Theme: “Say the secret word and win yourself a hundred dollars!” - Hint: It’s a “VETO”, hidden in the pockets of the theme entries.
17A. Symbolic gifts: LOVE TOKENS. For Valentine’s day, do you give “symbolic gifts” like chocolate hearts or roses? Or, something really significant like diamonds, or even a Ferrari??
22A. Exasperate: DRIVE TO DRINK. My mother always yelled this to us kids, although I don’t remember her ever taking anything stronger than a tiny glass of Ernest and Julio Gallo on New Year’s Eve…
35A. Soother for men: AFTERSHAVE TONIC. Would that be with gin??
45A. Indigenous language: NATIVE TONGUE. Mine is English. What’s yours?
and the unifier:
56A. President’s option, and a hint to the puzzle theme in17-, 22-, 35- and 45-Across: POCKET VETO. In this case, VE-TO is split the same way in all four theme entries. In other puzzles, constructors might try to split a hidden word in different ways. But can you think of common phrases with words ending in –v and the next beginning with eto-, or ending in –vet and beginning with o-? (I didn’t think so…)
Marti here, so it must be Thursday again. (Really, already??) (Yep, so get crackin’!) (OK, OK, already!)
Across:
1. Gaucho’s weapon: BOLA
5. What two lanterns in the Old North Church signified: BY SEA. From “Paul Revere’s Ride”, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
“…One if by land, and two if by sea:
And I on the opposite shore will be…”
10. Shenanigan: LARK
14. “Paradise Lost” setting: EDEN
15. Assessed: RATED
16. Holder of small tools: ETUI. Hello, old crosswordese friend!
19. Jose’s hand: MANO … a mano.
20. Like some ink cartridges: TRI-COLOR. I just bought a new printer today, but it only does B&W.
21. Vitruvian Man is on some Italian ones: EUROS. This is the Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci.
Unfortunately, more people recognize him from this movie than from the work in the Louvre…
22. Pago Pago resident: SAMOAN
28. Sosa’s 1,667, briefly: RBIs. HA!! I knew this had to be a baseball clue, as I am beginning to recognize Sammy Sosa as some guy in baseball. But it still eluded me, if the clue was looking for ERAs or RBIs. Sighhh….OK, C.C. I did my due diligence: Sammy Sosa is from the Dominican Republic, and while a member of the Chicago Cubs, he and Mark McGuire achieved national fame for their ability to hit home-runs.
29A. Conspiracy theorist’s worry: PLOT
30. Zeno, notably: STOIC. (I had the “C” from filling in EDICT down…so what else could it be??)
32. Styled after: A LA. As in “Chicken à la King” (Does that mean the king is a chicken??). and a clecho with 33D. Styled after : LIKE
39. Stadium sound: RAH. Or boooo, if they are playing badly?
40. Shake: ELUDE. As in, shake (off) the cops.
41. Victory goddess: NIKE. And you thought she was just a sneaker, huh?
42. ___ Deion: NFL nickname: NEON. I had no clue, but with N-ON from perps, not hard to guess the rhyming nickname here.
43. Bk. After Proverbs: ECCLES. “Bk.” gives the hint that the answer is an abbr. of “Ecclesiastes”. (I had the darndest time spelling out that full name just now!!)
50. Selectric selection: ELITE. Does anyone still use an IBM Selectric (electric) typewriter? And, just which“Elite” does the answer refer to? There was the Elite 72, Auto Elite, LargeElite (12), Prestige Elite 72, Prestige Elite 96…not to mention the Presidential Elite!
51. Became one lane, say: NARROWED. Boston is famous for having 16 lanes narrow into one. So do you wonder why we have such aggressive drivers??
55. Hammer feature: CLAW. Ok, hands up for whoever entered the crosswordese “peen” here. (one, two, three, four, five…)
58. Soprano TeKanawa: KIRI. To my surprise, not everyone appreciates a pure operatic soprano voice like this. Do you?
59. Gets zero mpg: IDLES.
60. First name in bike stunts: EVEL. Knievel, motorcycle daredevil of the 70’s. After living through all of his unbelievable stunts, he died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
61. Fall runner’s goal, perhaps: SEAT. Fall elections, that is.
62. Requirements: NEEDS
63. Take it easy: REST
So, after our brief REST, let’s continue
Down:
1. Whack: BELT. OK, OK, I’m awake after my REST!!
2. Glade target: ODOR. “Ewwww…fried fish tonight, dear??”
3. “Hello, Dolly!”surname: LEVI.
