Theme: How to Finish This Puzzle -Every "Don't give up" phrase is interpreted as if it's related to the profession in the clue.
24A. Persevere, like a teamster? : KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
39A. Persevere, like a stand-up comic? : NEVER SAY DIE. I don't quite get this one. Is it because comics slay (amuse) their audience?
68A. Persevere, like a frequent flier? : CARRY ON
95A. Persevere, like a very loud organist? : DON'T STOP NOW. Those organ knobs are called "stops". That's all I know.
113A. Persevere, like a golfer? : STAY THE COURSE. Golf course.
3D. Persevere, like a boxing promoter? : PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT
6D. Persevere, like a judge? : TRY, TRY AGAIN. Ha ha!
47D. Persevere, like a lightning rod installer? : STAND YOUR GROUND
70D. Persevere, like a museum curator? : HANG IN THERE
Fun theme. Don G and I had a similar gimmick a while ago, except we clued each answer as related to the animal. Our HANG IN THERE clue is "Advice to a monkey"? Didn't interest Rich enough.
John is an artist. He pays attention the visual aspect of his grid. The arraignment of the theme entries in this grid shows his taste, skills & perseverance. How he consistently avoids cheater squares for Sunday grids is beyond me. This one has a low back square count also. Only 64. Our norm is 74.
Across:
1. Bestows on, with "to" : IMPARTS
8. Forgoes scissors : TEARS. And 11D. Forgo scissors : RIP. Clecho (clue echo). All in green highlight in my write-up.
13. Captivates : ENAMORS
20. Fashionista's field : COUTURE. As in "Haute couture". "60 Minutes" had a good segment on Anna Wintour a while ago.
21. Bring to the mix : ADD IN
22. "Sorry, Charlie" : NO SIREE
23. Start to finish, e.g.? : ANTONYM. Start & Finish are antonyms. Great clue.
26. It may be abstract or concrete : NOUN. I like this clue too.
27. Stopwatch users : TIMERS
29. Intent : AIM
30. "Gladiator" composer Zimmer : HANS. No idea. But John is a musician. As I said before, clues often reflect constructors' interests.
31. Examines closely : PEERS AT. And 49. Examination : TEST.
33. Raise a glass to : TOAST. 103. Where glasses may be raised? : OPERA. Opera glasses.
36. Clerical residence : MANSE
37. Really boring : DEADLY
42. Lang. of Jamaica : ENG. "One Love"!
43. Dora the Explorer, for one : LATINA. Dora Marquez, "the first animated Latina character in a leading role".
45. Cartoonist Keane : BIL. Died last Nov.
46. Ready : ALL SET
50. Place for a plunger in Plymouth : LOO. Plymouth, England.
51. It's wet in Oaxaca : AGUA
52. Infatuated, old-style : SMIT
54. Display irritation : BRISTLE
55. Sea debris : FLOTSAM. And Jetsam.
57. Warmup for college hopefuls, briefly : PSAT. And 40D. Poughkeepsie college : VASSAR. Another clecho with the previous "Aussi college" for UNI (89-A).
58. Diamond strategy : BUNT. Bunts are boring to watch, unless the bunter is Ichiro, right, LaLaLinda?
59. Morning hrs. : AMs
60. "Voilà!" : TA DA
61. Hand-on-chest words : I SWEAR
63. Careerbuilder.com listing : JOB
64. Contingency phrase : IF NOT
66. Writer Lebowitz : FRAN. She's in "Law & Order".
70. Challenging : HARD
71. Impose fraudulently : FOIST. On or upon.
73. Rams' city: Abbr. : STL. St. Louis Rams.
74. Musician awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 : YO-YO MA. Yo means "friendly". Chinese nickname usually is a repeat of the last word of the given name. Hence the panda name Ling Ling. My sister-in-law calls me Chin Chin (a repeat of my Cantonese name Chow Chin).
76. Julio's yesterday : AYER. Spanish.
79. Neighbor of Uru. : ARG
80. Isaac's eldest : ESAU
82. Aussie runners : EMUS. And 89. Aussie college : UNI. That's convenient. Hi there Kazie!
83. Nonnegotiable, as a plan : IN STONE
85. Queequeg crewmate : ISHMAEL. "Moby Dick".
87. Suds : BREW
88. Utah state flower : SEGO. Ours is Lady's slipper.
90. Do routine tire maintenance : ROTATE
91. Inspired mixture : AIR
92. Strands at a chalet, maybe : ICES IN
94. Carpet : RUG
98. Bean or noodle : NOGGIN
100. Leipzig legwear : HOSEN. German for "hose"? I know lederhosen.
104. Strove to attain : WENT FOR
106. Dip __ in: test the water : A TOE
107. Manage moguls : SKI. Marti knows how to manage them.
108. Full of school spirit : RAH RAH
110. Wealthy "Wind in the Willows" character : TOAD. Mr. Toad.
117. Longtime CBS golf analyst Ken : VENTURI. I like Johnny Miller. He can be brutally honest.
119. Nintendo game with Pikachu : POKEMON
120. Nasty smile : SNEER
121. Hall of talk : ARSENIO. I thought Clinton was really cool when he appeared in this guy's show.
122. Scaredy-cats : SISSIES
123. Surfer wannabe : HODAD
124. Hero's hero : LEANDER. Such a moving love story.
Down:
1. "If __ make it there ...": "New York, New York" lyric : I CAN
2. Like old records : MONO
4. Set things right : ATONED
5. Make tracks : RUN
7. Weigh station visitors : SEMIs
8. Grab a coffee, say : TAKE TEN
9. Central German river : EDER
10. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE
12. Cat lead-in : SNO. I'm already wearing short shorts. Hot here.
13. Sum of all parts : ENTITY. Drew a blank.
14. Cliff's pal on "Cheers" : NORM
15. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU
16. "Where Creativity Happens" retail chain : MICHAELS. I like their flowery notebooks. Very pretty.
