Theme: ODD COUPLES! Each of the similarly clued theme answers are a pair of famous people whose last names combine to form a sound alike fill for the clue. I will always have a soft spot for today's constructor who the created the very first LA Times puzzle when TMS syndicate made the switch. A very proper name intense puzzle, and with six theme answers, all clechos, we have an effort which was clearly a challenge to create. let's play.
17A. Actor roomies' mailbox label that sounds like racing groups? : PITT/CRUISE. Pit Crews. Brad Pitt. Tom Cruise. The two appeared together in Interview with a Vampire.
24A. Actor/flutist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a crook? : CAAN/MANN. Con man. James Caan. Herbie Mann. a great jazz MUSICIAN. (3:50).
32A. TV host/singer roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a vital sign? : HART/RAITT. Heart rate. Mary Hart recently retired co-host of Entertainment Tonight, who also was one of Regis' early co-hosts; and Bonnie Raitt, daughter of musical theater great John Raitt. Bonnie is a star in her own right, and to be PC, I chose her for all female studio apartment.
45A. Actress/comic roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an auto safety feature? : ROLLE/BARR. Roll bar. Esther Rolle, a Florida girl who found fame as JJ Walker's mom, and your favorite comedienne Roseanne Barr.
51A. Actress/cartoonist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an airport employee? : SKYE/CAPP. Sky cap. You better tip if you want your bags to travel with you. Ione Skye is the actress. Oddly paired with L'il Abner creator Al Capp.
17A. Actor roomies' mailbox label that sounds like racing groups? : PITT/CRUISE. Pit Crews. Brad Pitt. Tom Cruise. The two appeared together in Interview with a Vampire.
24A. Actor/flutist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a crook? : CAAN/MANN. Con man. James Caan. Herbie Mann. a great jazz MUSICIAN. (3:50).
32A. TV host/singer roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a vital sign? : HART/RAITT. Heart rate. Mary Hart recently retired co-host of Entertainment Tonight, who also was one of Regis' early co-hosts; and Bonnie Raitt, daughter of musical theater great John Raitt. Bonnie is a star in her own right, and to be PC, I chose her for all female studio apartment.
45A. Actress/comic roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an auto safety feature? : ROLLE/BARR. Roll bar. Esther Rolle, a Florida girl who found fame as JJ Walker's mom, and your favorite comedienne Roseanne Barr.
51A. Actress/cartoonist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an airport employee? : SKYE/CAPP. Sky cap. You better tip if you want your bags to travel with you. Ione Skye is the actress. Oddly paired with L'il Abner creator Al Capp.
63A. Screenwriter/actor roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an old announcer?: TOWNE/CRYER. Town crier. Robert Towne wrote the screenplay for such diverse wonderful movies as Chinatown and Shampoo. Jon Cryer, has made a career of being second banana on Two and a Half Men.
On to the puzzle:
Across:
1. Legendary kicker : PELE. I knew it was going to be a good day when I grokked his thought and the Downs confirmed. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is still considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.
5. Go slowly : SEEP. So much for a speed run, this took perps as the fill slowly seeped into my brain.
9. Start to strip? : DRAG. Dragstrip. Whoa boys no strip tease HERE.(0:58) This was filmed in part right here in Ft. Lauderdale at the now torn down Solid Gold.
13. Neural transmitter: AXON. Oh goody, our science learning moment.
14. Old carrier : PAN AM. Soon to be cancelled TV SERIES.
16. Count (on): RELY. You can rely on Pancho for really diverse fill.
19. Fifty-fifty : EVEN. Odds.
20. In the wrong way : ASTRAY. Marti is forever trying to lead us astray.
21. On a cargo ship, say : AT SEA.
23. Mink cousin : STOAT. perhaps you are more familiar with its name Ermine.
Across:
1. Legendary kicker : PELE. I knew it was going to be a good day when I grokked his thought and the Downs confirmed. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is still considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.
5. Go slowly : SEEP. So much for a speed run, this took perps as the fill slowly seeped into my brain.
9. Start to strip? : DRAG. Dragstrip. Whoa boys no strip tease HERE.(0:58) This was filmed in part right here in Ft. Lauderdale at the now torn down Solid Gold.
