Men whose names end in double letters, that is. And all of them are real animals...
17. "Django Unchained" co-star : JAMIE FOXX. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
24. "Malice N Wonderland" rapper : SNOOP DOGG.
35. "This Boy's Life" memoirist : TOBIAS WOLFF.
50. Sal Romano portrayer on "Mad Men" : BRYAN BATT.
59. Super Bowl X MVP : LYNN SWANN. Also Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
A nice mixture of movie actor, music, literature, TV, and sports figures! A theme consisting of all proper names is sometimes daunting. But all of them emerged after a few perps. What did you think?
Marti here, to give meaning to life...or, at least, come up with some plausible excuses!
Across:
1. Window sill coolers : PIES. I wanted "fans." But I can also picture PIES cooling on a window sill.
5. Waffles no more : OPTS.
9. In an offbeat way : ODDLY.
14. Spots teens don't like : ACNE.
15. Unoccupied : FREE.
16. Civic, perhaps : COUPE. Honda Civic.
19. Different take : TWIST. I'll take a TWIST of lemon instead of lime in my Gimlet...
20. Rings of activity : ARENAS.
21. Area near a hangar : APRON.
23. Thoughtful type : MUSER. Like Husker Gary!
28. Cinders : ASH.
29. Cross word : BAH, humbug!
31. Pirouetted : TWIRLED.
32. Salk vaccine target : POLIO.
34. Group with a self-titled monthly magazine : AARP.
39. Beyond bad : EVIL. An oldie but goodie. 3:38
41. Bedding item : SHEET.
42. It involves checks and balances : BANKING. Nice misdirection.
46. Cenozoic ___ : ERA.
47. Parisian possessive : SES. Here are the rest, with singular / feminine / plural forms.
MY: mon / ma / mes
YOUR: ton / ta / tes
HIS / HER / ITS: son / sa / ses
OUR: notre / notre / nos
YOUR: votre / votre / vos
THEIR: leur / leur / leurs
52. Stem cell research advocate Christopher : REEVE. He was a great inspiration to thousands of spinal injury patients.
54. Kitchen gadget : DICER.
55. First name of two U.S. presidents : ANDREW. Jackson and Johnson, the seventh and seventeenth presidents.
56. Lost a lap : STOOD. Fun clue!
61. Streisand title role : YENTL. I enjoyed the movie. 3:36
62. The Gaels of college sports : IONA.
63. ___ facto : IPSO. Latin, "by the fact itself." She had to write the blog and was, ipso facto, unable to go to bed early.
64. Candy man : REESE.
65. Tech news dot-com : CNET. DH reads it every day.
66. Broadway shiner : NEON. Not a black eye, but the lights above your head.
Down:
1. ___ party : PAJAMA. Pillow fight!
2. Boy who had a legendary meltdown : ICARUS. Moral of the story: "Boys with wax wings should stay away from the sun."
3. Tangle up : ENMESH.
4. The Pont Neuf spans it : SEINE.
5. Wastes, mob-style : OFFS.
6. For : PRO.
7. Perot, e.g. : TEXAN.
8. One who's really hot : SEXPOT. I am sure we will be seeing links by our regulars...
9. Cuttlefish cousins : OCTOPI. Anyone else want "squids?"
10. Vertical air movement : DOWNDRAFT.
11. It makes SADD mad : DUI. Driving Under the Influence. We just had SADD as an answer yesterday.
12. Groovy music collection? : LPs. Long Play(s) 33 1/3 RPM microgroove vinyl records.
13. However : YET.
18. Bit of dangly jewelry : EARBOB. Does anyone really call them that?
22. Fracas : ROW.
24. Islamic branch : SHIA.
25. Norwegian royal name : OLAF. Ah, the old "F or V?" dilemma.
26. An official lang. of Switzerland : GER.man.
27. National econ. stat : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.
30. Clay, today : ALI.
32. Spotty pattern : POLKA DOTS.
33. CIA forerunner : OSS. Office of Strategic Services.
35. Minute : TINY.
36. Use a strop on : WHET.
37. "___ the fields we go" : O'ER.
38. Hears : LEARNS.
39. Drop in the ocean? : EBB. A fun clue for a common xword word.
40. Alt. spelling : VAR.iant.
43. Sitting at a red light, say : IN IDLE.
44. "Days of Our Lives" network : NBC.
