Theme: "I'll Drink to That" - Drink pun. One word in each common phrase is replaced by a drink.
23A. Music group that can't march in a straight line? : RUM AND BUGLE CORPS. Drum and bugle corps. Fun clue.
38A. Preoccupied with a green liqueur? : ABSINTHE MINDED. Absent minded.
74A. Draft critiques? : BEER REVIEWS. Peer reviews.
106A. Single-malt liquor store? : WHISKEY VENTURE. Risky venture.
124A. New Year's Eve assurance? : CHAMPAGNE PROMISE. Campaign promise.
14D. Spicy liqueur? : GINGER SCHNAPPS. Ginger snaps. The only one punning on last word. Slight inconsistency.
52D. "Another Wild Turkey, please," e.g.? : BOURBON RENEWAL. Urban renewal.
This is a perfect puzzle for Argyle to blog. He is very knowledgeable about various drinks. I hardly drink anything now. The wild days of Long Island Iced Tea are long gone.
Great to see Pam Amick Klawitter's byline again. She is one of the most innovative constructors and her puzzles are always fun to tackle.
Across:
1. Invites : ASKS
5. Miami's former county : DADE. Miami-Dade County since 1997.
9. Wild fancy : DREAM
14. Yaks and yaks : GABS
18. Old U.K. carrier : BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation).
19. Last stage of insect development : IMAGO. After pupa.
21. Posturepedic maker : SEALY. I don't really know our mattress name. It's just super comfortable.
22. Company with a cool-looking logo? : ICEE. Cool clue.
26. Iditarod terminus : NOME
27. Doomed mission : ALAMO
28. German menace : U-BOAT. In WWI & WWII.
29. Quip : EPIGRAM
31. Hill regulars : POLS. Not ANTS. Capitol Hill.
33. "There!" : VOILA
37. Change for the better : AMEND
43. ER procedure : CPR
44. Waitress at Mel's : FLO
45. Put a line through, maybe : DELE
46. Serb, for one : SLAV
47. California locale where "Maria Maria" fell in love, in a Santana hit : EAST LA. Love the song. "... Oh Maria Maria/She feel in love in East LA...". I like Santan's "Smooth" a lot.