5. Josh of "True Grit" (2010) : BROLIN. I liked John Wayne better than this guy...
6. Comedian Smirnoff : YAKOV. Funny guy, famous for his ironic portrayals of life under communism. But back in the 80's, it seemed more "cutting edge" than it would now, I guess.
7. Cordwood measure : STERE
8. Bard's nightfall : E'EN
9. Many pop-ups : ADS. grrr, I hate those things!
10. Madagascar mammals : LEMURS
11. Asteroids maker : ATARI
12. Syntax problem : RUNON (... like the answer)
13. Newsstand booth : KIOSK
18. When said three times, a WWII film : TORA
21. Order from on high : EDICT
23. Valuable stash : TROVE
24. Tony's cousin : OBIE. Not Tony Orlando, silly! The American Theater awards.
25. Bandy words : SPAR. Do you bandy words with your boss? My DH would check to see if the spar tar was in good condition before going on a long trip. But then, he is from the south...
26. It's five before Foxtrot : ALFA. NATO phonetic alphabet.
27. Light-headed insect? : MOTH. Loved this clue! And a chance for a fav song.
30. Railroad switch : SHUNT. Much better clue than "Atrial septal defect with left-to-right ___"
31. Smidgen : TAD
32. Indigo dye source : ANIL
34. Whizzes : ACES. (Oops! I put "pees")
36. "The Canterbury Tales" estate manager : REEVE. "The Reeve's Tale" is the third of the Canterbury tales.
37. Gin flavoring : SLOE. Oh, here's the gin I was looking for at 35A !!
38. Quick look : ONCE-OVER. Hmmm, wanna come up and see me some time?
42. Dipstick : NITWIT
43. Door to the street : EGRESS
44. Brusque : CURT
45. Kisses and then some : NECKS... Hmmm, wanna come up and see me some time?
46. Kate's TV roommate : ALLIE. "Kate and Allie", a popular TV series in the 80's.
47. Regal topper : TIARA
48. Frère de la mère : ONCLE. Sorry Abejo, here is your required French entry...
49. Blunt, as truth : NAKED. Yeh, sure. We know how this was originally clued, right?
:
:
:
("The ___ Ape" !!)
52. "Houston, __ had a problem" : WE'VE. Often misquoted as "Houston, we have a problem..."
53. Nice warm times : ETES. Ahhh, here's our nice misdirection. Nice, as in the city in southern France. I would really, really love to see this just once clued as "Summers (Fr.)" (Sorry Abejo, that makes two in one puzzle!)
54. Dimbulb : DOLT
56. Verb associated with blame : PIN. Not the tail on the donkey?
57. Neruda's "__ to Conger Chowder" : ODE. You really should read this...it is a very different poetic offering than the dishes served up by our dear Clear Ayes!
Answer grid.
Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to comment!
Hugs,
Marti
5. Josh of "True Grit" (2010) : BROLIN. I liked John Wayne better than this guy...
6. Comedian Smirnoff : YAKOV. Funny guy, famous for his ironic portrayals of life under communism. But back in the 80's, it seemed more "cutting edge" than it would now, I guess.
7. Cordwood measure : STERE
8. Bard's nightfall : E'EN
9. Many pop-ups : ADS. grrr, I hate those things!
10. Madagascar mammals : LEMURS
11. Asteroids maker : ATARI
12. Syntax problem : RUNON (... like the answer)
13. Newsstand booth : KIOSK
18. When said three times, a WWII film : TORA
21. Order from on high : EDICT
23. Valuable stash : TROVE
24. Tony's cousin : OBIE. Not Tony Orlando, silly! The American Theater awards.
25. Bandy words : SPAR. Do you bandy words with your boss? My DH would check to see if the spar tar was in good condition before going on a long trip. But then, he is from the south...
26. It's five before Foxtrot : ALFA. NATO phonetic alphabet.
27. Light-headed insect? : MOTH. Loved this clue! And a chance for a fav song.
30. Railroad switch : SHUNT. Much better clue than "Atrial septal defect with left-to-right ___"
31. Smidgen : TAD
32. Indigo dye source : ANIL
34. Whizzes : ACES. (Oops! I put "pees")
36. "The Canterbury Tales" estate manager : REEVE. "The Reeve's Tale" is the third of the Canterbury tales.
