Theme: Let's Dance! The letters CHA are added to the first word of three in-the- language two word phrases creating a new and amusing saying. A classic Friday with much nice fill, and a very doable grid from our regular South African contributor. I usually have trouble with GB's work, but this was smooth, though hardly easy.
18A. Keep a movie dog from wandering?: CHAIN TOTO. My ex-wife had a Cairn Terrier named Toto who needed to be chained after she went crazy, but that is another tale, which I will avoid in toto.
26A. Female padre? : CHAPLAIN JANE. How many plain janes turn into princesses, or is that just in the movies? My favorite these days is....
18A. Keep a movie dog from wandering?: CHAIN TOTO. My ex-wife had a Cairn Terrier named Toto who needed to be chained after she went crazy, but that is another tale, which I will avoid in toto.
26A. Female padre? : CHAPLAIN JANE. How many plain janes turn into princesses, or is that just in the movies? My favorite these days is....
42A. Ancient mounted police?: CHARIOT SQUAD. A nice clue for my Roman studying oldest son.
and the reveal:
55A. Dance that reflects the pun-creating elements found in 18-, 26- and 42-Across: CHA CHA CHA.LINK for all who like DWTS or legs. One cha for each theme answer, cute.
Okay on to the show:
Across:
1. Fast food sides: SLAWS. I do not eat much fast food but like KFC's coleslaw.
6. Turkey: BOMB. Not the food but the failed entertainment, like Disney's John Carter of Mars.
10. Put away without restraint, with "on": OD'ED. Not in the death sense....
14. Unspoken: TACIT. From the Latin, Tacitus- silent.
15. '30s boxing champ: BAER. Heavyweight boxing champ for a year, father of Jr. who played Jethro on the Beverly Hillbillies and loser to James J. Braddock, story behind the movie Cinderella Man.
16. Tea traditionally made with cardamom: CHAI. Very yummy.
17. Slate, for one: EZINE. This online MAGAZINE. Does anyone of us read this?
20. Forced (in): WEDGED. Any bad high school memories guys?
22. Voted out: UNSEATED. No comment.
23. Emit: SPEW. Not to be confused with 1D. Boil slowly: STEW.
25. Angus, e.g.: BOVINE. Of cattle, like PORCINE of pigs.
31. Tropical reef denizen: MORAY. Eels.
32. Some claims: LIENS. Our law word of the day.
33. Brother's title: FRA. I like a nice FRA DIAVOLO sauce, Brother Devil.
36. Dhofar Rebellion country: OMAN. Also home to 28D. Dhow sailor: ARAB. This LINK.
37. Ski run: PISTE. My son went snow boarding on a Blue his first day; off course he fell often, but still...Anyway this French term literally means trail, and if you ski without a track if it called off piste, not to be confused with falling often which make you piste off.
38. Pen used at sea: BRIG. So what do we think of Jamie Lee Curtis as a love interest for Gibbs?
39. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. Better to think of snob than the current slang.
40. Roller coaster cries: WHEES. Which can lead an old man to wheeze.
41. Let up: ABATE. An A word I like.
44. Where to see a chin rest: VIOLIN. My baby Devin started out playing the violin.
47. Cavils: NITS. A shout out to our own Marti. Cavil is a favorite word of legal brief writers, who use it to emphasize their position without cavil.
48. Poem that ends "I am the captain of my soul": INVICTUS. This little POEM has influenced many not to give up, including this star 24D. Slicker: WILIER. CLIP. (1:41) He won!
51. Freewheels: COASTS. With no hills, we do not do this much in Florida.
57. Mauritius money: RUPEE. This tiny island in the Indian Ocean is perhaps best known as being the only home to the now extinct DODO bird, a nice shout out for one of our own.
58. Friends and acquaintances KITH. You have your Kith and your Kin.
59. Croat, e.g.: SLAV. Always sounds too much like SLOB.
60. More distant: ICIER. Do we all know an ICE QUEEN?
and the reveal:
55A. Dance that reflects the pun-creating elements found in 18-, 26- and 42-Across: CHA CHA CHA.LINK for all who like DWTS or legs. One cha for each theme answer, cute.
Okay on to the show:
Across:
1. Fast food sides: SLAWS. I do not eat much fast food but like KFC's coleslaw.
6. Turkey: BOMB. Not the food but the failed entertainment, like Disney's John Carter of Mars.
10. Put away without restraint, with "on": OD'ED. Not in the death sense....
14. Unspoken: TACIT. From the Latin, Tacitus- silent.
15. '30s boxing champ: BAER. Heavyweight boxing champ for a year, father of Jr. who played Jethro on the Beverly Hillbillies and loser to James J. Braddock, story behind the movie Cinderella Man.
16. Tea traditionally made with cardamom: CHAI. Very yummy.
17. Slate, for one: EZINE. This online MAGAZINE. Does anyone of us read this?
20. Forced (in): WEDGED. Any bad high school memories guys?
22. Voted out: UNSEATED. No comment.
23. Emit: SPEW. Not to be confused with 1D. Boil slowly: STEW.
25. Angus, e.g.: BOVINE. Of cattle, like PORCINE of pigs.
31. Tropical reef denizen: MORAY. Eels.
32. Some claims: LIENS. Our law word of the day.
33. Brother's title: FRA. I like a nice FRA DIAVOLO sauce, Brother Devil.
36. Dhofar Rebellion country: OMAN. Also home to 28D. Dhow sailor: ARAB. This LINK.
37. Ski run: PISTE. My son went snow boarding on a Blue his first day; off course he fell often, but still...Anyway this French term literally means trail, and if you ski without a track if it called off piste, not to be confused with falling often which make you piste off.
