17A. *"Karma Chameleon" band : CULTURE CLUB. Ooooh, we start of right away with a music link!
25A. *Space traveler : STAR SHIP. Are we talkin', like Jefferson Starship???
52A. *It's not good to meet with it : FOUL PLAY. Open your mind?
64A. *Used car selling point : SINGLE OWNER. Sorry, no "Single Owner" link, but how about "Single Ladies"???
And the unifier:
39. With 40-Across, kid's toy...and a word that can precede the first word of the starred answers : POP. = Pop Culture, Pop Star, Pop Foul, Pop Single (OK, a "Pop single" hit has echoes of Pop culture and pop stars, but it is an "in the lingo" phrase, right???) Great entries!!
40. See 39-Across...and a word that can precede the last word of the starred answers : GUN. = Gun club, Gun ship, Gun play (would that be like, Russian roulette?), and Gun owner (or, NRA member, for short?)
Did anyone here have a POP GUN as a kid?
I had a BB Gun, until my mother took it away when I started shooting at my sisters...
OK, moving on....
Across:
1. 14-Time All-Star catcher Rodriguez, familiarly : PUDGE. HAH! I have an in-house expert visiting this week, and when I asked him about Rodriguez, and wanted a five-letter fill, he immediately said "PUDGE"!! Not Alex ("A-Rod" Rodriguez), but Iván Rodriguez!! Who knew??
6. Smarten (up) : SPIFF. I had to really spiff up the guest room for him...
11. Data proc. equipment : PCS. And he forgot his PC charger. So, tomorrow our first trip is to Best Buy to get him one (the 58 adapters I had in my desk drawer didn't fit...) And 59-Down. Programs for 11-Across, briefly : APPS
14. Amer. economic assistance : US AID.
15. Dermatologist's concern : TINEA. You don't even want me to link an image of this!!
16. Skill : ART
19. Boot part : TOE. Where you might get tinea?
20. ___ Sutra : KAMA. I looked up images, but wondered, "Can people really do that???"
21. Dipped in a well, maybe : INKED
22. Behold, to Livy : ECCE
23. Tilts : SLANTS
27. Corrida celebrity : TORERO. Ole!
29. Global positioning fig. : LAT.itude. (Or, Los Angeles Times!)
30. ___ alai : JAI
32. Turner memoir : I TINA
34. State with a 45-mile Canadian border : IDAHO. Yep, according to the scale, it is exactly 45 miles (see for yourself!!)
38. Notable time : ERA
42. White ___ : SOX. Bah!! The clue should have read "Red ___"!!
43. Ministers to : TENDS
45. Lengthwise : ALONG
47. "Deadwood" channel : HBO . Did anyone watch this series?
48. Tampa NFLer : BUC.caneer.
50. Learn well : ABSORB
56. 18-and-overs : ADULTS
60. ___ Reason : AGE OF
62. Trendy NYC section : NOHO . No how, not to be confused with SOHO (which is what I first entered here...). Of course, "North of Houston" is a trendy neighborhood in NYC. Is that where Carrie Bradshaw lives?
63. Hwy. : RTE
66. D. Petraeus's title : GEN. Current director of the CIA.
67. Shorthand system : GREGG. It's all Greek to me! ένα είδος στενογραφίας
68. Seen enough : HAD IT
69. Not quite right : ODD
70. "The Gondoliers" bride : TESSA. Also known as "The King of Barataria", by Gilbert and Sullivan. Typical G&S offering. 1:00
71. Actor Mike : MYERS. Ok, who else had a problem with "Actor Mike"??? Douglas...Minor....Evans..Connor...Farrell...Henry
Down:
1. Kings shoot them : PUCKS. HaHa, funny clue for the Los Angeles Kings Hockey team!
2. Unremarkable : USUAL
3. Firehouse mascot : DALMATIAN. Why are they a firehouse mascot? Ask Yahoo!
4. Jeans brand : GITANO. Not very sexy, IMHO...
5. URL ender : EDU
6. WWII weapon : STEN
7. Singles out : PICKS ON
8. Shoreline recess : INLET
9. Middle Aged? : FEUDAL. Loved this clue! I wish I were more "feudal" than I am...
10. "Swell!" : FAB
11. Sewing kit item : PATCH
12. Spring bloomers : CROCI (diles?)
13. Awfully expensive : STEEP
18. Not back down from, as a challenge : RISE TO
22. Founded: Abbr. : EST'D. Established.
24. Outwits on the stand : TRIPS UP
26. One invoked during a drought : RAIN GOD. ("Please let it be rain, and not snow!")
28. "Live! With Kelly" host : RIPA. This cutie.
