Theme: "Flipping Out" - A (Verb) THE B (Noun) is flipped into B (Verb) THE A (Noun)
24A. Pay attention to a word game? : MIND THE BOGGLE. I find Boggle difficult. Scrabble is more fun. Boggle the mind.
38A. Ask, "Is this really diet?" : QUESTION THE POP. Pop the question.
57A. Trade with Marineland? : DEAL THE SEAL. Seal the deal.
59A. Find out whether a strikeout king is doping? : TEST THE ACE. Ace the test. Don't know whether I should trust Roger Clemens.
72A. Advertise some prime real estate? : MARKET THE CORNER. Corner the market.
90A. Present a styling award? : HONOR THE DO. Gisele's hair is to be honored. Do the honor. I use the plural "honors" though. Do the honors.
93A. Fill a cargo bay? : LINE THE HOLD. Hold the line.
108A. Move a chess piece? : POSITION THE MAN. So I googled Man the position, and was surprised by what came up.
127A. Redecorate a castle? : CHANGE THE KEEP. Keep the change.
Lots
of work went into this puzzle. Steve had to mine all the A THE B
phrases and eliminated entries like "Bite the bullet" where B can't be a
verb or does not make surface sense when flipped.
The
grid design is also masterful. Heavy themage & cheater-free. Look at
the 16 seven-letter entries in this grid, esp those stacked in upper
left/middle & lower middle/right & the intersecting entries.
Just beautiful. BRIOCHE!
The clues are also entertaining. My favortie is PUN (80A. "Doing a crossword with a broken pencil is pointless," for example).
Across:
1. Psychiatrist's diagnosis : COMPLEX. Excellent 1-Across entry.
8. Biblical patriarch : ABRAHAM
15. Jet set : ELITE. So that's how military brass connect with the local community. Valet parking!
20. How shrimp cocktail may be served : OVER ICE
21. Period named for an element : IRON AGE
22. Flash lamp gas : XENON
23. Join, as a lucrative deal : GET IN ON
26. Culinary tide-me-over : SNACK. What's your favorite snack? By the way, Michele, I like Miso soup also.
27. __-ran : ALSO
29. Critic, at times : HATER
30. "Stand" band : R.E.M.
31. Mentalist's claim : ESP. I told Boomer on the morning of Nov 7th that we needed a big scandal, since the election was over and I had nothing to be occupied with. Boom! The Petraeus Gate broke. I'm amazing!
33. Like Charles Bronson : MACHO. OK, then.
36. Fellowship : SOCIETY
44. Sympathetic : KIND
45. Lines at the market? : UPC. Like ATM, this answer is fun to clue.
46. Where many races are seen, briefly : OTB (Off-Track Betting)
47. Evergreen shrubs : ERICAs. New to me.
49. High roller's quarters : SUITE. Brilliant clue.
52. "Stupid __ stupid does": Forrest Gump : IS AS. Gary Sinise, Lt Dan in the movie, is a workhorse for the wounded soldiers.
54. Picnic remnants : COBS
62. Has permission to : MAY
63. Loose things to tie up : ENDS
64. One might be significant : OTHER. Significant other.
65. Busts : BOSOMS
69. Little rascal : IMP. That's Spitzboov!
71. Inventing initials : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.
77. Yang counterpart : YIN. Ginger is Yang, so are dates. Cucumber is Yin.
81. It may share a kit with a 113-Down : TOM TOM. And 113. Percussion pair : HI-HAT
82. Djokovic rival : NADAL (Rafael). Man, I'm glad we don't need to fill in DJOKOVIC.
86. Cicero's love : AMOR
88. "Gimme a __" : SEC
98. Corduroy feature : PILE
99. Delay cause : SNAG
100. With 116-Across, noted finger-pointer : UNCLE. 116. See 100-Across : SAM. Love this poster Marti created.
101. Sands of Chad : SAHARA
103. Connections : INs
105. Texter's "two cents" lead-in : IMO (In My Opinion)
106. Made haste : HIED
112. So on : WHAT NOT
115. Godzilla creator, in the story : H-BOMB
117. Suffer : AIL
118. Baldwin and Guinness : ALECs
121. Somber genre : NOIR
123. Jewish teacher : RABBI
131. Ruling periods : EMPIRES
133. West of hip-hop : KANYE. Dating Kim K.
134. Payback : REVENGE
135. Butcher's array : FILLETS
136. Amusing zoo creature : OTTER
137. Indulged at Thanksgiving : ATE A TON. I'm good at pigging out on authentic Wonton noodles & Rice noodle rolls, not Thanksgiving food.
