Theme: Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . or, Mammas, don't let this happen.
Four long theme answers are common phrases related to a cowboy's
typical activities, but with figurative meanings. Two of these are grid
spanning, and the other two only miss by 1 letter, so the themeage is
pretty rich.
17A. Lay a trip on, cowboy-style? : SADDLE WITH GUILT. This one baffled me until I had enough perp help to suss it out. Pretty clever, now that I get it. Someone can try to lay a guilt trip on you, the way a cowboy burdens his horse with a saddle. But, unlike the horse, you don't have to accept it.
27A. Motivate, cowboy-style? : SPUR INTO ACTION. This is a pretty literal image, since a cowboy kicks his spurs into the horse to get it going. A variation on the kick-start idea, maybe.
43A. Control spending, cowboy-style? : REIN IN THE COSTS. And this is equally and oppositely literal, since our intrepid western hero pulls on the reins to get his horse to stop running.
56A. Hang in there, cowboy-style? : RIDE OUT THE STORM.
Cowboy's do ride, but this is the only theme answer that evokes a
nautical rather than an old west image. Does this detract from the
coherence of the theme? I can't decide. Anyway, for another
grid-spanner, it's worth it.
Hi gang, it's jazzbumpa. C'mon, pards, let's ride on out and see what we can lasso.
Across:
1. "__ Comes Mary": Association hit : ALONG. They don't write songs like that anymore.
6. Black-clad subculturist : GOTH. A post-punk splinter group with influence on music and fashion. Whatever turns you on, I guess.
10. "Famous" snack maker : AMOS. Famous for his cookies.
14. Fracas : MELEE. A confused struggle, possibly involving hand to hand combat. A brawl.
15. Finis : OVER. Done. Stick a fork in it. Like the Lions, frex.
16. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA. This EMMY-winning CBS news correspondent was brutalized by a mob while covering the Egyptian uprising of 2011.
20. Hockey legend : ORR. Bobby, No. 4 of the Boston Bruins, finished his career with the Chicago Blackhawks.
21. Breezed through : ACED. Thus spoken of schools exams and unreturnable tennis serves.
22. Tony's cousins : EMMYS. Television production awards.
23. Nobelist Hahn et al. : OTTOS. This German chemist won the Nobel prize in chemistry for discovering nuclear fission. During WW I he developed poison gas. I'm speechless.
25. City on the Rhine : BONN. On a happier German note, they have a monument to Beethoven there.
32. Decathlon gold medalist Ashton __ : EATON. No clue.
33. Minor quibbles : NITS. I've had a few.
34. Chest protector : BIB. Protection from vagrant food residue, worn by babies and lobster eating adults.
36. __ rain : ACID. Just what is sounds like - rain with a high acid content [low pH.] It can result from natural phenomena such as volcanoes and lightning, or from pollution resulting from human activity.
37. Selassie worshipper : RASTA. RASTAfarians believe that Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie [ruled 1930-74] is the reincarnation of Jesus.
39. One-time teammate of 20-Across, familiarly : ESPO. Tony ESPOsito had a long and illustrious career playing goalie for the Blackhawks. But the nick-name refers to his brother Phil, who had a long and illustrious career playing forward for the Blackhawks, Bruins and Rangers. Tony's first NHL start was a 2-2 tie with the Bruins, in which he made 33 saves and his brother Phil scored both goals on him.
40. Guys : MEN.
41. Actress Skye : IONE. Her film career started in 1986, and in addition to Say Anything and Wayne's World is a long list of movies I've never heard of. Anyone here a fan of Girls in Prison or One Night Stand?
42. Winner of 82 PGA Tour tournaments : SNEAD. Slammin' Sammie.
47. WWII battle site : ST LO. It was almost totally destroyed in WW II during the battle of Normandy.
48. Out of whack : AMISS. Why is nothing ever in whack when it's going well?
49. Town __ : CRIER. An official whose duty is to make public announcements. A bit passé these days, but several municipalities in North America, Australia and New Zealand still have Town CRIERS. Should I be disturbed that the first answer I thought of was DRUNK? It fits.
52. Acquisitions in a certain race : ARMS. Weapons of greater or lesser degrees of destruction.
53. Treat, as a bruise : ICE. Here, ICE is a verb, meaning to place an ice bag [or equivalent] on the afflicted region. Actually, a bag of frozen peas works really well.
60. Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do" : ALL I Wanna Do is have a little fun before I die. Seems like a modest enough goal.
61. Baby's word : MAMA. Often baby's first word, and sound meaning "mother" in many languages around the world
62. "... but it could be otherwise" : OR NOT. Only maybe.
63. Swimming contest : MEET. Or a foot race contest.
64. Needy : POOR. Two reasons why we don't need the word "indigent."
65. Carpenters' tools : RASPS. Rough files used for shaping. Also great for scraping knuckles.
Down:
1. Playground retort : AM SO. Are not . . .
2. King with three daughters : LEAR. It's hard to have much sympathy for a guy who would name his daughter Goneril. How is she ever going to get a date?
