Theme: "I'm Going First" - IM is inserted into common phrases.
23A. #1 on a motivational speaker's reminder list? : IMPRESS CONFERENCE. Press conference.
40A. Device for the Six Million Dollar Man? : POWER IMPLANT. Power plant.
47A. Early problem for the Wright brothers? : UPWARD IMMOBILITY. Upward mobility. Simply a IM prefix in this one. Mild change compared to the other 6 entries
65A. Casper in the courtroom? : IMMATERIAL WITNESS. Material witness.
84A. Hinted about a player swap? : IMPLIED ONE'S TRADE. Plied one's trade.
90A. European capital influence? : WARSAW IMPACT. Warsaw Pact.
113A. Say "Smile!" to Hugh Jackman during dinner? : IMPOSE FOR A PICTURE. Pose for a picture. Is there a reason why Hugh Jackman was in the clue?
Wonderful to see James Sajdak back. If you're new to the blog, do read my interview with him. Very inspiring.
This theme reminded me of a "I'm outta here" gimmick I proposed to Don a while ago: removing IM from common phrases. Unfortunately Rich found our new phrases lacking in surface meaning or entertainment value.
Across:
1. Swiss capital : FRANC. "Currency" capital.
6. Brand on shells : RAGU. I just couldn't see "pasta" when I saw "shells".
10. Fictional writer of "The World According to Bensenhaver" : T S GARP. Same as "The World According to Garp", right?
16. Union contract stat : CPI (Consumer Price Index). 15D. Union contracts? : PRE-NUPS. Excellent clue.
19. Outcast : LEPER
20. Love god : EROS
21. Fruit finder of rhyme : HORNER. Little Jack Horner. Plum.
22. Leia's love : HAN
26. Kawasaki Brute Force, e.g., briefly : ATV
27. Place to recover, for short : POST-OP
28. Many look forward to them regularly : FRIDAYS. Esp when there's a Lemonade & Marti combo.
29. Pearly coating : NACRE
31. Disreputable : SLEAZY. Like U.S. Anti-Doping Agency!
34. Ancient knowledge : LORE
35. Creator : AUTHOR
36. Scrooge portrayer Alastair : SIM. "A Christmas Carol" (1951).
39. Fair : EXPO
42. Start of a pregame ritual : O SAY
44. Architect Mies van der __ : ROHE
46. Former Wrigley Field star : SOSA (Sammy). No Hall calling for him next year.
54. Half of Mork's sign-off : NANU
58. Costly, as a victory : PYRRHIC. As for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
59. "Almost done" : ONE TO GO
60. "Let __!": "Get going!" : IT RIP
61. "Son of Frankenstein" blacksmith : YGOR. He's a blacksmith? No idea.
63. Battle of Normandy city : CAEN. And 64. French cathedral city : AMIENS.
70. Largish jazz ensemble : SEPTET. Click here. I'm often amazed by Jazzbumpa's knowledge.
72. List : MENU
73. Genesis creator : SEGA
74. Makeup item : GLOSS. I like Alba pineapple gloss.
75. Rough up? : COARSEN. Like what?
78. Feelings : HUNCHES
83. Addams family spouse, affectionately : TISH
86. Paris possessive : A TOI
88. Disney president during the Pixar acquisition : IGER (Bob). Looks like Ken & Barbie.
89. Vaccine type : ORAL
97. Ewes' guys : RAMS
100. Global financial org. : IMF (International Monetary Fund)
101. Rush violently : HURTLE
102. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert : EHUD
103. Brahms work : SONATA
105. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK
106. Dreamt things : IMAGERY
108. Throat : GULLET
112. WWII Sherman carrier : LST. Sherman tank. I bet Spitzboov/D-Otto/eddy-B nailed this one.
117. Prussian pronoun : SIE. You.
118. Less complex : EASIER
119. Half a menu combo : SURF. Surf & Turf.
120. Tropical plant with large foliage : CANNA.
121. Media mogul Turner : TED
122. They may be crossed : SWORDS. Tricky clue.
123. Homeric creation : EPIC
124. Chaos antithesis : ORDER
Down:
1. Resell in a week, say : FLIP
2. San __: jet set resort : REMO
3. They're on the phone : APPS
4. "Darn!" : NERTS
5. Emeril specialty : CREOLE. I have two Thai pepper plants producing like crazy. They look pretty, but way too hot for me.
