Theme: The longer the pun, the greater the fun. We have four grid-spanning theme answers, each of which is a common phrase (all four words) that is clued in a totally silly but visually interesting way, with second level puns in each. The first word in the phrase is a verb which has a different meaning as a noun in the clue. Mr. DiPietro is a very regular NYTimes contributor, who is most famous for his themeless work. I may be missing something, but this is a semi-themeless themed puzzle. An odd puzzle with long and short fill. I enjoy each of the four theme answers, so let us see what I see.
17A. Litter in an abandoned library? : LEAVES IN THE DUST.(15) Reminds me of the Roadrunner. Anyway, pages in a book are leaves and libraries are notoriously dusty places.
31A. Imaginary nuclear facility? : PLANT IN ONE'S MIND.(15) Like an idea, and then we have a make believe nuclear plant, another interesting thought.
45A. Singles among the Pringles? : CASH IN ONE'S CHIPS.(15) Man, I would not mind opening my Pringles and finding money, but I am not ready to cash in my chips; let life ride.
58A. Bread seen while finding theater seats? : ROLL IN THE AISLES.(15) What you do when the play is very funny, but if you see a roll under the seat you may not laugh then.
okay, on to the rest
Across:
1. Jokes : KIDS. A hint from a constructor who likes to kid around; read C.C.'s informative interview.
5. Shade for a pool : AQUA. Not a tree, or a screen, but a color. Words have so many shades of meaning. See also the clecho: 14A. Brown shade : ECRU. And, 40D. It's usually not made in the shade : SUN TAN
9. Start of a familiar series : ABCDE. I guess we are back to the beginning.
15. Shoot the curl, perhaps : SURF. Gnarly man.
16. Copy : XEROX. Like Kleenex, this brand name became synonymous with the product.
20. Cross product : PEN. A big graduation present when I was a kid. Tricky clue. LINK.
21. Helping hand : AID. We have many (28) three letter fill in this puzzle.
22. Green around the gills : ILL. See, I told you.
23. Nice thing to steal : KISS. What a sweet, old-fashioned concept.
25. Harbinger of spring : BUD. The croci poking their heads from the brown earth...
27. Turkey's place, for the most part : ASIA. Not on your dinner table, but geographically speaking.
35. Places to get stuck : RUTS. Also 24 four letter answers.
36. Wield, as force : EXERT. As opposed to inert.
37. '50s political initials : DDE. Dwight David Eisenhower. the President.
38. Te-___ cigars : AMO. Literally, I love you. And now a word from our sponsor. LINK. (7:31)
39. WWII aircraft carrier known as the "Mighty Stinger" : USS WASP. No clue, but the clue was logical, so it was not hard to PICTURE.
41. Sushi fish : EEL.
42. Carmelo Anthony's org. : NBA. The Syracuse star who is now a New York Knick.
43. With 67-Across, museumgoers musing : BUT IS. 67A. See 43-Across : IT ART. Often said when Andy Warhol started exhibiting his work.
44. "What a ride!" : WHEE. Onomatopoeia. Not to be confused with I wanna poeia. See yesterday.
49. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE. WOW. Really classy.
17A. Litter in an abandoned library? : LEAVES IN THE DUST.(15) Reminds me of the Roadrunner. Anyway, pages in a book are leaves and libraries are notoriously dusty places.
31A. Imaginary nuclear facility? : PLANT IN ONE'S MIND.(15) Like an idea, and then we have a make believe nuclear plant, another interesting thought.
45A. Singles among the Pringles? : CASH IN ONE'S CHIPS.(15) Man, I would not mind opening my Pringles and finding money, but I am not ready to cash in my chips; let life ride.
58A. Bread seen while finding theater seats? : ROLL IN THE AISLES.(15) What you do when the play is very funny, but if you see a roll under the seat you may not laugh then.
okay, on to the rest
Across:
1. Jokes : KIDS. A hint from a constructor who likes to kid around; read C.C.'s informative interview.
5. Shade for a pool : AQUA. Not a tree, or a screen, but a color. Words have so many shades of meaning. See also the clecho: 14A. Brown shade : ECRU. And, 40D. It's usually not made in the shade : SUN TAN
9. Start of a familiar series : ABCDE. I guess we are back to the beginning.
15. Shoot the curl, perhaps : SURF. Gnarly man.
16. Copy : XEROX. Like Kleenex, this brand name became synonymous with the product.
20. Cross product : PEN. A big graduation present when I was a kid. Tricky clue. LINK.
21. Helping hand : AID. We have many (28) three letter fill in this puzzle.
22. Green around the gills : ILL. See, I told you.
23. Nice thing to steal : KISS. What a sweet, old-fashioned concept.
25. Harbinger of spring : BUD. The croci poking their heads from the brown earth...
27. Turkey's place, for the most part : ASIA. Not on your dinner table, but geographically speaking.
35. Places to get stuck : RUTS. Also 24 four letter answers.
36. Wield, as force : EXERT. As opposed to inert.
37. '50s political initials : DDE. Dwight David Eisenhower. the President.
38. Te-___ cigars : AMO. Literally, I love you. And now a word from our sponsor. LINK. (7:31)
39. WWII aircraft carrier known as the "Mighty Stinger" : USS WASP. No clue, but the clue was logical, so it was not hard to PICTURE.