3. Thing to break free of, perhaps : OLD ROUTINE. If you are in a rut.
4. Folk hero Kelly : NED. Or cold-blooded murderer. Who you gonna believe? He was an Irish-Australian bushranger, and bankrobber. Eventually, he was hanged.
5. Glue base : GELATIN. This is animal protein glue, though I never think of GELATIN in this context.
6. Greeley's advice : GO WEST. Horace was a newspaper editor, abolitionist, vegetarian, and socialist. Probably wouldn't do Jello shots.
7. Exiled Roman poet : OVID. In 8 AD he was exiled by emperor Augustus from Rome to Tomis (now Constanţa, Romania), on the shores of the Black Sea, for reasons unknown. At that time Tomis was a remote outpost at the edge of civilization, for Siberia had not yet been invented. Maybe some of his pithy poetry pithed off old Augie.
8. Asian holiday : TET. "Tết Nguyên Đán" is the Vietnamese New Year. Why is Viet Nam so often conflated with all of Asia? Or is this just another NIT?
9. Royal title: Abbr. : HRH. Her Royal Highness.
10. Grads : ALUMNI. Originates from the Latin alere, "to nourish or be nourished."
11. Hurt badly : MAIM. Likely causing permanent damage.
12. Paris airport : ORLY. Located 8 miles south of Paris, the 2nd busiest airport in France.
13. H.S. hurdles : S.A.T.'S. Scholastic Assessment Tests.
18. MBA's course : ECON. I had Finance and Accounting classes in my MBA program, but no ECONomics.
19. Classy guys : GENTS. Abrv. for GENTlemen.
24. Walked : TROD.
25. Worms, e.g. : BAIT. For some reason, this was elusive.
26. Prefix with -gon : OCTA. Could have been POLY, HEXA, DECA . . .
27. Jeans joint : SEAM. I tried KNEE, then SEAT. Neither SEAMed quite right.
28. '70s AMC compact : PACER. A genuinely ugly vehicle, with none of the Edsel's piquant charm.
29. Beginning : ONSET.
30. More than just desires : OBSESSIONS. I took "desires" to be a verb, and entered LUSTS AFTER. Hey - it fits, in more ways than one.
31. Try to bite, puppy-style : NIP AT. Oh, my.
35. Spa displays? : BODS. BODies, that is. Could be, I guess.
37. Stir up : ROIL. Am I stirring things up too much?
38. __ Domini : ANNO. The year of our Lord, Roman calendar convention.
39. Grandson of Eve : ENOS. The son of Seth, Adam and Eve's third son. Also a very forgettable Dukes of Hazard spin-off.
41. Brief opening : INTRO. Brief meaning abrvtd.
42. Cut : SCISSOR. Here, SCISSOR is a verb. I'm having some problems with parts of speech.
44. Response to "Look!" : I SEE IT.
45. Sarcastic laugh : HAR-HAR.
46. Palindromic fashion model : EMME. A plus size-model, and 22A homophone.
49. Squeeze (in) : CRAM. Just the sound of the word makes it sound like a struggle.
50. Annoy : RILE. And a near sound-alike to 37A. Are these fleckos?
51. Vegging out : IDLE.
52. Sphere starter : ATMO - Meh! The layer of air surrounding the earth.
54. Harvesting target : CROP.
55. Paramedics, briefly : E.M.T.'S Emergency Medical Technicians
57. Diamond caller : UMP. Used to be the UMPire calling balls and strikes incorrectly at the old ball game, but the short form now seems pretty standard.
58. Eastern path : TAO. The Chinese word for path, route or way. Laozi's metaphysical concept that is the basis for Confucianism and Zen Buddhism.
59. Song syllable : TRA. Usually travels with La.
That's it, fellow travelers. Overall a beefy and enjoyable puzzle, though I did round up a few stray NITS.
Cool regards!
JzB
Note from C.C.:
Here are two great pictures of Jazzbumpa (Ron) at the Schoolcraft Winter Wonders Concert on Dec 17, 2012. Everything seems to be perfectly IN WHACK! Love his festive tie. Nothing is more cool than seeing a trombonist at work.
84 comments:
Morning, all!
Really liked the theme today. The rest of the fill, not so much. I mentioned yesterday that I'm usually the first to complain about obscure names, and today we had OTTOS, LARA, EATON, ORLY, EMME and SNEAD. OK, so SNEAD isn't obscure, but as a non golf fan I needed most of the perps to remember him (I did get ESPO without help, though). And then there were all the other names (AMOS, ORR, BONN, IONE, LEAR, NED, ENOS and OVID).
Learning moment today was that GELATIN is the basis of glue?
Good morning.
Being a newbe to crosswords I found this one out of reach because of all the names I am not familiar with. Did enjoy it though and I did like the cowboy theme.
Kudos to Kurt and Jan for the puzzle fairly easy but not a speed run. Much easier than yesterdays offering. Nice write up Jazz and also some great pictures of you on the Bone. Had a brain fart over 5D but as I recall Gelatin is derrived from the boilling down (Rendering) of Animal bones (Pigs you get gelatin, Horses you get glue) I always though if I owned some race horses I would name them "Running from glue" or "Dogs Future Lunch" of course after a trip to france I added on Franco's Lunch." yes just a little disturbing happy hump day.
