Theme: "Heard Down Under" -Long A sound is replaced by Long I sound, the Aussie way.
23A. Arranged pickling solutions on the shelf? : RACKED ONE'S BRINES. Racked one's brains. I use singular "brain".
40A. Funhouse admission fee? : FRIGHT CHARGE. Freight charge.
73A. "Your shingle work stinks!" e.g.? : ROOFING SLIGHT. Roofing slate. I can picture PK shouted at those roof workers: "Your shingle work stinks!"
105A. "Don't take candy from strangers," say? : GUILE WARNING. Gale warning.
123A. Empty church basket? : COLLECTION PLIGHT. Collection plate.
16D. Landing with just a toothbrush? : LIGHT ARRIVAL. Late arrival.
67D. Indian chef's series of adventures? : SPICE ODYSSEY. Space Odyssey. I think Indians even use spices in their breakfast.
Three sound changes occur in the back, the rest front. You don't want an odd man out.
Hope
Kazie finds time solve this puzzle today, right up her alley. Dave
moved back to the States when he was 6 years old (?), he might not have
an Aussie accent.
Another grid with only 68 black squares and no cheater squares. Lovely.
Across:
1. Not as risky : SAFER
6. Influential collegian, briefly : BMOC (Big Man On Campus)
10. Mus. direction in a dramatic passage : CRESC
15. Dalmatian, e.g. : SLAV. People of Dalmatia, rather than the dog.
19. Where surfers shop : E-MALL. Nice clue.
20. Sphere opening : IONO. Ionosphere.
21. Romney foe : OBAMA. Waiting for gift, Mr. President.
22. __ colada : PINA
26. Breakfast fare : EGGS
27. Name on sweet pieces : REESE
28. Deceptive handle : ALIAS. Deceptive clue.
29. Memorable Shakespearean trio : WITCHES
31. Solstice mo. : DEC
32. "Ghostbusters" goo : SLIME
34. Like blue cheese : RICH
37. Cosa __ : NOSTRA
38. Virginie, e.g. : ETAT
43. Syst. with gestures : ASL. This is in sign language. The title is "Start All Over Again". My go-to song when I'm feeling blue.
44. Furrowed : STRIATE. Gimme, Spitzboov? I'm more familiar with STRIA.
46. Patriotic chant : USA USA
47. Island S. of 10-Down : SAR (Sardinia) 10. Napoleon I's birthplace : CORSICA
49. Program writer : CODER
50. Pre-coll. exams : SATs
53. Place setting items : MATS
55. __ flakes : BRAN
58. ACLU concerns : RTs
60. Like leaves : LOBED
63. Drug in Shatner novels : TEK
64. Roller coaster, e.g. : RIDE
65. Tough call : TOSS UP
68. Firenze's land : ITALIA. Florence.
70. Verb in the classic "Mission: Impossible" opening scene : DISAVOW. No idea. Did you all get this easily?
72. One in a military march? : HUP. "___, two, three, four..."
76. Litigator's org. : ABA
77. Outfit for an outfit : UNIFORM
79. Official commands : EDICTS
80. Biceps band : ARMLET
82. 13th-century date : MCCI. 1201.
83. President pro __ : TEM
85. Uppity sort : SNOOT
86. Beach shirt : TEE
87. "Fawlty Towers" producer, with "the" : BEEB. BBC.