38. Pen used at sea: BRIG. So what do we think of Jamie Lee Curtis as a love interest for Gibbs?
39. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. Better to think of snob than the current slang.
40. Roller coaster cries: WHEES. Which can lead an old man to wheeze.
41. Let up: ABATE. An A word I like.
44. Where to see a chin rest: VIOLIN. My baby Devin started out playing the violin.
47. Cavils: NITS. A shout out to our own Marti. Cavil is a favorite word of legal brief writers, who use it to emphasize their position without cavil.
48. Poem that ends "I am the captain of my soul": INVICTUS. This little POEM has influenced many not to give up, including this star 24D. Slicker: WILIER. CLIP. (1:41) He won!
51. Freewheels: COASTS. With no hills, we do not do this much in Florida.
57. Mauritius money: RUPEE. This tiny island in the Indian Ocean is perhaps best known as being the only home to the now extinct DODO bird, a nice shout out for one of our own.
58. Friends and acquaintances KITH. You have your Kith and your Kin.
59. Croat, e.g.: SLAV. Always sounds too much like SLOB.
60. More distant: ICIER. Do we all know an ICE QUEEN?
61. Barrie henchman: SMEE. JM author of Peter Pan.
62. Big __: nickname for LPGA great JoAnne Carner: MAMA. Is she a relative Jerome?
63. Coverage giant: AETNA. Brings me back to my days in Connecticut and tine to start...
Down:
2. Kick back: LAZE.
3. Ill-natured ACID. More acid tongued to me.
4. Rhea stat: WING SPAN. Another huge flightless bird.
62. Big __: nickname for LPGA great JoAnne Carner: MAMA. Is she a relative Jerome?
63. Coverage giant: AETNA. Brings me back to my days in Connecticut and tine to start...
Down:
2. Kick back: LAZE.
3. Ill-natured ACID. More acid tongued to me.
4. Rhea stat: WING SPAN. Another huge flightless bird.
5. How gas prices sometimes rise: STEEPLY. 3.95 here for 87.
6. Airer of the sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!": BBC.
7. Honolulu's home: OAHU. Aloha Hawaiin corner people.
8. Stingy: MEAN. Will always be Silas Marner to me, more than Scrooge.
9. Eastern Australian seaport: BRISBANE. A shout out for Kazie.
10. Musical range: OCTAVE. Minnie Ripperton had a 6.5 octave range.
11. Indian loincloth DHOTI. Not really a loin cloth in my mind but THIS.
12. Not left over: EATEN.
13. Part of LED: DIODE. Light-Emitting Diode.
19. '90s-'00s Dodges: NEONS. From the days when we tried to conserve fuel.
21. Traffic-controlling gp.: DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration, not cars.
26. Shout of encouragement: C'MON.
27. __ erectus: HOMO. All ready Lois, Carol, this is a story from history where you can tell us the true MOREL!
29. Second-generation Japanese American: NISEI. From the Japanese word NI meaning two. Does any other nation have such words?
30. Futuristic sitcom family name: JETSON. George and his boy Elroy...
33. Blücher's title in "Young Frankenstein": FRAU. From Terri Garr to CLORIS LEACHMAN.
34. Singer Coolidge: RITA. You like her version of this SONG?
35. Like balsamic vinegar: AGED. Like fine wines, and Lemonade?
37. Flight of fancy: PHANTASM. A really scary movie.
38. Cookout condiment : BBQ SAUCE. and, 52D. Cookout accessory: SPIT. The kind that rotates, silly.
40. Question of identity: WHICH. What? Why?
41. Columbia River city: ASTORIA. A shout to our Oregon group. LINK.
42. Old saw: CLICHE. We try not too.
43. First X, say: TIC. Oh, TAC
44. NyQuil maker: VICKS. From Vapo Rub an empire was built.
45. "I didn't know he had it __" : IN HIM.
46. Like aspen leaves: OVATE. Just like it sounds, egg shaped.
49. Troy Aikman's alma mater: UCLA. He started at Oklahoma, had his leg broken by Miami,coached by Jimmie Johnson; his heart broken by Barry Switzer and transferred, only to finish his career in Dallas first with Johnson and winning his third Super Bowl under Switzer.
50. Fake: SHAM. Could not resist this LINK.
.53. Typical "Hunger Games" trilogy reader: TEEN. Twilight going into the dark now?
54. Blood components: SERA.
56D. Burt's "The Killers" co-star: AVA. Another boxing reference, and the debut FILM for Burt Lancaster.(3:34).
Answer grid.
Okay, first a special thanks to John Lampkin and Annette for a fabulous night, and a thumbs up to Marti for doing her blog while on vacation! Time for this Lemonade to squeeze his way to bed.
