Words: 68 (missing J,Q,X,Z)
Blocks: 31
Today's offering actually seemed better than the DNF I had yesterday
(NE corner remained blank). I have to say, I did use red-letter help in
the Mid-West to solve Mr. Wilber's solo effort, but only because of a
foreign word, a nick-name and an acronym I was not familiar with.
Something new in the grid - stair-stacked triple 10's off-center, to go
with two 10-letter climbers and the usual triples in the corners. Some
fill from today:
20A. Herodotus and Thucydides, for two : HISTORIANS - I was thinking they might be Titans or Greek Islands, but it's really these Greek guys
45A. Homemade defense against a mind-control ray : TIN FOIL HAT - nailed it - such a great visual
12. Stephen Colbert bestseller subtitled "(And So Can You!)" : I AM AMERICA - I read it; typical TV fame-to-books money maker
25. Pessimistic J. Geils Band hit with the line "It's gonna make you cry" : LOVE STINKS - Music Link
O w r ~!
n a d
O w r ~!
n a d
ACROSS:
1. Many a knockout punch : UPPERCUT - always a good feeling to start out with the correct 8-letter answer~!
9. There's a charge for it : OPTION - I have observed that a LOT of new cars do NOT come with turn signal indicators as standard; must be an expensive option - they were standard on my 2000 Dodge Stratus, and I use them all the time~!
15. Navigator's creator : NETSCAPE - ISP; I was trying to stretch Lincoln to fit - Navigator is their SUV
16. Mind the sitter : BEHAVE - The children, that is
17. Signs at a rally : PLACARDS - Eh, OK - I think of placards as the metal HAZ-MAT plates on trucks
18. Showed signs of being : SEEMED
19. These, in Tours : CES
22. Disk-shaped safety device : SMOKE ALARM - the Town inspector came out to look the apartment over Wednesday; must have been psychic, he left his car running in the driveway....He did point out that the building code requires the smoke alarm in the apartment to be hard-wired to the one in the house, so we could know if there was a fire over there - makes good sense to me
24. Baby shower gift : SLEEPER SET - sounds like Sleeper Cell, but I never saw this show
26. Recordholder's suffix : EST - "World's BiggEST ____" - you fill in the blank....
29. Ridge studied in forensics : WHORL - Fingerprints
30. One with "Esq." on the door : ATTorney
31. Liveliness : BRIO
32. Citrus-marinated South American fish dish : CEVICHE - Total unknown, so it got me; popular with 46D~? More here
35. High-level disagreement? : YELLING - high decibels, that is
37. Not kosher : TREF - Learned doing crosswords
38. Styled after : À LA
40. Deep purples : PUCES - sounds so unappealing
41. Faltering sounds : UMs - OK, who started with ERs?
42. "The Winds of War" actress : ALI MacGRAW - 1983; her IMDb
47. Hotly contested area : SWING STATE
49. Riddle of the Sphinx answer : MAN - What goes on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night? - More here
52. Scratch : CANCEL - Makes me think of dictation - "Dear Sir or Madam...scratch that..."To Whom It May Concern..."
53. Fortifications : BASTIONS - I tried RAMPARTS, but had to take it out because it couldn't cross the "MOAT" at 49D
56. Acid neutralizer : ALKALI
57. Like Buckley's columns, say : LITERATE
58. Close again, in a way : RE-SNAP
59. In orbit : ECSTATIC - I was on this wavelength, but ELATED was too short
DOWN:
1. Insensitive, in a way : UN-PC - Not Politically Correct
2. Mononymous kicker : PELÉ - actually, his, er, "triptonym" is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, so I thought you'd like to know more
3. K-12 fund-raisers : PTAs
4. Backup key : ESC - Escape, top left on the keyboard - In AutoCAD, it is THE go-to key for ending any command; drawing a line, making a selection set, typing text. What irks me is when I switch to Photoshop, it does NOTHING at all....
