Theme: Low and Behold - Part of each common phrase is replaced by a sound-alike cow related term.
27A. Farm vet's reference? : GRAZE ANATOMY. Grey's Anatomy,
51A. Milkmaid? : THE UDDER WOMAN. The other woman.
89A. Calf's folks? : MA AND PA CATTLE. Ma and Pa Kettle.
112A. Where orphans go while their adoptive moms give milk? : DOGIE DAYCARE. Doggy daycare, right?
14D. Santa's backup bovines? : SLEIGH BULLS. Sleigh bells. Hope Argyle returns to his seat tomorrow. I love when he's around.
16D. Expensive cuts? : HIGH STEAKS. High stakes.
67D. Bovine hitmen? : COWS OF DEATH. Cause of death.
73D. Easy listening in the pasture? : MOOED MUSIC. Mood music.
John sure loves nature & all its creatures. This is his third animal related theme we've encountered. Remember this delightful "Pet Food"?
27A. Farm vet's reference? : GRAZE ANATOMY. Grey's Anatomy,
51A. Milkmaid? : THE UDDER WOMAN. The other woman.
89A. Calf's folks? : MA AND PA CATTLE. Ma and Pa Kettle.
112A. Where orphans go while their adoptive moms give milk? : DOGIE DAYCARE. Doggy daycare, right?
14D. Santa's backup bovines? : SLEIGH BULLS. Sleigh bells. Hope Argyle returns to his seat tomorrow. I love when he's around.
16D. Expensive cuts? : HIGH STEAKS. High stakes.
67D. Bovine hitmen? : COWS OF DEATH. Cause of death.
73D. Easy listening in the pasture? : MOOED MUSIC. Mood music.
John sure loves nature & all its creatures. This is his third animal related theme we've encountered. Remember this delightful "Pet Food"?
Again, no cheater square, elegant looking grid. The clues are fantastic, as we always expect from John. Clechos & word associations abound. Just look at this consecutive clue pair:
84A. "The Way We __" : WERE. Loved the movie.
86A. The way we word : SYNTAX.
Across:
1. Bovine milieu : RANCH. Bonus entry.
6. Pasture units : ACRES
11. Terrible twos types : TOTS
15. Crack in a lip : CHAP
19. Fine Japanese porcelain : IMARI. No idea. See here. Noisy colors.
20. The Pemaquid Point Light is on its state quarter : MAINE. See this picture John took last Labor Day weekend. He said "Remarkably, tourists in the reflection have to walk upside down to get to the lookout".
21. Throw : HURL
22. 1953 Original Music Score Oscar-winning film : LILI. Got via crosses.
23. Alluded to : GOT AT
24. Skirt : EVADE
25. Tribe affiliated with the Missouria : OTOE. One of the most popular tribes in Xword.
26. Long look at a looker : OGLE. Fun clue.
30. Wings choice : SPICY HOT. Don't eat chicken.
32. Elite : SELECT
33. Perp chaser, with "the" : LAW
34. New York city or county : OSWEGO. Was it also named after a tribe?
36. Where the bucket slops? : STY. Tried PEN first.
37. Pueblo people : HOPIs
39. __ Brasi, "The Godfather" hatchet man : LUCA. The guy who "sleeps with the fishes".
