Theme: "Gee Whiz" - G is added to the start of each common phrase.
22A. Potentially comforted by a bottle of Beefeater? : GIN CONSOLABLE. Inconsolable. The only entry where the base phrase is one word.
34A. Place for a complainer? : GRUMBLE SEAT. Rumble seat.
57A. Forty-niner after a lucky strike? : GOLD YELLER. "Old Yeller". And 109D. 49ers' org. : NFL. I'm guessing the constructor is a 49ers' fan. Constructors like to put their local teams in the clues/answers.
68A. Christian path to salvation? : GRACE TRACK. Race track.
89A. Stagehand splitting his sides? : GRIP ROARING. Rip-roaring.
107A. Like a baseball player who couldn't find his way to the field? : GLOVED AND LOST. Loved and lost. "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
16D. Ineptly prepared mess hall offering? : GRUB THE WRONG WAY. Rub the wrong way. Change the verb "rub" into a noun "grub".
42D. Man at the altar yet again? : GROOM FOR ONE MORE. Room for one more. The answer feels a bit awkward for the clue.
The theme makes me smile. Don and I have been working on a similar project.
It would very very cool not to any other G-word in fill. But it's quite challenging if not impossible in a 21*21 grid. Lots of Down 7's.
The puzzle was tough for me at a few spots. I had a much easy time with Gareth Bain's "Gas" last Sunday.
Across:
1. Marshy ground : MORASS. One more blank for my SWAMP.
7. Parties for royalty, say : FETES
12. Finger lever : TRIGGER. Did not come to me readily.
19. Too : OVERLY
20. Lively Baroque dances : GIGUES. Stumper. I think we've seen the singular GIGUE before.
21. Bench warmer : RESERVE
24. Cruel partner : UNUSUAL. Cruel and unusual.
25. Loosen, in a way : UNTIE
26. Rescued orphan in Byron's "Don Juan" : LEILA. No idea. Haltool might know.
27. Cutlass maker : OLDS
28. Eagle's org. : BSA. First thought was PGA.
29. Be inclined : LEAN. And 51. Is inclined : TENDS.
30. 1994 World Cup host : USA. Any important event in your life in 1994? I graduated from the college and broke up with my first boyfriend of 7 years.
31. Carts without fixed sides : DRAYS
33. "Take __ from me ..." : A TIP
39. Community character : ETHOS. This word always gives me trouble.
40. Boxer's greeting : WAG. Dog.
43. Catch sight of : ESPY
44. Blue gem, briefly : LAPIS
45. Worry-free : SERENE. JD always has a serene look.
46. Scrape : ABRADE
48. Kept talking, and talking ... : RAN ON. Any man who's been in Bangkok for even one night can talk hours and hours about his story. Sin city, Santa!
49. Spread here and there : STREW
50. Some electron tubes : DIODES
52. Mailing ctr. : GPO
53. Johnson of "Laugh-In" : ARTE
56. Run to Reno, maybe : ELOPE. Or get divorced.
59. Double-minded : TORN. Roberto hates when I hesitate. He's the most efficient person I know.
60. Rep.'s opponent : DEM
61. Dolphin's home : MIAMI. Don't follow football. Are Miami Dolphins historically good? Vikings suck.
63. Is in need of : LACKS
65. Critic's pick : NIT. Ha ha!
66. Data : INFO
72. Celtic, for one : CAGER
74. Inert gas : NEON
75. Show stoppers : ADs
76. Hag : CRONE
77. Be half-asleep : DROWSE
78. Chaucerian estate manager : REEVE. I bet it's a gimme for Nice Cuppa. I'm lost if the clue has no "Christopher" in it.
80. San Antonio landmark : ALAMO
81. Treat with carbon dioxide : AERATE. I have no idea what they put in.
82. Quality : CHOICE
84. Word with land or sea : SCAPE
85. Seem less important : PALE
87. "You betcha!" : YES. Very Minnesotan.
88. Many an Indian : HINDU. Hi there Vidwan! Don't be a mouse.
92. Surface statistic : AREA
93. Aromatic compound : ESTER
95. Three abroad : TRE
96. Spell opening : ABRA
100. Sleep lab letters : REM
101. Vintage autos : REOS
102. Hyperion, for one : TITAN
104. Challenging winds : OBOES. Why is it challenging?
105. Riot figures : LOOTERS
110. The Urals divide it : EURASIA
111. Like a jack-o'-lantern's eyes : AGLARE
112. Time of merriment : FIESTA. I like the sound of this word.
113. Completely absorbed (in) : STEEPED. This is a fascinating video. Can you guess what the song is about? It's in Cantonese.
