Theme: Saturday Silk
Words: 72
Blocks: 30
Words: 72
Blocks: 30
I guessed it this time~!! A great construction with little "clunky" fill - those answers that are so VAGUE (see 53A.) that you get that "ugh" feeling when you solve them some Saturdays. Lots of "A" names and food as well - see the *starred* clues/answers. Two 11-letter climbers today:
11D. D.C. monument that includes a dog : FDR MEMORIAL - Image - we often see "Fala" in puzzles - well, there he is~!!
22D. Film in which Agnes Moorehead debuted as the title character's mother : CITIZEN KANE - did not see this classic movie, but I had enough across to suss this one
Triple stacks of 9's, and two 'stand alone' 9-letter answers worth a mention;
29A. Clue outlets : TOY STORES - now, I was on Mr. Silk's wavelength here, since I was thinking about the board game with its secret passages diagonally across the 'mansion' - not the right "outlet", but....
36A. Four-time Grammy-winning R&B group : BOYZ II MEN - Great letter COMBO, and since this group was a contemporary of the stuff I grew up with, I nailed it, once I solved the "Z"
And Onward~!!
ACROSS:
1. Group of cats : JAZZ COMBO - And I thought we were going to get "clowder" here (or even destruction)- "cool, daddy-o, cool"
10. B's equivalent : C FLAT - a musical rarity, but I screwed up and thought it said B- (B minus), so I started with "C-plus", which strangely gave me the "L" for LOAMY, and so....
15. Mr. Wickfield's clerk : URIAH HEEP - common in CW, but not the whole name
16. They can make you hungry : ODORS
17. Mild : TEMPERATE
18. Grouch : CRANK - not Oscar~!
19. ID issuer : SSA - Social Security Administration - I need a new card - my paper one is showing its age big time.
20. Judge : RATE
21. 1960s-'70s outfielder *Agee : TOMMIE - I defer to our baseball fan C.C. (Center fielder of the "Miracle Mets". Also AL Rookie of the Year 1966.)
22. Application datum : CITY
23.* Sweetened, in a way : HONEYED
24. HBO title agent whose name includes dollar signs in the show's logo : *ARLISS - the Wiki
27. Jazz pianist inspired by Waller : TATUM - more Wiki for those who need more
28. Wasteland : HEATH
33. "__ Love Her" : AND I
34. Forecast word : WINDY
35. Exceptional : RARE
38. Language that gives us "pundit" : HINDI
39. Broke off : ENDED
40.* Part of a product name chosen because it sounds Scandinavian : HÄAGEN - as in Dazs, the ice cream
41. Sunburn-related meas. : U.V. INDEX
44. Cyan relative : TEAL
45. Disgust : SICKEN
46. Recipe direction : SEAR
47. Plant activity: Abbr. : MFG - I suppose it could be 'both' types of plant - the factory, and the organism that can be found ManuFacturinG oxygen....
50. Place with crests : OCEAN - waves
51. Some free downloads : SHAREWARE - I tried PHONE APPS, which gave me the "H" for SHAH; oh, the misdirection....
53. Hard to make out : FAINT - not VAGUE
54. Crystal clear : EASY TO SEE
55. Baseball's Angels owner Moreno et al. : *ARTES - C.C., anything to add~?? (C.C.: Wow, had no idea who owns the Angels. Wiki said he's he first Hispanic to own a major sports team in the US. And he changed Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.)
56.* Kraft spread : CHEEZ WHIZ
DOWN:
1. Protrudes : JUTS
2. War deity : *ARES
3.* MillerCoors malt beverage : ZIMA - seen this before on Saturday
4. Stun : ZAP
5. Remember fondly : CHERISH
6. "Nuts!" : "OH RATS~!"
