The word (?) AGE is added to the final word of an in the language phrase to create a completely new, unrelated phrase, with ensuing visual hilarity. It feels so right to have a C.C. (and company) puzzle on Thursday and then a divine miss m on Friday, and I am the lucky guy to expose her humor. Many original clues like EXPECTED AT, COLADAS and STOPGAP as well as much of the wit we have come to expect. We also get a bit of proper names and a slew of initialisms and of course no "J." I promise ladies, next week's write up will be for you, but this week to honor Dennis and his first puzzle, the links lean to the male side. Meanwhile, let us get to it.
17A. Somnambulist's icebox raid? : SLEEPING PILLAGE. I wanted sleepwalking to start, but once I got a few perps this Pill to Pillage transformation, and the mental picture of someone like Dagwood at the frig in his sleep set me on the theme.
27A. Personalized gauze? : ONE MAN BANDAGE.What a great marketing idea, band aids with your kid's names already there! Much more fun than most one man bands, though I did hire one once for a party. They work hard for their money.
47A. Big problem at KFC? : CHICKEN OUTAGE. I hope you did not back away from this cute clue.
63A. After-hours spa service? : MIDNIGHT MASSAGE. The perfect product to go with Dennis' business, to insure all have happy endings, which is as far away from the religious root as can be imagined. I hope I do not offend here.
Across:
1. Drop : OMIT. So we can see marti was in one of her tricky moods.
5. Watery, perhaps : WEAK. which contrasts perfectly with 65D. Strong joe : MUD. One of my favorite characters was Mrs. Slocombe on Are You Being Served who was forever telling her male co-workers, they were weak as water. She also loved her Kitty.
9. Informal eateries : CAFES. A real coffee sub-theme.
14. Volkswagen brand : AUDI. VW bought them in 1966.
15. Staff addition : HIRE.
16. Acid used in soap-making : OLEIC. And so much MORE.
20. Dollhouse plaything : TEA SET. Hmm, here in Miami, we have a different
PERSPECTIVE on Doll Houses.
21. Neither esta nor esa : OTRA. Our Spanish lesson; Other.
22. King's value, sometimes : TEN. In cribbage, black jack and so many more card games.
23. Hot porridge ingredient : PEA. Another old SAW. Not to be conflicted with 68. Easy-peasy thing : SNAP. Not a snap pea
25. Work requiring oversized shelves, briefly : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
26. Otto I's realm: Abbr. : HRE. Holy Roman Empire.
33. Like some still-life items : WAXY. Which one is real?
34. Stately tree : ELM.
35. Power problem : SURGE.
38. Channel watched in many a bar : ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Where I learned all about Australian rules football, back in the day.
39. EZ or MT, e.g. : REBUS. Easy or empty; the early form of text talk, also can be pictures.
42. Bridge beam : I-BAR.
43. Bundle : SHEAF.
45. WWII craft : LST.
46. Anderson of "WKRP In Cincinnati" : LONI. Madame Tussaud was going to create a wax image of Loni and Dolly Parton, but they ran out of wax.
51. Derby-wearing Addams : ITT. The dapper hairy one.
53. La-la leader : TRA la la.
54. Likely : APT.
55. Justice Fortas : ABE. One of the more interesting members of the Supreme Court; he was appointed by his good friend LBJ, who convinced Arthur Goldberg to resign his life appointment to become Ambassador to the UN. Abe ended up leaving under a bit of a cloud, but his work on the GIDEON vs. WAINWRIGHT case where the Court acknowledged the right to counsel of all people even the poor, was a world changing opinion.
56. Array in many an NBA game : TATS. Tattoos.
58. Old oddball : GEEZER. Thanks for the shout out marti.
66. Intellectual : BRAIN. Mensa densa.
67. "Me next!" : I'M UP. Baseball reference or late night plea?
69. Airport freebie : ID TAG. The cheap paper kind for your luggage.
70. Airport data, for short : ETDS. Estimated Time of Departures. The senior partner is at the airport with her flight delayed 3 hours, so far.