Notes from C.C.:
1) A belated "Happy Birthday" to PK! If anyone wants his/her birthday celebrated on the blog, please email me at crosswordc@gmail.com
2) Here is a beautiful picture of our glamorous Marti, who is currently vacationing in Florida. She said "Tough day at the beach!!!" Guess what's in that cup?
6. Airer of the sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!": BBC.
7. Honolulu's home: OAHU. Aloha Hawaiin corner people.
8. Stingy: MEAN. Will always be Silas Marner to me, more than Scrooge.
9. Eastern Australian seaport: BRISBANE. A shout out for Kazie.
10. Musical range: OCTAVE. Minnie Ripperton had a 6.5 octave range.
11. Indian loincloth DHOTI. Not really a loin cloth in my mind but THIS.
12. Not left over: EATEN.
13. Part of LED: DIODE. Light-Emitting Diode.
19. '90s-'00s Dodges: NEONS. From the days when we tried to conserve fuel.
21. Traffic-controlling gp.: DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration, not cars.
26. Shout of encouragement: C'MON.
27. __ erectus: HOMO. All ready Lois, Carol, this is a story from history where you can tell us the true MOREL!
29. Second-generation Japanese American: NISEI. From the Japanese word NI meaning two. Does any other nation have such words?
30. Futuristic sitcom family name: JETSON. George and his boy Elroy...
33. Blücher's title in "Young Frankenstein": FRAU. From Terri Garr to CLORIS LEACHMAN.
34. Singer Coolidge: RITA. You like her version of this SONG?
35. Like balsamic vinegar: AGED. Like fine wines, and Lemonade?
37. Flight of fancy: PHANTASM. A really scary movie.
38. Cookout condiment : BBQ SAUCE. and, 52D. Cookout accessory: SPIT. The kind that rotates, silly.
40. Question of identity: WHICH. What? Why?
41. Columbia River city: ASTORIA. A shout to our Oregon group. LINK.
42. Old saw: CLICHE. We try not too.
43. First X, say: TIC. Oh, TAC
44. NyQuil maker: VICKS. From Vapo Rub an empire was built.
45. "I didn't know he had it __" : IN HIM.
46. Like aspen leaves: OVATE. Just like it sounds, egg shaped.
49. Troy Aikman's alma mater: UCLA. He started at Oklahoma, had his leg broken by Miami,coached by Jimmie Johnson; his heart broken by Barry Switzer and transferred, only to finish his career in Dallas first with Johnson and winning his third Super Bowl under Switzer.
50. Fake: SHAM. Could not resist this LINK.
.53. Typical "Hunger Games" trilogy reader: TEEN. Twilight going into the dark now?
54. Blood components: SERA.
56D. Burt's "The Killers" co-star: AVA. Another boxing reference, and the debut FILM for Burt Lancaster.(3:34).
Answer grid.
Okay, first a special thanks to John Lampkin and Annette for a fabulous night, and a thumbs up to Marti for doing her blog while on vacation! Time for this Lemonade to squeeze his way to bed.
Notes from C.C.:
1) A belated "Happy Birthday" to PK! If anyone wants his/her birthday celebrated on the blog, please email me at crosswordc@gmail.com
2) Here is a beautiful picture of our glamorous Marti, who is currently vacationing in Florida. She said "Tough day at the beach!!!" Guess what's in that cup?
93 comments:
Morning, all!
A fun Friday puzzle. I struggled for a bit, especially in the SW, until I finally paid attention to the theme answers and got the theme. That let me quickly replace THE RIOT SQUAD with CHARIOT SQUAD which took care of most of my problems down there.
Did not know DHOTI or PISTE at all, and couldn't get ASTORIA, OMAN, MAMA or UCLA from their clues. Fortunately, the perps came to the rescue in each case.
I absolutely love INVICTUS and used to have a framed copy of it on the wall above my desk. It got misplaced during our last move and I miss it. I occasionally quote the last line when people ask me how I'm doing. Sadly, I usually get a blank stare in response...
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Wow! A toughie for me until I reached the Unifier. Once I was on the CHA CHA CHA, I could go back and fill in the theme clues and the rest more or less fell into place.
I did learn, however that fast food sides are NOT Fries, but instead the more healthier SLAWS!
QOD: Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. ~ Franklin Pierce Adams (who died on this date in 1960).
CC - What happened to 27 down?
Happy Friday, all.
Fairly tough romp this morning. I got the theme at CHAPLAIN JANE, and that helped a lot. I WAGged the "I" in the TIC/NITS cross. I didn't understand TIC, even with Lemon's TAC, until about 5 minutes later. TOE! (D'Oh!)
I liked "Rhea stat" and "Pen used at sea". Cute.
47 Across. Cavils = Nits ???
I can't make this connection with any dictionary or Mr. Google?
Roy B@7:28 -- cav·il [kav-uhl]
verb (used without object)
1.
to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at or about ): He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
In other words, to nitpick.
@Roy - from nit-picking, meaning complaining about little things.
What can I say - gave up after I couldn't suss the first 9 across and downs. I got 'Dhoti' tho'. The Youtube video was fascinating ...
- entirely in Hindi ?? apparently for a restricted audience.
- notice the man wears 'other' underwear, a Dhoti is an outer garment. Styles vary enormously through the regions.
