Theme: A Winning Hand - Most of the time, four kings will take the pot.
20A. 33/63-Across, in golf : ARNOLD PALMER
28A. 33/63-Across, in stock car racing : RICHARD PETTY
45A. 33/63-Across, in swing music : BENNY GOODMAN
54A. 33/63-Across, in rock 'n' roll : ELVIS PRESLEY
33A/63A. With 63-Across, nickname for four immortals in this puzzle : THE and 63-Across. See 33-Across : KING
Argyle here, among the royalty. Our second puzzle from Steven and he's come through again. (His first one). Amazing all four names had the same numbers of letters. A pangram, too!
Across:
1. Indian royals : RAJAs
6. Pulitzer-winning columnist Maureen : DOWD. Columnist on The New York Times.
10. Popular British brew : BASS
14. Kuwaiti neighbor : IRAQI
15. Albany-to-Buffalo canal : ERIE
16. Game point, in tennis : AD IN
17. Make a case : ARGUE
18. Actor Kilmer et al. : VALs
19. Not common : RARE
23. Kirby Puckett and Mickey Mantle, by pos. : CFs. Centerfielders.
26. Tech sch. near Albany : RPI. Across the Hudson in Troy. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
27. Withered with age : WIZENED
31. See 7-Down : EXAM 7-Down. With 31-Across, postgraduate test : ORAL
32. Words with a nod : "I SEE"
36. Mark replacements : EUROS
38. Ran into : MET
39. West Indies native : CARIB. They are an Amerindian people whose origins lie in the southern West Indies and the northern coast of South America.
41. Secretly watch, with "on" : SPY
42. Holler's partner : HOOT
44. 2011 Libyan arms embargo enforcement gp. : NATO
49. Climbed on : BOARDED
52. Imperfect, as mdse. : IRR.
53. Hog's home : STY
57. Family group : CLAN
58. Suffix for the wealthy : AIRE. (millionaire)
59. Protect : GUARD
64. "Top Chef" judge Simmons : GAIL. Chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges on the cable television network Bravo. Gail Simmons was born in Toronto, Canada, and has been a judge on the show from the start.
65. Like mentors vis-à-vis mentees, usually : OLDER
66. Complete collections : SETS
67. Differ ender : ENCE. (Difference)
68. High-maintenance : NEEDY
Down:
1. Estuary : RIA. That part of the mouth a river in which the river's current meets the sea's tide.
2. LAX touchdown : ARR. (Arrival)
3. Drinking binge : JAG
4. Color similar to turquoise : AQUA
5. __ Nevada mountain range : SIERRA
6. Bereft (of) : DEVOID
8. Setting for saloons and shootouts : WILD WEST
9. Regardless of : DESPITE
10. Beer grain : BARLEY
11. Rhett Butler's final words : A DAMN. Everyone should have it this time,
12. Yes-Bob connection : SIREE
13. Wooden Mortimer : SNERD. Mortimer Snerd was the secondary dummy of Edgar Bergen, and appeared with Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
21. "All Things Considered" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.
22. Templo Mayor worshiper : AZTEC. The Templo Mayor was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.
23. Alberta natives : CREEs
24. Renovate : FIX UP
25. Frightening : SCARY
29. Health care gp. : HMO
30. Devoutness : PIETY
33. Mine transports : TRAMS
34. Attempt to strike : HIT AT
35. Black wood : EBONY
37. Loses, as winter fur : SHEDS
38. Dutch artist Piet : MONDRIAN. Not my cup of tea but here is a Google's worth of his art.
40. Also : AND
43. Résumé length, often : ONE PAGE
45. Raises, as a subject, with "in" : BRINGS
46. Brazilian supermodel Bündchen : GISELE. Nice image.
47. The Magic of the NBA : ORL. The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida.
48. Washington rival, in college sports : OREGON. The states.
49. Bremen brew : BECKS
50. Stan's sidekick : OLLIE. Laurel and Hardy
51. __-garde : AVANT
55. Old Norse mariner : ERIC the Red.
56. Eggnog season : YULE
60. Suffix with Gator : ADE
61. Wine choice : RED
62. Wine choice : DRY. Shiraz, just love the name.
Argyle
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteVery smooth solve today. I had no idea what BASS was in terms of a "popular British brew" (as opposed to, say, the fish or the voice part), but the perps took care of that in short order. GAIL was another unknown at 64A, but once again it was the perps to a speedy rescue. The only other minor hesitation came at 23A. I figured out later that CFS must stand for Center Fielders, but I've never heard of Kirby Puckett and didn't know what position Mickey Mantle played. Again (again), however, the perps made getting it very easy once I actually looked at them.
