Theme: Fish Heads - The first word in each familiar phrase can precede (head) "fish".
23A. Constant threat, metaphorically : SWORD OF DAMOCLES. Swordfish.
33A. Confederate Memorial Carving site : STONE MOUNTAIN. Stonefish. Wikipedia says "It is the most venomous fish in the world".
42A. Pianist who claimed to have invented jazz : JELLY ROLL MORTON. Stranger to me. I love jellyfish salad, sprinkled with sesame seeds and flakes of red pepper. Try it, Bill!
71A. Doomed duo : STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. Great entry. Starfish.
97A. Esso ad phrase : TIGER IN YOUR TANK. "Put a tiger in your tank". Tigerfish. Look at his teeth.
105A. Light dessert : ANGEL FOOD CAKE. Not familiar with angelfish.
123A Source of spy movie suspense : CAT AND MOUSE GAME. Catfish.
C.C. here. I hope all our East Coast readers in the path of Irene are safe.
The puzzle title gives the theme immediately, yes? "Fish heads" & "Fish tails" style gimmick just can't fool me any more.
Slow-cooked soup is a daily must in Guangzhou where I worked for several years, and fish head soup is very popular. Supposed to make you smart. Fish is regarded as a good brain food there.
Across:
1. Building supports : I-BEAMS
7. Dirty dog : SCALAWAG. Scoundrel has one more letter.
15. Calyx part : SEPAL
20. Sarge, e.g. : NON-COM. Non-commissioned.
21. Drive off : ALIENATE
22. Said in an ugly way : SNIDE
25. Inscribed pillar : STELA. Read this about Stele Forest in Xi'An. It's half an hour from our home.
26. Floor square : TILE
27. Is deceptive, in a way : LIES
28. Nile reptile : ASP
30. Russian communications acronym since 1992 : ITAR. Itar-Tass.
31. Vacation area : SEASIDE. Sea unnerves me.
39. German article : DER
40. Healthy as __ : AN OX
41. Do goo : GEL
50. Yellow-fever mosquito : AEDES. New word to me. Wikipedia says the name comes from the Ancient Greek aēdēs, meaning "unpleasant" or "odious".
54. Bullfight cry : OLE OLE
55. __-de-France : ILE
56. Get the better of : ONE UP
58. Watch : EYE
59. Controversial orchard spray : ALAR
60. Comic Carvey : DANA. He's in Rich's DC Comics puzzle.
62. "On His Blindness" poet : MILTON. What's the poem about, Clear Ayes?
64. River to the Rhein : AARE
65. Places to pick up cats : NAPES. Tiny "cats" dupe with 123A. Used to bother me a bit. Not any more. Sunday puzzle is too big.
67. "La Loge" artist : RENOIR. Here is the painting.
69. Deep-seated : INBRED
76. Tiberius' villa at Sperlonga included one : GROTTO. Been there, Husker Gary?
78. Current events? : EDDIES. Water current.
79. Dabbling ducks : TEALS
82. Hot stuff : LAVA
83. 1951 Lanza role : CARUSO. Mario Lanza.
87. Early '60s Polo Grounds team, nowadays : JETS. NY Jets. I used to associate Polo Grounds only with Mel Ott's NY Giants until I read Marti's write-up last time.
89. "Dragonwyck" author Seton : ANYA
90. Island strings : UKE. LEIS too.
91. Country estate : MANOR
92. In place of : FOR
93. Trojan War counselor : NESTOR. Did you know he was an Argonaut?
95. Land in old Rome : TERRA
101. Amsterdam street adornment : ELM. Really? I only stopped at their airport once.
103. Results : ENDS
104. "Oz" airer : HBO. I've never heard of the show. You, Kazie?
