Theme: "Invitation to the Dance" - A Gene Kelly tribute puzzle. Seven of his most well-known movies are featured in the grid.
22A. 117-Across film which he also co-directed : ON THE TOWN. Never heard of the film. Also starring Frank Sinatra.
27A. Film that earned 117-Across a Best Actor nomination : ANCHORS AWEIGH. Also starring Frank Sinatra.
43A. Film pairing 117-Across with Fred Astaire : ZIEGFELD FOLLIES
60A. With 75-Across, Scopes Trial film featuring 117-Across : INHERIT. And 75A. See 60-Across : THE WIND. The only split-up film.
66A. 117-Across Oscar-winning film : AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. Lovely movie. Leslie Caron went back to him in the end.
91A. 117-Across film with a classic umbrella scene : SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
106A. 117-Across's film debut : FOR ME AND MY GAL. Judy Garland was in the movie too.
117A. Song-and-dance man born 8/23/1912 : GENE KELLY
Today we have 105 theme squares. I mentioned before that gridding gets trickier when the number goes over 100.
Additionally, Pancho has 9 theme entries to deal with. 7 entries with the same 105 theme squares are easier to tackle. Hence the 82 black squares in this grid. Most of the time the count is capped at 78.
Across:
1. Frivolous : FLIP
5. Household moniker : PAPA. For Husker Gary.
9. Farm houses : COOPS
14. Medieval Italian chest : ARCA. Learned from doing Xword.
18. Western casino city : RENO
19. Portent : OMEN
20. Longtime talk show : OPRAH. She said she coined "Aha moment".
21. Sewing case item : SPOOL
24. She won the All-Around gymnastics gold eight years before Mary Lou : NADIA (Comaneci). In 1976. Mary Lou 1984. I drew a blank.
25. Male prefix : ANDRO. "Female prefix" is GYNOUS. Androgynous.
26. Simoleons : MOOLAH
30. Prize hopeful : NOMINEE
33. Shakespeare's fairy queen : TITANIA. "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
34. Instead : ELSE
38. Chaney of chillers : LON
39. Garment district biz : RAG TRADE
46. Former Toyota models : ECHOS
51. Kingly : REGAL
52. Mauna __ : LOA
53. Brouhaha : ADO. The brouhaha over Gabby Douglas' hair confused me.
54. Rest : OTHERS. Was thinking of verb.
55. Like reel-to-reel recordings : ANALOG
57. Prepare : READY
61. Newer, in a way : REVISED
64. Leb. neighbor : ISR
65. Handbook list, briefly : REGS (Regulations)
71. Moment to shine : SOLO. For Hope.
73. Publicity : INK
74. "Good heavens!" : MERCY ME. I thought eating walnuts make you smarter, as they resemble human brain.
77. "Wonder Woman" star Carter : LYNDA
79. It's measured in litres : PETROL
84. Corkscrew pasta : ROTINI
85. Uruguayan uncle : TIO. Alliteration.
86. PBS funder : NEA
89. Hindemith's instrument : VIOLA. Gimme, Jayce? I'm not familiar with Paul Hindemith.
90. Journalist Alexander : SHANA
95. Uses a cell : DOES TIME. Prison cell.
97. Lateral opening? : TRI. Trilateral.
98. Marine flier : ERNE. Always picture Dennis rather than ocean when I see "Marine".
99. Calgary's province : ALBERTA
103. So-so : AVERAGE
110. Daring : HEROIC
115. Caribbean honeymoon destination : ARUBA. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
116. Discontinue : CEASE
120. Cave __: beware of the dog : CANEM
121. "Oklahoma!" aunt : ELLER
122. Airport sign in red letters : AVIS. Tricky clue.
123. Fateful day : IDES
124. Bk. after Genesis : EXOD (Exodus)
125. Floor : STORY
126. Not at all wandering : RAPT. I feel CrossEyedDave is easily distracted.
127. Arboreal abode : NEST
Down:
1. Package label word : FROM. Argyle finally has a Trader Joe's in his neck of the woods. I told him about the must-try fig butter. He thought it's buttered fig.
