Theme: Victor Juliet - The two word theme entries begin with the same letters.
18A. Funny bits you need to see : VISUAL JOKES
28A. Personal assessments of worth : VALUE JUDGMENTS
47A. V8 Spicy Hot, e.g. : VEGETABLE JUICE
60A. Music channel host whose abbreviation hints at this puzzle's theme : VIDEO JOCKEY
Argyle here. Another ten days and this could have been clued as V-J Day. Oh well.
Across:
1. Abbr. on old Eurasian maps : SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)
4. Video game area : ARCADE
10. Dashboard gauge, briefly : TACH. (tachometer)
14. Green org. with a floral logo : EPA
15. Honeybunch : DEARIE. When a waitress calls me Dearie, why should she get mad when I call her Sweet Cheeks?
16. Scandinavian capital that uses garbage to generate energy : OSLO. But they don't have ENOUGH! LINK.
17. Stephen Colbert asset : WIT
20. Bangkok native : THAI
22. T-shirt size array, briefly : SML. (small, medium, large)
23. Online finance company : E-LOAN
24. Building blocks of matter : ATOMS
25. Cheerios grain : OAT
27. Prefix with verse : UNI
33. Eisenhower and Turner : IKEs
34. Tolkien monster : ORC. Definitely not short for orchid. SCENE(2:59)
35. Post- opposite : PRE-
36. Arnaz of Hollywood : DESI
37. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"
39. H.S. exam : PSAT
43. Gov. Cuomo's domain : NYS. (New York State)
45. Inner tube filler : AIR
46. Nobelist Morrison : TONI. (1993 Nobel Prize for Literature) She previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988.
51. Animation frame : CEL
52. Govt.-issued ID : SSN. (Social Security number)
53. Often-pressed key : ENTER
54. Negative particle : ANION
56. Former NBAer __ Ming : YAO. What is he doing now? Follow on Twitter.
59. Tapped barrels : KEGS
63. Cooperstown Hall of Famer Mel : OTT
65. Sealed, as a win : ICED
66. "Man of the House" author Tip : O'NEILL. He served as Speaker of the House from 1977 until his retirement in 1987.
67. Division of history : ERA
68. Subtraction word : LESS
69. "Stop dreaming!" : "BE REAL!"
70. Roget entry: Abbr. : SYN. (synonym)
Down:
1. Attach a button, say : SEW
2. Bit of physical comedy with a sprayed beverage : SPIT TAKE
3. Entry points for some rodent nests : RAT HOLES
4. Provide counsel to : ADVISE
5. Portuguese king : REI. Yes, now we need to learn Portuguese.
6. Pop's Mama : CASS. (Cass Elliot)
7. Calla lily family : ARUM
8. Conversation in a screenplay : DIALOG
9. Cooked sushi fish : EEL
10. Hammer or saw : TOOL
11. Invite to dinner, e.g. : ASK OUT
12. Spruces up : CLEANS
13. Egypt's Mubarak : HOSNI. Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak is a former Egyptian President, leader and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Wikipedia
19. Yankee shortstop Derek : JETER. Derek Jeter has strained calf, return uncertain. SI
21. Funny : AMUSING
24. Enthusiastic : AVID
26. Electric current unit : AMPERE. Named after French physicist André Marie Ampère.
29. Knight games : JOUSTS
30. Decorative vase : URN
31. 1983 Mr. T film : DC CAB
32. Planet farthest from the Sun, now : NEPTUNE
38. "__ Abner" : LI'L
40. "C'est la vie" : "SO IT GOES"
41. Family tree subject : ANCESTRY
42. Bleacher part : TIER
44. Simple question type : YES/NO
47. Grand Canal city : VENICE
48. Slurs over : ELIDES
49. "I wouldn't do this for just __" : ANYONE
50. Hyde was his alter ego : JEKYLL. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. Wikipedia
51. Raise petty objections : CAVIL. (strange word) Word Origin & History "cavil" 1548, from M.Fr. caviller "to mock, jest," from L. cavillari "to satirize, argue scoffingly," from cavilla "jeering". Etymonline
55. Weighty Brit. references : OEDs. (Oxford English Dictionary)
57. Masterful server : ACER. (tennis)
58. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE
61. LinkedIn listing : JOB. For awhile, I was recieving spam claming to be LinkedIn.
62. She, in Lisbon : ELA. See, more Portuguese.
64. Beachgoer's goal : TAN
Argyle
82 comments:
Greetings!
