Theme: Cutting some Zs. Each of the theme answers is a phrase containing the letter "Z" which is removed and is replaced by the pluralized D sound to make a similar sounding but very different phrase, fraught with humor. This is the third James Sajdak puzzle I have had the pleasure of blogging, and like his June 24, 2011 farmhouse puzzle, sound has much to do with the theme. In his interview, Mr. Sajdak, who is an English teacher by trade, emphasized his goal was to entertain, so he fits in perfectly for the Corner and myself. Let's see where he takes us today, P.S., shh but it is Lemonade here as the tour guide today.
20A. Easy-to-use sock drawer organizer?: PEDS DISPENSER. This morphed from PEZ DISPENSER, the famous collectable candy holding toy, into a really nice image of a drawer shooting out little socks, PEDS being footie socks.
28A. Dog show eye-catchers?: COOL BREEDS. COOL BREEZE. As you can see the changed word can be first or second and the replacement is not just D for Z, but to accomplish the sound.
36A. Feline alpha groups?: TOP PRIDES. TOP PRIZE; we know lions come in prides, do other cats?
48A. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions" : QUEEN SIDES. QUEEN SIZE. A song on one side of a 45; these are two by the irrepressible late, great FREDDY MERCURY. I wonder where the idea that royalty meant bigger? Why are there no Jack sized beds?
56. Winter Olympics winner's wall hanging?: BLADES OF GLORY. This theme is going out in a BLAZE OF GLORY, unlike the MOVIE, which brought a new dimension to the world of Olympic pairs skating; funny or lame?
Across:
1. Henri's here: ICI. We begin in my wheelhouse with a simple French word, which means "here."
4. Sci-fi psychic: EMPATH. We have had Ms. Troi before.
20A. Easy-to-use sock drawer organizer?: PEDS DISPENSER. This morphed from PEZ DISPENSER, the famous collectable candy holding toy, into a really nice image of a drawer shooting out little socks, PEDS being footie socks.
28A. Dog show eye-catchers?: COOL BREEDS. COOL BREEZE. As you can see the changed word can be first or second and the replacement is not just D for Z, but to accomplish the sound.
36A. Feline alpha groups?: TOP PRIDES. TOP PRIZE; we know lions come in prides, do other cats?
48A. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions" : QUEEN SIDES. QUEEN SIZE. A song on one side of a 45; these are two by the irrepressible late, great FREDDY MERCURY. I wonder where the idea that royalty meant bigger? Why are there no Jack sized beds?
56. Winter Olympics winner's wall hanging?: BLADES OF GLORY. This theme is going out in a BLAZE OF GLORY, unlike the MOVIE, which brought a new dimension to the world of Olympic pairs skating; funny or lame?
Across:
1. Henri's here: ICI. We begin in my wheelhouse with a simple French word, which means "here."
4. Sci-fi psychic: EMPATH. We have had Ms. Troi before.
10. Druid's sacred hill : TARA. This was my LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I only knew GWTW and Sookie's friend on True Blood.
14. What Lin's D.C. wall commemorates: NAM. I was moved to tears when I first went and traced the names of friends who perished. Maya Ying Lin.
15. Craps table tactic: PARLAY. Letting your winnings ride, never have played.
16. Like some terrible reviews: ACID. Acid tongue I know, but this did not come easily.
17. Wee: SMA. We have has this Scottish version of small often, usually with a Robert Burns reference, but not a favorite of Ms. Hearti who spoke out against it earlier this month.
18. Bandit feature?: ONE ARM. Back in the day when you actually had to pull on a lever, this slot machine reference made sense; no longer.
19. Watch lights, briefly: LCDS. Liquid Crystal Displays like the James Bond Pulsar.
23. Emphatic words: I REPEAT.
24. Run-of-the-mill: USUAL.
27. Track position: RAIL. Very important in horse racing; bet on it.
32. Cornerstone abbr : ESTAB. Established.
34. Just outside of: NEAR.
35. Rolls in the grass?: SOD. Very clever picture of rolled up sod.
40. Palm Sunday carrier: ASS. Avoiding religion as a topic, we all must agree there are an awful lot of asses in the Bible.
