Theme: "Take It Or Leave It" (It's your choice!)
15-Across. Choice words for gamblers : PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
33-Across. Choice words for super-patriots : LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT.
55-Across. Choice words for anglers : FISH OR CUT BAIT.
23-Down. Choice words for those out of options : DO OR DIE.
Unique grid design. More blocks than we usually see in a LAT Thursday, but only 70 words - which is more typical of a Friday or Saturday. Two thirteens and a fifteen across, with a seven-letter theme entry going down, does not leave much room for finagling the rest of the grid. Great job getting it all to work, Jeffrey!
Lots of fresh fill made this a fun ride, starting at:
Across:
1. Easy job : KID STUFF. Nice!
9. EMS destination : HOSP.ital. Emergency Medical Service.
13. Extremely puffed-up quality : EGOMANIA.
14. Poker starter : ANTE.
17. As per : A LA.
18. Highway sign word : GAS. "Eat Here And Get GAS...."
19. Often-farmed fish : TILAPIA. One of my favorite fish to cook with. It takes on the flavor of whatever you add, because it is so mild.
21. Monocle, essentially : LENS.
23. "Spring ahead" abbr. : DST. Daylight Savings Time.
24. Ones falling in alleys : PINS. They usually all fall for Boomer! (Just as C.C. did...)
27. Misfortune : WOE.
28. Network offering home improvement advice : DIY. Do It Yourself.
29. "___ they've canceled my blood type": Bob Hope : I'M SO OLD...Great fill!
32. Honey in Dijon? : AMIE. French for "girlfriend."
37. Geraint's wife : ENID.
38. Trattoria preference : AL DENTE.
39. In-flight display no. : ALT.itude.
40. Geraint's title : SIR.
41. Rig : TRUCK.
45. Pair : DYAD.
47. With 25-Across, wine : THE. and 25-Across. See 47-Across : GRAPE. Never heard this euphemism.
48. Mountain topper : SNOW.
49. Warrior in "Rashomon" : SAMURAI. The film was only aired at a few cinemas worldwide, but is considered an artistic masterpiece. Besides, he couldn't very well use the clue "Warrior in 'The Last Samurai,'" could he?
51. Queen's consort : BEE.
54. Has been : WAS. Cute misdirection.
58. Inner: Pref. : ENTO. Ento- endo- dilemma again.
59. Galápagos denizen : TORTOISE. Because "iguana" was too short...
60. Methods : WAYS.
61. Left helpless : STRANDED. I liked how this one crossed 57-Down. Succor : AID.
Down:
1. NASA space observatory named for a Renaissance astronomer : KEPLER. Because "Galileo" was toooo long.
2. Galapagos denizen : IGUANA. Aha! There's my iguana from 59-Across!
3. Pointillist's unit : DOT. "Dab" also fit. Just sayin'...
4. Like the cat that swallowed the canary : SMUG. My cat is not feeling too smug right now. She had to swallow an antibiotic pill after dinner, and is still trying to hack it up...
5. Spanish morsel : TAPA.
6. Jose's ones : UNOS.
7. Douglas ___ : FIR.
8. Hot retail item : FAST SELLER. More fresh fill.
9. Schlep : HAUL.
10. Ready to pour : ON TAP.
11. "What was I thinking?!" : STUPID ME. (To quote Marti, after finishing the puzzle...) More fresh fill.
12. Charlemagnes's father : PEPIN III.
16. Popular : HIT.
17. Calculus prereq. : ALG.ebra.
20. To this point : AS YET.
22. Caught a glimpse of : SPIED.
26. U.K. record label : EMI. Electric and Musical Industries, Ltd. Now defunct.
27. Warm tops : WOOL SHIRTS. Not needing any of those recently!
30. Bus sched. entry : STA.tion.
31. Man cave, e.g. : DEN.
32. States as truth : AVERS. I was having my avers-avows dilemma before checking perps.
33. Detective's needs : LEADS. "Clues" would fit. Just sayin'...
34. Not many : ONLY A FEW.
35. Carrot nutrient : VITAMIN A. β-carotene was too long.
36. QB's statistic : ATT.empt.
42. Showing poor judgment : UNWISE. Like being egged on to do something stupid with a skateboard or bike...right, Steve?
43. Like easier-to-swallow pills : COATED. I don't think my cat's pills are coated...
44. Elec. units : KWs. Kilo-watts.
46. Failing the white glove test, say : DUSTY. Not my house!!
47. Way of the East : TAO. Literally, TAO means "way" in Chinese. 道
50. Sigma preceders : RHOS. And sigma precedes "tau." (Not to be confused with 道 )
51. Hamilton foe : BURR. Hah! I just used "Hamilton-Burr contest" in a puzzle to clue the word DUEL. So this was a gimme.
