Theme: None
Words: 70
Blocks: 34
Well I just love a Saturday that moves along this smoothly - I hope you all felt the same way ~! Constructor Kyle had one other offering back in Dec. '09; this time, we have triple stacks of eight, one grid spanner, one grid climber:
34A. Calls at home : BALLS AND STRIKES - I am sure this one was a real pleaser for C.C. - I knew it was "home" in the sense of baseball, but was thinking "safe!" and "out!" until I had '_ALLS_ _ '.
7D. Could choose : HAD ONE'S DRUTHERS - not a phrase I am familiar with, and the section surrounding the "TH" ate up all my time on this puzzle. Druthers is a colloquialism, an age-old contraction of (I)'d rather....
and two other 10-letter entries:
4D. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," e.g. : ROCK BALLAD - ah, my youth, spent emulating the "hair bands" of the '80's, and every single one of them was REQUIRED to write the next "Stairway" - personally, it got overplayed; my favorite is Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" - what about you?
27D. Highfalutin : HOITY-TOITY - putting on 'airs', snobby - based on the defunct word "hoit"
Onward~!
ACROSS:
1. Gum with a jingle that began, "So kiss a little longer" : BIG RED - Cinnamon flavored, but the Trident version is much hotter - love a Saturday with a 'gimme' 1A
7. Seconds in the air, to punters : HANG-TIME - and followed with a 'gimme' second across; literally, the time a football is airborne, so that the kicking team has a chance to get on the receiving team - I love the "chess match" tactics of the game, but not into the fantasy aspect or players as much
15. Wicked : UNHOLY
16. Penance component : AVE MARIA - Hail Marys (another football term, too)
17. Poker chips are often seen in them : STACKS - was thinking antes, and pots
18. Chocolaty treats : DOVE BARS - ice cream
19. Some charity races : TEN-Ks - ugh, this got me today; I am usually wise to this
20. Second crop of a growing season : ROWEN - new word for me - exactly what it means
21. Reason for a prep course : S.A.T. - Standard Aptitude Test
22. Healthy piece : SLAB - but not really healthy, if you think in terms of cake
23. Picky person? : MINER - a slight misdirection, I had to wait on perps
24. Brought down : ABASED
26. Bangladesh capital : DHAKA - map
31. Guiding light : POLARIS - a bit vague, but I know my astronomy; the North Star, in the Little Dipper, is presently aligned with the Earth's pole, and therefore stays "fixed", allowing for sailing at night. In about 11,700 years, Vega will be the new North Pole
33. Longhorn rival : SOONER - a WAG. College football - I am guessing Kyle (and others) can't wait for football season
36. Etta James classic : AT LAST - ah, the memories - this was the song my wife picked out for our wedding - I had no choice in the matter, but I didn't care - she was happy - too bad it LASTed only 2 years....
37. New Jersey river : RARITAN - I was born in New Jersey (hey now), but don't recall this name - map - sort of in the middle
38. Exhilarating : HEADY
39. Folly : LUNACY
40. Threadbare : RATTY
41. Words spoken after Polonius says, "I hear him coming: let's withdraw, my lord" : TO BE - a WAG, I just tried TO BE, as it was "words", and only 4 letters
45. Tie up loose ends? : SEW
48. Air Force pilot who became a pop star : DON HO - I did not know this
49. Right to play first, in golf : HONOR
50. Grace : ELEGANCE
52. One of Penelope's 108 in the "Odyssey" : SUITOR - those horndogs - she must have been a subject of ogling, too ( 49D )