40. Offend : HURT
42. Type : SORT
46. Casino roller : DIE
47. Berlin's "Call Me __" : MADAM
48. Procreates : BREEDS
54. Fish alternative? : CUT BAIT. So "Fish" is a verb here, right?
55. Fine fiddles : AMATIs. Always reminds me of "The Red Violin".
56. Sheet purchase : REAM
57. Email letters : AOL
58. Arcade game starter : SKEE
59. Guitar string choice : NYLON. Could also be?
60. Uni- + uni- + uni- : TRI. And 113D. Tetra- + tetra- : OCTA. Prefix for "eight".
62. Log processor : SAWMILL
65. Logical conclusion? : SUM. Cogito, ergo sum.
66. Loser's demand : RECOUNT. Election loser.
69. Ratings name : NIELSEN
71. Father of the bride's offering : ARM
74. Exactly correct : SO RIGHT
76. Pharm. receipts : RXs
77. Crier of Greek myth : NIOBE. This used to stump me.
81. B&B offering : ROOM
83. Colorless : WAN
87. Imprudent : FOOLISH
92. Nautical patron : ST ELMO. And 93A. Nautical maneuvers : TACKS. And 95A. Nautical storage : HOLD. Three in a row.
94. Avis output : OVA
96. Like heedless ears : DEAF
97. Stately trees : OAKS
98. Pang of conscience : QUALM
100. Improvise with the band : JAM. Jazzbumap might jam occasionally.
102. Jewel box : CD CASE
104. "__ House": 1970 CSNY hit : OUR
105. Like feet of no concern to a podiatrist? : IAMBIC. I don't get this clue, Clear Ayes!
110. Squad cars : CRUISERS
115. Revolutionary sewer : ROSS. And 43D. "Heavens to Betsy!" : OH MY.
116. River islets : AITs. Classical crosswordese.
118. Assertion of faith : CREDO
119. Filmmaker Welles : ORSON
120. Exude : EMIT
121. Tax evasion investigators : T-MEN
122. Jackson Hole's county : TETON. Grand Teton the big boobs.
123. Wet season events : RAINS
124. City on the Brazos : WACO. What does "Brazos" mean? Nothing bra-related I presume.
125. Rescuer, e.g. : HERO
126. AARP and NAACP : ASSNs
127. Meaning : SENSE
Down:
1. "Lethal Weapon" cop : RIGGS. Gibson's role. Got me.
2. Sardinian passion : AMORE. Love. "That's Amore".
3. Birth-related : NATAL
4. Fad : CRAZE
5. Like "CSI" procedures : HI-TECH
6. Call from the flock : AMEN
7. Supercilious : CAVALIER
8. Vaqueros' ropes : RIATAs. Or REATAs.
9. Provide with funding : ENDOW
10. Appear : SEEM
11. Small but : THO
12. Beat in an individual medley : OUTSWAM
13. Figure of speech : TROPE. Remember this stranger, Splynter?
15. Overdo the sweetness : CLOY
17. Distribute : ALLOT
18. Religious devotion : PIETY
28. Disagreeing like bookies? : AT ODDS. Does this clue amuse you?
29. "Way to go, bro!" : YOU DA MAN. Great answer.
31. Place to press a suit? : COURT. Law suit.
35. Scrutinize : SCAN
38. Graphic symbol : PIE
39. Asian teachers : LAMAs. I don't associate them with "teachers". Just monks.
41. CSA soldiers : REBs
42. Baseball's Musial : STAN. Stan the Man.
44. Down-to-earth : REAL
45. Aid for a struggling student : TUTOR. Hi Bill!
47. Curly poker : MOE. The Stooges. We've seen this clue before.
49. Godot's god : DIEU. French for God. Mon dieu!
50. Watch projection : STEM
52. Sups : DINES
53. Twist and squeeze : WRING
54. Helices : COILs
57. Green-card maker : AMEX. Not the green card for immigrants.
60. Numbers is part of it : TORAH. Not what I had in mind.
61. Trash : RUIN
63. Sent a message to, old-style : WIRED
64. "The Threepenny Opera" star : LENYA (Lotte)
68. Rapped with something flat : THWACKED. Always a crowd pleaser.
70. Climactic inning, often : NINTH
71. Barking sounds : ARFs
72. Tree anchor : ROOT
75. Hardwood trees : TEAKS
78. German aviation pioneer Lilienthal : OTTO. Well, maybe Dudley knows him. Not me.
79. Black eight, e.g. : BALL. Magic 8-Ball?
80. Struck (out) : EX'ed
82. Fr. miss : MLLE (Mademoiselle)
85. Some OR staffers : RNs (Registered Nurses)
86. Longest-serving current Supreme Court justice : SCALIA (Antonin)
88. Desktop models : iMACs
89. Serpico's biographer : MAAS (Peter). Another unknown. John might have clued it as farm calls related.
90. Covered with liberally, as a liquid : POURED ON
91. "The Barefoot Contessa" star Gardner : AVA
93. Browning gadget : TOASTER
98. Calms : QUIETS
99. City chiefs : MAYORS
100. Polo competitor : J. CREW
101. Scent : AROMA
103. Job that doesn't pay? : CRIME. But some are paid.
104. Shrek and Fiona : OGRES
106. Bluesy Carmen : McRAE. Any trouble this time, Barry G?
107. "__ Street Blues": Dixieland classic : BASIN
108. Fairway choices : IRONS. Golf clubs.
109. Burn sandalwood, say : CENSE
111. :, in analogies : IS TO
114. Family heads : DONs. Mafia.
117. Cone head? : SNO. Sno-cone.
Answer grid.