111. Aardwolf's diet : INSECTS. And 84D. Aardvark's tidbit : ANT. "Aard" means "earth".
116. Apply in a slapdash way : DAUB
117. Wood on a diamond? : ASH. I bet every baseball fan thought of Cubs' Kerry Wood. I did.
118. Peek-__ : A-BOO
120. Seed pod : ARIL
121. Literally, "to God" : ADIOS
129. Irritating : PESKY
130. Places for duds : ARMOIRES. I drew a blank. Sometimes I feel incredibly dumb.
131. Made square : EVENED
132. Head lock : TRESS
133. Foolhardy : RECKLESS
134. Ones who excite devils? : DARERS. Oh, daredevils.
Down:
1. MIT and others : INSTS
2. Alamo hero : BOWIE (Jim)
3. __ Gay: WWII plane : ENOLA
4. Plots that may be developed : ACRES. Lovely clue.
5. In style : MOD
6. Existed in a suppressed state : SMOLDERED. Do you say "Smoldering hot" or "Smothering hot"?
7. "Smooth Operator" singer : SADE. Love Sade, sad, but "Someone Already Broken My Heart".
8. Word with act or action : CLASS. Jim Thome is a real class act.
9. Draw a bead : AIM
10. Denebola's constellation : LEO
11. Mandela's org. : ANC (African National Congress)
12. __-Mart Stores, Inc. : WAL
13. TV group with B.A. Baracus and Hannibal Smith : A-TEAM. All I know about "The A Team" is Mr. T.
14. Bas-relief medium : GESSO
15. Barbecue sound : SSS
16. Authorize : ENTITLE
17. St. Peter's Basilica masterpiece : PIETA
18. Dwight's two-time opponent : ADLAI
19. Get wind (of) : LEARN
24. '80s Pontiac : FIERO. Wikipedia says it means "proud" in Italian and "wild", "fierce", or "ferocious" in Spanish. Looks fiery to me.
29. Curly-tailed dog : PUG. And 88D. Like a 29-Down : SNUB-NOSED. Hey, there, do you like this clue?
32. Poem of everyday life : IDYL
34. Hardly racy : TAME
35. Notable 1969 bride : ONO
36. "The world will little note, __ long remember, what we say here": Lincoln : NOR
37. Heap praises on : EXTOL
38. Ebb's relative : NEAP
42. Shaw title saint : JOAN. "Saint Joan".
43. Cinders of old comics : ELLA. Ella Cinders. Learned from doing Xword.
44. Vaults : LEAPS OVER
45. Lynn from Kentucky : LORETTA
46. Titanic, e.g. : LINER
47. Grassy plain : LLANO
48. Can. province : ONT
49. Con opener : NEO. Neo-con. The likes of Scotter Libby & Richard Perle, who's incredibly convincing.
51. Hopeful letter opener : DEAR SANTA. Argyle would be pleased to see this entry. Hope he has the internet connection.
52. Rochester's love : EYRE
53. __ money : SEED
57. TCU part: Abbr. : UNIV
61. S part : ARC. Feeling dumb again.
62. Botch : MISDO
63. Plenty mad : IRED
64. Up with, with "of" : ABREAST. Jazzbumpa would have given you a cute link.
66. Remained : SAT
68. Psych ending : OSES. Psychoses.
70. Surfing site : NET
72. Almond __: candy : ROCA. Have never had it before.
73. Tangy mustard : DIJON. Needs drops of honey.
74. On one's guard : LEERY
75. Düsseldorf direction : OST. East.
76. Oversupply : GLUT
77. Croupier's tool : RAKE
80. City about 200 miles from Marseille : LYON
81. Cutty __: Scotch : SARK. Let's hear from Tinbeni and eddyB.
85. "Vive le __!" : ROI
86. More than suggested : URGED
91. Shopping venue : MALL
92. Hall of Fame catcher Carlton : FISK. Another great player whose baseball card value does not match his achievement.
94. Libido symbol : EROS. It seems that I'm the only one who has never heard of Splynter's horndog before.
96. Nikes alternative : REEBOKS
98. Something besides the ltr. : ENC
99. Nutritional stat : RDA
100. Sch. in Athens : OHIO U
102. Writer's deg. : MFA
105. Show flexibility : ADAPT
106. Perennial '90s-'00s presidential candidate : NADER
107. False front : GUISE
108. One may be present when an envelope is opened : OSCAR. Pinkerton provides the security for those statuettes.
109. Midwest hub : O'HARE
110. Chair designer Charles : EAMES
112. Anxious : EAGER
113. Film set contraption : CRANE
114. Track official : TIMER
115. They may follow teams : SLEDS. Oh, dog teams.
119. Honcho : BOSS
122. Procedure: Abbr. : SYS
124. Cinephile's TV choice : TMC
125. Hunky-dory : A-OK
126. Nothing at all : NIL
127. Doctor of music? : DRE. Dr. Dre.
128. Stowe girl : EVA. From "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. Constant threat, metaphorically : SWORD OF DAMOCLES. Swordfish.
