Theme: No Middle Ground - The unifier (37Across) says ON and OFF can be placed in front of each of the other two-word entries. This will take some explaining.
17A. Where sea meets sand : SHORELINE. Not necessarily sand, NH has only 14 miles. Onshore: either a wind blowing towards the shore or something already on the shore. Offshore: the opposite except things offshore be much farther away. On-line and off-line are usually thought of these days as Internet connections.
25A. Behind-the-scenes worker : STAGEHAND. Workers associated with a stage, roadies are also behind the stage workers but not in one spot. Onstage and offstage are just that. On hand and offhand are not just opposites. Onhand means in one's possession, while offhand means in an informal or casual manner.
37A. Light controller—either of its first two words can precede either part of 17-, 25-, 51- and 61-Across : ON/OFF SWITCH
51A. Distract : SIDETRACK. Originally referred to trains. For the most part, onside and offside are sports-related terms. On track is keeping to a schedule and off track is more like something that isn't directly associated with the matter at hand.
61A. Sentry's job : GUARD DUTY. To many these days, Guard duty involves being shipped overseas. Being on guard will prevent you from being caught off guard. On duty and off duty are just that.
Argyle here. It seems funny to have a Jerome puzzle without puns. Well, I may have wasted too much time on the theme; I better get busy on the rest of it.
Across:
1. Poker Flat chronicler Harte : BRET, His short story, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" was first published in January 1869 in the magazine Overland Monthly
5. Syrup brand : KARO. Light corn syrup.
9. Scatter : STREW
14. Plane opening? : AERO. Aeroplane.
15. Farsi-speaking republic : IRAN. Farsi 1878, modern Persian language, the usual Iranian word for it, from Fars, Arabic name for region of Pars (no "p" in Arabic) in Iran.
16. Sports venue : ARENA
19. Like most attics : DUSTY
20. Mob enforcer : HITMAN
21. Gp. concerned with fluoride safety : ADA. American Dental Association.
23. Links elevator? : TEE. Golf.
24. Old Great Lakes natives : ERIEs
28. Christmas mo. : DEC.
29. Water temperature gauge? : TOE
31. Pro vote : YEA
32. USPS carrier's assignment : RTE.
33. Words of sympathy : "I CARE"
35. Potato cutter : RICER. Has anyone bought one since the last time we had this item.
40. Flora eaters, perhaps : FAUNA. Occasionally, it works the other way. Venus Flytrap.
42. Brief and forceful : PITHY
43. Pilot's no. : ALT. Altitude.
44. Toothed tool : SAW
47. Unused : NEW
48. Rock guitarist's aid : AMP
54. Spring time : APRIL
56. Place for a pint : BAR
57. Place for a cup : BRA. (hee, hee, hee)
58. Anatomical ring : AREOLA. (hee, hee, hee)
59. Steppes native : TATAR. Good map of the steppes
63. Carrying a lot of weight : OBESE. One of the nicer ways to say 'fat'.
64. Cold capital? : OSLO. Norway.
65. Largest continent : ASIA
66. Used hip boots : WADED
67. Feat : DEED
68. Winemaking waste : LEES. The dregs.
Down:
1. Lambasted : BASHED
2. Put to work again : REHIRE
3. Titillating : EROTIC
4. Singer with the Mel-Tones : TORMÉ. Some good info with this mellow number. Willow Road(3:01) from 1946.
5. Brick baker : KILN
6. George W.'s first press secretary : ARI. Ari Fleischer.
7. Attacked with clubs and such : RAN AT
8. In the future : ONE DAY
9. Glum : SAD
10. Liar's undoing : TRUTH
11. Fact-finding process : RESEARCH
12. Understanding between nations : ENTENTE. From French, as you might expect.
13. Method : WAY
18. It stretches from Maine to Florida : EAST COAST
22. Make better, as cheddar : AGE
25. Lord's laborer : SERF. Lord of the manor, that is.
26. Falling object's direction : EARTHWARD
27. __ Spiegel: German magazine : DER. Europe's leading news magazine.
