Theme: ROUND AND ROUND WE GO. Each of four theme entries - two of them grid-spanning - ends in a word signifying some type of revolution or rotation.
17A. Latitude between the South Frigid Zone and South Temperate Zone : ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. It's around the South Pole.
17A. Latitude between the South Frigid Zone and South Temperate Zone : ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. It's around the South Pole.
27A. Tried something out : GAVE IT A WHIRL. Origin uncertain: perhaps related to taking a chance at a roulette wheel, or trying your hand at a whirlygig toy.
48A. Test-drove, with "in" : WENT FOR A SPIN. Took a short drive in that sexy new car. Could this be from going ROUND the block?
63A. Macroeconomic theory to explain inflation : WAGE PRICE SPIRAL. Remember cost of living adjustments from back in the 70's? Prices went up, wages went up, rinse, repeat. Not now, though. Wages are stagnant.
Hi gang. JazzBumpa here with a fine entry from James Sajdak, involving circular reasoning and a bit of misdirection, some of which is musical . Let's play around with it.
Across:
1. Finish using TurboTax, say : E-FILE. File your tax return electronically, and you'll get your refund quicker.
6. They have scales and keys : MAPS. This musical misdirection gave me pause, but it is spot on.
10. Avon lady, e.g.? : BRIT. Not musical, but another misdirection. Instead of a cosmetics sales lady who rings your bell, it's any lady from the no-longer-existent county of Avon on the west coast of - 62 D. Merrie __ England : OLDE. Olde English spelling of a fine olde Anglo-Saxon word.
14. Pitch man? : TUNER. Not an aggressive, flamboyant salesman or promoter, but the guy who tunes your piano. Another musical misdirection.
15. Little bit of everything : OLIO. A miscellaneous collection, a hodgepodge. I've always known about OLEO, the ersatz butter substitute, but only learned about OLIO from crosswords. It might be derived from olla podrida, a traditional Spanish rich, spicy stew of meat and vegetables.
16. Tip-top : A-ONE. ¡Lo mejor! Probably not ersatz.
20. Surfboard fin : SKEG. Really?!? Thank you, perps. By the time you read this, I will already have forgotten - what was that again . . . ?
21. Native of Lima : OHIOAN. Ha! Can't fool me. I are one - or was before I became a displaced person. More misdirection, not musical, but still of the cartographer's scale and key variety.
22. Novelist Kesey : KEN. His most famous work is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
23. Hindquarters : RUMP. But -- but . . . I had to back into this one, and almost fell behind. No link.
25. Arms treaty subjects, briefly : N-TESTS. Nuclear test ban treaties.
32. Cleaned one's plate : ATE. Figuratively. Even after cleaning my plate, I still wash it.
33. Indian megalopolis : DELHI. Located in North-central India.
34. Copious : AMPLE. Abundant. More than sufficient.
38. Agent under M : BOND. James Bond, Secret Agent 007, licensed to kill. No?
40. Highways and byways : ROADS. Lines on MAPS.
42. Chimney sweepings : SOOT. Mandatory link.
43. Lipstick mishap : SMEAR. Might need the Avon Lady.
45. Springs, in a way : FREES. From prison. Not very obvious.
47. Ref's decision : TKO. Technical Knock Out. The Ref stops a boxing match, lest the under-performing opponent get injured.
51. Environmental activist Jagger : BIANCA. Mick's first Ex.
54. Copyeditor's catch, hopefully : TYPO. What you get when you press the wrong key
55. Commentator Coulter : ANN. Moving right along . . .
56. 16th-century Spanish fleet : ARMADA. In 1588 the Spanish fleet attempted to attack the BRITS, but were repelled by fireships - literally, boats loaded with combustibles set afire and directed toward enemy ships. The ARMADA retreated north of Scotland where they were further damaged by severe storms. Only about 50 of the original 130 ships made it back to Spain.
60. Science fiction prize : HUGO. Named for Hugo Gernsback.
66. Faded in the stretch : DIED. Like the Tigers many times over and the Red Sox this year.
67. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE. Pejorative term for impoverished Oklahomans who migrated to California during the dust bowl years of the other Great Depression,
68. Denoting a loss, as on a balance sheet : IN RED.
69. Every twelve mos. : YRLY. Abbrv. in cl. & ans.
70. Unites : WEDS.
71. Napoleon, ultimately : EXILE. Nap was EXILED to the isle of Elba. Hence our favorite palindrome. Recite it if you're able.
