Theme: i'd like to buy a vowel
ok, sorry, i know that's a lame title. but hey, it's election night and i'm a little distracted.
18A. Tropical headgear : PANAMA HATS. wikipedia: a traditional brimmed hat of
ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant.
ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant.
27A. Deal-closing aids : SWEETENERS. 'sweeten the deal.'
36A. Urbana-Champaign NCAA team : FIGHTING ILLINI. complete unknown to me. illini (pronounced "ih-LIE-nee") is a european adaptation of the illinois indians' original word for themselves, illiniwek, which means "the best people".
50A. Powerful pin cushion? : VOODOO DOLL. i'm guessing there are a few voters who wish they had one about now.
58. False : UNTRUTHFUL
melissa here.
melissa here.
this had to be a bear to construct, with every theme answer having only one repeating vowel, with those vowels appearing in alphabetical order. very impressive. the middle one is an even 14-letter answer, hence the grid is 15*16 (16 columns).
there were several unknown / obscure entries that delayed my solve time a bit - guess you gotta expect that in order to pull this off.
across:
there were several unknown / obscure entries that delayed my solve time a bit - guess you gotta expect that in order to pull this off.
across:
1. Dash, e.g. : RACE. timely entry.
5. Head-hanging emotion : SHAME
10. Altoids alternative : CERTS. mints.
15. Fan favorite : IDOL
16. Earthling : HUMAN
17. Absorbed the loss : ATE IT
20. Passover ritual : SEDER
21. Dix halved : CINQ. french, dix = 10, cinq = 5.
22. Calendar abbr. : TUES
24. Prior to, in verse : ERE
25. Low-tech note taker : STENO. short for stenographer or stenotype.
30. Unblemished : PURE
31. Line winder : REEL
32. Baking by-products : AROMAS
33. Creative enterprise : ART
34. On the fence : TORN. like all those undecided voters.
35. Six-stringed instrument, usually : VIOL
41. Two pages : LEAF. wikipedia: A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. i guess thats where the phrase 'turn over a new leaf' comes from.
42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah" : ADEE. from 1946 disney movie 'song of the south".
43. Tram car filler : ORE. mining car.
45. Totally absorbed : ENRAPT
48. Hon : DEAR. aw.
49. Pontiac muscle cars : GTO'S
52. "It __ hit me yet" : HASN'T
53. Mao follower? : IST. maoist.
54. Scientology's __ Hubbard : L. RON
55. Sushi bar soup : MISO
56. Cook-off potful : CHILI
63. Mixer for a mixologist : TONIC
64. Boyfriends : BEAUS
65. Couple in a rowboat : OARS
66. Run through a reader, as a debit card : SWIPE
67. Footlocker : TRUNK
68. Sandstorm residue : GRIT
down:
1. Split : RIP. i guess.
2. Org. concerned with crowns : ADA. american dental association.
3. Mozart works : CONCERTI
4. Pal of Jerry Seinfeld : ELAINE
5. Retired seven-foot NBAer : SHAQ
6. "Say that again?" : HUH
7. "I __ Rock" : AM A.
8. Fisher-Price parent company : MATTEL
9. Follow logically : ENSUE
10. Potluck staple : CASSEROLE
11. Summer on the Seine : ETE. french.
12. Turn in for cash : REDEEM
13. Spain's __ de Campos : TIERRA. another unknown for me.
14. Underline, say : STRESS
19. Trio on a phone keypad : MNO. #6 key.
23. Online shopkeeper : E-TAILER
25. Place for pampering : SPA
26. Area of expertise : TURF
27. Calligrapher's flourish : SERIF
28. Question of time, to Telemann : WENN. this seems both really obscure, and a little weak … but maybe i'm missing something. so georg philipp telemann was a german composer (1681-1767), and "when" in german is wenn.
29. __ me tangere : NOLI. more obscurity.
