Theme: Holy rusted metal, Batman! Each of the theme entries is a crossing of two words that could be "holy", as shown in the Answer grid.
10A. *Jazz devotees : CATS. Holy cats!
10A. *Jazz devotees : CATS. Holy cats!
crosses:
13D. *Seance contact : SPIRIT. Holy spirit
15A. *Plant need : WATER. Holy water, used for sprinkling on the bedeviled Linda Blair in "The Exorcist"
crosses:
8D. *"Catch my drift?" : SEE. Holy See, from the latin word sedes, meaning "seat".
24A. *Restaurant kitchen workload : ORDERS. Holy orders.
24A. *Restaurant kitchen workload : ORDERS. Holy orders.
crosses:
1D. *Severe fear : TERROR. We all know what a holy terror is...especially when stuck seated next to one on a plane!
54A. *Vinaigrette ingredient : OIL. Holy oil.
crosses:
47D. *Lake Erie city : TOLEDO. Holy Toledo!
60A. *Touch down : LAND. Holy land.
crosses:
44D. *Clan : FAMILY. Holy family.
61A. *Fire sign : SMOKE. Holy smoke!
61A. *Fire sign : SMOKE. Holy smoke!
crosses:
58D. *Bully : COW. Holy cow! Catchphrase of the former Yankees shortstop and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto.
And the unifier:
And the unifier:
35. Massachusetts school...and a description of the two-word meeting that occurs at the intersections of pairs of starred answers : HOLY CROSS, located in Worcester (pronounced "wis-tah"!!)
A whopping 66 theme blocks, and a rare collaboration between Don G and his wife Barbie.
Let's see what else they have to offer us!
A whopping 66 theme blocks, and a rare collaboration between Don G and his wife Barbie.
Let's see what else they have to offer us!
Across:
1. USAF NCO : TSGT. Technical Sergeant, E-6 non-commissioned officer.
5. Crème de la crème : A LIST
14. "Tulip chair" designer Saarinen : EERO
16. Crowning : ATOP
5. Crème de la crème : A LIST
14. "Tulip chair" designer Saarinen : EERO
16. Crowning : ATOP
17. Some HDTVs : RCAS
18. Hopelessly lost : AT SEA
19. Pasta/rice brand word : RONI. Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat.
20. Basic computer command : RUN, dammit, run!!!
21. "Check, mate" : AYE. Cute clue.
22. Common Cape Cod feature : DORMER. The houses, not the peninsula.
26. Get one's teeth into : CHEW.
28. Bush spokesman Fleischer : ARI
29. Invoice word : REMIT
30. Encourages : PRODS
31. "___ a problem" : NOT
32. Palm tree starch : SAGO
33. Organize, in a way : SORT
34. Incidentally, in IMs : BTW. By the way...(in Instant Messaging) way..
38. Summer setting in in Chi-town : CDT. Central Daylight Time.
40. Off-the-wall response? : ECHO. Great clue.
41. 61-Across curl : WISP. Not sure I liked seeing a non-theme entry cross-referencing a theme entry.
44. Rival : FOE
45. Catchall checkbox : OTHER
46. One point from a service break : AD OUT. Tennis.
48. Football's Parseghian : ARA
49. Thing to cook up : PLOT
50. "Just like that!" : PRESTO
51. To a greater extent : MORE SO
53. Expert in pop psychology? : MOM. Another funny clue.
55. ___ ideal world : IN AN
56. First name in bologna : OSCAR. My bologna also has a second name: M-A-Y-E-R.
59. One-named illustrator : ERTÉ. His real name is Romain de Tirtoff. Self-styled as "er-té", which is the french pronunciation of his initials.
62. Stepped heavily : TROD
63. What some losers have to resist : YENS. Dieters can't just give in to any yen they might have.
64. Cary of "The Princess Bride" : ELWES
65. "___-mite!": "Good Times" catchword : DYNO
Down:
2. Bolts down : SECURES
3. Fictional wolf's disguise : GRANDMA
4. Talking-___: tongue lashings : TOs
5. Somewhat far : AWAYS. "It's quite aways from here..." (Is that regional usage?)
6. Past curfew : LATE
7. Part of TGIF : IT'S. Thank goodness it's Friday! Oh wait, it's only Thursday...
9. Acquired by, in the big leagues : TRADED TO
10. "The Alienist" writer : CARR. Never read it. Hahtool, would I like it?
