Theme: Swee' Pea. The four theme entries all have the word "pea" split between two words in the phrases. A clever, fun theme from our Dynamic Duo, even if you don't like split pea soup.
17A.Ali ring trademark : ROPE-A-DOPE. Made famous in the '74 Foreman match, where Ali laid against the ropes and let Foreman hit him, until Foreman tired and Ali struck the deciding blow.
17A.Ali ring trademark : ROPE-A-DOPE. Made famous in the '74 Foreman match, where Ali laid against the ropes and let Foreman hit him, until Foreman tired and Ali struck the deciding blow.
23A. Epcot's "giant golf ball" : SPACESHIP EARTH. I think I would have to use at least a 1-wood on that...
37A. Painter of outdoors scenes : LANDSCAPE ARTIST. Like Clear Ayes!
50A. Rolling over, so to speak : GIVING UP EASILY. I wasn't going to roll over and let this puzzle beat me, no sir!
And the unifier:
62A. Soup ingredients, and a hint to the hidden theme in 17-, 23-, 37- and 50-Across : SPLIT PEAS
Marti here, trying to fill in, but really, honestly, who could ever fill Santa's shoes? Let's hope his computer is out of sick bay soon! But I am so happy to have the chance to blog another one of Don and C.C.'s puzzles!
So here's the scoop on all the rest:
Across:
1. Ivan the Terrible, e.g. : TSAR. Ivan IV Vasilyevich. Intelligent, devout, but given to rages and irrational fits of temper. His contemporaries called him Ivan Groznyi (Ivan "Redoubtable" or "Severe"), which means more in lines of might and power, rather than terror or cruelty.
5. Deadly snakes : ASPS. In Egypt, the asp was a symbol of royalty, often shown in hieroglyphs on kings' tombs.
9. Simple hoops shot : LAYUP. Sure, simple for Michael Jordan. For me, at 5'4", not so easy.
14. Restrictive membership word : ONLY. "Members only". Also, a brand of clothing.
15. Digital water testers? : TOES. I loved this clue. Do you stick a toe in the water to test how cold it is, or do you dive right in?
16. Make laugh : AMUSE. I am easy to amuse...
19. Alumnae, e.g. : WOMEN. Not girls!
20. La la lead-in : OOH
21. Conestoga-made grooves : RUTS. Conestoga wagons were used by pioneers traveling west. And they made lots of ruts.
22. Church-owned Dallas sch. : SMU . Southern Methodist University.
28. Victoria in Africa : LAKE. Not this one.
29. Comics scream : EEK
30. Easter basket delivery gait? : HOP. Like a bunny. Cute imagery.
32. Miracle Mets' stadium : SHEA. OK, it's C.C., so I know we're going to have baseball involved in the clues/answers. The 1969 World Series was between the NY Mets and the Baltimore Orioles with the winning game at Shea Stadium.
35. Eyelid annoyance : STYE
36. Stat for Cliff Lee : ERA. Earned Run Average. Cliff Lee is a Major League baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. The stat is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. (You should know that I know nothing about baseball!!)
42. Coffee hour vessel : URN. Boy, I could use an urn of coffee right about now...
43. It was often worn over a tunic : TOGA. Who knew? I thought they were only worn at frat parties...
44. Rocks to refine : ORES
45. Academic address letters : EDU
46. Carnival resort : RIO. de Janeiro. This looks like fun!
47. Battling group : ARMY
56. Fingers for the D.A. : IDS. Identifies, as a perp.
57. Opposite of pre- : POST
58. Subside, with "down" : DIE . Or "dah", as my southern DH would say...And a nice clecho with 59. Subside : ABATE.
64. Des Moines resident : IOWAN
65. Slithery fish : EELS. Ah, got me. "Fish" is plural here.
66. "Heck!" : DARN. Drat, dang, damn...
67. Lived : DWELT. Past participle of dwell, or simple past tense. Also, "dwelled".
68. Home run jog : TROT. More baseball !
69. To boot : ALSO .
We have to do the downs, to boot!
Down:
1. Bulls in Argentina : TOROS. My lawnmower is a real bull when it comes to getting the yard done!
2. Poke around : SNOOP.
3. Pack leader : ALPHA. OK, I just can't resist this one.
4. Corned beef bread : RYE . With a side of slaw, please.
5. Just after sunset : AT DUSK
6. Relieve : SOOTHE
7. "For those who think young" soft drink : PEPSI
8. Duluth-to-Dubuque dir. : SSE
9. Member of Congress, say : LAWMAKER
10. Love in Lille : AMOUR. Splynter, aren't you glad you're not on today?
11. "Tasty" : YUM. (I'm still thinking about that corned beef on rye...with a side of slaw.)