31. Barbecue spit, e.g. : ROTATOR
34. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE
35. "Myra Breckinridge" author : VIDAL
37. Tickled pink : GLAD. roughly half of america today.
38. Scottish Celt : GAEL
39. "As of yet, no" : NOT SO FAR
40. Pressing need? : IRON. cute.
44. Inexact fig. : EST. estimate.
45. Throws out : EVICTS
46. Reservation waster : NO SHOW. ugh - i get those a lot.
47. Spiral pasta : ROTINI
48. One of Dancer's partners : DONNER. two of santa's reindeers.
49. Far-from-efficient vehicle : GAS HOG
51. Reservations : DOUBT. partial clecho.
52. Best-seller : HIT
55. Perfumery scent : MUSK
57. Blistex target : LIP
59. Frat house letter : TAU
60. Flee : RUN
61. The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf. : URI. another unknown to me, university of rhode island.
62. D-Day vessel : LST. landing ship tank.
melissa
melissa
82 comments:
Hello Puzzlers -
I'm glad MBee was able to suss the theme - I looked for some connection but I'll be darned if I noticed the vowel thing.
I am so glad the blasted election is over. I hope my phone will quiet down now.
Cheers all!
Morning, all!
Mostly a stroll through the park for me today, despite the fact that I stayed up way too late last night watching the election returns and got up way too early this morning as well.
The theme eluded me while solving, but I did manage to figure it out afterwards before coming here.
A few minor speedbumps along the way. The worst was NOLI, which I had no idea about and needed all the perps to get. Then I really wanted DOUBTS for 51D, and when the final S wouldn't fit I abandoned the word entirely until the perps forced me to accept DOUBT without the S.
And... that was really it, I think. I even got FIGHTING ILLINI with only a perp or two to get me started, despite the fact that "Urbana-Champaign" means exactly nothing to me.
Good Morning, Melissa and friends. What a clever puzzle. I caught on to the "excessive" vowel progression after getting the PANAMA HATS and FIGHTING ILLINI. Nice twist on the usual vowel progression.
I knew both ILLINI and URI because I have family members who graduated from both universities.
Lots of food references today ~ CASSEROLE, MISO Soup, CHILI, AROMAS and, at the end of the meal, CERTS.
I liked both the ORE and OARS.
Here's another example of being TORN.
My favorite clue was Pressing Need? = IRON.
The Org. Concerned with Crowns = ADA was a new twist that almost tricked me. I first thought of royalty, then chess before the V-8 can hit me.
QOD: At 30 a man should known himself liked the palm of his hand, and know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures ~ be what he is. And, above all, accept these things. Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913 ~ Jan. 4, 1960)
Hi Y'all, Challenging but WAGS and PERPS pulled it off with no errors today. Melissa's commentary & links as well as Hatoolah's music were SWEETENERS to the start of my day. Couldn't figure out the theme till coming here.
Had EjeCTS before EVICTS until all those OO's OO's stared at me and I ejected my first guess. I've been cleaning out and EVICTing some of my books. I've found a few that I would swear I never saw before.
Very STRESSful day yesterday because it was hard to say who had been UNTRUTHFUL and shouldn't receive our votes.
Zip-ADEE-Doo-Dah is one of the earliest songs I remember singing after being taken to a movie. I loved Uncle Remus stories which Mom read to us.
My taste buds are revitalizing so I can taste CHILI soup once more. Yay! Didn't want to live tasteless.
The first thing I noticed when I looked at the theme - " i'd like to buy a vowel" was author's last name, Sajdak. Take out the "D" in his last name and you have "Sajak" as in "I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat"
SWEETENERS was the last to go and gave me WENN and NOLI, both of which I had no idea. [8:03]
Good morning, Melissa Bee, C.C. and gang - what a great day for America!!
No, I'm not talking about the outcome, but rather the cessation of those phone calls and the return to normal mail volume. A great day indeed.
As to the puzzle, it was a smooth solve, with my only write-over being 'noli' instead of 'nolo' for 29D. I make the same mistake just about every time that clue appears. As Marvelous Mel points out, the theme had to have been a real bear to develop, although I think that with all those vowels, the rest of the fill might've been a bit easier than normal. Nicely done puzzle.
Anon@6:45, that's a great observation! Very clever.
I've never liked that Camus quote that Hahtool posted. I don't think you should ever be comfortable with your limits or 'foretell (your) failures' or ever know how far you can go. I think most people would be very surprised at what they're capable of doing in a given situation. Me, I'll never fully accept that there's things I can't do. But then again, I'm not all there...