138. Skeptic's retort : SAYS WHO
Down:
1. Minor players : COGS
2. Item most frequently heated up for dinner? : OVEN. Our oven is underused. Stove is often enough for me.
3. Intro to physics? : META. Metaphysics.
4. Comparison shopper's data : PRICES
5. Connects with : LINKS TO
6. "Baudolino" author : ECO (Umberto). Has anyone read the book? Irish Miss?
7. Gabrielle's rescuer : XENA
8. Targets : AIMS AT
9. Café pastry : BRIOCHE. Have some!
10. Howard of Hollywood : RON. 35. 10-Down played him : OPIE
11. "So?" : AND
12. Possesses, biblically : HATH. This reminds me of the Mo Tzu we had on Thursday. See, in modern China, we use Pin Yin system, so it's Mo Zi, not Mo Tzu. The other philosopher is Lao Zi, not Lao Tzu. Wade–Giles romanization of Chinese is old & outdated & Cantonese heavy, since Wade lived in south China in the 19th century.
13. Ottoman VIP : AGHA
14. Assembles : MEETS
15. Cast out, as demons : EXORCISE
16. Relay race part : LEG
17. Piece of the pie? : INGREDIENT. Great clue.
18. Sign of a clean apartment? : TO LET. Another great clue.
19. Opposition : ENEMY
25. "It's going to __" : BE OK
28. K-O connection : L M N. Alphabetically.
32. Selling technique : PITCH. Very classy for Rick Porcello to agree to trade his No. 48 to Torii Hunter and donate the money to Hurrican Sandy relief.
34. Do the impossible with cats, proverbially : HERD
37. Restroom door sign : IN USE
38. Capital at 9,350 feet : QUITO. Capital of Ecuador. La Paz even higher.
39. Improbable win : UPSET
40. PayPal currency : E-CASH
41. Wind in a pit : OBOE
42. Andean staple : OCA. Like this.
43. Hurricane-resistant tree : PALM. Wow, I did not know this. Palms are never uprooted?
48. It takes you up and down but never moves : STAIR. In case you think of elevator.
50. "Look!" : TA DA
51. Besides : ELSE
53. Apple projection : STEM. Real apple!
55. Infant : BABE
56. Big name in paper products : SCOTT. Argyle's real name. Here is young Scott and his dog Rags.
58. Choir selection : HYMN
60. It may be laid or set : TRAP. I find "It may be this or that" type of clue challenging.
61. This, in Seville : ESTO. ESTA too.
66. Unit of resistance : OHM
67. Christian denom. : METH. Steve/Rich probably does not like the drug reference.
68. Parlor utensil : SCOOP
70. Restricted, with "up" : PENT
73. Exhilarated reaction : RUSH
74. Many pray on them : KNEES. When I was a kid, we had to kneel down to pay respect to old relatives. How things have changed.
75. Potent start? : OMNI. Omnipotent.
76. Bleachers support : RAHS
77. Chinese border river : YALU. Between North Korea and China. Literally "Duck Green". Ya =Duck. Lu = Green.
78. "Sign me up!" : I'M IN
79. Careless? : NONCHALANT. Great clue/Answer.
83. Biker's fabric : DENIM
84. "Battlestar Galactica" commander : ADAMA. No idea.
85. Enter one's credentials : LOG ON
87. Ignited again : RE-LIT
89. Dry and crack : CHAP
91. Actress Lena : OLIN
92. Allows to use temporarily : RENTS
94. "Glee" extra : TEENAGER. The show gives us the beautiful LEA Michele. Ewe can forget the "Grazing area".
95. "Well now!" : OHO
96. Lid hair : LASH. Oh eyelid.
97. Bit : DRIB
102. In a single attempt : AT ONE GO. Can't parse my answer.
104. How the riot act is usually read : SHARPLY
107. 1996 runner-up : DOLE (Bob). "Easy, Boy!"