88. Old dagger : SNEE
90. Cognac grade, initially : VSOP (Very Special Old Pale). I dated a guy who drank Cognac & tonic water every night.
92. Reuben need : SWISS
96. Spanish she-bear : OSA
98. Not really, with "only" : IN NAME
101. Quiet : EASEFUL. This is a word? OK, then.
103. Goal for a H.S. dropout : GED
109. Urgent : DIRE
110. Beefeater product : DRY GIN. Beefeater is a gin brand. New to me.
112. Algerian port : ORAN
113. Oct. 24, 1947 declaration : UN DAY
115. __ school : MED
116. Abby and Martha's poison of choice, in a 1939 play : ARSENIC. "Arsenic and Old Lace".
118. Types : KINDs
120. Asian wraps : SARIS
122. Democratic donkey designer : NAST (Thomas)
128. Wineglass feature : STEM
129. Water from France : EVIAN
130. City west of Caen : ST LO
131. Reverberations in une grotte : ÉCHOS. French plural.
132. Mitty portrayer : KAYE (Danny). Walter Mitty.
133. Data update mechanisms : FEEDS
134. Partings : BYES
135. Venezia casino winner : SETTE (Seven). Venezia, Venice.
Down:
1. Sun. speech : SER (Sermon)
2. Disaronno Originale product : AMARETTO. Italian for "a little bitter". Argyle might know the brand.
3. King or queen : FACE CARD
4. Sommer of film : ELKE
5. Like May through August, in a way : R-LESS
6. Book flap feature : BIO
7. My friend abroad : MON AMI. Literally "My friend".
8. Long John Silver feature : ONE LEG
9. "__ fan tutte": Mozart opera : COSI
11. Sac fly result : RBI
12. Suffix with Jacob : EAN. Jacobean.
13. Diving duck : SMEW
14. Sausage skin : CASING. I like Cantonese sausage. They are sweet.
15. Short details? : SPECS
17. Infuriates : ANGERS
18. Feudal servant : VASSAL
24. Dutch pottery city : DELFT. Vermeer's hometown.
25. St. __: Caribbean island : BARTS. Never heard of it.
30. Little piggies : TOES
31. Invoice column hdg. : DESC. Description, I suppose.
33. Infuriates : IRES
35. Pal : CHUM
36. Goes after : HAS AT
39. Theater sections : TIERS
41. Conserves : HUSBANDS. Boomer does not know the "Conserve" meaning of HUSBAND. I learned from doing Xword.
42. Like "Mary Poppins" : RATED G
45. Maestro Toscanini : ARTURO
48. Magician's opening : ABRA
51. Arabic alphabet opener : ALIF
52. Funny Fields : TOTIE. No memory of this lady.
54. Topper seen on a mogul : SKI HAT. Marti style clue. Alas, I was picturing Donald Trump's "real hair" toupee.
56. Hacienda brick : ADOBE
57. A beginner in : NEW AT
59. Man cave topic : SPORTS
61. Onetime Rolex rival : ELGIN. I wanted OMEGA.
62. Find : DISCOVER
65. Opposable digit : THUMB
66. Prevention measure? : OUNCE. "An ounce of prevention..."
69. Choir section : ALTOS
71. Put in bold type, say : STRESS
74. Subtitle of the sequel "Damien" : OMEN II. Looks disturbing.
75. Analogy words : IS TO
78. Trivial lies : FIBS
81. Spoke Siamese? : MEWED
84. __ Park: Edison lab site : MENLO
89. Nuke-testing dept. : ENER
91. Remain undecided : PEND
93. "Allow me ..." : IF I MIGHT. I say "If I may".
94. Deadeye : SURE SHOT
95. Arctic carrier : SLED
97. Rube's "anti" : AGIN'
99. Opens one's eyes : AWAKENS
100. Crazed : MANIC
102. Audibly awed : AGASP
103. Southern Baltic Sea port : GDANSK. Wiki said it's the birth place of Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement.
104. List of typos and such : ERRATA
106. Worldwide relief org. : UNICEF
107. It's common in some camps : NUDITY. Never been to one. You?
108. Boot part : INSOLE
111. "Capisce?" : GET ME?
114. Many pin tumbler locks : YALES
117. Shelter from a storm, perhaps : COVE
119. Airline investigative org. : NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)
121. Fried __ : RICE. Have some!
124. Golfer's concern : LIE. Downhill lie is hard to work with.
125. Chap : LAD
126. Stats, e.g. : NO.s
127. "Cats" poet's monogram : T.S.E.
C.C.
71 comments:
Morning, all!
Really delightful theme today. I could have dine without EASEFUL, but just about everything else was spot-on for me.
As for DISAVOW, the taped instructions at the beginning of each episode always included the following phrase: "As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will DISAVOW any knowledge of your actions." I don't know if the movies had that phrase in them or not, but I clearly remember it from the television series.
Fun puzzle. It flowed easily with no need to RACK-- ONES BRINES. The theme was evident right away.
Here is the memorable Mission Impossible lead in. DISAVOW appears at 1:04
Link DISAVOW
We have visited Edison's workshop at MENLO Park, NJ numerous times. He was a genius, but much of his success was due to great. perseverence.
I lkie Disaronno AMERETTO over fresh strawberries. In our martini days we used Beefeaters.
I remember the Elgin watches.
