Theme: RIGHT AS RAIN. The theme entries start with a word that can describe a kind of SHOWER. OK - they aren't all the RAIN kind of SHOWER, or even the kind that get you wet, but I'm going to run with it. It's a great expression meaning "all is well and things are as they should be," dating back to the time when an agrarian society depended on spring and summer rains to get good crop yields. Then, all was right with the world.
17 A. 1958 Robert Mitchum drama : THUNDER ROAD The story of a Korean War vet who comes home to take over the family moonshine business. A THUNDER SHOWER is a brief rain storm with a natural light show and sound effects.
26 A. Dorm room snack : COLD PIZZA. I was a townie, not a dormie, so I never developed this awful-sounding culinary habit. A COLD SHOWER is simply a self-inflicted deluge of cold water. It is reported to have numerous health benefits. You be the judge.
40. '70s-'80s Haitian president, familiarly : BABY DOC DUVALIER. Jean-Claude was the son (hence "Bébé Doc") of the previous president, François "Papa Doc" DUVALIER. He continued the family tradition of torture, tyranny and lavish personal life-style, while his subjects languished in bone-crushing poverty. Odd, odd juxtaposition with BABY SHOWER, a joyful party where an expectant mother is SHOWERED with gifts by her friends.
52 A. Early spring shout : "APRIL FOOL." The origin of APRIL FOOLERY is lost in the mists of time, but is believed to have started with the change to the Gregorian Calendar, around 1582. News traveled slowly in those days, so some people didn't catch up with the change and didn't know the proper date. Others resisted the change. Both became the butt of practical jokes. It's believable, I guess. APRIL SHOWERS are springtime episodes of rain that bring May flowers, and kids cooped up in the house for hours.
Plus the unifier: 65 A. Bath fixtures, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, 40- and 52-Across : SHOWER HEADS. This is a device that sprays you with water (of any desired temperature.) And HEAD indicates that the beginning theme words can precede SHOWER. Pretty clever.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here. In this tidy theme we have two meteorological events, get all cleaned up, and have a party. Let's join the fun
Across
1. Frequently change positions : JOB HOP. Previous generations worked one or two jobs in a life time. Now, JOB HOPPING is the norm. Still, I was thinking about tossing and turning.
7. Jury member : PEER. The Constitution guarantees a trial with a jury of one's peers. These are people of equal standing, who should be well equipped to render a fair verdict.
11. Patty Hearst's kidnappers: Abbr. : SLA. The Symbionese Liberation Army. According to founder Donald DeFreeze, "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word 'symbiosis' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body." Sure. That explains why they engaged in bank robbing, murder and, most famously, kidnapping.
14. Frosted pastry : ECLAIR. Yum!
15. "The Raven" opener : ONCE upon a midnight dreary / As I pondered, weak and weary / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore . .
16. Faddish '90s disc : POG. I have no idea.
19. GM had one in Nov. 2010 : IPO. Initial Public Offering, an issue of new stock
20. Low digits : TOES. Of course. Cute.
21. Buddhist sect : ZEN. From Wikipedia: The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán (禪), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state". But you all knew that.
22. Roofing support : RAFTER. For some reason I needed a lot of perp help to get this.
24. __ au vin : COQ. "Rooster in wine" is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. (Garlic is an option?!?) Jeannie . . .
28. Musical with the song "Midway Chase" : BARNUM. Phineas T. I presume. Never heard of it, and there is no YouTube vid.
31. Like many eBay items : USED
32. Disco, for one : ERA. An ERA is "A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic." The disco ERA wasn't really long. It only seemed that way.
33. Photographer Adams : ANSEL. Famous for his usually panoramic black and white landscape and nature shots. Here is a gallery full.
36. Self-titled 1969 jazz album : ELLA. Can't find any songs from that album on YouTube, so you'll have to settle for Hammerstein-Kern.
44. Film lioness : ELSA. She was Born Free.
45. Sports : HAS ON. SPORT as a verb, meaning "wear." Sport we now our gay apparel.
46. Sup : EAT
47. Clothes line? : SEAM. Nice misdirection. Did you find any SEAMS in the SPORTS-wear?
50. Prepare for online publication : WEBIFY. This is an actual word, correctly used. News to me.
57. Beat the house : WIN. Casino games favor the house, e.g. the gambling establishment, without the need for cheating. It's all about probability. Gambling is a fool's game in any month, but sometimes a lucky person takes home some spare cash
58. Offshore eyesore, to some : OIL RIG. Eye of the beholder, I guess.
59. Email forwarder's intro : FYI. For Your Information.
61. Idiot : TWIT. We all know one or two.
64. Certain artery: Abbr. : RTE. Route, a transportation artery.
68. Profs' aides : TAS. Teaching Assistants.
69. __-kiri : HARA. Well, this is unpleasant. HARA kiri is another name for sepukku, a ritual suicide performed by Samurai as punishment for disgrace, or to avoid capture and abasement. Check Wikipedia if you want more detail.