Down:
1. Guesstimates at Maryland's BWI : ETAS. Estimated Times of Arrival.
2. Name on a dictionary : FUNK. Along with Wagnalls.
3. Involve oneself : INTERVENE. More than just involvement. One intervenes to affect the outcome.
4. Roughly three miles : LEAGUE. I remember reading Roughly 60,000 Miles Under the Sea.
5. Push the wrong button, e.g. : ERR. A TYPO, frex.
6. Candlelight visitor? : MOTH. Great imagery.
7. Et __: and others : ALII. Latin.
8. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. We just discussed this a few days ago.
9. "You're not the only one!" : SO CAN I. Anything you can do . . .
10. Block : BAR. Ban. Veto. INTERVENE, perhaps.
11. Is way cool : ROCKS. Did your teen years ROCK?
13. "The Wonder Years" years : TEENS. Blunder years in my case.
18. Whirlybird : 'COPTER. Helicopter, that is. Note slang in clue and ans.
19. Prefix with mural : INTRA. Refers to sports competition between teams from the same institution.
24. Near the center : MID.
26. Shady group? : ELMS. Famous shade trees from by-gone Americana, depleted by Dutch Elm disease, alas.
27. Ties up the line : GABS. or YAKS. Needed perp help to decide.
28. Element element : ATOM. The basic building block of matter - and an internal clecho. Nice!
29. High, as a kite : ALOFT. Up above, and less rankling than the typical A- word.
30. Quay : WHARF. What's updock? The other end of the pier.
31. Pitcher Nomo : HIDEO. Japanese baseball player who had an up and down career in the Major Leagues, playing for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Tigers, Red Sox, Dodgers again, Devil Rays and Royals. Plus other teams in other countries. You need a MAP.
35. "Jeopardy!" category : POTPOURRI. Why don't they call it OLIO?!?
36. Mischief-making Norse god : LOKI. Nothing low key abut this guy, in some very confusing mythology.
37. Henry VI's school : ETON. Four letters, School in Merrie Olde England: enter ETON and be on your way.
39. "Rosy-fingered" time of day, per Homer : DAWN. That is downright poetic.
41. "Counting Sheep" mattresses : SERTAS. Hmmm. Not up on my mattress adverts.
44. Postgame rundown : RECAP. Sort for recapitulation, which has way to many syllables for the 21st century.
46. "I just had an idea!" : SAY. Say what? I'd say the correspondence of clue and fill is quite strained.
49. __-minded : NARROW. Lacking tolerance, breadth of view, or sympathy. Vide supra.
50. Egyptian with a riddle : SPHINX. The SPHYNX sat by the side of the road and asked his famous riddle of all who passed by. Woe to him who got it wrong.
51. Like some limericks : BAWDY. There once was a blogger named Bumpa / Who sat overlong on his RUMPA / When finally he stood / (He felt that he should) / He fell with a hideous thumpa. (Cut me some slack, OK - it's after midnight.)
52. ". . . the bombs bursting __ . . ." : IN AIR. From the Star Spangled Banner. BTW, Detroit has the best anthem singers. No contest.
53. California pro : ANGEL. Could not think of this team. Needed lots of perp help.
57. Karaoke prop : MIKE.
58. Stomach product : ACID. For digesting proteins.
59. Unenviable grades : DEES. And a bit of unenviable fill.
61. Highlands native : GAEL Per Wikipedia, "The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx."
64. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY. And an occasional treat in crosswords
I'd say James took us for a nice spin. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Cheers!
JzB
Good morning JazzBumpa, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up today, JazzB, stuffed with information and fun links!! I couldn’t open the link at 34A…hmmm, wonder what was AMPLE? But I loved your BAWDY limerick – impressive, especially at midnight!
“They have scales and keys” for MAPS threw me off track for a while, and I thought “Avon lady” for BRIT was really clever.
But that lower left corner nearly did me in, with BIANCA and ANN crossing the partial IN AIR, and the odd abbr. YRLY. I finally figured it all out, but it pushed my limits for a Wednesday puzzle!
Have a happy hump day, everyone.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteSKEG??? I guessed it might be STEG, thinking there was some association with the spines on a stegosaurus, but obviously I was wrong. I should have got FUNK, but FUNT looked just as plausible to me.
WAGEPRICESPIRAL was another complete WTF moment. It didn't help that I spelled 50D SPHYNX for some unknown reason.
