Romana year : ONE AD. Got me. Wikipedia says Pax Romana spans 207 years, from 27 BCE to 180 CE.
62. Chalet beverage : TODDY
Down:
1. Curling tool : BROOM. Neat clue.
2. The Khmer Rouge overthrew him : LON NOL. Always preferable to see a full name, not to mention a palindromic one.
3. No longer cruising : ON LAND
4. Like some one-liners : WRY
5. Banjo part : NECK
6. Indian honorific : SAHIB. Urdu for "master".
7. Mylanta target : AGITA
8. Number denoting an ion's bonding capacity : VALENCE. The clue means nothing to me.
9. Close : END
10. House channel : C-SPAN. Congress. Remember the tricky "House shower" clue? Show-er.
11. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN
12. Some facial surgeries : NOSE JOBS. Nice entry.
13. Disappointing news about a sale item : I'M ALL OUT. Another good one.
14. It requires a lot of simmering : CONSOMME. Stock, broth, all same to me.
21. Somewhat : PARTLY
23. Obscure : ARCANE
25. Pester shrilly : YAP AT. Like dogs.
28. "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow" : SONG. Nailed it.
32. "He won't be missed" : NO LOSS. Didn't come to me quickly.
33. Turf piercer : CLEAT
34. First Amdt. lobby : ACLU. So Amdt = Amendment? I've never seen this abbreviation before.
35. Bistro appetizer : ESCARGOT. Yummy!
36. "Schindler's List" beat it for Best Picture : THE PIANO. 1993. I like Anna Paquin's character.
37. Studio space-saver : HIDE-A-BED. Studio apartment.
40. Tried hard : STRIVEN
44. Patronize, in a way : DINE AT
45. Contemplating stealing, maybe : ON BASE. Baseball again.
47. "Driving Miss Daisy" Oscar winner Jessica : TANDY
48. "Honour is __ scutcheon": Shak. : A MERE. Saw this clue before.
49. More pristine : PURER
51. Small racers : KARTS
53. No dreamboat : TOAD
55. Show with an "American Bandstand"-like spoof called "Mel's Rock Pile" : SCTV (Second City Television). Canadian TV.
58. Pronoun in a rebus : EWE. For you. See here. You are the apple of my eye.
59. Long, on Lanai : LOA. As in Mauna Loa (Long Mountain).
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 29
Triple stacks of 10s are very common in themeless. But we don't often see grid structure like today's: black square in the middle, a pair of 7s flanked by a pair of 12s. Often you'll find short-entries in the middle.
Here are marquee answers:
1A. Closer's bane : BLOWN SAVE. Baseball. Could also be Home Run or Base Hit.
15A. "My Father at 100: A Memoir" author : RON REAGAN. I like him a lot. Very articulate.
17A. Spoiled brat, stereotypically : ONLY CHILD. Made me think of China's "One-child policy".
31A. Thematic musical release : CONCEPT ALBUM. New to me.
39A. Like architecture involving cedar shakes : SHINGLE STYLE. I bet it's a familiar term to Splynter. Have a look at his work. Isn't it gorgeous?
58A. Band with the 1997 double platinum album "So Much for the Afterglow" : EVER CLEAR. Are they very famous?
61A. "This doesn't look good, guys!" : WE'RE TOAST. I've been hassling Dennis about the validity of some colloquial expressions.
63A. Drains : ENERVATES
Probably my favorite Brad Wilber puzzle. Quite a few entries resonate with me, esp the stacks in upper left corner.
Across:
10. Like some drinking cups : CONIC. Lots of whining about CONED last time.
16. Race arbiter, at times : SLO-MO
18. Fibonacci, by birth : PISAN. Identical clue in a Dec 2010 LAT.
19. __ mission : ON A
20. Eagle relative : KITE. Husker Gary must be thinking of golf score "eagle".
21. Comic strip units : PANELS
22. __ Lisa Vito: "My Cousin Vinny" role : MONA. Easy guess.
24. Tree with above-ground roots : BANYAN. I wouldn't want to look like this if I were a tree.
26. "Out of Sight" co-star, familiarly : J-LO. With George Clooney.