The theme was interesting, but not particularly necessary to the solving experience. I knew all four theme answers enough to fill them in with only a few letters each, but other than ELVIS PRESLEY I had no idea they were all nicknamed THE KING. Learning moment of the day, for sure!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteNot a speed run, just enough stop 'n' think moments to make this a good Tuesday project. I agree with Argyle, it's amazing the names all had the right letter count.
BASS Ale is the usual ground floor of a tasty Black & Tan, the upper story being Guinness Stout. Guinness has a remarkably low specific gravity (it's counter intuitive, considering how thick it feels) and that's what allows it to float atop the Bass. MMMMMMMM
Also tasty: GISELE Bundchen MMMMMMMM
Benny Goodman made the clarinet look easy.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Wow! On my first across pass, I was afraid this would be a Tuesday DNF. Thank goodness for the downs! In the end, I had some answers filled in without having contemplated the clue.
ReplyDeleteI got all the names before getting THE KING. I was only aware of ELVIS having that nickname. It also didn't help that I misspelled the Breman Brew as Bechs, which momentarily gave me The Hing. D'uh, then the light went on.
QOD: No man is rich enough to buy back his past. ~ Oscar Wilde.
Argyle: Nice write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteHahtool: Had the same feeling after my first pass through.
Then I concentrated on 33 & 63 Across.
Got THE KING, and with RICHARD PETTY, it was
"off to the races."
The themes fell easily.
Knew all four were/are called THE KING.
Fave was BENNY GOODMAN, THE KING of SWING.
Of course I liked the "mini-beer theme" too.
BASS, BECKS, BARLEY leading to a JAG.
(Ed.note: I've driven a JAG, never been "on one.")
MONDRIAN's art looks like it was done with a
T-Square (by 3rd grader's). IMHO.
Not my "Cup-of-Tea" either.
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteYep, smooth solve today, except for one hitch. I put RAnA instead of RAJA at 1A, and wondered briefly what going off on a NAG had to do with a drinking binge. V8 moment when I finally corrected it!
Oh well, most of the fill was fun: WILD WEST and WIZENED, BECKS and BASS ale to name a few examples. But ENCE and AIRE were my nose wrinklers today.
Have a fun Tuesday, everyone!
another speed run 13.5 minutes or so had trouble with the extreme northeast corner mainly because I was not thinking in brand name terms.
ReplyDeleteon the black and tan the guiness (not traditional, should use an english stout rather than an irish one) (prefer Half and Half Harps and Guinness) floats because it is on a nitrogen pump and nitrogen is lighter than air.
Those Mondrian prints remind me of the Partridge Family bus. No song from them (aw!)...but how about an actual (shortened) episode of the show (9:31) featuring the bus!
ReplyDeleteA somewhat timely episode, too - Harry Morgan is the guest star, along with a very ditzy Farrah Fawcett.
Okay, okay, I know you all want a song, so here's I'll Leave Myself a Little Time (2:21) from that episode.
C'mon, get happy!
No over-writes today, just a straight-forward solve top to bottom. I never thought "high maintenance" meant needy, more like expensive. And why does "damn" have an "n" in it? That's like spelling the dog's name FI3FI (with a silent 3).
ReplyDeleteArgyle and group:
ReplyDeleteThe skill involved in creating a Tuesday level puzzle which is also a pangram is great. All with a nice theme and symmetry, awesome!
Nice observation on the Mondrian/Partridge family Ant. FF was a pretty woman.
Fun puzzle and write up, thanks
One glance at the clues had me thinking, "Whaaaat?", so I skipped the 33/63 nonsense and filled in the rest. Aha! The King(s)!
ReplyDeleteI loved 36A: Marks Replacement: EUROS, and 12D: Yes-Bob Connection: SIREE.
Mari moment: What's a HITAT (34D) (ha ha).
Desper-Otto: I love "silent 3s".
Thank you Mr. St. John for a very interesting and thought provoking puzzle and Argyle for his charming commentary.