37. Gin flavoring : SLOE. Oh, here's the gin I was looking for at 35A !!
38. Quick look : ONCE-OVER. Hmmm, wanna come up and see me some time?
42. Dipstick : NITWIT
43. Door to the street : EGRESS
44. Brusque : CURT
45. Kisses and then some : NECKS... Hmmm, wanna come up and see me some time?
46. Kate's TV roommate : ALLIE. "Kate and Allie", a popular TV series in the 80's.
47. Regal topper : TIARA
48. Frère de la mère : ONCLE. Sorry Abejo, here is your required French entry...
49. Blunt, as truth : NAKED. Yeh, sure. We know how this was originally clued, right?
:
:
:
("The ___ Ape" !!)
52. "Houston, __ had a problem" : WE'VE. Often misquoted as "Houston, we have a problem..."
53. Nice warm times : ETES. Ahhh, here's our nice misdirection. Nice, as in the city in southern France. I would really, really love to see this just once clued as "Summers (Fr.)" (Sorry Abejo, that makes two in one puzzle!)
54. Dimbulb : DOLT
56. Verb associated with blame : PIN. Not the tail on the donkey?
57. Neruda's "__ to Conger Chowder" : ODE. You really should read this...it is a very different poetic offering than the dishes served up by our dear Clear Ayes!
Answer grid.
Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to comment!
Hugs,
Marti
63 comments:
Morning, all!
Short on time today due to a computer crash, but fortunately I totally blew through this puzzle. Minor hesitations at the NEON/REEVE crossing, but everything else was smooth sailing.
I had no idea what the theme was until I got here, but once again I didn't need to know it in order to solve the puzzle.
Gotta run!
Hello Puzzlers -
Zoomed through the north, got all confident, and then reality set in. This time I missed the Nice hint at 53d, so ETES took longer to arrive. Hand up for trouble at NEON/REEVE, both complete unknowns. Forgot where Pago Pago is.
Totally missed the theme as usual. Thanks for figuring it out, Marti!
Mornin' Ya'll -
Marti you deserve a gold medal....how in the world did you figure out this theme???
Thought it was a good Thursday puzzle...just hard enough to make the brain get in high gear. Even though I had to go to France for two answers!
FYI-- Selectric selection is the size of the type on old typewriters. The two choices were Pica and Elite. I think Pica was smaller and therefore you could get more characters per line.
Thanks to Hollywood, I thought it should be "Houston, we've got a problem." Bad Hollywood!
Hand up for PEEN before CLAW. WAG for the E in the NEON/REEVE cross, probably because I've never heard of DEION and wasn't sure how to pronounce it.
WBS about the theme.
Anonymous, I believe Pica (10 characters per inch) was larger than Elite (12 characters per inch).
Good morning! Thanks for your very humorous write up, Marti. By the time I got to the theme clue the theme entries were already done, but I looked back and saw the VETO split between the two words in each entry.
NEON/REEVE was no problem. REEVE appeared recently and I remember NEON Dione's antics from a few years back.
Yes, 'pees' was my first thought, but with the 'A' already in place, I had to pass on that one.
Those ink cartridges really wanted to be 'magentas' but I had to throw that out as soon as I looked at the downs.
Nothing in this one to make me cry "ONCLE!", even if it is Thursday already.
Loved the "spar tar" comment. Yup, gotta make sure it's got some 'are' innit...
Almost right, Desper-Otto. Pica is 12 points in height and Elite is 10 points. A point is 1/72 of an inch.
Mr. Thompson and Marti, Thanks for a zippy Thursday. Overall, WBS except I saw the theme at the very end when it did not matter.
The PICA ELITE battle was a small part of the history of the IBM SELECTRIC which was created in part from buying the design of a toy typewriter.
Day off tomorrow? Do remember all of our veterans and enjoy the day
This was easy for a Thursday with a cute theme. Marti, your write up was delightfully funny. I enjoyed the Te Kanawa clip and the Neruda Ode. Thanks for the treats.
I did not fall for PEEN as I had the C for CLAW.
I took ELITE to be a type size. Years ago I started with a word processing typewriter and then graduated to a computer.
