3D. 2000 Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST
5D. "Who shot J.R.?" e.g. : BURNING QUESTION
9D. People, for one : POPULAR MAGAZINE
15D. Piquant sushi choice : SPICY TUNA ROLL
And the unifier:
33. Easily angered, or what the answers to 3-, 5-, 9- and 15-Down appear to be? : HOT HEADED. The four theme entries are "headed" by synonyms for "hot": sexy, burning, popular or spicy. I'll take it any way I can get it!!
Hearti here, with another fun Thursday offering from Julian Lim. It's been a while since I blogged one of his puzzles, but I never forget his wit. Let's see what he has for us today...
Across:
1. Condiment often mixed with soy sauce : WASABI. I mix a drop of soy sauce to a tablespoon of wasabi. DH mixes a drop of wasabi to a tablespoon of soy sauce.
7. Cowboys-and-Indians toys : CAP GUNS. Wow, what a blast from the past, playing with the neighbor kids. I can still smell the sulfur from those rolls of caps!
14. Help, metaphorically : A LEG UP. More legs for Splynter...
15. Scrape together : SCROUNGE. Great word. I used to scrounge money from my sister to go to the movies on Saturdays.
16. Bobby ___: '40s-'50s adolescent girls : SOXERS. Remember poodle skirts?
18. "Stop right there!" : HEY.
19. Classic pop : NEHI. Radar's drink.
21. Start of a personal trainer's motto : USE IT...and lose it!
22. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Inc. collects license fees for musicians, as does the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers.
24. Phrase from one who sees : I CALL. Poker. And 65A. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP.
27. ___-wop music : DOO. Remember poodle skirts?
28. Song of thanksgiving : PAEAN. Song from a paisan? 3:50
30. Workaholic's personality : TYPE A
31. Talk on the street? : SLANG
32. Zoom : TEAR
33. Santa's laughs : HOs. Hey, Argyle!
36. And the following, in a bibliog. : ET SEQ. "et sequens" or "et sequentia". Latin.
37. James Bond's outfit : TUX. Who else wanted MI6? But the clue refers to the outfit he is wearing.
38. Given to gloom : MOODY.
40. Spot for a snooze : COT
41. Asian soup noodle : UDON. Wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot, in soup. Yummm!
43. Trump's "The ___ the Deal" : ART OF. His blueprint for rising to the top. Anyone read it?
44. Vex supremely : EAT AT.
46. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao architect : GEHRY. Frank, who designed this masterpiece in Spain:
47. OPEC measure : BBL. Why two "b"s for "barrel"? Find the answer here!
50. Campfire treat : SMORE. Yummm!
51. Dogfish Head product : ALE. Craft-brewed ales, for melissa and Abejo.
52. Sought-after group : A LIST. ...or "A-listers", who are the crème de la crème of society.
54. Courtroom cry : OYEZ. Not to be confused with "oyer", which is an open hearing. OYEZ is called three times to bring the court to session.
56. "That's the spot!" : AHH
59. Watchman : SENTINEL
62. Much-anticipated time : BIG DAY
64. Like Little League World Series qualifying games : REGIONAL
66. One who decks the halls, say : ADORNER
67. Tachometer part : NEEDLE
Down:
1. Household chore : WASH. Iron, dust, cook...
2. Healthy smoothie ingredient : ALOE. Aha! So it's not just a soothing lotion additive!
4. ___-appropriate : AGE.
6. ___ dixit: unfounded claim : IPSE
7. Hosp. area for heart patients : CCU. Coronery Care Unit. Stay out of there, Lemonade!
8. Alsatian dadaist : ARP. Our old favorite dada guy.
10. Male people : GUYS. Uh-uh, I use it for both male and female. "What's up, guys?"
11. Needing nourishment : UNFED. (Needing S'mores?)
12. Marsh of mysteries : NGAIO. Not familiar with him. (Update from Fermatprime: Marsh is a dame!) And 45D. Mystery writer Josephine : TEY. Not familiar with her, either.
13. Squabble : SET TO
20. Google success : HIT. They actually have a site that tracks these things.
23. Hair very apparent? : MANE. A pun-ny take on "heir apparent". I guess if you have a mane of hair, it would be quite apparent!
