Theme: None
Words: 68
Blocks: 34
PHEW ~! This offering from two of our regular constructors really forced me to dig down deep, and there was a point when I thought "I'd better give in", but I held my ground and got my "Ta-Da", and under my personal allotted time, too. Doug Peterson has contributed several times to other Saturday 'gridsmiths', and has possibly set a record for having his name associated with 4 (LAT) puzzles in a month - this month. Of course, Brad is no slouch, either, with 8 Saturday puzzles this year, and one other Saturday contribution from both guys, Feb 5th this year.
So we had FIVE (5!) grid spanners in this one:
14A. Flock tender : RELIGIOUS LEADER - Well, I knew it was something like this, but I was also thinking it might just be a reeeeally long version of "shepherd"
17A. Style eschewing heavy sauces : NOUVELLE CUISINE - Never heard of this style, but I do know our group here at the blog has shared many a recipe over the time I have been visiting.
35A. Brain cramp, so to speak : LAPSE IN JUDGMENT - More commonly known around here as a Brain "Fart"
55A. 1926 novel set in Pamplona : THE SUN ALSO RISES - One of those "oh, I know this, I just need some letters to suss it out" - and I think I had T--SU------IS-S, and I ducked before the V-8 can bonked me
57A. 1970s Patrick Duffy title character who can breathe underwater : MAN FROM ATLANTIS - I know who he is, in terms of "Dallas", but never heard of this show - here you go, ladies
Onward ~!
ACROSS:
1. Removes, as a backpack from one's shoulder : UNSLINGS - Well, I figured it was UN-, so I tried SLINGS, and didn't look back
9. Described in letters : SPELT - Shall we start a dispute over SPELLED? I thought it was "written on paper" letters, so I tried WROTE first.
18. Was Grinch-like, in a way : SNEERED - Timely, but I only like the cartoon version of this classic
19. Trattoria offering : RISOTTO - Makes me think of Chef Gordon Ramsay from "Hell's Kitchen"
20. Pros with schedules : CPAs - Certified Public Accountants
22. Assemblage : BODY
26. Pillow stuff : FOAM - Not Down (the other down is further down, uh, lower)
27. Fab : BOFFO
32. 1840s-'50s antislavery party : FREE SOIL - The Wiki, I do not recall discussing this in American History
34. Symbol of Middle America : PEORIA -
37. Like Schoenberg's "Moses und Aron" : ATONAL - Well now, we just talked about this yesterday - and another link - Egad ~!!!
38. Enjoying the mall, say : ON A SPREE - SHOPPING fit, too, but then I knew one "E" was right, so I WAGed this, and ha ~!
39. Wyoming's __ Range : TETON - Again, one of those "oh~! I know this...."
40. Pride of the pumped-up : PECtoralS - and another for the ladies
41. Wagnerian title? : HERR - German title
42. Indiana senator who retired in 2011 : BAYH
43. Do something about : ACT UPON - Funny, this my first thought, and yet I didn't try it
48. Island classic : ALOHA 'OE - Total and undeserved WAG, I stuck the "O" & "E" at the end because I had no clue otherwise
58. Move sneakily : SIDLE - Not SLINK
59. Revealing : TELL-TALE
DOWN:
1. Some museum pieces : URNS - Why not? The "U" of which I was fairly certain
2. Its atomic number is 10 : NEON - Again, the "N" was good, what else could it be~?
3. Turn about : SLUE - OK, now my SLINGS is starting to work....
4. Glowing, as coals : LIVE - Ah, but then again, I could not think of an "L" word that meant 'hot' or 'afire' - LIVE is good, but....
5. Eisner's Disney successor : IGER - Don't know this guy
6. Livingstone explored it : NILE
7. Crown in the Henry VIII era, e.g. : GOLD COIN - Crown as in money
8. Only non-rhyming ghost in Ms. Pac-Man : SUE - Blinky, Pinky, Inky and "Mr." Pac-Man's fourth, do you know~? I do, I do ~!
9. Dos into doce : SEIS - Well my foreign math is completely OFF - I was very proud I got 10 ÷ 2 = 5, and that's CINC, no, SEIS - HA~! I SO know my Italian ~!!!! (Spanish, 12/2=6)
10. __ Robles, California : PASO - Map
11. Drop a line, maybe : EDIT - I had OMIT, and in a play, this is totally reasonable
12. Advanced : LENT
13. Big name in 34-Down : TREO - Have to admit, this cyclic clue actually HELPED me today - I had --EO, and --AS, and I threw in TREO, and the light bulb gave me 34D. Some email receivers : PDAs - Personal Data Assistants, which I think I had last Saturday, too
15. "Bug off!" : SCRAM
16. Aparicio of Cooperstown : LUIS - as always, I defer to our most highly appreciated host (From C.C.: Every year we splurge on Topps Heritage cards. One of our best pulls is an autographed Luis Aparicio card (in limited number).
21. Musical based on an O'Hara novel : PAL JOEY
22. Key of the last Brandenburg concerto : B FLAT - don't be flat, be positive~! - no that's blood type - oh well, if you knew that you would be "A SHARP" person....