52. She rode on Butch's handlebars : ETTA. Remember "Place in a 1969 western," which clued the first name ETTA? Also one of Jeffrey's puzzles. (22-Across)
53. Dark, poetically : EBON.
56. Camper's bed : COT. And an annoying rhyme video...but, she forGOT "B-O-T", "G-O-T", "J-O-T," "L-O-T," "S-O-T" and "T-O-T." Time for me to hit the cot!
Till next week,
Marti
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteI was not as enamored with this one as Marti. The theme was fine, but I struggled with the rest of the fill.
PEPINIII was completely out of my wheelhouse and took every single perp to get.
Had HOT instead of HIT, which hid TILAPIA from view.
GRAPE THE took forever to get, even after getting GRAPE. OK, so it's actually THE GRAPE.
A queen's consort is just BEE? Not a drone BEE? Had the clue been "Queen's subject", maybe.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Bob Hope quote....
[sarysan]
Happy Thursday everybody!
ReplyDeleteWell, WOE is STUPID ME. My EGO MANIA needs to be HAULed to the HOSPital after today’s offering. It was UNWISE to SMUGly presume a Ta-Da before this Thursday puzzle ON TAP. I suppose I need to either SHUT UP, LEAVE IT BEE, or CUT BAIT, according to our constructor….
Natick: PEPIN III and TILAPIA – no bloody clue on either answer….
And Finally, in response to the Bob Hope “I’m so old….” quote at 29A:
“He's so old that when he orders a three-minute egg, they ask for the money up front.” Milton Berle
"He is alive, but only in the sense that he can't be legally buried." Geoffrey Madan
"A man's only as old as the woman he feels." Groucho Marx.
"At my age I get the daily paper, look at the obituaries page, and if I'm not there I carry on as usual." Mark Twain
"You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." George Burns.
“There is still no cure for the common birthday.” John Glenn
“You know you're getting old when all the names in your black book have M. D. after them.” Harrison Ford
“Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” Jack Benny
“Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional.” Bob Monkhouse
“Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative.” Maurice Chevalier
“Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” Benjamin Franklin
“As for me, except for an occasional heart attack, I feel as young as I ever did.” Robert Benchley
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteRabbit, rabbit.
Puzzle was difficult for me. But I prevailed sans cheats and finally there was the ta-da. Thanks for the challenge, Jeffrey. Thanks to Marti for a great write-up, as usual!
I can't seem to get to sleep as I found out about 10:00 pm (from Harvey) that my wonderful dog is dying of bone cancer. (I have mentioned before that she couldn't put weight on her left foot. She has been to the vet many times but it took a long time for the vet to give up on pain pills and x-ray her (and take biopsy.)
Have a nice August!
PS My dog is only 6 years old. How could such a thing happen?
ReplyDeleteGood morning. I hope you are enjoying your day.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jeffrey and thank you Marti. A++ and a TADA !
Caught the theme fairly quick. Unlike "Bay Window' yesterday, I would think everyone had heard of these ultimatums. A good friend in Houston always says, "FISH OR CUT BAIT" when he wants a decision to be made. Pick one or the other. I can think of another ultimatum in this form, but it's DF. It means "get a move on."
Key stroked turtle at 2D for Galapagos denizen until PUT UP OR SHUT UP made the turtle trudge away.
Almost messed up royally by entering CATFISH and for TILAPIA and SOTS where PINS was needed. What was I thinking ? STUPID ME ! HAUL and ON TAP made TILAPIA obvious and that was the breakthrough needed. Also almost typed SPEC for LENS until ALG was the sure answer for Calc prereq.
Hand up for not knowing PEPINIII. Didn't know Geraint's wife either, but ENID was filled by perps. No idea on KEPLER, but I know I guy with that name and perps came to the rescue.
Has been = WAS seemed too obvious, so I held off for 30 nanoseconds until it was easily proved.
Have a great day everyone !
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteSecond day in a row the NW corner did me in. 1 & 13 A, 1 & 2d the culprits. Had Old Stuff, never saw KID STUFF. Had the Mania, but my EGO never appeared. Two DNF's in a row. STUPID ME!
I read a lot of historical novels and am familiar with Charlemagne, but can't recall his father ever being mentioned. It was solved, but it took all perps.