- the modeller wears a sacred thread, diagonally from his left shoulder - apparently a Brahmin ( upper caste, twice-born, heaven born - whatever that means - ).
- M.G.Gandhi wore a less modest (more revealing, at the legs - ) but more austere, smaller Dhoti.
ALT QOD:- I go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. The waiter starts by pouring you water and warns you not to drink it. ~ Brad Garrett.
Lemonade, now I will read the rest of your commentary, with much anticipated pleasure.
Sfingi, sorry I didn't get back to you. That pastel you asked about was by WolfMom. She used to be a regular here. Email me if you want to learn more.
"Don't Cry Out Loud" by Shirley Bassey has a great V-8 moment at 0:55 where she is talking about declining to record the song when they first offered it to her. (4:12)
Also, I like puns and those themes aren't puns in my book.
I am a neebie to crosswords and I thought this one was practically impossible. PISTE is the French word for a ski run. The clue would have been better if they indicated some French. I am not sure any English speaker knows what PISTE is.
The SLAWS answer was ridiculous. Most fast food consists of a burger, fries and a soda.
The clue "Turkey" for BOMB is another one that just doesn't make any sense.
Alex, welcome.
While I agree with you that 'piste' is a bit obscure (hell, I was 'pisted' when it revealed itself), 'slaw' is perfectly acceptable as a fast-food side. The clue didn't say 'most fast-food sides'. And I've always interchangeably used 'turkey', 'bomb' and 'dud' -- they're all basically the same to me.
@Argyle - does this artist have a birth name? Does she use other subjects? Not that I ever got rich enough to buy a Thiebaud. But, a cat can look at a queen. Thanx.
Alex,
I agree with Dennis, but truth be told, if you are a newbie, it will be easier to work your way up from the easiest (Monday), to later in the week. I'm no newbie, but this one really beat my head into the wall before I conquered it.
That said, I have to congratulate Lemon on a great blog, most enjoyable!
I fought/struggled my way through most of this, too many total unknowns to enumerate, and although perps helped, WAGS were my salvation. I did see the CHA thing early, but agree with whoever said these weren't really puns.
I did end up missing one letter: I had YAMA/PHANTASY, not knowing any sport names, and thinking it was a weird spelling for FANTASY.
Hand up for FRIES, GO ON/CMON, EASED/ABATE, WINGLESS/SPAN, and not knowing how to spell NISEI for quite a while.
In for another hot one here after rain overnight. Have a great Friday all of you!
Argh! DNF.
Some great clues, but I ran out of time and couldn't finish. Plus my grid looks like an ink factory exploded on it.
Some great clues and answers today. I liked CHAPLAIN JANE, but I tried CHAIN ASTA.
Didn't know Joanne Carner, OMAN, RITA Coolidge, FRAU Blucher, NISEI. I kept thinking farer for 60A. Farer? That can't be a word - Aha! ICIER!
I know when I've been defeated. Good job Gareth and Lemonade. And yes, Marti, I am extremely jealous of you in your photo!
PS,Never really knew why the movie INVICTUS had that name. Thanks for the poetry link, now I understand!
And I wanted TEN for First X. I was thinking Roman Numerals.
Alex, If you think Friday's are tough, just wait until you try a Saturday puzzle. I've got a 90% DNF rate with Saturdays.
Roy B, for a first hand experience with cavils all you have to do is work for my boss one day ;)
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I started doing this crossword everyday in August of last year. In the beginning, it was a tremendous struggle but it became easier when I found this blog in November. I find I can almost do all of Monday and Tuesday puzzles. Wednesday is getting better, Thursday is 50%, Friday is 20% and Saturday is less than 10%.
Today, I got the courage to post. I have enjoyed reading your comments for some time now.
Newbie, out! (sorta like Seacrest, eh?)
Sfingi, here you go.
www.kawolf.com
http://facebook.com/kathleen.wolf
Interesting links, Lemonade. Gareth, I enjoyed this one, challenging, but not too daunting.
I started with 6A and 6D, working my way counter clockwise around the grid with relative ease. The NE corner gave me pause until I changed FRIES to SLAWS and until I realized the traffic was drug traffic DEA.
PISTE is now an English word taken from the French, like many other words, such as bureau. PISTE is a common word for serious skiers, the way Grand Slam is a common word for baseball fans. Somehow I knew it from reading, although I am not a skier.
Link PISTE map
You don’t always need tongued with ACID. The snarky ANON directs ACID remarks at Lemon.
OOPS. I actually went clockwise, heading east and then south. The NW is what gave me pause.
I had the DH so I chose DHOTI. I pictured a DHOTI as what Gandhi wore. I was surprised at the elegant draping in the link. I am probably wrong, but the DHOTI doesn't fit my definition of a loincloth.
I considered this one a humbling experience. Got it done, but it took some serious leaps of faith. Did not know Dhoti or Piste. After a mental alphabet run on both, could see no other options, but was none too sure.
The theme was sorta clever. The Rhea Stat clue was a classic!
Good morning all.
I think this was a great Friday level puzzle. Multiple possibilities (Fries, Slaws, Chips) misdirections (Tic, Ten and DOT, DEA) obscurities and the usual Friday 'add something to create a new phrase'. Well done, Gareth.
