THEME: The Doctor told me , "add a Y and give me a pun in the morning". Why, Y not? Not quite a simple 'add a letter' at the end of the first word of a common two word phrase which also changes the meaning into a very amusing visual describing a not very nice person or persons. Another Friday from Marti for me to write up, I already see this year as being better than last. The theme of 2 10's and 2 12's came easily, so let's examine them.
17A. Peevish audience?: TESTY GROUP. Our Test Groups often lost their patience when we had them administer electric shocks to teach their classmates, during Psychology experiments..
27A. Irritable telemarketer?: CRANKY CALLER. Our Crank Caller, loses his patience, too?
48A. Sect members telling off-color jokes?: SALTY SHAKERS. By far my favorite, transforming the boring Salt Shaker into an old religious zealot who believes in speaking in tongues, celibacy and telling dirty jokes. I have mentioned my high school was built on the sight of an old Shaker village. I am going to an alumni event Sunday. Thanks M.
63A. Surly sort?: TOUCHY TYPE. I am no Touch Typist, but don't call me a Hunt 'n Pecker, I am a little touchy on the subject.
The rest was all over the place, with fun facts, new stuff and tricky clues befitting a Friday; almost a pangram, with only the "J" missing. Hey, wait a minute, now that I am here, maybe it is a pangram, let's see.
Across:
1. Sign of age: WEAR. and tear; don't I know it.
5. Asian city whose name means "place of the gods : LHASA. I have read much about the Dalai Lama and TIBET.
10. Buds: PALS. Not BEER?
14. "Play it, Sam" speaker: ILSA. Watch IT. 4:07. Really a great clip of a beautiful woman.
15. Legendary creator of talking animals: AESOP. The true history of this 5th century BC fabulist is debated, but they all seem to agree he was "of loathsome aspect...potbellied, misshapen of head, snub-nosed, swarthy, dwarfish, bandy-legged, short-armed, squint-eyed,liver-lipped—a portentous monstrosity."
16. Fairy tale side, often: EVIL. Good versus.
19. Jim-dandy: A-ONE.
20. Third baseman Ron posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in December 2011: SANTO. A Chicago Cub legend, who was also a Diabetic who lost the lower half of both legs before succumbing in 2010.
21. Something for nothing: FREE RIDE. Like the joy of reading this blog if you do not contribute a little.
23. Know-it-_: self-proclaimed brains : ALLS. lucky none of us are like that.
26. Carrier with a portmanteau name: AMTRAK. AMerican TRAcK crammed together.
32. Place for a ring: EAR. How many of our male regulars have adorned the lobe with a piercing?
33. Like London fog: SOUPY. Not Sales, just fog.
34. Range of understanding: REACH. beyond my ken. (Insert barbie jokes here).
38. Cpls., e.g.: NCOS. Non-commissioned Officers.
40. Bucs and Nats: NLERS. National Leaguers, in baseball.
42. First name in sports cars: ENZO. Ferrari.
17A. Peevish audience?: TESTY GROUP. Our Test Groups often lost their patience when we had them administer electric shocks to teach their classmates, during Psychology experiments..
27A. Irritable telemarketer?: CRANKY CALLER. Our Crank Caller, loses his patience, too?
48A. Sect members telling off-color jokes?: SALTY SHAKERS. By far my favorite, transforming the boring Salt Shaker into an old religious zealot who believes in speaking in tongues, celibacy and telling dirty jokes. I have mentioned my high school was built on the sight of an old Shaker village. I am going to an alumni event Sunday. Thanks M.
63A. Surly sort?: TOUCHY TYPE. I am no Touch Typist, but don't call me a Hunt 'n Pecker, I am a little touchy on the subject.
The rest was all over the place, with fun facts, new stuff and tricky clues befitting a Friday; almost a pangram, with only the "J" missing. Hey, wait a minute, now that I am here, maybe it is a pangram, let's see.
Across:
1. Sign of age: WEAR. and tear; don't I know it.
5. Asian city whose name means "place of the gods : LHASA. I have read much about the Dalai Lama and TIBET.
10. Buds: PALS. Not BEER?
14. "Play it, Sam" speaker: ILSA. Watch IT. 4:07. Really a great clip of a beautiful woman.
15. Legendary creator of talking animals: AESOP. The true history of this 5th century BC fabulist is debated, but they all seem to agree he was "of loathsome aspect...potbellied, misshapen of head, snub-nosed, swarthy, dwarfish, bandy-legged, short-armed, squint-eyed,liver-lipped—a portentous monstrosity."
16. Fairy tale side, often: EVIL. Good versus.
19. Jim-dandy: A-ONE.
20. Third baseman Ron posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in December 2011: SANTO. A Chicago Cub legend, who was also a Diabetic who lost the lower half of both legs before succumbing in 2010.