Chicken a la king = in the style of (prefered by) the king. I always wondered why the king prefered such a plebian dish.
Good Morning, folks. Thank you, Bill Thompson, for a really good Thursday puzzle. Enjoyed it immensely. Thank you, as well, HeartRx, for the great write-up.
Yes, Marti, I saw ONCLE. I did not know it at first, but perps helped. Got that one easier than MANO 19A. That was also a perper.
Other than those EVEL foreign words, the puzzle filled in easily.
Got the theme unifier before any of the four theme answers. Got them all but did not see the VETO buried in each. I guess it's a little early.
Had SKIM OVER then changed to ONCE OVER.
For 11D, kept trying to think of something exploding in outer space. Then I realized ASTEROIDS must be a game and ATARI, of course, the maker.
I think I own an IBM Selectric somewhere. Typewriters are useful.
See you tomorrow, from Long Beach.
Abejo
Unlike most of you I had quite a bit of trouble today. No major hangups errors (other than maybe the erasure of BEaT for BELT), but it was slow going the entire way. I did grasp the theme upon completion and after a number of WTF's, but it took a few minutes even with the reveal. Thursday level for sure.
I enjoyed the "Blinded" link, Marti. Not trying to outdo that, but think it's unfortunate how little air play the original has gotten. It sounds quite a bit different from the most heard cover.
Oooh. Forgot to mention. The Pablo Neruda Ode was very interesting. I don't think I've ever read a poem that could double as a recipe. Strange twist indeed.
Good day folks,
Off to the vet's with the pup shortly, so this will be quick.
42D perfectly describes me with Xwords this week .... NITWIT. This gave me a lot of trouble and in the end was a DNF. Couldn't come up with POCKET VETO and for 49D had NAMED instead of NAKED.
Hand up for PEEN, before CLAW. Had BOLO initially, BOLA eventually appeared.
Bottom line for today ... the eraser had a good workout. Hope this case of brain lock goes away soon, so these clever puzzles become fun again.
Marti, great write up. Enjoyed it a lot.
Correcting a few wrong turns (Oh, that Shake, Alfa and not Able, etc) and a few perps and, bibbity, bobbity, boo, I was done. BTW, what was the word for using easier clues that cross obscure names like KIRI?
Musings
-Today is my wife’s and her twin sister’s 65th BD and I got her a nice “bouquet” of mini Snickers
-Great job Marti and the Groucho link was fabulous. What a great wit he was and love that 1957 Desoto with push button drive
-Hispanic kids here are silly in English and not in their family’s NATIVETONGUE
-Paul Revere is better remembered because of Longfellow
-Self promoting Deion also went by “Prime Time”
-What Byrds song came from Ecclesiastes?
-Our typewriters were mostly pica and not elite
-John Wayne got an Oscar for True Grit and said, "Wow! If I had known, I would have put that eye patch on 35 years earlier."
Since Monday thru Friday puzzles have themes, I always give the clues a ONCE-OVER to see if there is a theme-reveal.
POCKET-VETO (and the whole SE) fell early.
Knew then that VETO would be "in" each theme.
KIRI Te Kanawa was in a puzzle I did yesterday. Glad I remembered her. Thanks for the link Marti!
DRIVE-TO-DRINK doesn't exasperate me.
I don't consider my Dip-stick to be a NIT-WIT.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Husker: That would be "Turn, Turn, Turn."
Now that was a challenge! I'm still chuckling over 61A (Fall runner's goal: SEAT). I got the answer but couldn't figure out what it meant for the longest time. I'm thinking of all those fall marathons, not politicians!
Very Nice puzzle Mr. Bill Thompson, and ...... I finished it !! - A THURSDAY, no less. Marti, your wit is showing ! I was rolling on the floor, ... er, maybe a gurgle in my stomach - loved your commentary. You must be a really very bubbly person.
I had 'mother tongue', before 'native tongue'. I have 3 mother tongues - my mother and father spoke different languages, and I spoke only English.... no wonder we got along so well. (lol)
Most Indians, in India, know at least 4 languages ( different words/ scripts and grammar ). You have a mother tongue, the national language - Hindi, a state language - Mumbai (Bombay) has 'Marathi', and of course, English. Plus , if you want to score high marks, on the State matriculation exam, you better learn 'Sanskrit'. Since Sanskrit ( like Latin - ) is a very mathematical language, with declensions etc. you can score a 100% on the exam, and boost your GPA.
