Theme: "You dirty - !" (hmmmm...something seems to be missing here)
17. Bolshevik film festival fodder? : R-ratED MOVIES. Loved the alliteration in the clue. Too bad there isn't a well-known Russian city beginning with "F." Would "Dr. Zhivago" be considered a red movie?
21. With 51-Across, Puerto Rico pecan and Cuban coconut custard? : PIratES OF THE
51. See 21-Across : CARIBBEAN. Yummm...caribbean pies. More alliteration. Coconut custard is one of my favorite pies - second only to pecan!
26. Auden's vineyard? : THE GRAPES OF WratH. A quick check tells me I have never read W.H. Auden's work.
46. Side dish made with russets and Tanqueray? : POTATOES AU GratIN. This one made me laugh out loud. I'll have to try that recipe sometime!!
62. Legendary musician responsible for what's missing from 17-, 21-, 26- and 46-Across : PIED PIPER. Who, of course, led all the rats out of Hamelin and became a hero.
Marti here, on a Friday no less. And thank you Lemony for so eloquently pinch-hitting for me yesterday under cruel and unusual circumstances!
Across:
1. Socks for Clinton, e.g. : PET. Didn't fool me, but I couldn't remember if it was a cat or a dog. (Nope. Just a pet.)
4. Mums' relatives, in a way : GLADS. Ok this one got me. I definitely was not thinking of chrysanthemums or gladiolas.
9. Weber State University city : OGDEN. Total unknown. Needed some perp help before I could make a WAG.
14. Trouble : ADO.
15. Petrol purchase : LITRE. British spelling hinted at by "petrol."
16. ___ Laredo, Mexico : NUEVO. It is across the river from Laredo, Texas. Map.
19. Key of the "Eroica" symphony : E FLAT. I always remember this because E is the first letter of "Eroica."
20. Grant : ENDOW. As in National Endowment for the Arts.
23. Ode preposition : O'ER.
25. Musician's deg. : MFA. Not to be confused with 45A. Doctor of music? : DRE. And also 24D. 45-Across genre : RAP.
33. Dawn deity : EOS. When I searched for images, I got more cameras and cars than dawn goddesses.
34. Last words : EPILOG.
35. "___ Peach": Allman Brothers album : EAT A. A musical Mountain Jam intermission. 13:38
38. Subdued : MUTED.
40. Montréal moniker : NOM. French for "name."
41. Jewel box item : CD ROM. Why is it called a jewel box? I just learned that it comes from the word for the two plastic bearings in the hinges on the CD case. Watchmakers call these types of bearings "jewels" because they were often made from gemstones, which had low friction properties. So there you have it.
42. Gym ball : PROM. Nice misdirection. Ball as in dance, not as in basket or volley...
43. Attic window : DORMER.
49. Sigma follower : TAU.
50. Hosp. readout : ECG. Electrocardiogram.
57. "The Kiss" painter : KLIMT. This was a gimme - I have a poster of it in my office.
61. Lot of baloney : CROCK. That's a crock, and you know it!
64. It's often stored upside-down : CANOE. I wanted kayak...but mine is stored right-side up suspended from chains in the garage.
65. City on the Penobscot : ORONO. Maine. Where is Mainiac?
66. Have a life : ARE.
67. "Naturalis Historia" author : PLINY. Without looking it up: Elder or Younger?
68. Parlement français division : SENAT. More French.
69. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" author Brown : DEE.
Down:
1. Cut down : PARE.
2. Adam's apple spot : EDEN. Cute clue.
3. Lincoln in-law : TODD.
4. Looked askance : GLOWERED. Not exactly synonymous, imho. Looking askance seems more sideways or dubious. Glower is the look I give DH when he forgets to take out the trash!
5. Actress Tyler : LIV. Daughter of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. I always remember her from her role as Arwin in "The Lord of the Rings." So hauntingly beautiful!
6. Left ___: rewarded : A TIP.
7. Cologne crowd? : DREI. German for "three."
8. Zaire's Mobutu ___ Seko : SESE. Pronounced seh'-say.
9. Unrepeated event, in Essex : ONE OFF. Everything you need to know about this saying here.
10. Roared : GUFFAWED. I do that a lot when reading some of your comments!
11. Upper-bod muscle : DELT.
12. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You ___?" : EVAH. Another musical interlude, from the movie "High Society."
13. A or E, but not I, O or U : NOTE. Musical notes.
18. Instrument heard on Simon & Garfunkel's "Bookends" : MOOG. And more music! Listen for the moog...
22. EPA concern : SMOG.
26. Sub : TEMP. Substitute / temporary worker.
27. Happy ___ : HOUR. It's five o'clock somewhere!
28. Legally prohibit : ESTOP.
29. Côte-d'Or crop : PINOT. Côte-d'Or is a town in the burgundy region of France, famous for both PINOT noir and Chardonnay wines.
30. Ecuadoran province named for its gold production : EL ORO. "Gold" in Spanish.
31. Its capital is Amiens : SOMME. Back to northern France. The cathedral there is breathtaking.
32. Gauge opening? : HARD G. Hey Don!
36. Bagels, shapewise : TORI. We have had this before. Plural of "torus." Some people might recognize it as the shape of a hemorrhoid pillow:
39. Cyberface : EMOTICON. (^0^)
41. Nutty : CRACKPOT. It can be a noun or an adjective, like a "crackpot idea."
43. Smear : DAUB.
44. Denver-to-Wichita dir. : ESE. I guess.
47. Q neighbor : TAB KEY. On the keyboard, not in a James Bond movie.
48. Citrus hybrid : UGLI.
51. Soviet letters : CCCP. Союз советских социалистических республик, where they show RED MOVIES?
52. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL.
