Theme: That's One Strange Critter - Do we have any artists that could sketch this animal and posted it somehow? I'm sure I could search all of Googledom and not find an image to match!
17A. TV-top antenna : RABBIT EARS. You don't see ads for rabbit ear antennas much anymore.
30A. Airhead : BIRDBRAIN
36A. Sharp bends in fairways : DOGLEGS
38A. Reedy marsh plant : CATTAIL. They are being pushed out by invasive Phragmites.
46A. Craps loser : SNAKE EYES. Rolling a two(3 or 12 are crap/loser, also.) in the dice game called craps.
63A. Snug-collared top : TURTLENECK
Argyle here. Minor problem: some entries are one word and some are two. Does it matter? Not to me. They are all animals and they are all body parts but they are clued as animorphized objects. Don't bother looking that one up; I just coined it. It is giving animal traits to non-animals. You got something better, let's hear it.
In the meantime, six entries and a couple of strong corners make for a pretty good Monday puzzle, eh? Kurt hasn't been around for a couple of years but he still has it.
Well, I'll be, the NYT puzzle today is Kurt Mueller's, too.
Across:
1. Cotton swabs : Q-TIPS
6. "Rush Hour" co-star Jackie : CHAN
10. Installs, as carpeting : LAYS
14. Figure out, as a bill : TOT UP
15. Promote extravagantly : HYPE
16. All over again : ANEW
19. Enthusiastic hand-raiser's cry : "ME! ME!"
20. Canonized mlle. : STE. French.
21. Iowa crop : CORN
22. Like pant legs : SEAMED. Or a silk stocking.
24. Adjust the pitch of, as a guitar string : RETUNE
26. Pickling liquid : BRINE
27. Hightail it : FLEE
32. Corrida showman : TORERO. A bullfighter. Kingston Trio - El Matador.(2:28)
35. Stud farm stud : SIRE
43. Where resented comments stick, metaphorically : CRAW. (throat)
45. Concert memento : T-SHIRT
51. The "E" in FEMA: Abbr. : EMER. Fed. Emer. Mgmt. Agcy.
52. Circle dances : HORAs
53. Mr. Bill's nemesis, in "Saturday Night Live" skits : SLUGGO
56. Unwilling (to) : AVERSE
58. "Pants on fire" fellow : LIAR
59. __ Vegas : LAS. No longer a Splynter destination.
62. Man-to-man defense alternative : ZONE
66. "This weighs __!" : A TON
67. Hint : CLUE
68. Atlanta university : EMORY
69. David Wright's team : METS. Third baseman.
70. Ranch employee : HAND
71. Vetoes : NIXES
Down:
1. Fiscal-yr. fourths : QTR's. (quarters)
2. Right on the nose : TO A "T"
3. "Could __ Magic": Barry Manilow hit : IT BE. Barry with the late Donna Summer, Link(5:42), at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, NV, on June 5, 2004.
4. Place for drafts and darts : PUB
5. Cinnamon or cloves : SPICE. Spice up your eggnog.
6. Rosy-cheeked angel : CHERUB
7. Cape Cod fishing port : HYANNIS. Gee, isn't there a famous compound out there.
8. Mo. for fools? : APR.. When the 99% pay taxes.
9. Monster's loch : NESS
10. Hollywood's Hedy : LAMARR
11. Iron-poor blood condition : ANEMIA
12. Sana'a native : YEMENI. Map. West of Oman, which means it is west of Mumbai.
13. Homeland of Saab and Volvo : SWEDEN. Sob! Sob! Saab is homeless now.
18. Moppet : TOT
23. __ Field: Brooklyn Dodgers' home : EBBETS. Charles Ebbets financed the building of Ebbets Field in 1912 by selling half his shares in the team to the McKeever Brothers.
24. Barn dance dance : REEL. Yellowrocks.
25. Songwriter Clapton : ERIC. He's much more than just a songwriter.
27. Busy co. on Mother's Day : FTD. Founded as Florists' Telegraph Delivery, it is now Florists' Transworld Delivery.
28. Lav in London : LOO. Lav is shortened lavatory.
29. Unit of work : ERG
31. "Dang!" : "DRAT!"
