Theme: Shake 'em up baby, twist and shout. MUSIC.(2:47).
The last word in each theme answer has a vowel switch to create a new and whimsical answer clued appropriately. This is another gem from the multi-talented Mr. POOLE. He and I have been together many times, and my first Friday puzzle BLOG was one of his back in 2010. Some fun and some challenge, with long fill like RARA AVIS, MUENSTER and TATAMI. And like Jerome, I do love me an anagram. We don't need no stinkin' reveal.
17A. Army mints? : MILITARY TICTACS.(15). TACTICS. Wow, turning war into candy!
29A. Temperamental Midler impersonators? : BETTE DIVAS. (10) DAVIS. We get the two most famous Bettes.
37A. Penalize a Russian leader? : FINE LENIN.(9). LINEN. I cotton to this image of the old despot.
49A. Poll on where to sink the eight ball? : POCKET VOTE. (10). VETO. I love how the non-anagram word changes meaning so much in this and the previous answer.
64A. Seasonal shade of pink? : A CHRISTMAS CORAL. (15). CAROL. Perfect for your nails, my dears.
Across:
1. Circa : AROUND. A Latin word which has come into the language.
7. Snack brand with a monocled mascot : PLANTERS.
15. Retire : TURN IN. I am ready for bed.
16. One of a kind : RARA AVIS. We have this rare bird in pieces often. More Latin.
19. Bug : NETTLE.
20. Plural Spanish pronoun : ELLAS. Feminine. 60D. José's this : ESTO. Masculine.
21. Emu's extinct kin : MOA. Another extinct flightless bird; if you want information click and learn MOA.
22. Fleming and crime writer Rankin : IANS. I first learned of Scottish writer Rankin on this blog from Wolf Mom. A real anti-hero policeman, Inspector Rebus.
24. Smidgen : MITE.
27. Endow : FUND. Funny, when I think of a well endowed woman, I never think of money.
33. Estate item : ASSET. You need to prepare an inventory of assets in every estate.
35. "Got it!" : I SEE. Mira!
36. Student of Elves, in Tolkien : ENT. A tricky Hobbit reference.
41. Blast : GAS. I will pass on this one.
44. Shrimp : RUNT. I learned I really am shrinking.
45. ___ Galilee : SEA OF. Actually a lake in Israel.
53. Down : BLUE. I think this comes from the sailors flying a blue flag when a Captain died in days of yore.
54. Inner Hebrides isle : SKYE. Did anyone else think of this PERFORMER?
55. "Cheers" accountant : NORM. A favorite character. LINK.(3:47).
57. Texter's afterthought lead-in : BTW. By The Way.
58. Accounts : TALES. This one fooled me.
62. More than just calls : RAISES. Poker for example.
68. Semisoft cheese with an orange rind : MUENSTER. Along with Havarti, my favorite soft cheese.
69. Titillating : EROTIC. Such an individual concept, but perhaps some HISTORY. (2:59)
70. Recordings are made in them : SESSIONS. Hence studio musicians are also known as session musicians. Also, see jam sessions.
71. Jimmy follower : RONALD. Carter: Reagan.
Down:
1. Provider of bucks : ATM. Yes, those bucks, Automated Teller Machine.
2. Catastrophic : RUINOUS.
3. City saved by Joan of Arc : ORLEANS. On the Loire.
4. Troop group : UNIT. Actual military terms.
5. 1930s-'40s Chicago Outfit "enforcer" : NITTI. Frank, and the 2nd in command to Al Capone, who took over. Some wonderful books written including the historical mysteries of MAX ALLAN COLLINS I have been reading lots of his books, including ones with Nitti, who is presented as a somewhat sympathetic bad guy. Of course I loved the character on the old Untouchables.
6. Crime-solving locale : DNA LAB. CSI here we come.
7. Pull with effort : PRY.
8. Behind : LATE. I never heard a woman say she was behind.
9. Seed cover : ARIL. This is classic crosswordese.
10. Chemist's salt : NACL. NA-Sodium, CL-Chloride. Table variety as well.
11. Teahouse floor covering : TATAMI. Traditional Japanese MATS.
12. Not forthcoming : EVASIVE. This answer was elusive while it was evasive.
13. Rocker Ocasek : RIC. The lead singer of the CARS (4:18) (not yummy) and he is married to Paulina (yummy).
14. Old draft org. : SSS. Selective Service System
18. Pierce's co-star in "The Thomas Crown Affair" : RENE. Russo.
21. Museum curator's deg. : MFA. Master of Fine Arts.
23. Cheese with which port is traditionally served : STILTON. I will let our Anglo readers comment on this fine cheese.
25. Salon offering : TAN.
26. Setting for Columbus: Abbr. : EST. Ohio or Georgia, oh it does not matter they are both in Eastern Standard Time. Clock setting, good clue.
28. OED entry : DEFinition.
30. Grizabella creator's monogram : TSE. T.S. Eliot.
31. Bard's adverb : E'EN.
32. Agnus ___: Mass prayers : DEIS. Another crossword staple.
34. Flag : TIRE. This would have been hard but for the perps already there.
38. Aficionado : NUT.
39. P.O. purchase : ENVelope
40. Neighbor of Colo. : NEB. Hey Husker G!
41. SUV option : GPS.
42. Hunky-dory : A-OK. Pioneered by NASA to mean all okay.
43. Bush hooks, e.g. : SCYTHES. Nice clue.
46. Banff National Park locale : ALBERTA. A pretty and cold part of Canada.
47. Defeat in the regatta : OUTSAIL. NIT alert, while regattas are always boats, the races can be rowing ones like Henley.
