Theme: A bit of sugar, a pinch of salt AN' A GRAM make a 7 layer cake.
This puzzle has all kinds of layers, with six different iterations of the letters in GLARE the icing which holds the cake together. Mr. Collins is am active constructor who has published more than 60 NYT puzzles since beginning in 2006 and almost 20 in the LAT. We last saw him in his HOMES puzzle, and I did my first write up of the INVISIBLE MAN collaboration he had in October. The theme involves the straight solving of five starred clues which each have a single word fill; the final across entry as the reveal along with the grid spanning 7 down tell us we need anagrams of GLARE to pair with the starred fill to create the hidden answers. As discussed in his interview which I have linked before, Peter likes hiding things. His cluing is excellent, in this odd, difficult, but Mondayish grid with 78 words, only 63 open squares and lots of 3 and 4 letter fill. This did not make it easy, and I needed lots of work to get any traction.The theme did not help until the reveal. and even then, it was not a slam dunk. Some really interesting clechos as well.
let's get to work, with the unusual aspect of 1 across as a theme answer, but it is balanced with 73 across as the reveal. Symmetry.
1A. *Century maker : BUICK.(5) (REGAL). To me this is the odd clue out because both the answer and the anagram relate to the car company while the rest have different meanings when paired with the anagram.
23A. *Name of eight English kings : EDWARD (6).(ELGAR). You all know I loves me a good anagram almost as much as Jerome does, but this one almost did me in. The other came easily but this COMPOSER of Pomp and Circumstance and others was not in my brain. Ed VIII is the one who abdicated for the American Divorcee, Wallis Simpson and may have been a strong sympathizer with the NAZI government.
55A. *To whom Hamlet said, "O, I die" : HORATIO (7) (ALGER). The incredible popular AUTHOR of children's feel good books, who may also have been a pedophile.
60A. *Certain psychic : MEDIUM (6) (LARGE).The easiest of the GLARE anagrams.
and the two part unifier...
73A. Reason to wear shades (and a word for which you have to 7-Down to find a word, different in each case, that can follow a starred answer) : GLARE.(5).
7D. See 73-Across : CREATE AN ANAGRAM.(15).
Across:
6. Berlin beef? : ACH. This German exclamation of frustration was a difficult clue for a three letter fill even with the much favored alliteration.
9. They may be lost or frozen : WAGES. Another thoughht provoking clue/fill combo.
14. Ishikari Bay city : OTARU. Luckily we had this seaport back in early November.
15. Before, before : ERE. Finally, one I could fill with confidence!!!!
16. How holes are rarely made? : IN ONE. Lovely golf reference. The closest I ever came I used a 61D. Pitching wedge, e.g. : IRON. You could not see the hole because of huge sand trap in front, and when I saw it was 2" away....
17. Red Square honoree : LENIN. The controversy continues. LINK.
18. Title in a Shakespeare title : GENTLEMEN. Once upon a time there two of them in Verona.
20. Chair part : ARM. Leg also fits; why do we anthropomorphize the furniture?
21. Karmann ___: classic VW : GHIA. The school doctor had a silver one, and thought he was all that when I was away at high school.
24. [As written] : SIC. From the Latin meaning THUS.
27. Pageboys et al. : DOS. Hair dos, not like the NBC pages.
28. Down Under runners : EMUS. More from the Australia.
30. Banks of Chicago : ERNIE. Let's play two, great hitter and shortstop for the Cubs. Won MVP on last place team.
32. Suffragist Julia Ward ___ : HOWE. Most famous for her Civil War POEM, and the song, both of which were related to abolitionist, who also inspired 53D. "John Brown's Body" poet : BENET. Steven Vincent Benet wrote this Pulitzer prize winning narrative poem. BIO. Anyone seen LINCOLN?
34. Michigan, to Mitterand : ETAT. President Mitterand from France would call a state....
36. Tippler : DIPSOmaniac. An actual historic medical term for an alcoholic. Not related to the wonderfully wittily clued perpendicular 37D. What might involve reminiscing about old flames? : PYROMANIA.
40. Hindu teacher : SWAMI. Not.
42. Sajak sale : AN E. Johnny's first fame came when he replaced Edgar Bergen as the host of Who Do You Trust, a game show.
43. Arab League founding member : EGYPT.
44. Carpentry joint component : TENON. Our resident carpentry experts have waxed philosophic about this term in the...
45. History : PAST.
47. Many presidential periods : ERAS. Is the Bush Era over or is JEB coming on strong?
48. Joined a jam : SAT IN. Not trouble, not jelly but a musical JAM, Hit it JazzB.
50. Business opening : AGRObusiness. I cannot find any word other than AGRIBUSINESS, but do I pick a nit?
52. Kentucky Colonels' org. : ABA. American Basketball Association and home of the three point shot. They were a really Fun FRANCHISE. even if the clue is now obscure.