43. German battleship Graf __: SPEE. The ship is long gone, but it lives on in VIDEO GAMES.
44. 1945 "Big Three" conference site: YALTA. Your HISTORY LESSON.
52. Slangy negatives: NAHS.
53. 14th-century Russian prince: IVAN I. A prince of Moscow. Like the Popes, the "I" makes it hard to parse.
54. Retro tees: TIE DYES. Another difficult to suss letter combination, looking like TIED YES.
60. Prussian pair: ZWEI. Alliteration for the Germanic Two.
62. Stimulate: INCITE. Calm down we are here to entertain, no riots.
63. 36 for nine, often: PAR. There really are many golfers in the puzzle world.
64. Votes for: AYES. A half shout out to our Poet Laureate.
65. Semi-sheer fabrics: VOILES. Back to the French, meaning VEIL. You like?
66. Owner of Abbey Road Studios: EMI. Electrical and Musical Industries, Ltd. is one of the oldest companies in music. They are now wholly owned by Citigroup.
67. Orkin target: PEST.
68. Speak with conviction: ASSERT.
69. Decoding org.: NSA. National Security Agency.
Down:
1. Fire up: INSPIRE. In contrast to the earlier INCITE.
2. Set pieces?: CAMERAS. What you will find on the TV or Movie SET.
3. Cry from one reaching the top: I MADE IT. Also part of my night time ritual for another day.
4. Lyrical poetic form: EPODE. CA, you are on.
5. Zealot-plus: MANIAC.
6. Appearance announcement: PRESTO. What they say when the bunny shows up from the hat.
7. Gain __: get further ahead in the race: A LAP.
8. Empty weight: TARE. We have many clues about ships and LADING.
9. Mass music: HYMN.
10. "Honor Thy Father" author: TALESE. A poor man's Mario Puzo.
11. Grows: ACCRUES. The interest in your account.
12. Purged: RID.
13. Spots with slogans: ADS. I wonder when they started calling radio and TV ads, spots?
21. Egg toss miss indicator: SPLAT. Very nice visual clue. You were supposed to catch the egg Jeannie not sell it to BK.
22. Light carriage: SURREY. My mind went immediately to the FRINGE.
25. Flap: ADO. A new clue for an old fill.
26. Dr. Leary's turn-on: LSD. Turn on, tune in and drop out.
29. No right __ : ON RED. I was shocked when I moved to Florida and you could turn right at a red light.
30. Jasmine neckwear, perhaps: LEI. Hawaii people, do they have Jasmine on the island?
31. Wicked: BAD. As opposed to Massachusetts, where wicked is good.
33. Sarajevo's region: BOSNIA.
37. Forgetful writer's letters?: PPS.
38. Louvre Pyramid designer: PEI. I M impressed, two famous designer in one puzzle.
39. Subj. of an '80s-'90s financial crisis: S AND L. Savings & Loan, a tough one to see.
40. EPA concern: AQI. We are getting acronym intensive, Air Quality Index.
41. Toyota RAV4, e.g. : SUV. Sport UtilityVehicle.
42. Navy builders: SEABEES. The name comes from a pun on Construction Battalion. Like all our service men, they should be HONORED.
45. Expose: LAY OPEN. Wow, talk about your DF, getting laid out in the open; oh, you mean lay bare!
46. St. Louis team, familiarly: THE RAMS. Football team that moved from LA, after starting originally in Cleveland.
47. Ancient kingdom on the Tigris: ASSYRIA. Modern Iraq.
49. Sign on: ENLIST. We daily bloggers enlist, after we are drafted.
50. Star of France: ETOILE. Just another lesson, STAR = ETOILE.
51. Bakery utensil: SIFTER. Must get the flour flowing.
55. Discharge: EGEST. From the Latin gerere to carry, with the prefix E, which means from; so literally to carry from. A fancy way of saying pooping. DIgest goes in, Egest goes out.
57. Price or Battle: DIVA. Opera stars Leontyne and Kathleen.
58. Genesis grandson: ENOS. More Bible, a son of Seth, the third child of Adam and Eve.
59. H.S. courses: SCIS. Sciences.
60. Cook quickly, in a way: ZAP. Microwave mania.
61. Three-switch railroad track section: WYE. The word is very descriptive of the tracks coming together, and featured in this MOVIE, which was suspenseful, but like the blog has a happy ending (or does it?). I finished another Friday, did not hurt myself and get to watch Devin and his band play again tonight. They had four paying gigs this month, the most yet. Have a great week end and celebrate, and for those in the path of Irene, we pray the cold front pushes her out to sea. Take care.
