Words: 72 (missing -; a Pangram~!)
Blocks: 30
"Sans" Cruciverb, but we prevailed ~! I have never done this pen and
paper, but due to the downed website, it was print and solve,
old-fashioned~! ( actually, I play a little game when I do the puzzle in
the paper - I only allow myself the ability to solve a clue IF I have a letter from a crossing fill in place first ). Anyway, we had two 11-letter climbers:
11D. Fajitas server : SIZZLE PLATE - always looks, smells and sounds good when one of these goes by in a restaurant
Lots of clechos, lots of misdirection, especially in the 'plurals' department - I marked them with "*". I have to admit, I had two squares wrong - proper names crossing - what can you do?....
link~!
ACROSS:
1. Pet’s plaything : SQUEAK TOY - let the YouTubers begin~!
10. Syrian Ba’ath Party leader : ASSAD - Total WAG
15. Fools : OUTSMARTS; clecho #1 - 16A. Fool : LIE TO; #2 - 23A. Foolish : WITLESS, and #3 - 14D. Fools : DOLTS
17. Semi lubricant : DIESEL OIL
18. Longtime Cleveland Orchestra conductor : SZELL - the "S" got me; I figured it had to be a vowel....George - more here
19. Galaxy download : APPlication - the Samsung Galaxy line of phones and tablets
20. Baby bugs : NITS (Sorry for the error earlier).
21. Freight not permitted in some tunnels, familiarly : HAZ-MAT - Hazardous Materials
22. Edsel feature : FINS - no, sorry, I don't see fins on an Edsel - I see fins HERE
24. Two-player whistlike game : ECARTE - Dah~! I had "A" at the end, because I didn't know my Detroit Tigers great
27. __ and Jack: kids’ clothing shop chain : JANIE - never heard of it, but there are two stores here on LI
28. 2012 N.L. Manager of the Year Johnson : DAVEY
- now this baseball guy I know - he was the Nationals manager in 2012,
and won MotY in 1997 with the Orioles - but I knew him as the Mets
manager 1984-90, including their '86 World Series win (how's that~!!)
29. Prepare to compare : JUXTAPOSE - love that word~!
33. Eczema soother : ALOE
34. Pool components : GENES - so who's been peeing in THIS pool~?
35. Wash unit : LOAD
36. Numismatist’s concerns : MINT MARKS - the big word for coin collector
38. Base boss : SARGE - some might have thought "abbr" could have helped, but it's Saturday
39. Something up grandma’s sleeve? : HANKY - yep, my Granny usually had a tissue there
40. Snowsuit clip-on : MITTEN - oh, we are getting there... woo-hoo~!
41. Like some pot roast : STRINGY - I had this, and thought...yeah?
44. Knitting rib : WALE
45*. Beachgoer’s wear : THONGS - Flip-flops for the feet; guys, unless you can rock it like this, then it better be Flip-flops....
46. Something to fill : ROLE
47. Get dolled (up) : TOG - OK, thong image for the guys
50. “For the Love of Mike” columnist : ROYKO - the Wiki, here
51. Sierra Mist flavor : LEMON-LIME - If we get Lemon on Friday, am I "LIME" on Saturday? (my parents are British, so technically, I'm a 'limey'....)
53. Run the roast : EMCEE
54. Brand used by police in lieu of a sketch artist : INDENT-I-KIT - Sounds like a Douglas Adams device from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
55*. Nobility : PEERS
56. Gridiron defensive rush : ZONE BLITZ - I knew the BLITZ part...had to wait for the rest
DOWN:
1. Fountain buy : SODA
2*. Words of Hope : QUIP - BOB Hope, that is
3. Sch. whose mascot is Paydirt Pete : UTEP - University of Texas El Paso D-Otto, gimme?
4. First of seven? : ESS - Seven
5. Hotel extra : AMENITY
6. Detroit Tigers great Al : KALINE - More from our true baseball expert, C.C. - (From C.C.: He spent his whole career with the Tigers. I like players like Al Kaline, Robin Yount, Stan Musial, Yaz, Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett, etc.)