Thank you Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette, and thank you JzB. Very entertaining and a wonderful way to start a vacation that may end up as a staycation.
Had RIB for Chest Protector. Made sense for awhile.
High school buddy was given a used Pacer by his father. He was teased incessantly until the Pacer was totaled about 2 months in. Yea, we think he did it on purpose.
Manac, good deal. Glad it worked and that you impressed them with it.
Good morning.
Cute puzzle today, and nice writeup JazzB. (Though you could have found some better looking spa bods, I think.) My only problem arose from ROPE IN THE COSTS until the OLD ROUTINE REINed on my parade.
GELATIN came to me quickly. As a kid, I remember hearing folks talk about sending that old nag to the glue factory.
The Germans were never happy with BONN as their capital. They changed it back to Berlin as quickly as they could.
Solid Wednesday offering. Thank you.
"RASTAfarians believe that Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie [ruled 1930-74] is the reincarnation of Jesus."
Yet another reason why pot shouldn't be legalized.
I was one of the few that actually purchased a shiny,new Pacer in '79 or '80. It was an economic thing....$2600 out the door! It was canary yellow(!) and was very dependable transportation for a while. Ugly as sin but dependable!
When the EDSEL came out some wit commented that from the front it looked like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon. That PACER image sure emphasized a couple of big butts. PACER and GREMLIN are a couple of good reasons why American Motors is no longer around.
Good morning all,
I've never been bothered by obscure names because I understand the constructor has to use something to make the puzzle come together. I prefer that approach rather than foreign words or expressions. Yet today it was a name that did me in. For 46D I confidently entered ELLE and wondered what ALISS & ARLS were. I don't recall running into EMME in the past.
Everything else was a pretty smooth ride on "ole paint". Even though I needed perp assistance, the cowboy themes were easily solved.
I always like when MELEE is used, because it reminds me of a former baseball player, SAM MELE, who was the Twins manager for a while. Sam was an outfielder for Washington before they moved to Minnesota. I can't remember if he played as a Twin before hanging up his spikes.
Came down with a hellacious case of the flu yesterday. 2nd year I've given in to a flu shot, 2nd year I've come down with the flu. My Dr will be given the "four letter word" reply when he next brings up the subject.
Sun has reappeared today. Even though I'll be confined inside today, seeing the big ORB helps my outlook.
D'oh ! It was a Gremlin, not a Pacer. Thanks D-O. Couldn't have been a used Pacer in 72
I actually liked the way the Pacer looked (not too dissimilar from my beloved '99 Impreza). Anyway, more of a Tuesday than a Thursday puzzle today. I too had first put RIB for "chest protector". And I'm still not crazy about short, multi-word answers (NIPAT, ORNOT). [8:32]
Great puzzle - Grid spanners plus some long down fill. I liked seeing OLD ROUTINE, OBSESSIONS, and SCISSOR. As soon as the holidays are over DH better REIN IN THE COSTS.
ANON @ 7:07 am $2600 wow. I think my current car cost $26000! When we were teenagers my friend had an old Pacer, that we called "The Egg", as in "Do we have to take The Egg?"
I actually like some GOTH music. I guess you have to be in the mood for it.
JzB - Great photos! Very festive of you ;)
PS: Beautiful puppy in the NIP AT photo. Is that a Weimaraner?
Have a great Wednesday!
Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C. et al.
Cool pics, and I love your tie! I thought this was a nice tight theme, and loved all the cowboy expressions.
I honestly didn't have any problem, or even notice, the abundance of names that Barry G mentioned, because the perps were so solid. So no NITS today from me!
I really liked this puzzle. I agree with Al @8:00 that this was like a Tuesday puzzle (on a Wednesday, not a Thursday.)
I especially liked the theme answers. RIDE OUT THE STORM didn't bother me because it is very common in non nautical contexts, too.
-We have a Famous AMOS Cookies kiosk in the mall.
-I learned EMME and IONE from many x-words.
-ESPO, SNEAD, and ORR make frequent appearances here.
-ORLY seems fair for a Wednesday.
-I was looking for a verb at 30D and OBSESS was too short. I soon found OBSESSIONS.
-My paper was missing the clue for 66D, but having RIDEO-----from perps gave me the answer..
-So, no nits or hang ups. Quite straight forward.
The model on the PACER ad looks like she dropped the Pacer out her butt.
Hi All ~~
Fun puzzle ~ theme came easily and no real problems. I did have 'Rib' before BIB as others have mentioned and 'Elle' before perps led me to EMME. My one trouble spot was filling in 'Alist' before AMISS for out of whack and 'Hehheh' for sarastic laugh ~ I liked that Splynter's HARHAR made it into a puzzle!
Thanks Kurt and Jan-Michele, and JazzB for an enjoyable write-up.
Things have been hectic here tending to my husband who's laid up with a leg infection - so they said at the hospital on Sunday. It's not any better today. He's in a lot of pain and can't put any weight on the leg - even after several days on meds - so it looks like we're headed back to see if there's something else going on. Trying to keep the Christmas spirit these days has been difficult ~ but I guess we all carry on the best we can.