Answer grid.
Lemonade
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I immediately got ICI, so thought I was in for an easy run ~ NOT! Not being a sci-fi fan, EMPATH was a complete unknown.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was Rolls in the Grass = SOD.
Nice shout-out to our non-MANAIC, Mainaic!
To all in the path of Hurricane Irene: Some advice from a hurricane veteran ~ The power and force of these storms is frightening. PLEASE heed all warnings. If you are ordered to evacuate, please do so. Don't stay on the second floor of your house if there are trees nearby. If you can, move your vehicles in advance to a place without trees and not flood-prone (even if it's away from your home). Stock up on water, candles, flashlights! Fill up your gas tank incase you need to leave the area. Stay safe.
QOD: The reason I talk to myself is that I'm the only one whose answers I accept. ~ George Carlin
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteThis was no walk in the park today, but in the end I only had one error. Sci-fi psychic & appearance announcement outside of my purview today. Wagged an E where the crossing P should have appeared. When Lemonade showed the way, I felt pretty dumb.
Hand up for Rolls in the Grass/Sod as today's favorite.
If I picked up on the theme, life would have been a lot easier, but I seldom decipher a theme. Had matures initially for grows but the MAT just didn't work! Eventually got back on track with accrues.
Lots of prep work to do for the coming storm. Worried about length of time power will be out. We're in a remote area, sparsely populated and depending on the storms severity, we could be ignored for a while. Be safe everyone.
Good luck to all in the path of Irene.
ReplyDeleteTo the puzzle, I was upset that I couldn't get the Craps Table Tactic Clue. Having played for years, I have always called this type of move "press" or "press it". Don't think I have ever heard anyone say Parlay at the Craps table.
A.R.E.
44. 1945 "Big Three" conference site: YALTA
ReplyDeleteYalta
Fun Facts by Dave Letterman
General Tso was allergic to chicken.
Elizabeth Taylor once divorced a man she never married.
Good morning, TGIF or whatever trips your trigger. Thanks for a very informative blog of a nice offering from Mr. Sajdak.
ReplyDeleteI picked my way around this one, running into deadends everywhere until I got enough in the southern part to see BLADES OF GLORY and knew what to look for in the theme. The rest of the theme entries fell easily and opened up my remaining deadends.
I didn't know ICI, but ETOILE was a gimme. I really wanted some sort of acronym that was associated with the S AND L scandals, but it filled itself and I parsed it OK.
SMA was my first thought and then I started second guessing myself since there wasn't a specific reference to a Scot or Scotland. I finally decided the word 'wee' is a close enough association to things Scot and moved on.
Gee, where do I get one of those fancy PEDS DISPENSER's? Just push a button and out pops a pair. Are they made by Sock It To Me, inc?
Thank you Lemonade, for a very nice blog. Learnt a lot, and a smile or two. As for the puzzle, should have moved on to the other sections of the newspaper. I hope everybody keeps safe and unharmed.
ReplyDeleteIn case you're like me and forgot where Yalta is, map.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteI cry "foul" on ICI and ETOILE. SMA and NAHS, too, I REPEAT. AQI got a WTH?!?!
I sussed the theme with TOP PRIDES, but it only helped a little. MOIRES, ENROLL, MALTA and POST did not help at all.
I knew 39D had to be the Savings and Loan debacle, and still needed to get S AND L from the perps (of which there were many in the historical event.)
EPODE looks like it should be a term from electronics or astronomy.
Couldn't PARLEY much on this one, and went SPLAT.
I MADE IT ---- NOT!
Oh well. Tigers took 3 of 4 from the Rays - all very tight games. Now off to visit C.C.'s Twins
Thome only needs 8 HR's to pull even will SOSA at 609. He got nos. 599, 600, and 601 in the last Tigers-Twins series.
He has 2266 career hits, and 26.5% are homers. Yikes!
Cheers!