33A. Confederate Memorial Carving site : STONE MOUNTAIN. Stonefish. Wikipedia says "It is the most venomous fish in the world".
42A. Pianist who claimed to have invented jazz : JELLY ROLL MORTON. Stranger to me. I love jellyfish salad, sprinkled with sesame seeds and flakes of red pepper. Try it, Bill!
71A. Doomed duo : STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. Great entry. Starfish.
97A. Esso ad phrase : TIGER IN YOUR TANK. "Put a tiger in your tank". Tigerfish. Look at his teeth.
105A. Light dessert : ANGEL FOOD CAKE. Not familiar with angelfish.
123A Source of spy movie suspense : CAT AND MOUSE GAME. Catfish.
C.C. here. I hope all our East Coast readers in the path of Irene are safe.
The puzzle title gives the theme immediately, yes? "Fish heads" & "Fish tails" style gimmick just can't fool me any more.
Slow-cooked soup is a daily must in Guangzhou where I worked for several years, and fish head soup is very popular. Supposed to make you smart. Fish is regarded as a good brain food there.
Across:
1. Building supports : I-BEAMS
7. Dirty dog : SCALAWAG. Scoundrel has one more letter.
15. Calyx part : SEPAL
20. Sarge, e.g. : NON-COM. Non-commissioned.
21. Drive off : ALIENATE
22. Said in an ugly way : SNIDE
25. Inscribed pillar : STELA. Read this about Stele Forest in Xi'An. It's half an hour from our home.
26. Floor square : TILE
27. Is deceptive, in a way : LIES
28. Nile reptile : ASP
30. Russian communications acronym since 1992 : ITAR. Itar-Tass.
31. Vacation area : SEASIDE. Sea unnerves me.
39. German article : DER
40. Healthy as __ : AN OX
41. Do goo : GEL
50. Yellow-fever mosquito : AEDES. New word to me. Wikipedia says the name comes from the Ancient Greek aēdēs, meaning "unpleasant" or "odious".
54. Bullfight cry : OLE OLE
55. __-de-France : ILE
56. Get the better of : ONE UP
58. Watch : EYE
59. Controversial orchard spray : ALAR
60. Comic Carvey : DANA. He's in Rich's DC Comics puzzle.
62. "On His Blindness" poet : MILTON. What's the poem about, Clear Ayes?
64. River to the Rhein : AARE
65. Places to pick up cats : NAPES. Tiny "cats" dupe with 123A. Used to bother me a bit. Not any more. Sunday puzzle is too big.
67. "La Loge" artist : RENOIR. Here is the painting.
69. Deep-seated : INBRED
76. Tiberius' villa at Sperlonga included one : GROTTO. Been there, Husker Gary?
78. Current events? : EDDIES. Water current.
79. Dabbling ducks : TEALS
82. Hot stuff : LAVA
83. 1951 Lanza role : CARUSO. Mario Lanza.
87. Early '60s Polo Grounds team, nowadays : JETS. NY Jets. I used to associate Polo Grounds only with Mel Ott's NY Giants until I read Marti's write-up last time.
89. "Dragonwyck" author Seton : ANYA
90. Island strings : UKE. LEIS too.
91. Country estate : MANOR
92. In place of : FOR
93. Trojan War counselor : NESTOR. Did you know he was an Argonaut?
95. Land in old Rome : TERRA
101. Amsterdam street adornment : ELM. Really? I only stopped at their airport once.
103. Results : ENDS
104. "Oz" airer : HBO. I've never heard of the show. You, Kazie?