30. Stumblebum : OAF
33. Roadside rest stop : INN
34. Clairvoyance, briefly : ESP
36. Like many a slick road : ICY
37. Passé : OUTDATED
38. Lash flash? : WINK. Good one.
39. Suffix with cord : ITE. A smokeless explosive powder consisting of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and petrolatum that has been dissolved in acetone, dried, and extruded in cords.
40. Scale fourths : FAs. JzB?
41. Fictional Arabic woodcutter : ALI BABA
45. Wall St. hedger : ARB.. Arbitrageur.
46. Ares or Mars : WAR GOD. Greek or Roman.
48. Stimulate : AROUSE
49. Uncle __: Berle nickname : MILTIE
50. Western dry lakes : PLAYAs. Pictures.
52. How to turn something into nothing? : ERASE
53. Effect's partner : CAUSE
55. Go by bike : PEDAL
58. Youngest to reach 500 HRs : A-ROD. Third baseman for the New York Yankees.
59. Auto club offering : TOW
60. What mad people see? : RED
62. Pint contents : ALE
Argyle
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - I've already got stuff going on here so I'll be back with more comments, but this was one of my favorite Tuesday-level puzzles. No, not just because of the juxtaposition of bra/areola/arouse, but because of the great cluing. Can't remember the last time I got stuck on a Tuesday puzzle, but the SW did just that. And a tough theme to pull off, regardless of the day. Great job, Jerome.
ReplyDeleteToday is Big Wind Day. On April 12, 1934, the staff of the Mount Washington Observatory recorded the highest surface wind ever measured, anywhere on earth. This big wind was officially recorded at 231 miles per hour, and wasn't quite what I was thinking of.
Did You Know?:
- Manhole covers are round because that is the only common shape that won't fall through a hole if it gets tilted sideways.
Back later.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteRunning late, so I'll be PITHY. Found the theme to be extremely bland, but the rest of the puzzle was very enjoyable. I was, of course AROUSED at the thought of seeing both BRA and AREOLA, but was disappointed to find no links in today's write-up.
Never knew hat ALI BABA was a woodsman. Good to know!
Welcome back to our world Jerome, with a wonderful puzzle. Not only do we have the wonder of ON OFF being able to precede both parts of each theme answer, but we have the incomparable master of the anagram hitting us with the intersection of ARB, BRA and BAR.
ReplyDeleteI had lots of fun with this one
Morning, Argyle and friends. Not much to say about today's puzzle. I'm with Barry with respect to today's theme and his expectations surrounding the links C.C. usually provides. A snicker will do, however.
ReplyDeleteQOD: The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ~ Bertrand Russell
Forgot to mention that today is the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. Can't really be 50 years, can it?
ReplyDeleteMorning Argyle, CC and All,
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent puzzle! I was blowing through it until the SW where I got stuck. Pub instead of Bar, I got Areola, backed up and wrote in Tit for 57A. I even thought to myself that was a bit much but plowed ahead until Perps straightened things out. I also wrote in Dee for Scale's fourths. That's why I use a pencil. Great puzzle Jerome.
Speaking of wind, temps might hit sixty today but the wind is going to howl. Its going to feel like 40. Sunny finally.
Thanks for the write-up Argyle.
Have a great day.
My favourite clues today!
ReplyDelete57 Across
Place for a cup : BRA
58 Across
Anatomical ring : AREOLA.
3 Down
Titillating : EROTIC
48 Down
Stimulate : AROUSE
playtex
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteThis is "Hell Week" for me and I wasn't sure if time would permit me to post, but after completing today's puzzle, I had to say something. Haven't read the write up or earlier posts, so if I'm redundant, I apologize.
Areola, bra, arouse, bra, erotic ...... I'll leave further comments to Dennis and Lois. S/B entertaining.
The puzzle was enjoyable, with a higher degree of difficulty then I'd expect for a Tuesday. Good job Jerome.
Lords laborer had me thinking Biblical for a while, but then the light came on. Lord of an English manor.. my aha moment of the day.
