(Edited later: Sheila Welton is an anagram of "It's Halloween", so this puzzle was created by editor Rich Norris.)
Theme: "Something wicked (or at least vaguely strange) this way comes".
Theme: "Something wicked (or at least vaguely strange) this way comes".
Top o' the Morning! Steve here with our Hallowe'en puzzle from Sheila Welton which has a cornucopia of creatures that might variously be described as hideous, mildly scarifying, cute or just plain odd. On a scale of mild (camera-shy Nessie) to extreme (the totally outrageous and poop-in-your-pants-nasty Grendel) she's get 'em all.
I have to defer to CC and ask if this is Sheila's first puzzle in the LAT? (From C.C.: I think so. The relevant short theme entries made this grid tough to construct, esp the four corners. Congratulations, Sheila!) I don't see her in any previous write-ups. If so - congratulations on a lovely debut, and come back with more!
1A. Mythological fire-breather : CHIMERA. A monstrous fire-breathing female creature. Sounds just like all my exes. 4 out of 5 on the Scary Scale.
8A. Man-horse creature : CENTAUR. From memory, he was rather a gentle soul, given to clomping around in the woods playing songs on a lyre. If they were teen-pop-boy-band songs, I might give you the benefit of the monster-doubt. 1 on the Scary Scale. 2 if playing Boyz II Men or *NSYNC.
28A. Labyrinth dweller : MINOTAUR. Total bully, this guy. I visited Knossos on my first honeymoon with my first 1A. It was oddly rebuilt - you couldn't really tell what was Minotaur-old and what was recently-refurbished concrete. He rates a 4 on the Scary Scale for hiding around corners and bellowing.
31A. Elusive loch dweller, familiarly : NESSIE. Odd Lady Out here, as she is real. This elusive and rather charming plesiosaur lives in Loch Ness, Scotland, and is famously camera-shy. The best defense against a monster-attack by Nessie is to point a camera in her vague direction and she disappears. If only vampires were so obedient about garlic and crucifixes the world would be a much safer place. 1 on the Scary Scale for the Greta Garbo factor.
48A. Riddler foiled by Oedipus : SPHINX. I'm not buying the two riddles, by the way. Look 'em up and they're pretty lame. Bilbo had a better joust with Gollum in "The Hobbit". Sphinx rates a 3 on the Scary Scale for devouring herself when bested by Oedipus.
50A. Fictional destroyer of Tokyo : GODZILLA. His/her fear factor went out of the window with the chihuahua and the Taco Bell commercial. "I think I need a bigger box". Rates a 3, and that's only for living off past terrorisation. Hey - I just invented a new word!
71A. Beowulf's victim : GRENDEL. Oh lordy. Grendel was so horrible that my sister, studying English at Oxford University, refused to tell me what "Beowulf" was about. I was 11, I could've handled the truth. YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Six on a Scary Scale of Five.
And the unifier: 72A. What each of seven answers in this puzzle is : MONSTER. I had MUNSTER first as I didn't look at 68D and confidently filled in the obvious Hallowe'en entry and then went searching for Morticia and all the rest in the puzzle and drew an obvious blank.
Nice, fun puzzle. Thanks to Sheila for a good Wednesday!
There's some other stuff too, so let's check it out.
Across:
15. Tangled or disentangled : RAVELED. Wonderful stuff. If you're not unraveled, you must be raveled! I resolve to use this word today.
16. Employee's security pass : ID BADGE. It's a bad day when they ask for it back. It's happened to me a couple of times. I'll tell you the story one day.
17. Like Napoleon on Elba : IN EXILE. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba." Not really, NB - you were pretty dis-abled, being in exile and all.
18. Nonsense : TWADDLE. This blog, on a Steve Wednesday.
19. Elementary : BASIC. I learned computer programming at school just after the abacus was retired, and learned "Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instuctional Code". It worked out well for me given that I've had a career in technology. I could still churn out a few "GOSUB 510's" if anyone needs them.
20. Teacher's answer book : KEY. Why is it a key for the teacher and a 1D for the pupil?
Boo! Scared you! Chimera!
21. Guitarist Barrett : SYD. Founder member of Pink Floyd and key to their success.
22. About, in dates : CIRCA. Nice Roman legacy c.BC157
25. AEC successor : NRC. Who? What? Oh - Atomic Energy Commission (Yay! Cheap Power! Glow in the Dark Watches!) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (No! The China Syndrome! Three-headed Fish!)
35. Powerful health care lobbying gp. : AMA. Our old friends the American Medical Association.
36. Internet letters : HTTP. Crossword constructors love Tim Berners-Lee, and the Hypertext Tranfer Protocol, amongst others.