51. Brindled cat : TABBY
54. Spreadsheet input : DATA
56. Times to remember : ERAs
58. New England seafood : SCROD
59. Engross : ABSORB
61. See-through item : LENS. Was thinking of a blouse.
63. NBC post-prime time staple : SNL
64. Bundle : SHEAF
65. One with a mouse : USER. Me. I'm with a mouse now. I'm so sorry about your cat, Linda. But I'm hoping for the best.
67. Garfield's "purebred clown" : ODIE
69. Manhattan Project, e.g. : CODE NAME. Mine would be "Deep Throat". I bet CrossEyedDave's would be cat-related.
71. Growl : GNAR
77. "... long __ both shall live?" : AS YE
78. Reuben component : RYE BREAD. For eddyB.
80. Summers on the Seine : ETES
81. Opera starter? : SOAP. Soap opera. I like this clue.
83. Sandbox reply : AM TOO
84. Letters in TV Guide : TBA
86. Genesis grandson : ENOS
88. Home of The Trop : ST PETE. Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Ray's)
92. Flowering tropical plant : SENNA
93. One may involve scales at La Scala : ARIA
95. Shpeak thish way : SLUR
97. Daisy lookalike : ASTER
98. Belle and Bart : STARRS. Not familiar with Belle Starr.
100. __ buco : OSSO
102. Sylvan bounders : DEER
104. Beach shade : TAN
105. Linguistic ending : ESE
110. Ghanaian former U.N. leader : ANNAN (Kofi)
112. Perot's "giant sucking sound" maker : NAFTA
113. Chick chaser? : ADEE. Chickadee.
114. Precipitated, in a way : SLEETED
116. "To recap ..." : IN SUM
119. Speed reader? : RADAR. Did you nail it?
123. Lobster delicacy : CLAW
129. Little bit : IOTA
130. Many a chat room visitor : AOLER
131. Had a bug : AILED
132. View from Presque Isle State Park : ERIE
133. Small-runway aircraft acronym : STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing)
134. Swampy tract : SWALE
135. Brand of women's socks : PEDS
136. Old wanted poster word : DEAD. Or LIVE.
Down:
1. Magician's opening : ABRA
2. Motown genre : SOUL
3. __ Sutra : KAMA
4. Red Lobster offering : SCAMPI
5. Finished : DID
6. Attacked from hiding : AMBUSHED
7. Apply, as finger paint : DAUB
8. Thick & Fluffy breakfast brand : EGGO
9. U.S. Army medal : DSC. And 70. U.K. mil. medals : DSOS
10. Antique auto : REO
11. Sympathetic attention : EAR
12. French high spot : ALPE
13. Forgotten social network : MYSPACE. Wow, guess what? Justin Timberlake now owns Myspace.
15. Item in a fall stash : ACORN
16. Hit the roof : BE MAD
17. Come across as : SEEM
20. Early Norwegian king : OLAV I
24. Whistle time : NOON. I don't get this clue.
25. Preppy jackets : ETONS
30. Gridlock : IMPASSE
32. Old Ford luxury car : LTD
34. Warming the bench, maybe : IDLE
35. Some corporate rides : LEARS
36. Forward motion : ADVANCE
38. Mennen product : AFTA
39. Run off at the mouth : BLAB
40. Convulsive sounds : SOBS
41. Its frequent flier program is called Matmid : EL AL. Gimme for Hahtool. I never heard of the program.
42. High streaker : METEOR
48. Financial off. : TREAS. Treasury or Treasurer? Since Off. can be office or officer.
49. Rich, as soil : LOAMY
50. Charge based on line count, perhaps : AD FEE
53. Timeline data: Abbr. : YRS
55. Giant of wrestling : ANDRE. André the Giant.
57. Loses steam : SLOWS
60. Emmy winner Neuwirth : BEBE
62. Número de días en una semana : SIETE. 7. Number of days in a week.
66. Vaquero's rope : REATA
68. Chooser's call : EVENS
71. Some clippings : GRASS
72. Queens player, briefly : NY MET
73. Company name inspired by a volcano : AETNA
75. '50s Bears quarterback : ED BROWN. Total stranger.
76. Tristan's love : ISOLDE
79. Finds hysterical : ROARS AT
82. One-time connector : AT A. One at a time.
85. Tyler of "The Talk" : AISHA. Here she is.
87. Chop __ : SUEY. Suey is literally "pieces". Chop Suey = Assorted pieces.
89. Words to a double-crosser : ET TU (Brutus)
90. It may be taped : TEAR. Nice clue too.
91. Shore eagle : ERNE
94. "No way!" : AS IF
96. Overhauled : REVAMPED
99. Native New Yorkers : SENECAS
101. Old Roman seaport : OSTIA. Looks like a bone word, doesn't it?
103. Checker choice : RED
107. Hundred Acre Wood mom : KANGA. Roo's mom.
108. Fictional Wolfe : NERO
109. Yoked : TEAMED
110. Divvy up : ALLOT
111. "Awesome!" : NEATO
114. Some H.S. courses : SCIS
115. Indian Ocean vessel : DHOW. Learned from doing Xword.
117. Salon sound : SNIP
118. Ubangi tributary : UELE. How do you pronounce UELE?
120. Like some straits : DIRE
121. China setting : ASIA
122. Robert of "The Brady Bunch" : REED
125. In the style of : ALA
126. Tillis or Tormé : MEL
127. Cautionary beginning? : PRE. Precautionary.
128. Some may be dirt-covered: Abbr. : RDs
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday to Jeannie! Check in when you feel like it. Your presence is really missed here.
C.C.
23A. Music group that can't march in a straight line? : RUM AND BUGLE CORPS. Drum and bugle corps. Fun clue.
38A. Preoccupied with a green liqueur? : ABSINTHE MINDED. Absent minded.
74A. Draft critiques? : BEER REVIEWS. Peer reviews.
106A. Single-malt liquor store? : WHISKEY VENTURE. Risky venture.
124A. New Year's Eve assurance? : CHAMPAGNE PROMISE. Campaign promise.
14D. Spicy liqueur? : GINGER SCHNAPPS. Ginger snaps. The only one punning on last word. Slight inconsistency.
52D. "Another Wild Turkey, please," e.g.? : BOURBON RENEWAL. Urban renewal.
