Theme: Ups and Downs - Each theme entry consists of a phrasal verb and a compound noun, all in the pattern of "Word+Down/Up + Same word Ups/Downs".
17A. What older baseball pitchers might do? : WIND DOWN WIND-UPS
23A. Fetch Halloween costumes from the attic? : GET DOWN GET-UPS
53A. Post snide comments on a blog? : PUT UP PUT-DOWNS. Great clue, as evidenced occasionally on our blog.
64A. Join the high school wrestling team? : TAKE UP TAKE-DOWNS
C.C. here, filling in a blogging schedule gap.
I think this is Kurt Krauss' LA Times debut. Congratulations! We have so many new constructors this year. I was just talking to Dummy Dennis the other day that we haven't had Rich's byline this year. He doesn't need to create extra puzzles.
It's a nice & consistent theme, though I think adding on/off or other similar patterned phrases will add more excitement to gimmick.
Across:
1. Kilmer of "Batman Forever" : VAL
4. Nostalgic soft drinks : NEHIS
9. Latish wake-up time : TEN AM. Too late.
14. Object of a conquistador's quest : ORO. Gold.
15. Conjure up : EVOKE
16. As a friend, to François : EN AMI. So, Kazie, if I say this to a friend, it would be "En amie"?
20. "Scarborough Fair" herb : SAGE. I love this song.
21. Huey, Dewey and Louie, e.g. : TOONS
22. Dull routine : RUT
27. Mice and lice : VERMIN. I never think of lice as vermin. I associate it with rodent only.
29. Quick-flash link : AS A. I just adore this picture. Truman is becoming a big boy now. Sorry about the cat, JD.
30. French land mass : ILE
31. Early pamphleteer : PAINE (Thomas)
35. Big name in baseball cards : TOPPS. Lovely entry for me, Dennis and Hondo. Football/Hockey cards too. (From Dennis: Topps only has baseball and football licenses now; no hockey or basketball. Basketball is exclusively Panini and hockey is Panini/Upper Deck.)
39. "Can I get a word in?" : AHEM
41. Muffler : SCARF
43. Intimate apparel purchase : SLIP. Do people still wear slips?
44. Wrinkle-prone fabric : LINEN
46. Work with one's hands : KNEAD
48. NATO founding member : USA
49. Classy org.? : NEA. Excellent clue, though Husker Gary might disagree.
51. Dulles alternative : REAGAN. Airport.
59. Italian diminutive suffix : INO. Can you give me an example?
60. "Pagliacci" clown : TONIO. I can never remember this damned clown.
61. Dundee denials : NAES
68. Early Indo-European : ARYAN
69. Actress Dunne : IRENE
70. Volstead __: Prohibition enabler : ACT
71. Campfire treat : S'MORE. I have yet to have one.
72. Enjoyed, as a beach blanket : LAY ON. I have trouble understanding the clue.
73. "Go for it!" : YES. Annette is in love!
Down:
1. Swears : VOWS
2. Certain stage solo : ARIA
3. Scratch : LONG GREEN. Did not know "Scratch" is slang for money. It's not food item like cabbage, lettuce, dough, bread, etc.