6. Hi-__ monitor : RES
7. Trajectory : ARC
8. Inane : GOOFY
9. Natl. Guard counterpart : USNR (United States Navy Reserve).
10. Investor's index : THE DOW. 65. They cause stirs on 10-Down: Abbr. : IPOs. I feel sorry for those who bought Facebook stock on the hype.
11. Like a June day, to Lowell : SO RARE. "And what is so rare as a day in June?..."
12. Aging, in Ontario : GREYER
13. Lee and Landers : ANNS
14. __ center : REC
16. Ballroom dance : CHA CHA
17. Artist's support : PATRON
18. Turn upside down : INVERT
24. Eyewear, in ads : SPEX
25. Dough for spanakopita, perhaps : FILO. Never heard of Spanakopita before. It means "Spinach pie".
30. Sunken naval power, per Plato : ATLANTIS.
32. Jam fruit : APRICOT
33. Get close, in a way : ZOOM
35. Taiwan Strait port : AMOY. Called Xiamen now. They speak very hard-to-understand dialect.
36. Bisque or broth : SOUP
37. Car trip alternative to Geography : I SPY. Got via crossings.
38. Bryn __ College : MAWR
40. One doing hard labor : PEON
41. Analogy words : IS TO
43. "Babi __": Yevtushenko poem : YAR
45. Aetna offering, briefly : HMO
48. Sounds mostly the same : RHYMES
49. Try to unearth : DIG AT
50. Snarky reply to "Why?" : BECAUSE
51. Bold relative: Abbr. : ITAL. In font.
52. Eponymous theater mogul : LOEW
53. Fire, to 85-Down : IGNIS. No idea. 85. First-century emperor : NERO
55. Warrior god : ARES
56. "Little Birds" writer : NIN (Anaïs). Where did she get those wild fantasies?
57. co.: UPS. . Do you, Splynter?
60. "Let me rephrase that ..." : I MEANT
62. Swab over : RE-MOP
64. Beef cattle : ANGUS
66. Northern Calif. landmark : MT SHASTA. Melissa's Shangri-la.
67. Factual : REAL
68. Calvary letters : INRI. Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"). Latin has no J, right?
69. 1943 Allied conference site : TEHERAN. I'm used to the Tehran spelling.
70. NCO with three chevrons : SGT
71. Actor Wallach : ELI
75. CDLI doubled : CMII. 902.
76. Polish writing : EDIT
77. Winter quaff : NOG
79. Zagreb's land, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia).
80. Dancer-turned-spy : HARI (Mata)
81. Deli wheel : EDAM
82. Note recipient? : SELF. Self-note.
84. "__ you big-time" : I OWE
87. 1920s Hollywood breakthrough : TALKIES
90. "__ I alone did call upon thy aid": Sonnet 79 : WHILST
91. Tasmanian, e.g. : AUSSIE. Hi there, Kazie.
92. Not for kids : R-RATED
93. "Out of Africa," for one : MEMOIR
94. Gradually eased (in) : PHASED
95. Boring tools : AUGERS
96. Half of a major scale : CDEF. Music scale. Always my blind spot.
98. Star seekers : MAGI
99. Plaster finish : STUCCO
103. Maple product : SYRUP. I have been searching for mulberry jam. But no luck in our local stores.
104. Rite place : ALTAR
106. __ facto : IPSO
107. Stood : ROSE
109. Swedish university city : LUND. Not familiar with Lund Univeristy. Wiki said it's "Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research."
110. Bird that fishes : ERNE. That's an odd use of "fishes". To me, you use rods to fish.
111. Eye dropper? : TEAR
114. Gaping hole : MAW
115. Jackie's second : ARI
116. Rank below cpl. : PFC
Answer grid.
C.C.
23A. #1 on a motivational speaker's reminder list? : IMPRESS CONFERENCE. Press conference.
40A. Device for the Six Million Dollar Man? : POWER IMPLANT. Power plant.
47A. Early problem for the Wright brothers? : UPWARD IMMOBILITY. Upward mobility. Simply a IM prefix in this one. Mild change compared to the other 6 entries
65A. Casper in the courtroom? : IMMATERIAL WITNESS. Material witness.
84A. Hinted about a player swap? : IMPLIED ONE'S TRADE. Plied one's trade.
90A. European capital influence? : WARSAW IMPACT. Warsaw Pact.
113A. Say "Smile!" to Hugh Jackman during dinner? : IMPOSE FOR A PICTURE. Pose for a picture. Is there a reason why Hugh Jackman was in the clue?
Wonderful to see James Sajdak back. If you're new to the blog, do read my interview with him. Very inspiring.
