Theme: knight in shining armor
17A. Endures an onslaught of criticism : RUNS THE GAUNTLET. a gauntlet is a glove worn with medieval armor to protect the hand. or, a double file of men facing each other and armed with clubs or other weapons with which to strike at an individual who is made to run between them - thus, to 'run the gauntlet'
26A. Kind of contact banned by the NFL : HELMET TO HELMET. so dangerous.
46A. Use a sun visor, say : SHIELD ONE'S EYES
60A. Vulnerable spot : CHINK IN THE ARMOR
and to tie it all together ...
37A. Cyclist Armstrong, or what completes the ensemble found in the four long across answers : LANCE
melissa here. a little cloak and dagger for your wednesday morning - with a few enchanting references.
Across
1. Hunger hint : PANG. right about now.
5. Shorn shes : EWES. cute.
9. Indonesian island : JAVA. home of the buddhist monument borobudur.
13. Pinza of "South Pacific" : EZIO. italian opera singer, turned broadway star. died in 1957.
14. Pulsate : THROB
16. Yaks, e.g. : OXEN. noun, not verb.
20. Prognosticator : PROPHET
21. RR terminus : STA. railroad station.
22. Center opening? : EPI. epicenter.
23. Aus. setting : EUR. austria is in europe.
24. Puts the kibosh on : STOPS
32. Golden Bears' school, familiarly : CAL. berkeley.
33. "Joanie Loves Chachi" co-star : BAIO. scott.
34. Like James Bond : SUAVE
35. Carpeting computation : AREA
40. It may be impish : GRIN
41. 24-hr. news source : MSNBC
43. "If __ a nickel ..." : I HAD
45. Category : ILK
50. Currently occupied with : DOING
51. She, in Lisbon : ELA. portuguese.
at 2:47 ...
52. Justice Dept. bureau : ATF. alcohol, tobacco and firearms.
55. Greeting card figure, maybe : AGE. oh, figure. i get it.
56. Pacific Surfliner and Acela : AMTRAKS
63. Muslim pilgrim : HAJI. remember him?
64. Passover month : NISAN
65. Melville South Seas novel : OMOO
66. Candy bar with a cookie center : TWIX
67. More than just hard to find : LOST
68. Stir-fry cookware : WOKS
Down
1. Cop's quarry : PERP. ha!
2. Côte d'__: French resort area : AZUR
3. Padre's boy : NIÑO. spanish.
4. Mass reading : GOSPEL. nice clue.
5. Unworldly : ETHEREAL. i could sit and stare at a tank of jellies for hours.
6. Spark, as an appetite : WHET
7. Unit of energy : ERG
8. Such that one may : SO AS TO. alright.
9. Put (down) on paper : JOT
10. Car bar : AXLE
11. Prez's backup : VEEP
12. Opponent : ANTI
15. "__! that deep romantic chasm ...": Coleridge : BUT OH. from samuel taylor coleridge's poem kubla kahn, or a vision in a dream.
18. Hitchhiker's aid : THUMB
19. Neck parts : NAPES
24. Lining with decorative rock : STONING. tricky.
25. Slimy garden pest : SLUG. ew.
26. Severe : HARSH
27. Nicholas Gage memoir : ELENI
28. Mexican aunt : TIA
29. Antarctica's __ Byrd Land : MARIE. had no idea.
30. Pandora's boxful : EVILS. greek mythology.
31. Six-mile-plus run, briefly : TEN K
32. Rotating machine parts : CAMS
36. In the sack : ABED.
38. Activist Guevara : CHE
39. Nonowner's property right : EASEMENT
42. Commonly long garment : CLOAK. makes me think of jane eyre, speaking of ethereal.
44. __ blues: Mississippi genre : DELTA
47. "Eat up!" : DIG IN
48. Frequent final soccer score : ONE-NIL
49. Peter who co-wrote "Puff, the Magic Dragon" : YARROW. how can i not ....
52. Berliner's eight : ACHT. german.
53. Leave out of the freezer : THAW
54. Pacific archipelago : FIJI. wow.
56. Triumphant cries : AHA'S
57. Magazine filler : AMMO
58. Eccentric sort : KOOK
59. B'way hit signs : SRO'S. standing room only.
61. Veto : NIX
85 comments:
Morning, all!
Pretty straightforward solve today. The theme answers were pretty easy to get based solely on their clues, and when I got the theme reveal I was able to get the remaining theme answers even more quickly.
My rudimentary knowledge of Portuguese (based on my fluency in Spanish) got me ELA with no hesitation and I finally was able to get NISAN with no perp help.