30. Shark attack victim? : JET. From "West Side Story". Not this guy on Cape Cod!
31. "___ you for real?" : ARE
33. Lots : A GOB
35. Fair-haired : ASH BLONDE
36. Fireplace food-warming shelf : HOB. I first wanted "Hod", but that is for bricklayers, I guess...
37. Tic-tac-toe loser : OXO. Or, OOX, XOO, or XXO or XOX
41. Dicey : UNSAFE
44. Two-Baggers: Abbr. : DBLS. (Doubles)...I am actually starting to learn baseball!!
46. Birds do it : LAY EGGS. Ummm, I had another image in mind!
49. Eau ___ : CLAIRE. Wisconsin.
51. "Project ___": fashion design show : RUNWAY. You mean, you have never seen this show?!?!? Such DRAAAMA! 2:49
52. Red River city : FARGO
53. Made a choice : OPTED
54. Topple : UPEND
55. Actress Moorehead : AGNES
57. The enemy's : THEIR
58. Separates by type : SORTS
61. "Three Sisters" sister : OLGA. Chekhov play.
64. Pvt.'s boss : SGT
65. Electrical measure : OHM. Or, an alternative Buddhist chant?
Answer grid.
I had fun with this one -- did you?
Hugs,
Marti
A fine puzzle this morning. Everything came together except the north central and north east. Both areas were pretty baren. Finally saw FEUDAL. Then stuck again until I changed RoSETO to RISETO. Duh! Then INKED made sense and STEN was easy, so SPIFF and FAB fell, followed by INLET. 15A TINEA is new to me. Heard of it by it's more common name. Grotey looking stuff.
ReplyDelete11A Data proc equipment threw me for the longest because I couldn't get off of CPU, and yet I wanted 11D to be SPOOL. But finally saw STEEP at 13D and PCS came. So P_T_H was easily resolved to PATCH and then ART for Skill. Good thing I had CRO_I or I would never have considered CROCI. Are we sure they aren't CROCUSSES ? They aren't grotey at all.
Why didn't I get the TA DA ? All Was complete. Finally hit the Solve buton when I grew tired of looking. DOH ! Somehow had 26D RAIN hOD rather than RAIN GOD. Bet that type or error doesn't happen too often with scribe and parchment.
I noticed that the first letter for 1A and 1D could be changed. Of course the clues would have to be changed as well.
Waiting for the write up. Can't parse why 30D Shark attack victim is JET. Is there extra credit for being the first to blog ? I'd rather be sleeping but....
Just read yesterday's write up and blog entries. I didn't have the issues with CNET / CCRIDER. Reference the first one every other week or so, and CCRIDER just happened. Didn't think twice about it. I also knew the song due to Mitch Ryder. I loved the nunzilla. Somehow though, based on what I've heard and read through the years, kinda glad I didn't go to Catholic schools.
1A could be "We couldn't get him to _____" and 1D could be Dollars. What were you thinking ?
Lastly, clue at 46D. Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Suggestive. Different standards of decency back then... Not so much anymore. Too much "in-your-face!" on the tube and radio today.
Hope every one has a great day !
Good morning, Marti, C.C. and gang - found this to be a most enjoyable puzzle, topped with a double-edged theme; had to be a bear to put together.
ReplyDeleteStarted off with a gimme in 'Pudge', but I needed all the perps to uncover the very clever 'Kings shoot them' answer. I also needed perps for 'tinea' which I wasn't familiar with, but from there on, things went smoothly. Again, very, very clever theme by Gary.
TTP, think West Side Story for Sharks vs. Jets.
Marti, thanks for a most enjoyable read, as always.
Major setback on the home front, with the VA appraiser coming in a full fifty thousand dollars under the agreed purchase price. VA appraisers evidently have a rep as being extremely tight with their appraisals, and this one used a couple short sales as comps. Not sure where this is gonna go, but we're at the end of our lease here 10/31. The next month and a half should be a fun ride...
Have a great day; squeeze the hell out of it.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteThis one was... not in my wheelhouse. At all. PUDGE, TINEA, USAID, PUCKS, JET, CROCI, INKED, NOHO, CLAIRE... even POP GUN caused me grief today.
Finally managed to get through it unassisted, but it was a struggle from start to finish.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteNot much trouble, except in the Pudge/Pucks intersection. Never heard of this guy Pudge. Or Tinea, for that matter, but perps fixed that.
The theme looks clever, makes me wonder what the inspiration was.
Morning Marti, thanks for bringing us your sparkle today!
Good Morning, Marti and friends. This puzzle didn't really do any thing for me and the theme was too much work to really want to figure out.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted Wised up in stead of SPIFF Up for Smarten (Up).
I also wanted White Lie instead of White SOX. I, too, would have preferred Red SOX. (LaLa Linda, where are you?)
My favorite clue was Birds Do It = LAY EGGS.
Happy Thursday!
QOD: If you can't explain it to a 6-year-old, you don't understand it yourself. ~ Albert Einstein.
Thank you Gary Lowe for a challenging puzzzle, and Marti for your witty, clever and charming blog. DNF, but learnt a lot from you.
ReplyDeleteALT QOD:- I regret to say I must decline your invitation owning to a subsequent engagement. ~ Oscar Wilde.
Have a good week, and weekend you all.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gary Lowe, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the excellent review.
ReplyDeleteDid that photo of the Torero indicate he was gored at the worst place? Egad!
Could not get started at the top at all. Headed South.
I think my first answer was JAI, and the second IDAHO.
I bounced around and got a word here and there. SINGLE OWNER was my first theme answer. With that I was able to get POP GUN. That helped with the other themes, which helped with the puzzle.