4. Composer Rorem : NED. Last time ROREM stumped quite a few. Not Jayce, I don't think.
5. HTC smartphone : EVO. HTC = High Tech Computer. Based in Taiwan. Unknown to me. What does EVO stand for?
6. Mr. Fixit's genre : HOW TO
7. "Don't remind me" : I KNOW
8. Attach, in a way : SEW ON
9. Most likely to crack : TENSEST
10. Bring down the curtain: END. I'm sure Marti noticed this dupe. She's very observant.
11. Tiny Pacific republic : NAURU. World's smallest island nation.
12. Rally, as a crowd : AMP UP. Oops, a stray UP.
13. Thin sprays : MISTS
18. Think : DEEM
19. Actress Swenson : INGA. Of "Benson".
24. Fall (over) : TIP
25. Geneticist's concerns : DNAs
26. Art colony town : TAOS
27. Medicine chest item : VIAL
28. K-12 : EL-HI. See, it just won't go away, due to its ideal letter combination.
32. "Ew!" : ICK
33. Mary Bobbsey's older daughter : NAN
34. Poetic preposition : ERE
36. Keeps at it : PLUGS AWAY. Great entry.
37. Galileo Galilei Airport city : PISA
38. Attention __ : SPAN
40. Choice reading? : MENU. Tricky clue.
42. Casino game : FARO
45. Its largest moon is Triton : NEPTUNE. Gimme for Bill G & Spitzboov.
47. Drops on a blade? : DEW. A blade of grass.
50. Each : A POP
52. Monument word : ANNO
53. Gyro essentials : PITAs
54. Render weaponless : UNARM. Yeah, disarm is more accurate.
55. Godzilla's stomping ground : TOKYO. Has anyone read "Norwegian Wood"?
56. "Wait __ Dark": 1967 film : UNTIL
57. Pageant trophy : TIARA
58. "Okey-__!" : DOKEY
62. Verb-to-noun suffix : ENCE. Refer, reference.
63. Droop-nosed fliers : SSTS. Here you go, Abejo. Miss ASP?
65. Mr. Potato Head piece : EAR
66. "Small Craft on a Milk Sea" musician : ENO (Brian). Ignorant of the album.
67. Home viewing room : DEN
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. What older baseball pitchers might do? : WIND DOWN WIND-UPS
23A. Fetch Halloween costumes from the attic? : GET DOWN GET-UPS
53A. Post snide comments on a blog? : PUT UP PUT-DOWNS. Great clue, as evidenced occasionally on our blog.
64A. Join the high school wrestling team? : TAKE UP TAKE-DOWNS
C.C. here, filling in a blogging schedule gap.
I think this is Kurt Krauss' LA Times debut. Congratulations! We have so many new constructors this year. I was just talking to Dummy Dennis the other day that we haven't had Rich's byline this year. He doesn't need to create extra puzzles.
It's a nice & consistent theme, though I think adding on/off or other similar patterned phrases will add more excitement to gimmick.
Across:
1. Kilmer of "Batman Forever" : VAL
4. Nostalgic soft drinks : NEHIS
9. Latish wake-up time : TEN AM. Too late.
14. Object of a conquistador's quest : ORO. Gold.
15. Conjure up : EVOKE
16. As a friend, to François : EN AMI. So, Kazie, if I say this to a friend, it would be "En amie"?
20. "Scarborough Fair" herb : SAGE. I love this song.
21. Huey, Dewey and Louie, e.g. : TOONS
22. Dull routine : RUT
27. Mice and lice : VERMIN. I never think of lice as vermin. I associate it with rodent only.
29. Quick-flash link : AS A. I just adore this picture. Truman is becoming a big boy now. Sorry about the cat, JD.
30. French land mass : ILE
31. Early pamphleteer : PAINE (Thomas)
35. Big name in baseball cards : TOPPS. Lovely entry for me, Dennis and Hondo. Football/Hockey cards too. (From Dennis: Topps only has baseball and football licenses now; no hockey or basketball. Basketball is exclusively Panini and hockey is Panini/Upper Deck.)
39. "Can I get a word in?" : AHEM
41. Muffler : SCARF
43. Intimate apparel purchase : SLIP. Do people still wear slips?
44. Wrinkle-prone fabric : LINEN
46. Work with one's hands : KNEAD
48. NATO founding member : USA
49. Classy org.? : NEA. Excellent clue, though Husker Gary might disagree.
51. Dulles alternative : REAGAN. Airport.
59. Italian diminutive suffix : INO. Can you give me an example?
60. "Pagliacci" clown : TONIO. I can never remember this damned clown.
61. Dundee denials : NAES
68. Early Indo-European : ARYAN
69. Actress Dunne : IRENE
70. Volstead __: Prohibition enabler : ACT
71. Campfire treat : S'MORE. I have yet to have one.
72. Enjoyed, as a beach blanket : LAY ON. I have trouble understanding the clue.
73. "Go for it!" : YES. Annette is in love!
Down:
1. Swears : VOWS
2. Certain stage solo : ARIA
3. Scratch : LONG GREEN. Did not know "Scratch" is slang for money. It's not food item like cabbage, lettuce, dough, bread, etc.