7.* Like some spaghetti sauces : MEATY
8. __ de somme: beast of burden : BETE
9. "... thus wide I'll __ my arms": "Hamlet" : OPE
10.* Indonesian export : COCONUT
12. Like fertile soil : LOAMY
13. Contemporary of Jack and Gary : *ARNIE - Golfers, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer
14. Showed disapproval : TSKed
21. Hotsy-__ : TOTSY - Urban dictionary - this is my idea of "hotsy-totsy"; can a man be "hotsy-totsy, ladies?
23. Mozart contemporary : HAYDN - another great letter combo
24. Pequod skipper : *AHAB
25. City at the foot of the Sierra Nevada : RENO - map, on the left - I hope I can visit from my new home soon~!
26. Jane Grey's title : LADY
27. Fit : TONED
29. Ironman watch maker : TIMEX - funny, 5-letter brand could also be ROLEX, SEIKO, BRERA, FENDI, GUCCI, CASIO
30. Jingled : RANG
31. Earth, to Freud : ERDE
32. "__Language": 1993 best-seller : SEIN - Jerry Seinfeld
34. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN
37. Moves to the right, usually : INDENTS - nothing political, just the "tab" key
38. Israel's oldest daily newspaper : HAARETZ - here is the online version
40. Court call : HEAR YE, hear ye
41. D.C.'s locale, familiarly : U.S. OF A.
42. Parish priest : VICAR
43. Nail down the deal : ICE IT
44. Bait : TEASE
46. Old Mideast ruler : SHAH
47.* Squish : MASH - like potatoes - right~?
48. Emancipated, in Essen : FREI
49. "Yikes!" : GEEZ and a straight clecho at 52A.
51. Short time? : SECond
52. "Yikes!" : WOW
Oh, and here's your "Q"
Answer grid.
Splynter
25 comments:
Morning, all!
Man, this one required a lot of passes through the puzzle until I finally get everything done. I was so sure at the end I wasn't going to get the *tada* because I had HAARETZ and there way just no way it could possibly be right. Except, of course, it was...
Other unknowns (although not as bizarre as HAARETZ) were TATUM and ARTES. I think I actually knew everything else (including HÄAGEN, which is made in New Jersey last time I checked), although the tricky clues kept me guessing for many more answers.
Had DEEM instead of RATE for 20A, and only let it go when (a) nothing else seemed to work and (b) I finally remembered enough French to come up with BETE at 8D. I also toyed with CASIO instead of TIMEX at 29D, but that was easier to let go.
Good morning!
I suspected this was a Saturday Silkie. It was tough, but there was just enough to provide a toehold. Thanks, Barry Silk. My overwrites: ANIL/TEAL, PADRE/VICAR and STIR/SEAR. That slowed me down in the south, but I still finished in good Saturday time.
Splynter, you really should rent Citizen Kane. It's worth it.
That Clue board looks nothing like I remember. They must have updated it sometime in the last 50 years.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Barry Silk, for a great puzzle. It was tough, but I got it. Thank you, as well, Splynter, for the swell write-up.
As usual, got started by jumping all over the grid and plugging inna word here and there. I believe HAAGEN was my first answer. Then SHAH and TOTSY. TIMEX, RENO and AHAB filled easily.
EASY TO SEE was easy an then FAINT right next to it.
Slowly got the long answers. Lots of trial and error, with perps helping throughout the puzzle. Had URIAH HEEP spelled HEAP at first. Fixed that.
Did not know HAARETZ, but it looked good. Perps helped.
INDENTS was clever. Had me stumped for a while.
Eventually slogged it out. Took me a couple hours and about ten cups of tea.
Beautiful day here in Pennsylvania. Hope to get some work done.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
At first I thought this was going to be a total Google/Wiki fest, but I got a toehold in the east/central portion and it just started falling into place without any help.
No way did I think Agnes Moorehead would be old enough to play a mother in Citzen Kane, but she was older than I thought she was when she was the mother in Bewitched. Learn something new every day....
Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
Great exposition this morning Splynter. I had a lot of learning moments today, so thanks for ‘splainin everything!