Did not like "I care" as an expression of sympathy. To me it's more of an expression of concern. Yeah, it's nitpicking, but it goes with my week.
"Talk" to you good folks soon.
Hondo
For Barry G. he was look for some links.
ReplyDelete57 Across Place for a cup BRA
Victorias Secret
58 Across
Anatomical ring : AREOLA
Jennifer Aniston
Good morning all. Good write-up, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteAh Jerome. Where else could we get the agglutination of BRA, AREOLA, AROUSE, and OSLO in the same place on a Tuesday morning?
Great little fun puzzle. with interesting theme and unifier. Basically worked it top to bottom. A little 'ASIAn' today with TATAR, IRAN, and ALIBABA. Liked Uncle MILTIE. No searches needed. Good job, Jerome
Have a good day.
I thought ALI BABA was a thief. as in Ali Baba and the forty thieves. "open Sesame"
ReplyDeleteYes, it is Ali Baba and the forty thieves but as I found out last night when I read the Wiki article, Ali Baba wasn't one of them. They were after him, trying to kill him and it took a servant girl to save his butt. You can look it up.
ReplyDeleteAli Baba article on Wikipedia. One thing, there is a long gap that you have to scroll down through to get all of the story.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, Jerome, et al, theme was more fun after completion but fun nonetheless. Fresh cluing always fun too – FAS, TEE, BRA, WINK. Lovely Tuesday offering!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I’m off to use my links elevators after this post! Spectacular weather today! My favorite way of wasting time, Hahtool!
-I’ve never seen a RICER, but at least know what it is now!
-Learned about Mel-Tones today!
-Anyone know where the Sidetrack Tap is located?
-A-ROD missed Yankee game I watched Sunday night. He either had the flu or was being fed Popcorn in a novel way again!
-Joann is pulling out her hair trying to match up all the schedules to make Easter work for all of our family. Does anyone else have this issue or do you have a set procedure?
-I think it is Big Wind Day everyday on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue
-Fore!
Hi There ~!
ReplyDeleteI liked this one for a Tuesday, and I thought EAST COAST crossing SHORELINE was good, too.
We had TOE and TOW, as well.
Plenty of clues/answers to WINK WINK at, and most has been said already.
Oh, and thanks for clarifying "SUIT" -
as a carpenter, a shirt and tie is considered a SUIT...~!
Splynter
Hi everyone -
ReplyDeleteI'm with Dennis on the 'stickiness' of today's puzzle. I enjoyed it, but got stuck in the lower middle: did not know 41, 45, 46, 50 &58D. Good thing for perp help!!
Karo syrup (the light one) is the only thing my Joe will have on his pancakes. I'll take Smucker's blackberry or Eggo (lite).
Never having read "Alibaba and the 40 Thieves" I had no idea he was a woodcutter. Again, thanks to the perps, I got it.
I sure learn a lot doing these puzzles :)
Early bike ride, back later.
Hola Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI can't get to the puzzle until later today, but I wanted to tell everyone about our newspaper's front page lead article today.
There was a big picture of Jeremy Horwitz, and Tyler Hinman and a crossword puzzle that the paper called mind-boggling and a masterpiece, among other adjectives. Will Shortz was the editor. It was published in the NY Times on Baseball's opening day.
Our paper published it today as a special puzzle for our area. Ordinarily we have only the LAT puzzle published daily.
It has to do with big league pitchers and musicians . Brian Wilson, the Giants closer has done Xwrds for most of his life and had wished that he could be a puzzle solution. In this puzzle he got his wish.
If anyone would like the puzzle I could send it to you --hard copy, as I don't have a way of sending it digitally. Just e-mail me with your address and we'll get it to you by snail mail. The answer to the puzzle will be published tomorrow.
Mike Cassidy, a Mercury-News columnist calls our Silicon Valley area a "Hot bed of crossword constructors and solvers." Interesting.
I got A ROD doing this puzzle today, it was fun and easy with a tit of challenge,
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary: You talking about the dim little place in the dark where the pinball machine never tilts, the clock is a half-hour slow, and where love never dies? Next door to the Chatterbox Cafe.
