Words: 72
Blocks: 30
A fun romp of a
Saturday, missing just the "Q", with some good fill, lots of references that I could identify
with, and enough perps to cover the obscure answers. Neville is the
young man who was on Jeopardy ( see this from C.C. on the blog ) and has a blog of his own, with a weekly crossword offering - see here - and - gave himself a bit of a shout-out today with 42D.~!!! One grid climber:
7. "Perform This Way" parodist : WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - oh, what song to link? "I'm Fat", "Smells Like Nirvana"?, "Amish Paradise"?
and some other long fills I liked -
36. Of the 48 states, it has the largest island : NEW YORK - YEAH~!!! A shout-out to my home on Long Island~! ( the "r" in Port Jefferson is painted on my roof....)
5. It was dissolved by the Belavezha Accords : SOVIET UNION - I did not know there was an accord to officially dissolve the union.
25. Teleportation device for chocolate, in a 1971 film : WONKA-VISION - "TV Mike's" demise when he decided to become the first kid to be beamed into TV; from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the film version of Raold Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Loved this song done by Gene Wilder ( who I thought was great as Wonka, too ).
ONWARD, quickly, I have to go to work this AM~!!!
ACROSS:
1. Confusing places : MAZES
6. Unfaithful : TWO-TIMING - How DARE you?!?!
15. Matter of faith : CREDO
16. "Huh?" : BEG PARDON?
17. When Othello says to Desdemona, "... would thou hadst ne'er been born!" : ACT IV - HA~! I filled in ACT II, and was almost right....
18. "The Birth of a Nation" period : SILENT ERA - nice to see more than just ERA in a puzzle
19. Clarifying words : THAT IS....
21. Black's opposite, financially : RED - How many of you are going into the "red" this holiday season? - and I don't mean that red colored dress....
22. Brewer's need : OAST - aw, I almost filled this in, but waited
23. 1972 Eastwood title role : JOE KIDD - funny how this is followed by the next clue, and "Outlaw Josey-" (from 1976)
25. Country with a dragon on its flag : WALES
26. Medieval poem about fate set to music in Orff's "Carmina Burana" : O FORTUNA - ya know, it does sound 'medieval' - I think Monty Python used this piece as a basis for their Holy Grail score (and other films used it straight up, I believe)
28. Whiting cousin : COD - something's fishy with this clue....
29. Cutting-edge brand since the '70s : GINSU - "But WAIT~! There's more~! Act Now ~!"
30. Highway through Whitehorse : ALCAN - I tried "US One", and was wrong - wrong side of the world, that is - the Alaska-Canadian Highway
32. Show co-hosted by Robin Roberts, briefly : GMA - Good Morning America
35. "The Facts of Life" actress : RAE - Charlotte
38. __-en-Provence, France : AIX - took a moment to remember the "X" ending in French
39. Martians, e.g. : ETs - Aliens~!
40. Clarifying words : I MEAN....
41. Pianist Watts : ANDRE
43. Bossy remark? : MOO - the Muppet Cow, HAR HAR
44. Weapon outlawed by a 1993 agreement : NERVE GAS - eh, I tried UZI RIFLE, even though I know it was wrong
46. __ renewal : URBAN
49. Perform a long jump : SKYDIVE - um, yeah, that's pretty long
50. Street light : NEON
51. Sgt., e.g. : NCO
52. If nothing changes : AS IT IS
55. Friend of Uncle Tom : LITTLE EVA - I have had this in a Saturday puzzle before
58. Parting words? : I LEFT
59. Branch of chemistry : INORGANIC
60. Brand of imitation fat : OLEAN
61. Big 12 football team led onto the field by The Masked Rider : TEXAS TECH - here
62. "Crud!" : "NERTS~!"
DOWN:
1. Future doc's test : MCAT - Medical College Admissions Test
2. Keystone site : ARCH
3. "Chicago" Oscar winner : ZETA-JONES - Catherine, all legs ~!