53. Pasta ___: food brand : RONI. From the makers of Rice a Roni, the Golden Grain Company.
54. Long poem : EPOS.
55. Yorkshire river : AIRE.
56. Gas on Broadway : NEON. There are a lot of NEON signs there.
58. Tech debut of 2010 : IPAD. That recently? It's already time for me to upgrade!
59. Just : MERE. Simple clue/answer that had me going for a while.
60. Genealogy chart : TREE.
63. Trial evidence, at times : DNA. I have done additional reading about the "co-discoverers" of DNA since they last came up in December. Very controversial, but fascinating when you understand some of the back-stabbing that goes on in scientific research.
That's it for now. I'll be back in my regularly scheduled spot next week!
Marti
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy Birthday to dear Blue Irish (Susan)! She told me "My Birthday
falls on January 18th. Usually
everyone is tired from the holidays and bad weather and cold has set in.
Not my
favorite time of the year." In Chinese, 18 is very lucky number, The
office floors in 18th floor tend to be more expensive than other
floors.
2)
I was very pleased that our blog was restored yesterday afternoon. I
want to thank Lemonade for alerting me as soon as he discovered the
problem. And Husker Gary for his invaluable mailing list and hard work
to inform everyone about our glitch & the Ginger Roots change. I
also want to thank those who reported to Blogger forum about the removal
of our blog. It's incredibly comforting for me to see familiar names
there and "Where's our blog" reports (I read all your posts). I'm
so grateful that you cared & took actions. Thank you also to those
who wrote to me privately & regulars who stoically stuck with us at
Ginger Roots!
3) After much discussion with Dennis and Argyle, I've decided to use Captcha between midnight & 5:30 am (Central Time) in the Blog Comments section to prevent spam. You'll need to type in those hard-to-recognize letters when you want to comment in those early hours. I've long resisted Captcha because I want a friendly & easy-to-interact Corner, but we've been hit hard by spam lately. Thanks for your understanding.
3) After much discussion with Dennis and Argyle, I've decided to use Captcha between midnight & 5:30 am (Central Time) in the Blog Comments section to prevent spam. You'll need to type in those hard-to-recognize letters when you want to comment in those early hours. I've long resisted Captcha because I want a friendly & easy-to-interact Corner, but we've been hit hard by spam lately. Thanks for your understanding.
111 comments:
The world is back in its place.
Morning, all!
Nice to see things back to normal....
Ran out of time on this one and finally had to turn on the red letter help to finish. To many obscurities. I did get the theme and managed to fill in all the theme answers, but the ORONO/SENAT/EPOS/AIRE crossing ended up being my Waterloo.
Good morning everyone,
Complete and total disaster. Never came close to understanding the theme, even though I did have 21A. i sure did not understand it though.
The SW corner was a 100% miss. Had the first two letters for the across clues and barren land after that.
I never heard of MOOG and I'm sure it will shortly be forgotten.
Got fooled again by HARDG. One of these days I'll figure this subtle cluing out. For 66a I hd AGE and it seems more fitting to me then ARE. 57A KLIMT,,see comment for MOOG.
This wraps up an unusually tough week of puzzles for me so I'll talk to you on Monday.
Happy birthday Blue irish.
From very cold Ct, enjoy the next couple of days.
D---S ! (Theme fill)
Good morning all. Thank you David Poole and thank you Marti. Excellent write up. So entertaining.
Had to turn on red letter help after 45 minutes and still took me another 18 minutes. But it was fun and I enjoyed so many reveals.
Lemonade, this would have been three weeks in a row for you with EOS...
16A Nuevo Laredo. Been there many times. Always buy the big bottles of vanilla extract. Not so safe anymore. 35A "EAT A Peach" = Had the albumn and 8 track. Melissa
On Star Trek, 34A Last words were "Captains log ..." Loved Gym Ball = PROM and Adam's apple spot = EDEN. But EDEN wasn't to be seen as I steadfastly refused to get rid of CAT for Chelsea's Socks.
51A was easy once 21A was filled in.
Hondo, I'm with you. Starting last Saturday, I think I've only aced Tuesday. Tough week and don't see tomorrow as a walk in the park. But I look forward to the challenge.
Happy Birthday Blue Iris !
Good morning, gang - this was one of the most difficult puzzles in quite a while for me. Had to walk away from it a couple times, and the fact that I'm fighting something didn't help matters.
HARD G got me too, as did several others. I don't understand why ONE OFF was clued as being British; it's used commonly here, especially in the car world, where concept cars are routinely referred to as 'one-offs'. Always thought GLOWERED was a great word - you almost sense its meaning just by looking at it.
Took me a good half-hour, but I finally completed this bear. A very nice challenge; thanks, David.
Happy Birthday, Blue Irish - hope it's a fun day for you.
Good Morning, Marti and friends. This was a real toughie today. It took me several passes before I caught on to the theme. My Rosetta Stone was POTATOES AU GIN. From there I got the PIED PIPER.