Poor Charlie kept me up all last night wanting to go out every hour. So I eventually slept and woke up at a ridiculous hour. So here I am! Hope to go to sleep soon!
Fine puzzle, CC. More chewy that the usual Monday, for me. I had just finished my dinner of a bowl of lentils and a can of (low sodium) V8 juice!
Very thorough write-up, Argyle, as usual! Thanks to you and CC!
HG: wonderful pictures of your place. (Meant to comment before.) What is involved in putting up a bunch of photos on Photo Bucket?
Have a nice Monday!
Morning, all!
Fine puzzle from our fearless leader, but it proved to be too much for me today. Finally had to turn on the red letter help to see that it was CAVIL/ICE instead of CAVAL/ACE. Ah well, SO IT GOES...
Has SSR ever actually appeared on a map anywhere? I'd love to see an example.
[haseduct]
Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. A nice Monday challenge from our blog hostess. VEGETABLE JUICE was my first theme answer. After getting this, I had to go back and reassess some of my other answers. I really wanted Assist instead of ADVISE, which messed up my VISUAL JOKES.
I also initially tried Ancestor instead of ANCESTRY.
Here's a map for Barry G.
My favorite clue was Pop's Mama = CASS.
Another hot one here today.
QOD: I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer. ~ Neil Armstrong (Aug. 5, 1930 ~ Aug. 25, 2012)
[arstekp]
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.
Well, cruciverb worked today. Hooray!
This puzzle seemed more a Tuesday level to me. But, that is OK.
Went through most of it, but had a few gaping holes that took some thought to fill in. SPIT TAKE, VIDEO, REI, JOCKEY, ARUM, DC CAB, CAVIL. But they appeared with some perps and common sense.
Theme came easily, except for the VIDEO JOCKEY part.
Want VOC instead of JOB for 61D. JOB won.
It is 50 degrees here in NW Pennsylvania, and foggy as well. It will warm up.
Lots to do today. Have to fill in a crater I dug by the house and then try to fix my wife's cousin's water pump which has failed. She has no water. Leaving tonight for IL.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(ersomra)
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
I thought sure there would be a unifier for V-J Day. But as Argyle pointed out, it is a tad too soon for that. I did get all the theme entries, but with lots of perp help.
It did seem a bit difficult for a Monday, with all the names and Portuguese. Then for 69-Across I wanted "get" REAL instead of BE REAL. But I did like seeing SPIT TAKE and RAT HOLES in the NW.
Barry - here ya go: link map with SSR (in the title.)
Have a great day, everyone!
RATs - Hahtoolah beat me to the map thing-y.
Great Puzzle could have been a speed run if it was not Monday. great write up as per usual from argyle.
Barry, on SSR on the map that answer is yes but since But I doubt you could find one of those old maps today as the last of the SSRs ceased to exist over 20 years ago. I would suggest looking for Maps published for the public schools in the 1970's-and early 1980's. If you can find one it is probably a very valuable collectors item.
Good morning!
This puzzle didn't feel like a C.C. offering. Toughest Monday puzzle we've seen in a while. OK, OTT sounds like C.C., but where was OLIVA?
Spicy Hot is my favorite brand of V-8 juice. I don't think I've ever heard the expression SPIT TAKE -- put it together and it looks like a mushroom.
Fermat, all you need is a PhotoBucket account, and that's free. Then it's just a matter of moving the photo(s) from your PC to PhotoBucket -- just like copying a file.
I thought it was tough because I didn't know how to spell JEKYLL. At first I wrote JECKEL. I was stumped for a while until I got VIDEO JOCKEY: at first I was looking for a proper name.
Hahtoolah, now you've got me wondering, what's a SFSR?
Oh and I totally misunderstood "Bleacher Part". I saw "bleach" and thought DYER. I ended up thinking TONY Morrison was a man.