This theme reminded me of a "I'm outta here" gimmick I proposed to Don a while ago: removing IM from common phrases. Unfortunately Rich found our new phrases lacking in surface meaning or entertainment value.
Across:
1. Swiss capital : FRANC. "Currency" capital.
6. Brand on shells : RAGU. I just couldn't see "pasta" when I saw "shells".
10. Fictional writer of "The World According to Bensenhaver" : T S GARP. Same as "The World According to Garp", right?
16. Union contract stat : CPI (Consumer Price Index). 15D. Union contracts? : PRE-NUPS. Excellent clue.
19. Outcast : LEPER
20. Love god : EROS
21. Fruit finder of rhyme : HORNER. Little Jack Horner. Plum.
22. Leia's love : HAN
26. Kawasaki Brute Force, e.g., briefly : ATV
27. Place to recover, for short : POST-OP
28. Many look forward to them regularly : FRIDAYS. Esp when there's a Lemonade & Marti combo.
29. Pearly coating : NACRE
31. Disreputable : SLEAZY. Like U.S. Anti-Doping Agency!
34. Ancient knowledge : LORE
35. Creator : AUTHOR
36. Scrooge portrayer Alastair : SIM. "A Christmas Carol" (1951).
39. Fair : EXPO
42. Start of a pregame ritual : O SAY
44. Architect Mies van der __ : ROHE
46. Former Wrigley Field star : SOSA (Sammy). No Hall calling for him next year.
54. Half of Mork's sign-off : NANU
58. Costly, as a victory : PYRRHIC. As for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
59. "Almost done" : ONE TO GO
60. "Let __!": "Get going!" : IT RIP
61. "Son of Frankenstein" blacksmith : YGOR. He's a blacksmith? No idea.
63. Battle of Normandy city : CAEN. And 64. French cathedral city : AMIENS.
70. Largish jazz ensemble : SEPTET. Click here. I'm often amazed by Jazzbumpa's knowledge.
72. List : MENU
73. Genesis creator : SEGA
74. Makeup item : GLOSS. I like Alba pineapple gloss.
75. Rough up? : COARSEN. Like what?
78. Feelings : HUNCHES
83. Addams family spouse, affectionately : TISH
86. Paris possessive : A TOI
88. Disney president during the Pixar acquisition : IGER (Bob). Looks like Ken & Barbie.
89. Vaccine type : ORAL
97. Ewes' guys : RAMS
100. Global financial org. : IMF (International Monetary Fund)
101. Rush violently : HURTLE
102. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert : EHUD
103. Brahms work : SONATA
105. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK
106. Dreamt things : IMAGERY
108. Throat : GULLET
112. WWII Sherman carrier : LST. Sherman tank. I bet Spitzboov/D-Otto/eddy-B nailed this one.
117. Prussian pronoun : SIE. You.
118. Less complex : EASIER
119. Half a menu combo : SURF. Surf & Turf.
120. Tropical plant with large foliage : CANNA.
121. Media mogul Turner : TED
122. They may be crossed : SWORDS. Tricky clue.
123. Homeric creation : EPIC
124. Chaos antithesis : ORDER
Down:
1. Resell in a week, say : FLIP
2. San __: jet set resort : REMO
3. They're on the phone : APPS
4. "Darn!" : NERTS
5. Emeril specialty : CREOLE. I have two Thai pepper plants producing like crazy. They look pretty, but way too hot for me.
6. Hi-__ monitor : RES
7. Trajectory : ARC
8. Inane : GOOFY
9. Natl. Guard counterpart : USNR (United States Navy Reserve).
10. Investor's index : THE DOW. 65. They cause stirs on 10-Down: Abbr. : IPOs. I feel sorry for those who bought Facebook stock on the hype.
