17A. Easter song title critter : PETER COTTONTAIL
28A. Rich chocolate dessert with a crust : FRENCH SILK PIE
33A. Under-the-sink cleaners : STEEL WOOL PADS
41A. Dessert sometimes colored with beet juice : RED VELVET CAKE
And the unifier:
54. Important trial figure, or what you'll be when you read this puzzle's other longest answers :
MATERIAL WITNESS.
Marti here to walk you through the fabric of this puzzle.
Across :
1. Shake in reproach, as a finger : WAG. Or in our corner terms, "Wild A--ed Guess" (Sometimes Scientific WAG...)
4. E-junk : SPAM
8. Beats handily : WHOMPS
14. Raymond Burr's TV sleuth : IRONSIDE
16. Speed up : HASTEN
19. Plenty of poetry? : ENOW. "Enough". Who was the poet who wrote the following?
"A book of verses, underneath the bough,
A jug of wine, a loaf of bread - and thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness -
Ah, wilderness were paradise enow!"
20. Facility : EASE
21. Seattle's ___ Field : SAFECO. Home of the Mariners.
24. Not likely to bite : TAME
25. Mischievous moppet : IMP
31. Expensive : DEAR
32. City east of Wichita : IOLA. Map, for those not from the Wichita area. Zoom out 6x to see Wichita in the far left edge.
39. Nasty : MEAN
40. Bit of carpenter's gun ammo : NAIL
47. Massage facility : SPA. Our favorite crossword sound: "Aaaaaaahhhhh"
48. Some necklines : VEES. Like this.
49. It's often closed for the night : EYELID. Fun clue!
52. Safecracker : YEGG. Learned from x-words.
53. Vocal range : ALTO
61. 1887 La Scala debut : OTELLO. I love opera, and Placido Domingo did Otello so well! 1:10
62. Feminist poet Rich : ADRIENNE. I remember her for declining the National Medal of Arts award in protest of Newt Gingrich's proposal to end funding for the National Endowment of the Arts (more so than for her poetry!)
63. Novelist Waugh : EVELYN. Seems like a lot of names in this puzz, no? Either you know them...or you don't!
64. "Check this out!" : PSST
65. 33-Across brand : SOS. Do you mind when an non-theme answer refers to a theme answer?
Down:
1. Diaper bag supply : WIPES
2. Bowl game venue : ARENA
3. Escaped punishment : GOT OFF
4. Old geopolitical abbr. : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.
5. JPEG file, usually : PIC
6. Hue and cry : ADO
7. Confronted : MET
8. Guessing game question : WHO AM I ? Or, a song from Les Mis...2:52
9. Grimm brother : HANSEL. Wilhelm wouldn't fit, and Jacob didn't work with the perps. So it had to be Hansel, brother of Gretel.
10. Prefix meaning "bone" : OSTE
11. L.A. bus-and-rail org. : MTA. Metropolitan Tranist Authority. Also a famous subway in Boston.
12. Canada's smallest prov. : PEI. Prince Edward Island. Map. Between the Gaspé peninsula and Nova Scotia.
13. NBC weekend revue : SNL. Saturday Night Live.
15. Later : NEWER. As in, a "later" model car.
18. They may be black or green : TEAS
22. Give up : CEDE
23. Answer to "How do you Yanks spell 'travelling'?" : ONE "L" (Vs. the British "travelling"??)
24. Seats of power : THRONES
25. Device with earbuds : iPOD
26. Wire measures : MILS
27. Princess provoker : PEA. Not Grimm, but a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale!
29. Cry from a crow's nest : CAW. Loved this clue/answer - great misdirection!
30. Sportage supplier : KIA. Automaker.
33. Leak slowly : SEEP
34. "Look what I did!" : TA-DA!
35. It needs to be addressed: Abbr. : ENV.elope
36. Heart-healthy grain : OAT. Eat your Cheerios!
37. Layers of nits : LICE. HaHa, lice lay eggs which are called "nits" (...and they should be picked!!)
38. Quarterback's call : PLAY
39. Old Miss : MRS. LOL!! DH went to Ole Miss, so this was a real misdirection for me.
42. Either "Bye Bye Love" singer : EVERLY (Brothers). Song. 1:51
43. Troop group : LEGION
44. 1970s Chevy subcompact : VEGA
45. "The Family Circus" cartoonist : KEANE.