Theme clues came with minimal perp assistance. Other then the NW, I found the rest of the puzzle enjoyable and got it done without too much stress.
Can say I have never watched one nano second of DIY.... don't even know if Comcast offers it.
Wanna bet Butch had ETTA riding on more then handle bars? There's that bar thing again Tin.
Bill G, someone ought to give your Dodgers a little infield practice. Must say though, being a long time Giant fan and a Yankee follower, I did enjoy it. And # 42 closed it out.
Very nice commentary Marti, .... Reading your answers made it look so easy. Unfortunately, out of my wheelhouse.
ReplyDeleteDoha Doc ..... I loved your collection of 'old' adages. Is old adages redundant ?
Regarding Bob Hope's one liner ...'I'm so old, they cancelled my blood group' .... Just yesterday, my web search, alerted me to a very rare blood group called the 'Bombay Blood group' ..... Oh or O+ , (h/h) which was discovered in that city, in 1952, by one of my wives, er, wife's professors. It is incompatible ( to put it in layman's terms - ) with the O, A, B and AB blood groups. Interesting, that such a concept turned up today.
Q : why does a single 'monocle', have a plural 'LENS' answer ? Unlike, Jeans, it does not have 2 legs to stand on ....
The Google doodle today, has a picture in honor of one of the few, and first ?, female US ( and world ) astronomers, Maria Mitchell. Take that, Kepler.
Have a nice day, you all.
fermatprime: I am so sorry to hear about your pup. Poor little thing! Isn't there anything the vet can do? Six years old is not very old at all. Poor pup :(
ReplyDeleteGood morning everybody! When I first looked at today's offering I rolled my eyes and groaned. I didn't think I stood a chance against Jeffrey Wechsler. However, I did better than I thought.
ReplyDeleteI liked 24A: Ones falling in alleys: PINS.
Until I read Marti's write up I wasn't sure about ENTO, DYAD, and ATT, but my PERPS were correct.
(I never heard of an attempt (ATT) as a football stat, but then again I'm not a huge fan.)
Nacho Fowler is such a cutie, I'd like to steal him for myself! Thanks for sharing, Keith.
Send thoughts and prayers to fermatprime's little pup-pup.
Enjoy your day.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteSTUPID ME! I started with TALAPIA, but that made "Popular" into a HAT. Aha -- exchanged the A for an O (from yesterday's pattern) and got HOT! Looked good to me. DNF!
Marti, after your "TORTOISE, because IGUANA is too short." I expected to see "IGUANA, because TORTOISE is too long."
Walking through the neighborhood each day I notice that on some days, for no particular reason, most homes have their outdoor lights on. You Badgers would appreciate hearing us walking down the street singing, "On with sconces, on with sconces..." I guess you had to be there.
42. Showing poor judgment : UNWISE.
ReplyDeleteJUDGEMENT
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot a slow start. This puzzle seemed daunting. But, one word at a time and I was able to finish.
Got the theme with FISH OR CUT BAIT. For 15A I wanted something that started with BET. I was held up there for quite a while. Finally got IGUANA. That fixed it. PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
I also liked the Bob Hope quote. I'M SO OLD, etc.
Tools while to get AL DENTE.
PEPIN III came slowly. I wanted a HENRY. Got it with perps and a wag.
PINS was good for 24A. Had me stumped for a while. I was thinking of an alley outside.
Raining here in western PA. Lots to domtoday.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(oizontr)
Fermatprime:
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your dog. We lost ours in February so we know how you are feeling. Hopefully he will hang on for a while.
Abejo
(tyerma)
This one really slapped me around, and then some. But I don't feel STUPID because I ended up getting it all out with only WAGs and lots of perp help.
ReplyDeleteI didn't appreciate the honey clue at all. I had MIEL there for such a long time, because cheri(e) and choux wouldn't fit. AMIE is a girlfriend, not a honey, and anyway, honey is a term of endearment I've never used, since I grew up never hearing it in Oz. I also started with PEAK/SNOW, SOTS/PINS, TOTE/HAUL, TURTLE/IGUANA, DEAL/ANTE, DESERTED/STRANDED.
But BEE didn't fool me for too long, and WAS was the first thing I thought of for has been.
Fermatprime,
Sorry to hear about your pup, but did not see what it has. I heard of a neighbor's young dog dying of a viral pneumonia, and wondered if it was something similar.
Bob Hope’s quote took a while but became my last fill. I can’t improve on Marti’s summation paragraph, or anything else she does. Wine and snow-capped mountains in her puzzle seemed apt!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Liza Doolittle’s musical PUT UP OR SHUT UP
-Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth, down by one – It’s DO OR DIE.