2. "Leading With My Chin" author : LENO
3. Absorbed by : INTO
4. Sci-fi writer whose career spans more than 70 years : POHL (Frederik)
5. Place for a patch : POTHOLE
6. Latin trio word : AMO. "I love".
7. Chapel bench : PEW
8. 1997-2006 U.N. chief : ANNAN (Kofi)
9. Bury, say : CONCEAL
10. Colorful fish : OPAH
11. Novus __ seclorum: dollar bill phrase : ORDO
12. Dancers, often : PAIR
13. Alternatives to Nehis : SHASTAS. I wonder what Melissa's favorite drink is. Maybe tea. She's spiritual.
14. Nighttime problem : APNEA
15. "The Kiss" sculptor : RODIN
16. Herder from Wales : CORGI
17. Lei giver's greeting : ALOHA
21. Tool serrations : SAW TEETH. And 54. Sloped connection : ON RAMP. What Husker Gary said yesterday: "I can hear the HUM of Splynter’s circular saw!"
23. Caesar's end? : EAN. Caesarean.
28. "I, Claudius" role : NERO
29. Crisis offering : AID
31. Gal in a gang : MOLL
32. __-European : INDO
34. Literary Pound : EZRA. Ezra Pound the poet.
35. Financial claim : LIEN
36. Saturn maker : SEGA. Sega Saturn video game. Unknown to me.
37. The same to vous? : EGAL. And 47. Sorbonne sweetie : CHERI. Mon chéri. Ma chérie.
40. Pleased : GLAD
41. Like some sums : TIDY
42. Antique auto : REO
44. Regional plant life : FLORA
45. Language for a 69-Down : FARSI. 69. 45-Down speaker : IRANI.
48. Word spoken with one hand up : HERE'S. Toast.
49. Copier insert: Abbr. : ORIG
50. Grounded fleet: Abbr. : SSTS
56. Sign of spring : GEMINI
58. Common Mkt. : EEC
59. What Butler didn't give : A DAMN. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".
60. 1960s Cosby/Culp show : I SPY
62. Sell : VEND
63. Miff : IRK
64. Business abbr. : INC
66. Prince Valiant's wife : ALETA
67. Like a hopeless situation : NO WIN
68. Composer Rorem : NED
70. "Still Me" memoirist : REEVE
71. Narrow waterways: Abbr. : STRS (Straits)
72. "I know! I know!" : OH OH
76. Where Alice's adventures really took place : IN A DREAM
77. Household screen target : LINT
78. "You can observe a lot by watching" speaker : YOGI (Berra)
80. Improvised swing : TIRE.
81. Banzai Pipeline sound : ROAR. Never heard of this Pipeline, JD.
82. Ken of "Brothers & Sisters" : OLIN
83. Country way : LANE
85. "__ better to have loved ...": Tennyson : 'TIS. "... 'Tis better to have loved and lost /Than never to have loved at all...".
87. __'acte : ENTR
88. Big name in shaving : ATRA
91. Where to find happy mediums? : SEANCES. Nice clue.
92. Poetic technique : IMAGERY
93. St. Petersburg's river : NEVA
94. Most costly : HIGHEST
96. Taxonomic suffix : OTA. What?
99. "I've Just Seen __": Beatles : A FACE
100. His story is told by the Once-ler : LORAX. I don't know who Once-ler is.
101. Kirby of "City Slickers" : BRUNO. He's in "Good Morning, Vietnam".
102. Surround tightly : EMBED
104. "Enigma Variations" composer : ELGAR
105. Cry of fear : EEK
107. Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT
108. Bueno's opposite : MALO. French is "Mal".
109. Nieuwpoort's river : YSER
111. Check : REIN
112. Retro sign word : OLDE
113. Spots in la mer : ILES
114. Dermatologist's concern : CYST
118. "Little" '60s singer : EVA
119. Swig : NIP
Answer grid.
C.C.
22A. 117-Across film which he also co-directed : ON THE TOWN. Never heard of the film. Also starring Frank Sinatra.
27A. Film that earned 117-Across a Best Actor nomination : ANCHORS AWEIGH. Also starring Frank Sinatra.
43A. Film pairing 117-Across with Fred Astaire : ZIEGFELD FOLLIES
60A. With 75-Across, Scopes Trial film featuring 117-Across : INHERIT. And 75A. See 60-Across : THE WIND. The only split-up film.
66A. 117-Across Oscar-winning film : AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. Lovely movie. Leslie Caron went back to him in the end.