57. Glove box item : MAP.
62. Comes together : GELS. Which word came first, this or gelatin?
63. One-time link : AT A.
64. Seeing red? : IN ARREARS. A very nice clue from the accountants using red pencils to show losses.
66. Hues : TINTS.
68. Sombrero wearer : SENOR. and the clecho 69. Sombrero, e.g. : HAT.
70. Mark Twain, for one : ALIAS. Not just a nom de plume.
71. Emotionless : STONY. Her stony stare was unnerving.
72. Poehler of "Parks and Recreation" : AMY. She is divorcing her SNL and Parks co-star Will ARNETT.(4:41).
Down:
1. Hurled weapons : BOLAS. These have been around for centuries. LINK.
2. Development sites : UTERI. What a cute clue and timely for someone who has a new granddaughter. However, all my mind conjures are bad Groucho Marx images. "What a revolting development this." or "Does this place have womb service?" Close your eyes and hear his voice.
3. "Atonement" author : IAN McEWAN. This somewhat controversial British author is often clued for his Booker Prize for Amsterdam. Did anyone watch the MOVIE?(1:50)
4. Champagne shout : CRI. Just a French word.
5. Panda's skill, in a 2008 film : KUNG FU. Never watched THIS.(1:22).
6. Auspices : AEGIS. A nice word which lawyers like to use to earn their fees.
8. Egg source : HEN. More fertilization focus?
9. Carefree quality : WILD SIDE. Performed by Melrose Plant's favorite SINGER.
10. From the top : ANEW. The "A" word.
11. Snap : GO MAD.
12. Janvier, across the Pyranees : ENERO. last week and back again, Spanish January this timed paired with the French.
13. Elates : SENDS. A nice 50's word, ("Elvis really sends me.") that hangs on like HERE. (4:18).
19. Seagull relative : TERN. They always come in pairs because we all know a good tern deserves another.
22. It often winds up in a yard : HOSE. Winds up, get it! Really cute.
26. Some Deco works : ERTES. The most popular CW artist.
29. Office joggers : MEMOS. Jogging the memory not jiggling the jogger.
31. Alpine peak : EIGER. marti, how come I get to sanction this clue so often?
32. '40s-'50s D.C. initials : HST. Harry S. Truman. he had no middle name “S” but was given the initial as a tribute to both his maternal grandfather, Solomon Young, and his paternal grandfather, Anderson Shipp Truman. He never went to college, which these days would likely preclude him from being the President.
33. Have a mortgage : OWE. Closed 20 first time home buyer mortgages this month so far with 6 or 7 more to go. Fun.
35. South American forest dweller : TAPIR. The babies are cute.
38. Place to chill out : SPA. I actually sweat more there.
39. TDs may end them : OTS. Over Times in football.
41. Dashing, maybe : IN A HURRY. Nicely crafted clue, not Clark Gable, but someone who is late.
46. Follow : TAIL. Something for all you potential PI's or stalkers, this instructional VIDEO.(4:16)
49. Hefty volume : TOME. Weighty is more the common phrase.
51. Attend alone : GO STAG. As opposed to stag parties, or stag movies?
52. Screwy : AMISS. As good as a mile?
54. Hersey's "A Bell for ___" : ADANO. Another war related Pulitzer winning TOME.
56. Irritable : TESTY. We are almost through, not time to get testy.
58. Rose oil : ATTAR. Fragrance. I believe the word works for any of the flowery scents; that is my two cents worth.
59. Outmoded : PASSE. Is corny humor passé?
65. "Now I get it!" : AHA. Well it is about time, the puzzle is almost done. I hope you are feeling great as it would be terrible if you were....
67. Not well : ILL. Especially as we enter the holiday party time. Each year the list seems longer and starts earlier. Great if you like free food and booze, just be careful. I hope you all had some potato latkes, if not stop by and I will get them ready. Counting down to Charlotte's first airplane flight when they come south for the holidays. Thank you Mr. Collins for a fun work out and for the rest for reading and commenting. Only 2 more 2012 Fridays left.
Lemonade
78 comments:
Good morning, Lemonade, C.C. and gang - I thought this was a nice Friday puzzle, in spite of the fact that the SW is hardly recognizable now.
I thought I was off to a good start with Buick, then confidently put 'Karate' for 5D, which didn't work out too well. Finally remembered 'Kung Fu Panda', and then made steady progress around and down until I got to the SW. I read 'Kentucky Colonels' group' as singular and went with 'KFC'. Then when I realized 54D had to be 'Adano', I changed my answer to 'CSA'. Couldn't figure out the perps then, and I finally re-read the clue, saw the plural, and got it right, although the resulting ink blot made it illegible. Bottom line, I got through it, but it's nasty looking.