23. Declaim : ORATE - nah, I wanted STATE here
24. Stop on a line : DEPOT - a Clecho of 11D, this 'line' is a railroad; took me a while
25. Not open-ended, as a question : YES/NO
26. Flexible weapon : FOIL - the recently in hiding "EPEE" of crossword fame
27. Appeals : BEGS
28. Brio : OOMPH
29. Nice sibling : FRÈRE - Nice the French city. Earworm ~!
30. More luxuriant : FINER
31. Film that often includes drawings : OATER - ugh ~! Drawing, as six-shooters at high noon in a gun-slinging (hey~!) western
33. Dramatist O'Casey : SEAN
36. Opposite of 47-Down : UNCHASTE & 47D. Immaculate : PURE
40. Clipper airlines : PAN AM
42. Pro follower : BONO - Legal Lemonade
43. Casino conveniences : ATMs - an alteration on our CW staple - Casinos love 'em~!
44. Indian tea : CHAI
45. Look after : TEND
46. QB Jim Kelly was its 1984 MVP : USFL - Yeah, I remember this, but at first I thought BOWL, but knew it was an abbr.
49. Use the hammock : LOLL
50. Like some traditions : ORAL
51. Trace : HINT
52. 1930s-'40s mystery film scene stealer : ASTA
53. Part of le visage : OEIL - meh, French
54. To be, to Tiberius : ESSE - I took Latin for four years - helps my English and crossword skills
56. GPS determination : LATitiude
Answer grid.
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR (earworm)
(OK, one for the guys before the end of the year....)
Splynter
Words: 68
Blocks: 34
PHEW ~! This offering from two of our regular constructors really forced me to dig down deep, and there was a point when I thought "I'd better give in", but I held my ground and got my "Ta-Da", and under my personal allotted time, too. Doug Peterson has contributed several times to other Saturday 'gridsmiths', and has possibly set a record for having his name associated with 4 (LAT) puzzles in a month - this month. Of course, Brad is no slouch, either, with 8 Saturday puzzles this year, and one other Saturday contribution from both guys, Feb 5th this year.
So we had FIVE (5!) grid spanners in this one:
14A. Flock tender : RELIGIOUS LEADER - Well, I knew it was something like this, but I was also thinking it might just be a reeeeally long version of "shepherd"
17A. Style eschewing heavy sauces : NOUVELLE CUISINE - Never heard of this style, but I do know our group here at the blog has shared many a recipe over the time I have been visiting.
35A. Brain cramp, so to speak : LAPSE IN JUDGMENT - More commonly known around here as a Brain "Fart"
55A. 1926 novel set in Pamplona : THE SUN ALSO RISES - One of those "oh, I know this, I just need some letters to suss it out" - and I think I had T--SU------IS-S, and I ducked before the V-8 can bonked me
57A. 1970s Patrick Duffy title character who can breathe underwater : MAN FROM ATLANTIS - I know who he is, in terms of "Dallas", but never heard of this show - here you go, ladies
Onward ~!
ACROSS:
1. Removes, as a backpack from one's shoulder : UNSLINGS - Well, I figured it was UN-, so I tried SLINGS, and didn't look back
9. Described in letters : SPELT - Shall we start a dispute over SPELLED? I thought it was "written on paper" letters, so I tried WROTE first.
18. Was Grinch-like, in a way : SNEERED - Timely, but I only like the cartoon version of this classic
19. Trattoria offering : RISOTTO - Makes me think of Chef Gordon Ramsay from "Hell's Kitchen"
20. Pros with schedules : CPAs - Certified Public Accountants
22. Assemblage : BODY
26. Pillow stuff : FOAM - Not Down (the other down is further down, uh, lower)
27. Fab : BOFFO
32. 1840s-'50s antislavery party : FREE SOIL - The Wiki, I do not recall discussing this in American History
34. Symbol of Middle America : PEORIA -
37. Like Schoenberg's "Moses und Aron" : ATONAL - Well now, we just talked about this yesterday - and another link - Egad ~!!!
38. Enjoying the mall, say : ON A SPREE - SHOPPING fit, too, but then I knew one "E" was right, so I WAGed this, and ha ~!
39. Wyoming's __ Range : TETON - Again, one of those "oh~! I know this...."
40. Pride of the pumped-up : PECtoralS - and another for the ladies
41. Wagnerian title? : HERR - German title
42. Indiana senator who retired in 2011 : BAYH
43. Do something about : ACT UPON - Funny, this my first thought, and yet I didn't try it
48. Island classic : ALOHA 'OE - Total and undeserved WAG, I stuck the "O" & "E" at the end because I had no clue otherwise
58. Move sneakily : SIDLE - Not SLINK
59. Revealing : TELL-TALE
DOWN:
1. Some museum pieces : URNS - Why not? The "U" of which I was fairly certain
2. Its atomic number is 10 : NEON - Again, the "N" was good, what else could it be~?
3. Turn about : SLUE - OK, now my SLINGS is starting to work....
4. Glowing, as coals : LIVE - Ah, but then again, I could not think of an "L" word that meant 'hot' or 'afire' - LIVE is good, but....
5. Eisner's Disney successor : IGER - Don't know this guy
6. Livingstone explored it : NILE
7. Crown in the Henry VIII era, e.g. : GOLD COIN - Crown as in money
8. Only non-rhyming ghost in Ms. Pac-Man : SUE - Blinky, Pinky, Inky and "Mr." Pac-Man's fourth, do you know~? I do, I do ~!