4. Composer Rorem : NED. Last time ROREM stumped quite a few. Not Jayce, I don't think.
5. HTC smartphone : EVO. HTC = High Tech Computer. Based in Taiwan. Unknown to me. What does EVO stand for?
6. Mr. Fixit's genre : HOW TO
7. "Don't remind me" : I KNOW
8. Attach, in a way : SEW ON
9. Most likely to crack : TENSEST
10. Bring down the curtain: END. I'm sure Marti noticed this dupe. She's very observant.
11. Tiny Pacific republic : NAURU. World's smallest island nation.
12. Rally, as a crowd : AMP UP. Oops, a stray UP.
13. Thin sprays : MISTS
18. Think : DEEM
19. Actress Swenson : INGA. Of "Benson".
24. Fall (over) : TIP
25. Geneticist's concerns : DNAs
26. Art colony town : TAOS
27. Medicine chest item : VIAL
28. K-12 : EL-HI. See, it just won't go away, due to its ideal letter combination.
32. "Ew!" : ICK
33. Mary Bobbsey's older daughter : NAN
34. Poetic preposition : ERE
36. Keeps at it : PLUGS AWAY. Great entry.
37. Galileo Galilei Airport city : PISA
38. Attention __ : SPAN
40. Choice reading? : MENU. Tricky clue.
42. Casino game : FARO
45. Its largest moon is Triton : NEPTUNE. Gimme for Bill G & Spitzboov.
47. Drops on a blade? : DEW. A blade of grass.
50. Each : A POP
52. Monument word : ANNO
53. Gyro essentials : PITAs
54. Render weaponless : UNARM. Yeah, disarm is more accurate.
55. Godzilla's stomping ground : TOKYO. Has anyone read "Norwegian Wood"?
56. "Wait __ Dark": 1967 film : UNTIL
57. Pageant trophy : TIARA
58. "Okey-__!" : DOKEY
62. Verb-to-noun suffix : ENCE. Refer, reference.
63. Droop-nosed fliers : SSTS. Here you go, Abejo. Miss ASP?
65. Mr. Potato Head piece : EAR
66. "Small Craft on a Milk Sea" musician : ENO (Brian). Ignorant of the album.
67. Home viewing room : DEN
Answer grid.
C.C.
50 comments:
Morning, all!
Fun theme today, with mostly high quality fill. Today's bullet points:
* I did know that "scratch" can refer to money, but I've never heard of LONG GREEN before.
* I really wanted NASAU for 11D. Despite the fact that it's actually spelled NASSAU. It's just that I'm not familiar with NAURU...
* The clue for 72A flummoxed me for a bit, until I realized that LAY was the past tense of lie and not the present tense of, well, LAY.
* I really could have done without DNAS. Geneticists may study DNA molecules, but I don't think anybody has ever pluralized the word DNA before.
* It took me awhile to realize that NEA stands for National Education Association and not National Endowment for the Arts. Teachers teach in classes, hence "classy." Cute.
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. It took me a pass or two to get the through this puzzle but once I got PUT UP PUT DOWNS, I was easily able to finish the puzzle. what a clever theme!
My favorite clue was Work with One's Hands = KNEAD.
C.C.: Here is what it means to Enjoy A Beach Blanket. It's what I am doing this week.
QOD: When he is late for dinner and I know he must be either having an affair or lying dead in the street, I always hope he's dead. ~ Judith Viorst
Good morning C.C. and the Humpday gang. This one had more UPS and DOWNS than an eleator operators day. I PLUGged AWAY and got 'er done without lookups, in spite of several unknowns.
My slow area was in the middle. 'Yuk' instead of ICK gave me a real pain with the wrong spelling of PAINE. I know there are lots of mufflers out there... ah, those glass packs and cherry bombs of yore... but I couldn't figure out what the heck a SaURF was. Finally a little "Common Sense" pointed me toward the proper PAINE and I could "C" the error.
Argyle, from yesterday, have you looked at AOL radio? they list a 40's channel and a 50's channel.
Not too bad for Wednesday, though it took me a while to get through with quite a few needing perps to do it. I'm unfamiliar with either LONG GREEN or FARO. My first thought re scratch was in horse racing when a horse is pulled out of a race before the start. The theme was a considerable help too. For SCARF I was thinking of muffling sounds for quite a while.
Nauru is north of the Solomons and NE of Oz. Its name is pronounced with stress on the 'u'. I met someone who had grown up there once, but now can't remember anything else about him.
Sorry, I stay away from anything AOL. Don't trust them.
Map of Nauru.
Hahtool,
I'm trying to quit laughing at your wonderful QOD; my biggest LOL since some of Carol's off hand stuff.
CC, thanks for your informative write-up Annette's in love huh?
Good stuff.
Theme sure did speed up the solution today. Nice puzzle,Kurt. Thanks.
Have a nice day everyone.