ALT QOD: I might be drunk, Miss, but when morning comes I will be sober and you will certainly still be ugly. ~ Winston Churchill.
Where, O where has our Hahtool gone ?
( I cant think of a Jewish holiday, to fit - ).
Just realized tomorrow is Veterans' Day - ' ..... the Armistice was signed to go into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month'.
Lets hope, peace in our time, at an early convenient date.
Hi There ~!
Hand up for PEEN, plus I was going to drop in TEN-K for the runner's clue myself, but left it to the end - ah - CLAW; also, it's not NIMROD, DIMWIT, but NITWIT.
Tora Tora Tora reminds me of this musical link from the 80's Hair Band days....
Splynter
Bonus Musings
-Right you are, Tinman.
-“Oh, you don’t need to get me anything for my birthday” is wifespeak for, “Gee I’d be really disappointed if you didn’t get me something for my birthday.” She deserves it!
-Granddaughter is going to Marriage of Figaro with her orchestra today and last night my daughter sat her down and they watched all the Bugs Bunny cartoons filled with Mozart. Where did that all go? I learned a lot of classical music from Looney Tunes and Disney.
-I broke off a small piece of plastic on our new shredder yesterday. The piece is smaller than half my pinky fingernail and in the waste basket part. The actual shredder that sits on top is fine but I had to cut off the cord and send in that cord so Staples can send me an entire new $90 unit. They don’t just stock the $4 waste basket part as a nice man named Ricky in South Carolina explained to me.
No clue on the theme, had to WAG literally every name today. No zooming here today--I crawled through the north. Have never heard of LOVE TOKENS and having BORA blew that off for me anyway. Same thing with POCKET vetoes--pocket protector, yes, but pocket veto?
I forgot what a Selectric was --thought of shavers.
I had NINNIE before NITWIT because I also wanted PEEN for hammer feature. Then when I looked up ALLIE and went for nitwit, neck and claw, I still didn't know why SEAT worked for 61A.
The two French words, ÉTÉS and ONCLE, were my easiest today.
Good morning all. Nice chatty write-up, Marti.
Seemed quite easy for a Thursday; a few misdirections, but nothing arcane. The theme fills were easily gotten, but I had to wait until I was done to get the full intent of the unifier. Very clever. Our French amis returned; ÉTÉS and ONCLE. I've never heard STERE used as cordwood measure; just 'cord' or 'face cord' for firewood. I believe Stere is used mainly in Europe. I remembered REEVE from a couple weeks ago. NIKE was a WAG, and ALFA was a complete gimme. Kiri is one of my favorite opera singers; I think she has the most beautiful voice. Her Dad was a Kiwi (Maori).
ELITE is 12 characters per inch; Pica is 10. Pica is the larger type.
Adieu. Have a great day.
Great fun puzzle and write-up. This has been a good puzzle week for me. Liked hearing Kiri and seeing the juxtaposition of the English and Spanish in the Neruda ode. Thanks Marti!
Puzzles have been the best of my week.
After two months the roofers showed up Monday to replace my leaking roof. Cloudy, rain predicted. I asked the foreman to start on the front where the leak was. They replaced the back roof and left by noon with a mist falling. Two days of hard rains.
Crew came back yesterday. The night before I had emailed and talked to the project manager asking that the water soaked sheeting on the front be replaced with new because of the humpy-bumpy dippy appearance. I repeated the directive to the foreman. This did not happen! Macho latino foreman does not take orders from a 70-year-old female.
They did replace a rotted roof section. Noticed a half-inch crack between the sheeting and fascia board because the rafter was too high. Asked for this to be closed because it appeared to be the major cause of water backing up into the attic and down my walls when gutters are full of leaves and/or snow. Foreman did not fix this.
The latino workers were very good and efficient. The roof dried out enough that the humps and swayback places in the roof are better than they were. But I would not buy a house with a roof looking like that. I had hoped to put it up for sale.
The crack was covered with tin flashing, but the backup problem still exists although rain falling straight should not leak in.
I have mold in the attic blown insulation. I have black streaks down three walls from water seeping through the drywall from the back.