111. Aardwolf's diet : INSECTS. And 84D. Aardvark's tidbit : ANT. "Aard" means "earth".
116. Apply in a slapdash way : DAUB
117. Wood on a diamond? : ASH. I bet every baseball fan thought of Cubs' Kerry Wood. I did.
118. Peek-__ : A-BOO
120. Seed pod : ARIL
121. Literally, "to God" : ADIOS
129. Irritating : PESKY
130. Places for duds : ARMOIRES. I drew a blank. Sometimes I feel incredibly dumb.
131. Made square : EVENED
132. Head lock : TRESS
133. Foolhardy : RECKLESS
134. Ones who excite devils? : DARERS. Oh, daredevils.
Down:
1. MIT and others : INSTS
2. Alamo hero : BOWIE (Jim)
3. __ Gay: WWII plane : ENOLA
4. Plots that may be developed : ACRES. Lovely clue.
5. In style : MOD
6. Existed in a suppressed state : SMOLDERED. Do you say "Smoldering hot" or "Smothering hot"?
7. "Smooth Operator" singer : SADE. Love Sade, sad, but "Someone Already Broken My Heart".
8. Word with act or action : CLASS. Jim Thome is a real class act.
9. Draw a bead : AIM
10. Denebola's constellation : LEO
11. Mandela's org. : ANC (African National Congress)
12. __-Mart Stores, Inc. : WAL
13. TV group with B.A. Baracus and Hannibal Smith : A-TEAM. All I know about "The A Team" is Mr. T.
14. Bas-relief medium : GESSO
15. Barbecue sound : SSS
16. Authorize : ENTITLE
17. St. Peter's Basilica masterpiece : PIETA
18. Dwight's two-time opponent : ADLAI
19. Get wind (of) : LEARN
24. '80s Pontiac : FIERO. Wikipedia says it means "proud" in Italian and "wild", "fierce", or "ferocious" in Spanish. Looks fiery to me.
29. Curly-tailed dog : PUG. And 88D. Like a 29-Down : SNUB-NOSED. Hey, there, do you like this clue?
32. Poem of everyday life : IDYL
34. Hardly racy : TAME
35. Notable 1969 bride : ONO
36. "The world will little note, __ long remember, what we say here": Lincoln : NOR
37. Heap praises on : EXTOL
38. Ebb's relative : NEAP
42. Shaw title saint : JOAN. "Saint Joan".
43. Cinders of old comics : ELLA. Ella Cinders. Learned from doing Xword.
44. Vaults : LEAPS OVER
45. Lynn from Kentucky : LORETTA
46. Titanic, e.g. : LINER
47. Grassy plain : LLANO
48. Can. province : ONT
49. Con opener : NEO. Neo-con. The likes of Scotter Libby & Richard Perle, who's incredibly convincing.
51. Hopeful letter opener : DEAR SANTA. Argyle would be pleased to see this entry. Hope he has the internet connection.
52. Rochester's love : EYRE
53. __ money : SEED
57. TCU part: Abbr. : UNIV
61. S part : ARC. Feeling dumb again.
62. Botch : MISDO
63. Plenty mad : IRED
64. Up with, with "of" : ABREAST. Jazzbumpa would have given you a cute link.
66. Remained : SAT
68. Psych ending : OSES. Psychoses.
70. Surfing site : NET
72. Almond __: candy : ROCA. Have never had it before.
73. Tangy mustard : DIJON. Needs drops of honey.
74. On one's guard : LEERY
75. Düsseldorf direction : OST. East.
76. Oversupply : GLUT
77. Croupier's tool : RAKE
80. City about 200 miles from Marseille : LYON
81. Cutty __: Scotch : SARK. Let's hear from Tinbeni and eddyB.
85. "Vive le __!" : ROI
86. More than suggested : URGED
91. Shopping venue : MALL
92. Hall of Fame catcher Carlton : FISK. Another great player whose baseball card value does not match his achievement.
94. Libido symbol : EROS. It seems that I'm the only one who has never heard of Splynter's horndog before.
96. Nikes alternative : REEBOKS
98. Something besides the ltr. : ENC
99. Nutritional stat : RDA
100. Sch. in Athens : OHIO U
102. Writer's deg. : MFA
105. Show flexibility : ADAPT
106. Perennial '90s-'00s presidential candidate : NADER
107. False front : GUISE
108. One may be present when an envelope is opened : OSCAR. Pinkerton provides the security for those statuettes.
109. Midwest hub : O'HARE
110. Chair designer Charles : EAMES
112. Anxious : EAGER
113. Film set contraption : CRANE
114. Track official : TIMER
115. They may follow teams : SLEDS. Oh, dog teams.
119. Honcho : BOSS
122. Procedure: Abbr. : SYS
124. Cinephile's TV choice : TMC
125. Hunky-dory : A-OK
126. Nothing at all : NIL
127. Doctor of music? : DRE. Dr. Dre.
128. Stowe girl : EVA. From "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Answer grid.
C.C.