38. Singer Ronstadt : LINDA
39. Massage style : SHIATSU. I had the "S" and put SWEDISH first. I'm not sure if that's suitable for a family blog, I'm not up on correct vs dubious massage practices.
42. Champs-__: Paris boulevard : ELYSEES. Super-cool thoroughfare from the Arc De Triomphe at the North to the Place de la Concord at the south. It's one of those streets you really have to walk if you get the chance.
44. __-face: smooching : KISSY.
45. Law office hire : PARA. Not impressed with this one - I get paralegal, but I'm not sure you ever call someone a para? Happy to be corrected.
47. Not in the clergy : LAY
53. Match part : SET. Best of six games wins a set, best of five sets of six games, and you have a tennis match.
Boo! Centaur! I don't quite know what he's got in his hand. Doesn't look like a lyre to me.
54. Erased : UNDID
55. Leader of the pitching staff : ACE
58. Nipper's org. : RCA. I'm never sure if Nipper is trying to bark into the gramophone, eat it or listen to it. Did I read somewhere it was the Chairman's dog?
60. Godliness : PIETY. Asepsis must be next to piety in that case.
64. Brahe contemporary : GALILEO. Fortuitous that I had ???ILEO and realized that whoever Brahe was, there can't be many other people he lived alongside other than Mr. Drop Balls From The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
67. Temples with up-curved roofs : PAGODAS
69. Paper-folding art : ORIGAMI
70. No help : INUTILE. Last of all to complete. I'd never heard this word, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to remember it for next time (if there ever is a next time).
Boo! Minotaur! Yep, he's a badass:
Down:
1. Final exam no-no : CRIB. It's not a crib, it's a student's key.
2. '80s tennis star Mandlikova : HANA
3. Folk singer Burl : IVES
4. Arizona neighbor : MEXICO. Quibble. I like the misdirection here (I had NEVADA first) but please, like-for-like. Mexico's neighbor is the USA. Arizona's neighbor is the state of Chihuahua. Oh! Godzilla again!
5. Draw forth : ELICIT
Boo! Camera-Shy Miss Ness:
6. Cath. or Prot. : REL. We don't discuss Religion or Politics on this blog, so the Catholic vs. Protestant conversation must take place elsewhere. (But did you see Notre Dame on Saturday? WOOO HOOO! GO IRISH!) Sorry, parentheses excuse the outburst.
7. Juice drink suffix : ADE. The University of Florida Gators (home of Gatorade) didn't fare so well on Saturday. Sorry.
8. Name as a source : CITE
9. Keenan's actor father : ED WYNN. Had to wait for crosses. Now I know the two-N thing. Until the next time when I forget it.
10. Bulls org. : NBA. The Nebraska Bull Alliance. Fighting for the rights of Omaha Steaks. Actually, no, the National Basketball Association looking after the interests of the Chicago Bulls. I like my version (especially if you have read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" while we're on the subject of beef and Chicago).
11. Smidgen : TAD. Great words, both clue and answer.
12. Puts in : ADDS
13. Like Cinderella's stepsisters : UGLY. Is ugly equally in the eye of the beholder?
14. Bassoon, e.g. : REED.
Boo! Sphinx! What have I got in my pocket?
20. Small racer : KART. Had to wait for crosses for the C or K.
23. Cheers from tiers : RAHS
24. Prankster : CUTUP
26. Count (on) : RELY
27. Forensic detectives, briefly : CSIS. Crime Scene Investigators. No-one would ever have known this if it wasn't for TV.
28. Trick-or-treaters' costume items : MASKS. Because SHEETS WITH HOLES CUT FOR EYES doesn't fit.
29. Beatnik's "Got it" : I'M HIP. Or, as the acetabulofemoral joint said to the femur "want to snuggle up? I'm hip"
30. J. Carrol __: TV's Charlie Chan : NAISH. All crosses.
32. Fishhook-to-line connection : SNELL. All crosses
33. Perfect : IDEAL
34. Cinch course : EASY A. I never seemed to have any of these.
37. Big name in Argentine politics : PERON. Eva (Evita) didn't cry much for Argentina, nor did husband Juan.
40. With no warranties : AS IS
Boo! Tokyo in danger! Big Lizard!
Or this:
41. Emmy winner Daly : TYNE
43. "Shane" star Alan : LADD
46. Océano filler : AGUA
49. The "X" in XFL, so some thought : XTREME. Actually, it didn't stand for anything. Or so they said. To avoid litigation from an existing organization called "Xtreme Football League". The best explanation was the NFL (National Football League) actually stood for "No Fun League" and XFL stood for "Extra Fun League".