This is a perfect puzzle for Argyle to blog. He is very knowledgeable about various drinks. I hardly drink anything now. The wild days of Long Island Iced Tea are long gone.
Great to see Pam Amick Klawitter's byline again. She is one of the most innovative constructors and her puzzles are always fun to tackle.
Across:
1. Invites : ASKS
5. Miami's former county : DADE. Miami-Dade County since 1997.
9. Wild fancy : DREAM
14. Yaks and yaks : GABS
18. Old U.K. carrier : BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation).
19. Last stage of insect development : IMAGO. After pupa.
21. Posturepedic maker : SEALY. I don't really know our mattress name. It's just super comfortable.
22. Company with a cool-looking logo? : ICEE. Cool clue.
26. Iditarod terminus : NOME
27. Doomed mission : ALAMO
28. German menace : U-BOAT. In WWI & WWII.
29. Quip : EPIGRAM
31. Hill regulars : POLS. Not ANTS. Capitol Hill.
33. "There!" : VOILA
37. Change for the better : AMEND
43. ER procedure : CPR
44. Waitress at Mel's : FLO
45. Put a line through, maybe : DELE
46. Serb, for one : SLAV
47. California locale where "Maria Maria" fell in love, in a Santana hit : EAST LA. Love the song. "... Oh Maria Maria/She feel in love in East LA...". I like Santan's "Smooth" a lot.
51. Brindled cat : TABBY
54. Spreadsheet input : DATA
56. Times to remember : ERAs
58. New England seafood : SCROD
59. Engross : ABSORB
61. See-through item : LENS. Was thinking of a blouse.
63. NBC post-prime time staple : SNL
64. Bundle : SHEAF
65. One with a mouse : USER. Me. I'm with a mouse now. I'm so sorry about your cat, Linda. But I'm hoping for the best.
67. Garfield's "purebred clown" : ODIE
69. Manhattan Project, e.g. : CODE NAME. Mine would be "Deep Throat". I bet CrossEyedDave's would be cat-related.
71. Growl : GNAR
77. "... long __ both shall live?" : AS YE
78. Reuben component : RYE BREAD. For eddyB.
80. Summers on the Seine : ETES
81. Opera starter? : SOAP. Soap opera. I like this clue.
83. Sandbox reply : AM TOO
84. Letters in TV Guide : TBA
86. Genesis grandson : ENOS
88. Home of The Trop : ST PETE. Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Ray's)
92. Flowering tropical plant : SENNA
93. One may involve scales at La Scala : ARIA
95. Shpeak thish way : SLUR
97. Daisy lookalike : ASTER
98. Belle and Bart : STARRS. Not familiar with Belle Starr.
100. __ buco : OSSO
102. Sylvan bounders : DEER
104. Beach shade : TAN
105. Linguistic ending : ESE
110. Ghanaian former U.N. leader : ANNAN (Kofi)
112. Perot's "giant sucking sound" maker : NAFTA
113. Chick chaser? : ADEE. Chickadee.
114. Precipitated, in a way : SLEETED
116. "To recap ..." : IN SUM
119. Speed reader? : RADAR. Did you nail it?
123. Lobster delicacy : CLAW
129. Little bit : IOTA
130. Many a chat room visitor : AOLER
131. Had a bug : AILED
132. View from Presque Isle State Park : ERIE
133. Small-runway aircraft acronym : STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing)
134. Swampy tract : SWALE
135. Brand of women's socks : PEDS
136. Old wanted poster word : DEAD. Or LIVE.
Down:
1. Magician's opening : ABRA
2. Motown genre : SOUL
3. __ Sutra : KAMA
4. Red Lobster offering : SCAMPI
5. Finished : DID
6. Attacked from hiding : AMBUSHED
7. Apply, as finger paint : DAUB
8. Thick & Fluffy breakfast brand : EGGO
9. U.S. Army medal : DSC. And 70. U.K. mil. medals : DSOS
10. Antique auto : REO
11. Sympathetic attention : EAR
12. French high spot : ALPE
13. Forgotten social network : MYSPACE. Wow, guess what? Justin Timberlake now owns Myspace.
15. Item in a fall stash : ACORN
16. Hit the roof : BE MAD
17. Come across as : SEEM
20. Early Norwegian king : OLAV I
24. Whistle time : NOON. I don't get this clue.
25. Preppy jackets : ETONS
30. Gridlock : IMPASSE
32. Old Ford luxury car : LTD
34. Warming the bench, maybe : IDLE
35. Some corporate rides : LEARS
36. Forward motion : ADVANCE
38. Mennen product : AFTA
39. Run off at the mouth : BLAB
40. Convulsive sounds : SOBS
41. Its frequent flier program is called Matmid : EL AL. Gimme for Hahtool. I never heard of the program.
42. High streaker : METEOR
48. Financial off. : TREAS. Treasury or Treasurer? Since Off. can be office or officer.
49. Rich, as soil : LOAMY
50. Charge based on line count, perhaps : AD FEE
53. Timeline data: Abbr. : YRS
55. Giant of wrestling : ANDRE. André the Giant.
57. Loses steam : SLOWS
60. Emmy winner Neuwirth : BEBE
62. Número de días en una semana : SIETE. 7. Number of days in a week.
66. Vaquero's rope : REATA
68. Chooser's call : EVENS
71. Some clippings : GRASS
72. Queens player, briefly : NY MET
73. Company name inspired by a volcano : AETNA
75. '50s Bears quarterback : ED BROWN. Total stranger.
76. Tristan's love : ISOLDE
79. Finds hysterical : ROARS AT
82. One-time connector : AT A. One at a time.
85. Tyler of "The Talk" : AISHA. Here she is.
87. Chop __ : SUEY. Suey is literally "pieces". Chop Suey = Assorted pieces.
89. Words to a double-crosser : ET TU (Brutus)
90. It may be taped : TEAR. Nice clue too.
91. Shore eagle : ERNE
94. "No way!" : AS IF
96. Overhauled : REVAMPED
99. Native New Yorkers : SENECAS
101. Old Roman seaport : OSTIA. Looks like a bone word, doesn't it?
103. Checker choice : RED
107. Hundred Acre Wood mom : KANGA. Roo's mom.
108. Fictional Wolfe : NERO
109. Yoked : TEAMED
110. Divvy up : ALLOT
111. "Awesome!" : NEATO
114. Some H.S. courses : SCIS
115. Indian Ocean vessel : DHOW. Learned from doing Xword.
117. Salon sound : SNIP
118. Ubangi tributary : UELE. How do you pronounce UELE?
120. Like some straits : DIRE
121. China setting : ASIA
122. Robert of "The Brady Bunch" : REED
125. In the style of : ALA
126. Tillis or Tormé : MEL
127. Cautionary beginning? : PRE. Precautionary.
128. Some may be dirt-covered: Abbr. : RDs
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday to Jeannie! Check in when you feel like it. Your presence is really missed here.
C.C.
43 comments:
Greetings!
Very amusing and doable puzzle, Pamela. Thanks! Thanks to CC too!
As a former drinker, I caught the booze names from a few letters. Loved the puns. Other favorites: RADAR, LEARS, METEOR. There were quite a few that were perped. Never heard of the TROP or ED BROWN for example.
Today was Mother's Day here. Red-headed son and family came over and brought dinner. Nice evening. They gave me some pretty ceramic pots for my expanding cactus and succulent collection. (I slip them, separate them, and occasionally get a new specimen. Have perhaps 500.
Happy M. D. to all of you out there. HBTY Jeannie, whom I truly hope is OK! A peaceful Sunday to the rest!
Morning, all!
Happy Mothers Day to all who are, have, or know mothers.
Great theme today. Once I actually started paying attention to it, it let me get a lot of answers that I otherwise would have had trouble with due to the perps being rather obscure.
Speaking of obscurities, crossing PEDS with UELE seemed a bit mean-spirited to me. In hindsight, PEDS should have been easy to guess since it's related to the Latin word for "foot," but at the time I tried PADS and then PODS before guessing PEDS to get the *TADA*. And, yeah -- I should probably know UELE. I didn't, though, and will likely forget it next time around as well...
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pam A. Klawitter, for a great Sunday puzzle. Really enjoyed it. Thank you, as well, C.C., for the great review.
C.C. 24D. Noon Whistle. Many large factories or mills sound a loud whistle at noon to signify lunch time. One that everyone in the plant can hear.
Got started easily in the NW. Worked across and down. Finished the West side first.
My last entry was AISHA and TBA. Did not know the "A". Wagged it and it worked.
