Theme: Failing French - Puns on common French-rooted English.
23A. Sense of unity among apples? : ESPRIT DE CORE. Esprit de corps. Morale.
28A. Deceptively realistic painting of The Donald? : TRUMP L'OEIL. Trompe-l'œil. Literally "deceive the eye". L'œil =Le + œil (eye, masculine). Tricky spelling.
45A. Terrible night's sleep? : LAY MISERABLES. "Les Misérables". Dennis loves the musical. I think he brought this to us before everyone was aware of Susan Boyle.
60A. Having a weed-free lawn? : COUP DE GRASS. Coup de grâce. Literally "blow of mercy".
65A. Passenger who doesn't bug the cabbie? : LAISSEZ FARE. Laissez-faire. Literraly "let do".
Savoir-faire means "know what to do".
73A. Justification for a dried grape? : RAISIN D'ETRE. Raison d'être. "Reason for existence".
89A. Garden figure taking up arms? : GNOME DE GUERRE. Nom de guerre. Literally "Name of war". I don't know why it morphed into pseudonym. Nom de plume makes sense to me.
104A. Ocean trip with a skeleton crew? : BONE VOYAGE. Bon voyage.
114A. Perfume at Garfield's house? : ODIE TOILETTE. Eau de toilette. "Toilet water" is not an apt translation. Toilette comes from TOILE the woven cloth, then the diminutive suffice "ette", so, "little woven cloth".
I thought of Splynter & Barry G immediately after I downloaded the puzzle. Their "affection" for French is well-known on the blog.
Fun romp for me. I was entertained by the the theme clues and just know enough French to mangle the language.
Construction wise, the grid has a relative low black square count. Only 68. I mentioned last Sunday that 74-78 is our Sunday norm. And it's Steve's first Sunday! Look at the middle theme entries: 6-letter overlapping. Not easy to do.
Across:
1. __ finish : PHOTO
6. Latin for "heads" : CAPITA. Or TETEs in French.
12. Tease : JEST
16. Uncouth one : OAF
19. Like hayseeds' hangouts : RURAL
20. Issue in May-December romances : AGE GAP. This kind of marriage is often solid.
21. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
25. Place to dry out, in oaters : JAIL CELL. I still thought of "Rehab center", despite the "osters" qualifier.
26. Goddess with a European capital named for her : ATHENA. Athens.
27. "Fooled you!" : NOT
30. Dressed : CLAD
31. Much souvenir shop merchandise : KITSCH. Lovely entry. Consonants heavy.
34. Concert wind : OBOE
35. Egg source : HEN
36. Triumphs : WINS
37. Horn, in Hastings : HOOTER. Did not know British call "Horn" as "Hooter", Steve!
39. They may have soft shoulders : ROADS
44. Point at the dinner table : TINE
47. "__ Irish Rose" : ABIE'S
50. Heyerdahl craft : RA I. Poor Aishwarya Rai. She never gets the credit she deserves in LA Times.
52. Vacation souvenir : TAN
53. Come through : DELIVER
54. "Porgy and Bess" aria : SUMMERTIME
57. Tease : RIB
59. Many families begin at them : ALTARS. Where weddings are held.
62. Humble reply to a compliment : I TRY
64. Nurse's tool : HYPO. So sorry to hear the bad news about your brother, Lucina.
68. Michigan-based financing co. formed in 1919 : GMAC. Now called Ally Financial.
72. Workbench tool : VISE
75. Early online bookstore : AMAZON
79. QB protectors : RGs
82. Admitting, as a lesser charge : PLEADING TO
83. Restraint : LIMITER
85. Pasture : LEA
87. Cholesterol initials : LDL. The bad one.
88. Allergy season runners : NOSES
92. Latvian Academy of Sciences home : RIGA
94. Syrian president : ASSAD. His wife is nuts about Louboutins.
95. Charming, e.g. : PRINCE. Oh, Prince Charming.
96. "Law & Order" panel : JURY
97. 33 1/3 rpm spinners : LPs
100. Country lowland : GLEN
101. New York town named for its salt-mining industry : SALINA. Never heard of it. Makes sense with its salty sounding name.