Did not know GREGG for 67A. Perped it.
Eau CLAIRE was easy. Just North of us a couple hundred miles.
Did not know TESSA. Perped it.
The North Central was my toughest spot. Never heard of TINEA. Finally worked around it with the other words. INKED was a good one. Took me a while. Got FEUDAL after a bit. Then INLET. Finally got it all.
ECCE again. Popular word lately. I like a few gimmies.
Off to Buffalo, NY tonight. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Without a moment of hesitation, I knew 30D was another hockey reference.
ReplyDeleteSan Jose Sharks vs Winnipeg Jets
Imagine my surprise to read the West Side Story reference.
Well... I am Canadian.
Good morning all,
ReplyDeleteGreat hockey clues! Although, were the sharks in west side story?
There is, or was, a brand of jeans sold here in TW called "sea cow". Good grief.
almost went with MAINE. not IDAHO
RED RIVER had me thinking of OK-TX border. until all the pieces fell in around it, for the love of me FARGO was the furthest from my mind. liked the movie though.
good day from Formosa!
Agnes Moorhead was the meddling mother of Samantha on Bewitched.
ReplyDeletePop single is a baseball reference. I am very impressed with the skill in building this coming and going theme. marti a plleasure as allways.
ReplyDeletePop single is primarily a music reference.
ReplyDeleteloved this puzzle. Didn't know Pudge, but perped it out, plus remembering that most catchers are not very svelte. Wanted to initially put shoot hoops for the Sacramento Kings.
ReplyDeleteThe Jets and the Sharks were the two gangs in West Side Story. Jets the "Americans" and Sharks the Puerto Ricans.
Pop single is primarily a baseball reference.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that some of the clues were ambidextrous adds to the complexity of the puzzle...and for the better. If you don't know one, you might know the other.
ReplyDeleteThis one was nearly over my head, but I did subdue it eventually. Saturday difficulty, but satisfying.
Dennis, VA appraisers aren't instructed to be tight. They're required to write reasonable, well supported reports. (As are all appraisers, though some have a hard time with the concept). Short sales and REO's usually are verbotten, but if they ARE the market, then they should be used. I don't know any more about Boca than what I read in Marley and Me, but that's one possible explanation.
A quick google search shows pop single is most definitely a reference to pop music. A double check at wiki confirms it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the double theme. TESSA, MEYERS, and CULTURE CLUB were WAGs, set up by a few PERPs. The puzzle was quickly solved with just 2 minor glitches.
ReplyDeleteI reversed the EU in FEUDAL and didn't see it for a while because it was vertical. I thought I knew TINEA and FAB, When I trusted them I saw my mistake and got CLUB and then CULTURE.
The other glitch was the P at 1A and 1D, gotten by reciting the ABCs.
At 21A I had the image of Becky Thatcher's pigtail dipped in the inkwell.
Dennis, good luck on your real estate deal. These deals can be real PIAs.
Abejo, enjoy your shuffle off to Buffalo. You really put on the miles, don't you?
Hi all, I hope you're doing well today.
ReplyDeleteI started right off with CULTURE CLUB, but didn't get POP GUN until the end. Never had one, but I did once own a stun gun.
I liked 1D Kings shoot them: PUCKS. Until I caught the hockey reference I was lost here.
I sussed out JET but didn't know the West Side Story reference until I read it here.
My favorite AGNES has never been on Bewitched. Can you guess who she is?
Hi There~!
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought that Jets/Sharks was a hockey thing - and I was so sure that 1D was PUCKS, I couldn't fill it in, since hockey isn't that popular - and if the NHL and players don't come to an agreement tomorrow, there won't be any at all ~!!! Sad, really.
Croci are crocuses, the flowers, no ???
Splynter
Good morning Marti and all.
ReplyDeleteGot the bottom ⅔ relatively easily, but the N was harder. Wasn't sure that SPIFF needed 2 f's so ended up guessing at the TINEA/FAB cross and looking up Tinea to verify the spelling. Never heard of the term before. The central S had a large G cluster including GREGG. Clever theme and, like Dennis said, had to be tough to construct.
I would have thought that 'pop single' was mainly a baseball reference, but both a Google and Bing search favor a music reference. (I don't have a dog in this fight.)
Have a good day.
The north resisted me for quite a while but after a CCW trip, I got ‘er done – if tessA/olgA is right (what else could it be?). Clever puzzle that made me work but never made me think I was going to be stumped. Marti’s expose’ was icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Boy George in that outfit in the Deep South (or anywhere for that matter) in 1870? Good luck with that. Fun song.
-I plunked my sis in the butt with a BB gun too, Marti.
-Teachers certainly don’t SPIFF UP to look “professional” any more. Big deal?
-I lost my 110/220 converter in Venice, Italy and the clerk pulled a hundred out from under his desk
-TINEA? No. Tinnitus? Yup? Somebody answer that dang phone.
-My attempts at FEUDAL were futile until the end. FOURTY?
-Our TORREO seems to be suffering from exposure. He needs a PATCH, now!!
-Oh, NOT Ted Turner. I HODded when I should have HOBbed too!