21. Something for nothing: FREE RIDE. Like the joy of reading this blog if you do not contribute a little.
23. Know-it-_: self-proclaimed brains : ALLS. lucky none of us are like that.
26. Carrier with a portmanteau name: AMTRAK. AMerican TRAcK crammed together.
32. Place for a ring: EAR. How many of our male regulars have adorned the lobe with a piercing?
33. Like London fog: SOUPY. Not Sales, just fog.
34. Range of understanding: REACH. beyond my ken. (Insert barbie jokes here).
38. Cpls., e.g.: NCOS. Non-commissioned Officers.
40. Bucs and Nats: NLERS. National Leaguers, in baseball.
42. First name in sports cars: ENZO. Ferrari.
43. Belief: TENET. Often associated with religious beliefs.
45. Rap sheet listing: PRIOR. I can hear the wheels turning.
47. Graffiti ID: TAG. Live and learn.
45. Rap sheet listing: PRIOR. I can hear the wheels turning.
47. Graffiti ID: TAG. Live and learn.
51. Winter climber's need: ICE AXE.
54. Ornate metal ware: TOLE. My momma done tole me? I did not know this word for enameled stuff.
55. "If I may ...": PERMIT ME, one of Dennis' new job phrases, when confronted with a bra...
58. High capital: LA PAZ. Nuestra Señora de La Paz, Our Lady of Peace. The seat of government in Bolivia, overlooking the wonderfully named Lake Titicaca. The Lake alone can revive out DF ways.
62. Sunburn soother: ALOE. "Allo, Allo can I help you? LINK.
66. River to the Moray Firth: NESS. Yes, the river starts in the LOCH and runs to the INLET in the North Sea.
67. Footnote abbr: ET SEQ. A common legal term from the Latin meaning literally 'and following.'
68. Rock bands?: ORES. Nice misdirection clue to describe how the metal sits in the rocks. No AXEOLOGY reference today.
69. Help hold up, say: ABET. More fodder for the hater, hold up like a robber might.
70. Country dances: REELS. Any of a number of dances, likely all from Ireland, Scotland or England. My FAVORITE.1:59.
71. On deck: NEXT. How perfect, a baseball reference for C.C., and a segue into the...
Down:
1. Wilde and Twain, e.g.: WITS, Oscar and Mark certainly were; my father used to tell me I was 1/2 way there.
2. Zeno of __: ELEA. perps made this possible, I recall the PHILOSOPHER, not where he was from.
3. Part of AAA: Abbr.: ASSN. American Automobile Association.
4. Wood being tested for use as artificial bone: RATTAN. The wood from certain Asian Palm Trees, unaware of this bone(headed?) idea.
5. Get behind: LAG. For our Scandinavian members, this is from Norwegian lagga to go slowly, like many do.
6. The other woman: HER. Marti, you promised not to tell!
7. Since: AS OF.
8. Go bad: SOUR. Like an idea or milk.
9. Post-trial proceeding: APPEAL. My favorite part of the legal process, to get a higher court to rectify an an error by the trial court.
10. Partridge's perch?: PEAR TREE. Can you do all 12 days without looking? LINK.
11. To have, in Le Havre: AVOIR. The French lesson of the day, such as "avez vous le crayon?"
12. McCartney of Wings: LINDA. marry a rock legend and you too can be a star. LINK. 3:17 A nice Jewish girl from New Jersey ends up Lady McCartney.
13. Smooth and glossy: SLEEK.
18. Yellows: YOLKS. Ha, not ages with time, Marti just egging us on.
22. Critical care abbr: EMER. gency.
24. Interpol command center site, locally: LYON. pronounces Leeawn; we call it LYONS, like from Detroit.
25. Cut stone: SCULPT. Literal; nothing like cutting cheese.
27. Slight change?: CENT. I lost the RED this week.
28. Derby, for example: RACE. Not the hat, the horses.
29. Memphis middle name ARON. We owe poor Elvis a second A.
30. Mimicking APERY. not a cage for APES.
31. Old string player: LYRIST. One who plays the LYRE, unlike Jim Carrey who plays the LIAR.
35. Certain forced bet: ANTE. Your buy in for each hand.
36. Winter Palace ruler: CZAR.
37. Big bikes: HOGS.
39. Briefly, show whose name appears under "123" in its logo: SESAME ST. The briefly explains the abbreviation of STREET. Go Muppets.
41. NYC neighborhood: SOHO. South of Houston. Classic crosswordese, know it!
44. Roll before flying: TAXI. Really cute clue, my mind was not on the runway, but my suitcase.
46. Come from behind : RALLY. All right, the write up was dragging but I am ready for a strong finish.
49. Love __: LETTER. My gift to you all this SONG.3:47.
50. "Something's Gotta Give" actress: KEATON. Diane, perhaps more famous for the work of our this week topic Woody Allen and Annie Hall.
51. Bucky Beaver's toothpaste: IPANA. here is where we separate the young and old how many recall this TV ad? LINK. 1:05
52. One of Us?: CELEB. I presume the reference is to the magazine Us Weekly.
53. Jagged: EROSE. "By any other name would smell so sweet..." No, not that kind, like leaves, anyway, hey again ARABON.
56. Sunbeam speck: MOTE. Like dust ones.
57. Chant ending: EUSE, no not amen, nor an encore but Chanteuse.
59. Woodpile in "Light My Fire": PYRE. An anthem whether you like the version by the DOORS 3:37 or Jose Feliciano.
60. Peak: APEX. I loved Twin Peaks; the TV show, not Dolly Parton, though I love her too, she is so tiny, er short.
61. Tang: ZEST.
64. "Fantasia" unit: CEL. A single frame of a cartoon. Very popular crossword answer and more fuel for the hater.