-Emma’s junior year at Lincoln High looks my sophomore year in college – not KID STUFF
-DST is not an energy saver but golf courses report it increases their revenue by $400M
-I don’t watch DIY but YouTube can help you fix anything
-Is spaghetti AL DENTE when it sticks to the wall when thrown?
-Funniest SAMURAI ever
-Telegrapher Thomas Edison nicknamed his eldest kids DOT and DASH
-I remember pet rocks and mood rings as FAST SELLERS
-America’s Funniest Videos relies on UNWISE choices
-Ah, DUEL will be in an upcoming Marti puzzle. How ‘bout Harry Reid and John Boehner at 20 paces?
-8 in a row for the Royals! Sorry about the Twins and White Sox, CC and Mari.
Feermat,
ReplyDeleteI see now your first comment has returned. That's really sad, but I guess there's not much they can do if it's too far advanced.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteNice easy theme made much of this a romp. But there were prickly areas. Didn't know EMI so it took awhile to parse I'M SO OLD.
Also, had 'erect' before TRUCK for 'rig'. TW's didn't bother me -- terawatts is common enough, but needing the 'u' for UNWISE convinced me of the error of my ways.
Schlep - HAUL. Schlepper is German for tugboat.
Have a great day.
To Keith Fowler, Re: Yesterday @ (all over the place) specifically: "Nacho"
ReplyDeleteI just read yesterdays later comments (I have done the puzzle, but not yet read the Blog or todays comments) but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in before I forgot...)
Being an obsessive linker, I have had more than my share of failed links. But also being compulsive drives me to find out "why" they fail. Your plight hit a raw nerve because I use Facebook as the easiest way to link personal stuff all the time without problems. So what's going on???
I right clicked one of your blue links & chose "copy," then opened a new email & hit "paste." what came up was this:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101906979185281&set=pcb.10101906980612421&type=1&theater
(Note that the web address starts with www.facebook.com, which automatically sends you to a sign in webpage.)
Then I copy & pasted a random pic from facebook the way I usually do it, & I got this:
https://sphotos-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1006024_573057482736119_1241471390_n.jpg
(note that the facebook.com intro is missing, & it takes you directly to the pic, bypassing facebooks sign on crap.)
(WHATS GOING ON?:)
If you right click a pic on facebook & choose "COPY LINK ADDRESS" you get that annoying facebook.com intro. HOWEVER,,, IF YOU CLICK ON THE PIC IT TAKES YOU TO A CLOSE UP OF THE PIC. If you then right click this close up, you get a different option that says "COPY IMAGE URL". Using this command bypasses all the facebook intro crap & leads directly to the to the pic.
Hope that helps...
OCD CED...
P.S. to the 20 line police:
This was a public service message, (so quit yr bitchin...)
Hello, puzzlers. Wonderful commentary, Marti. I am surprised you have not heard "the fruit of THE GRAPE" or more commonly, fruit of the vine for wine.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was not KID STUFF but it was fun and just a mite challenging. One write over and that was TURTLE/IGUANA. I laughed when I saw TORTOISE at the bottom.
I AM SO OLD . . . also made me chuckle.
PEPIN III didn't just trip off my tongue, but I had heard of him and recognized his name. Perps helped.
At first I thought the theme might be "Famous Last Words."
Ferm:
I'm so sorry about your dog. One of my daughter's dogs died of cancer at ten years old (human years).
Thank you Jeffrey, for a fine puzzle.
My roof was supposed to be done today but rain is in the forecast.
Have a superb Thursday, everyone!
Judgment has been the preferred American English spelling for about 50 years, at least.
ReplyDeleteDohaDoc:
I enjoyed reading the adages you posted; they always bear repeating.
ReplyDeleteFerm,
So sad about the pup. Enjoy the time you have left with her and remember, lots of tummy rubs.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThank you, JW, for a challenging, but highly doable, Thursday offering. The theme answers came easily enough and any tricky areas were solved by perps. Great expo, Marti, as usual.
Ferm, I am so sorry about your dog. Losing a beloved pet is very difficult and sad.
After reading CED's PSA, I need a few Excedrin!
Happy August First!
Fairy hard for a Thursday, but doable. I worked from the bottom up as I couldn't make any headway starting at the top.I did have to look up "pointillist".