25. Zenith : APEX
26. Field for a fold : LEA. A fold can either be the pen that sheep are kept in, or the flock of sheep.
28. Infinitesimal division of a min. : P-SEC. Pico-second?
29. Middle harmony part : ALTO
34. Stink : ODOR
35. "Ghost Hunters" network : SY-FY. Evidently, the #1 paranormal show on TV.
37. Dog in Kansas : TOTO
39. Sports analyst Hershiser : OREL
42. River project : DAM
47. Iraqi seaport : BASRA. Geography lesson for the day. Zoom out, and you will see that it is not a seaport, after all.
48. Go through the page : BLEED. Like ink.
49. Techspeak, e.g. : LINGO
53. Cup-a-Soup direction : STIR
55. Abba of Israel : EBAN. This guy. Ambassador to the US and UN.
57. Lug : HAUL
58. Publicist's job : HYPE. Hurry, hurry, step right up!!
60. L.A.-to-Helena dir. : NNE
61. Kernel holder : EAR. Don't you hate it when you get kernels of corn in your ear?
63. Merged comm. giant : GTE. GEE, are we done already? See you next week!
Answer grid.
Hugs,
Marti
53 comments:
Greetings!
Fun puzzle, Julian! Great write-up, Marti!
But one thing: N. Marsh was a Dame!
Not thrilled with ADORNER. But sure. Just would never use it!
Time for bed. Happy day, all!
Morning, all!
Perfect Thursday puzzle in terms of difficulty. The theme was fun and it's nice to see 15-letter vertical answers for a change.
As with Fermatprime, I was less than thrilled with ADORNER, but everything else was fine today. Really liked entries like SCROUNGE, ET SEQ, PAEAN, etc.
Didn't know GEHRY (and I'm sure I'll forget him right away), but the perps took care of him. Always have trouble remembering how to spell NGAIO, but once again the perps came to the rescue.
And yes, I wanted MI6 for James Bond's outfit...
Hello Puzzlers -
This was a tricky rascal for sure. In so many cases I had to trust the perps, even where the result was suspicious looking, as in UDON and GEHRY. Neither is familiar. Never heard of NGAIO Marsh either. We've probably had all of these before and I've just forgotten.
Hand up for trying to work MI6 into place.
Thanks for today's sparkle, Marti!
Preview sure is weird.
Okay, admit it, you all though of Psalm for the song of Thanksgiving instead of Paean.
Josephine Tey appears fairly frequently in the puzzles, so I knew her name, but not her books.
Slang and Lingo in the same puzzle. How cool is that!
In addition to being a skin soother, Aloe is something you can drink in a smoothie? GROSS!
Tux was a great clue for Bond, James Bond.
Oh, yeah, I meant to ask about that. Does aloe offer some nutritional value? Is it tasty?
Puzzle Gal and Dudley, the medicinal effects of Aloe are controversial. Studies have shown that one of the chemicals in it - aloin - can be toxic, or induce certain cancers in lab rats. ("More studies are needed...")
Good morning, all!
I think my brain must have been asleep this morning. I looked at ALE GUP for a long time before I could split it properly. And I never even thought of MI6 -- I wanted BSS (British Secret Service). Doh! And my ODOR began life as a REEK. But I did put PAEAN in almost without thinking, so perhaps all is not lost.
Marti, thanks for 'splaining that second B in BBL. I worked for an awl biz company for almost 30 years, and never knew why it was abbreviated that way. So what's the appropriate abbreviation for a 40-gallon barrel?
Taxing day. Later...
Hi There ~!
I, too, was pleased to see some vertical theme answers today, and my only hold up was "SPICY", since I have not heard of Puppy fat, and poker eluded me on "one who sees" (but the "I" part I had filled in)....
Hand up for M I six(?)
SCROUNGE is a great word
What about a 4-bbl carburetor?
Thanks for the "legs", Marti (fishnets?)
Splynter
This HOT puzzle was a HIT with me. Thanks Julian. Marti, I love your witty write ups.
Now I must go out to get me some Japanese cuisine. Marti, I'm with you, lots of WASABI. Do you like wasabi mayonnaise? My son once popped the whole ball of WASABI in his mouth, undiluted. His eyes watered, he choked, he grabbed for his water glass. To this day he won't touch the stuff.