A few hiccups, though. I had no idea that yaks were considered OXEN, for example, and it took a while to pull YARROW out of the deep recesses of my brain. The clue for STONING is not what I would have gone with, but I suppose it is less violent. And I've never heard of MARIE Byrd Land, but the perps took care of that.
Howdy folks,
Had a few self inflicted sloe downs today, but they were overturned thanks to perps.
As an example, for 16A started with GABS. 10, 11, & 12D got me back on track. Began with CSPAN for 41A. Again perps to the rescue.
Found the South a little more difficult and it took me a while to muddle through. The SW was particularly nasty.
Dennis, 41A AREA.. no issue with it today. Yesterdays still does in spite of your clear explanation,
In summary, another enjoyable puzzle successfully completed.
Melissa, nice write up and explaining the theme.
Have a fun Hump Day.
Good Morning, MelissaBee and friends. This was a fun Wednesday puzzle. We are watching Pillars of the Earth right now, so today's theme was apropos.
Lots of fun clues, too. I especially liked Shorn Shes = EWES and Greeting Card Figure = AGE.
Nice to see an alternative definition for JAVA. Argyle keyed us into other definitions earlier this week.
I love TWIX candy bars.
I had Cogs instead of CAMS for Rotating Machine Parts, but the perps set me straight.
Happy Wednesday!
QOD: Most of the time we think we're sick, it's all in the mind. ~ Thomas Wolfe
Loved the theme. Few lookups -- didn't know Pacific Surfliner or Acela. Favorite clue: like James Bond.
Love this October weather in Houston area!
What Hondo and Hatoolah said. Had COGS instead of CAMS and RARE instead of LOST and stopped just short of putting in ERIN for BAIO. She made the news again. She needs help.
Perps and deductions resolved many today. South was tough. Took forever to get NISAN and HAJI.
Missed the party yesterday. So thanks Argyle, Don and CC for that, and thanks Melissa and Michael Dewey for today.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Michael Dewey, for a swell Wednesday puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a great review.
Got started easily across the top. EZIO took a couple perps to get.
RUNS THE GAUNTLET came easily.
AMTRAKS for 56A was easy. I am currently on an Amtrak train in Pennsylvania heading to Buffalo.
NISAN came with perps. Sounds like I am not alone.
OMOO is an crosswordese answer.
The themes all came easily, except HELMET TO HELMET. That one took me a while.
Thought EASEMENT was a good one.
Hope to watch the debate tonight in PA.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Thanks Michael and Melissa for a fun outing. It took a while to remember the O in BAIO, so STONING was difficult, but doable.
I did the puzzle in two shifts because I got interrupted. I forgot to go back over two trouble spots from the first shift and so I let them stand and blew it. Ratz!
I don't particularly care for SUAVE men. They seem charming at first, but really are kind of fake and full of themselves.
A very broad brush, wouldn't you say?
Lots of unknowns and WAGs today but I got 'er done without outside help. I wanted COGS before CAMS but AREA fixed that one. Wasn't sure whether to use HIJO/NINO, until PANG appeared. Thought the theme was fun, most of the phrases were well known so fell into place swiftly. But I had to guess the first HELMET, and wanted SHADE for SHIELD at first too. I always used to sunbathe with my hat over my whole face to avoid sun blisters. Now I don't sunbathe any more at all.
Happy hump day to all!
Good morning everybody. Nice puzzle with some nice long answers. I got RUNS THE GAUNTLET first and the rest fell into place.
I wanted CSPAN for MSNBC and RARE for LOST (67A). Otherwise I did OK.
Favorite clues:
- 16A: Yaks, eg: OXEN
- 57D Magazine Filler: AMMO (I thought of ads)
Great words: SAUVA, ETHEREAL, ILK and my favorite: KOOK. And then there's 8D: What the heck is a SOASTO (lol)
Have a nice day :)
Oops: I mean Great words: SUAVE, etc.
From the L.A. Times Style Guide:
A “gantlet” is a flogging ordeal, literally or figuratively. A person may run a gantlet. A “gauntlet” is a glove. To throw down the gauntlet means to issue a challenge. To take up the gauntlet means to accept a challenge.
Source (2010)
Good morning everyone.
WBS. Straightforward run top to bottom today. Somehow seemed easier than earlier in the week. Wanted 'kink' before CHINK IN THE ARMOR became clear. No nits, although I questioned OXEN, too. No searches were needed.
ACHT - Interesting how German has retained the guttural aspirant 'g' sound while it has disappeared in English:
acht - eight
Licht - light
Knecht (boy or servant) - KNIGHT
recht - right
Nachbar - neighbor
Pflug, L. Ger. Ploog - plough
(In German a KNIGHT is a 'Ritter'. Think Ritterkreuz - Knight's Cross. George Peppard in "The Blue Max"}
But I digress.