9. Dos into doce : SEIS - Well my foreign math is completely OFF - I was very proud I got 10 ÷ 2 = 5, and that's CINC, no, SEIS - HA~! I SO know my Italian ~!!!! (Spanish, 12/2=6)
10. __ Robles, California : PASO - Map
11. Drop a line, maybe : EDIT - I had OMIT, and in a play, this is totally reasonable
12. Advanced : LENT
13. Big name in 34-Down : TREO - Have to admit, this cyclic clue actually HELPED me today - I had --EO, and --AS, and I threw in TREO, and the light bulb gave me 34D. Some email receivers : PDAs - Personal Data Assistants, which I think I had last Saturday, too
15. "Bug off!" : SCRAM
16. Aparicio of Cooperstown : LUIS - as always, I defer to our most highly appreciated host (From C.C.: Every year we splurge on Topps Heritage cards. One of our best pulls is an autographed Luis Aparicio card (in limited number).
21. Musical based on an O'Hara novel : PAL JOEY
22. Key of the last Brandenburg concerto : B FLAT - don't be flat, be positive~! - no that's blood type - oh well, if you knew that you would be "A SHARP" person....
23. Declaim : ORATE - nah, I wanted STATE here
24. Stop on a line : DEPOT - a Clecho of 11D, this 'line' is a railroad; took me a while
25. Not open-ended, as a question : YES/NO
26. Flexible weapon : FOIL - the recently in hiding "EPEE" of crossword fame
27. Appeals : BEGS
28. Brio : OOMPH
29. Nice sibling : FRÈRE - Nice the French city. Earworm ~!
30. More luxuriant : FINER
31. Film that often includes drawings : OATER - ugh ~! Drawing, as six-shooters at high noon in a gun-slinging (hey~!) western
33. Dramatist O'Casey : SEAN
36. Opposite of 47-Down : UNCHASTE & 47D. Immaculate : PURE
40. Clipper airlines : PAN AM
42. Pro follower : BONO - Legal Lemonade
43. Casino conveniences : ATMs - an alteration on our CW staple - Casinos love 'em~!
44. Indian tea : CHAI
45. Look after : TEND
46. QB Jim Kelly was its 1984 MVP : USFL - Yeah, I remember this, but at first I thought BOWL, but knew it was an abbr.
49. Use the hammock : LOLL
50. Like some traditions : ORAL
51. Trace : HINT
52. 1930s-'40s mystery film scene stealer : ASTA
53. Part of le visage : OEIL - meh, French
54. To be, to Tiberius : ESSE - I took Latin for four years - helps my English and crossword skills
56. GPS determination : LATitiude
Answer grid.
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR (earworm)
(OK, one for the guys before the end of the year....)
Splynter
Thought of Hell's Kitchen also. Anthony Bourdain(No Reservations) said that it should be soupy, it shouldn't stand up. Sounds good to me. Wild Mushroom RISOTTO please.
ReplyDeleteBONO and The Edge
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteWell this one defeated me, that's for sure! I had to turn on the red-letter help about 3/4 of the way through and even then had to resort to "guess the letter" in a few spaces. The crossing of ALOHAOE and OEIL was particularly nasty, I thought.
Other unknowns today included PAL JOEY (which has the misfortune of crossing BAYH, a name I should remember from past crosswords but never do), NOUVELLE CUISINE (which I've vaguely heard of but had no idea what it meant before), SPELT (which I always thought was a type of wheat), FREE SOIL (I guessed FREE SONS), IGER, and LUIS.
I own a FOAM rubber pillow, but had no idea they made pillows just out of FOAM these days. Live and learn.
I know what a LAPSE IN JUDGMENT is, but associate "brain cramp" more with writer's block or an inability to remember something.
Great clue for CROWN, although my brain was too beat up from the rest of the puzzle to get it.
Happy New Year!
Sorry, make that "great clue for GOLD COIN" at 7D.
ReplyDeleteI must have been on Doug and Brad's wavelength this morning. Fifteen minutes and done!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Barry that "Brain Cramp, so to speak" is more like a Senior Moment than a LAPSE IN JUDGMENT.
Splynter, you missed a great opportunity for a link at 39A (I know Dennis would have...) and ALOHA OE is probably one of the best known Hawaiian melodies. Ant, you there?
Good last morning of the year, all. Glad your improving Lemon.
ReplyDeleteDNF for me today. That O at Aloha Oe and Oeil got me. I could hear the ear worm (thankfully it's dislodged Red Solo Cup) but had no idea how to spell it. The rest was a slow crawl, but eventually came together. Had the damnedest time letting go of pro RATA, so that slowed me down a lot.
But I don't mind being beaten by Doug and Brad. They both always build excellent puzzles, so this was enjoyable even in failure.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Barry said.
This puzzle beat me up and took my lunch money.
Mornin' to all,
ReplyDeleteThis was a "whew" Saturday puzzle. Should know Mr. IGER by now....wanted EPEE instead of FOIL...never heard an OE at the end of ALOHA....
Had to use the red letter help more times today than some Saturdays. I know by now, Saturday is a red letter day.
Only answer that jumped right out was THE SUN ALSO RISES....that was quite a movie. Probably more women remember this movie than men!
See you all next year ~
ALOHA....Oh!
ReplyDeleteWhat does BOFFO mean anyway? And what is TREO?