39 comments:
Hi all!
How nice to have a fairly easy and fun puzzle.
No cheats and a modest amount of time. Great work, R. Doll and CC!
Liked the cool fish theme. Prefer themes that are not buried somewhere in irrelevant answers!
It has been over 100 deg. F. in the SF Valley for too long! LADWP has not gotten around to hooking up the solar panels. My room AC guzzling up electricity like mad. And, I still feel yucky most of the time.
Hello Puzzlers - Could not quite manage a no-peeky today. Got stuck in the SE, and red lettered the answer HBO. I never know those cable show clues! Once that was filled in it was a breeze.
Nice to see you today C.C. I always learn something from your Sunday writeups.
Not much influence from Irene yet, just some breeze and intermittent rain. I hope she fizzles.
Morning, all!
Still no real sign of impending doom here outside of Boston. A little rain, a little wind, but that's it. Of course, the storm is moving very slowly and it looks like it won't actually get here until much later today.
The puzzle today was perfectly adequate for a Sunday. The theme was easy enough to understand, and all the theme answers were familiar phrases (even JELLYROLL MORTON).
The only minor nit I have to pick is the fact that INSTS probably shouldn't have been clued with MIT, since the answer is actually part of the clue, sort of. It might have been better to clue it as "Part of MIT and others."
Stay safe, everybody!
Good Morning, folks. Thank you, Robert Doll, for a great Sunday puzzle. It was actually doable in a decent amount of time. Fun. Thank you, C.C., for the nice write-up.
Started in the NW and actually got 1A and 1D, as well as 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, 20A, 26A, and 31A, before looking elsewhere. I felt good.
The theme came easily and certainly helped with the rest of the puzzle. Struggled some with STONE MOUNTAIN. I had BUT instead of NOR for 36D for a while. Interesting, Stone Mountain, GA, is the southern beginning of the Appalachian Trail, of which I hiked the most northern part, only 75 miles.
I feel better each day. Plan on going to Chicago today for an event.
Enjoyed seeing ASP again for 28A. It has been a couple weeks.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. This was a fun and easy puzzle. I loved seeing all the fish. Did you know that CATFISH have no scales? Hence, they are not kosher.
Stone Mountain.
My favorite clues were: Do Goo = GEL
I knew immediately that the Wood on a Diamond referred to baseball, therefore, the answer must be ASH.
Hot Stuff = LAVA was also fun.
Barry G: let us know next time you plan a vacation. If I remember correctly, you planned to go to England when the Icelandic volcano spewed, then you were in NYC when the hurricane traveled through! I think I see a pattern here, LOL!
QOD: Housework, if you do it right, will kill you. ~ Erma Bombeck
Good morning!
Not too difficult, except for the middle. I had EXalt and didn't want to let go of it. Also had OSiS. Those two MISDOs kept me from seeing MILTON, EDDIES and MISDO until I finally remembered being introduced to MILTON in high school English more than half a century ago. Once I put that in, the rest became obvious.
My paper was folded so the title was above the fold and I didn't see it. I completely forgot that Sunday's are titled and was looking for a unifier. D'OH! Most of the theme entries were pretty obvious with just a few letters, though.
Briefly wanted 'foley' for that film set contraption but I wasn't adament about it like I was with 'exalt' so it got pushed aside by the other entries in that corner.
I hope all of our east coasters are safe and dry this morning.
Hello.
Cutty is a good second shelf blend.
(Top shelf are the single malts.)
It was one of the first ones I tried.
The race is out here at Infineon
today. Will Power has the pole.
Ever heard of Toowoomba? Can't find it on the map.
The worst is probably over, but take care.
eddy
Good Morning C.C. et al.
Thanks for the write-up and links today, C.C.! Fascinating stuff about fish head soup. At first thought, it sounded very unappetizing to me. But here in NE we enjoy fish chowder, and I remember that my mother used to use all the fish heads to make the “stock” for it. It really was yummy. Oh, and I had never heard of horndog either, C.C.!