Hi C.C. and gang -
First off, I very much like this theme. The rest of the puzzle, not as much: The damn clown nobody can remember, the composer nobody can remember, an island nobody ever heard of, an actress gone these 21 years . . .
I'll stop now lest I LAY ON too many NAES and PUT UP PUT DOWNS.
OTOH - S'MORE.
Much to do. IMBO.
Cheers!
JzB
Argyle,
Thanks...Those are good maps. I searched a bit but couldn't find any that showed where it was in relation to everything else in the Pacific.
Hi There ~!
I liked this theme, something different for a change, and I am not partial just because U.P.S. is in half of them, either....
Not thrilled with the extraneous UP and Down, but I know what it's like to try and fill a grid when you have good themes.
I didn't get my TA - DA because i had MAYAN, not ARYAN, and hey, what's wrong with
Pit'Ms and unaAm;
isn't that how they say it in Boston?
Thanks for subbing today, C.C.
Splynter
en amie is correct.
hahtool: Looking at the "beach", you must not be on the sugary-white Florida beaches!
Argyle:
Our local NPR affiliate has several programs featuring the Big Band era, and the local guy who does the shows often plays the more obscure bands and cuts rather than just Miller, Basie and Ellington.
I don't know if the shows are syndicated or not, but the station is WUKY 91.3, and at least some of the shows air on Saturday morning, so you could consult the schedule and stream them on your computer.
Naturally the focus is on the '30's and the War years, but he occasionally plays cuts up into the '50's. Our local favorite, Rosie, born in my home town, fronted several bands before she headed off to Hollywood.
Hope this helps.
C.C., I don't know much Italian, just a smattering of words and phrases, so I can't give you the depth of an explanation for -INO as other bloggers give for French, German, Latin, Finnish, etc. But here are a couple examples that quickly came to mind:
bambINO - little child or baby - diminutive of bambo, child
And I don't think there's an Italian alive that doesn't know Lou Monte's song about Pepino The Little Italian Mouse!
Good morning. Thanks for the commentary, C.C.
Got a DF (did finish) today :-). Started off quickly with VAL and NEHIS, but then found myself slewing downward to find better anchor points. Began to realize all the UPS and DOWNS, and with 64a, TAKE UP TAKE DOWNS, ta-da, I quickly filled in the other long acrosses, and it was done. Favorite fill words were LONG GREEN and NAURU. Great job, Kurt.
C.C. re: Triton; not quite. Obviously a 7 letter planet, but had to wait for the 'ne' ending to see it was NEPTUNE.
Have a great day.
Good day, C.C.
I know a Kurt Krauss - he is a Yank who is now a Professor (down-under) in Kiwiland. The same?
Cetainly one of those puzzles with a long wind-up and a rapid wind-down. Once you finally got the theme, the puzzle pretty much filled itslef.
I briskly entered "PAR GOLFER" for 3D (SCRATCH); and later when I realized my mistake and GREEN became evident I was still trying to force a golf analogy. Obviously, I never heard of either the clue in this sense or the answer.
We had NEA just the other day, so no probs there.
Barry G, I hesitated over "DNAS" too (RNAS is not a problem - transfer, messenger, non-coding, etc.).
But on reflection there are distinct classes of DNA - nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplast, for example; so these would be distinct DNAS. So it's OK.
REAGAN was one I happened to know, but I never use it, since there are no non-stops from San Diego.
Splynter, MAYAN sprang to mind briefly too, but then figured it would be an awful long way to travel without wheels.
Here's to another day of ups and downs
NC
If you're interested, here are the translated lyrics for Pepino:
Pepino translation
It's a cute, silly little song!
As I said earlier, most any Italian you ask will know of Pepino, as well as his distant relative "Dominic, The Donkey (Hee-haw, hee-haw)", who I think has been mentioned on the blog before. ;-)
My favourite PUT UP TAKE DOWN comes from the British comedy Are You Being Served?
the way the elderly Mr. Granger asked the head of the ladies dept to take down her intimates displays.
Great British comedy.
Fun Facts by Dave Letterman
At the height of Star Wars mania, Jimmy Carter gave an Oval Office address in a Chewbacca costume.
When a movie opens in selected cities, the cities are selected by Burt Reynolds.
EVO
Short for evolution?
Greetings, C.C., so nice to see you and all cyber friends as well.
What a funny theme today. I started out well at the top with VAL, NEHIS, ORO, VOWS,and ARIA but then slithered DOWN for a better toehold.