ReplyDeleteI 'got' all the names tho' not a fan of any. I had one slight misprint, at first - its Henny Youngman and Benny Goodman. Got that.
I've heard of Mondrian ( - seemed like he had an easy job - ), and of Gisele ( - a pretty face - ) and of Dowd ( - I avoid her like the plague - ).
Happy Hannukah, to those who celebrate it - and Seasons Greetings to all.
ALT QOD:- The opposite of 'pro' is 'con'.
The truth is clearly seen,
If progress means move forward,
what does Congress mean ?
~ Nipsey Russell.
Silent 3's?
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to stay silent.
Amen to that.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Argyle, C.C. et al,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun xwd today-a terrific theme for a Tuesday. I flew along until I got to 23. Like Hahtool, I worked the downs instead and most everything fell right into place.The exception was the intersection of 2 abbreviations: RPI/NPR..drats!
Wagged Gail. Disappointed for forgetting ria.Loved "siree"
Mondrian was a complete unknown, but easily perped. His art reminds me of shelf paper.Mea culpa Piet.
Gisele and Tom Brady's new home when complete will have cost 20 million.Oh, to be an angel.
Hand up for not knowing they were all kings, but I did know that Elvis and Benny had been crowned. The other 2 were very easy to infer with just a few perps.
ReplyDeleteHey, are there any readers out there along the I-35 corridor? Especially from OKC north. I have a son traveling from Austin to Lincoln today and would like to get an eye witness account from along the route. It sounds like it could be pretty nasty.
Alt QOD, from a bumper sticker I saw yesterday: "I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it."
Good Morning All, Just enough time this morning to get through the puzzle. I was familiar enough with all the theme names to get them with just a few perps.
ReplyDeleteOnce that was done, it was smooth sailing. Just a little hesitation on BASS, BARLEY and BECKS, but that resolved quickly.
Busy day today. Doctor's appointment, dropping a load of stuff at the local charity thrift store, meet daughter at bank (we're adding her to our checking account). Then lunch with her and grand daughter, some grocery shopping and finally....home.
Oh yeah, our agent called last night. It looks like escrow can close on Thursday...then we'll be renters here. We'll start to look for a new place next Wednesday.
Somewhere in there, we'll fit in some Christmas festivities.
Thanks for all the nice feedback! There's a little story behind this one. I had made a puzzle for my mom's birthday in which the theme was celebrities born on July 2 (her birthday). One was Richard Petty. I clued it as "Nicknamed the King, born on July 2, XXXX".
ReplyDeleteI watched as she solved it, first guessing Elvis Presley, and later guessing Arnold Palmer. I thought - oh my gosh, 3 kings with the same letter count!
I struggled for the fourth. The problem with Benny Goodman is I've only heard of him called "The King Of Swing" whereas the others I had heard called just "The King". But when I managed to work THE and KING in to the puzzle, I knew I had it.
(I tried hard to get THEKING as one phrase, but couldn't work it.)
By the way, where RPI is in the puzzle, we had ROI for awhile - French for King. But Rich Norris probably wisely decided that was a bit of overkill, so we switched it to RPI/NPR.
Happy solving, everyone!
Mari-
ReplyDeleteHITAT is ink you get at or above the shoulder line.
Or- making lace under the influence of Jane.
Clear Ayes:
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the Escrow close.
HeartRx:
And there you go, proving (again) that Ladies are nicer then Men.
I didn't "wrinkle-my-nose" at AIRE & ENCE ...
I just wrote "boo" next to the former's clue and "crap" next to the latter.
Link text High Maintenance
ReplyDeleteKatVD, I had some HITATs of silent 3s done with invisible ink.
ReplyDeleteMusic, sports and beer? Yes SIREE Bob, I really liked this puzzle!
ReplyDeleteHey Tinman, you beat me to the mini-theme. We can add CARIB and SIERRA NEVADA to it. Carib is Corona-like and SN's Celebration Ale is a seasonal brew in stores now. Their pale ale is good as is the Ovila. Their website.
Also liked the WILDWEST fill.
ERIE is my local great lake. Ever heard of Put-In-Bay?
Seen:
ReplyDeleteaka, home of Pat Dailey?
I am not only not High Maintenance - if I was ever worth it, I would rather have plain cash (instead - ) , or money in the bank.
