THEME: LET us give thanks. Each of the theme answers is a two word, in the language phrase with LET appended to the second word, and clued in a wonderful wacky way. This is our 4th puzzle this year from Jack. When I last blogged his work in January, I reminded you all that he started constructing when he was 73. A very compact, concise puzzle, with humor and misdirection. Let us see the latest from our octogenarian.
17A. PricewaterhouseCoopers, e.g.? : BUSINESS TRIPLET. I wonder if these three companies which are now one ever ride the ACELA when the go out to visit their clients?
25A. Original Roanoke settlement? : VIRGINIA HAMLET. This one was hard and without the theme I would never have tried this answer, I was trying to fit in BIG LICK VIRGINIA and it would not. Do you all prepare a Ham for Easter; I will be making brisket and potato pancakes along with other goodies for tonight's first SEDER.
41A. Actress failing to live up to expectations? : FALLING STARLET. Do you recall this SONG? (2:30). A Mel Torme contemporary, Perry ended up living in Jupiter, Florida where he and Burt Reynolds became good friends.
54A. Bit of style in one's blood? : FASHION PLATELET. My favorite one, as I love good serologic humor, especially knowing platelets do not carry DNA and probably don't even match their socks.
Across:
1. TWA rival : PAN AM. I have had this fill twice in the last month, link your own Christina Ricci pic.
6. Med. care providers : HMOS. Health Maintenance Organization here we go again...
10. Frequent ESPN subject : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
14. Amtrak express : ACELA. A high speed train in the Northeast; how many of our group have ridden this rail?
15. Four-star : A-ONE. More than just a steak sauce.
16. Bee, for one : AUNT. This LADY from the Andy Griffith Show.Bet you thought it was BEA.
20. Fitting : APT. How apt the next clue is a shout out to my beer making boys.
21. Hops heater : OAST. I think this is where Horace Greeley told Adolph Coors to go.
22. Tweaks, say : ADAPTS. When did tweaking become a good thing?
23. Aqua Velva alternative : AFTA. Or you could have gotten a SLAP in the face.
24. German GM subsidiary : OPEL.
31. Football Hall of Fame locale : CANTON. Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for 3 reasons: First, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association); second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city. Per wiki.
32. Title acquired at church, perhaps : MRS. Not Rev. or Fra.
33. Losing line : OXO. In Tic Tac Toe ano win situation; in a letter, not so bad.
34. Reacted to a dealer's request : ANTED. Ante with the "E" pronounced sure looks like it would bug some.
35. Used to be : WAS. Or What Annette Said.
36. "It Wasn't All Velvet" autobiographer : TORME. I do get Mel pretty often, enjoyed him on NIGHT COURT, (2:55) fog and all. I promise I did not...
38. Caustic stuff : LYE.
39. Goal : AIM. I aim to please, but we have slowed. Please relax.
40. Blew up : SAW RED. In French it is VOIR ROUGE.
45. Gives support to : AIDS.
46. Toon wisecracker : BUGS. What is up, Doc?
47. __ center : CRISIS. It is also C.C. like the Corner, hmmm.
50. Get useful material from : MINE. No, you can't have it is mine!
51. Lyric poem : ODE. A true crossword staple. and the beginning of an "O" fest; 57a. Venetian arch shape : OGEE. The design was taken from the Arab world; and 58A. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Never heard of this city, but it was a pleasant change from the baseball clue: Hershiser.
59. Toss out : EVICT. One of the hard parts about doing foreclosures.
60. Goes after : SUES. Damn lawyers!
61. Unlikely track winners : NAGS. This term for a old beat up horse goes back to the 1500's, but no one knows why.
62. Hamburger helper's reward? : DANKE. Wonderful clue with alliteration, misdirection and humor.
Now time for.
Down:
1. Out-of-favor sunscreen ingredient : PABA. PARA-AMINOBENZOIC ACID is also taken internally as a cure for many ailments though its safety and efficacy is questioned inside or out.
2. Lingerie size : A-CUP. Well it is a common size, how about KEIRA.
3. Robin's digs : NEST. Not Hood, red breast. Or maybe Colorado for or flying nurse. Hey fishy.
4. Ring icon : ALI. Did I tell the story of where he almost killed me with his Rolls at LAX?
5. Graham, for one : MAN OF G-D. BILLY Not to be confused with BILLY.
6. __ II: 1961-'99 Moroccan king : HASSAN. Affectionately know as a "RUTHLESS DESPOT."