27. PMs or GMs : LDRS (Leaders). PM = Prime Minister. GM= General Manger. Not a good fill. Nice clue.
29. Sleeper, for one : CAR
30. Surge in sales : BOOM
35. Environmental summit topic : ETHANOL
38. Gluck opera based on a Euripides play : ALCESTE. No idea. Gluck is a German opera composer.
41. Hand over : CEDE. Power.
42. Cheerios grain : OAT
43. Pinned arrangement : UPDO. Was worried the clue might be asking for the wrestling "pinned".
46. Galoot : APE
47. Feature of some Birkenstocks : T-STRAP. Sandals.
50. Ruin : SINK
52. Cattle drive gear : RIATAS. Or reatas.
54. Brash radio host : IMUS (Don). And 30D. Cover-ups involving 54-Across? : BLEEPS.
56. Org. with June finals : NBA
57. Country on the Gulf of Guinea : GABON. West Africa.
60. Pax Romana year : ONE AD. Got me. Wikipedia says Pax Romana spans 207 years, from 27 BCE to 180 CE.
62. Chalet beverage : TODDY
Down:
1. Curling tool : BROOM. Neat clue.
2. The Khmer Rouge overthrew him : LON NOL. Always preferable to see a full name, not to mention a palindromic one.
3. No longer cruising : ON LAND
4. Like some one-liners : WRY
5. Banjo part : NECK
6. Indian honorific : SAHIB. Urdu for "master".
7. Mylanta target : AGITA
8. Number denoting an ion's bonding capacity : VALENCE. The clue means nothing to me.
9. Close : END
10. House channel : C-SPAN. Congress. Remember the tricky "House shower" clue? Show-er.
11. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN
12. Some facial surgeries : NOSE JOBS. Nice entry.
13. Disappointing news about a sale item : I'M ALL OUT. Another good one.
14. It requires a lot of simmering : CONSOMME. Stock, broth, all same to me.
21. Somewhat : PARTLY
23. Obscure : ARCANE
25. Pester shrilly : YAP AT. Like dogs.
28. "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow" : SONG. Nailed it.
32. "He won't be missed" : NO LOSS. Didn't come to me quickly.
33. Turf piercer : CLEAT
34. First Amdt. lobby : ACLU. So Amdt = Amendment? I've never seen this abbreviation before.
35. Bistro appetizer : ESCARGOT. Yummy!
36. "Schindler's List" beat it for Best Picture : THE PIANO. 1993. I like Anna Paquin's character.
37. Studio space-saver : HIDE-A-BED. Studio apartment.
40. Tried hard : STRIVEN
44. Patronize, in a way : DINE AT
45. Contemplating stealing, maybe : ON BASE. Baseball again.
47. "Driving Miss Daisy" Oscar winner Jessica : TANDY
48. "Honour is __ scutcheon": Shak. : A MERE. Saw this clue before.
49. More pristine : PURER
51. Small racers : KARTS
53. No dreamboat : TOAD
55. Show with an "American Bandstand"-like spoof called "Mel's Rock Pile" : SCTV (Second City Television). Canadian TV.
58. Pronoun in a rebus : EWE. For you. See here. You are the apple of my eye.
59. Long, on Lanai : LOA. As in Mauna Loa (Long Mountain).
Answer grid.
C.C.
76 comments:
This Saturday puzzle went surprisingly well until I needed red letter help in the SE Corner.
(40D)Tried hard: I had "strived" when I should have "striven" instead.
Googled (58A) "Everclear", which, oddly enough, cleared up the rest of the SE for me.
Favorite clue: (45A) Contemplating stealing, maybe: "on base"! Auughh! And me a baseball fan, should have easily gotten it. BTW, my Oklahoma Sooners baseball team is now 15-0 to start the season. Hope it keeps up. Watched them Friday afternoon, going to try to attend today's game.
Second favorite clue: (1A) Closer's bane: "blown save", another baseball reference which I should also seen quickly. Oh well, it's night shift and my brain is not firing on all cylinders.
Best to all, and prayers to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami,
Burrito34
(PS: Go Sooners!)
I must have been on Mr. Wilber's wavelength tonight... all the better since Friday's puzzle whupped me good and square! Can't say I cared much for STRIVEN as an answer to "Tried hard," as it seems the wrong form of the word to me; I wanted STRIVED.
ONE AD got me, too. I wanted a Roman numeral there and fought a few obvious perps for a while until it hit me. Nice misdirection.
When I read "Turf piercer," I wanted TEE so much that it actually slowed me down while I tried to fit 3 letters into a 5-letter answer. Doh!