-BUCcaneer? A lady was charging that for corn in May at a farmer’s market.
-GREGG was de rigueur was girls when I went to school as it was assumed that many would wind up in the steno pool.
-Mike Myers managed to offend a lot of peeps with this movie
-101 Dalmatians set off a trend to get them for pets with mixed results.
-Many of us teachers have seen a student singled out who acts differently from the herd
-Is $80 for just two entrees STEEP?
-The RAIN GODS have been deaf this summer. 1/2” last night however.
-What movie’s climatic scene showed the futility of war by demonstrating to the WOPR that tic-tac-toe and war have no winners?
-Oh, that Red River, not the one “from this valley they say you are goin’”
Re: Pop Single
ReplyDeleteI would have to vote that POP SINGLE is music related.
'Pop', in baseball, usually refers to an out. e.g. pop foul, pop up, pop fly and pop out.
A lightly hit fly ball that is not caught is usually called a bloop single.
I checked Casey Kasem's claim and confirmed he is correct. I even Googled "pop single baseball" and still received primarily musical links.
Good morning, all.
ReplyDeleteBoy, do I feel stupid this morning. I started doing the across entries, and got all the way to 20 before I'd written a single word. I put down my pen and headed out the door for my 3-mile march.
The second time through went much better. I did manage to complete it. Still, I'd call it the toughest Thursday puzzle that I can recall.
I thought maybe that Rodriguez guy was nicknamed Fudge, but.... And TINEA was a new one for me. Sounds like a Bostonian's description of someone with no musical sensibilities. My white LIE finally became SOX and then my favorite, not-so-high-end brand of kitchen gizmos, OXO, appeared.
It turned out to be a good workout. Thanks, Gary. Marti, enjoyed your CROCIdile smile.
Thought I was having fun sussing most of this with no help. But wanted UGLY/OLGA, with TESSY at the bottom, but didn't notice that UGLY didn't quite fit with SINGLE, which I did have correct. I also had DUDGE with DUCKS for what kings shoot. These and several other clues made absolutely no sense to me at all. But the rest eventually came out correctly.
ReplyDeleteTo me a "two bagger" is when I take the dog for a walk and she poops in two different places.
I took GREGG shorthand while I was in high school. By the time I graduated and entered the working world nobody was using shorthand anymore. Oh well, it was an "easy A".
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks from yesterday @ 1:30: You don't have to look so far as NJ to see the differences in Chicago public schools. Look no further than Chicago suburbs and you will find great differences.
The suburban schools differ too. I was active in my HS radio station and cable TV station. DH grew up one town over and he had no radio station, no cable TV station. His HS didn't even have a swimming pool. My cousin currently teaches in a nearby suburban HS and they have their own planetarium!
Croci was plural for crocus, not a reference tp crocodiles
ReplyDeleteOn reading the earlier comments, I'm surprised so many didn't know of TINEA. Luckily I'm old enough to have seen West Side Story (twice) in theaters, so Sharks and Jets were a gimme.
ReplyDeleteSo was Eau Claire--Abejo, you can't be too far from where I live here in SW WI.
CROCI--the old Latin plural trick again: CROCUS. By that logic, I guess Gladioli are plural since each stem has more than one gladiolus.
Ear worm - Last 2 days buzzing around in my head is the Erzherzog Albrecht (Archduke Albrecht) march by Karel Komzák. It is the background music played as Das Boot returns to the submarine base at the end of its patrol near the end of the film. Talk about a message on the futility of war!
ReplyDeleteSee film clip. 2:35
No mas, no mas! Pop single is a musical reference. What was I thinking?!
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather raised gladioluses. We called them glads. I read that gladiolus refers to the genus or the plant. The individual flowers, many on one stem, are called gladiolus flowers instead of gladioluses. There are 3 plurals. Gladiolus, galadioli, and gladioluses are all acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe crocus plural follows the same pattern: crocuses, croci, and crocus.
Here's a pop single
ReplyDeleteAbejo @ 6:49, the torero picture was not the one I intended! I changed it back to my original choice.
ReplyDeleteJames @ 7:08, Yes - the two rival gangs in West Side Story were the Sharks and the Jets.
Splynter @ 8:35, yes - CROCI is the plural of "crocus". I was being facetious when I wrote "idiles" after it.
Interesting that people are wondering about POP SINGLE...I originally thought "Oh, a baseball reference"....but then I looked it up to verify, and found more hits for songs than I did for baseball !
No mas, no mas! Croci is acceptable answer. What was I thinking?!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Corner:
ReplyDeleteWEES
Pop single doesn't have anything to do with baseball or music... divorce court! What Dad is when Mom catches him with the other woman.
BTW - Pudge played almost all of his baseball career with the Texas Rangers.
i'm off to do the puzzle,
ReplyDeletebut 1st, a little something for all you retired teachers out there!
Great puzzle today. Have to admit that I had ducks and dudge. Never heard of Pudge and my mind does not automatically go to hockey.
ReplyDeleteI knew the word spiffy well before spiff. I realize now that spiffy is an adjective.
Wonder how many people remember Gregg Shorthand, or even recognize the term shorthand.