The GRAPES OF WH was the cleverest and most subtle of the theme answers. I was unaware that W.H. Auden wrote a piece with that title. I am only familiar with John Steinbeck's novel of that title.
I really wanted Cat for Socks for Clinton (After all the First Cat held press conferences, and looks suspiciously like my pet). Cat also seemed to work with Cut Down, because I initially tried Chop instead of PARE.
Sorry, Tinbini, but when I came to the clue Happy ____, all I could think of was Face. When HOUR appeared, I know you would be ashamed of me!
Was anyone else inundated with spam emails last night? I got dozens and wondered if it was related to our blog malfunction.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris. My you have a wonderful day.
QOD: If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you. ~ A.A. Milne (Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956)
Is it Saturday already? This one was a bear -- oso tough. It didn't help that I was sure the top left corner was CAT/CHOP -- ketchup. The PRO_ ball totally flummoxed me. When I got the Auden answer, I figured every theme clue was going to contain a famous person's initials. USSR? Nope, CCCP. I got 'er done, but it was a slog and ran into overtime.
Marti, thanks for the info on jewel boxes. It's those pesky "jewels" that are always breaking off. I've loaded all of my music onto a server so I don't have to mess with those pesky CD's.
Happy birthday, Blue Iris. Hope you do something fun today.
Hahtoolah, you didn't really think Auden wrote such a piece, did you?
Thank you, David Poole for a very challenging puzzle. It was way, 'one off' my C.I.Q. Even when I got 'Glads', I didn't know why.
Thank you, Marti, for your decipherable explanations, and your funny wit. Enjoyed it.
I came across a saying yesterday, that I thought was very funny.
" The only time a tree hits a car, it is in self-defense."
Got to get to work. Have a good weekend, you guys and best wishes.
Garbage puzzle.
Thanks for nothing.
Started out with CAT and thought I might be on a roll but I ended up all over the map with a real WAG-fest. But the theme was great fun. And you know you've been doing crosswords for a while when you type in TORI without giving it a second thought; barely a first. (And nice that the clue wasn't Amos or Spelling.) [13:56]
And I was glad to see the blog so quickly restored yesterday (though I did somehow manage to discover Ginger Roots). Is someone keeping a backup?
tough puzzle today. It was nice not having to seek out the blog today. I found ginger roots yesterday via a link in argyle's blog which directed me to the alternate site. enjoy your weekend all.
anon@7:41, garbage post.
Ditto.
Hello Puzzlers -
This was one tough puzzle all right. However, I was able to suss Caribbean from Pies of the, and that led to the missing Rat. Pied Piper thus followed and enough squares were filled to work it out.
Had to guess at Klimt - the name looked foggily familiar, but that's all. Never heard of Epos, didn't know there was a French Senat, so that S was my best guess. All in all I thought this was a clever puzzle, and it must have been a bear to build. Favorite clue (and associated answer): Auden's Vineyard. Clever!
Morning, Marti! Thanks for elucidating, as well as for sending me to Ginger Roots yesterday. It sure was lonesome out here without the Cyber Bunch!
So glad we're back to normal. Cheers, All!
W.H. Auden did not write 'Grapes Of Wrath' it was John Steinbeck. Anyone figure this one out?
I told DH I felt like a good friend was missing when I couldn't find the blog! Glad it's back.
Tough, but enjoyable puzzle. Wanted oval for bagel-- tori?...Have a good weekend!
Happy Friday Everybody!
This puzzle was too sophisticated for my addled brain. Thus, DNF! Way too many geographically related clues for me. And I never got the theme about the missing RATS.
TTP @ 6:25 am: PET got me too, as I recalled that Socks was a cat.
The puzzle, however, was saved by some good clues:
- Gym Ball: PROM
- Gas on Broadway: NEON
I loved seeing the word GUFFAWED, and the nice shout out to our own "OTIS", Tinbeni with Happy HOUR. (Only one hour?)
Happy Birthday Blue Iris. I hope you have a wonderful day, whatever you do.
If I don't make it back today, happy weekend to all!
Happy Birthday Blue Iris!
Good morning - nice to see all the chickens have come home to roost!
Happy birthday Blue Iris - do something special for yourself today!!! I hope your daughter is doing OK?
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.
Dennis @7:49, LOL
I slogged through this one using extra time. . I got POTATOES AU GIN early on. After quite a while I got PIED PIPER, PIES and CARIBBEAN which led me to look for a RAT . After that I finished quickly. I always get held up by HARD G. I never heard of KLIMT, all perps.
Does anyone see the kinship between GLADS and MUMS other than they are both flowers? GLADS grow from corms, MUMS do not. I was looking for a flower right away and had _LADS as perps, so it didn't hold me up, but reallY?
Happy birthday, Blue Iris.
This does not say Auden wrote The Grapes of Wrath. It does say that Auden has grapes in his vineyard. It is the same concept as PIES of the CARIBBEAN, which has nothing to do with pirates.
Fun puzzle, tricky theme, clever expo. Thanks.
I hate Google+....I need to go back to my plain old Blogger account. Anyone else have Google+ ??
Yellowrocks, I think that is why the clue added the phrase "in a way," at 1A, because they aren't in the same family. But they are both "flora."