7. Brings (out) : TROTS
8. Mayberry sot : OTIS
9. Monogram on some high-end scarves : YSL - Yves Saint Laurent
10. Old name of London’s Whitefriars district : ALSATIA
12. Boss’s terse summons : SEE ME
13. Traveler’s aid : ATLAS
21.* Help for those at sea? : HINTS
23.* Auto detailer’s supply : WAXES
24. Dutch export : EDAM
25. Colombian city : CALI
26. Big name in romance novels : AVON
27. Inferior : JUNKY - immediately followed by ->
29. Spasmodic : JERKY
30. Dutch astronomer who found the first evidence of dark matter : OORT - more on this man here
31. Fragrant herb : SAGE
32. Fall setting : EDEN - Not autumn, but "THE" fall, in the Bible
34. Mobs : GANGS
37*. Tropical fruit : MANGOES
38. One in doubt? : SILENT B - d-o-u-B-t - didn't fool me~!
40. Molly who sells cockles and mussels : MALONE - the unofficial anthem of Dublin
41. Amoxicillin target : STREP - a penicillin antibiotic for treating Streptococcus - phew~!
42. Jim who is the most recent member of the 600-home run club : THOME - and to you, C.C. (From C.C.: He hit his 600th home run as a Twin.)
43. Big name in luxury travel : ROYCE - Rolls ROYCE
44. Lilith Fair performers : WOMEN
46. Overhaul : RE-DO
47. __ bar : TIKI
48. Drop : OMIT
49. Stan with a sax : GETZ
51. 1963 Cleo player : LIZ - Cleopatra, and ELIZabeth Taylor
52. __ Wolf: Big Bad’s son, in Disney comics : LI'L - the Disney Wiki
I've decided I want the bigger paycheck, since my car is aging fast - I passed my physical on Tuesday - going to be a UPS driver~!
Splynter
Answer Grid:
73 comments:
Good Saturday morning,
Working the night shift, I have an unusual opportunity be one of the first to post today.
When doing xwords, I find it interesting how bits of knowledge hanging onto the edges of our mind can be knocked loose by these puzzles in a way similar to how comets are theorized to bump out of the Oort cloud into our solar system. An example of this for me was the last name of the columnist Royko in 50A.
For me this was a slightly tougher slog through than Friday. I had to rely on red-letter help for 18A "Longtime Cleveland Orchestra conductor" (Szell). I was just sure the first letter had to be a vowel. Nope.
Also the intersection of 24A, "whist like card game" (ecarte) and 25D, "Columbian city" (Cali). I was stuck at the "c".
Favorite clue of the day for me was 38D, "One in doubt" (silentb) which I never understood until your explanation, Splynter, thanks. I just knew that it "fit".
Best to all,
B35
Hi Y'all! Once again Silkie OUTSMARTS this DOLT leaving me feeling WITLESS. I needed some easier HINTS in the top half. Too many unknown names, etc. I finished in under 33 minutes with lots of red-letter runs to get me started. Such a reward when I actually got black letters from WAGs.
Splynter, Thank you once again for making sense of some stuff. "Words of Hope" = QUIP mystified me. Duh! A side effect of being an UPS driver is meeting women who sign for packages, Splynter. I know of two marriages from meeting that way. Good luck!
Good Mornin' to all,
I really hate to say this.....but...shouldn't 20 across be NITS?
Yep, there is one in every crowd!
When we have to type in the answers, we commentators can and do, make mistakes. I've had my share.
Can you find another, albeit small, nit?
Not only is Cruciverb back, but it's even back to the future; tomorrow's puzzle is out there already.
Great puzzle.
I like "TOGS" especially, because it is not knowing words like this that make me realize that I am not as old as I sometimes feel.
Good morning, Saturday strugglers!
This was a typical Silkie workout...a piece here, another there, finally finished. ROYKO and SZELL were gimmes, KALINE, DAVEY, THOME and OORT not so much.
Dark matter is an interesting topic. Scientists have figured out that there's not enough conventional mass in the universe to keep the galaxies from flying to pieces, so they invented the idea of dark matter to make up the missing mass. Can't see it, can't measure it, can't smell or taste it, but it's gotta be there.