71. Slippery swimmers : EELS.
Down:
1. Commercial building with a conical roof, traditionally : OAST. The place that makes all brewers hoppy.
2. Backless shoe : MULE. Of course it was from the LATIN.
3. Start of a project : IDEA. Cute.
4. They bind : TIES. The ties that bind, another old saw.
5. Dentist's recommendation : WHITENER.
6. German article : EIN.
7. Golden Fleece vessel : ARGO. Ah, my ship, have not seen this clue in a while. Anyone seen the MOVIE? (2:32).
8. Didn't quit : KEPT ON. You have to keep on keeping on, another old saw.
9. Rum concoctions : COLADAS. Oh yes, sing along. LINK. (4:12).
10. Have it ___ : ALL.
11. Burlesque accessory : FEATHER BOA. Take it off, take it all OFF.
12. Peak near the Jungfrau : EIGER. I think you use this Alp reference every puzzle miss m. I do not want to make a
13. Public row : SCENE. but really, I am going to have to sanction you if I see Eiger again.
18. Rap's Salt-n-___ : PEPA. This SONG (3:28) sound familiar?
19. Mightily miffed : IRED. Argggh.
24. Qualified : ABLE. Add an "M" and 31D. Take it slow : AMBLE.
27. Is shy, in a way : OWES. Really cute, tricky clue, like when your light in the pot. My father used to tell people I was shy; shy a few brains.
28. Graham ___, co-founder of the Hollies : NASH.Of course we also have Crosby, Stills and Young out there waiting for their due.
29. Scheduled to go to : EXPECTED AT. When the boss tells you to go to a fund raiser....Nice long, original clue/fill.
30. Winged chatterbox : MYNAH. Cute bird clue.
32. Therapy subject : GUILT. Also what happens to the Psychiatrists portfolios.
36. Bunch of buds : GANG. Six pack just would not fit.
37. Pennsylvania port : ERIE.
40. Md. institution since 1845 : USNA. U.S. Naval Academy, I bet you know what the US stand for in this abbreviation.
41. They're good enough for the time being : STOP GAPS. More nice long crunchy fill.
44. Appropriate : FITTING.
48. Bit of a bluff : CRAG. Very deceptive clue.
49. First name in '80s-'90s morning talk : KATHIE. Do you remember this VERSION? (3:19).
50. All-purpose vehicles : UTES.
51. Literary feet : IAMBI. Not the kind of feet Splynter likes.
52. Classic V-8 : T-BIRD. Fun, Fun, FUN.(2:54)
57. Monthly acct. update : STMT. Statement.
59. Latin 101 verb : ESSE. To be.
60. Billy of "Titanic" : ZANE. The bad boyfriend. I went to high school with Lloyd Zane.
61. Even, to Yves : EGAL. Our French, Liberté, égalité, fraternité,
62. Crunches, e.g. : REPS.
64. Peeples in pictures : NIA. A complete PERFORMER. (4:09).
And it is time for my weekly Friday performance to come to end and to wish you all a very Happy 2013; with health for all, my best to each of you, regulars, lurkers, those who have come and gone and those who are waiting to join. Many of you newbies have been quiet; do not hesitate, jump in the pool and tell us your thoughts. You never know where it will lead us. I especially want to thank C.C., for another year of the joy of the Corner.
L714 out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, Lemonade. Your passion, wits and warmth in blogging are truly unparallelled. Like Rich, you always make me look better.
2) This is from Parker Lewis, a NYT crossword constructor. He said:
"Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Thanks for keeping your blog going strong!
Not sure if you've heard yet but the team at Puzzazz has been busy lately. We're in the midst of a cool Kickstarter campaign to construct a year-long puzzlehunt. We though you might be interested so if you'd like to take a look, you can check out the details here.
1) My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, Lemonade. Your passion, wits and warmth in blogging are truly unparallelled. Like Rich, you always make me look better.
2) This is from Parker Lewis, a NYT crossword constructor. He said:
"Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Thanks for keeping your blog going strong!
Not sure if you've heard yet but the team at Puzzazz has been busy lately. We're in the midst of a cool Kickstarter campaign to construct a year-long puzzlehunt. We though you might be interested so if you'd like to take a look, you can check out the details here.
We're thrilled at the amount of support so far (73% of our goal and
counting!) and are very excited to get started with the production of
the puzzlehunt. Feel free to spread the word to anyone else who might be
interested.
Happy New Years!"
62 comments:
Up with the dogs at 5:30 (EST) and out into a pre-dawn temperature of 25° here in an icy mid-Hudson valley.
Got stuck in the SW corner with, at first, IAMBS instead of IAMBI. A nice Friday puzzle (more like a Thursday?) with a fun theme. [12:44]
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I'm feeling my AGE with today's puzzle. LOL! This puzzle slowed me down. I easily got the SLEEPING PILLAGE, but struggled with some of the other theme answers. CHICKEN OUTAGE made me laugh.
My favorite clue was the Burlesque Accessory, but I was thinking of Sally Rand, so initially tried FEATHER Fan instead of BOA.