I wouldn't have remembered DHOTI and PISTE without perp help, but they did come to mind with two or three crosses. I finally remembered hoe to spell NISEI.
No CAVILS to pick at all.
Alex:
Welcome to the Corner; it was interesting to read your travel adventures.
Before you attack any clue as "ridiculous," bear in mind the constructor does not get final say. In this case Gareth's orignal clue was 'KFC side', which apprently Rich thought was too easy for a Friday. Lots of places do have cole slaw, so the clue did not slow me down once I saw 1 down had to start with an "S." Generally on Fridays and Saturdays
I look at the down before I write in the acrosses.
Argyle, thank you for linking WM's sites. her work is awesome.
Hahtoolah, thanks for explaining your new avatar. I had only seen the postage stamp size version of it, and I thought it looked like some sort of alien in a Darth Vader helmet with his mouth wide open. Quite a departure from a cat in a pillow!
Good morning all:
Nice job, Gareth, and good expo, Lemonade.
Found the puzzle tough but finished w/o help and no write- overs but it took a long time. Never heard of piste and for some reason thought dhow was Asian. Perps helped a lot as did figuring out the theme early on.
Welcome, Alex.
Happy Friday!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gareth, for one tough puzzle! But, it is a Friday. Thank you, Lemonade, for the great write-up.
I really wanted FRIES for 1A, but held off because 1D meant nothing to me starting with an F. I finally got LAZE for 2D, TACIT for 14A, WEDGED for 20A, then STEW appeared, and SLAWS became obvious for 1A. Got CHAPLAIN JANE and then CHA CHA CHA became obvious. The other themes appeared.
My toughest spot was the SW.Did not know INVICTUS, but eventually got it with perps and wags. After Blogging on, I read the poem from the link. It is a very good one. i believe I will print it.
PISTE was a total unknown. I agree with others' comments, that a hint to french would have been logical.
ASTORIA was easy. I am a fan of John Jacob Astor. Quite a pioneer and businessman.
SLAV came after some thought. My brother-in-law is Croatian (Croatian-American), so I can relate his origins.
This puzzle almost seemed like a Saturday level. but, it was fun.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Closer to what Friday's had been in the past with a stiffer test on the theme. I didn't pick up on it until I got to the bottom of the puzzle. Perhaps a strategy to make the puzzle go by faster is to start from the bottom. Most of the fill was pretty easy. Predictably having PISTE in the middle of the grid caused the most problems, I wanted AISLE over there. DHOTI and the RITA reference were unknowns for me.
Gareth is a South African so I'm sure Invictus was a personal favorite for him to get in the grid with the Manela connection.
I can't remember why this occurred to me as being worth mentioning originally, but after Abejo's mention of his BIL, it came back to me:
In Oz, there used to be a program to encourage immigration where people were given "assisted passage" and only paid about $20 to travel from Europe. On arrival they were referred to as "New Australians", which I think sounds a lot better than "aliens" which is the equivalent here. I'm not sure new arrivals are called that any more, and the immigration program is no longer continuing either as far as I know.
Abejo and others:
As can be seen by YR's links, US ski resorts have used "piste" to describe the various ski trails with no indication it is a French word. Like many foreign words, it has become part of the "English" language in America. Maybe our resident skier, Marti will weigh in if she can get out of the Gulf, or our recently returned prodigal daughter Robin has some first class piste thoughts.
Hello Puzzlers -
Definitely tougher today. Didn't know DHOTI, had to rely on perps for that one. Couldn't remember INVICTUS until I had a few letters. The movie was terrific.
I tried to avoid PISTE for the longest time, because last I remember, it was clued as being the area for fencing/épée. Yes? No?
Oh, I did have to look up UCLA, being a sports clue. I guess I have to say Technical DNF.
Hello Alex, your avatar photo looks familiar. Didn't you post something last fall?
Good morning everyone. Thanks for the informative write-up, Lemonade.
Belated Birthday greetings to PK.
I bombed out on the BOMB answer, today. Had 'cobb'. Bobbled between fries and SLAWS, but TACIT looked good to drive the down answers. Also had a little trouble in the SW; the CHA CHA, before the very clever VIOLIN loomed. VICKS then became a possibility, and the WAGs INVICTUS and KITH finished it. I always find Gareth's offerings challenging but worthwhile to spend the time on.
Have a great day.
Hi all,
Interesting hard puzzle! I plucked at it for awhile and then read the blog.
I also had fries first and thought, this may be do-able like yesterday. No such luck.
New words-piste,dhoti,ezine. I did get Invictus, I hadn't read that poem for a long time. Thanks Lemonade for a great write-up.
Also had DOT instead of DEA first. I wasn't sure how to spell Nisei.
As for Aspen leaves, I wanted quake or shake but it wasn't the right sequence so ended up with getting it from the perps.
Tomorrow we leave for home so I probably won't see you until Monday(if I have any energy after 2 days 0f traveling).
Marge
Lemonade and Abejo on 3/22: Sorry, I didn’t get back to the Corner last night.
Yes! I read Devil in the White City. I am a self professed Chicago History nerd, so I was extremely interested in the Columbian Exposition and HH Holmes before The Devil came out. A post office sits at the site Holmes' old "torture castle", and it's supposed to be haunted.