ReplyDeleteZcarguy, line of the day, hands down.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Unfortunately I haven't had time to do the puzzle. It is the morning GAH gets his hearing tested....yipee! I am so tired of having him miss things I say, or conversations with friends getting misunderstood. Am I wrong, or do men resist the idea of hearing loss more than women do?
ReplyDeleteThanks Lois for last night's comments. You're a peach! Thanks Lucina and Chickie too for the nice compliments. (Missed somebody? I'm sorry about that.) The more art I work on the more I am convinced that it ain't really much talent folks, it is just for fun.
I'll be back later post appointment and post puzzle. I don't want to miss Jerome's latest contribution.
Lake Woebegon, HG. "Where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."
Argyle- I appreciate the write-up. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I hope a constructor slips by the breakfast test and is able to clue AREOLA as "Nipple ring?"
Lemonade- I spotted right off the bat that BAR, BRA, ARB would work. Didn't really think that anyone would notice though. I thought you said your eyesight was bad. :)
I can certainly understand some solvers not caring for this theme. Hey, we've all done a kajillion 'and a word that can precede' puzzles. However, I thought I could at least crank it up a notch or two. This puzzle does have sixteen theme phrases.
Good afternoon everyone (it is afternoon on the EAST COAST),
ReplyDeleteJerome, I thought the theme was wonderful in that it is clever and it is one of the few I was able to grok.
Got almost all of this; put in pub for BAR, and couldn't figure out 40A, so the SW corner was a mess.
Good write up, Argyle. Thank you.
I love Tuesday's puzzles. Not sure why, but always seem more enjoyable than Monday's and by Wednesday, they are sometimes a little too difficult. So Tues. is a perfect day for someone like me.
ReplyDeleteI even got Irod without blinking--wow, a sports answer. (sound of self patting self on back.)
Clear Ayes--I so related to what you say. My husband refuses to admit he has a hearing problem, and tells me I mumble. No one else thinks I mumble. Hmmm?
Thanks, Chickie for telling us about the hot bed in the S. Jose area. Did not know about that. Will have to warn my daughter.
Have a great day, all.
Oh, NO!!! I meant Arod.
ReplyDeleteGood day, puzzlers! Argyle, thank you for the detailed explanations of the theme.
ReplyDeleteJerome, very impressive theme and fun to solve.
I was confused by the clue for PLAYAS (plah-yahs) because that is Spanish for beach.
Fav clues:
lash flash, WINK
water temp. gauge, TOE (not new but still clever)
how to turn something into nothing, ERASE
links elevator, TEE
Well done, Jerome! I can't even imagine being able to construct one of these but it's fun to solve.
Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteA bit rushed at the moment, so only skimmed comments. Nice write up, Argyle.
What a fun entry from Jerome today! Very impressive themeage. Until I saw the write up, I missed that on/off works with BOTH theme words. Wow!
My only complaint is that titillating is in the wrong corner. OTOH, AROUSE is in the right place.
EAST COAST - SHORELINE is a nice cross. Would you say the purpose of a BRA is to keep the AREOLE from pointing EARTHWARD?
A scale is sung: "Do, Re, Mi, FA, sol, la, ti, do." Hence, FA as the fourth. It is consonant against the root tone (Tonic), but not against a Major chord due to the clash with the 3rd. Trust me on this.
Cheers!
JzB
I agree that the puzzle had a lot of cute clues. The toothpaste clue could also have been FDA. Flouride toothpaste is considered an over-the-counter drug and nonfluoride is considered a cosmetic! Both regulated by the FDA.
ReplyDeleteOn hearing aides, it seems that few people who need them use them. Both my Mom and my Dad didn't want to use theirs.
Just wanted to stop in and congratulate Jerome on a wonderful puzzle. I was most seriously impressed with finding words that could be broken up and combined with the ON/OFF....exceedingly clever and very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteOur paper also published the NYTimes puzzle that incorporated the use of Brian Wilson's name...both as the SF Giants player and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys...apparently the SF Brian is a huge fan of crosswords.