91A. 117-Across film with a classic umbrella scene : SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
106A. 117-Across's film debut : FOR ME AND MY GAL. Judy Garland was in the movie too.
117A. Song-and-dance man born 8/23/1912 : GENE KELLY
Today we have 105 theme squares. I mentioned before that gridding gets trickier when the number goes over 100.
Additionally, Pancho has 9 theme entries to deal with. 7 entries with the same 105 theme squares are easier to tackle. Hence the 82 black squares in this grid. Most of the time the count is capped at 78.
Across:
1. Frivolous : FLIP
5. Household moniker : PAPA. For Husker Gary.
9. Farm houses : COOPS
14. Medieval Italian chest : ARCA. Learned from doing Xword.
18. Western casino city : RENO
19. Portent : OMEN
20. Longtime talk show : OPRAH. She said she coined "Aha moment".
21. Sewing case item : SPOOL
24. She won the All-Around gymnastics gold eight years before Mary Lou : NADIA (Comaneci). In 1976. Mary Lou 1984. I drew a blank.
25. Male prefix : ANDRO. "Female prefix" is GYNOUS. Androgynous.
26. Simoleons : MOOLAH
30. Prize hopeful : NOMINEE
33. Shakespeare's fairy queen : TITANIA. "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
34. Instead : ELSE
38. Chaney of chillers : LON
39. Garment district biz : RAG TRADE
46. Former Toyota models : ECHOS
51. Kingly : REGAL
52. Mauna __ : LOA
53. Brouhaha : ADO. The brouhaha over Gabby Douglas' hair confused me.
54. Rest : OTHERS. Was thinking of verb.
55. Like reel-to-reel recordings : ANALOG
57. Prepare : READY
61. Newer, in a way : REVISED
64. Leb. neighbor : ISR
65. Handbook list, briefly : REGS (Regulations)
71. Moment to shine : SOLO. For Hope.
73. Publicity : INK
74. "Good heavens!" : MERCY ME. I thought eating walnuts make you smarter, as they resemble human brain.
77. "Wonder Woman" star Carter : LYNDA
79. It's measured in litres : PETROL
84. Corkscrew pasta : ROTINI
85. Uruguayan uncle : TIO. Alliteration.
86. PBS funder : NEA
89. Hindemith's instrument : VIOLA. Gimme, Jayce? I'm not familiar with Paul Hindemith.
90. Journalist Alexander : SHANA
95. Uses a cell : DOES TIME. Prison cell.
97. Lateral opening? : TRI. Trilateral.
98. Marine flier : ERNE. Always picture Dennis rather than ocean when I see "Marine".
99. Calgary's province : ALBERTA
103. So-so : AVERAGE
110. Daring : HEROIC
115. Caribbean honeymoon destination : ARUBA. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
116. Discontinue : CEASE
120. Cave __: beware of the dog : CANEM
121. "Oklahoma!" aunt : ELLER
122. Airport sign in red letters : AVIS. Tricky clue.
123. Fateful day : IDES
124. Bk. after Genesis : EXOD (Exodus)
125. Floor : STORY
126. Not at all wandering : RAPT. I feel CrossEyedDave is easily distracted.
127. Arboreal abode : NEST
Down:
1. Package label word : FROM. Argyle finally has a Trader Joe's in his neck of the woods. I told him about the must-try fig butter. He thought it's buttered fig.
2. "Leading With My Chin" author : LENO
3. Absorbed by : INTO
4. Sci-fi writer whose career spans more than 70 years : POHL (Frederik)
5. Place for a patch : POTHOLE
6. Latin trio word : AMO. "I love".
7. Chapel bench : PEW
8. 1997-2006 U.N. chief : ANNAN (Kofi)
9. Bury, say : CONCEAL
10. Colorful fish : OPAH
11. Novus __ seclorum: dollar bill phrase : ORDO
12. Dancers, often : PAIR
13. Alternatives to Nehis : SHASTAS. I wonder what Melissa's favorite drink is. Maybe tea. She's spiritual.
14. Nighttime problem : APNEA
15. "The Kiss" sculptor : RODIN
16. Herder from Wales : CORGI
17. Lei giver's greeting : ALOHA
21. Tool serrations : SAW TEETH. And 54. Sloped connection : ON RAMP. What Husker Gary said yesterday: "I can hear the HUM of Splynter’s circular saw!"