4. Life sentence reducers? : EDITORS - Life, the magazine, and written sentences
6. Conan's network : TBS - I like Conan, I have said this before
8. Took a good look at : OGLED - Oh, I'll take a good look at it...
9. Adorned mischievously : TP'ed - toilet papered ~!!!
10. First name in spy fiction : IAN - Flemming, of James Bond books
11. "The Wind in the Willows" amphibian : MR. TOAD - my younger brother liked this book
12. Optimal : IDEAL
13. Old language that gives us "geyser" : NORSE
14. Airborne pests : GNATS
20. UPC cousin : SKU - the store's 6- or 7-digit Stock-Keeping Unit reference number; Grossman's 2x4x8 stud was 204-208
24. Blown away : IN AWE
26. Meanie : OGRE
27. Royal decree : FIAT - ah, not WRIT
28. Ride : CAR
31. __ Island : CONEY
32. One with the latest gizmos : GADGETEER - it's a word, at least in the online dictionary
33. Actress Sorvino : MIRA - Paul Sorvino's ( Goodfellas ) daughter - do you think Neville likes blondes or brunettes?
34. Graph references : AXES - that's AXIS plural, the X- and Y- (and sometimes Z) planes
37. Expressive rock genre : EMO
42. Early WWII prime minister Chamberlain : NEVILLE - well, there you have it, Mr. Fogarty~!
43. It's repeated a lot : MANTRA - Om....
45. Dietary no. : RDA
46. Dark : UNLIT
47. Roi's wife : REINE - Frawnch
48. Head shot? : BOTOX - yep, botulism injections for beauty....
49. Tantrum result, maybe : SCENE - "get off the floor~! you're making a scene~!"
51. In order : NEAT
53. "__ first ..." : IF AT
54. Planned stops: Abbr. : STNs
56. Some linemen: Abbr. : LGs - Left Guards, in football - he's in yellow, here
57. "__ du lieber!" : ACH
Splynter
51 comments:
Morning, all!
Fine Saturday puzzle. Challenging, but nothing too bizarre, and plenty of fun clues.
Having a lot of trouble dealing with the news out of Connecticut yesterday. I'm sure every parent of a young child feels the same way. Simply unfathomable.
Mornin', Splynter et al, Thought this would defeat me
but I got more than most Saturdays, thank you very much, Neville! Pretty fun puzzle. Thanks, Splynter!
I forgot and put MsAT at 1D and ExITORS instead of EDITORS. Left blank the 26a F & U holes.
Tried NasTy for crud at 62a until NEVILLE came down on it.
56A I thought LGS just meant they were big. What do I know about football.
Barry, grandparents feel bad too. And teachers. My daughter home-schooled her daughter because she thought public schools were too violent. And that was before all this mayhem! So many angry nuts!
I think movie/TV producers have forgotten the old saying "Monkey see. Monkey do." Disturbed people see all these shootings on TV and want to join in.
Thank you Splynter and thank you Neville.
Your puzzles always delight, and I once again had great fun. My father always said Beg Pardon. Exactly like that. Never said "huh ?" or "what ?"
This puzzle had everything. Geography, movie and TV celebs, politics, sports, sexcapades, technology, city night life and music.
By the way, I never did finish Election Projection, and my wife eventually threw it away. Will try again one of these days. Great job Neville, thanks again !
Good morning, weekend warriors!
Looked daunting, but came into the STN ahead of schedule. Splynter, I enjoyed your expo, as always.
You'd think the Soviet Union would have ended in DISCORD rather than an ACCORD -- a shoutout to my previous ride. I never would have noticed the KIDD/WALES connection if Splynter hadn't pointed it out.
I misunderstood the "briefly" -- I thought it meant Robin Roberts hosted it briefly. D'oh!
And what do you mean the LG is yellow -- the whole team is yellow, isn't it? Of course, I'm color-blind, so maybe it is different somehow.
That shooting in CT was terrible. But I don't think CBS needed to spend the entire expanded nightly news on it, plus a one-hour "special" later in the evening. It happened. It was bad. There was nothing new to report, and by making it "special", it just encourages others to try it.
Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
FIne write-up, Splynter! I noticed the shout out at 42D, but missed the "Outlaw Josey WALES" that you spotted. Cute!
I agree with TTP about the variety in this one - fantastic! Loved GADGETEERS, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, and WONKAVISION.
Barry G., you're right, but it's not just parents who are horrified. I think everyone relates to the senseless acts we saw. And I agree with desper-otto that it needn't have received so much exposure on CBS.