70. Speedy Gonzales cry : ARRIBA. Racially insensitive, a bit DF, and catch the last three words.
71. Intractable beast : ASS.
72. Ex-Yankee Pettitte : ANDY. Where is he now?
73. Empty __ : NESTER. A parent whose children have grown and moved away.
Down
1. Rocker Joan : JETT. She loves Rock 'n' Roll.
2. Cinco y tres : OCHO. Can you add in Spanish? Arriba! 5 + 3 = 8. Numeros de Fibonacci.
3. Chesapeake Bay delicacies : BLUE CRABS. Callinectes sapidus. Beautiful swimmer that tastes good. I am not making this up.
4. "MMMBop" band : HANSON. Beats me.
5. Meteor tail? : OID. Meteoroid - and the infamous "tail" suffix clue.
6. Chief exec : PREZ. Abbrv for President.
7. Dirty fare : PORNO. Nothing I can add.
8. Ambient music pioneer : ENO. Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno. I think I get him every time.
9. Hallmark.com offerings : E-CARDS. For the sophisticated and discerning card giver.
10. Orangutan : RED APE.
11. Norwegian Elkhound, for one : SPITZ
12. "J to tha L-O!" artist : LOPEZ. "J to tha L-O!" is a remix of Jennifer Lopez's second album J-LO. I'm learning a lot of stuff that I'm not going to remember.
13. Ancient market : AGORA. Ancient Greek.
18. __ room : REC. Home to many a big screen TV.
23. Brother of Raúl : FIDEL. Somehow, I never think of FIDEL Castro as Raúl's hermano.
25. Campus hangout : QUAD. A typical campus feature is a QUADrangle. Literally, this is a building that surrounds a courtyard. More casually, an open area surrounded by four buildings, often dorms.
27. Beauts : LULUS. Slang terms for some rip-snortin' knockout who is a real doozy, or just the bee's knees.
28. Nixon confidant Rebozo : BEBE. Charles, our second Bébé of the day, was the youngest son of Cuban immigrants, who moved up from the laundromat business to banking, and somehow made a lot of money along the way.
29. Sea damaged by Soviet irrigation projects : ARAL. It's drying up and turning into a salt flat.
30. Letters below DEF : MNO. On your push-button telephone.
34. Jerk : SCHMO. From Yiddish. I didn't realize that this is an anatomical reference.
35. Author LeShan : EDA. She wrote about parent-child issues.
37. Prepare to ambush : LIE IN WAIT. Because if you tell the truth, it's hard to ambush anyone.
38. Page (through) : LEAF.
39. Pretentiously showy : ARTY
41. Arafat of the PLO : YASIR. Rumor has that when he was born, his mother sang this song.
42. Pledge : VOW
43. From the top : ANEW. Start over, so to speak.
48. Cuthbert of "24" : ELISHA. Kinda looks like Debby Harry.
49. Knitting project : AFGHAN. A blanket, wrap or shawl of colored yarn.
51. Black flies, notably : BITERS. Nasty critters.
52. Major artery : AORTA. A clecho! The AORTA is the main blood line from the left ventricle, which supplies oxygenated blood to the entire body. Crabs must not have one.
53. Deli pockets : PITAS. Flat bread pockets. Got any bread in your pocket?
54. Like May through August, in a way : R-LESS. Refers to their spelling. Traditionally these are the months when you should avoid eating oysters. Back in the day, before refrigeration, they would spoil quickly in the warm months. They also spawn in these months, making them fatty, watery, soft and less flavorful.
55. Right __ : OF WAY. This has two quite distinct legal meanings. In property law it is an easement or right to travel over another's property. In traffic law it is the priority to proceed ahead of other vehicles or pedestrians.
56. Caustic solution : LYE. Sodium hydroxide, and that's the truth.
60. Ahmadinejad's land : IRAN. No comment.
62. "__ safe and warm if ...": "California Dreamin'" lyric : I'D BE. Ah, those Mamas and Papas.
63. Winter Palace resident : TSAR. Russian Royalty.
66. Old California fort : ORD. Established in 1917, closed in 1994, for many years home to the 7th Infantry Division.
67. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr. : HRE. Charles the Great was crowne King of the Franks in 768, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800. Following his death in 814, things went into a bit of a decline.