Splynter, loved your Onward link. BTW, I already had the P from APP, and got UTEP, because it was the only school that came to mind ending in a P. But I had no idea about Paydirt Pete.
The Limeliters did a great version of Cockles and Mussels on their Tonight, In Person album. Glen Yarbrough's clear-as-a-bell tenor was a treasure.
C.C, when you wrote ,"He hit his 600th homerun as a Twin," my first thought was that his brother had since died. D'oh!
Have a great Saturday. We may just have to head to a TexMex cafe for a SIZZLEPLATE of fajitas later today.
Happy Silkie everybody!
Well, one of these days I'm going to actually finish a Saturday Silkie. Today was not that day....
But at least I'm improving, got roughy three fourths finished before I went red. NE corner OUTSMARTed me....
Hands up for getting all but the S in Szell and fruitlessly running through all the vowels....
Being a baseball guy, I hung onto COACH for the Base Boss too long....
LIZ and GETZ were the first footholds in the SE, which left a 9-letter answer starting and ending in Z....whhaaaattttt? Like Splynter, I entered BLITZ, and waited for the ZONE to fill....
Argyle, the S in MITTENS...?
I collected pennies as a kid, so I should've known MINT MARKS, but started off with MONEY something....
Finally, that banana sling of a THONG is just.... disturbing....
Oh, man! Now I'm hungry for fajitas too. And I just had breakfast.
Hello everyone,
The good news.... it was the only one this week....... the bad news,,,a DNF.
Southwest corner did me in. I was at sea with ROYKO, PEERS, ROYCE, & MANGOES.
KALINE, ZONE BLITZ & DAVEY were gimmes for this sports fan.
SIZZLE PLATE was pretty odd, but perps got me there. Ditto with ALSATIA. SZELL was a big time wag.
CC, additional players who spent there whole career with one team...... Jeter, J Robby, & Yaz. J Robby retired when Dodgers traded him to the Giants. Easy Trivia,,,Who did the Giants send to the Dodgers for Jackie? No Google look ups.
I thought the Base boss should be a commandant abbrev. because a SARGE isn't the boss of the whole base just a small part of the men.
When I said I was hungry for fajitas, I wasn't referring to Doha Doc's last sizzling comment. I was responding to Desper-Otto's luncheon plans.
I won't comment on that strangest of TOG linked.
Brutal!
Lots to like and got all but 3 cells with a lot of luck and good wags. Ultimately had to G for the S in Szell, the I in Janie and the V in Davey. Had never heard of Alsatia outside of northern France. So....DNF, but had a fun run.
Did NOT need to see that first thong, Splynter, but enjoyed the second. Factory air!
Good morning everyone. Good job, Splynter. Hope your work decision works out for you.
Belated Happy Birthday to Tinbeni. Sorry I OMITTED it yesterday.
Was thinking of taking a break from puzzling today, but when I saw it was a Silkie, I had to try it. Fairly difficult for me but I got most of it unassisted. Invoked red letter help with ZONE BLITZ and TOG. Never heard tog used as a verb.
I always thought the signature feature of the Edsel was its grille - a Mercury sucking a lemon. Many cars in those years had FINS; my '60 Dodge Dart had FINS.
A good Saturday workout; thanks Barry.
Hello Puzzlers -
Cruciverb is back! However, unlike Dennis, I failed to notice that the last puzzle in the list was Sunday's, as in tomorrow. So I just completed the wrong puzzle. Oops!
No need for a spoiler alert, but I will say I found it a touch harder than usual for a Sunday.
Cheers All
Really Dudley? You didn't notice that the grid was muuuch bigger? Or that the fill was nuuuuch easier?
Hi again~!
Found the other NIT - dang-it.
Sorry for the screw-ups.
D-otto, glad you liked the Onward locale, and thought your TWIN comment was fantastic~!
PK - those single signing women better be a "fringe benefit" for working 50-60hr weeks~! As a driver-helper, there were a few cuties that came to the door - but I only heard stories of the ones that came to the door in just a thong....