103. Enjoy a hot tub : SOAK
110. American __ : LIT
111. Saudi neighbor : QATARI. Crossing 93D. Citizen of Basra : IRAQI. Both U-less.
113. Allergic inflammation : RHINITIS. New word to me.
117. Louis Sachar kids' book heroine : ANGELINE. Never heard of this book.
118. Empty __ : NESTER
119. Bill who said, "It's all been satirized for your protection" : MAHER. "Real Time with Bill Maher" is funny at times.
120. "Silly me!" : D'OH
121. Certain tech sch. grad : ENGR
123. Downhill racers : SLEDS
Down:
1. Take the pulpit : PREACH
2. Try to catch up : HUSTLE
3. Oliver Twist, e.g. : ORPHAN
4. Accounted for the container : TARED. Wow, TARE can be a verb also?
5. Actress Lena : OLIN
6. Dishonorable dude : CAD
7. Representatives : AGENTS
8. Carlsbad's river : PECOS.
9. "Makes sense to me" : I GOTCHA
10. Deck swabber : TAR
11. In __: miffed : A PET
12. Movie goodies : JUJUBES. Chinese dates is also called JUJUBES. That are not sweet as medjools.
13. Smitten : ENAMORED
14. R.E.M. frontman Michael : STIPE
15. One way to walk : TALL
16. Curved molding : OGEE
17. Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do" : ALL I. That song was quite popular when I first arrived in the US.
18. Dropped : FELL
22. Cpl., e.g. : NCO
24. "__ It to the Streets": Doobie Brothers hit : TAKIN'. Here is a clip.
29. Spiral pasta : ROTINI
32. Helium or neon : INERT GAS
33. Knuckleballer Wilhelm : HOYT. Hall-of-Famer of course. He retired when he was 49 years old. Same as Jamie Moyer.
36. Became less reckless, say, with "up" : WISED
38. Poet Khayyám : OMAR
39. Pre-closing bell excitement : RALLY
40. Dead lines? : OBIT. Nice clue.
41. Inventing middle name : ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison.
42. A hundred bucks, maybe : DEER. English is so irrational. Why can't DEER be plural?
43. Estonia and Armenia, once: Abbr. : SSRS
44. Conductor's beat : TEMPO
45. Green beans : LIMAS. They're not green when dried.
46. Hit from behind : REAR END
47. Social psychology pioneer Solomon : ASCH. Nope. Stranger to me.
48. Elevate : BUOY
49. "It's not too early to call" : I'M UP
51. Less stuffy : AIRIER
55. Put a new layer in, as a jacket : RE-LINED
56. Road race challenge : ESS
58. Not neutral : BIASED
61. Rev.'s address : SER
63. Test : TRIAL RUN
66. Skip over, as ads : ZAP
67. Future femme : FILLE. "Daughter" in French.
68. Middle Ages rival of Venice : GENOA
69. Conf. table events : MTGS (Meetings). And 71. Conf. table heads : CEOs.
70. Renoir output : ARTE. French for "art".
72. Chose, with "for" : VOTED
74. Not at all bright : DINGY
75. Pond organism : ALGA
76. Hr.'s 60 : MINS
77. Singer Tori : AMOS
78. Old Coors product pitched as "Zomething different" : ZIMA
80. Grade school art activity : GLUING
81. Experienced : SEEN. Hi there, Seen!
84. Dealing with an invitation : REPLYING
86. Fly ball paths : ARCS
90. Pomaded '50s subculturist : GREASER. Look here, Wiki says they liked Converse Chuck. I like my Vans.
91. Idealist's opposite : REALIST. Too many similar letters in clue/answer.
96. TV image fluctuations : JITTER. New word to me also.
97. Detest : LOATHE
98. "When We Two __": Byron poem : PARTED
99. Downhill racers : SKIERS
100. Arrived : GOT IN
102. Mislead : LIE TO
103. Rip off : STEAL
104. Thin fastener : BRAD
105. [Gasp!] : OH NO. My mouse suddenly stopped working earlier. Putting in new batteries did not help. Had an "Oh no" moment..
106. Near : NIGH
107. Dallas-to-Memphis dir. : ENE
108. Contemptible : VILE
109. Long times : EONS
112. Benevolent donations : ALMS
115. Narc's employer : DEA
116. "Do it, __ will!" : OR I
Answer grid.