109. "Nothing on my calendar" : I'M OPEN
110. Asian sash : OBI
111. Weightless correspondence? : EMAILS. Enlighten me, I'm not seeing anything clever here with the ?.
112. Not firing on all cylinders : WACKO
114. Aquarium favorite : TETRA
119. Jazzman Baker : CHET
120. Golfer Ballesteros : SEVE. Excellent short game.
122. Ones on the field who aren't team players? : REFs
124. Coffee or tea : BREW. Tea please!
125. "Little Women" woman : BETH
126. Playground rebuttal : IS SO
128. Science guy Bill : NYE
129. Mauna __ : KEA. Literally "White", so "White mountain". LOA means "Long".
130. Tolkien tree creature : ENT
132. Fla. airport : MIA. Steve lives around this area, I think.
C.C.
Happy Birthday to dear Jimbo! I miss your comments. How's bowling this year?
 |
| Left to right, Jimbo's son, Jimbo's granddaugter, his grandson and Jimbo |
64 comments:
Hello Puzzlers -
Had to chip away at this large grid. Got myself all bollixed at 74d when I misread pray as prey; I put in Krill 'cause it fit that way. At least I got thr theme right off, and that sped things along.
Plenty of unknowns & forgottens. We've had Oca enough times, I should be able to remember - nope.
Morning, C.C.! I hope you are looking forward to Thanksgiving even if the traditional menu isn't your thing. I have come to love this holiday above all others, it just works better than the rest.
Greetings!
Wow! You can be very devious, eh Steve! Got the theme on the first clue though. Love Boggle, but no one to play with anymore. (Sob.)
Thanks for a great puzzle, Steve! No cheats but lots of typeovers before the ta-da finally happened. A real brain strainer for me. Great write-up, CC. Love your interesting asides!
Went to swimming pool house in the rain. (Really, why not!)
Cheers!
nice write CC got the idea of the theme common 3 word phrase with the words in reverse order but it was to early in the morning to quickly suss out the required prases. pointless pencil went over my head on the first run through had to give myself a dope slap on when I got the PUN. Well time to wake up the boy ive got to take him to a soccer tournement today 3 games in 5 hours fun fun fun.
Got all the theme answers (they were fun) but got stumped on the NW corner and gave up after about 35 minutes.
For those who missed it, here's a short video featuring Will Shortz of the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/11/08/crosswords/100000001791821/how-a-crossword-is-made.html
Warm thoughts and best wishes go out to dear CREATURE. Her birthday is about now, although I'm not sure of the date. She will also be marking one year without her husband, who died in an accident on her birthday. She was a regular contributor to the blog and still checks in with us regularly. She has been trying to sell the horse farm where she lives.
Creature, A toast to you at sunrise that you may have a rosy bright future and a rewarding new life! Hang in there, girl!
Morning, all!
Really fun puzzle today! The first theme answer I got was DEAL THE SEAL and I thought the theme had something to do with rhymes, but then I got MIND THE BOGGLE and it all became clear.
Most of the puzzle was straightforward, but I got bogged down a bit in the center when I refused to consider anything other than LENDS for 92 and really, really wanted WALE for 98A (despite the fact that I already had OMNI at 75D). Once I finally let go of LENDS, though, everything was fine.
CC: Love the poster!
Argyle: Cute picture!
Not sleepy yet as I had an ill-timed nap. So I worked the Reagle puzzle. (Go to Washington Post puzzles and find it.) About 30 minutes. Fun animal puns!
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. Youch! I thought this was a tough puzzle. POSITION THE MAN was my first theme answer. I had lost of alternative answers for many of the other clues, which didn't help with my solving.
I wanted Over Ate instead of ATE A TON.
I loved Sands of Chad = SAHARA.
Lid Hair evoked an EEWWW! from me. I knew it was LASH, but the image I got from the clue was just gross.
I BREW my coffee before starting the crossword puzzles each morning. Every so often, however, I might opt for tea.
The only book I have read by Umberto ECO is The Name of the Rose.
Happy Birthday, Jimbo. I hope all is well with you.
QOD: You have no idea what a poor opinion I have of myself and how little I deserve it. ~ William S. Gilbert (November 18, 1836 ~ May 29, 1911)
Good morning, Sunday solvers!