C.C.
45 comments:
Morning, all!
Cute theme. No, I still don't recall Carmen MCRAE, but this time it didn't matter thanks to the perps.
I wish the same could be said about LUCA, however. Could not remember that name, had no idea about the Berlin song "Call me MADAM" and couldn't suss out the trickiness of OUTSWAM. As a result, I ended up with a DNF in that section. I did finally get OSWEGO, though, so that should count for something...
The only other part of the puzzle that gave me grief was in the south, where I misread the clue for 116A as "River inlets" and confidently put RIA instead of AIT. I did finally put in AIT, but I did it grudgingly and came here prepared to complain about the incorrect clue. After seeing CC's write-up, however, I saw the error of my ways.
Hi There ~!
From no TROPE to two trope, in one weekend, wow~!
Great puzzle from John, the title did not give it away, but it was "MA and PA CATTLE" that fell first, and my favorite was either MOOED MUSIC or COWS OF DEATH. I think ACRES was a bonus clue, too.
I could not remember the two cops from Lethal Weapon, save for RIGGS, but I had "MEANT" for 'Alluded to', so it took a while.
AS for "Black Eight", in pool (billiards), there are 7 solid colors, 7 striped, and the 8. Usually, it's the object ball of the game, to be pocketed last; hence the name of the game, Eight-ball. Love shooting pool; I prefer this game over 9-ball.
Guitar strings can be nickel wound (steel) and bronze - originally a 'gut', I am sure - maybe even part of a COW....
Splynter
This was a fun puzzle for a Sunday morning. I finished it in slightly under an hour but with two google helps.
I really liked 12D Out swam--Beat in an individual medley (I thought musical), 51A The udder woman--Milkmaid?
This puzzle is the perfect example of the brilliance of JL and his dedication to detail and wit. Each of the theme answers are not just farm animals, but COW related, and he tells us this twice, with the title and 1 across we are in cow country.
I really enjoy the crack in the lip: CHAP, the fish or CUT BAIT clue, which is a common expression up our way; IAMBIC feet which relate to rhyme scheme not toes; and the inventive way to clue Torah are just a hint of the thoughtfulness of the cluing. Add all the signature clechos and it was another fun ride with JL, and his pictures.
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. I found this to be a difficult Sunday puzzle, but I did get quite a chuckle out of Mr. Lampkin's cattle (and other) puns.
For Wings Choice, I was thinking of airlines, so initially tried AMERICAN.
The Brazos is the longest river in Texas. No relation or reference to Bras, C.C.!
Jacel: Good to see you again. How is your son?
QOD: The nice thing about being a celebrity is that if you bore people, they think it's their fault. ~ Henry Kissinger.
BRAZOS are ARMS in Spanish
This one was just right. Very challenging for me, but doable. It took numerous leaps of faith, but in the end I guess the wavelength matched and didn't have too many erasures. Did have CITED for 23 across for a long time, which didn't help. I just knew that the first theme answer had to be GRAZE...but couldn't make myself write it with cited above it. Still, a fun puzzle and I'm always a fan of Punnishment.
Good morning C.C. and all.
Fun Sunday puzzle. Medium difficulty, much misdirection and lots of clever clueing, like others have said. Having been raised on a dairy farm, the theme was enjoyable. Especially liked THE UDDER WOMAN, THO, TORAH, and ROSS. No searches were needed. Does a MOOED MUSIC orchestra include 'cattle' drums?
Yesterday was the 69th anniversary of Midway; tomorrow we remember D-Day at Normandy.
Have a good day.