45. Language that gave us "galore" : GAELIC. I did not know that she was Gaelic?
47. Señorita's shawl : SERAPE.
48. "All the same..." : EVEN SO.
49. Like some patches : SEWN ON. Wanted "iron on" at first.
51. Check for fit : TRY ON.
53. Dickens' Drood : EDWIN. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." His final novel, it was unfinished at his death. We'll probably never know "whodunnit."
55. Future MD's class : ANAT.omy.
56. Leb. neighbor : SYR.ia.
57. Beginning of time? : TEE.
58. Half and half : ONE. Two tricky clues in a row.
60. Oak Lawn-to-Chicago dir. : NNE. Not the Texas city of Oak Lawn, but the suburb of Chicago. Map. (Zoom out.)
Now I'm zooming off to bed!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Happy 6th Birthday to the handsome Truman, JD's oldest grandson.
 |
| JD & Truman |
Taken on July 5, 2010
From left to right: Grady (11 months, Truman's little brother), Truman 3 & Cameron (2 weeks then, and he's starting preschool next month.)
94 comments:
First!
Even when I got the theme it wasn't easy. Superbowl X MVP was LYNN SWANN but superbowl I MVP was BART STARR so a quick google of superbowl MVPs gave me the wrong fill.
I think we've seen this theme before obviously years ago. I seem to recall a puzzle with Brad PITT, Benjamin BRATT, Ringo STARR and Arsenio HALL. BRYAN BATT's Mad Men costars Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss would also have fit the theme.
I wanted IRON ON for SEWN ON. I was nevertheless able to finish quickly after googling all the theme fills. :)
Morning, all!
Fun theme today, hampered only by the fact that BRYAN BATT and TOBIAS WOLFF were complete unknowns to me and LYNN SWANN was only vaguely known. Perps to the rescue!
Speaking of obscure names, I almost turfed it at the crossing of REESE and SERAPE because (a) I had no idea who REESE was and (b) I always want to spell SERAPE as SARAPE for some reason. REESE looked more likely than REASE, however, et voila.
Enjoyed the cute clues for ICARUS and REESE. Never heard of EAR BOB before, however.
[ettgova]
Happy Thursday everybody!
Glad to report a finish today, but it took a lot of WAGging, namely because of unknown names like EDWIN (Drood), BRYAN BATT, and TOBIAS WOLFF (who was originally entered as ThomAs WOLFe)….
The last WAG was replacing EAR fOB with EAR BOB – Ta-Da…!
It wasn’t until finishing the puzzle that the double consonant name-ending theme revealed itself to me, which is interesting because my surname also ends with a double consonant….
Favorite clue = Boy who had a legendary meltdown….
SADD sure is getting a lot of airplay this week in the xwords….
Too bad there wasn’t a more rigorous set of checks and balances in the BANKING industry in 2008….
Wasn’t it ODDLY coincidental that SYRia and SHIA were in the same puzzle, given the tensions in this part of the world lately…?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always associated the word SEXPOT with Brigitte Bardot. However, the Online Etymology Dictionary indicates that the term “Sex Kitten” was coined to describe Ms. Bardot (And God Created Woman). Again, in my mind, the phrase Sex Kitten is linked to Jane (Barbarella) Fonda….
Proud to say I’m a cat lover….MEOW!
Cheryl Ladd, any one of the Gibb brothers or model Kate Moss would also have worked.
Good Morning, Marti and friends. This seemed a bit easier than the usual fare, but I really enjoyed this Alt. Spell (VAR) on the Animal Names. After getting SNOOP DOGG (who I think currently goes by Snoop Lion) and BRYAN BATT, I realized to look for animals with double last letters.
How nice to see my friend Bryan Batt in today's puzzle. I happened to have enjoyed a dinner with him and his partner just last weekend.
Hand up for wanting my Patches to be Iron On instead of SEWN ON.
I think the first and only time I have ever seen/heard the word EAR BOB was when I read Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.
My favorite clue was the Boy with the Legendary Meltdown = ICARUS.
Today marks the 8th anniversary of Katrina and the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Isaac. All is quiet in the gulf and ocean so far.
Happy Birthday to JD's grandson, Truman.