23. Caesar's end? : EAN. Caesarean.
28. "I, Claudius" role : NERO
29. Crisis offering : AID
31. Gal in a gang : MOLL
32. __-European : INDO
34. Literary Pound : EZRA. Ezra Pound the poet.
35. Financial claim : LIEN
36. Saturn maker : SEGA. Sega Saturn video game. Unknown to me.
37. The same to vous? : EGAL. And 47. Sorbonne sweetie : CHERI. Mon chéri. Ma chérie.
40. Pleased : GLAD
41. Like some sums : TIDY
42. Antique auto : REO
44. Regional plant life : FLORA
45. Language for a 69-Down : FARSI. 69. 45-Down speaker : IRANI.
48. Word spoken with one hand up : HERE'S. Toast.
49. Copier insert: Abbr. : ORIG
50. Grounded fleet: Abbr. : SSTS
56. Sign of spring : GEMINI
58. Common Mkt. : EEC
59. What Butler didn't give : A DAMN. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".
60. 1960s Cosby/Culp show : I SPY
62. Sell : VEND
63. Miff : IRK
64. Business abbr. : INC
66. Prince Valiant's wife : ALETA
67. Like a hopeless situation : NO WIN
68. Composer Rorem : NED
70. "Still Me" memoirist : REEVE
71. Narrow waterways: Abbr. : STRS (Straits)
72. "I know! I know!" : OH OH
76. Where Alice's adventures really took place : IN A DREAM
77. Household screen target : LINT
78. "You can observe a lot by watching" speaker : YOGI (Berra)
80. Improvised swing : TIRE.
81. Banzai Pipeline sound : ROAR. Never heard of this Pipeline, JD.82. Ken of "Brothers & Sisters" : OLIN
83. Country way : LANE
85. "__ better to have loved ...": Tennyson : 'TIS. "... 'Tis better to have loved and lost /Than never to have loved at all...".
87. __'acte : ENTR
88. Big name in shaving : ATRA
91. Where to find happy mediums? : SEANCES. Nice clue.
92. Poetic technique : IMAGERY
93. St. Petersburg's river : NEVA
94. Most costly : HIGHEST
96. Taxonomic suffix : OTA. What?
99. "I've Just Seen __": Beatles : A FACE
100. His story is told by the Once-ler : LORAX. I don't know who Once-ler is.
101. Kirby of "City Slickers" : BRUNO. He's in "Good Morning, Vietnam".
102. Surround tightly : EMBED
104. "Enigma Variations" composer : ELGAR
105. Cry of fear : EEK
107. Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT
108. Bueno's opposite : MALO. French is "Mal".
109. Nieuwpoort's river : YSER
111. Check : REIN
112. Retro sign word : OLDE
113. Spots in la mer : ILES
114. Dermatologist's concern : CYST
118. "Little" '60s singer : EVA
119. Swig : NIP
Answer grid.
C.C.
45 comments:
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. I had just been reading about GENE KELLY, so knew that his 100th birthday anniversary was coming up soon. The movies, however, were all before my time. I saw SINGIN' IN THE RAIN at a film festival when I was in graduate school.
Lots of fun clues, however. I liked how OPRAH crossed with OPAH.
I also liked seeing Not At All Wandering = RAPT in the same puzzle as Absorbed By = INTO, since I wanted Rapt as the answer for the latter clue.
SHANA Alexander was on 60 Minutes and was the impetus for the Jane Curtain/ Dan Akroyd SNL skit.
I always liked BRUNO Kirby. He died too young from Leukemia.
I thought a Fateful Day was D-Day, but it is the IDES.
I thought of the elbow of a tweed jacket for the place for a patch instead of POTHOLE.
I wasn't thinking of Alice in Wonderland, but rather Alice of Alice's Restaurant.
The Farm Houses are for the Birds. COOPS and NESTs together in the puzzle!
RENO is also the home of the National Judicial College. I took some courses there a few years ago.
QOD: Never be afraid to laugh at yourself; after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century. ~ Dame Edna Everage akaBarry Humphries.
Pipeline(2:23)
Good morning:
This was DNF for me due to ecars instead of Echos which made a mess in that area. But a nice tribute to Gene Kelly, Pancho, and an otherwise nice Sunday offering. Good expo, CC. (Honeymooned in Barbados.)
