Theme: Simon and Schuster Crossword Puzzle - Today's constructor has many puzzles published by S&S so they may be the seed for this puzzle.
17A. Main idea, as of an argument : SUM AND SUBSTANCE. Shakespeare used it in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (4:1): "My riches are these poor habiliments [clothes], Of which if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I have." It has probably survived owing to alliteration. It now means "The essence or gist of something".
25A. Stick to a strict budget : SCRIMP AND SAVE. I think we all know the meaning of this.
42A. To the point : SHORT AND SWEET. I knew a girl once....
56A. Burnout cause : STRESS AND STRAIN. Funny this phrase follows the one above.
I am Argyle and I am honored to be reviewing Ms. Gordon's puzzle. Last winter I reviewed one after her 98th birthday and here we are after her 99th. Truly amazing. A text book Monday and only a Q away from a pangram. Last years note from C.C.: Please click here for an in inspiring article about today's constructor Bernice Gordon. Bernice and the LA Times should have the "oldest constructor" record unless she will be published by the NY Times again this year. They did, in July, but she is back with LAT today!
Across:
1. David Copperfield's forte : MAGIC. Not the Charles Dickens one.
6. High-ranking Indian : RAJA. and 11D. Wife of a 6-Across : RANI
10. Like the Sahara : ARID
14. Last new Olds : ALERO
15. Alike, in Lourdes : EGAL. In France.
16. Madcap : ZANY
20. "__ Pinafore" : HMS. A Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera.
21. Handy bags : TOTES
22. Inventor Howe : ELIAS
23. Candy in a wrapper : BAR
24. WSW's opposite : ENE
32. Beauty parlor : SALON
33. Saying to remember : ADAGE
34. Tool for a lumberjack : AXE. could partner with 57D. Carpentry tool : SAW
36. Cultivate the soil : PLOW
37. Car pedal : BRAKE
38. Needed a Band-Aid : BLED
39. Till now : YET
40. __ fatale : FEMME. The phrase is French for "deadly woman". But they still can be SHORT AND SWEET.
41. Town near the tip of Cape Cod : TRURO. Not far from Natick! But a long way from 35D. Tokyo's former name : EDO, except in this puzzle. A about 1500 miles from 51D. City west of Tulsa : ENID
45. Notes after mis : FAs
46. Contents of a cruet : OIL
47. Saltwater candy : TAFFY
50. Rested (against) : LEANT
53. __ Beta Kappa : PHI. An academic honor society.
59. Part of USA: Abbr. : AMER.
60. Like dedicated fans : AVID
61. 18th-century Swiss mathematician : EULER. Shout out to Fermatprime.
62. Goes bad : ROTS
63. High roller's rolls : WADS
64. Baseball's Pee Wee : REESE. Dodger shortstop.
Down:
1. Sitcom set in Korea : M*A*S*H
2. Homecoming visitor : ALUM
3. Jeweler's inventory : GEMS
4. 401(k) alternative, briefly : IRA. You have to SCRIMP AND SAVE to build it up.
5. Have inside : CONTAIN
6. Take a break : REST
7. Flu-like symptoms : AGUE. Shout out to pk and Dennis and some others, I'm sure.
8. Pokes : JABS
9. Three racing Unsers : ALs
10. Colorful garden shrub : AZALEA. A winter's project.
12. Ancient Peruvian : INCA
13. Turns blue, perhaps : DYES
18. Campus residence : DORM
19. Like someone pacing back and forth : TENSE
23. Forehead : BROW. And if you're TENSE, where wrinkles will appear.
24. Rim : EDGE
25. Comical Soupy : SALES
26. Material : CLOTH
27. Cheese city in northeast Italy : PARMA
28. End of Rhett's sentence that begins "Frankly, my dear" : "...A DAMN!"
29. Like a newborn : NAKED
30. Relative worth : VALUE
31. Put forth, as effort : EXERT
32. Le Carré character : SPY. David John Moore Cornwell (born 19 October 1931), pen name John le Carré is a British author of espionage novels. (lifted from Wikipedia)
37. Puts money (on) : BETS
38. Songwriter Jacques : BREL. And singer, video(2:39).
40. Wears at the edges : FRAYS
41. Social network for short messages : TWITTER
43. Bids : OFFERS
44. Male offspring : SONS
47. Old Russian monarch : TSAR
48. Prefix with sphere : ATMO. (atmosphere)
49. Guitar ridge : FRET
50. Volcanic output : LAVA
52. Does some sums : ADDS
53. Ashen : PALE
54. Hurries : HIEs. "Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear" What a waste of spirits.
55. Legal memo opener : IN RE
58. Feel bad about : RUE
Argyle
Notes from C.C.:
1) Here is an updated profile of today's constructor Bernice Gordon.