33. Schoolyard playtime : RECESS
34. Fairy tale baddie : OGRE
37. Utters : SAYS
39. Van Gogh's brother : THEO. A quick peek at the Wikipedia article, will explain why he is famous.
40. Zero in : AIM
41. Ill temper : IRE
42. Photocopier tray size: Abbr. : LTR. (letter size)
44. Like an efficiently managed business : WELL RUN
46. Exclamation from Gomer Pyle : "SHAZAM!"
47. Dissenting ballot : NO VOTE
48. "Am too!" reply : "ARE NOT!"
49. Actresses Black and Allen : KARENs
50. Befitted : SUITED
54. Guy's partner : GAL. Guys and Gals premiered on Broadway in 1950.
55. Eco-friendly : GREEN
57. Make an engraving : ETCH
59. Tenth of 13 popes : LEO X.
John - 23 times
Benedict - 16 times
Gregory - 16 times
Clement - 14 times
Innocent - 13 times
Leo - 13 times
Pius - 12 times
Stephen - 10 times
60. Farm fraction : ACRE
61. "The __ the limit!" : SKY'S
64. Suffix with "form" : ULA
65. Abbr. for people with only two names : NMI. (no middle initial)
Argyle
48 comments:
Morning, all (and a Happy Memorial Day)! Did the BBQ yesterday and have to work today, unfortunately...
Nice and easy Monday puzzle, and I did notice that the constructor had two published puzzles today. Congrats, Mr. Mueller!
HYANNIS was a gimme as clued for me, since I'm from around that area, but I wounder how many folks outside of Massachusetts would get it easily without any reference to the Kennedys.
EBBETS, on the other hand, was not a gimme, but fortunately it was buried somewhere in the back of the brain and I was able to pull it up with the help of a few perps. Ditto for SLUGGO.
Good day folks,
Happy Memorial Day. Hope everyone takes a moment to remember our fallen heroes.
No muss, no fuss today in spite of one Nit. 14A, TOT UP. If it's a common expression, I've not heard or used it.
Strangely enough, had to rely on perps today more so then usual on a Monday. But that being said, I finished without any abnormal delays.
Ebbets Firld was where I saw my first major league game and the only time I was ever there.
BillG from last night .... Dodgers are good because 1) they are in a weak division, 2) they have an excellent pitching staff, and 3) they have Don Mattingly.
Hi There~!
Well done, Argyle, a new word coined yet again at the blog~! Congrats to our constructor for two puzzles in two papers on the same day~!
I did myself in on this one with "RAT TAIL" and not CAT TAIL", and it wasn't until I realized ERIR Clapton is not a songwriter I know of.
I would love to give the "sketch" a try, but I know I could not get it drawn, scanned, and posted in time for the end of the day - too many other things going on - maybe I'll try just for the fun of it....
Alas, no LAS for me - and that's actually a good thing, since I never really planned to stay long - but now the itch I can't scratch, the one to get out of this area, is really acting up ~!
Splynter
Happy holiday!
This was a fun, easy speed run, but a little harder than the typical Monday for me. The theme answers were easy, but a lot of the fill was fresh.
Hondo, I've heard TOT UP used often, particularly by card players.
Argyle, enjoyed the K-T link. I've got the CD of that album. It has some of the best songs, but the lowest "fi" of any of the Dave Guard Trio albums. I think Bob Shane is the only one of the original three still alive.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Kurt Mueller, for a fine Monday puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for a fine review.
Got QTIPS right off the bat for 1A. Then entered TOTAL for 14A. Had to change that when I started the Downs. Not sure I ever heard the term TOT UP. But, I understand the meaning.
The theme came easily. Very clever.
THEO and SLUGGO crossing caused me to think a little. The "O" was the only letter that made sense. read the Link to Theo Van Gogh. That was interesting. We take our health for granted now days. Things were different back then.
I even finished this in less than a half hour. That is rare for me. Of course it is a Monday.
Happy Memorial Day. Off to a Parade in Wauconda today with the Medinah Shriners Brass Band. Then off to Pennsylvania tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
MontanaHal,
PayPal is safe. Email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you prefer to snail mail a check. Thanks for the generosity.