5. Dave Matthews Band label : RCA
6. Meals-on-wheels worker? : CAR-HOP - Har-Har~!
7. "Rabbit Is Rich" Pulitzer winner : UPDIKE - John, and this novel, one of four
8. Mosaic piece : TESSERA - I had heard this before, but I needed perps first; a small tile of glass, stone, etc.; through Latin, from Greek, meaning 'four'
9. Horse-and-buggy : OBSOLETE - I find drivers on cell phones to be really annoying; I wonder if 100 years ago horse-and-buggy types felt the same way about the 'new' automobile....and neither one is going away
10. Examine closely : PEER AT
11. "... __ finest hour": Churchill : THEIR
13. Roast spot : OVEN
14. Beatty and Rorem : NEDS
21. Scrumptious : TASTY
22. Font flourish : SERIF
23. Sporty Spice, familiarly : MEL C - Melanie Chisolm, from the "Spice Girls"
24. Col. Potter on "M*A*S*H," to pals : SHERMan T. Potter
27. Tough tissue : SINEW - animal tissue, that is
28. Garb : TOGS - a WAG that stayed
29. Pro-prohibition org. : WCTU - Women's Christian Temperance Union - never heard of it, but then again, I was anti-prohibition for 15yrs (LOL)
31. Spill, with "out" : BLURT
33. Petticoat alternative : HALF-SLIP
34. "Four Quartets" poet : ELIOT
36. Annika Sorenstam's gp. : LPGA - Ladies Professional Golf Association
39. Good-natured : AMIABLE
42. German chancellor Merkel : ANGELA
43. Language family including Turkish : ALTAIC - Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic, sez the dictionary
44. Drawer holders : CHESTS - The furniture, not this chest, ladies
46. Old Peruvian : INCAN
47. Trauma consequence : SCAR
48. Corduroy rib : WALE
49. Zoo trench : MOAT - Dinosaur Parks, too~!
50. Debate side : ANTI
51. One of 60 billion in a min. : NSEC - Nanosecond
54. Three-day festival : TET
55. SS supplement : IRA - Social Security, and Individual Retirement Account - changing it up from Monday level cluing
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Melissa & her friends had their annual Girls Weekend Getaway a few weeks ago. Here are all the fun pictures. She said "there was a friend who was unable to join us this year, that's why we made those pics of her so that we could bring her along with us. it was almost like she was really with us - so funny."
9. There's a charge for it : OPTION - I have observed that a LOT of new cars do NOT come with turn signal indicators as standard; must be an expensive option - they were standard on my 2000 Dodge Stratus, and I use them all the time~!
15. Navigator's creator : NETSCAPE - ISP; I was trying to stretch Lincoln to fit - Navigator is their SUV
16. Mind the sitter : BEHAVE - The children, that is
17. Signs at a rally : PLACARDS - Eh, OK - I think of placards as the metal HAZ-MAT plates on trucks
18. Showed signs of being : SEEMED
19. These, in Tours : CES
22. Disk-shaped safety device : SMOKE ALARM - the Town inspector came out to look the apartment over Wednesday; must have been psychic, he left his car running in the driveway....He did point out that the building code requires the smoke alarm in the apartment to be hard-wired to the one in the house, so we could know if there was a fire over there - makes good sense to me
24. Baby shower gift : SLEEPER SET - sounds like Sleeper Cell, but I never saw this show
26. Recordholder's suffix : EST - "World's BiggEST ____" - you fill in the blank....
29. Ridge studied in forensics : WHORL - Fingerprints
30. One with "Esq." on the door : ATTorney
31. Liveliness : BRIO
32. Citrus-marinated South American fish dish : CEVICHE - Total unknown, so it got me; popular with 46D~? More here
35. High-level disagreement? : YELLING - high decibels, that is
37. Not kosher : TREF - Learned doing crosswords
38. Styled after : À LA
40. Deep purples : PUCES - sounds so unappealing
41. Faltering sounds : UMs - OK, who started with ERs?
42. "The Winds of War" actress : ALI MacGRAW - 1983; her IMDb
47. Hotly contested area : SWING STATE
49. Riddle of the Sphinx answer : MAN - What goes on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night? - More here