I must get some SPICY TUNA ROLLS to go with the WASABI
I like UDON soup. I am really hungry for yaki udon, stir fried with veggies and pork and/or shrimp. YAKI SOBA is even better.
While in Japan I wanted to practice my Japanese, but everyone there practiced their English on us, instead. I went alone to a little shop where there were no westerners. I ate YAKI SOBA and tried my fractured Japanese to my heart's content. The owners and diners were very encoutaging and appreciative.
Hi Y'all,
Another Thursday stumper for me! Had to have Marti's help with some of the downers. Did get HOTHEADED.
I wanted Psalm and Nano at 28 followed by rumor at 31A, didn't know 36A, so was really in trouble.
Ngaio Marsh was a writer from NewZealand. My daughter brought me one of her novels when she was a Rotary Scholar over there. Never read another of hers.
Snow in the night. After several 60+ degree days, should be gone by noon. Pretty now.
Great puzzle today, a few good stumpers (hands up for PSALM!)
13D SET TO for Squabble had me scratching my head. Never used that phrase. Never heard of OYEZ. Never heard of PUPPY FAT (but I liked the link!) However, I have heard of HOS!
I don't watch much Bond. I was thinking the answer would be Her Majesty's Secret Service (HSS?)
Desper-otto @ 7:14 am: LOL for ALE GUP :)
13D reminded me of the Big Bang Theory episode where Leonard opines that SYFY looks like it should be pronounced "Seefee".
And in closing, when I Google "success" I get this.
Good morning! Great write up, Marti. I really liked this Lim puzzle. (Except for the aforementioned ADORNER)
It took some bouncing around but managed to SCROUNGE up enough known stuff to suss it out. Interesting that MB and Abejo discussed Dogfish ALE yesterday and it shows up in todays puzzle. Yes, Psalm was the first thoought, but I remembered that there was another word starting with P that was in another puzzle not too long ago. I couldn't remember it, though, so needed a few more perps.
GEHRY was known, since he designed the Weatherhead School of Management building at Case Western Reserve University. It's unique design was in the news while I was still in the cleveland area. Spelling his name GEaRY slowed me down for just a bit though.
Never heard of PUPPYFAT. It filled easily enough though.
Fun seeing Trump's ART OF The Deal and his trademark MANE in the same puzzle.
Yellowrocks, My niece did the same thing with a scoop of WASABI when she was four years old. She thought it was lime sherbert and dove in before anyone could stop her. Milk is much better than water for cutting the heat, though.
Morning all,
Every Thursday is a challenge, so I really enjoy your witty write-ups, Marti.I was more into s'mores than poodle skirts, so had to shed that puppy fat.
Julian's clues are always a clever mix, and I'm thankful that he sprinkles in some that give me a foothold somewhere. I had fun with the spicy theme.Burning question fell into place quickly.
I did not see the D in aDorner or bleeD...should have zipped thru the alphabet on that one.Also left the E out of psEc and Etseq.
Wow, this one had it all for me – fun theme, clever clues, learning (NGAIO, ET SEQ, UDON, GHERY) and that faint hint of anxiety that I might not get it all, esp. the middle west (ironic huh?) but I got ‘er done and Marti’s always clever write up was the wasabi on my sushi! Thanks Julian! Out the door so a few quick
Musings
-I love horseradish but WASABI can be a real shock. It’s also a Mater line from the Cars movie, “Wasabi?” “Same old same old, wasssup with you?”
-I scrounged change out of my pickup to get a Snickers at school yesterday!
-Joann loves SMORES. Me? Not so much!
-Pictures of old windmills out here are always called Sentinels of the Prairie.
-My IPSE was IPSO for a while
-AFRO was a gimme, oh wait, it’s MANE
-Read y’all later!
Hey Marti - Thank you for your puzzle skills and psychic flashback stimuli: the smell of cap guns!
Saturday Matinee horror films - wow, what memories! I'm talking 1950's:
"The Creature from the Black Lagoon"
"The Blob" And my alltime goosebump favorite: "The Mummy".
