Theme: ONE BILLION - a thousand times a thousand times a thousand. (Why settle for addition when multiplication is so much quicker?)
First, the Unifier - otherwise it's all too mysterious.
64A. Spectacular concert ender, or what 17-, 26- and 51-across numerically contain : GRAND FINALE. Each of the theme entries ends in a single letter signifying 1000. Isn't that grand?
17A. With "The", Bette Middler debut album : DIVINE MISS M. Lady with a big set of pipes. This spectacular concert starter is sort of a WTH?!? M is the Roman Numeral for 1000. But M is also used as a symbol for one million, so mind your significant digits.
26A. Kellogg's cereal : SPECIAL K. You can start your own SPECIAL K plan right here. K, meaning 1000 comes form the Greek Kilo, and is often used as a prefix. The metric symbol for the prefix KILO is "k", not "K" - OK?
51A. Riboflavin: VITAMIN G. Of course, I wanted VITAMIN D. The elusive VITAMIN G, aka riboflavin, aka VITAMIN B2 is sensitive to light, but not to heat. It also comes from almonds, grains and some green vegetables. G, in U.S. slang, denotes one thousand dollars. This probably is simply an abbreviation for GRAND, meaning - tad-ah - $1000.
Hi, gang - JazzBumpa here, to guide your tour of this GRAND offering from our own dynamic duo. Let's go.
Across:
Hi, gang - JazzBumpa here, to guide your tour of this GRAND offering from our own dynamic duo. Let's go.
Across:
1. 17-time NBA champs: CELTS. Named for the Celtics of British isles history. It says here that "the Iron Age CELTS lived in Britain before and after Jesus." I never knew Jesus lived in Britain. The things you learn . . .
6. Stern with strings : ISAAC. Here, playing Kreisler's Schoen Rosmarin (2:00)
11. Hrs. before noon : AM'S. Good Morning America!
14. Filing board : EMERY. For nail filers, not tax filers nor rank filers.
15. Word of praise for el niño : BUENO. El niño is a boy, en Español, and in this case, a GOOD boy.
16. House plant's housing : POT. Don't get excited, it's just a terra cotta container for a potted plant.
19. Gun lobby org : NRA. National Rifle Association.
20. Funny Idle : ERIC. Of Monty Python fame.
21. Regarding : AS TO, a.k.a. IN RE
22. Classic name in toys : IDEAL. They started making dolls in 1907, and 60 years later came out with KerPlunk.
24. Floors : KO'S. Knock Outs. This one had me floored for a while. Perps to the rescue. "Floors" is a verb here, as in knocks one to the _______. Boxing reference.
28. 1-Across, e.g : PRO TEAM. Replacements would be a PRO TEAM PRO TEM.
31. Govt. cryptanalyis org. : NSA. The National Security Agency
32. Bar graph, say : CHART. If you want to get graphic.
33. Alluring : SEXY. If you want to get graphic . . .
35. Purely academic : MOOT.
39. Ones making deliveries at colleges? : LECTORS. My favorite is Hannibal.
41. Lady in a Beatles song : MADONNA. See how they run.
43. Carafe cousin : EWER. Just some kind of a pitcher.
44. First razor with a pivoting head : ATRA
46. Acquire, as debt: INCUR.
47. Austrian article : EIN. One in German.
49. Conceals from the enemy, in a way : ENCODES. Call in the NSA.
55. An ace has a strong one : ARM. BASEBALL! Nate has been working on his pitching all winter. Here he is with his sis - the divine miss Em.
56. Italian violin craftsman : AMATI.
57. Sci. with cliff notes? : GEOL. Geology. Note Abbrv. Cliffs are geological formations. Love this clue!
59. Shia Islam is its religion : IRAN.
63. Slangy refusal : NAH.
67. Self-esteem : EGO. I'm gonna go get myself a steam!
68. Caribbean country : HAITI. Site of a tragic earthquake on January 13, 2010.
69. Dry out, in rehab : DETOX. Detoxification to clean out the bad stuff from inside your body.
70. Cross-reference word : SEE. See 55 Across for a gratuitous family reference
71. "__ were the days!" : THOSE. See this link for another Family reference.