Marti, even though you lost your shirt, I am sure you enjoyed the beauty and history that makes Saratoga so special.
CC, I don't know if Argyle has any plans to visit Trader Joe's but I certainly do. I'm going to wait awhile, though, until the frenzy dies down a little. They are located in a congested, heavily trafficked area which, because of their presence, is now even more hectic. And come spring 2013, a Whole Foods Market is opening in the same area.
Have a great Sunday everyone
Some learning today in Pancho’s lovely puzzle, not the least of which was that GENE KELLY was in Inherit the Wind. I always think of Gene in lighter fare. The theme was fun and helpful. BTW, I listen to Addictive 50’s online through iTunes radio when I work and, of course, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN played halfway through. An OMEN?
Musings
-PAPA enjoyed the grandkids but after 3 days you realize why they are raised by younger people.
-Gilda Radner did a fabulous routine about NADIA
-HERES/ORIG/REGS/ECHOS were my last fill
-Hope or Han SOLO
-Taxes in Europe make PETROL darn expensive
-Granddaughter plays VIOLA and volleyball. Not sure there’s any commonality ;-)
-Neighbor’s golden lab CANEM bit their grandson on cheek on Friday. He is no longer living there.
-CED’s attention does wander to give us those fun links!
-LENO took a big pay cut to try to save jobs on his show. Can he make it on only $20M/yr?
-Mild winters mitigate POTHOLE repair
-Only carbonated beverage here is SHASTA grape soda with popcorn
-MOLL is a word reminiscent of Gene Kelly’s time
-Prince Valiant left our Sunday funnies last year. The prince made ALETA nuts.
-Gotta run for the PEW. More later.
Top-notch puzzle.
Thank you.
Why not?
Nice job of working most of Kelly's signature movies into the grid and including ,of course, his name. Very impressive.
Hello, passionate puzzlers.
Late to the dance today as a neighbor's dog barked from 1:00 A.M. until 2:30. Very disturbing and not conducive to early rising.
It was fun dancing through this puzzle and recalling those beautiful epic movies with their exorbitantly costumed cast. Loved GENE KELLY.
The director of SINGING IN THE RAIN was interviewed on ABC news by Diane Sawyer this week and talked about how they managed the ceiling dancing scene.
Anyway, fun puzzle with great cluing. More later.
Have a happy Sunday, everyone!
DNF for me as well. Threw my HANDS UP and CEASED with a handful of squares to go. Couldn’t stop thinking of either a roll call or swearing in at a court for 48 down….
The movie That’s Entertainment has a lot of Gene Kelly moments.
72 Down (Oh! Oh!) reminded me of the late Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack in Welcome Back Kotter.
Lots of Latin in today’s puzzle (Caesar, Nero, Canem, Ordo)
Speaking of which, Mr. Harrison could’ve used Caesar’s End as the clue for 123 across as well as 23 down.
Favorite clue: Where to find happy mediums….
Great puzzle with great cluing. I loved watching Gene Kelly dance. Although some of these movies are very old, I have seen all of them, some on TV, some on Netflix, some on at the movies. I saw many of them performed by local theater companies. Brigadoon is another favorite.
Most have been Broadway shows , either before the movie or after it. There is talk of bringing An American in Paris to Broadway soon.
HG said, HERES/ORIG/REGS/ECHOS were my last fill. Mine, too. I had HERES but didn’t understand it. Now that I do it still leaves me cold. Otherwise it was a fine puzzle.
CC, I didn’t understand all the fuss about Gabby’s hair, either. It was about the same as the other contestants’ hair. I felt sorry to see her ragged like that at the moment of her proudest achievement.
Hello everybody. I trust you all are having a busy Sunday morning today.
Tough puzzle, but neat-o theme. I was too timid to fill in some of the answers, even after I got the theme, because they seemed too easy and I kept expecting something tricky. Like Gary, I had forgotten that Gene Kelly was in Inherit the Wind, so I wondered why that movie title was in the puzzle.
VIOLA was not quite a gimme, though I have a very cursory familiarity with Hindemith. Frankly I dislike his music. After filling TIRE and OLIN, a 5-letter musical instrument -I-O- just had to be VIOLA. Only after that did I recall that he was known as a violist. My favorite piece for viola is Harold In Italy by Hector Berlioz.