 |
| Our 99-year-old constructor Bernice Gordon |
2) To blog regulars: Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if you want to be included in our birthday list or have your pictures included in our Archive section. I'd love to "see" you & celebrate your birthday on the blog!
87 comments:
Morning, all!
SHORT AND SWEET Monday puzzle today from the inimitable Ms. Gordon. No STRESS AND STRAIN involved whatsoever.
I suspect a lot of people might have struggled a bit with the crossing of TRURO and BREL, but being from Massachusetts really helped me breeze through that part even though BREL didn't immediately spring to mind.
Good morning everyone,
A nice way to start the week off with a puzzle from Ms. Gordon. Hard to imagine she was already in her 30's when Peewee REESE was the Dodger shortstop.
Barry nailed it ..... my only doubt was the crossing of TRURO & BREL. Wasn't 100% sure of the town's spelling and Songwriter Jacques was a ???????????. The crossing R was a swag.
Now to find a Captcha I can decipher.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I always enjoy a puzzle by Bernice Gordon. I found this a tad challenging for a Monday, though. The middle section gave be a bit of a pause.
I briefly considered the Dickens' character of David Copperfield, then remembered a magician also used the name.
My AZELEAs are about a month early this year. They are all in bloom now, but usually they don't bloom until the end of February.
I really wanted Till instead of PLOW for Cultivate the Soil.
Oh, Dear! My "capture" word is: OURCRIME.
QOD: What a waste it is to lose one’s mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is. ~ Dan Quayle (Feb. 4, 1947)
Ms. Gordon's Puzzles are always a pleasure never to taxing but rarely ever do I get speed runs and this puzzle was no exception. A nice Monday eye opener.
Good morning!
This was a straight-forward dive to the bottom. Reading Argyle's expo, I realized how many clue/answers I'd "missed" because they were already filled in.
Yup, I slowed down a few secs at the TRURO/BREL cross. But not long. Argyle, what's the significance of the photo between AZALEA and INCA? Doesn't seem to relate to either.
I imagine the gardeners at Bayou Bend have been busy icing down the AZALEAs. They don't want them blooming too early. They should be in full bloom for the "Azalea Trail" later this month.
Ah, Dan Quayle. His words mean just as much today as when he originally spoke them.
Being from Texas, I had trouble with town near Cape Cod. Also didn't know songwriter Jacques. Kudos to Ms Gordon! Enjoyed puzzle. Have a good Monday.
Didn't watchSuper Bowl, but DH did. Went to the store before game time, crowded with last minute game shoppers!
Desper-Otto: we just spent a lovely weekend in your city. We enjoyed the natural science museum and had 2 lovely meals at Hugo's.
Thank you Bernice Gordon and thank you Argyle. A very enjoyable puzzle and write up.
I failed with a Natick at TRURO and BREL.
Hahtoolah, glad you enjoyed the museum. I never go there on the weekend -- too crowded and noisy. Did you go through the butterfly exhibit? I've never eaten at Hugo's, though I've heard it's great Mexican cuisine.
The NW corner gave me unexpected trouble since I first thought of Dickens, not MAGIC. I got the four long answers from bottom to top. [6:30]
CAPTCHA = polvryb
Thank you Bernice Gordon for a wonderful puzzle. Really loved it. May you live forever, in good health. The person who sold you the annuity is probably bankrupt. You look exactly like my favorite librarian.
Thank you Argyle, for making the solve even better. I have the glass 'sculpture' of the cruet pictured. I bought the double bottle because I was so curious as how they made it. I still don't have the answer. I had a little problem, with 'Raja', until I met his wife.