72. Plus : ASSET. The plus side of the ledger.
Down:
1. Give up : CEDE. From the Latin cēdere, meaning yield.
2. Muslim noble : EMIR.
3. Jeans pioneer Strauss : LEVI. Forever in Blue Jeans. And just to be fair. (Yikes - had to turn safe search to STRICT!)
4. October custom done in costume : TRICK OR TREAT. Halloween.
5. Dict. entry : SYN. Synonym. Or something similar.
6. Some PCs : IBMS. From back in Aesop's time.
7. "I'm fine with that" : SUITS ME.
8. Greek with 12-Downs : AESOP. Teller of fables.
9. Crossword entry : ANS. Answer - or to those of us in the know - FILL.
10. Funny pages : COMICS.
11. Sleep disorder : APNEA. Respiratus interruptus. This potentially dangerous involuntary breathing disorder is nothing to sneeze at.
12. Point : MORAL. The MORAL to the story is, don't count your chickens before they cross the road.
13. Pursue, cat-style : STALK. Or pursue Euell Gibbons style.
18. The life of Riley : EASE. A retirement spent playing music, working X-words and viewing the grandchildren's performances and activities. What could be EASIER?
23. De Beers properties : DIAMOND MINES. That's rich. See 3 D.
25. Hall of Fame quarterback Graham : OTTO. He was drafted by the Lions, but played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1955. His 57-13-1 record represents the highest winning percentage of any quarterback. He also won a professional basketball championship with the Rochester Royals in 1945. Thank you Wikipedia.
27. One-named Irish singer : ENYA. That makes her a Celt.
28. "Close call!" : PHEW. PHEW is an interjection indicating relief.
29. Political contest : RACE. No comment..
30. __ D.A. : ASST. Abbrv. for assistant.
32. Largest OH airport: CLE. Cleveland, and 'n'ther abrv.
34. Marvel superhero : X-MAN. I only know of them in the plural.
36. Tots' story starter : ONCE. Once upon a time, Aesop walked into a bar, having left his morals at home. No - wait that's an adult story.
37. Burden : ONUS. Derived from the Latin, onus, meaning - of all things - a burden.
38. Roof application : TAR.
40. Rajah's wife : RANI. An Indian queen.
42. Big name in couture : DIOR. Hey - isn't this French?
45. University officers : REGENTS.
48. "Perhaps." : I MIGHT.
50. Young dolphin : CALF. Yes, mamma tursiops truncatas is, indeed, a cow.
51. Windmill blades : VANES. Don't go tilting at them.
52. Public relations concern : IMAGE. Much more important than reality.
53. 2nd deepest U.S. lake : TAHOE. Crater Lake is the deepest.
54. New Zealand-born crime writer Marsh : NGAIO. She wrote the "Dead Letter" mysteries. Anybody read them?
58. 10-Down drooler : ODIE. Not the brightest of canines.
60. "Bah!" : RATS. Expression of dismay, Charlie Brown style.
61. Natural skin treatment : ALOE. A green succulent, on its way to being a crossword evergreen.
62. "Who's turn is it?!": NEXT. Batter up!
65. Stadium sound : RAH. Could be baseball.
66. Wyo. neighbor : IDA. Idaho. Home of hot springs, spuds, and the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest. They have a law there that forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds. Seven Devils' Peaks, one of the highest mountain ranges in Idaho, Includes Heaven's Gate Lookout, where sightseers can look into four states. RAH!
Cheers!
JzB
Note from C.C. & Don:
"When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's a mishmash K-RATION, G-STRING, GEE WHIZ, GRAND JURY, etc. Don simplified the key word to one letter. We had fun making this puzzle."
Note from C.C. & Don:
"When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's a mishmash K-RATION, G-STRING, GEE WHIZ, GRAND JURY, etc. Don simplified the key word to one letter. We had fun making this puzzle."
68 comments:
Greetings!
What a fun puzzle, CC and Don! Also fun write-up, Jazz! Thanks.
Worked in cruciverb as I noticed the solution came out early. No mistakes. Whoopee!
Favorite answer: BUENO.
Still no eye-medicine.
Swam two days in a row--a minor miracle.
Cheers!
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth sailing today with a few bumps. The theme was nice and all the theme answers were pretty easy to get from their clues without needing to know the theme.