7. Almost all : MOST. Wow, almost in the clue?
8. Mich. neighbor : ONTario.
9. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS. The real plural is seraphim. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy, though these winged creatures look more like demons to me.
10. Incendiary gel : NAPALM. A bad memory along with agent orange.
11. "I Spy" co-star : CULP. Starred with Bill Cosby which he talks about in this INTERVIEW.
12. "Joy is __ of love by which you can catch souls": Mother Teresa : A NET. A semi shout out to my fellow south Floridian from the saint with whom I share a birthday.
13. Many "Suits" characters: Abbr. : ATTS. I have never ever seen this abbreviation for attorney anywhere but in CW.
18. Avoid restaurant crowds, perhaps : EAT IN. I like how this leads into and thereby adds to the misdirection of
19. It may be half-baked : IDEA.
23. Prado pictures : ARTE. Spanish museum, Spanish word for art.
24. Lock inserts : OARS. No not keys! This was the part of the puzzle I found tricky.
25. Sonya's uncle, in an 1899 Moscow premiere : VANYA. One of Anton Chekhov's plays.
26. Maker of some drivers : INTEL. The KING of the processing world.
27. Muslim leaders : IMAMS. Most similar to the role of the Rabbi.
28. "Casablanca" actor : LORRE. A wonderful STORY.
29. Strawberry, e.g. : EX-MET. But for drug woes, Darryl Strawberry might have been one of the all time greats in the game of baseball.
30. Pigeon tail? : TOED. Pigeontoed. Cute add on.
31. Range rover : CALF. Another misdirection with alliteration.
35. English court attire : WIGS. Still? Nice Cuppa? Steve?
36. Singled out : TARGETED.
37. Big-eyed birds : OWLS. Like Peter Lorre.
17A. PricewaterhouseCoopers, e.g.? : BUSINESS TRIPLET. I wonder if these three companies which are now one ever ride the ACELA when the go out to visit their clients?
25A. Original Roanoke settlement? : VIRGINIA HAMLET. This one was hard and without the theme I would never have tried this answer, I was trying to fit in BIG LICK VIRGINIA and it would not. Do you all prepare a Ham for Easter; I will be making brisket and potato pancakes along with other goodies for tonight's first SEDER.
41A. Actress failing to live up to expectations? : FALLING STARLET. Do you recall this SONG? (2:30). A Mel Torme contemporary, Perry ended up living in Jupiter, Florida where he and Burt Reynolds became good friends.
54A. Bit of style in one's blood? : FASHION PLATELET. My favorite one, as I love good serologic humor, especially knowing platelets do not carry DNA and probably don't even match their socks.
Across:
1. TWA rival : PAN AM. I have had this fill twice in the last month, link your own Christina Ricci pic.
6. Med. care providers : HMOS. Health Maintenance Organization here we go again...
10. Frequent ESPN subject : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
14. Amtrak express : ACELA. A high speed train in the Northeast; how many of our group have ridden this rail?
15. Four-star : A-ONE. More than just a steak sauce.
16. Bee, for one : AUNT. This LADY from the Andy Griffith Show.Bet you thought it was BEA.
20. Fitting : APT. How apt the next clue is a shout out to my beer making boys.
21. Hops heater : OAST. I think this is where Horace Greeley told Adolph Coors to go.
22. Tweaks, say : ADAPTS. When did tweaking become a good thing?
23. Aqua Velva alternative : AFTA. Or you could have gotten a SLAP in the face.
24. German GM subsidiary : OPEL.
31. Football Hall of Fame locale : CANTON. Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for 3 reasons: First, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association); second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city. Per wiki.
32. Title acquired at church, perhaps : MRS. Not Rev. or Fra.
33. Losing line : OXO. In Tic Tac Toe ano win situation; in a letter, not so bad.
34. Reacted to a dealer's request : ANTED. Ante with the "E" pronounced sure looks like it would bug some.
35. Used to be : WAS. Or What Annette Said.
36. "It Wasn't All Velvet" autobiographer : TORME. I do get Mel pretty often, enjoyed him on NIGHT COURT, (2:55) fog and all. I promise I did not...
38. Caustic stuff : LYE.
39. Goal : AIM. I aim to please, but we have slowed. Please relax.
40. Blew up : SAW RED. In French it is VOIR ROUGE.
45. Gives support to : AIDS.
46. Toon wisecracker : BUGS. What is up, Doc?
47. __ center : CRISIS. It is also C.C. like the Corner, hmmm.