Yellowrocks, I think the Glads/Mums "relative" is because both are flowers that are best known by a shortened version of their name. Hmmm. Do you s'pose that Glad Rag is a shortened version of Joplin's Gladiolus Rag?
Happy Birthday to Blue Iris!
DNF for me. I didn't know enough of the info needed to get enough perp letters in any of the themes to "see" what they were. CAT didn't do me any good, and I wanted HOLE or TIRE for TORI, which I didn't know.
After coming here to cheat just on the themes, I got a few more fills, but had to leave several blanks.
Nice to be back in our "home" after being routed yesterday. Have a great weekend everyone!
Anyone being inundated with anonymous spams this mornings. I just got about 6 that are related to today
Out here in fly over country, the area Gannett edition, The Cincinnati Enquirer, does not publish a puzzle theme. Does the seller charge extra for this? Or does the Enquirer not understand?
Concerning 3 down always loved Lincoln's comment "Even God was content with one d"!
Hahtoolah,
Have you ever looked at the email addresses some of the spam comes from that is purportedly from the same commercial enterprise? None of them look like real company addresses, and often the same "company" will be from various addresses that I have to sweep/block at the same time. Almost all of what comes into my junk box I block, but I do deal with them each time I notice something there so they don't build up, in case something I do want would get lost in a long list. Today's offerings included DONUTS.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris!
DNF at all. I knew fewer than the red letter help did.
I just spent 2 weeks with my grandson's MUM, and her MUM was also visiting, so I did not have flowers in my thoughts.
My math students spent a week studying geometry on a torus. I used inflatable swimming rings and markers for them to explore the differences from Euclidean geometry. Fun times.
Off to visit a friend a few towns over who moved into an assisted facility. Roads are bare, so a good day.
Montana
Marti, I thought of that myself, but I don't like it. DO The idea of shortened form makes MUMS/GLADS a little less Meh, but not much.
Relative of Pachyderm in way? POOCH Nooo!
Good morning, everyone! A very challenging puzzle, David, thanks for the mental workout. Marti, thanks for your enlightening commentary. I loved the musical links (especially “Bookends”, which always chokes me up). Now know that the expression ONE OFF did not come from “one of a kind”. Was completely flummoxed by Bagels, Shapewise = TORI until reading your explanation. Hope I can remember the “E for EROICA” hint the next time we have this crossword staple.
Got the PIED PIPER unifier first, then worked backwards to fill in theme answers. Thought Cyberface was a cute clue for EMOTICON. Liked that GLOWERED and GUFFAWED mirrored each other. Was ultimately undone at the same spot as Barry with ORONO/SENAT/EPOS/AIRE resulting in a huge inkblot.
Happy Birthday to Blue Iris – hope you have something fun planned to shake off the winter blues.
Have a great Friday, all!
paulo, the theme comes courtesy of the blogger on any given day; the papers don't publish a theme title, except on Sundays.
Well, I liked the challenge! It is Friday after all.
MOOG synthesizers have been used for years in musical arrangements and will continue to be used for years.
Glads/Mums? Don't see the problem there.
Loved seeing GUFFAWED.
I couldn't for the life of me work RAT in the pies of the caribbean or red movies. What a Duh moment!
Thank you to all who figured out the blog mess. I had the same WTH feeling when I logged on Wed. night. Thanks to Chickie and JD who kept me in the loop. Love this Corner.
It's warming up here in NorCal, YAY. It should be in the mid 60's today.
A Good Friday to One and All.
I’m going to the Y this afternoon and that workout will pale compared to this exquisite torture, er, puzzle! As we say in math, the fabulous theme was sufficient and necessary! I had to get it first.
C.C., it was a pleasure to help out as anyone on this site would for such a lovely person! Thanks again and again for all you do! Get well!
Musings
-The R-RATED movies of our youth are probably now on the Nickelodeon channel
-PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN is still a Magic Kingdom ride to this dessert neophyte
-A little advice PIED PIPER, get your money up front! Do you really want all their kids?
-LITER/LITRE was a bump in the road. Have you ever had a 2 LITRE drink in the THEATRE? USSR/CCCP too.
-If I lived near WEEBER (pronunciation) State, I’d still use my WEBER grill
-It seems I can download everything I want and don’t need to buy a Jewel Case
-Swamp People use a pirogue instead of a CANOE. Looks dangerous to me for hunting gators.
-The TODDS always thought Mary married below her station in life
-Leaving 3 pennies for A TIP says more than leaving nothing. I’ve tipped as much as 25% for great service.
-I am still amazed at the words EVAH and DAHLING in the old ‘30’s movies on TCM. Really, you were born in Wichita!
-I suspect many people from Downton Village fought in the Battle of the SOMME
-Hmmm… Who lives next to James Bond’s boss Q? Oh not that one.
-HBD Susan!
-We’re off to Omaha as Joann has a 30% off Kohl’s coupon smoldering in her pocket. I’ll read the rest of you and answer the many emails I got yesterday from people wanting to be on our map/mailing list this afternoon.
What a challenging but fun puzzle. I love seeing NOM, followed by CD ROM and then PROM, a real ROMp.
Loved GYM BALL. Adam's Apples and Cologne Crowd even though it is old
clue.
My senior year in College at the University of Connecticut, the school sponsored a campus wide tribute to the 30's which included many guest lecturers.