I liked the cluing in this one, including 'joined a jam', 'seeing red', 'it often winds up in a yard', and the great 'pyromania' clue. Very enjoyable solve despite my ability to read.
My golf 'career' is on hold temporarily, while my multi-blistered hands heal from hitting 90 balls on the driving range. By the way, does it matter what direction the balls go in?
PK, from last night:
It's 6:41, and I've been up for an hour. Why would anyone want to stay awake all night?
But if it's really "up" you're talking about, "all night" is a figure of speech anyway. And an hour will usually git 'er done, , as that other Larry (the Cable guy) says.
Morning, all!
Made slow and steady progress throughout on this one. When I finally got down to the theme reveal, I stared at the clue for a while and then gave up trying to understand what the heck it was talking about and went back and finished the puzzle without figuring it out. Fortunately, I didn't need to know the theme to solve the puzzle.
CRI was a mystery, but the perps were solid enough so it didn't matter. Had to take a guess at the crossing of BENET and ABA, however. Fortunately, I guessed correctly, but I wouldn't have known if not for the *tada* at the end.
Terrific Friday walk in the park.
Thank you.
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. What an interesting "Do-It-Yourself" puzzle. The theme was tricky, but the puzzle itself was a tad easier than the usual Friday fare.
Lots of great clues. I loved the reminiscing about an old flame = PYROMANIA.
Do people still keep MAPs in their glove boxes, or is that PASSE? I use my GPS, which saves a lot of arguments. The Voice on the GPS said to turn so "she" is to blame, not me! LOL
I read Atonement and saw the movie. Didn't much care for either.
QOD: A Cannibal is a person who walks into a restaurant and orders a waiter. ~ Morey Amsterdam (Dec. 14, 1908 ~ Oct. 27, 1996)
I thought IN ARREARS was such a refreshing change of pace for SEEING RED, as opposed to the usual IRATE or IN A RAGE.
Lemonade714's blog will have to wait until I have time for such a lengthy expo, but I read them every day.
Dennis, that's terrible about your blisters. Please check in every day so we know you're ok.
Good morning, all!
This theme was way, way too esoteric for the likes of me. I could GLARE at it all day and still wouldn't get the connection.
The puzzle, though, wasn't all that difficult for a Friday. I tripped myself up entering SOUSE for DIPSO and SYRIA for EGYPT. That made my WILDSIDE into WILDNESS, which I thought was OK. FOSTERS finally made me sit up and take notice.
For some reason I always confuse HORATIO Alger with Horace Greeley of "Go South, young man" fame. At least that's the message I took away.
Dennis, from my vast golfing experience, it's preferred that the ball land somewhere in front of you. Doesn't always work out that way, though.
D-O I believe Horace, who almost ran for president, wanted people going west. Traffic here is bad enough.
My mind did not CREATE-AN-ANAGRAM as I solved the *starred answers.
No Problem (as we say in Jamaica).
Liked how WILDSIDE crossed DIPSO (hmmm, that reminds me, I think I'll have a drink).
The 62-A clue, Comes together, I had 'weds' before GELS (off the 'L' in TAIL) which somehow seems like it came full-circle.
Cheers !!!
Good morning everyone,
Well, other then the NE, this was an enjoyable puzzle, albeit a DNF.
The NE was a complete failure. Had OSAKA for 14A, Lots of blanks for 17,20A & 24A. BOLTS for 1D, KANG NU for 5D. Total brain lock on my part.
Everything else fell into place, although I wasn't sure if some of them were OK until I checked here. All were good.
Really enjoyed the cluing today ... fresh and challenging. 16A, a shout out to Dennis (in the future!) 6A Berlin Beef, 30A Banks of Chicago, 38D, Place to chill out, & 39D TS'S may end them all gave me a chuckle or two.
Enjoy your weekend and I'll "talk"to you on Monday.
I must be going blind! Last sentence of para 4 should read: ..... & 39D OT'S. All gave me a chuckle or two.
anon@6:59, your last line destroyed me; thanks for a great laugh.
desper-otto, thanks -- I was afraid of that.
Hondo, 'the future' is not enough time for that to happen. My immediate goal is being somewhere in the vicinity of the hole. Ah, story of my life...
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Peter Collins, for a great Friday puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade714, for the excellent write-up. Enjoyed the Johnny Carson/Ed McMahon bit.
Got started easily with BUICK for 1A. LENIN also appeared. But all else stopped in tat corner for a while.