Answer grid.
Answer grid.
Well, there you have it. A well constructed puzzle with lots of information , a bite of sea food, and a few eeewww moments for spice. Hope you enjoyed it.
Jazzbumpa
70 comments:
Morning, all!
WEBIFY? Seriously?
Never heard of THUNDER ROAD or BARNUM, but managed to get the job done with the help of perps. 40 across was a nice long gimme, once I figured out if we were talking BABY or PAPA DOC. Did not know that a Norwegian Elkhound was a type of SPITZ -- I thought those were two separate breeds.
WEBIFY???
Good morning all
I guess people are sleeping in today, and since sleep escapes me, I guess I will stop waiting for Dennis and say my piece. I found this a challenge, as I did not get a rhythm going, and did not get the theme until the very end, when it did not help. My kids had POGS which helped, and I see ELISHA CUTHBERT is on a TV series. I liked having the entire name for Baby Doc in the puzzle, and wonder what he was thinking by returning to Haiti recently. Is the chicilate on an ECLAIR a frosting or an icing? Is there a difference? May be the opnder of the day.
Cheers, I must go WEBIFY some work.
Good morning, JazzBumpa and friends. OOOH, I loved this Bill Thompson puzzle. I hope we see more of his work! Thanks for all the links, JazzB (I think). I just hope that I can get some of those images out of my mind! LOL.
I loved the crossing of Certain Artery and Major Artery = RTE and AORTA.
I was also amused by Low Digits = TOES.
I wasn't fooled by Clothing Line? = SEAM. We've been clued like that before.
The link reminded me what the POGs are.
In honor of 35-Down, here is today's QOD: When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death - ourselves. ~ Eda LeShan
Good day folks,
First puzzle I've done in a week or two because I'm up to my neck in getting stuff done around the house and yard before 7/6/11. That's the day I give up my right knee for metal. The left one was done 7 years ago so I know what to look forward to when it comes to rehab. Toughest part will be 6 weeks before I can drive. Mrs Hondo (aka AJ Foyt) will be my driver and that will be a test of marriage.
Maybe it's the time away, but today's puzzle did not impress me too much. Like webify, blue crabs, red ape! If there was a "white" fill somewhere, at least it would have been patriotic. Who needs to be reminded about Baby Doc?
Even though I wasn't happy with the cluing, the puzzle was a challenge to complete. I initially had crab cakes for 3D and that slowed me up. The P for pog & spitz was a swag. All in all, a doable grind.
CC, may Harmon RIP. He was a class person.
Good morning all. Thanks for the write-up and the links, JzB.
Barry, I looked at WEBIFY emerging and thought "you've got to be kidding me"!
I remember "Thunder Road" from my high school years, so that was easy. I don't recall ever hearing "Midway Chase", but the name of the song pointed to BARNUM as soon a few perps emerged.
I had BLUE CRAB cakes for dinner a few nights ago. DeeeLicious!
There wasn't any major slowdown on this one. Anytime I ran into a problem there were known perps to keep me moving. It was a quicker solve than most Wednesday puzzles.
i saw barnum in london in 1985 starring micheal(phaton ) crawford
Good Morning C.C., Jazz and all,
Jazz, Thanks for your write-up. I’m going back later for all that jazz. Early appt. this am.
I had to look up JETT and HANSON. Other than that , I made it through. Actually, I really enjoyed this puzzle. I had ite for the longest and pretty much knew it was wrong,; I was sooo glad to hit on OID.
The theme was nice, as was the unifier. Clean. Thanks, Bill, for this effort.
Later.
Have a nice day everyone.
It's too early for me to be doing this. Hardly awake yet!
When Speedy Gonzales first appeared it was the 1950's and no one thought about political correctness in cartoons. I just thought it was funny. Makes me cringe now.
Had some hard spots and totally blew a couple. But due to the fact that my pea brain retains all sorts of junk BEBE jumped right out for me.
WEBIFY? What the H !
I have 3 hubby free days and am going to take advantage of the time
Have a great day everyone.
How does one take advantage of a Hubby free day TF? Good luck with the knee HH, and I sympathize about having to ride with someone, as I have been doing a lot of that lately and never enjoyed the view from the passenger side.
A fun little exercise today even with WEBIFY. Theme didn’t come until reveal.
Musings
-An epic write-up! I feel smarter as I head to the course!
-Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H stunned Frank when he said he took COLD showers because of his still smoldering libido
-Yes, Jazz, SLA activities make as much sense as killing infidels in the name of a loving god today!
-Oh yeah, now I remember POGs (along with pet rocks and mood rings)
-Our family will be at Disneyworld during gay days but am pretty sure the mouse won’t let those outfits in.