114. Striking hammer parts : PEENS
115. "Help!" film director Richard : LESTER
Down:
1. Mound on the slopes : MOGUL. For Marti.
2. Woolly, in a way : OVINE. In a way, yes.
3. Oscar de la __ : RENTA. Laura Bush's favorite designer.
4. Like an arrow in the air : ARCING
5. Blackthorn fruit : SLOE
6. Genuine, for real: Abbr. : SYN. Genuine is a synonym of "real".
7. Befitting offspring : FILIAL. This kid is already pondering on his filial duty.
8. Alike, to Alain : EGAL. The only Alain I can think of is Alain Delon.
9. Big brass : TUBA
10. Snaky fish : EEL. Yum! Snake meat is quite tasty too.
11. Boston-to-Nantucket dir. : SSE
12. Indeed : TRULY
13. Tears apart : RENDS
14. "We have met the enemy and he __": Pogo : IS US
15. Some microwaves : GEs
17. Taxpayer's crime : EVASION
18. Take a turn for the worse : RELAPSE
20. Is called : GOES BY
23. Stretch with no hits : SLUMP. Boomer loves Pujols. So, go Cardinals!
27. Porridge, essentially : OATS
31. State under oath : DEPOSE
32. "Still Falls the __": Edith Sitwell poem : RAIN
33. "You're in for __!" : A TREAT
35. Cash in : REDEEM
36. Exploits : USES
37. Twisty-horned antelope : ELAND. Horny!
38. Like many beaches : SANDY
39. Always, in verse : EER
40. Began energetically : WADED IN. This phrase always has a "careful and tentative" connotation to me.
41. Texas city near Dyess Air Force Base : ABILENE
45. Baby carrier? : STORK. Fun clue.
47. Payroll service giant, initially : ADP. Automated Data Processing.
48. Civil War cannon, e.g. : RELIC
49. Paint droplet : SPECK
51. Inquisitor __ de Torquemada : TOMAS. Spanish for Thomas, right?
52. Iced, as cake : GLACE
54. Italian seaport : TRIESTE. So similar to TRISTE.
55. Main courses : ENTREES
57. Avant-__ : GARDE
58. South American plain : LLANO. Still remember LLANERO?
62. "__ my love a cherry ..." : I GAVE
64. Filter out : SCREEN
67. Iroquois tribe : ONEIDA
69. Food that's French for "flash of lightning" : ECLAIR. Did not know the entomology.
70. "The Sound of Music" family name : TRAPP
71. Former Colorado governor : ROMER (Roy). Complete stranger to me. Looks like he's late for a date.
73. "__ b?" : A OR
77. Spanish surrealist : DALI
79. Coin first minted under Louis IX : ECU. Two choice: ECU or SOU.
80. It might be a whole lot : ACRE
82. Dickens's Darnay : CHARLES. from "A Tale of Two Cities".
83. Offer one's services for a fee : HIRE OUT
84. Certain NCOs : SGTs
85. Mardi Gras event : PARADE
86. Boston's TD Garden, e.g. : ARENA
90. Web-footed mammals : OTTERS
91. Triangular house sections : GABLES. Melissa linked a good one last time.
93. Spine-tingling : EERIE
94. "Alas!" : SO SAD
97. Upward thrust : BOOST
98. Rouen remainder : RESTE. French for "rest" I suppose.
99. Sirius, for one : A-STAR
101. Breathing: Abbr. : RESP. Respiring?
102. Gilded metalware : TOLE. Like this.
103. One of the Karamazovs : IVAN
104. Comic strip drooler : ODIE
106. __ kwon do : TAE
107. Mountain pass : GAP
108. T-shirt size : LGE
Answer grid.
C.C.
22A. Potentially comforted by a bottle of Beefeater? : GIN CONSOLABLE. Inconsolable. The only entry where the base phrase is one word.
34A. Place for a complainer? : GRUMBLE SEAT. Rumble seat.
57A. Forty-niner after a lucky strike? : GOLD YELLER. "Old Yeller". And 109D. 49ers' org. : NFL. I'm guessing the constructor is a 49ers' fan. Constructors like to put their local teams in the clues/answers.
68A. Christian path to salvation? : GRACE TRACK. Race track.
89A. Stagehand splitting his sides? : GRIP ROARING. Rip-roaring.
107A. Like a baseball player who couldn't find his way to the field? : GLOVED AND LOST. Loved and lost. "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
16D. Ineptly prepared mess hall offering? : GRUB THE WRONG WAY. Rub the wrong way. Change the verb "rub" into a noun "grub".
42D. Man at the altar yet again? : GROOM FOR ONE MORE. Room for one more. The answer feels a bit awkward for the clue.
The theme makes me smile. Don and I have been working on a similar project.
It would very very cool not to any other G-word in fill. But it's quite challenging if not impossible in a 21*21 grid. Lots of Down 7's.
The puzzle was tough for me at a few spots. I had a much easy time with Gareth Bain's "Gas" last Sunday.