46. Actress Barkin et al. : ELLENS
50. "___ use!" : IT'S NO
51. Teaspoons, perhaps : DOSES
52. Make oneself heard : YELL
54. Curly tormenter : MOE. Curly, Moe and Larry - The Three Stooges.
55. Suzuki offering, briefly : ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.
56. Kickoff helper : TEE. Football tee. When Lucy is not available...
57. Runner's circuit : LAP
58. Sentence fragments?: Abbr. : WDS. Words.
59. Form letters? : IRS. Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040.
60. Bearded ___: small bird : TIT. Awwww, what a DF way to end this post!
Take your pick of the following two links. But you are ONLY allowed to click on ONE link. (No cheating!!): #1 or # 2
Answer grid.
See you next week!
Hugs,
Marti
92 comments:
Morning, all!
This was a nice walk in the park... except when I tripped over a branch and landed on my face.
Most of my troubles centered around the fact that I've never heard of a FRENCH SILK PIE before. I had FRENCHSI__PIE and just couldn't figure out what to put.
Perps to the rescue, right? Well, no. See, I initially put in TROMPS for 8A. I eventually replaced the T with a W to get WHO AM I at 8D, but totally forgot to change the R as well. As a result, I had RANSE_ for 9D and was thinking I needed to know the name of Mr. Grimm instead of one of the characters in his tales. Oh -- and I wasn't familiar with the KIA Sportage, either, so that didn't help.
What finally got me through the mess was the theme. Once I realized I was looking for some sort of material in 28 and didn't currently see one, I figured out that the missing letters must be part of SILK. Then it was just a matter of replacing WROMPS with WHOMPS, and voila!
Seriously, though, TROMPS is soooo much better than WHOMPS, don't you think?
Hi gang -
Thanks for all the kind words, support, encouragement - and music[!] last night. There is comfort and solace in having friends who care.
No puzzle time today. We're off to T-town. Organ removal today, and, since the incident happened at work, there will be an autopsy, happening tomorrow.
C.C. has established a terrific community here. I'm blessed to be a part of it, and to know all you wonderful people.
See yawl next week,
JzB
Good Morning, Marti and friends. This was probably the easiest Thursday puzzle I have done in a long time. I usually have difficulty with Mr. McInturff's puzzles, but I flew through the Fabric of his creation today.
The poem that used the word ENOW was a translation of one of Omar Khayaam's.
I, too, was mis-lead by Ole Miss, since the school is just the next state over from where I live.
The clue for ONE L was a nice change from the usual reference to the first year of Law School.
I happened to be drinking a green TEA instead of my usual coffee this morning when I came across the Green or Black clue.
It's Often Closed for the Night = EYELID was my favorite clue.
I use my iPOD to listen to NPR podcasts.
All the best to you and your family, JazzBumpa during this difficult time.
QOD: A woman has the age she deserves. ~ Coco Chanel
Jazzbumpa, I just got to last night's posts now, and was so shocked and saddened to hear your bad news. But I think it is wonderful that he will live on as an organ donor. Know that we are all thinking of you and your family!
Manac, thanks for the Calvin and Hobbes link last night. I think I will print it out and hang it over my desk, along with the slogan, "Never play by the rules..."
JazzB - I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your BIL. Deepest sympathy to your sister, you, and all your family.
Happy Thursday, all.
Today turned into a speed run -- not a bump in sight. I knew most of the names, and the ones I didn't (SAFECO, ADRIENNE) appeared quickly with perps. I turned in a Monday time.
JZB, sorry to hear your sad news.
Marti, your TIT links were cruel! The VEES weren't bad, though.
Why is it that when the battery gets weak in your smoke alarm, that it begins it's once-a-minute "peep" at 3 AM? DW, who has to teach today, was not amused.
JzB,
So sorry about the sudden loss of your Brother In Law. My deepest sympathy to you, your sister, and family.
Hondo
JazzB, deep sympathies for your BIL's tragedy.
I finished a Thursday - by the skin of my teeth, wow !.... Thank you, Jack McInturff ( the last name sounds like an Apple on a race course - ).
Thank you Marti, for your charming blog and very interesting links.
ALT QOD:- Gossip is the way you talk about objects of flattery when they aren't present. ~ P. J. O'Rourke.
JzB--My sympathy. Take good care.
Jzb,
Sorry to hear of your loss. My wishes go to the whole family.
A very easy Thursday for me--for once I did know most of the names and those I didn't were easily perpable or WAGable.
I agree that EYELID was really cute. I also thought first of the Grimm brothers but couldn't remember Wilhelm, and Jakob didn't even seem close, so waited for perps which did the trick. Very enjoyable.
Marti,
I cheated on the two links, but your first TIT link was a better shot anyway.
Goood morning, all. Love your sparkle, Marti.
Yowza! This puzzle by Jack McInturff was easier than Tuesday's! Usually he beats me, kicks me, and humiliates me but not today. Soft as COTTON and smooth as SILK with not a NIT to pick. Fun clue for that one.