Splynter
I could stare at the AL_ATNA/_ZELL crossing for eons and not get it and so I guessed an O and came here. I’ll celebrate having only one shaky cell on this wonderful Saturday test. Congrats Splynter!!
Musings
-OMG it was an S, not a vowel! Now I know how you guys who aren’t baseball aficionados feel when you hit an obscure clue in that area.
-All my APPS make my iPhone a high tech Swiss Army knife. No ATLAS needed here!
-Of TUNNEL widths and horses asses
-Two more bad cells with FUNKY instead of JUNKY and still no clue on ALSATIA
-LOAD - Seinfeld characters talk of “doing a wash”. Huh?
-STRINGY cheese? Yay! Pot Roast? Boo!
-Big ROLES actors passed on
-That TOG beat the heck out of that THONG, Splynter ;-). I’ll bet she WAXES!
-That Snickers AMENITY will be $5 please
-I like players that stay too, CC, but also fully understand why Curt Flood challenged the reserve clause
-Every cheating pol TROTS out his dutiful spouse in his mea culpa news conference
-I had a Rolls Canardly. It Rolls downhill and Canardly make it up the next one
-In what hilarious movie was a SARGE referred to as “our big toe”?
Wow, great to come back home to a Silkie. The bottom was easy. The top was medium. The extreme center left was my bugaboo. I missed the V in AVON and DAVEY. V-8 can moment because I've heard of AVON romances. I had ANON and knew DANEY didn't make much sense. If only I had recited the whole alphabet. DAVEY seems like a babyish name, Davey Crockett, not withstanding.
AVON romances seem so predictable to me. Boring.
HG, loved your TUNNEL link.
I enjoyed Mike Royko's columns.
The capital H in 2 down indicated a proper noun, Bob Hope.
NPR has often replayed Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra. He was a perfectionist.
Amoxicillin can give one the TROTs.
Husker, I enjoyed the history of the railroad gauge (and the Thiokol solid rocket boosters). Interesting also that Alec Baldwin played the first Jack Ryan, and was followed by Harrison Ford. Then Baldwin turns down the role of Richard Kimball (The Fugitive) and it goes to Harrison Ford. Do you suppose Harrison has him on retainer?
Thanks to Splynter's link, I now know why that area out beyond Pluto is referred to as the OORT cloud.
Sorry that I was already logged off and missed yesterday's fun with Mary's buns and Blitzer's comeuppance.
Good morning, gang - first off, CONGRATULATIONS, Splynter, on becoming a UPS driver. I have a feeling that Home Depot girl will become a distant memory quickly; my old UPS driver used to regale me with stories of customers coming on to him.
Tough solve for me today, and a rare DNF. Just couldn't get the crossing of ALSATIA and SZELL. As always with Mr. Silk, the clues were just outstanding with great misdirection. One thing he does for us is force us to think outside the box.
Had to laugh at SARGE for 'Base boss'; that was my rank, and I wonder what would've happened to me if I walked around the base proclaiming myself as such. There were at least as many people above me as below me.
Off to play; my better half's in Toronto for a couple weeks so I'm left to my own devices.
Well, I only got four hours of sleep last night so I knew I was in for a tough Saturday. And then, to make things worse, a Silkie! Did my best and got the NW and SE more or less unassisted, but then had to start cheating. Even then, never got the middle. But it's okay, it was going to be tough and there were lots of interesting moments anyhow. Like that GENE pool--clever misdirection which I, of course, never got. And even if I got them, or most of them, like SILENT ? I still didn't "get" them.
Anyway, nice expo Splynter. And nice seeing Burrito check in first. Hope Barry is having a good trip.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Hondo, that's long been one of baseball's best trivia questions. I won't reveal the answer because it was a gimme for me, but I always thought O'Malley was a jerk for doing it, especially given the other player.
If you want to connect the railroad gauge history to Roman chariots you might want to review this Snopes Link.
Good day to you all! This was the most satisfying Saturday Silkie I've ever completed. Very nice!
I got SILENTB through crosses and it still didn't make sense for a while. Brilliant! I didn't agree with Base Boss or Edsel FINS. Words of Hope was clever. Lots of good stuff!