Across:
1. Marshy ground : MORASS. One more blank for my SWAMP.
7. Parties for royalty, say : FETES
12. Finger lever : TRIGGER. Did not come to me readily.
19. Too : OVERLY
20. Lively Baroque dances : GIGUES. Stumper. I think we've seen the singular GIGUE before.
21. Bench warmer : RESERVE
24. Cruel partner : UNUSUAL. Cruel and unusual.
25. Loosen, in a way : UNTIE
26. Rescued orphan in Byron's "Don Juan" : LEILA. No idea. Haltool might know.
27. Cutlass maker : OLDS
28. Eagle's org. : BSA. First thought was PGA.
29. Be inclined : LEAN. And 51. Is inclined : TENDS.
30. 1994 World Cup host : USA. Any important event in your life in 1994? I graduated from the college and broke up with my first boyfriend of 7 years.
31. Carts without fixed sides : DRAYS
33. "Take __ from me ..." : A TIP
39. Community character : ETHOS. This word always gives me trouble.
40. Boxer's greeting : WAG. Dog.
43. Catch sight of : ESPY
44. Blue gem, briefly : LAPIS
45. Worry-free : SERENE. JD always has a serene look.
46. Scrape : ABRADE
48. Kept talking, and talking ... : RAN ON. Any man who's been in Bangkok for even one night can talk hours and hours about his story. Sin city, Santa!
49. Spread here and there : STREW
50. Some electron tubes : DIODES
52. Mailing ctr. : GPO
53. Johnson of "Laugh-In" : ARTE
56. Run to Reno, maybe : ELOPE. Or get divorced.
59. Double-minded : TORN. Roberto hates when I hesitate. He's the most efficient person I know.
60. Rep.'s opponent : DEM
61. Dolphin's home : MIAMI. Don't follow football. Are Miami Dolphins historically good? Vikings suck.
63. Is in need of : LACKS
65. Critic's pick : NIT. Ha ha!
66. Data : INFO
72. Celtic, for one : CAGER
74. Inert gas : NEON
75. Show stoppers : ADs
76. Hag : CRONE
77. Be half-asleep : DROWSE
78. Chaucerian estate manager : REEVE. I bet it's a gimme for Nice Cuppa. I'm lost if the clue has no "Christopher" in it.
80. San Antonio landmark : ALAMO
81. Treat with carbon dioxide : AERATE. I have no idea what they put in.
82. Quality : CHOICE
84. Word with land or sea : SCAPE
85. Seem less important : PALE
87. "You betcha!" : YES. Very Minnesotan.
88. Many an Indian : HINDU. Hi there Vidwan! Don't be a mouse.
92. Surface statistic : AREA
93. Aromatic compound : ESTER
95. Three abroad : TRE
96. Spell opening : ABRA
100. Sleep lab letters : REM
101. Vintage autos : REOS
102. Hyperion, for one : TITAN
104. Challenging winds : OBOES. Why is it challenging?
105. Riot figures : LOOTERS
110. The Urals divide it : EURASIA
111. Like a jack-o'-lantern's eyes : AGLARE
112. Time of merriment : FIESTA. I like the sound of this word.
113. Completely absorbed (in) : STEEPED. This is a fascinating video. Can you guess what the song is about? It's in Cantonese.
114. Striking hammer parts : PEENS
115. "Help!" film director Richard : LESTER
Down:
1. Mound on the slopes : MOGUL. For Marti.
2. Woolly, in a way : OVINE. In a way, yes.
3. Oscar de la __ : RENTA. Laura Bush's favorite designer.
4. Like an arrow in the air : ARCING
5. Blackthorn fruit : SLOE
6. Genuine, for real: Abbr. : SYN. Genuine is a synonym of "real".
7. Befitting offspring : FILIAL. This kid is already pondering on his filial duty.
8. Alike, to Alain : EGAL. The only Alain I can think of is Alain Delon.
9. Big brass : TUBA
10. Snaky fish : EEL. Yum! Snake meat is quite tasty too.
11. Boston-to-Nantucket dir. : SSE
12. Indeed : TRULY
13. Tears apart : RENDS
14. "We have met the enemy and he __": Pogo : IS US
15. Some microwaves : GEs
17. Taxpayer's crime : EVASION
18. Take a turn for the worse : RELAPSE
20. Is called : GOES BY
23. Stretch with no hits : SLUMP. Boomer loves Pujols. So, go Cardinals!
27. Porridge, essentially : OATS
31. State under oath : DEPOSE
32. "Still Falls the __": Edith Sitwell poem : RAIN
33. "You're in for __!" : A TREAT
35. Cash in : REDEEM
36. Exploits : USES
37. Twisty-horned antelope : ELAND. Horny!
38. Like many beaches : SANDY
39. Always, in verse : EER
40. Began energetically : WADED IN. This phrase always has a "careful and tentative" connotation to me.
41. Texas city near Dyess Air Force Base : ABILENE
45. Baby carrier? : STORK. Fun clue.
47. Payroll service giant, initially : ADP. Automated Data Processing.
48. Civil War cannon, e.g. : RELIC
49. Paint droplet : SPECK
51. Inquisitor __ de Torquemada : TOMAS. Spanish for Thomas, right?
52. Iced, as cake : GLACE
54. Italian seaport : TRIESTE. So similar to TRISTE.
55. Main courses : ENTREES
57. Avant-__ : GARDE
58. South American plain : LLANO. Still remember LLANERO?
62. "__ my love a cherry ..." : I GAVE
64. Filter out : SCREEN
67. Iroquois tribe : ONEIDA
69. Food that's French for "flash of lightning" : ECLAIR. Did not know the entomology.
70. "The Sound of Music" family name : TRAPP
71. Former Colorado governor : ROMER (Roy). Complete stranger to me. Looks like he's late for a date.
73. "__ b?" : A OR
77. Spanish surrealist : DALI
79. Coin first minted under Louis IX : ECU. Two choice: ECU or SOU.
80. It might be a whole lot : ACRE
82. Dickens's Darnay : CHARLES. from "A Tale of Two Cities".
83. Offer one's services for a fee : HIRE OUT
84. Certain NCOs : SGTs
85. Mardi Gras event : PARADE
86. Boston's TD Garden, e.g. : ARENA
90. Web-footed mammals : OTTERS
91. Triangular house sections : GABLES. Melissa linked a good one last time.
93. Spine-tingling : EERIE
94. "Alas!" : SO SAD
97. Upward thrust : BOOST
98. Rouen remainder : RESTE. French for "rest" I suppose.
99. Sirius, for one : A-STAR
101. Breathing: Abbr. : RESP. Respiring?
102. Gilded metalware : TOLE. Like this.
103. One of the Karamazovs : IVAN
104. Comic strip drooler : ODIE
106. __ kwon do : TAE
107. Mountain pass : GAP
108. T-shirt size : LGE
Answer grid.
C.C.
55 comments:
Morning, all!
Fun Sunday puzzle today. I got the theme early on, and it helped immensely knowing that every theme answer started with a G.
I had to make semi-educated guesses at some of the names (IVAN, ROMER, LEILA, TRIESTE), but the perps were there for me in each case to get me through. Just about everything else was solidly in my wheelhouse.
The only sticking point, in fact, the B in BSA at 28A. I'm assuming this refers to Eagle Scouts, but I've never heard them referred to simply as "Eagles" before. I was looking for a sports organization and the crossing theme answer didn't spring immediately to mind. Once I finally figured out that 16D was GRUB THE WRONG WAY, though, all was well.
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. What a fun Sunday puzzle. I caught on to the theme with GRACE TRACK, which really helped me to go back and fill in the theme clues. My favorite was GRUB THE WRONG WAY.
My first thought for 111-Across: Like a Jack-o-lantern Eyes was Cut Out.
I immediately thought of MIAMI as the Dolphin's home, but for a brief second, Ocean, crossed my mind.
QOD: People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves. ~ August Strindberg
Hello Puzzlers -
Mostly What Barry Said, except my wheelhouse had, shall we say, a lot more room in it.
C.C., thanks for bringing clarity. As to the oboe clue, the whole oboe family (oboe, English horn, bassoon, and suchlike) uses double-bladed reeds. These are just plain harder to play than the single-bladed reeds that are clamped onto mouthpieces, as in clarinets and saxophones. The oboe is the smallest of the bunch, and its fussy little reed is correspondingly tiny; it's a challenge to get a decent sound out of it.
I played woodwinds in High School.
Although this puzzle had the large 21x21 grid, it had a Monday/Tuesday level of challenge to it. The first word with the right number of letters that came to mind was the correct one. I did use perps and the G beginning to themes but it took little time to complete.
I understand that the oboe is one of the most difficult (challenging) winds to learn to play.
CC, I get your picture of wading into a pool carefully and tentatively. I do it, too. But, I picture WADING into a fight as a vigorous, decisive move.
Hahtool, inre QOD, LOL.
Oofta! I had learning moments with gigues and eclair. Never heard of the first and didn't know the meaning of the latter.
Nice theme, though. Best theme answer: GOLD YELLER.
Oboe -- forget who said it, but I think it goes "An ill wind that nobody blows good."
Oh, and CC what was the theme of that song? I'm guessing it's an antiwar something or other, but not sure.
Good morning C.C. et al.
You were in fine form this morning with your write-up, C.C. I snorted coffee out my nose when I read your 37A comment about the ELAND!! And yes, MOGUL was a gimme, thanks!
I think of "wading right in" as going into an unknown situation without checking the waters first. So, more of a "foolhardy" connotation for me.