51. Homemade pistol : ZIP GUN
52. Imbeciles : IDIOTS. Usually those making and firing 51D's
55. Awestruck : AGOG
56. "The Alienist" author Caleb : CARR
57. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE. Thank goodness for good constructing and editing in this whole SW section. Major problems for me all around.
59. Slinky's shape : COIL
61. Cut and paste, e.g. : EDIT
62. Story : TALE
63. River of Flanders : YSER. I always have to think about this, there's a river in the Savoie region of France named "Isers" and I can never remember which has the I or the Y or the extra E
65. Car starter: Abbr. : IGN. My ignition was AWOL the other day, a jump start and a new battery and all is good.
66. Young fellow : LAD. Not Alan?
67. Milne's absent-minded Mr. : PIM
68. It begins with enero : ANO
Boo! Finally, the worst of 'em all - Grendel - he came at you out of nowhere and ate 11-year-olds like me for an appetizer:
Happy Hauntings everyone - and to all our east coast friends weathering the storm, you have our love and best wishes. Come through safe and well.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Here is a wonderful picture of Husker Gary (in shorts!) taken last week. He said: "While it won't rival JD's great pix, I am attaching a picture with two unusual elements that might be fun to post.
1. The beautiful fall foliage in our backyard around our deck
2. Me actually cleaning off the table so we can eat outside.
2) Part VI of JD's Italy trip: Tuscany.
 |
| Tuscany is stunning, filled with hilltop towns, vineyards, and is a patchwork of green. This is wine country...chiante and barelo among the best. |
77 comments:
Greetings!
Fine puzzle, Sheila! Fun expo, Steve! Really loved the theme! All gimmes. Steve: do you really believe in NESSIE???
Swimming friend still absent. Hope planes not grounded later today.
Must try to sleep. Cheers!
Morning, all!
Man, I guess we were luckier than I thought here. News reports put almost 300K homes in Massachusetts without power (including my father who still doesn't have electricity back) and there are trees down all over my neighborhood (including at least one that landed on a house). I'm really hoping everybody in the path of the storm is OK.
The puzzle was fun and right up my alley. If there's one thing I know, it's my monsters, so the theme answers were a walk in the park.
NAISH, of course, was a total WTF answer that I needed all the perps to solve. Fortunately, the perps were solid enough. PIM was also an outlier, but I think I've at least heard of it before. I also needed most of the perps to remember the spelling (once again) of ELYSEES.
Still not happy with PARA being clued with no reference to it being an abbreviation. I guess, like "uke," it has now become a stand-alone word, but I never heard it used back in my days working at a law firm. Maybe some of the lawyers can chime in?
PK,
I wrote to Splynter earlier yesterday morning. No reply. Quite unusual.
Hope Yellowrocks & Dave are safe also.
Hello Puzzlers -
Impressive grid today! Must've been a real bear to construct. Well done, Sheila!
Good Morning, Steve and friends. What a fun Monster Mash! The puzzle was a tad easier than the usual Wednesday fare, but I monsters gave a bit of a challenge.
I read The Alienist by Caleb CARR several years ago and I really liked it. I haven't read anything else by him, though.
I have to wear an ID BADGE to get into my building and into my office suite. Security in the building is often lax, however, and often the guards let people in without checking IDs.
Glad to hear Barry G and Dudley are safe. I hope we hear from our other pals along the east coast soon and hope their absence is only due to power outages.
QOD: I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. ~ Author Unknown
Good morning folks,
Like Barry, turns out we were very fortunate not to have lost power. Our town did not incur a lot of damage, but my understanding is over half the town is dark.
I successfully completed today's puzzle, but it was a brute. I am not into monsters and to fill them in required significant perp help. The SW corner gave me the most difficulty. When AGOG finally came to me, I guessed GALILEO & ORIGAMI (tried MACRAME ?? first).
The R in CARR & GRENDEL was my final fill and it was a wag.
30D NAISH was a hold up too. I don't remember J Carrol playing Charlie Chan. I do recall Sydney Toler in the role.
Lots of nice cluing today.
Good morning!
I'm impressed with the construction of this one with three stacked sevens in the corners and some really nice non-theme fill.
Steve, you brought out several chuckles with your expo. You're showing your British side with your spelling of "terrorisation." I'm with Fermat -- you think Nessie is real?
Happy halloween!
This was a true Halloween speed run. Survived the hurricane. Even drove during it. As my mom had an outpatient surgical procedure. Son has been out of school for 2 days and has a 2 hour delay today once he is out I canstart working on my Halloween Chili and prepare for the trick or treaters comming to the house we never get that many I am predicting about 10-20 this year.