65. Mil. centers: HQS. Head Quarters. Military is abbreviated so the answer MUST be an abbreviation.
Answer grid.
Well, here at Blogger Central, I am getting ready to pack up my tools and my old Groucho Marx idea book, and leave the rest to you the readers; first thank you Marti (see comment below) and I do want to remind you it is Friday the 13th, and all my co-workers insist I leave my hockey mask home! So be careful out there.
1) Constructor comment:
I originally was playing around with the old "add a letter" theme. But I wanted a "cool" letter (not just e, or s, or t...).
***I know!!! Use a "Y" !! It's a cool letter, and besides, it's worth 3 in scrabble...***
TaDa! We have a theme. Hmmm, now for those pesky theme entries. Pesk-Y ?? Why, that's it!! Use people who are DF, just like our blog: Peevish, irritable, telling off-color jokes, surly...perfect!
2) Note from C.C.:
Please cap your post length at about 20 lines. Also, if you want to practice links at the Comments section, please use yesterday's or any old post so as not to affect the comments flow. Thanks.
Good morning, Lemon, C.C. and gang - this'll be quick because we're meeting earlier than usual at the gym today, but when I saw it was one of Marti's puzzles, I wanted to make sure I got a post in.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun puzzle. Lots of 'huh?'s, lots of perp help, lots of fresh clues. Among my favorites was 'chant ending', which had me racking my brain trying to remember what chant endings had in common besides 'amen'. Also, 'One of Us?' 'Rock bands?' and 'Roll before flying' were just great. Thanks to all the crosswords, I remembered 'Lhasa' meant 'place of the gods' and Interpol was headquartered in Lyon.
One of my favorite puzzles in recent memory; nice job, Marti.
Anybody hiding under the bed today?
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteThis one very nearly defeated me. It was only when I finally figured out the theme that I was able to go back and stick in a lot of Y's, which in turn opened up the rest of the puzzle. For example, figuring out the "Add a Y" theme was crucial to removing APING from 30D, which was one of my major sticking spots (especially since I also had LUTIST for 31D).
Not too many unknowns today (SANTO may be it, in fact). I've heard of RATTAN, but didn't realize it was actually a type of wood or that it could be used as artificial bone. Overall, I thought the cluing was a bit insane. Things like "Love___" for LETTERS just didn't give me much to go on.
Fun puzzle overall. Thanks, Marti!
Hi-De-Ho,
ReplyDeleteFunny that Barry mentioned LOVE LETTER, It was one of my problem spots. I was vertically challenged on several entries. As soon as I spelled out what I had on the horizontal, the answer popped right out at me.
Gene Austin - Love Letters In The Sand (1931) Clip.(3:02) I had no idea this song was so old.
Good morning. Just stopping by to say hello to old blogger friends.
ReplyDeleteBreezed through this puzzle like it wasn't a Friday puzzle. Challenging in spots but perps helped.
Hoping everyone is having a great start to the new year. See you next time.
Mr. Ed yesterday, Dr.Dad today; hmm, a trend. Good to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Lemonade and friends. This was an easier Friday puzzle than usual, but I really needed that after the week I have been having. I caught on to the theme early on (unlike yesterday's theme). I really laughed at the celibate SALTY SHAKERS!
ReplyDeleteI have learned about ENZO Ferrari from doing the crossword puzzles. He makes frequent appearances.
My favorite clue was Rock Bands = ORES.
I wanted Wrinkle for Sign of Age, but of course it wouldn't fit.
Et seq., as Lemonade noted, means "and the following" and is not limited to footnotes. I use it often when referencing statutory citations.
QOD: Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up for work. ~ Chuck Close
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the stellar write-up Lemon, as always! I'd say you are way more than "1/2 way there" when it comes to wit!
When I submit puzzles to Rich, I usually include more than one clue for each answer, each with varying difficulty. The other options for LETTER were "Postal worker's delivery" (see how PC I was being?) or "Alphabet soup bit". But this is Friday, after all.
The RATTAN/bone clue comes from my experience in the field of bone metabolism. I always like it when a puzzle gives me an "I didn't know that" moment, and sends me off to read more about the subject.
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteI found this puzzle to move along for me at a steady rate, but whenever I ran into a logjam, the perps quickly got me back on course. Really got a kick out of the theme fills. Especially liked TOUCHY TYPE, very descriptive of yours truly according to my bride.
Marti, unless I missed it, you were short of a J for a panagram. From past comments, I sense a panagram to a constructor is like a Hole In One to a golfer.
39D had me going for a while. Kept asking myself what SESA MEST was? Finally the light went on.
Hope to post tomorrow, but in case I don't make it, everyone have a nice weekend.
Question: Do you consider the post from usemeplz as spam? It appears to be some sort of search engine.
ReplyDeleteArgyle: yes. It seems like spam to me. If not, that person should come by and say otherwise.
ReplyDeleteLemon: Nice write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteMarti: Thanks for a FUN Friday.
Was surprised to see your 2 baseball clues for SANTO (who, I was sure, Barry G. was going to say he never heard of) and NLERS.