And C.C., I wouldn't want to look like that Banyan if I was anything—tree or otherwise!
Nice weekend, all, and prayers for those in Japan.
Hello all!
Cool exposition, C. C.!
Puzzle not so bad for a Saturday. Did cheat a bit though. Favorite answers: CAR (am rabid train fan, esp. steam) and BLEEPS. Least favorite answer--
see Dennis' previous blogs!
Freak emails seem to have disappeared (knock on my wooden head). Perhaps new version of Spam Sieve™ somehow figured in the mix.
Happy weekend!
This one slapped me around quite a bit. Can't explain all the reasons why in 20 lines or less. Lots of missteps: BANE for SINK, BOABAB for BANYAN (really wanted MANGROVE), STRIVED for STRIVEN, COCOA for TODDY, EYE for EWE, POLPOT for LONNOL, FRET for NECK, DRY for WRY, etc.
Finally got most of the kinks worked out, but I was left with no *TADA!* and knew that something was wrong with YARAT at 25D. 31A was solid with CONCERT ALBUM, so I knew the problem had to be with the A in ALCESTE (which I've never heard of). Still couldn't do it, though. Had to turn on red letter help to see my mistake.
More to say, no space. In closing, anybody else think WERETOAST is somebody who turns brown and crispy at a full moon?
It's good to be Dennis.
Good Morning C.C. et al.
Thank you for the interesting write-up, C.C. SHINGLE STYLE homes are frequently seen here in N.E., but I never knew it had it’s own architectural style. I had never heard of EVERCLEAR, either. Fortunately, the perps and WAGs filled it in.
I thought the stinkiest fill was SCTV – a TV station in Canada that has been off the air for over 25 years? C’mon, really??
ON LAND and I’M ALL OUT seem somewhat strained. “Ashore” and “we’re all out” seem more natural, IMO. And I agree with the others about “STRIVEN”. But overall, it was a nice Saturday challenge.
Barry, LOL at WERETOAST !
Have a great day, everyone!
This was a tough puzzle but at least I finished it in under an hour.
I agree that 40D should have been strived but the dictionary does have striven as the past participle of strive.
I never heard of Everclear but after listening to a few of their songs (hard rock), I know why. Not my cup of tea.
No solving this one for me without Google. Just too much esoterica. With its help, managed to complete everything but a piece of the NE, where I just could not recall that a KITE is a bird of prey related to eagles. Had the K, and had the perps all filled in but the last three letters of K, where spelling uncertainty left me unable to fill in the I in SAH_B; I've never heard of AGITA (I assume that's a stomach ailment of some sort); and as for VAL_NCE, I vaguely recall the word from my high school chemistry class, but I just couldn't remember if it was spelled differently from the window treatment.
I agree with others here: STRIVEN just seems like the wrong verb tense for the clue, but once the perp EDERVATES appeared, I knew it had to end in an N.
Fun, challenging solve, and I don't feel the least bit guilty for leaning on Google so much. I mean, really, does anyone actually walk around with all these facts in their head?
(I must admit as well to getting sidetracked for about 10 minutes reading up on the history of the Khmer Rouge -- fascinating stuff. Crossword puzzles are great learning opportunities!)
Good day folks,
This puzzle gave me a good old fashioned butt kicking. I solved the NW, thanks to "blown save" which was a gimme for me and "only child', which I was. In the SE, I had "were toast" and I knew at that point I was too.I also entered "strived". Never thought of "enervates" and did not remember "ever clear."
The NE and SW sections are barren land. Never came close to getting started in those areas. Plenty of clues to complain about, but no time.
Busy day today practicing home economics and chauffeuring. Among the highlights will be spending time at wife's hairdresser. Talk about a fish out of water! Must remember to bring my current read.
Until Monday, Ciao.
Hello Puzzlers - Had to hurry the puzzle today, so there was a lot of Googling done to get over the speed bumps. Who in the world is EVERCLEAR?
Confidently put HIDEABED in an otherwise blank SW, then took it out, then in, then...
Hand up for STRIVED.
Thanks for making everything clear, C.C.!
RE: Valence, more common called as 'valency' - atomic chemistry - is generally the no. of excess or deficit electrons in the outermost shell, to complete a 'full' or stable shell. Thus Hydrogen H has -1,Oxygen O has -2, Carbon has +4 etc. Iron, has 2 different valencies:- Ferrous +2 ( eg. FeO )and Ferric +3.( Fe2O3).