Happy Monday everybody!
Loved the shout out to the “D’Oh moment” beverage of choice! When it’s available, I usually bring a small (6 oz.) can of Spicy Hot V8 to work as part of lunch, and try to convince myself that it’s a Bloody Mary…. Unfortunately, that scheme works about as well as believing that my decaf is real coffee….
Only two unknowns today, CAVIL and ARUM….
Favorite clue = Pop’s Mama….
SEW, Watt’s the AMPERE rating of an electric EEL…?
Just my humble opinion of course, but I think the SPIT TAKE is one of the most overrated, WIT-LESS VISUAL JOKES around. I just don’t get why this is considered AMUSING, especially after seeing it for the millionth time…. YES? NO? ANYONE?
Finally, here’s a link to a couple of touching video clips for the Corner Canine Crew. As if any animal lover needs more proof that we are as attached to our pets as they are to us….
Okay, to be fair to the SPIT TAKE aficionados out there, I don’t think the little-kid-kicking-the-bigger-guy-in-the-crotch is very funny either. Just another example of a stale and hackneyed joke that has been seen WAY too many times….
Excuse me, I have to go take my crotchety pill now….
SFSR stands for Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. After the fall of USSR the official name of Russia became the Russian Federation. It currently consists of 46 Oblasts (Russian word for province I guess), 21 republics and 14 autonomous regions plus Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Thanks for all the maps! ^_^
I was around back then, but I guess the only maps I looked at were world maps that just had USSR in big bold letters over the whole area.
Good morning everybody.
This was puzzle was not Very Difficult (ha ha, get it?). It's nice to get a breezy puzzle at least once a week.
I remember VIDEO JOCKEYs from back in the "old days" when MTV actually showed music videos. Young kids would have no idea what I'm talking about and probably wonder why all the "old folks" complain about MTV not playing music.
WBS on CAVAL/CAVIL.
Today the hammer is supposed to drop on multible pro baseball players who used performance enhancing drugs. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
DOHA: I think the SPIT TAKE lost its humor after the Three Stooges used it.
FERM: My heart breaks whenever I hear about Charlie. :(
I'm off to view DOHA's Canine Clips. Have a nice day.
Came here to see what others thought. Many in agreement that this for a Monday was harder than usual as I suspected.
Hello Puzzlers -
Had to work a little harder today. Cavil was all perps, though now the word looks vaguely familiar. Didn't know Tip O'Neill wrote a memoir. Thanks for a solid Monday, C.C.!
Doha Doc - I agree. Spit takes might have been funny a hundred years ago, but not now.
Good Morning Everyone.
A nice intro to the week by our C.C. Most was Monday level but CAVIL was literally unheard of. Fortunately the perps were solid, so a new word was learned today. Can we use it as an alternate way to raise nits? The theme fell easily - was looking for V - - J near the end.
And SO IT GOES reminds me of Linda Ellerbee's signature sign-off.
Favorite clue was for Mama CASS.
BZ to C.C.
Have a great day.
CC, great puzzle for a Monday. It took just a tad more thought than the normal Monday, but still easy, breezy.
CAVIL is one of my favorite words. Not a CAVIL, nor a nit about this puzzle. Only write over was ancestor to ANCESTRY.
I formed SPIT TAKE with PERPs and WAGs. I had never seen the phrase. A spit take is not so funny as a gag, but is truly funny when it happens spontaneously. Someone has to laugh with his mouth full of liquid. He becomes embarrassed and then cracks up along with everyone else.
Spitz, your comment reminds me of Our World, that weekly history program that Ellerbee co-hosted. I liked that show. It also reminded me of Walter Cronkite's signature sign-off, "and that's the way it is [date]."
Thank you C.C. For a nice and easy puzzle for a Monday morning. I really. Enjoyed it. Thank you Argyle for a stimulating commentary.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has stopped it's daily paper, as of today. It took me a lot of time to locate the LA Crossword, on the LAT online web site - and then I had to solve it electronically - which was no fun at all. I will have to learn to print out the puzzles on paper, and then use my trusted "good luck", rabbits foot, 2H mechanical pencil.