12. Exploit : USE. I was thinking of feat . But this is a different USE of the word USE.
13. Con's home : PEN. Short for penitentiary.
18. Vicinity : AREA
22. "Gotta run!" : SEE YA. (Not yet...I have to finish the downs.)
24. Dressed : CLAD
25. Red Rose : PETE. Sheez, more baseball. This is like a foreign language to me, but I am learning! Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds was nicknamed "Charlie Hustle". His gambling on baseball got him into heaps of trouble
26. "A League of __ Own" : THEIR. Aww, c'mon C.C., you're killing me here with the baseball! (Just kidding: this was actually a wonderful movie about sisters who are professional baseball players during WWII.)
27. Silver in old Westerns : HORSE. Whew, back to something I know about. The Lone Ranger's horse. Hi-Yo Silver, awaaaaay!
31. Loving strokes : PATS . Or, the New England football team.
32. Swing around : SLUE. We had this discussion a while ago, no?
33. Game start? : HARD G. The word "game" begins with a hard consonant. I have a feeling it was C.C. who came up with this entry...
34. Listless feeling : ENNUI
35. Hot tub : SPA
38. Grating : STRIDENT. All I can think of is Edith's voice in "All in the Family".
39. Nickel and dime : COINS. Great clue.
40. Wide-eyed : AGOG. From the old French "en gogues" meaning in jest, good humor or joyfulness.
41. Kids' stuff : TOYS. r Us
47. 17-mission NASA program : APOLLO. Did not know they had 17, but knew that Apollo went to at least 13. So I wagged this one.
48. Fight back : RESIST
49. Damon of "Invictus" : MATT. He is becoming the Pola Negri of modern crosswords, no?
51. Indispensable : VITAL
52. Berth place : UPPER. Clever play on "birth place". The UPPER berth is the one you have to use the little ladder for on the overnight train. But it's not so bad, even if you have to share with someone.
53. Perfect : IDEAL
54. Some storytellers : LIARS. No, really??
55. Like some limited-choice questions : YES/NO
59. Help : AID
60. Gift decoration : BOW. I always have trouble tying those things. Thank goodness for the ready-made ones at Hallmark!
61. Blow away : AWE
62. Tennis unit : SET
63. iPhone, e.g. : PDA. Personal digital assistant. It kinda makes me feel important, when you put it like that...
Answer grid.
Answer grid.
Say Good Night, Marti.
Note from C.C. & Don:
Preparing Split Pea soup inspired this theme. We originally had HELP EACH OTHER instead of GIVING UP EASILY as 4th theme entry. Rich pointed out the differences between "in the language" and "Ordinary language" phrases and explained how former made for a strong theme entry. The theme idea seemed easy on the surface, but when it came time to matching up phrase lengths, etc., this was a challenging theme to put together. Which is your favorite fill? Mine is 33D of course.
Preparing Split Pea soup inspired this theme. We originally had HELP EACH OTHER instead of GIVING UP EASILY as 4th theme entry. Rich pointed out the differences between "in the language" and "Ordinary language" phrases and explained how former made for a strong theme entry. The theme idea seemed easy on the surface, but when it came time to matching up phrase lengths, etc., this was a challenging theme to put together. Which is your favorite fill? Mine is 33D of course.
71 comments:
Good morning, Marti, C.C. and gang - quite a fun puzzle today from our prolific constructors. The clever clues and the well-hidden theme kept it interesting all the way through in spite of the Tuesday level. Just to give you an idea of how dumb I am, once I got the unifier I went back to the first theme answer, saw that there were two 'P's split apart and couldn't figure out why there weren't two split 'P's in the remaining theme answers. Mensa called to say they'd made a terrible mistake those many years ago...
I thought 'Digital water testers' was just a great clue, and of course 'Hard G' was perfect here. 'Red Rose' was also a good one. 'Upper' berth reminded me of the AutoTrain; for us, there's no controversy over who gets the upper -- it's about 4" shorter at maybe 5'9".
Marti, great job with the write-up -- always fun to read, always informative, never egocentric. You did well in the face of all those baseball clues.
Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.
Did You Know?:
- Kinda obvious, but zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman Numerals.
- Kites were used in the Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
Don & C.C--this was a great puzzle. I started sailing with the Across answers until I got to "Rope a Dope."
I loved 15A--Digital Water Testers. My sister has to stick a toe whenever she comes to a new body of water.
Great write-up Marti. I especially liked "See Ya" but not until . . .
My family was watching Apollo 13 when I finished watching "The Bachelorette." I know its stupid but great "Escapism." So I put "Apollo" in immediately.
Marti,
Thanks for another fun & wits-filled write-up. The wonderful TOES clue is from Don. I also loved his original "Hieroglyphic wrigglers" for ASPS. Argyle's new computer has arrived. He should be back at any minute.
Hello all.
Did the same thing on 23A.
8-1! Wild 3rd period. The NHL
will be passing out fines today.