Please click here if you're looking for an creative Mother's Day gift. And an heartfelt "Thank you" to those who bought our package. Don and I appreciate your support.
C.C.
23A. Sense of unity among apples? : ESPRIT DE CORE. Esprit de corps. Morale.
28A. Deceptively realistic painting of The Donald? : TRUMP L'OEIL. Trompe-l'œil. Literally "deceive the eye". L'œil =Le + œil (eye, masculine). Tricky spelling.
45A. Terrible night's sleep? : LAY MISERABLES. "Les Misérables". Dennis loves the musical. I think he brought this to us before everyone was aware of Susan Boyle.
60A. Having a weed-free lawn? : COUP DE GRASS. Coup de grâce. Literally "blow of mercy".
65A. Passenger who doesn't bug the cabbie? : LAISSEZ FARE. Laissez-faire. Literraly "let do".
Savoir-faire means "know what to do".
73A. Justification for a dried grape? : RAISIN D'ETRE. Raison d'être. "Reason for existence".
89A. Garden figure taking up arms? : GNOME DE GUERRE. Nom de guerre. Literally "Name of war". I don't know why it morphed into pseudonym. Nom de plume makes sense to me.
104A. Ocean trip with a skeleton crew? : BONE VOYAGE. Bon voyage.
114A. Perfume at Garfield's house? : ODIE TOILETTE. Eau de toilette. "Toilet water" is not an apt translation. Toilette comes from TOILE the woven cloth, then the diminutive suffice "ette", so, "little woven cloth".
I thought of Splynter & Barry G immediately after I downloaded the puzzle. Their "affection" for French is well-known on the blog.
Fun romp for me. I was entertained by the the theme clues and just know enough French to mangle the language.
Construction wise, the grid has a relative low black square count. Only 68. I mentioned last Sunday that 74-78 is our Sunday norm. And it's Steve's first Sunday! Look at the middle theme entries: 6-letter overlapping. Not easy to do.
Across:
1. __ finish : PHOTO
6. Latin for "heads" : CAPITA. Or TETEs in French.
12. Tease : JEST
16. Uncouth one : OAF
19. Like hayseeds' hangouts : RURAL
20. Issue in May-December romances : AGE GAP. This kind of marriage is often solid.
21. Straighten out : UNTANGLE
25. Place to dry out, in oaters : JAIL CELL. I still thought of "Rehab center", despite the "osters" qualifier.
26. Goddess with a European capital named for her : ATHENA. Athens.
27. "Fooled you!" : NOT
30. Dressed : CLAD
31. Much souvenir shop merchandise : KITSCH. Lovely entry. Consonants heavy.
34. Concert wind : OBOE
35. Egg source : HEN
36. Triumphs : WINS
37. Horn, in Hastings : HOOTER. Did not know British call "Horn" as "Hooter", Steve!
39. They may have soft shoulders : ROADS
44. Point at the dinner table : TINE
47. "__ Irish Rose" : ABIE'S
50. Heyerdahl craft : RA I. Poor Aishwarya Rai. She never gets the credit she deserves in LA Times.
52. Vacation souvenir : TAN
53. Come through : DELIVER
54. "Porgy and Bess" aria : SUMMERTIME
57. Tease : RIB
59. Many families begin at them : ALTARS. Where weddings are held.
62. Humble reply to a compliment : I TRY
64. Nurse's tool : HYPO. So sorry to hear the bad news about your brother, Lucina.
68. Michigan-based financing co. formed in 1919 : GMAC. Now called Ally Financial.
72. Workbench tool : VISE
75. Early online bookstore : AMAZON
79. QB protectors : RGs
82. Admitting, as a lesser charge : PLEADING TO
83. Restraint : LIMITER
85. Pasture : LEA
87. Cholesterol initials : LDL. The bad one.
88. Allergy season runners : NOSES
92. Latvian Academy of Sciences home : RIGA
94. Syrian president : ASSAD. His wife is nuts about Louboutins.
95. Charming, e.g. : PRINCE. Oh, Prince Charming.
96. "Law & Order" panel : JURY
97. 33 1/3 rpm spinners : LPs
100. Country lowland : GLEN
101. New York town named for its salt-mining industry : SALINA. Never heard of it. Makes sense with its salty sounding name.