50. Get useful material from : MINE. No, you can't have it is mine!
51. Lyric poem : ODE. A true crossword staple. and the beginning of an "O" fest; 57a. Venetian arch shape : OGEE. The design was taken from the Arab world; and 58A. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Never heard of this city, but it was a pleasant change from the baseball clue: Hershiser.
59. Toss out : EVICT. One of the hard parts about doing foreclosures.
60. Goes after : SUES. Damn lawyers!
61. Unlikely track winners : NAGS. This term for a old beat up horse goes back to the 1500's, but no one knows why.
62. Hamburger helper's reward? : DANKE. Wonderful clue with alliteration, misdirection and humor.
Now time for.
Down:
1. Out-of-favor sunscreen ingredient : PABA. PARA-AMINOBENZOIC ACID is also taken internally as a cure for many ailments though its safety and efficacy is questioned inside or out.
2. Lingerie size : A-CUP. Well it is a common size, how about KEIRA.
3. Robin's digs : NEST. Not Hood, red breast. Or maybe Colorado for or flying nurse. Hey fishy.
4. Ring icon : ALI. Did I tell the story of where he almost killed me with his Rolls at LAX?
5. Graham, for one : MAN OF G-D. BILLY Not to be confused with BILLY.
6. __ II: 1961-'99 Moroccan king : HASSAN. Affectionately know as a "RUTHLESS DESPOT."
7. Almost all : MOST. Wow, almost in the clue?
8. Mich. neighbor : ONTario.
9. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS. The real plural is seraphim. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy, though these winged creatures look more like demons to me.
10. Incendiary gel : NAPALM. A bad memory along with agent orange.
11. "I Spy" co-star : CULP. Starred with Bill Cosby which he talks about in this INTERVIEW.
12. "Joy is __ of love by which you can catch souls": Mother Teresa : A NET. A semi shout out to my fellow south Floridian from the saint with whom I share a birthday.
13. Many "Suits" characters: Abbr. : ATTS. I have never ever seen this abbreviation for attorney anywhere but in CW.
18. Avoid restaurant crowds, perhaps : EAT IN. I like how this leads into and thereby adds to the misdirection of
19. It may be half-baked : IDEA.
23. Prado pictures : ARTE. Spanish museum, Spanish word for art.
24. Lock inserts : OARS. No not keys! This was the part of the puzzle I found tricky.
25. Sonya's uncle, in an 1899 Moscow premiere : VANYA. One of Anton Chekhov's plays.
26. Maker of some drivers : INTEL. The KING of the processing world.
27. Muslim leaders : IMAMS. Most similar to the role of the Rabbi.
28. "Casablanca" actor : LORRE. A wonderful STORY.
29. Strawberry, e.g. : EX-MET. But for drug woes, Darryl Strawberry might have been one of the all time greats in the game of baseball.
30. Pigeon tail? : TOED. Pigeontoed. Cute add on.
31. Range rover : CALF. Another misdirection with alliteration.
35. English court attire : WIGS. Still? Nice Cuppa? Steve?
36. Singled out : TARGETED.
37. Big-eyed birds : OWLS. Like Peter Lorre.
39. Words that replace details : AND SO ON. Had a hard time getting "soon" out of my head.
40. Place to relax : SAUNA. Well a hot time for all.
42. Coquette's asset : LASHES. Eyelashes for batting, not a whip for a dominatrix.
43. Rare clock number : IIII. Amazingly, I blogged the last PUZZLE which had this timeless concept, and Mel Torme was there too.
44. Govt. notes : T-BILLS. Notes and Bonds all have the same number of letters, be patient.
47. Fiscal execs : CFOS. They sometimes deal in 44D.
48. Milan meat sauce : RAGU. Back for another taste.
49. "So that's how it is" : I SEE. Well a little visual for me, as I usually do not..
50. Video CD file format : MPEG. Like JPEG for pictures.
51. Big name in chemicals : OLIN. They were Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation when I was growing up.
52. House addition : DECK. great misdirection clecho with 53D. Room addition : ETTE. Roomette.
55. Gp. with many arms : NRA. Arms, as weapons, get it, get it?
56. "On the Waterfront" Oscar winner __ Marie Saint : EVA. This ACTRESS has been around for 8 decades, which is how old I feel after this work out.
Answer grid.
Enjoy any holiday you may have and hope to see you all next time.
Okay have a fun Friday it is Lemonade signing out.