Yesterday, in fact, I used STEEL WOOL PADS to deep clean my kitchen. It needs it every few months and now it glistens it's so clean. Today I'll tackle the rest of the house.
I see that Hahtoolah already named Omar Kayaam as the author of the poem.
It's often closed for the night, EYELID was my favorite clue.
Jazz:
Continued prayers for you and your family.
I hope your Thursday is special, everyone!
A beautiful morning, cool, raining hard! Such a blessing!
This was easy for me, except I put a "V" in the 15D/19A cross. Thought it was going to be a foody puzzle for awhile until the reveal.
Many years ago my music club had a French night dinner and I was assigned to make French Silk Pie which was new to me. Chocolate to die for! They turned out well. My husband got home in time to lick the bowl and was unhappy because all the pies were going to club. So I had to make a smaller batch the next day for family or else... Never made it again because of the calories.
Hands up for thinking "old Miss" was the school. I didn't even catch on till coming here despite having the "R". Actually, an old miss isn't necessarily MRS if she never married. NIT! NIT! NIT!
I struggled awhile to remember IRONSIDE, thinking of Perry Mason which didn't fit. WIPES was first fill.
JazzB, deepest sympathy. Life is indeed fleeting.
My former store manager had a severe asthma attack several days ago, lost consciousness and evidently stopped breathing at some point before the rescue squad got to him. Spent two days in the hospital, then flat-lined, and was pronounced two days ago. Twenty-nine years old.
Carpe diem. Every day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jack, for a great puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for an equally great review. Two outstanding puzzles in a row. Wow!
Jazzbumpa. I heard the news this morning. My deepest sympathies to you and your family in the untimely loss of your brother-in-law. We never know, do we.
To the puzzle. Got started at the top, but not at WAG. Got that later. Got enough of them to have a few perps for PETER COTTONTAIL.
After IPOD, MILS, and PEA in the East, I knew I was looking for some kind of PIE. With a few perps got FRENCH, and then SILK appeared. I have eaten that pie. Ss I recall it is pretty rich.
MILS was easy for 26D. I used to run 750,000 circular mils power cable. Heavy stuff.
RED VELVET CAKE was easy. I have eaten that and it is good.
STEEL WOOL PADS was my last to get. CAW helped with that. Thought CAW was excellent for 29D.
YEGG used to appear more often in puzzles. Maybe we are having a comeback.
Great puzzle. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Good bird photos, Marti. Caught me.
Abejo
Thanks Jack McInturff! Great music links, Marti! That's a part of Les Mis I'd never heard.
JazzB, I'm very sorry to hear about your family tragedy.
My wife says our name is like a Mack truck stuck in the mud. Its origin is German---Meckendorfer, but the English sea captain couldn't spell that.Came to Philadelphia in 1729
The puzzle solved so quickly that I tried to bear down on the theme. I only focused on the first and last words of the phrases and the MATERIALS got right by me. Doh! I’ve been doing this so long that the NITS that will be picked here today stood out more than the theme. Hit me with your best shot Marti!
Musings
-Loved cluing for PEA, ONE L, CAW, EYELID
-Some day when I have run out of things to do, I’m going to research how a rabbit with eggs commandeered Easter.
-I thought of PAUL DRAKE first for Raymond Burr’s detective.
-Joann used to send nasty replies to SPAM only to find out later that they were phishing and soon flooded our inbox.
-Marti! To quote Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, “That “jug of wine” is from dirty Persian poetry.
-The Dog Whisperer says to look at a dog’s ears and tail as you approach. If he drops them both, he is probably TAME
-SPAs are great if they don’t rub you the wrong way
-Great visual for VEE Marti. I wonder what you’ll have for 60 down
-SOS reference fine with me.
-OJ GOT OFF but his idiocy still landed him in jail.
-The chiropractor moved some of my OSTE components around yesterday
-Revue? Anyone remember TW3?
- Phil and Don were great, had their differences and split up and got back together. Beatles (you know, those guys that knew the more famous ONO) cited them as an influence.
-I looked at both of your, uh, 60 Down’s Marti!
-Jazz, grief shared is grief diminished. Thinking of you.
Good morning:
I haven't done the puzzle yet nor read the blog but I just read yesterday's and had to offer my condolences to JazzB. My thoughts and prayers go to you and your family, JB, at this very sad time.
We will be leaving Maine shortly. Have enjoyed our too short stay and will miss the beautiful scenery and the wonderful seafood. YR, I am sorry I made you jealous
but I did bring back some good memories for you, yes? And, Manac, enjoy your feast. I have never seen lobsters for $3.99 per lb.!