This is a good non-fiction book on HH Holmes.
I just picked up Deadly Valentines, whose title refers to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
I’m excited to get started on my weekend holed up with a good history book!
Garlic Girl:
I just went back and read the later blogs from yesterday. Thank you for your comments. I will look up that book when I get home.
Lemomade, I Liked your picture of Simon Baker who plays Patrick Jane on the Mentalist, one of my favorites.
Marge again!
I'm sure Gareth wasn't real happy with NISEI crossing PISTE, but they are surrounded by some very nice fill- WHEES, PHANTASM, and JETSON.
Seriously Jerome, are you related to Joanne Gunderson Carner, one of the LPGA's all time greats?
Crashed in NW with of all things STEW and SPEW. So a DNF.
Good puzzle, fault was mine, just dense.
JOANNE GUNDERSON CARNER
Pretty much WEES. I had NagS for NITS, and I wondered about ASgORIA. Otherwise,finally chipped away and got it done. Thanks for the Frau Blucher link- "Young Frankenstein" is one of my fave movies! Cloris Leachman is one of the most underrated actors ever.
Hi Everyone ~~
I really enjoyed this puzzle ... I always like the challenge that Gareth Bain presents. I thought I had caught the theme after CHAPLAINJANE, and then confirmed it with CHAINTOTO. Clever! And I do enjoy watching the CHACHACHA on Dancing with the Stars. Thanks for your informative write-up, Lemonade ... great comments and links.
Most everything went smoothly, but I did have some of the same hang-ups mentioned by others, esp. the crossing of PISTE and PHANTASM. 'Slate' puzzled me ... I had no idea it was an EZINE. Perps came to the rescue in a number of places!
I loved the misdirection of many of the clues: 60A More distant - ICIER, 63A Coverage giant- AETNA, 2D Kick back - LAZE and 10A Put away without restraint - ODED.
What a great photo, Marti .. you look so relaxed. Love your hair!
Have a great Friday!
Greetings puzzlers. Thanks, lemonade, for your usual zesty commentary.
My first pass on Gareth's offering was so sparse I thought it might be impossible. Flirting with FRIES, I settled for SLAWS with LAZE and ACID. FOWL seemed too easy for turkey and it was, then I recalled BRISBANE from teaching geography and BBC emerged.
So it went. Had SCALES then OCTAVE which yielded BOVINE but DHOTI was last as I was unsure of it; a pure WAG.
NISEI popped up so I guess that's WEDGED into my brain now. And once I realized the theme, I inserted CHA in all the theme answers and tada! Fini!
Still I can't claim victory because I had OILIER and SPEW simply didn't come to me.
A great challenge, Gareth. Loved it.
Great clues for VIOLIN and BRIG!
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!
Speaking of Marti - is that a Mojito she has there?
Marti, that's a lovely photo and you do look like you're having fun.
This was hard for me. Fair but hard. I too liked Rhea stat. No cavils.
My wife and I agree; the best fast food cole slaw around here comes from El Pollo Loco.
Saw that it was Gareth Bain and knew I better be on 'my game.'
As such, I never fell into the "Fries/SLAWS" debate.
It's Friday, "fries" would be tooooo easy.
Had PBS as my "Allo'Allo!" airer since that is the station I've watched it on. Then BAMM! with the V-8 can, as I sussed out the BBC from the turkey BOMB.
UCLA, Big MAMA, and SLAV were gimmies in the South.
Didn't think the ladies I met in Zagreb were 'slobs'.
But Lemon likes to make his 'jokes' even when they aren't funny (or are, at times, racially insensitive and offensive).
All-in-All, a FUN (but tough) Friday.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Had FANDD for Fast Food Sides, then quit
Yep, this was a Gareth Bain toughie, for sure. I actually got the whole east side, up and down, but struggled with the west. But I have to admit that the whole thing was pretty clever. Who would have thought E-ZINE for SLATE, for example? Am reading Melville's 'Moby Dick' right now, but got AHAB only with acrosses. Never heard of MOHAY or PISTE (tried 'chute' on that one, but then realized luges and sleds go down chutes, but not skiers, for heaven's sake). Still, a fun if tough Friday, and am already bracing for tomorrow.
Thanks for the write-up, Lemonade, and welcome, Alex.
My back went out after picking up our dachshund the day before, because his back had gone out. Circular aches and pains all around.
Lemonade== thank you for the priceless link for "Sham " ON 50 D-- MADE MY DAY.....
I agree with what @Grumpy1 said and with Argyle that these are not puns in my book. Fell into the fries/ten/faa traps and didn't know PISTE, DHOTI, or INVICTUS. Actually, DHOTI sounded familiar afterwards. CHecked and yes, it is in my xwordese list. Did I mention that I also wanted cattlE for BOVINE.
FYI, "hale", pronounced haw-lee, is Hawaiian for home. Knew it was too obscure, but this is Friday, so tried it anyway... NG.
I will cavil at CHARIOTSQUAD wherein the middle word spans the outside words only by making itself plural. Pretty lazy construction, IMO.
Otherwise, a good Friday level puzzle: hard, but fair and doable with careful logic, (and xword experience).