JzB
DNF today. I never would have got that theme in a thousand years. The only proper nouns I knew were ENOS, YALTA, ASSYRIA, and I WAGged IVAN I. My first fills were the French, and German ZWEI, but I didn't know the ship SPEE. Had INFLAME for INSPIRE, which of course threw all the top to the wind. I'm getting sick of so many acronyms.
ReplyDeleteI also liked SOD, but not too much else. I got through the sudoku much faster than the time used on this.
I hope all in Irene's path stay safe and take all needed precautions. Check in with us after she's passed so we know you're OK.
Good morning everyone. Good commentary, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteNeeded red letter help today with EMPATH and DIVA. Everything else was doable. Got SANDL from the perps. Sussed out the theme Z ⇒ Ds in mid solve, but it was not needed. ASS was clever. Good Friday challenge.
Graf SPEE - Most sources term it a pocket battleship. In German, a Panzerschiff. German for battleship is Schlagschiff. The Bismarck was a Schlagschiff. The difference is mainly in displacement tonnage, brought on by terms of the post WWI Treaties. Graf SPEE was basically a cruiser hull but much more heavily armed. Another oddity was that it had Diesel engines making bunkering more difficult; battleships were usually powered by steam and could burn heavy black oil.
Have a great day.
Tough one today. Got everything but the "p" at the crossing of EPODE and PARLAY. Two complete unknowns to me.
ReplyDeleteMinor grumbles over the cluing of EMPATH as "Sci-fi psychic." The word certainly existed and is often used outside of sci-fi; given such a specific context, I was really expecting a name (and had the answer been TROI, would've worked).
The theme was clever, but extra challenging in that the Z was substituted in many different ways, not just a letter-for-letter swap. Sometimes a DS, sometimes the ZE became just a D. Because of that, I wasn't entirely sure until the end that I'd accurately figured it out -- I just knew it had something to do with changing the Z to something else.
As for right turn on red, I don't believe that's a Florida-specific traffic rule. I think it's national, enacted as a fuel-saving measure back in the 70s, and the only place I know of where it isn't allowed at all is New York City (signs alert you to the exception when you cross the city line).
Good Morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up today, Lemon, and some really interesting links – thanks for that new obscure use of TARA…(right into my back pocket it goes!!)
I have no objection to SMA, Lemon. It was just a bad entry for my “Shrinking Puzzle” grid, which had to do with sizes. I didn’t want fill other than the theme entries that referred to size.
I sussed this theme at COOL BREEDS, since the NW was giving me fits. Because the theme switched between the first and last words, this was tough, but doable. Just right for a Friday. IMO!
Hahtool, great advice for getting through a hurricane. Lets hope that it doesn’t turn out to be the monster it’s predicted to be.
Have a wonderful day, and stay safe everyone!
Wow, that was easy! Now I think I’ll go translate some Archie comics into Farsi! What a workout and a great feeling to “git ‘er done”. Thanks James!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Unknowns but still got – ICI, EMPATH, TARA (cluing), SPEE, SMA
-Plus sizes is another euphemism for Queen sizes and Wal-Mart is now charging more for 2X and up
-I doubt if the word PARLAY is ever uttered at a crap table in lieu of “Let it ride!”
-LED/LCD? I went the wrong way at first
-Track position missteps – TAIL (follow) and SHOW (come in third)
-I have read in many places that some feel an ailing FDR gave the Soviets too much at Yalta
-TOILES for VOILES
-Great When Harry Met Sally link, Lemon. Best line from that movie –“I’ll have what she’s having!” uttered by Rob Reiner’s mother
-Sarajevo ain’t in SERBIA
-John Wayne played a Seabee and charged a Japanese gun position in a bulldozer
-Ever hear of Elvis the Pelvis’ younger brother ENOS?
Spitzboov, Thank you for a new meaning for a common word; I was unaware that bunkering was a nautical term for fueling a ship. Could be a Friday clue for a Monday word.
ReplyDeleteHi There~!
ReplyDeleteFunny, but my first reaction to "Sci-fi psychic" was Deanna Troi, but it wouldn't fit....never took it to the next step to get EMPATH, which I knew.
The theme came around at TOP PRIDES, despite me reading the clue as feMALE Alpha Groups; it helped that I had QUEEN SONGS in the gird at first, too.