They were my gimmies today.
Chant ending, I knew what we were looking for but needed all my perps to get EUSE (and then the V-8 can slap).
Fave was that 27-D, Slight change? CENT.
A "toast" to one-and-all at Sunset.
PS: Argyle, Yeah, that's spam.
I'm not clicking on the "blue" Usemeplz.
To those who found this easy: I hate you. I found it tough enough that I probably would have given up had it not been for the constructor. ~30 minutes for me.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say I hated the puzzle. It was challenging and enjoyable once solved. Lot's of misdirects and a few learning moments (all mentioned by now). Chant ending was by far the hardest to come up with. Thanks Marti and Lemonade.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteA Technical DNF for me today. Got stuck in opposing corners, NW and SE. Had to look up ELEA and SANTO to get out of that spot. Never saw "Something's Gotta Give", so I didn't know Diane Keaton was in it. Once those bits were filled, I could get to the Ta Da. Thanks for the workout, Marti!
PK from last night - lots and lots of aviation words come straight from the French, and the pressure measurement gadget named for inventor Henri Pitot serves as a good example. It gets my goat to hear pilots, who really should know better, mis-pronounce it as "pit-tot" rather than "pee-toe".
Avg.Joe:
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad you don't 'hate me.'
Like you, I noted it was by Marti.
So I slogged slowly to the finish.
With all the "E" words today, when the perps got the 57-D, Chant ending, my first thought was:
"What the hell is a "E-USE"?
(Then the "Duh moment" and the V-8 can head slap).
Enjoyed your write-up Lemon. Your sign-off sounded a lot like a final farewell from the blog. Sure hope I am misreading that.
ReplyDeleteMarti, I had already decided this was my favorite puzzle so far this year, and then I came here and found out that you wrote it. I'm not grateful, though, for the "Brusha, brusha, brusha" earworm that's gonna be with me the rest of the day.
Got the theme at TESTY GROUP. Admit to LUTIST before LYRIST and APING before APERY, but it all fell together nicely. I even immediately wrote EUSE for the Chant clue. Thanx for a very enjoyable Friday puzzle.
It's Friday! Do you know where your SHAKER of SALT is? Margaritaville (4:37)
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of chantEUSE, I think of:
k.d. lang - Miss Chatelaine (3:34)
and
Edith Piaf - Non, je ne regrette rien (2:30)
Though not necessarily in that order...
When I think of LOVE KETTERS, I always think of this Ketty Lester oldie.
ReplyDeleteGot caught up with 17 across! Thought it had to start with the letter "g" as all the other answers have the same first letter. I was over thinking the answer! Overall, a great Friday puzzle. Have a great weekend everyone!
ReplyDeletegood morning all!!
ReplyDeletelooks like the crossword issue with Will Shortz has gone mainstream - i'll admit i was little too excited about this as i watched last night!
(he's Mike D and he gets respect so he must be right!)
t.
This one got me. I thought the answers contained two words that started with the same letter. For the last three I was OK, but I couldn't figure out what a Gesty Group was!
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle. Fun for a Friday because I didn't have to give up in frustration! (I got most of it.)
I didn't like 30D too much: Micmicking: APERY. I thought the answer should be APING. It just sounds better.
But I did like 57D: Chant Ending: EUSE. That was very clever!
I've got a lot to do today that I don't want to. I hope today goes by quick and smooth and we all have a great weekend!
Rock Bands was great too!
ReplyDeleteAnd I wanted Marilyn MONROE for Somethings Gotta Give Actress.
ReplyDeleteNow thats enough out of me!
I share Lemon’s opinions on this wonderful Friday offering from downhill (ski-wise, not age-wise) Marti! This puzzle took just enough effort and offered fun fills.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Lemon, your shocking testy group reminded me of Peter Venkman (3:20)
-AESOP not DISNEY who also used anthropomorphism
-I had to use the alphabet on E _ I L to get EVIL side
-Very funny but clueless know it all Sheldon (2:27)
-I ain’t piercin’ nothin’
-Oh, Ness is a lake, a monster AND a river
-Amer? No. Auto? No. Assn! Bingo!
-Lag is what makes a great golf swing (1:54)
-LOVED the Partridge clue!
-Anyone APING is also doing APERY
-My fav Love Letter song (2:31)
-Diane Keaton’s nude scene in that movie showed she is still “gettin’ it done” at 60
D-O, I assure you, I intend to be back next week to do my Friday thing, GWATCDR. My sign off was a feeble attempt at Friday the 13th movie humor. my birth name is Jason, so....
ReplyDeleteYou all have shown why I picked a different song than Love Letters as there are so many of those to choose from, it is nice to see your choices.
Good. For once I'm happy to be wrong.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone. Great write-up, Lemon.
ReplyDeleteA magnum opus from Marti. And for me, very Friday-ish. Great job on the clueing. Once the theme pattern became clear, it helped me get TOUCHYTYPE, but, beforehand, I had used red LETTER help to get the U in chantEUSE. After getting ZEST, the high capital, LA PAZ, was obvious. While much of the fill had everyday words, many of the clues were more arcane, such as for MOTE, NESS and NEXT. AVOIR was easy, although we seem to see être a lot more. All in all, a good workout. BZ
The SHAKERS died out as a sect because they didn't allow themselves to marry. Sigh.