ReplyDeleteAvg. Joe - further to your bumper stickers - a favorite quote, I remember, -
There is a pleasure in being mad which none but madmen know. - John Dryden.
AND
Insanity is hereditary.
You get it from your children.
Thank you Mr. St. John for posting in. I am always in awe of all constructors. That requires such a focused talent and dedicated persistence and dogged perseverance. BTW, ROI is also 'return on investment' - so you can feed the 'hi maintenance'. For me, a simple little soul, I appreciate all the fine points, after I have actually managed to complete the puzzle.
windhover, lol, yep that's it.
ReplyDeletePat Dailey will be local on Friday the 13th before heading south to Key West for the winter.
Good morning, folks. Thank you Steven, St John, for a really good puzzle. Enjoyed it. Thank you, Argyle, you are the best!
ReplyDeleteStarted in the NW. Wanted TEAL for 3D, but wisely held off. AQUA emerged after RAJAS filled. JAG was easy, as was SIERRA.
The themes came easily once I got a few starter letters. Got the THE KING after all the themes were answered.
Enjoyed BASS, BECKS, and BARLEY. For many years I was a home brewer, when I lived in California. I plan on getting back into that. It was fun to brew and fun to drink.
I think I mentioned once before that I gassed up ARNOLD PALMER's airplane years ago in Erie. Always admired him. Real pro and good person.
Just got back from giving a pint of blood. Now that I have my blood pressure under control they will take it again.
Off to the Dobrovsky Club meeting tonight for my monthly Bohemian dinner.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
See you tomorrow.
Getting the theme so early with A.P. being THE KING (knew all 4 cold) made this perhaps the most facile fill I've ever fulfilled flawlessly. CFs was the closest to awkward and nothing made me cringe. I must have had the right FOK (Fund of Knowledge) to ACE this one.
ReplyDeleteAs a FL Gator (69-73)who had GatorADE way before other athletes, I liked the side-by-side of ADE, RED and DRY better than most. Dr. Bob Cade (Nephrologist behind the ADE) also had a hand in an isotonic citrus/malt beverage called Hoppin' Gator - never made it far from Gainesville somehow ...
A Tuesday level puzzle with fun cross-referencing and a couple of esoteric proper names makes for a fun Mardi – similar to our own fun Marti! Thanks for the puzzle and insight, Steven!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Dowd’s witty, scathing writing is a fun read regardless of your politics
-The Erie Canal was the Manhattan Project of its time
-C.C.’s and my fav CFer’s
-A lot of Europeans are looking at commitment to the Euro with new eyes 12 years later.
-We saw fields of BARLEY as we drove out of Munich. An unfamiliar grain here in corn and bean country
-Jeff Dunham is the funniest ventriloquist working today (9:58) Edgy material warning!
-I met my CREES in Saskatchewan
-My resume would be more like ONEPARAGRAPH
-If you haven’t seen Oregon’s Basketball Court, you are really missing something
-Don’t get mad, get even!
Hi all - This started out to be difficult, I had no idea about British brew or who 6A was, but with some work and my V-8 cans, I almost finished it without looking up answers. My problem came in the lower middle. I didn't know 64 and 67A or 38 and 46D.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this was much harder than the usual Tuesday level.
The theme answers were easy and that helped - I did know THE KING applied to Elvis (is there anyone that doesn't?) and also to Goodman, being the King of Swing...but didn't know the other 2 were called 'The King'.
CA: so happy you have your house sold!!! You sound super busy but it's in a good way :)
Good morning Argyle and all.
ReplyDeleteAnother easy but fun puzzle. Loved the 4 Kings theme, and the "kings' are all worthy of the accolades heaped upon them. GISELE was a WAG. Nice shoutouts to upstate New York with ERIE and RPI, my alma mater. Also liked BECKS, one of my favorite beers. I'm partial to N. German beers and also some Dutch ones like Heineken. No lookups; no strikethroughs today.
The winter solstice arrives at 12:30 am on Dec 22 on the East coast or 9:30 pm on the West coast on the 21st. Still having Fall-like weather here.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteVery nice puzzle today and lots of fun. Really well done HOOT. At 11:20, no speed run, but I'll plead exhaustion. Performed a piece of aleatoric AVANT garde music last night where I played for a while on just my mouthpiece. Ended my solo with a two note version of sad trombone.