Jayce et al,
Thanks for the explanation yesterday. I don't know why this idea that Allah is the same as Christian God bothers me.
CrossEyedDave,
What Spitzboov said: Cool beans!
Splynter,
No comment on Santa's SEAMED (22A)?
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
Fun write-up, Argyle. Animorphized? If it ain’t a word, it should be!! And thanks for the Kingston Trio link.
I forgot about SNAKE EYES in the game of craps, so had to peek at the down clue for help. And what did Gomer Pyle always say? I had “Gollee”, then “shucks” before I finally filled in SHAZAM. Fun puzzle, tight theme and an easy Monday outing.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Musings
-Wonderful 60 minutes last night about the ordinary people who do extraordinary things as members of the military in defense of our country!
-C’mon, you’ve spent time trying every angle you could with those RABBIT EARS, haven’t you?
-Are any words more misused than LAY/LIE and SIT/SAT! On a DOGLEG, you “play it where it lies”
-Another lovely 1.4” of rain last night. There’ll be a lot of CORN this year!
-Argyle’s link to those SEAMED stockings “seemed” just fine to me! Hubba, hubba!
-Life improved when I got an electronic device to RETUNE my guitar!
-At a family reunion, is it better to keep that resentment in your CRAW or clear the air?
-Politicians should wear asbestos pants when campaigning – Liar, liar…
-ZONE defenses have only been legal for a few years in the NBA
-A METS pitcher hit a Brewer star hitter last week and the NY manager then pulled David Wright out of the game because of baseball’s unwritten rule that if you hit our star, we’re hitting yours.
-I looked at TOAT for a while before…
-My wife and her Greek family are predisposed to ANEMIA
-EBBETS field, the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium were the nexus of the baseball universe when I was a “ute” (My Cousin Vinnie). Also a movie I could watch over and over.
-Childhood RECESS memories can be painful for some with bullies and getting picked last…
Hi again~!
C.C., I most definitely took a look, and I do like the look of seams on stockings, but personally, I prefer these
Good morning, all.
Easy Monday. I started to put in addUP, but remembered that TOT UP was in a recent puzzle and decided to check a perp or two. I was a bit surprised to see TOT by itself a little later in the puzzle.
Barry, after 50 years of Kennedy's in the national news and constant references to Hyannis Port and Cape Cod, even those of us that have seldom or never been there shouldn't need more than a couple of letters to suss that one out.
Good puzzle, Kurt and congrats on the daily double.
Special thanks today to all of our veterans and especially to those that paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.
Easy, yes; but, too many abbrevs.
I think TOTeUP would be more nearly correct. You need the "e" for the long O pronucniation.
@H-Gary - youngsters don't know from RABBITEARS.
It was Guys and Dolls in 1950 - no gals in that title.
HeartRx - I forgot SNAKE EYES, too. I forgot to insert an image but it's in there now.
Splynter, very nice; going to Vegas might have been an overload of legs for you.
Yes, Leigh, you are right. You do know about the Navajo rug story? Well, it's my story too and I'm sticking to it.
Good morning everyone. Good comments, Argyle. 100 years from now Merriam-Webster will attribute 1st usage of animorphized to Argyle in 2012.
Easy Monday. Fun theme. Counted 2 danse fills, REEL and HORAS. Didn't know what a 'toat' was but then parsed it and saw TO A T. Oh! Saw a Dodgers - Phillies game at Ebbets Field in 1950. Hard to get my head around ACRE being a fraction with 43560 ft². I know what was meant; part of a larger spread or, in the midwest, part of, say, a section or ¼ section; but still …….
I have NMI. So, on Navy forms, it was shown variously as (NMI), (NMN), or (N). Think of it - 5 typewriter strokes to denote a nullity. Only in the Government. O Tempora! O Mores! But I digress.
Hope everyone has a chance to enjoy this special day.
Hi gang -
We had TOT, as in TOT UP in the puzzle I blogged on Wednesday. Gave me pause, but it's legit.
SLUGGO? What about Mr. Hands?
Interesting animporphology today.
Splynter - you discovered a shapelier pair, or so it SEAMS.
Both my kids, ERIC and KAREN in today's puzzle.
Didn't need perp help - pulled Q-TIPS out of my ear.