Didn't know/remember a Beatles song featuring MADONNA, so that took a bit.
Didn't recall IDEAL as the makers of any toy I have ever owned (or heard of).
Had no idea who OTTO Graham was, but after getting OTT it was pretty easy to guess that last letter.
I think of REGENTS being those who temporary rule in place of a young prince or princess and wasn't aware they were also university officers. In a similar vein, we had plenty of lecturers at my college, but I don't recall any LECTORS.
I finished the puzzle wondering what the heck a WRO TEAM was. When I didn't get the *TADA* I gave it an additional moment's thought and changed it to PRO instead. PHEW!
"Best Clue of the Day" award definitely goes to "Sci. with cliff notes" for GEOL!
Good day folks,
The North had me thinking this was going to be a Monday puzzle, but it progressively became more of a challenge as I entered the Central and Southern sections.
I don't fully understand the unifier, but it doesn't matter because I had GRANDSINGLE rather than GRANDFINALE. I neglected to review the completed puzzle, otherwise I would have seen the errors. Not sure I would have come up with the right answers though.
Only other goof was NBATEAM for 28A, but I did end up with PROTEAM.
Time foe a shot of Nyquil. UGH. Stuff tastes like ....
CC & Don, despite my miseries, I did enjoy your creation. It was fair for a Hump Day, but more importantly, it was fun.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Don G. and C.C., for a great puzzle. Thank you, as well Jazzbumpa, for a great write-up. Your notations were excellent and interesting.
Got started just fine in the NW. Did not know ERIC Idle, but perps filled that in.
Initially had WHEW for 28D, but that changed with PRO TEAM to PHEW.
TAHOE was easy. Worked there for a short while at Continental Tel, Stateline, NV.
19A NRA is near and dear to my heart, I am a Life Member.
Did not know who De Beers is or was, DIAMOND MINES appeared with many perps.
XMAN was new to me. Probably after my times.
Did not catch the theme until after I finished. Very clever.
Cooking Corned Beef and Cabbage today for 60 people. I had better get going. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Hey Mr. JazzB - Better not stay too long inna sauna if you wanna remain as a fauna - otherwise you might end up onna flora.
Nice puzzle Don and CC. However I take exception to 51A as there is no Vitamin G (this should have been clued with slang designation). riboflavin is Vitamin B2. Otherwise good puzzle for a wednesday and a great write-up.
Bomber -
Google "Vitamin G" and you'll find links to riboflavin.
Cheers!
JzB
Great puzzle, C.C. and Don!
Equally fun write up and links, Jazz!
Thank you all!
I looked at the first few clues and thought uh-oh, what am I in for? But then the NE opened first, and it was smooth riding from there on.
My only later WTF was never having heard of VITAMIN G, so that was a leap of faith relying on perp REGENTS. I only know it as Vitamin B2 and Riboflavin because that's how it's listed on Vegemite jars.
I don't know the names OTTO, NGAIO, or IDEAL either, and they all appeared via perps as well.
I'm off today to help at a "Get Real" event at the local campus. High seniors come for the day and have to deal with what life deals out to them for practice. I get to help at the S.O.S. desk. So now I need to go read up on my instructions again so I know what to tell them.
Hi Y'all,
Chuckled through the puzzle and write-up, C.C., Don and Jz. Thanks! Loved "cliff notes". Great links, Jz.
Did the wHEW thing at 28D but read the resulting across as wROTE AM. Since we had MISS M above, it looked okay to me, but didn't make sense to me as an NBA fan. Of course, when I'm up this early not much makes sense to me. DUH!
Barry: Regents are some of those guys who march in at college graduation at the head of the line with the president, all wearing graduate degree hoods and more expensive-looking mortar boards and gowns.
Thanks to all for the Wednesday Fun Run. I always look forward to a JzB write-up!
I fall into the WBS camp with WHEW. I also went with EASY (instead of EASE) whiich gave me WROTYAM for 28A. Granted, I don't know much about sports, but with a DH in the house I'm sure I would have heard of a team called WROTYAM!
XMAN threw me becaue I as looking for a specific superhero name.
I perped 57A but now that I see the meaning I agree that it's a great clue.
For the Too Much Information file: I had Special K for dinner last night.