41. Sushi fish : EEL.
42. Carmelo Anthony's org. : NBA. The Syracuse star who is now a New York Knick.
43. With 67-Across, museumgoers musing : BUT IS. 67A. See 43-Across : IT ART. Often said when Andy Warhol started exhibiting his work.
44. "What a ride!" : WHEE. Onomatopoeia. Not to be confused with I wanna poeia. See yesterday.
49. "Symphony in Black" artist : ERTE. WOW. Really classy.
50. Amount past due? : TRE. The old counting in Italian trick, DUE= two, TRE= three.
51. Square or level : TOOL.
52. Wanted-poster letters : AKA. Also Known As. Yes, I can explain this one, also.
54. Strikes (out) : XES. Sorry, C.C., no baseball, just the old way using a typewriter for a
55. 2008 BCS football champs : LSU. Hahtoolah, where are you?
64. Bread in a deli : BAGEL. Another clecho, with 58 A a theme clue.
65. Make concessions : BEND. But do not break.
66. Art store stock : OILS.
68. Win over : SWAY. Like voters.
69. Sport : WEAR. Not where, or ware.
Down:
1. Laminaria, for one : KELP. Time to LEARN. Kelp sounds so much netter than brown algae.
2. Slush Puppie maker : ICEE. More SHELDON. I love the sub-titles!
3. Showed concern for someone's health? : DRANK A TOAST. Another visual and with 38D, a nice pair of 11s.
4. Durango, e.g. : SUV. By Dodge. Dexter voices the commercials.
5. Umbrian birthplace of two saints : ASSISI. Clare and FRANCIS.
6. Pounds in Plymouth : QUID. Plymouth, England. Debate over the how the term started, perhaps from the paper factory in Quidhampton where banknotes came from. Steve? Nice Cuppa you out there?
7. Kitchen server : URN. You want you coffee, you have to urn it.
8. "To the rear, Admiral!" : AFT. A little Navy humor, with no vice intended.
9. Skating maneuver : AXEL. For our dear CA and Robin who have skated into our hearts WATCH.(1:17) I love the sound.
10. Utter chaos : BEDLAM. Like XEROX and KLEENEX this word derived from the name of a London Hospital for the criminally insane, known for its cruelty and inhuman treatment of the mentally ill. See also Arkham Asylum for those of you who read and watch movies.
11. Unlikely classification term for 25-Down : CRU. A premier wine, never likely to end up as a 25D. Libation pooh-poohed by some : BOX WINE. It is pooh poohed, because that is what it tastes like. marti would be furious.
12. Novelist John ___ Passos : DOS. An important WRITER.
13. Dept. phone no. : EXTension.
18. All-Star side : EAST. I really wanted WEST!
19. It's quarry : HIDERS. Maybe not, you could have this PRODUCT.
24. Former U.S. Border Patrol gp. : INS. Immigration and Naturalization Service
26. Discomfort : UNEASE. Getting there.
28. Golf ball-on-a-slope challenge : SIDEHILL LIE. Shotgun start at 8:00am, but this is Florida, there are no hills except this MOUNT.
29. Irreversibly committed : IN DEEP. Probably the part of the rough I will be in tomorrow.
30. Astaire and Simpson : ADELES. Fred's dancing partner sister, and the fashion designer,
31. Derby winner's move : PRANCE. Which Derby? The horsies prance?
32. Like some medical punctures : LUMBAR. Like THIS.(0:55)
33. Trojan War sage : NESTOR. Nice MYTHOLOGY.
34. Longtime sponsor in NASCAR events : STP. Andy Granatelli's fuel additive company.
39. Latin "where" : UBI. SEMPER UBI SUB UBI.
44. "___ said so?" : WHO. I did.
46. Doctor, ideally : HEALER. _____ is a common given name for a male. It comes from Greek meaning "healer"
47. Main squeeze : STEADY. Not to be confused with the Squeeze Box.
48. Mozart's "___ fan tutte" : COSI. LISTEN. (4:25)
53. Skirt often worn with ghillie brogues : KILT. Skirt!
54. TV ally of Hercules : XENA.
56. Ward with awards : SELA.
57. WWII power : USSR.
58. Good squeeze result, for short : RBI. Finally, the baseball, a squeeze bunt.
59. Muffin morsel : OAT. I like Orange Cranberry better.
60. JFK alternative : LGA. Airport codes in NYC.
61. "Dinner and a Movie" channel : TBS. LINK.
62. Cut down : HEW. EWE again? You? oooooo.
63. Farm female : SOW. Cow fits too, but not words to use with your DW. A good place to stop before I get into trouble. Enjoy June. Rabbit Rabbit out of Habit.
Answer grid.
Lemonade
58. Good squeeze result, for short : RBI. Finally, the baseball, a squeeze bunt.
59. Muffin morsel : OAT. I like Orange Cranberry better.
60. JFK alternative : LGA. Airport codes in NYC.
61. "Dinner and a Movie" channel : TBS. LINK.
62. Cut down : HEW. EWE again? You? oooooo.
63. Farm female : SOW. Cow fits too, but not words to use with your DW. A good place to stop before I get into trouble. Enjoy June. Rabbit Rabbit out of Habit.
Answer grid.