11. Like a June day, to Lowell : SO RARE. "And what is so rare as a day in June?..."
12. Aging, in Ontario : GREYER
13. Lee and Landers : ANNS
14. __ center : REC
16. Ballroom dance : CHA CHA
17. Artist's support : PATRON
18. Turn upside down : INVERT
24. Eyewear, in ads : SPEX
25. Dough for spanakopita, perhaps : FILO. Never heard of Spanakopita before. It means "Spinach pie".
30. Sunken naval power, per Plato : ATLANTIS.
32. Jam fruit : APRICOT
33. Get close, in a way : ZOOM
35. Taiwan Strait port : AMOY. Called Xiamen now. They speak very hard-to-understand dialect.
36. Bisque or broth : SOUP
37. Car trip alternative to Geography : I SPY. Got via crossings.
38. Bryn __ College : MAWR
40. One doing hard labor : PEON
41. Analogy words : IS TO
43. "Babi __": Yevtushenko poem : YAR
45. Aetna offering, briefly : HMO
48. Sounds mostly the same : RHYMES
49. Try to unearth : DIG AT
50. Snarky reply to "Why?" : BECAUSE
51. Bold relative: Abbr. : ITAL. In font.
52. Eponymous theater mogul : LOEW
53. Fire, to 85-Down : IGNIS. No idea. 85. First-century emperor : NERO
55. Warrior god : ARES
56. "Little Birds" writer : NIN (Anaïs). Where did she get those wild fantasies?
57.
60. "Let me rephrase that ..." : I MEANT
62. Swab over : RE-MOP
64. Beef cattle : ANGUS
66. Northern Calif. landmark : MT SHASTA. Melissa's Shangri-la.
67. Factual : REAL
68. Calvary letters : INRI. Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"). Latin has no J, right?
69. 1943 Allied conference site : TEHERAN. I'm used to the Tehran spelling.
70. NCO with three chevrons : SGT
71. Actor Wallach : ELI
75. CDLI doubled : CMII. 902.
76. Polish writing : EDIT
77. Winter quaff : NOG
79. Zagreb's land, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia).
80. Dancer-turned-spy : HARI (Mata)
81. Deli wheel : EDAM
82. Note recipient? : SELF. Self-note.
84. "__ you big-time" : I OWE
87. 1920s Hollywood breakthrough : TALKIES
90. "__ I alone did call upon thy aid": Sonnet 79 : WHILST
91. Tasmanian, e.g. : AUSSIE. Hi there, Kazie.
92. Not for kids : R-RATED
93. "Out of Africa," for one : MEMOIR
94. Gradually eased (in) : PHASED
95. Boring tools : AUGERS
96. Half of a major scale : CDEF. Music scale. Always my blind spot.
98. Star seekers : MAGI
99. Plaster finish : STUCCO
103. Maple product : SYRUP. I have been searching for mulberry jam. But no luck in our local stores.
104. Rite place : ALTAR
106. __ facto : IPSO
107. Stood : ROSE
109. Swedish university city : LUND. Not familiar with Lund Univeristy. Wiki said it's "Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research."
110. Bird that fishes : ERNE. That's an odd use of "fishes". To me, you use rods to fish.
111. Eye dropper? : TEAR
114. Gaping hole : MAW
115. Jackie's second : ARI
116. Rank below cpl. : PFC
Answer grid.
C.C.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteInteresting puzzle, James; fine expo, CC! Thanks to you both!
No cheats, but lots more than average time. Wanted to digest my dinner, was falling asleep. Expected to work only part of puzzle and kept lousing up the (Seattle Times) sudoku. Now, at 2:02AM am wide awake.
Favorite answers: IMMATERIAL WITNESS, PYRRIC. Always get CAEN and St. Lo confused at first.
DirecTV came today to upgrade my second receiver as per "big sale"--also finally got internet hooked up to both TVs. Interesting note: to enter a "2" say into the router password box you must press the "2" key seven times, getting sequence ABCabc2! (Was not in instruction book that I could unearth.)
Have a great week!
PS: Had dinner at around 12 AM as my (7) house guests of late had screwed up the Cuisinart, and Harvey came late and plopped in a chair for a few hours before we attempted to prepare delicious fresh water salmon from Costco!
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteGot back from DC last night. We mostly did a walking tour of the city and I don't think my legs have ever been so sore and tired in my life. We had a great time, but it's nice to be home. Pity I have to go back to work tomorrow, though...
Today's theme was interesting and figuring it out early certainly helped. I struggled throughout, mostly due to the cluing, but managed to make my way through it. The two spots that nearly caused me to turf it, though, were the crossings of NIN/AMIENS and LUND/CANNA. I got through the first one simply because I've heard of Anaïs NIN (although I haven't heard of "Little Birds") and could make an educated guess. The second one, however, was more a matter of guessing a letter that looked semi-reasonable for both unknowns.
And I believe "The World According to Bensenhaver" was the name of the novel the title character (an author) wrote in "The World According to Garp."
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Barry Said. That LUND/CANNA intersection was my undoing, I have to fess up to a Technical DNF.
Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Interesting Sunday puzzle. I liked the theme, but I, too, wondered why Hugh Jackson would be needed to IMPOSE FOR A PICTURE.