Good Morning C.C. and all,
Very clear, fresh write-up, C.C, as always; thanks. 54A fish alternative/ CUT BAIT is referring to a saying “Fish or cut bait.”; which is saying “Get on with it” or “Quit dawdling”.
John your puzzle was fun, lovely; at times, difficult . Thanks so much. I really liked the theme. Some of it was downright special: GRAZED ANATOMY. Now how in the world did you come up with that?!
I get thrilled when I see you on top. Your work is sparkling and I always feel I have a chance at acing it; even if that doesn’t always happen.
Gonna goof off with DH today.
Have a nice day everyone.
You described my impression of this puzzle so eloquently, C.C. ! I did get a real chuckle out of “Disagreeing like bookies” for AT ODDS. I got GRAZE ANATOMY right away, so I knew I was in for an UDDERly absurd ride. John never disappoints with his wit and humor.
My big hang-up was right in the middle. I had entered WRING at 53D, but took it out because I wanted Rematch at 66A . So I took out WRING, then I took out Rematch, put WRING back in, and finally figured out TORAH and RUIN. When RE – OUN – emerged, it made me THWACK the side of my head with my flat V8 can when I realized it was RECOUNT.
I hear saws buzzing all around to clean up the mess from Wednesday’s disastrous tornadoes. I guess everyone is out “processing logs”.
Good Morning, folks. Thank you John L. for a GREAT puzzle. Really enjoyed it (as opposed to yesterday's). Thank you C.C. for your wisdom and wit. IAMBIC as in Iambic Pentameter, in poetry. Poetic Metric Foot.
Caught the theme easily and it sure helped with the rest of the puzzle. Most of the bovine clues/answers jumped out. My last to get was GRAZEANATOMY. That corner (NW) had me stumped for a while. Had ENATE instead of NATAL. Had FIELD instead of RANCH. Eventually it worked out.
There is also an OSWEGO in Illinois. Remember LUCA Brasi from the movie and the book The Godfather. NIOBE/LENYA was a wag. TOASTER stumped me for a while. Was trying to think of a frying pan or some other gadget.
Have fun everyone. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Very clever, but doable, cluing and answers all the way through this puzzle. gave me a great start to this Sunday.
Hello Puzzlers - Loved the wit & whimsy of this puzzle. Got all the way through with one error, which was OUTSWIM, because I blew the verb tense.
The NW was the last to fall, but I could see that GRAZE ANATOMY was going to come of it, my favorite fill!
Morning, C.C., always good to see your style! Yes, I knew about Otto, whose pioneering and risky work paved the way for later experimenters, including the Wright Brothers. He flew machines we would recognize today as hang gliders.
the full name of the River is Los Brazos de Dios, the Arms of God
see here
Hahtool,
My son Aaron is doing much better. He finished 50% of his Chemotherapy treatments. The last set of treatment was not as bad as the first week. He has two more full weeks of Chemo, with 2 weeks in between.
As a reward, he is getting an iPad this week in the mail.
In todays news, the French Government has banned, by edict, the use of the words 'Facebook' an 'Twitter', in everyday use, and in any media.
The French have been preoccupied with the dismal and dire consequences of Anglo-Saxon word- ( and world- ) domination for the last several decades. They banned the use of the word 'email' in 2003. It is now referred to as 'Maille eau du merde'.
I wonder if there are any French crossword puzzles, and if so, would the constructor be guillotined for using English words ?
Good Morning All, as usual, John Lampkin didn't disappoint.
His punny, funny cattle roundup reminded me of my first true love, Roy Rogers and Git Along Little Dogies.
There were so many clever clue/fill. 30A)Wings choice/SPICY HOT 54A)Fish alternative?/CUT BAIT 28D)Disagreeing like bookies?/AT ODDS. Favorite? 29D)"Way to go, bro!"/YOU DA MAN
I also enjoyed the three "Nautical clechos at 92A, 93A and 95A.
Lemonade came to the rescue about poetic 105A)IAMBIC feet. An iamb is a metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. Shakespeare wrote his sonnets in iambic pentameter (ten syllables/five iambs) per line. Example to follow...
Jacel, YAY! So glad to hear that he is doing better.