Know only too well about the
Roman 0.
I'm going to try again to get some sleep. Take care.
Good Morning, C.C., Marti and friends. Wow! you are becoming quite a regular constructor, C.C.! What a fun puzzle. I had ROPE-A-DOPE, and LANDSCAPE ARTIST filled in when I read the unifier, and at first wondered about the unifier. Then the light bulb came on! PEAS!
Like the others, my favorite clue was Digital Water Testers = TOES.
Nickel and Dime = COINS was also a fun clue, as was the RED ROSE = PETE.
(Marti, I couldn't get your TOGA link to open.)
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
QOD: There is only one thing people like that is good for them; a good night's sleep. ~ Edgar Watson Howe
Hello Puzzlers - Nice work Hearti, and when it comes to sports clues, I feel your pain!
Stormed right through the grid with all that Tuesday confidence until...I went into vapor lock at 50a / 38d. STRIDENT means grating? Did not know. Had AWED for AGOG, CIS for IDS. It looked so solid! Took way too long to suss out HARDG, should have known better.
So again we have a fine CCDG effort, with just enough pepper to keep it lively. Well done!
I am going to do my best to remember that when the clue like 33D Game? (word followed by start and a question mark), it is referring to the first letter & not the prefix. I have been tricked twice into looking for the prefix.
Marti; Wonderful write-up.
HARD-G & C.C. FUN Tuesday.
Just after sunset, AT DUSK, well my first thought was 'Scotch' and time to make some 'toasts' ...
Cheers to all later.
Good day folks,
A fun, smooth sailing Tuesday puzzle with lots of clever cluing. I never looked at the constructors names when I began, but as soon as the HardG clue became visible, I had a pretty good idea who they were.
Favorite clue was landscape artist because 'scapes are my favorite form of art. Of course the artist I'm married to doesn't share my passion. Been years since she did any kind of 'scape.
Berth place had me thinking yacht, but the across fills eventually saved me. Never noticed the Rose in Red Rose was capitalized, so it took awhile to get Pete.
'Nuff said. Supposed to see temps in the 90's today and topping off around 100 in the next day or so. This is too Damn hot for early June. If this is the trend for summer, July & August ought to be doozies.
Good Morning Marti, et al, What a lovely antidote to 100+ temps here on the Great Plains although it is going to be in the 70’s later this week! The reveal was as much fun as the puzzle, the clever cluing and the lively write-up.
Musings
-C.C. I enjoyed the HARDG too but I love SPACESHIPEARTH and was in it last Thursday!
-Many places here advertise the ruts of Conestoga’s that went through Nebraska (Midwest equivalent of Washington slept here?)
-SMU football got last “death penalty” for NCAA violations and USC and Ohio State are on the ropes now!
-I am learning the joys of ice(d) coffee this summer!
-League of Their Own and Field of Dreams both mix baseball and family which makes them very special to me!
-Apollo’s 18, 19 and 20 never launched (defunded) and their 35 story tall Saturn V rockets now reside in Houston, Huntsville and KSC.
-I made Dennis’s mistake too but Mensa does not have my address
-Is that a hippie making the peace sign or a Roman soldier ordering 5 beers?
Good morning, C.C. (Clever Constructor), Marti and the gang. I got through the puzzle easily enough, but it took some studying to figure out that the PEA was split and not a pair of P's. I'm not sure if throwing those two split PEARs into the soup is going to improve it though.
Loved the Red Rose clue as well as the digital water testers. I kept thinking of that commercial for the water filter that comes with a free digital water tester.
National Chocolate Ice Cream Day? I'll celebrate with a cone of Edy's Caramel Delight instead.
Gary, it was a punch press operator of a certain alliterative background ordering five beers.
54-down: Anthony Weinerr told a whopper of a story, but his name didn't fit.
Good Morning, folks! Boy, oh boy, oh boy! What a great Tuesday puzzle. Thank you C.C. and D.G. Thank you as well HeartRx for the great write-up.
Zipped through this quite easily. Figured out the theme after I finished it all. I knew Peas was a factor. Split Pea soup is my second favorite soup. My favorite is lentil soup. They are related.
HARD G came easily. As I recall we had a HARD C not too long ago.
25D Red Rose/PETE was clever.
I'll bet ASPS has been used more in crosswords than any other answer word. What do you think?
Lots of basseball clues/answers. Hmmmm.
Well, boys (and girls), we will catch you later.
Abejo
Hi gang -
Wonderful puzzle and a great write-up!
I like the USE-AMUSE cross.
Lots of TROTS in the Tigers game last night. I think it wound up 13-7, Tigers on top. At least 6 HR's in the game.
Didn't really suss the theme until I got here. Saw PEAR in the first two entries - but there was only a pair of PEARS . . . Missed that PEA spanned two words. Thought maybe PEA was splitting some phrase, but that didn't work.