53. Disdainful : CAVALIER
54. Chant : INTONE
55. Diving concern : THE BENDS - Nitrogen, boiling in the blood after coming to the surface from great depths too soon.
56. Phoned on a computer, in technospeak : SKYPED - not really technospeak, since Googled is now a word, too.
DOWN:
1. Marble works : BUSTS
2. Espionage aid, for short : INTEL- INTELligence, knowledge of what the "other side" is doing
3. Country that eliminated the United States at the last two World Cups : GHANA
5. FDR and Truman, fraternally : ELKS - the benevolent order of elks
6. Bad opening? : DYS - as in DYSfunctional
8. Swore : AVOWED
9. Word heard before and after "say" : NEVER - James Bond again; this movie
10. Fed personnel : G-MEN
11. Someone has to pick it up : TAB
12. Savings choices, briefly : IRAs
13. Sorvino of "Mighty Aphrodite" : MIRA - Image
14. Rose point : EAST - Compass Rose
20. "__ to the Top": Keni Burke song : RISIN' - I'll leave the links to you
23. French Revolution figure : MARAT - I had this guy before, not too long ago
25. Having strong low tones, as headphones : BASSY
26. Column style : DORIC
28. Co-composer of "Johnny's Theme" : ANKA - Paul Anka, prolific songwriter.
29. Not dull : KEEN
30. Married couple? : ARS - the "R's" in maRRied, like I used to be
31. Spread with drinks : PATÉ
32. Cantina cooker : OLLA - Ceramic pot
33. Pickup for a pound : STRAY - Dog pound
34. "Nuts!" : BAH - Humbug....
35. Pedro o Pablo : SANTO - ah - I had SENOR first
39. Pierced surgically : LANCED
40. 1998 De Niro thriller : RONIN - another movie link
42. Leading : ON TOP - yeah, in football standings, too
43. Cumberland Gap explorer : BOONE - Daniel
44. Stumbled : ERRED
45. Branch : SECT
46. Valley where David fought Goliath : ELAH - total WAG
47. Bob Seger's "__ Got Tonight" : WE'VE
48. Low area : DALE
49. Object of ogling : HUNK - Ogle, ladies, ogle - I had the guys covered last week with Bond Girls - and I had a UPS package go to Carey Lowell yesterday - one of my top three
51. Speak idly : GAB
52. Cheer syllable : SIS - um, this one I am not sure; SIS BOOM BAH ~!?!?!?
Answer grid.
Well, for those in the path of Irene, like me, stay safe, above water, and below deadly winds....
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our Friday Sherpa Lemonade. Thanks for the consistently informative and entertaining write-up every week.
Words: 70
Blocks: 34
Well I just love a Saturday that moves along this smoothly - I hope you all felt the same way ~! Constructor Kyle had one other offering back in Dec. '09; this time, we have triple stacks of eight, one grid spanner, one grid climber:
34A. Calls at home : BALLS AND STRIKES - I am sure this one was a real pleaser for C.C. - I knew it was "home" in the sense of baseball, but was thinking "safe!" and "out!" until I had '_ALLS_ _ '.
7D. Could choose : HAD ONE'S DRUTHERS - not a phrase I am familiar with, and the section surrounding the "TH" ate up all my time on this puzzle. Druthers is a colloquialism, an age-old contraction of (I)'d rather....
and two other 10-letter entries:
4D. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," e.g. : ROCK BALLAD - ah, my youth, spent emulating the "hair bands" of the '80's, and every single one of them was REQUIRED to write the next "Stairway" - personally, it got overplayed; my favorite is Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" - what about you?
27D. Highfalutin : HOITY-TOITY - putting on 'airs', snobby - based on the defunct word "hoit"
Onward~!
ACROSS:
1. Gum with a jingle that began, "So kiss a little longer" : BIG RED - Cinnamon flavored, but the Trident version is much hotter - love a Saturday with a 'gimme' 1A
7. Seconds in the air, to punters : HANG-TIME - and followed with a 'gimme' second across; literally, the time a football is airborne, so that the kicking team has a chance to get on the receiving team - I love the "chess match" tactics of the game, but not into the fantasy aspect or players as much
15. Wicked : UNHOLY
16. Penance component : AVE MARIA - Hail Marys (another football term, too)
17. Poker chips are often seen in them : STACKS - was thinking antes, and pots
18. Chocolaty treats : DOVE BARS - ice cream
19. Some charity races : TEN-Ks - ugh, this got me today; I am usually wise to this
20. Second crop of a growing season : ROWEN - new word for me - exactly what it means
21. Reason for a prep course : S.A.T. - Standard Aptitude Test
22. Healthy piece : SLAB - but not really healthy, if you think in terms of cake
23. Picky person? : MINER - a slight misdirection, I had to wait on perps
24. Brought down : ABASED
26. Bangladesh capital : DHAKA - map
31. Guiding light : POLARIS - a bit vague, but I know my astronomy; the North Star, in the Little Dipper, is presently aligned with the Earth's pole, and therefore stays "fixed", allowing for sailing at night. In about 11,700 years, Vega will be the new North Pole
33. Longhorn rival : SOONER - a WAG. College football - I am guessing Kyle (and others) can't wait for football season
36. Etta James classic : AT LAST - ah, the memories - this was the song my wife picked out for our wedding - I had no choice in the matter, but I didn't care - she was happy - too bad it LASTed only 2 years....