48. Hardly hordes : FEW. Alliteration always!
50. "Team of Rivals" author Doris ___ Goodwin : KEARNS. Never heard of the AUTHOR or the book. The only Goodwin I know is Archie.
51. One-third of a WWII film : TORA. I believe it was a Pearl Harbor movie, Tora (Tiger) being the Japanese code word for the secret attack.
52. Backspace key, at times : ERASER.
56. Miniscule : MICRO. Yay, we get our O!
59. Actress Virna : LISI. One of the many Italian beauties.
61. Acronymous submachine gun : STEN. Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield.
63. Procrastinator's word : SOON.
64. Trans ___ : AMS. The cars.
65. Stick around a pool hall? : CUE. Tightly phrased, stick (space).
66. Union title, often : MRS. Nice misdirection, nothing to do with workers or Civil War.
67. Calculator display, for short : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.
Well the end came soon enough, and another Friday frolic finished. Going to visit my son in Denver for the first seder, and my best to those who celebrate Passover. A blessed day to all and a healthy happy Palm Sunday.
Lemonade out.
Happy Birthday to dear PK, who thinks pizza is the perfect food but can't have it due to food allergy. Spoil yourself today, PK!
Good morning, gang - for a change, I actually thought this was pretty easy for a Friday. I pretty much breezed through the top part, then stumbled with 38D, where I had FAN instead of NUT, and with 23D, where I stupidly put STINTON. Took a bit to straighten out, then the rest of the bottom went as fast as the top. Getting the theme fairly quickly helped a bit.
ReplyDeleteUnlike NITTI, which is making a relatively quick encore, I don't think we've seen SCYTHES before, have we?
Happy Birthday PK, and many, many more.
Have a fun weekend.
Morning, all ( and Happy Birthday PK)!
ReplyDeleteReally liked the theme today, but I did struggle with the puzzle overall. Even after I figured out the theme I had trouble coming up with some of the actual phrases, and I couldn't figure out why CHRISTMAS CAROL wouldn't fit at 64 once I got ________ASCAROL. Stupid "A"...
LISI was a complete unknown. And, while I know of ENTs, I had no idea they were students of Elves. I was also completely unfamiliar with "bush hooks", although I figured it had to be SCYTHES after getting the first three letters via the perps.
[aredaa]
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I had fun with this Vowel Switching puzzle. I caught on to the theme with BETTE DIVAS.
ReplyDeleteI struggled a bit with the NE corner, because I wanted Mr. Peanut, which is actually the name of the mascot, instead of PLANTERS.
Frank NITTI appeared recently, so I could immediately answer that clue.
Stick Around a Pool Hall = CUE was my favorite clue of the puzzle.
I have gone swimming in the SEA OF Galilee.
Happy Birthday, PK! Enjoy your special day. BTW, our crossword friend Ms. Olin, who turns 58 today, shares her birthday with you.
QOD: Never get a mime talking. He won’t stop. ~ Marcel Marceau (Mar. 22, 1923 ~ Sept. 22, 2007)
[ieaneans]
[dirststa]
"'Bush hooks, e.g. : SCYTHES.' Nice clue"
ReplyDeleteIf by "nice" you mean "poor," then you are correct.
"Pull with effort: PRY."
Poor.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGot the theme for a change, and romped through this one quickly. Seemed easy for a Friday.
You won't hear a woman say she's behind, and you don't want to hear one say she's late.
Never heard of Skye Blue, only the terrier. And, "No, thank you" on the Stilton. I like cheese, but I'm not a fan of the stinky varieties that smell like locker room socks.
Happy Birthday, PK. Hope you plan to do something fun today.
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday PK! I'm with you - I would rather have pizza over cake any day. I feel terrible that you are allergic to it. Really terrible. Really. So I'll order one and eat it for you, OK?
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.
Fun, fun puzzle today. I loved the flipped vowels - so clever! And a fun write-up, Lemon. Very tittillating images you linked. Oh, and thanks for giving me a fresh clue for SKYE !!
Learning moment was for "Bush hook" today. Like Barry, I had SCY**** and then figured out what it meant. Literal clue.
TGIF !!
As is my wont on late week puzzles, I'll make a pass in each direction looking for gimmes. before trying to prove anything. Imagine my chagrin when getting to the down clues in the NE and seeing that MR PEANUT was not the "Monocled mascot." The clue was brand, not the character.
ReplyDeleteNor was "One of a kind" SINGULAR. No, it was RARA AVIS again. They both fit in terms of character count. I think there is a difference between rare and unique, but maybe that exists only in my mind. I sometimes wish the answers weren't so EVASIVE, but that's part of the challenge.
TATAMI was a wayland.
My "Miniscule" was MInor.
That SW corner took at least as long as the rest of the puzzle.
Time to read Lemonade and the other blogger's commnets.
Happy BDay, PK!