Do you remember those 3D films with the handout glasses, one red and one green lens, that left you with an apres-film headache? I'm thinking of Vincent Price in "The Tingler".
You like'm spicy? Me too, despite my WASP genes.
I don't remember poodle skirts, but saddle shoes I do, with the turned-down white sox: Bobbie Soxers. But who was Bobby?
If I didn't read Nietzsche (why don't we see this wonderful name in puzzles more often), I will not feel guilty about missing The Donald's literary output.
I have never put aloe in a smoothie -perhaps something is lacking in my creative thinking.
My mommie said not to put beans in my ear, but said nothing about corn.
That's all for today.
Good morning all. Good write-up, Marti, and thanks for telling us where the second B in BBL came from. Interesting that with most of the world on metric, oil is still traded in 42 gal bbls.
Found the cw initially hard, today, but dropped to the bottom and East which filled in relatively easily. The puzzle grid didn't lend itself to strong ties between sectors, so each had to be solved on its own. But after getting the long down fills, it gradually came together. Had to invoke red letter aid for HEY, tho. CAPGUNS was a WAG. Recalled my childhood as others above. I liked the clue for TUX.
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Julian Lim, for a very good, but tough, puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the excellent write-up.
Well, this was one tough puzzle. Some were amazingly easy and some were amazingly difficult. I think I got more Wags than known answers. My Wags are: BMI, PAEAN, ET SEQ, UDON, SEXY BEAST, GEHRY, OYEZ, and SYFY. I really lucked out.
Enjoyed the long down answers.
51A ALE came easy. The craft brewers always seem to adopt a goofy name. I think that is neat. Maybe I will be one some day. I have been a Home Brewer in the past. Hopefully some of Dogfish Head's other beers and ales are better than the Midas Touch that I still own four of. Anyhow, to each his own. that is what makes the world go around.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
I like that each of 4 theme answers and the unifier were different defintions of the word HOT.
Santa's HOs reminded me of the SET TO when Don Imus was rightfully censured for his insulting use of that word. That following Christmas the idea was carried to absurdity when some said that it was non PC for Sants to say HO HO HO.
Marti, you brought back the smell of those burned caps. We girls did not have cap guns, so we laid the caps on the sidewalk and detonated them one by one with a pointy rock. My sons had cap guns, buut now thwey are are passe.
Dudley @6:08. I am happy with PREVIEW now. If I hit PREVIEW and scroll down a bit, I see my post. Then I have to scroll back to the
upper right to hit EDIT.
My frustration is that that is no SPELL CHECK anywhere on the screen.
Marti: Nice write-up & links.
Hmmm, "Healthy smoothie ingredient" ... well all I could think of was Pinch.
Cheers!
YR @ 7:46, I love wasabi in just about anything, even mayonnaise. But my favorite has to be Wasabi Peas. I eat them by the pound - so crunchy and yummy, and much healthier than potato chips...
Good morning all:
A tough but doable puzzle. No help and no write-overs which, for me, is a happy ending. Great write-up, Marti, and clever offering, Mr. Lim.
Mari @ 8:30-It seems you are a Big Bang Theory fan, as I am. If laughter is good for one's health and well-being, everyone's doctor should prescribe watching this show. I watched a re-run last night which featured the "boys" in an entomologist's (sp?) lab surrounded by all sorts of creepy crawlers. When Howard teases Raj with an imaginary bug crawling on him, Raj cries, "Don't do that! I hate bugs"! To which our hero, Sheldon, dryly replies, "Well, let's see now. You hate bugs and you are afraid of women, so that means a lady bug would render you catatonic"?
Happy Thursday everyone.
Good job, Marti: (When you were in grade school, did you dot your "i" with a heart? :)
One of my many OCD peeves is servers who greet the entire table with "guys."
We do many bean luncheons because they are successful fund raisers (people hunger, literally and figuratively for home cooking) and we add aloe juice to each pot...cuts down on undesirable side effects.
Abejo: Tried your e mail yesterday and it came back...My question was, "Why did you choose a blog name that translates `down` in Spanish...because you seem anything but."
Meant to ask has anyone heard from WH since the last round of twisters?
Hello, Marti, and all fellow puzzlers.