I have a large bill to pay. I'm afraid if I make a big stink and get the foreman in trouble, he will retaliate. We have a big problem here with latino gangs.
I want to scream for a very long time. Then cry.
-PK
Grumpy1, I think we're both right. If you're talking printing, pica is measured in points. If you're talking typewriters, pica is 10 characters per inch and elite is 12.
Got kicked out of biology class for the year on my first day as a high school sophomore. It was a small school, and the only other class offered at that hour was commercial typing. I managed to pound out 70 wpm on a Royal manual -- didn't see my first IBM Selectric until my stint as a Navy journalist much later. I still think that learning to type was much more valuable than anything I might have gleaned from that biology class.
Off to make some more sawdust...
desper-otto,
I'm curious--why were you kicked out of biology class?
Responding to HRx's challenge, I could only think of a couple with VET-O
Deadly sin? = CoVET Ones Neighbor.
And one for Tin Man:
Deadly sin? = GlenliVET On Ice
And a little more obscure:
Floral femme fatale? = VelVET Orchid
..and V-ETO is nearly impossible. You need to know a modern British word, CHAV, which is a word for a rowdy, anti-social teenager. So:
Collar this schoolboy! = ChaV ETOnian
NC
Salutations, all!
Had banner case of insomnia all night, so I figured I might as well try the puzzle. Was prepared to cheat if necessary, but somehow managed to squeeze it all out without any aids!
Great show, Bill and Marti!
Favorite answer: MOTH.
Shouldn't think Natick principle was needed here. Kiri appears frequently and is very well-known.
Have a wry story about Selectrics. Will blog again--probably very late, if I can.
My dentist is evidently not celebrating the holiday!
Cheers! Time to try to find arms of Morpheus yet again. Only a few hours to swimming date with Christine.
PS Rare day when embedded theme was apparent to me!
Kazie, I honestly don't remember what I did to get kicked out. That was 50 years ago. I do remember that the teacher was the same guy I'd had for Algebra the year before. I did fine in that class. Guess it must have been something I said. I often had problems opening mouth before brain was engaged.
Avg. Joe, thanks for linking the Springsteen clip – I was too lazy to find it last night!
Husker G. , as Fermatprime mentioned: The name for obscure answers crossing is a “Natick”. Happy birthday to your wife and her sister – I hope you are doing something fun today!
Nice Cuppa, I knew someone would take my challenge! I am not familiar with CHAV. But I learned from Wiki that it is a nickname for “charver”, which is an aggressive and arrogant teenager that engages in anti-social behavior. Brings to mind a James Dean sort of personality for me.
Hi gang -
Yes a bit easier than the average Thursday, but only by a TAD.
The occult theme totally ELUDED me.
As did the first E of ELUDE, crossing REEVE.
A google search reveals that the Vitruvian man is derived from the writings of the 1st century B.C. Roman architect Vitruvius. Not necessarily obvious from the picture is that the distances from the navel to the top of the head and bottoms of the feet are in the Fibonacci ratio, aka, the golden mean. The ancients were all over this math.
I've been taking 5 mg of melatonin* then doing some gentle stretches before bed time, and am sleeping MUCH better.
* Duke Ellington's famous song about melatonin was derived from the older tune Rose Room.
Cheers!
JzB not an ELITE trombonist
Ferma, I had no idea on KIRI but never miss baseball or physics questions. As I am wont to say, I am a cultural philistine but do have some other skills ;-).
BTW, The Husker/Penn State game has become, depending on your perspective, a real event or curiosity. Some are calling for the game to be cancelled. To add to the mix, the fired president Penn State Graham Spannier was the chancellor of UNL for 5 years. Prices for tickets for the game have more than doubled in the last few days and it’s anyone’s guess what the atmosphere will be but I’ll bet it’ll draw a record TV audience. I would not attend under any circumstances.
Hello.
Takes real class to fire someone over the phone after 61 yrs.
Wouldn't bet on Sat's game either way. Deserved better.
Last of the giants. US Steel to be sold.
eddy
Fun puzzle, Mr. Thompson, and delightful write-up, Marti--many thanks! Also liked everyone's posts this morning--all friendly and supportive and informative and inventive--with no snarking! Hurray!
Am always amazed that I can get a whole puzzle pretty easily while still not "getting" it. Couldn't figure out for the life of me what that presidential veto had to do with the theme words. Bless you, Marti, for explaining.