I watched the Superbowl, for the ads, and the most exciting part of the game was the power outage. I was wondering about the logistics if they had to totally postpone the game, or the spectators had to be asked to leave the arena, in total darkness. Do they give refunds ? At least they could have run all the ads, once more - so as to give the advertisers 'double' the coverage. But instead we had to listen to all the boring commentary.
Even my feral cats gorged on food. They were constantly mewing at my doorstep, so they got fed three times during the game. I really should put a stop to this.
Have a good week, you guys, and best wishes.
desper-otto, you want the pattern? That is so sweet.
New born azalea dress.
This was a speed run except for BREL and TRURO. I think two obscure words crossing on a Monday is dirty pool.
My ex and I loved Soupy Sales. Adults found him even more more hilariuos than kids did. Do you remember this funny episode?
Link Soupy Sales
Good morning everybody! Nice start to the week, pretty easy, but a couple of stumpers. I also fell into the TRURO/BREL trap.
I had to PERP 61A EULER and 32D SPY, but the rest went very quickly.
Anony Mouse @ 7:42 am: I feed 3 ferals, but I have 3 indoor cats as well. I wanted to let them gorge with the humans during the Super Bowl, but I can never find a treat all 3 agree on. Finally I found something! I got 3 mini cans of cat food in tuna flavor and I soon had 3 empty bowls.
Super Bowl was OK, but non too exciting, other than wondering how long it would take for the lights to come back on.
Hahtoolah: You always find the best avatars!
Alternate QOD:
A cat has nine lives,
- For three he plays
- For three he strays
- For three he stays
- English proverb
A real speed run for me, since I do know (and don't particularly like) Jacques Brel. So that helped the unknown TRURO.
Turning blue made me think of it in our context here--so when we turn blue, have we dyed and gone to heaven?
Fun theme that I sussed almost immediately. Amazing that Bernice is so prolific at that age!
Bernice Gordon: Thank you for a FUN Monday LAT puzzle.
My first "toast" at Sunset is to you.
(Please keep constructing, I love your puzzles!!!)
Cheers
Hi Everyone ~~
Another fun puzzle from the wonderful Bernice Gordon ~ what an inspiration she is! I finished this well before finishing my first mug of coffee but it was an enjoyable run.. I had the same TRURO-BREL pause as others, but it worked out.
~ I used to be thought of as SHORT AND SWEET ( 5' ) but now I think of myself in terms of STRESS AND STRAIN. ;-)
~ I, too, thought of Fermatprime with 61A - EULER ~ I hope she's doing OK.
~ Thanks for a great write-up, Argyle. You always come up with interesting puzzle titles.
~ C.C. ~ Glad to hear you're feeling better. Thanks for the tip on "Wong To Yick." I think I'll be checking that out!
99 is just a number and Bernice proves that with this great Monday offering!
Musings
-Like the ant, we did SCRIMP AND SAVE and are financially secure in our retirement
-If you like Frasier and HMS Pinafore, this is for you!! (1:52)
-In the nursing home, my mother and the other ladies eagerly anticipated their trip to the SALON
-Splynter, some guy tried to tell me there are SAWS without motors on them. No, really.
-The BRAKES on our downhill coasters in the 50’s were the bottoms of our Chuck Taylor’s
-PLOWS are almost an anachronism around here with minimum tillage saving fuel and water
-These TAFFY machines fascinate me at the state fair (:43). Simple minds…
-Our AVID 49er fans saw turnovers, a kickoff return, wasted time outs and other mistakes cost them. Still a fun game
-Rhett had had enough already!
-My SIL always gets the hot and NAKED sauce at Spaghetti Works
-Oscar Wilde - A cynic knows the cost of everything and the VALUE of nothing
-My great lamb’s leather coat is FRAYing a little but I just paid $47 to have it cleaned and it’s good to go
-My favorite musical moment in the Super Bowl was the scrubbed, fresh faces of the kids from Newtown, CT singing America The Beautiful which choked me up. The overproduced junk at halftime was worthless and far from entertaining.
Hi there ~!