Lemonade
95 comments:
Morning, all!
Another challenging puzzle for me today. I love puns, but for some reason I found it very difficult to come up with the theme answers even after getting most of the crosses.
Unknowns today included KELP, simply because the clue was impenetrable to me. For a while, I thought that "Laminaria" referred to some sort of HELP (like an atlas or an encyclopedia).
I misread the clue for 39A as "aircraft" instead of "aircraft carrier" and wasted too much time trying to think of a type of airplane that started with a U.
The crossing of RBI and ITART was rough. Didn't understand the clue for the first and couldn't parse the answer for the second without the other half of the referenced answer.
What nearly killed me in the end, though, was the crossing of SIDEHILLLIE and LSU. I thought maybe there was some colloquial golf term for a ball on a hill called a "hillie" and the answer was going to be SIDE HILLIE. But there was one extra letter there and it intersected the completely unknown _SU. I finally put in the missing L and got the *tada*, but it was only a guess and it wasn't until later that I figured out that it was SIDE HILL LIE.
Rabbit Rabbit.
Hello Puzzlers -
This was a tough nut to crack! It went like a solar eclipse - darkening only gradually from the east, leaving an obstinate bright spot in the center west. I kept trying to suss a theme, thinking cash was the common denominator, but PLANT nixed that.
We've had ERTE before, but I forgot and had to Goog the name. Same for that basketball player, never heard of him. Another lookup. Chalk up a Technical DNF for me.
Yawn...I don't know what I liked less, the puzzle or the write-up.
Easy solution: Go away and don't ever return.
"Doctor" is not Greek, but Latin, originally meaning "teacher" (cf."doctrine").
Very difficult puzzle today. It took me nearly 45 minutes. The entire west side had more spaces than fills for a very long time. I kept wanting laminaria to have something to do with vertebrae and could not quite grasp KID even though I had the I from Icee. But space by space, it eventually filled. A very challenging start to the day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Joe P., for one tough puzzle. I enjoyed it (once I finished). Thank you, Lemonade, for your usual great job!
Well, I slogged for three hours to get this done. it was an excellent puzzle. Very tough, at least for me.
Got a few at the North end. Took forever to get ABCDE. had everything but the "C". Was looking for the word ABIDE or ABODE. Finally the light came on.
Got ROLL IN THE AISLES first for the theme. Then LEAVES IN THE DUST. The others came later.
For 36A I wanted FIGHT. That really messed up that area for a while. Finally BOX WINE fixed that section.
BUT IS IT ART took me a while. I had the IT ART, but could not get the beginning.
SIDE HILL LIE was easy. I have had a bunch of those.
Had DRANK TOASTS for a while, then fixed it to DRANK A TOAST.
All in all, it took a while, but it worked.
I had the time because it is raining here in PA.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Homage to Jack Web (from recent puzzles) – It was a Friday, June 1. It was cool in Fremont. I was working the LA Times puzzle out of my sunroom. The constructor was Joe DiPietro. My name is Gary. I carry a pencil.
Musings
-Onanistic? Really?
-What a fabulous puzzle full of wit, wisdom and erasures! I laughed out loud several times!
-This physics guy went through a lot of atomic terms before landing on PLANT
-SUN TEA was my product adverse to shade
-GOOGLE that before you XEROX it.
-I got a CROSS pen and pencil and lost it in less than a month
-Stealing a Kiss might get you striped sunlight today!
-“BUT IS IT ART?” is so clever and my thought as I wander through exhibits. In the eye of the beholder!
-That WHEE on the first roller coaster hill might be a scream!
-Square or level? We’re COOL! Nope, I’m a TOOL!
-BAMA outclassed LSU this year.
-We stood on the hill south of St. Francis’s Basilica and took in the beautiful view of the Umbrian valley!
-You ain’t seen BEDLAM until you supervised a middle school lunch period
-Remember the ad where the Sumo wrestler could not hold the screwdriver dipped in STP?
Anon" 8:08, it is not Doctor which is Greek meaning "healer" it is a "common given name", hence the ________________________blank.
This one left me in the dust. I assume that's true for many others as well, since at 8:40 there are so few comments so far. If there had been no names involved, the puzzle wouldn't have been possible since half the clues involved a name of some place or person. I couldn't get my head around any of the themes, and the rest went nearly as badly for me. the interview revealed that the constructor prefers tricky to scrabbly clues. I'd call the themes today more cryptic than tricky.
thus, it isn't worth my enumerating my gaffs, since it would bore you all to no end.
Have a great Friday everyone!
Good Friday level brain buster. If not for correction fluid and ink blots, I'd have thrown in the towel by now. But AHA! No DNF for me.
I loved the clues for 50A: Amount past due? TRE, 51A: Square or Level: TOOL, and 19D: It's Quarry: HIDERS. These really had me going. I was thinking 'even' for square/level. Amount due and It's Quarry just had me completely stumped until the PERPS saved the day.
When I finally finished I was rollin' in the aisles.
Learning moment was Laminaria.
I'm betting Tinbeni is a pooh-pooher of BOX WINE.
Seven more hourse of work to go and I'm ready for a nap. Later y'all!
Rabbit, rabbit, and good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
Fun and witty write-up today, Lemon - as always! Loved your URN comment. No one ever brings BOX WINE as a hostess gift for me. I wonder why?