I am past the point of abject frustration trying to learn how to control the new DVR. So now I've got the basics and I'll learn the subtleties as I use it more.
Have a nice Saturday.
As a kid did you ever pretend you were driving a Rolls Royce?
Rolls-Royce Dreams BY Ginger Andrews
Using salal leaves for money,
my youngest sister and I
paid an older sister
to taxi an abandoned car
in our backyard. Our sister
knew how to shift gears,
turn smoothly with a hand signal,
and make perfect screeching stop sounds.
We drove to the beach,
to the market, to Sunday School,
past our would-be boyfriends' houses,
to any town, anywhere.
We shopped for expensive clothes everywhere.
Our sister would open our doors
and say, Meter's runnin' ladies,
but take your time.
We rode all over in that ugly green Hudson
with its broken front windshield, springs poking
through its back seat, blackberry vines growing
through rusted floorboards;
with no wheels, no tires, taillights busted,
headlights missing, and gas gauge on empty.
I can see it now. "Omigod! The new UPS guy is like walking porn!"
LINK from "Legally Blonde - The Musical" but beware of the "Bend and Snap".
how does one become proficient at solving crosswords, if you don't have sports figures knowledge?
Hi Everyone:
The good news today is that Cruciverb is back in the land of the living. (For how long is another story.). The bad news is I finished but not correctly. When I didn't get the TADA, I was certain it was because of Szell, which was a wag. No, it was the same mistake that YR made: anon instead of Avon. I thought Daney Johnson looked odd but I left it.
Some areas filled in quickly, others not so much. Northeast was the toughest for me. But I do enjoy Silkie's no matter how difficult.
Yesterday, Keith F hit my funny bone and today it was DO's comment about the Twin and his dead brother. Still laughing!
Good luck on your new adventure, Splynter.
Off to the farm stand. Have a great Saturday.
Anon@11:46 -- CW's encompass a wide range of useless knowledge, not just sports. You need a smattering of history, music, mythology, poetry, science, literature and current culture. Nobody's (well, almost nobody) is proficient in all areas. So you work with what you know and hope the perps will help out in your weak areas. My weakest area is definitely sports.
Splynter: Thank you for explaining my Silky Ink Blot / DNF.
Done in by the SZELL - ALSATIA 'natick' crossing. (Now THAT'S a Natick!)
Congrats on the job promotion. Drive safely!
Husker: "Stripes"
Here's "the big toe" speech Link (1:27)
Irish Miss: (Last Night) Yes, my NY Yankees lost ... but my Tampa Bay Rays won.
It was a wonderful game to enjoy ... routing FOR both teams.
Of course my fave today was 8-D, Mayberry sot, OTIS. Just something about that character I admire. lol!
Again, Thank you ALL for the nice Birthday wishes yesterday (and today, Spitz).
This is an awesome group!
Cheers!!!
Greetings fellow sufferers! Thank you, Splynter, you answered many questions with your expose.
WEES and WEES. Barry really OUTSMARTed and outwitted me on this. When I saw all the sports references I immediately researched them because there was no way I could get them all.
Having at least one letter to cross gives me a foothold and I'm off to the races.
The only name I could recall was GETZ because we've seen that many times and of course, LIZ. this was a slow slog but I did finish, Google and I, that is, but it pleased me that most of it was my effort and without too many erasures.
I never carry a HANKY up my sleeve but they know to ask me for a tissue because that's always in my purse.
I'm off to a party, one tomorrow, too.
Have a beautiful Saturday, everyone! I'll read you later.
Hondo: I had to google to find the "Who did the Giants send to the Dodgers for Jackie?" answer.
Actually that was very interesting. Always admire the players who stick with "one team".
Last night there was a cool 'sand sculpture' tribute to Mariano Rivera at Tropicana Field.
Enter Sandman 42
Hello everybody. Well, my lack of knowledge about sports figures did me in today. At 28A I felt that DALEY was as good an answer as any, and ALON for 26D seemed as good an answer as any. However, I did wonder Whether Daley was Johnson's first name or last name, and I wondered just who this Alon person was.
I also put in ENCARTS because I knew neither it nor the name of that Detroit Tigers Al guy. KALINS seemed, to re-use my phrase, as good an answer as any.