Appologies to Chickie...didn't mean to duplicate your info about the SJMercury and CA...you definitely have extraordinary talent and each piece you show is better than the last...as someone recently told me...just because it is fun or easy doesn't mean it isn't good.
ReplyDeleteHello.
ReplyDeleteGareth, Jerome and Dan on Sunday.
A good week. Will save the one by the two Silicon Valley boys for later.
GMA had a interview with Bob Anderson, the man behind the eagle cam, on Monday. Estimated 30 million people have watched the eagles.
Now deep into Atlas Shrugged. Staying up late at night to read.
And so it started 150 yrs ago today - Ft Sumter reduced to rubble.
Congratulations to Jerome! This may be the first puzzle ever where a constructor has accomplished this. It might sound easy, using ON and OFF, but I am sure it was quite a challenge. The unifier, ON-OFF SWITCH describes the theme nicely, and I wonder if Jerome clued it in some fashion to suggest the theme. Very smooth fill, and some really genius clues in there, like "Cold capital?" for OSLO, and "Lash flash?" for WINK. This guy works hard even on the short ones. Thanks, Jerome!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle Jerome, but I certainly wouldn’t have gotten the theme had I not gotten the unifier. Even then, I didn’t realize on/off worked on both parts of the words until I read Argyle’s blog. Great job Argyle! I had a little bit of a stumble when I typed in “pic” for a rock guitarist’s aid instead of “amp”, but the perps straightened that one out. I also didn’t know Bret Harte, tatar, and Fa’s. I loved seeing “stumblebum” – great word! Favorites today were “links elevator” – tee; “lash flash” – wink and “water temperature gauge” – toe.
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me that Jerome might have been thinking of our little DF corner with answers like
arouse, erotic, wink, bra and areola :)
Good Day C.C., Argyle and all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for neat explanations, Argyle. This one really made you work- great job!
Jerome, I’ve been wondering when we’d see another. This was such a pleasure , with the unfolding theme. It was supremely executed- quite a feat. Then, your little bon mots for the fellas, which we all know and your anagram signature- icing on the cake. You out did yourself. Thanks. I think of your mother singing and playing at the piano., and how proud she would be. We moms are that way.
CA, I mentioned how much I loved your pastel and the sentiment of your mother’s ashes. You are so talented and witty, It tickled me that you knew Lake Wobegon.
Chickie, how kind of you about the puzzle. Where on line will the solution be tomorrow?
Yesterday, it was the TV man {HG}, today, it’s the phone man- hear the dogs barking. Back Later.
Have a nice day everyone.
Very interesting about PLAYAS meaning a dry lake or riverbed. I researched it and learned that the name is ascribed to some Spanish settlers. In Spanish as in English, meanings change over the centuries. That is a good learning moment for me; again, thanks, Jerome.
ReplyDelete@Argyle -
ReplyDeleteSo which is one of the nicer ways to say 'fat'...?
1) You sure are OBESE.
2) You sure are carrying a lot of weight.
Ouch, either way.
Good morning Argyle, CC, et al., Excellent fun puzzle! Really well done and enjoyable. Thank you, Jerome! So fun!
ReplyDeleteLOL’d at the ouset w/1A ‘Poker flat’….??? Pok’er Flat?!!Need to get to know her! Leave that to the AROUSED HIT MAN as he fumbles for the ON OFF SWITCH on the hot number named APRIL with A-ROD, DUSTY from lack of use and already breaking records for personal ALT. As EROTIC as it may seem, his buddy the STAGE HAND is gently rubbing and hand painting her AREOLAe onto her BRA. Now that's EROTIC!! The SAD TRUTH is that the men are mechanics and APRIL is a hot car, not AGEd or OUTDATED, but needs to be TOWed beCAUSE somebody really did POK'ER FLAT. Those guys just wish they were PLAYAS….maybe ONE DAY. She’a hot one – just needs to be pumped by a strong hose (air hose) and to put the PEDAL to the metal! She'll blow all of them away...esp A-ROD! What a tribute on this Big Wind Day. Reminds me of Dennis naked in his front yard checking for Wind erection...I mean DIrection. What a vision!