Thank you, Marti, for your upbeat and informative review. I remember the smell of CAP GUNS!
And thank you, Julian Lim, for a challenging but not too difficult puzzle.
I was on his wave length right away and sashayed through most of it but had to wait for perps on UDON and PUPPY FAT.
Misspelled SYFI and therefore GEHRI, too.
Nope, PAEAN came instantly and OYEZ was learned through crosswords.
Was unsure about NGAIO as had never heard it, but perps were solid.
Have a happy Thursday, everyone!
Windhover wrote that lambing season is keeping him busy right now. 36 have been born and more are expected.
Dudly, Fermat and other Downton fans, please read my post from last night and give your opinion. I am really flummoxed with part 3 of season 2.
ABAJO means down, not, Abejo.
What does ABEJO mean?
What everyone else said! Very nice puzzle, liked the down-direction of the theme entries for a change.
I have a confession regarding Abba Eban - I'd only ever encountered him in crosswords, and until Marti linked the answer today, I actually thought that Eban was a pop quartet from Israel who played Abba-like music.
Now I know better, and will skulk into the dark shadows and wallow in my ignorance for the rest of the day.
To ARBAON:
Caught your comment this morning. Not sure why the email came back. It works I believe.
An explanation of my name "Abejo" In Farsi (the language of Iran) it means "beer" Ab means water and Jo means barley. Therefore Ab-e-jo means water of barley, or beer. I used to live in Iran and Farsi is their language. I kind of adopted that name as my moniker.
Thanks for the question.
Abejo
Hi gang -
Some days the puzzle gets me, and this was one such. Empty squares in the middle. Couldn't even come up with MI6. I CALL? - No - I folded.
Excellent puzzle, appreciate the HOT theme.
I'll have my TUX on for the BIG DAY tomorrow when we play.
Brahms' Academic Overture Nice camera word on this 10 min vid. Our oboist is MUCH better looking! HEY - we don't have a chorus - that was a surprise ending!
Overture to The Tsar's Bride We're a little slower. This tempo feels frantic in spots.
Beethoven's 6th.
Here's the 9 min finale - after the storm.
Cheers!
JzB not feeling too HOT - catching a COLD
Did anyone else immediately fill in IM PEI? He's the first architect that comes to mind except for Eero What-His-Name.
Anyway, good morning. Good Thursday offering.
Coffee with the Mini Coven this a.m. - Chickie & JD - I'm taking the "dam way" because of the mess on 101. See you soon.
EddyB - I'll be thinking of you tonight. I'm off to shark tank - BUFFETT BABY...and I don't mean Warren! BillG - have a cheese burger in paradise for lunch.
Fins to the left...Everyone have a
delightful day.
MI6 is like our CIA. MI5 is like our FBI. Anyway, MI6 = SIS (Secret
Intelligence Service.)
Perfect Thursday puzzle, Julian--tough but gettable. And Marti, thanks for clearing up a number of questions, though I'm still not crazy about BLEED for going through the page. However, unlike a lot of others, I actually liked ADORNER--maybe because decorating Christmas trees has been one of my favorite activities.
Frank Gehry designed the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. I seem to remember the design drove the acoustics people nuts, but eventually it worked and I gather the place has great sound now.
@Lucina (without the D)10:20 am--thanks for the update on Windhover, and can you just remind us what flummoxed you about Downton Abbey? (I can't figure out how to access yesterday's blog).
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Yikes! Major DNF today. Guess I will have to be the dissenter here today. Didnt like the puzzle, had most of the NW blank or wrong, missed BMI (had eMI), didnt know UDON (had UDOm). Wasnt thrilled with PUPPYFAT, either. Definitely broke any streak of wins I may have had. Oh, well, try again tomorrow.
Misty, go to the right side and scoll down to the archives, pick the day you want and the comments will be on the bottom.
FYI - Try different size windows and you will get different results for Preview.
When I put on my readers and looked up "abejo" it meant "bee" in Spanish. Hope that is finally correct.
GG. Thxs for the thought. What is going on at the Tank?
Sharks playing in Dallas tonight.
No 13 0f 17?
Sorry, arbaon, ABEJA is bee. Those pesky vowels!
I'm off to collect my tax files.