37. New Jersey river : RARITAN - I was born in New Jersey (hey now), but don't recall this name - map - sort of in the middle
38. Exhilarating : HEADY
39. Folly : LUNACY
40. Threadbare : RATTY
41. Words spoken after Polonius says, "I hear him coming: let's withdraw, my lord" : TO BE - a WAG, I just tried TO BE, as it was "words", and only 4 letters
45. Tie up loose ends? : SEW
48. Air Force pilot who became a pop star : DON HO - I did not know this
49. Right to play first, in golf : HONOR
50. Grace : ELEGANCE
52. One of Penelope's 108 in the "Odyssey" : SUITOR - those horndogs - she must have been a subject of ogling, too ( 49D )
53. Disdainful : CAVALIER
54. Chant : INTONE
55. Diving concern : THE BENDS - Nitrogen, boiling in the blood after coming to the surface from great depths too soon.
56. Phoned on a computer, in technospeak : SKYPED - not really technospeak, since Googled is now a word, too.
DOWN:
1. Marble works : BUSTS
2. Espionage aid, for short : INTEL- INTELligence, knowledge of what the "other side" is doing
3. Country that eliminated the United States at the last two World Cups : GHANA
5. FDR and Truman, fraternally : ELKS - the benevolent order of elks
6. Bad opening? : DYS - as in DYSfunctional
8. Swore : AVOWED
9. Word heard before and after "say" : NEVER - James Bond again; this movie
10. Fed personnel : G-MEN
11. Someone has to pick it up : TAB
12. Savings choices, briefly : IRAs
13. Sorvino of "Mighty Aphrodite" : MIRA - Image
14. Rose point : EAST - Compass Rose
20. "__ to the Top": Keni Burke song : RISIN' - I'll leave the links to you
23. French Revolution figure : MARAT - I had this guy before, not too long ago
25. Having strong low tones, as headphones : BASSY
26. Column style : DORIC
28. Co-composer of "Johnny's Theme" : ANKA - Paul Anka, prolific songwriter.
29. Not dull : KEEN
30. Married couple? : ARS - the "R's" in maRRied, like I used to be
31. Spread with drinks : PATÉ
32. Cantina cooker : OLLA - Ceramic pot
33. Pickup for a pound : STRAY - Dog pound
34. "Nuts!" : BAH - Humbug....
35. Pedro o Pablo : SANTO - ah - I had SENOR first
39. Pierced surgically : LANCED
40. 1998 De Niro thriller : RONIN - another movie link
42. Leading : ON TOP - yeah, in football standings, too
43. Cumberland Gap explorer : BOONE - Daniel
44. Stumbled : ERRED
45. Branch : SECT
46. Valley where David fought Goliath : ELAH - total WAG
47. Bob Seger's "__ Got Tonight" : WE'VE
48. Low area : DALE
49. Object of ogling : HUNK - Ogle, ladies, ogle - I had the guys covered last week with Bond Girls - and I had a UPS package go to Carey Lowell yesterday - one of my top three
51. Speak idly : GAB
52. Cheer syllable : SIS - um, this one I am not sure; SIS BOOM BAH ~!?!?!?
Answer grid.
Well, for those in the path of Irene, like me, stay safe, above water, and below deadly winds....
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our Friday Sherpa Lemonade. Thanks for the consistently informative and entertaining write-up every week.
Hi There~!