Good day, all. I liked this puzzle ALLOT! You might say I 'cornered' this one by eliminating choices on across fill by getting the first letter down fill. From there the blocks filled without too much trouble. My biggest mistake was spelling NIELSEN with an 'O', which led me to Lotte instead of LENYA. Hmmmm, could it be Lotta? I reall need that 'A'. The V8 can finally came flying in and smacked (not THWACKED) me a good one.
I fell for the verb tense trap with OUTSWiM instead of SWAM, but LUCi just didn't look right so I did finally change it.
In summary, John, YOU DA MAN!! Great job!
Hi.
Loved this one.
morEl of the story is: don't blink.
I almost missed the last goal. Where is the large singer?
Take care
Wendy Cope is a British poet, who often parodies classic poetry. This is her take(off) on Shakespeare's Sonnet 55...iambic pentameter and all.
Strugnell's Sonnet IV
Not only marble, but the plastic toys
From cornflake packets will outlive this rhyme
I can't immortalize you, love - our joys
Will lie unnoticed in the vault of time.
When Mrs. Thatcher has been cast in bronze
And her administration is a page
In some O-Level text-book, when the dons
Have analysed the story of our age,
When travel firms sell tours of outer space
When aeroplanes take off without a sound
And Tulse Hill has become a trendy place
And upper Norwood's on the underground
Your beauty and my name will be forgotten -
My love is true, but all my verse is rotten
Fabulous, Mr. Lampkin!
Since it's a cow-based pun puzzle, nice to see ACRES, RANCH, RIATAS, and BREEDS in the grid. Favorite fill- FOOLISH, CAVALIER, YOU DA MAN, CUT BAIT, SYNTAX, HI-TECH, and SO RIGHT.
An LOL for all the theme entries, but my favorite was MA AND PA CATTLE. As everyone knows, their spiritual advisor is the Dalai Brahma.
Good day, C.C. and puzzle folk.
Great to see you blogging, C.C.; you do it well.
John Lampkin, what a wonderful puzzle you gave us! It was completely doable and such fun.
I loved the bovine theme especially MOOEDMUSIC and MAANDPACATTLE. GRAZE ANATOMY had me in stitches.
IMARI was a xwd staple for many years but haven't seen it lately until now.
There is so much clever fill as you noted, C.C. so it was enjoyable on many levels.
Even TETON is cattle related as in Spanish it means BIG UDDER. Teta is singular and means teat.
Jacel:
That is great news about your son. My prayers will be going his way.
I hope your Sunday is super, everyone!
BTW. The pronunciation is teh - TONE with a long O and accent on the second syllable.
38D - Why is pie the answer to graphic.
anon- I was thinking it was the symbol pi but I realized it is like a "pie chart"
You know we have made
the big time when our anons are helping each other; go blue!
go blue yourself.
sorry, wrong tense.
You know, I think I would have known this was a John Lampkin work even if I hadn't noticed his name. The puzzle had a clever theme and lots of fun clues.
Since I haven't read the other comments yet, here are a few of my responses to C.C.s remarks. You don't eat chicken? Why?
There's an old expression, "Fish or cut bait," meaning to make a choice and get started. So yes, fish is a verb.
Could 'endow' be paired up with 'Grand Tetons'?
Thanks for the shout out re. tutoring. I enjoy teaching and explaining stuff and I enjoy keeping up my relationship with students.
The eight ball in the game of pool is the black eight ball.
I like the curly poker clue (though I needed three crossing letters before I got it). Lots of other fun stuff too.
In light of 47a(and anon's comment @2:23), do you know why pubic hair is curly?
"The Way We Were" is one of my all-time favorite songs. I could play it on the classical guitar once upon a time. I liked the movie too.
As I said late last night, my daughter talked Barbara into fixing her fantastic spaghetti and meatballs today for her and her boyfriend. I'm looking forward to it along with garlic bread and an antipasto salad. The meatballs have grated lemon rind and the spaghetti sauce has sweet Italian sausage. A few of our family's favorite recipes may not make it past this generation since my daughter doesn't much enjoy cooking and my son goes overboard eating healthy. Actually, the spaghetti and meatballs recipe started with our generation. We found a recipe in an advertising leaflet. It sounded good, we made it and the rest is history.