Will check in when I get home and have a chance to do
the puzzle. Not looking forward to the four hour drive,
but it could be worse.
Happy Thursday.
P. S. In the spirit of Bill G with his puzzles, quizzes, etc., I'll give you all day to guess what I purchased for myself here in Maine. We did a fair amount of shopping but only one thing said "Buy Me". Can anyone guess what it was?
Sorry for the odd spacing in my previous post; it wasn't planned that way.
Cute blog, Marti. Great links, especially Otello. Knowing you ,I expected the 2 birds for #1 and #2. LOL
The NW and the first 2 theme answers fell so quickly I expected a Tues. level puzzle, but it was more of a Wed. The theme was obvious from the start.
One small nit, although I got the answer right off, ENOW is enough, PLENTY seems to be more than enough.
I knew 8D was either TROMP or WHOMP. The perps filled it and gave me the H for HANSEL. I, too, was looking for the Grimm Bros. first names.
My whole extended family loves FRENCH SILK PIE, but we call it Satin Pie and make it only on special occasions. I have it for my birthday instead of a birthday cake.
TraveLLing/traveLing. I was taught that in the U.S. when a multi-syllable word is accented on the last syllable you double the final consonant to add -ed and -ing, otherwise you do not.
Jazz, My thoughts and prayers are with you all during this trying time.
PK,Long ago Mrs. could be used for an unmarried lady, too.
Link Miss/Mrs.
Anony-mouse @7:22, you are too funny. McInturff, LOL!!
Nice to hear from you Jack - so, it's a truck stuck in the mud? And here I thought Mac 'n Turf was the poor man's substitute for Surf 'n Turf...
Did not know IOLA.
Nice enough puzzle, and otherwise easy; however, I was somewhat bothered by SILK COTTON AND WOOL being different types of natural materials, and VELVET being a pile cut. In other words, one can have a cotton velvet or a silk velvet.
The Grimm brothers are very interesting. Clemens Brentano asked them and others to collect fairy tales. When Brentano lost interest, they published and continued studying. In the process, they discovered the path of the spread of fairytales went from India to Ireland, and that the Indo-European language roots could be thus followed. They created Grimm's Law to describe the changes along the way. In our time, we find the DNA follows this same path.
Easy breezy Thursday! Everything just connected. I have never heard of French Silk Pie, but because it is part of the name of my favorite ice cream, i knew it right away.
Never heard of Yegg!
Talk about obscure! You need a 6 power microscope to find Iola!
Desper-otto, my problem is i have a bug in my smoke alarm. (i mean a real bug! Probably silverfish or something!) & because they are all connected & go off together, i can't tell which one it is! (& this bug always decides to go walking around midnite.) Of course the alarm scares the bug (& everyone else) & quickly stops. But it usually goes off 3 or 4 more times until the bug figures out how to get out again...
Marti, The MTA clip made me type in "how to pick a banjo" in YouTube. It took about an hour to get back to the Blog!
Also, 60D LOL! I had to cheat, to see if they were a pair!
YEGG as safecracker? And no one else has issue with this? Come on now. How many have learned that term from a cellmate? Gimme a break!
ANON @9:56. I learned YEGG from its many appearances in crossword puzzles.
Good morning to all and happy Friday eve. Great puzzle Mr. Mcinturff, and thanks Marti for your write-up. I had stomps before whomps, but perps helped to straighten me out. I played Omar in a local production of Kismet. I thought surf and turf in Tenn. is possum and catfish. I am very sorry for your loss JazzB. our thoughts and prayers to you. Have a great day to all. RJW
Good morning Marti, C.C., et al,
Ta da on a Thursday! Felt really foolish not seeing the theme and had to perp the clever unifier, material witness. Fun. Loved "closed for the night"
Hope I'll remember yegg next time it appears.enow = WAG.
Seeing mean, Taylor Swift's lyrics popped into my head:Someday I'll be living in a big ol' city, and all you'll ever be in mean.
The Grimm Brothers versions of most fairy tales always fascinated me as they were usually the cruelest..no getting away from the wolf.
Bumpa, I hope donating organs brings the family some sort of peace.hugs
A really fun puzzle, and great to have Jack check in and tell us more about his name. I thought I aced this but discovered I had WHOPPS instead of WHOMPS and IONA instead of IOLA. But I still loved not only the theme, but the references to children's books and songs with Grimm fairy tales, the princess and the pea, Peter Cottontail, etc. Made me happy.
I'm glad others got to spell out the last name of Omar, the poet, since I would have muffed it.
Delightful write-up with great pix, Marti--many thanks!