I was less than thrilled to see YRLY. I'm sure it's just as valid as yesterday's PHILA, but that doesn't mean I have to like it...
I also hesitated a bit with EXILE. Yes, we all know "able was I ere I saw elba," but Napoleon eventually escaped from his exile there and returned to power, so that wasn't his "ultimate" fate. Of course, he did end up spending the last six years of his life in confinement by the British on the island of Saint Helena, but I'm not sure imprisonment is really the same as EXILE.
Good Morning, JazzBumpa and friends. This was a fun Wednesday challenge, and a challenge it was for me. I caught on to the spherical theme early, which really helped. The first three Across clues almost did me in.
ReplyDeleteMAPS and BRIT, however, were just brilliant responses to the clues!
My computer has Forbidden me access to your AMPLE link. Can anyone else view the link?
QOD: Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. ~ Daniel J. Boorstin
Ample
ReplyDeleteAmple, indeed!
ReplyDeleteGood day folks,
ReplyDeleteHand up for no ample viewing link.
Wonder if the female residents in Avon, Ct consider themselves Brits. It was clever cluing though.
Toughie today made tougher by me. All my goofs were eventually corrected. 23A Rear/Rump; 54A Dele/Typo; 24D Aid/Mid; 7D Alia/Alii. Eraser had a workout.
Still had a DNF due to my screw up. Left 1A, 20A, & 2D blank. Carelessness on my part. Skeg would have earned a WTF.
Lots of reliance on perps today, especially for the four long (theme?) fills.
JzB, your usual excellent write up.
Argyle comes through! A well rounded example.
ReplyDeleteJazzbumpa: Wonderful write-up & limerick!!!
ReplyDeleteArgyle, Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!!!
Themes were solid as I went 'round-and-round' in my solve.
Hondo, I had the same thingy with ALII-v-alia.
Hmmm, SKEG was a total gimmie.
Then again, I surfed in my youth.
Any puzzle with that BAWDY LOKI is OK by me.
Napoleon was EXILEd to St.Helena.
His imprisonment was being "confined to the island" where he lived in the Longwood House until his death 6 years later.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Argyle, I am amply impressed!
ReplyDeleteSKEG was a learning moment and MAPS and BRIT came slowly. Then everything fell into place.
Happy hump day, all.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, James S., for a great puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for the great write-up and links. I could not open your AMPLE, but I did open Argyle's. Impressive!
ReplyDeleteCould not get started in the NW, so I went to the SE and entered OLDE. From there I worked up and west.
The four theme answers were quite easy. I did not notice the commonality of them, but did not really look either.
Needed perps for several answers; BIANCA, HUGO, SKEG, and HIDEO.
Thought LEAGUE was a good one. I had forgotten about that distance. Been a while since we had LOKI. That was more common a while back, I believe.
Had a great trip to Paxton, IL, yesterday. Served dinner at a nursing home.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
BG:
ReplyDeleteIf only you were a bit older, you would have watched Laugh In which had weekly references to Funk & Wagnalls.
I always enjoy Mr. Sajdak's efforts, many of which have been Fridays and JzB makes his own music with his write up, so a good start to the day.
The young lady's cups surely runneth over.
On those notes off for my morning exercise and then work, peace out all.
We certainly had some 'different' clues today! SKEG really threw me for a loop. Darn age thing is at it again! Worked the puzzle a different way today, went from NW to SE, then up the coast to the NE; usually I just start at #1 and keep going, well.... mostly.
ReplyDeleteBarry G.: Really can't thank you enough for helping me working on line instead of paper. Now, can you teach me to read vertically??? If so, I could cut my time considerably!
Let's not forget that Johnny Carson, as Carnac, always noted that the hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar had been on Funk and Wagnall's front porch. F&W may not be as well known as Webster, but it's very in the language.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle, great misdirects. Ample indeed. And proud!
Good morning all. Great write up JzB. I enjoyed your limerick, but it ranks pretty low on the BAWDY scale.
ReplyDeleteYes, "you bet your sweet bippy!" I'm old enough to remember "look that up in your Funk 'n Wagnalls!".
Really liked the misdirection on MAPS and TUNER. Having grown up within approximately 10 LEAGUES of Lima, OHIOAN wasn't hard to figure out. And that's Lima with a long I, not a long E like those Peruvians pronounce it.
Tinman, you're spot on that Napoleon was exiled on St. Helena and not imprisoned. He had his own servants and staff and pretty much had the run of the island. We enjoyed visiting there a years ago. The British did not keep a Garrison on the island, but instead patrolled from ships circling the island. They feared that if Napoleon had contact with British troops he would be able to talk them/bribe them into helping him escape.