Have a great day - stretch your limits.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, James Sajdak, for a swell wednesday puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for the good write-up.
Got started at the top and just worked my way down. Needed a few perps to get me through, but that is normal.
PANAMA HATS was easy. I hear they are pretty expensive. The real ones, not the knock-offs.
FIGHTING ILLINI was easy. The twin cities of Urbana and Champaign, IL, are just south of us about 130 miles, or so.
Vowels. Clever.
I finally got ROTINI. The last time we had that it was difficult for me. Now I relate to the word and what it means. Simple.
I own a GAS HOG now. A Chrysler 300. We get about 16 around town. Better on the highway.
Anyhow, I have doctor's appointment this morning for my eyes. A check-up to see if last week's surgery worked.
I am glad the election is over. My guy did not win, but I hope the "in crowd" will do some things different going forward. I was an election judge for about 16 hours yesterday, counting set-up and tear-down time. Slept good last night.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Pleasant Wednesday puzzle.
QOD: "At 30 a man should known himself liked the palm of his hand, and know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures ~ be what he is. And, above all, accept these things."
ALT QOD: "By 40, you have met every kind of person you will ever meet." Bert Cooper, from "Mad Men."
"My guy did not win."
It doesn't make any difference.
This one was challenging for me. Got it all, but had to work it methodically. Then, once completed, I had to look pretty hard to suss the theme, but enjoyed the progression once that became apparent. Didn't care for the fact that the number of vowels in the last 2 phrases varied, but don't know what could be done to fix that.
I'd also noted the similarities between the constructors name and the worlds most famous vowel merchant. But I hadn't tied it to the theme. Clever!!
Lemon, from last night. Potato sausage has beef, pork, onions, spices......and yes, potatoes.
Good morning everybody. I sure didn't see the theme - thanks to MelissaB for the clarification.
I knew the FIGHTING ILLINI because my boss went there and still follows their basketball team.
Great words today: ENRAPT, CASSEROLE, SERIF, ROTATOR.
I learned from CINQ, VIOL, WENN, NOLI, and TIERRA.
My other boss lives in NJ. His home remains without power and he and his family are living in a house (with power) with three other families. This coupled with no school for the kiddies = yeesh! He said no trains are running from NJ to NY so it's hard to get to the office. There are 2 tunnels connecting NJ to NY and one has been designated for busses only to help folks get to work and back.
I hope you all have a nice day.
Short on time this morning. Slept late, too long on the puzzle, and conf call in a few. Will have to savor Melissa later. As well as all of the blogs.
There were a couple of areas that slowed me down a bit on this one. But the real issues developed when I entered CRUMBS instead of AROMAS for 32A Baking by-products. There was big void in that part of the country. Missing letters everywhere. Going across 3 of those 6 letters in AROMAS and CRUMBS are in the same position. So CRUMBS was "proved" by CASSEROLES, REDEEM and STRESS. Finally said that 23A could only be ETAILER, and that was the change that got me to the TA DA.
OOPS, already late to my call. Spater !
After a slow start in the NW, perps and wags got me through this fairly easily. I even noticed the theme early after seeing the vowel repetitions.
My only nit was WENN instead of WANN. With a question, "wann" is the correct word, and "wenn" is used to mean "whenever" or "if". So seeing "a question of time" in the clue, I of course had WANN before WENN.
Say what you will about the circus that elections have become, Romney did do a nice job of conceding. Like Dennis, I'm glad it's over, now my blood pressure can return to normal.
Lovely puzzle James! Logicallya (our paper added the “a” to the clue word logically), WENN and NOLI were a little crunchy to get to SWEETENER but I found this puzzle very satisfying.
Musings
-I had TOPEE at the ready before PANAMA HAT appeared. Don’t they have to be pink with a purple hat band?
-Two words ending in Q meeting – wow!
-The 440 yd run of my track career is now a 400 meter DASH. A marathon for me now.
-Daughter’s boy friend is a nice man who constantly chews on Altoids but never offers any to those of us around him. This is not a big deal but…
-Jerry’s other friend pretended to make donations to the bogus HUMAN fund
-Preparing girls to be STENOS with shorthand and manual typing skills seems so long ago.