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Re Taylor Swift`s lyrics:
I`ve heard this comment when someone unkindly called someone else "fat."
The rejoinder was: "Oh yeah! Well you`re ugly and I can diet and get rid of fat!"
Morning all,
JazzB, thoughts and prayers to you and your family,
DNF, I thought I NAILed it , come to find out I had WHOOPS at 8A , Grrrr. one letter.
Liked EYELID
Fore..again
"63. Novelist Waugh : EVELYN. Seems like a lot of names in this puzz, no? Either you know them...or you don't!"
No kidding. That sort of thing makes these no longer fun. I'm apparently not of the generation or culture that crossword puzzle constructors are, so I quite literally knew not one proper name in this puzzle. Not Enow, or Evelyn, neither Adrienne, nor Everly. So what do I put where Evel_n and Everl_ cross? It's impossible, and frustrating, and ultimately, it feels unfair.
PLEASE, constructors! Keep the proper names to a minimum!
Psst! I knew it. This should have been this weeks tuesday puzzle. For it was far easier than any thing this week, other than monday. 49a was brilliant. There were only 3 question clues, notice that. But it did have 8 abbrs. Another glorious day on the left coast just sitting on the throne doing puzzles.See ya
I just felt that Anon's post @11:34 needed a pic.
(Source file if necessary)
& for the professional...
Good afternoon all. Good write-up, as usual, Marti.
I knew Jack's offering would be fun to solve and it was. Kind of a groaner theme, but I liked it. At least he didn't use any man-made materials like Orlon or Rayon. Liked a couple of the alternate meanings like DEAR and NEWER. PEI was a gimme. Had mention of 2 of your passerines, TIT and crow ➪ CAW. Crows are the largest passerine (songbird order). IMP was a nice shout to my avatar. I thought the clues for EYELID and MRS were quite clever.
JzB, please let your sister know, that we all feel her pain, & that she is not alone.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Jazz: My most heartfelt condolences on the death on your brother-in-law, and to your sister and all the family.
This was a wonderful surprise to get a Tuesday puzzle on Thursday. But I didn't get MATERIAL after staring at the other longs forever! So DNF.
But the rest was fun. Thank you surf 'n turf and HeartRX for a great time.
Cheers
Thought this was easier than most Thursdays.
Agree with ANON@11:24, could have switched Tuesday and Thursday.
Barry G, I originally also had and like tromps over whomps.
Marti - nice pair of tits.
Line of the day.
anon@9:56
YEGG has been a crossword staple for a long time. It's a good idea to put it in your memory bank as it will appear again, and again, and again.
I feel, in the interests of fairness, that the poem using 'enow', like Hahtoolah correctly pointed out, (in precise legalese, no less ) - was A TRANSLATION of one of the poems originally by Omar Khayyam (1048 - 1131) ....
The actual words, however, which we quote so often, so eloquently, and so memorably are from the hand of his - first English translator - Edward Fitzgerald (1809 - 1883). It was Fitz' who made Omar Khayyam and his quatrains so popular as they have ever been. There have been other translations, but curiously nobody quotes them .... Who knows what the original words were ( or cares), .... if we could even understand the Naishapur Farsi or the Khorastan Persian - the poems we quote are 100 % Fitzgerald. It is good to remember Mr. Fitzgerald's poetic contribution.
In Mr. Fitz's honor, some of HIS own quotes:
If you can prove to me that one miracle took place, I will believe he is a just God who dammed us all because a woman ate an apple.
AND
Leave 'well' - even 'pretty well' - alone: that is what I learn as I get old.
And Mr. Khayyam : - Enjoy wine and women and don't be afraid. Allah has compassion.
Hi, All! New here, this is my first post. Enjoyed crosswords for years, am so-so at them. Lately, these puzzles have been fantastic and challenging. Actually, I can't wait until the paper arrives to read the comics and do the puzzles. A downside is that our paper only gives us the "theme" of the puzzle on Sunday. During the week, I have no clue whatsoever the theme is, in a way makes it more challenging, but also a bummer. Happy to join this blog!
JazzB, Pleases accept my heartfelt condolences on the sudden loss of your sister's husband. I hope it is of some comfort to your family to know that he can live on through organ donations.
@JD - they weren't the Grimm's versions. They were collected by the Grimm Bros.
After them came Arne and Thompson who categorized all the fairy tales into the Aarne-Thompson Index. Once you study these, you'll recognize the types.
The Islamic Arabs have a different tradition which followed the trade routes. In Sicily you run into both types, which can be hilarious, as with the Giufa' tales.
@Anony-mouse - I think the point was that humans were disobedient, and then they were stricken with knowledge that brought shame. It's frequently called the Tree of Knowledge. Squirrels, for instance, have no shame, but what do they know?