Hahtoolah, I was disappointed when I saw your lovely SSR's map and could not locate Borat's home town .... Or his country . !!
CAVIL and ICED were the last 2 entries. Cavil is a word I should get familiar with.
Have a nice day, you all
G'Morning All!
Wonderfully easy-enough Monday C.C. offering. Woot! I am smart again :-) Thanks too Argyle for the write-up.
This pzl was all in my wheel-house. I spent my savings account at the ARCADE one summer playing Pac Man w/ my brother. I saw the 1st MTV video after school (can anyone name it?), and now have to drink V8 before bed to keep my energy up.
On SPIT TAKEs - yes old hat. That said, I saw Colbert set up the take with "tell me why... wait while I take a sip of this hot coffee..." Then the aftermath was a running joke as he kept finding droplets on his desk. AMUSING. I looked for a VISUAL of this to share, but couldn't find it.
32d - NEPTUNE... Poor Pluto... Any one read DeGrass Tyson's "The Pluto Files"? It has some cute letters from kids upset with him for nixing Pluto.
Tip O'NEILL was back when congress and the prez would work together... //'nuff said before introducing politics byond the pzl...
Cheers!
-T
"Video Killed The Radio Star"
by The Buggles
AMUSING Anon aka Martha Quinn (one of the first VJ's). I was hoping to hear from "Downtown Julie Brown" :-)
-T
I love a C.C. puzzle on a Monday morning. And this one was a delight. Only write-over was ANCESTOR for ANCESTRY, but everything else fell slowly into place, including SPIT TAKE, which I'd never heard of. I got Mama CASS instantly, but then I'm a fan. Anyway, many thanks, C.C. and Argyle for the fun write-up.
I may not be able to blog tomorrow because we're getting our furnace replaced after learning its been spewing asbestos into our home for 30 years. It's a wonder we don't have breathing problems yet. Since the work blocks access to various rooms, we'll need to go to a hotel for the day.
Have a great Tuesday, everybody!
I always had the hots for Nina Blackwood.
Good morning Argyle, C.C., and all,
Have you ever known C.C. to give us an easy workout? For me, this was one of the most doable of hers. Had never heard of spit take, or cavil, but the perps took care of both. Had to think awhile of Yao's name, filled acer 1st.
pop's mama.... great clue.I thought of gram at 1st. roi----rei
Thanks Argyle for your write up.
Have a good day all.
Hi Y'all! Took longer than usual for a Monday. Thanks for the challenge, C.C. I was thinking of a more ancient map so didn't come up with SSR until the last. Never heard of SPIT TAKE. RAT HOLE was so logical I couldn't come up with it either. Hand me the VEGETABLE JUICE! Eventually perped it all.
New to me: CAVIL & LinkedIn listing. HOSNI, ELOAN & ELIDES took awhile. Didn't parse ELOAN until Argyle told us.
I watched "Who do you think you are?" ANCESTRY show last night.
Last fill was the "C" in the DC CAB/UNCLE cross. Didn't see the movie.
I did bottom center block before SW corner & tried dOnKEY & mOnKEY before I got a JOB then JOCKEY.
More gloomy weather today. I don't think we've ever had more gloomy summer days in this usually sunny state.
Hello, C.C. and all.
Prolific work, C.C. and fun to solve!
Once more, kudos to you!
Luckily I didn't have to cry UNCLE and had a nice time sashaying through VJ land.
CAVAL/ACED for me, too, and never went back to change it and didn't check on the meaning of CAVAL. I should have.
My daughter has been researching our ANCESTRY for a paper she is writing and has found some interesting info. Most shocking to her was that my grandmother wed her 54 year old husband at age 15. I told her it was common then.
No CAVIL or nit today, just good fun, thank you C.C. and thank you, Argyle. It's always fun to read your crisp analysis.
Have a super Monday, everyone!
C.C., Thank you for a FUN Monday offering.
Argyle, Thank you for a wonderful write-up & links.
My fave today (of course) was 59-A, Tapped barrels, KEGS ...
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Cheers!!!
From yesterday,
THANKS, Bill G, Jayce, Lucina, and all who responded to my questions about the Sunday puzzle.