-Casinos get suspicious if you start winning.
-Fidel and Baby Doc have kept their islands pockets of poverty and misery for decades
-My fallen neighbor will be a passenger for quite a while as well. Although I have heard the knee replacements are a godsend. True, Hondo?
-Where have you gone Harmon Killebrew, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you!
Really liked today's puzzle. A nice Wed. challenge. Knew most of all the names, which is a switch. I thought webify was interesting?
TreeFrog: I, too, am hubby-free this week. It is amazing how much I can get done around the house when he is gone. Of course, I also look forward to his return on Sunday.
Good morning all. Nice commentary, Jazz.
Fun solve. Had trouble getting anchored in the NW, but the NE and center fell quickly with an assist from the gimme at 40a. The theme solve wasn't needed but it helped to confirm the 'shower' fills. My whiskey tango foxtrot moment came with WEBIFY. Glad to see it's a word. I saw THUNDER ROAD when it first came out and liked it. Here is the title song. I've also heard the melody play to a Schottish beat by the Swedes and Danes) Thanks Bill for a bright fresh puzzle.
Well, I did know THUNDER ROAD, but the first time I counted letters to see if it would fit I must have missed the extra "r" because I thought it was too short, left it blank for a long time, and the north was thus the last to fall. The rest was a pick and stab for me too, lots of lacking knowledge, and of course names, lots of them.
Éclair gave trouble since I never go to pastry shops and only eat pastry I make--fruit or meat pies, and those rarely too. I had ITE for OID at first too, POG was a WAG, also BARNUM, ARRIBA, ANDY, JETT, HANSON, EDA, ELISHA and I'D BE. But no look ups, despite expecting to have to spend an hour at the g'spot when I started.
Hi gang -
Just realized we had a call out to SPITZboov in today's puzzle. I recognize the Thunder Road theme. Actually had that tune in my head for a while last night, but didn't track it down. Connects back to April Fool, too, it you listen to the words.
Here's that tasty beautiful blue swimmer. But enough crabbing.
If you click the cold shower link, you'll find the claim that, for men, they increase testosterone level and fertility. A bit contrary to expectations.
Cheers!
JzB
Jazz,
As usual, a great write up. My introduction to Joan Jett and Speedy Gonzales, the latter best left in the '50's. BTW, what WERE the last three words? I put up with it all the ay through and then couldn't decipher them.
I also failed to mention before the tremendous help in my WAGging that the perps were. Having BIG APE for RED was another hold up in the north. And I never figured out the theme connection. I think I was so relieved to get through unassisted, that I just jumped into the sudoku and forgot to think about it.
Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C. et al.
Stellar “performance” this morning Jazz! Loved all the links, especially the cold shower one. We always dove into the pond after taking saunas when I was growing up, all year round. As they showed in the link, we would chop a hole in the ice in the winter. Now that's waaaaay cool!
I had plenty wrong in this puzzle:
Baez instead of JETT; pres–PREZ; Lbo-IPO; tens-TOES; as is–USED; ite-OID. I agree with everyone on WEBIFY, and misspelled HARA as hari and BEBE as bibi.
Then for the coup de grâce: I put in “toilet seat” at 65A, because by the time I had worked my way down there I had corrected enough of my mistakes to see “THUNDER…” at 17A. I won't tell you what my brain was thinking at that point.
In spite of all of the above, I found this to be a nice challenge, and enjoyed (most of) the theme.
Happy hump day, everyone
I think I may have posted this before but it bares repeating.
Norwegian Ice Breaker.
HG,
In addition to the left knee, the right hip has been replaced. Both 100% successful. I expect the forthcoming procedure will achieve the same result.
Now if the Doc's could figure out how to replace a spine. Then I would be free of "arthuritis" & be able to tee it up with you.
@Argyle: "Bares" repeating, indeed! Gotta love that icebreaker.
I liked this puzzle today but you will NEVER convince me that WEBIFY is a word (HA! my spell-checker just flagged it!) just because some people use it. I bet some people use FORNORTWARD too, but what does that prove?
Hi all - This was not a speed run by any means, but I did get through it with only a few assists.
1A was a mystery as I kept thinking of ON/OFF as in switches.
4D total unknown, as was 16A
WEBIFY????? Really???
11D really fooled me, I had no idea an Elkhound was a Spitz...but then I am no expert on dogs.
SCHMO is another word that doesn't come up in polite conversation anymore, although it is gentler than some that do.
Kazie, you echoed my thoughts on the Speedy Gonzales cartoon...I waited through the whole thing and could not get the words at the end! What are they Jazz????