Hedy LAMARR.
It's sad, but you could parse 17A as RABBI TEARS.
Nate (KAREN'S son) leads his team in being hit by pitches. Kid needs to improve his evasive maneuverability.
Cool Regards!
JzB stumbled on the ME ME MEME
Why did BillG's late night post about heroes get deleted?
Sfingi@8:21 -- When I've heard it spoken TOT rhymes with JOT.
Bill G.'s comments are there. You must be alluding to Patrick's(you?) comment about MSNBC.
Hi all,
Kudos to Mr. Mueller! Is he the first one ever to do dual crosswords?
We in Cleveland,Ohio, have our own casino now. So I don’t have to go to LAS Vegas to lose my money getting SNAKE EYES.
I looked up Theo Van Gogh. His death was caused by the progression of untreated syphillus, but at that time it was just called paralytic dementia and they didn’t know the cause. Whenever anyone wants to go back to the romantic 1800’s, I think “Yes, but with 21st century medicine.
Good morning all:
A very easy-peasy, breezy Monday offering, Mr. M., and a neat expo, Argyle.
No help necessary and no write-overs, so a good start to the week.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone, and a heartfelt thank you to all military personnel for your service and sacrifice on our behalf.
24. Adjust the pitch of, as a guitar string : RETUNE
For some reason this answer bothers me. Do you only tune the guitar after you replace the strings, then re-tune it every time thereafter, or until the strings break or are replaced?
It would be similar to editing a movie. When do you stop editing it before you start re-editing?
NMI seemed pretty obscure to me on 65 down.
Well, as an animal lover, I loved this puzzle--even when the little sweeties are morphed into expressions. We actually have three of the six species mentioned in the puzzle living in our home. And, Argyle, many thanks for the count of the Popes! Have never seen the stats on that one.
My only question (I'm sure it's dumb, but I have to ask) is what sort of ZONE is a "man-to-man defense alternative"? I remembered Gomer Pyle's SHAZAM, but kept thinking ZONE had to be wrong.
Beautiful morning in southern California, and I wish you all a thoughtful holiday, and a great start to your week.
Good afternoon everyone.
I do love Monday puzzles. Had to get help from DH for SNAKEEYES, since I've never played or shot (whatever it is that you do) craps. First time I figured out the theme, and I love your animorphized, Argyle.
For you guys who think the seams on silk stockings are sexy, you've never had to worry about and keep trying to adjust them so they are straight. That's so old fashioned; it's sort of like we used to use very tiny safety pins to make sure our bra straps didn't show.
Fun puzzle, and I stand corrected on the history of Memorial Day. No way to get to the grave of my brother to place flowers, so a moment of reflection for all who've lost their lives in battle is certainly what I'll do today.
Cheers
I vote yes on "animorphize". We can always use new vocabulary. What we do not need is the use of "pant" to mean "pants". Pant has to do with a means by which a dog cools himself. I recently purchased a pair of "hiking short". Same level of idiocy.
Fun Monday puzzle. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
I didn't post anything last night about heroes. I was going to respond to your MSNBC post but I thought better of it.
Regarding tuning a guitar with nylon strings; when you first replace the strings, they need retuning (up) often because they stretch out. After the initial few days, the strings probably should be turned once every day before you start playing. After a longer time, the strings begin to sound dead and go out of tune with themselves. Then you replace all of the strings and the whole process starts over.
palos -
Strings stretch. They require retuning every time you are going to play, and probably more frequently in a hot session.
Every musician must be constantly aware of playing in tune. Strings are affected by both temperature and humidity. Wind instruments by temperature. And they go in opposite directions. Higher temp makes the strings go slack, and therefore flat, while winds will go sharp.
Trombonists, of course have the infinite capacity to play out of tune.
Cheers!
JzB
Misty, in basketball, a man-to-man defense is where each player guards one particular player on the other team no matter where he goes. In a zone defense, each player is responsible for a particular area of the court.
Misty -
In football and basketball the defenders can pair up one-on-one with the offensive players in a man-to-man scheme, or divide the playing area into zones and defend the territory rather than a particular opposing player.
That is zone defense.
Cheers!