If anyone can fill me in more on WHY the LA Times does not run its own daily pzl on Sunday, I will be grateful. Just curious; it seems a strange practice.
TRoday's (Monday) xword was typically easy and pleasant, although I threw myself off my rushing to enter A TEAM instead of DC CAB for Mr. T's movie. Sometimes the obvious is simply the easiest trap to fall into.
Wish me luck tomorrow, friends. I am having minor surgery to re-section the ligaments of two fingers. For the last two-plus months I have been wearing this DIGIT WIDGET , to straighten my ring and little fingers. Soon it will be OFF!
At my daughter's and having computer difficulty, so maybe this will post and maybe it won't.
Great Monday puzzle, CC. Thanks.
I solved with one pass doing acrosses then one pass doing downs that filled in all blank spaces, so not as easy as some Mondays.
Same few words I didn't know like others have mentioned, so thanks Argyle for explaining them.
I did get the theme today. That is a rarity for me. I usually forget to look, but am getting better at that too.
Montana
Just to pick a nit, the apostrophe is misplaced in the clue to Mama CASS. I loved the clue, but it was just a tad off. It should have come after the "s" to fulfill its function as a reference to the plural "Poppas."
Wees,
I have never heard of "cavil" & & thought that "ace" as "65A Sealed, as a win" sounded reasonable. But I changed it as a WAG at the last minute to "ice," as I did not think CC would put "ace" & "Acer" in the same puzzle.
Spent a lot of time watching terrible visual jokes to post, but came across the Charlie Chaplin Clip set to music. (I thought all C Chaplin clips were silent.) If the music was added later, it is very impressive visually...
I did not think CC would put "ace" & "Acer" in the same puzzle.
WCED said exactly.
DNF because of CAVaL.
Congrats, C.C.
Off to work.
CED - Very nice VISUALJOKE. Folks its only 2 minutes of your life... watch it.
BTW - I had the same aCED before I thought C.C. would follow the rules and learned CAVIL. Now, is it a hard 'C' or a soft 'C'? Kavil or savil?
Anon - Loved Nina too. She can be found on SiriusXM channel 8 along with many other VJs spinning the best of the 80s. Funny how "Killing the Radio Star," eventually sent them to sat. radio...
Cheers,
-T
Keith, I think the Pop's refers to Pop Rock, not the Poppas from the name of the band....
True, they were "The Mamas and the Papas".
Well, the visual puns were only slightly better than the visual jokes.
I also liked:
a flower bed
is it a fire plug, or "afire plug" (one of those nasty crossword A words...)
Hmm, I wonder if I can get you to turn your head sideways?
CED @ 12:44, I think the most amazing thing about the Charlie Chaplin clip (other than his amazing talent and sense of timing) is that it was done entirely in only one take.
And at 1:37, no, I did not turn my head sideways. But I did stand my computer on edge…
A just right Monday and obvious theme, CC!
Musings
-Making VALUE JUDGMENTS on others is not productive
-My first Video game area was a SCREEN. Several ARCADES have been shut down in town because of too many problems with certain kids
-Colbert’s WIT is fun if you LEAN in his political direction
-One IKE treated his wife better than the other. Better than DESI also.
-If kids today don’t know UNCLE, they do know “tap out”
-CR in HTML is a Carriage Return which equals ENTER. How quaint is that?
-The Royals ICED a win yesterday when the Mets right fielder lost three fly balls in the sun. BTW, he also struck out with the bases loaded.
-The counselor ADVISED his guilty client to say nothing!
-Nobody doesn’t like JETER
-I thought C'est la vie meant, “SUCH IS LIFE” which is what I ENTERed.
-Neil never wanted or liked the publicity of being the first man on the moon
-Vidwan, media made from dead trees is going away quickly
-Tip got things done in the messy world of politics instead of posturing and campaigning constantly
-Ferm, YouTube is full of how to use Photobucket or any other online album service. I hope you take advantage of it.
CED @ 1:37 pm: Some of your "visual clues" are downright creepy! I hope I never run into Dr. Pepper, an egg plant or a baseball bat! (Thanks for sharing!)