Another record breaking 85 degrees predicted for Chicago today. This weather sure makes it hard to come in to work.
Have a great day!
Not too bad today. It would have gone more smoothly had I not read 6A as "stem". Also got messed up by 7D trying to work with "it's me".
I come to this blog when I don't understand an answer or get totally stuck, but today you have a different puzzle. Mine has a theme of "B": bee, bea, B, be. Not sure what happened?
Good morning all:
Fun puzzle and super write-up, JzB. Good Wednesday offering, no write-overs, which is always a good feeling.
I am sitting in a doctor's waiting room and was quite surprised to have access to WiFi. I brought my iPad thinking I could play Scrabble but I can surf instead! I expect to be here for quite awhile so this will keep me occupied and less antsy.
Happy Wednesday to all.
Good mid-morning, all.
Late to the party, because once I finished the puzzle we left on our 3-mile march through the 'hood to see what damage resulted from yesterday's thunderboomers. Not much. One downed tree blocking a street, a few downed branches, and one patio cover destroyed.
As usual, I didn't know it was a CC/DG puzzle, and I didn't get the theme until JzB explained it. Like Barry, my WHEW changed to PHEW, and like MidTown Bomber, VITAMING sounded off, but REGENTS was solid, so I let it stand.
Favorite misdirection: Point = MORAL.
All in all, it was a nice romp for a Wednesday. Well done CC/DG and JzB!
So sorry, I forgot to thank CC and Don for their fine efforts. Thank you!
Great write up, JazzB. Fun puzzle C.C. and Don G. I got the puzzle done and it still took a few minutes to figure out that the GRAND FINALE was the single letter. Once I saw it, though, I kicked myself for not seeing it immediately. Too bad G-strings didn't stay in... we could have had a GRAND time with that one.
On the TMI front, I had baked beans last night. Now my dear wife will be saying "PHEW" all day with a different meaning than what was clued.
I wondered about VITAMIN G, but REGENTS was too solid to ignore. In Florida the state schools have Boards of REGENTS appointed by the governor... methinks it's a SYN. for 'political plum'.
Fermat, I hope you get the problems with the eye meds resolved.
First thought for the toy manufacturer was Tonka, but perps wouldn't support it. IDEAL was obvious once a few perps were in place. Great clue for GEOL, but I nailed it.
Happy Hump Day all.
OTTO GRAHAM was a phenomenal athlete, who won title in 7 of the 10 season he plyed professional footbal, and won an NBA title his only year in that league.
Ideal Toy was the company founded by the man who invented the Teddy Bear.
The Board of Regents have been established to control state wide university systems; in FLORIDA it has been replaced by the Board of Governors to control the many state run universities in our state.
Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C., Don G. et al.
PHEW, what a fun puzzle today! Like Barry, I had wHEW at first, but when I saw wRO TEAM, I kinda figured that must be wrong. My only other hiccup was trying to spell REGENTS as REaGENT. Once I straightened that out, the reveal finally showed me the theme. Nicely executed, Don and C.C. !!
My post just erased and now I must work; thanks C.C., Don and Jazz B.
Thank you C.C. and Don G. for a challenging puzzle... slowly and surely it came together. JazzB, your commentary was fascinating and thank you for the info on Euell Gibbons - I read about him in Wiki, .... fascinating story. Too bad he died early due to an inherited dis. - Marfan's synd. - his 'good' eating and ecology traits were not enough to counteract his messed-up DNA...
I had a tough time with the cliff notes clue ... there are Cliff notes on every subject - ( Now, I notice, cliff is not capitalized - ).
Knew 'Ngaio' from x-words...pronounced (ny-o) it is a Maori (N.Zel.) word, despite the fact that she had no Maori ancestry - means 'reflections in water' ....
Had 'doctors' (?) before 'lectors'. I thought a lector was a piece of furniture - or maybe that is a lectern.
A 'Regent' in a US university is a senior mgmt. official, especially those on the board - so to say, a Prince ( or Princess - ) of the Univ.
ALT QOD:- It's easy to be politically correct and liberal when you live in a gated community. ~ B(obcat) Goldthwait.(standup comedian)
Have a good week, you all.
Thanks Don and C.C. ( I assume that it is not the same as OUR C.C.) for a fun puzzle.