-After you been in a bakery or florist shop for a while, the AROMAS just become part of the ambience
-Zip-ADEE-Do-Dah is the song you here all the way through Splash Mountain before the big drop
-Two memorable events of my childhood were taking a big swig of TONIC water mix and a big bite of an unsweetened Hershey’s Chocolate Bar.
-I once called a tow truck but was a technical NO SHOW as a man and I somehow changed the flat tire out on the Platte River at 10 at night. I drove to the garage and paid the two truck opeator the $85 fee the next day anyway. He was stunned.
-Lovely QOD, Hahtoolah, but I was a lot older before that serenity came to me
-Our long national nightmare is over – the ads, fliers and phone calls have stopped! Congrats and condolences to all as billions was spent to keep us essentially right where we were.
Good morning, all.
It's a cool, sunny morning in south Texas. Needed a jacket for the 3-mile march around the hood. At about age 30 I adopted the position that any temperature lower than my age was just too cold. It's several decades later, and I'm still stickin' to it.
I got really hung up on "dix halved." Let's see d = 500 and ix = 9, so what's half of 509? And it ends in Q? D'oh!
I noticed lots of A's in PANAMA HATS, and figured out the theme once SWEETENERS appeared. That helped with the rest of the theme answers. Nice effort, Mr. Sajdak.
Good morning folks,
It seems like any puzzle offered by James Sajdak is a grind for me. Today was no exception. It was filling in one letter at a time. But in the end , got it done.
Couple of comments/issues though.
Even though it was a long time ago, if I had ever referred to my Admin as low tech, I would have been told to stick it you know where.
Kept wanting WHEN instead of of WENN.
All set here in Ct for today's storm. Snow blower in position, so are shovels, bathtub filled.
Husker, the Panama hat must be big with a purple hat band. It's the shoe laces which are pink.
Good morning:
A nice Wednesday offering with a bit of a crunch. Any problem areas were solved with perps or WAGS. Got the theme early on; quite impressive, James, and nice expo, Melissa.
I, like so many others, look forward to a quiet telephone, no attack tv ads, and a less crammed mailbox. And I offer a sincere wish that all of those in political positions will try to put the welfare of the country above any partisan agenda. And, while I am engaging in such wishful thinking, I strongly wish that the snarky, sarcastic, sinister anons would go away!
Have a great Wednesday.
Pet lovers: Check out this poodle cat!
Thank you James Sajdak for a nice and challenging puzzle and melissa b for your cheerful and interesting commentary.
There were some unusual words, but I got through all of them - with perps. NOLI, WENN and TIERRA.
Regarding, Noli - -, if Mary Mag. was a prostitute - she was still one of God's creations - shouldn't she be entitled to 'some' salvation, as well ? I wonder if there is a patron saint for prostitutes - Saint Virginia ?
Thank you Hahtoolah, for that 'Torn between 2 lovers' song - when I was younger I thought it a was a farce emanating from a 2 timing floosie - but now older, (and wiser ? ) - and barely putting up with one lover - I think the song has some plaintive, haunting, feelings to it.
Well, its finally over - no one's going to come a-knocking on my door - and no robo-calls except my credit card regular, Sweetie Rachel.
To all politicians, of all stripes, ... if you won with 51% of the vote .... statistics are .... the guy smiling in front of you, may be a supporter .... and then again, maybe not.
Have a nice week, you all, and best wishes.
Good morning melissa, C.C. et al.
Great job on the blog this morning melissa. I did figure out the theme, but I have to admit that I stared at it for quite a while before I had my V8 moment.
Dennis, I'm with you for wanting NOLo before NOLI. Do you think I'll remember next time? Kazi, my German is rudimentary, so thanks for the distinction between "wenn" and "wann." Do you think I'll remember it next time?
Mari - great link for the poodle cat! I looked up other images (Selkirk Rex is the breed). This one just looks like she's having a "Bad Hair Day"!!
Good day! So nice to read you, Melissa. Thanks.
Clever puzzle! I didn't notice the vowel progression until reading the blog. I sashayed right along in record time. Nice one!
I really liked the play on WHEN and WENN. Started out with when but TORN disabused that one.