Simply put, the valency tells you - how many atoms of one element will join together with how many atoms of another element. For a STABLE compound, the net valency result has to be zero.
Linus Pauling, ex-UCLA, got his first Nobel Prize (the only one for chemistry - ) for his 'Valence Bonding' theory.
I never recovered from Blown Save. #1 across. Wanted Blown Sale as a salesman. Found today to be more difficult than most Saturday puzzles. Ended up doing on line with the red letters showing.
Hi There ~!
Thanks for the shout-out C.C., and I wanted Craftsman Style, but it didn't fit - we have some fine examples of Shingle Style in the Hamptons out here; not really my thing; too plain for me, but then again, that was the point...
Did OK with this, despite the blanks to start - as an EX-bartender, a "closer's bane" is the guy who won't go home - quite the opposite of the baseball reference - I wanted the guy to go home ~!
I had NHL for NBA - same month for finals, but "ours" are better, LOL...
Nailed VALENCE - I was an AP Chem student in high school, and almost my major in college.
This on is probably Everclear's most noted tune, Santa Monica
Splynter
Definitely an ARCANE DNF for me today. I only got a partial swath NW to SE, with so many HNIs (Had No Idea) it wasn't worth the time to persist. I also had SALE for SAVE and hadn't heard of most of the other references I missed.
Enjoy your weekend everyone.
C.C.,
I don't know how you do it!
“I thought the stinkiest fill was SCTV – a TV station in Canada that has been off the air for over 25 years? C’mon, really??”
SCTV was the very funny and popular television series which ran in the US from 1976 to 1984 and gave us such wonderful performers as the late John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis and Martin Short. It was the brainchild of the Second City-Toronto comedy troupe, which was the Canadian version of Second City, an improvisational comedy show in Chicago. The Canadian version also gave us Gilda Radner and Mike Myers, which Chicago was the home for such icons as John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray; really too may to name, but if you want to be impressed look at their list of ALUMNI . If you like comedy, SCTV is not ARCANE
Happy last day of Standard time, thanks Brad and C.C.
Hi Again ~!
From yesterday:
Frenchie, do you have a smart phone? I have the "planets" app for my iPhone 3GS, and it gives a neat "3-D" view of the night sky and the more visible objects.
Bill G - I, too, caught the ISS on Tuesday night, as it cruised past the crescent moon and faded in Orion - quite a marvel, if you ask me - I am all for continuing space exploration.
Splynter
Good Morning All, I had no idea what 1A/BLOWN S--E was. That combined with blank spots for 7D/-GITA and 8D/-ALENCE made me finish up here with C.C. answers.
I've heard the term CONCEPT ALBUM maybe once in my life and the only meaning I knew for EVERCLEAR was a high proof alcohol. The hard fought for perps helped me with those.
The only areas that didn't come too painfully were the NE and SW.
CSPAN, OLIN and NOSE JOB gave me a start in the north. In the south, ESCARGOT made me smile. It is a favorite appetizer, if it isn't overcooked. THE PIANO was a movie I remembered, even though I didn't particularly enjoy it. (Nobody needs to see a naked and tattooed Harvey Keitel more than once.)
I agree with Lemonade about SCTV. A lot of very funny people came out of their shows....and thanks for the time change reminder.
"This doesn't look good, guys!"
Amen to that.
I was thinking of my favorite concept albums: Sgt. Pepper's, The Wall, Animals, Tommy, Thick as a Brick. I wondered about how many I forgot. Apparently a lot. The list.
Although fall is my favorite time of year, the next several weeks ranks a close second. Tomato seeds are started, March Madness tournaments are in full swing, DST starts and Baseball Begins!
C.C., Very informative write-up.
For 12-D, Some facial surgeries, I put in 'elective' before J-LO got me NOSE-JOBS but the NE became an Ink Blot Test leading to a DNF.
Fave was ARCANE for 23-D, obscure.
That described how I felt about many of the clues/answers.
Couldn't remember any of the other films "Schindler's List" beat out for Best Picture.
So THE PIANO never appeared.
After (self imposed) one-hour time limit, I punted and came here to see the error(s) of my attempted solve.
Oh well, there's another chance tomorrow.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Listened to Splynter's Everclear clip - if that's one of their best works, then I don't think I'll run out and buy a CD.