ReplyDeleteMies van de ROHE is know for Minimal architecture. Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house.
Christine Legarde currently heads the IMF.
My favorite clue was Eye Dropper = TEAR.
John Irving wrote The World According to Garp. His fictional character, Garp, wrote a book entitled, The World According to Bensenhaver.
I was thinking that we were looking for a brand of pasta Shells for 6-Across, instead of the brand of sauce that is poured on Shells.
Who is ANN Lee? I know of ANN Landers, but not Ann Lee.
I knew of Zagreb from my friend, Tinbini, who frequents that Croatian city.
Nice to have you back, Barry. We missed you!
QOD: My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there. ~ Charles Kettering
I think the Hugh Jackson clue refers to a person who sees a famous person out in public, then imposes on them for a picture.
ReplyDeleteGood morning C. C. and all.
ReplyDeleteBarry - Glad you had a good trip to DC.
Took a while to suss the theme but began to see the IM pattern. Began to see the light with WARSAW IMPACT and then IMPOSE FOR A PICTURE.. Wanted Rheims before AMIENS. Didn't know LUND. I thought Uppsala was their big univerity town. I nailed LST. I sailed on the USS Greer County (LST-799) for several days in 1958; mostly around Catalina Island. 12 kts - top speed.
75a COARSEN - I thought was on the GOOFY side, best left to cws. Never heard it used. As clued it would mean to roughen a smooth surface, perhaps to repair it like plaster with spackle to get it to adhere better?
Any puzzle with PYRRHIC, HUNCHES, and GULLET is a pretty good offering. Thanks James.
Miserable fail for me today. Just couldn't get going. Maybe 30 words completed. Just too tired this AM.
ReplyDeleteAnn Lee ? Knew that one. Mother Ann Lee. Shakers. Shaker furniture. Antiques. Parents business for ~ 50 years.
Have a great day everyone
Good morning C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteI wondered about Hugh Jackman too, C.C.! The clue could have referred to any well-known star, and I probably would have picked someone like Meryl Streep or Bette Midler for that one.
Everything else was exactly WHS. But I also had a hiccup at the crossing of 96D CDEF and 102A EHUD. I originally had CLEF (like G-Clef?), and EHUL looked sufficiently "Israeli" to me. I spent way too much time DIGging AT that error before I finally unearthed it!!
Welcome back Barry G.! Did you go to the Smithsonian? That's my favorite place to visit whenever I am in D.C.
It's a beautiful day, so I'm outta here!
This was a silky smooth Sunday stroll. The only difficulties were self-imposed: reading Russian for Prussian, and writing RHIEMS for AMIENS, and AMOI for ATOI.
ReplyDeleteAs several of you have pointed out, the theme was easy to suss out (I got it, after all), and there was some really nice fill.
I've always heard LET 'ER RIP, never LET IT RIP. Perhaps that's the urbanized version.
I can never remember how to spell PYRRHIC -- needed several perps for that one. And what mother would saddle her son with the moniker Pyrrhus? Do you suppose his father was PaPyrus?
Hahtoolah, Ann Lee was a head Shaker many moons ago.
Barry, sounds like you had quite a trip. Did you find CED's Kilroy?
Good morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a DNF for me, mainly because of the NW corner. I got the theme early on but still had trouble. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Good job, James, and nice expo, CC.
Welcome back, Barry; I missed your commentary.
Hope all the Floridians are safe and sound and will remain so.
Happy Sunday.
Hi There~!
ReplyDeleteSame hang-up as HeartRx, since I, too, thought clef was appropriate, and EHUL looked good....
And yes, C.C., I "51Down" do love logistics; spent this past week as the high volume sorter - think "I Love Lucy" and chocolates - and with one week left in the UPS summer (yea`~!), I am looking forward to the down time before Christmas~!
Splynter
Typing in car on way to state fair and Black Hills. Just wanted to praise this fun puzzle and check in to see how Dennis and the Tinman are doing.
ReplyDelete@ Marti: Call me crazy, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say not very many people would ask Meryl or Bette for a photo; if only because they're not the hotties they once were (if they were). Hugh Jackman, on the other hand, is a dream to many girls despite his long and happy marraige.
ReplyDeleteI started solving on the puzzle print out from the Chicago Trib. with no title. When I picked up the newspaper, knowing the title, made it much easier.
ReplyDeleteCC. the SPANAKOPITA picture was mouth watering with the crisp, flaky phyllo (FILO) layers. Now I need to go have me some at my nearby Greek diner where it is scrumptious.