13. Neural transmitter: AXON. Oh goody, our science learning moment.
14. Old carrier : PAN AM. Soon to be cancelled TV SERIES.
16. Count (on): RELY. You can rely on Pancho for really diverse fill.
19. Fifty-fifty : EVEN. Odds.
20. In the wrong way : ASTRAY. Marti is forever trying to lead us astray.
21. On a cargo ship, say : AT SEA.
23. Mink cousin : STOAT. perhaps you are more familiar with its name Ermine.
28. Jodie Foster title role: NELL. Somewhat disturbing MOVIE.(2:22).
31. First apartment, perhaps : STUDIO. The famous 0 bedroom apartment.
37. Begins a tour : OPENS. They usually open in LA and work east.
38. Flamenco shout : OLE.
39. Cyberspace giant : YAHOO. The now also have their own radio sports network.
41. Waikiki wreath : LEI. Aloha. Not to be confused with 29D. Not clerical : LAY. How utterly ironic
42. Digestion-related commercial prefix : PEPTO. Mel Brooks' street name in this silly MOVIE.
48. Youth who flew too near the sun: ICARUS. His father was DAEDALUS, he was just dead.
50. Appointment : DATE. Hey baby, how about going on an appointment with me?
54. Frankfurt's state : HESSE. Not clued with Herman, but this GEOGRAPHY lesson. Comments KZ?
58. Winningest NFL coach : SHULA. The Dolphins' own Don Shula, now a steak house impresario. I guess after watching all those 300 pounders eat, he saw where the real money was.
59. Resentful : BITTER. Also a type of vetch.
60. Former eft : NEWT. Being non-political, no Gingrich humor here. Maybe we can talk about EFT.
65. Track : OVAL.
66. Net business : E-TAIL. I want in this business, I need a piece of etail now!
67. "Sesame Street" giggler : ELMO. Which is your favorite character?
68. Heredity unit : GENE.
69. "Now!" relative : STAT. Used in hospitals, from the Latin STATIM: Immediately.
70. Road sign silhouette : DEER. Be careful crossing over to the downs, oh dear!
Down:
1. Half a '60s quartet : PAPAS. Beautiful VOICES, (2:34)weird people. Dance Cass, dance! Right Papa Cass?
2. Get a life? : EXIST. A very Camus like clue.
3. Game you usually lose : LOTTO. But you never win if you do not play!
4. 3-Down player, e.g. : ENTRANT. Half a BILLION Dollars!
5. Nimble : SPRY. I associate with old people, even if I am one of them.
6. Seine filler : EAU. The French river is made of water; where are you Lolita? Robin, I thought you were back?
7. 30-ton computer : ENIAC. Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. An acronym.
8. Ristorante offering : PASTA. Italian lesson.
9. Invent : DREAM UP. Don't you wonder how the constructors dream up so many themes?
10. Gun : REV. Engines, not weapons.
11. Stein filler : ALE. My first thought was Alice B. Toklas, but the beer reference was simpler.
12. MD for women : GYNecolegist. The lady parts doctor.
15. Desert rises : MESAS.
18. Work the party, in a way : CATER.
22. Opposite of exo- : ENTO. Latin prefixes for outside and inside.
25. "A Passage to India" heroine : ADELA. It is Friday, and this BOOK about the tension caused when Adela Quested an Englishwoman accuses an Indian Muslim doctor, Aziz, of attempted sexual assault.
26. Montana, once : NINER. Not the state but Joe the hall of fame quarterback.
27. Respectful response : NO SIR. Yes sir!
30. Alibi provider, sometimes : LIAR. Rhymes with Lawyer.
32. Pueblo people : HOPIS. The too have their 2012 PREDICTIONS.
33. Smart guy? : ALECK. ORIGIN.
34. Make good on : REPAY.
35. However, briefly : THOugh.
36. Blabbed : TOLD. Big mouth.
40. Plug end? : OLA. Plugola. Another term the Payola given to 1950s and 60's DJs to promote acts or products.
43. Railroad crossing : TRESTLE. It is the support, can also be part of a table, etc.
44. "That hurt my feelings!" : OUCH. "If you prick me, do I not bleed?" Hey anon.