I loved GRIP ROARING - both the base phrase and the theme entry are funny imagery!
Off to have lunch with my book club friends. Have a lovely Sunday everyone!
Good morning everyone. Thanks for the comments, C.C.
What Barry said. Ditto on the eagle's org. Once I saw how the theme was supposed to go, I knew that all the long fills would start with 'G'. Perps were apt and plentiful. No lookups were needed. Liked the clueing for OVINE and TRIGGER. I live in ONEIDA county which the ONEIDAS occupy much of the other end of.
I always find it a little odd that English never seemed to find a single word to mean: ones name is', GOES BY, 'to be called', etc. German has the simple yet elegant word 'heißen'; Low German and Dutch - 'heten'. French has the reflexive verb - s'appeler.
Have a great day.
My wife eats corn on the cob incorrectly by going around the cob instead of back and forth like a typewriter. This is how I did this puzzle. I got stumped going down and so I went around clockwise and finished in the middle. Thanks for the learning (GIGUES, LIELA, GLACE, LLANO) and fun Maryellen!
Musings
-Grub… gave me the theme
-My Eagles were in the NFL
-Ethos is all I remember from SOC 101
-Do we pick NITS here?
-Cager beats NBAER
-Knowing sheriff comes from SHIRE REEVE helped with REEVE
-Lot of GIN in NW with SLOE/GIN…
-I have never eaten EEL and probably won’t ever have a Cobra burger either, C.C.
-Huskers big shortcomings have been turnovers and penalties –“the enemy is us!”
-Stunning upsets in college FB yesterday!
-I am not afraid to WADEINto something
-Confidently put in CAMPO. Nope, LLANO.
-A or B? Eyeglass staple question.
Good morning Sunday Solvers, all. Nice write up C.C. This one solved fairly easily although our local paper neglected to print the title or author, which often helps on Suunday. I figured that the theme entries would all have the added G when GIN CONSOLABLE emerged.
The crossings of GI_UES/E_AL and REST_/LEST_R were both wags but once in place the words did look somewhat familiar.
Our paper has been playing around with their format and have managed to thoroughly mess things up today. Besides not printing the title or author, they also left out the editors and copyright information. They also print the NYT Magazine puzzle and left off all of the information for that one too. The crowning touch, though, is that they printed the LAT puzzle grid twice. Once with the NYT clues and again with the LAT clues. Arrrrgh!
HG, I solved this one the same way you did. It just seemed to lead me around the grid clockwise.
Husker: I, too, was amused by the SLOE and GIN crossing. I haven't had a Sloe Gin Fizz since my college days.
The East Coasters will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Celtic CAGERS play in the TD Garden ARENA.
Hello.
HG. Neb got a big break with their
backward pass and forward fumble on a 4th and one play. Probably people still scratching their heads
on that one.
Go StL! Three HRs very impressive.
Shades of Reggie.
They will have games 6 and 7 at home if needed. 16 to 7 is a foot-
ball score.
Now for some NFL action.
Take care. eddy
Hello, C.C. and all cyber friends.
Nice, enlightening blog, C.C.
Loved seeing FETES and FIESTA at nearly opposite ends and who doesn't love a party?
I WADEDIN at the east end with no toehold in the west and sashayed right through. Loved GRUBTHE WRONGWAY.
Hand up for briefly thinking of OCEAN before MIAMI and a learning moment at ECLAIR as I didn't know it meant a flash of lightning.
Finally MOGUL dawned on me and the NW filled quickly with MORASS and OVINE.
Tinbeni will no doubt have a comment about GINCONSOLABLE!
No NIT to pick today; it's an awesome puzzle with just enough challenge to feel satisfaction when it's finished. Thank you, Maryellen Uthlaut.
I hope your Sunday is spectacular, everyone!
Oh. Yes, C.C. Tomas is Thomas in Spanish.
Good Morning All, I got bored last night while GAH was watching Game 3, so it gave me a chance to play with Sunday's puzzle. Sorry W.S. fans, but I just couldn't maintain an interest since the only team I even vaguely followed during the season was the Giants.
I caught on to the theme early with GRUMBLE SEAT and jumped around filling in all those beginning "Gs".
The top center area was difficult because of 20A)GIGUES and 26A)LEILA. 8D)EGAL was a little tough too, but it finally came.
In the "filled it, but didn't get it" category, I had to go to Wikipedia after filling in 39A)Community character ETHOS. Maybe...I'll remember it next time.
Favorite was 104A)Challenging winds/OBOES. I'm sure I've mentioned one of GAH's golf buddies is a 92 year old former symphony oboist and teacher. He doesn't play oboe anymore, but his charming wife sometimes solos with local orchestras.
Great puzzle and commentary. Enjoyed this one.
Challenging, but only trip up was filling in tiger instead of CAGER. Guess it sounded okay because a local brew pub is the Celtic Tiger. Never been there.