52. Scratch : CANCEL - Makes me think of dictation - "Dear Sir or Madam...scratch that..."To Whom It May Concern..."
53. Fortifications : BASTIONS - I tried RAMPARTS, but had to take it out because it couldn't cross the "MOAT" at 49D
56. Acid neutralizer : ALKALI
57. Like Buckley's columns, say : LITERATE
58. Close again, in a way : RE-SNAP
59. In orbit : ECSTATIC - I was on this wavelength, but ELATED was too short
DOWN:
1. Insensitive, in a way : UN-PC - Not Politically Correct
2. Mononymous kicker : PELÉ - actually, his, er, "triptonym" is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, so I thought you'd like to know more
3. K-12 fund-raisers : PTAs
4. Backup key : ESC - Escape, top left on the keyboard - In AutoCAD, it is THE go-to key for ending any command; drawing a line, making a selection set, typing text. What irks me is when I switch to Photoshop, it does NOTHING at all....
5. Dave Matthews Band label : RCA
6. Meals-on-wheels worker? : CAR-HOP - Har-Har~!
7. "Rabbit Is Rich" Pulitzer winner : UPDIKE - John, and this novel, one of four
8. Mosaic piece : TESSERA - I had heard this before, but I needed perps first; a small tile of glass, stone, etc.; through Latin, from Greek, meaning 'four'
9. Horse-and-buggy : OBSOLETE - I find drivers on cell phones to be really annoying; I wonder if 100 years ago horse-and-buggy types felt the same way about the 'new' automobile....and neither one is going away
10. Examine closely : PEER AT
11. "... __ finest hour": Churchill : THEIR
13. Roast spot : OVEN
14. Beatty and Rorem : NEDS
21. Scrumptious : TASTY
22. Font flourish : SERIF
23. Sporty Spice, familiarly : MEL C - Melanie Chisolm, from the "Spice Girls"
24. Col. Potter on "M*A*S*H," to pals : SHERMan T. Potter
27. Tough tissue : SINEW - animal tissue, that is
28. Garb : TOGS - a WAG that stayed
29. Pro-prohibition org. : WCTU - Women's Christian Temperance Union - never heard of it, but then again, I was anti-prohibition for 15yrs (LOL)
31. Spill, with "out" : BLURT
33. Petticoat alternative : HALF-SLIP
34. "Four Quartets" poet : ELIOT
36. Annika Sorenstam's gp. : LPGA - Ladies Professional Golf Association
39. Good-natured : AMIABLE
42. German chancellor Merkel : ANGELA
43. Language family including Turkish : ALTAIC - Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic, sez the dictionary
44. Drawer holders : CHESTS - The furniture, not this chest, ladies
46. Old Peruvian : INCAN
47. Trauma consequence : SCAR
48. Corduroy rib : WALE
49. Zoo trench : MOAT - Dinosaur Parks, too~!
50. Debate side : ANTI
51. One of 60 billion in a min. : NSEC - Nanosecond
54. Three-day festival : TET
55. SS supplement : IRA - Social Security, and Individual Retirement Account - changing it up from Monday level cluing
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Melissa & her friends had their annual Girls Weekend Getaway a few weeks ago. Here are all the fun pictures. She said "there was a friend who was unable to join us this year, that's why we made those pics of her so that we could bring her along with us. it was almost like she was really with us - so funny."
48 comments:
Morning, all!
Yesterday's puzzle defeated me, but I managed to get through this one unassisted. More or less.
Lots of fun clues that brought a smile to my face without causing me much difficulty. ALTAIC was completely unknown, but the perps were solid (well, sort of -- I always thought the actress's name was ALI MCGRAW instead of MACGRAW). Tried ALCOT before ELIOT for no apparent reason, but once again the perps set me straight.
The one spot I just couldn't do on my own was the crossing of W_TU and _EVICHE. Didn't know either one and was prepared to turn on the red letter help when I decided to try a "C" as a complete WAG. Big surprise when I got the *TADA*. So the opposite of a technical DNF, I suppose...
[advanyo]
Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
Loved the TIN FOIL HATs, Splynter!! Too funny.
UPPERCUT started out as a "left hook," so the NW remained unfinished until the bitter end. I AM AMERICA ("And So Can You") doesn't make grammatical sense to me.