46. Code of conduct : ETHIC.
47. Visibly furious : BEET RED. Could not resist.
49. Cook on the range : SAUTE. As opposed to using the oven, not out in the fields.
52. Conspires : PLOTS. Some authors are great at plots some at creating characters, the great ones do both.
53. Poke, kitten-style : PAW AT. For all the kitty lovers this LINK.
55. Elegance : STYLE. Like C.C.'s puzzles and blogs.
56. Note next to a red F, maybe : SEE ME. A nice shout out to all of our teachers past and present.
57. Miscue : ERROR.
59. Circular road : BELT. Like at NCIS.
60. Frothy traditional beverage : NOG. EGGsactly.
61. "__ of Destruction": 1965 protest song : EVE. No wonder my generation is all a little crazy with this our ANTHEM. (3:37) Very graphic and violent.
62. Pallid : WAN. This clue pales in comparison to others.
64. Peeples of "Fame" : NIA. I leave you with this memory
Well another Friday and another month almost gone; thanks for inviting me in and see you next time. If you want information on Pancho read his INTERVIEW. Lemonade out.
PS for Dennis, there actually two Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger House restaurants in the area, the other is at 4201 N. Federal Highway, a little south of Commercial. Jack Berry the founder was a wonderful man, and a good friend who died in 2011. If I could get his burgers and 5 guys fries I would weigh a ton. Pompano is just over a two mile walk for me, and Ft. Lauderdale 3 miles.
Here is an article from our LAT constructor Mangesh Ghogre regarding his forthcoming visit to the US as a judge for the ACPT. I especially enjoyed the last paragraph, so true! Click here to see his picture with Will Shortz during the Judges' Dinner.
71 comments:
Morning, all!
Definitely a bit of a challenge today. The theme answers in particular were rough for me since I didn't know/remember some of the names and/or couldn't quite figure out what the clue meant in some cases.
The bottom section was a bit of a mess because I confidently put in LOOP instead of BELT and ASAP instead of STAT. Having ETHOS instead of ETHIC didn't help, especially since I didn't know that HESSE was a "state."
Took a loooong time to suss out the tricky cluing for NINER. The fact that it was next to the completely unknown ADELA didn't help things in that section.
Loved the clues for EXIST ("Get a life?") and LIAR ("Alibi provider, sometimes).
Question: Do people actually "enter" a LOTTO? Or do they just play it?
I figured you enter a drawing, which is what the Lotto is.
- John
Good day folks,
A pretty smooth run today after sussing out the first theme entry. The rest came without a lot of stress, but a heavy dosage of perp help. ROLLEBARR & CAANMANN were the easiest. Esther Rolle, native of Florida, was cast as Florida on the Good Times. The show was Dynomite!
Thanks to Lemonade, I now get 40D, Plug OLA. Hand up for ETHOS before ETHIC.
Learning moment .... never associated a MESA with the desert, I just thought it was a smaller version of a butte.
I had a few SEEME's in my formative years. Never very enjoyable.
Winter arriving in Ct tomorrow so it will be time (at last) for a NOG or two.
Enjoy the weekend.
Those of my era who had their draft status determined by lottery certainly felt like entrants, and who can forget this STORY.
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I initially thought this would be really tough. On the second pass, however, I got the HART RAITT, which was my Rosetta Stone. The rest fell quickly into place.
I knew I had a 19-Across chance for 1-Down, and, of course, picked the Mamas instead of the PAPAS on the first go-round.
My first apartment was a glorified STUDIO. There was a separate kitchen, and an alcove that just fit my bed.
The DEER is a silhouette on the road signs because the Deer cannot read, but need to know where they can cross the street.
QOD: A girl can wait for the right man to come along but in the meantime that still doesn't mean she can't have a wonderful time with all the wrong ones. ~ Cher
Hey, it's Friday! Good blog, Lemonade. The puzzle solve started off with muLE/mAmAS in the corner, but AXON and STOAT led to EXIST and the rest of that corner fell into place. PITT CRUISE gave me the theme. I had STAT and NINER and HESSE without a problem, but fell into the ETHos trap with almost everyone else.
The clue for 3d... BillG, is Pancho trying to keep you from wasting your money?
I thought a puzzle with that many proper names from the entertainment industry would be really tough for me, but the crosses were kind to me today.
TGIF, all.