Good morning C.C. and all,
Thanks so much for finishing my xwd, and clearing up those difficult sections.NE was an "I'm all out" of thoughts section. Consomme comes in a can; no simmering in this house.
I went thru the abc's to fill the V in valence and only because I knew it was a valid word.Couldn't WAG the A in Agita/blownsAve.
"We're toast" was appropriate for the ending in my case, but, as always had many learning moments.
Like Denny, I spent awhile reading about the Democratic Kampuchea in the 70's- so many deaths. At that time, I had an influx of Cambodian children, but had no idea of the horrific happenings at that time.
I finished the puzzle with a lot of red-letter help. Saturdays aren't much fun for me until I get around to reading the blog.
I just got home from my grandson's Little League game. It's a little past his frustration and maturity levels but still fun for us cheering and encouraging. I turned on the radio and there was Car Talk. That and Prairie Home Companion are sure a lot of fun to listen to in the car or on the computer.
Finished!
But the effort was enervating.
Hello, Everyone,
I've barely made a dent on the puzzle but just wanted to wish all a happy Saturday. My two granddaughters just left from an overnight stay and I'm off to a birthday party.
Have a great Saturday! 80 plus degrees today.
Since I am musically challenged, one of my side tracks was getting in touch with the banjo.Love the sound-best scne from Deliverance
Hi All ~~
I struggled with this but I enjoyed the challenge. There were many unknowns but the perps took care of most of them. I finished with no look-ups but then came here and realized from C.C.'s write-up that I had some wrong answers that had seemed OK to me. I wanted CONCERT ALBUM instead of CONCEPT, YAR AT instead of YAP AT and LONNOC instead of LONNOL. Thanks, C.C., for clearing up what I messed up!
~~ For 'pinned arrangement' I was thinking along the lines of 'corsage' before the perps gave me UPDO.
~~ I always enjoy and do well with sports clues but not so much with opera and geography.
~~ "My Cousin Vinny" is one of my all time favorite movies
~~ I own several pairs of Birkenstocks
Enjoy the weekend!
There is a banyan tree in Hawaii that covers 2/3 of an acre. "Roots in the air" are common for orchids, too...
Hello everybody. Whew, big day for us earthquakers yesterday. Just as well I walked away from Donna Levin's puzzle yesterday and went into the office. Lots to do. Horrendous what happened and is happening in Japan. More later.
Welp, two days in a row I could not finish. Actually I did get all but one little letter (the H in HRE) done yesterday, but flat out couldn't grab hold of the 4-letter entries in the SE area today, which blocked me from figuring out 44D and 45D. Just not on Mr. Wilber's wavelength, I guess, at least not in that area. Nailed LON NOL and SAHIB, though. Like Barry G I wanted BOABAB instead of BANYAN at first. "Underneath the banyan tree ... la la la ..."
Also nailed VALENCE and EVERCLEAR, the latter only because my grandson "forced" me to listen to them on his iPod when I asked him what music he likes. He also likes Linkin Park (spelling?). Not my cuppa tea either.
I like Anna Paquin too.
Didn't know it takes a lot of simmering to make CONSOMME.
Didn't like LDRS and UPDO. I see we have ACLU again. We also had SPCA a few days ago. Now all we need are AARP, YMCA, YWCA, NAACP, NASA, NOAA, OSHA, and um, um ...
Written by "Candle Lite", I found this on the internet.
Daylight Saving Time
D on't you just love it !
A n hour lost when I am already behind.
Y ou know it messes with my body and mind.
L osing sleep and track of time.
I s it really worth it ?
G oing back and forth and back again.
H ow does this really solve anything ?
T he outcome is certainly beyond me !
S etting all the clocks up an hour.
A nd then setting them all back again.
V erifying that the clock hands will move both ways
I ntelligent little feat !
N o other purpose that I can see.
G rin and bear it and suffer through it !
T ime is said to be relative.
I ntelligible only in relation to something else.
M eaning what, do you suppose ?
E ccentricity at its best ?
Hola Everyone, SOOO many missteps and unknowns for me today. I did not finish the SE corner. Everclear was unknown (as were many others today).
For some drinking cups, I tried paper, then China and conic wasn't even thought about. I had some facial surgeries in as cosmetic, so that whole NE corner was a disaster. So much erasing that the numbers disappeared on my newspaper copy. With all that said I was surprised at some of the straightforward answers that I just didn't see. E.G., Nosejob, Only Child, Blown save, for just a few.