54 comments:
Good morning, gang - I don't know if it's the fact that I'm stuck doing the puzzle online (unless I want to go to the hotel lobby) as opposed to pen and paper, but I had a bunch of snags today. The theme reveal with 'Business triplet' helped with the others, but still a bit of a slog. Looking forward to getting into our rental place at the end of the month and getting somewhat back to normal while we look for a permanent home.
16A tripped me up, as I always thought it was Aunt Bea. 'Adapts' didn't feel right for 'tweaks'. Had no idea who Sonya's uncle was. Loved the 'pigeon tail' clue and 'title acquired at church, perhaps', but my favorite was 'hamburger helper's reward; nicely done. 'Napalm' certainly brought back a flood of memories. As Robert Duvall implied, that smell was usually a good thing, brutal as it was. Overall, very much a fun puzzle, as we've come to expect from Mr. McInturff.
Life down here continues to be everything I hoped it would be, almost overwhelming in the number of things I want to do that are available here. Going to my first Barrett-Jackson auction (as a bidder, no less) and have very high hopes, although not a commensurate amount of money. One more off the bucket list...
Hope it's a good day for everyone; after all, it is Good Friday.
Barrett-Jackson arw great fun; lots of friends and relatives will be there, as I drive by on my way to Orlando. Nice to see you leading Dennis
Morning, all!
Pretty smooth sailing today, especially for a Friday. Got the theme early on, which helped a lot.
Struggled a bit down south due to OREL, OLIN and ETTE. Heard of the first, never heard of the second, and just couldn't come up with the third without a lot of help from the perps. I've heard of kitchenETTE, but never a roomETTE...
Got Aunt BEE with no problem, but that would have tripped me up at one point. Also, I managed to pull HASSAN out of somewhere, although I have no idea where it came from.
Have fun at the auction, Dennis!
When we took the train from New London to Miami back in 1958 when the airline pilots went on strike, we had a roomette. I think it is a train thing.
Anybody watching MAGIC CITY the new STARZ series set in Miami starting New Year's Eve 58/59?
Greetings!
Difficult puzzle for me. Cheated a bit. Perhaps because it is so darn late. Finally got the tax stuff off with Harvey. Color printer stopped working entirely. Bummer. Kept finding teeny mistakes. Had to change some colors to b and w to get good results on the other printer. Whole thing ridiculous amount of work.
Have a great weekend, all!
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. AND SO ON…
Fun write-up Lemony! You picked up on all my thoughts – was I sending you vibes last night?? I looked twice at the clue for 7D “Almost all” for MOST, thought of Rev. or Fra. Before MRS, questioned SERAPHS as the plural, and wondered whether it was going to be T-Bonds or –BILLS.
Fun theme, though, and well-executed. My fav was FASHION PLATELET, even though platelets really don’t have a brain cell in their heads to know what goes with what!
For 26D “Maker of some drivers”, I was thinking of golf clubs (well, it is Masters week!), not INTEL.
My favorite clue was 62A “Hamburger helpers reward?” for DANKE. Great misdirection!
Good to see you back on top, Dennis! I envy you going to “the” auction today. Try to refrain from buying any million-dollar ‘Vettes or Cobras, OK?
Hello Puzzlers -
A few boggy spots for me on this one. RoomETTE was unfamiliar, along with OLIN. Throw in EJECT for EVICT and tricky cluing for DANKE, and that corner gets bollixed.
SERAPHS took a while, kept getting mixed up with serifs. Didn't remember the phrase "seraphim and cherubim" quickly enough to fix the problem. A proper Friday workout!
Thanks Lemon, Keira really rocks the A-CUP!
Forgot to put a hand up for thinking it was Aunt Bea. Who knew?
Good day folks,
This was a struggle and when I'd finished and was looking over the completed grid, I thought, what was the big deal? Looked a lot easier all filled in.
Lots of clever cluing. 32A, MRS, 29D, EXMET, & 62A DANKE were favorites.
Picked up on the theme early, but it didn't help much in theme answers except for the last three letters.
Aunt BEE was no problem. Back in the day, I really liked the Velvet Fog, Mel Torme.
My biggest hang up was 50A. I wanted JPEG, but I instinctively knew Jine was wrong. The M was a lucky wag and only because I couldn't come up with another letter to plug in that looked reasonable.
EddyB, the real Hockey season starts next week.
See you all on Monday.
Funny blog, Lemonade. I was on Jack's wave length today. Doing across and down together I easily got BUSINESS TRIPLET and then VIRGINIAHAM--- and sussed the theme which helped tremendously.