Hope Fermat is doing OK ~~
Enjoy the day ~~
Good day! Thanks to Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette for an entertaining and fast moving puzzle.
And thank you, Jazzbumpa, for your very thorough analysis. Nice photo of you sliding your trombone and cool tie!
This really was a quick sashay right across the grid. Theme answers came easily. Here in the West rodeos, cowboys and cattle are alive and well though in fewer numbers than in times past.
All the men in my family, dad, grandfathers, and uncles, were real cowboys. Life was never as glamorous as pictured in books and movies, however.
Only two write overs, tried SARA since I didn't know LARA but ALUMNI changed it and had ASKEW before AMISS.
Learning moment for me was GELATIN though I had heard glue came from horses.
I hope your Wednesday is wonderful, everyone!
This was a speedy fun run. Or a funny speed run. Either way, I enjoyed the heck out of it. Playing cowboys was one of our favorite games as kids. (or cowgirls; I always wanted to be Dale Evans). JB outdid himself with the witty write-up. Kudos! and nice seasonal fashion sense.
Some of my favorites today include ROIL/RILE and EMMEYS/EMME, NIP, and JB's picture of BODS. Sure glad they were sitting on towels. I would hate to have to clean those pool chairs afterwards.
Jazz, great, fun write-up, and nice pix of you in action!
LaLinda,
I had the same starting problems as you, and had to guess the rest of the people's names except OVID, NED and ORR. The last I know nothing about, but if you are a CW doer, you can't help knowing his name. But I did wait for perps to see if it was OTT.
I even had BEDS for BODS, and hence ESPE. Never having actually been to a spa, I imagined beds for those being massaged or wrapped in hot towels after a mud bath or something.
Ned Kelly is still something of a folk hero in Oz, thought of more as a Robin Hood figure than a murderer. Word has it he was framed for the killing that he was accused of. The British authorities treated the Irish as reprobates in colonial times even if they weren't.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Kurt and Jan, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for the swell write-up.
Hondo: FYI, I got a flu shot about 4 decades ago and was so sick I will never forget it. I have not gotten one since and rarely get the flu. You have my sympathy. I agree with you.
This puzzle was not too bad. I agree, there were some obscure names. I am not good with names, but perped or wagged them all.
I hunted and pecked around the top for a while then headed to the bottom.
I filled all that in and then headed North.
Did not know RASTA, but it appeared. I always remember Haile Selassi, emperor of Ethiopia. Read a great book set in Ethiopia, "Cutting for Stone." highly recommend it.
Theme came easily and helped with the puzzle.
Liked BODS for 35D spa displays. Clever.
Big escape in Chicago. A couple guys used bed sheets and climbed down 15 stories of a federal prison. Bank robbers.
Really enjoy these puzzles.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Good morning everyone. Good INTRO, JazzB
This was one of those puzzles where I did better when I didn't try to over think a fill. Eventually got the whole shebang without look-ups. Liked the theme. The few unknowns like ESPO were gotten from the perps. Similarly for EATON since I'm not up on my decathletes. No NITS today.
Enjoy your hump day.
PS:
I was going to change "outdid" to "has outdone" but I hit "publish" instead of "preview". Dangnabit! (good cowboy show swearword).
hope your hubby gets better by Christmas, Linda. Hope you feel better, too, Hondo, although I am glad I'm not the only one who gets the flu after having had a flu shot. It's those sneaky little viruses that aren't included in the shots that'll get you every time.
MBomber, LMAO over your horse names. Very disturbing in a hilarious way. I didn't care much for the Pacer ad. That car didn't seem elegant enough for the girl. Then I read YR's take on it, and am LMAO again!
Thank you, for a very nice, and quite challenging puzzle. I barely managed and finally completed it.
Thank you JazzB for a very nice commentary ... and you do look very nice at the orchestra. This must be your busy season.
I'm running late, and I have got to go .....
Good wishes to all.
If you read the fine print in the PACER ad, you'll notice it's French. Although I can't imagine the Pacer ever having been exported to France, using the model's butt to attract attention to the car is definitely a French thing to do. Maybe it was from a different French speaking country.
I believe I am the first to post I DNF. I turned on red letter help. Never needed it for every letter in any one word, but needed help with a whole lot of answers today. Really appreciated JB's explanations today. Thanks. Nice pictures, too.
Yesterday I drove through the back edge of the storm I believe is headed toward a number of you. When visibility got down to 4 power poles rather than 9, I slowed down, turned on my lights and drove carefully. Only lasted the first 45 miles of a 200 mile trip to Great Falls-airport city. Leave for CT tomorrow.
Have a good day, all,
Montana
Information at CDC.gov says you can't get the flu from the flu shot. But they admit that the effectiveness of the shot depends on whether the inactive virus strains in the shot match the flu strains actually in circulation. I get a flu shot every year and can't remember the last time I actually got the flu.
YR, enjoyed your PACER comment. Right on!