The challenge, for me, was just to finish in any way possible!
Have a great weekend, everyone.
In 1982 my brothers and I worked on a project in the Lake Tahoe area shingling the exterior walls of 365 condos. Great union job that lasted six months. Sixty five carpenters and ten million nails. However, any type of shingle work is mind numbingly boring. Place a shingle... nail it. Place the next shingle... nail it. And there's thousands more to go! There is no fun in it and it's uncreative as hell.
Cute lil Daylight Saving Time poem, Clear Ayes. Thanks for posting it.
Speaking of shingles, we're getting a new roof on our house next week, weather permitting. S'gonna be nice.
Would Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" be a concept album?
I've never seen amendment abbreviated as Amdt either. Then again, I don't really recall seeing Leaders abbreviated as LDRS either. Except in crossword puzzles :)
I love escargots. They are like pencil erasers with garlic and butter on them. Maybe it's just the garlic and butter that I like. They never give me AGITA.
38A Also Alma Gluck, a famous opera singer.
So Jayce, are you getting a new cedar shingle roof (wood shake)? We used to have a shake roof but couldn't replace it due to newer fire regulations. So now we have a relatively new asphalt shingle roof. Rain is a little quieter on the new roof.
I think anything tastes good with garlic butter. I'm guessing snails without the garlic butter would be plain and unappetizing. Barbara likes calamari. Again, I think the main thing it has going for it is being battered and fried.
Lemonade, thanks for the scoop on SCTV. Very impressive, indeed, and I have no idea why it was a complete unknown to me. But its crossing with “Everclear” gave me fits, and made me resort to gg. So now I’ll go out in the garden and eat worms…
Good Afternoon, folks. Thank you to Brad Wilber for a swell puzzle. Thank you, C.C. for a great write-up and posting.
I bounced all over getting through this. Lots of messy write-overs, since I use ink.
Thought ONEAD was a clever answer and Clue. Took me a while to get it, though.
I had RANEE in stead of SAHIB for a while. KITE fixed that.
The SE corner stumped me. I did not know EVERCLEAR or SCTV. I had STRIVED instead of STRIVEN. Oh well. After all, tomorrow is another day.
Abejo
Today’s crossword reminded me of the bloody foreigner that I am.
NORTHWEST CROSSING was the worst:
BLOWN SAVE – deep baseball stuff; so is GM. Not a complete APE, I did get ON BASE/STEAL. AGITA – obscure made-up word; LON NOL – I followed closely the genocide of POL POT and the Khmer Rouge, but I was too late for LON NOL.
VALENCE – OK! But it’s really about atoms, not ions.
JLO ?? ALCESTE ?? TANDY?? SLOMO? – the equipment is not the arbiter – should be the person.
ETHANOL has been a major discussion topic...
....in every conference on any subject I have attended. TODDY in a CHALET? – I was expecting a French or Swiss concoction.
CLEAT – not meant to PIERCE the turf – just cause an indentation for grip. SPIKES pierce turf (on a grass running track).
TOAD – DREAMBOAT??? SOMEBODY?? EVERCLEAR??? Ever Obscure
SCTV – Ye olde AMERICANA, eh? LOA – OK, guessed. IMUS ???? NO IDEA - I Only listen to PBS. .....
......STRIVEN - happy with past participle there!!!
NC
Bill G, we're getting a composite shingle roof. It looks like wood but it's not flammable like cedar shake is. Man oh man have we learned a lot about O-Hagin vents, soffit (a good cw word), and felt underlay!
No more for today. Best wishes to you all.
Jerome, your reference to L. Tahoe reminded me that there is a small town outside of Sacramento (on the way to Tahoe) called Shingle Springs; used to be a mining camp during the Gold Rush. It was named after a horse-drawn machine capable of producing 16,000 shingles a day.Obviously, it was near a spring.
I can see where that roofing job would be boring.Most of us in CA have had our shingles replaced by a composite.
Anyone get a shingles shot yet?
CA, I agree with that poet!
JD ~~ I had never heard of a shingles shot and now in just two days I've heard it mentioned twice. You're the second ... my sister talked about it the other day. Her doctor had told her about it a few weeks ago. I have an appointment for a physical next week so I think I'll ask his advice.