Haven't followed the hockey finals closely. Just enough to know the league has lost control. And it's their own fault. They should have suspended Malkin a couple of years ago for his antics, and it's just been downhill from there.
My mower is a Homelite rechargeable. TORO was another $100, or so. Time to go cut the front. It's going to be 90 here today.
Cheers & SEE TA!
JzB not quite a LANDSCAPE ARTIST
Wonderful Tuesday experience, both the constructors and the write-up. Loved seeing C.C. and Don "hard G", and as usual, Marti's blog was a fun read with great links. I had no idea about all those rules concerning togas.
I had no trouble with the baseball clues since all I know I've learned from here, and the clues didn't stretch much beyond that today. PETE was my only real pause, but perps helped enough so I only had to put in one letter myself. I was thinking of the red rose as a symbol of some sort.
Folklorist,
If Anthony WEIner had pronounced his name the correct German way, he wouldn't have become obsessed with or teased about wIEners all his life. It was painful to watch his news conference yesterday.
What a fine Tuesday, with a bunch of cute fill (HARD G., how awesome, why did n't we have innoculations measure?) and a truly entertaining write up. Marti are you becoming the PERSONAL CATCHER for this duo?
Damn, I am late, ciao.
Fun puzzle CC and DG. Enjoyed it a lot. Keep them coming!!
Favorite fills were Rope-a-dope and toe.
Speaking of scapes, the garlic scapes are starting to appear. Are there any suggestions for their use? Jeannie, Garlicgal, anybody, Beuller?
Good morning everyone. Nice blogging, Marti.
A special Tuesday treat from Don and C.C. Fun to do. Not exactly a walk in the park but more like a trek through a freshly ploughed field. But it came together soon enough. Favorite clues were those for PETE and HARD G. Got the theme fills easily enough, but didn't 'get it' until completing the unifier at 62a. Didn't notice any foreign or geographic related fill, today.
SEE YA
C.C., glad to hear that our world will soon be back to normal with the return of Santa. I think the clever clues in this puzzle, especially the ones you mentioned, were what made it so enjoyable. Thanks for all the extra fun !
Hahtool sorry the link didn’t work. I just tried it and it worked for me. So either
1. C.C. waved her magic wand and repaired it
Or
b. The blog gods are out to tweak my nose again.
Abejo, I think someone asked this question before about commonly used entries. According to one source, the most common entry is ERA. ASPS is not even in the top 100, would you believe?
Lemon, (insert groan here) thanks for linking another baseball personality…
But after all the reading that I did last night, I think they are quite an interesting bunch of characters. Still, everything I ever know about bb, I learned from xwords.
Thanks for the lovely write-up, Marti. I solved the puzzle this morning, and found GIVING UP EASILY a challenging entry. I believe that entry was C.C.'s idea. It was good to place it last in the series. Dennis pointed out the two P's in the first theme answer, thank you. I had not noticed that, but it does make it more intriguing. The subconcious must have been at work on that one - the little devil in us.
Marti, it seems that there is an unwritten code among puzzle constructors to throw in as much baseball as possible. Now that you are constructing, you will have to learn more than ever about baseball.
Don G, thanks for stopping by! I'll trade you 2 golfs, a football and one tennis for a single baseball reference?
Congrats on another nice puzzle, Don & C.C.! You two are quickly becoming a crossword "power couple." I look forward to your next one.
Good Morning All, Wow, C.C. and Don G. are becoming quite a team.
First thing I wanted for 17A was THE (ALI) SHUFFLE. Didn't fit and it didn't make much sense without ALI, which was part of the clue.
I see SPACE SHIP EARTH was a gimme for Husker Gary. Not so for me, it took several perps to get me there.
Laughed at 33D)Game start?/HARD G. I kept looking for a double C to compliment it. Maybe next time.
Digital water testers/TOES. Really nice.
Thanks for the compliment, Marti. I'm more of a copyist. WM is a totally original LANDSCAPE ARTIST. (I'm not forgetting her YUMmy looking cupcakes either!)
Learning something new every day. Had to google it Avg Joe, but now I know what garlic scape is. I've never seen it in a market here.
Good Day C.C., Marti and all,
Marti, you really give it your all. Thanks. Having trouble with link, too. I’ll try it later.
C.C. and HARD G, so much fun! The ‘double play’ on 33D is ,of course, my favorite; then RED ROSE! {I still love him; tho’ sad} The old Reds fan in me comes out.
Thanks for joining forces and producing winning puzzles. Please keep it up.
Thehondohurricane, read last night’s posts and wondered what kind of art your LW does?
HG, You and I joined the corner on the same day, August 1, 2010; anniversary coming up.
So hot I may have to celebrate today’s festivities with a big ‘ol dish of chocolate ice[d] cream.
Have a nice day everyone.