I solved this one last night, and thought it was pretty easy for a Friday. I was suprised that no one mentioned Kipling's poem "The Conundrum of the Workshops", where the expression "BUT IS IT ART" came from.
The theme entries were solid, but I am not a fan of repeat words - all four entries had either "in one's" or "in the". So that put a little damper on it for me. Otherrwise, a really enjoyable puzzle, and a nice way to finish off the week.
Good morning everyone. Great write-up, Lemonade. Thank you.
Great Friday puzzle, Joe. Tough for me but great texture, and eclectic fill that was mostly gettable. Only lookup was EXERT; for some reason, I couldn't focus on BUD or BOX WINE. A D'oh moment. Great theme spanners, but their mutual association was obscure. Had to invoke several lucky WAGS to keep it moving; DRANK A TOAST, ASSISI, and SUN TAN. Never heard the approbation, 'mighty stinger' before, but with 'sun tan' I assumed USS something, and knew that very few carriers' names had only 4 letters. Ergo WASP. (Two USS Wasp's served in WWII, CV-7, and CV - 18.)
Have a great day.
Thank you, Lemonade for explaining some of these impossible clues. Also for the Hooter Hiders link. What a hoot!
My brain is really fuzzy this morning. Maybe it is because the temperature is back in the 60s in Northern Ohio after being at a record setting 92 just a few days ago.
I found this a mixed puzzle. I got the top two rows really easily and thought, “This is too easy for a Friday”. Then the lower parts were so difficult that I almost gave up, even though I was cheating and red-lettering it.
I kept thinking that the “singles amoung the Pringles” would be aberrant, unique or malformed Pringles that missed inspection at the plant. I also didn't get PLANT because I was in the physics viewpoint. Basically, for the last 3 themed answers were very hard and I needed to do a lot of sussing, with the first word being the hardest.
It took a long time and I had to “QWERTY”(methodically hitting every key until I get a black letter) half a dozen clues to get enough susses to finish. I even forgot UBI. And I took Latin and know Lemonades quote.
I'll blame it on Venus transiting (crossing in front of) the sun on June 5 and 6, the last time for this century.
Anyway, TGIF to all.
VS;
Thank you. I now have my new response to all problems, blame it on Venus!
TGIF, all!
I think this one was easier than the average Friday fare, but a good one nonetheless.
My problem area was the center. I started with PLASTIC rather than PLANT IN, and that gave me CASTOR where NESTOR should have been.
The apostrophe in "It's Quarry" threw me. Should that be there?
Hand up for SUNTEA before SUNTAN. And yes, Husker, the third Jumble word is usually the hardest, especially today.
Interesting quote in today's AWAD. (Do you subscribe?) "I would have made a good Pope." -Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of US (1913-1994)
I used the iPad, turned on the red letters, and surprised myself at how many clues I solved with the help of a letter or two. It is a different experience knowing immediately one has entered an incorrect or correct letter. I prefer pencil and paper, but for the harder puzzles, online is fun in its own way.
Thanks, Lemonade, for your explanations of answers I didn’t understand. Did not get HILLIES until reading the post mentioning the extra L. I was trying to figure out what a SIDE HILLIE was, but I know almost nothing about golf so thought maybe there is such a thing.
Husker is correct about BEDLAM; being on duty in a middle school cafeteria exhibits the meaning of the word.
My favorite clue was for RBI.
I was looking for a word to describe sliding the stones in ‘curling’ (I live near Canada) when SURF appeared with perps.
I never thought about the Border Patrol being part of INS. We have had a Border Patrol station here all my life, just recently changed to Homeland Security. They have always been called Border Patrol. To me, INS is a department in DC my DILs had to deal with to get green cards.
I learned something today.
Have a good weekend everyone,
Montana
Lemonade, I loved your write up,links and wit, but I still don't understand your doctor- healer reference. I did understand the clue.
I enjoyed the puns, especially the theme answers, KISS, TRE, TOOL. The puzzle took some time, but was well worth the effort.
I found this one tougher then usual since the theme didn't come to me until I had completed the whole puzzle. I had wide swaths of white left in the middle when I got the BUT IS...in place and was finally able to crack that section. Had JIBS for KIDS on the top which also caused that section to fall later then I would've hoped. All in allpretty solid toughness for a Friday with a workable puzzle.
I had to Google "Mighty Stinger"... a little before me.
Hadn't seen "ubi" in like.... forever. But a good clue nonetheless. My high school Latin helped.
I do the puzzle online.... is it considered cheating if you Google? Or use the dictionary to solve? Just curious.
Good morning everyone:
Thanks Mr. D. For a challenging Friday offering. I did finish w/o help but it took a long time, with a few write-overs. Thanks for the nice expo, Lemonade, and for the Sheldon clip. No matter how many times I watch the re-runs of BBT, I laugh just as hard as I did first time around.
Happy Friday to all.
It seems sushi and EEL are irrevocably linked in constructors' minds. I like eel in sushi. The cooked eel is served with a delicious sauce. MMMM, good. Other sushi not using raw fish include smoked salmon, any kind of shrimp, vegetarian, thin omelet, imitation crab, especially the California roll with imitation crab and avocado.