ReplyDeleteThought I was going to breeze right through this today, got the NW in a matter of seconds. NE, not so fast. Made my way through, but had to look up Verna LISI and KEARNS. Didnt know TATAMI. Managed to finish at least. I also got fooled by that pesky A at the beginning of CHRISTMAS CORAL. When I saw SKYE, I thought of Iona Skye. Was NOT happy with PRY for pull with effort- I envision using a lever to Pry on something.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteThought I was on the right wavelength, having zipped effortlessly through the top half, but bogged down a bit in the bottom. The theme is clever - my favorite is Bette Divas.
HBTY, PK! I loves me a pizza too, but not too often. I suspect their nutrient:calorie ratio is a bit low.
Morning Lemon, I chuckled at the Norm collection. I wasn't a steady Cheers watcher back in the day, and never noticed how Norm was greeted at each entrance in the pub. Now it makes sense!
We have a summer-house neighbor who was the casting director for The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 version). This made it easy for me to remember Rene, who was reportedly difficult and demanding. I guess it pays to be that good looking.
I call foul on the clue for 71a. I would think James is to Ronald as Jimmy is to Ronnie.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of foul, an apt theme for this puzzle could be Vowel Play.
Happy birthday, PK. have a blast! I, too, can offer to eat pizza in your honor. HA HA
ReplyDeleteBTW There was a discussion on this blog about whether pizza can be called, simply pie. I have been noticing that we talk about ordering a "pie" meaning pizza every Tuesday. The waitress calls in to the cook, "Twp pies, one with pepperoni."
I wondered about bush hook and looked it up. It seems legit.
When we hiked in the Hebrides we stayed in SKYE. Lovely. I, thought of Iona Skye, too.
I had PRY early on and rejected it for a while. Looking it up later I see one meaning is "pull apart" so now pull makes sense for PRY.
I suppose people talk of CORAL pink. For me I always think of it with a tinge of orange added.
I liked to old Untouchables, also. i thought Robert Stack was sexy in those days.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade for the great write-up.
ReplyDeleteWell, I looked around the top and headed South. I think I started with SEA OF Galilee and spresd from there.
My first theme answer was FINE LENIN. Had an error at first buy writing FAN for 38D, then FINE fixed that to NUT.
I finished the SE and then the NW, plus the middle, first. The other corners took me a while.
A CHRISTMAS CORAL really helped with the SW.
I had ARIL and NACL for the NE section. Finally RARA AVIS became obvious. The rest fell one at a time. My last was TATAMI and ELLAS.
SCYTHES was easy. I own one in PA.
STILTON cheese came easily. I learned of that from crosswords and this blog. Then I went to Chicago to buy some. Discovered it was very expensive, but also very good. I love it on crackers.
Now I have to log in to yesterday's blog and enter my data from Thursday. I was late getting home and was tired. Hit the hay.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(rescoult)
In this cook's kitchen, neither MUENSTER nor Havarti are considered "soft cheeses".
ReplyDeleteMuenster is a washed rind cheese.
Havarti is a semi-soft cheese.
A soft cheese is like a brie or Camembert
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteI struggled with this offering from the onset. Around seemed too obvious for 1A, couldn't get Mr Peanut out of my head to come up with Planters, etc. Aril was the first fill, Moa the second. After bouncing all over, the first theme fill was Fine Lenin, so that finally gave me the traction needed. Still, had trouble tossing ply in lieu of pry, but doing so finally gave me rara avis.
The one nit I have is that Bette isn't pronounced the same in both cases. But I've already gotten over it. Pinto, your point is valid, but you never heard Jimmie referred to as James, and it wasn't very often you heard Ronald referred to as Ronnie.
I hope you have a wonderful birthday PK!!
And from yesterday, glad to hear that all went well with your procedure Dennis. A good reminder to everyone to have anything suspicious checked out.
The Kearns book is the basis for the movie Lincoln
ReplyDeleteThank you David Poole. Great puzzle. And as always, a great write up by Lemonade. I missed the theme. I did not look for it. It's not what slowed me down in the SW.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday PK ! Is it the gluten ? I believe I have seen gluten free pizzas offered in Chicago.
Dennis, I did a quick search. I found SCYTHE as a part of a clue in a Don and CC collaboration on Jan 1, 2013, but not as an answer in LA TIMES during the Corner era. SCYTHES as an answer was in a Jennifer Nutt puzzle on Nov 16, 2010.
Time for me to quit procrastinating. Must get to work SOON.
See all y'all later.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteNailed it. No lookups needed. Thought I was going to flounder in the bottom third but a short break cleared the memory cache and I began to see the CHRISTMAS CORAL and voilà , it was done. Fun theme and lots of other interesting fill as Lemonade mentioned.
KEARNS Goodwin is a frequent talking head on weekend new/politics where presidential history is concerned. She has written several books on Democratic presidents.
STILTON crumbs are an ingredient in our cauliflower soup. Yumyum.
Lucina - Here is a link showing how to do Spanish characters on a PC. You have to have a number keyboard off to the right. Hold down the Alt key while typing the 4 digit number code on the number pad. Don't use the numbers above the letters. Good luck.
Outstanding! I was completely puzzled! out of my wheelhouse, no idea of the theme, many, many learning moments. This puzzle will keep me occupied for quite a while. Thank goodness for the Blog as it has saved me hours of trying to understand this one...