One nit to pick. General is a rank, NOT a title. There is a significant difference.
Could "spring bloomers" also mean bouncy underwear?
Good morning:
ReplyDeleteClever but challenging Thursday. I finished w/o help but had a couple of write-overs. Never heard of tinea. Wasn't Carlton Fiske also nicknamed Pudge? Anyway, thanks to Mr. Lowe and to Marti for the usual fun expo.
I was unable (again) to download today's cw from Cruciverb. I tried several times and I kept getting one which isn't even an LA Times puzzle. Very annoying, to say the least.
Has anyone had any experience with Joe's Crab Shack? One just opened in my area but I am always leery of chains, especially those specializing in seafood.
Have a great Thursday.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteBriliant theme in a mostly well executed puzzle that has a couple of glaring flaws. Tic-tac-toe loser OXO is the worst sort of fill. Mr. Lowe must have really felt trapped to have used it. My sympathy, sir.
I am most especially chagrined to have missed FEUDAL, not knowing TINEA (sigh.)
RAIN GOD - Awesome!
Don't think much of SPIFF or the 57D clue.
PUDGE is a forever favorite here in the Motown area. Several years ago, when the Tigers were 100 game loser, PUDGE signed as a free agent and that started the turn around that ultimately led to the Tigers current advanced mediocrity.
White SOX are the worst first place team in the history of history. Tigers took 5 of last 6 meetings. Verlander against them tonight. May the SOX again LAY EGGS.
JET!
You're all wrong: POP SINGLE is an unmarried male parent.
Cool Regards!
JzB
CrossEyedDave. That teacher was so out of line. These days in the U.S. A. a teacher would be in real hot water for that kind of abuse.
ReplyDeleteMari, yes, in all the states there are many well equipped and well staffed schools such as you and I described. There are also way too many like Chicago. Talk about disadvantaged! I have real sympathy for those who teach there, as well as for the parents and the students. I would hate to have my children or grandchild attend such an overcrowded school with few amenities. Expecting teachers to raise test scores with 40+ children, many below grade level, in one class is daunting.
Irish Miss, we've had Joe's Crab Shacks in Houston for many years. I think they may have started here. It's decent seafood, quite spicy (think Cajun), in a casual atmosphere with reasonable prices. Oh, and a very high noise level. That's the main reason I don't go there often.
ReplyDeleteThe only responsibility for clue @ 1D I can claim is I possibly inspired Rich with mine:
ReplyDelete"They're shot at Ducks and Pengiuns".
Thx everyone esp. Marti!
Nice to hear from you Gary! If I had seen you clue for 1D, I probably would have gotten the answer more easily, but it is a Friday - so Rich's clue was suitably devious!
ReplyDeleteWDS (what Dudley said) about PUDGE and TINEA. But a fun puzzle this morning--thanks, Gary. I love it when the answers fill in slowly, slowly, but eventually all come together. And thanks for the delightful write-up, Marti!
ReplyDeleteNice reminders of 'West Side Story' and AGNES Moorhead. Was she in 'Citizen Kane' or some other early classic like that? But of course she was the most fun as Endora on 'Bewitched.'
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
D-Otto @ 10:28 - Thanks for the info. I guess I won't be going to Joe's for two reasons. 1-I can't tolerate spicy food; it burns my throat and 2-I can't tolerate noisy restaurants. Fussy little thing, ain't I! LOL
ReplyDeleteMisty @ 11:01, yes - Agnes Moorehead played Mary kane, the mother of Charles Kane. 3:48
ReplyDeleteHeartRx @10:56
ReplyDelete"... but it is a Friday ..."
Dang, I must have over-slept again!
As for the Thursday puzzle ... DNF.
Learning moments (from the write-up, 'cause I didn't get them on my way to the KAMA Sutra Ink-Blot):
TINEA, GREGG, OLGA, TESSA ...
The POP SINGLE discussion is as interesting as the ARCADE(S) discussion yesterday.
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Whoa! finally got here after that puzzle gave me agita, even with the red letters on!
ReplyDeleteI have lots of nits to pick with the clueing, but i don't want to appear as a nit wit.
46D even birds do it, i was thinking "love", but this pic says it better.
Tinbeni, oops! I must be looking forward to tomorrow's puzzle??
ReplyDeleteCED, really cute pic. Do you know what kind of birds those are?
Splynter. Actually they have untill midnight ET on Saturday to have a new CBA. The owners are already saying "lockout".
ReplyDeleteTake care.
wtf u can do btr. thn. tht.. I counted 13 abbr. clues. hate cop out clues. 5 or six, ok, but 13!!!!! this was no fun at all. When I read 39a and 40a clues, I thought this puzzle would be fun. But I think it the worst of the year.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteI miss the old days of double entendres; discussions of pop single are not nearly as interesting.
Puzzle: DNF Too tough for me.
Cheers
"But I think it the worst of the year."
ReplyDeleteAs is your post.
Sallie, I too miss the good ol' double entrendre days, especially when C.C. would ask one of those seemingly innocent, naive questions.
Greetings, Cornerites! Ole! Ole! Marti!