11. Cartoon hero with antennae : ATOM ANT. Hey, Ant!
12. Twelve-note scale, e.g. : TONE ROW. Even after reading this article, I still don't know what it is...
21. Lovable droid : ARTOO. Mr. Detoo.
23. Clumsy hammerers' cries : OWs
25. Square dance complement : EIGHT. Yellowrocks knows this, for sure!
26. Hobby with hooks : CROCHET
27. 30-Down genre : HORROR
and
30. Classic film involving a split personality : PSYCHO. No way am I going to link that shower scene...
30. Classic film involving a split personality : PSYCHO. No way am I going to link that shower scene...
34. A sleeper hit may be on it : B SIDE. Does an mp3 download still have a "B-side"?
36. Went wild : LET LOOSE. Um, I think I'll let someone else link the spring break pics...
37. Bee complex : SWARM. I get a complex whenever I see a swarm of bees let loose.
38. Circles around the sun : CORONAE. Plural of Corona. Best seen during an eclipse.
39. Landers lead-in : DEAR ANN
42. "My sympathies" : SO SORRY... (Dear Ann's reply)
43. Exhortation from a gift giver : PUT IT ON. Didn't you just hate getting those scratchy sweaters from grandma?
45. Chances for photos : OPS
50. Small openings : PORES
52. Fades to black : ENDS...we're getting there!
53. Create : MAKE
57. Tee size letters : SML
59. Flight board abbr.: ETD. Estimated time of departure.
(...fade to black)
Hugs,
Marti
Don's Note:
My wife, Barbie, and I came up with this puzzle idea on a walk. I think someone said "Holy cow" or something, and it clicked in Barbie's mind. I came up with HOLY CROSS, and a puzzle was born. There was lots of material to choose from. I wonder who started the practice of saying, "Holy ?"
Notes from C.C.:
1) Here is a sweet picture of Don and his wife Barbie.
2) Happy Birthday to CrazyCat!
Notes from C.C.:
1) Here is a sweet picture of Don and his wife Barbie.
2) Happy Birthday to CrazyCat!
MOLY
ReplyDeleteA
N
Fun to do today.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteShort on time today. I didn't have time to keep track of all the starred clues while solving, so the them remained a mystery despite the fact that I got HOLY CROSS easily after a few perps.
Looking back, though, I can say that HOLY CATS is definitely not an expression I have ever heard before...
Well Barbara and Don did not double cross us, but created another interesting effort. I do not recall any puzzle where all of the theme answers were so short and there so many longer fill.
ReplyDeleteGrew up nearby Worcester, and Holy Cross was a basketball rival of my alma mater, UConn; they did produce Bob Cousy, one of the all time greats.
Fun clues like 40A. Off-the-wall response?: ECHO and 53A. Expert in pop psychology?: MOM made the solve a pleasure, and Marti always add some Tabasco to the omelet.
Next.
Good Morning, HeartRx and friends. What a fun puzzle. I liked all the Massachusetts references and near, references.
ReplyDeleteMy sister lives on Cape Cod, so I was tricked into thinking I was looking for a landmark on there. Oh, a feature on the houses!
I loved Off-the-Wall-Response. Fresh clue for our old friend the ECHO.
I initially thought of Try It On instead of PUT IT ON for what a gift giver might say.
I read The Alienist by Caleb CARR when it first came out and really enjoyed it. I haven't read the sequel, though.
Happy Birthday, CrazyCat!
QOD: The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it. ~ Woodrow Wilson
Or
ReplyDelete..C
MOLEY
..W
Is there a way to enter a significant blank in a comment?
There's a Holy Cow Road not far from me. A fun puzzle and a step up from the easy start of the week. Another vote for Off-the-wall-response ECHO.
Good morning C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteHappy happy b-day CrazyCat! Make it fun.
As always, Don gave me a challenge to write up today. I sat staring at the theme reveal for quite a long time, and am ashamed to admit how long it took me to realize the "holy" connection to the theme entries! Fun stuff.