That filled quickly as I PLUGGED AWAY then slid UP again. The NE corner took a while as NAURU was not my first thought, SAMOA was but that didn't work out.
My niece's husband works for TOPPS and goes nearly every weekend for the players' signatures on their pics. They must sign each one, several thousand at a time.
Thank you, Kurt Krauss, for an entertaining puzzle today.
Have a lovely Wednesday, everyone!
Good Morning All, the theme on this one saved me. Once I got the first one and and half phrases, all I needed for rest was the first word.
I had a bit of a stopper in the mid-left section. I had -I-L at 27D, so PILL seemed like a sensible choice. Not this time and it took a while to sort out.
Am I the only one who entered DUCKS at 21A the first time around? I've been fooled on that one before. At least TONIO came to mind right away this time.
Nice to see Jeannie last night. Thanks for the good thoughts.
RSD, Letterman Fun Facts gave me a severe case of the giggles today.
Nice to see you blogging mid-week C.C. It is always fun to get your take on the puzzles.
How about this one on a hot August day? It's an excerpt from William Cullen Bryant's Summer Wind. Have some iced tea, lemonade, or one of Tinbeni's favorites with lots of ice.
It is a sultry day; the sun has drank
The dew that lay upon the morning grass,
There is no rustling in the lofty elm
That canopies my dwelling, and its shade
Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint
And interrupted murmur of the bee,
Settling on the sick flowers, and then again
Instantly on the wing. The plants around
Feel the too potent fervors; the tall maize
Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops
Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.
But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills,
With all their growth of woods, silent and stern,
As if the scortching heat and dazzling light
Were but an element they loved.
Good morning C.C. et al,
Nice to see you on a Wed. C.C.Yes, time has flown by. Truman will be 4 this month.
Lots of unknowns(evo, Inga, faro, Nauru) for me, so it was a DNF, but an enjoyable challenge. I did get the theme, and like CA, all I needed was the 1st word to complete them.
Fall over= tip. Any of you ever engage in the sport of cow tipping?I never believed anyone who told me they did that.
I was really impressed that somebody remembers the mother of the Bobbsey twins. Wow!
Argyle, thx for the map.I wonder how many of those islands will be non existent as our glaciers keep melting.
Lucina, it's nice to have confirmation that they actually do take the time to sign their own cards. A friend and I were in Vegas last week. After seeing a show, they were selling autographed photos and CDs and we were wondering about the authenticity of the autographs...
Nauru, which got its indep. in 1968, had the greatest reserves of phosphates ( Calcium, and calcium bi- )in the world. The island surface was all fertilizer grade phosphate... which was all strip mined out of existence.
In the 60's and 70's, they had the highest per capita income in the world, at $ 18,900 - PER PERSON.
But they wasted all of it, and now they are an international beggarman - depending on Aust. for an 'idle' living. Unemployment is 95% and they have the highest obesity - morbidity ratio in the world - at 91%. They have no other industries, and everyone 'works' for the government. Popn. about 8,000.
A 'utopia' , out to hell.
Nauruan , a citizen of that country, is one of the few 'citizen' palindromes.
Good Morning C.C. et al.
Nice to see you today, C.C.! Thanks for the funny write-up. TONIO Pagliacci always gives me a damned hard time, too!
Unlike yesterday, when I didn't even consider the theme as I was solving, today's theme was crucial in helping me finish the puzzle. Not that either one of these was bad. Just very different feels to them.
With so many UPS and DOWNS in the puzzle, I think the additional "down" in the clue for 10A could have been easily avoided.
With the **P*P letter combination, there was not really any other good choice than AMP UP for 12D. But I think I would have considered swapping the theme entries around to avoid that one.
In my last "Shrinking" puzzle, I had the word SMA as one fill entry. Because the entire theme had to do with different "sizes", I ended up pulling apart that section of the grid to get rid of it. Just saying...
Happy hump day, everyone!
Anon @ 1:12,
...and if you pronounce Nauruan, it describes their situation--now ruin(ed). Interesting information. I noticed in one site I looked at that there is no longer any tourism there as "there are no tourist accommodations" available.
C.C.,
Sorry I forgot to answer your question about en amie, but the anon who addressed it was correct.