The NE was about the same. Got a couple then headed South.
Bounced around and got a word here and there. That is how I did the entire puzzle.
Easily got GLARE for 73A. Did not get 7D for quite a while. Finally I filled it in after I corrected EAUX for 34A to ETAT. I thought I was so hot in french.
Got ERTES and then AN E, and then CREATE AN ANAGRAM.
KUNG FU gave me OTARU.
Thought UTERI was a good one. PYROMANIA as well.
EIGER popped into my head. We had that a few months ago.
Never heard of DIPSO. I wanted SOUSE, but held off.
EGYPT was easy. I wagged it and lucked out.
Have no idea what CRI for 4D means. The C and I were easy. The R was a wag.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Hi Everyone ~~
Well, this was fun! The puzzle itself went quickly with just a few hesitations - started with 'Go solo' before go STAG and wasn't sure about DIPSO, which was new to me. And I guessed right with the R at the crossing of OTARU and CRI.
I spent more time figuring out the anagrams related to the theme. My last was EDWARD Elgar but recognized him once I solved it.
As others have mentioned there was so much clever cluing! I really liked HOSE, MEMOS, IN ARREARS, and the fantastic PYROMANIA.
Lemonade ~ a wonderful write-up. Your explanation of how the theme worked made what seemed complicated very easy to understand.
Dennis ~ do your blistered hands complicate your second hands-on business?
Hi Lemon,
I did think of the beer when I got FOSTERS, but I wouldn't drink it--their original brew was not "the" Aussie beer, until the bought out all the competition. I remember good ones like Tooth's, Toohey's (Here's to (y)ee!) and Resch's, all of which were made in Sydney. Foster's is from Melbourne--hence the rancor.
Hondo, I too was a DNF today. I got the theme early, but didn't bother trying to get the anagrams since I am no good at that. So ended up missing some of them and others:
OTARu--missed cRi, thinking of CHI as perhaps a team people in Champagne, IL, would barrack for, BOLAS, UTERI, DiPSO, EgYPT (wanted a person), had AGRI, so PYRO never occurred to me, ABA (no idea), AMISS (had BOGUS), and didn't know that golf involves pitching, so IRON never appeared either. Didn't know of IAN MCEWAN, so blanks remained there too, especially as I could only think of LEG as a three letter chair part. So in the end, the NW, mid-east and SW had a lot of blanks.
LaLinda @8:27
Funny! Looking forward to a reply from our fledgling golfer.
I thought I was pretty smart getting BUICK, BOLAS, UTERI, and Karmann GHIA....but alas! DNF!
Abejo,
CRI means what it looks like, a cry, or shout.
GHIA was easy for me. Our older son was nuts about them when he first got his license. We traveled all over the county looking at any he saw advertized. But in the end, he never owned one, thank goodness. They were all either too old and worn out or too expensive due to extensive refurbishing. He finally settled on a Beetle as his first car.
Good morning everyone. Good intro, Lemonade.
Only real trouble I had was in the NW, Got LENIN early on and wagged KUNG FU. But had to look up OTARU in my cw dictionary. Every thing else filled in nicely. Got the theme unifier also, but did not suss the ANAGRAM connection. Ruminated a little over ACH but expected a common word in cw's. Once AEGIS fell, ACH made sense.
Have a great day.
Good morning, crew! Not often I can say that but I'm up early today.
Enjoyed your witty analysis, Lemonade. The TERN comment was priceless.
At first pass this puzzle seemed daunting but ended easily with the acrosses and downs meshing together quickly and well.
I once owned a BUICK Century. Nice car. REGAL is the only ANAGRAM I sussed. Thanks for the others, Lemon.
Amazingly, ACH, EIGER, and IAN McEWAN all jumped out at me so that helped.
Loved seeing PYROMANIA and IN ARREARS. Great fill!
And great cluing for HOSE.
Thank you, Peter Collins, for today's entertainment.
Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!
I forgot to mention I loved 22D: It often winds up in a yard: HOSE. This one had me stumped for quite a bit!
I also went with SOUSE instead of DIPSO.
LaLaLinda @ 8:27 am: Too funny about Dennis' 2nd business!
Have a great weekend!
I spent a week in Melbourne, VIC this year. Everybody laughed when I asked about Fosters. Nobody stocked it. When I get back home, I found out it is brewed in Georgia.
Thanks to Lemonade for explaining the very clever theme (which I never get), and for a new word ("clecho"), which I had to Google (which led to me to this helpful list). Yes, this puzzle looked "Mondayish" and went fairly smoothly though, in the end, the "R" in OTARU and CRI was a total WAG. [11:53]
A record was just broken. I saw 13 deer running down the fence line in a single group.