Sushi from the supermarket, food court, and many all you can eat sushi places are like BOX WINE. You get what you pay for. Sushi from a really good restaurant is well worth the price.
The good Japanese restaurants choose their raw fish very carefully to make sure it is fresh and healthy. Sushi fish is of a higher grade than fish to be cooked. If you dare to try it, you will be greatly surprised and pleased. It is not what you expect. I love it. BTW, my son and Japanese DIL have never been sick from sushi.
Japanese restaurants served many other types of cooked dishes, including tempura which most Americans like. You might try just a tiny bit of sushi along with the tempura.
Derby winner's move : Zenyatta always pranced in the pre race parade.
Hi gang -
Worked most of this in the waiting room while Gloria had her eye exam. (She passed - all that studying payed off.) Lots of difficulty in the West, and a DNF. Couldn't even get the Ken Ken today.
The symmetric use of IN THE and IN ONE'S connects and solidifies the theme entries.
Great puzzle. It got me.
Not getting 19D. It's quarry = HIDERS. Anyone?
Cool regards!
JzB
A very enjoyable puzzle and write-up. It's always good to include a like to Sheldon.
Hand up for wanting SUNTEA. Thanks for the Webb-like intro, Husker!
I liked the symmetry of "IN ONES" and "IN THE" each appearing in two answers.
Have a good month, all. Shout out to my sister Lyni, who was born on this date quite a while ago!
Speaking of KIDS . . .
we missed Nate's game last night, attending Lexi's choral concert. Great job by all the middle school KIDS.
Nate finally got a chance to pitch. Karen texted that he got out of a bases loaded situation with no runs scored. Next inning he hit a sharp single up the middle, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored to go ahead 7-6. He pitched one more inning, giving up 1 run, but his team eventually lost 11-7.
Tournament this weekend at Eastern MI U. We planning on going tonight, but the weather is very dicey. Lots of much-needed but badly timed rain.
Cheers!
JzB
JazzB,
Think of the game that you played as a kid. Hide and Seek.
I was previewing my comment on the symmetrics as you were posting yours. Great minds and all that?
Oh phooey; not such a great mind here...I meant a LINK to Sheldon in my first comment.
I'm with Kazie on this one. Too tough for a Friday even though the theme was fun, once I got some of it. I got NESTOR though I thought I remembered he was less a sage than a pompous jerk who gave Telemachus useless advice. But Lemonade's link sure gives him endless credit.
The clue about John DOS Passos reminds me that the recent HBO movie "Hemingway and Gellhorn" showed a fascinating side of Dos Passos's role in the Spanish Civil War.
What does "Rabbit Rabbit" mean?
Have a good Friday, everybody.
With all due respect and affection to my pals Lemonade and Marti, The URN pun destroyed what could have been a witty and enjoyable write-up. Your critique of today's puzzle now sits ingloriously among the ashes.
Jazz B - In Hide and Seek, when you ar "IT", you have to go out and find the other Hiders, ergo your quarry. I didn't get it either, until after I had 'hiders'
YR:
As Galen gleefully pointed out, the reference was to my name -Jason, which is from the Greek meaning "healer" like Barry is from the Irish meaning "spear" or Dudley from Old Englis meaning "people's field" or Martin from the Latin meaning "war like."
Jerome:
My punning anagrammtic guru, can a critique of a puzzle sit gloriously among the ashes?
Was it the pun, or did you just to burn the urn?
I left out my comments about Bud Harbinger, the great left-handed pitcher who did so well in spring training but was nowhere to be found once the season started.
I passed on the Erik Estrada comments as well. Sorry to disappoint.
Very tight puzzle. Loved the BOXWINE and USSWASP (which was very well-clued) cross in the center. Enjoyed all the Ks and Xs in the fill--a hard thing to do with all the locked letters of four 15s. I appreciated the heart and time that was obviously put into crafting this puzzle, from the BUTIS and ITART (which I think adds to the puzzle’s spice rather than detracts from it) to the triple L of SIDEHILLLIE. Amazing minimum of crosswordese. Great perpage. DNF for me, as I had BASE instead of KISS, the PLANT of PLANTINONESMIND refrained from planting itself in my mind, and I just couldn’t suss out the West Central. I bet Rich is a little miffed that the repeated “in” of LEAVESINTHEDUST and its clue reached print. Omg it took me forever to finally get the HIDERS clue.
Lemonade, thank you for the enjoyable write-up. I believe it a reasonable assumption that the work and time you and the other Blog Regulars who contribute here in such a continuously intelligent, insightful, and entertaining manner are appreciated and enjoyed by countless unheard (in addition to those heard) voices who peruse this blog.
A cruciverbalist’s salary “the most surefire way to put three kids through college”? Wow. Was he kidding or something?--sounded like he was serious. As rare as is the archetypal and glorious “day” when an artist can say he’s “quitting his day job” so he can pursue his art, rare is the crosswordsmith that can claim that puzzle money pays his bills; I imagine the actual number of people that can really make that claim could be reached upon one’s own digits, and likely with the removal of only one shoe.
Sela Ward is high on my own personal Most Beautiful Woman Ever list.
I was Florida, not LSU, that won the BCS championship in 2008.
LSU won it in 2009.
I should be It.
Thanks,Lemonade.DUH! Somehow I didn't realize that I was supposed to fill in the blank.