ELGAR was a gimme, though.
BRUNO and SHANA were not.
Hahtoolah, I too got a chuckle from the crossing of OPAH and OPRAH. And I have to say, MOOLAH made me think of you.
Never did see FARSI or IRANI because I already had the acrosses filled.
My wife loves Trader Joe's and shops there often.
Would a female humanoid robot be a Gynoid?
Best wishes to you all.
But Jayce, Hahtoolah has no Moolah! LOL.
Ladies and gentleman! Jayce Enterprises is pleased to announce its latest line of hot pink, powder blue, and other colorful cell phones running the Gynoid operating system! Buy one for your wife and daughters today!
Musings 2
-Just back from the pew where were exhorted to, you guessed it, give more money.
-Late start to the blog today because neighbor called from school and said she had just heard from her 22 yr old daughter that she was coughing up blood from her tonsillectomy of two days ago. I got over there and was shocked by what I saw but we got her out to the hospital. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing from this procedure?
-SPOOLing can be frustrating on the computer since we’re all so impatient now.
LINK O RAMA
-The most famous consumer of “ANDROstenedione
-Gabby’s Hair
-Great BRUNO (7:06) scenes in GMVN
Hello Puzzlers -
Some bad guesses put me into red letter territory. Technical DNF for today.
I knew too few of the movie titles, to start with. Then there was Cathy Rigby instead of NADIA, I got the timescale wrong on that one. (Had a massive crush on Cathy back in the day, saw her soon after as Peter Pan in a big budget production thereof. She was a cutie!) Never heard of MOLL, figured it had to be DOLL. Still and all I'm impressed with this puzzle's construction.
Husker - I don't know what led up to yesterday's post about man pedicures; however, maybe 8 years ago, a younger man told me how he finally caved and gave it a try. It sounded so pleasant and so acceptable that maybe - just maybe - I'll give it a go myself. But I won't say when or where.
Yes, HG, I have heard known of a twenty two yr old who died from a tonsillectomy, it is a procedure that should be done when younger rather than older.
HG, I am friends with the grandmother of a little girl who had similar complications. The parents were out of work and most surgeons would not accept their government insurance. The child
got very second rate care and had to be rushed back to the hospital for hemorrhaging. In the end she survived. It cost the government and the insurers a great deal more than if adequate treatment had been available in the first place.
I thought this was tough. Maybe my brain has flown the COOP?
Jayce, is your new company going to offer ball gowns to go with the Gynoids, to coordinate with the little tux for the Android Andru in the commercial? I'd pay money to see those!
BTW, my favorite clue today was "where to find happy mediums?".
Fun puzzle and writeup. Being Sunday, it took a while. I too thought of Horshack when I saw "Oh! Oh!"
Yellowrocks, you always speak eloquently about how language is a fluid, changing, growing thing. I agree but I have trouble accepting some changes that come from obvious mistakes. What about lie, lay, laid, etc.? Mistakes are made with those words all the time. How long will it be that dictionaries and usage manuals will list "I think I'll go lay down" as an acceptable variant? How will you feel about that and similar changes? When does 'wrong' become acceptable? I dunno but that's a sticking point for me.
My apologies, victorherbert@ 11:37 AM. I didn't release you from the spam filter untill now.
Qli (May I call you "Quilly"?), here's a ballgown for ya.
Wow, that was tough ! Didn't get to it until about 8Am and then could only spend about an hour on it, Resumed at 12:30 and spent almost 2 more hours on it. Had to revert to Regular level but finally got it done with no lookups. The top and bottom 4 rows were the last to fill, even though I had correct answers here and there. Again, all over the place. It seemed like there was a great mix of hard clues with easy answers and easy clues with hard to resolve answers. I will remember your name Pancho Harrison, and will attack your puzzle with an entirely differnt bent the next time! CC, you cracked me up with a couple of your comments and links. I loved your review. I wasn't aware that there was any brouhaha over Gabby's hair. I don't care for that kind of hatred spewed discouse. I assume that's what it was about. Just look at the joy in that young lady's face in the picture you posted. Hooray or hurrah for her.