103. Enjoy a hot tub : SOAK
110. American __ : LIT
111. Saudi neighbor : QATARI. Crossing 93D. Citizen of Basra : IRAQI. Both U-less.
113. Allergic inflammation : RHINITIS. New word to me.
117. Louis Sachar kids' book heroine : ANGELINE. Never heard of this book.
118. Empty __ : NESTER
119. Bill who said, "It's all been satirized for your protection" : MAHER. "Real Time with Bill Maher" is funny at times.
120. "Silly me!" : D'OH
121. Certain tech sch. grad : ENGR
122. Zen enlightenment : SATORI. Literally "awakening"/"understanding". I just call it "D'oh".
123. Downhill racers : SLEDS
Down:
1. Take the pulpit : PREACH
2. Try to catch up : HUSTLE
3. Oliver Twist, e.g. : ORPHAN
4. Accounted for the container : TARED. Wow, TARE can be a verb also?
5. Actress Lena : OLIN
6. Dishonorable dude : CAD
7. Representatives : AGENTS
8. Carlsbad's river : PECOS.
9. "Makes sense to me" : I GOTCHA
10. Deck swabber : TAR
11. In __: miffed : A PET
12. Movie goodies : JUJUBES. Chinese dates is also called JUJUBES. That are not sweet as medjools.
13. Smitten : ENAMORED
14. R.E.M. frontman Michael : STIPE
15. One way to walk : TALL
16. Curved molding : OGEE
17. Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do" : ALL I. That song was quite popular when I first arrived in the US.
18. Dropped : FELL
22. Cpl., e.g. : NCO
24. "__ It to the Streets": Doobie Brothers hit : TAKIN'. Here is a clip.
29. Spiral pasta : ROTINI
32. Helium or neon : INERT GAS
33. Knuckleballer Wilhelm : HOYT. Hall-of-Famer of course. He retired when he was 49 years old. Same as Jamie Moyer.
36. Became less reckless, say, with "up" : WISED
38. Poet Khayyám : OMAR
39. Pre-closing bell excitement : RALLY
40. Dead lines? : OBIT. Nice clue.
41. Inventing middle name : ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison.
42. A hundred bucks, maybe : DEER. English is so irrational. Why can't DEER be plural?
43. Estonia and Armenia, once: Abbr. : SSRS
44. Conductor's beat : TEMPO
45. Green beans : LIMAS. They're not green when dried.
46. Hit from behind : REAR END
47. Social psychology pioneer Solomon : ASCH. Nope. Stranger to me.
48. Elevate : BUOY
49. "It's not too early to call" : I'M UP
51. Less stuffy : AIRIER
55. Put a new layer in, as a jacket : RE-LINED
56. Road race challenge : ESS
58. Not neutral : BIASED
61. Rev.'s address : SER
63. Test : TRIAL RUN
66. Skip over, as ads : ZAP
67. Future femme : FILLE. "Daughter" in French.
68. Middle Ages rival of Venice : GENOA
69. Conf. table events : MTGS (Meetings). And 71. Conf. table heads : CEOs.
70. Renoir output : ARTE. French for "art".
72. Chose, with "for" : VOTED
74. Not at all bright : DINGY
75. Pond organism : ALGA
76. Hr.'s 60 : MINS
77. Singer Tori : AMOS
78. Old Coors product pitched as "Zomething different" : ZIMA
80. Grade school art activity : GLUING
81. Experienced : SEEN. Hi there, Seen!
84. Dealing with an invitation : REPLYING
86. Fly ball paths : ARCS
90. Pomaded '50s subculturist : GREASER. Look here, Wiki says they liked Converse Chuck. I like my Vans.
91. Idealist's opposite : REALIST. Too many similar letters in clue/answer.
96. TV image fluctuations : JITTER. New word to me also.
97. Detest : LOATHE
98. "When We Two __": Byron poem : PARTED
99. Downhill racers : SKIERS
100. Arrived : GOT IN
102. Mislead : LIE TO
103. Rip off : STEAL
104. Thin fastener : BRAD
105. [Gasp!] : OH NO. My mouse suddenly stopped working earlier. Putting in new batteries did not help. Had an "Oh no" moment..