Good morning, Group! Nice puzzle, Mr. Dewy. Nice expo, MelissaBee.
Four-letter Indonesian Island -- BALI. Not! When I was working for an offshore drilling company, we used to travel to JAVA quite often. One winter we inspected one of our rigs working off Bergen, Norway. In the manager's office was a world map with a "Drill Here!" note pinned to FIJI. I was really surprised a year later when that same rig was working in the waters off FIJI.
Surprise, I actually knew all of the proper names today. It was nice to see old friend OMOO again, along with the pilgrim of many spellings, HAJI.
So far as GAUNTLET/GANTLET, I think the majority would go with GAUNTLET. If it's not correct today, it probably will be tomorrow.
Yesterday we saw that the AP Style Manual prefers BUSES to BUSSES. Today we see that the LA Times Style Guide prefers RUNS THE GANLET to RUNS THE GAUNLET. In either case, both are correct. If they were incorrect, the dictionary would not accept them, or would flag them as informal or regional. For the sake of consistency style manuals have to choose one over the other. It seems to me that RUNS THE GAUNTLET is used more frequently, style manual or not.
Thank you Michael Dewey for a challenging puzzle and Melissa Bee (sorry about the capitals - ) for your very informative write up, and your oh so lovely link ups.
I heard ALL the Puff's songs, in all its versions - brought tears to my eyes - ( I'm easily moved... what a beautiful song, with such simple lyrics, ... I heard it first in '74 ). I wish it had a happier ending ... maybe Jackie paper could get a girlfriend, or a wife .... and a child, a daughter or a son ... and Puff could come to life, once more.
Now, here's a challenge ....with all you word and language mavens on this blog .... could you make up a couple of stanzas and resurrect "Puff" ??? .... and make us believe in childhood and innocence, once more ?
I thought 'erg' was a unit of Work ... i.e. ... Force x distance - mass x accl. x dist ..... OR grams x cms.squared, per sec, per sec ... but I see it can also be Energy.
Bill G. thank you for your inverted license plate puzzle yesterday... with all your clues, I finally got 68109 or 98106.
ALT QOD:- I'm drinking too much. Last time they asked for a urine sample, there was an olive in it. ~ Rodney Dangerfield.
I agree Yellowrocks. Recall the hazing death of Florida A&M band member Robert Champion from last year ?
A search of "florida a&m hazing gauntlet" gets approx 86K hits, whereas "florida a&m hazing gantlet" results in less than 10K.
Good morning:
Thanks Mr. Dewey for a Wednesday challenge and to Melissa for a fine expo. I, like others, had cogs before cams, but everything else fell into place, sometimes with the help of perps.
Overcast and a tad gloomy today but very mild temps. No complaints here. And, hooray, my vision is back to normal.
Happy Wednesday to all.
I was stymied for a while on magazine filler, thinking Glamour rather than guns. Now there's a guy's clue! Also thought Pinza's first name was Enzio, so I learned something new today. It's sad when you're a lit major who cannot remember Omoo.
I confused prognosticator with procrastinator ( which I am - ).
I have a couple of questions.
1. In which cartoon, did the figure 'Haji' appear in ?
2. Is 'Phenomenon' a Portugese movie, or it is a TV show, serial ? I noticed John Travolta and Forrest Whittaker in it.
BTW, Melissa Bee, I remember your beautiful and delightful pictures, from a year ago, of your 'girls-weekend-out'. What wonderful cooking, grandiose excursions, fun mani-pedi-spas, charming souvenirs, memorable stories and games .... We had a guys-weekend-out recently in Canton, OH. It was no fun at all. We just watched ( or pretended to watch - ) football on TV, and (some of us), guzzled beer. Most of the guys did not do any cooking, washing, cleaning, laundry, bathing .... I often wondered how these slobs ever got married !@#! Yellow Rocks, these people were anything but 'suave', but you still wouldn't have liked them. I asked one of the doctors, how he dressed for the office, and he said,'Casual ... I don't see any live patients'... ( he's a Radiologist - ). (OMG ! ). I am so ashamed, I am sorely tempted to cross-dress as a woman.
and somebody said,' Adam told Eve, that it's he who wears the plants in the family ...'.
Good morning melissa, C.C. et al.
Fun puzzle, and at first when I filled in LANCE, I briefly wondered if the theme entries were referring to his outfit - HELMET fit, and I thought they wore some kind of gloves or GAUNTLET when biking...