I have a lot to say about today's puzzle, but have too little time. Friends are coming over for dinner in just a bit, and apparently I need to put on a clean shirt. One final for now, since I looked it up. I filled up the van yesterday. Regular unleadeed was $4.14.9 and it cost $88.50. That would have been 88.77 liters and would have cost me around $168 US dollars in Germany if the site I found has up to date prices.
Take care everyone and have a great evening !
Bill G. LIE, LAY, LAID still follow the old rules to which I subscribe. (Sounds DF, doesn't it?) There are standards, although they are changing. When the rules for LIE, LAY, LAID go by the board, which they will eventually, I will accept it. The next casualty will likely be, "It is I."
It used to grate on me when verbs were used as nouns. "That novel is a good read." I have accepted this. Changes usually become acceptable in the vernacular and the informal first. Eventually many of them become acceptable in the formal, although it takes longer. I am very interested in this subject and read quite a bit about it. It seems educators and publishers (probably for consistency in their publications) are the most conservative about this and linguists are more avant garde.
Hello, again. Earlier I was pressed for time and barely finished the puzzle in 45 minutes then had to go sit in the PEW. Met my daughter and family for lunch.
C.C. as always, thank you for your analysis of Pancho's offering.
All of today's movies are familiar to me so that definitely dates me. ZIEGFIELD FOLLIES was before my time but I have seen it a few times. Love the elaborate costuming.
Point: Counterpoint was an interesting show in it's day and SHANA Alexander usually bested James Kilpatrik, IMO. Talk about dating myself! I remember NADIA, too.
Where to find happy mediums, SEANCES was also my fav clue.
DudleY:
Many weeks ago Husker Gary expressed the desire to have a mani-pedi and asked about it. A long discussion ensured but he claims he has not yet acted on it. Believe me, judging from where I go, it's a very masculine practice.
Speaking of mani/pedis, is it pretty much the case that the women operators are almost always Vietnamese? It seems to be that way around here much of the time. The one time I've availed myself of both services at the same time, the two women were constantly talking with each other in their own language. I guess that must be commonplace but it seemed kinda rude to me.
BillG:
Having been to nail salons in California, North Carolina and of course here, I can tell you that most of them are operated by Vietnamese. I was told that the qualifying test, which is difficult and long, is given in their language.
In only one was the policy to never speak Vietnamese in front of the customer, otherwise, chatting in their language is the norm. I often wonder that they don't use their down time to learn English.
Two things came to mind about a manicure. Here's one, Still looking for the other.Manicure
To me a cringe worthy statement is, “She looks well in blue.” And sick in red? When I feel ill I will be sure to wear blue so that I look well. Another one is “That dress looks well on you.” Unfortunately these statements are on the way to becoming acceptable, perhaps in my lifetime, but not yet. When they do, I will have to accept reality. It is strange that baking bread still smells good, not well. That steak tastes good, not well. Your ideas sound good, not well. But many say that everything is looking well, not good. Wait for it to become accepted. There are many illogical constructions in all languages. Our native Japanese teacher insisted that this is not true in Japanese, but we found many instances that she could explain only by saying, “That’s just the way it is.” Language is fascinating.
Oh, Bill! You got me started. I promise to stop.
manac@5:47
Fortunately, those tools are not used in real nail salons! In fact, the entire experience is wonderfully relaxing, from the warm bath soak and the vibrating chair to the hot rock massage.
Yellowrocks, no need to feel badly on my account. :>)
Lucina, I wonder why the salon owner/manager doesn't tell the operators to speak English? When they're chattering away in their native language, it seems rude. Even if they're talking about what they had for lunch, it seems as if they're talking about the customers behind their backs (so to speak).
Jayce, those were some amazing robot gowns!
Yellowrocks, hand up for being concerned about the way the American English language is changing. I would like to hire those punctuation police to come here!
I am looking forward to a nice Monday puzzle to do after I get home from my first Parasitology class of the semester tomorrow evening,
My personal pet peeve is re-la-tor instead of real-tor. Running a close second is " between you and I". And coming in third is when your is used in place of you're in any written material.
End of rant.
Irish Miss - I'm with you! I can't stand hearing jew-ler-ree for jewelry, masonary for masonry, and architectual for architectural.
Language is fluid, I admit, but wouldn't it be better if it tended to morph into something easier - perhaps something with fewer irregular verbs? :-)
Lucina - thanks, I missed that whole exchange back then.