It took quite some time for my OTTER to turn into a STOAT, but it was clear sailing after that.
Haven't seen the NEWT/EFT combo in awhile. That used to be a staple of CW's.
Hahtoolah: Cute comment, DEER.
Good morning all. Thanks for all the info, Lemonade.
I think the last time I did one of Pancho's puzzles it was quite difficult, too. But today I persevered and got most of it. Great theme although I wasn't familiar with some of the individuals. Got going with HART RAITT and CAAN MANN. Invoked red letter help for the t in ASTRAY and the a in STAT, but got everything else so I was satisfied. Guessed at HESSE but it was the only state near there with 5 letters. Also knew ICARUS and WAGGED AXON and PAN AM. PELE came eventually, too; great clue.
Have a great day.
Wow, Pancho, it took every meager skill I have but that was very satisfying. Silent E’s and double R’s accompanying clever clues were vexing until SKYECAPP appeared for the helpful theme. Great write-up Lemon, including your self-deprecating LIAR/LAWYER reference.
Musings
-BARR was a fav as struggling mom until she got uber famous and full of herself
-Not an American kicker. I remember the tiny soccer-style kickers that first appeared among the behemoths in the NFL. The old comedian line was, “Keek ball, geet check!”
-Work it, Demi!
-If Marti’s leading astray, I’m following! Unless it’s up a mountain.
-If you watch House hunters on HGTV like we do, you know what a STUDIO in SF costs!
-Perpped HESSE, all I know is BAVARIA
-Good friend lives on a river bluff 6 miles from here and has counted as many as 300 deer on a drive. He advocates, uh, harvesting them.
-LOTTO has to be the most regressive, voluntary tax there is!
-Former NINER Joe got a lot of ink this winter as Peyton Manning changed teams to end his career as Montana did
-I thought it ironic that a somewhat obscure athletic answer, NINER, sprouted up next to a somewhat obscure arsty film name, ADELA. Something for everybody.
-Fore!
Testing
Happy Friday to All! Lets make it a good one.
I loved the clue for 26D: Montana, Once: NINER - Very clever. I liked the answer PITT CRUISE too. Of course some gals probably like the men more than the clue ;)
This puzzle was creative and fun. Challenging, but doable for a Friday. I bet Pancho had a tough time putting it together. I appreciate it.
To continue yesterday's scary scar stories, I've temporarily changed my avatar to a photo of my well pierced ear. If you look closely, you will see the notch where an earring pulled out (above the 4th earing). I have a matching notch in the other ear. (I can't beat Desper-Otto and Avg Joe's scars.)
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pancho Harrison, for a very good puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a great write-up.
Well, this puzzle was doozy. I got through it, but not without a lot of deep thinking.
i congratulate Mr. Harrison for his construction job. This was unbelievable. Using all those names and turning them into common phrases, and then getting them all to mesh. Wow!
PELE and AXON came easily in the NW. Then I got the downs. 3D LOTTO is big this week, with the Mega Game. It was 540 million yesterday. I have some tickets.
6D and 11D were clever. Seine filler/EAU and Stein filler/ALE.
It was great to see NEWT and EFT again. I've seen them for the last 25 years or so. it has been a while though.
Thought Montana/NINER was a good one.
Remembered ENIAC. We have had that before and it stuck in my head.
It was raining cats and dogs this morning in NE Illinois. Thunder, lightning, and all.
Off to the Union League Club tonight for my quarterly dinner. I am not a member there. A group I am in meets there.
Abejo
Interesting ear, Mari.
Abejo
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
Fun write-up lemonade - you were in rare form today. LAY, DATE, ETAIL, heh, heh. And thanks for 'splainin' 26D "Montana, once". DUH!!! Did not know Herbie Mann, but I definitely like his music - thanks for the link.
Fun theme and well-done fill made this a Friday romp for me. I had the same misdirections as others. Like Hahtoolah, I confidently entered "Mamas" at 1D. (Bad Marti!!). Which put me onto "mule" for 1A before I finally realized it should be PELE and PAPAS. The rest was a little Hokey Pokey - put things in, take them out, put them back in and turn myself about...
TGIF!!
Lemon: Nice write-up & links. Thanks Pancho for a FUN Friday offering.
As is my usual 50/50-EVEN habit, I solved from the bottom-UP.