Don't keep us in suspense, CC. What is the song about? Clearly a military parade in France, but.....?
1994 was eventful for me, too. My youngest child graduated from high school and went to college. My second daughter got married. My mother went to a nursing home so I cleaned out her house and sold everything no one wanted. Really busy and emotional time.
-PK
HG, may the only arguments you and your wife have are about the proper corn eating technique. :o)
If anyone is interested in 32D) Dame Edith Sitwell's poem Still Falls the RAIN (3:25).... I think it is easier to listen to, rather than to read.
I prefer this short and direct poem from Walt Kelly of 14D Pogo fame.
Now; really, how arch
Can you be when you march
With a spear;
With a sword?
You belong
To a curious team,
You’re in the extreme,
Maybe left,
Maybe right,
Maybe wrong.
I loved seeing one of my favorite movies of all time as a theme entry for 42D - "A Room For One More". It was just on TMC or AMC not long ago. My sister and I were several states apart, but watched it together via text messages at all the best parts!
Catching onto the theme really helped with the rest of the puzzle. And the theme entries provided plenty of chuckles along the way.
I think Sunday puzzles are my favorites!
Hmmmm, I didn't realize there was a right or wrong way to eat corn on the cob... I pretty much eat it the same way I solve my puzzles - some across, some down, and so on until I'm finished!
Here is an interesting aside for today.
Torquemada was the pseudonym for Edward Powys Mathers, 1892–1939, often credited as the inventor of the cryptic crossword.
Argyle: Was it because his crosswords were as torturous as the inquisitor?
-PK
CA, A lovely poem as usual and a nice comment about my playful reference to any right or wrong way to eat corn. Two grandchildren eat it like Joann and one like me. It's a source of silly conversations around here.
Eddy, UNL didn't need the break against a very down Gopher team but did against the Washington Huskies a few weeks ago but gave a lot away to the Badgers. Those things have a way of evening out.
I thought of WADING IN last night when I just sat down quickly in the very warm bath water instead of trying to ease in! I use the same philosophy when I walk in the Y pool that is quite cool. Might as well jump in!!
He set the standard for cryptic setters being fiends.
Happy Sunday!
My wife and I worked on this together and didn't find it as easy as some of you guys apparently did. We got stuck near the end with REEVE, ONEIDA, EURASIA and HINDU.
What with the baseball clues and the World Series going on, I thought I'd post this. It's an LA Times article by Chris Erskine about an essay by John Updike writing about Ted Williams's last at bat. Those of you who enjoy baseball and are fans of really good writing will appreciate "Writing that Soars out of the Park" I'll bet.
Dudley, thanks for explaining why an oboe is considered difficult to play. I didn't mean to step on your fine post. We posted almost simultaneously.
My fav LAT puzzle this week was Friday's. Congrats to Don and CC. Speaking of Friday, thank you to SEEN for explaining the HR Factor at windy Wrigley Field.
Firmatprime, are you okay? I think of you often.
Redstatedemocrat, I miss your posts.
Good morn...noon C.C.et al,
C.C., enjoyed your write up and explanation of the theme.Tole visual helped bring that word back.
When swamp didn't work, I went down most of the way. Wish I had Barry G's wheelhouse. I DNF-was stumped in 3 areas:gigues/egal, diodes/adp, and reeve/ecu.
So many fun fills, and eclair was a fun fact.Hadn't seen cutlass maker= olds before, so it gave me a chuckle.
Began energetically- mmmmm
"Dives in" is how DH snorkles. I wade in, cautiously.And C.C., IF ONLY my insides were serene.
In 1994 I turned 50, and my daughter graduated from college.We got our last puppy, Jackson, a golden.He suffered a dog stroke a few years ago, very sad.
Hello everybody. What y'all said. Had much the same methodology and pitfalls as y'all had. Enjoyed the experience a lot today.
Like HeartRx did, I snorted coffee at your comment about the eland, C.C. Funny :)
"Reste" means remainder, what's left over, the rest of it.
Things learned: TOLE.
Things remembered: LLANERO.
Dudley, very cool you played woodwinds in high school. Did you play all of those instruments you mentioned? Bassoon is hard; my fingers flat out could not reach to where they had to go. I played tenor sax, badly, in high school.
So ... important event in my life in 1994? Yes.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Maryellen, for a great Sunday puzzle. Really enjoyed it. Thanks, C.C., for your review.
Got the top line easily, but then it stopped I had to go South for a while. Got going with ALAMO, ECLAIR, CRONE and TRAPP. LLANO jumped out from the other day (Llanero).
GRACE TRACK was my first theme answer. That helped with the rest after GOLD YELLER. I then knew the "G" was the key.
I had a terrible time with 20D Is called/GOES BY. I kept trying to think of a phone call, etc. I wagged it and won.