ReplyDeleteI guess I am in a good mood, because last nites Blog finally helped me discover Martis (HeartRx) secret!
♂♀♪♫♪♫♪♫13-14♪♫♪☼○◘•♠♣♦♥☻☺
(oh nuts, left hand/right hand timing is everything!)
PK! Happy Birthday! Tell me what you are allergic to & I will find a Pizza recipe without it for you! (I just hope its not Gluten, pizza w/o bread is going to be a tough one...)
Lucina - My 0908 post. Type a 0(zero) before each 3-letter code in the link. Most aids show a 4 letter code as in Alt + 0160
ReplyDeleteThought this puzzle was difficult. I finished it with google help but did not feel satisfied because of the ones I did not know.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the write up.. Helped immensely.
I did know Doris Kearns Goodwin.
I enjoy her writing. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys : An American Saga is one my favorites.
Good Morning all - Thanks David for a formidable Friday offering. Great write-up Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteSkipped around a lot today trying to get some letters to work with. Had lots of empty spaces on my first pass, but eventually things started coming together after I looked up Inner Hebrides isle and Rocker Ocasek. Couple more unknowns (as usual) - TATAMI, LISI, STILTON. Filed away for future reference. Yea, right :)
My original thought was PRY, but then discounted it as I was thinking a lever isn't used to pull. Live and learn. Hands up for Mr. Peanut. Took a while to realize it was wrong. Also wanted Pro for NUT, AWD for GPS and fat for AMS.
Flag/TIRE is a disconnect. Still don't see it.
First themed fill-in was BETTEDIVAS and ....LENIN. That gave me clues for the rest of them.
In the end, a challenging but fun puzzle.
Happy Birthday PK - Hope you have a great day!
Guess I can't Procrastinate any longer - better get to my taxes. Have to do them SOONer than later.
Have a great Friday all!
Sometimes I like to just type in the theme to Google Images to see what comes up, Its a 50/50 thing. Sometimes a dead end, sometimes fascinating, sometimes pretty.
ReplyDelete& sometimes thought provoking,,, usually "erotica" is just garbage, but this image found under the subject title is interesting. tell me, what does this this image mean to you?
C'mon man! Doesn't Banff National Park deserve some linked images? Or at least one or two.
ReplyDeleteMaybe even three (really pretty)
Oh, what the hell? Banff images.
I could not get east central. Had to red letter 3 cells. I solved with those three helpers , but never really caught onto the theme.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, everyone. A fine Friday challenge, David, thanks for the mental workout. Great write-up, Lemonade – really enjoyed the RIC Ocasek video. He may not be a typical “hunk”, but he sure is talented. And I had to giggle at your “I’ll pass” comment at 41A.
ReplyDeleteLuckily avoided the Mr. Peanut trap for PLANTERS, only to stumble by filling in NEV for Neighbor of Colo. Couldn’t come up with a synonym for Down that started with “V”, until the lightbulb went on. Really liked the misdirection in Stick Around the Pool Hall = CUE, and Union Title, Often = MRS.
@AnnieB from yesterday – thanks for suggesting a visit to Savannah while we’re down South. I took my Girl Scout troop there several years ago to visit the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girls Scout movement in America (the Wiki for anyone who’s interested). It is indeed a wonderful city, and I would love the chance to see it again. We’ll be in SC for a week, so that would make a nice side trip.
Have a great day, all!
So THAT'S why STEN is sten! I've often wondered. Thanks Mr. L.
ReplyDeleteWEES. Started off with a bang. Filled it all in except for that pesky corner - GAS/GPS/SCYTHES, so POCKETVETO never appeared. :( I got a DNF for today. I found the clues to be fresh and entertaining.
Have a good one, everybody!
Happy Birthday to PK! Hope you spend it doing all your favorite things, including indulging in some pizza. As TTP mentioned, some restaurants offer a gluten-free option, if that's what causes you problems. My oldest daughter has gluten issues, so I'm always on the look-out for places to eat that have plenty of gluten-free items on the menu.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lemonade, for all your explanations and your links. The puzzle completely floored me, so no comment.
ReplyDeleteBut even I knew of Doris Kearns Goodwin,'A Team of Rivals', script for 'Lincoln'. She won a Pulitzer, and the book was a huge NYT bestseller. I have the book on my third bedside 'pile', and 'intend' to read it, next month.
Learning moment, 'Lenin' was not his real name, merely a pseudonym.
Happy Friday, and rest of the weekend, all.
Happy Birthday PK. much joy and happiness.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could find an alternative yen for something other than pizza.
:-)
Having trouble today. 3rd try to get it right.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics of Banff, Pinto.
Now how about some love for Scythes :-)
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI have tried to post a dozen times using my iPad and failed. I am using my laptop now, so we'll see what happens.
For some reason, today was a walk in the park, especially for a Friday. I caught the theme early on and just breezed through the rest. Only unknown was ellas but perps solved that.
Thanks, David Poole, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemony, for a neat expo.
Happy Birthday, PK, hope you have a wonderful day, with or without pizza.
I am a little disappointed that most of my favorite shows are being pre-empted by the basketball games. UAlbany men play Duke today at noon. While I don't expect them to win, I hope it's not a total blowout. UAlbany women play North Carolina on Sunday, I think.
The calendar says Spring is here but the temps say winter is still here. Have a great Friday.