As for the puzzle, if you can't say something nice.......
LaLaLinda, I think it would be quite therapeutic and actually promote healing. Constant, prolonged contact would be the key, of course.
Volunteers should inquire within.
And lest I forget again, a very large THANK YOU to aka Thelma for graciously sending me the full two-page Arizona Republic crossword. I have it spread out on our hobby work table and hope to tackle it one morning this weekend.
Very kind of you; I definitely owe you one.
'while my multi-blistered hands heal'
'does it matter what direction the balls go in?'
'My immediate goal is being somewhere in the vicinity of the hole.'
'I have it spread out on our hobby work table'
'I got through it, but it's nasty looking.'
Keep 'em coming, Dennis!
We owned 2 Karmann Ghias, both new, both standard. In 1969 we got a light blue with a black interior. In 1971 we turned it in for a dark green with camel interior. They were so cold we had to get an add-on heater, but it really only warmed the driver. They also came with a strange, limited cassette system which played only cassettes from Frank Sinatra's label, Reprise, which included Ella Fitzgerald. Was so happy to get my Dodge Polara.
Clever, unusual puzzle. Had to Google for OTARU and IANMCEWAN. Wondered why EDWARD Regal (rather than EDWARD Elgar. Also, was sure it was a MEDIUM Lager, at first.
Don't think of GENTLEMEN as a title, especially when police refer to arrestees as GENTLEMEN (unless they're women, in which case they call them "females," not "ladies.")
Waited to see if it would be StalIN, PutIN or LENIN.
Wondered why Kentucky Colonels were lawyers.
Was hoping the German beef would be kuH, not ACH. Is that all anyone is expected to know of German? Ja.
I also had KFC for the colonels and Kuh for the German beef, which led me astray for awhile, but then recorrected. Wag for the Cri and Otaru cross and ta da! I almost thought CC had done this puzzle with the way the explanation of the theme clue was worded, but no--though certainly showed similar creative word play.
Hello Puzzlers -
An artful grid and lots of cleverness, what's not to like?
Put me down for a Technical DNF because I had to cheat to get through the ABA/Benet cross. I never heard of the Kentucky Colonels, and like Dennis, my best guess was KFC even though that didn't quite fit the clue.
Didn't get Pageboys = Dos until Lemon sorted it out for me. Dipsomania is something else I never heard of. Hand up for imagining a Spa as more of a place of perspiration than of chilling out, but what do I know? My total spa experience consists of a man pedicure, well documented in these pages. Husker, you really must give it a go!
In all my travels around eastern Australia, I doubt I ever saw Fosters available anywhere. It is not the Aussie brew of choice, no matter what the ads say.
anon@9:42, it's my goal in life.
Now that was a trip! Deciphering the syntax of the clue for the theme, finding the theme and then finding the correct anagrams. Well done, Peter!
Musings
-OTA_U/C_I cost me 100%, but I can learn. I went with an H. Hey, I got/learned DIPSO.
-Yesterday, Sacre bleu, today ACH de lieber. Mon dieu!
-I had some of those woulda, shoulda, coulda HOLEs IN ONE too, Lemon. Dennis, if you obsess over the direction of the ball, you will get IRKed and IRATE ;-)
-Great LENIN link where some compare him to a saint
-EGYPT is now in the throes of whether to be under the AEGIS of a 21st or 12th century government
-PAST – “The older I get, the better I was”
-AGRI and not AGRO is more familiar out here in fly-over country
-I haven’t used/unfolded a MAP for years now that I have an iPhone
-ALIAS seems a little too sinister for Samuel Clemens’ nom de plume
-My wife and her twin were wombmates
-KUNG FU Panda was one of those movies that was fun to sit through with grandkids
-Hilarious scene centered around a HEN starting at 1:04
-Dick Clark introducing Sam Cooke singing You SEND Me
-David McCullough’s bio of HST is fascinating. He had a lot of common sense but he was upset the most when his loyalty was not reciprocated. Ah, politics.
George,
LOL--your Fosters experience may mean they didn't even like it much in Victoria! I also remember there being a brew called Victoria Bitters. But since I'm no beer connoisseur, I don't know much more than its name.
I'm in a rush today. Company coming tomorrow. Great theme and interesting clues. Lemonade, as usual, a fun expo, but I must check out the links later.
I liked Champagne shout/CRI. Champagne is a region in France and CRI is French for shout.
I like my paper maps for double checking and seeing the big overall picture. My GPS was wrong at least four times, even with up to date maps loaded. I take its advice with a grain of salt and a peek at the map.
Mapquest also can be wrong, but rarely. Once it told me to go over a huge mountain on a rutted track that only a UTE or ATV could handle. (See I do use UTE in everday conversation.)