QOD: Happiness is good health and a bad memory. ~ Ingrid Bergman (Aug. 29, 1915 ~ Aug. 29, 1982)
[eboratin]
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, David Poole. When I enjoy a Thursday, I think maybe I'm getting better at this.
The theme escaped me this morning until Marti 'splained it. The last three names were unknowns for me, but perped well.
The prez name came only after I realized James & John didn't fit and there were three Georges.
I had two aunts from Texas who called earrings EARBOBS. When I lived in Texas later, I heard the term there.
C.C., Thanks for your message. I don't think the "boys" realize how insulting they were being to us newbies.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.
Could not get started easily, but it is a Thursday. My first word was LPS. Clever clue.
The easiest of the theme answers was LYNN SWANN. Remember him well. Never heard of BRYAN BATT or TOBIAS WOLFF.
I get the AARP magazine. My Moose membership paid my dues for AARP for several years. Still trying to figure that one out.
Had AROSE for 56A for a while. Eventually fixed that to STOOD.
Got SHIA after a couple letters. SHIITE is another way to spell that. They are the majority in Iraq and Iran.
GAELIC and IONA (Gaels) crossing. Was that intentional? I think so.
SES, piece of cake. Three perps and it was mine.
Montana: Got your note. I will do some checking and get back to you.
Funeral visitation today. Wife of a friend died. She had a heart transplant about 6 years ago.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(ukagni)
Well, sure happy it's Thursday!
How to make a DNF, let me count the ways... I was absolutely certain the "cross word" had to be TAU, and that ear thingie could have been an EAR TOG. Well, it could have been. I've never heard the word EAR BOB. And that Islam thing could have been SUI_. My religious learnin' is lackin'. That whole central area was....well...SHEET.
I got SNOOP DOGG easily because we just had him a few days ago. But TOBIAS WOLFE, BRYAN BATT and LYNN SWANN were all unknowns. TOBIAS never did show up.
EVIL reminds me of the old song by the Shangrilas, Leader Of The Pack: "Yeah, he's sorta bad, but he's not evil." (Official lyrics say good-bad, but I hear sorta bad).
Good morning, gang - I think I got through this one more cleanly than yesterday's, once I figured out that 1A wasn't 'fans'. Certainly seeing the theme after SNOOP DOGG helped a lot. Also, some great cluing, such as 'Drop in the ocean', 'Spots teens don't like'. All in all, I really liked the overall puzzle.
Marti, great job as always; I'm glad I'm not the only one who never heard of EARBOB.
One last comment on the late posts: I've been here from the beginning of the blog, and people come, people go; just like casual friends in life. To say that we miss them and some of the unique conversations back then is by no means disparaging to our current friends or to the posters on the blog. I've said it before; this is a great blog with a great mix of people. I've made a quite a few friends from here over the past couple years, people I hope to always stay in touch with and get to meet one day. Please don't 'over read' into what Lemon, Windhover and I were saying last night -- this is an great mix of personalities for the blog, one we all enjoy immensely. PK, my apologies if you took my comments as insulting; wasn't my intent.
Have a great day; do something fun.
Greetings!
Had vast expanses of white at first, but finally prevailed. Problems were as Barry mentioned (except no problem with serape).
Thanks David, Marti!
Happy birthday to Truman!
Thought season-ending of Perception was pretty good. Anyone else see it?
Back to bed!
Cheers!
Really intricate theme to come up with the proper names which were also animals. Thanks Marti for the great write up.
As for my comment about missing some of our old posters and old discussions, it in no way implied the current crop is not great. I would not be here every day, spend hours trying to create an entertaining and enlightening Friday write up, and return for the vitriol of my personal stalker if I was not very happy here.
I am sure each of us has thought back and missed people and times, like from high school, college or jobs and others left behind. It is not a competition. This is a great group, but all this crap about hierarchy is just that. The new bonds are also real, but do not attack us for missing others. The Corner is strong.
After bouncing around a bit, once I got a toehold this was not difficult. SNOOPDOGG gave away the theme which helped tremendously. I knew all the theme names with a few perps, except for BRAYNBATT, which was all perps and wags.
Have you ever seen PIES cooling on a window sill, except in cartoons? I haven't.