NCO seems usually to be clued with an Army , Marine, or Air Force rank. The Navy has 'em, too, you know. Just saying.
Have a great day.
'Y' did Marti do this puzzle? Because she could! And she did a mighty fine job of it, too. Thanks for a real workout for my brain this morning. There were so many of those "I should know this, but can't quite think of it" places, and then the aping/apery trap, that I really ended up picking away all over the grid. I just never found the spot where everything flows out from there.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme when the CRANKY CALLER rang in, roared at SALTY SHAKER, but had to work to find TESTY to go with the GROUP that was already there. That NW corner was messed up for awhile. ILSA/ASSN was a gimme, but with _A_ _ AN, BAnyAN looked possible. Then came SANyO and flAb... time for another 6 pack of liquid paper...
Thanks for the write up and links, Lemonade. Have a great Friday 13, all.
Im kinda new to this but 40a what baseball team are the bucs? So i kinda thought pairing a football team and a baseball team up and calling them NLers was stretching at best, other then that I enjoyed the puzzle thanks
ReplyDeleteGood morning, folks. Thank you, Marti, for a very good puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the also very good write-up.
ReplyDeleteAs usual on Friday I had to bounce around the puzzle to get several footholds.
I slowly got the theme. My first was SALTY SHAKERS. Then the rest came easily, except for TESTY GROUP. I, as well as some others, felt that the first letter had to be a "G." The other three all had identical first letters, in addition to the "Y." That is my only complaint.
I even cannot complain about the french word AVOIR. Once I had PALS, EVIL, AONE, FREE RIDE, and AMTRAK, I looked and saw the answer.
AMTRAK was easy, since I ride it many times per year. $53 Chicago to Buffalo.
Liked CZAR. Usually we see TSAR, and that is what I initially entered, but I like the word CZAR better.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
sandmann0521, “Bucs” is a nickname for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, no?
ReplyDelete“Nats” are the Washington Nationals.
Both are in the National League…
I've decided that themes are definitely not my forte. I got that the first part of each would end in "Y", but never saw the "common phrases" without the "Y". As a result of that, I had DIRTY SHAKERS until I came here and cheated. After that I was able to get the rest of the south, most of which had remained blank until then.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the rest was filled easily, but with WAGS and perps help for those I didn't know. It was most enjoyable, Marti, despite my shortcomings.
Lemonade,
Part of my reason for arriving at the comments late today is having got carried away with your links on the McCartneys. Interesting to watch those interviews.
Wow! A Friday puzzle that was fun, that's new for me. I really enjoyed it and the write-up was terrific too! Loved the Bucky Beaver link too, I was wondering about him just last week - true story.
ReplyDeleteEnzo is one of my faves. If you like animals, read "The Art of Racing in the Rain". Enzo is a dog as well as Mr. Ferrari.
I thought rock bands was a super clue! All in all, I really enjoyed this puzzle.
Interesting: This usemeplz you were referring to does not appear on my iPad??????????????
For all of the English teachers that have suffered through some really horrible similes in your students' essays, this might bring a smile or two.
ReplyDeleteAnd the winner is #14....hands down!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grumpy, that was a hoot.
Grumpy1, those are too, too funny!
ReplyDeleteGrumpy: my favorite is number 5.
ReplyDeleteDamn, I was wondering why my head was shaped this way...
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected thanks for the info I still believe it was a little misleading but that's what makes a puzzle interesting. I probably blocked out anything revoolving around Pittsburgh being that I'm from cleveland lol
ReplyDeleteI would have been a little happier had the clue for 68A not had a question mark at the end. But it's not the constructor's job to make me happy, I suppose, and I was pleased to make it through with only one consultation with Dr Google.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy 1, I howled at all of those, but almost lost it when I read Dennis' comment!!
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHeartRX: the parts that I could grok were fun. But Fridays' difficulties are too much for me. Loved seeing Partridge's perch. One of my favorite songs. But, hey! I got 23 correctly.
Yesterday, I was chagrined that I missed VESTAL because I lived in Vestal,NY, for about 11 years.
Great and entertaining write up, Lemonade.
Cheers
Grumpy, for some reason my Mac won't open the link you posted for us English teachers. I'll try again late.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy1: If I could stop laughing I might be able to decide which one I liked better: Maggots in hot grease, Dads with power tools, Nancy Kerrigan's teeth, or the Hefty bag filled with vegatable soup!
ReplyDeleteCertainly not a breeze for me, needed the theme to unclog the sticking points. Great puzzle Marti, equally great write-up, Lemonade, although I was waiting for some disaster to strike the Virginia Reelers!
ReplyDeleteClose to a personal Natick at IPANA and NESS, that whole section had me stumped for the longest time.
Finishing a wonderful book where LHASA features prominently - "Into the Silence" by Wade Davis, the story of the Everest expeditions in the early 20's culminating in the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine attempting the summit in 1924.
Grumpy1 - link of the year! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteGrumpy1 - What they said!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Virginia C @ 10:15 AM
ReplyDeleteDon't blame your iPad, the comment in question was deleted.