For once, I got the fills fairly easily using the crosses, but I was somewhat misled by the theme clue. At first I thought that it was GRAND and had DIVINE and SPECIAL which could be synonyms. But VITAMIN wasn't.
So I looked at the clue again and saw the M, K and G.
Coming from Cleveland, I really wish we had a player like OTTO Graham again. I assume the 1 in the record was a tie. I think that they can't tie any more. Is that right?
Have a lovely hump day,
It just occurred to me. Overall I'd say that this was a GRAND puzzle.
Did VITAMING remind anybody else of this Lucy Episode 9:22?
Oh, and CC/DG, thanks for the shoutout at 25D.
Yes, Virgina, the CC who co-wrote today's puzzle is OUR CC. HeartRx, who writes the blog on Thursdays is also a constructor whose puzzles appear quite regularly in the LAT.
VSyc, it is in fact one and the same as our dear fearless elader C.C., who along with long time favortie, Don Hard G. Gagliardo, have become the Dynamic Duo of crossword construction.
There can still be ties in profootball, but only in the regular season; ask Donovan McNabb
There was, actually, a Marvel superhero called X-MAN back in the 90s. Read the description (multiple timelines, alternate realities, etc.) and you'll see why they called the 90s the Dork Age of Comics.
When I was reading them in the 80s the X-Men were, oddly enough, mostly female. As were their foes, the Brotherhood of Mutants, for a while. The X-Men comics date back to the early 60s, but their popularity did not rise until the late 70s when writer Chris Claremont took over and introduced characters like Wolverine and Storm.
Irish Miss: I hope it's nothing serious at the doctors office today.
55 Across could refer just as easily to tennis.
Good day, passionate puzzlers. Jazz, thank you for your entertaining blog. Loved your comments.
And thank you, DG & CC for this GRAND puzzle. Muy BUENO!
Loved the clue for GEOL!
Hand up for WHEW before PHEW but all else was in place so P seemed logical.
Sashayed through it quickly and even recalled NGAIO from a few Sundays ago. VITAMIN G seemed odd but then, REGENTS confirmed it.
BYW, REGENTS make the rules for the college system to function.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
To the cowardly Anon. who's got a bug up his a. about anything Lemonade does.
Quit, already ! Play NICE !!!
You ruin the mood of the whole blog !!
Life is short as it is, and trust me, I've had enough scares in the last 2 weeks, to seriously question my own mortality ... so while you've some time on this earth, why not spread some gentle genuine fellowship feelings along, and some good cheer. Trust me, we'll all be gone tomorrow....
Worked my way up from cleaning erasers after class, through graduate teaching assistant, instructor, lecturer, and the various professor levels (visiting, assistant, etc.), but never heard of LECTORS (39A). Neither has spell check!
No doubt it's googleable---see VITAMIN G---but then what isn't?
With only 38 squares, the theme was almost upstaged (downstaged?) by 4 and 23 Down coming in with 24 squares. Makes me wonder what is the lowest number of theme squares that would be acceptable.
I love puzzles by our Dynamic Duo! As soon as I got the DIVINE MISS M I checked to see the constructor. When I saw who it was, I said "Of course!" Totally delightful. And JazzB, my favorite item in your write-up was 'Hannibal'!
Otherwise, I can only join everybody in saying WBS (what Barry said).
One of our dachshunds has its back hurting badly, and so I have to pick him up to put him on the sofa, etc. which of course made my back go out. It was therefore sweet to be able to start the morning with a great puzzle and commentary. Thanks, everybody!
Yes, Lemonade shared a non-pc joke about homosexual men yesterday but it was ok because it was funny. Leave him alone.
Hi Y'All.
C.C. is that you with Don G??
Congratulations girl, this is awesome! I think I found your blog in 08, does that sound right? I may start doing the puzzle again. I really had fun with this one. So glad for you C.C.!
Hi Lemony!
Good afternoon everyone. (In case anyone wonders, DH & I get up @ 9 and have breakfast @10, so it's afternoon by the time I finish this most interesting puzzle.)
Thanks C.C. & Don. And a great write up, Jazz.
I DNF because I was stuck at LECTORS and – WBS. Especially whew for PHEW.