Got the SUN ALSO RISES but little else. Thanks, Splynter!
Who cares? I've been too busy this week finally doing Christmas with two sets of my family. Very loving time.
My cat is mad because I've been gone so much and his food bowl was empty a couple of times. Hope he doesn't get even by spraying down my windshield wiper wells again this year.
- PK -
I really had to think hard , but was on Doug and Brad's wave length and finished in good time.
ReplyDeleteAt first I was looking for an island classic book, until the aloha part appeared. Here is the song. The first comment by kramerscape1 is interesting.
Link Aloha Oe
Visage is just the same in English, so we need a facial feature. The only French one I remember is OEIL, due to liking Trompe-l'œil,French for 'deceive the eye'. It is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.
Link trompe-l'oiel
I've read many historical novels about the Civil War, so Free Soil was right there.
SPELT is a valid alternative spelling for SPELLED. There is often more than one correct form.
PK, I missed you. Happy New Year.
"free soil, free speech, free men!"
ReplyDeleteWho was your history teacher?!?
Happy New Year's Eve, everyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Splynter, for the excellent review and links.
The bottom half filled easily, except for that 'O' that seems to have rolled away from most of us. I could hear the song in my head but I kept hearing 'hi' at the end of ALOHA, but knew ESSE was solid. HEIL didn't look right so I wagged an 'A'. Oh, well, it took Doug and Brad double teaming to defeat me, so I don't feel too bad about it.
The top part had to be teased out a letter at a time in most areas but it all finally made sense.
I liked the PEORIA clue. "Will it play in PEORIA" is an oft used phrase that is synonymous with "will middle America like it".
My comment was just now published and then disappeared immediately.
ReplyDeleteThis one fell very nicely as I got tuned into Brad and Doug and just ran out of blank cells. The grid spanners were very doable once a few perps came in – see first musing. Some Saturdays, the bear gets you but on this last Saturday, I got the bear.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-1926, Spain, novel? Gotta be Hemmingway. Underwater? Atlantis. Cooking? Cuisine.
-Will it play in Peoria?
-Enjoying the mall is oxymoronic for me
-Tetons are even more impressive as they have no foothills. Boom, there they are!
-Elaine worked with a sidler (1:01)
-Stanley’s “Dr. Livingston, I presume” is a wonderful example of British understatement
-I never thought of PDA’s being email receivers but just as a repository of data
-Musical ice joke – C SHARP of B FLAT
-Professor Harold Hill wanted the unchaste Sadder But Wiser Girl (3:00)
-AlohaOE was summonable from somewhere
Things looked pretty desperate as I was running through the Acrosses, until I hit 55A and Pamplona triggered my Hemingway reflex. With that nice long fill, hope was renewed and I pretty easily worked my way up from the bottom. I guess I'm in good company having ultimately missed the O at 53 (should have remembered trompe l'oeil, but otherwise felt pretty good for this last puzzle of 2011. Happy New Year, all.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks,
ReplyDeleteI just released it. Spam filter works strangely.
Hi There ~!
ReplyDeleted-otto, I never thought of a DF link for Teton Range, but then again, I focused on my "preferred" part in the last link, so that might have something to do with it - that and a 2am posting as well ~!
Just have to wait on Dennis' take, I guess....
Splynter
Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteDH was sitting next to me and glanced at the grid I was tying to complete. His comment after seeing only three words filled in (scattered between the top, middle and bottom : “Tough puzzle?” HA! That was an understatement.
This seemed more like three puzzles in one, with those bars across the middle. 23D begged me to put “speak” instead of ORATE. But “x”FLAT at 22D prevented me from falling into that trap.
I wondered if 29D would be “soeur” or FRERE. I finally got LAPSE IN JUDGEMENT, but that still didn’t help me! I did finally finish in my normal Saturday time. But it was touch and go for a while there.
Chickie and Bill G. from last night, by the time you guys post I am usually snuggled into the arms of Morpheus. But, I do go back every morning to see what I missed the night before, so your comments are always fun to read!
Happy New Year’s Eve, all!!
eye - l'oeil
ReplyDeleteeyes - les yeux
Splynter, like d-otto, I was expecting something in the blog today, too. When doing the puzzle, I thought for sure I would find a link to this song when I got to your write-up:
Les yeux sans visage (6:54) by Billy Idol
As far as brain cramp, I was thinking ice cream freeze myself. Did you know - if you press your tongue to the roof of your mouth, the brain freeze goes away faster?
Hey! My post just disappeared, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ALOHA OE link, YR! Ironically enough, the Hawaiians love their Spam...
My, the spam filter is touchy today.
ReplyDeleteAlternate (in deference to HAHTOOL) QOD:
ReplyDeleteYouth is when you are allowed to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve and middle age is when you are forced to! William Vaughn
Prospero Año y Felicidad (the second phrase of Jose Feliciano’s Christmas song) mis amigos!
If Prof. Hill was around today he might want an update.(3:31)(Why did the name Lois come to my mind?)
ReplyDeleteMorning all,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year
Thanks Splynter for the last link ,
now that's what I call a nice ASSemblage..!