Sheila, what a monstrous themed puzzle for this All Hallow’s Eve! The addition of my hero Galileo seems appropriate as the renaissance church considered him to be evil as well. John Paul II apologized in 1992.
Musings
-Lovely monster capsules and rating system in your fun write-up Steve.
-I always thought of CHIMERA as a wild, perhaps unattainable dream. Now I know the origin
-Perry Mason always got witnesses to UNRAVEL on the witness stand. Ever see that, Lemon?
-I gosubbed in BASIC a lot myself Steve.
-CRI B sheets are less necessary if you test for understanding and not for memory
-What would this blog do without HTML to post on our HTTP?
-In high school we said “KISSY face/huggy bear” to describe drive-in behavior
-Many great people were called PARA’s in the schools where I taught
-Going SET in a pitch game ain’t good
-Verlander was supposed to be the Tiger’s ACE but…
-Maybe someone needs to do this for NESSIE
-Florida Gator Jordan Reed who fumbled at the end of the game was seen crying on the sidelines
-Hmmm, Steve, I’ve never seen that NBA group here in Nebraska
-Hilarious spoonerism song about SISTY UGLERS
-Daughter bought a Swedish car 60 miles from Lincoln in Omaha and had to have it towed and wait a week to get IGN switch fixed.
Good morning everyone. Good intro, Steve.
Nice assortment of monsters, some of which I hadn't thought of as such, ie. SPHINX. I thought the puzzle had a nice composition. I always liked the actors WYNN. No searches needed.
Hope the missing are well and are able to check in soon.
Good morning Steve, C.C. et al.
Loved the monster theme! Could it be called a
"Monster Mash"?
As Desper-otto said, the stacked sevens are impressive, and did not compromise the fill in this one. My one hitch was in the SE, where CARR and ELIE cross GALILEO and GRENDEL.
And hand up for putting Swedish before SHIATSU for massages. I have had both (and yes, Steve - they are perfectly innocent) but prefer to have a deep tissue massage done by a qualified therapist.
I hope our missing bloggers are all OK, but I have a feeling it might be a while before we find out. Stay safe, everyone!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Sheila Welton, for a great puzzle. Thank you, as well, Steve, for a great write-up. I always enjoy your comments.
Needless to say, I could not get started on any of the long Across answers up North. So, I worked the short Downs. Basically, that is how I got through the puzzle.
CENTAUR was easy once I had a few letters. CHIMERA was not easy, until I had 7 perps.
Liked ZIP GUN
Liked ED WYNN. He was a great actor. So was Keenan. I think Ed was in the Wizard of Oz.
NAISH was unknown to me. A few perps and a wag.
I even knew ELYSEES. I amazed myself.
I wanted to write AAA for 58A, but held off. RCA appeared when I remembered the dog and after I got COIL.
I tried the cruciverb again, but no cigar. Waited for the paper.
My goal today is to carve my pumpkin.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Steve,
Thanks for a really fun blog effort today! Lots of smiles, despite the BOOS!
I managed most of this. Unknowns included HANA, SNELL, NAISH, but the most difficulty given was for CARR/GRENDEL/XTREME and RCA. I didn't know Nipper's name, having always thought of him in the words of the goons: "the little doggie that listens to it".
Have never seen XFL before, so it was a real natick linking all those others.
Also I wagged SET but couldn't see how a set could be part of a match. Isn't it the reverse?
Oh and I forgot: isn't the Champs Elysées more west east than north south? At least that's how I remember the map.
Hi all,
Wow, this was a difficult one for me! Guess I don't know my monsters very well. It's a bad start when you can't even get 1A or D...I finally did, but my head hurts.
I confidently put NEVADA in for 4D and there it sat for a long time.
I love the word TWADDLE, sounds naughty but isn't :)
Would someone tell me what 32D (SNELL)means.
My sister and I refer to each other as "SISTY UGLERS".
Thank you Ms. Sheila Welton, for an immensely charming puzzle - and all those oh-so-lovely monsters. I never knew Galileo was a monster - maybe for some people perhaps - but now he has been rehabilitated - for now, he's only a 'mad scientist'.
Thank you Steve, for your witty and tongue in cheek humour. (See, how Brit I can get ?). You did not have enough foodie references - now I'm not hungry anymore. (pout)
If Chimeras were only female, how did they reproduce ? Maybe they were spontaneously 'born' off of the ether ?
Is Nessie for real ? At 550 million Pounds per year, for tourism, ... you better believe it ! ...