Hahtool - thanks, I knew you could make a recommendation on "The Alienist"!!
Mike, Blogger likes to keep things tight. So you came up with the best solution - add periods or asterisks where you want a space. Otherwise your suggestion would look like this (i inserted spaces with the space bar)
H
O
T
W
C I T Y
C
K
Loved seeing my alma mater Holy Cross in the center theme space of a great puzzle. Thanks Don and Barbara! And, Lemonade don't forget Tommy Heinsohn as well as Bob Cousy. Sure you know the Miss Worcester Diner!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, all. And in the spirit of 7D, Sure Happy It's Thursday!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the puzzle, though I got off to a bad start in the NW with LCDS above CUT instead of RCAS above RUN. Those were the last to be straightened out.
Like Barry, I've never heard the Holy Cats! expression. And I never got the holy connection until I read Marti's writeup.
I see by the Barnacle that Dr. Fill (a computer program) will be competing in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament which begins in mid-March. Part of its training was to memorize every clue/answer combo from every major newspaper crossword published since 1990. Should be interesting.
HBD Crazy-Cat.
Fun and challenging puzzle! Lot's of amusing cluing (my favorites were ECHO and MOM). Really had to stare at Cape Cod to make the switch from geographical to architectural. And I agree that "Holy Cats!" is not on my radar, yet it sounds reasonable. In the end it all filled and was an enjoyable solve.
ReplyDeleteCan't miss the chance to link a jazzy tune with Fade to Black.
And for Ann's twin sister, here's Dear Abby.
Happy Birthday CCL!
Thanks a lot, Marti! That Batman link started me down a long path in YouTube, clicking on all the heavy metal theme song covers. Now I'm behind in my morning rituals!
ReplyDeleteD-O, I also had cuTLOOSE at first, and was all ready to post a link to the dance scene in Footloose, but LETLOOSE isn't in the lyrics. Ah, who cares? Footloose (4:26).
I tend to say "AWAYS away."
And I, too, have never heard HOLY cats, but does anyone here say HOLY cannoli?
Good day folks,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. Had a fun day with the family.
Well DonG and his lovely wife gave me fits today and I ended up with an "almost got it right." 10A, 10D & 12D were my screw-ups. Had FANS for 10A and not knowing 10 & 12D, thought it looked okay. I should have gotten CATS though.
I'm betting Jazzb didn't have to think long for 47D .
Psycho one of the all time film classics . Still get uptight every time Janet gets in the shower along with other emotions. She was a knockout.
Loved the MOM clue. It's certainly been true in our household.
Marti, thanks for another stellar effort.
Happy birthday CrazyCat. Have fun.
Good morning! Happy birthday, Crasy Cat. Thanks for the great write up, Marti.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very enjoyable puzzle. That 'off the wall response' took three perps and a solid smack from the V8 can before I finally figured it out. MOM was cute but didn't fool me.
I got the theme reveal and checked the intersecting words. Yes, I've heard all of them used as a follower of HOLY. One that I doubt we'll ever see in a crossword was the phrase a childhood friend always used: Holy Crimenetly!
AWAYS isn't too uncommon, at least in areas where I've lived. I always thought it was two words, though.
ATOM ANT and TONE ROW were total unknowns to me. I'm glad all of the crosses were solid.
Great collaboration, Don and Barbara. Keep up the good work.
Fun ride today. Thanks, Don and Barbie.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the theme at all, but as Marti pointed out, it is really impressive. A little easier for me than Thursdays are normally, but no complaints here. Being totally unfamiliar with the East Coast I had lots of WAGs but got it done. In fact that probably helped with DORMER since it came to mind before any local landmark could have.
HBTY Crazy Cat!
Ant,
Thanks for Footloose link. That is always so infectious--makes me want to get on my feet, but today it's too early in the morning just yet.
Happy Thursday!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one and only got hung up in SE where I also had TRY IT ON.
As with others, I liked ECHO and MOM. We drink so much pop in my house that the" Expert in Pop Psychology" clue threw me for a bit.
IN AN Ideal World I'd sit around and do CWs all day. And there'd be no Talking TOS.