JzB now wondering about ozone defense
At first I thought "boring theme" but the more I worked on it and thought about it, the more I changed my mind. At first I thought the animals were a bit random, but then I saw that they were all animals kept as pets, and pretty much the first ones you'd think of if you were listing animals you keep as pets. DOGLEGS and CATTAIL were such natural entries I didn't even realize at first they were part of the theme. That's a lot of bang for the thematic buck right there, and a really nice construction on a Monday. Fun puzzle!
Hello everybody. Greetings to you all on this special day.
Liked this puzzle a lot. My reactions to it are very similar to most of yours, including staring at TOAT for quite a while before the light bulb turned on. Having IT BE right next to it, and having seen such fill as AT IT, and IN ON so many times, I couldn't un-parse it as TO AT. That made me think that TOT UP must be wrong, but I remembered a discussion of TOT vs. TOTE a few weeks ago which gave me some confidence that TOT UP might be right after all.
Loved the clue for LIAR!
The HY was enough to reveal HYANNIS.
C.C., you look like you are in Green Thumb heaven :)
Best wishes to you all.
Many thanks for explaining ZONE to me, Bill G. 11:30 and JazzB 11:32. I'm so relieved that it was a sports issue and not just a Duh! moment for me.
Today might be a fitting day to connect with this Link.
The attribution:
LOST FILM - Honolulu, August 14, 1945 (End of war with Japan)
JUST THINK HOW THIS YOUNG LADY FELT WHEN SHE DISCOVERED THE VIDEO HER FATHER SHOT.
Great video of a Spontaneous Victory Parade in Honolulu in 1945. Notice the cars, jeeps, and youth. The guys in khaki or gray shirts and black ties are Navy officers or chiefs. The rest are Army or Marine. How young they all were to do what they did.This guy really captured a moment in history! (You can listen to Jimmy Durante singing "I'll be Seeing You" in the background, too)
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Late for the dancing again today because I along with a few hundred people attended an annual MDay Mass and then my family and I who were there laid flowers on the graves of our loved ones. That would be our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have passed on.
We do it every year unless of course we are away which has happened in the past. Afterwards we went to brunch.
However, I finished the puzzle before I left just didin't have time to blog and couldn't convince myself of SHAZAM so a blank cell for the Z, drat!
Otherwise this SEAMED well so thank you to Kurt Mueller.
I hope you're all enjoying this great holiday!
Hi All ~~
A really quick, but fun Monday puzzle ... lots to like! An enjoyable write-up, Argyle. I, too, like "animorphize" and hope we'll see it again. :-)
My husband is in Boston with one of his sons at the Red-Sox-Tigers game. He's wearing his Tigers cap (I was worried about this) but he called and said there are a lot of people with Tigers shirts and caps. My step-son is a Red Sox fan so it should be fun for them. I'm watching the game and it just ended ... and the Red Sox won. Hmm - I don't know how I feel about that. I kinda wish he could have seen his Tigers win.
I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day!
It's a beautiful day here. Normally I wouldn't go for a bike ride on a holiday but there is local fair. I don't need to shop at the same booths I see every year but I went for a while to keep Barbara company at a Creedence Clearwater tribute band performance. My plan was to drive and park as close as possible and then ride my bike the rest of the way. Parking seemed almost impossible but then I lucked into a place on a side street about a mile away. Barbara was sitting in the front row. The band was good but as with many rock bands, they mistake volume and rhythm for musicality. Still, even though I'm temporarily deaf, it was fun.
Spitz, that was a great video! It had such a nice feel about it. Thanks.
I knew Shazam and Holy Moly from Captail Marvel. I didn't know about Gomer Pyle.
Spitzboov @ 1:59-Thank you for that link. It's a moving reminder of why today is such a special holiday.
Hi all,
This was a fun puzzle, thanks Kurt and Argyle.
Yes, I remembered Hyannis and Kennedys but wasn't sure it had one or two n's and,also, I remember Ebbet's field.
Bill G, I am sorry to say, the Brewers are terrible so far this year. In the Central Division of NL they are behind every team but the Cubs. That says a lot.
I hadn't seen erg for a long time.
I lived at the 'bottom of the lake'( better known as Fond du Lac) for 10 years. Our kids both graduated from high school there.