Husker Gary: My kudos to your wife. I eat corn on the cob the same way, in a spiral. I think we all debated that once many months ago. I do miss corn since the season is over.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Re: Corn. Using this method you can prepare fresh corn on the cob without those pesky silk hairs getting in your way. (actual procedure start at ~1:00.)
Lemonade and Argyle, thanks for your comments about Kasparov and Karpov yesterday.
Hahtool, love your QODs each day. Thank you.
Watching that George Lam video again. Trying to figure out it's connection with STEEPED, being absorbed in.
Yes, the name San Tomas is commonly seen around here too, along with a zillion other saints and saintes. We live very near a little city street called San Tomas Aquino Road. Quite a mouthful. Interestingly, there is a San Tomas Expressway close to and parallel with a Lawrence Expressway, the former named after you-know-who and the latter named after the physicist and founder of Lawrence Livermore Labs.
To Spitzboov: Thank you for the link. Actually, I saw that the other day. My wife's cousin sent it to me. I will try that next year. Take care.
Abejo
Dudley et al,
Thanks for the answers to my OBOE question.
Jayce,
Can you understand Cantonese? Or do you only speak Mandarin with your wife?
Esper-otto & PK.
真的漢子 is "Real Man" in English. It's about success, failures and challenges in life and how a real man handles everything to the best he can and never complains. No hesitation. Just do it. The manliest song ever written, in my opinion.
George Lam is highly popular in Hongkong. Very macho. Girls love him. I'm no exception.
I can't figure out why that YouTube guy put the French Bastille Day military parade with the song. I find it intriguing.
That is a really nifty way to shuck corn. A couple of shakes ... well, three shakes ... LOL. Seriously, gonna try it the next time we buy corn on the cob.
C.C., my wife cannot speak Mandarin and I cannot speak Cantonese, so even though we tried and tried to speak more than just English at home it never worked out. We couldn't even fool our kid! We wanted to bring him up to be bi (or tri) lingual, but even as a little kid learning to talk, he sensed that Chinese was foreign to both his mommy and daddy so he rejected it. The weird thing is, though, that his very first word was (you'll never guess in a million years) feiji (airplane in Mandarin). We were sitting out on our lawn, enjoying the warm sun and the grass, when an airplane flew over and out of the blue (so to speak) he looked up, pointed at it, and said, very clearly, feiji. The 2nd word he ever spoke was (excuse the spelling) sueh gau, which means ice cream. So nope, "mama" was not the starter word for him. LOL
Nowadays my wife and I are both very rusty. She can barely speak Cantonese with her brothers and sisters any more. Everybody speaks English now.
So ... Santa has bunches of Bangkok stories, eh?
I have to say I think it is adorable that you did not know the entomology of ECLAIRE :)
Best wishes to you all.
Jayce,
Ha ha on Fei Ji. I bet Argyle can run on and on and on on his "One Night in Bangkok" style stories. He's not that innocent.
Barry G,
What about your household? Does Joshua speak Mandarin with his Mom and Grandparents? How about you?
Joshua is finally starting to take some Mandarin lessons at school. He speaks a little with my wife and in-laws, but not enough to have a real conversation.
I speak a few choice words...
p.s. I can't wait to prepare corn on the cob like that. Cool beans!
We are off to Lincoln to celebrate Emma's 15th birthday. She is a super kid and still likes being with Papa!
Great corn video! Thanks. I'm guessing you still need to cook the corn in the usual way? Or not?
It used to be that you should have the water already boiling when you picked the corn. Nowadays, the new corn varieties retain their sugar much longer.
C.C., thank you for the explanation of the "Real Man" song by George Lam. I enjoyed the song, but I was turned off by the military parade which seemed incongruous.
I have a son who is in the USAF and a good man, but I can't watch TV military operations at all. The week I pinned officer's commission bars on my son's shoulder, some idiot US pilot bombed a Chinese embassy overseas by mistake. Glad the Chinese did not declare war on the US for that. Struck fear in my motherly heart for a little while.
-PK
Yellowrocks - no prob, didn't notice.
Jayce - I played nearly all at one time or another. Our small high school didn't have an oboe until my junior year. I was slated to switch to that from my usual bass clarinet, but then a younger student stepped up, and the director saw fit to let her have that one oboe so there would be more years of continuity. Imagine my being too old at the age of 16! After a few weeks of lessons I surrendered the oboe.
We never had an English horn, a bass sax, or any of the less-common woodwinds such as the E-flat clarinet. Thus I never tried those. I always thought a bass sax would be a hoot! We did have a nice bassoon which I played occasionally, but the girl assigned to it was way better than me. She got all the good gigs!
I'll post for a sixth time today because I just have to tell Dudley that my highschool girlfriend played bassoon, a lot better than I played sax. I guess she had really long fingers.
Hmmm, Barry G, I have a feeling we may know some of the same choice words and naughty phrases.