I enjoyed seeing TERROR, HORROR and PSYCHO. Especially with a HOLY theme.
Happy Birthday Crazy Cat!
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying all of the birthday cake I get to eat here at the CW Blog. My favorite - not a single calorie!
Good morning everyone. Nice commentary, Marti. Great pic of Don and Barbara. Nice to know who the 'adversaries' are:-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I got SPIRIT early, the rest of the NE was a Natick for me. Finally went to Mr. G for CARR and RONI. The rest of the puzzle was easy enough and with finally sussing HOLY CROSS, the theme came home. A really fun puzzle, overall. Liked the clue for MOM. At 16a, for a while, I thought crowning might be connected with this; then said nah! Kudos to Barbara and Don for a good workout.
Happy Birthday, Crazy Cat.
Have a great day.
HeartRx: Great write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteLike you, the TONE-ROW article was TMI. I'll forget about it by noon.
Don & Barbara G. FUN Thursday!
My hang-up was at 9-D, AcquireD by, in B-Ball.
I had TRADE-FOR. Took a while to come off that.
TRADED-TO is what the "sending team" is doing (not the "acquiring team").
ECHO & MOM my faves.
Happy Birthday, CrazyCatLady.
Cheers!
There is also a cool visual element on the sides- the crosses made with the cheater squares. Nice subtle touch.
ReplyDeleteCongrats D & B, and thanks for amusing writeup, Marti.
Can CC construct a puzzle without DonG?
ReplyDelete'fraid not.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThe first half of this puzzle really was almost a speed run for me! And on a Thursday no less!! Thought for a minute I should buy a lottery ticket but I hit the wall in the middle of this. Didn't know HOLY CROSS, put LIST in for SORTS, didn't understand IM'S (what does that mean?). I got BTW, but just not the IM part. I know, I'm not 'with it'. :)
Loved 40A - very clever! Also loved 53A!!
Marti, loved your write up as always, you always entertain me.
Happy Birthday CrazyCat, hope you get all you want!!
I left the 9:33 anon post so that those of us who know better could have a good laugh, but please refrain from responding to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Don and Barb, for a great Thursday puzzle. That's two days in a row for great puzzles. Thank you, HeartRx, for the equally great review.
ReplyDeleteThis was not easy, but it is Thursday.
I bounced around. Got all the circled answers before got HOLY CROSS. Theme the theme came to me.
My problem with the center of the puzzle was that I had A LIE for 49A. I could not get any vertical answers in the center. Finally I got PSYCHO and changed A LIE to PLOT. Everything fell together.
In the SE I had TRY IT ON for a while along side IM SORRY. Fixed those to PUT IT ON and SO SORRY.
The rest of the puzzle was clean, without inky write-overs.
DORMER stumped me for a while, because I was thinking of the Cape Cod surf and turf instead of the house. Finally a light bulb came on.
Fun morning. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Carol @ 9:44, "IM" stands for "Instant Messaging". I will add that to my post.
ReplyDeleteFitting, with today's "Batman" theme.
ReplyDeleteHoly comes from the Old English word hal, which means whole... oddly enough.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon to all and happy thur. Loved the puzzle Don and Barbara,and a great write-up Marti.Got it done w/o any help.5A had elite first, then adam ant but fixed it the rest fell right in. Got a call from prosthetist this a.m. I go next wed.to get it. I am very excited and this will be a great birth month for me,maybe my wife and kids will stop calling me skippy. Have a great day to all RJW.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Crazy Cat Lady hope you have a great day. People that make derogatory comments shouldn't be scared to identify themselves sorry Dennis just sayin RJW
ReplyDeleteRon W: I really appreciate your wit and positive attitude. But if your friends and family don't call you Skippy, how will you know when they are talking to you! Good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the ones I got, but DNF. Never caught on to the theme, even though I studied it and the circles for quite a time. But didn't know the school in MA, so the circles made no sense to me. That might have helped.
Hand up for try it on.
Happy birthday CrazyCat. Hope it's a nice one for you.
Good news, Ron. Wishing you the best on what must be an exciting procedure. Will there be therapy to learn to use it? Or does it just come naturally?