Colder weather is headed toward SE Texas. Tomorrow's high is going to occur about midnight tonight. Won't get cold enough to provide a white Christmas, though. At best we'll get rain.
Hi all, today's offering was a speed run on the top half, I had no trouble with the names due to the perps.
I made the same mistake Hondo did with ELLE...but realized that ELLE is a fashion MAGAZINE, not a model.
So I changed it and got rid of those words: ARLS and ALISS. Wondered what those were.
Just a note about the flu shot, you CANNOT get the flu from the shot. The shot is DEAD virus. What probably happened is that you got the shot, but since it takes up to 10 days for it to become effective, you were exposed to the flu virus before you had the protection from the shot.
Good morning:
While I finished w/o help, I found this more challenging than a typical Wednesday. Nice job, Kurt and Jan-Michele, and great expo, JazzB. Great photos, also.
Hondo, hope you feel better soon and Linda, hope your hubby gets some relief soon.
Have a nice Wednesday.
Hi gang -
Technically, this puzzle it a Wednesday bull' eye, with no. of words, avg. length and freshness right at the Wed level.
Here are some better looking bods, assembled at the Apple Gym and Spa [somewhere in India] for the regional “Mr & Miss Super Model” contest. Unlike the other picture, there is no BODy in my age group. What's up with that?
Busy music season is over, but still lots else to be busy about. My brother-in-law was in over the weekend from San Diego and took the pics at our concert.
My MIL is still in the extended care facility. Very uncertain as to whether she'll ever go home again. It's a trying time.
Cool regards!
JzB
The bottom made for a just right Wednesday.
Musings
-SADDLE WITH GUILT? Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”
-REIN IN THE COSTS seems to be a foreign concept in D.C. Don’t they study ECON?
-Along Comes Mary is one of those songs with alternate meanings
-We had a GOTH boy at school and he complained that he was made fun of. Hmm…
-Item for the chest B__? Hmm…
-Big controversy over Two and a Half MEN
-Breaking the OLD ROUTINE of going to work every day for 50 years is harder than I thought.
-One man’s BAIT is another man’s sushi ;-)
-Jazz, I looked at that PACER poster and could not see the car. Great scene in a AMC Pacer
-Wasn’t ENOS Elvis the Pelvis’ lesser known brother?
-SCISSORS as a verb? OR NOT. CROP as a verb. Yup!
-Scary BOD in original pix, Jazz, but great pix of your tromboning!
-I’m anxious to RIDE OUT THE STORM today as 5+ inches of snow is on the way!
DNF ... dang, Montana, ya beat me to it. And my Red Ink Pen was no help. Ugh!
Like Hondo, I put in ELLE and I just couldn't get off her. ( lol )
Carol: ELLE MacPherson was a top fashion model, known as "The Body" proved by her appearance in the movie Sirens (1994) and 5 covers on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues.
Enjoyed the "cowboy-style?" theme, thanks Kurt & Jan-Michael.
All-in-all, a FUN Wednesday.
In the same vein as jazzbumpa 48A query, we have his 64A comment. If you are wealthy, are you "outdigent"?
I don't like the clue for 1D - playground retort. Am too, are not, am so, not me, etc.
Easy to solve. Though I didn't know Hahn, EATON, ELLE or NED, got all from crosses/perpendiculars.
Had dieT before BAIT. A diet of Worms would work for me, but not for fish or birds.
I see a growing tendency to not indicate an abbrev. (UMP, BOD, RASTA, GOTH, etc.)SPA was originally short for springs, but this has been forgotten. At what point is an abbrev. no longer one?
Your girl didn't look totally GOTH since she was in need of the shoe-black hair.
Anon1038 - playground retorts are tedious, for sure.
Tinbeni, thanks for the
Elle info....now I remember her. But all I could think of was the fashion magazine.
Still playing catch up...
Re: Yest Comments,
Sorry, but the image of some one trying to eat a "glove" was to much for me to ignore. Speaking of ignorance, yesterdays comments about hunting were interesting, but i think anyone who eats a steak or a hamburger would be horrified if they saw how cows are killed in a slaughterhouse!
Ignorance is bliss, but you would not survive in the real world.
(Note, i am not for, or against hunting. I am still trying to decide if i am for, or against ignorance...)
Anyway, PK, you said you tried pizza, but did not say if it agrees with you. I would be interested to know because i have never seen a pizza sauce recipe that did not include garlic.
I have come home from camping covered in tics, & yet not one of them would bite. I also very rarely get mosquito bites. I have no proof, but i believe it to be my daily consumption of onions & garlic.
Today puzzle? Excellent! i found the answers very elusive, but i still found them. My favorite kind of puzzle!
Good afternoon everyone.
Had BRA for34A. Makes sense to me.
But DNF; got only one of the theme answers: RIDE OUT THE STORM.
Great pictures of you Jazz. Nice to see you at your trombone.
Hope you feel better soon, Hondo. And hope that Linda's DH gets a useful prognosis and help for his problem.
Cheers
Jazz Bumpa, I am absolutely astonished that you could find a collection of 'bods' - in India, of all places. I guess there are all types of people who make up the country ....