Stay safe, everyone.
Terrific Saturday offering. Higly enjoyable. Thank you.
"But I don't think CBS needed to spend the entire expanded nightly news on it, plus a one-hour "special" later in the evening."
"And I agree with desper-otto that it needn't have received so much exposure on CBS."
Agreed.
At some point it stops being news and becomes plain ghoulishness.
Let's hope major-network news gets back to regular programming soon, and leaves the ghoulishness for repulsive fiends like Nancy Grace.
Good day, Puzzlers! Nice write up, Splynter. Thanks for making all those connections.
This was the easiest Saturday in a very long time. Knew ZETA-JONES but I started with CATHERINE and soon changed it.
I had just enough downs to then fill the letters in between. Chuckled when I saw NEVILLE. Nice going, Mr. Fogarty, to cleverly include your name.
I'm reading Winter of World so the PM's name is often mentioned.
Surprisingly I remembered AIX-en-Provence from previous puzzles.
I've seen on stage and heard Carmina Burana many times so O FORTUNA came easily. That's a good crossing with FIAT.
Good job, Neville Fogarty! Thank you.
Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!
OOps! I just realized that I had REINA as opposite of Roi and didn't notice TAXAS TECH. NERTS!!
The heartbreak will continue.
Well, I usually don't look forward to Saturday's puzzles but this one was less intimidating than most. Still, a lot of PERPS and WAGS (and some that were a hybrid of both?). Multiple-word answers (e.g. TWOTIMING) continue to catch me off-guard. [9:59]
Hello Puzzlers -
Let me say thanks to Splynter right off for Catherine Zeta-Jones, a truly lovely export of Wales. Yum.
Never heard of Joe Kidd, so hand up for Josey Wales. Other hand up for thinking LG's meant they were large. I know zilch about football. Neither did my dad, a '52 graduate of Texas Tech. He probably wouldn't have known there was a masked rider, if they had one back then.
O Fortuna appears again! I like the YouTube version featuring Andre Rieu leading a crisp, disciplined chorus in a massive outdoor performance in his hometown of Maastricht.
Liked seeing the informal Nerts in a puzz.
Cheers All!
Good morning everyone. Good intro, Splynter. Left me chuckling.
WEES said about the puzzle. It had a lot to offer. Daunting initially but doable with some perp help. Not too misleading either. ie. INORGANIC and SILENT ERA. NEWYORK, a gimme, provided a firm anchor right in the middle of the puzzle. AIX/AXES was a nice cross. Had not heard of MCAT before, but it didn't matter.
I agree with DO on the news.
Have a nice weekend.
That's MR TOAD, to you.
How many times can NEVILLE get his name in a puzzle? There's still the Harry Potter character.
I've started doing my Googling up front on Saturdays. Life is short. The usual dozen.
Around here (Upstate NY), OLEAN is a town.
What a lovely early gift - an easy Saturday with some fun clues and very gettable long fills for our stockings as well. Sorry I didn’t leave any cookies and milk out, Neville. Anyone who usually skips Saturday puzzles will be sorry.
Musings
-Wilder as Wonka and Sellers as Clouseau. How ya gonna do better?
-A TWO TIMING former friend was forgiven and taken back by his wife, uh, two times
-Eastwood character starting with J called for Josie Wales but Wales came next as Splynter said
-Have you ever had need to cut a tin can and then a tomato with a GINSU?
-Omaha’s URBAN renewal downtown has been incredibly successful
-ORGANIC chemistry gave me fits. Darn carbon.
-The tenure of TEXAS TECH’s eccentric coach came to an end when he put a player of a famous man in a shed during practice. Even winning can’t gloss over some things
-Be back later. Gotta go buy cat Christmas toys with the grandkids. Don’t ask ;-)
Hi All ~~
This puzzle was a nice diversion today. Like others, I found this much easier than most Saturdays ~ lots to like. A great write-up, Spynter.
Besides the national networks, our local stations are covering the tragedy in Newtown extensively. More details are coming out today. Living in central CT, I'm about 40 minutes away. My heart aches for all those affected.
This was a doable Saturday puzzle for me so it was a pleasure! Thanks Neville. Liked "Head shot?" . I knew the flag with dragon because I spent many hours working a petit pointe canvas of that flag for my Welsh mother in law. Learned something today-I always thought the creature was a griffen;now I know it's a dragon thanks to CW.