G1:Absolutely wonderful link; Dennis, you still got it, thanks for keeping us where we need to be, with our heads held high and our minds in the gutter.
ReplyDeletesandmann, welcome.
The Shakers not only did not marry, they were celibate. No nookie, no lastie.
I'm pretty sure the Shakers could marry but still were to remain celibate. In olden times, they adopted children but laws were changed to prevent religous groups from doing thus.
ReplyDeleteMade them a testy group.
marti at 10:54; I thought you were schussing at Stowe this morning?
ReplyDeleteYes, Santa, but not a TESTES group.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy,
ReplyDeleteThat was a wonderful release--they were all terrific.
I got a book for Christmas from our son and d-i-l called "F in Exams". It's a collection of student bloopers from a wide range of subjects. Some were funnier than others, (example: What's the meaning of varicose? --Answer: nearby). But many from subjects I know little or nothing about simply left me wondering what the right answers might be.
There is a vas deferens between the testes and the urethra.
ReplyDelete'taint that much, though
ReplyDeleteVery nice, Marti. I loved SALTY SHAKERS and the clue. But I had a vision of a dog after romping at the beach.
ReplyDeleteFavorites- FREE RIDE, ICE AXE, SCULPT, HOGS, and CZAR. I wonder how many kajillion solvers started to write in Paul for LINDA.
Hurricane- Pangrams aren't that tough to do. They might be unusual but they're not rare and not close to being as infrequent as a hole in one.
Double bogey-
I know of a card playing fable writer who always has an AESOP his sleeve.
ICEAXE- Stern, Asimov, and Hayes.
Can't believe I got it all--all--without cheating, though it took me so long that by the time I reached the Corner I can only say 'what everybody else said'!
ReplyDeleteA terrific Friday puzzle, Marti, and one of the wittiest write-ups, Lemonade--worthy of Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain! Only wish you hadn't warned us about Friday 13. That puts a little soupy fog over our otherwise sunny and promising California morning.
Stay safe, everybody!
Lemon, nope. It's tomorrow that I go skiing.
ReplyDeleteJerome, AESOP and ICEAXE, very funny!
(notice how I just slid by those intervening comments...)
Fun write-up Lemonade. Thanks for reminding us that it's Friday the 13th.
ReplyDeleteI thought the puzzle seemed suspiciously easy at first, but then had all sorts of problems down south.
Like Kaize, I also had DIRTY SHAKERS first. That made absolutely no sense. Solved in down mode and SALTY quickly made an appearance. Cute!
Then I had MITE instead of MOTE and FTS instead of HQS which gave me to TIUCFY TYPE - what??? Just threw my hands up at that point. Nice challenge heartRx.
Virginia C - I also thought of ENZO the dog.
Grumpy 1 - those were hilarious.
Ooh, la, la! Hello, Marti and Lemonade. I always enjoy your ZEST, L, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat work is right, Marti. Fun to solve this but you had me stumped in a few places. Have I ever mentioned that I dislike sports clues?
I finally grokked SANTO and NLERS but those (NLERS, NFLERS) I dislike the most. It's fun when I finally see them, though.
Loved your pun clues for:
rock bands, ORES
slight change, CENT
And best of all, SALTYSHAKERS
I caught on to the Y ending but had many PRIORs, APING, then APERY, TOE before EAR.
And thanks for rubbing in signs of aging, WEAR!
Have yourself a fantastic Friday, everyone!
What great links! I haven't laughed that hard in along time. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteFor those who use Wite-out, there is a pen form of it. You simply squeeze it and a drop falls on the target.
Salty Shakers...Dirty Shakers....
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes right down to it, it's all the same.
Bah! A sign of age should be seven letters--wishdom. Well, maybe cantankerous would be appropriate too.
ReplyDeleteem jay
em jay; we had an MJ but no em jay, come on down, the water is fine.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Friday puzzle; hard but fun. I finally got 'Chant ending' but only because of the crossing letters. Tricky! Was that your clue or Rich's? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy, I loved the similes. Ant, Margaritaville is one of the very few popular songs written after I was a teenager that I really enjoy. Great melody, lyrics and arrangement. Re. Ilsa, she must be one of the most beautiful women of all time in maybe my favorite movie of all time.
Several of you enjoyed the Word Equations from a couple of days ago so here are a few more. Figure out what the letters stand for that go with the number. For example, 26 = L in the A is 26 Letters in the Alphabet.
206 = B in the H B
8 = L on a S
9 = J on the S C
9 = M to have a B (for a H)
0 = H, R and E in a P G
1.414 = S R of T to T D P
24 = K in P G
3-4-5 = S P T
My son just sent me a great collection of photos of the way things used to be. I'm not old enough to remember all of them but I can still appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteGreat old photos
All I can say is "Wow!" Thank you, Marti and Rich, for a fun hour of head scratchings followed by chuckles, smiles, and all-out laughs.
ReplyDeleteBill G.
ReplyDeleteI'll answer 3.
26 Bones in the Human Body
24 Karats in Pure Gold
9 Months to Have a Baby (for a Human)
(How many for a Republican?)
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle Marti.
Good write up, Lemon.