Hi all - back from the beach, got the sand out of my TOES and other areas so all is well.
Fun puzzle, good job C.C. and Don! 33D (HARD G) got me...I have a red spot on my forehead from my V-8 can (that was a hard GEE!)
I love split pea soup and make it regularly. That didn't help me make sense out of the theme until I saw Marti 'split' the peas. Very clever :)
I'm no baseball fan, but even I knew who Pete Rose was, so that always helps. Cute clue!
CA: Now I have to Google garlic scape to see what it is.
Ideal Tuesday puzzle. It takes a pro's creativity to have this much themeage and no significant clunkers. I thought the NE corner was particularly fresh. If someone can do a better Tuesday, I'd like to see it. Way to go guys!
It's a bit rank, but I couldn't resist-
"Was your husband mad that you wouldn't get on SPACESHIP EARTH?"
"CRAP! HE'S APESHIT!"
Just wanted to stop in on the actual day of another terrifically enjoyable C.C. and Don (hard G) Gagliardo puzzle. I am so impressed as I slog through the puzzles just trying to answer the clues...making them up and putting them all together in a puzzle would certainly be beyond me.
Dennis, I am more than happy to join you in checking back for the extra "P"s...LOL and I do love making Split Pea Soup.
Marti...a wonderful and informative blog...thank you for the Ivan the Terrible qualification...very interesting.
Sorry if I duplicated any comments but I will read through things later. Mom is coming home from from the post surgery nursing home and all the food needs re-stocking for her and and her care person.
Again, huge congrats on another awesome puzzle.
Loved your write up, Marti! Will return after yoga, gardening and reading the blog.
Have a beautiful day all.
This is a sonnet by Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide at the age of 30. Sadly, she must have been very listless. Jejeune... Ho hum.
Ennui
Tea leaves thwart those who court catastrophe,
designing futures where nothing will occur:
cross the gypsy’s palm and yawning she
will still predict no perils left to conquer.
Jeopardy is jejune now: naïve knight
finds ogres out-of-date and dragons unheard
of, while blasé princesses indict
tilts at terror as downright absurd.
The beast in Jamesian grove will never jump,
compelling hero’s dull career to crisis;
and when insouciant angels play God’s trump,
while bored arena crowds for once look eager,
hoping toward havoc, neither pleas nor prizes
shall coax from doom’s blank door lady or tiger.
- Sylvia Plath
Great puzzle C.C. and Hard G! I got all the theme answers but wouldn’t have gotten the theme without the unifier. Like Marti, I don’t know too much about baseball, but most everyone would have heard about Pete Rose, so that wasn’t hard and I took a WAG that Cliff Lee was a pitcher so ERA wasn’t hard to fill. I also had to look up what a conestoga was to get rut. I also thought of Husker Gary when I typed in spaceship earth. My favorite was like many others, “digital water testers” – toes. Cute!
Marti, I enjoyed your witty write up, but have one complaint. No Matt Damon link?!!
Buckeye, sorry I missed you last night. If you’re still heading to Montana this summer, I still have that light on for you.
AvgJoe, I make a pretty mean pesto out of garlic scape. I’ll post it a little later.
It’s about 100 degrees up here today. I just checked and we are warmer than most of the country!
GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
Makes about 1 cup
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt
Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, pine nuts and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, stop; if you'd like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt. I usually serve it on crusty bread, but it’s also killer tossed with pasta and shrimp.
It's fun to fire up the computer and find a puzzle by Don and C.C. Very enjoyable. Excellent writeup too.
Thoughts~
From yesterday, there isn't a person here who would use 'boy' in a pejorative way. To not be able to use 'boy' to just mean a young lad seems silly.
I wonder if I would have been a Pete Rose fan if I had grown up in Cincinnati? Since I didn't, I thought of him as an excellent baseball player but he seemed too egotistical and arrogant to be likable.
I like soup. Pea soup (with some bacon left over from yesterday) is one favorite. There is a restaurant north of here that is famous for its pea soup.
I don't envy you guys with temperatures in the high 90s plus humidity. It is about 67 F here today. Soon it will be time for a short bike ride before tutoring.
I am watching 'Crazy Heart' recorded from cable. It seems good so far.
In spite of an anon's comment late yesterday, I don't see much bullying here, political or otherwise. It's good to be able to hang out with such nice, intelligent people
Thanks Jeannie. I'll have to give that a try. It'll be a few days yet. Mine haven't all looped yet, but most have emerged. This is only my second year growing garlic and I'm just figuring out when to pick them and what to do with them.
Weather here is awful. South wind of 35-40mph and temps currently at 94.
C.C. & Don - thanks for the clever puzzle today...an ideal way to start the day!
I looked at hardg for quite a while before I could see the meaning...and that turned out to be my favorite clue!!!
Have a quality day girls and boys!!