ReplyDeleteIt's downright unfair to spring an obscure baseball nickname at 1A! So I sashayed east and filled that completely all the way south. Was very skeptical about IDAHO but I guess it is 45 miles wide.
Traveled on west and sussed the theme, very clever!
Finally I ended up at the top and back to that baseball player! Well, I just thought DUCKS and DUDGE, why not? Haven't seen GITANO in a while and it used to be quite common in crosswords.
I had only heard of and visited Soho, didn't know of NOHO. Some council member here suggested the ridiculous Sosco for south Scottsdale. Fortunately he was outvoted.
Irish Miss:
Yes, I wanted to tell you it is noisy and casual but it's my SIL's favorite eatery. We sometimes go on his birthday. Not my fav at all.
Thank you, Gary Lowe, for a treat today in spite of your propensity to use baseball terms.
Have a fabulous Thursday, everyone!
Sallie & Dennis
ReplyDeleteWell I googled "A GOB" and even in our DF past ... I can't post here what I got. lol
33-D Lots = A GOB is a stretch.
Cheers!
Fun but hard puzzle. WEES. I enjoyed the writeup, Marti, but I'm pretty sure today isn't Friday. Since I've been retired, I have a much harder time keeping track of the days and dates.
ReplyDeleteWe've eaten at Joe's a couple of times. Pretty good crab legs and I think you can get them prepared several ways, not all of them spicy. I think the most common is with garlic butter.
Pudge Rodriguez is not at all obscure if one follows baseball as I do. He's not on a team I follow but he is well-known as being a good catcher. He might seem obscure if you don't follow baseball as most of the French clues do to me since I never took French. I guess how hard the clues seem has to do with ones sphere of knowledge. I know a little bit about fairly many things. Some folks seem to know a lot about most everything.
Bill, I was trying to be facetious since sports are my bane. I do try to learn enough to get me through a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteNo worries. I didn't mean to come off as sounding critical. Your sports bane is more than offset by your knowledge of a lot of other important stuff. I am especially weak, in addition to French, in areas like modern pop culture. I know next-to-nothing about modern pop music. I don't do well with abbrevs. either.
ReplyDeleteDid anybody else originally try to spell dalmatians with an 'o' instead of an 'a'?
CED, great bird photo. I like birds. I think that's got something to do with their being warm-blooded even though they're not mammals. Closer kinship I guess.
"No worries"??? Isn't that just like no problem?
ReplyDeleteTTP, just a heads-up, as you might've missed this: be careful of going over C.C.'s request of a 20-line max post (in preview). A 20-line post on here (as yours is) is about 30 lines in preview.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Hello everybody. Well, I got the distinct impression this was originally a Tuesday level puzzle, converted into a Thursday level one by screwing around with the clues. Sorry, Rich, but I found the effort to be clumsy in several cases, such as "Actor Mike," "Swell," and "Lots." On the other hand, there were many clever, fresh, and fun clues, such as "Middle Aged?" and "Shark attack victim?". In fact, the shark attack was too clever for me, because I didn't get JET until reading Marti's explanation. Another reason I didn't get JET was that I spelled DALMATION wrong, preventing me from getting ERA.
ReplyDeleteI did not know whether kings shoot bucks, ducks, or pucks, and didn't know if Mr. Rodriguez's nickname was Budge, Dudge, or Pudge. I did paper,rock,scissors and entered B. Really hated to think it would be Pudge since to me that is pejorative. (Yes, I know there is Fats Domino, Fatty Arbuckle, Fats Waller, Chubby Checker, etc.)
So, DNF.
Oddly (or maybe not oddly), I knew GREGG immediately.
USAID looks like an anti-inflammatory drug.
More later, maybe. Best wishes to you all.
Anon @ 12:11
ReplyDeleteThough your comment is trollish, I'll share something with you that the late Dan Naddor taught us; but you'll get it in my words, not his.
A 15x15 grid is a rigid constraint to work in. The presence of (in this case) 5 theme entries constrains still further. Thus, there is a trade-off between themeage and non theme fill.
Note in my earlier comment I said Mr. Lowe must have been baked into a corner to settle for OXO. It's life. No work of human hands is perfect.
But give some credit for some absolutely sterling non-theme fill: ASH BLONDE, DALMATIA/ON (hand up) LAY EGGS.
Also consider that in a week-day puzzle you don't have a Saturday stye wide open grid, so some short fill is a must.
And if you counter things like U S AID, PCS and EDU in your list of abbrvs - and I don't know how else you could get to 13 - you really aren't being fair.
Cheers!
JzB
And I am still a bad proof reader.
ReplyDeleteJzB
I figured he just got fried by the time he got to the end; never considered baked.
ReplyDeleteAfter getting yesterday's puzzle with just a few Googles, I was lost on this one. I did know Gregg, because way back in the 60s I learned Gregg shorthand and still use it occasionally! I solved as much as I could and then came here to learn! Abejo, Eau Claire is a couple hundred miles north of me, too!
ReplyDeleteDennis -
ReplyDeleteI'm giving serious consideration to getting fried, myself.
Cheers!
JzB
Jazz, Save some for me, I'm on my way over.