Jazz, very nice write up!! Great explanations...thanks.
Jazz; A truly "Outstanding" write-up.
OK, I bounced all-over-the-place to "get-er-done". Needed the "U" in LULUS to get DUVALIER name spelling (which seemed appropriate).
HANSON, ELISHA & POG all via the perps.
Thanks, PERPS!
PORNO crosses into COLD(shower) theme. LOL !!!
Can't get "California Dreamin'" out-of-my-head.
Time to WEBIFY my comment.
7 Down and 40 A depressing kinds of entries. Otherwise shower theme
super for the "NON"Spring we seem to get every year. Enjoyed April,spring. offshore,Chesapeake,and sea,mentioned in clues which added pizzazz to the theme.
Could someone please explain the difference between webify and webinate, other than one can fill in 6 squares and the other, 8 squares?
The last three words sound like:
"Marijuana, por favor."
Or maybe I was just high.
Cheers!
JzB
Good afternoon.
Had to do a bit of googling to get some of these. I also didn't like the red ape and blue crab part.
Cold pizza in the quad. I still have that for breakfast sometime. Tastes great.
There does seem to be some truth to the April Fools' Day relating to the change to the Gregorian calendar.
Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.
A group of unicorns is called a blessing.
Twelve or more cows are known as a "flink."
A group of frogs is called an army.
A group of rhinos is called a crash.
A group of kangaroos is called a mob.
A group of whales is called a pod.
A group of geese is called a gaggle.
A group of ravens is called a murder.
A group of officers is called a mess.
A group of larks is called an exaltation.
A group of owls is called a parliament.
Could someone please explain the difference between webify and webinate,
WEBIFY is Prepare for online publication.
WEBINATE is prepare to be consumed by a spider.
Cheers!
JzB the arachnophobic trombonist
Is a group of trombonists called a cacophony?
BLAT!
JzB the occasionally hot trombonist.
My favorite is Ana Ivanovic allways, i thing, she be no1 again, in 2012 year
Good Morning All, sure, WEBIFY was new and weird, but 1A)JOB HOP was the one that frazzled me. Maybe if I hadn't insisted on 5D)ITE instead of OID, it would have been easier.
11A)SLA, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the first couple of times I heard the word "Symbionese", I thought it was referring to a country named Symbion and maybe that was where leader Cinque was from. Ah, youth.
I don't have anything from ELLA, but for all the foot fetishists out there (you know who you are), here's Diana Krall's version of Popsicle TOES.
Jazzbumpa, great blogging. I have to go back to the "Art of Manliness" site and check out the other subjects. "Get the Perfect Haircut: How to Talk to Your Barber" looked interesting. All GAH does is cringe and yell, "Watch it! Watch it!". I don't know what that's about, I haven't scalped him yet.
It sounded like, "Marihuana para fumar" to me.(smoking marijuana)
Good morning JzB, C.C. and all,
JBumpa, what a great write up today..so many fun links..Scottish showers,and CA dreamin'!
Fort Ord is now the home of CA State Univ. at Monterey Bay, and part of the land was set aside as a nature reserve for Smith's Blue Butterfly (no blue crabs here).
Loved the puzzle, but there were many difficult spots. I still don't "get" rless.The only POG I know is the yummy passionfruit, orange and guava juice combination
Sport= "has on" took awhile to get, giving me a laugh.Cold pasta didn't work either..another laugh.
Hondo, good luck on your upcoming surgery.I'm sure Mrs Hurricane :-) will be a great chauffeur(8th grade spelling list)
JD: the months of May, June, July, and August do not contain the letter R, hence they are R-less.
JD, among the admonitions your mom may (or may not) have given you was "Don't eat oysters in the R-less months". It just happens that the only four months without an 'R' in the spelling are all in a row and are the hot summer months when, as JazzB said, the oysters would spoil in shipment.
Looks like a crossword theme in waiting- FIDEL, FLIED, FIELD, FILED, FELID (cat-like)
Solvers might throw some CLUE BARBS at BLUE CRABS
THUNDER ROAD- Great Springsteen song. Not so great- Extremely long movie title about Pearl Harbor: HUNDRED TORA
"So, son, I hear Parsegian's gained a lot of weight"
"YA, SIR, ARA FAT"
I was going to do a double anagram of SHOWERHEAD, but I thought that WE SEE HE'S HARD! OH HOW RAD! was a little too pornish.
Good afternoon everyone.
Late to the party; went out for a late and great breakfast.
Spectacular write up, Jazz. Loved the Ansel Adams gallery, found your comment on the E-cards very funny, and those of us on the west coast of Florida do find the idea of an OIL RIG an eyesore.