That theory quickly fizzled when I saw ARMOR. I thought the theme would have been more elegant if all the related words were at the end of the phrase. SHIELD ONE'S EYES was the only on with it at the beginning. But I guess "Blue Cross Blue Shield" was too long. "Rear windshield" would fit, but that is a compound word.
Loved the links today and agree with Anony-Mouse that "Puff" was indeed a very tragic dragon. Too bad he couldn't have been worked into the grid, too!
Happy hump day, everyone!
Some funny quotes,
1. What do you get for someone who has it all ? Antibiotics.
2. If regular exercise is good for you, why do athletes often retire by the time they're 35 ?
3. Confidence is what you often have before fully understanding the situation.
4. Life was simpler when people honored their fathers and mothers and not all major credit cards.
5. Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word ?
6. An optimist created airplanes. A pessimist created seat belts.
7. There is no problem under the sun too big to run from.
Enjoy.
Greetings!
Swell puzzle, Michael; nice expo, mb.
Favorites: AMTRACKS, AMMO and ETHEREAL.
Unbroken, same color tile finally arrived for guest bathroom (that was deconstructed due to extreme leaks). Former Jacuzzi room slowly turning into small computer room which will also house my electric wheelchair (had to buy a new battery--think $$$--which will at last allow me to use the chair to run around the property.)
Yellowrocks: really appreciate the English lessons! Stuff I wish I had known years ago. BTW, has "alright" become acceptable?
Happy hump day!
Good morning everyone.
Anony–Mouse: I too confused prognosticator with procrastinator. Stuck to it and therefore got that section wrong. My DH is a procrastinator. Sigh.
And I love your description of your guys–weekend–out.
Thanks for a tough work-out Mr. Dewey, and a terrific write up Melissa B.
Have a nice rest of the week everyone.
Cheers
A decent puzzle, although I don't think the clue for stoning was on the mark. Had no idea who Nicholas Gage was but picked up the answer with the perps. The theme was good I guess but I didn't pick up on it until I was finished. Over all an enjoyable coffee go-with.
Fermatprime, my huge unabridged says alright is in reputable use, but less common than all right. Other dictionaries say alright is used only informally. Spell check accepts alright.
The kind of SUAVE guy I was referring to is the one about whom we used to say snidely, "He thinks he's God's gift to women." There are quite a few celebrities that fits. I apologize to all you suave guys on the Corner. I'm certain you are not that type, but are real down to earth people whom I would like to know, just as you appear on the blog.
A commuter sat on a late train out of the city carrying on a loud argument with his wife. “Really, Sweetie, I had an important business meeting with the boss… No, no, it was not with that new gorgeous young secretary…. You have to believe me, Dear,” He argued long and loud, until his irritated seatmate yelled, “Honey, hang up that blasted phone and come back to bed!”
It took me a long time to realize that Nicholas Gage wasn't Nicholas Cage. At least I figured that out prior to today.
Sixty degrees at 8:30 AM spurred me to drag out the extension ladder and clean out the rain gutters. Then the mailman delivered my property tax bill. A day just doesn't get any better than that!
I saw a cute quote yesterday. "If a man says he's going to do something, you can rest assured that he'll do it. There's no need to keep nagging him about it every six months."
Wonderful puzzle today, many thanks, Michael! And Melissa, those are adorable pictures! A great beginning for a sunny day.
I love that sad Puff too. Even visited Hannali (spelling?) in Kauai to look for him on a vacation once.
Has anybody ever actually read ELENI? It seems to pop up in crossword puzzles just about every other day.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Hi Gang, a quick one for today, my wife and I finished in record time.
Re: Puff the Magic Dragon: I like the Live version better.
Good morning and happy hump day to all. Thanks Mr. Dewey for a fun puzzle and Melissa B for your write up.
To MamasitaM I think you are confusing MR. Ferrari his first name is Enzio.
To Anony-mous that cartoon was Johny Quest.a 1960's era adventure show.
Have a great day to all RJW.
Maybe because it was the NE that again was the last to fall, but I left with the impression that this was harder than a Weds ought to be. But I finished in 19 minutes and I swear half of that was because I typed all of my acrosses down and my downs across.
Did not like stoning, but I'm a Cal Alum, so I'll forgive that one due to the shout-out.
Delta Blues
AKA Thelma - from yesterday - I bought a new mouse yesterday afternoon and it appears to have solved the jumping around problem. but as you say, there are other issues.
good morning / afternoon all,
good to 'see' everyone.
anony-mouse, please don't apologize for your caps.
phenomenon is an american film, that happened to have a portuguese character with 'ela' at the end of her name. a chick flick i suppose, one of my favorites. my girls' weekends are divine, most unlike any guys outing i have ever heard of. haji was in 'jonny quest.'
al cyone, both definitions are listed under 'gauntlet' in the merriam webster dictionary.
finally some relief today, we've had a few scorchers lately. SO ready for fall ...