Thanks for the kind words and good wishes. My MIL is doing a bit better, She's gained a couple pounds. Still, a rough and uncertain road ahead.
Cheers!
JzB
Tinbeni, your human body must be a demoncrat since he must you've removed his spine. What other bones did you remove?
ReplyDeleteOK, the others, too.
ReplyDelete8 Legs on a Spider
9 Judges on the Supreme Court
0 Hits, Runs, and Errors in a Perfect Game
1.414 Square Root of Two to Three Decimal Places
3-4-5 Smallest Pythagorean Triple
Bill G, re: EUSE. That was one of mine.
ReplyDeleteBill G, great pictures; thanks for sharing. Loved the old store pics, especially the drug stores.
ReplyDeleteHa! The 24 had me thinking 'Kings in Poker Game', and I imagined everyone at a saloon table each throwing down 4 kings and reaching for their 6 shooters.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else come up with some outrageously (in)correct answers to the other numbers?
9 Judges on the Supreme Court, no thanks to FDR.
ReplyDeleteSorry Tinman, I did not refresh so your answers did not show until after I posted my duplication.
ReplyDeleteHang in there JzB, you sound tired. Bedre dager foran.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon, everyone!
ReplyDeleteMarti: Great puzzle as usual! Lemonade: Very WITty write-up!
There were several great clues and answers, but others have already listed them.
The luscious case for the Kindle arrived last evening! Many thanks to all. I feel very humble.
Bill G.: My eye immediately caught 1.414 = the square root of two to three decimal places.
More later, maybe.
Lemon, no it's the 13th, so I should say Jason:
ReplyDeleteBill G. puzzles are called Ditloids.
The name 'ditloid' was given by the Daily Express newspaper, originating from the clue:
1 = DitLoID ≡ 1 Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Will Shortz originated the current form of this puzzle and first published it in the May–June 1981 issue of Games Magazine, calling it the Equation Analysis Test.
(per Wiki)
Over the years I've seen/solved a ton of them.
tinbeni, when you quote Wiki, always give credit.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle and write-up! The puzzle was interesting enough I kept slogging along when I usually run out of patience.
ReplyDeleteSign of age: gray! Wrong, but a portent of all those "Y"s that seemed to help me. Strangely, I got TESTY GROUP first which led me to WITS since I had ILSA.
Got TOUCHY TYPE but, I'm ashamed to say, put in Nasty Shamer. Had NCOm. Lemon set me straight a few places and I reworked the whole thing.
Dudley, we pronounced Pitot tube correctly. For some reason the term really cracked me up when I asked my husband what he was doing. "Checking my Pitot tube." "Your what?"
If one is so inclined, anything can turn into innuendo.
- PK -
Hi All ~~
ReplyDeleteLoved your puzzle, Marti! When I started out not knowing 1A or 1D, I thought I might be in for a bad time, but ILSA, ASSN and SANTO got me started. I caught the theme with CRANKYCALLER ... great theme answers!
I stumbled in some of the same places as mentioned by others. Getting the Y for APERY finally cleared that up and perps made for easy corrections elsewhere.
~~ I heard songs playing in my head while writing in PYRE and IPANA. Yep, I do remember "Brusha-brusha-brusha..."
~~ Great write-up, Lemonade. I had completely missed that the first part of the theme answers were synonymous. DUH!
~~ Some really quick WITS on this blog as evidenced in the comments regarding SHAKERS who might become "testy." :-)
~~ Thanks to all who posted the fun clips and links today!
Enjoy the evening!
Wow! In the time that it takes me to post, others have already beaten me to answers to puzzles!
ReplyDeleteMarti: The TESTY GROUP bit really had me going! Dirty pool!
Grumpy 1: Loved your similes, metaphors and "not really's"
(We're not being very PC today, are we, Tinbeni?)
Friend Harvey and I got lost trying to find Whole Foods in order to purchase some needed low-sodium chicken broth. (We must have passed it several times but could not see a sign!) We ended up going to Gelson's. What a cool experience! Who said "money does not buy happiness?" Not true. Happiness = being able to shop at Gelson's for everything foodwise and other cool things like beautiful blooming kalanchoes!
I really enjoy old pictures. thanks Bill G.
ReplyDeleteAnymore?, anybody.
PS. Had not been out of the house in weeks! Friend Harvey managed to get me to dentist appt. and thence to pick up said broth to go with some exceedingly dry turkey that a friend brought.
ReplyDeleteHere's a neat video of a beautiful 101-year-old lady and her beautiful old Packard.
ReplyDeleteLady and Packard
Don`t think Shakers or Quakers ever practiced Glossalalia ...as a group anyway. Perhaps in private like many main line church people do today.
ReplyDeleteI believe glossolalia is how Dennis got his oval head.
ReplyDeleteGlossalallia ain`t all they practice in private!
ReplyDeleteHello everybody.
ReplyDeleteI know I've been remiss in getting any comments in this week, but it's not because I haven't worked the puzzles. In fact I managed todo all of them since Monday and I havn't had to look up anything! This week the constructors have been kind. Until today, Marti! Even when I got '-euse' I thought it must be some Latin ending until I got here and Lemon gave me the familiar 'chanteuse'! Duh! I didn't know 'Santo' either and it came out 'Sinao' because I didn't spell 'rattan' and 'elea' right. For me, that's a really grand Friday!