Enjoyed ERIE for 132A. I spent my youth at Presque Isle. You can see two Erie's from Presque Isle. The city and the lake. Presque Isle is where Oliver Hazard Perry built his fleet that subsequently defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie at Put-in Bay, OH. War of 1812. There is a Perry Monument on Presque Isle. "We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.". I will cease my commentary on that. Hope no one got tired of it.
Enjoyed the theme. I am not a whiskey drinker at all, but I do like beer. Therefore 74A was my favorite. BEER REVIEWS. In Pennsylvania this week I have plenty of Yuengling Beer. Good stuff.
For 14A I had HERD for a while. Thinking of a herd of Yaks. Fixed that to GABS. I guess I was thinking too hard.
For 35D had LIMOS at first. That became LEARS. They are both true.
Happy Mothers Day to all Mothers. Mine is in a nursing home. I will see here next Sunday up in Erie.
Happy Birthday, Jeanne. Check in some time.
Here I sit, my cell phone with the puzzle grid and my IPad with the Blog. I love this technology. I read yesterday where someone else is doing this as well. Great!
See you tomorrow.
Morning, all!
I wasn't all that enamored by the theme on this one, to be honest (or, at least, the way it was presented). The theme reveal made it seem as if DIGITAL could simply be added to any of the theme answers, but in fact you would need to actually replace parts of each theme answer with DIGITAL for it to make sense. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it (again).
The puzzle itself was fine. My only real hang up was up in the North where I confidently put in EGO instead of LSD. I really didn't want to let that one go since it was such a clever answer. Ah well...
I've heard of ARUBA, but not the ABC Islands, so I needed the perps to get me going there.
I wanted ACETONE for 6A because, well, I'm obviously not fully awake yet.
I think I've seen LEY in a puzzle before, but it certainly didn't come to me today and I only got it via the perps.
Abejo
To all. Somehow some extra Bernard got implanted in my comments. Please ignore from Morning all to the end.
Abejo
Hmmm. This IPad is not as user friendly as I think it is.
Abejo
Happy Mothers Day to all of the moms. Neat theme out of the theme answers only Ginger Schnapps is an actual liquor (Domaine de Canton) and DeKuyper make this as a flavored schnapps and/or brandy. Well time to make the coffee.
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. This was a fun puzzle. One will SLUR one's speech after sampling all of the theme answer!
ABSINTHE is now legal in the US. One can try it out in the many bars of New Orleans.
I learned that New England Seafood is not Clams or the CLAW of the Lobster but is, instead, SCROD.
I learned that Losing Steam is not Fades, but SLOWS.
I really wanted to fit in Sauerkraut as the Reuben component.
Andre the Giant also starred in The Princess Bride.
We saw NAFTA recently.
Speed Reader = RADAR was my favorite clue.
C.C., Belle Starr was in infamous outlaw of the old wild west.
My favorite form of Dire Straits.
Happy Birthday, Jeannie. Come back, we miss you. E-mail me if you want.
Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers on this blog.
QOD: A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once and by car forever after. ~ Peter de Vries.
Happy Mother's Day! Enjoyed this puzzle and C.C.'s comments. I especially liked "Bourbon renewal."
Good morning C.C. et al.
What a clever, fun theme. My favorite was GINGER SCHNAPPS, because if you had enough schnapps, that is exactly how you might pronounce the cookie. I agree with C.C. that it would have been more consistent if the “schnapps” were in the front of the entry, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the puzzle at all.
“Speed reader” for RADAR was cute. Then we had a passel of seafood to go with our drinks: SCAMPI, lobster CLAWs, and SCROD. They’re all good!
Happy mothers day to all you mothers out there, and happy birthday Jeannie!
Good morrow to all and happy Mother's Day.
Good puzzle. Just one small nit. It's a single malt whisky--no e. A whiskey is a North American liquor.
Cheers
Good morning and HMD to all mothers!
This one took the full time allotment, but I enjoyed it. Hand up for LIMOS/LEARS. I, too, thought that GINGER SCHNAPPS might be a real drink -- it seems they can make schnapps out of darned near anything.
NILE and UELE are the only two 4-letter African rivers I know. I just had to wait for the perps to decide which it was. C.C., I believe it's two syllables and prounced something like weh-lay.