Never heard of 'stere' or the 'neon' guy. Never thought of elections in relation to 'seat.' Thank goodness for the poets: Longfellow, the Bard, Milton, Neruda. And TV (Allie) and movies (thought Josh Brolin was pretty good as the Rooster!).
Hello, Marti, C.C. and all amigos/ amigas.
Thank you, Bill Thompson, for today's fun!
MANO was easy since it's from my NATIVETONGUE but in fact, I was on Bill's wave length throughout.
I'm on to "tony's cousin" OBIE and loved light-headed insect, MOTH!
The NEON / NITWIT cross gave me fits because I was searching for a literal synonym for dipstick. Sometimes I'm such a DOLT.
Great fun! Great links! Great blog! Who could want more?
Enjoy your Thursday, everyone!
Jeff Bridges was Rooster Cogburn
Josh Brolin player Tom Chaney
Other than some spelling problems with names the only issue I had was with 30A. The most notable Zeno was not a Stoic and the most notable Stoic was not Zeno. Still a gimmee really.
I always thought it was weird that the first word of most phonetic ALPHAbets is ALFA.
@eddyB - Paterno showed no class in his actions. He deserves no sympathy.
Steve said: I always thought it was weird that the first word of most phonetic ALPHAbets is ALFA.
Since many NATO countries don't have English as their first language, I'm guessing the Organization chose an orthography that would be as unequivocal as possible. Radio clarity can be severely challenged in an operating environment so clarity in pronunciation is paramount.
From Wikipedia: In most versions of the alphabet, the non-English spellings Alfa and Juliett are used. Alfa is spelled with an f as it is in most European languages. The English and French spelling alpha would not be pronounced properly by speakers of some other languages the native speakers of which may not know that ph should be pronounced as f. Juliett is spelled with a tt for French speakers because they may otherwise treat a single final t as silent. .
Hope this helps.
Kazie:
I wasn't sure if you were asking about pocket veto or just bexpressing frustration with it.
A pocket veto is an effective veto that occurs if the President does not sign a bill within ten days after the adjournment of Congress, putting it in "his pocket" so to speak.
HG
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the game either canceled or postponed to later in the season.
@Spitzboov - you know, I thought about that, but then was pondering whether the "CH" in "CHARLIE" is consistently pronounced in other languages. Other oddities are HOTEL where the H is sometimes silent (in BBC English you don't say at "a hotel" you stay at "an 'otel") and WHISKEY with the silent "H" again.
Thanks for the insight though.
Is France a member of NATO? Wellington and Waterloo would be great candidates for "W", if only to get the French all grumpy :)
As an aside, you've heard the story about the conversation between a Lufthansa pilot and the ground control crew at Frankfurt airport? The pilot was speaking to the tower in German, and the controller interrupts, telling him to speak English, as is required for aviation radio communications.
Pilot: I am a German pilot, flying for a German airline at a German airport. Why must I speak English?
British Airways pilot breaks into the exchange: "Because you lost the war, old boy".
Nice Cuppa said:
"And one for Tin Man:
Deadly sin? = GlenliVET On Ice"
THAT would be a "Deadly sin."
Glenlivet, a Single Malt Scotch Whisky, as well as my Pinch Dimple, a 15yo Blend, should NEVER be diluted with ICE.
Hey, there's some in my bar ... so I wouldn't have to DRIVE-TO-DRINK.
... that gives me an idea ...
Cheers to One-And-All ... who needs a Sunset !!!
Black Velvet Orchid.
@Tinbeni - I used to be a member of the Scotch Whiskey Association in London, and every year would purchase bottles of undiluted spirit from the distillery.
The bottles were straight from the barrel, and as close to 100% alcohol as is possible. You diluted the whiskey yourself, according to your own taste.
When you buy the commercially bottled and pre-diluted version, you're really drinking what someone else considers the "appropriate" whiskey/water mix and some purists (not me, I'm not that anal) don't like that.
Yes, France is a member of NATO. I believe they were a lead participant in the recent Libyan operations.
Even if Whiskey is pronounced 'vis-key' as a German would, the word itself is virtually universal and would be easily understood. I agree with you about Hotel, but I think its meaning would be clear.
BTW - NATO in French is OTAN. the backward spelling. French is a co-official language with English to conduct NATO business.