At least George SZELL was a gimme, which helped with the unknown ALSATIA. I have many recordings of Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra, but they're all vinyl records and I currently have no way to listen to them, my turntable having died years ago.
Damn good puzzle, though. I especially liked the clues for EDEN and HANKY.
Good luck to you, Splynter, and best wishes to you all.
-FYI, Anon I would only say my fairly good knowledge of sports and science figures is offset by my minimal expertise in authors, literary characters, chefs (except Wendy), foreign food, composers, directors, mythological figures, recent TV characters, ballet, clothing designers, rap stars, ad nauseum. If the clue is for a Bahamian rap star named for the Latvian God of Fertility that plays a chef on a 2013 TV sitcom, I’m outta luck. Those of us who come to play every day realize we are trainable and anxious to learn and that none of us particularly enjoy sour grapes.
- It’s all explained in this line from my movie of the day Stripes @1:24 – 1:30 (correctly identified by the Tinman).
-BTW, Joann does not carry a HANKY up her sleeve but judging by the size of her purse, I think she does carry a spare transmission for a ’47 Plymouth!
-Off to the Y “where you can do whatever you feel”
On my way out for the day so I'll come clean.
I figured Dennis would know, thought DoHa Doc and Tin might, wasn't sure about others, Answer IS: Dick Littlefield, a left handed journeyman pitcher.
Dennis, if I remember, J Robby was on the outs with Brooklyn, plus he was in his late 30's and his skills were going downhill.
Crashed and burned on the Silkie.
Just got this from crazy girl friend.
Bill G: You should get one of these phones, it can probably solve your VIOS problem as well.
REALLY SMART PHONE
pas de chat:
Too FUNNY !!!
I want a 'Sumsing Turbo Xi Cellphone' NOW !!!
... I'm feeling a little 'peckish' ... the dishes need cleaning ... my tires need air ...
Does it come with an NRA feature?
WOW !!!
Tin: There's probably an app for that too.
But just use the "handy self-destruct function"
And I think it also turns water into Pinch!
Hope your birthday was great!
Hi gang!
I woke up at 6 AM, and have been on the go ever since. I finally had a chance to sit down and read all your posts. Fun stuff today!
Like everyone else, I wondered about the crossings of AVON/DAVEY and ALSATIA...but my question mark was with ASSAD (like some others, SZELL was a gimme.) I finally WAG'd both of them and got lucky. Loved all the FOOLishness in the cluing for this one, and had to shift my thinking gears to enter plurals where the clue didn't obviously refer to plurals! Thanks Splynter, for counting them.
And good luck on your new job. I immediately thought of the UPS guy in "Legally Blond" when you mentioned that you are taking the driving job. As Argyle said, do watch out for that "bend and snap" trick!!
Another one from crazy girl friend:
AGE TEST DO YOU REMEMBER?
Where's CED?
Pas, all of them were familiar except STRATEGO. I've never played it; maybe never even heard of it.
And maybe I should get a phone like that. I have the cheapest cell phone available. I buy the minimum number of minutes to keep the phone functional. I keep it in the car for emergencies and use it maybe four times a year. I enjoy using my Mac at home but don't feel the need to use its functionality when I'm out and about.
Pas, I knew all of them except for the connection between Reynolds foil and a TV. Could someone explain??
Bill G: Same here, Tracfone with double minutes, I think I'm up to 500 or so minutes, 'cause I rarely use mine either.
Comes in handy when DH has locked the screen door hook and can't hear me ringing the bell!
I still say you oughta get a converter box and rabbit ears!!!
Yellowrocks: Absolutely LOVED the poem.
Imagination was a wonderful thing in those days.
Enjoyed the comments today and links.
Thank you Splynter.
61 Rampy:
We used to attach pieces of tin foil wrapped around the rabbit ears to get better reception. LOL
Bill G, are you listening?
5 and OUT.
Thanks Husker Gary, you always remember me. Sweet!
PAS Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. I remember all of them.
Splynter, fantastic write up. Good luck in your new position.
-You’re welcome Wendy! I’m really just angling for a cot on your lanai before I die ;-).