How funny, Husker - I had to cut a piece of lath this weekend, and just couldn't be bothered to break out a power saw - but then I realized, that's the only kind I had....
Splynter
Linda,
Our local Asian grocery store carries Wong To Yick. It works great for sprains & muscle pain. Arthritic ache as well. It smells pretty bad though. Boomer calls it Wong To Stink. He resorts to it often before a tournament.
Great Puzzle. When I saw inventor Howe.. I did not read carefully and thought of Elijah Whitney and the cotton gin. Finally realized it. It is funny how you get an idea and it is hard to change your first thought.
I agree with husker Gary about the half time show.
In Michigan many years ago I used to come home from school for lunch and watch Soupy. We must have had an hour..far different today. We are back on Sanibel after a very cold weekend in Chicago. The sun and warmth are much appreciated!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bernice Gordon, for a great Monday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell write-up.
Yes, I fell into the BREL/TRURO trap. Wagged and missed it.
We just bought an Olds ALERO last fall when our former car was stolen and wrecked in Milwaukee.
Enjoyed the theme of this puzzle. Two grid spanners.
I signed up for TWITTER on a whim, but not sure how to use it.
Watched the game last night. It was a good one. Especially the end. Thought the Ravens were very clever with that Safety. I won $40 on squares. Only invested $100. $40 is better than nothing.
I just shoveled two driveways. We got about 6 inches last night.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
I spent more time watching linked videos than it took to do this puzzle.
‘Sam the Bellhop’ from last night was amazing, Bill G.
Because of the R, a DNF for me. I guessed it wrong.
Thanks Bernice and Argyle,
Montana
Good morning all. Thanks, Argyle for the intro and putting it in perspective.
I enjoyed this easy Monday puzzle with its S&S theme aphorisms. The rest of the fill exhibited a brightness, too. Always like seeing AZALEA in a puzzle. I believe they are in the same plant genus as rhododendron. Beautiful plants. In the '70's we grew to like Jacques BREL's music. Never did learn how to trill the guttural R's the way he and other French speakers do.
Have a great day.
Good Morning all - God Bless Bernice - quite a lady. Thanks Argyle for great write-up. Great Soupy Sales clip - funny guy!
Finished the puzzle early, but went for a run before signing in here.
Only stumbling today was with TRURO, BREL AND EDO. Looks like a common problem most of you had. Even with perps I still had no clue.
My dad’s had an ALERO
Took me awhile to ‘get’ 45A - kept say miss and couldn’t figure out what FAS had to do with it, then the aha came. MIs as in do ra mi fa etc. my duh of the day :(
Love AZALEAS.
Have a good Monday all!
ps - just putting Captcha word in seems to work. If I have to strain to see the numbers - I just ignore them.
Good morning:
An easy, breezy Monday offering. No hang- ups at all; knew of Jacques Brel and familiar with Truro. Great job, Bernice, and snazzy write-up, Argyle.
I didn't watch the game but did watch Elementary after the game and thought it was a bit over the top. I wonder why it was on on Sunday, as it is still listed for this coming Thursday.
Have a great Monday.
Good day, puzzler people. Yowza! How impressive and remarkable that Bernice Gordon is still constructing puzzles at 99!
It was a lovely speed run but came to a crashing stop at TRURO/BREL. Had no idea about either one. Really like the theme, too. I guess we have all been through those phases of life.
Mmmmm, there is nothing better than real TAFFY purchased at the beach!
Yesterday we encountered crowds of women shopping and at the theater as well though a few men, too.
Have a beautiful Monday, everyone!
Wow! Wow! 99! That is awesome, Ms. Gordon! Congratulations!
I'm one of the rare few who got TRURO this morning. My husband and I visited it once while taking a little vacation on Cape Cod. I hoped I'd have an interesting story to tell about it, but he says we just visited little stores and bought useless tschatschkas (spelling?) like we always do on trips.
The trouble I did have was caused by "David Copperfield," which I read recently for the first time because I had to find out who that DORA was, who pops up in crossword puzzles all the time. Dickens's David Copperfield has no forte, so that left me stumped. Only the perps saved me on that one.
Great expo, Argyle, and LOL, Kazie.