I learned EARBOBS from fiction, especially southern fiction. PK, nice to hear from someone who heard it in real life.
Hand up for thinking of squids first, but I waited for a perp.
Half and half is ONE didn't fool me. Cute!
Only write over was AROSE in the SW. It held up that corner until I needed to erase it to write ONE.
OOPS! This belongs to my last post.
Link EARBOBS
THE OCTPUS by Ogden Nash
Tell me, O Octopus, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I'd call me Us.
I'M WRESTLING WITH AN OCTOPUS by Jack Prelutsky
I'm wrestling with an octopus
and faring less than well,
one peek at my predicament
should be enough to tell.
It held me in a hammerlock,
then swept me off my feet,
I'm getting the impression
that I simply can't compete.
I'd hoped that I could hold my own,
but after just a while,
I ascertained I couldn't match
an octopus's style.
It flipped me by a shoulder,
and it latched onto a hip,
essentially that octopus
has got me in its grip.
I tried assorted armlocks,
but invariably missed,
and now I'm in a headlock,
and it's clinging to my wrist.
It's wound around my ankles,
and it's wrapped around my chest—
when grappling with an octopus,
I come out second best.
I think of earbobs as something my grandma would say.
I had trouble with the Bryan Batt crossing with the Gaelic. I had put TNet for the technical website and so was trying for some variation of Dalit for the language. Learned later that Dalit is not a language but a people group in India that speaks many languages.
I like the "irony" of sewn on, since that clue's answer would usually be iron-on.
Good morning everybody! I liked this puzzle, but didn't do that well on it...does that make any sense?
Although I had a lot of write overs, there were some really clever clues:
2D - Boy who had a legendary meltdown.
12D - Groovy Music Collection? LPS
39D - Drop in the Ocean? EBBS
58D - Half and Half: ONE
Can't say I ever wore an EAR BOB ;)
YR, the one time I heard EARBOB in Texas, this lady who was quite a character showed up at a church event all flustered about things. "Oh lordy me," she said, "I even come out without my EARBOBS." This struck my friend and I as so funny, we repeated it often.
That particular woman also liked music by that famous March King, John Phillip SUSAN. She was responsible for giving a band scholarship prize to a high school student which she called the John Phillip SUSAN Award during presentation.
Just the right bite for a Thursday for this MUSER!
Musings
- I agree with Marti’s summary. What are the odds ;-)?
-The vile output of SNOOP, et al is finally being looked at by Bill Cosby and others as being a horrible influence on an entire generation of young men. Is the admiration of them akin to what some felt for Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, etc years ago?
-PIES cooling on the window sill seemed to be a common plot device in cartoons of my ute
-Lincoln unveils the Pinnacle Bank ARENA this week
-I almost went with EARFOBS but couldn’t take FAH
-Cwd staple Alan Alda had POLIO as a child
-I’ve always wondered about trying silk SHEETS. Any of you made the leap (slide)?
-I’ve heard those NEON lights are bright…
-Is ICARUS a metaphor for the “Peter Principle?”
-I enjoyed the PAJAMA PARTY SEXPOTS!
-My Swiss cousin speaks GER., ENG. FR. and IT.
-Ernie Terrel refused to call ALI by that name and the Muhammad kept shouting “What’s my name?” at Ernie as he pummeled him in the 1967 fight.
-The Time-Warner/CBS fight forced us to get an external antenna for Joann to see her soaper
-Half the surface of my childhood jeans was SEWN ON patches
-HBD Truman, I hope you can keep up with Grandma today!
Hello Puzzlers -
I wish I had noticed that all the last names were animals, 'cause that really ramps up the puzzle's cleverness. Thanks for pointing it out, Marti!
Hand up for pausing at Earbob, that one is new to me. Otherwise what Yellowrocks said, including the pie question. I've never seen one cooling on a windowsill either. Come to think of it, I haven't seen one cooling anywhere for years. Pie mmmmmm
Cheers All
That'll teach me to post something without looking it up to confirm. I just checked it out on my server. I had the group right, but not the song. It was the Shangrilas Give Him A Great Big Kiss.
Pies cooling on a window sill make a plot point in the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Great movie, if you haven't seen it. Even if you have.