Misty @ 11:14 am: That's scary that you've been breathing asbestos for so many years. You and your family should get a health check up just to make sure you are OK. Asbestos is dangerous stuff.
Back to work.....
Hi Everyone:
Very late to the dance due to appointments, errands, etc. This will be the case for the rest of the week, as I have numerous appointments and commitments every day. (At least Cruciverb is working again.)
Great puzzle, CC. Took longer than a usual Monday but everything fell into place. I have never heard of a spit take and while I have heard of cavil, I wasn't sure of its meaning. Thanks, Argyle, for the informative expo.
Keith, good luck on your surgery. That "Digit Widgit" looks mighty uncomfortable.
Dohah Doc - loved the Pugs clip!
Today is one of the most beautiful days of the summer.
Happy Monday
CEDAVE:
I loved the video puns. How about renaming it the "plug afire?"
The "tearable puns" were also cute and yes, I turned aside.
The Charlie Chaplin video was masterfully done if the music was dubbed in later. The movements fit the tempo perfectly.
Lucina, Charlie Chaplin filmed the barbershop scene using a phonograph record for his timing. The musical score was prepared after the filming. The composer Meredith WIlson (of "Music Man" fame) had planned do a preliminary run-through, and then record only a few bars at a time, to be sure they got everything synced. Chaplin decided to record the run-through, and it matched the scene perfectly. And that is what they used in the final film!
Thank you for brightening my day, CrossEyedDave with the "Visual Puns" link!
Today's puzzle was not quite a "slam-dunk" as previous Monday puzzles, thankfully.
Well, I am very busy today. I have to go to Costco! Such is the life of being retired......
Husker:
I thought "C'est la vie" meant "That's life" ...
but I had it filled in (as 'SO IT GOES') before I got to the clue for 40-D.
C'est la vie ...
After slogging through the puzzle, I checked the date on my Tribune to make sure I had not been kidnapped by aliens who caused temporary memory loss. Monday? Really?
HOla Everyone, Hands up for Caval/aced. Though I should have decided aced was not correct when acer went in for Masterful server. So a DNF for me today. I needed a good V-8 can knock on the noggin.
A few non-Monday type words in the puzzle today. Besides Cavil, Elides and perhaps Rei were two that come to mind.
Spit takes was a new term for me. I've seen many, many of those on TV and in the movies, but I didn't know they had a special name. Might have known there would be a name for them.
Thanks Argyle for your usual great writeup, and C.C. for another fun puzzle. Argyle, I enjoyed the Spit takes link.
My husband gave up the pocket protector when he put his lab coats on the rack, but now his shirts all have little black dots at the bottom of the pockets. I'm thinking about getting a new pocket protector for his birthday. LOL.
Have a great day everyone.
Mari, thanks for the concern. I've already mentioned it to our doctor, but so far we have no breathing difficulties, thank goodness. The quantity dispersed might not have been sufficient to cause much harm.
Keith, will be keeping our fingers crossed that your digit surgery goes well tomorrow.
Middletown Bomber, Just come to our Elementary school and borrow one of our World Globes. We are using ones that were purchased in the early 60's. We haven't had funds to replace a lot of the old stuff for so many years. My pull down map had all the continents, though, and those haven't changed. LOL.
Keith Fowler, Good luck tomorrow with your surgery.
Misty, so glad you are getting your furnace repaired. What you don't see CAN harm you. Keep tabs on your health.
Misty, is your asbestos in your furnace or the ductwork? They used asbestos as insulation material in duct work at one time. I worked in an old building for a while that had the crumbly stuff falling from overhead pipes in the ladies' room. I always peeled off the outside of the toilet paper before using any, because I was afraid of asbestos flakes. Our beloved female boss died of cervical & ovarian cancer that took over her body. I've always wondered if the crumbly asbestos contributed.
Keith, Good luck with your surgery. Let us know how it goes. I've got a finger that needs a Didget
Widget or something.
Yep, I had CAVAL/ACED.
Thanks for your concern, Chickie and PK. I'm glad we're getting it fixed. I may not be able to check in again until Wednesday, because we are going to have to spend the day away from home tomorrow.
Vidwan: you are so witty!