Hondo: maybe the last leg (knee) will go more easily. DH found that both of his went easily but that the physical therapist was trying to shove his heel up his ass.
Got most of this puzzle, but with the same problems as have been noted. And just because WEBIFY is in some dictionary doesn't make it an acceptable word. My spell check doesn't like it either.
Cheers
P.S. I had I less for 54D, which messed up APRIL FOOL.
I believe that POGs started as the tops of juice bottles in Hawaii. Since the most common juice is Pineapple/Orange/Guava, it is known as POG. The tops had decorations on them and kids began collecting them. And a fad was born.
Now this one I got the theme right away and that always helps me in the solving experience. I must admit I did have to hit the g-spot for Baby Doc Duvalier, had no idea. Elisha (Cuthbert) was a WAG as I have never seen an episode of “24”. Pog was my learning experience, when those came out I was in my late twenties/early thirties and was a bit too old to play “pog”.
Favorites today were “low digits” – toes and “clothes line” – seam.
I am with you Dr Dad on cold pizza. It is one of my favorite breakfasts on the go.
Jazzbumpa, as far as I am concerned, garlic in Coq au Vin is not an option. It’s a must!
Anyone notice that “tas” was over “ass”…I did and LMAO.
Everyone enjoy your day. It’s another beautiful one here in sunny Minnesota! I even managed to get my herbs planted last night.
Thanks Hahtool and Grumpy. Makes sense now.
@ Barnum: Do you realize that today's kids do not know what a "real" circus is? Maybe a few kids get to go when it comes to a stadium once a year. Discovered this while teaching the class about Rome's Circus Maximus yesterday. They equate circus with Cirque du Soleil.
I was 12 going on 13 in 1958, and already a speed freak (not that kind) and a non-conformist. I loved Thunder Road then and now. I've seen it 20-25 times in 50 years, and at least tolerating it was one of the few tests the Irish had to pass. (The others were a lot more fun).
I'm still pissed off that Hollywood couldn't/wouldn't let a rebel who was violating a (basically stupid) law "win" or even survive.
Sallie:
That's some wonderful imagery. Whose heel up whose ass?
Jazz...great blogging and thanks for the Pog link...no clue. O.O
Fun and really pretty easy although I agree that the BABY clue and tie-in were a bit weird.
Coq au Vin was originally a way to prepare a very old rooster well past his prime(and usefulness) and was most often prepared over a period of several days. The use of wine was to help break down and tenderize the very tough muscle tissue on such an old bird. Nowadays it is just a regular young chicken and the cooking time is substantially less.
Lemonade...I think icing is supposed to be thinner and more drizzly than frosting but the two terms seem interchangable these days.
Nothing else really stands out, but thanks for clarifying WEBIFY...would have thought it was something spiders do. :o)
Jerome -
For the win!
And here's a toast:
Wine forth!
Cheers!
JzB
Appropriately hard for a Wednesday I thought. I have heard of WEBIFY though I've never done it that I know of. Elisha Cuthbert played Jack's daughter on 24, a minor role. Do you remember her from Love Actually? She's very sexy in my opinion though her character was located in cold Minnesota.
Hi, puzzlers.
Nice work as unual, JazzB. And Bill, thanks for a nice Wednesday puzzle.
I made it with only one lookup: comet's tail. I knew 'coma', but needed only 3 letters, so I had to
"G" it. That gave me 'job hop'. I was thinking 'tossing and turning', like JazzB. Otherwise, a very doable challenge.
I'm amazed that I remembered Bebe Rebozo and Baby Doc DuValier. In fact 'Duvalier' came from perps and wags; I don't think I ever reallyknew that last name, only "Baby Doc".
Thanks for answering my questions yesterday, JD and Bill G. And you too, Don (hard)G, if you're around today, for my Sunday question about your name.
As far as I know, frosting and icing are one and the same.
I don't know anything about Pogs. Is it like Tiddlewinks? Sounds like it.
Hahtool, how true your QOD!
:o) As soon as I filled in the phrase, I remember Windhover waxing poetic over THUNDER ROAD in the past. Summer is coming, WH. Is The Chicken Bristle Film Society still in business? If they haven't shown Thunder Road yet, you might make a suggestion.
thehondohurricane, GAH has had his right knee done twice. The first time was a early version and was re-done a few years ago. Now he needs to have the left knee replaced, but he is postponing it for a while. I've tried to make him see the light (my way), but it is his knee, so my opinion runs second. I'm glad to see you are getting it over with. Best of luck.