This sense of HUSBAND is most common in the phrase, "husband one's resources."
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. Interesting puzzle, but nothing really jumped out at me today.
My favorite clue was Outfit for an Outfit = UNIFORM.
We have tickets to seen the musical Mary Poppins later this month. I am sure it will be RATED-G.
QOD: I enjoy the last quarter of all basketball games. ~ Sarah Silverman (December 2, 1970).
Hello Puzzlers -
Mostly a breeze today, with an exception for In Name. It took a long time to parse that one. Caught onto the theme early, and that sped up the long fills. I quite like the Aussie accent. It is hard to imitate well. My ear is usually pretty good at such things, but I can't the difference between an Aussie and a Kiwi by speech.
Morning, CC! No, I've never been to a nudist camp. I have been to some European nude beaches, and about all I can say is: you have to take the good with the bad.
I had a nice Elgin wristwatch as a kid. I loaned it to my sister for her vacation one year. It soon found its way into a washing machine. It never ran again, but at least it was clean.
Good morning. The sun rose in NE, so I guess the world didn't end after the Indie debacle last night.
Starting out with 1A and 1 D right off the bat provided a false sense of security....That didn't last long. Shot myself in the foot several times; Long John had one eye, avian was water, the first marching order was hut, and corn flakes were being served. Finally got it to come together, but it was a struggle. My reaction to easeful was identical to yours, CC. Still, it was enjoyable overall.
Lucina from last night: I'm surprised the ALT 248 didn't work, but glad you found an another way.
BTW you Downton Abbey fans: January 6th is coming! The local PBS station is already priming the pump.
Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle today. A few issues, though:
1) Quiet : EASEFUL
Hmm.
2) Invoice column hdg. : DESC
Hmm, part 2.
3) Funny Fields : TOTIE
This is so far out in the weeds that the crickets are going nuts.
4) “Virginie, e.g. : ETAT”
Can someone please explain this?
5) Furrowed : STRIATE
Shouldn’t this be “striateD”?
Thanks for any help, folks.
From Ode to a Nightengale by John Keats
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with EASEFUL Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain--
To thy high requiem become a sod.
Read more:
Link text
anon@8:05, 'Virginie' is french for 'Virginia', 'etat' is french for 'state'.
Good morning, C.C. and Sunday soldiers!
I thought of Kazie as soon as I read the puzzle title. The theme was easy to get--the fact that I got it is proof of that.
Like Leaves = LOBED appeared via perps, but I stared at it quite a while before moving on. It didn't seem to fit. How 'bout "Like Ears?" And EASEFUL? Really? I can just hear the Eagles singing about an Easeful Easy Feelin'. Not! I DISAVOW any knowledge of that word.
DW used to like AMARETTO, and it had to be Disarrono. Not so much lately. YR, I'd take the fresh strawberries. :)
Thanks Dennis for "ETAT."
Still could use some help with:
"Furrowed : STRIATE"
Shouldn’t this be “striateD”?
Thanks.
striate tr.v. , -ated , -ating , -ates . To mark with striae or striations. adj. also striated Marked with striae; striped, grooved, or ridged.
Almost ground to a halt with SNEE and ORAN but ENER took me home. [39:53]
Good morning:
I must be Little Miss Grumpy this morning because I did not like anything about this puzzle. As always, I admire the constructor's craftmanship and creativity, but this was not my cup of tea. So, I'll say no more and be easeful for the rest of the day!
Nice write- up, CC.
Happy Sunday.
I found this offering somewhat prosaic. No standout fill and a ho-hum theme. I thank the constructor for my Sunday morning workout but after I finished, I put the paper down and didn't give it a second thought.
Somewhat like yesterday's football games. After the SEC game was over I thought of big plays and close calls. Great coaching and monumental effort. During the Big10 game I found myself bored and switching channels. Uninspired play and one sided.
This puzzle reminds me of the latter. Me being Wisconsin and the puzzle acting like Nebraska.
Today's offering reinforces (to me anyway) why it is important to be able to let go of words that look to be correct. Thought that Long John Silver feature was pegLEG, Official commands were orders, theater sections were loges, Shelter from a storm was a CaVE, Flakes were corn, and it was old school instead of MED. Cleaned the yard again yesterday so Like leaves was brown instead of LOBED.