17. Mork, by birth : ORKAN
18. Harness straps : REINS
19. Get the feeling : SENSE
25. Nosy? : NASAL. Fun clue.
28. Craze : MANIA
32. Fitzgerald et al. : ELLAS
34. Planetary path : ORBIT. Quite a few alliteration in the clues today.
35. "__ turns out ..." : AS IT
36. Revolutionary army : MILITIA
37. Dutch city in many Vermeer paintings : DELFT. Did you watch "Girl with a Pearl Earring"?
38. First name in bombers : ENOLA
41. "Nerts!" : DARN
44. Antacid choice : TUMS
48. Pal of Grover : ELMO
53. Proposal with a nice ring? : MARRY ME. Sweet! It does have a nice ring to it. And 57. Ring out : PEAL
54. Buster : BUB. Did not know this meaning of "Buster".
56. Works on the road : TARS
58. One-named rocker : BONO
62. Carrie Nation's org. : WCTU. No idea. Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Wikipedia says it still exists.
63. High points : JOYS
65. Kegger locale : FRAT
67. Pigged out : ATE A TON
69. "Oh, I give up!" : YOU WIN
71. Susceptible to sunburn, probably : FAIR
72. Roughly : OR SO
73. "Exodus" actor Mineo : SAL
75. Architect __ van der Rohe : MIES
77. The blahs : ENNUI. Is anyone wearing Eclat?
78. Rule : REIGN
81. Beheld : SEEN
82. Computer message : ERROR
84. Arabic : ibn :: English : __ : SON OF
86. Flirted with, with "at" : MADE EYES. Made me think of Jeannie.
87. Calamine target : BITE
88. Thread puller : SEWER
91. Gelatin garnish : ASPIC. What? Garnish only? Aspic is the gelatin to me.
93. Branding iron wielder : COWHERD. I always want to watch "Brokeback Mountain", but Boomer says "No".
96. Mementos : TOKENS
97. Nearly birdied : PARRED. True when you had a tap-in par.
99. Understood : GOTTEN
100. Hinged fasteners : HASPS
101. 10th-century Roman emperor : OTTO I. How should we clue our own D-Otto? 21st-century Crossword Corner emperor?
102. Drenches : SOAKS
105. Involving warships : NAVAL
107. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Gambling.
109. No longer in port : ASEA
111. Soul singer India.__ : ARIE. A gimme for most constructors, same with yesterday's SCREAM QUEEN, a term forever associated with Fay Wray. Not many ways to clue FAY.
112. Poison and Pure Poison creator : DIOR. Miss Dior last time.
114. "OMG! Spare me!" : TMI
115. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH
116. Card game shout : UNO
118. DOD division : NSA. DOD= Department of Defense.
Answer grid.
1) Happy Birthday to dear Warren! Hope Ruth makes this day very special to you.
2) From John Lampkin:
24A. Persevere, like a teamster? : KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
39A. Persevere, like a stand-up comic? : NEVER SAY DIE. I don't quite get this one. Is it because comics slay (amuse) their audience?
68A. Persevere, like a frequent flier? : CARRY ON
95A. Persevere, like a very loud organist? : DON'T STOP NOW. Those organ knobs are called "stops". That's all I know.
113A. Persevere, like a golfer? : STAY THE COURSE. Golf course.
3D. Persevere, like a boxing promoter? : PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT
6D. Persevere, like a judge? : TRY, TRY AGAIN. Ha ha!
47D. Persevere, like a lightning rod installer? : STAND YOUR GROUND
70D. Persevere, like a museum curator? : HANG IN THERE
Fun theme. Don G and I had a similar gimmick a while ago, except we clued each answer as related to the animal. Our HANG IN THERE clue is "Advice to a monkey"? Didn't interest Rich enough.
John is an artist. He pays attention the visual aspect of his grid. The arraignment of the theme entries in this grid shows his taste, skills & perseverance. How he consistently avoids cheater squares for Sunday grids is beyond me. This one has a low back square count also. Only 64. Our norm is 74.
Across:
1. Bestows on, with "to" : IMPARTS
8. Forgoes scissors : TEARS. And 11D. Forgo scissors : RIP. Clecho (clue echo). All in green highlight in my write-up.
13. Captivates : ENAMORS
20. Fashionista's field : COUTURE. As in "Haute couture". "60 Minutes" had a good segment on Anna Wintour a while ago.
21. Bring to the mix : ADD IN
22. "Sorry, Charlie" : NO SIREE
23. Start to finish, e.g.? : ANTONYM. Start & Finish are antonyms. Great clue.
26. It may be abstract or concrete : NOUN. I like this clue too.
27. Stopwatch users : TIMERS
29. Intent : AIM
30. "Gladiator" composer Zimmer : HANS. No idea. But John is a musician. As I said before, clues often reflect constructors' interests.
31. Examines closely : PEERS AT. And 49. Examination : TEST.
33. Raise a glass to : TOAST. 103. Where glasses may be raised? : OPERA. Opera glasses.
36. Clerical residence : MANSE
37. Really boring : DEADLY
42. Lang. of Jamaica : ENG. "One Love"!
43. Dora the Explorer, for one : LATINA. Dora Marquez, "the first animated Latina character in a leading role".
45. Cartoonist Keane : BIL. Died last Nov.
46. Ready : ALL SET
50. Place for a plunger in Plymouth : LOO. Plymouth, England.
51. It's wet in Oaxaca : AGUA
52. Infatuated, old-style : SMIT
54. Display irritation : BRISTLE
55. Sea debris : FLOTSAM. And Jetsam.
57. Warmup for college hopefuls, briefly : PSAT. And 40D. Poughkeepsie college : VASSAR. Another clecho with the previous "Aussi college" for UNI (89-A).