I think I have found the problem with the iPad but don't know how to correct it.
ReplyDeleteOn the iPad, under the Choose an Identity, it no longer shows Irish Miss; it just reads Google Account. I even tried posting under Anonymous and that didn't work, either. I went to my Profile on the iPad and there is no edit button.
My laptop shows Irish Miss (Google Account) and my Profile has the Edit button. Obviously, the problem is with the iPad. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can solve this problem? Thanks.
Good Morning to all.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday PK and belated Best Wishes to the fellows with birthdays earlier in the week.
I did the puzzle late last night when I couldn’t sleep. It is a FRIDAY puzzle and I almost completed it, but alas, a DNF by a few letters. I got stuck in the middle but perps really helped. Had to run the whole alphabet to find an N somewhere. Can’t see the spot right now, but all the answers make so much sense after one of the bloggers explains them to us. Then they seem easy.
Alberta is my state’s next door neighbor. Very much like Montana.
Lucina, I posted a link for you really late last night with the chart for the ASCII characters for PC. What the heck. I’ll paste it in again. I can’t find my instructions from Husker on how to embed it.
http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html
Almost all our snow had melted, but woke up to a whole lot of it out there this morning. Off to celebrate AG Day in our little town. Volunteer firemen are making lunch and there are many agriculture displays in our City Hall gymnasium.
Have a good weekend everyone. Hope this snowstorm isn’t headed east.
Montana
Irish Miss,
ReplyDeleteI think for "Irish Miss (Google Account)" to be on that top line, you need to be signed into your Google e-mail account. I have finally found that if I 'stay' logged in, then I have that Identity there.
I have found that every couple weeks they make me sign in again. I even had to enter my phone number to be able to proceed one time. Someone else on the blog said that happened to him.
Hope this helps,
Montana
Irish Miss, pull up on your IPad a comment section of the Corner and click on your name and see if you cannot restore you IPad functionality that way.
ReplyDeletePK, HBDTY and many more. What pizza ingredient are you allergic to, as there are substitutes for almost everything these days. I would not want you to be deprived if it can be circumvented.
Pinto: a0 you Theme was way better than mine. I struggled with the term vowel flipping, which unlike anagrams, may not be a real concept, but when you put it so simply and eloquently, it really works for me.
Cheese like art, is not an area where I have any expertise and all I know is what I like. I accept your informational correction but will continue to use both muenster and havarti in my life.
Montana, Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHere is your LINK.
Irish Miss AKA Dopey Dora solved the problem which was of her own making. I had turned off Accept Cookies. Everything is back to normal. Thanks for the suggestions.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe it's just me, but I'm finding this a tough week. And I'm just praying we don't get a Silkie tomorrow. But even though I had to cheat for both the NE and the SW, I thought the vowel switch was really cute. I got it after FINE LENIN but it helped only with BETTE DIVAS--the others were just too long. Had the same problem as others with MR PEANUT, and like TTP, had SINGULAR and MINOR. Should have trusted myself with MUENSTER but figured it wouldn't have the umlaut spelling. Still, two great cheeses, yum.
ReplyDeleteLike Annie, I still don't get FLAG/TIRE. FLAT/TIRE, on the other hand, I do get--having had a slew of them in my life.
Happy birthday, PK. And C.C., you devise the nicest visual presents. Love the pizza with the candles.
Have a great Friday, everybody.
TTP, thanks for the 'scythes' info.
ReplyDeletePK, my sympathy on the allergy. I can't imagine life without pizza, especially since discovering Cheeseburger Pizza down here. Talk about a well-balanced diet!
I don't usually post these, but couldn't resist sharing my current one:
{wanacom}
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteQuite a slog today. Kinda sussed the theme but it didn't help much. FINE LENIN was my Last entry. Had PUTIN for a while. that didn't help. As a nit, shouldn't LENIN be Soviet leader?
In what way were ENTS students of elves?
Nad NEV for Colo neighbor, but Utah is in the way. Never corrected VLUE, alas.
I agree with Pinto @ 8:30. Couldn't suss Jimmie -- RONALD. [And I have never followed a Jimmie.]
Disagree with anon @ 6:51. Those are both fine clues.
Meeting with the County Road Commission this afternoon. They have a big project that affects an entrance to our sub - and not in a good way.
Cool regards!
JzB
To flag means to TIRE (out). ie. to slow down near the end of a race, for example
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday PK.
Dennis - I've had pre-cancer lesions removed from my skin, too. Too much cultivating corn without a shirt; maybe too much sunning on the fo'c's'le. So far, AOK.
Hello, Super Solvers! Greetings and salutations, Lemonade. I always appreciate your erudition.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday, PK!
This gave me an entertaining solve and as I was still in sleep mode, I went for the easy fill, three or four letters to start and soon found FINE LENIN which opened my eyes to the theme. Clever, Mr. Poole.
Slowly but surely the bottom filled though I was unsure what bush hooks are but then SCYTHES emerged.
One misdirection after another did not deter me and I loved stick around a pool hall, CUE!
Banff National Park is on my bucket list so I knew ALBERTA.
Doris KEARNS Goodwin has been on TV as a commentator on MSNBC as well as being interviewed by Charlie Rose.
This was great fun and nothing to NETTLE me.
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!