I have spent most of this morning going over all my writing and notes from two years ago, when I was ambitiously beginning to work on my "first novel", which I stopped working on after seven chapters when I felt stuck. I made a few adjustments here and there, and am determined to get going on it again. At least it will keep me at the computer during the off-times for the newsletter. We'll see.
Sorry Mr. Krauss, my friend spells his last name with an 'E'
A few feeble attempts:
Find the answer in the stars? = PIN DOWN PIN-UPS
Whisky Galore? WASH DOWN WASH-UPS
Say no to pant cuffs? = TURN DOWN TURN-UPS
Psychiatric counseling? = BREAK UP BREAKDOWNS
Complete potty-training? PULL DOWN PULL-UPS.
Make an extra copy of withdrawals? BACK UP BACKDOWNS
Refuse ones inheritance? PASS UP PASS-DOWNS
Waste an IKEA trip? SCREW UP SCREW-DOWNS
Subsidize dictatorships? TOP UP TOP-DOWNS
NC
I enjoyed the theme. It helped a lot in filling in the crossing words. LONG GREEN was clever and I don't remember seeing it in a puzzle before.
CA had a nice poem including "the interrupted murmur of the bee." It got me to thinking of the uninterrupted murmur (din) of lawnmowers and blowers. I love where I live except on Wednesdays. The neighbors on both sides have gardeners that come today. So there's about an hour straight of the sound of gasoline engines. Still, the weather is great (middle 70s). So no complaints now that the gardeners have finished.
Thanks, C.C. for the blogging.
Shall we start a lie vs. lay battle? I always need help with that. Lay, to me, indicates the placing of something, as in; lay the baby in the crib.
I thought the theme was a hoot! Even I got it and most often I don't get it!
Where is Dennis? I miss his funny input.
I love the baseball clues because at our house baseball rules. We love the Cardinals, Braves and Cubs. Hubster was a leftie pitcher and both #2 son and my dad were pitchers too. #2 played in college. Hubby had to give it up after way too many visits to the ER.
Music? Rock and Roll! We also love country, but we are from Tennessee, so that's a given.
Off now to do house-wifey duties!
Just in from golf on lovely course a half hour north of here. Large, shady trees that only get in the way occasionally! The pro’s name was Bob Wonka and his dad’s name was, of course, Willy! Bob knew Jim Lovell when he worked in Texas and we had a nice NASA conversation.
Musings
-Fun and helpful puzzle and theme!
-Thought H, D and L were a trio at first
-Mom threw out a gazillion of my old cards in 1972!
-I have never seen any measurable value to the NEA, C.C. Good principals getting out of the way of good teachers and eliminating bad teachers, now that works. State and local standards are putting a pucker in a few pedagogical backsides now. The closer to your population – the better the results!
-How many euphemisms for money are there? -Joann keeps me around to be Mr. Fixit!
-Took advantage of ELHI instead of griping!
-Kazie, I saw an ad last night where Lindsay Lohan is a spokesperson for Air New Zeland. There is a funny line in the ad about jewelry that is already paid for.
Mumspeaks,
you're right--the verb "to lay" is transitive, meaning that it always needs a direct object. What makes it confusing is the other parts of it, and of its intransitive counterpart, "to lie" look as if they cross over in the simple past tense.
to lay (something down)
Present tense: I lay
Simple Past: I laid
Perfect: I have laid
to lie (no direct object)
Present: I lie
Simple Past: I lay
Perfect: I have lain
Kazie:
I hope you finish your novel and it gets published. I can't wait!
CA:
I thought PILL and DUCK first, too, but the crosses over rode them.
Wonderful poem; it describes my garden just now.
Kazie,
I got about as far as you did on my first novel and quit because it was feeling like homework everyday. I discovered wanted to sing and play piano rather than write.
I wanted "un ami" until the perp told me differently, so I looked it up. "En ami" is not a phrase I've ever heard or used. Now I can.
I would appreciate it if the Anons would sign their names. It adds credulity to what they have to say.
Doreen
Good Afternoon, folks. Thank you Kurt for a swell Wednesday puzzle. I felt it had a perfect difficulty index for a Wednesday. Thank you, C.C. for the unexpected write-up. I guess you are pinch-hitting. Also, I caught the ASP comment and reference to the SSTS (common answer). I agree, SSTS has been used a lot in recent issues.
This puzzle came right together. I had to jump around, but that is expected later in the week.
I wanted to put DUCKS for 21A, but held back until I got a crossword. When I finally did, I knew that DUCKS was out.