About the SPITZ; it is a type of dog, not an individual breed. They have thick heavy coats, pointed ears and muzzles. Their tails are usually curled over the back. The Akita, Keeshhond and Pomeranian are all Spitz dogs, as is our own Charley the schipperke.
Fun puzzle for me today. And a fun write up JazzB. The names came surprisingly easy, but I wasn't real sure how Duvalier was spelled.
Learned a lot too. Learned that an Elkhound is a Spitz, that Robert Mitchum sang the theme to Thunder Road, that Speedy Gonzalez was a doper, and that a dozen or more cattle are a flink. I've lived in the Beef State most of my life and had no clue about that one. (For those of you too young or further from the midlands, Nebraska was called the Beef State before football got naming rights.)
I'm not sure I agree that a group of trombonists is a cacophony, but I'd argue at length that a group of trumpet players should be called a pride. :-)
WM,
That is what I always thought....
Whew! Interesting puzzle today! Thanks, Jazz, for the explanations and links. I, too, cannot delete the Mamas and Papas' "California Dreaming" from my head.
Pogs were the thing to collect several years back. Our youngest son even had a pog maker. We discovered that he and his friends were making the little discs from a "Victoria's Secret" catalogue! Bras and panties on discs; how clever, but the pog maker went into "time out" for awhile.
Hanson was/is a band of brothers who are talented artisits for the teeny-bop set.
Isn't the name, BeBe Rebozo, about he best one ever? It sounds really fake and goofy! Baby Doc; not so much.
I don't have many kind words for "politically correct" anything. My feeling is that people should be respectful of each other and use good taste at all times.
Hondo (another good name) good luck with the replacement surgery. Go easy on A.J Foyt when she's driving or you could be facing another replacement; that of the husband variety. I understand the A.J. connection as my father called me that too! He said that I had two speeds; stop and flat out!
Happy Wednesday to all!
It was drizzly and rainy yesterday and last night. This morning a cold front is passing over and it is very windy. No bike ride today I'm thinking. I might get blown over.
A fellow who reads my newspaper puzzle column invited me out to lunch today. Very pleasant. We talked about puzzles, politics and car headlights. Aren't you sorry you missed it? :>)
Who would have thought there is a website called icing and frosting.com? It deals specifically with that age-old question. What's the difference? The site then expands on that and tells us how to make them.
CA, thanks for the explanation on the SPITZ...I love Poms, they are the cutest little things. Trouble is they (like a lot of small dogs) BARK,YIP, YAP and generally move like ping-pong balls. Still, they are fun to pet and then let their owners take them home.
Did anyone ever come up with what Speedy Gonzales said at the end of that clip? Inquiring minds want to know. (really, I'm just looking for the dirt).
Hello everybody. JazzBumpa, thank you for a wonderfully meaty, informative, and entertaining blog. The blogs, all of them, by everybody, make the puzzles ever so much more enjoyable and meaningful.
My experiences and impressions abut the puzzle today are similar to those most of you have already written of. I didn't know what POG is; I didn't know whether it would be Papa Doc or Baby Doc until a perp; and I also felt my brain boggle a bit at WEBIFY. I thought the showerhead theme was cute; it made me smile. A few gimmes, such as COQ, OCHO, ANSEL, and FIDEL, gave me first traction, and I worked more or less from the center outward. I also got a smile from the California Dreaming clue coming the day after the mention of it yesterday. One of my faves was "Low digits."
Bill G, glad you had a pleasant time and got a chance to talk about car headlights.
My gosh, who knew Robert Mitchum could sing?
Are Debby Harry and Debbie Harry the same person? (I know Jackée Harry is not.)
Argyle, the sight of that Norwegian ice breaker made me, um, shiver!
I never knew that's what schmo means, although I did know what schmuck means. Makes sense.
"Mrs. Hurricane." Cute :)
CA:
The CBFS will convene once it is warm enough to sit outside after dark. That is normally 'now'. But today it is 54 degrees. Spring here was three days two weeks ago. On to Summer. And yes, I hope my next viewing is outdoors.
BTW, wasn't Keely Smith 'hot' (in a very strange way) in TR?
Also yes, as Chick says, there is a website for evverrrythang. I'm surprised you didn't find some of them on that search.
My first new car was a '66 GTO convertible. I once did a search on 'fast goats" (as they were known back in the day). I had to look away.
Hondo, I hope everything works out for you! I don’t have the arthritis issue but my back has been an issue since I was 30. Aleve is my wonder drug!
-Musings 2
-Those are some hot licks coming out of that trombone! Are all trombonists like that? When the link was to a “hot” trombonist, I thought…
-Barnum is erroneously credited with one of my favorite assessments of American consumers – “There’s a sucker born every minute!”