So there was a lot of white space and it looked pretty dismal for a Saturday finish. But bit by bit, things started filling in. CEVICHE was a gimme, as was ALI MACGRAW. And I am hosting a baby shower this afternoon at my house, so SLEEPER SET was a timely answer.
Lots to do today, so I must run!
Happy Saturday everybody!
Fair degree of difficulty for a Saturday. Although the Pacific NW was a WHORL of confusion, due to RUDE for UNPC, DEL for ESC, MCI for RCA, and DRIVER for CARHOP....
Do A&W and Sonic still have Car Hops?
ALI MACGRAW caused my jaw to drop, because I was discussing her with a friend just minutes before opening the crossword, wondering whatever happened to her. Ta-Da means never having to say Red Letters, please....
Hands up for ERS....
Favorite answer = TIN FOIL HATS....
I don't recall giving permission to publish that pic of my CHEST.... Yeah, right!
Enjoyed MEL B's pictures of her trip to the Bay Area, I've been to the No Name Bar many, many times....
Oh, I forgot to mention - great pics, melissa!! I loved the way you had your "friend" doing all the activities with you. Too funny!
Good morning, stalwart Saturday soldiers!
This was much better than yesterday. It had all the makings of a DNF, but I managed to muddle through unscathed.
Splynter, thanks for 'splaining MEL C. I had no idea, I was thinking it was the nickname for a cooking spice. I knew CEVICHE from watching Iron Chef competitions. Hand up for ERS.
"When the puce falls, over sleepy garden walls" -- doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? Hoagy said it better.
Here's the only song I know that mentions the WCTU @ 1:18 -- classic Chad Mitchell Trio stuff.
Hello Puzzlers -
A lot of WBS. I didn't know Ceviche, and didn't understand that Melc needed parsing, so that junction was the last to fall. The NW was really stubborn; kept thinking Lincoln Navigator, and Del for the backup key. Got there eventually.
Morning Spynter, you make it look easy.
Fun puzzle. It took a little longer than usual. I Googled one letter, the C in CEVICHE. crossed by MEL-. Still very satisfying.
GTG. Family picnic and conference about how to help my sister who is in the hospital.
Good morning, Gang. Nice Expo, Splynter.
Like Marti, my first thought was 'left hook', but a quick glance at the downs gave me the two P's and UPPERCUT. The rest of that corner filled easily.
MELC made no sense to me. I was thinking perhaps Old Spice had a deodorant or after shave that goes by a nickname. All of the perps were rock solid so it stayed. Yeah, I know, my thinking on that one was OBSOLETE, but I'm just not into pop culture. I did recall LOVE STINKS, though, with just a few letters filled.
Grammatically is not the only way Colbert and his book do not make sense to me, but I am familiar with the title so that filled easily.
Easier than a lot of Saturdays, I thought, but a very enjoyable offering from Brad.
Hi everyone,
Back from "Vahalla"with little or no damage to my liver....... I think! The weather was wild. Tuesday was warm, but w/o humidity. Wed was HOT & HUMID. Thurs was wild. Rainy, winds of at least 30+ MPH and temps in the 60's. But we managed to visit some of our favorite haunts, including an"eye popping" drinking establishment or two. All in all, it was a much needed respite.
Today's puzzle was like Thursday on the island, a total wash out. Got the North Ok, but the rest of it was very white. Finally re-introduced myself to MR G and finished it off. But in the end, a dreaded DNF.
TIN FOIL HAT a complete ?????? and after filling it in, it still is. Not much else to comment on, my mind is still on an island off of Rhode Island.
CC, if you can send me your EMail address, I'll send a few photo's. I fear we didn't do too good in this area. but I'll cyberspace a few.
Great trip photos, but where's Melissa B. in them?
I could PEER AT the MEL_/CEVI_HE crossing until St Swithins Day and not get it so I put in a C. Brad’s lovely puzzle was worth the effort that I worked from south to north.
Musings
-I am currently listening to this modern Yale HISTORIAN’s wonderful Civil War Lectures on YouTube where he has quoted Herodotus.