We talked of going to a movie today but couldn't find any worth going to. So we went out for Chinese and enjoyed it a lot. It was a lot cheaper too,snacks at the movies are SO expencive.
Have a good Memorial day all.
Marge
rabbit ears
bird brain
dog legs are my seams straight?
cat tail speaks volumes
snake eye
turtle neck
Aw, you didn't think i would leave you with "that" turtle neck did you?
Spitz @ 1:59, Thanks, you see so many Pearl Harbor clips, but never VJ Day in Honolulu. very refreshing!
Bravo, CrossEyedDave ... fantastic job! ;-)
C.C.: love your new "flower among the flowers" avatar. Great puzzle! Great commentary, Argyle!
Hands up for "Gollleeee" by Gomer.
I once talked to an oilfield engineer just back from YEMEN. He said the native oil HANDS all had SNAKEEYES--a scary bunch.
Went to a Barry Manilow concert once. Was a passenger riding in a snowstorm for two hours down and two hours back on a trip that usually took an hour. Almost slid in the ditch twice.
I remember SEAMED stockings and garter belts. I was such a squirmer. After crossing and recrossing my legs a few times, my seams were never straight.
Gary: At family reunions, its better to bite your tongue and leave resentment in the CRAW than air your differences. You don't get invited again if you start a fight. Better to confront someone privately.
The Honolulu home movie was a very fitting tribute for today. Thanks for a joyful trip in the past.
C.C.: How do you stay so lovely and trim? Do you have an exercise routine, tai chi or something?
Had so much fun doing the NYT puzzle, thought I'd try Mr. Mueller's left coast version. I was NOT disappointed!
Ditto what everyone liked here - lots of great fill, and a really endearing theme.
I was thinking it was going to be a food chain theme, and was happy that it is not so. ;)
Picture SLUGGO saying "ARENOT" at RECESS.
SHAZAM is one of my favorite answers of the year!
Good evening Argyle, C.C. et al,
Completed xwd before laboring on removing 35 year old wallpaper from daughter's room. This was day 2..I see a day 3..4..5..6 before me. In retrospect, we should have painted over it. Think blue for 3 grandsons.The boys and I "camp out" in the family room when they stay over.Pretty soon they will tire of that.
Had fun with this xwd. DH gave me Emory and Ebbets, and I had a slow time in the SW corner;zone and shazam slowed me down. I remembered hora!!!Yay!
Noticed some
mistakes after reading Argyle's "set me straight" write up.Had total for tot up. should have rechecked "pab" and slice. And Leo X was Leos. I can see why I had n-ses (nixes).
LOVED the theme, Mr. Mueller.
Is there another Sluggo besides the fat headed kid in Nancy?
Thanks for the geography lesson Argyle. I've never heard of Sana, but Yemeni fell easily into place.
Why I don't know.
C.C., loved your new picture.You have a big day coming up.This one I always remember. You rock.
RE: RABBIT EARS
In my bedroom I have an older TV set which requires a box and a small antenna, about 8 inches high,i.e. RABBIT EARS. The old kind of antennae were much higher, I think 20-24 inches. Some of you probably know the exact measurements.
Sptitzboov:
Thank you for that video. It was quite impressive.
re
I was busy catching up on some urgent work to use up the unexpected holiday - so I didn't realize it was a Monday, after all. My favorite puzzling day.
The puzzle was a breeze, and I thank you Mr. Mueller, from the bottom of my heart for a wonderful puzzle. And thank you Argyle for a great blog, and a cute new word.
Your Wiki link explained why I should have been bothered by Van Gogh's brother, Theo -(which I got, BTW). I vaguely remembered that name as a victim of a religious assassination by a muslim fanatic in 2004. So, the moral of the story is:- you may or may not survive a VD episode but a 103 yrs later, religion will definitely get you. Meant STRICTLY lol !
BTW, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, and it has the lowest STD/VD rates in the 'civilized' world.(... not speaking from personal experience .... )
Have a great week, you all.
Thank you Spitzboov for the wonderful video, really opened my eyes and tugged at my heart strings.
Thank you Cross eyed Dave for the really charming links... loved them.
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