58. Diamond strategy : BUNT. Bunts are boring to watch, unless the bunter is Ichiro, right, LaLaLinda?
59. Morning hrs. : AMs
60. "Voilà!" : TA DA
61. Hand-on-chest words : I SWEAR
63. Careerbuilder.com listing : JOB
64. Contingency phrase : IF NOT
66. Writer Lebowitz : FRAN. She's in "Law & Order".
70. Challenging : HARD
71. Impose fraudulently : FOIST. On or upon.
73. Rams' city: Abbr. : STL. St. Louis Rams.
74. Musician awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 : YO-YO MA. Yo means "friendly". Chinese nickname usually is a repeat of the last word of the given name. Hence the panda name Ling Ling. My sister-in-law calls me Chin Chin (a repeat of my Cantonese name Chow Chin).
76. Julio's yesterday : AYER. Spanish.
79. Neighbor of Uru. : ARG
80. Isaac's eldest : ESAU
82. Aussie runners : EMUS. And 89. Aussie college : UNI. That's convenient. Hi there Kazie!
83. Nonnegotiable, as a plan : IN STONE
85. Queequeg crewmate : ISHMAEL. "Moby Dick".
87. Suds : BREW
88. Utah state flower : SEGO. Ours is Lady's slipper.
90. Do routine tire maintenance : ROTATE
91. Inspired mixture : AIR
92. Strands at a chalet, maybe : ICES IN
94. Carpet : RUG
98. Bean or noodle : NOGGIN
100. Leipzig legwear : HOSEN. German for "hose"? I know lederhosen.
104. Strove to attain : WENT FOR
106. Dip __ in: test the water : A TOE
107. Manage moguls : SKI. Marti knows how to manage them.
108. Full of school spirit : RAH RAH
110. Wealthy "Wind in the Willows" character : TOAD. Mr. Toad.
117. Longtime CBS golf analyst Ken : VENTURI. I like Johnny Miller. He can be brutally honest.
119. Nintendo game with Pikachu : POKEMON
120. Nasty smile : SNEER
121. Hall of talk : ARSENIO. I thought Clinton was really cool when he appeared in this guy's show.
122. Scaredy-cats : SISSIES
123. Surfer wannabe : HODAD
124. Hero's hero : LEANDER. Such a moving love story.
Down:
1. "If __ make it there ...": "New York, New York" lyric : I CAN
2. Like old records : MONO
4. Set things right : ATONED
5. Make tracks : RUN
7. Weigh station visitors : SEMIs
8. Grab a coffee, say : TAKE TEN
9. Central German river : EDER
10. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE
12. Cat lead-in : SNO. I'm already wearing short shorts. Hot here.
13. Sum of all parts : ENTITY. Drew a blank.
14. Cliff's pal on "Cheers" : NORM
15. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU
16. "Where Creativity Happens" retail chain : MICHAELS. I like their flowery notebooks. Very pretty.
17. Mork, by birth : ORKAN
18. Harness straps : REINS
19. Get the feeling : SENSE
25. Nosy? : NASAL. Fun clue.
28. Craze : MANIA
32. Fitzgerald et al. : ELLAS
34. Planetary path : ORBIT. Quite a few alliteration in the clues today.
35. "__ turns out ..." : AS IT
36. Revolutionary army : MILITIA
37. Dutch city in many Vermeer paintings : DELFT. Did you watch "Girl with a Pearl Earring"?
38. First name in bombers : ENOLA
41. "Nerts!" : DARN
44. Antacid choice : TUMS
48. Pal of Grover : ELMO
53. Proposal with a nice ring? : MARRY ME. Sweet! It does have a nice ring to it. And 57. Ring out : PEAL
54. Buster : BUB. Did not know this meaning of "Buster".
56. Works on the road : TARS
58. One-named rocker : BONO
62. Carrie Nation's org. : WCTU. No idea. Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Wikipedia says it still exists.
63. High points : JOYS
65. Kegger locale : FRAT
67. Pigged out : ATE A TON
69. "Oh, I give up!" : YOU WIN
71. Susceptible to sunburn, probably : FAIR
72. Roughly : OR SO
73. "Exodus" actor Mineo : SAL
75. Architect __ van der Rohe : MIES
77. The blahs : ENNUI. Is anyone wearing Eclat?
78. Rule : REIGN
81. Beheld : SEEN
82. Computer message : ERROR
84. Arabic : ibn :: English : __ : SON OF
86. Flirted with, with "at" : MADE EYES. Made me think of Jeannie.
87. Calamine target : BITE
88. Thread puller : SEWER
91. Gelatin garnish : ASPIC. What? Garnish only? Aspic is the gelatin to me.
93. Branding iron wielder : COWHERD. I always want to watch "Brokeback Mountain", but Boomer says "No".
96. Mementos : TOKENS
97. Nearly birdied : PARRED. True when you had a tap-in par.
99. Understood : GOTTEN
100. Hinged fasteners : HASPS
101. 10th-century Roman emperor : OTTO I. How should we clue our own D-Otto? 21st-century Crossword Corner emperor?
102. Drenches : SOAKS
105. Involving warships : NAVAL
107. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Gambling.
109. No longer in port : ASEA
111. Soul singer India.__ : ARIE. A gimme for most constructors, same with yesterday's SCREAM QUEEN, a term forever associated with Fay Wray. Not many ways to clue FAY.
112. Poison and Pure Poison creator : DIOR. Miss Dior last time.
114. "OMG! Spare me!" : TMI
115. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH
116. Card game shout : UNO
118. DOD division : NSA. DOD= Department of Defense.
Answer grid.