106. Near : NIGH
107. Dallas-to-Memphis dir. : ENE
108. Contemptible : VILE
109. Long times : EONS
112. Benevolent donations : ALMS
115. Narc's employer : DEA
116. "Do it, __ will!" : OR I
Answer grid.
Please click here if you're looking for an creative Mother's Day gift. And an heartfelt "Thank you" to those who bought our package. Don and I appreciate your support.
C.C.
38 comments:
Morning, all!
Believe it or not, I quite enjoyed the theme today. French may not be my forté, but all of the phrases are firmly in the English language now and I'm familiar with all of them.
The only theme answer that seemed clunky to me was LAY MISERABLES. I get what the clue was trying for, but it just didn't seem to fit very well. The fact that it crossed the totally unknown HOYT made it worse and I had to guess at the Y crossing. All the rest were wonderful.
Elsewhere, I didn't know HOOTER (at least, not the way it was clued), did not know SALINA, ASCH or ANGELINE, and have never heard of something called American LIT. I'm guessing it's short for "literature" and is probably a course one would take in school. Actually, now that I think of it, I have heard of English LIT. Just not American LIT. Go figure...
The clue for 42D ("a hundred bucks, maybe") gets my vote for best clue of the day.
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. This was a fun puzzle. I rather enjoyed the mangled French in this puzzle. Lots of fun clues, too.
My favorite clue was Allergy Season Runners = NOSES.
A Hundred Bucks = DEER was also a good clue.
I liked the intersection 123-Across and 99-Down, which were both clued as Downhill Runners, SLEDS and SKIERS, respectively.
Conf. Table Events near Conf. Table Heads was also fun to see.
I also enjoyed the fact that this puzzle had 2 words with the letter "Q", without being followed by the "U"
Happy Easter.
QOD: History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Hi There~!
Glad to see "French" put to good use in a crossword for a change ~!
Splynter
My 23 across was sense of unity among magnetic devices not apples what happened
I had the same problem as jhand with 23A "Sense of unity among magnetic devices?" Even when I got it I didn't get it. Something is getting lost between LA and Roanoke. Last week "ñ" became "-".
Sorry, bumped the Publish Button before I was through. I was going to ask if there is an on-line source of the LA Times Sunday puzzle? I prefer to work it in the newspaper, but having the original would let me see what clues have been mangled by my local paper.
Good morning all:
Congrats to SJ, SJ for a terrific puzzle-clever theme and subtle cluing. Needed help in southwest corner. Can't believe it took so long to get Amazon; I have to be one of their most frequent-buyers! I guess I was looking for something less obvious. Great write-up, CC.
Happy Easter and a Joyous Passover.
Morning, everybody!
This puzzle was a lot of fun, even though it ran two minutes over my self-imposed Sunday time limit. Thanx SJSJ. C.C., I enjoyed the interview and your write-up, though I don't understand your question about DEER.
I got stuck on "dealing with an invitation." I already had LIMITED, so I wanted DECLINING, but it was one letter too long. When I saw BONE VOYAGE I had my D'OH moment and changed it to LIMITER.
Favorite theme answer: ODIE TOILETTE. Favorite non-theme answer: KITSCH
Time to put 10 miles on the bicycle...
Good morning C.C. and Sunday solvers. (SJ)x2 sure served up a fantastic Easter Egg with this one. I can't recall a puzzle that elicited so many laugh out loud responses as this one did. You can't have much more fun than this and still keep your clothes on.
C.C. Thanks for the great interview. I really liked Steven's replies.
My knowledge of French is about one notch above non exixtent, but the base phrases were anywhere from very familiar (BON VOYAGE) to something I've heard but don't use (Trompe-l'oeil)and I was able to sound them out and figure out the English homophone that was substituted.
Fortunately, most of the non theme clues were gettable and gave me some crosses to get me started on the phrase and finish the French word when needed.
No cheaters and an X short of a pangram. Well done.
Naples News also had the 'magnetic products' clue. Something changed between the time the puzzle was sent to the syndicator and the time it was published on Cruciverb. Maybe we could compromise and clue it as 'A feeling of unity among apple leftovers'.