Barry Silk has a way of finding words that are just within my grasp, but boy I sure have to stand on my tippy-toes to reach them sometimes! For 1A I really wanted “Jellicle Ball” from the musical “Cats”.
I had “cocaine” at 11D before COCONUT appeared from perps. (“Oh, rats!”). Had no earthly idea about HAARETZ, and had “beat” at 46A instead of SEAR. But what the heck is a bHAH? When I fixes the b to S, SEAR made much more sense than “seat” in a recipe.
Slow finish, but that’s how I like to enjoy my Saturday mornings. Have a great day, everyone!
Good morning, Splynter and Saturday solvers all. I was surprised at how easily I got through this Saturday Silkie. Everything just seemed to drop into place. HAARETZ was a total 'perp fill', as I had no idea from the clue.
I immediately thought of JAZZ bands for the group of cats, but wanted Octet or Nonet. OPE let me see combo, though, and i was off and running.
Major mistep was StiR before SEAR, but I was able to TEASE out the rest of the corner and correct it. This was probably my fastest Saturday solve ever.
I got it all but I don't get here's your Q, help!!
Hi again~!
The puzzle was a "Q" short of a pangram - using all the letters of the alphabet.
Splynter
Luckily I got Uriah Heep first off. Then the rest was a breeze.
A good teacher can lead a student through something that looks hard but gets to a satisfying conclusion. Barry, that’s what you do! Thanks for the buggy ride.
Musings
-Oh, that Clue, those Cats, that B, those Crests...
-Fala made it in today in long form
-The ODOR of French Fries is intoxicating to me!
-At my retirement party my good friend said I was so old my SSN was 000 00 0002
-I’m all over obscure baseballers. Authors and directors, not so much
-A HEATH bar (or SKOR) is no wasteland. Yum.
-AND I LOVE HER is an early Beatles fav
-hindI/seIn (hindU/seUn) was my only WAG and I landed it!
-My right hand might get some UV rays this summer but the golf glove on my left hand will keep it my usual pasty color
-Download SHAREWARE at your own peril
-Chili and spaghetti are okay without meat but…
-Is HOTSY TOTSY the first cousin of HUBBA HUBBA?
-So many watch brands, so little TIMEx
-There was a SEINfeld episode where Kramer WIDENED the lanes on a highway and hilarity ensues
Good morning Splynter and others,
Thought I would see how many clues I could figure out on this Saturday morning. I am using my iPad so turned on red-letter help. I did surprisingly well. Knew BoyziiMen, but not how to spell it. Wanted ToysRus, but that didn't fit.
I stumbled over mfg, bête, coconut, sein and indents, but perps got most of them.
Splynter, you can order a replacement SSA card online if it is going to the address they have on record. I couldn't place the picture of "Q" but thought he looked familiar--James Bond gadget man, correct?
Thanks to the person who said to look at the completed puzzle on one device while posting here. I have an iPod and can see the puzzle there, while typing on my iPad. Great Idea! None of the YouTube links would open on my iPad today, though.
Have a good weekend,
Montana
Ha'aretz is the Hebrew word for the Land. Now you will remember this.
Good morning all:
Thanks Mr. Silk for a torturous start to a beautiful day and to Splynter for explaining said torture. This was my first DNF in a long time and I am still shaking my head over some of the mistakes I made. Suffice it to say, humble pie is on today's menu.
Have a happy Saturday everyone.
After much Googling, replaced "close" with ICEIT (never heard of), Velveeta?? with CHEEZEWHIZ (yuck to both); gRump with CRANK, and palmoil with COCONUT.
What a sad MEMORIAL that is. The Roosevelts are cousins (of mine and each other, and in FDR's case, his own wife - pedigree collapse) on the Dutch line.
@Sharon - sure.
I'm always grateful for German words, rather than French.
Miss the talented Agnes Moorehead.
Always learn something from a Silkie.
Thanks for the reply Splynter!