LaLaLinda, if you had chicken pox as a child, the "shingles vaccine" would not likely be of any benefit, because they are caused by the same virus (varicella zoster). Once you have had chicken pox, the virus remain in your system, and can stay dormant for years. Although it is not clearly understood (I did a lot of laboratory research in this area), stresses or immune disorders may cause it to flare up as shingles.
But if you never had chicken pox, or were never immunized as a child, then you should definitely consider the vaccine.
Shingle shots run around $250 here...but if you`ve ever had them...they say it`s worth it.
I had a shingles shot last year. I was lucky, in that my insurance covered it. But I was told the opposite about vulnerability: that if you have the virus in your system, it can rise out of dormancy and hit as shingles in late adulthood. Being over 60 and having had the pox in adulthood (caught from my kids), I didn't want to take a risk.
I just went around and changed all our clocks. That gives me an extra day to find the ones I forgot to do.
NC,
I think I'm multipally handicapped on culture items, being foreign, disinterested in sport, devoid of musical knowledge, and living in a rural area with no bistros or theater, and lacking a decent memory for old TV or music for the most part.
Kazie, interesting info about the vaccine. I haven't read up on the latest research, but I'm sure the CDC will have statistics on their findings. People over 60 have weakened immune systems, so the vaccine may act as a "booster" to help fight bouts of shingles, even if you had chicken pox. Now you have my curiosity piqued...
CA, I loved the poem today. I have a lot of clocks to change, I'd better get started.
My internal clock will be off, however, as I always have trouble adjusting to the new time. It doesn't matter whether we set the clocks up or back. Anyone else?
We just received a $5.00 gift card in the mail from a local pizza franchise. Guess dinner is already planned.
Marti,
I was not suggesting penance for your lack of knowledge of the comic contribution of Second City and SCTV, merely pointing to an amazing institution which has produced so many of our sketch comedians. I love laughter and would have loved to learn where these folks all learned.
I had chicken pox in college, with both my brothers; awful. One brother had to drop out for a semester he was so sick. I had a shingles break out last year, luckily not too bad.
After my childhood experience as a guinea pig for the Salk Vaccine, i do not relish vaccines.
NC, now you know how I felt doing the puzzles from the London Times, where the clues were regional and presented as puns and anagrams. I used to do them with my mother, after my father died, and we got to where we always finisned.
Nice Cuppa- I'm so glad you had a miserable time with today's puzzle. It's payback for you guys inventing the satanic, devilish, almost impossible to do cryptics!:)
Better enjoy PBS while you can. It has become part of the neocon's evil empire.
Jerome, what's happening with PBS?
HeartRx and Kazie ~~ Thanks for your input on the shingles shot. I did have chicken pox as a child. I also recall my father getting shingles when he was in his late 60s or early 70s. I'm not sure where that leaves me but I will ask about it at my appointment next week.
Jerome:
How funny, you thought of the cryptics as well. I imagine, I could no longer do them, having forgotten the tips for adding, subtracting letters, run ons, etc.
I had to come here to complete the puzzle. I don't have the excuse Kazie has, Since I'm a born and raised Midwesterner, but I have the same difficulties she has. Also, my doctor gave me the same info Kazie had about the shingles shot. I had one last week with no reaction at all. I told the doctor I had never had chicken pox although I was exposed numerous times as a mother and teacher. He said the chances are that I did have it and just did not break out. That happens. My older sisters had it when I was six weeks old so maybe I had it then.
Dot
Anon- PBS has become a major target for many of the new members of congress. They would like to see all government funding of PBS be eliminated.
Lemonade- In the early 1920s an English chap named Edward Powys Mathers thought American style crosswords a bit dull. He created the Cryptic Crossword. He wrote them under the pen name, Torquemada (a grand inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition known for his cruelty). For those of you who have never done a cryptic, try one. You'll understand the pen name.
Whew! What a doozie! I too had to use a lot of Google to complete this lulu.
Concept album? Valence? Who knew? Not I, said the Little Red Hen.
How did we go from cedar shingles to shingles, the disease? Must be the CRS of getting older. For the uniformed or those in denial, CRS means "Can't remember s**t!" I am the poster child for it!
In this old house of ours we have internet connected to two computers, a wireless i-pad, two blackberrys, satellite radio, cable t.v. with over 200 channels(food, news, smithsonian tv, diy, discovery ch, history ch, and on and on...), two newspaper subscriptions, several magazine subscriptions and netflix.