Argh! There's a whole lotta White Out going on over here. But when I finally solved this everything fit together nicely and it all made sense.
ReplyDeleteClues/answers I really liked: 6A Keys and scales: MAPS (I was thinking music). 10A Avon Lady? BRIT. 14A Pitch man? TUNER. And finally, 21A Native of Lima: OHIOAN. Who knew?
Hope your day goes smoother than my first attempt at this puzzle ;)
Good Morning All. Nice write-uo, JzB.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle ROCKed. I'm starting to get on James' wavelength. I really enjoyed this one. It had the complexity and nuance expected for Wednesday, but seemed to lean towards Tuesday in easiness. Filled ANTARCTIC CIRCLE and GAVE IT A WHIRL with barely any perps. Liked many of the clues, especially those for BRIT, OHIOAN, and BAWDY. No nits, no lookups. Bravo Zulu.
Cornhuskers and cornhuskerphiles. In the November 2011 "Smithsonian", on pg 14, there is a fine 3 page article on Lincoln, NE, by a Brooklynite who lived there for a time.
JD - glad you liked the clip from yesterday.
Enjoy your hump day.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteNot sure why the link was unstable. This series of tubes can be a mysterious thing.
Thanks, Argyle for rescuing it. That is indeed the very same picture. You see, Gemma Atkinson (who may be sporting enviable DEES) is the AMPLE of my eye.
Another way to ERR with a TYPO is by not pressing the keys hard enough. Despite multple proof-readings, you can see examples in my comment to 44D. (sigh)
Cheers!
JzB occasionally BAWDY
Argyle @6:41 - I would certainly say so.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Your new favicon came up today (on Safari). Very nice and distinctive.
A challenging, misdirecting, but thoroughly fun CW. The north was my slowest area, but eventually it dropped into place. I didn't know BIANCA was an activist. Nor did I know PICO, was trying to fit Peruan in for OHIOAN, but knew it should be Peruvian and that was too big. when I finally gave that up and let perps work, OHIOAN popped. Tried TOOK FOR A SPIN before WENT FOR. I didn't know SKEG, but having grown up in a surfing area, it sounded vaguely familiar, so helped to finish ETAS which I had no idea about, not knowing what BWI was--something Intl?
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers - Took a few turns 'round the grid, but I managed to pull off a no-peeky. It helps that SKEG is familiar from boating. BRIT was slow to emerge, but OHIOAN went right in.
ReplyDeleteANTARCTIC filled itself quickly, but for some reason I couldn't see the CIRCLE part of it. Haven't been that far south, but would like to! Visited the north of Norway some years ago, just above the Arctic Circle. It was a bit chilly.
Enjoyed the write-up JazzB, especially the AMPLE sample.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport - BWI code.
ReplyDeleteGot stuck in the top middle zone; tried to make some sort of Peruvian connection to the Lima clue. I was looking for a beer belly link to counter that first AMPLE link, but no luck.
ReplyDeleteSince we're so close to Halloween, here is my favorite, though not BAWDY, limerick:
There was a young man from Nepal
Was asked to a fancy dress ball.
He murmured, "I'll risk it and go as a biscuit"
But the dog ate him up in the hall.
This was a really fun puzzle. I loved the misdirections such as MAPS and BRIT. MOTH was cute. The puzzle was interesting, but not too difficult.
ReplyDeleteJazzB, your write up was full of great info and humor. Liked the limerick.
Did you know that KARAOKE means EMPTY ORCHESTRA in Japanese? I suppose that is because there is no live orchestra, just canned music.
I forgot what BWI was until I got ETAs from perps. It means
Baltimore/Washington International (Airport)
ANN Coulter is seen on all types of media around here, much as I try to ignore her.
In the monthly financial reports to our Church's Board I see YRLY and YTD (year to date.)
Argyle,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the BWI explanation--I never fly through the east coast so had no idea it even referred to an airport when I was working the puzzle today.
good morning all,
ReplyDeletei'm always impressed at our editor's skill in standardizing the difficulty levels throughout the week. solving monday through friday puzzles takes me roughly two additional minutes each day.
a few gimmes today mixed in with a few huh?s, 'rounded out' the morning. like barry, never heard of skeg, and wanted a Y in sphinx. all the theme answers fell easily except for wage price spiral. loved candelight visitor / moth.
jd, your grandsons are adorable. yes, daughter made tank patrol again this year - coming to a jumbotron near you.
welcome back southern belle!