ACH seems too mild to me to be a complaint. Mostly I have heard ACH used many times a day as a simple OH, in its many connotations.
Off to the races. Catch you all later.
Other related stuff:
I was told that Australia is sensitive about net exports of water, a precious resource in that mainly dry land. Apparently, the authorities prefer exports that don't involve water; beer is a poor candidate, because a lot of water is used in the process, and even more gets hauled away to other countries in cans and bottles. Makes sense. Perhaps that's why the feeble Fosters is brewed in the States.
I read a bit about Edward Elgar, and noticed that he lived his final years and was buried in the Corner's favorite MA town, Natick.
Dang it, Dudley. Well, I wrote it up, I'm going to use it.
I found one natick : Horatio Alger died in Natick, Mass.
I still prefer maps over GPS. But readily admit they're more cumbersome. The biggest reason is that both GPS and Mapquest will often give you a route that's not as direct. It'll get you there, but often takes you out of the way
OK, so which is it? Elgar or Alger that's buried in Natick?
Horatio is our boy. Edward was Engish.
Good afternoon:
Thank you, Mr. Collins, for a very clever Friday offering which I finished w/o help but with a lucky WAG on the otaru/cri "r" crossing. When I first read the 73A clue, my reaction was the same as when I read Bill G.'s math puzzles! Once I filled in glare, the rest became obvious. Great write- up, Lemon.
Have a great Friday.
Lala, looks like Dennis will have his hands full after all! Loved the anon feeding Dennis the "keep 'em coming" line. Of course any day where Dennis is on top of the comments, is a good day. especially appropriate witht he discussion of Dennis' creation, the word 'clecho' Thanks for linking the cheat sheet, which also will link the history and more.
Sfin. gentlemen is a common form of address to male group, I am puzzled by your question?
KZ, thanks for the scoop on Foster's, I know my sons have little regard for it, but I did not know the history.
George, glad we came up with something to get you out of lurkville.
Lucina, thank you. I will not tern down a compliment.
LaLaLinda, you might want to rewrite that post. I don't think you meant the other shootings weren't serious.
BTW, I replaced the link with 9D for the music lovers out there.
The Connecticut shooting is awful. I did not grow up in that area but it is such a small state you feel a kinship with everyone.
My prayers for all involved.
Argyle ~ not sure what you mean, but I guess my wording was based the comment I deleted just before that post. It seemed silly based on what I had just seen on the news. Of course all shootings are serious. The news here is getting much worse than when I first posted about it.
Yes, I understand what LaLa meant, as I was about to make my normal inane comments about Natick, Massachusetts and our Corner map of people and Horatio Alger and his little boys.
You all are safe as I am driving to key west and will be off the grid most of the day.
be well
Great Friday puzzle, even though I didn't quite ace the NW corner. But what fun to work with the interesting clues and then do those anagrams to figure out the final logic of the thing! So, many thanks, Peter, and you too, Lemonade, especially for reminding us of Johnny's great Carnac routine. I miss him.
The only anagram I couldn't figure out was LAGER, and I also had BOLTS instead of BOLAS. Beer and weapons are just not my thing--guess I'd make a lousy redneck.
Now come on, did both ELGAR and ALGER really end up in NATICK, or is this some sort of Corner joke?
Have a great Friday, everybody!
Argyle - I was right in the middle of an errand when it dawned on me that I mixed up Elgar and Alger. Sure enough, sharp eyes caught my error.
To clarify: it's the American, Horatio Alger, that was both born and buried in eastern Massachusetts. He had lived out his days with his sister in Natick. Elgar was British and probably never even visited Natick, poor guy.
Good afternoon to all and happy Friday to all. Great puzzle and write up. Thanks to Mr. Collins and Lemon. I got the NW and SE corners first then figured out the anagrams.
I had a 74 Buick century was a great car and sported the Buick mag wheels. A friend had a Karmann Ghia,it always needed repairs.
To Dennis they do make gloves that you can get for golf kind of like batting gloves for baseball.
To Lemon grand kids are great, 7 of ours will be over tomorrow for the annual christmas cookie decorating with grandma.
Have a great day to all RJW.
Good afternoon, everyone! Put me down as a DNF today – fell into the KFC trap for Kentucky Colonels and couldn’t remember BENET. But what an impressive theme! Kept me guessing until the reveal, and then there was more work to do. FOSTERS Lager brings back memories, as it was the “Official Training Beverage” of our Fiat Road Rally Club many years ago (of course, the Fosters was always enjoyed post-rally).
Thanks for the entertaining write-up, Lemon. The Seinfeld clip was a hoot. And the Carnac routines were some of the funniest Tonight Show bits; Johnny could milk more laughs out of not getting a laugh than anyone on TV.