Speaking of brain farts, I got our morning host mixed up. Sorry about that Splynter! (But that doesn't mean I'm not happy to hear you're improving Lemon)
ReplyDeleteGood tuneagement. Aloha Oe and Eyes Without a Face were both very haunting. Oh...and Argyle...I'm not alltogether happy with you. I woke up at 4:10 this morning with Red Solo Cup playing at full blast in my head. :-)
Good day, amigos y amigas. Thanks, Splynter, for your ever jaunty blogging and really great links. Makes me wish I was 20 again!
ReplyDeleteAs many visits as I have made to Hawaii, ALOHAOE would not come out to play.
And as Marti said, it seemed like three separate puzzles. The bottom filled first with, yes, Hemingway. Didn't know the Duffy role but it emerged easily.
Then the west central and had to look up FREESOIL to complete the area.
Finally, the top. I must remember IGER because like his predecessor, Eisner, it will be a crossword fav.
Loved the clues for EDIT and GOLDCOIN.
I have been ONASPREE a few times!
My wish for all of you, my blog friends, is a healthy, tranquil, joyful and stress-free year in 2012!
Took one look at that north section and almost gave up before starting. But I got 'atonal' and then 'Teton' so that started filling in the middle. And I do know my Hemingway, so 'The Sun Also Rises' made the south a snap. But that NW stayed pesky and required a little cheating at the end. My own fault though: couldn't shake the image of animals for 'flock' or the image of a tiara for 'crown.' Duh, once again.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle, and fun write-up, Splynter. We enjoyed our New Year's Eve eve party at the home of friends last night, and plan to watch Dick Clark on the telly tonight. Have a fabulous 2012, everybody!
TREO nailed me on this one. What is that supposed to mean? And why is a TREO a big name in Peoria? This clue made no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteHi gang, a real toughie today. The last one to solve was AlohaOE
ReplyDeleteI had to look it up to remember it even though we've been to Hawaii several times.
Wrote in NOUVELLECUISINE right pronto because they took away my sauces and I never forgave them. same with THESUNALSORISES. Two spanners helped a lot, but I needed a few look-sees to finish. Generally I did way better than my average for a puzzle with so few blocks because of that start.
ReplyDeleteSeveral horiz. and vertz. got me pretty far.
Had TINT for HINT for a long time, so too with ANIME instead of OATER. guessed ESSO found ESSE, etc. to get most of it (85%?)
Something of an accomplishment for me getting this much.
Filling in some "blanks
TETONS have no foothills because Jackson Hole (a geological feature) is all filled up.
"Palm" TREO
BOFFO || showbiz - this is the LAT!
And, I already did tomorrow before I started this one. Interesting twist ...
Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku
С наступающим Новым Годом
Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Ετος
नये साल की हार्दिक शुभकामनायें
(Happy New Year)
Cheers
Sorry that I broke the 20-line rule.
ReplyDeletebut it is New Year's Eve ....
@ Ryan Hauck, try reading the 13 down clue again. It asks for a big name in 34 down, not across. Palm TREO was an early entrant into the field of PDA's (personal digital assistants)and have evolved into Smartphones.
ReplyDeleteJanus: Mythological Roman god of beginnings and endings and portals and doors. He`s depicted with a face forward and another face rearward.
ReplyDeleteWe get our words "January" and "janitor" from his name. Happy New Year and be safe, my friends.
Hello.
ReplyDeleteWant to thank everyone who gave of their heart and those who continue
to do so. Thank you so much.
Heard some elves complaining about
working overtime but sent them to Cabo.
eddy
Lucy. Edwom worked. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteeddy
Splynter: The answer "Clyde" appears often on Buzztime Trivia games. Nailed it!
ReplyDeleteHappy Old Year
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary. I had always thought that Stanley was American, having been sent by the New York Herald to find Livingstone. But it turns out you were correct. He was born in Wales, although he lived in the US much of his adult life and fought in the Civil War (on both sides).
So thanks for your comment, HG.
NC
Eddy, I appreciate your kind heart and organizing skill.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finally filled in the 'OE on the end of ALOHA to complete this puzzle I gave myself two points for mental agility...Very enjoyable. Thanks and Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteHello everybody. What a terrific way to end the crossword year! This whole week we have had one well-crafted puzzle after another, today's being no exception. I loved the many long fills and grid crossers. THE SUN ALSO RISES almost filled itself, and from then on it was a matter of going across, down, across, down, to gradually solve the rest. I am glad I didn't have to look anything up.
ReplyDeleteMan oh man, that "drawings" clue is pure evil genius. Loved it.
Knew B FLAT, but kept pronouncing BODY as "boady" in my mind, so it didn't make sense for a long time.
Some clues were straight-out factual, such as "atomic number 10" and "Indiana senator" so it was virtually impossible to fill them wrong. I mean, do any other elements have 4 letters besides NEON and zinc? I couldn't think of any. (I'm sure one or more of you all will. hehe)
I think I rather like "vielle" cuisine. haha.
Best wishes to you all.
Aloha, Michael H,
ReplyDeleteYou snuck in just in time to say you were here in 2011. You don't have to wait until Dec. 31, 2012, to comment again you know.
My hang up was the NE corner, even after I had most of it. I deserved a V-octet to the head.
Why has no one mentioned that "judgement" is misspelled???
ReplyDeleteVanity, because it is not misspelled.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of themeless puzzles but with a little red-letter help, this one was OK.