Hah! Breaking news: The crawl on our noon news makes mention that authorities in Ohio have issued an indictment for Punxsutawney Phil saying he intentionally gave false testimony when he didn't see his shadow, predicting an early end to winter.
ReplyDeleteHello, all!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, PK!
Here is a link to gluten-free
pizza dough. Please let us know if gluten is the problem! (I have celiac disease.)
I, too, posted a link for special characters last night.
Also, copy CC's instructions in order to create links. Keep it as a bookmark!
Puzzle took quite a while, but eventually was conquered. Didn't fill in PRY for some time as it did not seem right. Had no problem with flag/TIRE.
Thanks, David and Lemon!
Keep waking up after 2 hours of sleep. Wish that I knew why. It's keeping me from finishing getting tax stuff ready for CPA. (I need a brain to do that.)
Have a pleasant weekend, all!
Thank you, Spitz, Montana and all who have offered suggestions and links. I'm working on it.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend my granddaughters will be here so I may not have too much time to post.
Spitz: basil-cell carcinoma IS cancer!
ReplyDeleteI had a cousin who was a Christian Scientist. She had what we assume was a small BCC. She lived in Sacramento; I did not see her very often. She gradually covered up more and more of her face. Then she went into a CS home and eventually died. This process took several years.
JzB@11:38 Ents as students.
ReplyDeleteTreebeard said the elves came among the trees and gave them the gift of speech. I take that to mean the ents learned to speak from the elves.
And so it begins...workmen with implements of destruction have descended on the wooded lot where the dreaded Family Dollar is going to be built. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteMy father used to compare a no-win situation to a Christian Scientist with appendicitis.
Well, Irish Miss, I think you're getting your wish. It looks like Duke will prevail, but Albany is still in the game. No blowout in sight.
fermatprime, spitz said he had pre-cancer lesions removed, not basal-cell stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, enough talk about this stuff, ok? I want to go back to being invulnerable.
Good morning everybody.
ReplyDeleteHad a fasting blood test this morning. It is difficult for them to get blood, can't find a usable vein. Plus I am hypoglycemic, so I don't do well until I get breakfast! But it's all over, I'm home and well breakfasted.
Did not do at all well on the puzzle, but it's Friday. I got all of 13 correct answers, which is nearly all I tried. DH gave me two of them: TORA and CUE.
Happy birthday PK. Hope you have a very nice celebration.
Cheers
This took over a half hour. Seemed about right for a Friday. I liked the trick of switching vowels, although I didn't notice until part way through. FINE LENIN did not make me think of high quality Linen, and I got POCKET VOTE before I realized it was a play on Veto. Certainly the best was MILITARY TICTACS. That one alone explained the theme.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble in the NE corner because I wanted to use MR PEANUT instead of PLANTERS & only wised up after I hit on RARA AVIS, a phrase I have never used but now must make a point of doing so!
OK, I have procrastinated long enough. SOON I shall be grading my students' papers. Very SOON.
Dennis, I was mistaken. Don't know why the hit didn't show up in my search, but obviously the Corner was kicking on Nov 16th 2010.
ReplyDeleteArgyle reviewed the puzzle that day, and posted a video of a guy that resembles Willie Nelson, along with perhaps his wife and daughters, all using scythes.
CC also posted a link to the Lopez Family Tamale Recipe (New Mexico style) of 5 days earlier.
Wow! Thatsa lotta tamales !
Hello everybody. Very difficult puzzle for me. I didn't grok the theme until coming here.
ReplyDeleteHad AVIGNON instead of ORLEANS, and BEETLE instead of NETTLE, which totally messed me up in that corner.
Put in TATAMI, then took it out, then put it in again.
STILTON was the favorite cheese in the Wallace and Grommit short films. However, I wanted CHEDDAR, which messed me up in that area.
I like MUENSTER a lot.
As TTP said, I'll make a pass in each direction looking for gimmes. First ones were SEAOF, MOA, SKYE, NORM, RENE, KEARNS, and, believe it or not, LISI.
Never heard of RIC Ocasek. Never heard of most rock musicians.
Anyway, plenty of challenge today; lots of good stuff to sink my teeth into.
Best wishes to you all.
Hi Y'all, Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Makes my day bright! The first thing I did after the witching hour as my birthday dawned was do the puzzle. And a fine puzzle it is, if a bit "cheesy".
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thanks for the pizza. I'm allergic to both tomatoes and cheese. However, I do allow myself one large pizza a month and eat on it for two or three days and enjoy it. By that time, I feel hivey in my throat and skin, so return to being good. I take Claritin D to counteract the symptoms. But I can't push my luck very often. As far as I know, I'm okay with gluten, but don't think I've been tested for it.
I got MILITARY TICTACS right away and the probable theme hit me. This helped with the others. Very fun!
I had trouble with GAS/GPS too. (No I didn't need GasEX.) SCYTHES was the last to fill because I was wanting something presidential for it. However, presidential didn't dawn on me for 71 even when I perped RONALD.
Lemonade: As for 27a, Well-endowed women are very likely to be FUNDed.
D-O @ 12:34 - You are right, D-O, I did get my wish. Congrats to the Great Danes for a very respectable showing against a powerhouse team. Maybe the UAlbany women will fare better on Sunday. No matter what the outcome is, both teams have a lot to be proud of.