Have a great Monday, everybody!
WEES. Lost out at BREL/TRURO. I had BaEL/TaURO. What Montana said, too. Thanks for the Soupy Sales links!
Second half of the game much more exciting than the first. Now we have to watch the same commercials again for the next 6 months. Funny the first time-maybe. None were spectacular.
I wasn't quite awake yet for the first clue when I took a wag with THEFT, confusing Copperfield with Dickens' other character Oliver Twist. Knew something was off with MASH. Confirmed with ALERO. Aahh...that Copperfield. Not familiar with either TRURO or BREL. All the vowels and H,R sounded equally (im)plausible. Went with A.
Misty, after reading your post about vacations, I looked to see how far I was from Truro when I spent a week on Cape Cod a year ago. I was at Chatham, 26 miles away. Drove as far north as Eastham one day, but didn't look at map, so had never heard of Truro.
Montana
Monday, Monday...
I enjoyed seeing a puzzle by Bernice Gordon and I enjoyed solving it. I sped through it having fun at every turn. Thanks for the writeup Argyle.
Gary, wasn't the "Modern Major General" song from
The Pirates of Penzance"? I love both it and Frasier. I agreed about the halftime show. I think she looks great and is a pretty good dancer (of that style of music). But I just don't care for that genre of music. As I said yesterday, I'm waiting for her CD of The Patsy Cline Songbook. How long do you think I'll have to wait?
A really good magic trick again from late last night. Sam the bellhop. Montana, I'm glad you liked it. Magic with humor, a good combination.
I was saddened to get an email this morning from the son of a friend telling me his father had passed away Saturday of a heart attack. His father, Steve, was a regular responder to my newspaper column. We had gone out to lunch several times and enjoyed each other's company.
This is the first one that I filled in as fast as I could read them. I did a small pause for TRURO because I didn't have EXERT yet.
Hola Everyone, Pretty straight and solid today, but not a speed run. I only had two areas where I wasn't sure of the answer. One was Egal, which isn't in my vocabulary and the other Brel. Truoro sounded correct so I guessed at the R and for once was correct. A fun puzzle from a very "young" 99 year old. Would that I could be as lovely when I'm 99.
Thanks Argyle for the writeup. I looked at the baby dress pattern. What a great thing the organization is doing to send babies home in a hand made outfit.
Irish Miss, Elementary aired after the Super Bowl to boost its fan base, or so our newspaper said.
Husker, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the Half time show was overproduced and soooo loud it was impossible to watch. The children who sang at the opening were wonderful!!
I've come down with a cold, so I think I'll go back to bed and rest a bit more.
Have a good day everyone.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Bill G.
Facebook is hard enough to keep up with, much less using twitter. I've seen some people in stores shopping, using their phone to text, then calling someone, then texting again. I hope I never have to be so connected that I depend on devices to keep me informed.
Bernice I applaud you, and despite growing up nearby and visiting the Cape often, I have never been to TRURO.
As always, Argyle you da man.
Have a great week all.
-Of course you are right, Bill G. Here is the hilarious scene I was thinking of as Frasier, Niles and, very amusingly Martin later, sang Modern Major General from Pirates of Penzance
-I also remember Bulldog getting Frasier to sing Three Little Maids from the Mikado on air to embarrass him. Once again Frasier’s arrogance led to a bad ending!
-Sorry to hear of your friend’s loss. We’ve also been going through way too much of that here lately!
Hi gang -
Fine puzzle and a good start to the week. Strong S&S theme.
Bernice looks like someone not to be trifled with.
I'm one of the few to know BREL, and maybe the only one to like him.
Here is some more of his stuff - in English - for anyone who might be interested
Euler is pronounced "Oiler." Always thought he should be the eponym for a sports team.
Re the 1/2 time show: It was an over-engineered, flaming, scantily-clad, mediocre pop-music extravaganza. What's not to like?
I didn't really have a dog in that fight, but found myself rooting for the Ravens. Jim seems to be the marginally more annoying brother.
We saw a production of the school edition of Les Miz yesterday afternoon, with two of our grandsons in the cast. Amazingly great performance by the leads - all extraordinary singers. Got home to late too hear the Sandy Hook kids, and just caught the Anthem in progress.