PK, DW and I had a similar experience. Our city leased some unused park land for construction of a cell tower. A lady who lives nearby declared it to be "unsitey." We've been noticing unsitey things around town ever since.
Yesterday (all my troubles seemed so far away…)
-I much prefer Jeopardy over Cash Cab Bill and agree on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Once space question on Millionaire was to name the actual club Alan Shepard swung on the Moon. Really? BTW, it was a 6 iron welded on the opposite end of a sample collector
-T, those “copy the words off the board and the test is on Friday” teachers are a pox of the profession and I blame poor administrators for letting them stay past Labor Day.
-For what it’s worth regarding former posters - As a sub, there is no faster way to alienate the current staff than to bring up former people I knew at that school or other schools or how they or I would have handled a situation. They ain’t interested and make no bones about showing it. I save the reminiscing for the twelve guys with whom I play golf on Thursday.
-CC had the right take on the entire matter.
-No golf today as they start at noon and it is supposed to get over 100F on the plains today and I have to clean my bathrooms, mow the yard and go to the Y.
Lynn Swann ran as a candidate for governor of PA on the Republican ticket. He lost
Morning all!
I hope you have a wonderful time with your grandson on his birthday, JD. He really is a handsome little guy!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one scratching my head over EAR BOBS. PK, hilarious story about the lady from Texas. Lordy! You must have had a great laugh over that one.
HG, just as funny is your "unsitey" story!! Lordy, I think I am going to talk like that to DH today and drive him crazy (er).
Good morning everyone.
Not much new to add. Basically didn't know the theme fill, but the perps were helpful enough. Interesting cluing for SEINE, ICARUS, PIES, EBB. and a few others.
We stopped getting AARP; too much trying to sell insurances, and other commercial gimmicks.
Good to see REESE again.
Had 'idling' before IN IDLE
JD - Congratulations to your grandson on his birthday.
Enjoy the day
Neat looking grandsons, JD! Happy birthday to Truman.
A DNF, but I almost solved with perps. I only needed to check a-e-i-o-u in a few squares to get Ta-Da.
Both of my grandmothers cooled pies on windowsills. Neither my mother nor I had the types of windows with sill we could set a pie on.
Have a good day, everybody,
Montana
Hi gang -
Did a double take at the amazing theme today with all those animall menn. Also a slogg for me, but sussing the themme gave me lotts of helpful perpps.
Here is a sexpot, as requested.
I thought GAELIC crossing the Gaels
was a bit odd.
ICARUS is brilliant.
JAIME FOXX also had a roll in the movie ALI.
EVIL over BANKING is pretty apt.
IMBO.
Cool regards!
JzB
Husker Gary, I think your remarks about the past are called 'piling on', but it was deserved. Times change.
@Dennis - Good times when you were the alpha dog.
Hey Puzzlers - I bet a lot of you listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me on NPR. We really enjoy that program, and bought tickets for tonight's off-site taping at the famous Tanglewood venue in Lenox, MA. Should be a good time.
Anybody else headed there?
Everything I know about rap music I've learned doing crossword puzzles. It's got to be Snopp Dogg, Dr. Dre, IceT, or I'm at sea!
Fun, fun puzzle. Love the animal theme.
Hahtoolah, did you happen to see the Merl Reagle puzzle on Sunday? It was a tribute to Ingrid Bergman and several of her movies were hidden within the puzzle.
Earbobs! My friends mother, Mizz Sarah Virgina Reynolds, hailed from Birmingham, Alabama. She called ear rings earbobs. Must be Southernese. She also used phrases like "tighter than Dick's hatband", "drunker than Cooter Brown", "dumber than a bag of nails". Loved that woman!
Happy Birthday to Mr. Truman - JD those boys are tooo handsome.
Gee, a Thursday with nothing to do? I love it!
See ya'll later
Well, not a speed run for sure, but what fun! Many thanks, David. Only knew SNOOP DOGG and TOBIAS WOLFF (I think he's the brother of one of my colleagues). But still got all the names and saw the animal theme. Marti, great expo, and I really appreciated the French lesson!
I agree that ICARUS had the best clue!
Never heard the Octopus poem, thanks, Yellowrocks.
Does anyone else miss the online New York Times for the second day in a row? I figured they would have had their hacking problem solved by now.