I learned to spell Aunt BEE with the E from xwords.
I didn't notice OARS as I had it from perps.
MRS. was cute and a gimme.
Got DANKE all from perps. Cute!
Like Hondo I had JPEG and JINE. I went through the alphabet and came up with the M for MINE, "mining for data", my last entry.
I’m off to go grocery shopping and then to start my cooking. Have a great day whatever you celebrate.
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Today is a state holiday for me, so I took advantage and slept late.
VIRGINIA HAMLET was the first theme answer, which keyed me into the "LET" theme.
I thought Title Acquired in Church = MRS. was funny.
I learned about Hops Heaters = OAST from doing the puzzles.
Hand up for thinking Aunt BEE spelled her name BEA.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate and Happy Passover to those who well be sitting at the Seder table tonight.
QOD: An idiot will try anything. That's how you know he's an idiot. ~ Michel Audiard
Just came here because I wanted to thank you Lemonade for a witty and humorous blog - like meeting an old dear friend and birth mate. Have a happy, joyous and meaningful Passover.
Life is so much more full and meaningful since I stopped reading this page.
Peace.
Morning, all.
I looked at EXMET for the longest time, trying to figure out what kind of fruit or bruise it could be. Finally gave up and came here for some enlightenment. I take it he was a person. News to me.
I always want to spell it AKELA, and no, I've never ridden it.
Was suprised at MOST. Isn't that a construction no-no?
OXO could also be clued as a line of kitchen gadgets. I thought the cluing for DANKE was the cutest.
WEES, but there were so many great clues I have to chime in. My favorites were:
16A: Bee, for one: AUNT
32A: Title Acquired at Church, Perhaps: MRS
33A: Losing Line: OXO (that one took me a long time to get)
26D: Maker of Some Drivers: INTEL (I was thinking about golf)
29D: Strawberry: EX-MET (I so wanted "fruit")
39D: Words That Replace Details: AND SO ON (Couldn't get past the "soon")
55D: Gp.With Many Arms: NRA
I also wanted Keys for 24D: Lock Inserts
So many great clues - I REALLY liked this one. Very clever, yet I was able to accomplishment. Mr. McInturff - count me among your fans.
Have a great holiday, whatever you celebrate! And if you don't celebrate any - have a gret weekend!
PS: Last night on The Big Bang Theory Howard said Jewish people don't believe in hell. Could somebody fill me in on the Jewish afterlife? (Offline replies are fine.)
Jack, it’s cooling off here but your wonderful puzzle and Mr. Folgers warmed up my morning. VIRGINIA HAMLET gave the very helpful and fun theme.
Musings
-Price Waterhouse has been counting and keeping secret Oscar ballots for 78 years
-TWEAKing a knee is bad for an athlete
-OREL not Kiev
-I had to help move a family member when she got EVICTED for not paying rent and fuming landlord was watching. Very embarrassing!
-The NAG I bet on was first in the 7th race because it was still running in the 6th!
-Nice cups Keira! There’s quality and quantity.
-Robins remain a harbinger of spring here
-One by one the Mideast despots are being thrown out. I hope it wasn’t their tyranny that has kept the lid on so much sectarian violence we are now seeing for so long
-I’ll take the smell of coffee in the morning over NAPALM
-The Culp/Cosby coupling made TV history
-I had to reload some drivers when I had Windows 7 reinstalled
-The NRA defends a lot of bad guns along with hunting rifles
-I have taken a train to Kansas City, MO and Munich, Germany
DNF today, but I accomplished a lot. I only left blanks in the eastern third and a little of the SW.
WEE said about the clues.
Rained all night but now it is snowing with blizzard warnings for afternoon. Storm appears to be tracking into Canada so you folks east and south of MT shouldn't get it.
Good time to curl up and do Sudoku, Cryptoquote and easier crossword now. I always start the morning with the LA Crossword.
Have a great Spring weekend,
Montana
Fun puzzle, Jack. Fun blog, Lemonade. I got the theme with the FALLING STARLET and that let me go back and fill the missing letters in the first two. The last one popped out with only the F_S in place.
I've never ridden a train in any accomodation but coach seating and wasn't familiar with roomETTE. It emerged, the perps were solid, it stayed.
Fun clues... WEES
D-O We see Akela often, but that's the cub scout den leader or Rudyard Kipling's wolf. ACELA, I only know from crosswords, but have seen it often enough to finally remember it.