The G of GISELE was enough to give me BENNY GOODMAN, then I thought ELVIS has to be in here somewhere.
JD nailed the MONDRIAN.
Off to Trader Joe's to get some DRY RED Shiraz - and dark chocolate
covered blueberries- YUM!
Cheers!
JzB occasionally shoves air through a KING
ANT, your Haiku from yesterday intriqued me. I recognized about two thirds of the words but could not make sense of the poem, even after consulting the Japanese/English dictionary. On line, I finally found an English version of a baseball haiku and knew it must be the same poem.
ReplyDeleteshōten suru
made gurōbu kakae
aono yuku –
-Yotsuya Ryū
Until raised to Heaven
I’ll go to fields of green
Carrying my glove
Mr. St. John, thanks for the insight on your work. Stop by anytime.
ReplyDeleteWelcome the Redanman; I was at UF Law School, 71-73. My brother ran for chancellor of the honor court, and I represented the defendants in the great Alligator theft case.
Nope. Never heard of Put-In-Bay. I have heard of Cleveland and the "smokin'" Cuyahoga River thanks to Randy Newman. My great grandfather traveled via the Erie Canal and through the great lakes when he moved the family from Canajoharie NY to Weyauwega WI back in the 1850's. I guess if a place was easy to spell and pronounce, he didn't want to live there!
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks - yep, that's it! I love the imagery that particular haiku conveys.
ReplyDeleteHere's another one I liked from the book:
nirui-da to
seri negi-batake ni
iritaru wa
-Imai Sei
I can post the translation later, but I assume you'll want to take a crack at it.
On a different note, being originally from Cleveland, all my fantasy sports teams are called the Lake ERIE Mistakes. Got to see my beloved Browns play the AZ Cardinals here this past weekend. They lost, but it was a pretty good game. I'd say about 35-40% of the stadium was dressed in Browns regalia (a word derived from KING).
Hello, Argyle, C.C. and all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steven St.John for an enjoyable puzzle today. Wow! A birthday puzzle for your Mother! Lucky her.
I actually finished this very early this morning but then returned to bed. Loved the four KINGS theme and knew BENNYGOODMAN was the KING of swing.
All else filled quickly even the unknowns, GISELE, BASS beer and BECKS though I recall seeing it before in puzzles.
I agree that Maureen DOWD is a great read agree or disagree with her.
Love the word WIZENED!
Have a super Tuesday, everyone!
Haiku attempts:
ReplyDeleteOn the CLE Browns.
Cleveland dawgs enter the field
Their pitiful attempts bring tears.
Another channel beckons.
CWs.
The clues bring amnesia
Mr. puzzle fiend gloats and cackles,
paper crumples on the floor.
For all you non-Buckeyes, quaint Put-In Bay is an Island (go figure) in Lake ERIE, just off shore from Catawba Island, which is a peninsula on the mainland (I am not making this up.) It's accessible via ferry, plane, and private boat.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, Serious Summer-time partyers would hop one island north to Middle Bass (there is also a North Bass, but if there is a South Bass, I've never heard of it) and get totally blotto at the Lonz Winery -- Probably not on DRY RED and certainly not on Shiraz
Alas, I've been in MI too long to know if the tradition continues.
Cheers!
JzB OLDER but not WIXENED
JazzB, Put-in-Bay is the town on South Bass Island.
ReplyDeleteHello.
ReplyDeleteEasy fill.
Arnie = King. Never heard him called that. The others, ok.
Done spending money until my uncle sends some more.
eddy
FYI, Put-In-Bay is where Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British Royal Navy Squadron in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Perry's fleet was built in Erie, PA, then sailed west to confront the Royal Navy.
ReplyDeleteI was raised all around Perry memorials in Erie. We have Perry Square in downtown Erie, the Perry Monument on Presque Isle, Perry School, Perry-Keystone Masonic Lodge, and more I am sure.
Abejo
Morning all. Thanks again Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI guess they're not going to publish the constructors names in the paper anymore. I wonder why?
Todays puzzle was speedy for me compared to yesterday, but nicely done. I've never heard of RICHARD PETTY, but my spouse was able to give me that one. I could only think of Tom. MONDRIAN's work may not be easy to relate to, but he was a pretty influential artist of the early 20th century.