My heart always sinks when I see it's a Saturday Silkie, and I'm always sure I'll get nothing. But then slowly, slowly, I get this one, and that one, and then it begins to fill in. The toehold this morning was ARES which gave me URIAH HEEP. I knew reading "David Copperfield" for the first time last year was going to come in handy! Next came CITIZEN KANE since I love Agnes Moorehead and remember her well. In the end I got everything and goofed only on SEIN because I had HINDu instead of HINDI--and both SEIN and SEUN looked pretty stupid to me but I had no way of guessing the right one. So thanks, Barry, after all. It was tough, but it was worth the struggle. And thanks, Splynter, as always.
Have a great Mother's Day weekend, everybody!
Hello everybody. Pretty much what Barry said, especially about a lot of passes. Little by little, millimeter by millimeter, a toehold here a fingerhold there. Quite a few unknowns, and even after I got them filled in I wasn't sure if they were right or not. Splynter, thanks for your excellent writeup. Mr. Silk, thanks for a challenging yet fair and doable hour of entertainment and education. Best wishes to you all.
A quite enjoyable Saturday puzzle for me as I finished most of it (no ruined day here) and thank you Splynter for explaining the rest.
For those of you who like to learn something new, maybe this factoid will be a surprise to you. If you want to go from Los Angeles to Reno, you have to go north of course but you also have to go west, not east. It's hard to visualize without a map.
I am able to admire the moviemaking skills in Citizen Kane without really enjoying the movie very much. That's unlike the enjoyment I always get from rewatching Casablanca.
I wrote Jeannie an e-mail but I haven't heard back. I'm starting to worry a little.
Hi Everyone ~~
Wow ... I haven't had so many write-overs and erasures in a long time. But that's why I really enjoyed this puzzle. I stumbled all over the place but was too stubborn to look up anything, i.e. HAARETZ and URIAH HEEP. That would have helped to open up those sections but I preferred to just keep plugging along. And as usual with a Saturday Silkie (and as others have mentioned), persistence paid off. It took me about an hour an a half, but oh so satisfying! Thanks for a wonderful write-up, Splynter.
Of course I thought of =^.^= with 1A but started thinking of something related to JAZZ- when litter and clowder didn't fit. I didn't come up with COMBO until getting the C in CHERISH.
Another holdup for me was 36A - I had forgotten about the 'II' in BOYSIIMEN, but perps rescued me.
It's been a tough couple of weeks ~~ finally got a diagnosis on my kitty ( who doesn't appear at all sick) - it's lymphoma. After my initial devastation, I decided that I cannot waste the precious time we have left, which could be as much as 12-18 months ~ but who really knows. On the vet's recommendation I'm following a medication protocol and will just hope for the best. She's beside me as I type this and seems as happy as can be!
Still watching all my Red Sox games and they manage to win a game now and then ... sigh. Ah, well ~ I'm a fan - gotta stick with 'em!
Beautiful weather here today ~~ enjoy the weekend!
Well good day all, I found this to be eminently doable and one of the easier of the Saturday Silkies. Both JAZZ COMBO and TOY STORES popped into my mind and the rest followed. I also recalled the Hebrew word for Country (I think) so all in in all a fun run.
My cable would not let me post until now, drat.
The clue about Arnie (82), Gary (76) and Jack(72) reminded me of the pleasure I had watching those three legends play a special scramble together at a Nationwide tour event against other old greats. Not only did they win but Arnold holed a 45 foot birdie on the last hole. To the golf course myself, will watch the Players on DVR. The sun shines, I must go; thank you Splynter, and Mr. Silk.
Thanks for the challenging puzzle Barry and the explanations Splynter. For some reason the pictures don't show when you blog. All I see are empty white boxes with a little red X in the top left corner--any suggestions.
Susan, I think all you need to do is "refresh" the page and the pictures will show up.
we just ran a segment on Rex Parker, did you see it?
Thanks. I just Googled it and found the segment. He seemed a bit nicer in the video than he sometimes does in print.
Post a Comment