Good morning Marti, C.C. et al,
I moved along rather quickly on the top 1/2. There were lots of known unknowns that were easy to wag, but had to look up Neon in order to keep-a-goin'; helped fill native tongue.Left a few holes in the pocket and did not get aLa/Like..it just didn't click.Had pees for whizzes even though I felt no constructor would actually put that.
shunt-new meaning for me. Had to look up who/what Vitruvian man was to understand the clue-felt like a nit wit.and Kazie, it took me until I read Mari's comments to "get" why seat fit.
Marti, you are amazing, and always your comments make for a fun read. That ode actually made me want to try to choke down an eel at some point.
Good one Argyle, with black velVET Orchid for another hidden "veto"!
Grumpy and JD, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of "pees" for "whizzes". We once had a cat that we named "Whizzer". Not because he peed everywhere, but because he was always zipping around the house at lightning speed, chasing some imaginary enemy. So I guess "zips" would also be a good answer for "Whizzes"...
Unlike most of you, I had to use the theme reveal to get the other themed answers. Once VETO was presented, I went back and filled it in where it looked like it would fit. Especially helped with AFTER SHAVE TONIC, as I was thinking lotion.
JD - Whizzes/pees is exactly the kind of cluing/answer you might find in the irreverent puzzle published by The Onion (The A.V. Club) every Wednesday. It's not all taboo cluing, though. I highly recommend it...
Marti:
I just read the Neruda poem; it's exquisite in both languages. What a lovely translation.
Thank you.
Steve. you wouldn't happen to be a Mech Engr would you? I know one who happens to have a metal lathe in his garage. Also has ties to England.
Not going to defend or excuse Joe.
Still a hell of the way to be fired.
The 28 yo didn't call the state
police either. He is still on the
football staff. Just saying.
Anything can happen on Sat after the riots last night.
Hockey tonight against Minn.
eddy
Toughest here was the nickname for Deion. No problem getting REEVE, so I had EON for the longest time. Tried LEON and DEON (for alliteration) . Finally, as a gift from the mist (AKA Google), NEON appeared.
Pretty tough for Thursday. When I read the theme here, I was no longer interested.
For Anon at 9:20: Where are you located? If in L.A. County, I may be able to help.
Thanks, Marti, for the funny as well as informative blogging today!
This one gave me fits at first but things improved toward the middle. I never get the theme, so that is not news.
Where is Dennis? I miss him!
Dinnertime is approaching, so I must rattle the pots and pans. Crab cakes are on the menu tonight. Yum!
Hola Everyone, Started out with Beat instead of Belt, Cache instead of Trove, and Peen instead of Claw. After using the eraser and finally finding my way, I finished up at lunchtime.
Like Dudley the top half of the puzzle zoomed along, but I came to a screeching halt about half way through. I finally made it through to the end, but not without my crossword dictionary at hand.
A great writeup Marti. Thanks for the links.
This has been a very busy week so I have been late in getting to the puzzle. Our newspaper has started publishing the Commuter Puzzle so I have two puzzles every day. I save the latter for the evening. I have a hard time finishing one puzzle before the afternoon.
Have a great day everyone.
VirginiaC.: Thank you for your kind offer of help. However, I'm half a continent away from LA. I'm going to wait a few days before I decide what action I might take. I'm talking to my kids first, also. Your response was appreciated.
-PK
You know you have puzzle-brain when the clue is "Gin flavoring" and you type in "ALOE" without a second thought.
**waves to all from the invisible jet**
Hi Gang,
Good puzzle today, but I never got the theme until I finally found time to get here...
The IBM Selectric was the standard for at least 20 years before the advent of the PC.
Here's a good wiki article on the history of the typewriter.
;-)
I doubt that we have many surfers here but I thought this was pretty amazing. Big wave!
Desper-Otto,
Thanks for sharing that. I had the same problem at times too.
Lucina,
Thank you too--I really had never heard that expression before. So it's a veto by default if not signed in time?
Sorry it's taken me over 12 hours to get back today. I had a trip to the chiropractor in between vacuuming, shopping, a visitation and stopping in to see an old friend in a nursing home.
This morning I learned the term Vitruvian Man; tonight I discovered that he was an M&M!! See for yourself. LOL
That's exactly right, Kazie. A pocket veto is a veto by default.
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