Creature – how great to share an anniversary with such and elegant and erudite person! Pete Rose found out what Anthony Weiner should have known – When you mess up, get out front with it and move on. Americans are very forgiving! Pete was a boyhood idol of mine as well!!
Clear Ayes – most people just call Spaceship Earth The Big Golf Ball. It has a fabulous, slow ride chronicling the history of human Communication inside! You would love it!! The little cars wind up and around and then back down the interior of the geodesic sphere.
Jeannie – you’d love Spaceship Earth too! If it were a golf ball, the proportionate golfer would be a mile tall!
Bill G – I like the climate here as well!
Jeannie, just for you!
Hola Everyone, What a fun puzzle from our Champion Constructor and her constructing partner Don G.
Great writeup Marti. Thanks for filling in for Argyle.
My favorite clues today were Red Rose--I was thinking tea, and Nickel and Dime. I wanted a verb to describe someone who was nickel and diming you. Took a while to realize it was so much easier than that. Duh!
I filled in train for Berth place, and had to erase that after filling in Split Peas. My husband took the upper berth when we took our last cross country train trip.
Have a lovely afternoon, everyone. I'm going out to pick raspberries and blueberries in the garden. They are ripening despite our cool weather.
Husker Gary,
I've been thinking (musing, even) about your note to me last night, and decided to respond. First, if you will take the time to go back and read, you will see that I did not tell you to "get over it", although I am now.
Here is what I see as your M. O. : you will occasionally slip in a snide political or social reference (e.g., your comment about Harry Reid and the Cowboy Poets) and then immediately apologize for it, as if it couldn't have been erased before you hit publish.
Then when someone else makes a similar comment, you howl about rules and cheapening this fine blog. Buckeye, much loved here, is as close to being above reproach as one here can be, and his comment was totally facetious, without malice. He has skewered Clinton in the past. And while unlike you, he hasn't been to the Moon, he likes to howl at it occasionally.
Let's get this straight: you are no longer in the classroom, and you have no authority here, moral or otherwise. When someone else breaks a rule, it is literally none of your business. C. C. and the other blog administrators take care of that very effectively. The blog is not yours, not mine, not anyone elses other than C. C.
So I tell you again, with no authority other than around my personal space, either physically or virtually, if you mind your business you won't have time to manage mine or anyone elses.
My last word on the boy issue, and your mileage may vary:
I don't really care what you call your husband, or your brother, or your grown sons. This is really not about YOU, whoever you are. It is simply true that there are people for whom the word boy is a deep and cutting insult, and rightfully so, and thinking caring people should stop and think and care before they use the word. I am often boyish and would not be insulted by the word, as I implied yesterday. But it is not about ME either I don't think the clue in the puzzle was out of line. Got that? I don't think it was out of line.
Political correctness is very often overdone and foolish. This is an issue that is beyond PC, it's just doing what's right, or not doing what's wrong.
I will now shut the hell up.
Today riddle is for you math folks:
Daniel, my son (you didn't know did you), is exactly one fifth of my age. In 21 years time, I will be exactly twice his age. My wife (you didn't know that either did you?) is exactly seven times older than my daughter, Jessica (I'm full of surprises). In 8 years time, my wife will be three times older then Jessica. How old are Daniel and Jessica now?
Marti, you are a gem!
Jeezus, it goes against the very fiber of my being to try and defuse a dustup, but:
Windhover, my very good friend, that missive should've been delivered in an email, NOT on the blog. I disagreed with something Gary said, so I emailed him, and we got it worked out. This is C.C's blog, and we need to have the utmost respect for it. You and I have both been guilty of attacking people (mostly anons), and it's really not good for the blog.
Husker Gary, as much as I know you're itching to, please don't respond to WH on the blog. If you guys want to 'discuss' things such as previous statements, just do it in emails.
Thanks in advance.
Ah Dennis you spoilsport....why ruin all the fun?
Because it doesn't belong here.
Let's try to keep even subtle political jabs and their attendant responses off here, ok? I've had to bite my tongue so much it's developing scar tissue, but it's the right thing to do, out of respect for C.C.
Whenever I see a reference to a sleeper car in a train
(eg. upper), it reminds me of a passenger who sent a letter to the Pullman Company complaining about bedbugs in her berth. The company responded, apologizing profusely and noting that this has never occurred before. Unfortunately, someone had forgotten to remove the small note clipped to the company's response letter, "Send her the standard bedbug letter."
I'm back to say I too loved the TOES clue, since I've always advocated getting feet wet at the edge of the surf to let the whole body adjust to the temperature before diving in. It would work with wrists too. Have you ever felt hot all over and washed your hands and arms in cold water and felt better immediately? Voilà !
Marti,
I thank you too for the Matt pix!