HG, Onanistic raised an eyebrow here, too.
I am so happy to be one who LEAVES IN THE DUST the BEDLAM of of the school lunch room.
Actually Jim, LSU won the BCS Championship for the 2007 season on January 7, 2008. Florida won it for the 2008 season on January 8, 2009 and Alabama won it for the 2009 season on January 7, 2010. IMO both LSU and FLA are acceptable for the clue, but FLA would, indeed, be the more correct answer.
I did finish this puppy, but it had a bunch of write-overs towards the bottom. ERTE over 'Etta' (The Symphony In Black I was thinking of was made three years before Ms. James was born though), OAT over ort, BEND over cede... and lend, TBS over tlc, and SOW over ewe. But most gallingly, USS WASP over Hornet... which didn't even have the right number of letters!
jim hietter, why should you be it? what if i want to be it?
Yowza! Thanks Lemonade. I do enjoy your thorough analyses intertwined with wit.
Hello, puzzlers.
This was very tough in a good way and at first seemed not only daunting but nearly impossible with way too many unknowns. I thought the constructor must be high on testosterone. But finish it I did and with a little help.
Anthony Carmelo is a total stranger to me and don't recall te-AMO cigars. Had to G both.
Loved Dudley's description! My eclipse also darkened from the east and I golf terms are becoming more familiar to me so SIDE HILL LIE seemed right.
Checked on NESTOR after filling it but flirted with HECTOR as well. ERTE escaped me as well.
QUI was my first Latin query but then recalled UBI from the song UBI Caritas.
Spent way too much time on this but if it makes me think more deeply, it's worth it. Thank you, Joe DiPietro.
I'm waiting to hear about my car as a trip for a simple oil change turned into purchasing new tires as two were badly damaged. $$$$
Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!
Where is the word "onanistic"?
in the dictionary...
I enjoyed the puzzle though parts of it were much harder for me than other parts.
desper-otto, I am surprised that more people weren't puzzled by 19D, "It's quarry." I figured it was either a mistake or a typo 'cause "It is quarry" didn't make any sense. Then I figured that IT was the seeker in Hide and Seek and the clue was the possessive of IT rather than a pronoun that wouldn't need the apostrophe. Is that what the rest of you guys thought but it was so obvious that you didn't feel it was necessary to mention? It sure confused me at first.
I think "Green around the gills" means nauseated but not just sick in general. You?
Gary, in my experience, the only was to exceed the bedlam of a middle school lunch period is if it is a rainy day lunch period.
Yellowrocks: Be aware that you can acquire a very nasty parasite called strongyloides stercoralis (threadworm) from eating insufficiently cooked fish or sushi. Once contracted the parasite is almost impossible to detect and even more impossible to eradicate. It will cause acute and chronic intestinal and respiratory problems that doctors can't figure out. I happen to have had the misfortune of ingesting this nasty thing about 12 years ago. Believe me, you don't want it.
"It's quarry: HIDERS" had me beating my head against the wall. What an outstanding clue and answer!
However, I'm still stumped by "Amount past due? TRE."
Will someone please help me? The wall eagerly awaits my return, and my head can't take anymore.
The Japanese and their insatiable appetite for certain varieties of fish, paired with the outrageous sums of money they are willing to pay for it, are depleting the world's fish population by encouraging poaching and other illegal tactics. Sad, really. The blue tuna story in the Mediterranean is only one example.
Hello everybody. Today was the first time in many years that LW and I forgot to say "Rabbit rabbit." We'll see how this month shapes up as a result. I'm going to consider it the "control case," as in a lab experiment.
What Barry said regarding hillies and laminaria.
After getting LEAVES and PLANT, I wanted more botanical words for the other theme answers, which made an already tough solve even tougher.
Very very hard for me. Puzzles always look so much easier after they're solved. It's the difference between "that could be freaking anything" and "oh yeah, that makes sense now that I know what the answer is." The so-called aha moment, which today was often a "jeez" moment.
Thank you, Lemonade, for your writeup. I guessed maybe it was "Jason" that you were referring to.
Best wishes to you all.
Anon (1:49), yes, "Amount past due" fooled me too. I didn't know for sure but guessed "Due" was Two in some foreign language. Yes, it turns out to be Italian. Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove... Pretty clever clue I thought once I had guessed and sussed it out.
Lemony, in his effort to be punny, often confuses me rather than explaining the clue/answer.
Lucina, I'm glad you got new tires, especially since, as you say, they were badly damaged. I trust you not only will be safer, but will have a smoother ride as well.
Gary, I loved your homage to Dragnet. Well done!
I like Pringles, the chips, but there's a guy named Pringle at work whom I, and everybody else at work too, consider to be the embodiment of a word that begins with the first three letters of his name.
Kisses are even better given than stolen :)
Bill G. @ 1:45, when I saw the clue "It's quarry", I immediately thought of the person who is "It" in hide and seek. I don't know why - maybe I have seen the same clue in other puzzles?
Dnf even with red letters...
(i parsed "I"Tart???)
i must find out more about this Venus transit.
Anon @ 10:31, in crossword puzzles, you can only cheat yourself. If it takes a red letter, or a look up, or a dictionary, why cheat yourself of new knowledge? I rue the day when we know everything, & fill all the across without bothering to investigate the downs.