Must not have had my thinking topper properly aligned this morning. The puzzle took waaay to long to complete and I just wasn't feeling it. Even though I had nearly 40 % of it completed in the first pass, the remainder was a struggle. Eventually corrected all of the early errors and had all except a big hole right in the middle of the puzzle. ALIF, TOTIE, and ITALIA held me at bay and ELGIN and SNOOT just didn't come to mind. Finally saw DISCO which led to SNOOT, HUSBANDS and then ELGIN. At that point I was able to complete the puzzle.
Might have been a different solving experience if I hadn't worked so hard yesterday and stayed up so late. Probably didn't help that I was watching the news, then Sports Center, then a Dana Carvey movie (Opportunity Knocks) on MoviePlex this morning.
Time to read CC and the blogs.
Hello, Weekend Warriors! Great to see you as always, C.C.
Lots of nostalgia in this puzzle as Barry mentioned about Mission Impossible. I remember that very well.
And ORAN is in the introduction to Casablanca explaining the imminent departure of all wishing to avoid the Nazi encroachment.
TOTIE Fields was a really funny woman! Even the prosaic became hilarious with her delivery.
EASEFUL? Glad you posted the poem YR to see how it's used.
DNF at ONE LEG because I refused to give up PEG LEG though I knew IONO-sphere had to be correct.
Thought of Marti at Mogul and SKI HAT and Kazie came to mind when I read the theme title.
Dudley
My computer is non compliant in many ways so I'm not surprised. Yes! Yes! Downton Abbey!
You all have a great Sunday!
TTP: I had a similar crossword experience. I tried several "correct" answers before the "true" answer became apparent.
Good morning everyone.
Medium difficulty today. Had to save most of the theme fill 'til later in the solve, to get my mind arount the right accent. The geography, ORAN, GDANSK, SAR.. CORSICA, and SLAV were gimmes. According to Merriam Webster STRIATE means striated, so I guess the verb tense agreement with 'furrowed' is okay. Not my choice though.
CED's pictures of Harriman State Park the other day showed several examples of STRIATE action on surficial rocks by glaciation.
The perps were sufficient; no searches were needed.
I don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but REESE's is my favorite candy and ice cream flavor. My favorite DRY GIN is Bombay. I can't seem to get Doornkaat anymore. - Makes a very good gin & tonic.
GDANSK, formerly Danzig, was an important participant in the Hanseatic League of the 13th - 17th centuries.
15a - SLAV. Wanted Croat 1st, but too many letters. I'm guessing Tinbeni has been there.
The Winter solstice occurs DEC 21st at 1112 UT this year.
Thank you Kathleen Fay O'Brien and thank you CC !
I too thought of Kazie with the "Heard Down Under' title, thought of Desper-Otto with the program writer = CODER clue/answer and clecho at Data update mechanisms, Marti with SKIHAT, and CC with Delft. What ? How can that last association be made ?
Antiques and CC's ancestries. Delft(ware) is often blue. Delft was my mother's early collecting bug, followed quickly by Blue Willow and Flo Blue. The tie to CC is in the history of Flo Blue and the romantic legend of Blue Willow
Such an endearing story.
Mother's collections of Delft and Blue Willow were sold over time in their antique shop, funding further major investments in antique Flo Blue, which eventually became a significant part of their retirement income.
Have a great day everyone.
I thought the real theme was AMARETTO, DRY GIN and VSOP ...
C.C., glad you dropped that "old boyfriend". geesh, VSOP with tonic water? Probably also added Ice.
DISAVOW a gimmie ... but EASEFUL got a WTF. (Thanks for the poem YR showing its proper use).
Hand-up for visiting a place with NUDITY. (Hedonism II, Negril, Jamaica, over 50 trips).
Funny thing, the Resort has a Nude Beach and a Prude Beach (swim suits required).
On the Prude Beach are young (under 35) "hard-bodies" who are too "embarrassed" to go "au-naturale."
They check each other out (like in a bar) are to afraid to make a "move" ... nobody talking to anyone.
Over on the Nude Beach (the older crowd), as Dudley pointed out, that are of every shape and size, are talking, laughing about everything, including Politics and Religion, just enjoying themselves, havin' a good'ol time.
At 5-D, R-LESS made me think of the myth about when NOT to eat oysters. Months without an 'R'.
Not my taste, so I avoid them in "Months with Days" in them.
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Cheers !!!