Hi gang -
Re: carpeting computation, we put my MIL's house back in order yesterday, after new carpet was installed. Color was WAAY off from the sample. We are less than delighted.
Was LOST for a while in the NE corner and west coast central today. They look easy, though, now that it's all done.
EASEMENT and ETHEREAL are great!
Misread Gage as Cage - very confusing.
Here's HAJI, along with the absolute best cartoon theme music ever(!) - there's even a cool trombone solo.
Cheers!
JzB
For some reason, i put 2 "O"s instead of 2 "T"s in "helmetoohelmet, resulting in my coming to the Blog to read up on the new word used in landscaping, "sooning." So, it's not a dnf, or an fiw,,, it's more of a "snafu!"
Rats, Jzb beat me to the Johnny Quest Theme!
Phenomenon is the best movie i have seen with the worst possible ending...
Nicholas "G"age??? now you tell me!
I was about to look for an extra verse to Puff The Magic Dragon, bbut it turns out there already was one! (under lyrics, paragraph 4.)
All this talk about grammar has me looking for the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy hires a teacher to help them speak properly, which results in a funny discussion of the words "swell" & "lousy."
Hello everybody. What y'all said.
Got fooled by "Magazine filler," but it was being fooled in a nice way, not a mean way.
Filled in ST_ for "RR terminus" and waited for the perp to indicate if the third letter should be A or N.
Speaking of Peter Yarrow, too bad I HAD wasn't clued something like "If ____ a hammer..."
Didn't like AMTRAKS much. There's more than one AMTRAK? I can understand there is more than one AMTRAK train or line. But railroads are not my AREA of expertise.
Somehow I remembered NISAN. I think it is because it has been in other xwords recently.
Liked THUMB, ETHEREAL, and PROPHET. Of course, neither ADMIRAL nor RICHARD fit into MARIE's space.
Ferrari's name is ENZO. I picture him as being SUAVE in a good way.
Best wishes to you all.
Thanks, Michael and Melissa.
What Irish Miss said are my thoughts.
Glad I am in CT where it is rainy but warm enough.
SNOWING in MT today. Started early this morning.
A few red and yellow leaves in CT yard, but still mostly green.
Would love to see the colors New England is famous for.
Montana
melissa bee: Nice write-up & links.
Michael Dewey: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday offering. Really enjoyed the theme.
Was having my JAVA, watching MSNBC as I solved. Guess you could say I was on the Constructor's wave-lenght.
I think this was the first time we EVER had the abbr. for Standing Room Only, SRO'S, as a plural.
Raining "Cat's and Dog's" here, so I might go out and get a pet.
Cheers to all at Sunset!
Had rare before LOST; otherwise fairly easy.
@Spitzboov - also, irregular plurals and verbs, such as mice (trying to be an umlaut) or is, was. Then the words that became more (or less) particular in the derived language, such as deer, Tier meaning animal; or bloom, meaning more of a bud than a full flower.
Tech savvy friends,
Is there a way to do each day's puzzle on an iPod, rather than an iPad?
Montana
Montana @ 2:01
Can't help you.
I'm a luddite who only solves the newspaper version, folded so it fits on my clip-board, in Black Ink.
(And I gotta tell'ya, using my NEW 'Red-Ink Pen' doesn't provide the "red-letter-help" that others have mentioned).
Cheers!
Tinbeni @ 1410. Your attention is drawn to:
How not to be a Luddite
in case you haven't seen it yet.
Hi all! I'm new and have been lurking. Enjoying this blog very much. This is for the Anony-Mouse challenge:
Forever is a long, long time to hide out in the dark.
soon Puff that Mighty Dragon so longed to see a spark.
He poked his head outside to see the dazzle of the light.
The sparkle of the colors made his eyes go big and bright.
He saw that he'd been missing life and all it's many joys
And he could still make special friends among the other boys.
So through the years he looked for friends and helped them smile and play.
And together their adventures made all sadness go away.
(Refrain)
Hi everybody. Made the same assumptions a lot of you did, Rare for Lost, Cogs for Cams. But if not for melissa, could not see Shield as part of the theme. DUH.
JazzB, thanks for the link to Jonny Quest. That led to the composer search. Hoyt Curtin wrote for an enormous amount of cartoon and other shows, including the Jetsons and the Flintstones...theme song based on (I Got) "Rhythm" changes.