An ID TAG is probably the only airport freebie. Fliers will probably be charged for them on their next flight!
We saw the movie ARGO and thought it was quite good. The real rescue wasn't quite as dramatic, but probably felt so to those who were rescued.
I wish everyone a safe New Year's weekend and only minor delays if traveling.
QOD: A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits. ~ Woodrow Wilson (Dec. 28, 1856 ~ Feb. 3, 1924)
Marti, wonderful puzzle; Lemonade, great review! Many thanks.
I needed some red letter help, but not enough that the puzzle wasn't a fun one to solve.
Grandson is up. Keep warm,
Montana
Morning, all!
Definitely a bit of a mental workout today, but also definitely worth the effort. A perfect Friday solving experience.
I finally got the theme at MIDNIGHT MASSAGE, and that let me go back and quickly fill in the gaps left in the other three theme answers.
And yes, I was really hoping that "airport freebie" would be SNACK, but I suppose even those aren't free anymore. It has been several years since I last flew anywhere, and I really miss the days when you had wide aisles and a hot meal...
Lemon: NOW I have that Rupert Holmes, "Escape: The Pina Coladas Song," earworm running through my BRAIN. Ugh!
Time for that to be replaced by some
Fun Fun Fun when her Daddy took her T-BIRD away.
Marti: Ya-got-me, DNF, was nowhere near your wavelength. ACK! It happens.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Try some of the other piña colada song. Clip.
TGIF, everybody!
This was just right for a Friday. Marti, you made the theme so obvious that even I got it with the first theme answer.
Looked at MUA for Strong Joe for some time before the V-8 can changed ETAS to ETDS. Learning moment: MULES have nothing to do with mules, just as Boxing Day has nothing to do with boxing. You'd think I would have learned those things in my UTE.
Tinny
Thanks for linking that song. I had not heard it since lemony linked it in his write up.
What a hoot Marti, thanks for the day brightener. I can’t even pick a fav theme answer! EIGER in a Marti puzzle was my first fill!
Musings
-Joe at this house is not WEAK
-VW models? Nope, read the clue Gary!
-OLEIC not boric, OTRA not otro, STOP GAPS not stand bys/ins,
-Lemon, I noticed in your fine write-up that that linked Doll House was in Tampa. Maybe TIN can ask the guys at the pool hall where it’s located ;-)
-Dutch ELM disease devastated the stately trees of my ute.
-ESPN did have a lot of odd sports early and now is dominated by talking heads who occasionally depart from “jock talk” to say some really stupid things
-LONI and Burt were the “it” couple at one time and then…
-It’s probably a generational thing, but TATS don’t do it for me.
-Something free in an airport? Stumped me for a while.
-I wanted to use my newly learned SABOT but it wouldn’t fit for MULE (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing)
-“…it altogether FITTING and proper that we do this…” We all learned those words, didn’t we?
-ZANE was Colonel Potter’s favorite author
--What old TV game show involved exposing a REBUS by matching pairs of tiles over the puzzle?
Stop it you two ! Between Marti's Friday deception and Lemon's links, I'm never going to get anything accomplished on Fridays.
Had 11 down and 11 across after first pass, and probably double that second time through before it started to slow way down.
Finally turned on red-letter help when I got to the fiscal cliff. No, er, um, when I was at the impasse. That red letter support helped with the last 7 or 8 letters.
Then started reading the write up and hit the Perspective link. Forgot what I was doing. Did you know you can get a stiff martini there ?
They may need a new copy writer, at least from my perspective. This just doesn't seem to convey the message I think they want to convey. "...our quality is inferior to none." It gave me pause.
So then I'm staring at that sentence and DW looks over the shoulder. Now I'm in trouble and she's in the other room giving me the cold shoulder.
Brian: I actually like the version Tinman linked better than the live one i posted.
The link to Mrs. Slocombe got deleted, so here it is. KITTY .
If we were to repost better versions of your links, we would be here for a while.
Sorry Brian. I prefer the Original, not recorded (badly), version from March 14, 1964.
(It was on the right-side of Lemon's link)
Husker: Would that game be Concentration?
Tampa is ranked #3 for those establishments, behind Las Vegas and Cincinnati.
Well this was a brain buster for me...Must be Friday!
I didn't know OTRA, OED, IRED, IAMBI or EGAL. Egad! That's a lot!
I liked
- 27D: Is shy, in a way: OWES
- 48D: Bit of a Bluff: CRAG
And now that I get it I like 25A: Work requiring oversized shelves: OED. (Boy did that one have me stumped!)