ReplyDeleteI prefer sautéed.
ReplyDeleteDidn't finsh without red-letter help, but still enjoyed puzzle and Marti's write-up and links.
ReplyDeleteTINEA (ringworm) used when charting condition.
Did not know GREGG. Nurses had their own form of short-hand when we used to chart everything by hand.
Thought MYERS should be clued comedian instead of actor.
Learning moment was HOB even though I'm not sure it will ever come in handy.
INKED seems to mean something else nowdays. My husband got a Tatoo in the Navy and has always regretted it. I wondered if some young ladies will regret their decision in the future. IMHO. I'm old.
My FIL was raised with 9 boys and one girl named CLAIRE. She was called Sis and Auntie.
Have a great Friday and wkend! I will be busy at Midwest Hemophilia Conference so may not check in until Monday.
Have any of you read the English translation of all or parts of the Kama Sutra? My ex and I read much of it during our first years of marriage. We found it much more interesting than double entendres. More interesting also is the discussion of the word (A)GOB. BTW, AGOB, no space in between, is an innocent type of Bible study. Literature, erotic or not, cultural mores,erotic or not, and word meanings are more interesting to me than double entendres.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but I also had my BB gun taken away for taking shots at my brother ...
ReplyDeleteLAT or LON? Put in L and wait for a perp (one perp will do.)
I was surprised my wife is unfamiliar with Gitano jeans.
I agree I will most likely never use HOB in conversation. But it is stashed in my memory banks for future xwords. For maybe a day or two, anyway.
I recall ringworm was quite common when I was in grade school. I remember feeling lucky that I never got it. Got just about every other doggone childhood infection, though: impetigo, pink-eye ...
I somehow got hold of and tried to read the Kama Sutra (in English) when I was about 12. I didn't make any sense of it at all, perhaps because I was only 12.
ReplyDeleteJayce: That is very funny!
ReplyDeleteI like this type of puzzle theme. Tough to come up with additional examples that are legit.
ReplyDeletenot-so-legit:
CORN OIL
TART FIGHT (when Britney and Lindsay go at it)
CHERRY BATTLE (whatever this SNL short is)
Checking back in after another looong day. It's just the price I have to pay after taking two weeks of vacation.
ReplyDeleteDennis, tough news on the appraisal. Maybe you can appeal ? DW is facing the opposite problem. She's only getting low ball offers on her parent's condo due to one short sale. Also, will watch the lengths of the posts. Got carried away.
YR and Marti, thanks for the clarification on the pluralization of Crocus. And Marti, thanks for the excellent write up and links !
JzB, for sure, the Tigers do have the Sox number. I'm pulling for the Pirates to get in.
What happened to our morning torero? I couldn't wait to get home and show him to DH, and now he's gone :(
ReplyDeleteMari -
ReplyDeleteTwo glasses of Pinot Grigio. Kind of a small fry, I guess.
Sorry, alter, the word play doesn't work with saute.
My parents wouldn't let me get a BB gun. I really did get the "You'll shoot your eye out" line, though. They probably were right, too.
I have to believe my baby sister is therefore also dent free.
Kama Sutra Karma: You can have the sex position of the day delivered to your iPhone. I guess I'm either too old or too lazy. Or maybe just afraid of hurting myslef.
Cheers!
JzB
Interesting puzzle and great write-up, Marti.
ReplyDeleteKama Sutra: Marti, asked, "Can people do that?" Well, not if they're middle-aged. You have to be young and flexible.
FUEDAL: Someone prone to starting FEUDs? Like about pop single? LOL
Hands up for "hoops" for 1D as shot by Sacramento Kings. Put 5D "com". Didn't know Culture Club or Gitano so no hope for NW corner, alas! DNF
Thanks, Blue Iris for letting us know TINEA is ringworm. All the kids in the neighborhood had that in my childhood from playing with some puppies.
I took Gregg in HS and college. Never got good at it. Screwed up my spelling since it relied on phonetic syllables. Never used it working in offices because by that time we had dictaphone recording devices. Used some of it taking notes as a reporter, but had better luck reading it back if I used my own form of shorthand or memory for most stuff.
I have no experience with ringworm, but DH was in the hospital for 4 days last year with cellulitis.
ReplyDeleteMari, did he get it from his phone?
ReplyDeleted-Otto: hahaha! ;)
ReplyDeletedesper-otto, good one!
ReplyDeleteFrom Wiki:
ReplyDeleteContrary to popular perception, especially in the western world, Kama sutra is not just an exclusive sex manual; it presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life and other aspects pertaining to pleasure oriented faculties of human life. I found this part most interesting. The cultural mores bit.
I'm just back from work, and preparing to go to sleep ...it was fun reading all your comments.
ReplyDeleteThe cellulitis joke was really funny.
BION ( Believe it or not - ) I had never heard of Kama Sutra in India ... I think it is more of a western phenomena , er, fantasy... I guess Indians are not into experimentation ... and in my generation,one did not talk about such things.(really) But now, when we are much older, and its all old hat ....
I had never heard of Khajuraho either.... If you want, do - Google Images 'Khajuraho'.