HA! 87A “Polo Grounds” clue didn’t stump me this time. But this time, I was thinking of Mets instead of JETS!! Grrrr…
For “Wood on a diamond?” I put “bat”. Kerry Wood and ASH were about as far from my mind as they could be.
A really nice tight theme, just enough misdirection and fun entries like SKALAWAG, with a couple learning moments (aardwolf, ANYA Seton) made this a really enjoyable Sunday morning romp.
We may be lucky with this hurricane, as it seems to be collapsing. But there’s still plenty of rain and wind to come. Stay safe!
What a nice fishing trip but about 3 squares “got away”! LLANO, ANYA and GESSO new for me.
Musings
-I thought wind clue might have a LEE component. I LEARNed.
-The east coast has been under the SWORDOFDAMOCLES for days and their TERRA got rearranged
-Jellyroll labored in anonymity like many black musicians and athletes of not so long ago
-Fish heads sound disgusting C.C. but who knows what’s in a hot dog?
-I had the ODER flowing into the Rhine. Those vowel-laden European Rivers can be tough! An poster of a few days ago that hates foreign references could be in for a frustrating hobby!
-C.C., no but did go to the Blue Grotto on Capri!
-Eddies can be in water or electric current
-I remember Lanza best as Emile de Becque courting Ens. Nellie Forbush
-Yes on Thome, no on Kerry Wood but thought of Dwight Gooden instead of Adlai at first
-I thought of Jack Benny’s Rochester
-Ohio U is the home for fired UNL coach Frank Solich
I had trouble with 51D. Hopeful letter opener: because I was thinking of a hopeful person opening a letter instead of the opening salutation, DEAR SANTA, of a letter filled with hopes.
Weather-wise, holding our own. My sister in Hillsdale is getting flooded but it is the fault of the state DoT. They replaced a bridge/culvert down stream of her house and in spite of all the locals telling them it needed to be twice as big. They put one in the same size as before and it can't handle it. It backs up and then washes out the side road she lives on.
The town has closed the one lane bridge on her side road because of the old, old stone foundation(that never flooded!) so she is effectively marooned.
The stonefish or dornorn is officially considered the most venomous fish in the world. It takes its name from the fact that, well, it looks like a stone.
Hi There ~!
The theme was obvious, yes, made for a light-hearted Sunday puzzle.
Tough spot was AEDES, AARE, and EYRE. My first accident involved a woman in a FIERO who crashed into the back of my Subaru - took four years to resolve the case.
I had SMOTHERED first, but SMOLDERED is better.
We lost a little siding, but that was expected because the company that put it up has been back 2 times to fix it - this time, I will do it.
The tail winds of Irene are strong still, and I hear the siding flapping about - but I like to think of it as a "cool breeze" considering the source.
I smiled at "DEAR SANTA" - glad to hear you are OK, and the same for BarryG.
Splynter
Good morning C.C. and all.
Raining pitchforks and hammer handles here. 3.1" so far. Winds on the low side yet.
A nice fun Sunday solve. Liked the long theme fills; also, SCALAWAG. TRESS. NAPES, and EDDIES were cleverly clued. Quite a few WAGS including ONT, GEL, OST, SNUBNOSED, CRANE, and GROTTO. Three words of Afrikaner origin: REEBOKS, and the clues for INSECTS, and ANTS, 'aardwolf', and 'aardvark'. Took me a little while to suss the Rhein feeder; tried Main and Ruhr, then remembered the AARE (sometimes Aar) near the headwaters in Switzerland. Didn't care much for the clues for ARC and MISDO.
Hope everyone is safe and dry.
Greetings Weekend Warriors! Thank you, C.C. for a most enjoyable blog.
My granddaughters spent the night so I did this while following in the trail of the toddler who now touches and reaches for everything.
Easy enough for a Sunday with a nice shout out to DEARSANTA and Splynter, IBEAM.
I really like doomed duo, STAR CROSSED LOVERS.
My MISDOs were LEON instead of LYON, STUBNOSED not SNUBNOSED so of course the crosses were strange.
Hand up for BAT then ASH and no idea about FISK but it emerged.
Still working on yesterday's as I was gone all day and exhausted by nightfall. The NW is tough
I hope all in Irene's path stay safe and report in soon.