Enjoy your day.
Thanks, Jerome! Your clever doubling-back with double on-off (quadrupling?) is one of my very favorites!! Truly delightful to complete. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers - Smooth fill 'er up today. Had no idea what an ARB was until reading the writeup - thanks Argyle!
ReplyDeleteMount Washington is a seriously windy place. The old meteorological station stands on a normal foundation, but as a necessary reinforcement, there are heavy chains over its roof affixed to stout anchors in the stone. The record breaking wind measurement of 231 MPH may not have been the highest that day, but that's what was measured just before the anemometer blew away.
Visitors to the mountaintop are treated to a very funny short movie called "Breakfast of Champions" in which scientists with a sense of humor act out the roles of waiter and diner, outdoors, in a steady gale. A classic!
Creature:
ReplyDeleteIceman tomorrow, milkman Thursday? ;-)
Good afternoon, folks. Really enjoyed this puzzle, Jerome. Nice job. Great write-up Argyle and posting, C.C. I love it!
ReplyDeleteGot through this pretty easily. Got ERIES with no trouble at all. I am from Erie and we all learned of the ERIEZ indians from day one. I believe it is spelled either way, with the Z or S at the end.
Missed on DUSTY for attics at first. I put EMPTY. Maybe I should check mine, as it probably is DUSTY.
Remember Uncle MILTIE quite well from early TV. He was one of the pioneers.
Thought Flora easters/FAUNA was good. Easy, but clever.
I did not even look at the theme today until I read Argyle's post. I zipped through the puzzle, got off the bus, and went to work. No extra time to peruse. See you tomorrow. Or, "farda, mebenom ey"
(farsi for see you tomorrow)
Abejo
Carol, I was interested to hear of your family's syrup preferences. For me, it's pure maple syrup. It used to be Log Cabin and Vermont Maid were blends of mostly sugar syrup and a smaller amount of maple syrup for flavor. But they phased out the maple syrup over time to increase profits I guess. So now I just buy the pure stuff at the market. I even took a small bottle of it along (in my wife's purse) the last time we went out for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteBill G:
ReplyDeleteYou remind me of my mother except she took hot salsa. We pretended to be embarrassed but then gladly partook of it.
Hello everybody. Very fun puzzle today, for which I give my thanks. Most of what I would say about it has been said. I fell into the trap (if indeed it was intended as a trap) of pencilling in CASH for 64A, as in "cold cash." It was a fun trap to fall into, though. Wanted DETENTE instead of ENTENTE, which may also have been Jerome's intent. Oh, and of course I went and entered PUB as a place for a pint. For some reason, an expression I learned as a kid, "Scratch a Russian and find a Tatar," made 59A easier. Now Borodin's "Steppes of Central Asia" is undulating through my mind. Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise!
ReplyDeleteBill G. - I'm with you on the syrup. We only use maple syrup on pancakes, crepes, or waffles. BH likes her blueberries, though.
ReplyDeleteHi Chickie. Yes, I saw that front page article in the SJ paper today, too. Of course I had to try my hand at solving it. Without the columnist's having given away the answers, though, I might not have been able to solve it, because of so many sports references. For some reason I thought the LA Times puzzle today was cleverer and more fun. After I finished that NYT puzzle, which was hailed as a "masterpiece," all I could think of was, "Well, hoo-kay, I trust Brian Wilson got a kick out of it."
ReplyDeleteAnon, The idiom carry a lot of weight means to have considerable influence so I would prefer to be called that.
ReplyDeleteI, also, have been known to carry some REAL maple syrup with me. You have to keep adding and adding the fake stuff to get through a stack of pancakes. But with the real deal, you use less and flavor will stay with it. There are those that don't like the stronger flavor.
Reminds me of my EX, she loved fried clams from Stouffer's so when we went to the coast, we ordered up two big plates of real fried clams. I had to eat both of them!