I majored in psychology, but minored in English and it was there that I met W.H. Auden, who appeared to me as a not interesting, and overrated POET .
TTP, you are correct about EOS, why this is true has not yet dawned on me.
Weber State (WEE ber or WEB ber) is a Mormon school that produced basketball coach Dick LaMotta.
So relieved that everything is back to normal. What a strange feeling to have you all disappear.Very smart idea, CC,Dennis, & Argyle to use those strange letters for extra security.Also, a big thank you to Gary for keeping us all in the loop.
HB Blue Iris. Have a lovely day.
Lemony, don't you mean an "overed" poet? LOL about your "dawn" comment!
Husker, isn't it funny how things change? I used to have boxes and boxes of vinyl records that I would diligently pack up and take with us every time we moved. They were all eventually discarded/given away when they were replaced with CDs. The boxes were smaller, but we still carted them from place to place. Now I have everything on my iPhone. I wonder when that will become a thing of the past?
Blue Irish/Susan, Happy Birthday.
C.C. Hope you ARE feeling better.
Hahtoolah: I'm also inundated with spam. (They are never opened, just deleted!)
CROCK being in the grid. Hey, Thumper (:11)
My "Red Ink Pen" provided "Red Letter Help" but I still couldn't finish.
Soooooo, I'll just admit to a DNF (without any more dancing around the fact it was a DNF).
Hmmmm, faves today?
Obviously, Happy HOUR and POTATOES-AU-GIN (Sounds delish!).
A "toast" to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers !!!
HBDTY and many more Blue Iris.
It is tempting to type Blue IRISH with IRISH MISS which also males me want to type MISTY.
We have had many discussions of Mr. Moog and his fine instruments/machines.
Gustav Klimt's painting, 'Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I' , has an interesting history. It was in Vienna, with Mr. Bloch-Bauer, ( the portrait is that of his wife - ), before the WW II, then confiscated as 'jewish' property by the Nazis, and then, after the war, expropriated by the Austrian State Museum, which displayed it as THEIR 'Mona Lisa'.
Finally in 2006, the State Museum reluctantly, relinquished the painting, and several others - Klimts, under court order to Maria Altmann, ( a Holocaust survivor, and the sole surviving heir of Mr. Bloch-Bauer ). She was then living in Los Angeles, USA. M. Altmann eventually, sold it through Christies.
It was purchased, in 2006, by Ronald Lauder, for his NY art gallery ( Neue Gallerie ), for $ 135 million - one of the highest prices paid, ever. He called it 'The Mona Lisa of USA'. The painting is on exhibition, at his gallery, since 2006.
In all, six paintings by Klimt, were eventually sold at about $ 327 million. Several others have been sold for as high as $ 40 mill. each. There was a Google doodle in Klimt's honor.
Didn't like this one at all. Hard, agree with the "too many geographical clues" comment, did not get the theme and was just not fun. Decided it was not even worth finishing.
Dennis, I'm sorry to hear you're fighting something. I hope it's not the flu. Please make sure you check in every day so we know you're ok.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for an excellent puzzle, a bit tough though. Thank you, Marti, for the fine write-up.
Well, I went and gave blood this morning and worked on the puzzle as I was stretched out oozing blood. Did not get too far. Then worked on it as I was drinking my complimentary juice and eating the snacks. Then worked on it after I got home. Finally finished. Tough puzzle.
Could not get started until I hit MUTED and ESTOP. Then PROM fell and EOS. Have been to many Happy HOURs in my past years. None anymore.
From there I kind of spread and jumped around.
Got PIED PIPER before any of the theme answers. The first one that made sense to me was GRAPES OF WH.
CCCP and ARAL were easy in the SW corner.
TREE and IPAD were easy in the SE corner. I remembered ORONO. I hiked up in that region and remember the Penobscot River.
Took me a while to get NEON for 56D. Pretty clever clue/answer.
Off to my day. Now that I am a pint low, I guess i will drink more tea than usual. Then a few brewskis tonight.
Happy birthday Blue Iris. Many happy returns.
Glad the blog is up and running. made life interesting for a couple days.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Greeting, HAPPY solvers! What a relief to be back to normal on the Corner.
Yowza! David Poole is a torture master. This made me creep around and around until finding a toehold at NUEVO Laredo and helped finish that NE corner.
THE GRAPES OF WH I believe refers to his initials, WH rather than wrath although rat is missing and completes the title by John Steinbeck. It's all very sophisticated themage.
My first thought for Clinton's socks was CAT but then the downs didn't jive, so mentally worked out ADO/PET/PARE/ TODD.
Interestingly MOOG, a word I've learned in crosswords, popped right out.
Another thing that stumped me was misspelling CARIBBEAN with two R's instead of two B's. I didn't notice until reading the blog. And we've seen KLIMT before as well as ORONO and TORI.
Another downfall was my lack of German. I had TREI instead of DREI so that section made no sense.
Thanks for the great analysis, Marti, it helped me finish my DNF.
Happy birthday, Blue Iris. I hope it's coming up roses for you!
And I wish a fantastic Friday for you all!
Hi Everyone ~~
This was quite a challenge today, but enjoyable once I figured out what was going on. POTATOES AU GIN was the one that led me to the theme idea. I messed up 17A - when the answer started with RED- I thought of that as the Russian reference and couldn't figure out the rest. I didn't know 8D, so that crossing contributed to my DNF. The rest of it eventually fell into place but it was slow going - lots of erasures!