Anony Mouse: if you went blue I would have emailed you, but we old timers know to ignore the obnoxious anons.
I have read and enjoyed most of NGAIO March's books. Had a friend in Socorro, NM who collected them.
Cheers
Hi Robin:
Yes, dear C.C. has become a constructing machine with 27 co-authored puzzles already published by the LAT.
So good to hear from you. I just got back from Colorado (Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Keystone). Keep in touch. When I am not being excoriated by my personal anon, I am here, blogging on Fridays, or at my emails. Look forward to hearing your latest.
Hope it is all good. Like the sentiment of your new avatar, almost as much as red shoes.
Well you got me Don & C.C., i totally misunderstood the theme.
DNF by 2 letters.
I thought 64A referred to each theme answer ending in "E", and when that didn't work, it thought it meant each theme answer contained "a single E."
I.E.: 64A "Grand Final E"
Which meant that riboflavin "had" to be vitamin "E," and i just could not recover from that mistake.
(rats!)
Apparently Ngaio is also a suburb of Wellington. Ngaio Bay, with a Bed & Breakfast that has one review that states: "Don't go here, we want to save it for ourselves..."
Heavens Gate Outlook Views (link broke, you willhave to look it up yourself.)
Hello.
Used to take Vitamin K because I
bleed Sub Q very easily.
Stick a fork in the Sharks. They are almost done.
TG for St Pete this weekend.
Time to cut the grass.
Suprise ending to Clancy book. Still don't know.
eddy
http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/nestcamSJ_large.htm This is Clara.
Morning, all.
C.C., I was right on your wave length today! What a nice puzzle you and Don have given us! Perfectfor my Wednesday!
I haven't read the comments yet. So far I have no nits to pick. Jazz, great work! Loved all your links.
Learning moment: I thought Tahoe was the deepest. Is the Crater Lake first place something recently discovered Or have I just not been aware?
It's great to have a day when I don't have to be out somewhere. That's why I got here reasonably early, for once. Been haveing some P.T. for a pain where I sit aka sciatica. The therapist did a great job. It's all gone. Now I
need to get an exercise routine of some kind going before I disintigrate completely! Not my cup of tea, but what can I do?
Nice to see you all. You're in my mind a lot, though, even if I don't make it here so often.
Hi Dodo,
Yes, Crater Lake is supposed to be the deepest lake. It is also one of the clearest. We visited there once. There was beautiful white snow on the trees and ground, the sky was bright blue and the water looked beautiful.
The device they used to measure the clarity of the water is very high-tech. They submerge a white circle deeper and deeper into the water until they can't see it anymore. The deeper they can see it, the clearer the water.
Ah, CrossEyedDave, the conundrum we all face with crosswords.
As Shakespeare could have said:
To parse or not to parse, that is the question...
Or Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
How do I parse thee, let me count the ways...
Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for the commentary, JazzB.
Another fine puzzle from Don and C.C. Ended up going counterclockwise (CCwise?) and finished the center-north last. Perps got DIVINM?S?M, but after finally getting SUITS ME, the job was done. Interesting GRAND theme. Had 'whew" before PHEW. Had forgotten that Riboflavin was vitamin G. Cute that EIN was clued as an AUSTRIAN article. The two long downs were distinctive, though not difficult. TAHOE is a graben lake. A good mid-week workout.
Thanks again for all the warm birthday wishes yesterday. You are a good group.
80º here today.
Mari @ 10:54-Thanks for your concern. I have the start of macular degeneration and must see a retina specialist every six months. The news was good inasmuch as there has been no significant change since last exam. Just what I was hoping to hear.
However, the drive home was white-knuckle because of the dilating drops and the intense sunlight. Next time, I'll have someone come with me.
Have a good evening.
62 down: "Who's" means "Who is," so "Who is turn is it?" makes no sense. The correct word is "Whose."
My learning moment of the day was about Tahoe and Crater Lake. I'm in the midwest and thought Lake Superior would be up there among the deepest. This blog provides my daily trivia!
Muskie - I'm pretty sure the editor knows his grammar. While I agree with you technically, I think the clue was so constructed (on purpose) to invite you to the answer:
Who's NEXT? Anyway, that's my take.
fairly easy. had whew instead of phew, had easy instead of ease but all fit in. when I was young visiting Tahoe my aunt told me how deep it was. what a awe some lake
an sorry for my grammar kelsy.