ReplyDeleteI started out with only ENID and SIR and figured this was going to be impossible. But then I got TORTOISE (we have a 50 year old desert tortoise living in a custom pen with drainage and plants on our back patio). And then came BURR and ETTA and slowly the bottom filled in. Then the middle and the top. Getting the theme early helped a lot. Tada! So, many thanks, Jeff, for a fun way to start the new month. And thanks, always, for you great expo, Marti.
ReplyDeleteHeard of PEPIN but wasn't sure which number he was.
Lots of great humor today. Both Doha Doc and Desper-otto cracked me up.
Oh dear, Fermatprime, how sad to hear about your pup. Dogs are true members of the family, as we know only too well.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Happy August! I enjoyed Jeffrey's puzzle but I stumbled on HOT instead of HIT and I have never heard of PEPINIII.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marti. I always enjoy your writing style.
FP, I'm sure sorry about your dog. I still miss our old sheepdog.
Yes, the Dodgers wasted another great performance by their Cy Young candidate, Clayton Kershaw, he with the lowest ERA of any pitcher ever! Their young rookie compensates for his speed, hitting and throwing with a rookie's baseball brain. I hope he learns from all of his mistakes. We'll see.
C.E.D. - loved your scholarly discussion. What immense talent and what marvelous detective work.
ReplyDelete( You had me, at 'To Keith ' ...)
If you take your incised links, and add, at the end, 'Samurai.com' - a sword comes out of your screen and cuts your head off, John Belushi style.
Keep your links coming, whenever you have the time, and thanks for entertaining us. God knows, these puzzles are getting me depressed, and I need a dozen Aspirins.
Pinch, Pinch ...
ReplyDeleteMarti: Thank you for the wonderful write-up & links.
Fave today ON-TAP, like the 50 different craft beers at my favorite Pub.
fermatprime: So sorry to hear the news about your dog. (I liked him as your avatar!)
KF: Nacho as your avatar was perfect. Great looking dog.
Cheers to all at Sunset!
G'Day All!
ReplyDeleteLike others I went through everything once with a smattering here and there. But, with COT (56d) and BURR (51d) and seeing 27d was going to be plural, STRANDED fell. I was off the the races like a TORTOISE...
Hand up for sots / PINS.
At 44d I had _WS and could only think of GigaWatts ( Back to the Future ) and not TWS like Spitzboov.
I had messy for DUSTY, team for DYAD, and many, many more write overs (my paper looks like a Rorshach blot now). Two Googles needed to clear-up / create mess :-)
Thanks to Jeffery for enjoyable pzl and to Marti for the writeup.
FP - sorry to hear about the pup.
HG - From AL DENTE to mushy will stick to the wall. Fork up a noodle, blow hard, and test with teeth. There's nothing worse than a mushy noodle (like the one on my shoulders).
Lucina - Famous Last Words - "Hold my beer and watch this."
Cheers,
-T
Thanks for the write-up Marti. I had a struggle with this, WEES but also in England the phrase is "TAKE it or leave it" so that buggered things up for a while.
ReplyDeleteI've heard "the grape" used in the old adage "Never mix the grain and the grape" - i.e. don't drink whisky and wine at the same sitting.
Food! today, yay! I use tilapia in thai yellow fish curry.
Vidwan - my ex-girlfriend's mom has O+ blood and she has to keep a refrigerated store of her own plasma if she ever needs a transfusion. It's stored at a hospital in Long Beach and will be put on a private jet if she's not close by. She did need it once - fortunately she was within emergency services range.
My head was in the right place for this one.
ReplyDeleteExcept for FIR, which I penned immediately, it looked quite daunting. But then some longish answers just fell into place, starting with the cross of SAMURAI (in a movie I have written about) and VITAMIN A in the SW corner. Once the bottom was done, I sought a hook on the top. Luckily, I recalled the musical "Pippin," which opened 12D for me. (I only had to work out which numbered PEPIN preceded our first Holy Roman Emperor: Pepin III – The Short .)
I always start solving on the newspaper copy but when I get stuck I go the AMERICAN MENSA site and today finished it without help (except for red letters). This is so unusual for me but is the first in a long time. Once I got LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT this made the long themes easier.
ReplyDeleteSteve, @ 1204 Hrs.
ReplyDeleteI hope I did not cause some misunderstanding -
O neg. blood is "Universal Donor". - Its blood can be used / accepted, by any other blood group. (That's me - ). But it can accept only O neg. blood, for itself..
O positive - is "Universal Acceptor" - can accept blood from any other blood group. However, no other groups can accept that blood.