There are 100 Centaurs, right here in the US, and they're always filibustering....
In Cleveland, Ohio - actually Geauga county, we have a Tim Grendell, politician - but now he's a judge - so no jokes.
As for your advice on garlic and crosses to ward off vampires - I happen to love all types of garlic, even raw garlic, even heirloom garlic at $ 8.99 per pound - but the resident, in-house vampire in my humble abode, loves garlic just as much - so, let me tell you, .... its of no use, she's here to stay ....
Google Doodle has a lovely, lovely, lovely picture of a haunted house, with spooks and cute sound effects and all - will really bring a smile to you and your kids faces.
Have a good week, you all, and all those in harms way, keep hope.
Kazie @0918 - My Bing maps show it running NW-SE.
Steve: Enjoyed your write-up & MONSTER links.
Sheila: Thank you for a FUN offering. I'm AGOG!
Kazie: I always remember the Champs-ELYSEES was kinda East-to-West, heading a bit North by about 30 degrees.
(or was that West-to-East, heading South by about 30 degrees?)
Is T-WADDLE a new way of walking ???
Skål to all at Sunset.
Carol@9:19 -- When I was a kid we just called it the "leader"; snell is the same thing. It's that thin piece of nylon or some-such that connects the fishing line to the hook.
I gave up my ID BADGE a couple of years ago. Each floor in our building had locked doors near the elevators, and it took a valid ID BADGE to unlock them -- or you had to wait until somebody came through from the other side letting you sneak in. On our floor we had to go through two locked doors just to get to the restrooms. That mandated some pre-planning -- no last minute dashes.
Solid Wednesday puzzle.
"QOD: I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween."
On the contrary. Nudists can go trick-or-treating as-is, and when families answer their doors and ask the nudists what they are, the nudists can reply: "Hypothermics."
I think Tinbeni has the Champs Elysées closest to accurate. I dragged out my old maps, and it's definitely at an angle. If you look at the stylized Métro map it is shown to be more a 45 degree angle, but the street map is at about 30 degrees.
I just had this picture in my mind of it being a straight arrow out to the Grand Arche at La Défense, but it's not as straight as I thought, and even that is at an angle too.
But it's still more E-W than S-N.
Monster Storm followed by Monster Puzzle! Most appropriate. Fun puzzle! Storm definitely not fun.
Steve, you had 4 or 5 wives? Or did I read that wrong? Really great write-up, but my Minotaur picture wouldn't open.
Life in a nudist colony would be scary all year round. Seriously scary bodies on some people.
One mistake: WAGd an "L" on the CARR/GRENDEL cross. Knew NAISH, but not that it had an "i" in it.
Didn't know PIM or Nipper...didn't think of RCA as an organization but guess a company is organized.
I saw a documentary on real CHIMERAs, women with something wrong with their chromosomes. Can't remember the details now but found it interesting.
C.C. Thanks for the non-info on Splynter. I haven't seen much on TV about Long Island but looks like it was in the brunt of the storm. There will be a lot of carpenter work after this if anyone can pay for it.
Happy Halloween! Steve, you have been unmasked! Loved your humor.
It took me a while to find Sheila's wave length but finally I managed to fill all the MONSTERs. This was a work of art!
EASY A, CRIB and KEY gave me pause as I looked for a school sub theme.
Steve, had the same IGNition problem last week, needed a jump start and a new battery, too.
Thank you, Sheila Welton, for a fun start to Halloween. No children come to our community so I don't even buy candy. The local parks and churches have parties for them.
I'm thinking about out absent bloggers and hoping all is well with them and power will soon be restored.
Trick or treat, everyone!
Yay! I got all the monsters, and WAAGed the SW corner with CARR, NAISH, and GALILEO (i wanted two Ls in there somewhere).
Good Halloween puzzle, Sheila, and wickedly funny write-up, Steve!
GRENDEL terrified me when I first read Beowulf as a youngster. The picture in the book was of a hairy, muscular giant with sharp teeth that were dripping with blood. Don't know where I found that book, but wished I hadn't.
Anony-Mouse, do you live with a phlebotomist?
I'm thinking that Splynter is still powerless, since people we know in NW New Jersey didn't have power yet last night. Son and his GF were only out of energy for 24 hrs. tide surge came up to, but not into, the bottom floor of their building. Whew.
You are right, C.C., I have read "Under the Tuscan Sun" (didn't see the movie), and liked the Provence book better! I am enjoying all the pictures from JD's trip.
Off to buy Halloween candy, since we've plowed through the stuff we bought a while ago :(
Glad we got that whole Champs-Elysees thing figured out. Fascinating.