-After WWII, TIN FOIL was replaced by Aluminum foil but the name lives on
-Colbert was incredulous on air when his sister got beaten in S.C. by Mark Sanford. His show is witty and very enjoyable even though his and my politics don’t jibe.
-Heated steering wheel OPTION? I’ll pass.
-I haven’t thought of NETSCAPE in a gazillion years
-OMG, my “C” was correct! 100% for the space cadet.
-The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. YELLING can clear the air.
-Take away the teleprompter or scripts and you hear a lotta UMS
-SONIC drive ins have Meals on Wheels but after soggy onion rings and a stale, not TASTY, hot dog, I ain’t been back
-This most famous WCTU member could drive you to drink. Name?
Good Morning:
I would describe this puzzle as a "Silkie With Training Wheels: balanced but still requiring some effort in moving right along. Thanks, Brad Wilbur, for a Saturday "Smoothie'" and thanks, Splynter, for your usual A-One expo.
I got off to a speedy start with Updike and the rest of that corner seemed to fill itself in. I did need some perps but most of the clues and fill were pretty straightforward. Felt almost like a reward after yesterday's experience.
Hondo, glad you enjoyed your getaway.
Great pictures, Melissa, looks like you all had a fun time.
Have a great day.
Husker:
That would be Carrie Nation, who was born about 10 miles from where I sit (on my sofa). Partly because of her influence, the county where I reside was "dry" until about 2 years ago.
Good morning, all. Thank you to all the constructors, solvers and commenters for the entertainment you provide.
Life is good:
After the beating I took last week I was able to complete Mon.-Thurs. this week. Unfortunately, Wed. and Thurs. were completed wrong. I took a stab at yesterday and today's puzzles, but they're over my head. Not a problem--they always are.
I have a winning Powerball ticket! I matched 2 numbers and the Powerball! I win a whopping $7. I'll just buy a few more tickets with it.
The heat wave has ended and we have much more seasonal temps. The older I get the less I can tolerate the heat/humidity.
Tomorrow is the shelter's annual picnic. There will be lots of alumni dogs there. It's fun and heartwarming to see them thriving in their furever homes.
Have a great weekend.
Pat
"Showed signs of being : SEEMED"
Weak.
"Insensitive, in a way : UN-PC"
So my post doesn't get removed, I will be nice and call this weak also.
"Ridge studied in forensics : WHORL"
Ouch.
"Horse-and-buggy : OBSOLETE"
This clue would've been much improved by adding "Like a ..."
"Sporty Spice, familiarly : MEL C"
Really?
Aspirin, please.
Only got two and a half hours of sleep last night, so I was lucky to get even half of this puzzle this morning. Many thanks, Brad Wilber.
Goofed on things like naming Merkel URSULA rather than ANGELA and even after I corrected it, thinking it was ALI MCGRAW rather than MACGRAW, like other. But there was also some fun stuff.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
The 1D clue should have been "Insensitive in short" or "in brief" for "UNPC," not "in a way." Something is needed to indicate that the answer is part abbreviation.
Hi Y'all! Puzzle was hard but "perpable". Slow start for me. Thanks, Brad.
57A The "R" in LITERATE was the last to fill. I've never read Buckley. I'm not sure I'm LITERATE.
The INCAS have sure been trotted out a lot lately.
New to me: ALTAIC and the HISTORIANS. Who?
Groaner: meals-on-wheels workers = CARHOPS! I eat at Sonic occasionally too.
33D I wanted full SLIP. Oh, alternative name. Right.
Then we had that very profound song title: LOVE STINKS. That conjurs up some DF images.
GIMMEES: LPGA & WCTU. The WCTU was big in the history of my hometown. They started a Girls Industrial School for wayward girls there 100+ yrs ago. It later became part of the state prison system for teenaged girls. I did a lot of research and a series of newspaper stories on it and WCTU when they celebrated their centennial.
HG: the picture of Carrie Nation and her saloon-busting ax is famous. She visited our town. Her husband was a notorious drunk. He's lucky she used the ax on inanimate objects. He just killed himself more slowly.