Watched "Newsroom" last night in total fascination. The whole Genoa incident really dramatizes the tricky decisions news programs must sometimes make.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Misty, I'm a total "Newsroom" fan. Last week I wanted to be Sloan Sabbith. This week I want to be Leona Lansing! "GET IT BACK"!!!!
GarlicGal: no, I did not see the Sunday puzzle. It must have been in honor of Ingrid Bergman's birthday this week. How sad that she also died on her birthday.
Dudley: I, too, am a fan of Wait, Wait ... We have tickets to a show next month when the group is down our way. I can hardly Wait, Wait. LOL.
I just checked. I get the NYT puzzle off their web site (my daughter pays for the subscription) and it's been showing up daily.
-Anon, my intent was not to “pile on” and my comment was certainly not an attack, I just was adding my perspective to last night’s discussion which was held after I had left the blog and I read only this morning. I learned the lesson that my new “colleagues” in the teacher’s lounge don’t give a flying fig about people I taught with in 1978 or how I taught or how I handled problem kids.
-Like Dennis said, I’d love to meet and have a drink with anyone on this site, especially Wendy in Kauai or Marti on an ALP this winter ;-). Avg. Joe and I live an hour apart and still haven’t made that happen.
-Sptiz, same with us and AARP.
-Many Nebraskans these to be “unsitey” (according to DO’s definition) but I like ‘em.
-I just edged and mowed the lawn and it is dang hot here on the Platte River. I made the right no-golfing decision.
Good Morning:
I found this clever offering from David a slam dunk! For what ever reason, I just tore right through it. Saw the theme immediately and knew all the "animal" people except Bryan Batt.
Liked the clues for Icarus, polka dots, acne and ebb. A bit of trivia: Snoop Dogg recently became a Rastafarian and in their world view dog has a negative connotation, while lion is an honorific. A rose is a rose.........
Thanks, David, for a fun solve and thanks, Marti, for your usual sparkly repartee.
Thank you, CC, for creating and nurturing this caring community of such a diverse and delightful group of people. FWIW, I, personally, enjoy hearing about everyone's "real" life whether it be what Bill G conjured up for lunch or CED's insatiable search for cat links or Lucina's Tamale-thon. Conversely, I am glad those who have serious health issues and other challenges feel free to share these and, perhaps, gain some solace by doing so. I am very happy to be a small part of all of your lives.
Happy Thursday.
I missed last night's brouhaha. But after reading through the posts, I have to say that Dennis, Lemonade714 and Windhover once again offended me.
No need to apologize fellas. You've stated your opinions and any denial or fake apologies of them ring hollow. On several occasions you all have voiced your yearning of days gone by. Of how the poems, recipes, painting and df days of yore were better, funnier and more enjoyable.
Then you say, 'that's not what I meant' or 'you are taking it the wrong way'. Please!
Then when someone like me wants to vent some frustration. you say, 'it's over, we apologized, let's move on'. Or you make a pithy comment on how thin skinned we are and make a joke at our expense.
I'm very pleased that C.C. made her feelings known. It gives me grat solace to know the the blog is healthy and in good hands.
Garlic Gal, Misty, I think Newsroom is the best show on TV right now. I tape them as I watch them, because the dialogue is so tight that you almost have to watch twice to pick up everything. By the way, I cheered out loud when that General turned the tables on the news crew. I knew he wouldn't betray fellow Marines.
anon, no reminiscing.
So I'm reading in the paper today that the Oxford Dictionaries Online have added more new words. Here's a short list:
- twerk: Already been discussed here. Miley Cyrus needs a new advisor.
- selfie: A photo taken of oneself using a phone.
- unlike: The withdrawal of approval on social media.
- digital detox: Where a person refrains from using smart phones or computers.
- fomo: Fear Of Missing Out.
-Omnishambles: A situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged.
-Emoji: A small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communications.
-Jorts: Denim shorts.
- Squee: Used to express great delight or excitement.
Boy, I know we're all thrilled that we can finally start using those everyday now that they're official. By the way, I still haven't made it with 'perps' or 'clechos' yet, but there's always hope.
Thank you Marti for a very nice blog. It was very perceptive of you to have noticed all the animal names. That is a very smart constructor.