As such, my first theme to fall was TOWNE-CRYER which gave me the 'C' for ETHIC.
YAHOO !!! I didn't fall into the 'ethos' trap.
But for "However, briefly" I enterered 'BUT' until my auto got its ROLLE-BARR (and THO appeared).
You know you have been solving a lot of CW's when you see the clue "Mink cousin" and enter STOAT without thinking.
Then at "Half a'60's quartet" you enter "_A_AS" and wait for the 'perps' to do their job to get the 'M' or 'P'.
"Montana, once" being a NINER (off the 'E' in LEI) was a gimmie to this sportfan.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Whew! Just finished reading last night's (after 3PM) posts. You folks really stay up late!
Marti, I think that now I understand the difference between MUGS and JUGS. Thanx.
Placematfan, if you're still lurking, loved the starfish story! Welcome to the blog.
Fun puzzle! Like most, I didn't know all the proper names, but the phrases were common enough that having hit upon the theme was very helpful. Not a slog, but not a breeze either. Friday difficulty, by my standards.
That is quite the ear, Mari. I should mention that with my scars I was very fortunate. I lived in a small town, but the local GP had studied plastic surgery during his residency, so he was extremely fastidious when putting in stitches. They are visible, but just barely, and only if you are looking for them. Could have been much uglier.
It just bugs me about this puzzle:
5 letter word for "desert rises" is clearly 'DUNES.'
Mesas have just as much to do with deserts as they do with rainforests.
It gets under my skin when a clue has a clear answer, and the 'correct' answer is wrong for the clue.
Some very clever stuff; especially, Frankfurt yields HESSE (home of the Hessians) rather than Frankfort, KY, and Montana previously not a territory, but a NINER.
However, IMO that HOPI is the plural as well as singular.
Also, haven't experienced NOGs as being foamy.
Had Sable before STOAT, such a nicer word; but, STOAT is often on CWs.
Was so afraid that MD for women would be LPN that I got a mental block in that corner. Shows my age and how BITTER I can be over that era.
Speaking of that, I once was a programmer at RADC, GAFB when the computer took up a whole building and was fed with punch cards. ENIAC and Univac and their ilk ran on vacuum tubes, taking up much room and generating more heat.
This is my fourth attempt to post a comment. Abejo must have had problems too judging by your "testing" post. Anyone else?
Thanks to Lemonade, some of my mystery answers were explained. I actually got everything, but waited for perps on a lot of them after WAGs were uncertain. So many names and such success on a Friday was a miracle for me.
Since Lemon asked, I'll comment on Frankfurt-am-Main. It's the largest city in Hessen (German name), but the capital is Wiesbaden, on the Rhine where the Main enters it. Across the Rhine from Wiesbaden, its twin city is Mainz, capital of the Rhineland Palatinate.
Hessen is Wisconsin's sister state, and until I became involved in our sister school program in 1990, I was unaware of all the interesting stuff in Frankfurt. Lemon's link shows the old town, a big square enclosed by half timbered houses, and just up the street a little, is the cathedral and a Roman ruin found when excavating for the modern art gallery next to it. The skyline photo shows the banking district, located near the historic opera house (where I attended a Bob Dylan concert once).
Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany and houses the European headquarters of many international businesses. Frankfurt also has Goethe's house, museums galore, parks and gardens and great shopping. Its proximity to many other sights makes it a great stopover.
Kazie, I don't know where your attempts went but I found Tinbeni in the spam filter, FOUR TIMES.
????
Wow,
Somedays I wish I had trouble posting rather then seeing my post recorded twice. i think I've had multiple postings 3 or 4 times in the past month.
Argyle,
Oh well, I got it in eventually! That's what matters. Thanks for checking. It went to a weird site asking for a report of the error but I couldn't see any way to report it, so I just tested a couple more times, and emailed C.C. to ask if she knew what was happening. Then I came back here after a while and saw more postings had come in, so assumed the problem had been dealt with, and then it worked.
Good morning to all and happy Fri. Thanks Lemon for your insights and links. I was all over the place at first then 51A came to me and the other themes fell in. Like Tinman lei got me niner. clever cluing for cook on the range and get a life. Have a great weekend to all RJW.
I sometimes think the computer that handles the blog is named HAL.