ReplyDeleteHappy B'day, Lemonade
Splynter
Splynter,
ReplyDeleteSo what's the ING form of SKYPE? Skype-ing or Skyping? I had to google for your "horndog". I tried to ogle, but no Daniel Craig in your HUNK pictures.
Bill G,
ReplyDeleteJust personal taste I suppose. I'm simply not a fan of Geena Davis, or Angelina Jolie, or Brad Pitt. I love Jennifer Aniston.
C.C.,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that Daniel was not in there - and he IS my pick for James Bond
I would thing SKYPING is the right spelling, as the rules are to drop the end E as in MAKE/MAKING.
Didn't know horndog? Maybe it's a local thing - anyone else?
Splynter
Yes, as you might imagine, I do.
ReplyDeleteMorning, all (and happy birthday, Lemonade)!
ReplyDeleteWe were supposed to catch at 1:00 train from NYC back home today, but when they announce the entire city was shutting down at noon (including subways, buses and trains) we decided to get catch an earlier train last night. I was looking forward to one last night in the Big Apple, but I guess it's all for the best. Regardless, we had a great time.
Today's puzzle gave me fits. RARITAN and ROWEN were completely outside of my wheelhouse and just looked wrong. And I simply refused to accept that BASSY could be a real word, despite the fact that I sing bass and always hope to see BASS in a puzzle when there's a 4-letter answer with a clue about a choir part (alas, it always ends up being ALTO).
I had no idea about DON HO, and couldn't figure out whether 48D was VALE, WALE or DALE for the longest time.
I finally got HAD ONES DRUTHERS, which was absolutely brilliant and allowed me to get both of the complete unknowns mentioned above. Until then, though, I thought it was going to be a DNF.
Stay safe all who are in Irene's path. And that still includes me, unfortunately. Hopefully, we won't lose power...
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteAs a former gum chewer, I knew today was going to be a bear when I can say I never heard of Big Red. So much for a smooth start! And yes, it was a bear for me. My grid is 100% correctly filled in, but I still don't think of it as a "win" due to having a few visits with MR G.
Even though it was a slog today, it was an enjoyable slog. Hang time, Balls and Strikes helped quite a bit. Dove Bars I somehow remembered.
But there were several unknowns too; Skyped, Rowen, Dhaka, Risin, Marat, & Ronin the main culprits.
Exhilarating/Heady a fav. Ave Maria a favorite hymn.. I've 3 versions bookmarked.
Kept hoping Irene would make a right turn, but that's not happening. Would love to vacate to a safe haven, but someone else says she's staying. Looking forward to days/weeks with no"juice".
OK, I think slab is a healthy choice if you think of healthy meaning mighty as in "the batter took a healthy swing".
ReplyDeleteRandy, that is a healthy list of blogs you follow!
ReplyDeleteLotsa Googling today. Finished but sure there was something wrong with 6-down, "Bad opening?", DYS. As it turns out, the only thing wrong with it was a highly DYSfunctional clue.
ReplyDeleteIn New England, the second growth of grass in a season. We never apply the word to a field, nor to a growth of corn, after harvest, nor is the word ever used in the plural. The first growth of grass for mowing is called the first crop, and the second rowen. - Webster's 1828 Dictionary
ReplyDeleteIf I get to the Tunbridge Fair in VT, I'll see if any of the old farmers still use this word.
Tunbridge World's Fair
Hi all, a lovely Saturday linguistic trip with some nice easy long fills and even two gimmes for the first two Acrosses. Nice job Splynter and HBD Lemon! Didn’t know Risin’ or Rowen and so I came up a letter short. I’ll take it on a Sat.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I thought of C.C. too for Balls and Strikes
-As I write this, my favorite ROCKBALLAD just came on - You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. How ‘bout dat?
-BIGRED means something else here in Husker country and cinnamon hurts my tongue.
-I got TENKS but it wasn’t easy
-I ABATED before I ABASED
-I never knew the words that preceded the most famous soliloquy in literature!
-SKYPE is much used here!
-Hard to think FDR and HST had anything in common
-Marat : France = Paine : America
-I thought you drank from an OLLA but what else could be the fill there?