Cheers
Good day, Marti and thank you Don and Barbara for your joint effort to give us some fun.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Marti's juicy writing the entertainment was rich.
I loved the ECHO and MOM clues!
Happiest of birthdays, Crazy Cat!
Off to the dentist now.
Enjoy this Thursday, everyone!
PS Yellowrocks: It's great news that you did so well. And that for the first six hours you had good help.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations.
Do you get therapy now? When DH had both knees replaced, he had therapy both times: in house and in hospital.It has worked amazingly well.
Happy Birthday Crazy Cat, HH, and Marti. Also happy blog anniversary, Dennis. Thanks to you and CC for the best blog I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteMARTI I loved your whimsical Puzzle yesterday and your fun exposition today. Congratulations Don and Barbara for a cool puzzle today.
My mother always said Holy Cats, long before they came up with OMG.
We said Criminy, but not with holy. (BTW It's in the dictionary.)
Thanks for the shout out, Marti. I do know you need 8 in a square to square dance, but I have learned that I cannot step to and be the eighth for the entire night.
He was traded to the Yankees last year. He was acquired by the Yankees last year. 9A works in the passive voice.
RW congratulations on getting your prosthesis just in time for your birthday. Good luck with it.
Well, I gave it my best shot, but DNF for me today. Like Hondo and some others, the SE corner did me in, even though I got SPIRIT and DORMER. Never heard "Holy Cats," didn't know "Atom Ant," but should have gotten "Roni."
ReplyDeleteBut a terrific puzzle, Don and Barbie, with all that holiness all over the grid. Loved the sacred and profane crossings of "holy" words in many places. And, Marti, couldn't have figured them all out without your write-up! So thanks to you too.
Happy birthday, Crazy Cat (or is that Holy Cats, Crazy Cat!).
Too bad we had another Snark attack. Otherwise, a great beginning to a sunny day.
I, too, have never heard of Holy CATS. Sorry that holy moley was missing. Somewhat questioned the lack of symmetry of the "holy" crosses, but what the hey.
ReplyDeleteHappy BD, Crazy Cat. Is this a good time to ask why you have given up being a lady? You don't have to answer that, particularly since you tried this once before.
Clever puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAtom Ant is obscure, but fair enough. Holy Cats seems unfair, having never heard it myself and seeing several others haven't either.
Why is "artoo" an accepted (crossword) spelling of R2D2? I could see "artwo" but "artoo" just seems wrong. The Force isn't with me on that one.
DNF for me, too many possible alternate answers (try it on etc...)
ReplyDelete49A thing to cook up, i would have put "idea" if it wasn't a big empty space there. I started with red letter, and ended up trying all 26 possible combinations all over the place. The last 3 spaces i had to use the dreaded "solve letter" button. Now i'm WAS, (what Ant said) "way behind in my routine."
Why are the hardest puzzles on house cleaning days?
Happy B-Day CrazyCat
Feel Better Yellowrocks
That sure is a good photo of Don and Barbara. Happy birthday CCat!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the puzzle but found it pretty hard. Without Marti's insight, I would never have sussed out the theme. HOLY MOLY. (Do you know there's a Hungry Mother state park in Virginia?) Good one! I wonder what happened to good old Captain Marvel?
Being a Grandma to a boy, I have frequently seen Artoo spelled out, never Artwo.
ReplyDeleteLink Artoo
When I have never seen something, such as 64A, ELWES which I arrived at through perps, I figure I learned something, rather than calling it unfair.
Ear Worm which I can't get out of my head, "My Bolgna Has a First Name",
Holy Baloney, Batman, Mara found the batcave.
ReplyDeleteIn the New York area I've heard AWAYS used. I don't recall seeing it written, but maybe it's two words, A WAYS, as in:
We have come A long WAY. It's A long WAYS from here.
Shortened to. It's quite A WAYS from here.
Hello everybody, and happy birthday wishes to you, CrazyCat.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the puzzle today. Hands up for especially liking the clues for ECHO and MOM. I also chuckled at "Check, mate" and OWS.
Also had TRY IT ON and IM SORRY at first.
My sister used to sing a made-up song, "Holy smoke, the preacher shouted, as the church burned to the ground..."