Anybody have special plans for New Year's Eve? Any resolutions? I never make resolutions. I go to a gym 6 days a week all year around, and every January the gym gets packed with newbies and their resolutions. It's a pain because it's hard to find a machine with all the extra people there. But it's not too bad because by February 15th 99% of the newbies give up on their resolutions and are gone.
Have a great day!
Great Friday solving experience, Marti!
I would have been here half an hour earlier were it not for Lemonade's interesting blog and links too.
I've never heard the term REBUS so wondered when it appeared. STMT didn't leap out as statement either. Unknown names were KATHIE and ZANE, and I wanted même for ÉGAL. I associate the latter more with "equal" or in the phrase <> meaning "It's all the same to me/I don't care".
All in all, a fun challenge and getting the theme quicker than usual really helped in some otherwise difficult spots.
Speaking of CHICKEN OUTAGE, I've had it happen 2x where I went to KFC and was told they were out of chicken. Out of Chicken?!? At KFC?!? I swear it's true.
I haven't had that happen since they're under new management.
My attempt to use French quotes was misinterpreted above. The missing French should read: "Ça m'est égal."
You’re right, of course, Tin. Here is an snippet of the REBUS game CONCENTRATION (7:11).
Some musings on the video that also serves as a time capsule
-Man player wearing a suit
-Contestants are from New York area when that was the center of the entertainment universe
-A pre-PETA sable scarf as a highly valued prize
-A young wise cracking Hugh Downs when 20:20 wasn’t even a gleam in his eye
-Low tech playing board and commercial graphics
-The sponsor name mentioned prominently and specifically
-A contest for home viewers run by the sponsor
-The prize for winning was $100.
-I couldn’t get the puzzle either
“Those were the days, my friend; we thought they’d never end…”
Greetings! What a delightful Friday, Marti and Lemonade to entertain us!
Sashayed through most of this when I realized AGE was in play.
Not much time to comment though as we are making more tamales today for a big party my family will host on Sunday.
Thanks Marti and Lemon!
Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!
Good morning:
This was definitely a Friday challenge, at least for me. I did finish w/o help but it took some time and helpful perps. Clever theme and I liked the cluing for mynah and gang, plus the long fill of stopgaps, feather boa, etc.
Great job, Marti, and kudos to Lemony for a witty, informative expo.
Our snowfall amounted to only 5" but it is quite cold so I am in hibernation mode. Al Cyone, where exactly are you in the mid- Hudson Valley? More, snow is expected tomorrow but I don't think any serious accumulation.
Happy Friday.
Good (late) morning everyone,
This puzzle was a big time struggle and I nearly threw in the towel, but made progress once I picked up on the theme with the AGE endings. The biggest area of discontent were the abbreviations. Some of them sure were not the standard Xword fare.
I thought many of the clues and resultant fills were deceptive. Watery/WEAK. still life forms/WAXY, drop/OMit all had me pulling out my hair and I don't have that much left!
Marti, if your ears were a little warm today, that was likely me commenting on your cleverness. In the end I did finish it without assistance, so I apologize for my thoughts. You always give me a pretty good workout and I'll take that over any Monday/Tuesday no brainer.
Lemonade, thanks for the blog. As usual, very witty and informative with a lot of "guy" stuff. I'll be looking forward to Dennis sharing his thoughts with us.
Did you have input from Dennis on this one, Marti? LONI, FEATHER BOA, EIGER (a peak!)...mighty suspicious clues. But a very enjoyable puzzle. Lemony carried right on with his Dollhouse link and his take on MIDNIGHT MASSAGE. Great minds think alike?
I made a Cousin ITT costume for my son one Halloween. There was fake fur all over the house. Then it snowed while they were trick-or-treating, and we found out that wet fake fur itches like crazy. Not the most successful costume ever, but boy was it cute!
ZANE Grey (Gray?) was one of my Mom's favorite writers, so we all read him when we were young.
Only two days of kids' visit and my staycation left. Oh well. Guess I'll go back and earn more PTO.
Happy Friday, everyone.
My initial thought for airport freebie was a FRISK. Such lovely people that are the TSA.
My rum concoctions were COLLINS and I was going to have it A GO.
Thought rebuses had a picture and a letter, so was kept wanting ABBRS.
Thought the clue for WEAK was weak, and my dentist would not recommend WHITENER. I'm tired of IRED.