Trombone soloist was probably Frank Rosolino, great trombone player, tragic end.
I think Puff should hear the cries of a sad little girl, who is lonesome and afraid. Then HE can come to her rescue and protect her forever, instead of a knight in shining armor!
Spitz, for you. (LOL!)
Luddite humour
This poster has a typo, it should read "I must continue my quest to slay the red letter."
You know i have complained about the squirrels in my backyard before. I would never think of shooting one with my slingshot, but the little buggers saw me practicing. Now what am i going to do?
Now where did i put that can opener?
Puff, the Magic Dragon lived in DC.
His scales and tail were perfect dress
To fit right in, you see.
Although he breathed no fire
Across the Washington Mall,
His dirty deals and sold-out friends
Would fill up every hall!
Nice hump day puzzle (and decimal system) Mr. Dewey!
Musings
-Once a King, always a King, but once a Knight is enough
-RUNNING THE GAUNTLET is a common football drill where teammates try to make you fumble
-Football at all levels is finally starting to take vicious hits seriously
-How stupid is this idiot SHIELDING HIS EYES
-An ESPN employee got fired for say Asian Jeremy Lin’s bad game showed a CHINK IN HIS ARMOR
-South Pacific’s lesson on racism was very early in America
-Football Prognosticators would be retired and living in Tahiti and not having a schlocky radio show or website if they were always right
-Cal Berkeley students
-MSNBC and other “news” outlets have their info slanted. Where have you gone Huntley Brinkley?
-Some “GOSPELS” didn’t make the cut at Nicea
-STONING had a whole ‘nother context to St. Stephen
-Kazie, Kate Middleton has altered her sunbathing regimen as well
-I heard P, P and M sing Puff in concert three times and Peter Yarrow gave the disclaimer that the song was NOT about smoking marijuana every time.
CED, dunno why but I couldn't view your first two links. Just a black page.
The weather has finally cooled off here; 75 with a nice breeze. Got a car wash. Two students for tutoring this afternoon.
Damn Dodgers...
Good job on the license plate puzzle yesterday. It didn't involve any math except turning some numbers upside down and subtracting. Just a little logical thinking. Any thoughts as to why so few people tried it? It was certainly not nearly as hard as a Thurday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday crossword. It seems like even the mildest possibility of math being included turns some people off.
For today's puzzle, had a lot of the same probs as some of you--I wanted SHADE instead of Shield, but perps soon put me right. OMOO gave me some trouble, as well. All in all, a decent Weds. puzzle which I enjoyed having a crack at.
Thanks.
I am looking forward to the debates, strictly as entertainment. I can't imagine anything will be said that could possibly influence who I will vote for. Don't you think that is true for most others as well?
I enjoyed the Luddite humor and the baseball cap photo.
I don't think I would ever write alright or alot except by accident.
Bill G.
I'm looking forward to the Debate tonight ... wish I could split the candidates in half to form my ideal President.
Guess I'll have to record my favorite show (on the Discovery Channel at 10pm).
HOW BOOZE BUILT AMERICA
FYI: The answer from yesterdays puzzle by Bill G. was 60,189.
As they say in Croatia at Sunset: Zivjeli !
AriadneArts @ 2:30 I loved your verse. Welcome to our blog. I am so glad you chimed in.
Bill G. I never use alright or alot, even informally. Spell check doesn’t like alot. Alot is so common, I am sure it will soon be accepted, at least in a qualified way. Some of us have had to use formal English in writing essays and theses for graduate courses or in our professional lives. To do otherwise feels "wrong" to us even when it is acceptable on certain occasions. Still, I try not to be a blue nose.
Since I am committed to a candidate the debates will be nail biting, like watching your spouse compete in an event that means the world to him. I can't stand to watch and I can’t stand not to watch. I cringe when "our" side makes a gaffe or stretches the truth. I try to tell myself the other side tells more lies and makes more gaffes. I am not so much enamored of my candidate as I am fearful of what the ascendency of the other side will mean. I frequently fact check both sides. You have seen how I like to research things.
Cal Students in my day. Actually, the People's Park riots were the year before I arrived.
They were for real, but the Anti-Vietnam stuff was not what it seemed. The rallies were called for noon and all the media was notified. When/if the media showed, the sheriffs followed. Only then did anything start and guaranteed, it was over in time for everyone to go home and look for themselves on TV. Arrest records were full of "street artists" and high schoolers. Across the bay, Stanford had their computer/math building torched. (At midnight, no media coverage.) Even Fresno State had their computer building fire bombed.
Hi AriadneArts, loved your Puff verses. This is a fun place to lurk and participate. Had to try my hand at it also.