I kmow the difference between JPEG and MPEG files, but my brain wandered off the reservation somewhere between reading the clue and writing down the answer. JINE wasn't going to stay, so I went back and reread the clue. D'OH!
Hava a great weekend all.
Despite some things I didn't know - MPEG, OREL (also wanted KiEv), CANTON, got the theme soon and the puzzle w/o Googling, and on a Friday, so the puzzle must be easy. Also stuck on AND SOON.
Much cleverness, too.
A toughie, but fun--finished only with a bit of cheating and a couple mistakes. But WEES on the cute misleading cues, especially that Hamburger helper reward. I can't believe Strawberry is a last name! Who knew? And I'm still not sure what makes Price Waterhouse a TRIPLET. But overall this was too much fun to quibble. So thanks, Jack, and you too, Lemonade.
Tough day for me today. Both dogs need to see the vet, one with a bad back, the other got bitten or hit by something outside last night. I worry it was a BB gun. And after that H.R. Block. Not a Good Friday, for sure, except in the ecclesiastical sense.
Hello, troupers. Hello, Lemonade;I love reading your blog which is always entertaining and informative.
WEES, almost and hand up for surprise at seeing MOST as well.
Mostly I was on Jack's wavelength and loved, loved the misdirection especially of OARS, DECK, ETTE, MRS., EX MET, and of course the theme answers. FALLING STAR was the first I completed and then filled -LET on all the ends.
Aunt BEE has been in many crosswords so that was not new.
Did not make the connection between SUES (suits) and ATTS and ACELA was a complete unknown so ultimately a DNF for me. I thought NCAR referred to Nascar. Oh, well I'm bruised but not completely beaten.
Peter LORRE was great as the ill-fated Ugarte in Casablanca!
Thank you, Jack McInturff for a wonderful challenge today.
Have a very GOOD Friday, everyone!
Good morning Lemonade and all.
Learned how to spell Aunt Bee, and missed the X in the OXO/EXMET cross. Rest of it was fun and doable. After ..TRIPLET, I looked for ..LET in the other long theme acrosses. VANYA was a WAG. I agree with Heart Rx about DANKE. Thought of it right away after getting the K in DECK. Great clue. Good Friday mind grind.
Venus is now a spectacular sight in the SW sky after sunset setting in the WNW about 11:30pm. From the USNO site: "There is no doubt now about which planet dominates the evening sky. Dazzling Venus is now at the peak of her best visibility for this current evening apparition. On clear nights you can easily follow her progress down toward the northwest horizon, where she sets well after 11:30 pm. As bright as she is right now, she will become brighter as the month passes, ultimately reaching a
blazing -4.7 magnitude by mid-April."
Enjoy the day.
You want to read about Darryl STRAWBERRY .
Price , Waterhouse and Coopers are three (3) companies which merged, creating a TRIPLET>
On the road, have fun
Hi gang -
Sparkling puzzle and stellar write up, Lemon. The inherent silliness of the theme is quite engaging. Jack must be very young at heart.
Had to use a little G-spotting. Does that make me CULPable?
Our DECK became a house subtraction, replaced with a brick paver patio.
Hambuger helper's reward reminded me of one of my own bad - and badly dated - jokes. What's the proper response to Sanka?
"Ye'r Velcom."
Yes we will have a ham for Easter. The entire clan will be here, except for the Fla contingent, but they're coming in the following week, so we'll get to have all 11 grandchidren together at once - about a once a year event.
Have a blessed and joyous holiday of your choice.
Cool regards!
JzB
Good morning all:
Thanks, Mr. Mc, for a fun and clever puzzle, and to Lemonade for the usual witty, informative expo.
Got the theme early on and finished w/o help and no write-overs, always satisfying for a Friday offering. Fave clues: Hamburger helper's reward (danke), Range rover (calf), and Losing line (OXO).
Just an aside, I have a nephew who works for PricewaterhouseCoopers and I once worked at Olin in Stamford, Ct. for a very short time.
For those who celebrate, best wishes for a peaceful and meditative Good Friday, and a joyous Passover Seder tonight.
Morning all,
This was a toughie for sure , but finished it unassisted, but not without a few hiccups , wanted OMSK at 58A
never heard of Vanya , sounds more like an aunt then an uncle,
Wasn't pleased to see Almost / Most and
Failing / Falling but that's just me
Dennis , what are you trying to buy at Barrett ?
Fore !
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jack m., for a really great puzzle. Loved it. Thank you, Mr. Lemonade, for a great write-up.