EDBROWN, AISHA and STPETE were unknowns, but the perps came to the rescue.
All in all, it was a good start to a Sunday. Thanks, Pam.
This was very enjoyable, maybe cuz I walked through it in 45 mins, Al
Very Happy Birthday wishes to Jeannie, and thank you Pam for the puzzle and C.C. for the write up (really liked your perky pic of Anne Hathaway). I am impressed no one has jumped on your "Deep Throat" comment, but I guess we are all very respectful this fine Mother's Day. HMD to all who deserve the honor.
Aa a life long Chicago Bears fan, Ed Brown was not a challenge though his STORY is interesting, especially his last year of college at U. of San Francisco. The world has come a long way.
Back in the day when the US was the manufacturing capital of the world with factories working full steam, the noon whistle was an integral part of life. Whether you worked in a factory or not, it marked midday for all.
Fun puzzle for New Year’s Eve but works for Mother’s Day too, Pam! Single words seemed to hold the key to several sections and then, badda boom, badda bing, VOILA!
Musings
-Fabulous Tinman libation? GREAT SCOTCH!
-There’s no place like NOME!
-I like Ann Hathaway’s see through image through my see through LENS!
-ATOM BOMB fit Manhattan Project first for me! Secrets are harder to keep now!
-Kripke on Big Bang Theory doesn’t SLUR words but I can’t not remember a TV character with such a speech impediment as his just being a matter of course?
-My left wrist under my watch, left gloved hand and feet below short socks will not be TANned.
-I take no position on the KAMA Sutra
-Oldsmobiles now live on only in crosswords
-Friends, Romans and countrymen, lend me your sympathetic attentions
-Our town had a loud whistle announcing NOON and summoning volunteer firemen before cell phones
-After a life in farm country, I have never heard the adjective LOAMY
-Our GRASS clippings are being mulched and not caught this summer
-ED BROWN not Sid LUCKMAN
Hey guys.
This puzzle was actually in the Argonaut a couple weeks ago, hope Rich gets this sorted out sooner.
Good morning, all, and Happy Mother's Day to all of those that are being honored today and HBDY to Jeannie.
Ah, yes, a fine 'spirited' offering from Pam is a fun way to start the day. I work the Sunday puzzles in sections so pretty much had the theme by the time the top four rows were done.
I never watch "The Talk" so had no idea who AISHA is but all perps were solid. OK, it could have been TBD (To Be Determined) instead of TBA, but AISHA looked a lot better than DISHA for Ms. Tyler's name, so I guess that qualifies as a SWAG entry.
Same for UELE/PEDS crossing. I'm no expert on women's socks brands or African rivers other than the Nile, but, knowing PEDS is a common term for things related to the feet, made the E the most logical choice.
Everything else just flowwed along.
Was it Ogden Nash that commented that ABSINTHE makes the heart grow fonder? or maybe go wander?
Cheers!!
Good morning all:
Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there.
I guess I'm in the minority because I found this a tough slog in several areas. So, kudos to Pam for providing the challenge and thanks to CC for providing the commentary. (Maybe I just haven't recovered from the Saturday Silkie.)
Looking forward to a meek and mild Monday offering!
Have a super Sunday.
HMD to Moms. HBD to Jeannie. ??
Grew up in a mill town along the Alleghney. Remember the noon whistle.
Only nit covered by McPoke @8:45.
Also wanted sauerkraut.
Old friend of Jill's has been a guest this weekend. Was a vendor at the AWF.
Picked up a few Parker and Hiaasen
books on sale.
take care.
Has any of our group but mestarted on the Ace Atkins continuation of Spenser Lullaby Baby ?
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms. We had our celebration yesterday at my eldest son's home. My son and DIL grilled delicious lamb chops, especially for me.
La La Linda, I am so sorry about your cat.
This was a fun puzzle. For me the hardest part and the last to fall was TROP/STPETE.
Marti, I, too, liked all the seafood served with our drinks.
Although I have been writing UELE in x-words for years, this is the first time I learned to pronounce it.
One time my son bought me OSSO BUCCO at a pricey NYC restaurant. Veal shanks sound so common to me, but the OSSO BUCCO was fabulous, well worth the price.
I have read many novels about ancient OSTIA and the trading ships propelled by slaves. OSTIA has the remains of the oldest synagogue in Europe, built 41-54 CE.