Was a moderate Friday nothing too difficult but not so easy that I felt I was flying through it. Put CREATING in for DREAM UP was my only real mistake. I could see this being difficult for those that are not into their crossword actors which was really what this theme was all about. There was nothing in the fill other then ADELA that I didn't know so credit the cluing with keeping this from being easier then it could've been.
Morning all,
My wife once asked me if I ever cried, I said yes .. when Joe Montana retired.
As far as today's puzzle , it was my easiest Friday solve in a long time , I had an idea a while back that involved playing with proper names that I shared with Marti, so this was right up my ally I guess.
One question tho..can someone explain NOT CLERICAL
// LAY
Y'all have a good weekend.!
Hi All ~~
What a fun puzzle ... I really liked the theme! I caught on quickly with PITT CRUISE and it was pretty smooth sailing from there. Of course it always helps to get the 1A-1D corner right off the bat ... PELE helped with that.
~~ I wanted 'Laic' before LAY and had 'Pinta' before PANAM.
~~ Had to pause at 33D because I always want to spell ALECK without the K.
~~ Thanks for a great write-up, Lemonade. You cleared up a few hazy spots ... 59D - I didn't "get" BELT until your explanation. So much good info and links I have to check out later!
~~ 56D - SEE ME brought back many memories of grading papers of my fourth-graders.
~~ Favorites were 'Work the party, in a way' - CATER and 'Plug end' - OLA.
Happy Friday!
Hello Puzzlers -
Proper Friday difficulty today. Biggest stumble was having SEETHED instead of BEET RED, so that neighborhood was under construction for quite a time. THO I hate sports clues, I could at least close the deal from __ULA, without knowing who the winningest coach was.
Fellow iPad users: I have had more frequent glitches importing daily LAT puzzles into Crosswords lately. Are you having trouble? I've been in touch with their support people, but it's too soon to know what's wrong.
ARGYLE @10:27
Thanks for the email, I deleted the extra postings. (There are gremlins in my YAHOO Cyberspace, lol).
Kazie @9:54
Yeah, I was having a weird attempt at posting.
I would hit the "preview" button; review my comment; then hit "Publish" button and ... "POOOOOF"
(where'd it go!!! LOL).
Grumpy 1 @10:52
Too funny, the HAL comment.
HAL ... (if your reading my lips) that's "pirate-speak" AAAAARRRRGGG!
Well, I got most of this puzzle, but still got stuck here and there. Kept thinking that computer was 'Uniac' and so 'Go slowly' became 'SEUP.' Ridiculous and wrong, I knew, but I guess I assumed that 'go'implied an agent. 'Moved slowly' would have fitted 'seep' better, I think, but I suppose the whole point on Friday is to mislead a bit. I also had 'Bend' instead of BELT, so that messed up that little corner. But, hey, I got ADELA since "Passage to India" is a favorite novel of mine. Also I loved the odd couple roommates and so found this a very enjoyable puzzle, Pancho. And always enjoy your write-ups, Lemonade.
Hope we'll hear that Irish Miss is feeling better today. Glad to see the cheerful post from Fermatprime yesterday. One does begin to care about one's fellow bloggers after a while.
Have a great Friday everybody. Am going grocery shopping with my back brace on for all those heavy bottles and things on the bottom shelf. Wish me luck!
I think the double entendre comment about 66 across 'e-tail' was vulgar and uncalled for. "I need a piece of e-tail?" That's immature and nasty. For shame. The solver should be reprimanded for pandering to the LCD. It was teen age humor.
Speaking of checking in, how are you doing creature?
Lemonade, I'm doing just fahn - just pro - creating .
just following a lil e-tail along.
Stick around unknown... it will get better (depending on your point of view), Double entendre is mild. We usually go for triple around here.
"Kazie, I don't know where your attempts went but I found Tinbeni in the spam filter, FOUR TIMES."
Seems appropriate.
Anon 9:46
Fridays are exercises in being more creative in fill than Monday puzzles. The definition of
me·sa
[mey-suh]
noun
a land formation, less extensive than a plateau, having steep walls and a relatively flat top and common in arid and semiarid parts (deserts) of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
I have not heard any other comment about this being a bad fill, especially with the M in Pan Am making it easy.