There was lots to like in this clever offering from SJSJ. A couple of answers I was sure of -- OVER ATE, I'M FREE -- turned out to be wrong, slowing things down.
C.C., thanks for the learning moments re the YALU and the Maunas (Maunae?). Dennis should have loved this one with BOSOMS smack dab in the middle. I remembered the character played by Lorne Greene, but couldn't remember ADAMA -- perps helped. And corduroy has a PILE? I thought that was restricted to carpets.
Enjoy your Sunday, and be chalant.
Good morning C.C. et al.
Loved this puzzle from SJSJ. When I finally figured out the theme, it was a great help in filling the other theme answers. All I had to do was figure out where THE would land, which made it even easier.
I chuckled when I filled in UNCLE SAM, and thought you would remember the poster I made – thanks for the shout out CC! I have read “Foucaults Pendulum” and “The Name of the Rose,” but never read “Baudolino.”
And LOL about your mentalist prediction. ESP indeed!!
Off to rake more leaves…does it ever end??
Wow! What a COMPLEX puzzle, SJSJ! Very clever. Enjoyed it because I figured out the theme when I got DEAL the SEAL & HONOR THE DO with perps. That allowed me to BOGGLE and QUESTION. Never heard of the game BOGGLE, but rarely play games.
COMPLEX was my last fill-in. NW bloc was slow in.
I ended up with two little errors. Had DRIp not DRIB & had never read or seen Godzilla. Knew KANYE, but began it with a "c".
Put Nader for the finger pointer. But Ralph didn't fit.
25a It's going to..."hell"? "Heck"? Oh optomistic! BE OK. Didn't parse it. Wondered what BEOK meant.
Interesting to know the translation of YALU, C.C. (great commentary) I thought it was " yellow".
I don't use the oven either. Mostly microwave.
I've never had any COBS at a picnic. Plenty at home.
CHANGE THE KEEP - That was my fav in this wonderful Sunday exercise. MIND THE BOGGLE first made me think the theme was omitting the ING and inserting THE (mind boggling). C.C.’s expo and assessment of the grid was interesting as well even with no images for 65 Across ;-)
Musings
-My lack of corduroy terms and Lena’s surname cost me two cells
-I QUESTION THE COFFEE the waitress brings after 1 pm for caffeine
-Clemens? There’s a difference between being innocent and not proven guilty
-OK, Tin, how about ice and shrimp cocktail?
-If your friend from high school wants to GET YOU IN ON a great deal, run!
-ALSO RAN? My horse won the 4th race but he was entered in the 3rd.
-Bronson was the vigilante supreme in the Death Wish movies
-OTB Theme Song (1:22 into the scene)
-Edison invented a lot of stuff but his DC current lost out to our friend (and former Edison employee) Tesla’s AC
-I’ve seen a lot of incompetents hired because they had “INS”. You?
-I love Bogie in film NOIRs
-I baked cinnamon rolls in the OVEN this morning. I got an “Atta boy!
-Better cut that PIE into 4 pieces, I don’t think we could eat 8.
-Try HERDing 130 TEENAGERs through an airport
-UPSETS galore yesterday in NCAA football and bowl picture is now WACKO
-Point spreads for games can be laid or SET
-Read y’all later, I have to get out the guitar and practice for church. Not a staid HYMN!
Hello, Solvers! Morning, C.C. I'll have to read your lovely analysis later as I'm running late.
It BOGGLES the mind! That's what this puzzle did to me. I caught the theme very quickly and it helped except on LINE THE HOLD. Couldn't suss it but it was time to stop and get help from here.
Religious sect is not what METH comes to mind because it's so destructive.
Wonderful sashay from SJSJ. Thank you.
Later!
Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!
This was a very enjoyable Sunday puzzle. Thanks SJSJ and CC.
Looks like a picture with memories for Argyle. Nice.
After COMPLEX, I only needed the cross of O_A and ERIC_S to finish the puzzle. Didn’t know either. Mentally started through the alphabet—at C, it at least sounded like a word, so tried it and got the Ta-Da! I also didn’t get the theme, but putting THE in each, helped with perps.