Husker Gary,
Just to add more softly to WH's comment, Buckeye used to be a daily regular here, and we all learned to take absolutely everything he says with a huge grain of salt, knowing most of it was intended to be humorous and nothing else. None of us knows why he stopped coming, but we all look forward to his occasional visits because we know they'll be funny and intentionally very un-PC.
I'm off to Nate's baseball game.
Otherwise, I'd be solving Jeannie's set of simultaneous equations.
Cheers!
JzB
Jeannie@3:14, gosh! You don't look 35 !!
I guess you’re right about Pete Rose, BillG; I was into the Reds for a while; due to their proximity to Louisville. Of course, their back to back World Series wins didn’t hurt. Anyway, my DH agrees with you about the arrogance, etc. I was just so shocked and disappointed. I never was a ‘real fan’ that understood the lingo and such, like DH.
HG, thank you for your kind words and back atcha’.
I think we are forgiving, but we don’t forget. Pete’s flaw was he thought the rules didn’t apply to him- that he was above such things. Weiner is apparently a deviant , for which I haven’t had the training or education to understand. They both were adept at ‘white lies ‘and called upon that talent to defend themselves , discounting the intelligence of the American people.
“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
Sad, really, in both cases.
Jeannie:
Like HeartRx said:
You don't look 35 (5 times older than Daniel, who is 7).
Your wife doesn't look 28 (7 times older than Jessica, who is 4).
Boy ... that was fun.
(Probably a non-PC USE of that word).
Dennis, message received and I enjoyed and learned from our private exchange last night and others you and I have had.
Creature, I just got a haircut and read a big interview with Pete – how coincidental. His hubris did him in and he wants to manage a baseball team more than ever but essentially makes big money in Las Vegas and seems resigned to that life.
Funeral for my friend’s 23 year old son today was lovely but hard and the chapel was standing room only. It makes you want to hug your own kids and grandkids a little harder next time. My friend has been through three bad marriages, cancer, and hepatitis B from a doctor who had reused needles to save money and has since fled back to Pakistan. It makes me think of this lyric from Godspell
Your mood and your robe
Are both a deep blue
You'd bet that Job
Had nothin' on you...
Don't forget that when you go to
Heaven you'll be blessed..
Yes, it's all for the best...
Jeannie. How about this? Jeannie is 35, her son is seven. The daughter is four and the wife is 28.
Don't know why those A-nons want to attack Buckeye. You know, life around the GBRV isn't all that easy, what with dyslexic Nurse Ratchet chasing him all over the place with that pan of boiling water. She says she's just following doctor's orders to prick his boil or something like that.
Anyway, it's hard for him to get away from her long enough to get on the computer and get in here, and he's gotta type fast when he does, so a few mistakes here and there should be overlooked. If that nurse ever catches up to him, the screams will be heard from Cleveland to Chattannoga.
So sneak in when you can, Buckeye, and keep a close watch for Nurse Ratchet. I hear she can be pretty sneaky.
Dennis, you have my utmost respect, seriously.
First and foremost for your service and continued sacrifice(sleepless nights) for our country.
Second for your contributed wit and knowledge to this blog.
Lastly for your unbelievable restraint concerning the aclu, jane fonda, and the left leaning arrogance of many members of this blog.
I don't think it is possible to admire someone so much without meeting them as I admire you.
I also don't expect you to like was I just typed but I can't help it.
Correction: ...*what* I just typed...
Aaawww,
That's so sweet.
Good evening, Puzzlers!
Even though it's late I had to check in and congratulate that power couple, Don G. and CC.! Brilliant puzzle today and even with all the baseball references I could finish it EASILY.
As others have stated, all I know about baseball I have learned from xwds. PETE Rose was clever as was HARDG. Brilliant even!
I look forward to more of your work and I hope Tuesday has been lovely for everyone!
Captain Obvious, thanks I think, but the "left leaning arrogance of many members of this blog" comment is exactly what I was talking about. No more, please.
GaGa, love your music.
Lucinda-
Thanks for the comment about my grandson. I couldn't resist.
Are you very far from those fires?
Please consider meeting me on one of your excursions this way. It was neat to hear about your day with WH and the Irish in Lexington.
Jacel. I have the same kind of escapism. it's important to let our mind go blank and join someone else's life for an hour.
Hondo, What kind of artist is your wife?
Carol glad you're back - we've needed your tart humor.
CA, Syvia did herself in , maybe during one of those moods.
Jeannie, I did find enough curly scapes to make the pesto you prescribed for supper. It was delicious.
I had to make a few substitutions: Didn't have any pine nuts, so I went with pecans. Didn't have any Parmesan, so I used Parma/Romano/Asiago. And I didn't have any extra virgin olive oil. But hey....we're all over 21 here, so that's to be expected. It turned out great and I'll plan on making it again. Thanks.
creature:
Thank you for your concern. The fires are north of us in the mountains of central Arizona. They are dense with ponderosa pine and other fir trees but sadly, dry enough to provide tons of fuel for this fire.