Happy Monday, and
Cool regards!
JzB
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al,
How impressive! 99 and still creating great puzzles. Thank you Bernice, and to Argyle, for completing Truro/Brel. Enid and Euler both gave me pause too.Enjoyed the theme, which actually helped.
Bill, sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.
Loved the clydesdale commercial last night, so did some research on their training.
I got hung up not only at brel/truro & ague/egal, at 39a, till now, i put in "ere" thinking poetry, & never knew the Le carre character was a spy. Oh well,,,
I was trying to cement Truro in my brain for next time, & discovered there is one in Nova Scotia, on the Bay of Fundy. I also found some nice real estate in the area, (Truro is the 3rd house @ 1:15 for about 30 seconds.) and spent 10 minutes (you don't have to) waiting to see how this guy rigged up like a catapillar in a cocoon was going to land this dang thingie...
(*%&% captcha, i know i typed "wspowev" correctly)
I have enjoyed Jacques Brel as well.
No one can defend a buffoon like Dan Quayle but on the other side of the aisle is Joe Biden who is no stranger to spoken buffoonery. Keep politics out of here!
Bill G. My sincere condolence.
Check out how this puzzle was written up at "Diary of a Crossword Fiend."
As for the Super Bowl ... I thought it was a good game, lousy half-time show, with a "few" good commercials.
Cheers !!!
Bill G - Sorry about your friend.
Chickie - That sounds plausible re Elementary, although it's late start last night probably didn't help the ratings much. I like the show and hope it gets picked up for next season.
I wish autocorrect would mind its own business when it comes to its versus it's! Sorry, I didn't catch it until published.
JD, I enjoyed the video about the training of the Clydesdales. They sure are pretty horses.
I just got this from a friend:
Here's a word that can be a noun, verb, adj, adv, prep. UP This two-letter word in English many uses.
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.
At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
Look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP.
Bill G.
That is probably why I make my "toasts" when the Sun goes DOWN.
Hello everybody. I liked the puzzle today. I found it easy, as expected, but not a total speed run.
For some reason I remember BREL not only from previous crosswords, but also because "Jacques Brel is alive and well" rings a dim bell in the back of my mind for some reason.
And being a fan of the "Doc Martin" show, TRURO was not hard because the hospital in Truro, Cornwall, UK, has been mentioned many times in that show. Many New England towns are named after English towns. (Is there a Natick in the UK?)
However, it did take me 15 seconds to dredge ENID up out of my memory banks.
Best wishes to you all.
Hi All,
Wanted to finish reading last night's
comments.
Where'd they go???
Am I missing something here?
There are only 3 comments.
Some of you, like CED go back and read the previous comments.
Do any of you have the same problem?
pas de chat, you didn't go back far enough. That was C.C.'s report on the cw tournament. Go back one more.
Bill G, sorry you lost a friend.
That word "up" is quite a word! Fun to see so many ways it is used. Blow me down and pick me up! Tie it down and tie it up! Button it down and button it up!
We did watch Elementary after the game, but only about 3/4 of it because we switched to Downton Abbey before Elementary was finished. Maybe the one they're going to show on Thursday will be the same one.
Speaking of the game, oogy woogy! DW and I ate far too many nachos and drank way too much beer!
Fell asleep during the half-time presentation.
Pas, those three comments are the first ones in CC's remarks about the tournament. The rest of the comments about the puzzle are still there, about 61 of them.
Here's a little puzzle that I promise has almost no math. Draw an equilateral triangle and then another one upside down on top of the first one to make a normal six-pointed star. Draw a circle at each of the 12 places where lines intersect. You should have six rows of four circles each. Can you place the digits, one through 12 in each of the circles so that each of the six rows has the same sum?
If you want a hint, a little later I'll tell you what each of the rows has to add up to (the same sum for each of the six rows).
Husker, Tin, Chickie, etc., I had similar thoughts on the Half Time show. If possible, I thought it was flashy, yet boring.
My boss' son asked him why Beyonce wasn't wearing any pants! I'm glad I'm not raising children in this world.
Montana - I like your new avatar.