CC, I love the little lessons about China that you put in the blog. I often watched a TV show called “Ni Hao Kai Lan” with my 5 year old granddaughter. Kai Lan and her YeYe teach about Chinese culture and simple Chinese words. One of Kai Lan’s favorite fruits is Lychee. It is not something one can go to the store for, either in MT or ND, so when my son and his children moved to Honolulu, we found Lychee during our first trip to grocery store. ($13.99/lb!!) None of us liked the flavor very much. Learned right away that Mauka means toward the mountain and Makai means toward the sea. Learned the Mauna names, also that Mahola means Thank You, although 5 year old said no one says it—they always say Thank You. We did find it on fast food garbage bins.
This puzzle brought many memories to mind. 18 month-old grandson watches one TV show, “Sid the Science Kid.” It’s a good PBS preschool show. Charles Bronson was one of my late husband’s favorite actors. Wasn’t Busts = Bosoms clever? Knew Kanye, but not how to spell his name. I have a granddaughter named Gabrielė (rhymes with Cabriolet) Clue reminded me of her, this morning. I couldn’t get INGREDIENT for a long, long time. Perps to the rescue.
Have a nice Sunday everyone. Thanksgiving is on its way,
Montana
Sunday puzzles are so big, it's going to take me all day.
So, re: Yest. Puzzle (that i missed)
I tried to do it to avoid doing the leaves, treating the center section as a separate puzzle. The grid spanning across's were impossible to deduce, so i thought that section of downs would be fun perpage. Boy was i wrong! Zippo, zilch, nada. Went to a very unsatifying red letter day. All of a sudden, doing the leaves did not seem like so much work!
However, I must read the Blog everyday. It is too informative to pass up. I would never want to miss a learning moment, chuckle, or downright LOL!
AvgJoe: That avatar is freakin' hilarious! & you can probably send leftovers to Barry G to keep the guests off his back!
Pas De Chat, I agree completely.
Finally, it was several days ago that Petula Clark came up. (birthday i believe) If you have never seen it, you are in for a treat if u watch Finians Rainbow. Beautiful music, great actors, Funny, & yet the ending always brings a tear to me eye...
Terrific Sunday puzzle. Thank you.
Now, off to the store for toilet paper.
Good afternoon:
I found this puzzle delightful but difficult. Even though the theme was evident early on, I still had trouble coming up with the correct answers. Had aha before oho, lends before rents, wanted wale over pile, had at one go instead of in, and had cutlets before fillets. I was just off the grid, but finally finished w/o help. TADA!
Thanks, SJSJ, for a Sunday stumper and thanks, CC, for your always entertaining and informative expo. No, I haven't read Baudolino.
Cute picture, Argyle, and a cute name for the doggie.
Have a nice Sunday.
C.C. Wonderful write-up & links.
SJSJ Thank you for a FUN Sunday offering.
Really enjoy the themes.
... Finally, the best thing to have OVER ICE ... Shrimp cocktail !!!
Cheers !!!
After Friday 's offer left me stun
I thought I'll give Saturday a run
But when I couldn't figure 18 down
I knew for sure I was DUN
But after 2 days of defeat
I knew today's I'll complete
So from top to bottom I went
And not much time was spent
And said to myself... REVENGE is sweet
Happy Pre-Thanksgiving Sunday to everyone!
Technical DNF today, as I did not know either Oca or Erica. Oh well, I consider it a successful Sunday if I can get all the theme answers, which all brought a smile.
Hands up for I’m Free instead of I’m Open and Loa instead of Kea. Also wanted Norma Rae for Uncle Sam until the crosses suggested otherwise.
Struggled on 135A, since I kept thinking of the spelling for Filet Mignon with one L.
Not a big fan of the original Battlestar Gallactica with Lorne Greene, but the SyFy remake with Edward James Olmos as Adama was frackin’ amazing!
HG @ 10:27 – thanks for the OTB clip. Guys and Dolls was our senior class play – it brought back a lot of memories. Miss Adelaide was known for her ample 65A.
Good morning everyone. Good commentary, C.C. Thanks for the shout-out.
Another nice (SJ)² crossword. The theme was mostly easy but fun. Not familiar with the BOGGLE game, but the perps and theme cadence took care of it. Nice sequencing of perp difficulty making the overall solve easy enough. Favorite fill was DEAL THE SEAL. I liked the UNCLE SAM clue, too.