The tragedy inCT is so senseless and it is time for something to be done to prevent future events like these.
Good morning:
Thanks, Neville, for a challenging but very doable Saturday outing and thanks, Splynter, for a neat expo.
Sincere thoughts, prayers, and sympathy to all those who are in so much pain. God be with those heartbroken parents and family members of all of the victims.
We picked up our grandchildren at their elementary school yesterday and we walked in unchallenged which was a little disquieting to me. Our daughter teaches fourth grade there and was visibly shaken about the day’s tragedy but of course the kids knew nothing. She said to not watch any news with them around and that she had thought of just keeping the kids in Lincoln because she was so shaken. We gave them both an extra amount of attention here in Fremont.
10 year old Hudson picked up the paper this morning and started reading the headline matter of factly without any reaction but I diverted him to another activity. I can’t imagine what the families, the first responders and the entire community is going through in Connecticut.
All WAGS with perp help for me. Didn't get the cap letters in the following: sKU, KiDd, iMeAN (had ID EST), so weirDaLyAnkovic too, aLCan, GMa, anDRe, GaDgeteeR and neRts.
However, for a Saturday with names galore, I did better than usual.
Irish Miss, ditto to your thoughts on yesterday in CT. I get so mad when something like that massacre flies in the face of all arguments against gun control.
How about simply imposing huge annual license fees and compulsory training for all who purchase a gun of any sort, with the fees escalating according to the power and shooting speed of the weapon. Sure, criminals would avoid this, but it would reduce the number of high powered guns out there that idiots could get their hands on.
If a person wanted to sell a gun, it would be a felony to sell to anyone other than a licensed dealer, who would of course also have horrendously huge licensing fees. Why not make some money for the government out of it and reduce the number of people able to buy and sell guns?
I love, love, love Saturday Neville Fogarty puzzles--because I can actually DO them! And I learn so much and find them so clever. The pairing of "Birth of a Nation" and LITTLE EVA, for example. The shout out to NEVILLE. MOO, and others. I did have a silly moment when I was going to ask what historical period was called the SILENT ERA before I got that this referred to silent movies, of course. Doh! And I do have to confess that I've never heard the expression NERTS. But still, a great puzzle and great write-up, Splynter.
After watching the news last night I decided that I am going to do something in response. Please don't take this as a desire to start an argument, but I'm personally going to start contributing to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
We host our annual Christmas party tomorrow night with lots of grandparents attending. I think it's going to be a bit subdued this year.
Morning all,
So far I've kept my DNF record intact on Saturdays,
But I'll keep doing them even if I know the next 100 will also be DNFs.
I'm satisfied with coming close to finishing, would I be happier if I complete ... Ofcourse ...! But I'm glad to learn all I can from the puzzle and the great group of people on this blog. Not to mention what I learn when Googling.
So , for those ( I don't do Saturdays ) why not give a try , the worst that can happen is you learn something new,
You don't need to spend your whole day trying ,,
I give it my best for 30 minutes ,then I Google .and if I'm in a hurry .. I cheat ! There I said it.
Sad sad day yesterday ! I came home after work and hugged my Jonah 9 and Jordan 5 for a long time.
I was all set to praise yesterdays puzzle within a puzzle, & then %#@* happened. I think i spent most of the day glued to the TV like a deer frozen in the headlights... I cannot express the range of emotions i experienced, & finally while trying to sleep, tried to imagine what could possibly be in the mind of this troubled kid. (not a good place to be.)
How do you protect the world from madness?
Todays puzzle?
Wales
was the thing i remember, possibly because it reminded me of TV coverage, & yet it doesn't seem appropriate.
Fun, initially daunting, but once toeholds were established. I managed to breeze through todays puzzle, with nary a look-up.
I certainly feel horrible for those poor families in CT. I am an auto mechanics teacher, and we spent some time in class discussing how we would react to such a scene. The unanimous verdict was that we would want to be armed to fight back. What about the laws banning guns in schools? The shooter didnt worry about that. Also, the weapons the nutcase used were stolen! Criminals dont worry about gun laws!
I like this kid's puzzles. They're fun, tough & fair.