Delightful write-up, JazzB, for a terrific puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWe watch "Jeopardy" every night so 35D could have been practically anything. Was mystified for a while by a long word that would start with 'pot' and end in 'i.' Loved 'potpourri' when I finally got it. 'Okie' was easy, but then 'The Grapes of Wrath' is one of my favorite novels of all time. And although I've done a lot of research on surfing for a novel I'm working on, 'skeg' totally eluded me until I got 'Funk.'
So thanks again for giving us a great Wednesday morning!
Jazzbumpa, so you missed a couple of letters. Big deal. It was still perfectly understandable. I'd say that your 44d comment was an ample explanation.
ReplyDeleteReally can't thank you enough for helping me working on line instead of paper. Now, can you teach me to read vertically???
ReplyDeleteI would, except I'm still working on that bit myself... ^_^
dictionary.com
ReplyDelete"SAY interjection (used to express surprise, get attention, etc.)"
I use SAY! and have heard it often, usually to get attention for a sudden surprising idea.
SAY! I know what we should do! Let's take a spin to see the lovely fall foliage!
I love these puzzles with a great mix of good theme, misdirections and trivia.
ReplyDeleteNo idea how I knew SKEG, but didn't miss a beat there. Had to go around the horn a couple of times filling in here and there until things started to fall into place.
Agree @BarryG about YRLY though. Didn't think twice about EXILE for Napoleon.
Apparently KARAOKE is not just a portmanteau word from Empty + Orchestra, but the "Orchestra" part comes from English, not Japanese, so it's a multi-lingual portmanteau. Who knew?
Very fun write-up today. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFor all you Uncle Miltie fans out there: Round and Round
Oh, and speaking of Lima:
ReplyDeleteThere once was a man from Peru
Whose limericks stopped at line two
Good Morning All, OK, I had a problem with WAGE PRICE SPIRAL. I don't know why I wasn't familiar with the phrase. There were times when money was really tight and others when I made enough to pay the bills. When I didn't have money, I just didn't buy stuff. GAH and I still don't buy on credit.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the phrases came easily and gave me a foothold for a few unknown perps like HIDEO.
SKAG in the NW was a total perp WAG.
The encyclopedia in my childhood home was a FUNK & Wagnall's. I think my mother bought a volume a week in a local supermarket promotion.
Interesting that environmentalist BIANCA Jagger "topped" ulta-conservative ANN Coulter.
Several of the clues, BRIT, BOND, BIANCA (dual citizenship) and even ARMADA (lost to the English) and EXILE (Napoleon lost the the Enlish) reminded me of the 2005 HUGO winner "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell"...kind of a grown-up Dickensian Harry Potter tale.
Hello, Jazzbumpa, C.C. er ALII.
ReplyDeleteStellar write up as always, JZB, even your limerick
I believe I have a BOND with James Sajdak as I was on his wave length fairly quickly as I WENTFORASPIN.
Even unknowns like SKEG, BIANCA, and GAEL emerged with no TYPOs.
Knew BIANCA was Mick's ex but no idea about her activism.
Like Dudley I have visited north of the Arctic Circle in Finland but not the ANTARTICCIRCLE. Might be fun. Chilly even in June.
Great clues at BRIT, TUNER, ELMS and MAPS. DNF though because I left (P) blank and failed to return to it.
Finishing this FREES me and it's almost time for yoga.
Methinks AMPLE enhancement increased the girth on those girls.
Have a lovely Wednesday, everyone!
Leading up to Halloween, I don't have any "rosy fingered DAWN". I think we've done that one previously. How about this one by Carl Sandburg?
ReplyDeleteUNDER THE HARVEST MOON
UNDER the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.
Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.
OKESUTORA is a real Japanese word borrowed from the English word, orchestra, just as our English has borrowed words from other languages and made them our own. The Japanese as transliterated to our alphabet is OKESUTORA, which is pronounced more like the OKE in karaOKE than the ORCH sound in English. So it is actually a real Japanese portmanteu word. It is also typical of the Japaense to drop the ending of many words borrowed from other languages. For example: EA KON for air conditioner
ReplyDeleteand OKE for orchestra. When I studied Japaenese our instructor was surprised they we could not easily guess the meaning of words like EA KON. They had become quite Japanized.
Hello.