Lemonade714, "keep up the puns!"
IE: I saw some strange goings on in the city today. A group of sterile monks in white robes were circling a large urn containing flowers, chanting, raising their hands, bowing to the urn, and performing some kind of ritual on one young member of the group. It appeared to be a vase sect to me.
Good afternon, gang. Fun expo, lemonade.
LOVE this punfest! I was looking for something that would tie the phrases or one of the words in the phrase together, but never did figure out the old 'change the verb to a noun and reclue in a wacky way' routine.
Put me in the corner with Mari for even before TOOL. Other than that, no writeovers today. Much better than yesterday. The perps were kind.
I liked Joe's humorous answers to C.C.'s questions. Yes, he's a prolific constructor, but I hope those kids of his qualify for scholarships.
Lemon: Wonderful, informative, write-up & links. Esp. Mount Trashmore, lol.
What Kazie and Avf.Joe said.
Anon @10:31
I agree with CED @2:15!
However you "solve" is just fine. IT is your crossword.
Use massive "Red-Letter-Help" and then come here and act like you're an expert at "solving".
All is good.
Mari @8:47
I would never 'Pooh-Pooh' BOX-WINE. Just wouldn't drink it.
When I 'DRANK-A-TOAST' at Sunset, only Avatar would be in the glass.
I think STP (the Racer's Edge) is more associated with Indy than NASCAR.
Cheers!!!
CED, Good one, that monkey business. Funny how a little change in spelling can result in a vas deferens!
HeartRx@2:11 -- If It refers to the It in hide-and-seek, shouldn't it have been "Its quarry" rather than "It's quarry?" That's what confused me...and apparently Bill G as well.
Hey Tinbitty, ever heard of #43 Richard Petty? Can't think of STP without picturing that ugly car.
Husker, I was awarded a CROSS pen back in the 80's as a token for completing five years with Zapata Corp, George Bush Sr's old company. That evening I stopped for a cool one at my favorite watering hole. The barkeep admired my CROSS pen with the distinctive "Z" logo on it. She whipped it out of my pocket and thanked me for the cool present. Her name was Linda ZAPP. I never did get it back.
desper-otto, yes I was confused and I was surprised that nobody else but the two of us seemed to be. But I'm not confused anymore. You can't tell a book by its cover. No apostrophe needed since "its" is an indefinite pronoun (or something like that). "See that deer? That is John's quarry." Now an apostrophe is needed because the quarry 'belongs' to someone named John. In the case of Hide and Seek, the seeker is named IT. So the hider is the quarry that 'belongs' to someone named IT and an apostrophe is needed for the possessive.
Anon @1:47: Is it possible that you are a Viet Nam vet? I am sorry you had such a horrible experience.
Quoting Wikipedia:
S. stercoralis has a very low prevalence in societies where fecal contamination of soil or water is rare. Hence, it is a very rare infection in developed economies.
Today, the countries of the old IndoChina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) still have endemic strongyloidiasis, typical prevalences being 10% or less.
Regions of Japan used to have endemic strongyloidiasis, but control programs have eliminated the disease. Strongyloidiasis appears to have a high prevalence in some areas of Brazil and Central America. Strongyloidiasis is endemic in Africa, but the prevalence is typically low (1% or less).
None of my DIL's many friends and relatives has ever developed threadworm after being life-long consumers of sushi. It's like me getting dengue fever, very unlikely.
Bill G, thanks for clearing that up. I finally understand -- It isn't a what It's a who.
Man oh man, nowwwwwwwww I get "It's quarry". Clever! Diabolical!
Yellowrocks: Don't kid yourself. You can get it in the USA. I am an old lady. Strongyloides was contracted by me either at an expensive restaurant in Mexico or a famous seafood buffet in South Carolina, a state where outbreaks have been reported. Anytime you eat raw meat or seafood, you put yourself in danger of some kind of parasite.
My doctors kept telling me "older women just don't get parasites. Only children who play in the dirt get worms." I finally went to a relative who is a microbiologist and extracted a worm from an ulcerated sore on my skin. Under a microscope we watched it coil and uncoil its tail. We then were able to identify it via internet and get me much needed medication.
YR: don't be smug. You didn't ever expect to have a disabled son either, did you?
One note (may have been covered by others): the USSR was a cold war power not a WWII power. It was still just Russia under Stalin.
The Italian counting was a dirty trick.
I got completely hung up on 'tent' or 'copa' (way off I know) for 'shade of a pool' (5 across). I had to do it with crosses and STILL thought it was wrong.
I find it daunting that ANONs know so much about us, while revealing so little about themselves. Most of the time we cannot tell one from the other.
Yes, I have a disabled son, but I did not tell my own son not to have children. Freaky things happen. We cannot wrap ourselves up in tissue paper to avoid every eventuality. No matter how you try to avoid it, the rare and unexpected can occur.
A young lady fell from a zip line into the water and encountered flesh eating bacteria, a truly devastating, life altering situation. Does that mean no one should use a zip line?
What happened to the ANON is so extremely rare, much rarer than choking on a chicken bone. We cannot live our lives in fear of everything.
Wrap ourselves in tissue paper? No.
Wrap some whale meat in nori with some bluefin tuna on the side? Yes.