Husker - I will if you will!
Bill G - I'd be annoyed if the pedicurist yapped at anyone other than me, in any language, even one with nice verbs. I want to be pampered, not processed.
There was a Seinfeld episode where the manicurists made fun of Elaine and George's father. They were speaking their own language and thought no one could understand what they were saying.
The misuse of language that hurts my ears is when people say Sim-u-lar for Similar.
The other language misuse is people using the word Physical instead of Fiscal. Several employees in several state budget offices within the state answer by saying: Hello, Physical Office.
Lucina, I honestly believe you.
I posted that while trying to find a link for Bill G. Hahtoolah's link was closer than I came to today but said the same thing. I was looking for the scene where Evelyn Harper was getting a pedicure. I bet CED could find it!
Really late to the party, but just wanted to pop in to say that I did this puzzle while sitting on the deck and enjoying my morning coffee at my girlfriend's house outside Saratoga, NY. We had a "destination event" for our bookclub this weekend at her house, and had such a great time.
The races yesterday were fantastic - we sat at a picnic table outside the track in a beautiful grove of trees, with a big screen right beside us to watch all the action. (Wine and food abounded, of course...) The jockeys and horses actually walked right by our table heading into the races, and we got pics and autographs from them - way cool!!
Of course, we also went trackside and stood at the rail as the horses came thundering by to the finish line. Thrilling!
Tomorrow, we are off to the Cape (Cod) to stay at my friend's cottage on the beach, so I'll be checking in sporadically.
But I loved today's puzzle!! Gene Kelly is one of my all-time favorites, and I think I have watched every one of his movies at least 20 times!!
Like how Anchors Aweigh crossed Titania (almost Titanic). Guessed Gene Kelly right away, but For Me and My Gal escaped me.
Husker Gary, thanks for the excerpt from GMVN, with Richard Edson, a great character actor and answer from an earlier crossword.
"It's" and "its" are my favorite nits, especially by reporters. Journalism students should not be allowed to graduate from college if they don't know the difference.
Christopher Walken just narrated a piece about Gene Kelly on TCM. Very interesting. Kelly was one of a kind.
Have a good week, everyone.
Mani/pedi can be funny!
Greetings!
A really great effort, Pancho! Fine expo, CC!
I really loved Gene Kelly. For some reason the movies in this puzzle filled themselves with only a few letters. (I work both ways at once.) Had brain fog last night and today, probably because I stayed up very late and watched Cowboys and Aliens.) So I waited to work puzzle. No cheats!
AMEN to the English usage contributions above! I get especially irritated by TV shows now, who use I for me and vice versa constantly.
Cheers!
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Pancho Harrison. for a good puzzle, albeit quite tough. Thank you, C.C., for the write-up.
Jumped around a lot on this puzzle. Could not get a foothold initially.
Was able to get GENE KELLY at 117A quite early. That helped with the theme answers within the puzzle.
Liked FARSI and IRANI at 45D and 69D. I used to speak and write quite a bit of that tongue.
Haven't had SSTS in a while. That used to be a regular.
Anyhow, it's late and I am going to bed. Getting my stitches out tomorrow. Hope all is well.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
HI C.C.,
I'm sure no one else is up, maybe Fermatprime. I just finished the Monday xwd, but am a tad too early to post, so I read your Sunday summary.
There was a time in the 60's that one could catch great old movies on TV, and that is when I watched Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, and all the old musicals.
The pipeline over on the North Shore in Oahu is a great place to get lunch at a shrimp truck and watch the surfers.
Last night we Ate dinner at our new (used) dining room table.. So spacious! It easily seats 10, and now we are 9; no more high chair.
JD
HI C.C.,
I'm sure no one else is up, maybe Fermatprime. I just finished the Monday xwd, but am a tad too early to post, so I read your Sunday summary.
There was a time in the 60's that one could catch great old movies on TV, and that is when I watched Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, and all the old musicals.
The pipeline over on the North Shore in Oahu is a great place to get lunch at a shrimp truck and watch the surfers.
Last night we Ate dinner at our new (used) dining room table.. So spacious! It easily seats 10, and now we are 9; no more high chair.
JD
122 across is a bullshit clue. Makes no sense!
Perhaps you should try harder.
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