ReplyDeleteCC. Photo in morning mail. Thanks.
JD. Not only a win, but, the third in a row on current road trip. Up next the Wings and Rangers. If they win those, they may want to
stay on East Coast for a while.
Beautiful photo of four of Saturn's
moons on APOD.
Rx. Loved #8. One letter lead to a word and then another word. etc.
eddy
The SPHINX that posed a riddle to travelers was the Greek Sphinx, not the Egyptian version. The clue is off, I think.
ReplyDeleteMore Japanese:
ReplyDeleteDo you recognize, "MA KU DO NU RU DO?" Although some borrowed words are shortened , many are made longer because each consonant must include a vowel sound. There is no stand alone M, so it must be ma me mu mi or mo.
Above is MAC DONALDS (hamburger place) Instead of MAC we see MA KU. There is no stand alone K.
Do you wonder that we didn't recognize Japanized English?
Anon, you are absolutely right; it is the Greek sphinx. Good catch. Anons like you (and pk) keep us from banning anons.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Sandburg poem, Clear Ayes. It's lovely.
ReplyDeleteGreat Saturn photo! Thanks EddyB.
ReplyDeleteCA, no credit for us either. If we couldn't afford it, we didn't buy it. In the past, I would use a credit card often to consolidate all the monthly purchases and pay them off by writing just one check. We never paid any interest or late fees. Our children didn't learn by our example but are doing OK now. Since I get paid for tutoring in cash, I use cash for almost all purchases these days.
I saw Kelly Clarkson being interviewed. She seems like a nice girl. She managed to squeeze the word "like" into almost every sentence. I stopped counting after she used "like" 35 times in five minutes.
Years ago, a boy raised his hand and asked a question in my math class. He had managed to include "like" two or three times in the one question. I asked him to try again without the extra "likes". He smiled and tried several more times, each time including a "like" though he was trying not to. Finally, we all had a good chuckle (including him) and I answered his question anyway.
I'm going to defend the Sphynx clue.
ReplyDeleteYes this has to do with Greek mythology, but the location was Thebes, which was in Egypt; ergo, the Sphynx was Egyptian.
Just as Beowulf was a Geat, though the mythology is from Merrie Olde England.
Cheers!
JzB Olde but not English
Just returned and our poses included the SPHINX though not Greek or Egyptian, but a yoga asana.
ReplyDeleteCA:
Wonderful poem, thank you.
New word for my CW dictionary, SKEG.
Misty:
ReplyDeleteI agree, that "Jeopardy!" category could have been practically anything.
Off "POT------" I confess, Avatar and I (we do the puzzles together), were thinking more along the lines of "Potent Potables" (which wouldn't fit) before POTPOURRI came into view.
Potent Potables is our favorite category!!!
(Big surprise, right?)
Hello again.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add that the first boat
I looked at had a double skeg keel.
It would have alowed sailing in and out of Alviso basin at low
tide and settle into the mud with out tipping over.
Just waiting for CBS.com to post
last night's Unforgetable.
Wonder why so many of the female
leads on programs I watch are an A.
Take care. edy
SKEG is a commonly used term in boat building or naval architecture: - SKEG A longitudinal appendage on a boat, on the outside, at the centerline, providing directional stability and/or protection for the prop and rudder..
ReplyDeleteBecause it is "fixed" and projects below the hull form, it would be natural to apply it to its use on a surfboard where it assists with directional stability. As with many 'sk' words in English, it is of Norse origin.
Actually, the city in question is the Thebes in Greece, in Boeotia, rather than the one in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
ReplyDeleteSee what happens when I don't have a MAP . . .
ReplyDeleteJzB
Just goes to show how much influence "The Simpsons" has, as I wondered at Homer's "rosy fingered dawn". DUH!
ReplyDelete@Tinbeni,
ReplyDeleteYou've just put a challenge out there for some constructor to give you your 'Potent Potables'in puzzle form some day.
We'll have to be on the lookout for them!
Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today, and yesterday too. I thought I had finished it, so I ran some errands then came here to read the blog. Got to TUNER and thought, "I don't remember that entry." Took a look and sure enough I forgot to go back and finish that NW corner.
ReplyDeleteSKEG sounds, um, biological.
Since I had et ALIA, it caused 21A to fill as OHAOAN, which made me scratch my head, wondering if it was some sort of ancient Incan language word. Didn't drink my V8 juice this morning, I guess.
Jazzb, thanks for the limerick. Oh, and for the link to Gemma Atkinson, too.
ant, I liked your
Never heard of SKEG. Sports.