-I have heard many comedians refer to Bill Clinton as a horndog!
-C.C., I like Geena and don’t get Jennifer!
Good morning. thanks for the great blog, Splynter. All of you East Coasters stay safe!
ReplyDeleteBIG RED escaped me until I got some perp help, but TEN K'S, HANG TIME and BALLS AND STRIKES were gimmes that opened up a lot of the puzzle. As soon as DRU emerged, with HAD already in place, HAD ONES DRUTHERS was obvious.
Fave clue was 'picky one'/MINER.
Wasn't familiar with RONIN, and had to wag the 'R'. RATTY seemed more likely than the possible tATTY and turned out to be right.
It wasn't too difficult for a Saturday. I didn't time it, but it wasn't more than a half hour.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade.
Good Morning Splynter, C.C. et al., and happy, happy birthday, Lemonade!
ReplyDeleteWonderful write-up, Splynter, with many interesting factoids and links. I had a devil of a time with HAD ONE’s DRUTHERS, even though I say that all the time. And I loved the picture of the compass rose – so pretty!
I kept singing the jingle “So kiss a little longer, stay close a little longer, hold tight a little longer, hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm, that duh duh duh duh duh while you chew it, da da da da da you do it, dee dee dee long lasting freshness with [blank blank].” But it was a long time before I got the V8 can moment.
I chuckled, Dudley, when I filled in DORIC columns. Did you get that one right away??
Favorite was MINER for “Picky person?” Had one Ks before TEN Ks. We always say “You have the HONORs”, not in the singular. But really fun stuff today!
Stay out of harm's way everyone!
Good morning Splynter and everyone.
ReplyDeleteNot too difficult but the NW was an UNHOLY grind for me. Needed help with BIGRED. Thought the clues for DYS, ARS and STACKS were weak. I learned the capital of Bangladesh as Dacca, but I guess they changed it. Sic transit gloria. I did like the long down fill.
ROWEN- New word for me. We always called it 'the second cutting'. The earlier cutting was called 'the first cutting'. Sometimes, in a banner year for alfalfa, we would also reap a third cutting.
Enjoy your weekend.
Hi All ~~
ReplyDeleteThis one was easier for me than most Saturday puzzles. Lots of fun stuff! Having the BIG RED tune in my head helped there and HANG TIME quickly completed that top row. Really liked BALLS AND STRIKES and HAD ONES DRUTHERS and they helped to open up other areas.
The crossing of RARITAN and SANTO caused a problem as I didn't know either one. Got them after coming here ... thanks for another great write-up Splynter ... I love your comments!
Well ... cell phone is charged, Kindle is charged and storm windows are down, etc., etc. I'll fill a thermos with coffee tonight, just in case. Could never get through Sunday puzzles without my coffee!
Let's hope for the best, East Coasters ... stay safe!
Happy Birthday, Lemonade! Enjoy your day!
Druthers is slang(?) for I'd rather
ReplyDeleteGood morning Splynter, CC, et al., from Hurricane Central. Great job, Splynter. So enjoyed your efforts and esp the fabulous LONG and GORGEOUS line up of HUNKS. You rock! DON HO takes on a whole new meaning when I look at those guys! Thank you for the eye candy.
ReplyDeleteLoved this puzzle. LOL at 33A with Longhorn rival. Having just had Longhorn hamburgers a few wks ago in OK, I thought Angus at first. Loved the true Answer tho' : GO SOONERS!!!! Also loved the placement of BIG RED (OU) above unholy! I do like to INTONE some special chants and ave maria's . just before game time. The only place to go from NO. 1 is down, so lots of intonations and hymns to cover all our bases.
Happy Birthday Lemonade.
So far Irenes just playing with us...like sneaking up on us and going.."BOO!" Power is flickering and the hard part doesn't even start for another 2 hours and the worst won't come until 9 tonight. This is truly Shock and Awe from Momma Nature.
Be safe. Stay in. trees are already down and it's barely starting. Geeze! Tape/board your windows!
Hello Puzzlers - Slipped and slid all over on this one!