I liked the Clydesdale and the Ram Truck/farmer commercials. Go Daddy was too disgusting for words.
good afternoon all,
no time to talk puzzle, i'm starting the second week at a new job and just popped in on a break to see wassup.
sorry to hear about your friend bill.
your UP talk reminded me of this.
That sum would be 13
I am responding to the Anon at 1.38 pm. on the mis-spoken words of Joe Biden. (A.) I was not aware of the mis-speaks that the current Veep had made, and (B.) It sounds just as funny as Dan Quayle. Its probably funnier if you are of the alternate political persuasion. It should also be very common, to be expected, when one is making so many off-the-cuff, extempore remarks. Didn't Joe Biden withdraw his first try for president when he was accused of plagiarism ? No politics on this blog is a very good idea, no matter how genuinely funny an off the cuff remark appears to be. I NEVER discuss politics with my closest friends - since the shade of politics is as indelible as the color of ones skin, it can never be eradicated and cause a lot of bitterness.
Happy Birthday Bernice, lovely puzzle as usual.
Thanks Argyle and Bill G.
I thought the blog gremlins were BAAACK!!!
Was trying to find the Wong To Yick reference. DH gets Kwan Loong Oil at the Asian market. Eucalyptus, spike lavender and mineral oil. Works on my knee.
Nice puzzle and congrats to Ms. Gordon. She looks like a lovely person. :)
Bill, sorry for your loss.
I'm already lost on your puzzle.(sigh)
Wish someone would start an online petition to eliminate the bloated half-time shows.
These guys are there to play football, not sit around and wait 'til Beyonce stops writhing and sneering. Every act seems to fill the stadium with smoke....
You can bet she wasn't singing "live" through the smoke and haze.
IMHO
Montana, since I had no memories at all of TRURO but remember Chatham quite vividly, I would say you probably didn't miss much. But I do still cherish the vacations my husband and I took on Cape Cod before his stroke. A lovely place!
Way to go Bernice!! Great Mon puzzle. I'm surprised you know about Twitter. You gotta keep your mind active.
Jacques Brel is alive and well
And living in Paris. (Not really. He's dead. Didn't even make 50.)
Check out Brel singing "Amsterdam." Strange.
Truro is famous for the murder by a trash collector of fashion writer Christa Worthington. It came out that her daughter was fathered by a local married fisherman.
I scratched my head at misfas - until I figured do re mi fa.
Once again, ALUM is an abbrev. blah blah.
I love salt water taffy, but do you suppose it was a dentist's creation?
Hi Y'all, Great puzzle! Great commentary! WEES
I've only seen azaleas once: in April in the lovely famous gardens of the Carolinas. I was sure that must be how heaven looks.
You must have missed the most exciting golf tournament wrap-up I've ever seen. Phil Mickelson ended up with 28 under par. I kept waiting for him to make one of his most spectacular bogeys, but he just kept on target. Love the guy!
The tournament was in Phoenix where the rough is really rough. 2nd place golfer Brandt Snedekker hit a shot under "jumping" cholla cactus and had to take an unplayable drop after much study.
They even had musical entertainment. The 16 hole is surrounded by a stadium (the only course of its kind) filled with noisy rowdy drunken fans. So they showed on TV a very funny song/video by Jake Trout and The BAll Washers about the 16th Green.
To cap it off, James Hahn got an uproar ovation when he sank a putt (eagle?) and did a fairly lengthy and very well executed dance on the 16th green Gangnam Style. Who needs Beyonce?
Hi,
I agree this was a little harder than a usual Monday puzzle but I did finally got it done and enjoyed it. Thank You Bernice Gordon.
Once I caught the two esses in each of the long answers and all the ands it was easier.
I also thought of Dicken's David first but not for long.I rarely enjoy a magic show although there is a good one up at Wisconson Dells.
Have a good evening!
Marge
An interesting puzzle today, but alas, a DNF for me. Of course it was that R crossing common to Truro and Brel, but it wouldn't be so bad if I'd simply given up. No, I simply forgot to go back and give it more thought. Oh well. Manana.
Thought some of you might like today's Sherman's Lagoon.
It's got the big game and Downton Abbey included. What more could you want?