Have a terrific Sunday, everyone!
Good Morning All, I'm glad to heard that our East Coaster are faring pretty well so far. Can you believe our area electricity was out for a while last night? Too many people using their AC's, I guess. It has been over 100 F. for the past couple of days and about 85 F. at night...just too hot.
HG, Basso Ezio Pinza played the original Broadway role of planter Emile de Becque. The movie role was played by Rossano Brazzi. Mr. Brazzi was very handsome, but his vocals weren't the best. His songs were dubbed by Metropolitan Opera basso Giorgi Tozzi. Mario Lanza was a tenor (as was CARUSO) and played some fine parts, but he never acted or sang in "South Pacific".
Hello!
I am new to this on-line chatting. I found this page a few months ago after needing help with the crossword and I have looked forward to the write up and comments every week since.
Thanks for the help!
CA, Mama Mia, of course you are right. I had one Italian singer confused with another! I always thought Lanza sang that role and now see the error of my ways!
Thanks for the gentle reminder.
Hello everybody. Good to 'hear' from you all. Thanks for the writeup, C.C. Your point of view is always interesting.
Sorry you central and southern Californians have been suffering such smoldering heat. Thank goodness for AC. It is interesting to recall growing up without it.
So catfish are are not kosher because they have no scales? Interesting. Another learning moment.
Interesting to watch the relevision news about hurricane Irene; they give a lopsided view of it, I think, because they emphasize the sensationalist parts. Although it is a powerful storm, and has caused death and destruction, I hope and believe that by taking precaustions and evacuating risky areas, you mid-Atlantic and New England coasters will be safe. Interesting how the residents of the Outer Banks pretty much just took it all in stride.
There, I just used 'interesting' a half-dozen times :)
HG, LOL, Pinza? Brazzi? Tozzi? Lanza? I can well understand how you would get them mixed up. In an earlier world of opera, it was common belief that Italian singers were "better". As "Price and Battle" the DIVAS from yesterday's puzzle prove, great singers come from here, there and everywhere. (Heck, nowadays, I have problems keeping Joneses separated from Smiths.)
fermatprime, we lived in the LA area for many years. I am not surprised that the LADWP is unresponsive. It is interesting that they promote use of solar power, yet they aren't helping getting you hooked up. Good luck with getting your meter to spin in the opposite direction!
Hi Carole and welcome.
C.C. Milton's sonnet, "On His Blindness" was a reference to the Biblical Parable of the talents.
Milton was questioning if he were acceptable to God since he was blind and could no longer use his own talents. Patience answers, God is so kingly and has so many servants, those who simply bear life's burdens and "stand and wait" on God are most acceptable to the Almighty.
"When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
"They also serve, who stand and wait."
A slight misquote of the more famous line, to describe the families of military personnel left behind.
I enjoyed the puzzles and write ups Sat. and today. I enjoyed even more hearing from all of you again after my vacation Unfortunately I typed my reaction to yesterday's puzzle three times and had it "eaten" when I attempted to publish it. Lemonade's birthday greeting also disappeared. Happy belated birthday, Lemonade.
I was more inspired by yesterday's puzzle, although I enjoyed many of today's misdirections.
I find it interesting that aarvark means earth pig and aardwolf means earth wolf. They both dig in the earth for insects.
aardwolf
Hey Jayce, it's hard to find a common denominator for the climate and weather here in southern California. Inland and the valleys where Fermatprime resides, it's hot. In the desert areas like Palm Springs, even hotter. But then there are the local mountains. Here, near the shore, the temperature hasn't gotten to 80 yet this summer. The ocean keeps it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. When it does get to 80 and above, I keep telling myself to get A/C in this house.
C.C., I'm not sure where to get jellyfish salad locally but I'll be sure to look for it on your recommendation. (Angel fish are a pretty fish in a freshwater acquarium.)
Irene.
Personally we survived quite well here despite 12 hours of heavy rains and wind. We lost power for only one minute, although others nearby are really suffering from its loss. Many of the locate highways are flooded and impassable and many neighboring areas had to be evacuated. My relatives in PA and elsewhere are also hampered by impassable roads.
Just down the street two hours ago a tree fell on my neighbors car. The lawn service is sawing it up now.