Keith, wishing you luck on tomorrow's surgery.I can see that you will be happy to get rid of that digit widget.
CED, always fun to view your extra tid bits you add daily. Laughed at some of those visual puns, and also enjoyed C.Chaplin...especially good with Marti's information.
Argyle, now I know what spit takes are. Thx
Thank you Argyle. I always enjoy your write ups. Watched the trailer for DC CAB. It was the closest I ever came to watching that movie.
Thank you CC. My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things. You set it up so well, so carefully.
As Desper-otto stated, "This puzzle didn't feel like a C.C. offering. Toughest Monday puzzle we've seen in a while." It definitely did not feel like a Monday offering to me. Never heard of a SPIT TAKE or CAVIL.
Storms are moving in to Chicago. Wonder if the crowds will go to The Cell for AROD's return to the majors ? Probably not.
A constructor would probably get a lot of coverage (or notoriety) by creating a puzzle with a theme reveal of PED USERS and theme answers of player names.
Marti:
Thanks. I've not watched too many of Charlie Chaplin's movies. He must have been a genius, too.
I say that because I just returned from watching Blue Jasmine in which again, Woody Allen proves he is one. And Cate Blanchett is riveting. When it was over, it felt like only five minutes had passed. I predict an Oscar.
Keith:
Good luck with your surgery tomorrow.
Misty:
I wish you well tomorrow. Is there a test to indicate any damage from asbestos? I would really look into that.
Lots of good advice being given on asbestos. In my opinion, the asbestos was probably sitting there doing little or no harm. But when you want to change things up and get rid of it, there will be particles floating around in the air. The experts have to dispose of them carefully. We had asbestos-covered furnace ducts removed in our house many years ago. So probably, no harm done while it was sitting there and you will feel better when it has been carefully removed. Good luck!
Did you see or read about the kid (eighth grade boy) who came in third on Jeopardy? He was given no credit for his final answer because he misspelled "Emancipation" as "Emanciptation." He came in third instead of second. He feels he was cheated and his mom is backing him up. Shame on both of them. I think it's sad when a kid feels cheated for being penalized for his own mistake. His mother should have taken him aside, sympathized with him, told him she was proud of his effort and success, and then told him to suck it up and accept that he did well but didn't win. That's life. You don't always win at everything you try.
She should give him a quarter and ask to try harder the next time.
My latest fav violinist. He was on PBS tonight, and I was mesmerized...
As for the kid who misspelled Emancipation on Jeopardy, I clearly recall Alex Trebek previously forgiving misspellings in Final Jeopardy and explaining that the spelling doesn't matter in Final Jeopardy. I tried to research what the rules actually are in that regard but found no satisfactory answer. Maybe there is no rule and it's entirely ad hoc, which seems to me to be unfair on the face of it.
HeartRx, thanks for the link to that violin performance.
Hi all,
Only got about half of this puzzle but it was fun and interesting. Thanks C.C.
Our daughter and family were here last week.They stayed at a resort at Wisconsin Dells which is a huge tourist area about 10 miles north of us. We had a great time and had a lot of fun with Logan. The weather was great.
I haven't finished very many of the crossword puzzles lately or read the blog so I have to catch up.
Have a great evening all!
Marge
Real life Stephen Colbert-WIT
Character Stephen Colbert-EGO
Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is in Abilene ,Kansas. I found some his quotes very impressive. I think I would have liked IKE.
Fermat, You ask what treatment I received several days ago. I was on 6 different antibiotics for 3 yrs. Usually two at a time, plus another sackful of drugs.
Keith, Hoping your surgery goes well. It is difficult without the use of part of a hand.
HBDY Melissa! Beautiful picture!
HG, enjoyed your beautiful yard and garden.
Does anyone here watch "Who Do You Think You Are?" on TLC? Enjoying episodes this season.
Thanks for the Charlie Chaplin clip. Always funny.
Bill G. we could say say to the boy who misspelled emancipation in Jeopardy, C'EST LA VIE. More literally it means, that's life, but has almost the same sentiment as SO IT GOES and Que sera, sera.
Keith, good luck on your surgery. That contraption looks wicked.
It turned out that all I needed was a new auto battery. Whew!