1) Happy Birthday to dear Warren! Hope Ruth makes this day very special to you.
2) From John Lampkin:
Greetings from Florida, where I’m doing a week-long series of presentations to Nature groups based on my book of macro-photographs of insects, “Bugged Beyond Belief.” Blog regulars Lemonade and Annette and I are meeting Wednesday night, March 21 for dinner in Hollywood, FL. Please email me at JohnLampkin@JohnLampkin.com for details. You are all welcome to join us if you promise to behave. Or not.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteFabulous puzzle, John! The title was so literal and the theme answers were such fun!
Thanks CC for swell write-up!
Favorites: AIR and OPERA.
Got stuck at H for HODAD. Ran through alphabet. That's the beauty of doing these online. Well, the fact that one can see is more important, I suppose!
Have a great Sunday, all!
HBTY Warren!
Beddy bye time.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteNice Sunday challenge. The theme was fun and helpful, although I almost turfed it at the very beginning when I tried to fit in KEEP ON TRUCKING. When the final G didn't fit, I thought maybe there was some trick involved until I finally realized the phrase just didn't have a final G...
HODAD would have held me up except that I barely remembered it from somewhere.
I'm assuming that COWHERD is a type of person? I initially had COWHAND and balked when the real answer forced itself on me via the perps since I thought it was COW HERD (two words) and I couldn't imagine a heard of cows wielding anything.
I'm not into golf at all. Do people really say they PARRED or that they "made par"?
VENTURI was a complete unknown, and my last fill was the crossing of VENTURI and ARIE. I think I've seen ARIE before, but I toyed with ASIE at first. The nice thing about solving online is that you get the *TADA* to let you know you solved correctly. I don't think I'd do very well at an actual tournament where you have to solve with pencil and paper...
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeletePretty much WBS. He did better at scrounging HODAD from whatever cranial crevice it was stowed in; I don't think I've ever heard of it.
Hand up for COWHAND, bollixed the south with that one. All in all a crafty puzzle with some sneaky clues. Just right for a Sunday moseying pace. Thanks JL!
Morning, C.C., I always appreciate your explanations of Chinese words, cultural things, and suchlike.
Good morning, all. Thanks, C.C. for the blog.
ReplyDeleteWBS for the first paragraph. That missing 'G' had me wondering if all of the theme entries were going to need a finishing letter.
I thought the clue for ANTONYM was really clever, but the AIR clue was really 'inspired'... No, that doesn't mean I thought it sucked wind.
C.C. when a comedian's act just isn't working, he'll look around and comment "I'm dying up here...".
Fortunately, OSH is faily common Crosswordese, because the H in HODAD would have been a total WAG. India.ARIE was an unknown, but the perps were solid.
Beer defore BREW, almost mesed me up. YOUr IN seemed a little odd, but it was EeROR that finally showed me the ERROR of my ways.
Great puzzle, John, and enjoy your time here in FL. I wish we could join you Wednesday, but we have other plans. Let us know if you ever get across to our side of the state.
@ Barry, think goatherd or shepherd and COWHERD make sense for the tender of the herd. I haven't seen it often, but it is used.
ReplyDeleteGood morning CC and weekend warriors! Liked Mr. Lampkin's puzzle, but failed to notice about half of the clechoes that you pointed out, CC. Thanks for the shoutout at 101D. With OTTOI today and OTTOMAN on Friday, it's been a good week for the Desper family.
ReplyDeleteI would have finished sooner if I hadn't misread some of the clues. I was looking for something that Stands in a chalet, and I read it as Kegler locale (LANE) (Shoutout to Boomer) rather than Kegger locale (FRAT).
The theme clues/answers were very cute. But my favorite clue was Inspired mixture, and it was a learning moment as well. After finishing the puzzle, I looked it up. To respire is to breathe in and out, whereas inspire is to breathe in, and expire is to breathe out. Both inspire and expire have multiple meanings. Makes me perspire just thinking about it.
It's interesting that BRISTLE (though not SETA) made a second appearance this week.
I never heard a COWPOKE/COWHAND called a COWHERD (them's fightin' words!). But it makes sense. Isn't there a Lonely Goatherd song in the Sound of Music?
Oops, Grumpy1 posted while I was writing.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all:
ReplyDeleteGood Sunday workout, Mr. L and a fine write-up, as always, CC. Had a few misses, beer for brew, cowhand for cowherd, but perps corrected those.
Never heard of hodad but I don't know any surfer lingo.
Am I the only one who finds Poison an odd name for a perfume? Not to mention Pure Poison!
Saw The Descendants yesterday; it was excellent and George Clooney was mesmerizing. Water for Elephants is next in my Netflix queue. I loved the book but the movie didn't get very good reviews.
BTW, I didn't get the correlation of the person in the clue to the profession/activity in the answer, until I came here. Perhaps I missed that because I did the puzzle around midnight, following the St. Paddy's celebration.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, John Lampkin, for a very good puzzle. Tough in spots. Thank you, C.C., for an equally good write-up.
ReplyDeleteMost of this puzzle was easily worked.
I did not know was 123A HODAD was, and I still do not. Any help?
I do not know who or what 124 LEANDER is. I got it with perps and wags, and I am sure it is a person, place, or a thing. But what? I am not sure.
The theme answers were fine and helped a lot in getting through the puzzle. Very clever.
Had a tough time with 107D SHOE. Got it with perps, then it hit me when dealing cards in a casino. I do not go to casinos very often.
This was fun. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Do constructors steal clues from one another? Inspired AIR was HeartRX's clue.
ReplyDeleteHi There~!