I, too, am glad the RACE is over and now I can resume watching local TV channels. Our local campaign ads were horrific and more than annoying. We didn't have many national ads. Just so you know, I disagree with most of my state on politics.
Doctor's appointment today. See you all later.
Have a really great Wednesday, everyone!
What Irish Miss said!
:-)
In my high school Latin class we used to tease each other with "Noli me tangere!"
-Otto, Dang, you’re right! Oh well the hat COULD be pink ;-). Loved your DIX = 509 conundrum too. Half would be XXLIV.V or XXLIV I/II or however they handled fractions.
-Can you name the three most famous Fighting Illini?
A) Galloping Ghost,
B) Linebacker on first two Super Bowl winners,
C) Chicago Bear who Sports Illustrated named as “The Most Feared Man In The Game” in 1970.
-Fore!
Great Wednesday puzzle, James S., many thanks! I even got the theme, for a change. At first couldn't imagine what the long entries had in common--then it hit me! Clever! And I too thought of the Sajdak, Pat Sajak connection, since my husband is a big "Wheel of Fortune" fan. Melissa, I got LEAF but wondered about it--so many thanks for the explanation.
My one near goof: putting TSE to follow MAO rather than IST, at first.
Have a great day, everybody!
Good morning everyone.
Not too hard. Completed it without aid. Then realized I hadn't sussed the theme. Finally settled on the progressive vowel fill like others have stated. Wondered if there was any significance to the #'s of vowels in each themeword - 44553 - but no joy. Taken backwards, 35544, we get Beaverton, AL, a state which has 4 a's. Probably no significance to that either.
Had crumbs before AROMAS.
The CINQ/SHAQ cross made sense.
Enjoy the day.
Lots of interesting words today. Many you don't see too often in puzzles, so it was fun to solve. Our state university and my wife's alma mater... U of I. That was a lay-up.
Melissa: Wonderful write-up & links. Agree on the obscures you noted.
James: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday. Great puzzle.
Mari & HeartRx; Thanks for the great Cat pictures.
ROTFLMAO ... it's past noon and my State (Florida) is still undecided.
A "toast" to all at Sunset (GLAD I'm on Zagreb time).
Cheers !!!
HG
A. Red Grange
B Ray Nirschke (SP??)
C dick Butkus
--------------------------
Irish Miss
Well said. The last congress was a national embarrassment.
@ Misty 11:05
Hand up for putting TSE to follow MAO rather than IST. My one of several goofs!
I got all the theme answers correct, but did not get the theme before coming here. GREAT job Melissa!
HeartRX,
Think of matching the "A" vowels in ASK and WANN. Maybe that will cinch it for you.
Speaking of panama hats, that one Melissa linked is in a lot better shape than my old school uniform one I still have bundled up in an old duffel bag. It was part of the summer uniform and got worn throughout my high school experience, except in what passes for winter in Oz, when we had to wear woolen berets.
Damn..... B should be Nitschke, nor Nir.....
I took a look at the first few clues and decided this was a Wednesday puzzle I'd never solve, so I put it away. But pulled it back out and went to work and eventually got it! Thanks for the poodle cat link, Mari. One of my 2poodles is white and his fur looks just like that!
With the elections over, we now can be bombarded by Christmas gift ads of which we may soon become weary. My Christmas shopping consists of maneuvering through the bank drive-thru to get a good-sized bill for each person on my list. I've only shopped for other types of gifts twice in ten years. Both times I had fun, but the recipients acted insulted, so I went back to money.
I had a horrible morning. First my candidate lost and then I couldn't seem to figure out the gimmick for the puzzle.
The Upuzzle website had a totally wrong puzzle for their interactive version. The printed version is ok, but I was hysterical because I do red letter and not getting any letters right.
Has this happened to UPuzzle before?
Thank God for this blog, so I was not totally in the dark.
Correction, the UPuzzle was just right enough that I thought I was going mad. I tried NOLO and even the NOL didn't come out black.
Poodle cat, realllly? Are they hypoallergenic like the Devon Rex?
Thanks AJ, now if I had a recipe....