I went right to Harry/Sally when I saw 'Surrey' as well, Lemonade.
If anyone is interested, I will build you a "PEDS dispenser"....
Splynter
Lemonade: I don't use my electronic toys on Saturdays, so I am wishing you a good day tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI also tried Queen Songs before I caught onto the theme.
p.s. Link to I’ll have what she’s having! Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteLemon: Nice write-up. Glad to hear that you like puzzles that begin with a French answer.
ReplyDeleteI'm more on Jazz's wavelength re: ICI and ETOILE.
WOW, such an original idea, change the 'Z' to a 'D' ... create whacky answers.
Well that's my ACID review of this type of a trite puzzle gimmick.
(Are socks really 'peds'???)
Hmmm, SPEE was an answer to the clue "WWI Admiral Maximilian Von ___" on Wed.August 17th.
Spitzbooz commented and linked a picture.
So that was a gimmie.
Hunker down, get supplies.
Gas, Cash, Case (of YOUR Avatar), munchies, etc.
(I'm stuck with a SMA 7-Up).
Cheers !!!
Hi Gang, a destroyer puzzle today, I couldn't connect even using red letters. The last one to fall was the unknown crossing of ZWEI and WYE.
ReplyDeleteSANDL was unknown until I got here, DUH!
For eddyB & JD, Yes there will be jam and jellies. Ruth hasn't had time to update the mcdunnjam.com page but she has over 10 dozen jars ready so far.
Yeah, a tough one. The theme answers were clever once you got them, but hard for me to figure out on their own.
ReplyDeleteI especially like "voiles"...my first choice, though I started to second guess myself with "gauzes" for awhile.
Dennis: People did not take the warnings about Andrew seriously enough and there are STILL whole swaths of bare foundations where homes once were. We hope and pray that she turns NE...but your officials are being responsible in warning you of potential life-threatening events. I hope you dodge the bullet, but just in case, be prepared. You know the old saw "Better to be safe than squashed by the roof or mugged by someone who didn`t listen and ran out of food/drinking water."
ReplyDeleteNice job, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of asses, there is an oblique reference to that beast of burden in the poem that inspired both my farm name and Corner avatar name. Guesses, anyone? Maybe CA will link to the poem (again) as an aid.
anon@11:34, I appreciate the comments. In spite of my joke yesterday about riding out the non-earthquake earthquake, I think I've about done all I can here. I'm putting down almost a thousand pounds of sandbags between the store and the warehouse, got all the outside stuff in at the house, plenty of non-perishable food/water/batteries/lights, and backup reservations at a Marriott about 40 miles the other side of Philly, which we'll use if the forecast looks the same or worse tomorrow afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMy preference would be to stand in the front yard and enjoy it. There's something very awe-inspiring when Mother Nature has a big one. So to speak.
Good Morning All, Phew.. I got it all filled in, but the theme floated over my head and away with the BREEZE. (Oh, that was the idea! ...sound of V-8 thunk to forehead.)
ReplyDeleteI had no notion of the Druid connection for TARA. I thought that the hill was the ancient seat of the kings of Ireland. Thanks Lemonade for the link to the Wiki article. The Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny) photo was an eye-poppper. Those ancient Celts didn't mess around. No mistaking the symbolism there.
Once again it was the little words that hung me up. SMA, AQI, PPS, WYE, EMI and NSA messed me up for a while.
It's only 10:AM here and I'm going to have to close the windows and turn on the AC. It isn't so hot, but there is another wildfire in Yosemite and the smoke is aimed right in our direction. My eyes are getting irritated.
Take care, Ireners.
Dennis: Be safe!
ReplyDeleteHello.
ReplyDeleteGlad Spitzboov said it. Saved me the trouble. Big mistake England made was allowing the Cruiser to have 11 and 6 inch guns. It could
out-range other cruisers.
Suggested a camera because only two of you know what I look like.
Still having software problems.
Sorry CA. I'll have to miss your lawn sale. Don't want to drive on
9/11.
eddy
Good Afternoon, folks. Well, James, this was quite a puzzle. After I finished it I felt better. Thank you Lemonade for a great write-up.
ReplyDeleteI always start in the NW corner. Lo, and behold, the first clue was for a French word. That got me started in a bad mood. I really think English language crosswords should be in English. Nevertheless, I eventually got it, ICI.