Favorite ~ the misdirection of 42A - Gym ball - PROM.
I have a love/hate relationship with clues like 32D - Gauge opening? - HARDG. A nice shout out to Don, but arrrgh! ;-)
Thanks for the very helpful explanations, Marti - you enlightened and entertained!
I've been dealing with two sick kitties for a week - vet visits/phone calls every day but Saturday. This morning, the third one - the always healthy one - is also ailing. I guess you could say I'm just a BIT stressed. :-\ Ah well - this too shall pass - soon, I hope!
C.C. ~ Sorry to learn that you haven't been well. You give so much to us - I wish there was something to do for you ~ feel better soon.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris / Susan ~ I hope you have a happy, healthy year!
Good morning:
This was a real bear but with patience and perseverance, I did finish w/o help. Ironically, I got Pied Piper early on but didn't have enough of any of the theme answers to " smell a rat."
Had cat before pet, hydro before hard G, and ekg before ecg. Loved the clues for Eden, prom and drei.
So, kudos to David Poole for a fearsome Friday and hats off to Marti for a fun and informative expo.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris, from Green Irish Miss. Hope it's a great day for you!
Tons of best wishes to CC for a rapid recovery.
Have a fun Friday everyone!
Anony-mouse, you are absolutely correct about Klimt’s “Adele” painting. It was commissioned by her husband.
As it turns out, he was probably a cuckold because a later painting suggests that Adele and Klimt were actually lovers. You can see the similarities to her in the unidentified model in this semi-nude painting – now assumed to also be of Adele.
Here is “The Kiss” from today’s puzzle. It is in the Belvedere museum in Vienna, and I go to see it every time I am there.
So, Marti, does that make you fur Klimt?
desper-otto - GUFFAW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good afternoon everyone.
Got 13 correct answers. Whoopee.
Jazzb: hope your anniversary was fun. It was also our 15th. And we had a quiet fun time.
Congratulations grandma Kazie. She's a beauty.
And Happy Birthday Blue Iris, Susan.
Reading the write up was more fun than trying to do the puzzle. Thanks HeartRX.
I did get HARD G though.
Cheers
UGH! Really disliked this puzzle.
This is as close to a rebus as you can get and I gave up.
Glad the Corner is back in business. Have a good day, all!
Sallie, congratulations on your 15th. Anything in double digits is quite an accomplishment any more.
Sallie,
Thank you, and congrats on your anniversary. Dennis is right--double digit marriages are rare, sadly.
Desper-otto and Marti,
I thought of the verklempt connection too. Nice switch using für with it!
A belated Happy Anniversary wish to you and your hubby, Sallie.
simply put--dind't like this puzzle.
What a relief to have the Corner available again this morning. Thanks again, C.C., and everybody, and hope you're feeling better today. We're sending you our best vibes.
Had an interesting experience with this puzzle. Like many of you, I started confidently with CAT and then pretty soon felt stuck with only a few entries. Of course, I figured Mums were British mothers, wondered what jewels started with _D__M, etc. So I cheated by looking up one answer, and then miraculously, most of the rest fell slowly, slowly into place. I even "got" the RAT theme, for a change. So great fun in the end, and I loved your witty write-up, Marti.
Happy birthday, Blue Iris, and hope you liked our bouquet of MUMS and GLADS.
LaLa Linda, sad to hear about your kitties. Hope they'll get better.
Have a great Friday, everybody!
Belated anniversary wishes, Sallie! Don't the years fly when you are having fun???
LaLaLinda, I hope it is nothing worse than an upset tummy that will cure itself. It is so stressful with pets, because they can't tell you what is wrong with them!
Uh, you can listen for the Moog on "Bookends" but it's not there. Try Save The Life Of My Child(2:51). Same album. :~)
Hello everybody, FIW and WEES. Loved the PROM and CROCK clues. Had EPIC, IRONO, and CENAT at the bottom, hence the FIW.
Somebody commented that having this blog to read and participate in adds a lot to the pleasure of solving the puzzles. Not having this blog for even one day made me experience for myself how much less fun the puzzle was without this blog. Sort of like looking at the answer grid to see how well you did: not very satisfying. I feel spoiled and fortunate all mixed together.
Argyle, thanks for that! I didn't realize they didn't use the moog synthesizer in the theme song. Anyway, I'm more familiar with this example.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris- Susan. So glad you're here.
CC, hope you improve quickly. Thanks for being you and for all you do and mean to us.
The hard to read thingie sounds fair to me.
It was slow going for a time with this puzzle, but RAT popped into my head with 26A , and I checked it at 17A. Bingo!
Really loved the cleverness and originality of the theme clues.
I,too, loved GUFFAWED and GLOWERED. neat words.
KLIMT was new, but since Marti has such a relationship with this piece, I might remember it.
Good to be home.
Thanks to Gary as well as all who pitched in.
Have a nice day everyone.
Marti, really enjoyed your write-up. Thanks.
Sallie, congrats from me too.
Argyle, thanks for linking Save the Life of My Child. Lots of great music on that album, most of it just as relevant today as it was when the record was released nearly 45 years ago.