This morning I drove past a large group of beautiful CANNAS planted by a local garden club. The rhizomes need to be dug up and stored before frost in NJ.
I remember IGNIS by thinking of ignite and igneous rock (fire rock) formed by cooling magma or lava.
the sycamoretree @7:48, it was good to hear from you. My reasoning was exactly like yours.
Brand ON shells (not brand OF shells) seems fair. You put the Ragu ON the shells.
I had the EHUL/CLEF problem, too.
I tried the Coke bottle egg separation trick from yesterday. No luck. I used the eggs for an omelet. Either I'm a klutz or the directions lost something in the translation.
Hello, passionate puzzlers. Always so good to read you, C.C. How I wish I could relieve you of those hot peppers!
ReplyDeleteErratic sleep again so I did 85% at 5:00 A.M. then returned to bed.
What an IMPRESSive puzzle from James Sajdak! The top overwhelmed me on first pass so I floated downward and was surprised at the ease of some fill and then some took a lot of thought. Hand up for CLEF and didn't know YAR or Alastair SIM.
Initially I had MATA but HUNCHES cleared that and HARI emerged. Strangely, I recalled Chris ISAAK but had ISAAC first, then TALKIES supplied the K.
ROHE came out of the dark recesses as we've seen it before as did TS GARP.
I loved seeing PYURRHIC in the puzzle. C.C., do I detect some aversion to a certain recent decision by the doping agency?
Well, the IMAGERY of Hugh Jackman made me smile.
Barry, it's good to see you back and I'm glad your trip was enjoyable. We have a capital capital city, don't you think?
I hope your Sunday is delightful, everyone!
Welcome back Barry G.! Did you go to the Smithsonian? That's my favorite place to visit whenever I am in D.C.
ReplyDeleteWell, we went to parts of it, at least. We visited the Air & Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center (where the space shuttle Discovery, the Concorde and the SR-71 Blackbird are housed), the National Museum of Natural History (where the Hope diamond lives), the National Zoo (the pandas were cute), and the Museum of American History.
We also had a lot of really fine food (Capital Grille, Cuba Libre, Carmine's, etc.). A good time was had by all, although I don't recall seeing Kilroy anywhere, And yes definitely a capital capital!
Well let me be the first to say that a certain part of my anatomy was kicked hard today. This was probably my worst performance on a Sunday LA Times in a couple of years. I slyly sneak on the blog in hopes that everyone will have performed as badly so I can save face, but alas, no such luck. I too missed Barrys "morning all"..
ReplyDeleteHello everybody. I liked this puzzle but had a hard time with it. I found it to be more difficult than I expected it to be. But I solved the whole thing! I knew EHUD, and from it figured out the half-scale answer. I kinda liked having ANGUS and IGNIS almost side by side. Having AGNUS (Dei) would have made for a nice trio.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about Jazzbumpa's amazing knowledge. I admire how he thinks things through and explains his reasoning.
Hahoolah, cool avatar! Gee, I wonder where that came from. LOL
Barry G, I'm glad you enjoyed DC, and I know exactly what you mean about being so sore and tired after walking everywhere. Amazing how far away that doggone Jefferson Memorial is, isn't it!
I admire Christine Legarde a lot. She's another person who seems to apply reason and thoughtfulness to solving problems.
Hand up for pencilling in RHIEMS at first. ANGUS set me straight.
ReplyDeleteYanno, even Angus beef is bland these days. It's almost impossible any more to find beef that has any taste to it. LW and I have been talking about giving beef up and buying lamb instead. She makes a killer osso buco from lamb shank. (Pork nowadays is nearly inedible, too.)
We first learned about, and ate, spanakopita from our friend Pete Vasillakos and his family about 40 years ago, and have loved it ever since. Dolmas, too. Yum!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I filled in JOHNNY for 21A at first, and was happy to see a J in the puzzle. Alas, it was not to be.
Your experience programming the router, fermatprime, reminds me why it is virtually impossible to text with an "old-fashioned" flip phone. Shades of "There's no Q!" except my wife's non-smart phone does have a Q, for what good it does.
Best wishes to you all.
Is the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency the one who said they are going to strip Lance Armstrong of his medals and awards? If so, I am disgusted with them, too. Regardless of whether a person is guilty or not of committing the acts he is charged with, in my mind a "plea" of "no contest" is not the same as an admission of guilt, and it seems to me the prosecution is still required to make a case against the accused in order to win a conviction. I would be outraged if I were assumed to be guilty simply because I decided not to defend myself. For years they've been trying to pin a doping rap on him and have failed, and now they are saying they win simply because he got tired and decided to stop spending his time, energy, and money to defend himself any more. Only bullies do that.