The ads and features sections of NYT arrive at my library on Sat. So I go copy the puzzzle. This weekend the NYT magazine has an additonal puzzle which reminded me of all you lovers of anagrams. "In each pair of clues, one is for the answer word, the other for an anagram of the answer. Which is which is for you to discover." It was really fun. You might like to copy it and try it.
Thanks for your help, C.C. Enjoyed the puzzle but not enough patience to finish. Had Atom bomb at 69a and just didn't give it up. Had GINGER but never got schnapps.
Didn't think GNAR was a word and wanted oBSess at 59a so never got most of Bourbon Renewal. Got all the other theme long ones.
I had a lovely pre-mother's day. Friday one of my daughters and I went to tour a designer showcase house for charity then ate perfectly cooked steaks just before the rush hour. A long line of people were standing in the rain as we left.
Saturday my older son and his family took me to eat pizza to benefit a trip to National History Day competition for my granddaughter's winning state group. They brought me two hanging baskets.
After they left, my other daughter's family showed up with fresh-picked strawberries and peas, so we sat and all podded peas in remembrance of our years of food production on the farm. Love fresh peas. This daughter was named state history teacher of the year and will accompany her daughter and students to nationals in June.
Got lots of hugs which is better than drugs for what ails me!
When everyone had left, the mailman brought me a gift from my military son's family. So a very nice day altogether.
Lemon, please let us know how you like "Lullaby Baby". I wasn't too thrilled with the earlier post-Parker book. I liked the Stone series better than Spenser, so I haven't rushed to buy this one.
Happy Mother's Day everyone.
So sorry to read about your cat's lymphoma, LaLa Linda. Hope it goes easily and smoothly.
I got parts of most of the theme answers, but none of the whole ones: ABSINTHE, GINGER, WHISK(E)Y, BOURBON. And had corn beef and was waiting for a slew of comments that it should be corned. Liked much of the fill.
Cheers
A good and intelligent friend from Boston once explained the difference between "scrod" and "schrod". According to her, scrod is made from young cod whereas schrod is from young haddock. I have never been able to verify that but I have seen both spellings on menus. Maybe someone knows for sure.
Happy Mother's Day to all and HBD to Jeannie.
I just got back to the puzzle after lunch. Very nice.
Our local son, daughter and grandson took us out to a Mother's Day lunch at The Veggie Grill. My sandwich was very nice plus I ordered a side of kale. It was very tasty with a mild sesame sauce on it. Barbara had something that looked and tasted like fried chicken breast. Also good. The sweet potato fries were better than usual.
Now I better read all the comments.
We so often talk about the “aha moment,” whether it’s when a theme is deduced or when an answer is ascertained, as the heart of the crossword experience. We talk of the ingenuity of Scrabbliness and quirky themes and low-word counts; we admire pretty grids. Relevant as these things may be, for me the lifeblood of cruciverbalism is cuteness; and the puzzles and entries I hear most lauded are the ones that are, frankly, cute. Cuteness completes the solving experience: when the right-brained logic, analysis, deduction, and systematization are complemented/contrasted by, say, a belly-born guffaw at an entry as cute as ABSINTHEMINDED, a puzzle solver is satiated not only mentally, but emotionally. One thing religion, philosophy, and science are, slowly, coming to agree upon is that the ultimate harmony a person can experience is, to put it simply, happy heart/happy mind; and a solver’s visage while doing a puzzle like Pam’s offering today is exemplary--at least, mine was--of this state of being: Five minutes of furrowed brow and querying eye and pursed lip while the left-brain works and works, then all of a sudden the face relaxes and the eyes close and a smile forms while the right-brain swims delightedly for a bit in the cute, warm waters of BOURBONRENEWAL; then back to work for a while, then the play of WHISKEYRENEWAL; then happy working mind for a stretch, then happy playing heart again; and so on. For me, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why I keep coming back. So . . . Pam(ela) Amick Klawitter, I don’t know who you are, or anything about you--I know you as a byline, but I really loved your work/art today. Very cute puzzle. Props. Felt like I finished a Cathy Millhauser.
Learning moment: SWALE. Crass cross of the day: OSSO and OSTIA. Note to self: REATA = rope, RIATA = boat race. I officially accept that, no matter how hard I try, I will never, never be able to commit to memory anything about SENNA and HENNA other than that they both are plants. “Chick chaser?”, “Opera starter?”, and “Cautionary beginning?” was excessive.