ReplyDeleteIt took me an across and down pass before I got the theme, starting with "TRUCKIN'"; my faves were "CARRY ON", and "STAND YOUR GROUND" - but in truth, all the theme answers were typically clever from Mr. JL.
HODAD was OK for me, since I have one of these, and there's this, too - not that I am a surfer, but I guess the Danelectro of the 60's....
Hand up for BEER over BREW, and I thought "proposal with a nice ring" was the best clue of the day.
Splynter
I employed all of John’s admonitions even when the very bottom right tested me. I too am amazed at such artistry from Start to Finish! I PARRED this bad boy!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-HBD Warren!
-There are days when it is hard to STAY on THE COURSE when your swing goes south
-TRY TRY AGAIN reminded me of the DUI’s who are in court for their 5th, 6th, etc. conviction. My God!
-Big track meets around here use electronic timers and no stopwatches. Generally the times are .14 sec slower without human reaction time.
-I have been SMITTEN by females and golf courses
-I found a BRISTLE in my yogurt wrote to the company and got a $5 gift certificate and apology
-It’ll always be the L.A. RAMS and Baltimore Colts to some of us
-Did I remember HODAD from a Annette/Frankie movie?
-No SNO here either, C.C. Shorts and short sleeves came back upstairs this week
-WCTU made millions for Al Capone
-What’s “gonna take an ocean of Calamine lotion”
-In 65 years here in The Beef State, I have never heard COWHERD refer to a person but I'm trainable.
A terrible weekend for me, puzzle-wise. Lots of inspiring clues, but too many uninspired answers resulted in DNFs, albeit only a few empty squares. I hate it when names cross and I haven't a clue about either one of them.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to tomorrow, where I will tie one hand behind my back and finish honorably.
Good morning C.C. and everyone. Happy Birthday, Warren.
ReplyDeleteAbout average difficulty for a Sunday. I liked the theme, but relied on perps to get some of the phrasing right. HOSEN is the German word for pants. (Hosen anziehen - to put on pants). Glad for the primer on EDER the other day. Favorite clues were those for NOUN and ANTONYM. No lookups needed; just patience with the perps.
The Spring Equinox arrives at 1:14 am EDT. on the 20th. (Also the 1st point of Aries)
Suppose to be 76º here today.
Have a great day.
Needed to tack like a sailor to remove all errors and fill them all in. Really nice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteCOWHERD - I was slow to accept it, too
ARIE - classic KneeJerk Rote for almost 3 or 4 years now.
Seemingly a fair amount of golf stuff lately.
Cheers
A fun romp today. Thanks John and C.C.
ReplyDeleteNearly hit a natick on the SE with the crossing of Toad and Dior. Had the TO.. and the ..OR, but had VENTURa, so that took a while to figure out. Didn't know the story of Wind in the Willows, but vaguely recalled it had animal characters, which allowed me to guess accurately with ARIE filling in via perps.
Very windy day here on the plains. It's 70 already, but with a wind of 35 mph from the south it's not exactly pleasant outdoors. Oh well, it beats a blizzard.
Husker@9:46 -- That's Poison Ivy and it's not a perfume by Dior.
ReplyDeleteDoes HODAD (sounds like he could be a pimp) come from the same lexicon as HAOLI and LANAI? Or is it just some left coast expression?
HBD, Warren, and many more.
Good morning, C.C. and friends.
ReplyDeleteI also like your cultural explanations, C.C. So much to learn.
Happy birthday, Warren!
And thank you, John Lampkin, for this "professional" adventure.
I saw the theme right away at KEEP ON TRUCKIN and had trouble only with DON'T STOP NOW only because I held on to BEER and YOURIT but eventually corrected that.
Also misspelled YOYOMA as YOMAMA and that botched the area big time.
WAGGED VENTURI though which gave me ARIE but it sounded familiar. Never got the H in HODAD.
So while I sashayed through a good part of this, it was ultimately a DNF.
Loved the cluing for OPERA, ASU, of course, and LATINA, as I am one.
Have a greaaaat Sunday, everyone! Rain here for the first time since December!
Hi C.C.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I did today's puzzle as usual but HODAD was a killer and the last to fall.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, we're going out for dinner tonight too.
Here's the Cheers Theme Song from season 7
ReplyDeleteMorning C.C.,
ReplyDeletea challenge from start to finish. Did I say finish? DNF...sigh.I really should follow Mr. Lampkin's adviceC.C., I'm sure you will remember this one.My grandpa made me memorize it.
Never heard of hodad, but it made me laugh, and didn't Maria sing of a lonely goatherd in Sound of Music?..So cowherd seemed like a good word.My world is all about Dora ,Elmo,(s)tars and stickers , and finding free educational apps. I wish my vocabulary would grow as quickly as theirs.
HBTY Warren. We miss you.
Thanks John for the nice workout, and y'all have a lovely dinner.
This puzzle reminds me of Rodney Atkins' song, "If You're
ReplyDeleteGoing Through Hell...", although yesterday I thought I was really there. LOL
Enjoyed the puzzle thanks
ReplyDeletereally enjoyed Kazie's yo mama lol
Here's the song:
ReplyDeleteI should have said today's theme answers brought this to mind...
If You're Going Through Hell
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteThank you John Lampkin for a very enjoyable puzzle. I thought I knew where we were headed when I started out with KEEP ON TRUCKIN. After getting NEVER SAY DIE, I was really convinced that the theme had something to do with leaving off final letters, since I was familiar with the phrase "Never Say Diet." But the missing G and the missing T meant nothing! I think I finally caught on with PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT. Duh ... took me long enough. After that, I had fun!
As others have said, HODAD was new to me and I didn't know USH so I had a blank at that crossing. I also didn't get LEANDER-NSA crossing. The rest fell in pretty easily.