Hello, Word Warriors! Thank you, Splynter. I needed a few of those elucidations from you.
Most of the time I was on Brad Wilber's wave length starting with SMOKE ALARM/ SERIF. MELC meant nothing to me, so thanks for that and I spelled CEVICHE with an S. Oh, woe is I!!
Hand up for ERS, EMS and not having SHERM or TREF, a totally unknown. So though I finished all the rest, still a DNF.
Bump on the road with ALI MACGRAW. I, too, thought it was MCGRAW.
After reading Jon Stewart's "America" I knew Stephen Colbert's would be along the same so didn't bother with it.
Melissa, wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing. It brought back memories.
Another estimator coming to check my roof today. You all have a spectacular Saturday!
Thanks, Splynter, for the great expo.
I was out bright and early this morning to watch my granddaughter run her corgi through the 4-H Dog Agility Course at the county fair. Dog got confused at one hoop tunnel, but did all the other tests pretty well. I watched about 20 dogs make the run and only one went right through those hoops. Always fun to watch the kids work their animals. I don't know what ribbon my GD & pup got. Last year it was a white because the dog didn't want to do most of the tests. GD really worked with her this year and learned the dog won't go through a course more than once a day. Been there, done that, that's all. So she didn't do a trial run with her like the other kids. Worked out better.
Have you seen the political cartoon where the Doctor tells Anthony Weiner, "No, Mr. Wiener, I said you have ELECTILE dysfunction."
I get to CROW this morning. LOUD & CLEAR! This is the first Saturday in an elephant's age that I've finished without any help at all! Good for me--and thank you, Brad Wilbur.
It was easy to open with NEDS, and then two gimmes were HISTORIANS and UPDIKE, the kind of fills for which there's only one plausible answer and you see right away that it fits!
I appreciated that the tougher clues were just on the edge of impossibility--never too far, and never beyond the reach of perps. Otherwise I would never have known MEL C for a Spice Girl or that great (but new to me) song title, LOVE STINKS.
My favorite answer was TIN FOIL HAT. (Thanks for the picture, Splynter!) It came easily, and, as the concept never fails to do, made me smile. I guess if I were as paranoid as that, I wouldn't see the joke, but being a doubter of such involuntary mind-control ops (even with the latest NSA revelations) I'm tickled by the metal hat imagery.
As I stated before, Colbert (and Stewart) are “off the chart” leftists but are fun to listen to. Nothing is so dangerous that you can’t at least listen to both extremes. Like all pundits (disguised as comedians) they occasionally get egg or their face. Colbert thought that his “nation” would sweep his sister past the adulterous Mark Sanford and did all he could to denigrate the man. It didn’t work. Colbert’s hilarious reaction to sister’s loss.
Stewart vehemently defended his friend Anthony Wiener for days before the representative finally admitted he had lied. John has been off the air for a while (making a movie in the Middle East) during Mr. Weiner’s second trip to Crazyville.
Wind, Kansas was dry for years and on the way to Husker games down there, we always said, “We are entering Kansas, set your watches back 100 years.”
Did anybody find an apology in their paper today - for the glaring error printed in many crosswords yesterday? The LA Times and other papers led us astray with the clue to the two-part answer ENTR'ACTE. They printed a clue involving Le Carre's Alec Leamas.
I find no acknowledgment of the error in today's Times, a simple courtesy that might be appreciated. Are we to gather that the editors merely toss us the xwords w/o reading them?
Why do people think that everyone that reads these answers to the clues know the people depicted in photos??? And why do people think that everyone who goes on this site cares? We don't all live our lives on Facebook where every little thing you do in life you feel the necessity to tell everyone else about. Other than my criticisms, I love this site.
PK, I love your stories .. Of how the WCTU started a girls industrial school, for 'wayward' girls, - and when the students became teenagers, they graduated and joined the State prison for women. Where did they go when they graduated from there ? Lol.
That woman depicted as a representative of WCTU should be who the term "battle axe" originated from!
G'Afternoon All:
Nice Saturday learning experience for me. 1st at work, where the firewall BASTIONS I config'd & tested didn't work due to some ARP tables. A quick cache clear fixed that, then the puzzle humbled me too....