Hi All ~~
I loved the challenge of this puzzle ~ thanks, Marti! Whenever I can't get 1A and 1D right off the bat, I'm usually in for a tough time. I was quite sure of TIES and MULE so I finally got OMIT and then OAST filled in - had no idea about the conical roof. WEAK came to me after a bit as I was drinking my MUD ~ love it!
A really clever theme - fun answers. As others have mentioned ~ some great long fill - EXPECTED AT and STOP GAPS were my favorites.
~ Because of 'Corner' comments about V-8, I was not thinking about cars.
~ For 30D -"Winged chatterbox' - I was thinking of some sort of mythical creature.
~One write-over - 'Atvs' before UTES.
I enjoyed your write-up as always, Lemonade ~ your comments always make me smile.
Enjoy the day ~~
Hello Puzzlers -
Glad I had a Friday Marti to perk up my brain today. It needs it! Thanks for a good workout, neighbor!
Hand up for IAMBS before IAMBI. Plurals are tricky like that.
This new Blogger interface has me all confused. The comment box isn't always there, and it seems to change place at will. Also, the commenting process doesn't like to be interrupted by, say, toggling back to the puzzle to check something. This applies mostly to the iPad; I haven't used the PC enough to know whether it's buggy also.
A very enjoyable puzzle Marti. Thank you, and thanks Lemonade. It took me a long time to plod through it, and the first theme answer that came to me was Midnight Massage.
Dudley, I haven't noticed any difference in the PC version, but don't much care for the iPad interface. You can switch at the very bottom, but you have to go through two steps for it to be as it was.
Thank you Marti, for a wonderful and challenging puzzle. It got my goat .... a DNF .... but I tried very studiously, in your honor.
Thank you Lemonade, for a very witty and fun exposition.
I am a little busy right now, so I'll make it short.
I saw 'Argo', and although it's based on a real story, ( I remember it well - ) - the 'thematic' elements, all the made-up hoopla, all the posturing, and all that nonsense, just ruined it for me. It seems that reality and real life is just not enough - you have to compete with audiences watching "science fiction" - and you have to go totally 'over the top' to try for a block buster. And pretty soon, there is no truth or reality left in it at all.
Another case in point, is the movie, 'Dark Zero Thirty' , regarding Osama's assassination, which reviewers have said portrays "TORTURE" - incessantly, unrelentingly and obsessively throughout the movie - when the reality is, per those in-the-know is that that was not true. This discredits, tarnishes, dishonors and insults the USA, CIA, NSA, DIA and the Armed Forces. The Freedom of the Press, and of Expression, - like the Freedom to Bear Arms is a very sharp double-edged sword. That is my opinion.
BTW, my cousin in England, called and informed me that the role of OsBinL ( a minor role - ! ) is played by an Indian (non-Muslim) neighbor of his ! Will wonders never cease.....
Season's Greetings to all, and best wishes.
Good morning, CC, Marti,& Lemonade,
What a week! 3 of our own being featured constructors... consecutively even. It's a high compliment to CC on many levels and speaks volumes about the caliber of talent here. Congratulations (again), Marti and thank you for the very clever and fun puzzle.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and even got the theme for once. ID TAG came thru perps. I couldn't for the life of me think of anything free anymore on any airline...unless it's your birthday on Southwest and then ya get free drinks..or if the pilot is from your hometown and then it's a party. Landing in Vegas was debatable... pure semantics. But I digress.
TATS surrounded by T-BIRD and GEEZER MUDdled my BRAIN and made me laugh. What a STMT that makes.
I'M UP for it tho' as long as the TATS are on him.
Love Pina COLADAS & the songs. In Cancun I met a Pina Colada mixed w/ Strawberry Dacquari called a Miami Vice. ETDS? soon..real soon. So delicious! still a fav.
QLI: your opening comments made me LOL. Love how you think.
Enjoy your day.
Bill G: I'm on the right side of VA, the Ches. Bay. Blacksburg is in the mtns on the left side of VA and the home of our beloved HOKIES who play today and the home also of much of my moolah. I know the route well...5 hrs from here. My new in-laws are in Lynchburg - about 4 hrs away. Good to 'see' you as well.
I often dread Friday puzzles, but as soon as I saw that it was Marti's I was excited. And I did get a lot of it, if not all--but thoroughly enjoyed the whole process! So thank you, Divine Miss M! And you too, Lemonade, especially for invoking Dagwood as the SLEEPING PILLAGEr.