Puzzlers, you'll all be glad to know I'm in AGAWAM right now.
Yeah, I know, you're envious! :-)
Except for you, Marti. You've got the market cornered on enviable places...
Wow. I thought this was easier than the crapy tuesday crossword. Started with UCLA then Ava, slav and mama , got the theme. Then got oahu, chai, nob. Then puzzle was basicaly finished. Record time for me for a Friday. Bye all.
Rube:
I don't understand your nit. RIOT SQUAD from CHARIOT SQUAD seems like a perfectly acceptable trick.
Misty:
My eyes are very weak and I often mistake some letters for others so perhaps that is what happened to you with ARAB and MORAY at 28D and 31A.
Alex, welcome!
Tinman:
I understand humor is individual and my personal position by which I do not find humor that is not hurtful as unacceptable is not shared by others, there was no attempt to be funny or negative with my SLAV SLOB comment. I am uncomfortable with the abbreviation because it sounds too much like a negative word. It is all I said. There was ni implication about the people, just the abbreviation.
The first week of doing the LA Times dailies was going pretty smooth until today when I ran into a brick wall. Needed to work all the crosses to put anything together. Didn't get the theme til quite late in the game after having "the CHA CHA" I Noticed RIOT SQUAD in chariot squad. The SW was a mess until I finally changed cha-cha-cha.
After getting the theme I was able to go back and plug the holes in my grid. Having so many clues I hadn't any idea what they were referring to didn't make it easy.
Dreading seeing tomorrow's puzzle!
Lemonade- Even though she's called "Big Mama", she's way too small to be related to me.
Lucina 2:02--many thanks for pointing out that I goofed. Back pain plus a cold must be affecting both eyes and brain. But that's why I like this blog--lots of help on a tough day.
Lucina, maybe Rube was parsing it as the 'place for civil unrest on the college campus' RIOTS QUAD.
Misty@2:52:
Nothing to fret about. I'm sorry you're under the weather. That will cause all kinds of problems. Hope you feel better soon. Some hot tea and a nap would help me in that situation.
I just found this on YouTube. It can't help but make you smile. It's of a two-year-old dancing to Elvis's Jail House Rock.
Grumpy 1@3:00:
Oooh. That would make a big difference but not much sense. I see now. Thanks. I guess he was thinking of rioters' quad.
Cliche' - In printing, a stereotype also known as a cliche' , stereoplate or simply a stereo, was originally a "solid plate of type metal, cast from a papier-mache' or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme or type used for printing instead of the original". Useful for multiple printings....
- Wiki - Stereotype (printing).
I guess this is where it originally started.
Lemonade, Thanks for 'Invictus' and William E. Henley... who knew ? As Barry said, the poem is worth framing - in a way it applies to all of us, giving hope through our travails.
Loved the movie 'Invictus' with Mr. Mandela and Morgan Freeman, who played him with distinction.
The Mauritius Rupee was named because of the preponderance of Indians there, originally indentured, (or otherwise -) - currently, it also has the highest per capita income in all of Africa, despite its size, no great natural resources and no OIL.
Whenever I hear or see Cha cha Cha, I always think of our HS production of "The King and I". In rehersals, when Anna would sing "Shall we Dance", someone backstage (moi?) would always throw in "Cha Cha Cha" to accompany the three beats that follow the phrases "Shall we dance" and "On a bright cloud of music shall we fly". PISTE off our music director no end when the backstage whispers got loud enough for him to hear.
Too late to this party today - but don't think for one minute, that I haven't already been partying!
Lemonade, wonderful write up and links. Thanks for "Invictus" - very interesting to read the interpretation as well.
Yes, PISTE is very common among skiers as being the name for trails. Especially in Europe, we never call them by any other name. But it is also quite common in the US, so no foreign word hint was needed IMHO.
Argyle, I forget what was in that drink - could have been a Margarita, Mojito, Bloody Mary, Long Island Iced Tea, or even a Mai Tai...the mind gets fuzzy after sampling so many different ones!
Alex, I'm a newbie, too. You have inspired me to post. I started about the same time you did and am about at the same solve rate. This blog has really helped me learn some of the tricks, and learn to look at a word in more than one way -- verb? noun? somebody's name? I'm really hooked now!
a big hello to my friend Mike in Hospital..he loves your sayings!
Missy
Since we're on the topic of inspirational literature, this one is on my wall:
"I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in. Who made them serfs of the soil? Why should they begin digging their graves as soon as they are born? They have got to live a man's life, pushing all these things before them, and get on as well as they can. How many a poor immortal soul have I met well-nigh crushed and smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables never cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing pasture and wood-lot. The portionless, who struggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, find it labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh."
Henry David Thoreau
Here in RHEA County Tennessee SLAWS, like BBQ SAUCE, are condiments not sides.
And I've given this to my children in addition to keeping it handy for my own frequent re-reading:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Sorry that last one didn't give credit. It is of course, "If" by Rudyard Kipling.
Bill G.@ 3:05 adorable clip. I have to watch it again and send it to my sister.
AveJoe @ 4:02 I have always loved that poem and tried to live by it. Those values not only make a man, but also a woman.