What a good start to Good Friday.
First, thank you all for the Birthday Wishes from yesterday. A special Thanks to CrossEyedDave for the outstanding video and Birthday Wish to me. I also watched Irish Miss's Birthday Video. Good Job! I can't wait until next year.
The puzzle worked out today. Took a while. Got started easily in the NW with PANAM, ACUP, NEST, APT, and ALI. Did not know PABA, but perps helped.
My first theme answer was VIRGINIA HAMLET. The rest appeared with a few perps. I had PLATELET right off the bat, but it took a while for FASHION.
Liked IIII. I remember having that one before. It came easier this time.
DANKE was great. All I can say is BITTE.
Had GORME first for 36A, but TORME appeared, especially after thinking about "Velvet."
Like the Link to Billy Carter from lemonade. I once bought a case of Billy Beer, while traveling through Georgia. We stopped at Plains, Jimmy was in Office at that time, and Billy Beer was readily available. The beer was brewed somewhere in Tennessee or Kentucky, as I recall. It was not very good.
Happy Easter and Passover to all.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
As a former employee of Price Waterhouse & Co. (pre-merger), I can say that 17 across is a bad clue. PricewaterhouseCoopers is the merger of two businesses - Price Waterhouse & Co. (Co. is this case stood for co-partners, not company) and Coopers & Lybrand which was the American firm of Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery. That is why there are two capital letters in the name- a capital letter for each of the two firms.Doublet didn't work and had me screwed up for a while until I figured out the error in the clue.
Just remembered. It was Falls City Brewery who brewed Bill Beer.
Abejo
Dennis , do you own a classic car ? What kind ?
Anyone else ?
I own 69 Firebird 400 Hardtop
A 1967 Mercedes 250 SL Pagoda
1966 Mustang GT 4 speed Coupe
Looking for 1960-62 Mercedes 190 SL
26D Maker of some drivers: Intel
I don't believe this clue is really correct. In computer land DRIVERS usually refer to the code that allow devices like printers to run on different systems. They are part of the operating system, like OS X on a Mac or Windows on a PC and therefore provided Apple or Microsoft or by the makers of the device itself.
Intel makes chips, the hardware that the operating system runs on and doesn't get involved with drivers.
So a correct answer to the clue would be something like Apple, Microsoft or Epson.
But of course I could be wrong.
Otherwise a very good puzzle.
Here's a link to add some detail to my comment:
Wiki computer drivers.
Papa Cass
For us Easter means a large gathering of the clan, 30 at least, with pork loin, HAM, and many side dishes brought by one and all. My contribution is green bean casserole and deviled eggs.
First the teen-agers hide the eggs then the smaller tykes find them including some plastic ones that have money inside so it's a big competition for those. After dinner those so inclined play Scrabble and others go outside for games. It's a fun day which starts with Mass in the morning.
Ernie G: Thanks (DANKE) for stopping by with the explanation of Pricewaterhouse Cooper. I was confused by the Triplet answer, too, because I though Pricewaterhouse was one company. Knowing the history, as you explained it, helps.
Papa Cass - re: intel drivers - I thought so too, but they have an Intel Driver download utility. You can Google it. Sounds like it involves graphics drivers.
Really bad stuff on a Good Friday-
TBILLS- Large portions of duck
In Nepal SERAPHS are SHERPAS
I made a mistake spelling MANOFGOD.
DAMN GOOF!
I, THE VIRGIN LAMA, are hiding in a VIRGINIA HAMLET
This puzzle had some of the cleverest clues I've noticed in a while. Good job!
The Lakers won their last game. Yea! The Dodgers are 1 and 0 and tied for first. I'm afraid that won't last long.
This is quite something. By using the slider at the bottom, you can go smaller than the smallest part of an atom to as large as the known universe. Great video (You can click on objects to find out more about them.)
Hola Everyone, A DNF for me today. I spent way too much time having to look up unknowns such as Vanya, Olin, Acela, Torme, etc. Some of the lookups were, "of course" head slaps, but others were completely new.
My learning moment for today was ACELA. I don't think I've heard that term before, even though we have Amtrak here in our area. My experience with them is by commuter train and they are anything but express!
I had Keys for lock inserts--never even thinking about boats, and Throw for Evict, and Minister for Man of God. The eraser on my pencil was really worn down today.
I loved the clue for Danke and interestingly enough caught onto the long theme clues with the answer Fashion Platelet. But I had only partial answers to this point and I was already at the bottom of the puzzle!