My first theme answer was QUEENSIDES. That helped me get all the rest. SPEE was easy. We had that a short while back.
VOILES was a wag. I had BEATER first, then switched to SIFTER. WYE with perps. ETOILE with perps. I must reiterate, foreign words should not be used.
My last holdout area was the NW. Initially I had A PED DISPENSER. Once I figured that out, and entered PEDS DISPENSER, all the rest fell into place.
I agree with others that SMA was a very tricky answer for WEE. Got it with perps.
I made it through my hernia surgery yesterday. I am sore, but it appears I will be OK. The doctor even gave me a picture (of my insides) of the hernia before he fixed it. Unbelievable.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Greetings, cyber friends. Lemonade, zesty as USUAL, thank you.
ReplyDeleteIMADEIT! That's my cry for finishing this greatly challenging puzzle. Thank you, James.
It was no walk in the park, but more of a hop, skip and jump around. ICI did deceive me into thinking it would be easy but EMPATH? Had to suss that one slowly.
TULLES finally gave way to VOILES and from some dim recess I recalled ZWEI.
THERAMS? Who knew? Not I nor did I know EMI and ERI seemed right.
Loved the misdirection of Price and Battle. ACCRUES finally grew on me when I erased LED.
Have a SAFE Friday, everyone!
Jeannie:
ReplyDeleteYou INSPIREd me when you mentioned your crock pot roast so that is what I cooked yesterday and it was yummy!
On school nights I have to eat at 4 so that works out just right with the crock pot.
Abejo:
ReplyDeletevery pleased to hear you are already on the mend. pretty awesome month with earthquakes, hurricanes and lots of ancient Irish stuff. Dennis and all the New England crew, do be careful; here in Broward people did not take Wilma seriously, and as Fred would tell you, that was a mistake. fill up all cars with gas and bathtubs with water to used to flush toilets, if necessary.
thanks Hahtool, I will be in Orlando with no computer but family.
"EPODE, in verse, is the third part of an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement.."..Huh?
ReplyDelete1st century BC Roman poet Horace was well known for his EPODEs in Latin. Very loosely translated, but it is clear Horace was not fond of garlic. Sorry Garlic Gal.
X ON GARLIC Horace, Epode III
If there were ever one who would have struck
his aged father straight across the mouth,
twas he,' twas he! You'd know it by his guts.
Oh what is this that rages in the breast?
It's viper's blood or strychnine in the feast
that witch Canidia trailed her fingers on.
And this it was that Jason of the Fleece
felt creeping on his collar. Such a reek
that Herakles felt gluing to his flesh,
chunks of the coat his wife had handed him,
which he gave back in bloody mangled bits.
I beg you, dear Maecenas, and this seriously,
understand, if you have touched this, why the whore
flings herself screaming from your ardent kiss
and palpitating lies on your mosaic floor.
ASS appears 3 times in the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteTo Lemonade attacker,
ReplyDeleteYou disgust me! Please leave my blog.
Good afternoon Lemonade, CC, et al., Loved the write up, Lemonade. Such a great job! Thank you. But a theme? What theme! But now I understand. Cute, cute, cute!
ReplyDeleteI LOL'd w/40A's Ass comment. There sure are a lot of Asses in the Bible and Mary rode Joseph's all the way to Bethlehem. Had to be a rough trip...esp for Joseph. Poor guy.
Love Bohemian Raphsody. Usually give that as a present to my piano students as soon as I can. It is so fun and a great motivator.
Well, Irene is coming and I'm staying. An unexpected death & funeral kept me from leaving. Bad timing! School was closed early but most of the necessary goods are sold out or the lines are horrendous. I don't flood but I live in Colony Pines AKA Colossal Pines...very tall pines-even those 3 houses over will hit my house.
Dennis: I hope you don't flood and that Irene loses some of her oomph before you get it. Altho' that's not likely b/c she's a real beeeeotch. Might be a great time to run outside stark naked for that tempting blow but just be safe.
Argyle: I hope you are safe as well. Do you flood or are trees your main concern?
Isn't it Momspeaksout who lives in NC and harms way too? I wish all of us safe passage through this scary event.