I did have a few stupid problems, especially because I had FINCH before MYNAH for the talking bird. Doh! I also had SD TAG instead of ID TAG but instead of questioning my IAMBs, I just wondered what an SD TAG was. Double Doh! Finally, I have to confess that I still don't understand how or why EZ or MT are a REBUS?
But a great way to start a Friday! Have a good one, everybody!
Misty, EZ is easy, and MT is empty, and brandy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.
Lemon thanks for the interesting blog today and since I didn't make it here yesterday also want to thank Argyle for doing Thursday's blog.
Marti, this one sent me round and round but slowly filled in as my brain churned through the recesses. I wanted TEAR for 5A before WEAK so that held up the middle. Also, had STOPOVER before STOPGAPS for 41D. It drove me crazy for bit not being able to remember Billy's last name for 60D. Did anyone else think of Mai Tais for 9D?
C.C. and Dennis, what a great puzzle for a Thursday. Liked seeing PTERO used. I loved the TOTO clue also.
Lemonade, I second your thoughts re the blog folks here. Enjoy it very much and though my posts are often late night sincerely appreciated each and everyone who posts here.
Hi y'all, Really cute puzzle, Marti! I came of AGE early which helped with a couple other theme answers.
Some good stuff from you, Lemon. Thanks! I got stuck on the W central block and had to have your help. For shy, I wanted "tWEe" for some reason.
Didn't know NASH--only Hollies I knew were Buddy Holly.
For winged talker, I was thinking about that movie with Tinkerbell's sister whose name I didn't know.
For bundle all that came to me was a current commercial from my cable/internet provider. And I once taped my MIL telling about bundling corn stalks and leaving the SHEAFs in the field. They didn't use twine. They wrapped a pliable stalk around the others and tucked it snugly. There was an art to stacking the bundles in a SHEAF so the water ran off the outside and didn't seep in and grow mold in the bundle. Mold made animals sick when fed the bundles.
OOPS, clicked the send without ID TAG on above.
Congrats to Marti!
I was totally on your wavelength until the middle.
Changed HUMAN BANDAGE.
Was positive it was some kind of shorTAGE instead of OUTAGE.
REBUS is a dirty word to me, as they used to throw those at us in the NYT puzzles.
Still can't get used to the shortened version, TATS.
Did get the theme right away, but ran out of gas in the center.
And Lemonade, I clicked on your Doll House link and promptly removed the cookie that came with it. After that, I refused to click on anything else.
Have a good weekend, Kids
Thanks for all the nice comments today. Even if it had you stumped, at least you rose to the challenge, so congratulations for that!
Lemon, as always, I was laughing all the way through your write-up. Nice link for the FEATHER BOA, BTW. I definitely was thinking of you for that entry. But no, not for GEEZER – sheesh! You are certainly not a geezer!!
I am having a party tonight, so I really have to run. But I’ll catch up with the late comments on the other side. Have a great day everyone!
Hugs,
Marti
Greetings!
Swell puzzle, Marti! Fun expo, Lemon!
Took a bit of time, but finally I prevailed with no cheats. Hand up for SDTAG and FINCH at first!
Beautiful blue sky here!
Swimming friend has back problems so bad that I don't expect her today. Darn. Really need the exercise!
Cheers!
I was thinking a clever play on words for 33A, Like some still-life items would be DEAD. But that didn't work out.
Happy Holidays to all and thanks for the many learning moments and chuckles to all the constructors, solvers and posters.
Greg
Marti, Thanks for the fun challenge. For 53A, the clue was La-la leader. If it has been La-la follower, I was ready for LINDA for sure.
Here's a simple little puzzler that EVERYBODY can try on their calculator. A BLACK HOLE:
Choose any positive four-digit number with different digits (say 2193). Arrange the digits in order from largest to smallest (9321) and then again from smallest to largest (1239). Subtract the smaller number from the larger (9321 - 1239 = 8082). Then repeat the previous steps subtracting 0288 from 8820. Continue this process until something interesting happens.
a) Start with different four-digit numbers. What happens?
b) What happens if you start with a three-digit number?
c) What about a five-digit number or larger?
RIP Norman "don't call me Stormin'" Schwarzkopf, Jr.