CC, the fried rice looks delicious, just the way I like it. Yum. Did you cook it?
Free Online Dictionary:
"Lobed leaf, a leaf having deeply indented margins."
"Lobe, 5. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany) any of the parts, not entirely separate from each other, into which a flattened plant part, such as a leaf, is divided
"Forrowed" can be an "adjective. "STRIATE" and "striated" can both be adjectives. I read that "striated" as an adjective is much more common than "striate," except in some medical terms. The fact that it is not as common doesn't bother me. Late week puzzles often used less common constructions.
Dudley - On the º degree symbol question of Lucina's, when I still had Windows, I remember having to type Alt 0248 or whatever. the '0' had to be in there for any of the special letters, like umlauts, and yes, one had to use the numbers pad on the right of a full keyboard. Never did figure out how to do the equivalent on a laptop.
Crikies! I’m halfway through a 2 week cold, the Huskers got embarrassed and it’s beautiful outside and I can’t golf. Then Kathleen threw out this lovely lifesaver. FRIGHT CHARGE gave me a theme of dropping an E out but then RACKING ONES BRINES gave me the theme and a real chuckle! I can’t pick a fav in this fab puzzle.
Musings
-I like PINA COLADAS and getting caught in the rain
-EGGS and yogurt were my meals with that miserable sore throat
-First drug was LSD, then THC, then TEK whatever that is
-Our guide in Italy, “First I am of Firenze, then Tuscano, THEN Italia!”
-Fun cluing for DISAVOW. Yup, I remember it.
-Elvis song with HUP, two, three, four lyrics
-Dern Frogs use ÉCHOS for, uh, ECHOS
-Oh not the Long John Silver restaurant
-In Nebraska I have heard of HUSBANDing your resources on occasion
-TOTIE Fields always amazed Johnny Carson that despite being so short, she sat tall in the chair.
-An OUNCE of prevention a week ago might have mitigated some this cold’s misery!
-IS TO – I’ve always wanted to take the Miller’s Analogy
-First rule of golf – “Ya gotta play it where it LIES”. Kinda like life, huh?
-In what movie did Moonlight Graham feel very happy to get a Sac Fly RBI?
Husker, You wouldn't still have that 'cold' if you followed my directions. lol
Field Of Dreams; A great movie to watch, just before the start of every baseball season.
Forgot to mention that I had no idea what 11D sac fly result meant but RBI was a reflex response for some reason! I guess sports lingo is entering my brain by osmosis.
Hi Y'all! Lots of alcohol in this puzzle! My BRINE was RACKED to no avail. Booze might have relieved the STRESS! Thanks to C.C. for getting me straightened out enough to get some fun out of the thing. Laughed at the roofer reference.
What TTP said in paragraph I. For King or Queen, I stuck in "mattress" and, by golly, didn't budge from it. I should have gone back and laid on mine instead of doing the puzzle. (I ran a fever last night.) With mattress I plunked in 1a "tamer".
I thought moguls were Indian men of note who wore "turbans". Groan! Wanted ST.KitTS.
Ones I'm proud I got: HUSBAND, CORSICA, DELFT, AMARETTO, ITALIA, GDANSK, ERRATA (I have plenty of those). I did get the SW corner block and the bottom two lines without ERRATA.
If I went to a NUDITY camp, they'd throw coins at me and yell, "Put it on!". Might make enough money to pay for the trip.
I've had to HUSBAND my resources all my life.
TOTIE Fields died too young. Left 'em laughing.
Hello everybody. I ran warm and cool on this puzzle, amused and delighted with some parts and IRED and annoyed with others. Hand up for PEGLEG and not wanting to let it go. The other hand up for CORN flakes and OLD school. Wanted FONTS instead of KINDS. I had KP DUTY at 107D and couldn't let it go. Also did not like EASEFUL. Loved the outfit for an outfit clue. By this time I had made such a mess I had to turn red letters on to get out of it.
Been to nude beaches but never to a nudist camp. The vast majority of people really are NOT good to look at when they're nude.
Best wishes to you all.
Tin, you’re probably right but I wonder if some Pinch would have helped with the cold or just made me care less ;-). I’m down to some minor aches and a chest full of rice krispies. My lovely bride has taken spectacular care of me.