ReplyDeleteI had the same lack of ad jingle memory as Marti had when it came to Big Red. I was thinking Dentyne, but no go. Struggled to get HAD ONES DRUTHERS, even though I like the phrase. Lots of unknowns, especially that devilish ROWEN. Had to Goog the song and movie titles. Didn't know Don Ho held such credentials.
Yep, I was pleased to see the perps firm up DORIC instead of IONIC!
Horn Dog is familiar around here.
Battening down the hatches today.
I filled in RURITAN for the river in New Jersey, influenced in no small part by the civic club of that name and my ignorance of Spanish. [Pedro o Pablo] = SUNTO? Sure, why not. Got hung up on DOVE BAR for a bit before realizing [Fed personnel] could clue G-MEN as easily as G-MAN.
ReplyDeleteThere is a weather monitoring station on Cape Lookout where Irene passed over at 8 this morning. This graph
ReplyDeleteshows five days of barometric pressure, wind speed and wind gusts. It looks like the eye went directly over the station as the pressure dropped to 28.1 and the winds abated at the same time.
This page shows more data including wind directions.
I was looking at the data for a floating buoy yesterday that was showing 30 foot waves when Irene was about 100 miles away.
Good Morning All, I'm just stopping by to wish Lemonade a Happy Birthday.
ReplyDeleteI took one look at the puzzle and decided that my week-end "Opt-out" was the best solution for me.... Right off the bat, I don't chew gum and have never heard of BIG RED or it's jingle.
Looks like a beautiful summer day here. Lois, lock up the house and come on over for a BBQ (wouldn't that be nice!).
Spylnter
ReplyDeleteI like " Mama I'm comin' home." by Ozzy
I struggled with this I DNF I will try again later.
Fun Facts By Dave Letterman
Alan Shepherd was the 5th astronaut to walk on the moon, but the only astronaut to leave his wallet there.
At the end of his life, Thomas Edison didn't have enough money to pay his electric bill.
Hello.
ReplyDeleteTake care and good luck. Even a Cat
1 can be serious.
Got so tired of hearing "Stairway".
Brian would play it every time he picked up a quitar to check the sound.
eddy
Grumpy; Impressive links. The dew points are daunting, too. Guess that's why it is a tropical air mass - source of all the rain we're supposed to get. I know the graph is in knots, but I would have expected the wind speeds to be higher, based on all the hype.
ReplyDeleteForgot to wish Lemonade a Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great day.
Happy b'day Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteEven though I just toyed with the xwd, I enjoyed your write up Splynter, so much info to cram in.
Loved picky person= miner and calls @ home.
Glad to hear the storm is a cat 1...still can't imagine it.Be safe...STAY inside and eat all your ice cream before the elec. goes out!!
In a few hours Truman will be celebrating his 4th b'day in the popular backyard bouncy house with other wee bouncers.
I hope Irene continues to downgrade but that everyone takes necessary precautions as floods and winds will still cause big time damage even in a Cat1! Ya gotta love Chris Christie in NJ saying, "Hey, get the hell off the beach! Your tan is maxed out and you are in danger!" Shades of HST!
ReplyDeleteNo matter what, there will be diehards who stay and expect to be rescued after their bad decision. We are seeing that here with those who try to stay in the their floodplain houses or drive through water over the road.
It's also like the peeps who climb McKinley when they shouldn't and then lives must be risked to rescue them.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDelete¸♫♪♫•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (♫♪♫.•´ ´♥ ¸¸.•¨¯•.♫♫♪♫´¯`•.¸¸.♫♪♫and a Happy B-Day to YOU, Lemonade!♫♪♫♫♪♫
At least I finished the puzzle today, more than I can say for the last 2 days. Ugh! My dictionary told me the capital of Bangladesh was Dacca, but I knew the composer had to be ANKA. That threw me off. So when I finally gave in an erased Dacca, KEEN and the rest fell into place. I did like BALLSANDSTRIKES.
Beautiful Saturday here. All you East Coasters stay safe. The Weather Channel is keeping all of us informed.
Hey, am I the only one who mixes up Mena Suvari and Mira Sorvino?