ReplyDeletePK: Happy Birthday. I missed that earlier. Sorry about the pizza thing. Try white pizza. No tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteAbejo
(foouric)
Happy Friday! I had a hard time with this, especially making sense of PRY for "Pull with effort." I'm now convinced it's not wrong, just different from what's in my head.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday PK!
Jayce, you brought fond memories of the Wallace and Grommit films. I like Stilton but like crumbly Gorgonzola even better. I too don't care for modern rock/popular music but I was just listening to Emmylou Harris's version of a Chuck Berry song, C'est La Vie. That's my kind of music.
It looks like another pretty day outside so I'll grab a little lunch, call my buddy and head out for a pleasant bike ride. Later dudes!
I meant to ask, how do people pronounce SCYTHES? Like, "sighs" or like "saithz"????
ReplyDeleteGot everything but MOA and GPS.
ReplyDeleteHad ROC, from crosswords, but I guess it's just a mythological bird.
Don't know why GPS is an option for an SUV.
I read the clue wrongly anyway. Seems like an option for ANY car. Oh well, got farther than I thought and got the theme and all the long answers. Clever and fun puzzle.
DARN! Average Joe beat me to the
lawsuit against the groundhog.
Joe changed his avatar yesterday. Has anyone looked at it closely?
Cousin in Northern MN sick and tired of cold.
Marti:
ReplyDeleteAccording to Webster's Dict. it is saithz.
As for cheese, I have to thank whoever mentioned Gruyere. I think Chickie. It is a lovely cheese.
Off to to pick up the girls.
Oops, Happy Birthday to YOU, PK.
ReplyDeleteYou might try a pesto for the sauce, olive oil, onions, garlic, mushrooms,any veggies or meat for the toppings and fake cheese if you are lactose intolerant.
Sheesh, I'm getting hungry.
Marti, my father grew up with a scythe in his hands and he always pronounced it "sigh". I swung it on a few occasions, but never got the complete hang of it. Besides, they had a newfangled machine by that time called a binder, which took all the hard work out of cutting and shocking oats, so my generation only used it to cut weeds.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Lord of the Rings fan, I once read "The Silmarillian." I can't remember much as it was a difficult read, but I do remember something about the Elves waking up trees & teaching them to talk.
ReplyDeleteHmm, actually, here is a sample of it. ( I just tried to read the 1st grey part & almost fell alseep...)
PK, Pizza, without tomato or cheese? (sound like"bread" to me) But here is a recipe that sounds pretty good. (plus a no tomato salsa recipe ☺♥☺♥☺♥)
My audio pronouncer says scythes is pronounced si(as in sigh)th(as in there,not thin) z.
ReplyDeleteLucina, thanks for the pronunciation. I tend to minimize the "z" at the end of the word, and it sounds more like "saiths." So, the next time it comes up in conversation, I will be armed and ready!
ReplyDeleteAnd gruyere - yes, lovely! I have a favorite potato dish made with thin sliced potatoes, shredded gruyere and crème fraîche. Yummmm! All this talk of food, and I am ready for dinner...
I called it a long handled sickle.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent puzzle today ! We got held up at the military tic tac entry but worked it out ! We prefer white pizza these days , so many ingredients to add. I often make my own and white is requested most often by my family! Enjoy the weekend everyone & thanks to all!
ReplyDeleteLucina said, "Off to pick up the girls".
ReplyDeleteJeez, Lucina, I know you said they were big, but THAT big?
TTP, best definition of all.
Heeheehee..."compare a no-win situation to a Christian Scientist with appendicitis". Good one.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess I'm the only one who has never heard of Doris Kearns Goodwin. Sheesh...better put down Hiaasen and pick up something heavier!
Speaking of authors, Spitz, do you read Tom Clancy?
ReplyDeleteHeartRx, I pronounce it like "saithz."
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention our old buddy Dodo emailed the CA Coven yesterday. And she is alive and well WITH a new apple laptop (which she is learning to use). Here is a quote from her note,
ReplyDelete"I wrote a long message to Crossword Corner after reading the comments on the puzzle that had something about ‘Dodo’ in the title, probably a month or six weeks ago. Unfortunately there’s a new method for publishing comments and it was erased. I was too disheartened to try to rewrite it."
The good news is she just renewed her lease and has LUNCH COUPONS GALORE!! Oh boy Covenites - free lunch....road trip!
Lemonade- In my church no matter how much we prayed for her, in the end, AGNUS DIES.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago someone on the blog recommended reading "An Irish Country Doctor" by Patrick Taylor. Since I love reading British and Irish historical novels, I immediately ordered the first three in the series from Amazon. My order arrived three weeks ago when I also began suffering from Shingles. Thank you to whomever recommended the books; they have been a godsend during these days of pain, itching, and exhaustion.
ReplyDeleteGarlicGal, I've never heard of Doris Whosit either. I read for fun.
ReplyDeleteMy birthday has been very uneventful. I had long phone calls with both sons and one brother which I enjoyed very much. My local son wanted to take me out to eat tonight but I ask for a rain check until next week. It was raining and getting colder and I don't do icy slick. He had to help pick me up years ago when I fell on black ice, so he understands. Now I have something to look forward to next week. Weather permitting my daughter will take me to lunch on Sunday, but we're supposed to have a big winter storm.