Field of Dreams is a fabulous movie and when I find the first farm wife who would let her husband plow up prime corn ground (not husbanding their resources) to build a ball diamond on borrowed money, I’ll get back to ya. To quote Flo, “When pigs fly!”
SMEW? I was going to accuse Kathleen of making this one up but it's a EurAsian duck. I knew it didn't frequent the US Central Flyways. I used to write and edit hunting issues and we don't have "them" ducks here.
Hahtoolah, I chuckled about watching the last quarter of basketball games. I usually am doing something else while I watch games. They replay anything spectacular so I can see it. Then I put everything aside the last 5 min. of the last quarter. That's the important time if the game is close. Some good ones lately. I've watched about every one of the 30 teams at different times.
To use striate as the answer to 44A,furrowed, seems to me to violate rules of grammar.
Shouldn't it end with a D, as in striateD "marked with striations"?
Scubalen
ScubaLen@1:50 -- See Anon@8:52, Dennis@9:26 and YR@12:31.
Thanks for another fun puzzle.
I was once tempted to go to a nudist camp but knew I could never pull it off.
As for nudity, one of my favorite TV lines was uttered by Charles Durning who played the town doctor on Evening Shade. He noted that he had seen everyone in town neked (naked) so he knew it was not a pretty place.
Greetings!
Really enjoyed your puzzle, Kathleen! Great write-up, CC!
What TTP said in first paragraph of first post.
Got the errors straightened out w/o any cheats. Thanks TTP for the blue willow citing. This is my favorite china pattern and I have many pieces, including canisters of various sorts. Several pieces came from eBay and Amazon. Even have 4 place settings from Sears. The stuff is ubiquitous!
Totie Fields died essentially from blood clots. Having AFib I take Pradaxa, which I suppose did not exist in any form back in 1976-8. She also had breast cancer. After her leg amputation, she continued to entertain. I shall never forget her.
Have an EASEFUL Sunday!
Am reading Evanovitch's latest. Have just passed the part where Stephanie and Lula chase an FTA around a nudist beach! So far, not a bad read.
PS easeful, adj., means comfortable; quiet; peaceful; restful.
Good afternoon everyone.
Got some of today's answers, but not all. Did not get the theme.
I've been to the Dalmatian Coast twice; last time was last June. And they weren't using Euros, so the answer was easy.
December 21 is also memorable for two reasons: it's my older son's birthday and it's when the world is supposed to end because that when the Maya calendar runs out.
Cheers
Just tried to turn on the Xmas lights...Many are out...GFI outlet on the porch lit up better than the tree!
It blew a fuse which turned out to be the one my computer is on...
I have had enough of puzzles for one day!
CC's Delft picture is Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring." It is the image on the book jacket of the novel with the same name. I found this novel a fascinating history of life and painting in Vermeer's time and also a touching story of very real characters. One of my favorite novels. Check it out.
To those who find the furrowed/striate pairing ungrammatical, I agree if you think of them as verbs. Please consider them as adjectives. Then it makes perfect sense. See my post @12:31.
Here is T.S. Elliot's Poem.
Link text
Fermatprime, I enjoyed the latest Evanovich too.
Someone the other day was going to get an autographed copy of the latest Michael Connelly, "The Black Box". I finished it last night and was sorry it was over. I was jealous of someone who got to meet Connelly.
Tonight I'll delve into Nora Roberts third book in the "Inn at Boonsboro" trilogy.
cc - I slice up those Cantonese sausages and add them to my ham & egg fried RICE.
Pretty tasty.
Husker Gary - Happy that you are feeling better and sad (for you) that my Badgers knocked the stuffing out of the Huskers yesterday.
Loved this puzzle, I was suffering major angst because I couldn't download the NYT's puzzle. They are having a major snafu over on that site. This fit the bill and made me more EASEFUL.
Just checking in after a busy day. WEES about favs and non-favs in this one.
Topper on a mogul - LOL!! Do you all think I got that one immediately? "NOT!!!" I actually was thinking of Donald Trump's hairdo, just like C.C...
Dudley, I think with nude beaches it s actually you must take the bad with the good.
Speaking of nudity, I too remember TOTIE FIELDS very well.
As far as nude beaches, we have them here and generally the women are very attractive at South Beach. No idea about the men.
Thanks C.C. for bringing this puzzle to life with your write up.
chefwen: (always loved your avatar!)