Per Wiki, .....10th Century AD, exquisite, dozens of - stone sculptures, mostly wildly erotic positions,on outer temple walls, ... somewhere in the boondocks in central India. Big tourist destination now, UNESCO heritage site, one of the 7 wonders of India etc., etc.,
But still, not many indian tourists go there .... I guess they find it embarrassing.
Good night.
"Ringworm" is actually a fungus...and any good anti-fungal cream will kill it...ie Tinactin.
ReplyDeleteDennis:
ReplyDeleteHave you discussed getting the seller to lower the price? While there is some stabilizing in South Florida, there is still much fear and no appraiser will go out on a limb where there are multiple short sales in a neighborhood. Many were sued, or joined in foreclosure actions because of the high ones, so they take the safe way. We have closed many contracts where the price was adjusted to the appraisal.
We also could bring back the wit and whim of the old DF days if only people posted their thoughts, and we get more of our old timers checking in to post.
Go for it Dennis! I'd call Lemonade for assistance. He's in you area and he seems honest enough.
ReplyDelete@jayce 3:17 - thx for your perspective. I construct and clue for Friday, and Friday only, as my objective and never deviate from that. BUDGE/BUCKS, as you can imagine, occured to me. Quite frankly I thought it boring ...
ReplyDeleteThe clues you complimented belong to Rich and his team, and they substantially enhance the puzzle as a Thurday offering IMO. Thank you for taking the time to comment, it is appreciated very much.
My 3rd post for the day, & they are interconnected.
ReplyDeleteTo Teach someone is to take them under your wing, to care for them,,, everything else is secondary...
I am afraid i may not be able to post for a while. You see, Dennis' post @ 12:20 stirred a curiosity in me, & i went back in the archives to
Monday Jan 21st, 2008 (scroll to the bottom) in search of seemingly innocent & naive CC questions.
I will report back if & when i find something, (unless Dennis would enlighten us...)
Man, it is weird to see the Blog with only one comment!
CED:
ReplyDeleteJump forward a year.
CED: I use the blog's search engine often. It's great to read the old blogs. When I happen across one of my old comments, I cringe. Poor grammer, bad speling, missed puncuation and manny typoes. Always remember; when you put it out there, its always out their!
ReplyDeleteBut Dave, What about all the Links that are fum to find? You love it and you know it.
ReplyDeleteThe BEEP JAR!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteDennis, Send me an email. I'm headed to bed this evening, but I'll check first thing in the morning.
ReplyDeleteManac, great commercial!
ReplyDeleteThere have been a lot of commercials lately that are just tedious. Then another bunch that try to be funny but are uncomfortable and crude. That one was excellent. I wouldn't even fast-forward over it with my DVR.
Lemonade, yes, of course we've discussed getting the seller to come down - this deal can't happen without serious compromise on both parts. It's eventually going to come down to who blinks, because both parties know the other side wants the deal to happen.
ReplyDeleteI sent CED an email, but if others are interested, Windhover nailed it: you can start around mid '09 and find some pretty good examples.
Damn near 100 tonight -- also like the old days.
Yellowrocks, to each his/her own; I love a good double-entendre.
Bill, I agree with you about today's commercials. I usually mute them, change the channel or just turn the boobtube off. Ironic that it is this blog that makes me search the web for things, including commercials to post that I think most people here might a chuckle out of.
ReplyDeleteManac, that's F-ing funny!
ReplyDelete:-)
Dennis:
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the place.
One of the many benefits of the organization C.C. has put in place is the ability to go back and review old blogs and comments, read prior puzzles by constructors, look at the awesome interviews, and wonder why number of posts seems seasonal in that we climb back up in the fall, even though our cast of characters has changed so much from 2009. One of the reasons I am sure is the presence of your comments Dennis which always get the conversation going, as do C.C.'s. Have fun exploring CED.
Thanks Lemon.
ReplyDeletewell,darn. I miss so much while I'm gone. Guess I'll dig around for my copy of the KAMA Sutra and entertain myself.
ReplyDeleteSeen, you are another commenter who seems to have the knack for cluing; when do you unveil your puzzle?
ReplyDeleteLucina, now that's the kind of innuendo we're talking about.
ReplyDeleteHey Lucina, how's that nighttime reading and entertaining going? Funny, with this font, when you wrote darn, it looks like dam. That didn't sound like your style plus I knew it couldn't be you 'cause it was speled rong.
ReplyDeleteLots of posts today. It was fun.
Lucina, you naughty girl. On that note time to go.....marti see what you and Gary started?
ReplyDeletesoon
ReplyDeleteAs Sheldon would say:
ReplyDeleteIf ifs and buts were candy and nuts,
We'd all have a Happy Christmas!
I was just going thru blog comments for June 30th 2009, & was surprised to find out it was CC's birthday.
ReplyDeleteI was stuck in Florida for two weeks without internet, & didn't get back till July 5th.
Why didn't someone tell me!
Rats!
A belated Happy Birthday cake for you CC!
As Penny would say..."Sheldon, you're a freak."
ReplyDeleteCrossEyedDave,
ReplyDeleteThank you. You're the best!
Now, when should I make a similar link to you?