There were many kind comments today. Thanks to all! I read very nice words about our teaming up, and it must be working, judging by the reactions. We will keep giving it our best.
Marti, I could stand to learn some tennis, and maybe a little football, but golf is my first sport. I really am not too up on baseball, but C.C. more than makes up for that. Talk to her!
Hi, friends,
WOW What a combo: C.C., Don, and Marti on bass! Wonderful job from all three of you.
I really, really enjoyed your puzzle, you two. Lots of interesting fill and a clever theme and theme lines. I got the "ear" but that's where it stopped. Of course, I didn't know the constructors until I came here.
My favorite clue was also
"digital water tester". I skipped over it thinking it was some scientific thing of which I was completely ignorant andonly got it from perps, Even then it didn't register. I'm a plunge-right-in-er, if I go in at all!
WH, you are a lovely boy and have such a wonderful way with words. I really love you and I'm sure I would love the Irish, too, since I had an Irish of my own once upon a time. Even though I know C.C. and Dennis would rather keep things calm, I do enjoy what Dennis calls a 'little dustup'. Makes things so exciting! And of course a visit from Buckeye is always a treasure.
Too bad we can't just erase those anons right off the screen!
WooHoo, over 30 lines! Well, I just had to say it!
Actually, dodo, your line count is in the ballpark.
And unfortunately, you can't have it both ways: the dustups you enjoy are what bring those anons out. Based on emails I get, I think most people, including casual readers of the blog, would prefer to do without the drama and the resultant sniping by anons.
Just popped in to say I won both my shuffleboard games! I even had one gentleman shake my hand and say he hadn't seen such nice scoring for a long time....sure made my day!!!:)
Have any of you played table shuffleboard in recent times? It's such a lot of fun, and it is sad that the tables (when you can find them) are often not maintained, so they are 'off'. We have found a great tavern (pub, inn, watering hole, whatever you want to call it)...it's been there since 1944 and so has the table.
They keep it in prime condition because they hold tournaments on Friday nights...unfortunately they are too late in the evening for my 3 cousins and me. We just enjoy playing for fun one afternoon a week :)
Can't believe that I did not notice that C.C. and Don G. teamed up once more to gift us with a great Tuesday offering.I was just so excited that I got the theme (without sleeping on 100 mattresses/ think Hans Christian Anderson).
Perps filled in Pete, and I said,"huh?" Needed a Giant, oops-Red, V-8 juice can for that.
BTW, my favorite red rose is a MR. Lincoln.
CA, poor Sylvia, never felt any joy at seeing her future in the bottom of a tea cup. I was always delighted with my grandma's predictions.
Celebrating choc. ice cream day with a dollop of B&J's Phish Food
Marti, again thanks for today's write up. What was with the hair on the long-haired Shangri-la gal? I DO NOT remember that do. :0
well said WH. Amen
carol,
Congratulations on your table shuffleboard score! I'm excited for you,'cause you sound so happy. What fun!
We have a place we go every week for the last 15 yrs. and it burned to the ground a yearor so ago.It's being rebuilt and opening in July.
They have bands that come in the weekend and the food is unbelievable. People drive 40-50 miles to eat there. Its the only thing close to us that has such specialness.And it feels like family.
I'm gonna look into that shuffleboard, cause I like things like that.
Congratulations, C.C. and Don! What an enjoyable treat your puzzles have become.
Speaking of treats, so sorry I finished off that pint of Chocolate Decadence a few days ago, missing out on today's celebration.
When I think of upper berths, I think of those tour busses musicians travel around in. I see them and just think c-l-a-u-s-t-r-o-p-h-o-b-i-a!
I love SPACESHIP EARTH and LANDSCAPE ARTIST.
I liked how 2d and 3d could both be clued as: dog's nose.
We've had red rose before. I have met him many times. He has disappointed me many times. He is among the greatest players of all-time. He is a jerk.
Baseball clues are in my wheelhouse. But I expand my knowledge with the mythology, opera, poetry and old people's clues.
It is fun to hear you squirm a little.
Well, no ENNUI here today! Politics..schmolitics. I wouldn't presume to comment on WH's posts anyway, except to say he is a trusted friend.
Dennis, your request is easy to honor. You're a good guy and a gentleman yourself!
Went with GAH for his annual physical today. He's been prescribed Namenda for short-term memory problems, as well as changing prescriptions for a couple of other things. (It's always sumpthin'.) Otherwise, everything is OK.
Seen, if you keep me up on baseball fill, I'll keep you clued in on the poetry and old people's stuff :o).
ClearAyes,
So are you.
This brings the average length of today's posts under 20. But I still need to apologize to CC for the long one. Sorry. Got carried away. Not a good excuse. Won't happen again.
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