You live on Kauai ... shouldn't that, in-and-of-itself, make you EASEFUL ???
WOW !!!
What a beautiful Sunset tonight here in Tampa Bay.
Cheers ...
This puzzle took me a long time but I enjoyed it. Thanks for your writeup C.C.
From yesterday, Two questions:
1) Why are almost all CW puzzles either 15 x 15 or 21 x 21? What's wrong with 17s or 19s?
2) I heard somebody on TV say that they wanted something really badly. Is that correct? I was thinking maybe it should have been bad instead.
I fixated on the Monopoly guy on that topper clue. Couldn't come up with an answer other than Top Hat (which I ruled out) but that image kept me from seeing the answer.
For those inclined, the NYT week old puzzle today is by Jeff Chen. Haven't tried it yet, but am about to.
As luck would have it, we'd already planned on Thai shrimp with fried rice for supper. So we have that image covered.
CED, I can relate. I spent nearly the entire last week transferring programs and files between my old and new computers. My brine has been way too racked, and the work has piled up. Hopefully this week will be far more profitable.
Bill G.
To answer your questions:
1) Sometimes we DO get a 16 x 15.
I think the CW sizes evolved based on day of the week (supposedly, we have more time on Sunday, hence the 21 x 21).
But when you get down to it ... there's nothing wrong with 17s or 19s (or 23s & 25s, for that matter) ... they just won't get published by the LAT or NYT.
2) "wanted something really badly" just indicates they are "really stupid ..."
Are you sure they didn't say "they wanted something really, really, really badly?"
My pet-peeve are the athletes who say "we gave it 110 percent."
Like that is actually possible.
I love la chang (sausage.) My wife pronounces it more like lop chong.
Avg Joe, I just finished Jeff Chen's NYT puzzle. It was pretty good, and pretty hard.
Been wracking my brain lately, too, working out the so-called "transfer functions" of some band-pass filters I designed. I don't particularly like that kind of math.
Speaking of large-sized crossword puzzles, the Arizona Republic published on Thanksgiving Day a HUGE one that filled two full-sized newspaper pages. I started it but got tired after solving only about 10% of it. It would take a week to go through the whole thing. I took a photograph of it but don't know how to post it on here for you all to see.
A walking hamster wheel. Makes me want to go buy a hamster. Walking hamster wheel.
Hey sportsfans !
Yes, doing crossword puzzles is sport. IMHO. Solvers vying against constructors.
Spitzboov. I can't do the degree symbol on my laptop.
To my Big Red friends, yes, last night was tough. To my cheesehead friends, congrats !
PK, too funny on mattress, "I should have gone back and laid on mine..." And I believe that was Abejo that was going to get the Micahel Connely autograph.
Jayce, KPDUTY made a lot of sense, but how did you get there ?
Fermatprime, ubiquitous IF you look for it, but hardly prosaic !
YR, that's the first time (that I can recall) that I've read o rheard the word ungrammatical. However, since you wrote it, I'm buying it !
TTP, I did the puzzle on line and no longer have it up on the screen, so I don't exactly remember how I got to KPDUTY. Perhaps it was the TY at the end, or maybe I had __D_TY staring me in the face.
KP, I also liked your mattress comment. Funny.
Good night, all.
Mark me up for ERRATA !
Jayce, your comment about large puzzles reminded me of something. A friend of mine that's also an appraiser told me about inspecting a house a few years go where they had a crossword mural on a basement rec room wall. He described it as being approximate 7' X 12' with individual cells not much larger than in a typical newspaper. It was about half done. Being a CW fan, he took a few minutes to look it over, filled in a half dozen answers, and went on with his work. Sounds like something that could become a life's work to me.
Aaahh! Tinbeni When you're right you're right, as I look outside and see the sun begin to set over King Kong mountain, everything else just melts away.
Jayce... I saved that puzzle from the az republic :) planned to tack it to a wall and fill in a bit at a time as I walked by.... haven't done it yet... :)
I will see if I can get a website for it....
thelma
Jayce, Now I get it. When I can't "get there" mentally, I'll sometimes get there visually. I fully recognize that there are others that are going to know that a certain concerto was in in F SHARP or A MINOR or whatever. I'll often rely on common letter strings to get to the end result. How many times have you seen 'something' NG and known there's a preceding I ? Or so often a C or L before a K ? How about superlative anything ? Isn't it always ...EST ? The other day I had UME and "saw" COST and it fit. If I had to rely on pure knowledge, I couldn't solve most of the late week puzzles that the constructors offer.