But to the puzzle. Just enough that I could get a toehold and finish about 60% before looking to Splynter for answers. Thanks to Splynter & Brad for an enjoyable AM.
For 25d I so wanted Centerfold to work with OBSOLETE since NETSCAPE's re-doing of Mosaic. However, with my TINFOIILHAT, that would never be.
I knew IAMAMERICA (and so can you). Its funny, but sophomoric. Re: the politics (not the forum for this, I know) of Daily & Colbert: I can agree/disagree, but we always need the court jester to tell truth to power. If you watch nightly, they will rib the "D's" too and grill the press. Stewart's Crossfire appearance was priceless.
PK - I am going to look for that cartoon, sounds funny - I want to see who did it.
I wish I could have gone with Milissa & friends. Wonderful picks in a great town, but as Twain quiped, cold - even in July.
Keith - I have TINFOILHATs for sale - cash only, don't contact me via electronic devices. We will meet in a Tempest sheilded room... :-)
Cheers,
-T
Good morning (at least on the west coast). Thank you Splynter. Loved the TIN FOIL HAT picture from "Signs."
Today's puzzle seemed way more doable than yesterday's. There were some bumpy spots. For me it was the NW where I really wanted 9A to have something to do with electricity.
I had Mel B in place for 23 down, but CEVICHE, a gimme, fixed that. Apparently MEL B is Scary Spice, not Sporty.
I had some CEVICHE on Thursday night, while on vacation. It tasted great, but was so acidic and spicy it gave me a bad case of agita. I guess that's another treat I'll have to forgo.
Have a wonderful weekend.
I loved today's puzzle - although it was a DNF and I do want to give my appreciation to Splynter for explaining all the difficult clues, in his humorous blog. That out off the way, I would like to discuss my small, miserable little life. Because I don't know how to get onto Facebook, and don't have any friends worth a d---. Well, I went to the car to go out and shop for a bag of onions, but I found I had forgotten my car keys. I had also locked my main door, and the car keys also had my main door lock key. . So I looked for the fake rock with my spare key, in the flower bed, but the Gardner had already thrown that out. Well, it was all very exciting. Other than that, I should mention that I also brushed my teeth today. Yah ! ( first time in three days.). Tomorrow, if I remember to come here, at this here blog, I'll give you a part of the second chapter to my story. Please don't all of you hold your breath at the same time. Such a sudden gust of exhalation might affect the rotation of this here earth.
Dear Anonymous @ 12:50 pm,
LOL. Your put-down of people who think that "every little thing you do in life you feel the necessity to tell everyone else about" is a time-honored complaint. It echoes the classic definition of a boor: "One who feels the need to tell you *everything* on his mind."
@1:13 Anon...
(I don't know why I feed the trolls)...
Yes, some details in posts are trivial, but we get to know each other just a bit - like CED is in the woods now trying to make pizza; that gives us a PEERAT their personalities and know who to read first.
Your post making fun of some of the long-timers on this very informative blog without a puzzle x-ref is just a waste of storage on the server.
-T
The Spice Girls. Mel C is in the lead. Mel B is on the right. I got that from research (so it may be wrong), my knowledge of names and faces is totally unimproved. Also, they are "horse and buggy" these days, anyway.
Colbert's TV persona explains the non grammatical title.
Sorry to see that the trolls still haven't found anything to make their lives worth living.
Anon @ 1:13 - How did you get into your house? I always use the doggy door, which is a tight fit.
good afternoon cc and all,
have not been puzzling lately, dealing with a family issue - wanted to drop in and say hey - good to "see" you all. from the looks of today's writeup i probably would have been slow to solve it - a bit out of practice.
anon@9:32, this set of pics are mostly ones taken by me, so i'm largely absent. i'm on the far left in the second and third pics.
(anons 12:50 & 1:13 - clicking on links is optional.)
Gunghy 1:47. You're right about the Spice Girls being practically OBSOLETE. Although I do think I heard something about a reunion. The only reason I know Mel B is that she has been co-hosting on the Today show lately.