The theme came easily and helped me with the puzzle, in general.
I have had SMORES throughout my life with sisters and daughters in Girl Scouts. I am not really ape over them.
Enjoyed the NAURA clue/answer. Thank you, Argyle, for the map. Sounds like that is a place that is really hurting.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Annette:
Yes, my NIL, Chris, must ensure that a player signs each card, either 4 or 6 thousand, I have forgotten the exact number.
One thing he really enjoys is meeting all the players. He and his family are avid BB fans.
to lay (something down)
Present tense: I lay
Simple Past: I laid
Perfect: I GOT laid!
Anon:
Wouldn't that be past perfect? If not, it would at least be a perfect past. Either way, you're my kinda grammarian.
Hi all...I am still laughing at Kazie's explanation at 2:54 ;)
I knew I couldn't be the only DF person on here to think the thoughts Windhover just mentioned. I am bad!!
LOL. Too bad Lois is riding her cowboy's and is not here to comment...but I'll bet there is a 'laid' going on somewhere.
About the puzzle--- it was more difficult for me than Wednesday's usually are. I put DUCKS in for 21A. I am still having trouble with the word 'TOONS'. To me they are CARTOONS. I know, I know I just dislike some of these abbreviations that turn into 'real' words.
29A also gave me a bad time...I kept thinking 'quick as a wink', but of course, I got it after the V-8 can hit my forehead.
Thanks Carol,
Three hours without a post; I was afraid I'd broken the damn thing (and might have to pay for it).
Hello everybody. Late to the party today; had to go into the office to deal with an emergency situation, and will again tomorrw.
Lovely puzzle today; some great fill and cute clues, as yawl have mentioned.
I really hate to admit it, but NED Rorem stumped me. Only got it from the perps, then looked him up and went, "Ohhh, him!"
Argyle, I don't trust AOL either, and frankly I think Steve Case (former CEO of AOL) snookered Time-Warner big time when he got them to buy it. I bet he walked away with a boatload of scratch.
Barry G, I'm with you about making DNA plural. I don't think it really can be done, any more than making HYDROGEN plural. But hey, we've got PITAs at 53D, too. (Guess what. Gyros is singular!)
Grumpy1, I had PAYNE at first, too.
Gotta go, it's dinnertime here. Best wishes to you all.
Kazie, you're writing, or trying to write, a novel? Good on ya! May I waft encouraging thoughts onto you? I truly encourage you to continue to plug away at it. I have a feeling you'll be massively satisfied when you finish it.
Hola Everyone, Good to see you today C.C. You helped me finish the 4 or 5 white squares I had left in the top three lines. I got the last two theme answers, but the first two with the reverse down/up gave me a problem.
My first run through gave me the exact middle of the puzzle, but not much else. I put in ducks for toons and just wouldn't erase it so that held up that section big time. I also had sticks for sew on so I really had a problem today.
DNA's had me going for a while. I agree with Barry that the plural seems odd.
My favorite, though was Choice Read/Menu. This was very clever.
C.C. and Creature: Thanks, but he's really more of a beloved best friend. He's got too many issues in his personal life for me to "let myself" actually fall in love with him, or ever seriously consider merging our lives some day. What we have is good for the most part, but I'm still looking for "the one"...
Good night everyone.
It's nice to be back. Had a great time in MN with my son and his family.
Barry G. Thanks for the grammar comment. I was hoping someone would point out the past tense of lie is lay. MSO, it is today I lie down, yesterday I lay down; today I will lay tiles, yesterday I laid tiles.
Got home too late, so I DNF.
thanks clear ayes.
glad you enjoyed FF by DL.
WH,
I also wondered about the long drought in posts after yours. I LOL'ed at the laid comment myself too. I should have seen it coming.
Thanks for all the encouraging thoughts on my writing. I really must get on with it now though or it won't ever get laid on paper!
It's still Wednesday but not for long. Maybe you will read this tomorrow, CC. In answer to your question re. slips, yes, there are still women who wear slips and they aren't all old fogies like me. I dislike (don't approve of) sheer dresses without a slip. And slips makes skirts of certain materials look better because they prevent them from tucking under the seat. However, slips are becoming more and more difficult to find. I haven't seen a full slip in years. Half slips and camisoles are available at Penneys stores, I believe. Also, panty hose is becoming more difficult to find. What am I to do?
Dot
brace= pair? Uh, okay, that's a new one on me.
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