Argyle, them fried clams, especially TWO plates of 'em, would prolly give me lots of (extra) weight, too! I'm with you real maple syrup folks; we had WAY too much of that corn syrup stuff ("high fructose" or not) as kids.
ReplyDeleteJazzB, I trust ya on that :)
Clear Ayes, you painted that? Wow!
Steppes, imperfectly played by Hungarians.
ReplyDeleteWe did this a year or two ago.
Cheers!
JzB an imperfect Hungarian
I'm guessing I know Mainiac's position on real maple syrup. :>)
ReplyDeleteDennis noted that manhole covers are round so they won't fall through the hole. Along those same lines, have you ever noticed the shape of the nuts on fire hydrants? They're kind of an unusual shape. What shape are they and why?
Good afternoon, bloggers,
ReplyDeleteThanks Jerome and Argyle for a pleasant workout this a.m. Very, very clever puzzle, IMHO. Jerome, your clues were fantastic. Links elevator, lash flash(I kept thinking Lash LaRue from last week). I had 'win_' for ages. Didn't know 'arb' but I really was impressed by those anagrams, bar, bra, arb! Too clever!
Annette, thanks much for the recipe! Nice little shoutout to my adopted home town, too. Forbes Mag
calls Stockton the United States 'most miserable town'! I won't comment on that, since I'm really an outsider. Where I live it's like a different town, anyway. And where else would you find and Asparagus Festival?
Jerome, I too love anagrams and try not to miss any of your tricks. I cannot see well, legally blind, not black blind, so eventually I get it all.
ReplyDeleteDon G., another classy move to compliment a fellow artist.
Musings 2
ReplyDelete-Yup, the Sidetrack Tap is in Lake Wobegone. I was raised in such a place playing pool in the smoky environs amid men drinking way too much beer in daylight hours.
-I too am reluctant about getting a hearing aid. My worst problem is picking out conversation in a crowd. Vanity, thy name is man!
-Jazz, I believe a perfect fourth is the first two notes of the Wedding March. Here Comes…Right?
-A shot I dropped into the lake on #9 kept me from breaking 40 on the front 9. Oh well, I’ve the rest of the summer.
-I’ll play tomorrow and then there is rain and a chance of snow by Friday.
-Huskers have sold 80,000 tickets for the spring game in Lincoln. Talk about football crazy! Big 10, here we come!
Hi.
ReplyDeleteAnother pulled pork sandwich, piled high and two pierogies on top
a la PNC Park for dinner. Will also
have some of my macaroni salad.
Wish the play-offs were over. The beard is getting itchy.
Beautiful day if you stay out of the wind.
Jury Duty coming up soon.
Finished the pitcher's and singer's
puzzle. The Merc did give away too much.
Take care
Lucina: from my very, very limited knowledge of Spanish, and my travels to Mexico, I thought PLAYAs meant beaches.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else try Vegan for Flora eater?
BillG, the nuts on fire hydrants are pentagonal, so as to provide a measure of tamper resistance.
ReplyDeleteSurprised no one put together Bret Hart(e)and'hitman'.Bret the Hitman Hart was one of my favorite pro rasslers back in the day.
ReplyDeleteLucina, I was a little confused about 'playas' but it worked so I left it. Maybe those expanses of sand made the settlers think of beaches.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, Karo was used strictly for cooking. Log Cabin was a real treat for us during the depression because my mom used to make syrup with sugar, water, and Mapleine, and I'm sure it was much cheaper. I still used her method when my girls were little and we all liked it. I just today finished a bottle of Log Cabin and I have a small bottle of real maple syrup that was given to me a while ago. I have never developed a taste for it, though. A little too sweet. I'll probably give it away next Christmas.
Clearayes, I think women are much less resistant to all things about aging than men. My husband insisted he could hear just fine until I went to get my own hearing aids. Then he went for some. I don't understand people who get them and then won't wear them. If they bother you, you can get them adjusted. They're too expensive to have lying around on the bathroom counter.