Forgot to extend Anniversary congratulations to JazzBumpa and Sallie (and their respective honeys, of course). Hope you have many, many more happy years ahead.
Hi all,
It's so nice to have the blog back. I also thank C.C., Gary, Lemonade and anyone else for all you did to get the blog back, and Husker and C.C. for the alternate you were to do so we could see it yesterday.
Like most of you, I didn't get much done on this puzzle. But being able to see how most of you felt, I didn't feel quite so dumb.
Happy Birthday Blue Iris! It seems we have one more thing in common as (oh,I hate to say it)my BD is this month too.
Sally, Happy Aniversary, and hope you have many more.
Never heard of moog!
Have a good evening all.
Marge
Afternoon all,
This was a big DNF for me today.
Got Pied Piper easily enough but was trying to fit the plural RatS to the theme. After all, He didn't rid the town of just one. Then I found myself staring at Carib Bean, What the heck is a Carib bean? DOH!!!
Kinda had a feeling Thumpa was going to make an appearance today.
Gonna get cold tonight, in the single digits.
Cheers all, Its Happy hour now!
-Marti, I agree. I carried Roy Orbison and The Four Seasons LP’s to many houses in our moves and now they reside as MP3’s on my phone and computer! Very cool!
-Someday I will understand what makes a painting worth millions. No I won’t.
-I just got an eVite for me to eStop in at UNO to meet a young eAuthor named Tunette Powell with whom I have been corresponding about her husband insisting on questionable RAP music being played while her 3 year old is in the car. I think I’ll eGo (wait a minute!) ;-)
-Marti verklempt? That’ll Be The Day
-Happy Anny Sallie! Intact marriages seem to be getting as rare as Husker football titles!
-Some names added to our little merry band these past two days – awol, abbarnard, klily (now on map), cthompson, janwilly, and mklein. They read almost every day and are on the brink of posting. They will also be on the map when I get locations.
-Golf tomorrow!
Before the day is completely gone. I want to remind you all that Monday is 5th Anniversary of the very first Crossword Corner, so all of you out there should be deciding what to say to congratulate C.C. on her awesome accomplishments
Dear Corner Friends,
It is with overwhelming sadness that I tellyou that our dear daughter, Gretchen, died from cancer yesterday afternoon in Cambridge, MA.
Thank you for all your kind expressions and hopeful wishes over the last couple days. I cannot easily respond to comments on this blog for a few more days. Thank you.
I enjoyed the puzzle. Appropriately hard for a Friday. Clever theme I thought. I especially liked Gym ball. Doctor of Music, not so much. It doesn't seem like music to me.
Happy birthday Blue Iris! It's sure nice to have the blog and bloggers back.
A big day for me with two exciting events. First, the DMV. Second, buying a new vacuum cleaner. I made an appointment at the DMV for today but went yesterday by mistake. It worked much better going today. I squeaked by the eye test without needing my glasses. I passed the written test OK but didn't pass the motorcycle test. Since I sold my scooter, that's no big deal. Then our old vacuum seemed to have lost most of its suction. After checking a few obvious things, I decided to buy a new one. I never liked the old Bissell much. It was really noisy. I decided to patronize a local merchant and we ended up with a new Riccar. It seems to be well made, does a good job and is noticeably quieter. I like getting things like that from a local person instead of a big-box store.
Speaking of suction, a physics teacher co-worker of mine used to delight in pointing out there was no such thing as suction. Her explanation made sense. Interested?
Do you know what movie star got his first opportunity playing a dead guy who face was never shown?
Dear Spitz: I know you knew it was coming but that is so sad. I feel so bad for you and the rest of your families. I'm sending warm thoughts your way. Sincere sympathy.
Love, Bill
Dearest Spitz, Thank you so much for the extreme consideration of notifying the blog that your dear daughter, Gretchen , died.
Many of us ache to convey our feelngs for this horrible loss; yet, do not expect any acknowledgements.
I, for one, am thinking of you, your wife and her dear son.
This was a toughie! I had no time, so started red letter. Got the theme easy enough, but the fill, Ack!
I started with my trademark "hit the solve button" for obscure names & places, but all that dinging started to sound like the beginning of Pink Floyds "Money." ( i will spare you the link)
HBD Blue Iris, did you know there is a Bed & Breakfast named after you? (check out their garden!)
Happy Anniversary Sallie!
I just saw Spitzboovs post as i was editing, i wish we (the blog) could do something to ease this difficult time for him. Any ideas?
Spitzboov: I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your dear daughter. I sent you and your family my thoughts and prayers.
Spitz,
My sincerest condolences to you and you family.
Spitzboov, you have my deepest sympathy and wishes for you and your family in this awful time. Do not worry about responding. Take care
Dear Spitzboov, so very sorry to hear of your beloved daughter's passing. My sincerest sympathy.
Spitzboov ~~ I am so sad to hear of the loss of your daughter. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Spitzboov, my heart aches for you in ways that you might never realize. Please know that you are in my thoughts, and wishing you strength in such a difficult time.
Spitzboov: My deepest and most heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your daughter. My thoughts and prayers go to you and your family.
Spitzboov.. I am so very very sorry for your loss. I am wishing you peace and comfort in your time of sorrow.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
thelma
Spitz, my deepest sympathy to you and you family.