Good morning and happy Halloween. Nice monster puzzle Sheila and great write up Steve.
Hard to focus on the puzzle when thinking about all the people in the wake of Sandy. My thoughts and prayers to all that are suffering.
We will have lots of kids in our neighborhood, I will hand out the goodies while DW goes out with the grand kids and our girls.
Have a great and safe one to all. RJW.
Good morning:
What a nice Halloween "treat" this puzzle was. I thought it was less difficult than a normal Wednesday and had no trouble at all, except needing a few perps for correct spelling of some of the monsters.
Nice work, Sheila, and super expo, Steve. Think the Irish can go all the way?
Hatoolah, after The Alienist, Caleb Carr wrote The Angel of Death which has the same cast of characters but an entirely different plot. I loved them both. He lives in the immediate area and ran for public office a while back but wasn't successful.
Seeing Nipper mentioned brought a smile as I used to work for an RCA distributor and Nipper was the guardian of the building. Nipper
Hope we hear from YR, CEDave and Splynter soon.
Happy Halloween.
More Nipper
Good morning, puzzlers. Couldn’t get my message to post yesterday, so will try again today.
Loved yesterday’s puzzle, even redid it when Cruciverb started working in the afternoon.
I didn’t find this puzzle as easy as most of you. I needed red letter help for more words than I care to list here. Hope Cruciverb works the rest of the week.
My son and family live in New Canaan, CT. They got through the storm fine, but an hour after the worst of it, power went out. They are told it will be at least 7 days and maybe up to 10, before power is restored. They post on Facebook twice a day, so extended family can all keep updated from one message. Works well for us.
Have a nice day,
Montana
Great puzzle for Halloween! Didn't know Grendel but figured it out with the cross.
I had a law practice for 30 years and never heard a paralegal referred to as a para-first time was in crosswords.
Son lives in NYC-says everything below 39th is w/o power-hard to believe the damage and devastation.
Steve, did I mention before how much I like your blogging and your fun puns and witticisms ? Well, if so, I'll mention it again. We are always very grateful for the erudite, dedicated, volunteer writers on this blog.
I have a small nit - the picture you show for the Sphinx, is actually a 'nice' guy ... a winged human faced lion - guardians of the Zoroastrian temple in Persepolis (or whats left of it - ) ... he (it) is one of the twin guardians of Faravahar ( or Fravashti, a guardian spirit, - shown as a human on a circle, with spread out wings - ), the representative of the Ahura Mazda, and primary symbol of the Zoroastrians.
BTW, the picture shows this 'Sphinx' guy as looking to be actually benevolent - but maybe that's just me.
The Z's were the followers of Zarathustra, arguably one of the world's oldest monotheist religions, in Persia ( ~ 6500 BC). They reached their high point in Cyrus the Great (~498 B.C. ), then Darius, and finally Xerxes, who was defeated by Alexander, the Macedonian, or Greek. Needless to say, they were the neighbors of, and thus the bitter enemies of the Greeks.
Sphinx, being a Greek concept, - you should probably have used a Greek image. Most writers, who I just read, seem to agree that the Sphinx, in front of the pyramids at Giza, is not a true representative of the Greek conceptual Sphinx.
Also, please note, I am not a Z., so this is only a moot, academic point ... and considering the time and effort involved, you may probably want to leave the picture as it is...
Only issue I had with this puzzle was 30 Down (NAISH). I've never heard of him. Thankfully got that with perps and the rest was a piece of cake. As for 45 Across PARA I've seen that in a few puzzles with no reference to it being an abbreviation so I am guessing that has become the norm. Thoughts and prayers with those that faced the brunt of the storm. I hope all is well. Take care and have a good day everyone.
Terrific Halloween theme--many thanks, Sheila. Still, a bit tough and I actually had to start in the middle and then work my way up and down. But I loved these monsters (I'm normally not a horror fan) and found Steve's write-up hilarious and delightful. (Hope his exes aren't on this blog). Was that by any chance a Sabine woman in the CENTAUR's grasp? If so, I'd amend his score on the Scare Scale. And last but not least, I learned that HTTP actually stands for something! Yay!
I too hope we hear from the missing bloggers soon, and wish everybody a great Halloween!
Thanks for the note about the Minotaur image not showing up - I've added a new one.
Nessie for real? Probably not, but it's fun to think that there may be something down there!
PK - just a couple!
Still learning about sphinxes - both Egyptian and Greek. Bonaparte shot the nose off the Giza one. He had issues.
I love Halloween! We'll have close to 200 kids come by our house tonight. I just sit outside on the front steps and hand out candy for 4 hours. Happy Halloween!