Only O positive, H antigen deficient - Bombay Blood group. - is a rare, unique blood group - that can accept ONLY its own blood. ( O post. H deficient = h/h ). No other. Unique Donor and Unique Acceptor.
Your relative must have had some rare antigen, to make her blood, as unique acceptor and donor. O positive blood is rather common among US demographics.
This is a rather simplified explanation ---- and like all such simplified explanations -- may have numerous mistakes and exceptions.
Regards.
Fermat: Once your dog begins to have pain, have him put to sleep. Our neighbor's dog had cancer but the son would not allow the parents to put him to sleep until too late. The vet's office was closed on Sat. and by Sunday he was writhing in pain and squeeling. On Mon. he was put to sleep. It does no good to prolong the deed, though it hurts your heart.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteGood challenge today with a Saturday feel. Made it through with a lot of perp help and head scratching - plus sussing the theme was a big boost.
We were at the lake last week with no internet access. This week has been tough. Gloria's cousin died Saturday, and the funeral was yesterday. In the past year, I don't think we've gone more than 6 weeks without a funeral.
Fermat - sorry about your dog. They're family, too.
Doha Doc's post reminded me of my personal motto: What I lack in youth, I make up for with immaturity.
Cool regards!
JzB
Vidwan872:
ReplyDeleteYou know more about blood than I can recall from my Army days (92B; worked the blood bank during Dessert Storm).
A & B can take O, neither A nor B can take the other.
O can only take O.
Any positive can take negative, but a negative can't take positive.
Ergo, O+ can only take O+, A+ can take A+ or A- or O+; same for B+
Correct my memory please!
FYI - I am BEE Positive :-)
Cheers,
-T
@Vidwan - ah - I thought the O+ blood was the rare stuff - anyway, she's got weird blood whatever it's called!
ReplyDeleteFermat,
ReplyDeleteand fellow dog friends,
It is one of our saddest life events to say farewell to a canine buddy.
I jokingly refer to ours as Man's Best Parasite. A good pooch is programmed to imprint on us in a way that few of us deserve. It hurts terribly to see one suffer, and it is an awful moment to endure--as my wife and I did for two of ours just a couple of years ago--holding their paws as they close their eyes for the last time.
Age six is far too young for Fermat's dog to be so afflicted. But even with a typical life of a 12 to 14 year span, I think they are programmed so that we're the ones who must take the pain of losing them. Hard as it is on us, the other way around is just intolerable.
Anon @ 1:20 pm: That's so sad about your neighbor's dog :( We have 24 hour "emergency vets" where I live, but I'd much rather take my pets to their own vet.
ReplyDeleteFerm: It's none of my business, but there's a 3 legged dog in my neighborhood that runs like the wind. That pup's owners have a hard time keeping up with him when he run's on the bike path. If it's not too late, maybe you could look into removing Pup's bad foot.
(Sorry, I'm a big softie when it comes to animals.)
Hello everybody. Interesting pattern of black squares today. A good, tough, puzzle. A couple or three reasonably straightforward answers got me the toehold I needed to get started, and it was a rock-climb from there. Very satisfying indeed. Misspelled TILAPIA as TALAPIA and couldn't figure out how HAT fulfilled its clue. Actually wanted SALMON but obviously it was too short. Best wishes to you all.
ReplyDeleteKeith Fowler @ 2:07 pm:
ReplyDeleteAww, you're making me cry. I've held those paws and know I will be there again in the future.
I need something cute to cheer me up.
I also had "take it or leave it" for the longest time, (now I know why, Tx Steve.) & I was sure Rho preceded Sigma, but I could not get it to fit with all the possible perps in my mind. I finally gave in & googled the Greek alphabet, & when I inked in Rho, suddenly all the other pieces came together. (including love it or leave it.)
ReplyDelete2 "i"'s after Pepin had me thinking that "amie" was a mistake until the 3rd I showed up.
45A Dyad, what a strange word! But if you think if "triad" it makes some kind of sense, but then, shouldn't a pair be a "byad?"
Hmm, should I link pics of (4D)smug cats? (no, they get enough bad press already...)
I just saw the latest reincarnation of Pippin on Broadway, it was wonderful, with a twist that instead of being presented by an acting troupe, they were circus performers with lots of magic acts! But why is it called "Pippin" instead of "Pepin?"
More “awes”.
ReplyDeleteWhat PEPIN number do you suppose chef Jacques merits?
ReplyDeleteMari, I saw your "awes" #21 dashing through my yard last evening. I swear it was the smallest fawn I've ever seen. Couldn't have been more than 18" at the shoulder. Mom wasn't far behind him.