-Today at the Y, I saw a girl with a Kamehameha High School t-shirt on and I asked her if she was from Hawaii even though it was pretty obvious she was. She said she was from the Hilo side of the Big Island and was a little homesick being over 4,000 miles from home. When I asked her why she was at Midland University in Fremont Nebraska, she told me she was for this reason which I would have NEVER guessed.
I'm just passing a brutally hot and humid summer day prepping supper from the garden and listening to Pandora. Came across a tune that made me think of PK by Iris Dement. Not sure why that is, but I'm purty sure you'll like it, so this one's for you PK: Our Town
Being older than fluids, I too remembered them all.
Loved the phone features, pas -- and speaking of phone features, I'd be willing to bet a good sum of money that the vibrate feature wasn't invented by a guy...
Chefwen, is that an Akita?
Husker Gary - I've already put in your reservation.
Dennis - He's an Australian Cattle Heeler mix. He adopted us on the mainland so I'm not sure of the mix or even his age.
AvgJoe, thanks for the song, made me a little teary since it has my "folksy" style and sentiments. I have to wonder though if a song by Iris Dement means I am "demented". LOL! Strangely, despite the fact that we were all so invested in "Our Town" & county, none of my parents 38 descendents still live there.
My cell phone is my only phone which I take everywhere except out to feed the cat, which is when most of my calls seem to come in.
Lots of good links today, thanks everybody!
Late checking in today. We had a reunion this morning of our/ my former students from the '80s, and that kept me (and my brain cells) jumping. Actually it was a bitter sweet sort of event, as it was also a memorial service for my colleague who died suddenly in late June, two days before his 74th b'day.
The pzl took back seat, but still I appreciated Mr. Silk's work. The first gimme for me was SZELL; my favorite clue was "One in doubt," and the toughest (last to fall) was ECARTE, which started out as EUCHRE and took its sweet time evolving through slow perp action.
I believe that song by Ms. Dementia was played in the series finale of Northern Exposure while several scenes of Sicily, Alaska rolled by. Awesome.
No dis intended, PK. It was only the folksy aspects that made me think of you. More recently,I had a long talk with a good friend from Greeley Co. while he was out checking fields. That only reinforced the sentiment.
Sorta like you, I had dozens of relatives in my home town while growing up. Not a one remains. Time marches on, I guess. Oh we'll,it was a good place to be from.....
Pas: my reception is now loud and clear. I guess I really AM old. I knew of Stratego, but never played it.
You could probably add Wooden Lincoln Logs and Metal Tonka Trucks to that list.
Wendy, Is that the dog that wound up at Ben Stiller's house that you had to retrieve?
Maggie, I can't confirm, but you did trip a trigger in my aging brain that says: YES!! I'm pretty sure you're right.
That series had a lot of extraordinary tuneagement. Lot's of "WOW!" moments and usually when Chris was involved. One of my favorites was Hand on the Wheel
Thank you very much for jogging a memory that wasn't any too close to the surface!!!
Husker Gary - No, that was Toby, my former avatar. Toby passed away in January, I think I sent you the poem. This is Skippy, Toby's big (and I mean BIG) brother. Skippy was Toby's wing-man.
This is my third attempt at blogging on a moving train with a cell phone. First two bombed as the train wobbled and I hit something wrong. I will do this when I get home.
Abejo
My second time on this blog and am enjoying it, though taking some time to absorb all the witty comments. I have a NIT to pick with SIZZLEPLATE. Not to be a picky nit, but shouldn't it be a sizzling plate? Like others, I would associate ALSATIA with France. Oh, well. I do enjoy Barry Silk and always know I am in for a treat. I have learned a lot about men in sports doing crosswords. A plus for me. A question: is Barry Silk the cruciverb? Does anyone else miss Dan Naddor? I surely do. Thanks for letting me in on this great place!
Welcome, Lanne, and thanks for joining us.
To answer your question, no, Barry Silk is not Cruciverb, although he is a cruciverbalist. Someone else runs Cruciverb. And yes, I think we all miss Dan; he just seemed like a truly great guy, and his wit always came through in his puzzles.