I can never remember Mr. Parseghian's first name. Last time it was in a puzzle I promised myself I would remember it, but I didn't.
Best wishes to you all.
Didn't have time to comment on Don and Barbara's wonderful photo. You both look so happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I looked at the finished grid with the highlighted HOLY meetings and saw the light. So clever D&B.
Ron, what a great birthday present for you! I can't imagine life on only one leg. And you're always so positive.
You, too, yellowrocks, good luck with that knee.
HOLY CATS is unfamiliar to me as well.
HeartRx, thanks much for the explanation of IM....as you can tell, I've never done that. E-mail and a tiny bit of 'chat' on an iPad while playing 'scrabbgle' is as hi tech as I get :)
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, so glad your surgery went so well!! Sweet your son could be of help, I'm sure he felt great about that.
Ron W, that is good news for you and your family. Hope you can adjust right away. You'll have to find a new nickname :)
Crimeny! We used to say "crimeny" too! Now I like to say "Holy wow."
ReplyDeleteJohn Lampkin, I thought those black areas at the left and right ends of HOLY CROSS look like wheels. LOL.
I still have fond memories of that puzzle C.C. constructed for Dennis, the one with SEMPER FI in it.
Thought of you, Yellowrocks, when I saw 25D. I kept trying to think of "compliment" meaning "praise" until EIG__ lit up the ol' light bulb.
What Bill G. said: "That sure is a good photo of Don and Barbara." Hear hear! And thanks for posting it.
thanks for highlighting the finished grid.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great puzzle from Don and the other lady in his life! Thanks Don and Barbie!
ReplyDeleteI am subbing today and had to do the puzzle online with no time to blog. That format on the LA Times site remains awful and was compounded by the lack of circles. Holy Cow what a mess!
Does anyone get the Bully/Cow reference in 58D?
ReplyDeleteI read The Alieist (enjoyed it) and The Italian Secretary which was an authorized Sherlock Holmes mystery, which was okay. He is more a military historian than fiction author but he writes well.
ReplyDeleteMPpuzzler,
ReplyDelete"He felt cowed by the bullying the others gave him" would be an example of its use.
Ron Worden,
You are a brave soul. I hope you adjust quickly. What a great way to celebrate a birthday!
Yellowrocks,
I was also amazed when I broke my ankle and had surgery in 2005 that I felt absolutely nothing, despite everyone's reaction, saying it must have been terribly painful. Some of us are lucky. I hope your good fortune continues.
Interesting puzzle. Didn't get the holy connection until I went to the highlighted grid. I kept trying to make the letters in the circles spell something. Great write-up as usual, Marti.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture of Don & Barb. Is she also Chinese?
Yellowrocks, I cringe every time you mention your knees. Are you on crutches? I don't think you are supposed to do stairs for awhile without them. I speak from experience of injuries that didn't heal well because I kept trying to do things I could but shouldn't do. Give it time! It's amazing how many things don't really have to be done. Breathe deeply and let them go.
Good luck, Ron, with your prosthestic.
HBD, CrazyCat.
@MP Puzzler 2:26pm I took "bully" to be a verb, meaning to 'intimidate.' This makes it very similiar to 'to cow' or frighten or threaten someone.
ReplyDeleteWhen a cow is "in Heat", she is said to be "bully" by some breeders. I was surprised to see that reference here.
ReplyDeleteI used to say "holy cats!" all the time, but now that I have two of them, I know better. They are really "holy terrors".
ReplyDeleteRon W, great news! Same for you YR..I hope you are back in the "swing" of things soon! (Sorry about the ear worm ;-)
Ed, I had forgotten the Holy Cross connection of the incomparable Tommy Heinsohn who is the only man who has been with the Celtics for all 17 championships, still working as their color commentator. Other who went there include the really catholic group, Timothy Leary, Clarence Thomas and Philip Berrigan
ReplyDeleteI also seemed to have forgotten to say HBDTY and many more to our latests CC, Crazy Cat.
MPP, yes.
Yes, healing magicks to YR and Ron as well as any who need them.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone. Thanks for all the kind birthday wishes! So far the day has been great.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle Don and Barbie and thanks for your, always educational, write-up Marti.