In Vietnam in March 1970, Schwarzkopf was involved in rescuing men of his battalion from a minefield.[4] He had received word that men under his command had encountered a minefield on the notorious Batangan Peninsula, and rushed to the scene in his helicopter, as was his custom while a battalion commander, in order to make his helicopter available. He found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. Schwarzkopf urged them to retrace their steps slowly. Still, one man tripped a mine and was severely wounded but remained conscious. As the wounded man flailed in agony, the soldiers around him feared that he would set off another mine. Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down (using a "pinning" technique from his wrestling days at West Point) so another could splint his shattered leg. One soldier stepped away to break a branch from a nearby tree to make the splint. In doing so, he too hit a mine, which killed him and the two men closest to him, and blew an arm and a leg off Schwarzkopf's artillery liaison officer. Eventually, Schwarzkopf led his surviving men to safety, by ordering the division engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream. (Some of the mines were of French manufacture and dated back to the Indochina conflict of the 1950s; others were brought by Japanese forces in World War II). Schwarzkopf says in his autobiography It Doesn't Take a Hero that this incident firmly cemented his reputation as an officer who would risk his life for the soldiers under his command.
What a fabulour Friday with Marti's clever puzzle and Lemony's witty and informative blog. I tried to work the puzzle in the midst of doing other things. No luck. Finalkly, I went off by myself and focused. Much faster, more fun and more easily completed.
I received a Kindle for my birthday and today I downloaded my first book. I think I will enjoy using the Kindle.
pas de chat, COOKIES come with many links. though not usually with a youtube or wikipedia reference. I do not often link actual websites which are the more likely links to imbed a cookie, but as you know you can remove your cookies easily, or you can set your computer to not open a link with a cookie. If you were chiding me for linking a site that has cookies, I do not worry about as I empty both my temporary files and cookies periodically. If htis is a problem, I will try and pay more attention in the future.
marti have fun being a twinkie, the hostess with the mostest.
YR, I've had a Kindle Touch for about 6 months, and I really like it. So long as I keep the WIFI turned off when I'm not downloading, it provides about a month's worth of reading on a single charge. Great for traveling! And if you join Amazon Prime you can borrow one book per month, no-charge, and get free 2-day shipping on most of your Amazon purchases. I've already received more than the Prime subscription cost in free shipping.
Oh well, i cheated my way into a DNF. (what can you expect of a guy that thought 33A like some still life = Dead.)
I did not see the "age" them until i came to the Blog, but i must admit, it certainly is a good one!
My only nit, Lemonade already linked all the good naughty bits...
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Marti,for a swell friday puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the swell review.
Got started slowly. My first answer was ARGO. My second was my home town, ERIE. I love that gimme.
ESPN was easy.
Caught the theme after a while. Very clever. That helped me with ONEMAN BANDAGE. I had never heard of PEPA before. Salt and Pepa.
Thought STOPGAPS was clever.
I hesitated on USNA. I thought it was established earlier. But went with it anyhow.
I am still sick with a chest cold.
See you tomorrow.
abejo
I resisted the idea of the kindle, but when my cousin bought me one, and i started using it , able to enlarge the print so I could read the words, I was hooked.
This year she gave me a kindle fire and it has so much functionality, and so many great video feeds as well as books.
My youngest is using my first one and all the books are available to me in the cloud, where ever that is.
Lemonade @3:10
I know about cookies, but didn't feel like risking going to another link of girlie stuff and then blaming my DH for the link, LOL!
But I didn't say you didn't warn us!
"I promise ladies, next week's write up will be for you, but this week to honor Dennis and his first puzzle, the links lean to the male side."
So we expect you to keep your word about next week's links.
Right, ladies?
Enjoyed this puzzle. The theme helped a lot.
Good afternoon, Lemonade, C.C. and gang - just back from Sanibel Island. Got to relax on the beach while my wife tried to devoid the beach of shells.
Good puzzle today, but Lemonade's write-up was the highlight for me. I might need to leave some business cards for my new business at that "Thee Dollhouse". Oh, and I've been told that my business model is flawed, that $100 is too much for a 'hands-on session', but what the hell, as long as I can afford it, right?
Lemonade, thanks for the great links, especially Loni and the Beach Boys. And in case C.C. didn't tell you, we've been told our NYT puzzle is about two years down the road. Evidently Will has just a bit of a backlog.
Thanks again for all the kind words yesterday (especially the 7:14pm post, lol); got calls from friends in NJ, Atlanta, and Manhattan Beach CA, who must've done a double-take when they saw the constructors' names.
Pinto, thanks for the tribute to General Schwarzkopf - just a great soldier, and the kind of leader you would follow to hell and back.
Hope it's a great evening for everyone.