I don't often post two poems in one day, but I can't resist WH's invitation to post a sonnet (yippee!) It was written in 1877 by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
ReplyDeleteThe Windhover is only 14 lines long, but when posted to the blog it takes up more lines. If you haven't read it before, it is worth clicking on the link.
Hi All ~~
ReplyDeleteThis was one of those puzzles where I walk away for a while and come back "enlightened." Somewhat of a challenge but very enjoyable to solve! I caught the theme with COOL BREEDS and TOP PRIDES and the others followed after a bit. The top center hung me up until my guesses at PARLAY and EPODE helped fill it in. The crossing of ZWEI and WYE and ASS and AQI were my trouble spots. I needed to come here to get those. Thanks, Lemonade for your usual informative and entertaining write-up!
~~ Favorites were 'Rolls in the grass,' 'Bandit feature' and 'Appearance announcement.'
~~ Had no idea on S AND L ... I never seem to see those.
~~ Glad you're doing well, Abejo!
~~ It's been a beautiful day ... hard to imagine the change that's in store for us ~~
Hello everybody. Say, I have an idea. Let's only present puzzles that are comprised of foreign (not English) words, acronyms, and abbreviations. Best wishes to you all. Clear Ayes, thanks for your conributions.
ReplyDeleteHi all!
ReplyDeleteTough puzzle for me!
Nice work, Lemon!
Hope the best for people in path of Irene!!!
Cheers!
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThis was very hard, I didn't get much done but enjoyed Your write-up Lemonade.
I remember the Yalta meetings. Thanks Argyle for the map.I was 13and we heard it on the radio and could watch News of everything when we went to the movies.Not quite as handy as T V but it was what we had.
I didn't care much for sma, and my sound went off when when I was watching Graf Spee.
Husker, plus size clothes have always been more expensive than ladies sizes. Believe me, I've been buying them for years.
I usually don't post this late as I'm never sure it will be read but I seldom get time to do it earlier in the day.
Time to get back to the Packer and Brewers games.
Have a great evening!
Marge
The smoke has cleared a little, so we hope the Yosemite fire has been brought under control. Unfortunately, there isn't anything humans can do to control hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteDennis, don't be tempted to go outside when those winds are blowing. I was watching a demonstration on this evening's news of what happens to people in high winds. After about 50 MPH you can't stand up and if it gets up to 90 MPH, you can literally be blown away.
Be careful and stay safe to everyone on the east coast. Check into the blog when you can and let us know how you are doing.
Good evening Lemonade, C.C. and all,
ReplyDeletea toughie for me, but sure enjoyed trying. I'm always asking the air, "How do people know this stuff???"
Great write up Lemon. When Harry met Sally is a family favorite, so thoroughly enjoyed the clip.
Dennis, your trusty weather vane may not agree about it being awe inspiring. Glad to hear you are prepared. I hope all of you who are in Irene's path have enough supplies or have places to go.
Not sure why my early Birthday wishes for Lemonade didn't post or got erased; but Lemonade's birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday. You mentioned you might not have access to a computer while in Orlando trying those new brews. I hope he names one after you!! I'll try again, BIG SSSMMMOOOCCCHHH for you!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Pikake flower is another name for Arabian Jasmine brought to Hawaii by the early Chinese immigrants. It is very fragrant and used often in leis.
ReplyDeleteThe hard ones for me were easier for others, but the odd fill were the gimmes to me: EMPATH and AQI.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Lemonade!
All of you in the path or Irene, be safe! Don't take any chances. Our thoughts are with you. As others have said, make sure you check in when you can, so we know you're okay.
I don't know which is worse, being in a hurricane, or worrying about loved ones in the path...
Am I the only one who didn't like 19A (WATCH LIGHTS = LCDS)? LCDs are NOT lights. They are only segments that change their reflectivity and so can be seen IN THE LIGHT. LEDs are lights.
ReplyDeleteDidn't like this one a bit.
Thank you for that, Wilwak. I originally had LEDS but then the downs changed it to LCDS.
ReplyDeletePlease be safe all you in Irene's path.
Happy, happy birthday tomorrow, Lemonade!
I agree with WikWaks. LCDs don't make light. The either pass or block light. That is why LCD watches need a backlight to read them at night. And the backlight is usually an LED.
ReplyDelete