Actually, I came here, for something that bothered me - in all fairness - Although Otto Hahn did work in a section that manuf. mustard gas, or poison gas during WW 1 - he was NOT the inventor or the MAIN scientist. At the time, he was 'way down' in the corporate totem pole.
He is more well known for the discovery of nuclear fission. ( with Lise Meitner - )
The inventor of the poisonous gases, in Germany, was more like Fritz Haber ( also, a Nobel prize winner, but not for 'Peace' -) and maybe Carl Bosch. Actually some form of poison gas has been around since the US Civil War - look it up.
Otto Hahn, was a vociferous opposer of the NAZI's, and lived an honorable life in Germany, after the war.
For Fritz Haber's life, Non-fiction, please read a great book, 'Alchemy of Air', by Thomas Hager. Also the book,'The demon under the microscope', by Thomas Hager on invention of Sulfa drugs.
Over and out.
During this past summer SCISSOR Sisters had a hit song with Let's Have a KiKi.
It's the type of music heard in most clubs in Manhattan. Probably not liked by most here on the blog but does contain the line "bid adieu to your ennui". Very crossword-like don'tcha think?
Good afternoon and happy hump day to all. Fun puzzle no smudges for me today. Really liked 1 across and Rasta a good connection.
HuskerG, I hope you can ride out the storm, I guess you will have a white Christmas.
CED, I never met a pizza or anything with garlic I didn't like.
Have a great day to all.RJW.
Nice puzzle, Kurt and J-M. And JazzB, thanks for explaining the source of ALUMNI, and the great trombone pic.
Had ELLE instead of EMME, but am not complaining that my healthy diet must be paying off.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody.
The Pacer could have been one of the ugliest cars ever, along with the fact that it was a death trap.
On another note, during the "Voice' last night one of the contestant's sang Sheryl Crow's "Steve McQueen". Two Sheryl Crow references in 24 hrs. Weird.
Lastly, I loved Ione Skye in "Say Anything". Good "coming of age " movie.
Slow and steady got this one done. Seemed about right for Wednesday.
I knew a young couple 20 odd years ago that both owned AMC Pacers. They owned them before they met, and it had nothing to do with their meeting. True story.
Our weather is deteriorating. At 5:30 this morning the prediction was 4-8" and a winter storm watch. Now it's 7-11" and we're under a blizzard warning. Expect winds from 30 to 50 mph. So far nothing more than light rain, but it looks like it will get interesting
Hello everybody. Cool theme. Lots of names. I had some wrong entries that needed to be erased, such as HEMI instead of ATMO, RIB instead of BIB, and HEAT instead of MEET. Entered E--E for 46D until the perps revealed whether it was ELLE or EMME. Pencilled in Town IDIOT at first, which, along with HEAT, caused me some head scratching in the SW corner.
Very weird PACER ad. Frankly I like the look of the Edsel; I still don't know what was so bad about it that made it such a famous failure. Never drove one, so I don't know if maybe it was a failure because it was a piece of crap to drive. Looked good to me, though.
Best wishes to you all.
It was freakin' 26 degrees outside this morning! For us, that is cold! It has gotten all the way up to 38 degrees by now.
Hi Y'all, Light rain here too. I knew something was about to happen when my best weather predictor (my cat) cried to come back in the garage less than an hour after he went out. Snow expected later.
JZbumpa, thanks for the belly laughs from Goneril and Ovid's fate--Too funny!
I thought the cowboy theme was really cute.
Another D'oh! Day for me! I got the top third then couldn't get much else. I was trying to listen to the President's speech, but when he was done, I didn't do any better with silence. Lots of unknown names.
What does it say when a farm owner can't come up with CROP? Wanted "grain" then "seed". Had Bra not BIB, Elle, OLD Regrets, OBSESSESon, knee.
Hands up for getting sick from flu shot. I think they forgot to kill the virus in mine years ago.
CED: Pizza is the most perfect food. I love Pizza. I have one large delivered every month, then pig out for two days. The tragedy of my life is that I'm also allergic to cheese and tomatoes. So then I suffer for a few days. I think they dropped me on the wrong planet. I'm allergic to everything good here.
I enjoyed the puzzle and the commentary. Thanks KM, JMG and JzB.
LLLinda, best wishes for your husband's improvement in his situation.
For 'Chest protector,' I put BRA. Silly me.
I too love pizza, especially several of the thin crust variations I've found locally.
Lara Logan; really attractive and smart. I enjoy her accent too.
H Hurricane, I remember Sam Mele. My father took me to my first baseball game at old Griffith Stadium. Also, I remember some other names like Mickey Vernon, Eddie Yost, Camillo Pascual and Pedro Ramos.
MSNBC has an article exposing the eagle/baby video as a clever fake. Eagle/baby video.
Thank heavens BillG debunked that video. I thought we might spend the rest of the night discussing what flavor of fish (Pepperidge Farm Goldfish) that kid was snacking on. Or if that hat was Elmo, Animal or even a muppet hat!