If we must do Illini football, what two quarterbacks from there have been taken in the first round of the NFL draft; hint one was during the famous 1983 quarterback draft, and one was the overall first pick in the draft?
Hi All,
This puzzle had me so puzzled, I had to give up. Melissa, I had more fun reading your write-up. Good to 'see' you again :)
DIX HALVED - sounds painful!!!
Cute kitties pictures, never heard of them before. Odd that the name REX was used, as the Rex is a 'bald' cat. That breed doesn't appeal to me but these are cute. Who want's bald cat??
Was there a theme? Oh.
So, I came here to find out what ILLINI is.
Didn't have to use Google, but @Kazie beat me to it - did wondered whether it would be WENN or WaNN.
@Abejo - I loved my 1963 push button Polera500 with 8 mpg.
I love the poodle cat. How are they to comb?
Hello everybody. Enjoyable puzzle today. When I filled in UNTRUTHFUL I thought to myself, "That word sure has a lot o U's in it," and then looked back through the grid to see if the theme was "lots of U's." Nope, but man oh man there sure are a lot of A's in PANAMAHAT. I *still* didn't get it. If I had, and if I knew what the heck an ILLINI was, I would not have entered NOLO. But ILLoNI looked fine to me, so FIW.
Hand up for TSE as Mao follower. When I filled that I remember being relieved that it wasn't clued as half a fly.
Why do we keep voting the same people in again and again, over and over, and then hope that things will get better?
Best wishes to you all.
With apologies to Cee Lo Green's - 'Forget You'
Me: I voted in the election yesterday, and I voted earnestly, with all my heart - and my candidate still 'lost'.
God, what did I do wrong ?
Why, Baby, why - why, why, why ?
why, baby, why ? why did you forsake me ?
GOD:::: Because you filled in the wrong oval.
You should have voted with the majority.
Then, you too, could have been a 'winner'.
Remember that, the next time. (;-P)
The fighting ILLINI were the moaning, groaning, achy, whiny hypochondriacs.
Ill In I - Something's wrong with me and I don't know what it is. I am fighting it as hard as I can. But it sure hurts like heck.
Yeah for me! I sussed out the theme before the third answer. That helped me decide between NOLI and NOLO. Nice writeup as usual, Melissa.
Irish Miss, I couldn't agree more.
Lucina, I've often thought about whether or not I could live in an area where I disagreed with most of my neighbors. Luckily I don't have that problem. How do you cope with it?
A sweet little clinic waiting room puzzle. Finished it just in time before the " next" call.
Thanks
Carol, I once had one for a couple of days. I was taking care of it for a friend. She told me that it liked to be rubbed and stroked often. She was so right about that. It was an unusual feeling for sure. I found it to be quite warm though. I'm pretty confident it would have had red hair. I was briefly saddened when I no longer had it.
I'm surprised no one else mentioned this (unless I missed it), but "one of Dancer's partners" is DONDER, not Donner (who was a California miner).
Donder is correct... but so is Donner. Dunder too.
I "almost" got this one. (add Maxwell Smart accent)
The 2:52 comment deleted is mine. I tried to print noli,viol,illini, & vidal in their original positions to see what a symbol for "Natick" might look like. But Blogger will not let me do that either.
29D Thought __me tangere might be spanish, so i put "no se."
Spelled Vadal wrong.
Alleni looks just as good as illini...
Anyway, it was very interesting to learn of noli, & i had never heard of "viol." So thats where guitars came from! & the 41a leaf explanation was a page turner!
54A LRON just looks wrong...
1D split/rip (i never thought i would use the word "meh" again.)
58A, i wanted "unfaithful," but try & find a greek letter starting with "F".
Never saw the vowel sequence...
Hatoolah@6:24, I never knew "Torn Between 2 Lovers" was written by Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul & Mary!
HG@8:57, I'm confused, why did you pay the tow guy???
Carol@1:48 LOL!
Beg to differ. Santa's eight reindeer were Dasher, Dancer, Prancer,Vixen,Comet,Cupid,DONDER, and Blitzen. No Donner, no Dunner. And a self-correction: Donner was not QUITE a California miner; his party was headed for there when they got trapped in the Sierra Nevada and ended up eating each other!