Every year I buy myself a birthday gift to give me a "lift". My order was in the mail today so I had a gift to open: new petal pink bras. Of course, the rain is
also a gift in this drouth.
At my age, I have been exceedingly worried about the future of my disabled son should I become unable to care for him. Today he has successfully completed his first week of employment. He works in a sheltered workshop called Employment Horizons from 8:30 to 2:00 three days a week. They are presently refurbishing returned equipment for Cablevision. He likes the work and the staff who are kind and caring. He feels proud of his accomplishment. He was fairly negative about doing this until he had a successful Getaway Weekend this month, a kind of recreational respite at a fine hotel in Parsippany. Even though the weekend ended a day early due to a power failure at the hotel it was a pleasant, confidence building experience for him. He has too many "butterflies" to be able to eat breakfast or lunch on the days when he works, but otherwise he is doing great. To lessen the trauma of dealing with a patchy transportation service I am temporarily running the commute for him. This employment is the first step in planning for the future after I am gone. He is on the Priority List for housing at the NJ DDD, but they feel he is doing fine where he is for now. I am so relieved that something is finally "in the works."
ReplyDeleteToday is the first day that I have been able to get along all day with only minor pain after taking just a 6 AM dose of Ibuprofen instead of every 4 to 6 hours.. I am on the mend.
Prairie Woman, what relieved my shingle pain the most was bathing the area with Neutrogena T/gel shampoo, rinse, dry, then dab Ambesol (cold sore medicine) on the spots. The Ambesol has topical anesthetic in it. I had no residual nerve pain after the spots disappeared. Cold sores are caused by a herpes virus as are chicken pox & shingles, since I had it on hand and couldn't leave the house to see a doctor, I tried it and was much relieved.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the books.
Happy Birthday, PK!
ReplyDeleteThough your day may have been uneventful, it's nice that you got to speak with family members and now have a dinner out to look forward to.
I always enjoy your posts - most enjoyable to read.
Your petal pink gifts to yourself for a 'lift' - is that both literally and figuratively? Sounds lovely! :-)
@ Dennis - Except for "The Hunt for Red October" I have not been reading Tom Clancy.
ReplyDelete-Just into the hotel after driving from Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA. It is cool but we ate outside at noon in Metter, GA. A man we met a lunch was born in Trinidad, lived in three Canadian Provinces and now works for UPS in Georgia immediately said CORNHUSKER when I told him I was from NEBraska. How ‘bout dat? (Thanks for the shout out Lemon!) I really enjoyed this puzzle even though I miss my #2 pencil and newspaper.
ReplyDelete-We toured Savannah, GA today with a Paula Deen clone and she was wonderful. I think I could live in that fabulous city!
-Spitzboov, I loved reading that you served on the Yorktown. It was also used to pick Apollo 8 out of the Pacific Ocean.
-We are going to JIMMY’s library tomorrow here in Atlanta and then Stone Mt.
-Of course we are on Eastern Time here and that means we have lost one hr to DST and now another
-There are lots of great peeps on the tour but some of them are starting to smell like STILTON that has set out too long! One guy is loud with a drawl like Larry the Cable Guy but with no wit, just junior high bathroom and sex jokes. Yup, he sits right behind us.
-Hope to read ya later, I’m tired and going to watch basketball.
Oops, HBD PK!
ReplyDeleteHusker just turn around and say: "Hi! Lemonade"
ReplyDeletePK, thank you for the information about your methods of relieving your pain from shingles. I will try them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I hope your birthday celebrations are joyous whenever you get to celebrate. In our family any date within about two weeks of one's birthday can be the day of celebration because of having to arrange so many schedules and deal with the weather.
Thank you again.
Pinto - Thanks for the Banff links - beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Spitzboov for your Flag expo - I was not aware of that def. And to Argyle for the 'ents' expo. I'll try to file those away.
Dennis - I enjoy Tom Clancy. My fav is Hunt for Red October. Probably the only movie that was as good as the book!
PK - I like your idea of a BD present to yourself!
Taxes are all done, just have to go over them to make sure all entries are correct. I hate doing them, but they never take as long as I imagine they will.
A good evening to all...
FAF (Finished a Friday)! Now to check & see if we got it right! Just back fr. my trip thru Canada, eh?
ReplyDeleteLoved every minute - even when the train had to wait for hours while freight trains used the track & we stared @ endless prairies, even when it was so bumpy I thought I'd bump right out of my bank! It was all fun! It was an adventure.
Dennis@5:39
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is, use your imagination!
Thank you for the Banff photos. Now I really want to go!
GarlicGal
That is good news about Dodo! I shall call her soon as my sisters have generously agreed to go with me to the Bay area since my friends cannot.
Yellowrocks, what challenges you have, caring for your son and preparing him for the future. My heart and admiration go out to you for your care and wisdom and planning. We'll all hope that the next days go as well as this one, and that you'll begin to have more days with less pain. Bless you.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday PK.!!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy those new bras.
Yellowrocks
So glad to hear your news. I think the hardest part of parenting a person with special needs is planning for the days after you are here. Many yellowrocks to you in the process.
Goodnight
A dnf on the puzzle.
Virna Lisi is Albanian, not Italian.
ReplyDeleteWhere is your proof? The internet disagrees with you.
ReplyDelete