@JazzBumpa - my nephew received a kidney after waiting 4 years. All we know is it was from an accident victim from out of state, and it wa probably just in time, as some of his organs were becoming weak. In the same Syracuse hospital, the same weak, 2 other guys got kidneys from another, more local fellow who died in an accident.
Jazzbumpa, I add my best wishes to you, your sister, and your family. So admirable that he is an organ donor.
Dennis, you are so right. It is too easy to forget to live every single day as well and fully as you can.
What's with "Ease" for facility? I don't get it. I'm also not crazy about "Dear" for expensive.
Hello everybody. Cool puzzle today, Mr. Truck-in-the-mud! Fun writeup, Marti; thank you for it.
I have to say I do sympathize with the person who had trouble with the crossing of EVELYN and EVERLY. Although it gave me no trouble at all, since I knew both names (I'll never forget Evelyn Waugh was a man), I can understand such a crossing could be a Natick for some. I have that problem with the names of sports figures and teams, and with pop music references.
I almost got bogged down by spelling the cartoonist's name Keene instead of KEANE, and scratched my head at elto for a while before I bonked myself on the forehead. Coulda woulda shoulda had a V8!
Loved the clue for EYELID. My mother always called expensive things "dear." She was a MRS, by the way.
I guess no French person would ever say WHOMP l'oeil.
Even if I were her age, I would never date Taylor Swift. She seems swift to vengeance!
Best wishes to you all.
I liked "dear" for expensive, I heard that often growing up. "Ease" for facility, what?! Someone please explain, don't get it at all.
Per Merriam:
Facility:
the quality of being easily performed. 2. : ease in performance : aptitude
Irish Miss, I think we need some hints. Something to wear? Bigger than a loaf of bread? Useful? Decorative? Costs more than $20?
Barbara got a bee in her bonnet and wanted some of the rooms in our house painted. So my usual schedule and habits are disrupted for the next several days.
He beat all of the other players with 'ease.' A facile victory. (Effortlessness, with ease.)
Regarding cartoonist Keane; even more confusing than his last name is his first name; Bil.
"She has a facility with languages. She is facile with languages. She displays an ease with languages."
Does anybody know a website which has an Android-compatible version of the LAT xword? I tried the Chicago Tribune site, but their interactive xword requires Flash player, and FP isn't compatible with Android 4.1.
Lizza - Welcome aboard. Try and go blue when you are ready. Re: 'facility' EASE. It's a little more hoity toity word that means ease. "He did it with great facility" 'He did it easily'
Re LICE.
louse - lice is one of those delicious English words where we get the plural thru a vowel shift; typical of Germanic languages:
English: louse lice
German : laus läuse
Low German: luus lüüs
Dutch: luis luizen
As the story goes, a Catholic missionary priest was retiring from a Nome, Alaska, diocese and, at his retirement dinner, he was given this toast, in his honor -
Before you arrived we did not know what was shame and eternal sin, and we led a charming, carefree, idyllic life, so full of joy and happiness. Then you turned up and taught us all about sin.
Jazzbumpa, I just went back to read last evening's post. So sorry to hear about BIL. Praying for your sister and family as you deal with this sudden loss.
louse lice
mouse mice
house hice
grouse grice
douse dice
trouce trice
twouse twice
throuse thrice
Ain't language grand?
Mark S., I have to agree with Dennis, "Line of the day"!
Lizza, welcome to our little corner of the world! The theme at the top of my write-up today (I am Marti) was purely dreamt up by myself. I'm sure Jack McInturff had a better one in mind when he wrote the puzzle, but since the LAT does not publish the author's title, we just have to "wing it".
desper-otto @2:52, have you tried Shortyz ?
Lizza, (& Anons)
try this link for starting a Blogger account which should get your name in blue.
(pls bear in mind that i have no idea what i am doing, & wound up with 2 or more Google accounts that are constantly at war with each other. I have even rec'd email from friends addressed to CrossEyedDave that have no idea i write on this Blog! My best advice is to use a different avatar, or identifying mark when you create an account so you can identify & seperate them. My problem is i cannot remember what password i used!)
(i think i got duplicated when i created a Google "plus" account...)
IF ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE KNOWS HOW TO GET YOUR NAME IN BLue,,, PLS HELP!
Spitzboov @11:51 AM Crows are the largest passerine. Aren't you forgetting ravens? I saw one yesterday.