Hi Y'all! I agree with Lucina, the puzzle wasn't quite KID STUFF. However, it was closest to a speed run I've ever had on a Thursday. Thanks, Jeffrey & Marti!
ReplyDeleteNew to me: PEPIN III & ENID. Successful WAG: last syllable in KEPLAR.
I watch a lot of DIY-related shows because I'd rather see violence done to an old house than to a human being. Also interested because I did so many years of it.
Loved the Bob Hope QOD. He kept us laughing without profanity, seemingly a miracle in this new age. DohaDoc: great quotes. I told my daughter recently, "You know you're old when Ben-Gay is your favorite hand cream."
"Eat & Get Gas": I remember a trip where that frequently seen sign kept my youngest bro & I convulsed with laughter for three hours.
DO: Having played "On Wisconsin" many times in HS pep band, I appreciated your pun. Great fight song!
Ferm: The quality of the life with our pets makes up for the short time we have with them.
Thanks, Mari @ 2:21,
ReplyDeleteThose are amazing videos -- and a cheerful antidote to the sad times. The shadow chasers are like our Golden, and the weird stair climbers like our Yorkie.
I wonder if this Cutie will show: Louie Y. Fowler .
His photo was adopted as a pin-up by our neighborhood association.
Cute dog, Keith. I think you're getting the hang of that link-posting.
ReplyDeletedesper-o@8:13
ReplyDeleteLOL at your pun of Wisconsin!
Since my specialty degree was in immunohematology, and I worked for years in the blood bank, I’d like to add to the blood discussion. Vidwan, you are correct in saying that O neg is the “universal donor.” But O pos is not the universal recipient. That would be a person of type AB pos – as long as they only receive the donor’s cells. The plasma is where the antibodies (Kung Fu fighters – fighting off foreign devils, if you would) are found.
ReplyDeleteType O has anti-A and anti-B in their plasma, so can only receive type O cells.
Type A has anti-B, so they could receive type A or type O cells.
Type B has anti-A, so they could receive type B or type O cells.
Type AB does not have those antibodies, so they can receive type A, Type B or type O cells.
But, if you tried to give type O “whole blood” (cells + plasma) to a type A, B or AB person, those kung foo fighters in their plasma would immediately set out to destroy all the A or B cells they came in contact with – leaving a bloody mess!
Hi all, Fun puzzle today. Looked daunting at first.
ReplyDeleteI'M SO OLD and AL DENTE finally dawned on STUPID ME!
Fermatprime, I feel so sorry about your dog. I certainly hope something can be done to cure her.
Mari: I enjoyed your links, especially "Find your sunbeam".
My cats always lie in the sunbeam in the morning, even when it's already warm. Wonder why they like it so much?
That's like wondering if a cat will curl up in a cardboard box, I guess.
No time to post the last few days, but read most of the comments.
Dear CrossEyedDave @ 9:36 am!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I just got around to reading your (rather dogged!) very helpful research into my linking plight. I have copied your solution for future use. My only problem may be the "right click" moves. Since switching from my old PCs to an iMac I no longer have that clicking option. But as I read your explanation, I think I'll get there as long as I reach a close-up, or as long as I don't include "Facebook" in the URL.
Yes, F'book does provide us with a quick way to post our own pix on line so I'd hate to lose it as a channel here. Many thanks!
To desper-otto @ 2:58 pm:
Thanks for confirming that Louie showed through!
Mari, et alia,
ReplyDeleteThis guy belongs on your video with the other 23.
You do it your way, and I'll do it my way !
Let me simplify all of this information on blood types.
ReplyDeleteSIMPLY PUT
Today I returned from a two day outing to Valley Forge National Park only to meet three disasters. As property manager, I learned our steeple leak is continuing in the face of Board of Health citations. As club co-president, I learned our square dance club is losing its hall in 30 days, too soon to make other arrangements. As sister, I learned my sister was released from the hospital before proper arrangements for after care could be set up. She is now at my brother’s, but….
ReplyDeleteSo today’s puzzle was a welcome diversion. I was on Jeffrey’s wave length from the start. My first entries were TAO and THE GRAPE. W.C. Fields had a fondness for “the grape.”
As Keith said, I enjoy the musical, Pippen, where Pippen is Charlemagne’s father. Spelling it with the single P is tricky and you need to remember he was the III.
My definition of pointillism includes the idea that it is formed with DOTs.
Continued.
ReplyDeleteI’M SO OLD. Here we say, “I’m sooo old.” In other areas people say, “I’m s’ old.”