ReplyDeleteOur nice Guamanian neighbor took us out for breakfast as a way of thanking us for looking out for her next-door house. She rents it out while she is back in Guam. During the ride to the coffee shop, during breakfast and the ride home, I'll bet she and Barbara spoke 90 percent of all the words used our conversations. They just seem to have more to say than I do and they use more words to say it. Is that typical do you think?
There is a beautiful comet only visible from the southern hemisphere. Here's a link to a great photo. Also, notice below near the bottom of the text is a link to seeing lightning as well as the comet from the ISS. Spectacular!
Happy New Year and improving health to everybody!
Jayce since when is there no "e"
ReplyDeleteMore four-letter elements = Iron, Lead, Gold.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon, folks. Thank you Doug Peterson and Brad Wilber for a challenging Saturday puzzle. It was tough.
ReplyDeleteI notice, Brad, that you also had one in today's N Y Times, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Thanks, Spynter, for the comments.
I got through the top 3/4's of this puzzle, except I had RISOTTO and TREO wrong. Had RICOTTA
I had some of the bottom but missed a lot of it. Too many foreign words in this puzzle. I did get FRERE with perps.
Liked DEPOT for 24D.
Had DOWN for a while then fixed it to FOAM for 26A.
Thought GOLD COIN was a good one.
Took me a while to figure out OATER. Very clever.
Happy New Year's Eve. See tomorrow. That is our pork and sauerkraut day. Can't wait.
Abejo
Bill G, you are absolutely right. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I think it is typical.
Vanity, at least since the Bible and the Koran were translated into English. "Judgment Day" etc. Maybe even earlier than that. I believe there was a "Judgment at Nuremburg", too, but that came later :)
@ Vanity, either spelling is considered correct. On the American side of the pond, the 'e' is left out. On the British side it's still there.
ReplyDeleteFrom a website:
In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, “judgement” is still the correct spelling, but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E superfluous, Americans have omitted it. Many of Webster’s crotchets have faded away but even the producers of Terminator 2: Judgment Day chose the traditional American spelling. If you write “judgement” you should also write “colour.”
Vanity
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year all!
ReplyDeleteWow! I just stopped reading the blog to put on some fresh coffee and the posts jumped from 28 to 40! I feel like a hamster on one of those spinning wheels. (Does anybody except Stephanie Plum still have one of those?)
First, to a poster who shall be nameless: TUNEAGEMENT??!!
A fun solve today if you make judicious use of the red squares, which I do for things like OLIO/OLEO, directions NNE, Latin "pros"- pro rata pro this pro that, etc. I suppose that's cheating in a way but it makes the solve faster and a lot more enjoyable IMHO.
Favorite clue was drop a line for EDIT. First thought of fishing and helicopter rescues at sea. Favorite,that is, until Splynter pointed out that groaner in OATER. Evil!
Grumpy that explains it all! Born in SF but spent several years in the UK as a child. Still write "colour" "favourite" "kerb" and "aeroplane"
ReplyDeleteThe "e" left judgment years ago.
ReplyDeletehappy, healthy and fun new year to all
I wonder if taking French in school would have been of more use in puzzling than Spanish and German... Not as much fun though!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comments about my new great-nephew last night. Lois, I've been liking JQ too, but the parents seem to be favoring Quen as his nickname. Another aunt commented that she keeps reading it as Queen, so maybe that'll change... Before he was born, they were talking about calling him Q or Quinn.
Lemonade, I'm glad to hear you're improving. I don't know all the details, but I'm sure your strength will return soon.
From: dailywritingtips.com
ReplyDeleteThe OED still prefers judgement, but acknowledges judgment as a variant spelling. That venerable pronouncing dictionary by Daniel Jones covers both bases by printing the entry word as judg(e)ment. Merriam-Webster prefers judgment and lists judgement as a variant.
At the risk of repreating myself, the rules and forms are not as hard and fast as we wish to make them.
For example: there is plenty of evidence that ICE TEA is acceptable. Look at ICE CREAM and ICE WATER. From what I read both ICE TEA and ICED TEA are acceptable. I encourage a little flexiblity. English is a living language not to be forced into the Procustean bed.
More tuneagement: Another Year.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Len. Tuneagement is a word. At least in my world it is. :-)
Note: I was trying (again) to find Leo Sayer's song by this title. Failed! But this is a pretty decent tune on it's own.
Happy New Year to all.. just a reader,,, very enjoyable....
ReplyDeleteICE TEA is just soooooooo wrong ...
ReplyDeleteYou drink iced tea, not ice tea. Scientifically speaking:
You just cannot swallow that much ice due to the latent energy that changes it to ice in the first place, you damage epithelial cells in greater numbers unless you can swallow cubes, etc and then that's generally a mechanical issthue for humanoids. Stay awake in Science and Language classes, kidd-os.
ICE TEA is wrong, iced tea is wonderful.
Science rules and RULES
That's Procrustean.
ReplyDeleteBTW, loved your trompe l'oeil link. I'm going to go back later and pore over the individual pictures.
Thank you, eddy! Aging is not fun as we know.
ReplyDeleteMy dear friends, I am already starting to have blog withdrawal as I'll be gone a week. I should be able to use my sister's computer to log on but I'm not sure about access to the puzzle.
I can't recall if the Charlotte newspaper carries the LAT. Does anyone know?
Len, glad you enjoyed the link. Perhaps in exchange you could give me typing lessons. LOL I just made 3 corrections in this very sentence.