Having a blast with 3-month-old granddaughter, who I hadn’t seen since she was a newborn. This morning I sang Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer to her and was rewarded with a huge belly-laugh – just the BEST!
Have a great day, all.
Hello everybody. Nice puzzle, very sophisticated. I agree about AGRI vs AGRO. Best wishes to you all.
Greetings!
This was a chewy Friday. Had lots of trouble in NW corner. Many digital erasures. But in the end, all was finally done with no cheats!
Many amusing clues! All in all, quite an experience. Thanks Peter! Thanks Lemon!
But that was a gratuitous Carson insertion!
Now I'll never get it out of head that Elgar came to America and died!
Possible spoiler:Person of Interest was a real cliffhanger last night!
Elementary is getting better!
Cheers!
Thank you Lemonade for your commentary for what was, for me, a rather difficult puzzle. In fact, even the logic of the anagram took some time to understand. Your humor helped though.
I am, at this time, facing a rather difficult situation. I started feeding a large, feral cat, out of pity, about a month ago. DFAC - Darn Feral Attack Cat - has now morphed into a Dam (as in, female) Friendly Amorous Creature. Now, the cat ( I think, female), has lost all fear of me, and has 'adopted' me, and permanently moved onto my front porch, specifically into a large container of soft bedded potting soil. I'm not sure whether it is getting ready to die, or, is pregnant, and looking for a place to substitute as a maternity ward. I'm terrified of letting it into my house - which would shock the bejeesus, out of my wife, more than, say, if I had taken on a mistress .... I really don't know what to do. I should have listened to Marti's advice, and had the critter, trapped, and permanently relocated to some other neighborhood - thus moving the monkey onto someone else's back - but now, its very much here - and the nights are getting colder - and I am getting a very guilty conscience and bad feelings about my future karma. I called the local humane societies, but they don't do 'pick ups'. I am not looking for advice, but please pray, for me, that I do the right thing.
Anony-Mouse, oh no! I would never advise anyone to move a feral cat. You should trap them, get them spayed, and then release them into the same location.
And I wouldn't bring it into the house, either. Remember, they are wild animals. Would you bring a raccoon into your house?
Feral cats are used to the cold, know how to take shelter, and will hang around if someone feeds them. Really, since you started feeding - that is your only obligation!! Good luck, and don't feel guilty about taking pity on a helpless cat.
Hi gang -
Well I sussed HORATIO ALGER, BUICK REGAL and with a little more thought MEDIUM LARGE. Feel like a Nimrod for missing the enigmatic EDWARD ELGAR.
Started in the SE corner and worked up. Despite having BUICK, LENIN and KUNG FU, the NW corner was a natick cluster. Not all chairs have ARMS but the all have LEGS. Imagine being done in by a LEG.
Well, if Dennis had trouble, then I don't feel quite so bad, but this one left me feeling bruised.
Cheers!
JzB
I should also mention that I am quite in awe of this technical masterpiece. All the theme parts in perfect symmetry, with a grid spanning unifier down the middle, and 6 [implied] anagrams of a five letter word.
Wow!
Cool regards!
JzB
I did like the point there were not a lot of abbr. Was rather easy for a friday. Put viper instead of taper but you can not have sat en a jam session so i corrected to tapir(good clue). Put kfc, lol, instead of aba (but got wise). Liked gels but in a rrears stumped me. Worse clue was for dc that was esoteric. Ach was kool. Tsuss.
Oh forgot. Who remembers saying " good ol' EST." ESOTERIC
Sorry good ol' HST.
Well, I thought this was going to be a fairly fast fill, until I approached the end in the NE. Before I got to the unifier, I had all the “A’s” from perps ( _ _ _A_ _A_A_A_ _A_) so ________ ANANAGRAM came easy. But never came up with “CREATE” Even after the ERE fill… GRR… So today was a DNF as CREATE and GENTLEMEN eluded me.
I loved 37D, I am after all a bit of a pyro myself. I love fire and blowing things up! (In a proper and safe fashion of course) That’s why I teach Chemistry…
I have read both Atonement and Amsterdam. Not overly impressed with either, but good reads regardless. I am part of an ALL-GUYS book club that reads one book per month and then meets for discussion. We call it Books and Brews, because good beer is after all just as important as a good book. The group is mostly teachers with a couple authors and local businessmen in the mix, just to keep it honest!
Thanks for the puzzle Peter, and thanks lemonade for the great exposé.
Windhover: I thought maybe Lemon had a Cialis crisis because he was glad to see Lois and Carol.
Dennis: if those blisters turn to calauses, won't they bruise the fruits of your labors.