ReplyDeleteAre all Japanese baseball players named HIDEO? Who is the first HIDEO? It means "excellent man," and is at least a century old.
I believe COPTER should be indicated as an abbrev.
Lots of cute "misdirection."
Almost got me on Lima. Asked myself if there were an Indian tribe I hadn't yet heard of.
Rosy-Fingered DAWN goes along with Wine-Dark Sea.
I think of Napoleon as having 2 exiles before they finally put the stake through his heart, so to speak. I always remember the mothers hiding their sons in their cellars.
In fairy tales, there are 7 LEAGUE boots, or about 21 feet each. Theoretically, the hero could go 40 feet each stride. Fun!
Baltimore Airport - make sure to see my sister's tiles in the parking garage (great artist, Dedree Drees).
@ClearAyes - We had those FUNK and Wagnalls from the A & P!
Thanx everyone for info on SKEG and Japanese.
Argyle, you are a fountain of knowledge. I admire and appreciate you for that.
ReplyDeletePOTENT POTABLES work sometimes, but I prefer TEN POOP TABLETS.
ReplyDeleteYou use those tablets, Jerome? Is that ten poops per tablet, or ten of the poop-tablets? (Sowwy.)
ReplyDelete"Rosy fingered dawn" certainly deserves a response from Jackson Browne I wonder if Homer was his muse.:-)
ReplyDeleteAnd if some of you are on the lookout for an entry of "Potent Potables", I'm going in search of a clue that reads: "He who ----- it dealt it" in lieu of the typical "Silvery fish".
Messed up the Jackson Browne link. Try this
ReplyDeleteClear Ayes, thank you for reminding me of the lovely Carl Sandberg poem. I remember being totally smitten with him in H.S. when we read his "Fog" poem in English Lit. class.
ReplyDeleteWell, what do you know? Not one, but two shout-outs to me!
ReplyDeleteSPHINX, of course. And RUMP!
And with that, I offer my own shout out: to eddy. Thanks for being a sport to this mobile wart. I never meant no disrespect.
Bye, y'all! I go gentle into that good night, to work on my tone of sanctimony.
There was a young man named Rex who had deminitive organs of sex When arrested for exposure He said with composure, De minibus non curat lex!
ReplyDeleteMy THEME MUSIC for today.
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the minibus visual but it is MINIMUS; good quote Hutch
ReplyDeleteThank you James Sajdak for a wonderful puzzle - and JazzBumpa for a very charming commentary. I really did not think I could have done it - and it seemed so difficult - But I did it ! ( SO CAN I ! ).
ReplyDeleteI am posting late, was very busy doing some work, earning a living, bringing home the bacon etc. etc.
I could not get the original 'ample' link, but it did not bother me - I just imagined it - then I saw Argyles helpful contribution and your prolific thesaurus - and I have amply got the point.
Your limerick, made on the fly, was charming.
I really do think I have reached the outer limits of my cw wisdom.
If its not too late,
Alt QOD : The secret of a good sermon is having a good beginning and a good conclusion as close together as possible. ~ George Burns.
41 Down - Counting Sheep mattresses is a reference to the old Joey Heatherton commercial from the 60's. "Be a perfect sleeper, buy a perfect sleeper, perfect sleeper, buy a Serta! Now, instead of counting sheep, you can count on a good night's sleep, etc."
ReplyDeleteDating myself....
I stand corrected. This is from the early 70's and the commercial is available on You-tube! Unfortunately, I do not know how to link to this yet.
ReplyDeleteHola Everyone, Since our carrier tossed us the WAll Street Journal today instead of our local paper, (He tosses both papers), I didn't have my daily CW to do. Since I had a morning meeting, I'm just now getting around to reading the blog.
ReplyDeleteI will try to get the puzzle printed once I get our network printer up and running. Another glitch in today's techno world.
I just didn't have time to sit in front of the computer to do the puzzle.
I did want to tell CA thanks for the lovely Sandberg poem and Southern Belle, that I'm vertically challenged--reading wise, not in height!
Have a great evening everyone.
Hey Avg Joe- Right on with Jackson! I've been a follower since his, and my, late teens. Over four decades. For those not familiar with him, please go to Joe's link and check it out. On the right side you'll find a ton of Jackson's live videos. There's not many rock anthems as good as "Running on Empty" or more stunning, real world words about getting older than you can experience in "The Pretender".