At first with the title, "Flipping Out" I thought there would be phrases where the word "out" was taken out. But once the theme became clear it was an enjoyable Sunday stroll.
Thanks for all the fun comments. I did a lot of brainstorming on this one; I must have had a handle on just about every phrase that could be noun/verb flipped around "the". Here's some that didn't make it in:
RISK THE RUN - Walk through underbrush in pantyhose?
BAR THE RAISE - Establish a pay freeze?
SALT THE PASS - Clear some mountain roads?
SOIL THE TILL - Accept counterfeit?
LIGHT THE SEE - Illuminate Vatican City?
MOON THE SHOOT - Drop trou on set?
GRADE THE MAKE - Review for Car & Driver?
CLOCK THE RACE - Man the stopwatch at a meet?
SHOW THE STEAL - Rebroadcast a Ricky Henderson highlight?
POSITION THE FILL - Do foundation work?
Wow, there's a whole 'nother puzzle right there! (I asked Rich Norris if I could do two, and he said no, so this isn't a "spoiler" for the future.)
I had many cute clues for PUN - what a fun word to clue - but figured the crossword one was the most appropriate.
My clue for 73-Down was "Tom Sawyer band", and I just saw RUSH in Tampa earlier this month. That show does provide an "Exhilarated reaction" though, so it works either way!
Hi All ~~
Thank you, Steven J. St. John for an enjoyable Sunday puzzle. It was nice to have fun after struggling through the puzzles of the last three days. I was half way through before I really caught the cleverness of the theme. Up until MARKET THE CORNER, I was seeing a play on words with the other theme answers but only then did I catch the "FLIP." Seems I've been a little dense lately!
~~ I had a number of write-overs, including 59A - TEST THE Arm/ACE, 97D - 'Daub'/DRIB and 112D - 'Wacky'/WACKO.
~~ Last fill was 113D - HIGHHAT. I know we've had it before but I didn't remember it. Also wasn't familiar with 'Keep' in the phrase CHANGE THE KEEP.
~~ My favorites were 96D - Lid hair/LASH and 34D - 'Do the impossible with cats'/HERD. I successfully HERD my cats when I open cans of Fancy Feast!
~~ A wonderful write-up, as always, C.C. - I love your personal touches.
SJSJ ~ Wow - some great phrases that didn't make it!
SJSJ, MOON THE SHOOT - snort, guffaw haawwwww hawww harrrr!!!
A very enjoyable puzzle SJSJ. Interesting phrase of the turn.
Avg Joe - Turn of Phrase would have been a cute title. Wish I'd thought of that...
SJSJ @ 2:14 - Very impressive, indeed!
A perfect blend of humor and degree of difficulty. I love Sundays with the puzzle, coffee and NFL Redzone. A beautiful 60 degrees here in Montana, but we who ski are praying for snow,
CC: 102 Down. In a single attempt : "AT ONE GO. Can't parse my answer."
Think of AT ONE GO = IN ONE TRY
1 Down. Minor players : COGS
Can someone explain this one to me, please?
SJSJ, feel free to use it if you try another. I'd look forward to it.
Jayce, if you are out there. How'd you like the syndicated NYT puzzle today? As Chefwen (IIRC) warned us, it was by Liz Gorski. i just finished it, and I thought it was a pleasant solve. Prolly about the same level of difficulty as this one. Actually a similar theme, so that may have helped.
SJSJ, Tx for a great puzzle. I finished it this AM, then finally talked my neighbor into seeing my new fishing spot. Well we spent 15 minutes b/4 he exclaimed "i'm freezing my ass off," & we went to J&R Tobacco to warm up & get toasted...
What i remember is, 96A Lid Hair?
After i finally sussed the answer, i had an urge to clean out my medicine cabinet! (too many mental images!)
HG,Tinbeni,,,
My fav, shrimp ever was on the Barbie! With some kind of Thai Sauce i had at a party! I have been trying to recreate it ever since... (Screw the ice!)
PK@6:29am Creature BD? I tried to search the Blog, but all references were someone else referencing "Creature"...
I do not know who to Salute!
C.C. re ERICA - Here is the English text to the first stanza of Erika, a well-known German marching song:
On the heath a little flower blooms and it's called: Erika.