ReplyDeletethe redanman, pray tell why doesn't your science apply to ice cream and ice water? Why have I WORKed hard at solving a puzzle when the only weight I have moved through space is my little pencil?
This is about language usage which linquists compile for the dictionary, not science.
@Yellowrocks 3:19
ReplyDeleteI dunno about the typing lessons, but how about this:
Education is what's left after you've forgotten everything you were supposed to know. (Bertrand Russel)
And, as per yesterday's discussion on PROT, the same could be said of religion.
IMHO.
Cheers!
In defense of Vanity, I also started to write in JUDGeMENT. When I ran out of squares, I backtracked and re-wrote JUDGMENT. I just assumed I was wrong (again), and the editor was right...
ReplyDelete(...he always is, you know!)
Lucina, have a wonderful time with your sister next week! The Charlotte Observer publishes a puzzle by The Puzzle Society each day, not the LA Times. But, you can always solve online using the link C.C. gave us on the home page of this blog. Don't be a stranger, and send some pictures!
Good New Year's Eve everyone.
ReplyDeleteI hope all at the Corner has a happy and successful 2012.
This was a DNF for me; not surprising for a Saturday. Got the bottom third, but little else. But we did have breakfast out, so I started late.
Vanity, don't be too judgmental. There is no e involved. I don't know why. English is hard. Few rules apply.
Agree that a brain cramp is not a LAPSE IN JUDGMENT. Ant, I liked your suggestion.
Cheers at midnight
@Yellowrocks
ReplyDeleteThat should have been Russell w. TWO "l"s. And you want me to give YOU typing lessons! LOL!
Great puzzle to finish off 2011. Was tuned to Doug and Brad's wavelength, must have been my quickest Saturday ever!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, everyone!
Marti:
ReplyDeleteThank you for that info. I guess I'll have to wean myself off paper and try the online solve as so many of you do.
My sisters, the one in Charlotte and one flying in from CA, are both computer wizards so we should very definitely have some pics.
Lucina, these were at one time, carrying the puzzle in NC: The Courier-Tribune (Asheboro, NC); The Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, NC. Monday-Friday); The Winston-Salem Journal.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to update the list though. Project for next year!
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteThis was a perfect year-ending puzzle for me. It showed me that while my solving skills have improved, there are still many challenges! It almost did me in but I kept at it. I had one blank cell - the same "o" that others missed, and one look-up - IGER. Perps were a great help.
~~ I started out in the NW with URNS and UNstraps. It seemed logical but obviously nothing else fit in that section. The bottom half filled much more easily.
~~ Yesterday's TONAL led me to today's ATONAL. I'm not sure I would have had that otherwise.
~~ Agree with comments on 'Brain cramp' - LAPSE IN JUDGMENT.
~~ Lots of good cluing/answers ~~ Favorites were OATER and EDIT. Really liked BOFFO and OOMPH!
~~ Jayce ~~ How funny ... I, too, was confused by 'boady' at 22A. I felt so silly when I finally "saw" it!
~~ Splynter ~~ Thank you for all your hard work on these tough Saturday puzzles. Your write-ups are always filled with information and fun to read. You also supply some great links! ;-)
~~~~~ Wishing all the wonderful people here at the Corner a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Good afternoon all,
ReplyDeleteHave enjoyed the last 2 days' write-ups. Marti and Splynter, you both put a lot of pzazzz into it.As always, a big thanks for "depuzzling" me.
Have had to do the xwds in bits and pieces as I've had 1, 2 or all 3 grandsons with me.Always a joy, but keeps me busy.
Left holes in both, but enjoyed the adventure. I was looking for an adj. for "grinch-like. Anyone else?
Peoria..I was on another planet..thinking of all the -tl words for the Aztecs.
Learned Aloha Oe in my HS schola group, but have never heard it on our many visits to the Islands.
Yellowrocks, loved your sentence yesterday using sough..new word.
Jejeune was not in my wheelhouse, but I love the word inane.
TONAL does not sound inspiring- so unpleasant.ATONAL today is not much of an improvement.Isn't it odd how some words just sound bad, and others are music to the ear?
I can relate to this.Anyone else?
Good evening Splynter, CC, et al., Struggled so badly through this puzzle this morning that I threw it on the ground, stomped, tap danced and jitterbugged on it. Picked it up, tore it more to shreds, put it in the sink and set it on fire. Now I too can say I enjoyed the puzzle. Saturday’s are supposed to be that way. It’s all good.
ReplyDeleteSplynter: great write up. Enjoyed your comments and links as always. I have an unrelated question for you: as an ice rink hockey player/skater, is there any concern for or monitoring of carbon monoxide inside the rink?
Santa baby: LOL I love how you think! You know I’ll show you around, and I guarantee I’ll set you free! I'm not on your GOOD LIST for nothin'.
So excited. What a party tonight! NY isn't the only place with a ball dropping tonight.
Happy New Year to each of you.
I just got back from a grocery run at a local supermarket. I found a nice corned beef (or corn beef, heh heh) and I got potatoes, carrots and cabbage to cook with it. The store was out of regular cabbage so I got what they had that looked similar called Savoy cabbage. Do any of you know if it will be an OK substitute? Does it taste significantly different?