Who needs PBS or even has time for it? If some of the shows are too good to lose(Frontline, Charlie Rose) then I'm sure some cable channel could pay to broadcast it.
Anonymous:
With all that input coming into your purview, one would expect you to be much better informed than you appear.
Ha ha. THANK YOU Windhover! I bet my LW that you would be the first to comment. I think we better go shave now.
The bonus bet was that you would insult me personally. I don't need to explain the bonus bet payoff but.....YIPEEE!
Anon., it's a shame you have so little regard for NPR, a network that provides some high-quality alternatives to the crap one hears on most main-stream radio stations. Besides, Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion make me smile. And the cost is a very small part of the national budget. Bill Maher likened its cost to a sprig of parsley on a plate piled high with mac and cheese, fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
The local all-news radio stations have more minutes of advertising per hour than news. Then there's all the rap and hip-hop...
Anon., how can you tell the difference between being insulted and someone making thoughtful observations?
PBS is exactly that, the Public Broadcasting System. It is not owned by the super-rich, media moguls, or private corporate conglomerates. It is, in essence, ours. No major television station cares diddly about the little town I live in. There is no profit to be made here for them. But we have a local station funded by PBS. The programming is about local history, politics, current events, etc. It's actually quite good. But the important thing is is that PBS funding made it possible for citizens who are not wealthy to participate in mass media projects.
Good evening, puzzlers.
Completely missed the dance today for reasons cited above. For the most part I was on Brad Wilber's wavelength and then. . . he gave us baseball clues, the bane of my crosswording.
I wannted BLOWNSALE, too, had CONED before CONIC when CONSOMME emerged and the NE corner fell. I nailed CSPAN this time. Bit by bit and little by little I managed most of it except NBA.
I have a picture of that BUNYAN tree in an ALBUM and after doing this I need a TODDY.
Thanks for reminding me about daylight saving time. We don't have it in Arizona but people I call and e-mail do so I must be mindful of it.
Nice workout today. I hope your Saturday was wonderful.
Mom, I asked about the shingles shot because we were talking about shingles..the other kind; I wasn't having a senior moment THIS TIME.lol
So thanks for all of your input. I had chicken pox as an adult, so I will confer with my doctor if it would be a good thing.I know it is expensive, but I've heard it is a miserable and long ordeal.
Kazie, I think you do quite well with our puzzles.
Anon:
I'm pleased that I could help, but I do hope you were playing safe.
GAH and I attended a very upbeat memorial get-together this afternoon for a 64 year old friend who died a few weeks ago. There were a few tears, but her daughters assured everyone that the food and happy stories were just what she would have wanted. Sounds good to me.
We're home just in time to come down on the side of PBS.
Here's a story for you. My father died while watching "The McNeil Lehrer News Hour" on their local PBS channel. My mother, being a modest lady told us that (even though many men might have a different opinion on the way they'd like to go), she was sure her husband was happy to be intelligently informed about the latest news as he made his exit.
I'm was listening to Car Talk, and now, Prairie Home Companion on my computer while I fiddle around with setting my clocks ahead and crossword puzzles.
I found a transit of an Iridium communications satellite on the Heavens Above website. It was partly cloudy out so I wasn't sure I would be able to see it. But there it was, brighter than Jupiter or Venus for about 10 seconds as the sun reflected off its solar panels.
CA, great story about your father and PBS.
Hello, folks,
Well, I spent a lot of time on and off working on the puzzle today. I had to jump around so much and rewrite stuff and erase that I just feel as though it was a messy job. Nothing really holding it together and not very interesting, at least, to me.
Just heard "The Weavers" on Public TV. Where else could you hear them? Listened to them while reading all your comments.
I don't see a message from Husker Gary tonight! What's up? He's been a veryloyalcontributer.
I'm not sure what's going on with my pc but I think I'm ending up with way too many lines!
Oh, they're singing "Good Night, Irene" Nostalgia time, G'night!
CA, I loved that lil poem and feel just that same way! Also, about your father..lovely! My DH would have loved going that same way!
The Weavers! They were my first exposure to folk music. I loved them! I took Barbara to see them at Cornell on one of our first dates. I've got all of their albums that I know of. The early ones are classics.
Just curious - in the eyes of this blog, do democrats ever do anything wrong? It sems to me that both sides make an equal number of mistakes.
Please, no politics.
Not only that anon but liberal statements are met with encouragement and 'atta boys while conservative statements are mocked and chided.
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