I agree completely YR. You don't mess with the classics, but it's a bit unfortunate that "If" is so gender specific. FWIW, one of my children that I gave that poem to is a daughter.
Great puzzle Gareth! Outstanding links & comments, Lemonade! Is your new avatar of you and John Lamkin? Fun to see his picture if it is.
I did the fries thing despite treating myself to KFC SLAW, grilled chicken and a chocolate parfait which came out the drive-thru window fast last night.
This puzzle went well for me, although took some mental gymnastics. I spelled NEcEI & 33A as "bro" and didn't get that corrected.
We went to ASTORIA so I could see the place the Columbia River met the Pacific in my water interest days.
If someone handed me a Park City Piste Map, I'd assume it was ways to get to the bathrooms.
DHOTI: do they have naughty boys in India? Looks like one good jerk would reveal all. What about bathroom breaks?
Memorized INVICTUS in HS. A gimmee.
Hi all!
Great puzzle by Gareth and the usual great write-up by Lemon.
Loved all the poems today--thanks to all who posted one. Where's Clear Eyes? Didn't she used to post poems a lot?
Too many aviator types in my background. All I could think of for 21D was FAA.
Once interviewed a beautiful Indian girl from Mauritius who had delicate India features and blue-black skin. She was an AFS student in our town, very popular and demure.
A woman from Florida who joined "Biking Across Kansas" because she heard it was "flat" told me, "flat in Kansas is so different from flat in Florida. Only someone from Colorado would call it that."
AveJoe: on the burden of a farm. TOO TRUE! When my then recently married son said he wanted to farm, I told him, "Take your bride and run!" He came to the same conclusion two years later.
Avg Joe, the kipling poem has been considerably shortened in recent years:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs, you just don't understand the gravity of the situation.
Yes, PK that is I and the irrepressible John Lampkin on the street in Hollywood, picture taken by Annette.
Poems are great and I do wonder how CA is doing and WM and Mainiac and Buckeye and Creature and.....well you get the idea
I worked on a farm in my youth, I own a farm but do not work it myself. I view farming as a very noble profession and one we cannot do without. It should be a chosen profession, however, like our Windhover has done, and not one that we are forced into by some sense of family obligation.
The man that farms my acreage is quite content to farm, and will not be unhappy if his sons follow in his footsteps. He also knows that they, not he, should make that choice.
I really enjoyed this puzzle - it was tough, especially the middle and middle west. I am proud that I only missed two letters- the "s" in Piste and messed up Oman. Took a guess at OD'ED and PHANTASM and succeeded there!
Lemonade - who is that guy in the photo where you commented about Chaplain Jane? I have no clue.
Also meant to add that that photo of Marti was terrific! My compliments to the photographer, whoever took it... nice and clear! Love that!
CWA
Patrick JANE from the show The Menatalist.
CW: the man in the photo is Simon Baker, who plays Patrick JANE on the TV show The Mentalist.
Never heard of him or the show, so no wonder.
Thanks Lemon
Tinbeni: Lemonade said the word Slav sounds like Slob, and it kinda does. This does not mean he believes Croatian or other Slavic women are really slobs.
Lighten up - have another martini!
The 2:22 comment by Lemonade makes no sense.(there are several no(s), not(s) and un-) Are you saying that you don't find your jokes offensive yet are uncomfortable with SLAV because it sounds like snob?
Also, I always thought SLAV was a actual word and not an abbreviation.
AAAAAaaacccckk!
crash & burn
10 days without a red letter, and now this, i am really piste off!
i had to go to red letter to try and find something i could complain about, but every answer made sense.
i am so upset, i do not have the energy to look for a link!
Oh well, reading the Blog has calmed me down. Would you believe i had never seen a Betty Boop cartoon? Kinda makes me feel like i am one of the younger fellows in the crowd.
Bill G., is it me, or did that 2 year old look like a younger version of Barry G?
Just a quick comment on the Thoreau excerpt from Walden and the responses to same: I'm a farm boy. I'm not at all opposed to the notion of passing the land down to the next generation. It works well in many instances. But that wasn't Thoreau's point.... at all. Anything else I might add would only quote Dorthy Parker.
Slav is short for Slavic, and where did snob ever appear?
@LA CW Addict
Better check your Funk and Wagnalls.
The Slavs are a people. Slavic is an adjective used to describe their heritage, language and other cultural traits.
But thank you for pointing out my mistake as to snob instead of slob.
The Snob came from NOB hill (39-Across)
AvgJoe and Grumpy: I still own farmland and this was a good decision. A farm is a good place to live and raise children who mature and know how to work. I was raised in town and didn't learn how to work until I moved to the farm. There the work was never done. Then the guilt rose up if one wanted to play. I have a great younger man doing my farming. My son now owns and lives on a farm but someone else tills it. He loves to play and socialize after he works hard at another job.
Interesting reading the comments earlier. Here's mine: some people can't farm, some can't not farm. I'm in the latter group.
Irish and I camped out in our neighborhood bar to watch the Wildcats take on Indiana, and rooting for OU, where five of my cousins partied their college days away, to beat the hated (here in Ky.) Tarheels.
words, they are all just words.
Thanks to all the farmers, the world still needs you
But we thought you were a "word worshipper". So it would seem that you would respect them enough to get it right.
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