The cable company has been trying to cure the pixilation in 2 of my 4 TVs ever since Thursday.
We are still frantically looking for a new square dance hall. Thirty days notice in August is heartless.
Jayce, good point. It was probably a 'spur of the moment' decision. Still, I think the boy claiming he has been cheated and the mother apparently supporting him is a sign of the times. As a TV personality said, the kids in the US are behind many other nations in math, science, etc. but test off the charts in self esteem. "You can be anything you want to be," sounds good when it's being said by somebody who just had a big success but doesn't always ring true the rest of the time.
I wonder how I would have handled it if it had been my kid or grandkid? I think "You did a good job and can be proud of your accomplishment' and Yellowrock's C'EST LA VIE is a better attitude than "You were cheated!"
Keith: Good luck on the surgery!
Good luck Keith! Stay in touch. Awake or asleep? I hope all goes well.
I had wrist surgery years ago to reposition a little bone and pin it in place. It's been fine every since. I can't remember a thing except getting the cast off.
Damn TimeWarner/CBS. I missed the Dodgers game tonight. Apparently, they won without me. Tomorrow too. A different station broadcasts the games later in the week.
Marti: Excellent violinist. Thanks for sharing. Did he wear that hat on PBS tonight? Can we all chip in and get him something that looks as good as he sounds?
Blue Iris said...
"Keith, Hoping your surgery goes well. It is difficult without the use of part of a hand."
I couldn't agree more...!
Bill G said...
"I had wrist surgery years ago to reposition a little bone and pin it in place. It's been fine every since. I can't remember a thing except getting the cast off."
Repositioning the bone is key! At least you got the cast off...
Ah, we've been infiltrated by a smart-ass eighth-grade boy. I'll bet his sense of humor will go over great at lunch time hanging out with his buddies and making comments about the cheerleaders who are out of his league.
He may be no David Garrett (much less Joshua Redman), but Ashley MacIsaac sure knows how to rock a fiddle!
Hi again...
I just finished the NYT x-word (corner store carries NYT). 1d was ARCADES and IGUANAS popped-up again. The theme was universal :-). I wonder how much each constructor reads the others. NYT was by Alan Abesfeld and I've never heard of him (psudonymn?)... HeartRx, C.C. and other 'gods of the x-words' what's the word?
Keith - God Speed on the surgery! That contraption looks like something from the 1800's with a modern kevlar finish...
I happened to catch final Jepordy today and the winner wrote "What Waiting for Gadot" no "is" no "?". So, the kid might have a legitamate beef. Hell, I have trouble spelling emancipation and most other words (that's why I do x-words to reinforce letter patterns).
Bill G. Nice slap-down of Anon MB (pun intended)...
Cheers,
-T
Anon T, I noticed that on Jeopardy too. But it was consistent. The boy and the woman tonight both got penalized for a minor spelling mistake.
Bill G - I didn't catch the woman being penalized. It happened to be on while I was building dinner (salmon, couscous, and salad - yum-o!). Thanks for the clarification.
Seriously, can someone tell me if it is a hard or soft 'C' on 51d CAVIL? I hope to use it one day (it should be easy at the next meeting :-)).
That's 5 posts - AnonT out...
Cheers,
-T
Hard C, per Dictionary.com
Anon-T,
Pure coincidence. Words like ARCADES & ATARI have very grid-friendly letter combos, so you'll see them again and again.
Alan Arbesfeld is a real name. He's a very accomplished constructor. We just had his Sunday puzzle at the end of May.
Editors sometimes use alias name. Constructors seldom do.
Also, NY Times does not allow alias names.
Anonymous T
C followed by A, O, or U is usually hard, pronounced K., For example: cavil, cat, coat, cut
C followed by E or I is usually soft, pronounced S.
For example: celebrate, recipe.
Yellowrocks,
Very interesting! I suppose your theory applies to Hard G as well?
CC, It is not my own theory. We taught it in school. There are quite a few exceptions with complicated rules of their own which we did not teach primary school children.
Yes, there is a similar rule for hard and soft G, think of gAragE, but with more common words that are exceptions.
See Wiki under Hard and soft C. Hard and soft G.
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