4 or fewer posts tomorrow. G'night.
Yeah, some of the keys on a bassoon are a bit of a stretch. The oboe, on the other hand, is tight. I tried a piccolo a few times, and that was just tiny!
Chiming in on the corn techniques, I have to mention that I've never found a better method than the one I was raised with. The pressure cooker. 4 to 5 minutes at 15 lbs. I've tried boiling, nuking, baking and grilling, but none come close IMO.
I've reduced my reliance on the pressure cooker over the years as my tastes have morphed, but for sweet corn, there IS no substitute. And FWIW, a pressure cooker was one of my High School graduation gifts, and I'm on my 4th one today.
Avg Joe, have you ever had one explode?
Do you start the water boiling, then screw on the top and cook five more minutes after it reaches 15 lbs pressure?
Spitzboov, et al - the microwave corn method really works. We tried it a few weeks ago at the very end of the corn season and it's really that easy and it tastes amazing. Store this one in memory banks for next summer when the corn is super fresh. Make sure you have a really good oven mitt cuz it's hot!
Really enjoyed today's puzzle because I was able to solve with no lookups and no red letters.
Spitzboov:
Thank you. I love that and can't wait until corn season to try it!
C.C.:
1994 was not my best year. My DH died in September, 1993 and I sank into a depression that lasted well into 1995. Fortunately, time is a great healer and while he is still a vivid memory, my attitude bounced upward and life again turned positive.
BillG, no. I've had the safety valve blow out a few times, but never had the cooker go boom. Common sense measures will keep you on top of whether it's getting unsafe to operate. And always checking the pressure outlet is good practice. When I use it, I typically load the contents with the appropriate amount of water, put the lid on but leave the weight off until it get's close to boiling. Then I drop the weight into place and let it get to pressure before lowering the heat. Never had any serious issues.
BTW, I forgot to note. I also eat my corn "right" (carriage return method) and my wife eats it "wrong" (spiral method). We also disagree on what constitutes a "burned" steak. Domestic tranquility doesn't suffer badly. :-)
Hi there ~!
Thanks for the 'splainin' of the video, C.C., and,
....to add about 1994, for me, what I remember is my beloved and long suffering NY Rangers finally won the Stanley Cup, first time in decades.
Splynter
Hello everyone!
Yes, Yellowrocks, I still exist! I post rather late, no longer every day. Thank you so much for thinking of me!
This puzzle rocked, MaryEllen. Excellent write-up, CC.
A banner Sunday very early morn. Was able to knock off both this puzzle and Reagle puzzle sans cheating! Both fun. Ours had ETHOS; Merl's had ETHIC. They seem to be used interchangeably.
Favorite answer: GINCONSOLABLE. It gave away the theme.
Roy ROMER left Colorado to become a most detested Supt. of Schools in L. A. for 5 years.
Really enjoy reading about you folks!
I was interested in the discussion of bilingual offspring. My grandson is becoming bi-lingual, finally at age 13. His Japanese mother worked in commercial real estate in Manhattan when he was younger. He had an Indian babysitter, and then a Polish babysitter, and showed little inclination for Japanese. He has attended JSL on Sundays for many years. Each summer he and his mother spend a month in Japan. The family has many Japanese speaking guests. Finally he and his mother can speak Japanese together. My son has learned it , too. I studied Japanese for quite a while, but I see the family only every 6 weeks or so and had little opportuniity to practice, so I dropped it. Ken is not at all interested in writtem Japanese, especially Kanji, but finally is interested in speaking it.
My Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary defines WADE IN as (Informal) "To begin energetically. to attack strongly." This is the connotation I have always associated with WADE IN.
Rodale's Synonym Finder has "Start in, enter in.....(Informal)Tackle, attack, plunge into, pitch into."
As far as I recall nothing of any importance happened to us in 1994. That is probably a good thing.
After 65 plus years of eating corn on the cob, I still haven't settled on a preferred method. Sometimes it's spiral and sometimes back and forth. I do want the cob to be "nude" when I'm done and I carefully pry the kernels off the cob with my teeth as I go. GAH just chomps and moves along to another clump of corn. It used to drive me bonkers, but now I just ignore it....and 25 years later, we are still married!
I've spent a lot of time over the years getting all the corn silk out of every nook and cranny. I'll have to try the "Ken Method" as soon as next year's crop is available.
C.C., glad I tuned back in to hear about the "real man" song.According to what you said about it, I can see why he put those serious manly men in the video. They do not look like whiners.LOL
I'm pretty much the only one in our house who eats corn ON the cob. I have to cut it off for a few of the wimps. Sometimes I try to eat 1 row at a time-left to right, but after 5 or 6 rows, I just chomp. I also eat ribs and chicken with my hands, so I rarely order them in a restaurant.
Life is good. I have a sleeping baby tonight.
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