Hot from a hundred thousand little bees that swarm over Erika
because her heart is full of sweetness,
her flowery dress gives off a delicate scent.
On the heath a little flower blooms and it's called: Erika.
Buckeye Bob - If someone is part of a much larger organization and has no influence on what goes on, they might be termed just a COG in the (gear) wheel.
Buckeye Bob
Just another cog in the machine.
No big deal if you break.
Spitz, I have no clue if Erica is related to Edelweiss, but I was reminded of that by your post. So, in an effort to give some air time to a very nice tune from the past: EdelweissK
Avg Joe - According to Wiki, they are in different orders, so not very close.
Marti - Re Erica. Here is the Finnish version:
You can sing along.
Finnish text: Palle (Reino Palmroth)
Kankahalla kasvaa kaunis kukkanen,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
Perhot kirjosiivet kiertää kilvaten,
Miss´ on hän, Kaarina.
Hällä huuli kun on hunajaa,
Tuoksu kummustansa tulvahtaa.
Kankahalla kasvaa kaunis kukkanen,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
Siellä jossain tiedän sievän tyttösen,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
Mua hän muistelee tuo hellyys herttainen,
Aartehein, Kaarina.
Voi kun luonto säihkyy väreissään,
Hälle lennätän mä laulun tän.
Kankahalla kasvaa kaunis kukkanen,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
Kukka kaunis myös on kamarissa mun,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
Aamunkoittehesta päivän laskuhun,
Katsoo mua, Kaarina.
On kuin kuulisin sen kuiskaavan:
Pikku morsiantas muistathan,
Suahan täällä jossain itkee tyttönen,
Nimeltään Kaarina.
CED: I think you probably came on the blog after Creature had dropped off to attend to her ordeal. She is a lovely person who has been dealing with a difficult situation with grace. Splyter referred to her some time ago. I hope some of the regulars who remember her get my message. A widow can always use some special cheer.
I just returned from seeing ARGO. Wow! Has anyone else seen it? It is one good, no make that great, movie.even though I knew the outcome I was physically shaking from the suspense. Good job directing, Ben Affleck.
Really enjoyed your blogging, C.C. You do educate us on Chinese culture and entertain with your asides. Very funny on your ESP!
I loved this puzzle! Thaough I had a Natick at NADAL/ADAMA. Not familiar with either.
Some exceptionally good clueing on STAIR, PUN, UPC and of course the theme answers.
Happy birthday, Creature! I wish the best for you.
Joe
Just looked at your new avatar with my
new specs. That is so disturbing but
funny as hell! Still can't figure out how to add one but whatever. Thanks for the chuckle!
Didn't get to the puzzle until late afternoon. Broke my norm of early morning solves. Also read the write up and blogs before posting this time.
Great puzzle Steven J. St John. Took a long time to prove so many answers, and I never caught the theme. Never thought about the theme as I was just trying to get the right fill. Really enjoyed it but did not ace it. Failed at the 47A 42D crossing of ERICAS and OCA. Should have guessed the C. I liked the riddle in the puzzle, STAIR.
CC, thank you for the write up. 111D, Weightless correspondence ? Literally and figuratively is my guess... Figuratively having no value or standing. Perhaps junk mail or spam on the personal accounts. On the job, perhaps getting work direction or similar in email form by someone that has no standing, thus "weightless." Not sure if that's why the question mark was there, but I've seen my share of "weightless" email on the job.
TTP
Speaking of avatars... Yours looks it
could be a pic of my Annie. An east German Shepard breed. Black and tan.
Lost her last Oct. but she was was a great companion and babysitter in her day.
SJSJ, sorry I am so late to the party, very busy getting ready to go visit my new granddaughter, but I absolutely LOVED this puzzle.
I think it is your best so far, and I am really impressed how many of these phrases your brain located.
Also, I applaud the Turn of Phrase alternate title, what a group.
C.C. you are still the best.
This year I have not made my annual pitch for every reader old and new to stop by and say hello on Thursday, so here I am doing so. It will be marti and it will be fun and we would love to know all are okay and would also love to have a hello from all the first class lurkers we have reading the Corner.
I know I give thanks each year for finding this wonderful place with so many interesting, supportive people both creating the puzzles and the comments, and for our dear fearless leader for making it all possible. So let us give her the props she deserves by saying hi on Thursday.