Puzles are to be fun and to learn more about words, not to second guess a clue which each of us dos not get or dislikes
Anonymous @ 9:46. If you don't think mesas are in a desert, just where do you think they are? In about an hour, I am driving from Carefree to Prescott which goes through the high desert. I will be going by, around, and on top of mesas on the way.
Some good clues today, but I am not fond of puzzles that include so many celebrity names.
Strangely enough, a HOPI'S IHOPS all have a sous chief and a Sioux chef. They also take reservations.
Jerome @ 12:59, good one!!
Happy Friday! This one took me a while but I finished with no red letters.
I know the lottery is a bad risk but I can afford a few tickets and enjoy the hoping. BTW, I think that if you bought every number combination possible today, you would be guaranteed to win and you would win millions more than you spent.
I'm off to the market but I'll not be buying a fat pig.
Howdy, folks and thank you ever so much, Lemonade; you herald the start of the wicked weekend with your witty STYLE.
Yowza! I finished a Pancho Harrison puzzle with no help! My HARTRAITT increased dramatically.
I jumped around quite a bit before finally finishing the SW and seeing SKYECAPP realized how the theme would play out. Clever!
Was stuck quite a while at 9D as I wanted CREATE_ but once I sussed MANN, DREAM UP completed that areas and started thinking not of the state of Montana but someone named Joe.
THO I went ASTRAY a few times did manage to finish without ERROR. Yay! Now I'll read all your comments.
Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!
Good puzzle today and good write-up Lemon.
Spent some time over thinking mail-box labels. I was trying to add other stuff to the names.
Always was a fan of The Mamas & The Papas because of their smooth sound and easy lyrics. California Dreaming probably sent more young men west then Horace Greeley.
Enjoy the weekend all!
anonymous@9:46
Perhaps you need to get out more. MESA was my first fill because living in the Sonoran desert I am surrounded by MESAS. Dunes make me think of the Sahara desert.
Hahtoolah:
Loved your DEER comment.
Grumpy 1:
And HAL, too. Good one.
Jerome:
Always funny!
Hello everybody, and happy Friday. I greatly enjoyed this puzzle, both for the challenge of solving it and for the creativity of its construction. Very inspiring.
Mostly WEES. Like Tinbeni I filled in _A_AS and waited to see if it would be the mamas or the papas. I had trouble with MESAS because I couldn't get PANAM right away; because of the word "desert" in the clue I kept trying things like OASES and even MOSES.
Filled in SABLE before having to change it to STOAT. Like Hahtoolah, HARTRAITT served as my Rosetta stone.
Filled in ASTRAY and then later questioned it because I (re)read it as ash tray.
Excellent puzzle.
Best wishes to you all.
Zcarguy@11:08 -- If somebody's already answered your question, I must have skipped over it.
In this case "Non-clerical" means non-clergy. The congregation are the laity, or laymen, or LAY people.
Jerome - TGIF - Here is some Norwegian beer drinking music. Øl, Øl og mere Øl
Don Knotts was an expert at making that DEER in the headlights look.
I think Jon CRYER needs to get the heck out of Two and a Half Men and land a new role for himself.
DW used to work in an organization called SEEP. I forget what the letters stood for, but its mascot was a really adorable cartoon mole. She still wears the t-shirt around the house sometimes, and when she does we look at each other, point at the picture of the mole, intone "seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!" at each other, and laugh.
Zcarguy @ 11:08 AM, LAY is "not clerical" in the sense of a layman not being an ordained minister, in the sense of there being the laity and the clergy.
Sorry, Avg Joe. I guess we both must have been typing our postings at almost the same time.
I mean desper-otto. Sheesh :)
Jerome, work in a Sue chef and you hit the trifecta! Good to know you are watching. Mark, no Friday pearls from you?
Spitz- That music will drive you to drink!
Great write-up, Lemonade!
Wow, took me 45 minutes plugging away today. Thank goodness for good crossings.
A friend of mine was teaching middle-school special ed a few years ago and had a county inspector reviewing her class.
They'd been working on a Hawaiian volcano project, and she asked the class if anyone could tell her who Pele was, thinking it was a "gimme" question. Jose at the back of the class puts up his hand eagerly and when called on solemnly stated "Miss Jill, Pele was the greatest soccer player who ever lived".