ReplyDeleteHey GarlicGal, did you feel the earthquake up your way?
ReplyDeleteI posted this late at night a couple of days back.
Here's a great movie I've seen several times before and I just found it again on cable; Gunga Din with Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McLaglin. If you like the same kinds of movies that I do, you might want to search it out or add it to your NetFlix cue. (I just finished it last night. Great stuff!)
I also recorded Casablanca and I'm looking forward to watching it again. I love that La Marseillaise scene in Rick's Café.
Gunga Din made me think of Rudyard Kipling and that made me think of another, not quite so old movie that I want to see again; The Man Who Would Be King with Sean Connery and Michael Caine. It's another great adventure story.
Hello everybody. Happy birthday wishes to you, Lemonade. Crossing fingers for you east-coasters.
ReplyDeleteThis was an extremely hard puzzle for me today, and I could not finish it without lots of trips to the reference materials. As thehondohurricane said so well, it was really a DNF even though I did fill in the grid 100%.
Can't put my finger on it, but I got little, if any, pleasure from the puzzle today. For some reason, after solving an entry, most of the time my thought was, "Oh, okay, sure." A few clues and entries did evoke a silent chuckle, though, such as the ones yawl have already mentioned.
Did any of you know that about Don Ho? Did anybody want RUPEE for Bangladesh capital? ARS made me groan. I felt DYS was badly clued (dysclued?) And finally, I was disappointed that Longhorn referred to a sports team instead of to a kind of cheese or bovine animal.
Trust me on this Jayce. The Texas Longhorns are bovines.
ReplyDeleteDudley, to answer your question, I for one never mix up Mira Sorvino with Mena Suvari.
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary, I'm with you on the subject of people who engage in risky and foolish behavior, who feel the rules don't apply to them, and then cause great expense, effort, and risk to be expended on rescuing them.
Grumpy1, I sure don't know how you could finish the puzzle in less than half an hour. The only way I could be done with it that fast would be if I abandoned it out of frustration, which I almost did.
HeartRx, so funny how you sang that chewing gum jingle in your mind.
Lois, well said.
Best wishes to you all.
Avg Joe, oh yes indeedy they are.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking, Daniel Craig sure seems to be someone to whom the phrase "rugged good looks" applies.
The only rivers I knew in New Kersey were Forked River and Tom's River. I know, I know, those are names of towns, but I always assumed they were named for actual rivers on the banks, or mouths, of which the towns are located.
Good Afternoon, folks. Thank you Kyle for a great Saturday puzzle. Thank you, Splynter, for the excellent write-up.
ReplyDeleteWell, I got through this, but with a lot of deep thinking. My biggest hangup for a while was DON HO, as well as SANTO. I had SENOR for the two spanish guys for quite a while. I knew HAD ONES DRUTHERS would surely fit, but could not get all the letters to jive. Finally worked it out. I wonder if Don Ho was in the Army Air Corps in WW-II? Imight check that out.
For FDR and Truman Fraternally, I sure wanted FREEMASONS, because they were both Fraternity Brothers in that Fraternity, but ELKS fit and it is true as well. Harry Truman was Grand Master of his Masonic Grand Lodge. Very active.
It also took me forever to get POLARIS. I knew there was a common name for the North Star, but it took a while to remember.
It only took me about 4 hours to get through this. Oh sell, I am recovering so I have time.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade. Hope you have many more. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Hola Everyone, I didn't finish the puzzle on my own today. Thank you, Splynter, for a great writeup.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to wish Lemonade a Very Happy birthday and many, many more.
Also those of you in the path of Irene, stay safe.
Also HBD to Truman, JD. Enjoy the party. Are adults allowed in the bounce house?
Jayce, I agree with you about the enjoyment gained from solving this puzzle. However, that's the way I feel about all Saturday puzzles though.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, I hope you haven't had to sneeze yet! :>)
Bill G. Actually, I have sneezed. It is not pleasant. Thanks for your concerns.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Don Ho was in the USAF in the late 1950's. He was not old enough to be in WW-II in the Army Air Corps.