I didn't know Gail SIMMONS, but I have recently become a "Top Chef" fan. I'm hopelessly addicted to "Chopped."
The Christmas shopping will be done today. YES SIREE Bob.
Thanks Mr. St. Steven!
Was so glad to see Steven St. John's interesting posting since the paper LA Times once again did not give the name of the constructor. Thank you Mr. St. John, and Argyle, for the great write-up.
ReplyDeleteFound this puzzle fun and doable in spite of the fact that I'm a dud at sports. But at least I knew Arnold Palmer. It was nice to see CARIB. I spent some months doing missionary work on the island of Dominica when I was young, but never had a chance to visit the Carib reservation there. And of course as a former Gator, I got Gatorade--which was much easier than getting all that beer! Of course, that dry and red wine as well as the eggnog (lots of booze in this puzzle) were a piece of cake (ugh, doesn't go together at all, does it?).
Also liked how Mondrian and avant garde went together, and mentors and graduate student oral exams. Great puzzle!
Now off to watch that Partridge Family clip and re-read all the haikus.
Husker reminded me of this song when he mentioned fields of barley.
ReplyDeleteClip.(5:01)
Santa, What a lovely song. I had never heard it before and surmise Barley was chosen by the lyricist when a two-vowel grain was required for meter. I have seen some lovely, golden wheat and oat fields in this area around the 4th of July – amber waves of grain? Perhaps there are other esthetic properties of this crop of which I am not aware.
ReplyDeleteYour posting drove me to find out a lot more about barley, including where it is grown in America. I guarantee that if there was good money in it, my neighbor would have 180 acres under cultivation this spring and eschew some of his corn and soybeans. Maybe Joe has seen some south of Lincoln?
Good morning friends,
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to be able to say 'good morning'. I hardly ever get here in time for that!
I can't really call this a speed run; I just don't have those. But I was able to go right straight through with only one erasure: the 'z' in 'wizened'. I had a 'd' before I read the clue. Many of the answers were ther before I got to them; the perps were good to me.
I've been pretty slack about getting here the past few weeks, but I try to read the blog every day. There have been some puzzles that were very hard for me, but I finished more that otherwise. Just didn't make it here.
In case I don't get back until too late, I hope each of you has a wonderful Hanukkah and/or a very Merry Christmas!
My best, dodo
No Gary, I don't remember ever seeing barley growing in NE. I think I've seen it in ND, and maybe even in WI. Darker colored than wheat when turning ripe, or even oats, but with far more pronounced whiskers.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked Eva Cassidy, Argyle. BTW, Gary, I'd bet you have heard that song. It got quite a bit more air play by it's writer, Gordon Sumner.
Husker:
ReplyDeleteBarley is mostly grown where it is dry. Check out Idaho and eastern Oregon and Washington. It requires a lot less water than corn and beans. It's planted in the Fall, is Winter hardy, and makes a crop on Spring moisture. I doubt your neighbors are going to spend irrigation dollars growing it, although if Busches and the Coors and the Millers, or whatever foreign concern owns their souls now could be persuaded to forego corn and rice and actually brew some damn drinkable beer, we'd all be growing the stuff to keep up with the demand.
Argyle, thanks for the reminder about Eva Cassidy. She is by far the best singer I had never heard of; that is, until somebody here (maybe Argyle?) mentioned her a month or two ago. I love her voice and I especially love her choice of material; the wonderful old standards like Over the Rainbow, Danny Boy, Tennessee Waltz and others. I don't know if I should get a CD of hers because if I listen to it in the car, I will surely tear up which makes it hard to drive safely.
ReplyDeleteHere's a clip about her from ABC News. Eva Cassidy
Tennessee Waltz
Danny Boy
Over the Rainbow
Joe, Argyle and Windhover, Thanks for all the agricultural and musical information to digest, metaphorically, on this gray, snowy day.
ReplyDeleteI know we used to see a lot more milo/sorghum grown in years past as we drove to Lincoln because it tolerates dry conditions better than King Corn (today's cwd theme) but better corn hybrids and irrigation have reduced those acres around here as well.
I am no connoisseur of beer (barley pop?) but will take my friend WH’s word for what drives commercial brewing choices.
re: EVA CASSIDY
ReplyDeleteArgyle:
Thank you for the clip.