Hello everybody. A very impressive construction today, and a delight to solve. Steve, thank you for your witty and insightful writeup; the time and effort you must have put into it show through.
I was required to read Beowulf in school, and the fact I was never frightened or impressed with Grendel is testament to how utterly I failed to understand it.
I have also asked how any creature, monstrous or not, that is of only one sex (such as harpies) can reproduce. It is analogous to why there are no longer any Shakers: their prohibition of sex apparently prevented them from making any new little Shakers!
Hand up for filling in NEVADA and for feeling strange that it turned out to be MEXICO.
I recognized who Tycho BRAHE was, but got NAISH mixed up with Laurence Naismith.
Jerry Brown, the current governor of California, used to date LINDA Ronstadt many years ago.
My wife's sister and family, who live in Whitestone, Queens, are all right. Best wishes to you all.
I googled CHIMERA and it is interesting. The documentary I saw was about the two women mentioned who were tested and thought to not be the mother of their own children. The younger woman almost lost custody of her children until she got the information about being a CHIMERA. I think they were trying to bring criminal charges against her too.
Steve, I'm glad it was only a couple. I was concerned about how much alimony you might be paying. LOL!
As for the MINOTAUR, do you think he inspired the term "bully"?
Fermatprime, did your workmen ever show up to finish the remodel?
Anonymous at 1:10 is PK. I don't know what I do sometimes that the name doesn't show.
29D: I"M HIP
Still have my Dizzy Gillespie For President button
"Sheila Welton" = "It's Halloween"
Good morning Steve and all Halloweeners,
Love your humor, Steve..a good start to the day.Great theme Sheila..must have been a fun puzzle to construct.
The chimera, centaur, and minotaur were favorite monsters of my 6th graders while studying Greece, so I had a good start.
Steve, I had read that the Sphinx was used for target practice for the army.
Had to wag a final letter for Syd, Naish, and Carr- all unknowns.
Galileo is buried in Florence in the same basilica as Michelangelo.
hmmmm, so I guess Rich is our cruciverbalist?
Lila Cherry- Nice puzzle!
Hola Everyone, What a fun Halloween puzzle. This was interesting because there were seven theme entries, plus a unifier. That is a huge number for one puzzle in my opinion.
We are having quite a day here in our area. The orange and black of Halloween actually is being worn by about a million people in San Francisco. They are all decked out in Giants' shirts, caps, and scarves. The parade is wending its way through the downtown area as I'm typing this. Such a celebration.
I thought about Melissa Bee when the massage therepy clue came up. I thought maybe she would do the writeup today.
I'm looking forward to having coffee with JD and Garlic Gal tomorrow. We're in for a treat as I'm sure JD will bring her Italy pictures to share.
I'm off to the gym, so I'll have to finish reading the rest of the comments later today.
Have a wonderful Halloween, everyone.
All these smart people here at the blog but it seems that Al Gore was needed to crack the code. Who would of forseen this?
Hi everyone,
Steve, thanks so much for the great writeup today. You had me laughing so hard this morning with the ex wife line! Also thank you to the constructor, Sheila Welton for a brain work out. I had to get a toe hold in the south east corner and work my way back up. I was unfamiliar with inutile and Naish. I didn't understand the answer for 32D. I have never heard of snell. I continue to pray and send positive thoughts for those in the path of Sandy. I hope we hear from CED and YR soon.
So Sheila Welton is actually Lila Cherry? That's really rich!
Musings 2 – after 18 holes on a gorgeous day (similar to day pictured on our deck)!
-I too am concerned about our east coast friends and hope to hear something soon.
-Destructive weather here is tornadoes and they come and go pretty fast. We’ve never lost power and only damage was to the roof that looked fine to me but AM FAM replaced.
-I toured a nuclear power plant a few years ago and we needed ID BADGES to get through each door. His employee badge had to be swiped AFTER my guest badge and one time he went through before me and we had a lady with a machine gun in front of us in less than 15 seconds. She told my guide, “You should know better than that!”
-JD, I remember those burial sites in Florence too!
-Good puzzle and anagram, Rich!
JD
I have been enjoying your pictures so much! They recall some wonderful memories.
Desper-otto, good one!
I got the puzzle done OK. I was pleased to see Galileo, one of my scientific heroes. Tycho Brahe, on the other hand, was a bit of an oddball. He lost part of his nose in a duel. As far as the whole puzzle was concerned, I was whelmed.
Did you see Ellen being honored at the Mark Twain award show last night? Very enjoyable stuff I thought.
Here's hoping our missing east coast folks are OK with no serious Sandy problems. Best wishes for all.