Lucina @ 5:38 - BH and I saw Argo last week. It is a very good movie.
On a personal note, I was privileged to meet Canadian Amb. Taylor at a Navy training exercise about a year after the event in the film. As to the exterior shots of the State Dept., I attended annual meetings and receptions there with Canadians between the mid 70's and 90's. Even one in the former Iranian embassy after relations were severed. The Canadians are great people.
This puzzle took my all morning (with a nap in the middle). Clever theme I thought. Thanks (SJ)^2 and C^2!
Best wishes and good thoughts for Creature.
Our two local kids were planning a trip this coming weekend so Barbara decided to have Thanksgiving dinner today. They changed their minds but dinner worked out well anyway. Our two specialties? The turkey cooked slowly and breast down. The white meat stays moist. And pumpkin pie with no spices except vanilla and sugar. The turkey recipe we learned from an old radio chef in the area. The pie recipe has been in our family for more than four generations.
still having trouble with this Lid Hair clue.
Lucina: we saw Argo when it first came out a couple of weeks ago. We really enjoyed it. I did not know that there were some people in the American embassy who were not held captive during the hostage crisis.
We just spent the day at a renaissance festival. Lots of fun.
Manac, He's our second GSD. He's a good boy, and carries all the traits. Protective, loyal,loving, playful, smart and fearless.
We adopted him from the local animal shelter, so we don't have the papers or lineage on him, but no doubt that he's a purebred.
Displays the herding traits every morning by insisting on "counting noses." He'll push an ajar door open or sit and wait until it is open to ensure that all are accounted for... Loves to "go for a ride." Gets along with all the other dogs in the neighborhood except his one arch enemy, who nipped him when we were socializing him.
They are such great dogs. Hope you get another one day.
For those of you watching 60 minutes, here's a little musical diversion from the Reverend Horton Heat that ties in nicely: Bales
TTP
Your right about those traits of the
GS. But this one would not let another dog or three at one time ( she ripped them all a new one ) in the yard. She also took on a black bear one AM. Annie 1 Bear 0
Yes I would love to get another one but adjusting takes time. They are the best friends and where I live better than any security system.
Hey Lemony, don't you mean Wednesday?
Most people will be too busy or away from their computers on Thursday. Hell, BarryG has to cook a turkey AND heat up a ham that day!
Anon 8:28; thank you. Of course any day next week would be great for people to stop by and say hello and Wednesday may be the best suggestion.
I am glad the snipers can find pleasure in their lives.
It wasn't a suggestion, that is the day you have always done it. But of course you already knew that.
A Cog in the machine
whatever
Manac, RE: cog; Someone had a good time putting that one together, didn't they.
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Steven St. John, for a great puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the review.
I'm dialing in late tonight. Had a busy day. Took me a long time to finish the puzzle. Got hung up in the NE and SW corners. Stuck with it and finally got it done.
Once I got EXORCISE for 15D, that fixed the NE corner. All the rest fell in place.
Then i got HI HAT and NONCHALANT in the SW corner. The rest were easy.
The theme was great. Once I got started everything fell into place with the theme.
I'm ready for bed. See you in the AM.
Abejo
PK
I bet they did but I guess they knew
Honda has some deep pockets. Yet I've
never seen it advertised.
Whatever.
Manac:
I've seen that video before but don't recall when or where. Ir might have been here. Very impressive.
I am going to post before I read the comments. Thank you for the write up C. C. and for the shout out. I was a vegetarian for many years and still eat lots of meatless meals.
I found this puzzle to be very difficult but I kept plugging away at it. Thanks Steven St. John for a really nice Sunday brain workout. I always enjoy attempting your Sunday puzzles. Learning moments was ERICAS. I am an avid gardener and have never seen this plant. I have a casual friend who says "what not" all the time.
I hope everyone is ready for Thanksgiving. I haven't even started grocery list yet! Hope everyone sleeps well.
I hope he appreciates that comment.
Argyle, I am so sorry! I didn't sleep well last night and confused you with Splynter. Anyway, I meant, it's a nice picture of you and your dog.
Happy Birthday to Creature also.
Quite understandable. We are a couple of handsome guys.
Miami Dodge Dealer,
If you really want to comment on the puzzle, lose the business link.
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