~~ Like C.C. I, too, thought of ASPIC as the gelatin and not the garnish.
~~ I had 'Keys' before JOYS for 63D and 'Bud' before BUB for 54D.
~~ My favorites were 'Inspired mixture'- AIR and 'Bean or noodle' - NOGGIN.
Thanks for all the info in your write-up, C.C. I really like your grid analysis ... there are things I'd never notice otherwise. BTW ~ Ichiro's talents seem to be wasted in Seattle. I wouldn't mind having him come to Boston! ;-)
Happy Birthday, Warren ... enjoy your dinner tonight!
Hello everybody. Great puzzle today. Loved the theme and the many clever clues.
ReplyDeleteNo self-respecting cowboy or cowpoke would ever tolerate being called a cowherd. I know one who herds sheep is called a shepherd, though. Anyway, it's a crossword puzzle, so there are always going to be entries such as this.
Never heard of HODAD, so even when it filled itself I stared at blankly.
Always learning new things, and it's great.
Best wishes to you all.
"Hero and LEANDER" is a myth. Hero (a girl) lives in a tower. Every night, she lights a light and Leander swims across the Hellespont to see her. One night, her light goes out during a storm. Leander is unable to get across and drowns. Hero commits suicide by jumping off the tower.
ReplyDeleteI remembered this from a mythology class I took in college. I love the place names "Hellespont" and "Dardanelles."
HBD, Warren.
Lucina, I loved your YOMAMA! Just got off the phone after a lovely chat with our son in Tempe; learned it is cold and raining there, just like here, where it is 45 degrees out, according to our back-yard thermometer, and raining off an on. When it's on it is pouring.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Warren.
I used to dislike ASPIC, but now I like it. Like beer, I mean BREW, and Brussels sprouts, I guess it's an acquired taste.
Funny how, as we grow older, older people look better to us than when they were younger. Mt wife has always thought the actor Eric Braeden was hot, and she says now that he's old(er) he looks even better. Oh, she loves Armand Assante, too, as mentioned a few days ago.
C.C., personally I didn't think Brokeback Mountain was all that great. I suppose it could be worth watching just for the sake of seeing what all the hoopla was about, but I myself could happily live on without ever having seen it.
Happy birthday Warren!
ReplyDeleteI knew I was in for a treat when I noticed John Lampkin's name at the top. I enjoyed the theme.
Lucina, YoMama, good one!
It rained yesterday and a cold front is passing over. It's cold and windy here today. Like C.C., I'm still wearing shorts though.
I think a sacrifice bunt usually isn't very exciting either but a fast runner who tries to bunt for a base hit can be lots of fun to watch.
I remember HODAD from early movies like Gidget and Beach Blanket Bingo. I don't think I went to see any of them but I remember some of the vocabulary.
Like Boomer, I tried to talk Barbara out of going to Brokeback Mountain too but she went without me.
I enjoyed the various “Don’t quit expressions” said by different professionals. Great expo. CC.
ReplyDeleteI had one look up. I thought it was Reis van der Rohe instead of Meis,. Getting the M gave me YoYoMA and JOY.
I was surprised by ASPIC, thinking of it as a mold of gelatin with veggies or meat, which I have made. Then I remembered that ASPIC is a glaze, as well. I have never tried to make that.
Like a number of you, COWHERD brought to mind the Lonely Goatherd song. It seems COWHERD is legit, but not very common.
My dad often said to me:
Katerina, Flickebena, flicke meinen Hosen,
Hier ein Lochen , Da ein Lochen. In der mitte grossen.
Katherine, sewing lady, mend my pants.
Here a hole, there a hole, in the middle, a big one.
Did you ever hear that one, Spitzboov? I guess my name brought this verse to mind.
Hi, again. My small crossword dictionary is filling nicely with many obscure terms from yesterday and today. OSH, for example, is one I hadn't heard and HODAD is definitely an entry. Better add YOYOMA, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to see La Casa de me Padre as I saw Will Ferrell interviewed by Charlie Rose and Jon Stewart. It sounds funny. A good thing to do on a rainy day, don't you think?
If you don't know HODAD ...
ReplyDeleteredanman says: Watch more old Jan & Dean movies.
Never surfed a day as I am a $h*t swimmer, but knew all the surfer lingo and did my 1960's skateboard all pretty with a Con surfboard logo. I had some JAMMS, but I was no POSER, I just couldn't swim all that well. Still can't.
Cowabunga
Katerina, that's adorable.
ReplyDeleteredanman, cool!
La Casa de me Padre got a very good review in our newspaper.
Hi Y'all,
ReplyDeleteHallelujah! After a severe two-day drought, a puzzle I could do! Thank you, John Lampkin, for putting fun in my Sunday. I was a little down because my grandsons are at Disney World and I'm not.
Good writeup, C.C. I marvel because you seem to know the English language better than I, a native.
Grew up in the state where Carrie Nation wielded her axe in saloons. I once had to write stories on a big WCTU convention in town. Very DRY subject! LOL
I had two missteps with 13A ending in an "E" and 92A ICEd. Had HODAD but thought it was wrong. Can someone explain this term.
COWHERD didn't seem right to me although I realize if shepherd is okay, cowherd probably is too. Cowhand or cowboy is more general usage.
YR - re: Did you ever hear that one, Spitzboov?
ReplyDeleteGood translation. I never heard that one but I like it. My mother would say to a mending request in L. German: "Gau mit de hitte noodel." Quickly with the hot needle. Also, Hosen = Büx in LG. As in "He hett de Büx vull mookt." (He crapped his pants)
Irish Miss, Water for Elephants was fast-paced enough, I didn't miss what was left out of the book. I liked the book enough I had read it twice and didn't think I would like the movie, but I was satisfied with it.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to watch BrokeBack Mountain. Some things I just don't want to know about. And I know some cowboys who are probably gay.