With
Darkness all around him
Puff fell fast asleep. He
Dreamed of Jackie Paper, but
Awakened to a peep. It
Came from such a little girl who
Needed to be saved, so
Puff shook off his slumber and
Came out of his cave. He
Carefully approached her and
Said,"Don't be afraid"She
Reached her hand and touched him, and at her feet he stayed. She looked into his green eyes, and
Said I'll be your friend, and
Puff, whose heart was broken,was
Quickly on the mend.
Then chorus all in present tense, "lives" by the sea, etc.
"Still, I try not to be a blue nose."
Dang, too late.
A LOT - Merriam Webster has no problem with 'a lot'
a lot
1 also (informal) lots : a large amount
▪ She has done a lot to help other people. ▪ I'd give a lot to be able to write like that! ▪ I'm not asking for a lot. [=much] ▪ They must have paid a lot for that car. ▪ We did quite a lot this morning. ▪ We still have a lot to do. = We still have lots (and lots) to do.
2 : very often
▪ Do they hike a lot? ▪ I've been seeing her a lot recently.
3 — used to say that you feel a particular emotion very strongly ▪ “Did you like the movie?” “Yes, I liked it a lot.” [=very much] ▪ I miss her a lot since she went away.
4 also (informal) lots : to a large degree or extent : much
▪ This is a lot nicer. [=this is much nicer] ▪ There's a lot more to it than I realized at first. [=it's more complicated than it looks] ▪ I'm feeling lots better. ▪ Thanks a lot. [=very much]
Anon @ 3:55 Do you ever try not to be snarky?
Sorry about the 6th post, The problem is alot without the space. Of course a lot is very normal.
Bill. G. - I too wonder why not too many people try math puzzles - maybe its because they have busier lives than we have. I've been told, that many adults will not try a puzzle because they don't want to appear 'stupid' ... but that is in "public" ... trying a puzzle in your own office or home should have no 'ego' impact. I have a collection of over 200 tangible puzzles in paper, wood, plastic, rope, wire, leather and other materials - but I never show it in my parties - mostly because I don't want to embarrass other people. Research has shown conclusively that solving puzzles is NOT very highly correlated to I.Q.; as judged by the Stanford-Binet tests... but people are very sensitive about these things.
Thank you Melissa Bee and others for the explanation of the Haji cartoon, and for the 'Phenomenon' movie.... If I remember right, there was another movie in which a guy, an heir, falls in love with his Portugese housekeeper ... maybe,'My favorite year' ?... and later, he follows her all the way to Lisbon, to propose to her.... ?
Thank you all, especially Ariadne Arts @ 2.27, and Anon. at 2.54, for alternate endings to 'Puff', I have noted them down in my crossword journal. Thank you, very sincerely.
Husker Gary's link - Shielding his eyes - the columnist used the line, '.... like an immature jackwagon that is trying to hard.'
I am pretty sure he meant 'too hard' - although there may be a remote possibilty, of a subtle DF meaning, like a subliminal ad involved ??
CED's squirrel.
CED's cat.
Argyle: Both pages still come up blank on my iPad.
Irish miss - That is not blank, there is one white pixel in center. (Sorry, just being snarky.)
Argyle - this is the URL that comes up for both. Wonder if it's just apple products that this happens to?
http://themetapicture.com/media/picture.jpe
I am sorry you are having trouble with the links, i wonder if this is an apple thing?
It would be interesting to know what others see on their ipads/pcs/macs/whatever...
Anyway, here is the original Google Image page that the pics came from. The squirrel was the 3rd pic, & the cat was the 18th.
Let's try these sites.
Cat
Squirrel
Since 22 US states have 'legalized' Marijuana or THC for medical and 'pseudo -medical' purposes and 21 others are in a process of changing their state constitutions to relax the laws.
Whether, it was intended, or more likely not, - 'Puff, the magic dragon', may very well become the theme song at the so-called Amsterdam coffee houses. The L.A. City council voted to remove the ban yesterday.
Yellowrocks, not to douse your enthusiasm, but this election is going to be decided by the 12.7% of voters, who are 'independent', in only states like PA, CO, VA, OH, FL and MI. And most of them don't watch any of the debates.
Thanks, Argyle, they worked and thanks, CED, for the cute pix.
Maybe someday we'll have the JOVERS in a puzzle?
Welcome aboard Ariadne. Any relation to the one auf Naxos ?
Argyle, thanks for your dedication to the blog, above and beyond the call of duty. Hip, Hip Hooray !
And thanks to Cross Eyed Dave for the impetus. And may your strabismus be soon corrected, if not already.