Much of Sunday Morning seemed unusually dreary and unpleasant this morning. Oh well. Maybe the Dodgers won't disappoint.
OMG, now the Cows With Guns tune is worming through my brain!
Fabulous puzzle today! I managed to finish it, but only with a little bit of red-letter help. Love love loved the cows theme and the many clechos. GRAZEANATOMY was last to fall; dunno why I just couldn't make the conversion from Grey's to Graze.
Yes, I was amused by the clue to AT ODDS. And NIOBE still stumped me.
Did LUCA cut bait?
More later.
Because it would poke your eye out if it was straight!
Thank you C.C. for the write-up and for running my pic. Thank you all for the kind comments.
For those of you who care about such things, this puzzle started 3 years ago and since cows are heavy, it took a while to get off the ground.
Jerome came through with an alternate-- DALAI BRAHMA. The DALAI is a cousin of the the composer JOHANNES BRAHMA. You know, the guy who wrote BRAHMAS LULLABY.
Jayce, how great that you mentioned "Cows With Guns." About the time I was pitching this idea to Rich, that tune was running rampant on this blog, so it was proof that this gimmick would find a happy audience of solvers.
Credit where credit is due. THE UDDER WOMAN which we all seem to find amusing, and DOGIE DAY CARE were Rich's brainchildren.
John said: The DALAI is a cousin of the the composer JOHANNES BRAHMA. You know, the guy who wrote BRAHMAS LULLABY. .
That's amazing because Johannes Brahma is a native of Schleswig-HOLSTEIN, Germany
Thanks for stopping in John L. Great puzzle.
Comment of the day may very well go to Anon @ 2:23. Not in the best spirit, but it is funny.
On the topic of traditional cooking being passed on, I can offer some hope. I have 3 kids, living in 3 states. Around certain holidays I invariably get requests for the recipes for whatever we traditionally had. St. Pat's: Corned Beef and cabbage. Thanksgiving: My bread, gizzard and shroom dressing (as well as turkey instructions). Summer get-togethers: Chiles Rellenos. The reviews admittedly have been mixed, but there is good interest. IOW, there's hope.
Avg Joe,
If I ever do a HORSE theme, I'll think of your hilarious avatar.
HORSES ASP Arabian's neck biter?
I'm with Joe on the comment of the day. Very nice!
BTW,
I closed two joints last night. Mine was the last comment here, and we were the last people out of the bar where we were listening to music. Woulda made it three, but the cops were hanging around outside.
if by #3, you mean what I think you mean,
WH you are da man!
I'm not thirsty enough for a holstein.. I'll just have a halfstein.
Cowabunga! Cud you guys stop milking these cow jokes?
I have read that the Pemaquid lighthouse is the most photographed in the U. S. I don't know how true that is, but I have seen it's pic many times.
Maybe Mainiac knows?
Hi all,
Am still alive. Loved today's puzzle, hated yesterday's. Great work, John and CC.
Was woken up early (for me) by construction guys. Am getting solar panels put in. Supposed to be monstrous tax rebate and refund from electric company. Oh goody.
Anyone else have solar?
CA--never commented on lovely dogwood. Did not know it grew in CA!
Have a raft of doctor's appointments and a mammogram coming up. Not the way I planned to spend my waning years!
Jacel--best wishes for your son's health. The iPad is a great gift!
See y'all later!
New here - such a "punny" puzzle. It was devine bovine - IMHO :-)
Relocated from LA to MA (1hr outside Boston) & just discovered the LAT Xword in the Worcester (or as they say here "Wuss-tah") Telegram & Gazzette. U can add that to your list of newspapers.
1) Aren't u glad they shortened St. Elmo's name from the original St. Erasmus of Formaie? Try fitting that guy's name into a puzzle.
2) Originally had Roaster instead of Toaster becuz there is also a nautical maneuver called racking: to quickly glide over H2O pushed by the wind.
Thx John for a great puzzle...
Hey Snolep, welcome aboard. You'll find yourself in the company of some exceedingly brilliant Massachusetts puzzlers, if I do say so myself. And I do. :-)
Why so many cow related clues in this one? 8 on across and down! Really enjoy the LA Times crossword, especially that you don't have to register to play.
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