Hi Y'all, If trying to WAG some of these PASSE clues didn't make you TESTY, you're pretty STONY! Pretty complex puzzle. But it was more fun and doable than most Fridays for me. Great expo, Lemon!
The NE/NC corner defeated me. I thought "asset" would be lost or frozen. I finally looked up "auspices". The first definition was something about auguring with birds. I put AEryS. Knew GHIA but wasn't sure of the spelling.
I drive a Buick Century--gimmee!
The only agro business I can think of is "agronomy".
I want to CRI because I'm ILL again and have missed my grandkids Christmas programs the past week. Have to get well before the 29th when all my kids and grandkids will be together.
I haven't been crosswording for a while, so wasn't sure I'd bother finishing this. But it was easy for a Friday, with so many short words providing entry points.
GHIA caught my eye to start me off; that was my first new car --a Kelly green convertible with camel seats and interior, a little beauty.
After finishing I read about the theme here and, frankly, was not at all interested. The "reward" for me is finishing; extra anagrams may be clever but they add a level of obsessiveness that does not appeal to me.
Desper-otto @7:05
I could have GLARED at it all day and never have figured out the theme, either.
Too much for me.
Anony-mouse @ 1:05
What part of the country do you live in?
I'm in So-Cal and have fed many strays. Right now there's a white and gray cat eating on our back porch.
We have a Rubbermaid-type storage box on its side with enough room for her to get comfortable and sleep. Inside a pillow and a few old towels. It's all covered with old blankets so she can sneak in under the edge.
It's funny. Some themes seem to appeal to some of us and other themes appeal to a different segment of our blog. I thought this theme was clever but I didn't enjoy it that much. Dunno why.
We just got back from lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It's part of a nice chain. I had two soups in a bowl while Barbara had our favorite salad, their chicken Waldorf salad. (I would have split it with her but I've had lots of salad lately. Then we split two carnitas tacos with avocado and a slice of Key Lime pie for dessert. Really good. Do any of you have CPK restaurants in your area? It was fairly crowded and noisy. There was one table with a group that accounted for about half the noise all by themselves. When they left, the ambiance improved noticeably.
Rain on the way, starting any minute now. I can see the green on the Doppler map just reaching the edge of our area.
Best wishes and sympathetic thoughts for the kids and parents in Newtown, Connecticut.
The events of the day harbored an unspeakable and senseless act of violence in Newtown, CT.
Words fail, music tries. For those impacted by this tragedy Requiem
Dennis.... you are welcome.... and as I said before, nothing owed.... :) just enjoy the puzzle and be sure to let us know how the project is coming along...
Now we will see if google will let me post this time... ? lost the last one somehow... :)
thelma
Do we allow ads here?
All gone.
Avg. Joe -
I've been away from media all day, and had no idea of the horrible happenings in Newtown. Words fail indeed. The Requiem may be the best we have. My heart grieves.
Thanks Dennis. WellI am safely in Key West. Really long slow drive. Will report in.
We have CPK in Ft. Lauderdale. Good to see you KF
Thanks for all thr comments. See you all later
Clever... I'll give the constructor that. But,the cluing was waaaaaaay to erudite for most people. Myself included.
Marti, thank you for your advice. I don't know if or how I can enforce it - but I thank you for your assistance.
Pas de Chat, I live in a suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio - it was about 37oF last night, 30oF tonight. I had put out a large cardboard box, with some towels and an old down pillow - but the cat won't enter it. I figured since frost covers the outside of all the cars, left overnight, on the driveway, the frost would damage the cardboard, and wet the towels, so I took it back inside. I fed the cat (or cats), 6 times today - didn't get much work done. I also gave it/her/him half a gallon of homogenized milk. Beyond that, the cat is in God's hands.
AnonyMouse, You fed the cat six times today and she/he consumed two quarts of milk in one day? There must be multiple cats living off your largesse. I believe your problem is larger than you realize.
I see that the ad is gone! Isn't this the second time?
Alternate QOD:
"The forceps of our minds are clumsy things and crush the truth a little in the course of taking hold of it."--H. G. Wells
Spam will appear and then disappear when the blogger catches it.
BillG:
There is a CPK very near here. It's a good place to eat.
I just returned from my older granddaughter's choral concert. That girl can sing!! I thought of those children whose lives will never be fulfilled and whose grandmothers will never attend their programs. Too, too sad.
I cannot find the words to convey the sadness and grief that I feel. God help us all.
So Lucina, I take it you've eaten at CPK. What did you like especially?
BillG:
Truthfully, it was a long while ago and I don't recall exactly. I believe it was a salad with chicken. I just remember that it was very good. My sisters were here visiting at the time and all enjoyed their meal.
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