Jayce - Re: mouse, house
een muus, twee müüs
een huus, twee hüüs
Argyle - I was waiting for someone to question that. I guess I was thinking of the crow family, corvidae, which includes ravens. The largest corvid is the common raven as you point out.
facility = EASE When writing care plans, in nursing, we would always use facilitate instead of ease or aide. My roommate, in nursing school, has spent her life facilitating organ donors transfers. IT is the ultimate unselfish gift. Thank you CED for sharing 12:03 link with Jzb and us.
Miss to Mrs reminded me of being a young single nurse in the hospital and turning my ring, so it looked like a band, before going into certain patient's rooms.
Bottom across answers were the most difficult for me. Got RED VELVET CAKE and FRENCH SILK PIE without perps help. Love, love, love most sweets. Begged my son to finish off F.S.Pie over the weekend so I wouldn't be tempted to eat it myself.
Really liked "often closed at night clue." My eyes may be closed but I'm not necessarily asleep. Can be very be frustrating!
Thanx, Marti. I installed it, and it runs just fine. I normally do the puzzle in the newspaper, but this'll give me an option when Patsy throws the paper in the ditch.
To go blue, you first have to create a Google account. I think you can do this by bringing up the usual google home page (www.google.com) and clicking the "Sign In" button at the upper right of the screen. Then make up a name for yourself and a password. Or you can go to www.google.com/dashboard/ and sign up there.
After you have made an account for yourself, the next time you are going to post here, first click the "Google Account" button just below "Choose an identity" which is just below the "Leave your comment" box.
Greetings!
It was nice to have a puzzle that I could work easily on a Thursday. (Not bragging, just old.) Thanks, Jack! Thanks, Marti!
So sorry to hear of your loss, Jazz. Best thoughts go to your family.
Last night I watched Stage Beauty. Included the ending of Otello about ten times! Very well done, rather old movie. Anyone else see it?
Off to regular visit to rheumatologist.
Cheers!
I have no idea what you guys are talking about when it comes to plurals, i blame one of my best friends growing up (Bob Fristoe) who exclaimed after we waited on 2nd ave for an hour waiting for a bus...
"LOOK, HERE COMES A HERD OF BEESE!"
Ravens are considered to be the sacred guardians of the Tower of London. The superstition goes that when the last raven 'leaves' the Tower, the Tower ( and London Bridge ) will collapse upon itself and the realm of the monarch will cease. To forestall that from happening, about two dozen ravens are carefully sired, bred, clipped, reared and cared for by the custodian Beefeaters. (whose diet nowadays tends towards chicken.)
Hi Again:
Arrived home from Maine, safe and sound. Just finished the puzzle which I thought was a breeze. Thanks, Jack, for a cute theme, and thanks, Marti, for an equally cute expo.
Welcome, Lizza. This is a fun and informative place for CW fans.
Bill G @ 2:37 ~~ It is something that is worn and is much, much smaller than a breadbox. If you think back to some posts of a few months ago, you asked me a question about this item and that led to further discussions and even a picture. Put your thinking cap on!
Happy Thursday to all.
Jazzbumpa - your news was so sad, as sad as it gets within a family; so please add my condolences to all who've already extended their sympathies. The ideal of donorship gains special attention now; we all reflect on how your brother-in-law's life is extended as he lives on within another body.
Irish Miss
I'm thinking it's a bottle of
aloe vera for your sunburn.
And btw those lobsters are the live
and kicking type that you have to do all
the dirty work yourself. Pots are starting to boil now.
Don't know why that came up as anon
Manac
Irish Miss, did you buy a ring?
Hola Everyone, I had a DNF today, because I was whomped with the word whomps. The perps weren't a lot of help, because Hansel wasn't in my grey matter. I was trying to think of a Grimm brother who wrote the fairy tales!!
MTA was also not in my memory bank, either. I knew that I couldn't put in LA as that was in the clue. Oh well, only a couple of answers not filled in was good for me.
I got all of the theme answers and thought that the theme was fun--especially since I got it today. I have even made French Silk pie and Red Velvet Cake. Though I use red food coloring for the color, not beet juice.
I had coffee with JD today. We were planning our trip to meet Dodo for lunch on the 16th. Garlic Gal will be traveling with us to Dodo's retirement village. We're looking forward to our lunch and visit.
Have a great evening, everyone.
Jazz, JD told me today about your BIL. I'm so sorry to hear about your family's loss.
Donating his organs is a wonderful thing for a family to consider, but a wrenching decision after losing someone. So much to think about and so many decisions to make.
My thoughts are with you and yours.
Chickie, be sure to say "hi" to Dodo for all of us at the corner! We miss her wit and humor.
Irish Miss, did you visit Victoria's Secret while you were up there????
I've never before had the web page expire on me while posting to the blog.
I had typed in a whole comment and it just disappeared before my eyes.