ReplyDeleteAlso, look at some of the geezers driving around in sports cars! Peter Pans!
Lois...outstanding comments, as usual :) :) !!!
ReplyDeleteBill G: We both have tried pure maple syrup but did not like it as well as our favorites. Perhaps it's because we did not have those choices as children (when a lot of our preferences are formed).
CA: love your new painting! WM is right, you are having fun, but you are also talented, keep going, we love what you do.
Creature, I'll wait until the answer to the NY Times puzzle is published in our paper tomorrow. It won't be on-line as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteI'll copy the answer to the puzzle and send it along with the puzzle itself. That is if you promise not to peek until you have tried to finish on your own.
Jayce says it was a rather hard one because of the many sports clues.
I did do the puzzle today and don't have much to add to what others have already contributed.
I did enjoy the theme once I had the unifier in. I thought it was really clever. Thanks Argyle for your writeup and to Jerome for an enjoyable solve.
Dodo - I've heard that from a lot of people, that pure maple syrup is too sweet. It certainly can be, and that's why so many of us in maple country avoid the "highest" grades, and opt for B Grade or similar. They're generally less sweet and have more flavor. Grading is done by color at the time of canning; it's an inexact business but it's better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh, forgot to mention hearing aids and husbands :) The two do not mix!!!
ReplyDeleteMen are in denial all the way, BUT they can tell everyone "what? I am hard of hearing". If, after that, they don't DO SOMETHING about it, I quit speaking louder. One more thing on that subject, my Mom said her hearing aids just made EVERYTHING sound louder..she still couldn't hear people talking. I know they have better ones now, but I still hear that complaint. Thankfully I don't need them. I even use ear plugs when using my hair dryer just to save the very good quality I have.
Congrats to Jerome for a truly stunning idea, well executed. This should put a cap for good on the "word-that-can-follow" gimmick. How could anyone possibly top this? On a Tuesday no less. Wow!
ReplyDeleteTo EddyB: I read "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand several years ago. Great book. Great message. (a little wordy, however) It took her 10 years to write the book. I saw her name in crosswords for years. Always thought the author was a man until I got the book. If I remember right, she was born in Russia.
ReplyDeleteAbejo
Thanks, Jerome, for a fun Tuesday puzzle. My contribution to the syrup discussion: We buy Grade B maple syrup in the organic section. It seems to have more flavor, less sweetness. It only takes a bit for pancakes/waffles, wonderful brushed on ham; drizzled on sweet potatoes, oatmeal, ice cream, baked in quick breads, etc.
ReplyDeleteJerome, a very admirable puzzle! As so many have already said, you had some great new clues, although I did finish feeling like I needed a cold shower... :) The theme was truly awesome! I can just imagine how much work went into coming up with those entries that fit all the criteria so well.
ReplyDeleteMy father could never understand why none of us cared for the pure maple syrup he enjoyed so much, but I'm sure he was glad to have it all for himself!
I've heard that hearing aids can also help people cope with tinnitus, but haven't met anybody who's experienced it first hand yet.
Hahtool and Dodo:
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you and it's news to me that it is both an English word as well as a Spanish word. There are many words that straddle both languages such as lasso, tornado, etc. but didn't know PLAYAS did as well.
I read that it was the similarity to sand on the beaches that gave it the name.
It is late and all the comments have been taken. I'll just go with all the complimentary ones!
ReplyDeleteJerome, I thought the theme was really clever. How you and the rest of the constructors come up with these ideas is beyond me. I am totally amazed every time I see something like "ON/OFF" jump out at me....really neat!
Thanks to creature, Carol, Jayce and WM for the nice comments. You are all so encouraging and I really appreciate it.
GAH had his hearing test today. No surprise that he has quite a bit of hearing loss, particularly in his right ear. That's what comes of motorcycles, jet boats and super loud rock and roll over the past half century. He seems to have accepted the idea of the cute little behind the ear Star Trek-ish aids that he will be getting in a couple of weeks. Can't hardly see them at all. I'll keep you posted on how he adapts.