I started out badly by putting in Phobia for TERROR and Red Hood for GRANDMA (how dumb is that?!). Switched to the bottom half and worked up to top. Took a few minutes to get the theme, but when I did, I loved it.
I'm very familiar with HOLY CATS. My favorite is HOLY Moley and, like Ant, HOLY Cannoli. DH's favorite is HOLY S**T!
What Mari said about TERROR, HORROR and PSYCHO juxtaposed with HOLY.
Rube - the reason I dropped the "Lady" is that I was getting emails from "authentic" Crazy Cat Ladies. You can still call me CCL though!
Yellowrocks - Glad your surgery went well and that you are in recovery mode.
ReplyDeleteRon W - Good for you!
CrossEyedDave - Love your HOLY kitten.
This is pic of me with Maggie, one of the Kerry Blues I shared my childhood with. I was sure hoping the Kerry was going to win the other night. Sadly it was the Peke that stole the show.
Have a super day everyone.
CrazyCat:
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also liked the Kelly Blue Terrier at the Westminister.
I've shown the picture of the winning peke (from the newspaper) to a bunch of people the last two days.
Their reactions: Mostly laughs. Your DH's favorite, HOLY S**T! And words I will not type here.
Cheers!
(Have to admit, I miss your avatar of the little cat up in the tree).
Tinbini: when I saw the photo of the winning "dog"' I thought the paper had erroneously printed a rodent.
ReplyDeleteMarti, i could not resist your 38D offer, here is a very funny spring break moment.
ReplyDeleteAnt,, (i was hoping people would forget that)
CrossEyedDave, that has to be one of the funniest "spring break" videos I've ever seen!
ReplyDelete(See what a few beers will do to your vision??)
Hola Everyone, First, Happy Birthday to Crazy Cat, and many, many more.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to admit that I had all the puzzle totally finished and was looking for something significant with the word Cross and not Holy. DUH! The second cross was See and Sea, so unfortunately for me that was the ONLY cross that made any sense.
Thanks Marti for a great writeup and for clearing up my big question mark about the theme answers.
I think everything has been said so I won't repeat the comments, other than the fact that I did have the same problems as others today.
Mari, My husband is trying to get me to work all day on CW's. He gave me a Crossword puzzle daily calendar (on my desk, now), and two books of puzzles for my Christmas Present. It's his fault if I spend an inordinant amount of time with the crosswords every day. One good thing, though, I'm learning a LOT!
"Holy cats!" is one of my favorite expressions. I'm surprised to see so many of you haven't heard it.
ReplyDeleteCarey Elwes was ever-so-dreamy as the Dread Pirate Roberts in one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride.
Time to fire up the DVD player at the Hall of Justice.
Yellowrocks, Mind the Doctor, and let others wait on you for a change. Heal fast!
ReplyDeleteCrossEyedDave, I'm sure glad I had swallowed my coffee before I watched the Spring Break video--so funny!
I,too, enjoyed the picture of Barbara and Don G. Thanks for posting it for us.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun puzzle, but I could make nothing of the theme. Never heard of HOLY CATS!
Brilliant and over my head.
Quick in and out today. Had to go to (not so holy) TOLEDO, and have a rehearsal tonight. Just enough time for soup and sandwich in between.
Cheers!
JzB
PK (2:43) LOL - puts new meaning into "bully for you".
ReplyDeleteCEDave: funny video...be careful out there.
PK 2:43 and CED at 3:40. What fun! ROTFL. CED the reveal was totally unexpected!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your well wishes. I will take to heart your warnings to "take a tizzy" ala Desi, Lucy's husband. "Take it easy." Pk, you were totaly correct. My dancing all night to make another square of 8 was ill advised. Ever after I was only comfortable when I was resting. Every activity hurt
.
Now I am really resting. Although I feel fine, I realize that it is only becasue I am doing almost nothing. When I do the stairs I keep my bad leg stiff and put 2 feet on each step. I spent most of the day "playing" on the computer. I did tackle revising a long delayed review of a lease agreement. Legalese. AARGH. Lemonade, you would have known a better way. But now it's off my conscience.