JD reminded me of some problems I've had with Cruciverb. I use the Chicago Tribune site for the LAT puzzle but I check in with Cruciverb several times a week for some other ones. Several times, especially with the Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles, I get error messages, something about the page cannot be found. Do any of you have that same problem? What causes it? Also, I figure I can go to The Chronicle of Higher Education's website and get the puzzle that way but I have no idea how to find it. I try their search feature but get no results. Any ideas?
Marge, I don't like the big magic show illusions either, especially like those by David Copperfield. What I enjoy are the close-up magicians, especially the ones who include humor in their act, like the link of Sam the Bellhop I posted.
Hi again,
I'm sorry for all the deletes but when I tried to publish it kept saying those wierd letters were wrong and the post didn't disappear from the little box we write in. When I finally looked at the bottom there were all extra posts. We live and learn!
Marge
Thought some might like a test to see if you are
Smart or Stoopid
Don't blame me, that's the name of the quiz :)
Like magic they disappeared, Marge.
Thank you to Bernice, a wonder woman! enjoyed the Soupy Sales link, Argyle. Weren't Bess and Betsy elegant?
I was wondering whether someone had talked too much about politics and been deleted, Marge!
What an enjoyable puzzle. My WAG at TRURO and BREL paid off.
Here I was feeling all smug about not getting the flu shot and not getting sick..not so much. What Rhett said. Must have used UP my luck for the season.
Puzzle hint and possible spoiler:
Too easy anon at 2:40 said that the sum of each row was 13. He/she scores very well on misplaced self-esteem but gets low marks on logic. The sum of each of the six rows is 26.
Tinbeni, I didn't see anything wrong with the other blog's write up. I did, however, agree with Amy's response to your comment. I always cringe when a blogger tries to make the puzzle his own with over the top write ups.
I went for a short hop on the bike but the waves looked nice so I went for a quick ride. Surfing.
PK@4:24
I'm sorry but I have a small nit re your remarks. Though it's called The Phoenix Open, it takes place in Scottsdale.
BillG
I'm so sorry about your friend's passing. We have had too much of that on the blog lately unfortunately
Wow! What a fun and fast puzzle. Thanks Ms. Gordon. Thanks, Argyle, for teaching me the few clues I didn't understand, but came with perps. My Natick was the TRURO and BREL crossing, but I WAGed the R and was right.
I watched the first half of the game last night, got bored, turned it off and read a book. Much more enjoyable. Halftimes aren't any fun to watch anymore either.
We got 2" of pretty, wet, heavy snow this afternoon. It's shoveled so the driveway shouldn't be icy in the morning.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone.
Pas, I enjoyed your Smart or Stoopid quiz. I didn't turn out to be stoopid but I did miss a few questions including a math question that I didn't read carefully enough because of the danged timer. Rats!
Man oh man, maybe I should get a bike.
R.I.P, Chris Kyle - a true American hero.
Bill G., seven posts might be a bit excessive...
A couple of challenges for a Monday. Had trouble with TRURO and BREL like many of you. Knew about the Truro in Nova Scotia but not the one in Cape Cod.
Wonderful bio about Ms Gordon - we should all hope to be still doing crosswords at age 99 (let alone constructing them)!
We can't grow azaleas as garden shrubs here - too cold in winter, but I was given a lovely potted azalea at Christmas. It is doing well on my plant stand but does require a little more watering than my other plants.
We got snow on Saturday - it just kept falling all day and totalled about 9 inches. Must get my cross-country skis out.
where can i find the answers for sunday feb 3th 2013?
Spent more time checking out the wonderful links than I did solving the offering
of the venerable Ms. Gordon.
Jacques Brel....another great treasure.
Anon@8:24
The archives are on the right side towards the bottom.
Pas: wow, that Smart or Stoopid test was FAST!! I got a 22, partly with total WAGS, but many that I actually knew. A few took so long to process, that it was gone by the time I figured that answer. Thanks!
No problemo, tho' "waffle maker" did have me thinking of Eggo and IHOP, and I had to cycle thru Libya and Kenya before I got to Benin. I'm pretty good at geography but Africa has always been a challenge.
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