It's hard to pick a favorite clue, but 'Perfume at Garfield's house/ODIE TOILETTE has to be among the top three.
Good morning C.C. et al.
Wow, what a fun puzzle. I got the theme with ESPRIT DE CORE, and literally laughed out loud. TRUMP L'OEIL and LAISSEZ FARE were great, but ODIE TOILETTE was a real knee-slapper. Thanks for a fun Sunday romp SJSJ!
Fly_Navy@7:50 -- There's an online version at cruciverb.com. You can also find it on the Chicago Tribune website -- choose A&E from the menu and then Puzzles.
Barry, it took me a few perps to suss out HOOTER from that clue, also. ASCH and ANGELINE were all perps, but HOYT and SALINA were both known. I thought the 'Terrible night's sleep'/ LAY MISERABLES was a little clunky, too, until I pronounced it as 'Lay Miserably'. Then it got a big roar.
A brutal but enjoyable solve today, SJ SJ. I don't time myself, but I'm sure it took well over an hour. While not readily familiar with Trompe-l'oeil, the perps were solid and the leading Trump was easy enough to infer. All the others were entirely in the language, IMO. As others have said, the cluing for Lay Miz have a seemed a bit vague, but it's a audible clue...say it aloud and it's hilarious.
A good time all told. Thank you.
From yesterday: Lucina, I'm sorry to hear your news. I hope that all goes as well as possible for you and your family.
One of the wittiest most fun puzzles ever! Well done sir, and thank you C.C. for guiding through this effort and giving us a peek into his mind. You all have noted many of my favorites, and I loved throwing some Latin as well. Capita is very common in English from the macabre (decapitate) to the mundane (cap [itation] rates). My name actually comes from the Polish version of the word. Happy Easter to all those celebrating.
Mon dieu, what a treat Steven! Your puzzle and insight were wonderful. Just back from church and cleaned up the SW corner. We had to park a city block away but next week, not so much!
Musings
-I immediately thought of Abejo and his adventures with foreign phrases.
-Hopefully the election will deliver a coup de grace from all the political advertising!
-Worst May/December marriage ever?
-Theme parks have gift shops full of KITSCH at the end of every ride! Don’t you need It’s A Small World salt and pepper shakers?
-Summertime is a transcendent American ballad!
-I had RIBs (tease) at Applebee’s last night and lost count of napkins and wet wipes.
-GMAC and I have held co-ownership on many cars
-I have been through SALINA, KS many times on the way to the central Kansas salt mine tour
-Angeline not Madeline
-The knuckleball can be the last resort of a long pitching career
-“I’m up” is great to say in baseball
-Italian states have only been united since about the time of our civil war. Our guide said he is a Tuscan first and Italian second!
-Gotta go hide Easter eggs!
Happy Easter to all! Thank you, C.C. and everyone for your kind thoughts. I'll keep you posted on my brother's progress.
Grumpy 1:
I love your assessment and I agree; this was so much fun.
Even the many unknowns such as HOYT, ASCH, ANGELINE proved perpable.
You have all listed the most obviously clever fill, ODIE TOILETTE and I really liked GNOMEDEGUERRE, too.
C.C., you are so right about English being unreasonable and more so when it comes to plurals. The names of most herd animals are used as both singular and plural, sheep, deer, elk, etc.
I wish a very joyous Easter Day for all of you!
C.C.: Wonderful write-up & Interview. A nice learning moment into the 'mind' of our Constructor.
SJx2: Thank you for a FUN and at times, very funny Easter Crossword treat.
WHRxS, What HeartRx Said, right down to the knee-slap.
(Maybe I should do the Sunday Puzzles more often).
A "Toast" to all at Sunset on this truly beautiful Easter Sunday.
Cheers!!!
Very interesting the ESPRITDECORE has different clues in different papers. For what it's worth, my clue was: Possessed mainframe?
I liked my clue for COUPDEGRASS - Score some pot? Maybe a bit too edgy, that one.
I'm glad ASCH survived the editing. I knew that one was obscure, but his research was fascinating and a staple of my Introduction to Psychology course.