Also, Lemon, great work! Thanks lots and I'm so glad you're doing well.
Having just been told I have A-fib, I'm getting conscious of what's good for hearts. Not that I'm giving up much but I do take my meds. I just want to go in one fell stroke!
Bill G.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed the Great old photos.
The Lady and Packard was a hoot.
fermatprime:
I'm probably "Not PC" every day of the week.
John @ 3:10pm
What part of "(per Wiki)" in my 3:09pm comment indicated I wasn't giving credit where credit was due ...
Thanks for the afternoon delight!
ReplyDeleteThe Bucs are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the NFL, not the Pittsburgh Pirates from MLB. I don't think I've ever heard the Pirates called the Bucs.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 4:19, then why is the twitter address of the Pittsburgh Pirates Community Relations account:
ReplyDelete@BucsCommunity ????
anon@4:19, the Pirates have had the 'Bucs' nickname at least as far back as my childhood, and I'm older than fluids.
ReplyDeleteI just bought an exciting new product perfect for my solving needs: a liquid pencil!
ReplyDeleteSome of you may already have it but mine will have its debut tomorrow with Saturday's puzzle! Can't wait.
this was easier than other fridays breezed through top bit one thing that annoys me is make up your @#%&$ minds! one week its tsar the other its czar wtf. pretty fun though be safe all!!
ReplyDeleteI posted this the other day, but the blog ate my homework for a while and I doubt anyone saw it when it was later released.
ReplyDeleteI came across a new singer/songwriter on Pandora that caught my ear nicely. Gregory Alan Isakov. Give a listen and see what you think.
If you are ever in southern New Hampshire, I recommend a visit to this Shaker village. The last resident Shaker from this village died 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteStay warm, everyone. We're expected to get a hard freeze tonight.
Avg Joe-
ReplyDeleteI was going to say Isakov reminds me of Mumford & Sons, but then I saw You Tube apparently thinks so, too, with a mention of them on his sidebar.
Little Lion Man is their hit, and I can't stop listening to it.
Thanks for the link. I will definitely check him out.
Pickin, I see some similarity and am listening to some other tunes by Mumford and Sons while I type. Thanks for the feedback and the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteHelp! Is Apery (mimicry) not a noun? Mimicking not a verb? Tense not matching..
ReplyDeleteUnknown:
ReplyDeleteMimicking can be a noun as in the act of mimicking.
Hola Everyone, What a great puzzle today from our Marti. Lemonade did a great job with his witty posting of the answers, too.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of missteps--put in Crabby instead of Cranky and Aping instead of Apery. But when those were fixed with the perps and crosses I managed to finish this fun puzzle with just a couple of lookups. Well, it is Friday after all!
I especially enjoyed the clue for Abet/Help hold up. And Celeb/One of Us. That referred to all our bloggers here on the Corner, right?
Marti managed to insert a couple of her medical knowledge items with Wood being tested for artificial bone and Critical care abbr.
Grumpy, Sooo glad I wasn't drinking my morning coffee when I read your similies post!! So funny.
Grumpy, those are priceless! Thanks for sending them. I've printed them so I can share the laughs!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle. Thanks. Go Packers Sunday!!!
ReplyDeleteMarti, no hard feelings about my whine in my first comment? This was still my fave for the year and even more! You're amazing. Have a great schuss.
ReplyDeletePK 3:16 -
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so late getting back, but I was at work, doing maintenance on - what else - a Pitot tube! (About that time, Marti sent me an email warning me not to get caught in the Pitot tube, she's such a hoot!)
I recently saw an article about a glider pilot who invented special trousers just for his sport, the main feature of which was a convenient Velcro closure right where it needs to be for a (male) pilot to make use of a portable urinal in the confined space. The name of the garment: Pee-tot Pants!
True story!
After he lost his medical, I often checked my husband's "pitot tube" before "flying". Lots of fun!
ReplyDelete- PK -
Ron Santo was a gimme for me. I was born in Seattle 3 years after him and can remember when he was drafted by the Cubs. It was an eye opener for me as I remember thinking at the time that he hadn't gone to college and what would become of him if he failed in the major leagues. Actually learned at the time that baseball drafted kids out of High School while football waited until kids would have finished college. Well, Ron Santo made it, but I wonder about those kids who didn't.
ReplyDeleteFound this puzzle reasonably challenging, but not so hard as to require Googles. I'm ashamed to say that ELEA, EROSE, and ARON were also gimmes. However, like others, I did fall for APing and LutIST.
For some reason, I want to put (A. A.) MILNE for the talking animals clue. Good Friday level puzzle. Sorry for being so late.
Rube, didn't they teach you, better late than never. With time zones and travelers we get posts even days after a puzzle is published. thanks for stopping by
ReplyDeleteHey Rube!
ReplyDeleteWall Street Mike Said:
ReplyDeleteI do the Sunday NY Times Xword puzzles and Puns and Anagrams in about an average of 45 Minutes but this puzzle, kicked my butt!!
Lost on several answers and had to stay with it for 4 days to finish.
Great Teaser!