Spiyzboov, I'm so very sorry for your devastating loss. Although there is some comfort in knowing she didn't suffer long, the lingering pain for you and your family is heartbreaking. My sincerest sympathy, deep thoughts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time. God bless you and yours.
Spitzboov
So sorry about your loss. No one should out live their children. My prayers are with you.
My goodness, how terribly sad to hear of your incredibly sad loss of Gretchen, and so quickly too, Spitzboov. I only learned about her illness and am shocked. And I gather she has a little boy. Oh dear. It's heartbreaking to think of him losing his mother so young. Just know that we all feel for you with all our hearts, and thank your for letting us know. We would do anything we can say or do to comfort and help your family at this difficult time.
Spitzboov:
We grieve with you.
Spitzboov:
I am deeply sorry about the loss of your daughter. My prayers will continue to be for you and your family including your young grandson.
In the unexpected and sudden deaths category: a neighbor here at my complex was feeling unwell a few days ago, went to the hospital and suddenly died. She was 30 years old and leaves a 9 year old daughter. I did not know her personally though she lived across from me but it was still a shock. We don't know the exact cause of death yet.
Spitzboov, Windy said it best: we all grieve with you.
Hopefully there's some solace that her suffering was not protracted.
So sorry for your loss, .Spitzboov.
Montana
So sorry, Spitzboov, sincerely.
Spitzboov, my heart grieves for you and your family.We are all thinking of you.
Sallie and Bumpa, happy belated anniveraries!! Enjoy EVERY one; they are special.
Kazie, I'm thrilled for you, and she is a doll!!
Marti, even though I did not even attempt the CW today(time with Truman), I so enjoyed your write up.Loved seeing Klimt's The Kiss, my daughter's favorite piece of art.It evolved slowly on my screen and gave me time to really appreciate his work.Anony mouse, enjoyed info on Klimt too.
Spitzboov, how very sad. You and your family are in my heart. I hope knowing your friends here are with you in spirit will help a little.
Spitzboov: so very sorry about your daughter. It has to be just heartbreaking. My sincere condolences.
CC & Company - Oh my goodness I'm so glad all is back to normal! I didn't discover the "horror" until Wednesday night while babysitting grandkids. I sat down to savor Crossword Corner and it was gone, just gone. Panic! I found the Google forum which sort of explained the situation. Relief! It's nice that things got fixed so quickly. Hurrah! Oh, and today's puzzle was tough in a few spots but not too horrible. The theme took me forever to grok, as usual.
When I zipped through th NW corner of the puzzle in a matter of seconds, I thought it way too easy for a Friday-and I was right. Finally figured out the theme tonight after work and got it done. That stupid HARD G got me AGAIN! Maybe i should have GLOWERED at the puzzle.
Bill G. to answer your trivia question: Do you know what movie star got his first opportunity playing a dead guy who face was never shown?
I think it was Kevin Costner in The Big Chill. Am I right?
LizLee, 100 percent. Very excellent!
I believe it was Kevin Kline in The Big Chill?
Thanks for the Happy Birthday wishes. I slept most of the day and assumed the blog might still be down when I checked tonight. Glad to see everyone back. My husband and son took me out shopping and out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant on Wednesday. I didn't torture them too much(after 3 stores my legs gave out).
Spitz, I'm so sorry to hear you lost your daughter to cancer. I'll be praying for your family. Take care of yourself.
CE Dave, The Blue Iris Inn and gardens was lovely. I liked the pampered chicken coop. Thanks for finding it.
Not to harp, but CC said 12:00 central time for Captcha and some letters or numbers I can't decipher with a magnifying glass. Hope this gets through.
I'm trying out this Captcha thingy. I had a hard time with the first set of digits and letters so I tried the sound file. Geez, that was impossible. So I hope I can manage with the typing.
Yes, Kevin Costner in The Big Chill. I think Kevin Kline was in it too but with a speaking part. I seem to remember Meg Tilly having a sexy part. I wonder if I would enjoy it again.
Heh, Heh Bill
I don't think you'd ever forget a
sexy role or not enjoy it again.:)
Learning moment re Kevin Costner vs Kevin Kline.
IT IS WITH SADNESS THAT I SAY HOW VERY SORRY I AM SPITZBOOV AND ALL YOUR FAMILY FOR THE LOSS OF YOUR DAUGHTER. I LOST MY BEST FRIEND TO CANCER WHEN SHE WAS 39 YRS OLD. YOU NEVER GET OVER IT BUT YOU DO MOVE PAST IT. TAKE TIME. EVERYONE GRIEVES IN THEIR OWN WAY. FIND WAYS TO HONOUR YOUR DAUGHTER. MORE CYBER HUGS TO YOU AND EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY.
michele
Bill
I DO BELIEVE THERE IS AN ALIEN INHABITING THE AUDIO CAPTHA BOX. WE MAY NEED TO NOTIFY GOOGLE.
Michele
Maybe there is an alien inhabiting the captcha box. The box is suppose to be here and it isn't.
Spooky!
It is there but sounds like it is coming in slow motion from Mars.
Michele
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm feeling much better. Only slight headache now.
It's pea soup fog in Seattle, and this puzzle matched the grey heaviness of the weather. I slogged through with little joy. Now I couldn't give a rats arse that I had to google 1/2 the answers. Now, where's my snuggie
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