We have to go for my husband's eye appointment today--since the Tuesday one was cancelled.
Have a great rest of the day.
Barry, Roomette's are a train thing. A room with the emphasis on the ette!! They are small, tight, and cozy. Still, way better than having to sit up in a coach seat and try to sleep.
Bill G. @1:35, damn you and your links! I spent over an hour playing on that site…I went from Quantum foam all the way to the Shapely Supercluster (and beyond!).
Learned about things in the galaxy like Gomez’s Hamburger: “The buns are made of reflective dust, and the patty is made of dark dust.” (Not appetizing at all…)
I explored the depths of the Marianas Trench (10.9 Km), stopped off at the Great Wall of China (8,850 Km), and learned about the smallest known moon (Deimos, 13 Km)…
Now, if I could only remember all those bits of trivia the next time I see them in a crossword puzzle!!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry to have interrupted your daily schedule. :>)
Speaking of trains, when we went to England years ago, we had traded houses with another family. On our first morning, we were waiting at the local train station. I was standing on the platform near the tracks with my back toward the tracks. The Intercity 125 express came by and nearly scared me to death. It went hurtling by at 125 mph. It was going so fast that you almost couldn't hear it until it was on top of you. After getting over my intial fright, I really enjoyed getting around by train.
Good Friday to all and a happy Holiday weekend. Enjoyed todays puzzle took a little longer and a late start I was at one of my daughters watching grandkids coloring easter eggs. Have a great day to all RJW.
Mari @8:54-I just watched last night's Big Bang Theory. I was a little disappointed because the previews looked so funny. I just didn't think it was up to par. Your thoughts?
Ernie G, nothing wrong with the PwC clue. If you go back far enough, there was a Mr Price and a Mr Waterhouse. There was a Mr Coopers in the firm that eventually merged. The TRIO in the clue refers to the fact that there are three names in PwC, nothing more. I believe Lemonade erred when he said it was the merger of three firms, but I see the clue, as stated, as being correct.
INTEL drivers? Intel supplies lots of them, if you are looking at the clue as software related. You can also think of the INTEL CPU as the 'driver' of the computer (remember, it's Friday, the clues can be a little further in left field than normal), and I think that was where Jack was going with that clue. Works for me, either way.
It's Good Friday.....Do you have your potatoes planted?
Fun puzzle today. Really liked the clues for OXO and MRS. Theme was very clever and helped with the solve.
Gotta run. Very busy day.
Good puzzle! I was stuck until I relented and took a peek at the theme which my paper never includes. Thanks
Welcome Skye,the papers do not print a theme except on Sunday. We of the C.C. blogging crew create our own impression of the theme, and sometimes the constructor comes by and tells us his intention JackMc has come by when I blogged him before, and we have quite a few constructor regulars and irregulars. Always like opinions for SJ SJ, Mark, Jerome Hearti, and the rest.
Abejo:
Around Louisville near the end of Falls City's life, they called it Falls S----y.
Recently a new company has bought the name and the original (before FC followed Joseph Schlitz et al, in cheapening the ingredients) recipe and brought it to market as a tap beer only (so far).
I've had it a few times in local dives and it is quite a nice pale ale.
But you are correct about Billy Beer and it's maker.
Joe:
Yes, for over 2 weeks now.
Spent the last hour reading the Blog, & comments. I knew right off the bat to check out Bill G's link l8r, & it looks like HeartRx confirmed it. I just don't have time. Spent the whole day fixing the PC & garden tractor, both r working fine now. Used a hacksaw to fix one, & a hammer for the other...
Oh yes, the puzzle, the top half was a breeze, the bottom half a B.... ( i would think it was created by 2 different people!)
Who would have imagined? A cat playing with dolphins. Video
Hello.
HH. Right you are. I was going to wait for the first season to be over before talking about the second season. Saturday's game could be brutal after Clowe's poke check from the bench last night.
Phx could still determine who the Sharks play. They could windup 3rd, 7th or 8th.
My color printer stops working when one or the other cartridges runs out of ink. Had to replace the color one this morning.
eddy
Bill G.
Re: Cats/Dolphins
ya got me, i'm speechless...
Bill G.
Re: Known Universe
Awesome!
Surprised nobody mentioned the misdirection on 25 across. I wanted Carolina Hamlet first as Roanoke was the first settlement in the New World, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Virginia Hamlet refers to Virginia Dare who was the first person born in the New World
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