Jayce... I saved that puzzle from the az republic :) planned to tack it to a wall and fill in a bit at a time as I walked by.... haven't done it yet... :)
I will see if I can get a website for it....
thelma
Jayce and Thelma:
The AZ Republic publishes a giant puzzle every year on Thanksgiving so you can be sure it will be available next year,too.
I'd love to get my hands on that - anybody have any idea how I can get one?
Dennis.... I am not having much luck finding the puzzle in the archives... I would be glad to mail you the one I have.... I will never do it no matter what I had in mind.... :)
thelma
aka Thelma, that's very kind of you; are you sure you won't want to do it later? If you are, pls. send me an email and we can make arrangements. Thanks.
My state paper also published the large, 2-page puzzle on Thanksgiving. It has 881 across clues and 863 down clues.
I quit at clue 161A. I was on the floor and it was too uncomfortable. I never thought about taping it to a wall.
Seemed like a Tuesday level puzzle. A lady fom AZ built it.
Montana
Good night all.
Bad vs. badly: badly is an adverb that modifies a verb. That is why it is wrong to say, "I feel badly" because that implies that your fingers don't work or something. But bad is an adjective which modifies a noun such as bad work, bad complexion, etc.
YR: I enjoy your contributions. Especially today's T.S.Eliot.
Montana... sounds like the same puzzle... :) I didn't start the puzzle but did look at some of the clues and didn't think they were that difficult... but... I didn't look at all of them.. :) :)
thelma
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Kathleen Fay O'Brien, for a very good, but tough, puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the swell write-up.
Checking in late tonight. I had a busy day.
Enjoyed seeing ELGIN in today's puzzle for 61D. I live about 5 miles from where the Elgin National Watch Company stood in Elgin, IL. They made the ELGIN watches for about 100 years in Elgin, IL.
To PK: I imagine I was the blogger that mentioned going to get a signed copy of Michael Connelly's new book, The Black Box. I did get it. It was even personalized to my wife and me. I feel honored to own that book. I tried to get into the reception for the author at the Tribune Towers in Chicago, but the event was sold out by the time I was able to find out how to buy tickets. So, I contacted the Tribune and asked if I could buy a signed book by Connelly. They referred me to a book store in Winnetka. I called them and they arranged for a book to be signed for us by Michael Connelly. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Back to the puzzle. I got through most of it fairly easily. A few bumps, however, such as USA USA, EASEFUL, IF I MIGHT, MEWED.
Had ORDERS for 79A until I fixed it to EDICTS.
Did not know St. BARTS for 25D. I had the BART part, but did not know the S on the end. I suspect it is an abbreviation.
Enjoyed the theme. Caught on to it early and it helped throughout the puzzle.
Heading to bed soon. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Slept most of the day. Stopped Celebrex. It's now 3 days later and I'm hurting. Will call Dr. tomm.
Used red letter help on Sundays. Ergo I knew immediately it wasn't corn flakes. C.C., your write-ups are so much fun to read. I don't have time to comment on most Sundays.
TTP, thanks for links to Flo Blue and Blue Willow. I collect blue and white dishes. Started when I was given blue and white pattern from Japan for a wedding present. Picked up some Delft ware when we were in Amsterdam. I think I have 25 different pattern now. Most are displayed above my kitchen cabinets. Have a nice Blue Willow, but haven't sprung for Blue Flo yet. We use 15 blue Currier and Ives for our everyday dishes. Hope one of my kids will like them because I don't think I have anything of real value.
Hope to see everyone tomm.
Blue Iris, I used Celebrex for a while. Even with my insurance, it was expensive. I find three generic Ibuprofen tablets work about as well. Good luck!
Yellowrocks,
Not my rice. I simply linked a delicious photo. I'd have sprinkled a few green onions in. Never read the book, but I liked the movie "Girl with a Pearl Earring."
TTP,
Very moving Blue Willow story. Are you familiar with "The Butterfly Lovers?"
Bill G,
I wish Sunday size were 17*17. It'll be more fun to solve and blog.
Blue Irish,
Is your Celebrex for arthritis? Boomer's VA doctor said Celebrex is simply three times the dosage of Aleve. Nothing special about it.
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