Lila Cherry = Rich Really
Jerome, you confound us.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and Steve's write-up too. I'm still learning (do we ever stop?) and Wednesday puzzles are toss-ups still. But I finished this one, though it took awhile. I am a paralegal in Wisconsin, and have never been called a para. Don't think I'd LIKE to be called a para!
PK: Nope, they haven't shown up!
I think there's way too much anagramming going on here.
I agree!
To all the Anons, at 5.04 and 5.11, trying to ruin our blog ;
Hey, Swuce Roy !@#@
A different way to clue PARA would be Juanita's for. It means FOR in Spanish.
I've heard the term Para used for Paralegal, but not often. I've heard it more often than not for Paraeducator.
Interesting to see the constructor revealed!
Watching the evening news, it's amazing that there are no deaths in Breezy Point Queens despite over 100 houses completely destroyed.
My wife has a cousin in Brooklyn that has reported to siblings that he's Ok, but don't know if he has power. We've also got a niece in Boston that is OK. Don't yet know about a friend in Concord. Looks like it will be a long haul to repair the damage. I hope all the posters here are just without power and not injured or displaced by the storm.
Anon at 1:31 - good work. I never even thought to check for a Rich anagram. Shoulda known!
Doesn't anyone think this is a conflict of interest for Rich Norris to 'reserve' dates for his own crossword puzzles ? and try to pass them off under fake names ? Just asking. Who bells the cat ?
It was a great puzzle though.
My daughter lives on 79th St., near Central Park, in the City. Because of the power shortages below 39th St., she's had a plethora of guests, invited and un-invited. Her ex-boyfriend has come to stay with her, with his current girlfriend, her NYU sister - who is a S.O.B., and his 2 year old, Great Dane, 'Sweetie Pie'.
And also her boss's daughter, who at 17, is at an impressionable age, has planted herself, and is ignoring all hints to move out. Plus this lil 'baby' is making moves on the ex-boyfriend, and getting into a spat with the current girlfriend's sister. Also she insists on wandering around the studio apartment, in a clear white bikini - when she's not hogging the only bathroom. Should my daughter just 'taz them all, or use a pepper spray in 'turns ?
Please advise soon, as Sweetie Pie, apparently not been spayed, and is getting hormonal urges and making some moves, herself, on the most vulnerable resident.
For the 'dear abby' requestor;
I'm sure I saw this exact situation in an episode of 'Friends' 3rd season. Hie away, and get thee to a library and borrow the DVD.
Too busy floating on air to do the puzzle today, but I did read your work Steve, excellent. I will be back.
Happy Halloween all you delicious pagans.
Cute pic Lemonade - Grampa goes gaga.
I'd luv to be eaten by you.
Re: Paralegal Boss
I think we probably all agree, that this is the capper. You can't make this s--- up. Our typical Anons merely criticize the blog, the puzzle, the clues, etc. Slackers!!!
This idiot undertakes to criticize the editor. Woo-Hoo, as the kids say. No brains, no tact, but cojones the size of softballs. Like I said, you can't make it up.
Happy Halloween! Oogly googly foo!
I have been lurking here ever since PuzzleGirl went out of business. Steve, I enjoyed your write-up so much today that I had to chime in. Thank you!
I like the puzzle equally as well.
Yellow Rocks and CrossEyed Dave,
where are you??
I just got a nice e-mail from DoDo. She is fine but is having computer issues. She sends her best to all her blog friends.
Re like-for-like. Mexico's neighbor is the USA. Arizona's neighbor is the state of Sonora not Chihuahua
Am I the only one on here who found this puzzle boring and way too ease???
Evidently.
Hahtoolah, Is that a cat or dog in your avatar?
The witching hour approaches! Seems like some of us are sampling the brew...
I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop yesterday when I noticed the fellow next to me. I didn't know his name but I recognized him from TV and movies. He's a little person (dwarf?) that I located with some Googling. His name is Jason Acuña. He apparently has a taco shop in the south bay area and may even live around here.
The next family who came in recognized him right away and asked if they could take a couple of photos with him. He politely obliged. Can you believe it? None of them asked to take a picture with me! Rats...
Paralegal Boss,
Remember, Rich Norris is one of the top constructors in this country. In fact, he's still the 3rd most productive constructor under Will Shortz era, despite having not made any NYT puzzle for the past 5 years due to heavy workload with LAT.
Yesterday's grid is a real treat. I mentioned to Steve early yesterday morning what a feat it was for rookie Sheila to pull off a grid like that (I had no idea it's a Rich work). Just look at the four corners!
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