If you want another Pancho puzzle with a similar theme, check out the Wall Street Journal. it's a bit more difficult, i think.
Jerome, did you hear the groans from across the country after your post? LOL
Good afternoon Lemon, C.C. et al,
Superb Friday puzzle..I got the theme early on, but had trouble filling many of those odd pairings. Great perps got me through.
Loved "smart guy?" clue;took awhile to get Niners. Sure do miss that "old" team.
Lemon, nice write up, as usual. Had never read that story before.
Jerome, I had to read that one twice:-)...funny
Love all the humor today.
Greetings!
Fun puzzle. Nice not to have to cheat on a Friday! Thanks Pancho, Lemonade!
Have to go out now and direct the great garage stuff removal.
More later, maybe...
Desper-Otto , Jayce
Thank you both for the explanation .
At first, this puzzle scared the heck out of me with all of the proper names. If it hadn't been for the perps, it would have been a DNF. However, I finished in style, with no errors, which is unusual for a Friday! It was definitely challenging.
Lemonade: I had a couple of questions. First, I was trying to find TSM Syndicate, to see what that is. Cannot decode the letters. Also, 59D, do not know what NCIS is. Worst of all, cannot figure out your comment about Bonnie Raitt and the all-female studio apartment. Forgive me if I am a little slow on the uptake (at least that's what my Mother tells me) but I enjoy learning.
Enjoyed all of the music today also!
Thanks and hope everybody has a great weekend. I still have to do my income taxes. (:
LA CW Addict: I can't be sure of Lemon's intention re Bonnie Raitt, but here's something to listen to while contemplating the issue, as well as thinking about who might be an ideal co-lessee of the space in that first apartment if you were a young male and had your choice of roommates.
Well, anybody other than Emmylou, that is.
Angel From Montgomery. Enjoy
huh?
Wow! Jeopardy! today was for crossword lovers, even featured Fermat.
Every now and then, I start exploring YouTube. One clip leads to some more and some more, and then I find some unexpected treasure. I came across this gem from Prairie Home Companion.
BillG and anyone else, if you ever have the opportunity to see Leo Kottke in person solo, do not pass it up! There's not another human alive that can create so much music with 2 hands and one instrument. They jokingly say he has 10 fingers on each hand. When you hear him live, that actually seems plausible.
While not the best example of his voluminous sound, here's my favorite tune by Leo, Louise
Avg Joe, I really enjoyed hearing Louise again. I haven't heard it for years and I'd forgotten how much I liked it.
Avg Joe: Thanks for Louise -- of course, part of that "voluminous sound" is the fact that he is playing a 12-string guitar!
Angel from Montgomery didn't do much for me, but it probably would have if I were a guy.
Kind thoughts, and have a nice weekend.
LACWA, In concert and in the studio, Leo plays the 6 string nearly as much as the 12. It makes less difference than you'd think. When you hear his recordings, it sounds like most artist's recorded music: He plays well and the sound is full and rich. Much like if he has a lot of help in the studio, as anyone else typically would.
It's not until you see him live and solo that you realize that there's no accompaniment....and the sound is the same! He's a one man orchestra. You have to witness it firsthand.
As for the Bonnie matter: Yes. That could make a great deal of difference. :-)
Okay, we're totally committed Jeopardy fans and so watched tonight's program with Lucina 7:03's announcement in mind. Sure enough, an answer was 'Fermat.' So now I'm curious as to what "Fermat-prime" refers? Fermatprime? Any answers?
Misty, it's hard to know where to start. A lot depends on how much math you remember. You could start by Googling Fermat prime numbers and Fermat's Last Theorem.
Addict, if I typed TSM, it was my left=handed dyslexia, it is TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES which supplied the puzzles.
I was trying to pair the roommates so they were actual roommates like in school, boys with boys, girls with girls; with James or Scott Caan it did nit matter, but John and Bonnie Raitt it did.
That's all folks
This is for C.C. A favorite by one of the world's great guitarists, Chet Atkins playing Lara's Theme.
Thanks, Bill G. 11:58. I can't make much of the mathematics, or of his "last theorem," but the story of Pierre de Fermat's life in the seventeenth century certainly is fascinating! Thanks for pushing me in the right direction.
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