ReplyDelete"... where the veterans dream of the fight, fast asleep at the traffic light..."
Here you go, LAT Crossword Addict Joey's Serta commercial
ReplyDeleteI wasn't planning on posting more today, but the Jackson Browne stuff got me going. I may as well be self-indulgent and link mostly for myself, but feel free to "click". For my favorite song it's a toss up between Here Come Those Tears Again (heck, who doesn't want to jump up and dance around their computer?) and The Load Out/Stay.....unless it is the near perfect The Pretender. I hear you Jerome. "The Pretender" works for women too. That one is for when you want to shed a tear or two for the lover who just didn't manage to stay around for the long haul. No matter what you think, Jackson Browne gets it perfect.
ReplyDeleteI have to beg to differ. But then what else is new:-)
ReplyDeleteJB's best penned tune of all time, IMO, is My Opening Farewell. It just makes your heart hurt! Turn it up really loud and pay particular attention to the acoustic fret work. It adds to the experience.
Bonnie Raitt also did a fantastic cover, but the original is inimitable.
Jazz, you are the greatest!
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything to add to today's comments. Y'all are wise as well as smart bunch.
If I could figure out the linking thing, i would post a picture of our family at our daughter-in-law's citizenship ceremony. What a wonderful day!
Have a nice evening!
And in more recent years, with a greater political bent, Jackson has written some unsung songs that deserve greater attention.
ReplyDeleteI offer Looking East.
Avg Joe, you won't get an argument from me about Jackson Browne preferences. My Opening Farewell is a heart breaker and Bonnie Raitt comes close. Alison Krauss & Union Station do a gorgeous cover too.
ReplyDelete@7:38....Yup!
This is definitely it for me this evening. Dinner is ready to come out of the oven and Jeopardy is coming up soon. OOHH, I hope there is a POTPOURRI category!
Spitz, thanks for the Husker info, I'll check it out! Too busy teaching and writing curriculum to blog after doing this fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary
No Game 6 tonight. It will be PHI and MTL.
ReplyDeleteUnforgettable had a nice twist at the end. Cassie's mom was lucid.
eddy
Anon:
ReplyDeleteJoey Heatherton: "Firmness and comfort - the Perfect combination." I'd SERTAnly SAY so!.
Anony-Mouse:
A limerick made on the fly
Was just good enough to get by.
Writ down in a trice, neither bawdy nor nice,
With humor sardonic and wry.
Hutch:
Your limerick was brilliant in an organically minimalist way.
Cheers!
JzB
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteGot to the puzzle real late today. Fantastic write-up, JzB! Loved the info., the humor and the limerick. :-) Still checking out all the links ... great stuff.
I really enjoyed the puzzle but made it more difficult than it needed to be. Silly mistakes ... Alia for ALII and I couldn't give up 'Chopper' for COPTER even though it didn't fit. Ah well, it all worked out in the end. Loved the misdirection, esp. the clues for MAP and BRIT. I thanked 'Laugh-In' for helping me remember FUNK & Wagnalls!
EddyB ~~ On "Unforgettable' ~~ Carrie's mom seemed to know that man in the picture! I wonder if she'll be able to identify him ... wow.
wonderful write up Jzbumpa!Great minds think alike...soot.
ReplyDeletefun limericks all...
Lemonade, enchanted by your theme music.LOL
Did xwd in bits and pieces today,but never settled into a rhythm. I thought I was hot stuff filling in antarctic circle, but then there was skeg and Ohioan and Ken! I gave it a whirl, and again was thankful for perps.
Speaking (or not) of Avon, did anyone ever get those little demo lipsticks when they came door to door? I ADORED Pink Tinge..it was so bad.I think I had a collection of them hidden as Catholic school girls did not wear lipstick.
JD, I'm so late here, don't know if you will see this. I had to laugh about the Avon lipstick samples. I also collected them--even though I was very allergic to them. I had the bee-stinged look way before it was popular because the lipstick made my lips swell.
ReplyDeleteAs for the puzzle, I wanted Anne (Shakespeare's wife) for Avon Lady. The whole north third was a wash for me except for KEN. I knew him. Finally got EFILE but had to come to JZB's great writeup to get the rest. I got the rest of the puzzle enjoyably fast.
-PK
Surprised at your addendum to the K-I-S-S-I-N-G grade school rhyme. Here in NM it is ..."Sucking his thumb, peeing his pants, doin' the hula hula dance".
ReplyDeleteAny more out there?