DO, thanks for the tip about turning off WI FI to conserve the battery on my Kindle Fire. I realize the Kindle Fire has so much to offer and so much for me to learn. The learning curve seems steep, but I am thrilled that I was able to order a free book from Amazon Prime without help. I didn’t realize the book, although stimulating, was short enough to read in 2 hours. I read six or more books a month along with many periodicals and newspapers, so I have signed up for a private one-one tutorial at my library on January 9 so that I may read those books, too.
My sister has a Kindle dictionary and can toggle back and forth between the book and the dictionary. I must learn to do that. I can’t live without a dictionary.
Our town has a very minimal library that is not adequate for us to join the county library system and has almost no library appropriations to pay for our share of the county system. That system has gotten tougher in the last two years and I now I must pay $100 a year for a limited pass at the nearest neighboring library. I can only use this one neighboring library and the county library. I cannot order books from any other than these two libraries. I seem to be the only one in town who cares. WIFI and Kindle seem to be the answer.
Good afternoon Lemonade, C.C., Marti,et al,
I always know my brain is going to be superchallenged when it's a "Marti", but always worth the DNF in the end. It was an almost done deal today.Had to look up Graham Nash to get the NA, which got the ONE (man bandage) to get the X. But I really EXPECTED to finish.
OLEIC!!!!! Drats, and shame on me for not filling in the I to Eiger.
It had to be a geezer moment.Had trouble with otra and oed too.
CED, had to laugh because dead was my 1st thought too.
Loved many clues, but "winged chatterbox" was hilarious. I was into the mythical beasts for too long.
Lemon, it's always a pleasure to read your take on each clue. Even when I don't do a Fri. CW, I do read your blogging- fun stuff.
Yellowrocks, soon the libraries will be crying they don't have enough patrons. What do they expect?
There is a great editorial cartoon showing Swartzkopf storming through a wall of hell in a tank with all the little red devils running for cover.
I tried to copy it here, but had a devil of a time trying to make it work.
The link someone put up with the nudist senior citizens in lawn chairs on the beach has stuck on my IMAX user history display. My grandkids may be in my house and on my computer this weekend. Wonder what they'll think. Maybe I should hide the mouse and keyboard. LOL! They are mostly all boys under 13 so don't think they'll enjoy the Dolls either but so far they haven't appeared on the history.
Argyle, the bookstores are also crying about not having enough patrons. I used to spend a wad at Barnes & Noble about every three months. I haven't been in there for two years since I got my Kindle. Which is why we've probably had so many NOOK ads on TV here lately. You were supposed to buy it and have it activated at B&N.
At least the libraries may be able to get by on reduced budgets--unless the electronics privileges cost them more.
Not sure I'd want to see senior nudists on a IMAX screen!
Very cool puzzle, Marti, thank you. Your writeup was fun to read, Lemonade, thank you.
Thank you to all involved with the great thursday and friday puzzles... DNF of course :) but thoroughly enjoyed...
C.C. thank you for this wonderful blog and thank you to all who contribute regularly... you all have added a bright spot to my days...
My thoughts are with you all and I do wish each and everyone the happiest of new years...
thelma
Dennis and JD and...wow. Thank you for all the kind words, it has been a year of tremendous growth for our resident constructors and our fearless leader. As one chapter ends a new one begins. I enjoy the memories, embrace the present and look to what comes next.
Yellowrocks there is an app called "Overdrive" that will give you access, if you have a library card to a specific library, whereby you can take out a digital book. I use it all the time on my iPad. And, there is a kindle version.
Here is a brief tutorial: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R33AG39J87RVCP
It'll save you some $$$.
A couple more notes:
There are so many ways to get free books. Most classics reside in the "public domain". Therefore, you can d/l them to either your iOS device, Kindle, Nook, or just about any tablet.
In the iTunes app, go to the iTunes Store and type in "Free Book" and watch what comes up. Click "show all" and you'll be overwhelmed. I would venture to say that are at least 50-75 books that would make just about anyone's list of the greatest books ever written.
I'm sure this would work with the Kindle as well. If not, just Google it on your computer and you'll be pointed in the right direction.
If embrace technology, you'll be amazed how it can benefit you.
Hola Everyone, Just wanted Marti to know that I finally finished one of her puzzles on my own. I loved your puzzle, Marti. Thanks for the challenge.
Friday puzzles aren't usually my cup of tea.
Takk skal du ha Marti, for en fantastisk og utfordrende puslespill. Det fikk min geit .... en DNF .... men jeg prøvde veldig studiously, til ære din.
Takk skal du ha Lemonade, for en veldig vittig og morsom utstilling.
Jeg er litt opptatt akkurat nå, så jeg skal gjøre det kort.
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