ReplyDeleteignis is latin for fire and Nero being a Roman emperor would have spoken it.
ReplyDeleteHad fun with all the theme clues.
hung up with the canna and amiens. also have only heard let 'er rip, not let it rip, but felt
great satisfaction after finishing.
I forgot to say how much I love spanakopita! I learned to eat it in Athens where on a sidewalk stand it would be sold for the equivalent of one dollar. We had that for lunch every day we were there. Yum and double yum!
ReplyDeleteWish i could find some near me.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, James Sajdak, for a swell puzzle. Enjoyed it. Thank you, as well, C.C., for a great review.
ReplyDeleteWorked this off and on throughout the day. Just finished.
Welcome back, Barry. Sounds like you had a good trip.
Had a tough time getting started in the NE, so I headed South. Got TED at 121A and IPSO at 106D. MAGI, ALTAR, ERNE, AND ORDER came easily in the SE.
NACRE, ATV, INVERT, and AUTHOR in the NE.
I bounced all over getting a word here and there.
First theme answer was IMPLIED ONES TRADE. That helped a lot, having the theme.
My last area to finish was the NW and North Center. SO RARE was not known, but I lucked out and wagged it. Had PAYDAYS for a while at 28A. Eventually got FRIDAYS. CREOLE was not easy.
I do not get I SPY for 37D. It seemed to fit so I went with it. Any help on that one? Car trip alternative to Geography ??????
Fermatprime: Glad to see Harvey is back and doing
well.
I will be repotting in from Johnsonburg tomorrow. See you then.
Abejo
We used the games, I Spy and Geography, to keep our kids amused on road trips. The basic I Spy game is fine for toddlers. Spying objects as you pass by them in the car is better for older kids, as is the game,Geography.
ReplyDeleteLink I Spy
Link Geography
Speaking of Angus beef, I discovered on the train back from DC (we took the Acela Express) that calling a microwaved hamburger "Angus Beef" doesn't change the fact that it is still a microwaved hamburger (and tastes it).
ReplyDeleteThis took me a while and I had the same difficulties as most everybody else.
ReplyDeleteJayce, I agree with you about Lance Armstrong. If he is innocent but got tired of defending himself, then the actions of the anti-doping agency seem like bullying. On the other hand, if he quit the battle because he knew that they had evidence that he didn't want to be made public, then I'm not so sure how I feel.
I wonder how Manac's evening was yesterday? I'll turn on the Dodgers game and see if I'm happy too.
Costco's steak is very good. There is a Cuban restaurant near here that has their version of roast port. Delicious! We have it every time we go there.
Our cooking schools here are magnifico. We even teach you how to roast wine!
ReplyDeleteNext up: braised Scotch.
Fidel, good one. LOL. That roast port is a real culinary break through.
ReplyDeleteMusings 2 from room 119 in the Best Western Plus in GI
ReplyDelete-92°F and steamy at the Nebraska State Fair after all the rain yesterday…
-Having the fair out in the middle of the state makes it much more agricultural and family friendly.
-I had a hard time starting this puzzle and finishing it at 80 mph on I-80 but got ‘er done.
-Would you sign a PRE-NUP?
-Quite a few kids have died around here on ATV’s. Narrow base and high center of gravity.
-No need to look forward to FRIDAYS when you’re retired.
-Lance has always said, “I won by doing what was legal at the time I raced.” He has a lot of teammates lining up to say he doped. So are SOSA’s.
-Most versions of O SAY are fine with me, except for Roseanne…
-My grandma’s name was TISHa
-Neil Armstrong had to land the LEM by hand as it was HURTLEing toward the Moon and the old computers of the day couldn’t keep up. Too many Kardashian’s and now one fewer Armstrong.
-Brahms SONATAs are fine but isn’t Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata your favorite?
-The U.S. Army Reserve would seem to be a better counterpart for National Guard. We have both in Fremont.
-If an IPO seems too good to be true…
-I love APRICOT jam but find it is hard to find rhubarb jam without strawberry in it also
-All the PEON jobs at the fair are being done by Hispanics
-Did I say I don’t like that dress? What I MEANT to say was…
-Beef still tastes good here in the Beef State
-Don’t you love how you can EDIT with these new fangled computers?