PK, some of the department stores down here had Christmas displays up in September. And this is freaking Florida, where it must never feel like Christmas. Santa probably wears a red Speedo. (There's a picture for you)
Carol, your interpretation of 'DIX halved' made me cringe and think of Ms. Bobbitt.
Lucina, 'noli me tangere'?? That's terrible!
Now if we can just get everybody to take down the now-obsolete political signs, normalcy can be restored.
I am just finishing one of the most recent "Ladies' No. 1 Detective Agency" novels. I have run out of Robert B. Parker books to read. I'm just about to order "The Racketeer" by John Grisham for my Nook. I would desperately like recommendations for other favorite fiction.
AAAA
another AAAA because i just could not believe it.
EEEE
Sorry, it came up while i was looking for funny I's
OOOOO
UU
Them two reindeer are/were named 'Dunder' and 'Blixem'.
Snopes were fill you in. link.
I've lost a lot of sleep reading Vince Flynn's books. Same with Tom Clancy, Brad Taylor.
I tried Donder first, but it seems it always was Donner in "Rudolph."
"Dunder" and "Blixem"? You've always heard "Donner" and "Blitzen," right? The former were Dutch names written into the poem by Livingston. Only in later versions, modified by Moore in 1844, were the two names changed to German: Donder (close to Donner, thunder) and Blitzen (lightning), to better rhyme with "Vixen." Finally, for some reason, in the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Marks turned "Donder" into "Donner." Whether Marks made the change because he knew German or because it just sounded better is uncertain.* In any event, there is certainly some logic in using German Donner and Blitzen (thunder and lightning) for the names. Since 1950 or so, the two reindeer names have been Donner and Blitzen in both the “Rudolph” song and the “Visit” poem.
Link source
Donnerwetter!! From Wiki: In An American Anthology, 1787–1900, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman reprinted the Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen" he adopted, rather than the earlier Dutch version from 1823, "Dunder and Blixem". Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though the German word for thunder is "Donner", and the words in modern Dutch would be "Donder en Bliksem".
I am a Telemannn fan. I have so many favorites I don't know which to link.
Link Telemann
Ho Ho, they would answer to Penn and Teller when it's feeding time.
TTP: Uh just what did you have that Carol mentioned--the Dix Halved or the bald cat? Wondered what you were rubbing there.
TTP (2:45) Oh, you were talking about the CATS!! You had me going there for a minute ;)
Dennis: Nothing like a sharp knife to shape up a man.
Donner and Blitzen (Thunder and Lightning)
Dave, I had called the tow truck because it didn’t look I was going to be able to change my tire in the dark (my wife, daughter, granddaughter and I had been standing on the banks of the Platte watching the sandhill cranes come in). A man who works at a garage in Omaha pulled up behind me and using his skill and headlights we got the spare on.
I then called the tow company and the guy was half way there already and so I felt obligated to make it right with them.
Grange, Nitschke and Butkus were right.
Perfect day for golf!
Yes, that's what I was talking about. Her bald kitty.
Hola Everyone, A DNF for me today as I entered Beat for a Question of time. I knew who Telemann was, and I coulnd't think of anything else to enter there. I agree with Melissa B. that this seemed a bit obscure. Wenn was a total unknown.
I had to Google Noli. Learning moments are always good, right?
Org. concerned with crowns was my favorite clue today. I have to have a crown repaired and I'm not looking forward to that at all.
I didn't see the vowel progression. Thanks Melissa Bee!
Have a great evening everyone.
carol:
You jump all over the DIX HALVED but no comment on the bald kitty? Some men like them that way.
Lemon: TTP's comment at 2:45 just got me laughing...and I was not thinking of a bald kitty when reading it. Yes, I see your point! LOL - but hey, you can read it both ways ;)
I have so many comments I'm type-tied.
BillG
It's not that hard to live where I disagree with most people. Arizona is actually somewhat diverse and like birds of a feather, my friends and I are in agreement about most things including politics. In my family we don't ever discuss politics because we would end up not speaking.
Dennis:
Remember I said it was in high school when I was an innocent and pure teenager ignorant of all things sensual. That changed, of course and tangere became a mantra. Still is. I'm very tactile. And , sigh, you live so far away.