Make sure you hug your kids today.
I remembered AIX-en-Provence from my chemistry-teaching days. This city is very near the the world's first and only nuclear FUSION reactor being built in the south of France by the international ITER group. Fascinating project! They have an excellent web site, just google ITER.
I agree that there was/is far, FAR too much national news coverage of the CT school shooting. Unfortunately, and IMHO, the news media and most commentators seem to feel that we need to address the prevention of the tragic END result instead of trying to identify the underlying BEGINNING cause! This makes me glad to be retired from teaching.
Oh, by the way, thanx for the nice solvable Saturday puzzle.
Vairnut, sounds like you'd have yourself a circular firing squad.
Hello everybody. Wow, I loved this puzzle! I usually like Mr. Fogarty's work. As usual, I was daunted by how few black squares there were, but it was an eminently fair and doable puzzle.
I parsed IFAT as I FAT for far too long. Like Lucina, I saw T_X starting 61A and put the letter "A" in that square. I didn't know REINA was wrong until later.
Rhode Island? Nope. Grand Island? Nope. CONEY Island! Yep!
Some day I want to drive the ALCAN highway.
I agree with Wizard. Try to address the cause of problems rather than hide it and address only the symptoms by applying a post hoc band-aid. I dare say if someone had recognized that Mr. Lanza was mentally disturbed neither he nor anyone in the house in which he lived would have been permitted to buy a gun of any kind. To think that "if I had been armed I could have taken out the shooter" is wrong in so many ways. And I agree with you too, kazie.
Best wishes to you all.
Hi kids, DNF today for me.
Finished about half, but don't have any more time to spend on it.
Nice puzzle, Neville. It all makes sense in the end.
One nit was NEON for street light.
I can't imagine the devastating grief and rage the parents of these children are feeling, along with the loved ones of all of those murdered. There must be unending wailing and torrents of tears in this town.
The extended coverage in these breaking stories is usually much speculation and very little fact.
The weapons were registered to his mother. It is hard for me to believe that parents of "troubled" children are blind to their behavior. Were the guns locked away? Or were they there for the taking?
Tears
Oh and one last rant. The manner in which the news media have been exploiting the situation only reinforces my opinion that the mainstream news media have become totally worthless. Watching Diane Sawyer "emote" last night made me sick.
To prohibit the right to have arms , will leave the honest ones unarmed , when the dishonest can and will acquire them illegally .
Who's more likely to use them you think ..?
My dad had guns in the house but kept them carefully locked up. The guns, the removable bolts, and the ammunition were kept locked up in separate locations. He thoroughly trained us how to use and care for them before letting any of us handle them. If we started to kid around or get even a little bit reckless he took them away immediately. And never, ever, ever, did he allow any of us to go out alone, armed, or for that matter be alone, armed, anywhere inside or outside of the house.
"To prohibit the right to have arms , will leave the honest ones unarmed , when the dishonest can and will acquire them illegally ." Seriously, do you really think that if the unarmed people had been armed then the tragedy could/would have been averted?
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Neville Fogarty, for a very goos Saturday puzzle. Thank you, Splynter, for the swell review.
My first word was ARCH for 2D. That was it for that corner for a while.
Got TPED easily. That seems to be the rage around here. I believe it is a status symbol for kids' homes to be TPED.
Had MALT for 22A. Fixed that later to OAST. That gave me NORSE and MR TOAD.
Never heard of the JOE KIDD movie. But, I bet it was good.
Did not know REINE, but perps fized that.
I have a lot to do today. So I will run.
Terrible feelings about the Connecticut shooting. I agree, deal with the root of the problem, not the result. I also agree about the media. Just Shut Up!
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Splyner: Thank you for a fine write-up.
Neville: Thanks for a FUN Saturday. (Though my "perps" want a raise).
Finally a completed Saturday that doesn't look like a DF Ink Blot.
Only write-over was OAST for malt (my Brewer was making Avatar).
No "toast" at Sunset last night.
Probably be a few days before I feel like smiling again.
... tears ...
(always with a little "t")
BTW I thought the coverage was well measured and appropriate.
I agree, it's hard to feel cheerful. There's nothing I can do but I would if I could. As is often the case, I agree with Jayce, both about the puzzle being fair and doable and the sad events of yesterday.