My clue for TRIALRUN was Faster than a perp walk? which is funny (IMO) if you know what a perp walk is, but the clue doesn't really work by the rules of American crosswords, so I knew it would be changed.
ARTE is in there, clued as Renoir output, which is interesting because I considered ARTEBLANCHE (Blank canvas for Renoir?) as a theme entry in a different puzzle where I drop a C. That theme didn't revolve around French phrases like this one - just a coincidence.
For VOTED I had "Registered an opinion at the conference table" - but enough conference table clues already!
Thank you for all of the comments and to CC for the commentary - it's better than finding a colorful egg or eating a marshmallow HEN.
Greetings!
Great puzzle SJSJ and write-up CC.
The first theme answer that I wrote was ODIETOILETTE, a big chuckle that led the way to the rest of the theme answers. But puzzle definitely exceeded my time limits!
Never heard of ASCH, ANGELINE, SATORI or SALINA.
Awoke this morn to what seemed to be a Vogon (see HHG) spaceship roaring overhead. Geeesh!
Lucina--very best wishes for your brother's recovery.
Misty--so sorry about your doxie. Hope recovery is complete. I had a coyote problem also. My lovely geese were all slaughtered.
CC--Really enjoyed the interview!
Happy Easter (whatever your faith)!
This was clever, but I never quite solved the SW corner. Rats!
Some of the clues never quite clicked for me.
ALAS ....
@FLYNAVY
cruciverb.com
Fun puzzle with really clever clues. A very enjoyable activity on Easter Sunday morning. The roast is in the oven.
The Moment of Nature on Sunday Morning was especially delightful. There is not anything much more appealing than goslings following their mother around.
RIP Mike Wallace.
Another video that produced an "Aww" response from me. Kitten and puppy
I still think it is BONNVOYAGE for 104 across, with a crew interested in visiting the museum where skeletons of Neanderthals are displayed. As for 107 down, NNE or ENE is a toss up, a real hair splitter. I think the puzzle-maker's unconscious was urging BONN.
SJSJ: Really fun one! I put my dinner in the microwave for 5 mins. and sat down to look at the puzzle. 98 minutes later I realized my dinner hadn't been eaten and the puzzle was mostly done. Ate and my brain was then nourished enough to get the stumpers.
Only thing I couldn't figure out was "S" at the RGS/SEEN cross. What is a QB? What is RGS?
Used to sing "Summertime". A good lullaby too.
As a GM dealership bookkeeper, I filled out beaucoup GMAC contracts.
No longer lay miserable. After an hour, I get up and do something 'til I'm too sleepy to stay up. Very erratic sleep schedule sometimes.
When I got to 47D I thought Asch immediately, but don't think I ever heard of him. Since I had 47A "wilde" at the time, I discarded it until SUMMERTIME bloomed.
Hello.
For 46D, I wanted cross check. For118A, I wanted netter. Bring on the second season!
San Jose has four new falcons. Those pigeons better hide.
Beautiful photo of Io in transit on APOD.
Totally different puzzle in the Inland Empire Edition of the Times----"Room for One More" is the theme. I got stuck on 4 down tied into 24 across. 4 down----Guidebook for travelers---BAE_ _ Ker and 24 across Flightless New Zealand bird --- WOO _ HEN
Hello everybody. What Hahtoolah and Grumpy 1 said. Really satisfying puzzle today. Best wishes.
Fun puzzle. Liked how TRIALrun, PLEADINGTO and JURY nestled together. Anyone else watching the Masters? How about Louis' double eagle?
Bea
Bea -
I'm watching every minute of The Masters. That shot on 2 was beautiful... I remember that green from last year and thought when it landed it would be really good. Love to see the guys making shots.
What a fun puzzle. Thank you, Stephen. Nice, open, pretty grid; I was impressed by the absence of cheater squares and appreciate the time/effort (from Rich, too) I know it must have taken to accomplish that. The SE corner was a blast, while the SW corner resulted in a DNF for me. Didn’t know ANGELINE, HOYT, or SALINA (which was well-clued), and I thought ABIES/ASCH and CAPITA (the way it was clued)/PECOS were too esoteric to cross. I couldn’t decide whether I thought FILLE and ARTE (French words in a French-themed puzzle) added to or detracted from the puzzle’s quality. I really wanted GREASER to be clued as “Soc foe in “The Outsiders”. Omg, I have always thought “May-December” described the brevity of a relationship, not the AGEGAP in it; I can’t tell you how often I’ve, in writings and in conversation, misused that term; how incredibly chagrined and embarrassed I am, almost to the point of, it might be said, having the willies.