Tonight I will lie on the safa and watch TV/or read.
Thank you all for the fun and interesting blog which keeps my spirits up.
CrossEyedDave- Eeewwww!!! (spring break video).
ReplyDeleteTinbeni- you had me LMAO!
Kerry Blue is the dog. "Kelly Blue" is where you find out how much your car is worth! What the heck, it's all Irish to me.
Cheers!
CCL
Hello friends, Marti, a belated birthday greeting to you. I haven't managed to get the blogs read for the past week. Don't know what's been happening to the time! Also, Dennis, congratulations for being such a support to us all and particularly to C.C. for the past 4 y ears.....well, only two for me since I joined about this time of the year in 2010. And what a joy it's been!
ReplyDeleteI've finisihed the past three puzzles, but will get to the posts this evening, I hope. Today's and yesterday's went really well for me, but Tuesday I really had to slog away and then I still needed help from Mr. G. I kept thinking they had put a Thrs. or Fri, one in on the wrong day! Oh, well, ya can't win 'em all! Maybe I'll be back in the groove next week.
CrossEyedDave:
ReplyDeleteFunny video of spring break! Thanks for posting it.
Holy Cats whats wrong with you guys?? My sweet little old aunties used to say that all the time. Disappointed I didn't see Holy Buckets!! A splendid puzzle; only got turned around a little on "dormer". Fun clues; great yuks. A half hour well spent.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, Carey Elwes was more than a fair entry. Princess Bride is one of the all time great movies. Not knowing Carey is well,,,,,,,, INCONCEIVABLE!! (No more rhyming, I mean it.....)
ReplyDeleteIs this how the cat became holy?
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who says "Holy cats!" at the slightest provocation. Interestingly, he is originally from Massachusetts -- home of Holy Cross, Cape Cod, etc. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteJeopardy tonight reminded me of this blog. There was a question about Eloise of the Plaza Hotel NYC, which many did not recognize several months ago.
ReplyDeleteLink Eloise
Final Jeopardy was an embarrassing V8 moment for me. Did you get it?
DON and DAWN were categoized as homonyms. Not in my circles. I have been intrigued by this blog's adamant views on pronunciation, spelling, and grammar. I tend to be more heterodox.
I see most issues from both sides. I suppose you have gathered that if you say A, I say, on the other hand B has a point. You say B, I say on the other hand A has a point. Because of this dichotomy I have spent weeks researching both sides of this discussion. Legimate linguists hold opposite views. Does this interest any of you?
YR, I don't watch Jeopardy with any regularity, but I did catch the last few minutes tonight. The final category was tough, but also provided enough context to make a reasonable wag. I could not believe the answers given by the 2nd and 3rd contestants! (I didn't recognize the first answer). While I didn't have much confidence in my own guess, I did get it right.
ReplyDeleteSorry for any giveaways for those of you on the left coast that haven't yet seen the show. I'll stop now.
YR and Avg Joe - I agree with YR on the dawn don homophone thing. Think Alex blew it there. The final J question had so many helping hints that I felt it was overly easy and was flabbergasted when none of the 3 contestants got it right. All 4 hints were synonyms of brute or brutish, so the answer had to be Brutus, since the category was 'assassins'.
ReplyDeleteGood evening HeartRx, C.C. et al,
ReplyDeleteThis was a doozy for me, a DNF, but I loved all of it, especially your witty write up, Marti. No need to spend words on what I did not know...LOL...but it seems that I could not flip my side B to B side.
Never heard of Holy Cross, but I was taught by that order for 9 years and was continually frightened. The Dominicans in HS were inspirational. Holy mackerel, did I just say that?
Barbara and Dave, thanks for the fun.Great looking grid. Lovely picture.
Ron, Skippy says a lot about your personality and being able to turn lemons into lemonade with humor.
Yellowrocks, good to hear you are doing well. Keep the pea packs coming.
HB Crazy Cat, so glad you joined our Corner.
C.E.Dave, funny video!!
Holy Cats!
ReplyDeleteWorked it from SE to NW today. Little unusual but interesting workout. Thanks for the fun puzzle, I was all over the place but finally came together
ReplyDelete