I like they way she sang "Fields of Gold" a lot more that STING's (aka Gordon Sumner) version.
Bill G:
Thank you to also.
The ABC clip about her is the BEST link I've ever enjoyed here.
Yeah, it is 18:41.
Time well spent.
Agreed. I really didn't need to "waste" that much time today when I really should be working. But it was definitely 19 minutes put to good use. Thanks Bill.
ReplyDeleteFurther to what Windhover and Husker Gary just said, barley is used mostly for cattle feed and beer/whiskey.
ReplyDeleteBarley was also used in Alphitomancy ( or corsned - ) - in the 'short order', justice system. A group of 'accused, of a crime ' in olden times would be fed a barley cake ot slices thereof, and the 'one' who got indigestion was considered definitely guilty.
Since barley contains gluten, like Rye and Wheat - woe be to him who had gluten intolerancy or celiac dis. - for he would surely fail the test.
John BC, great info! Alphitomancy? Wow, without my Prevacid, I'd would have been guilty in a heartbeat!
ReplyDeleteBill G, the links to Eva Cassidy and the ABC segment were amazing. I'll bet Harold Arlen would approve of her treatment of "Judy's song".
Joe, I'll get to work if you will but I had never heard that lovely song before!
Ain't these exchanges a big part of what this site is supposed to be about?
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteArgyle: Thanks for the Fields of Gold song. What a beautiful voice. Was the beautiful face superimposed over the fields Keira Knightley?
For you, (and Hahtool, who seems to be into QOD's) this song made me think of this AQOD.
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all. (Samuel Butler)
Cheers!
Hola Everyone, a quick solving experience today. A few unknowns were quickly put in with the perps. As I managed to get enough letters in each long answer to figure out the four names, the rest was a quick fill.
ReplyDeleteThe position that Kirby Puckett and Mickey Mantle played was an unknown, but, again, the perps took care of that.
And true to form, Barry said it all for me again today.
Steven St. John, Thanks for stopping by . It is always nice to know how a puzzle comes about. I'm in awe of anyone who can put together a CW for others to enjoy.
CA, I knew if I kept my fingers crossed your escrow would close without a hitch.
have a great day everyone.
Good evening Argyle, CC, et al., Well, 'the king'ette is definately Eva Cassidy. I had other things to say about the good puzzle but I'm done. What a magnificent voice/talent and what a desperately sad loss. Argyle and Bill G, thank you for the clips. I never heard of her before now. Sooo sad.
ReplyDeleteBarley was being grown in West Texas along w/Sorghum when I was wilding my way thru there. It wasn't called the Wild West for nothin'.
Avg Joe: I know I-35 a little bit and pray for your son to have a safe trip. One consolation is that it is pretty flat. I had a poster once, "Ski OKLAHOMA" and it was a straight horizontal line w/a very slight rise in the middle of it. Struck me funny. Keep us posted,ok?
Enjoy your night.
Great theme, really enjoyed this one. Nice write-up.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't understand what Barry G. meant when he said "[theme] was interesting but not particularly necessary to the solving experience". I think he means you don't need to get the theme to solve the puzzle, but that goes for 100% of the puzzles. I'm probably missing something.
@Middletown - [Guinness (two N's) and Harp (no "S)] the nitrogen has nothing to do with the Guinness floating. It's the relative specific gravity of the two liquids. BTW, don't go ordering a Black and Tan in Ireland, you'll get some funny looks (at the very least) due to the history of the Irish Constabulary Specials in the 1920's during the independence struggle.
On a related note, I'm always a tad disturbed that it's OK to order an "Irish Car Bomb" in a bar here in the US; I don't think it would be very funny if you heard someone ordering a "Twin Towers" or a "9/11 Special".
On a happier note, the red triangle on the Bass label was the world's first registered trade mark. Yep, Bass have been brewing beer for that long.
I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the Eva Cassidy clips. It makes me feel good when I get turned onto something and other people respond the same way. I think I may download some favorites from iTunes and burn them onto a CD.
ReplyDeleteHi All ~~
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle a lot. At first the '33/63' stuff made me cringe, but once I got ARNOLD PALMER, that led to THE KING, and I was able to fill in the other theme names with no problem.
~~ I remembered RIA as 'crosswordese' from when I first started working on puzzles many moons ago. Funny that my spell check doesn't like it.