I know the word “Natick” means a square you can’t fill because you don’t know the Across or Down answer, but is there a word for a square where you just put the wrong letter in, even though you knew or could have known the Across and/or Down? I had SWAP instead of SOAP. I don’t know, I think I thought that if a “swap meet” exists, it seems plausible that a “swap opera” might also exist, somewhere. And DSW seemed familiar for some reason.
“Forgotten social network” made me feel sad for MySpace.
I used to respond to a girlfriend’s request with “As you wish,” in homage to “The Princess Bride”.
that's putting it simply?!
chin@2:18 Wiki and many other sites tell us that scrod and schrod are interchangeable and refer to "cod, haddock, or other whitefish, split and boned." I found one reference to say that some people us schrod for young haddock, and scrod for young cod. I never see schrod here in North Jersey. I have always assumed I am eating young cod, but maybe it is young haddock.
BTW My spell check does not accept SCHROD.
As I said earlier, I enjoyed the puzzle and lunch. But after watching 'Sunday Morning', it reminded me about how much I miss my mother (and father). The best I can do these days is to try to continue to be a good parent and husband and a good grandpa. My little grandpa-ish deed for today was to teach Jordan to play chess.
Well, the Lakers survived the first round but I'm worried about Oklahoma City (it's mighty pretty).
Hello everybody. Damn hard puzzle for me today. Couldn't finish it.
BTW, did anybody watch "World News with Diane Sawyer" on Friday evening? Did anybody hear David Muir's report about the "Jennifer Hudson Trial" in which he used an adjective to describe her fiance? The exact quote is "Her ____ fiance held her hand and rubbed her back." I swear I heard him say "Her black fiance" but my wife disputes that. When I reviewed the video on the internet it sure sounded to me as if they fiddled with the audio so that it sounded like "Her [garbled mushed] fiance ..." You can't tell what adjective he used, but he definitely used an adjective. Sorry to dwell on this, but to me it is important to know what what was actually broadcast and what I think I heard.
Best wishes to you all.
Fermatprime, you look better than the dog! Get real!
Well then. We finally have a source for that age old question:
"Honey, would you like scrod this evening?"
"Not tonight Dear. I have a haddock."
Hatoolah, The old joke I think of involves a cab driver, a fare from Logan and the phrase pluperfect subjunctive.
Avg Joe from IPad
Hi All ~~
I enjoyed this puzzle even though I got bogged down in a few places. I caught the theme quickly and that helped with most of the theme answers. For some reason I just could not get BOURBON RENEWAL. I knew the BOURBON / 'urban' rhyme thing but it took a while to get RENEWAL. Also messing things up in that SW corner was having 'Split' for 'Divvy up.' I was convinced it was right so it took finally getting ANNAN to help fill in ALLOT. I made it much more difficult than it was!
~~ I learned a lot from your write-up today, C.C. ~ lots of "fun facts." I had no idea about Justin Timberlake and My Space. It will be interesting to see what he does with it.
~~ Favorites: Speed reader - RADAR and Chick chaser - ADEE
~~ Thank you C.C., Yellowrocks and Sallie for your kind words about my cat. Things are going well so far. I try very hard to look at her with no sadness and just try to appreciate each day ~ she's been a joy for 15 years.
Avg Joe, heh heh. Good one. And...
"Honey, would you like scrod this evening?"
"Are you kidding? With that shrimp?"
LLL, is your cat what you call a tortoise shell? We had one and two calicos. Good luck!
Bill G. ~~ Yes, my cat is indeed a tortoiseshell. Her fur is beautiful and she is very spirited, which the vet says is often true of "torties." Thanks for the good wishes.
BillG.: Oklahoma is also mighty rested, since they finished off early. Lakers seemed so tired I couldn't watch the game very long.
Avg Joe
Oh cod, did you say that just for the halibut.
But don't forget the octopi for dessert.
nativetexan
Belle Starr was a female Texas outlaw. She was hooked up with Sam Bass, another male Texas outlaw. I read a lot about them in a Texas history books titled "Outlaws of Texas".
Hahtoolah had a good link about Belle Starr at 7:36 AM.
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