CED@11:34
I also ingest onions and garlic anytime, anywhere but mosquitoes love me! If there is one within a hundred mile radius, he'll find me and no one else around.
My research on the subject has revealed that the pests favor type A blood, pos. or neg. and I'm A+.
LLLinda:
Best of luck for your husband.
Fermatprime:
You are always in my prayers so I hope the procedure goes well.
Hey, y'all. Carlos del Oeste still here lurking in the shadows. I don't comment much, but, given the "cowboy" theme, I had to jump in. Riding a spirited cowpony is often referred to as riding a storm—reference a well respected book by cowboy Charlie Siringo, "A Texas Cowboy; Or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony," written in the 1880s. And, Ned Kelly was an Irish/Australian outlaw fighting the overbearing English dominance down under, not in the US. He was known for building an iron bullet-proof suit. Hung him anyway. Here, we just kicked the blokes out. Hey Lucina! How ya doing?
The video was a fake? NOOoooo!
Sorry guys, but it is the best fake i have ever seen,
Pizza is my favorite food!
Cowboy Drag Racing
I always wanted a pair of cowboy boots.
Did you know that ancient Greece had cowboys?
I always wondered why Chaps were open in the back...
& of course... No cowboy goes anywhere without his horse...
"An old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy day..." (First line of Ghost Riders in the Sky)
"...Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way, when all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw, a-plowin' through the ragged sky and up a cloudy draw."
As a kid I used to bellow this song out over and over and over again, trying to sound like Frankie Laine, until it drove my family crazy. I loved the image of ghostly, steel-hooved, snorting steers stampeding across the sky, chased by scraggly, sweaty, gaunt cowboys who were doomed to ride forever, never to catch the cows.
Jayce, it's just not the same being read.
Frankie Laine
Ghost Riders In the Sky (3:17)
BTW: I feel SOOOOOOO much safer ...
The State of Florida finally issued the 1,000,000th Concealed Weapon Permit today.
Evening all,
Got through this one fairly easily and like Marti said didn't notice all the names which I normally hate in a puzzle.
TTP, I thought it was you that posted the bottle trick with the egg. That worked so slick!
CED, Bill beat me to debunking the golden eagle vid. It was on tv this morning as being fake. Sometimes I think you may have too much free time on your hands, I was soooo leery
of clicking on the chaps link but it all turned out ok in the end.
HG, No worry's then. Most times her's is on straighter than mine is.
Tinbeni said "The State of Florida finally issued the 1,000,000th Concealed Weapon Permit today."
Maybe it's Dennis's?
Speaking of Dennis, a new study adds credibility to his most recent venture: Link Study. Evidently your idea has merit, Dennis. :-)
Weather update. Rain changed to snow at 3:00 as predicted. Not much going on yet, but it is getting windier and the temp is dropping.
HEAR THAT, LADIES???
Actually, anon@4:23 could be right -- mine's in the works.
Avg. Joe
LOL funny!
Tinbeni, you're right: it's better sung than read. Actually, now that I have thought about it more, I think Vaughn Monroe sang it better than Frankie Laine did. Maybe it was Monroe whom I was trying to sound like. He snapped "wet with SWETT" as opposed to Laine's drawing out the word "swehhhhhht."
Carlos del Oeste!!!! Now are you, amigo? I've missed you! Nice of you to stop by and say hello.
Dennis:
Can't wait til you make your rounds in AZ!
Hola Everyone, I had 8 ? within the across clues--mostly names that I didn't know or song lyrics. However, I didn't have to look up any as the perps and some guesses got me over the unknowns.
Ione, Eaton, Rasta, Espo, Ottos were just a few that gave me pause.
I enjoyed the theme fills and was able to get all of those with a little thinking. Thanks JzB for a super writeup. I enjoyed your humor today, and the Beethoven statue in Bonn brought back a fond memory of my first trip to Europe.
JzB,your trombone pics are great.
There is a huge Rastifarian temple up in the hills here in San Jose. It is lovely to look at, but up a steep windy road way out of most people's way. Maybe that is why it is there.
Lala Linda, Sending good vibes your hubby's way.
Sfingi- Crossword editors don't indicate that the answer is an abbreviation as much as they used to. Savvy solvers don't need that much help. We should be able to get abbreviations like ATM, VIP, ETC, MVP without a whole lot of help. GOTH as clued is not an abbreviation. Nor is RASTA.
Every puzzle is going to have some abbreviations, but having a bunch of Abbrs at the end of some clues looks a tad inelegant. Lately we see more hints like "briefly" or
"in short". If it were up to me, I'd never let on that the answer is abbreviated. What would solvers do without another nit to pick?
Quick correction for you: SAT (the standardized test) isn't an acronym. It's just the "SAT." It was briefly known as the "Scholastic Assessment Test" from 1990-1992 (and the "Scholastic Aptitude Test" before that), but it hasn't stood for anything (which some might say is fitting) since 1993.
33A is a foul. A quibble is a finding of fault. The NIT is what you find fault with.