Some sites don't want to be linked to so some will tell you so, some will just not let you link and some link you to tanned goose, (or was it a duck?).
And some sites have been hacked by us to prevent the distressing demeaning caricature of our furried friends posing in comically ridiculous situations.
No Fur, go nude.
No Meat, go veggie.
Smoke no grass, EAT it.
Bill G, I like you and have said several times I would enjoy having lunch and a chat with you. However (and I bet you knew there was going to be a "but") it is not the fact your quizzes are mathematical that makes people uninterested in tackling them. I have to say it is your response to people's answers that might be driving folks away. You have a tendency to reply to people's answers with questions such as "don't you think xyz is a better answer?" and "I would have said xyz instead of what you said." In fact, you did that to me twice, so I no longer bother to spend time on your quizzes because I fully expect you will invalidate my answer. I understand that if there is one and only one correct answer to a problem, then "xyz" must be the one and only answer. In my experience, the two times I proffered a possibly valid answer to a quiz you proposed you told me, in effect, that I was wrong because *your* answer would have been different. No matter how politely you say "What about this answer?" it still sends the message that my answer was not as good as yours.
Hola Everyone, Pretty much everything has been said about the puzzle. I had the same problems as others did. But. I wanted to tell MB thanks for the great writeup.
I also really enjoyed the two new verses to "Puff". Thanks, Ariadne Arts and Pas de Chat.
Welcome Ariadne A. I hope you enjoy the banter as much as we do.
I misread Shorn Shes as Shom Shes??? Our newspaper print gets smaller and smaller every day! The r blended right in with the n and looked like an m even with my magnifying glass. Maybe it's my old eyes that are the problem. Other than that things were pretty straighforward today.
Our weather is still hot, but cooling is coming our way, so we're told.
Have a great evening everyone.
Spitzboov, the Jovers got me cruising that site. how about some Hope?
Argyle
Irish Miss
Gunghy
I get a white sceen on my mac... but then I'm not getting u tube and some other things won't open. Not real pleased about now... :) but will figure it out or change..... :)
Thanx all for the nice afternoon...
Jayce thanks for stating my sentiments !
Jayce, I apologize all to pieces. I had no idea I was giving that impression in my responses to your answers. I certainly like you and am embarrassed to have left you with a bad taste in your mouth. Please give me another chance and I'll try to be more sensitive to how I respond.
Bill, I don't respond to your math problems because I simply don't enjoy math pboblems.
Yellowrocks 3:45: Thanks so much. I agree re: writing theses, etc. Feels wrong, alright! (lol!)
Bill G: how 'bout the cooling, eh? And it's gonna (!) get alot (!) better in the next weeks. And yeah, damned Dodgers...
pas de chat: Really love your Puff-in-shining armor verse, esp. the refrain in present tense. Thanks for your kind comments.
Anony-Mouse: Thank you for the welcome -- and the challenge. Otherwise I might still be lurking...
Argyle: Got the squirrel and cat on your second links. I was able to copy them onto my iPad. Thx.
Spitz boov: Thanks for the welcome. The only relation to Strauss' auf Naxos would be that I'm a weaver and I enjoy opera.
Chickie: Thanks re: Puff verse and the welcome. Hey, the rn and rm get to these old eyes a lot too. Wow, my spell check changed that second "alot", but not the first. Interesting. And yes, I'm enjoying the banter very much.
I still do not understand why some people can see those links & others can't. Argyle, were you able to see them the 1st time? I see them every time i go back & look. It must be some privacy/copyright/plagiarism issue that different computers/operating systems handle differently. I would gladly include the source of pics if i knew how!
Strabismus, i learned a new word, but i only get crossed up when i try to do crossword puzzles...
Spitz! loved the Jovers, Gunghy, loved Hope even more! Ya both got me cruisin' that site
P.S. Just curious, did everyone see those pics on the Google Image page @4:51?
Oh, i forgot!
Bill G. - I do not respond to your math puzzles simply because i cannot figure them out! But then i can't add up a bunch of numbers with a calculator & get the same answer twice!
But!
Every time you put up a puzzle, i try, & while i still never get the right answer, i do get further along each time...
Cross Eyed Dave.... neither safari nor chrome on my machine would open the first set of of pics... both would open the second posting and the website.. did I say all that right.. ? :) hope that helps..
Dave,
I could open all your 2:32pm pictures right now. But the first two were blank yesterday afternoon. Weird.
AriadneArts,
Welcome!
Anonymous @5:18pm on Argyle,
So right!
Pas de chat, are you into ballet? Pas de chat is a ballet leap.
Post a Comment