Who cares about the ocean's diversity anyway?
The USSR was founded in 1922 and dissolved in 1990. This includes the period of WW II.
The damn apostrophe; I believe "It's quarry" represents the phrase "it is quarry" IT being the quarry, the sought after target. Hence "it is" can be contracted to it's.
Does THIS help?
Okay, I finally got curious enough to go Wiki to get my answer:
"Rabbit rabbit" is one variant of a common British superstition which states that a person should say or repeat the word "rabbit" or "rabbits", or say the phrase "white rabbits", or some combination of these elements, out loud upon waking on the first day of the month, because doing so will ensure good luck for the duration of that month. Today, it is a frequent tradition in many English-speaking countries.
Just in case somebody else had the same question . . .
What Spitzboov SAID.
The "rabbit, rabbit" and "it's vs its" have been discuss here "ad nauseum".
A pedant walks into a bar....
I think that Jayce has it right...it's a diabolical clue. Let it go.
ladies and gentlemen, avg joe has spoken...we must listen.
Wow, this one was worse than yesterday. At least I only missed 3 letters yesterday. Today, it was a complete train-wreck. First mistake was spouse instead of steady for "main squeeze" and it went downhill from there. Because of that error, I had POOLS instead of TOOLS, and totally missed out on AISLES in the theme clue. Had I started out properly, I think I may have gotten it all correct. Wound up resorting to the "red letters" where I was able to complete the puzzle and see the error of my ways, but without that it would have been a DNF. Like Abejo, this took me at least three hours.
One nit: 14A - I never thought of ECRU as a brown shade - thought it was an off-white color, which is a stretch from brown.
Somewhere out there in the universe there's a bridge that's missing its Troll.
Daily tuneagement
Jayce@2:08
Thank you. Yes, my ride, which potentially could have been hazardous, is now smooth.
CED@2:45:
LOL!! You do crack me up. That is very funny.
Earlier I failed to mention that It's quarry made no sense to me as a clue and I only got the H in HIDERS from THE. But on further analysis from all of you, it clicked.
I found BUT IS IT ART very clever.
At the top I misread Laminaria as Luminaria so immediately wrote LAMP and that held me up for a very long time. Finally I erased the whole corner and started anew.
How lovely that such a witty and complex puzzle stirs up some interesting discussion.
LA CW ADDICT@5:32
To achieve ECRU in paint, a few drops of brown must be added to white.
Maybe someone will copy and "top" avg joe...oh wait...he's the one that does that...
One question--If "It is quarry" is the way it is read then shouldn't hider be singular?
Fun puzzle, great write-up, and wonderful comments.
Thanks all.
It's got to be the quarry of IT so then possessive--right?
Susan? Weren't you listening? One-Upper(avg joe) has deemed that discussion over!
Lemonade714, have you noticed that you're the only blogger that feels it necessary to post so many times on your blogging day? Think maybe you're a little too full of yourself? Just askin'.
'Its' is the possessive of it--not 'it's', which is the contraction of 'it is'.
I think the 'hiders' clue was referring to 'quarry' as a generic idea, not a particular item of quarry, or person considered to be the quarry of any particular group or pursuer. Then by definition, 'hiders' would all be quarry to whomever it is who searches for them. Either way, I didn't get it until I came here.
I think I just heard his head explode!
Another apostrophe question to annoy the anons -- A year or so ago, IMAC was cleverly clued as "Jobs creation." I never understood why it wouldn't be Jobs' creation as the creation of Steve Jobs. But nobody else said anything so it must have seemed OK to everybody else. What was I missing?
It's amazing how many snarky and frustrated anons showed up today. You'd think if some of the posts on this blog annoyed them so much, they would look for their social interaction elsewhere.
~ Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Boy we sure have some (one) snarky anons today!
Susan, I think you're right.
Bill G, I recall that discussion. That one could go either way. If you consider the IMAC creation as Steve Jobs personal property, you could put an apostrophe after Jobs and indicate ownership.
But, let's take a similar case with a name not ending in 's':
Big Blue is an IBM creation, or Big Blue is IBM's creation.
I think either would be correct.
I agree with the ones that interpret today's clue as IT being the person so designated in Hide and Seek (the seeker) and the HIDERS as being It's quarry. Replace It's quarry with seeker's quarry and it should clear up the its/it's confusion. Fiendishly clever clue.
Jim Hietter@11:59 and Anon.@1:13, I think I should be It, now. Or else I’m not gonna play anymore. I’m tired of being quarry.
We could also revive the discussion of the phrase used to call in the missing HIDERS:
Olly olly in free! (or whatever variation was used in your region)
Seriously, though, how cool is it that someone posted, on a blog on which a topic du jour was Hide and Seek and the now-famous It clue, the actual sentence, “I should be It.” in reference to something very different?
Words rock. So do people.
It's quarry=quarry of IT=hiders.Does this help?
hey placematfan, here is a kicker...i am going to take credit for that observation. thanks for noticing.
Loved the puzzle, except for the bad clue "It's quarry." Made no sense, as others have noted. Where in the heck were the editors on that one?
Wait (same anon as last post)....I really didn't get "drank a toast" etiher, as "show concern for someone's health." I'll have to look for that explanation.
A common toast is "To Your Health".
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