I'm with Dennis.... by the time I get here I have way too many things I could comment on... so I don't usually :)
Nice puzzle - good write up and as usual great blog... which I always enjoy more than the puzzle.
Bill G - anything by Michael Connelly
Jayce - I'm not so sure "we" do vote them in... :) we give our opinions....
Abejo and Sfingi - I too loved my 1957 Plymouth Fury, 62 or3 Dodge Polara D500 wagon and my 65 Monaco.... mileage was probably zip... :) but great cars.... :)
Best wishes to all....
T
Bill G: I can recommend these action/adventure authors very highly: Steve Berry, his buddy-James Rollins, David Gibbins, and Raymond Khoury. These guys do their homework and Steve Berry will even tell you at the end what's real and what's not! Their websites are respectively:
http://www.steveberry.org/
http://www.jamesrollins.com/site
http://www.davidgibbins.com/
http://raymondkhoury.com/
On a related note--you mentioned you have a Nook...how do you like it? I'm gonna get me an e-reader for Merry Christmas from me-to-me and am dithering between Nook and Kindle. If you'd like to answer off line...momnature@q.com
Yellowrocks, I like Telemann's music, too.
BillG
Have you read either of Ken Follett's trilogy books? Fallen Giants and Winter of the World are out in that order. Very good reads.
Bill G, I have been reading and enjoying the Kate Shugak series of mystery novels by Dana Stabenow on my Kindle, although I confess I am getting a bit overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of her works. My impression is that she's cranking stuff out by the numbers now, like a machine. An easy trap to fall into, I think, since Sue Grafton, whose early and middle works I liked, has also fallen into it. Lucina's suggestion is good, too.
@Yellowrocks & Spitzboom - very interesting.
My favorite mystery writer will always be the Belgian, George Simenon. He can't write any more, cuz he's dead, but I'd sure like someone to translate the rest. I've read 40.
I also like Andrea Camilleri and buy them as soon as they're translated from Italian. He's still with us, and up-to-date on what's hapening in Sicily.
A cousin of Hubster had a bald cat. She had to keep it warm all the time. Not much fun for either.
My Polara was destroyed by a drunk driver while I was upstairs in my apartment 40+ years ago watching the David Susskind show.
Thank you all for your reading suggestions. I am looking forward to enjoying them. I will order some tonight.
Momnature, I am not the best one to ask about a Nook vs. Kindle. I was given my Nook last Christmas and have ordered and read several books on it so far. It works well for that. It will do other things too more like an iPad but I haven't explored those features. I looked up Consumer Reports and they liked both the Nook and the Kindle almost equally. I like how easy it is to get recommendations from friends like you guys and then just buy the book online with the Nook. It shows up minutes later with about a $7.99 charge to your credit card.
Jayce, I know what you mean. I enjoyed a couple of early James Patterson novels. Now he gets somebody else to co-write them and just puts his name on the cover too to guarantee sales from repeat customers. I found an early Kate Shugat novel online called "Midnight Come Again." Maybe it will be better than the more recent stuff.
My latest mystery reads,Max Allan Collins, Kerry Greenwood, as well as trying the Robert Parker continuators. I also reread some Christie Stout and. Conan Doyle
illini (pronounced "ih-LIE-nee")--perhaps "ih-lie-nie", and usually the University of Illinois is said to be in Champaign-Urbana, or Chambana for short
You've given me a good idea. I always enjoyed Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. Maybe there are some I haven't read. Or if I buy one for the Nook and I had read it, it was so long ago I've probably forgotten it anyway. How is "The Black Mountain"? I don't think I ever read that one.
Bill G. - There are a lot of older books in the public domain. You can download those for less than a dollar. I just reread all of Edgar Rice Burroughs "John Carter of Mars" for free.
My favorite Novelist is Neal Stephenson. He writes huge epic science/fiction books. They're in the sci-fi section in the stores, but that's 'cause no one knows where to put them. Snow Crash and Anathema are really the only ones that is actual sci-fi. His Baroque cycle is a trilogy set in 1700's England. Sci-fi because one of the main characters is Isaac Newton? It's really a history/mystery that totals over 3000 pages with multiple interwoven stories. You can also find the interwoven stories separated out as individual books.
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