I rarely like any of the movies that get academy awards. I got part way through Slumdog Millionaire and had to turn it off.
Happy Sunday all;
ReplyDeleteWhat a pure pleasure from JL; my favorites were: 23A. Start to finish, e.g.?: ANTONYM. Start & Finish are antonyms. 50A. Place for a plunger in Plymouth: LOO. Plymouth, England, and the delightful 33A. Raise a glass to : TOAST. 103. Where glasses may be raised?: OPERA. Opera glasses. My favorite theme clue naturally was 6D. Persevere, like a judge? : TRY, TRY AGAIN
I also have enjoyed the commentary, but almost spit out my drink at " 'He hett de Büx vull mookt.' (He crapped his pants)"
The more I learn the less I know.
For all the Gulf of Mexico Floridians, it is only a short ride on 75 to Hollywood. maybe we can get JL to sing.
Good afternoon C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteIt is always fascinating to read your take on different clues and answers, C.C. Today, I learned about Chin Chin - I always thought that was a Chinese toast!! But, here's to you "Chin chin"!! (As I raise my glass of wine).
I loved loved loved this puzzle, Mr. Lampkin, and wish I could tell you in person this Wednesday. But I will be with all of you "in spirit(s)".
What fun clues, with your typical wit and misdirection - mostly WEES. OPERA had me going, and I was transported back to the days of "Beach Blanket Bingo" with HO-DAD, but "Start to finish" had to be my favorite!! Thanks for a fun Sunday romp.
Determining a "Best Picture" is a most difficult concept, similar to deciding best athlete, where you cross so many variables, and so many many different objectives. I often have not cared for the Academy Award winning films, but have tried not to base my decision solely on my limited perspective. It also is interesting to compare the experience of seeing a film in a theater, and at home, even with a big screen TV. I thought Avatar was wonderful when I saw it in an IMAX. Anyway, if you want to research your likes here is the LIST . cast your votes
ReplyDeleteChin chin in Japanese is entirely different. I learned its meaning from my Japanese American grandson who was age 3 at the time.
ReplyDeleteLink chin chin
Here's Favorite Norm's
ReplyDeleteThank you john,
ReplyDeleteI approached your puzzle like a teenage girl, ("it's so big")
(Sorry, but i am still lmao at Yellowrocks post.)
I tried to take your advice, and even took a 2 hour nap, but i got stopped at the SE corner. I could not get "Naval" and could not put a "W" at 93D, because if cows get a hold of Branding Irons, we are in "big" trouble.
Hero's hero made me hungry for a Dagwood Sandwich, i think that's what did me in...
I am only aware of Aspic because of Cat Food! (Yuck!)
i also put atones, which made 37A boring a toss up between "measly, and Peasly?"
Dinner break, and then i am off to look for links that will honor your puzzle. Which reminds me, 33A double write over, i had honor, then roast, then toast...
PK, you are just about the only person I know who didn't like Slumdog Millionaire besides me. I actually walked out just as they were preparing to blind a child's eye to make him a better beggar.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sunday Morning on CBS. This short video is of the spring arrival of the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C.
Jayce, you must be on the rainy side of the valley.At the moment the clouds have lifted exposing velvety green mountains draped in beautiful snowy white caps. Stunning!
ReplyDeleteLemonade, great list..fun to browse. I saw 6 out of the 9 movies this year and liked them all.But, you're right, each one was so different. How does anyone choose a best anything?
Adding a bit of JOY to your afternoon pleasure. Chin Chin!
Good night everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Warren. Very nice write up, C.C. and a fun puzzle that was mostly doable for me, John Lampkin, which is unusual for not being a Monday or Tuesday for me.
I guess WEES means what everybody else said. I missed the clue on that one while gone for a couple of weeks.
Anyhow, that's what I say about this very clever puzzle.
Cheers
JD ~~ That video was so well done and such fun to watch. Thanks for posting it!
ReplyDeleteCe Dave,
ReplyDeleteWere you turned off by an innocent little three year old taking a bath and announcing, "I am washing my knees. Now I am washing my chin chin."? In Japanese this not offensive. I thought it was cute.
BillG: Thanks for the cherry blossoms. The scene from Slumdog that I quit on the guy was taking a knife to a little boy. I thought at the time he was going to keep him singing soprano with the surgery, but the whole thing was so confusing, I wasn't sure--just done.
ReplyDeleteJD: loved the Rita Hayworth clip. I loved my Rita paper dolls as a child. It's been a long time but I recognized a few of the fabulous clothes for the doll in the dance scenes: the black velvet with white satin bodice, the gold shimmery, and my favorite the red flamenco gown near the end.
Re the Rita Hayworth wardrobe: While I danced my Rita doll around in her fancy clothes, i was sure I would grow up and wear lovely things and dance with handsome men. Well, i did some dancing. Now my biggest wardrobe decision is whether to wear the sox that match my shoes or my sweat pants.
ReplyDeletePK, loved that you had Rita Hayworth paper dolls. The Sears catalog was my source . I had tons of families in the finest underwear!
ReplyDeleteJD, I loved that video. Great dancing and it's very well edited. Fun!
ReplyDeleteyellowrocks @6:18
ReplyDeleteTerribly Sorry, i did not get past item one of your link, i went back, but could not find anything about 3 years olds bathing?
JD, Rita Hayworth,,, before my time, alas,,, but with your clip, now i know how we got thru WWII.
Rita Hayworth (she must have danced holes in her stockings...)
C.C. -
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Yo-Yo Ma's name. From your post this morning, I gather that his name is American style, i.e. Family name last. In your opinion, is Yo-Yo his official given name, or a nickname?