~~ Some good cluing/answers I don't remember seeing recently - DEVOID, JAG, and WIZENED and the cluing for SIREE and EUROS.
~~ JD ~ I completely agree with your idea for shelf paper! :-)
~~ Redanman said: "...made this perhaps the most facile fill I've ever fulfilled flawlessly." Bravo, sir!
~~ Argyle ~ Your write-up was fantastic! Very colorful with all the pictures and links ... I appreciate all your extra work.
~~ Thanks to those who provided all the other links and musical clips today!
Enjoy the evening ~~
I fell in love with the man I married while riding on his combine harvesting "fields of gold" wheat. Nuf said.
ReplyDeleteAvgJoe, I'm on I-35, but had a fever and slept all day. Sorry, I couldn't help. No snow here. Hope your son arrived all right.
-PK
Cool puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteThank you Argyle and Bill G for sharing Eva Cassidy. Her version of "Songbird" has long been on my top 10. "Fields of Gold" will now be too, even though I've had a crush on Sting for about 30 years!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I come here just to get humbled. As it turns out, anon at noon is exactly right about So. Bass Island - of which I had inexplicably never heard . . . Or maybe I just forgot. Oh, well . . .
ReplyDeleteEva Cassidy (of whom I had never heard) is a revelation. What a clean, pure voice. Her Rainbow is an interesting and original take. We played a very dreamy and ethereal version of it last night.
This song has been around my whole life, and I feel like I'm just now beginning to appreciate it.
Anybody remember this guy?
On another note (so to speak) I'll dedicate this to anyone who can't get into the holiday spirit, and this to anyone who can.
Cheers!
Avg Joe: sure hope your son arrives safely...let us know. I have heard of several reports of highways being closed.
ReplyDeleteBill G and Argyle: thanks so much for the link to Eva Cassidy. I had never heard of her and her voice is so beautiful and pure. Reminds me of Joan Baez...another very pure voice. Such a tragedy that she died so young.
Miscellanea, in no particular order.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lois and PK. My son has not yet arrived, but he has reported in and is past the stormy area, relatively unscathed. The nasty aspects of this blizzard did a disappearing act midstream. I'm happy about that.
I'm thrilled that so may of you find Eva Cassidy as talented as I do. While it was me that brought her to the attention of this group a month or so ago, I again have to give credit where due. Puzzle Girl first made me aware of her enormous talent on the other blog before I took up residence here. It's a mystery that someone that special could fly under the radar for so long, and equally tragic that so few still know of her gift today. I guess today is one more testament..and step.. in that effort. Thanks again BillG for the documentary piece. It was fantastic.
Jazz: you're killin' me here, but thank you for the clip of Izzy. He's been a favorite of mine for a while, even made me pick up a uke. I soon put it back down and turned him on again. You Tube shows his funeral and the scattering of his ashes in the ocean in Hawaii. And he's another desperately sad loss before I even knew of him. At least he and Eva will live forever in their music and recordings. That's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLoved both your songs, esp the Grinch one. Very cute and entertaining. Where were you? Looks like a library. Well done.
CA: congratulations on the sale of your house. That's a landmark accomplishment. I'm envious.
Dennis: Good luck w/your move and the huge life changes. How exciting for you!
@Steve: Often, the long theme answers baffle me until I get the theme reveal and can go back and make sense of the clues. Other times, like this time, I don't even figure out what the theme is until the end of the puzzle (if at all) and am able to get all the theme answers without knowing the theme.
ReplyDeleteSo, in this case, it was interesting to find out that all the theme answers were people nicknamed "THE KING," but I filled in each theme answer easily long before I even realized how they were thematically related.
Carol:
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you are thinkiing of Joan Baez? I believe she is still alive. I'll check and be back.
According to her official web site, Joan Baez is still touring.
ReplyDeleteLucina-
ReplyDeleteI believe she was referring to Eva dying young, not Joan. And with Iz, and also Judy Garland (47), dying young, I'm not so sure I'd sing the Rainbow song particularly well. Doing so seems to be tempting fate.
Average versions are ok - but knocking it out of the park? Not so much.
Lucina - H.L.Bluebird is right, I think my sentence structure was 'off'. I know Joan Baez is very much alive and still has that fabulous voice!!
ReplyDelete