Usually, the “No fill entries equal to or longer than theme entries” rule is allowed to be broken when those fill entries are Down and all the theme entries are Across. I think it’s interesting, though hard to describe, the other instances when editors allow the rule to be broken--and this puzzle is one of those instances: PLEADINGTO and SUMMERTIME, amidst the theme entries TRUMPLOEIL and BONEVOYAGE (all ten-letter words), seem to be acceptable because of their centralized position and their proximity to other theme entries, thus making them (along with the fact that all theme entries are puns and end in a question mark) easily peggable as non-thematic entries . . . Just a matter of curiosity.
Awesome quote, Hahtoolah. Awesome quote, Hahtoolah. Great interview, C.C. and Steven; it was cool to read about Steven’s excitement about being able to fit JUJUBES and JAILCELL in the NW corner--I felt that excitement, too, as a solver.
Thanks CC and Steven for the interview. I always love it when the author explains what goes into making his/her puzzle. Helps me understand the difficulties of constructing such a beast.
Had a difficult time with this one (French is not my forte), but loved every last minute of it. The crosses were gettable and the French phrases common enough. My last entry was SALINA and JITTER. Figured the NY town had something to do with saline, but JITTER didn't look right for the clue.
@ PK: QB is the football quarterback and RG is the Right Guard of the offensive line (in front of the quarterback) trying to stop the defensive team from tackling him.
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Steven St. John, for a very interesting, but difficult, puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the expert review.
Well, I purchased a Tribune yesterday afternoon, thinking I would get to the puzzle last night and be real early in blogging this morning, since I had church all morning. When I saw the theme printed "Failing french," knew I was in trouble.
To Husker Gary: I caught your comment and you were 100 percent correct. This puzzle was a tough one for me. I did finish, though.
Got the NW corner fairly easily. That helped with the ESPRIT half of the first theme answer. The second half took a while. The first them answer I was able to get was LAY MISERABLES. Then I had the idea of the theme.
Got the GNOME half of 89A, but the DE GUERRE came totally with perps. The one I had no idea about was 28A TRUMP LOEIL. The first half was easy, but no idea what the LOEIL meant. Perps got it. Same for RAISIN D ETRE. First half easy, second half perps.
Thought BONE VOYAGE was great. That was not too hard.
My last entry was AGE GAP. I have never heard that term in my life. (May-December romance) When I finished I asked my wife about it and she knew right off the bat what it was. I guess I don't get out much.
Thank goodness for some of the easy and reliable fill, or this would have been a DNF.
I compliment Steven St. John for all the work it must have taken to construct this puzzle. That was obvious to me. I just have a tough time with foreign words/phrases in an English puzzle. I did finish. Hooray!
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Happy Easter to all!
I was initially intimidated by today's challenge since my knowledge of French is limited at best, but overall, I did above average. Plus, I truly enjoy tongue-in-cheek puns.
Started 8:45 PM EDT and finished at 9:43 PM EDT
(Elapsed time - 58 minutes)
Missed two - The nexuses at Jitter, Lit and Satori
Dear C.C.: Failed to thank you for a great interview and commentary. You never fail to make this interesting.
Wasn't the Masters a nail-biter right to the end. With Bubba's last miracle shot, he deserved to win. I sure missed the azaleas this year though.
the Masters was riveting
60 Minutes was excellent tonight as usual. The piece on a classical orchestra and chorus in the Congo was just outstanding. It's hard to watch these people who have so little getting such joy from their music.
60 Minutes
Anon @ 3:19 - you were doing the Merle Regel Sunday puzzle. I print it from curciverb.com on Sundays, as well as the LA Times puzzle because our newspaper publishes the NYT on Sunday.
I had the hardest time with this one. Especially since on mine, 23 across' question is stated as "Sense of unity among magnetic devices?" Nothing about apples. I didn't like this puzzle at all. Glad I had your blog to help me out.
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