Arabon @ 10:17, Dotting i's with little hearts was not on my radar in grade school...I was strictly a tom boy, and was only interested in catching frogs, climbing trees and looking for indians!!
This was a tough one for me today, i think i will just write down on the wall all those NGAIO, ET SEQ, UDON, GHERY words for next time. I knew i was in trouble at the get go, because i thought i mixed Soy Sauce with everything, but it never occurred to me to mix it with Wasabi because i never want to dilute it...
My favorite Wasabi moment was after watching Fran Drescher (The Nanny) for years and years with that brooklyn accent, and then suddenly hearing THIS.
Oh well, "BBL" (Be Back L8r)
P.S. ( i have new respect for "Abejo")
Anyone heard from Dennis? Is he coming back? What about Lois? Jeannie?
Good to know Windhover's ok.
Hi all. Thanks Marti!
My computer is not downloading images, so I can't look at the links or see anyone's avatar. Off for a BIG DAY with a "genius" at the Apple Store.
What everyone else said. Tough puzzle, but able to finish with many smudges. Liked the HOT start with WASABI.
Preview is still messed up. Lost two comments. My third showed up in yesterday comments.
This is my last try.
And Ant?
I agree with VAIRNUT @11:09. Just couldn't get on the right wave length today. WASABI, SPICY TUNA ROLL, and UDON were total unknowns since spicy foods and I don't get along very well.
Sorry to sound so grouchy -- must not be my day. Maybe the big sun storm is affecting my mood.
CrazyCat
Always liked the 'cat up the tree' avatar.
Garlic Gal:
I already had OREL and SYFY in the grid.
But my 1st thought was IM PEI.
In fact this puzzle had a lot of those:
"My first thought was ... but ..."
ATT before GTE
Psalm before PAEAN
MI6 before TUX
cob before EAR
etc., etc., etc.
Cheers!
Burning quwstion of the day.
Where, oh where is Peyton going to play next year?
eddy
The "Real" BURNING QUESTION of the day:
Did Ron Worden's "New Leg" fit properly.
Geez, I hope so.
Downton Abbey, continued. I found part 3 in my DVR and watched it so I can tell you there is a large chunk, about 20 minutes, in the PBS version.
More to watch.
Josephine Tey (a pen names employed by Elizabeth Mackintosh) was a successful playwright and novelist. As Tey, she wrote a number of police procedurals featuring Inspector Allan Grant. In the most interesting, "The Daughter Of Time" Grant,laid up with a broken leg, and thoroughly bored, undertakes an investigation into the crimes charged against Richard III after his death in the battle of Bosworth field. The story reflects Tey's considerable insight into human character and motivation.
Along with the smell of the CAPS, I remember the ears ringing. The girls at my house had cap guns or swiped Dad's hammer if the guns were confiscated for overuse.
Do they really put crude oil in barrels? I figured they just hosed it into tanker ships. My DH bought barrels of refined oil for his farm mechanics shop.
Tin.
Or will the GMs bring back the red line at their meeting in Boca next week?
eddy
Okay, here's the scoop. Entire conversations and scenes have been omitted from the PBS version of Downton Abbey.
If you recall the series ended with episode 7; in the UK version the second disc contains episodes 4 through 7 and there is still another disc.
If you want more details please feel free to e-mail me.
Hi All,
Puzzle did me in today. Didn't know Sexy Beast, Wasabi and many more. Enjoyed Julian's challenging CW, however. Thanks Mari for the explanations.
Extra tired today. We drove to Albuquerque last night to see a film of a live production from Melbourne of Webber's sequel to Phantom of the Opera called Love Never Dies. Loved it. Not as wonderful as Phantom but still great. We didn't get home until midnight and then I called my daughter in California who also saw it last night. Of course we had to talk about it at length. After two before I could go to sleep!
Going to bed early tonight.
Hola Everyone,
I didn't get to the puzzle until late, and was surprised with the Japanese cuisine references.
I fixed steak and snow peas with Soba noodles flavored with miso and soy for dinner tonight. One of our favorites.
Everything has been said about the puzzle, already, so I'll just add that I hope your ears weren't ringing too much today. The mini-California coven had coffee together this morning and, of course, the blog was a main topic of conversation.
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