It seems who's (whose) turn is it slipped through the cracks. Nobodies (Nobody's) perfect.
Lemonade: I thought for a minute your new avatar was a mirror image. When enlarged it is undeniably your handsome son. You must be so proud and had a good time together in Colorado.
Speaking about language usage, my favorite car insurance company (AAA) has an annoying ad running lately. A person says, "When they told me how much I would be saving, I literally fell off my chair." However, I couldn't see any bruises.
Then the next person says, "They don't set the bar; they ARE the bar." I know what they are trying to get across but that doesn't make much sense to me. If you set the bar, you are setting the standard by which others are measured. If 'you are the bar,' isn't that just a fancier way of saying the same thing?
Bill G., you definitely need a hobby.
What CED said, except I did finish. However, I did not get the theme until I read the blog. I totally missed the GRAND concept, and was looking more for something to do with FINALE, including the letter "E" as CED mentioned. Also, got hung up with the "number" in the clue, thinking maybe there were either hidden numbers or something to do with the number of letters. Sometimes I make things harder than they should be.
At any rate, I truly enjoyed solving this puzzle, and especially enjoyed reading Jazzbumpa's witty comments! That first one about Jesus cracked me up.
New word for me is LECTORS.
It is now 71 degrees here in NYS. Back to my front porch!
CC and Don I loved your puzzle! As usual, a very informative and entertaining write-up Jazz.
Learning moment was Spitzboov's description of Tahoe as a graben lake. I Googled it to find out what it meant--I suppose I could have just used cliff notes.
Love Tahoe--my daughter got married on a beautiful ship on the lake It was a wonderful setting.
Good one today!
Thanks C.C. and Don.
Jazz, you are the best!
I forgot to thank CrazyCat and Irish Miss for helping me with Words With Friends.
Also Jayce and Marge I responded to your questions about my so-called career and New Mexico last night.
At about 8pm, local time, ~35º alt. in the WSW sky, you can see Jupiter directly below Venus. Quite spectacular.
Good to see Robin back again. The avatar lends a whole new meaning to the phrase "The gloves are (not) off.".
The red shoes were very nice.
Mid-eighties in the Bluegrass State today. Long days of outside work ensue. Rest only when it rains. Founders (Grand Rapids, Mi.) Porter at dark, bedtime soon.
Don and CC must be getting rich! :)
1a came to me right away because I had heard it so much...I love it when my first instinct proves correct. I`m a raisin bran person and "specialk" didn`t come easily. (I like my raisin bran soggy because it was usually that way by the time I got to it, growing up.)"Lectors" was a new form for me. "kos" threw me until I realized it was "k-o`s".
These horribly fascinating photos are to remind us how awful war is.
CC: In the Civil War pix, the first one is of Alan Pinkerton...thought you`d be interested since you are a former agent...
Arbaon, those photos are amazing. I've never seen anything like them before. Enlightening and sad.
I just finished watching "The Man Who Would be King." I highly recommend it.
After Spitz's reminder, Jordan and I went outside to check out Venus and Jupiter again. Very pretty. In a few days, the crescent moon will be joining them in the same general vicinity.
Test
Alas, no Jupiter or Venus to be seen here. Raining steadily for three days and nights here, which is very unusual. I may look into building an ark tomorrow if the skies are still dripping. Only animals I like are getting on though.
Enjoyed your puzzle Don and C.C.!
My favorite clue was "Sci. with cliff notes".
I had a wonderful evening with John Lampkin and Lemonade tonight! Both gentlemen are very sweet, personable and easy to talk to. Dinner at an outside table, on a beautiful night, accompanied by the musical stylings of one of John's past piano students - He and John even performed a couple songs for us!
It's late, but I'm sure photos will be forthcoming from one of the guys when they have a chance.
C.C., thanks for this blog and all the great friendships it's helped forge.
Cant find the cord, but there will be pics soon, John is an amazing, interesting man and Annette was a doll. We had a great time.
The civil war was the worst of all as we were killing each other.
PK that is my 1st cousin who I helped raise, my boys are younger; I married late
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