Good one about the doggie door! : )
Hello everybody. Pretty neat-o puzzle today. Like most of you, I solved it little by little, chunk by chunk. Seeing ION as the last three letter of 9A, I filled in CATION ("cat ion" as per "cathode") which turned out to be 4/6 right. I see there are also BAST IONS at 53A, hehe.
CEVICHE looks like something a mafia thug would say to his victim after warning him to BEHAVE.
Thanks for the photos, melissa bee. It looks like you all had a wonderful time.
Good luck with your roof, Lucina. Best wishes to you all.
Anon T ?... Ok, ok, maybe my blog @1.13 Was a little over the top , but then it pretty much describes part of, my life. Somewhat lonely. I wasn't trying to make fun of anybody, just a very candd moment. Maybe the brushing my teeth was TMI and ridiculous. I'll give you that.
I'm all for people, on this blog, to blog whatever they think is important in their lives. As Mr Fowler said, and in the words of James Thurber , 'The life of Walter Mitty' , "All people lead lives of quiet desperation". I think, no matter how intellectual we are, or pretend to be, we should have some sympathy and some empathy to care enough about our fellow bloggers, at least to read what they have to say. A person who is callous enough to complain about reading about other people's lives on their blog - like the other Anon did, has a serious problem relating to people, and his (?) selfishness has or will cause him very grave setbacks in his life. No man is an island, and those who think they are, end up being rocks on the pathway of life. Nuff said.
On a happier note, Melissa Bee ;
I absolutely loved your pictures, and I really wished I could have belonged to your group. Such friendship, such love, such camaraderie. You guys really know how to have fun ! I could have fit right into your gang, I love to cook, I love to eat and drink and be merry, I tell long and interesting stories, and love to listen, and make lots of arts and crafts and lovely intricate souvenirs and eclectic gifts and appreciate fine wines. You all are really lucky to find such amiable companions, as friends and in life. Best of all to you.
I can't imagine Carrie Nation's husband not wanting to be drunk.
Splynter: Thank you for explaining my Ink-Blot.
Your write-up's are always very interesting to me.
Enjoyed the 'shout-out' at TIN Foil Hat.
Nice to see you CrazyCat(Lady)!
Hondo, glad to hear you had a great time.
A 'toast' to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers!!!
Anon @ 12:53: The school became a part of the state prison system when WCTU could no longer raise the funds to support it. The taxpayers then kept these girls off the streets. The WCTU was a respected social improvement society for the most part.
How do you do crosswords if your reading is so inaccurate?
Jayce:
Thank you. I am still waiting for three other estimates and hope one of them will fit into my budget.
Good afternoon all,
Tried my best but so many unknowns:tessera, WCTU, altaic, ceviche, tref and Love Stinks... ha,ha! Some filled in, others not so much.Then there were a few I knew but needed a bop on the brain to jiggle my dendritic tree.
LOVED tin foil hats, and your picture, Splynter.
Melissa, enjoyed your pictures. Sausalito is a fun town ... so many creative little shops, no fog, and beautiful views of the bay.
Mel B.is one of the judges on America's got Talent, and she was GREAT on D.W.T.Stars a few seasons ago.
Anon Ben Anon - I apologize. After the last day or so of snarky trolls, I read too much snark into your post.
The folks on this blog all enjoy words and the details of daily living interests me & thankful the roof doesn't leak or longfull for the ESCs on the road.
We all have our Mitty momments.
Cheers,
-T
Hi Tinbeni! Glad you are back too.
Pocketa pocketa pocketa
Hey all:
Just tried the Mt. Dew glow-stick from Wednesday's "things to try" with my daughter. I can say that diet Mt. Dew is a fail. I went online to find out if I missed something and I should have looked at Snopes first. I guess I am the fool...
The Mentos & diet soda link isn't a myth though. We did 6 soda / candy experaments for a science project a few years back.
-T
This is the link to the actual video with Mentos & diet Coke.
Cheers,
-T
Rats! I was going to try the Mountain Dew 'glow stick' experiment with my grandson. I guess not. Oh well...
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