TP'ED? It happened to us once. A student and her friends did it though apparently, not to be mean. Her mother thought it was cute and a sign of innocent affection. She didn't help us out though, getting the soggy mess out of the Juniper bushes or the limbs of a big Monterey pine tree.
Jayce, short answer, yes.
We are told the principal and other office staff tried to stop him from entering the school but were unable to since they were unarmed.
Here's my two cents' worth. I believe the first focus and emphasis should be on mental health issues. Aurora, Co, Tucson, AZ and now CT shooters had mental health issues. Those kinds of issues should be addressed and solutions researched for the treatment and FOLLOW-UP of those ailments.
Gun control is secondary IMHO. This latest shooter was denied weapons and the laws worked but then he stole them. Perhaps if his mental problems had been addressed . . .
I enjoyed this effort a lot, but sadly had a technical DNF. HTG to complete it, but truly enjoyed the challenge.
Fully expected to see a clue: "John of CCR"' but I'd guess that will come later:-)
I doubt the gun control discussion meets the sniff test on no politics. Either way it's inflammatory. Let's just mourn, and leave it at that.
John of CCR spells his name Fogerty.
OK. Fair enough.
Seriously, do you really think that if the unarmed people had been armed then the tragedy could/would have been averted?
Absolutely.
Neville, you suck up. Why stop at just editors? Why not "Chuck, of 'Walker, Texas Ranger'"
Seriously though, it's good to see a themeless doesn't have to unfathomable.
He came awfully close with NORSE.
Greetings!
Great puzzle, Neville! Great expo, Splynter!
This took less time than Friday's offering. Loved the cute answers. INORGANIC was the first long fill, I think. Can't believe another no-cheat Saturday.
Am very sad. Agree with Dennis.
Hey Puzzlers, maybe one of you can splain something to me.
First, there were dinosaurs. Then came humans, who invented a board game called Scrabble. Not to be outdone, other humans invented the cell phone. Scrabble players saw an opportunity and started using their cell phones to play one another, and called it Words With Friends. So far, so good.
Now, according to ads I've seen on TV, somebody took Words With Friends and made it into a board game. Isn't that just...Scrabble?
I told you my fright story. I think hearing me cock that gun made my intruder stop long enough to allow me to barricade myself inside. Do I think my life was in danger? Absolutely!
If I am right about who was in my farm house that night, one person definitely had mental problems and refused to believe it and get help. The other person had had drug rehab and extensive therapy. Both cowards didn't expect me to be awake.
However, since I moved to the city, I do not have a gun nor do I want one. I never liked them. I do keep a handy baseball bat, but all I've done with it is stick it between the heads of two fighting tomcats.
Good evening, everyone! Thanks for the write-up as always, Splynter.
Glad that the general consensus was this this was on the lighter side of Saturday. That's my usual goal for writing a themeless.
I was concerned about slipping my own name in - I wasn't sure if that was kosher... plus, it was the best way to fill that part of the grid!
Behind the scenes info: In the original grid, I included the entry PSP, a Sony handheld video game console. Too esoteric, declared editor Rich Norris! (A survey I conducted shortly thereafter determined he was right :) And thus this grid was born, with a new northeast corner. I believe the original NE was TWIN PEAKS, AEROSMITH, WIKIPEDIA stacked atop each other. There you have it.
Cheers,
42 Down :)
Good to hear from you, Neville. Thanks for dropping in and telling us your thoughts. Glad you read our blog.
Jayce,
I usually lurk around these parts, but I come out from behind the shadows when I've got a puzzle in the paper in case anyone's interested in any backstory. (I recognize that crossword backstory isn't the most exciting thing!)
I regret that I'll be travelling when my next puzzle comes out!
Neville also provides a free weekly puzzle which I do most weeks. (free puzzle, free plug) It may have been partially why I exploded through this puzzle with my fastest Saturday LAT time. Lots of great fill which all seemed on my wavelength.
Thanks for writing up the puzzle today Splynter. I enjoyed this puzzle and though no walk in the park managed to complete it.
Thank you Neville for a nice creation. Really liked the clue for SKY DIVE.
My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in regarding the Sandy Elem killings. Very, very sad day in our history.
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