I always knew, “We grow too soon old and too late smart,” was a Pennsylvania Dutch expression. I now see its equivalent in other languages, as well.
I liked Queen consort= BEE.
In the U.S. a girlfriend is often called my honey.
Lens is singular. The plural is lenses.
The farming of TALAPIA has been introduced to third world countries to increase their protein supply.
FERM, I'm SOOO sorry (not s' sorry) about your dog. I lost two cats that way. It is very sad.
Valley Forge was interesting. I live very near to the Jockey Hollow, NJ encampment and Washington's Morristown headquarters. We have a national treasure close to home.
Marti, thank God, you chimed in - I was wondering why you were lyin' low, up to now. I have reached my limit of my knowlegde on that subject of blood groups .....
ReplyDeleteAlthough, no doubt, "Queen's consort" - Bee is correctly clued, I can't help but think, that the queen 'consorts' only once, in her life, though for numerous times, and with numerous partners, on that occasion. The majority of her life, she spends in the company of asexual worker drones, in her chambers, in the hive. Many years ago, I heard the lyrics of 'Multiplication' by Bobby Darin (?) ....
When you see, a gentleman bee,
'Round a lady bee buzzin',
Just count to ten, then, count again,
There's sure to be an even dozen. !
Multiplication .... That's the name,
And each generation ... It's played the same. !
Probably none of the kids, including me, ever realized how fake that scenario was. Aah, those naive days of innocence.
Really crazy at work today, so I didn't have time to post earlier. CED, thank you soooooo much for the Facebook work-around. I am on Facebook for my book club, and I absolutely hate all those email "notifications" about people who are posting/talking/commenting behind my back!
ReplyDeleteFermat, so sorry to hear about your dog's diagnosis. I know only too well, how pets can get so close to your heart.
Keith F, so glad you were able to share NACHO's pic on your avatar - he's a real cutie!
Lucina, I know "Fruit of the vine" = wine. But "The grape" just didn't seem right to me?!? But YR's comment about W.C. Fields' fondness for "the grape" sort of rang a bell...
Mari, your first link has lots of cute doggie videos but the person who wrote the captions has a problem... TTP, good one too!
ReplyDeleteYR, I'm sorry to hear about your set of problems and concerns. I hope they all got worked out OK soon. We miss you and I hope for improvement with your situation.
It's absolutely beautiful outside today. It's about 70 degrees, blue sky, light breeze, just perfect for me. I had cream of spinach soup for lunch along with a steak quesadilla. Very tasty.
Mari, great, heart-warming videos!! Thanks for linking.
ReplyDeletepas de chat, loved the vampire video!! Puts blood typing at a whole new level...
Fermatprime, my condolences, enjoy every moment with him that you can...
ReplyDeleteCED Admirer, Your scaring me!
(+ I don't know if you are Manac out to get me,,, & I haven't got him back yet from the last time he got me...)
A taste of the current 2013 Pippin on Broadway.
Marti, I'm AB+, which is fairly uncommon. I know I'm a universal recipient, but when I was in the Marines, I would occasionally sell blood for some extra money, because they paid much more than for the other types. Now I don't understand why, if other AB+s can take anything. Can you explain it?
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, I'm holding off on the rant - it has to do with Random Acts of Kindness, which we're big on, and I think it would sound I was trumpeting the fact that we do it. Suffice to say, the lack of simple gratitude from the younger generation (jeezus, I sound like Bill!) never ceases to amaze me.
I enjoyed the theme. The fills were doable with the help of perps.
ReplyDeleteMarti, thanks for helping me understand why certain fills were right. Your explanation of Blood type was right-on the mark @ 3:06.
Ferm, I lost my cat to bone cancer. The vet tried to take a leg, but sent her into congestive heart failure. In hindsight, I wish we would have let her go immediately.
I try to check blog daily, but it's been a difficult few months. Tendonitis is so sever that I am living on pain meds. I have an orthopedic boot for my left ankle now. The "Hover-round" was delivered in May. It's been very helpful. I've only been swimming once this summer.
I enjoy the "I'm so old" quotes, but didn't expect to identify with them at 58 years old.
If I've brought you down, repeat Mari's links.
HeartRx - Thanks so much for correcting me and my fading memory. Good thing I'm no longer responsible for blood as I got the some of it backwards...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
-T
Blue Iris. It was good to hear from you. I've been missing you. I hope you will soon find improving health with less pain.. I'm glad you have the Hover-round.
ReplyDeleteA big yellowrock to you.