About Brokeback Mountain: I agree wholeheartedly with Jayce. We saw the movie recently, and only because of Netflix; we never bothered to go pay cinema prices when it was new. I don't think it lived up to the hype. It just wasn't that interesting a story arc.
I guess I am just a Word Nerd. I am fascinated that words that sound the same have totally different meanings in different languages. In some Spanish speaking countries they had to change the name of the NOVA auto to something else. In Spanish NO VA means “doesn't go,” a really bad characteristic for a car. This kind of misperception can cause embarrassing situations. . There are many other examples. HELL in German means bright (the opposite of dark.)Etc.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone read this article from the NY Times- The Computer's Next Conquest:Crosswords? My question is WHY?
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, way back when the Commodore VIC computer did not go over well in Germany...
ReplyDeleteI'll weigh in on "Brokeback Mountain". We saw it shortly after it became available on Netflix, so it's been close to 6 years. It could have been a great movie, but it was no better than mediocre. The story is important enough to tell from that perspective, but it got completely lost in the attempt to be an artsy "film". It doesn't deserve more than a C, but it wasn't a complete failure. A far better movie with a tangentially related theme from the same era was "TransAmerica". A totally bizarre, but very good movie, IMO.
ReplyDeleteAnd since most of these have been mentioned in the past day or 2, I liked "Water for Elephants" a lot, really really liked "The Descendants" and thought "Midnight in Paris" was the best Woody Allen effort in 35 years. Beyond that, not many Oscar contenders have passed through our viewing window.
Wonderful puzzled and write-up. Thanks John and CC.
ReplyDeleteI envy those of you enjoying good weather. It's cold and very windy here. I hate wind--it makes me cranky. It blew our big barbeque over and almost down a hill. Even the dogs wanted to come in after only a little bit of their daily P.E. It's been raining off and on and supposed to turn to snow later and tomorrow.
About Brokeback Mountain. I didn't really watch it when it was on TV so I can't comment much about it. However, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, we went to Hawaii. We were having a great time just walking around when I saw a place that showed x-rated videos in little booths. Since I had never seen anything remotely "naughty", I asked my husband if we could go in and see what all the fuss was about. No one was anywhere around. We went in one of the booths and it was playing only gay movies. We, of course, decided to leave. Meanwhile, a ship must have come in or something because the place was suddenly very crowded with guys in uniforms. I was embarrassed to come out of the booth so we waited for a little while. Finally, we just had to leave. All the guys twittered and laughed when they saw my very pregnant self. As usual, when embarrassed I reacted inappropriately. I quipped, "Really, guys, I wasn't like this when we came in here."
JD, when computers have that "aha" moment, then they will be on par with us...
ReplyDeleteMarti, came across a word i never heard, don't care for the music, but i tolerate it to watch a clip that makes me want a motorcycle while i am riding my bike, maybe you can incorporate it into one of your puzzles.
Esker
Speaking of trips, i know this is very long at 8 minutes, but you must once in your life take this trip, at about 5 minutes, my head was tilting like a curious dog, and i have no idea what time it was when i wanted to puke!
Riding The Booster
John Lampkin, Sorry for the unrelated clips, but someone said you can get away with it on Sundays...
Happy Birthday, Warren. Hope you have many more.
ReplyDeleteAbejo
CE Dave - Esker has been clued occasionally before as ridge or glacial ridge. LAT of Nov 30 and Jan 14 of 2011 had it.
ReplyDeleteEvidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss League records were destroyed in a fire, ....and so we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.
CED: Man, I'm feeling windblown after biking the esker. Enjoyed it. Meeting those hikers and bicyclers seemed dangerous without slowing. Early part looks like an abandoned railroad??
ReplyDeleteDid you notice how the tiles were peeling off the rocket booster? Scary!
Spitzboov: Good one! LOL
ReplyDeleteLate to the party - had some friends over for a late lunch that stretched into late late afternoon. I love lunches like that!
ReplyDeleteHODAD was completely new to me and my last letter - a total WAG, but OSH sounded familiar. OSK sounded familiar too, but H comes before K soo ..
@Barry G - yep, I would say that I parred a hole, or "made par at 7". The clue is a little bit inaccurate for the way I play, I've made a number of pars where I was nowhere close to making birdie - with my golf game a more accurate clue would be "almost made bogey" or as I've said a ton of times "I'd have made double bogey there at least if I hadn't fluked a chip in from 100 yards and made par" :)
Thanks John for a great fun puzzle - once I got it. Thanks too to Dave for the Booster footage and JD for Rita Hayworth. Didn't know she danced with Mr Astaire.
ReplyDeleteThis afternoon saw "A Separation," the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar-winner. Excellent film on many levels. Could watch it again and see new things, my definition of a good film. Re: Slumdog Millionaire, once you've seen it, that's it. It doesn't hold up. Re: Brokeback Mountain, the short story it's based on is much better than the film.
78 in NoDak today, almost air conditioner weather. Went to the St Pat's Day parade in shorts & sandals. Too weird.
Happy Birthday Warren. Have a good week everyone. Bea
PK, I'm guessing that was ice coming off the liquid fuel main rocket. It's filled with super cold fuel. Then ice forms on the outside and falls off when the shuttle blasts off.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this educated opinion is worth just what I charged you for it. :>)
spitzboov:
ReplyDeleteThank you for that chuckle. I'm laughing all the way to bed.
Dudley,
ReplyDeleteYo-Yo is not a nickname, but it's a common practice to repeat one character in Chinese naming. Like Chinese actress Fan Bing-Bing. Fan is her family name.
@ LaLaLinda
ReplyDeleteYou can have Ichiro, but you're have to take the whole team. Good luck.