-I talked to a former student who quit a job at the Y and moved back in with his parents with NO other job hoppi ng prospects. I have read that the number of current boomerang kids is extremely high!
-Avg. Joe, as you may suspect I am from and still live in Nebraska. Where did/do you live in Huskerville?
-WH, what rebel and what law?
-Argyle, I suspect your ice breaker experienced some, uh, shrinkage ala George Costanza!
-Can I play too? Who did you have WEBIFY your page? BY WIFE!
Now that the rain seems to be over, I got an exterior/interior car wash today and a five-minute massage, all at the same place.
I always enjoy the Animal Tracks slide shows on MSNBC. This week's is especially good I thought. Animal Tracks
@Husker Gary, If I am correct on your location, I live approx 75 mi SSW of you. In Lanc Co, but with a Saline Co address. Near Blue Stem and Sprague. A farm kid by birth. A Lincoln resident for decades (just over 2). Now living sans immediate neighbors.
Avg. Joe, very cool. You are about a 12 minute drive from my daughter who lives around 40th and Yankee Hill Road! The other one is building at 96th and Pine Lake! They are close enough to us here in Fremont but far enough away as well.
What do you do in/near Sprague?
ps Joe, you can contact me offline by clicking on my blue name Husker Gary!
Husker, answering your question,
Lucas Doolin was a Korean War veteran returning to the hills of Southeast Kentucky, where his Father and neighbors scratched out a subsistence living on small hill farms and supplemented their income by making and selling "illegal" whiskey, or moonshine. Lucas' role in the enterprise was to haul the product to distributors in Knoxville.
This struggle between the federal government (ATF) "revenuers" and the moonshiners traces back to the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania in the early
1790's. I call it "stupid" because, like the current drug laws, it infringes on the right of people to self-medicate, and because the net effect of all such laws is to create criminal activity to supply a demand that can not and will not be quenched. The majority of the breakins, burglaries, and theft in our rural areas is fueled by the need to acquire drugs that would be inexpensive if legal.
But whatever one's position on that controversial issue, Thunder Road is a classic. Thanks for asking.
It's fun to catch up on the posts later in the day. I enjoy the many topics being discussed.
Lemonade-a hubby free day or three, means all the messes are mine, I can watch any creepy movie I want. Can also eat what and when I want without taking anyone else into consideration. Heck, if I want to sew all night I can.
I agree with Hahtool-it's nice but will be even nicer when he gets home!!
Sewing? Is that what they call it now?
Just kidding, hon'.
Sewing, sowing; whatever; thanks WH, your comment was clearly the icing on this days cake, but not the frosting; thanks CA.
One thing Mr. Gonzales said was, "This won`t hurt, did it?"
Hey WH, here in the Upper Midwest we try to sew, sow, and so and so. Mostly so and so when the weather stinks. I sowed the other night as my herbs are planted. So I think I sowed.
I just looked back at my post. I promise you I haven't turned into a sow. Matter of fact somehow I lost a few lbs this winter (20). Not sure why, but at my annual physical my doctor was all thumbs up. (And thankfully not in).
Good evening all. "Thunder Road" was on recently on one of the movie channels. It also starred Bob Mitchum's son, James Mitchum, who not only looked like his father but sounded like him.
James was in a number of films, including "In Harm's Way" which will probably show up around Memorial Day.
Hola Everyone, Since I had Rotate for Job Hop and then Ite for Oid I had a Thunder of a time getting the NW corner done correctly. That corner has been my downfall in the last three puzzles!
Jett saved the day and I erased everything and started over. I chuckled at Low digits/Toes. A fun fill .
I did finish without any lookups, but it took me a while. Any unknowns were filled in by the known perps. A fun puzzle after I got my mistakes fixed.
Jazz, A great writeup today. Being late to the party today, I didn't have time to go to too many of the links, but I will look at those a bit later.
I had to be out of the house at 8:00 this morning. Way too early for me. I really like the fact that I can sit and do the puzzle, if I want, over a second cup of coffee. I'm so spoiled in retirement.
Chickie, I know what you mean about being spoiled in retirement. I do enjoy the tutoring I do because I only work with students who are pleasant to be around and reasonably mature. (Of course, I couldn't pick and choose when I was teaching in the classroom.) I've got to make a few phone calls tomorrow about adjusting our car insurance and talking to our CPA about withholding tax on the compulsory distribution from my tax sheltered annuity. I hate when these obligations interfere with doing the crossword or going out to lunch. :>)
Yes Sir, that was a catchy tune...
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