-Some PG 13 movies of today used to be R-RATED (they can show more flesh and get to say the “f-word” once
Remember this scene from “Frasier” where Niles and Frasier play ”I Spy” at a basketball game? 7:47
ReplyDeleteFidel @ 1659 & Anon @ 1710 - LMAO
ReplyDeleteHusker - I had trouble w/ USNR, too, since there's also an Air Force Reserve and a Marine Corps reserve organization. I knew what was meant; there must be a better way to phrase it.
Evening all, Waaay too nice of a day to do the puzzle but just got to the posts.
ReplyDeleteBill G. :-)) Now shes all atwitter about the demise of T.O. and Chad Ocho Useless! I don't think my heart can take it.
Jayce, there is a restaurant near here where there is no menu. They cook all the meat on a rotisserie and Slice portions off the spit at your table. You can eat as much as you want. Prime rib, filet Mignon and much much more. Very delicious. I just tell them to keep the chicken away from me. Looks like I may have to take the missus there again.
Tin, Seven-up ?
Jayce: I get farm raised beef from Gelson's. It is delicious, rare!
ReplyDeleteOops, pork. Anons, 4:59 and 5:10, consider yourselves uninvited.
ReplyDeleteAh, another good Frasier episode. It's hard to find good comedy on TV that is smartly written. Do you remember the one where they went for a short road trip in an RV? All Daphne could manage with an American accent when crossing the Canadian border was 'Shure.'
Manac, sounds like a Brazilian restaurant.
Well, Mr. Sajdak's puzzle defeated this NorthDakotaGal too, MontanaHal. Don't feel bad. It was a great theme, once I got to C.C.'s explanation of it.
ReplyDeleteOf course anyone would want to take Hugh Jackman's picture! Married or not, he is nice hunky scenery.
I got CANNA lily because there is one in a planter that we bought this summer. Lovely.
PaPyrrhic tickled my funnybone, D-O!
Now I want to know where I can find braised beer! It'll be a while till you live that one down, Bill. Good one, Fidel and anonymous.
MontanaHal: You aren't the only one who struggled! I donwannatalkaboutit.
ReplyDeleteC.C. thanks for getting me going on this. I have never seen mulberry jam anywhere. By themselves cooked mulberries are rather blah. I always made mulberry-rhubarb pie or jam or mulberry-(tart) cherry pie. Delicious! Also those were all in season at the same time. Ripe off the tree is best.
The doping witch hunt reminds me of the McCarthy communist witch hunt. If they can't find the dope at the time of the race or whatever, it's all say-so, isn't it? When you rise to the top, someone always wants to bring you down.
fermatprime, thank you. I'll check Gelson's out.
ReplyDeleteManac, by all means do take the missus there again.
PK, well said!
BillG, it was funny - you should lighten up a bit.
ReplyDeleteBill, Spot on! It is an interesting dining experience. Its called Gauchos.
ReplyDeleteDidn't catch your typo before so now those two asinine comments sorta make sense. Tis a shame we can't all be as perfect as they are.
And strange, I never watched Frasier until it was in reruns, then wondered how I missed all this.
Just finished Merl's rather dull offering (20 theme answers). Noticed at the site that:
ReplyDeletetoday is Will Shortz's 60th birthday
Loved that episode of Frasier!
We all knew it was only a typo, but like the bloopers on TV, it was funny. Lighten up.
ReplyDeleteOK, I didn't realize that I came across as so heavy-handed. OK, the two anons are reinvited to my neighborhood Cuban restaurant.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else comment on the final episode of The Closer and I missed it? Pretty good I thought. I've checked out the spinoff, 'Major Crimes' and it seems pretty limp so far.
Once I figured out the im this wasn't bad.
ReplyDeleteAgree with BillG about The Closer; want to continue with her team, but miss Kyra. Not the same chemistry.
Interesting beef conversation. We have terrific beef/bison here in regional ND groceries. We don't eat it out because we get better meat for grilling at home. Never eat steak while traveling - tough and no flavor.
Off to Alaska tomorrow. Have a great week everyone.
Bill G and Bea:
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with you about The Closer and limp is a good description for Major Crimes. There's no chemistry.
hello everybody!
ReplyDeleteI'll be 73 next month and have been doing crosswords for more than 55 years and look forward to Sunday's eevery weekend and this was no exception. Once I got the "clue'(im) it went fairly easily for me...took me about 35 minutes to finish. Keeping my brain active really works.
ReplyDeleteGinger
Baltimore puzzle fanatic
Ginger,
ReplyDelete35 minutes for a Sunday is pretty amazing. We look forward to your future participation on the blog.