ReplyDeleteI learned about JUDGMENT/JUDGEMENT when I misspelled it in high school. I like the British spelling better but that doesn't make it correct in the US. If I were to use JUDGEMENT in my newspaper column, the editor would change it in a flash.
NC, Well I always assumed he was British and so you have supplied a learning moment for me!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Stanley finally finding the only white man in the heart of Africa and saying, "Dr. Livingston, I presume" seems worthy of Monty Python.
Argyle:
ReplyDeleteThank you! Those are enough options that I should find one at least. I'll check on it and report.
Happy 2012 to CC and crew! Thanks for the nice comments today.
ReplyDeleteGood Evening All, I wish I had the time to puzzle this week, but GAH and I have been very busy looking at, considering and hopefully buying a house. Everything looks good and the seller has accepted our offer. But we aren't going to get too excited until it is officially ours.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, we are still packing....we are renters by the day now and our buyers would like us to leave as soon as we can. I can understand their wishes and want to accommodate them.
My blog stops may be spotty for the next month or so. By that time, we will all be comfortable with 2012.
Have a wonderful evening, whether you are snug at home or enjoying one of those "Red Solo Cup" nights.
Doug P., always a pleasure to see your name listed in the constructor space and to have the bat signal appear here as well, a nice end of the year bonus. Have fun (yeah right) moving CA and my best regards to all with special thanks to C.C., Argyle, Melissa B., Jazzbumpa, Al, Marti and Splyter. We made it. Welcome our new leap year friend
ReplyDeleteLucina, if your sister has a printer you can make a copy. It's nice and large-easier to read than the tiny one we have in our paper. Sometimes I even write 2 words in the spaces..such a cheater!
ReplyDeleteCA, still crossing our fingers for your new home.
eddyB, are you an angel in disguise?
Wishing all of you a heartfelt New Year, and another warm welcome to our recent newcomers. We've had a few anons lately that have added much enjoyment to our corner.Go blue guys.
C.C. and Boomer, hats off to the both of you!
This was certainly easy for a Saturday for me. Others have expressed dismay, so I wonder why there's such a disparity?
ReplyDeleteLet's see. What were my gimmes?
The first was PASO. Then THE SUN ALSO RISES, followed by ESSE, NEON, PAN AM, FREE SOIL. There doesn't seem to be a pattern. These were enough to help me piece in the rest. ALOHA OE was not the challenge that others seemed to think. This could be generational because I don't think I have seen the title and words for the song printed anywhere since I was in fifth grade glee club. "Oe" stuck in my ten year old brain because it was a funny way to spell "Oy"!
What's red-letter help and what does WAG mean? Also, if I use the dictionary or use Google to find answers for some clues that I am not familiar with - for e.g. costar of so-and-so in so-and-so movie - does that mean that technically I didn't finish on my own?
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'll introduce myself in a later post :-). Presently I am too busy cleaning up the house as in-laws arriving tomorrow!
Just heading out for the evening, but I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, and the best year yet for 2012. A special thanks to C.C. and the blogging crew who do such an outstanding job late each night.
ReplyDeleteNormally I wouldn't want to be part of any group that would have me for a member, but this is one I'm proud to be associated with.
Hope it's a great evening for everyone.
For Sammo when you have a minute.
ReplyDeleteRed letter help: If you do the puzzle online (i.e. Trib.), there are two skill levels, Regular and Master. The regular level will indicate a wrong letter by being red. It changes to black when you enter the right letter.
WAG just means a Wild Ass Guess.
My opnion(strictly my own) is any outside help is a DNF(did not finish). I do like Avg Joe's take on it. So long it was an enjoyable failure, it's all good.
Sammo, as to whether or not to take a 'Did Not Finish' is strictly up to the individual. Some people are good enough solvers that they rarely cannot finish on their own and consider any outside help to be a failure. Others seem to always need help later in the week and feel they have finished if all the blanks are filled correctly by whatever means it takes. I was in the latter category when I started doing crosswords a couple of years ago, but have moved up and feel that all of the entries have to come from my store of knowledge coupled with perpendicular help to count as a completion.
ReplyDeleteI think the main thing is to keep challenging yourself and do your best. You get better over time.
Well it's officially 2012 in my time zone. Happy New Year everybody!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to all my blog friends!
ReplyDeleteI guess I Have to say WBS plus DNF for today. It took me most of the afternoon and when I read Desper-0tto with his '15 minute' remark I could have slit my throat! How can there be such disparity among the group?
Oh, well tomorrow is another year!
Love you all, anyway!
Lemonade I haven't had time to let you know how delighted I am that you're getting better! Keep doing what you're supposed to and you'll be your old self soon!
CA, good luck with your house buying as well as your health and DH's. Keep us posted.
@Grumpy 1: OH man, I am a total idiot. I must have read that clue 50 times and never noticed it said DOWN and not ACROSS. Total lapse in judgment, if you will (heh heh heh).
ReplyDeleteThanks Argyle and Grumpy! The meaning of WAG was just hilarious :-). Now what does WBS mean? I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the acronyms, being computer-illiterate and all that :-). Can't ask my computer genius husband because he freaks out knowing that I am corresponding with strangers on the Internet....LOL.
ReplyDeleteEver since Barry G. took over being usually the first one to post a comment on the puzzle and his take on it often mirrors what others would have said, We have started using WSB(what Barry said) rather than just repeating it.
ReplyDeleteYou won't find it anywhere else online.