Argyle: Did you get tothe Fair? Other than the rainstorm Thursday night, the weather was perfect.
Did anyone see the exciting finish of The Travers?
Sizzle plate is a pewter insert in a wooden tray that is heated up to keep food hot.
LINK
Went to the fair on Wednesday and missed the Travers.
Now I remember Wendy! They say your memory is the second thing to go!
Online I have found examples of sizzler plate, sizzling plate, sizzle platter, and sizzle plate, basically all the same thing. Whatever you call it, I love steak fajitas served on a sizzle plate.
Link Sizzle plate
Accoding to Wiki, Alsatia in London, was the name given to an area lying north of the River Thames covered by the Whitefriars monastery
Hi all, I missed all the fun of this puzzle :-( Total DNF, I got < 28% of squares right... I did know ASSAD though, so there's something...
Berry, I want to visit your mind. Splynter thanks for pointing out my errors. For what it's worth, castironPLATE at 11d just would not conform to the grid...
YR, lovely poem...
Cheers,
-T
Here I am again, from home. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Barry Silk, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Splynter, for the fine review.
First, congratulations Splynter, for the advancement with UPS. Have fun!
I got up this morning and checked cruciverb and, lo and behold, the puzzles were there. I actually sent an email to the site administrator last night. I hope that is not what fixed it.
I had most of the same successes and same problems that all you before me had. I totally goofed up the west. Missed on ECARTE, DAVEY, CALI, and AVON. Also had EZELL instead of SZELL. All the rest I got.
Mike ROYKO was my favorite columnist of all times. I read his column religiously until he died, an untimely death. Boy was he funny and truthful. He really tore up the Chicago politicians.
SILENT B. Great one.
I did not know IDENTI KIT, but wagged it successfully with a couple perps.
SEE ME. We have had that before and think I commented at the time that I had a boss once that did that all the time. Never signed his name. We all knew who sent the notes. He was my boss for only about one year. One time I forgot to wear a tie to work. We had to do that at that time many years ago. So, instead of sending me home to get a tie, he banished me to my cubical for the day. Oh well, as the world turns.
Had no problem with FINS for the Edsel. Of course other cars had fins back then. The clue did not hint that only Edsel had them.
WALE is a new word for me. But, I am not a knitter. Four perps and I had it.
Never heard of JANIE and Jack. Perped it.
Well,we are going to have some ribs tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(jahtsnt)
Hail to all Saturday super solvers,
Not only did it take a long time to finish this Silkie, but almost as long to read and enjoy all of your comments.
I knew I would have to give in to the Googlemeister at some point, but was pleased for filling the NW and SE without help today.
Loved Fall setting: Eden.
I had mini marts before filling in free thinker. LOL! Numismatist- a fine word. When I started collecting quarters for my grandsons I didn't realize at first that I had to collect two sets; one from the D (Denver)mint and one from the P (Philadelphia)mint.
Husker, you are so right. The PURSE does carry it all: wipes, crayons, cars, cheerios...
DH calls pot roast "stringy beef"- it's a well done juicy chuck roast.
pas de chat- thanks for the laugh.
Oh, and now we wrap tin foil around our credit cards when traveling so they can't be copied.
Splynter, enjoyed your write up. Hope you enjoy your new job!
Good memory Maggie, and welcome. I missed that show when it left.It had some good music.
pas de chat,
My brother sent me that memory "test." I knew most of them, but it misses some earlier ones from my decade. I sent a pic of an iceman delivering and a messy tar truck. We'd get chips from the one and chewed wads off the other.
ICE & TAR -- the treats of '40s kids!
HG,
Deja vu
I passed the test again.
Man, that sucks!
These are not your parent's libraries. Updated libraries.
Yes, I remember chewing pieces of tar. Why? I dunno.
All in all, I was a pretty well-behaved kid, both at school and toward my parents. Still, I sometimes recollect things I did that were stupid, inconsiderate, childish or maybe even cruel. Geez, I hate it when some of those things pop uninvited into my brain...
Bill, Remembering some of the things of my youth... I'm amazed that I survived it all and that I am still alive :-)
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