As for 50D, RILE, it's more than "a near sound-alike" to 37A (you meant 37D, of course), ROIL: It's the same word, just spelled differently. So my question is not "Are these fleckos?" but, how did the puzzler decide which clue to allot to which answer?
Jayce, I agree. Vaughn Monroe's is the definitive Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Jerome, I'm sure glad we haven't devolved to the level of those British crosswords where "returning" in the clue indicates the answer should be entered from right-to-left. Those are beyond my reach.
Good to hear from you, Carlos de Oeste. Thanks for stopping by. Also thanks for the explanation of Riding out the storm.
Hondo, I hope you are feeling better very soon. I used to get the flu almost every year--holding hands with too many first graders--but once I started getting flu shots I have not had one single episode. I thought Carol's explanation was very logical.
CED those cowboy boots were made for walking!!
Riding the Storm Out
It's been cold in these parts today; not Maine or Minnesota cold but still, southern California cold. But I bravely had my blackened fish tacos for lunch while dining outside.
I'll go warm up with a macchiato now. Tough life...
Somehow, I knew what that Chaps photo was going to feature. Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it though.
Kind of whipped after pouring and working 9 1/2 yards of concrete today, but 2 comments:
Hondo & Abejo,
The year was probably 1976. I took the flu shot that year, the only time in my life I've had the flu.
And Carol, were the shots back then killed virus? My doc also tries to push the flu shot, but gives up fairly easily.
Mari,
If that $2600 Gremlin wowed you, check this out:
My first new car, a '66 GTO convertible with every available performance option, cost $3300 out the door. Wish I still had it.
Tin @10:27 AM
"I put in Elle and I just couldn't get off her."
So... what's your complaint?
All the write-overs mentioned here, YUP, made 'em all. Took a while to sort it all out, but, I finally did. Phew!
LaLaLinda - Your husbands pain sounds similar to what my MIL is going through. They finally pinned it down to a blood infection that settled in her artificial knee. Hope he gets well soon.
Windhover, I had the same thought about Mari's Gremlin - my '65 GTO convertible (trips, Rally Pac II) barely touched $3K new.
Lucina, from what you've said before, I'll need an 'extended stay' hotel.
Chefwen: Had your MIL had a tooth pulled or dental work of some kind? After my mother had a new knee put in, we got a directive from the surgeon that anyone with a new knee should take antibiotics before and during dental work. Her dentist knew replacement surgeons want this, he said, and knew she'd had the knee done, but he didn't prescribe antibiotics because he didn't think she'd need it. I was so angry! However, the infection finally settled in her urinary tract and caused much agony for her remaining years.
Could the breast squeezing be another hoax article perpetrated on unsuspecting womanhood. If it isn't I'll never worry about breast cancer again.
@Jayce - few people (are old enough to) remember how popular Frankie Laine was. Pre- Rock 'n Roll - and Sicilian.
We're waiting for our temperatures to get cold enough for snow - that is below 25 for a few days. Many here depend on the snow for a living. In the Adirondacks it's cold enough, but not the Mohawk Valley. Must be global warming.
Great explanation today JZB, thanks. I worked a little harder on this puzzle than usual but it was because of silly mistakes. Plus a few unknown sports names (SNEAD being one).
Thanks to the constructors for this interesting work! I had a long drive back from Houston today as the traffic was really CRAMmed on the freeway.
Also made it to the nursing home to meet with the nurse regarding my MIL. I hope after today we won't have any issues. I worry about the people who don't have family to check on them.
Good night all!
Dennis:
You can extend your stay as looooooooong as you want!!
However, I may need a brain transplant first. Earlier I said blood type A. I should have said O positive.
LaLa Linda,
I hope your husband feels better soon. Hopefully, he doesn't have a blood clot in his leg.
My BIL is in hospital for 6th time this year with pneumonia. He is only 58 yrs old. He went in for a simple gallbladder surgery and they clamped his bile duct. Ended up having five surgeries to repair.
PK - I don't know if she has had any dental work done, I'll have to check with my BIL who is her care giver. I know she has medical procedures done, it seems, on a daily basis. The woman has a plethora of problems, but she's a fighter.
Dennis,
It looks like you are going to have your hands full dealing with Lucina.
Good luck to both of you two :)
It's been quite awhile since I've commented. I've usually done the puzzle but haven't kept up with the comments. Both Irv & I have had several health issues & been hospitalized several times in recent months. My biggest problem is anemia for which they haven't been able to find a cause in spite of numerous tests. The most recent was a bone marrow test - not fun! We're both feeling a lot better & back to walking the Mall each day.
The forecast for snow in Madison is up to 17 inches by tomorrow night. The city will be shut down if that happens. I hope its a lot less. Stay safe Kazie & Marge.
Dot
Continued
The puzzle was a DNF. Too many names.Tuesday's was the easiest this week.
Kazie, I loved your dress.
Dot
Dot, I hope you and Irv get your medical problems resolved. I don't care for the crap that seems to go along with getting older much at all. Best wishes for a good holiday season.
~ Bill G.
Thia is an editorial that appears tomorrow in our local newspaper. I'm pleased to have my column associated with a newspaper with an editor like this. Paul Silva's Editorial.
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