Abejo
We're just back from a lovely, relaxing week at Black Water Falls, WV, renting a housekeeping cottage there. We have been going to various WV locations every summer for the past 30 or so years to enjoy the beautiful scenery of mountain upon mountain. The gorgeous mountains uplift me and restore my spirit. On the way home we stopped in Lebanon, PA, Pennsylvania Dutch country, to visit my sister. Bill G., at the Farmer's Market we bought 4pounds of country made scrapple to freeze and 4 pounds of "pan pudding". At my parents' home we used to call it "pot pudding." It is a pork product which looks like scrapple when it is cold, but falls apart when when cooked and can be spread on toast or bread. (Childhood comfort food.) We arrived home in NJ in the late morning just ahead of the storm.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of NJ the Raritan River was a gimme. I've seem it often. It is both a river and a town.
Lemonade, Happy Birthday & may there be many more to come.
ReplyDeleteMy neglect in mentioning earlier is inexcusable.
Just here to wish Lemonade a Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteDNF today, and of what I did do, less than half was correct. I feel like a total cultural tyro. Never played golf, chewed gum or read Greek myths.
Yellowrocks, does it taste like scrapple?
ReplyDeleteKazie, I'll bet you're the only Corner regular who hasn't chewed gum. If you don't mind my asking, was there an significant reason?
Happy Birthday, Lemonade!
ReplyDeleteKazie, don't let it get you down. You've got company here! Played golf once and didn't like it; I did chew gum some, but never heard of Big Red, and I only knew 'Doric' from some long ago class (in what, I can't remember)!
ReplyDeleteIdidn't even get "Balls and strikes". DNF for me, but I feel better about it after Clearayes decision!
Garlic Girl, Nice to see you here.
I really enjoyed meeting you!
C.C., good to hear from you, too. I'm also a fan of Jennifer A and am not at all crazy about Pitt and Jolie. Hardly ever see Geena any more.
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Hi all!
ReplyDeletePuzzle was OK with red letter help after a while. Note: Google says that spelling of DHAKA was changed from Dacca in 1982!
Thanks Kyle, Lemonade!
Happy birthday to you, Lemon, what's left of it!
I couldn't get on here at first. Gmail made me change my password. Another thing to remember. Was nothing wrong with old password, but they wouldn't let me use it again! Anyone else have a similar experience?
Cheers!
I agree, I agree! This one was a DNF for me too. I did finish, however, with help from many sources.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Lemonade!
Thanks for the blogging, Mr. Splyter!
Nope, I don't care for Angelina nor Geena either. Celebs in general baffle me. Acting is a profession, not a PHD. So why is that anyone with a brain pays attention to anything they say or do?
Happy evening to all!
HBDTY Lemonade!
ReplyDeleteUnusual weather here this week. I was not looking forward to the predicted high temperatures. Today it was supposed to be 85F, but it never got up past 75. Tomorrow it's supposed to be hot again. I hope not but we'll see. In any case, much better weather than you east coasters are experiencing. I hope you all are doing OK.
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to a recording of last month's Prairie Home Companion. That and recorded old movies and my simple entertainment needs are met. Oh, and the hapless Dodgers look as if they've relearned how to hit. I wonder if it will last?
Chickie, yes the moms and dads went in with the little ones..like Cameron...but not the grandmas. Grady wept when the man took the bouncy house away, such drama.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this puzzle and Splynter's blog. I enjoyed hearing from all of you even more.
ReplyDelete"Rowen" was new to me but perps gave me all the letters. I got "risin" and "dhaka" with perps and wags. I didn't recognize "Dhaka" as a new spelling of Dacca, Thanks, Fermataprime. The NW was a real bear. I had to google Big Red. Like Marti I could recall the jingle but not the brand name. I had the P for guiding light and thought of Pole star (too long) and then easily morphed to "polaris."
I can't sleep. The wind is howling and the rain is beating on my windows. I am property manager at church and worry because our steeple leaks.
Happy belated birthday, Lemonade.
Bill G. Pot pudding tastes somwhat like scrapple, only better.
BTW The Raitan River and Raritan Bay are flooding.