The explanation: This web page has expired!!
Eddy B. I have your set of Dvd's which JD delivered today. We'll get them to you as soon as we can. With the Olympics being broadcast every evening, we're not watching much of anything else.
Thanks Sfingi, but as I recall from studying folk tales the Grimm brothers' collection of tales were at first written down exactly as they were told. Eventually they began to rewrite the tales from a number of oral and printed sources, so that some of their best-loved stories, like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," represent their own literary folk telling and not the folk teller's.
Anyone here visited Prince Edward Island? While we will only be there for a day, I wondered what would be something that can't be missed.
JD, oh - you have to find someplace to enjoy fresh local P.E.I. mussels! I was there many years ago, but the thing I remember most is how good those shellfish tasted. And that was before they became so price-y.
JD: if you are/were a fan of Anne of Green Gables, go visit the house on Prince Edward Island.
Chickie: please let Dodo we miss her on the blog. Tell her to please stop by even if it is late in the day. We still read the comments.
Manac @ 4:16 ~~No aloe needed as I stay out of the sun. Hope your lobsters and steamers were as good as what I had.
HeartRx@ 5:38 ~~No trips to Victoria's Secret, either.
Jayce @ 4:46 ~~Congratulations. You guessed correctly. I bought another ring which means I now have 12 rings on 8 fingers. (I hope I don't get to be known as "That crazy ring lady.". It's a good thing I don't have lots of cats!)
Thanks for the tips, Marti and Hahtoolah. I was definitely a Anne of G.G. fan, and later watched all the videos with my girls.
We will give hugs to Dodo from all of you. Hopefully she is doing well, and has found someone to help her with her computer.
Is there a charge for the use of a Google account?
PK, no, there is no charge. It is free.
Jayce, very astute. As soon as I saw your guess, rings, I knew you were correct.
JD @ 5:45 That's also what I learned about the Grimm Bros. tales. But in addition, because the old tales were passed along in oral tradition, they varied from place to place, even within a country. I found it interesting that many of them were told in slightly different versions all over the world, especially the Cinderella story. Even the American Indians had a version of that one.
Today I paid a big strong young man to divide my irises and weed my garden. He spent 3 hours today and will come back tomorrow. With my weak knees I couldn't have done it myself. Although I can afford it, it's hard to admit that I can't be as independent and self-sufficient as I once was. My motto, like Sammy Davis's was YES I CAN. I suddenly feel older.
Yellowrocks, i would have divided your irises for free, but unfortunately, i could not weed your garden, because to me, if its green it is not a weed! (much to my DW's admonishions.
& with that, i have made 6 posts today. (i hope i do not get kicked off the Blog!)
Yellowrocks, I know what you mean. It's good we're both in the position to be able to pay other folks to do things we either don't want to do ourselves or unable to do ourselves. In my younger days, we were putting three kids through college on teachers' salaries and I did almost everything myself. Now I'm happy to be able to afford to pay other people to do the work so I can do crossword puzzles. :>)
Irish Miss and Jayce, NOW I remember the discussion about the rings.
I always heard that a weed was just a flower out of place. Sounds nice but I always kept after the weeds anyway. Some flowers are a nuisance too like Baby's Breath, Morning Glories and Nasturtiums.
JD,
I spent all my childhood summers on PEI.I remember being on my uncle's boats fishing for whatever was in season. We would even rake the beach
for Irish moss (not Miss)and dive in
the wharf for beer bottles that the
fishermen would throw overboard @ 5 cents each for spending money. Back then there was no bridge to the isle,
we loved the ferry ride.
I love Marti's fuzzy logic!
9. Grimm brother : HANSEL. Wilhelm wouldn't fit, and Jacob didn't work with the perps. So it had to be Hansel, brother of Gretel.
Seems like only yesterday, you can't have two letters in one square, but perhaps you can have none. (Answer has 6 letters, Wilhelm has 7 letters, and Jacob, which didn't work with the perps, has 5 letters.)
Hey Palos,
Do the letters gfys mean anything
to you?
JD, If you like Celtic, especially fiddle music, PEI has a long tradition of this. Its website has info on where and when. Enjoy your trip.
Jazz, sorry about your BIL. My cousin, who was born with spina bifida, recently died and his body was donated to the local med school. So I really admire the fact that your BIL's organs were donated. Take care.
Anon
Yellowrocks, I have collected over 80 versions of Cinderella in book form, and others on the internet. The story line is basically the same, but each one tells so much about the culture and beliefs of each area.I have 3 different American Indian versions.
Manac, I am very excited to see this area. We'll also be in Nova Scotia- both new areas of travel for me.
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