I hope all you east coasters are okay.
Good afternoon C.C. and Sunday puzzlers,
It is heartening to hear that all seems well with those of you that weathered the storm, although we have not heard from Lois.
I had lots of fun at first filling today's grid. Would have never been able to fill any of the theme answers without the perps. Also, walking away for awhile seems to help.At one point I went thru the alphabet to finish the n in napes. Did I ever feel stupid when it hit me!!
C.C., I enjoyed reading the Stele Forest history. The ink rubbing was lovely, so different than the rubbings we do when visiting our memorials.
Amsterdam street adornment got me. I was there for a month and all I could recall was those posts. I was sure there must have been a 3 letter name for them.LOL! Much longer than 3 letters!
Amsterdam had laws about their trees as far back as 1454. Damaging a tree was a crime and would cost a person his right hand!!
Luckily, I do know my poets and painters, but never sure what the paintings and poems' titles are.
When I was in college, I read The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton. It was favorite for a long time, and got me interested in historical fiction.I love the feeling of entering another time and it feeling very real.
Hi, C.C. and other blog followers.
This was a nice Sunday puzzle, made even nicer by your comments, C.C. Thanks to you and Mr. Doll.
Though this was certainly no speed run, it went together for me without one hitch. Anything at all questionable for me was worked out with the help of perps. I really liked it. I even understood the theme after having it pointed up by C.C.
CA. Lovely poem. So that's the origin of that last line. I guess we've all used it some time or other. We are to have 100 degrees today, also, though it's been in the low 90s till today. I hope we're almost over summer heat.
Welcome, Carole. I have a daughter Carole-with-an-e. Why don't you go blue and let us know a bit more about you?
C.C., do you think Dennis is still standing out there on his front porch?
Welcome Carole, that is how most of us discovered this wonderful blog. Hope to hear more from you.
Yellowrocks: Select your post, then copy it, before attempting to post it!
Well, Good Night Irene. She didn't amount to much in western Mass, and I'm sure not complaining. Our biggest hassle has been flooding rather than wind damage
Finally finished Saturday's puzzle and found it for the most part enjoyable.
Liked seeing CAVALIER for some reason and for the life of me could not remember BIGRED gum.
Very nice from Kyle T. Dolan.
Hahtool:
That is very interesting about the cat fish. Good to know.
I suspect that "Good Night, Irene" might enjoy a resurgence in popularity.
This is neat. It's sort of a time machine of music. Pick a year, wait a few seconds, and the Juke Box will show you the 20 hits to select from for that year. Hope you like it..
Spitzboov, I like that juke box a lot. I have it playing in the background while I'm typing.
It does something else for me though. It reminds me what a musical fogy I am. I much prefer the popular music from the decade when I was born to anything that been popular in the last 20 years.
Bill G. I'm glad you liked it. I stumbled across it during my weekly visit to a retired Australian submariner's site. Interesting that the 'oldies' are popular elsewhere (along with the newer stuff).
Bill G - a local shop is selling a bumper sticker I really like. It reads: "It's not that I'm old, your music really does suck!"
Sez lots.
This is eerie. I just watched a 20/20 episode about a film called "Catfish" having to do with fake identities on the internet. Veeery interesting.
Good night, everyone, "see" you tomorrow.
45. Lynn from Kentucky : LORETTA I didn't know this.I live in Kentucky. I only got by google.
But for the second day in a row I DNF.
Fun Facts By Dave Letterman
Will return tomorrow.
Spitzboov, thank you for the Jukebox. I love it and have bookmarked it. Remember "Your Hit Parade" on Saturday nights?
Rare is the puzzle that has just the right difficulty for me. This was one. The north and central parts came fairly easily, but the south was another matter. It didn't help that I had BAT for ASH and HECTOR for NESTOR. Now that I think back on it, Hector was the king, not a counselor. And for the longest time, SLEDS eluded me as an answer to "They may follow teams." Well hey, they sure do, no foul there.
Love the shout out to ol' JELLYROLLMORTON, a true pioneer. Also loved the excellent word SCALAWAG. Even most of the fill is not too bad, the awkward INSTS notwithstanding. All in all, a very PESKY solve--my favorite kind!
I definitely enjoy the LA Times puzzle...also, alot easier than NY Times...
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