I had a tough time, HONDA for Civic, Account for Bankng, and MOi for SES. Maybe it's time to join the AARP. When I saw the word 'meltdown', I knew it was an omen to quit.
Nice to see ALI next to, and leading SHIA.
I thought Snoop Dog eat DOGG, was the mascot for the NSA.
Thank you, thank you YellowRocks for the poems by Ogden Nash and the one on wrestling with the octopus.
Although Ogden Nash is one on my most favorite poets, I can't imagine, him being a professor and using such improvised spellings and grammar. .... Lol. But I simply love his poems !!!!! Thank you.
Have a nice day, you all.
BTW this puzzle is filed under Thursday, August 30. Today is the 29th.
Irish Miss, right on! I love you all, new and seasoned. You can't tell who has been here the longest by the way they are treated. Anonymous T @1:11 AM included me as one of the respected "old timers." I have been here only 2 years. See how easy it is to be included? So many newer posters, including Anonymous T, have earned my respect right from the start. We all value your contributions.
Greetings, friends! It's always good to read you, Marti; you are in top form even in the middle of the night.
This was fun. Thank you, David Poole. I started in the NW then worked my way down all the way to NEON where I first had STAR but SERAPE, EVENSO and SEWN ON changed it.
The NW worked itself from the bottom up. PIES was not my first thought at 1A but PAJAMAS clinched it.
LYNN SWANN was really famous in his day and so that slipped out quickly. TOBIAS WOLFF however, did not and finally had to research him. I had the WOLFF part and didn't know BRYAN BATT either, but it perped itself.
CNET also sells electronics and that's why it's familiar.
I don't recall EARBOB if I had ever seen or heard it.
JD:
Happy birthday to Truman! Such an adorable boy.
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Misty, did you notice that my CNET link was to the attack on the NY Times by the Syrian Electronic Army? I have been able to access the puzzle every day without any problem, but I have a special subscription just for the crossword, not the paper itself. I see that others are still unable to access it on other sites, though.
YR, sorry I forgot to thank you for the fun Octopus poems! Love Ogden Nash, but I had never heard the other one.
Irish Miss 11:54 - nicely put!
Husker - it's a tough balance with wind generators, at least in some landscapes. They can be a bit unsitey, but I just have to admire their capability of producing power!
Hahtoolah - Good for you! I seem to recall they get a good reception in N.O. especially.
YR @ 12:10, some little genie went in and fixed the date. Thank you!
I just read yesterday's posts and think there was nothing in there to get all riled up about. Just my opinion. I think PK , and some others, have read something into this trip down memory lane, that wasn't even intended. She, and the others, are of course entitled to their opinions - and so is everyone else.
I like the blog, let me count the ways, - especially YR for her poems, Bill.G. for his animal tracks and his math, CED for his unbelievable links and weird , but fascinating photos, and anything interesting that all of you others have to say - despite of and irrelevant from the puzzle itself.. Each and everyone of us, no matter how small, inane or modest, has something to contribute. Unusual links to unusual events and happenings are especially welcome. Like Spitz's link to the piano recital of the music of George Gershwin or was it Ira Gershwin, or whatever.
Provided, we behave ourselves, aren't mean, impolite or obscene, this is a very democratic community forum. What else or how much more can you ask or hope for.
Marti, I didn't notice double letters at end of names or animal names until coming here.
I got JAMIE FOXX's name first thing since I noticed that he said something to the effect that he, Jay-Z,Kenya West, Alicia Keys, etal were the new voice of the civil rights moment now. I hope this is not being too political, but I can't believe these pretentious spoiled entertainers think they should be in charge of anything. IMHO
We visited ANDREW Jackson's home, The Hermitage, outside Nashville,TN. I would highly recommend it if you are ever in that area. Plan on spending the day, take a picnic lunch, and pay the extra 10.00 fee to go on the slave quarter's tour.
Well, I must be off to see Physical Therapist again. I'm not sure if it's helping?!
Happy 6th Birthday to Truman!
A story about boys... A mother got tired of her boys always hurting each other, so she gave them a Nerf football and said you won't be able to hurt each other with this. The boys took this as a challenge. They soaked the football in water and froze it.
A pretty quick cruise for a Thursday. Needed perps for BRYAN BRATT (don't watch Mad Men), and agonized a bit with the EARBOB/BAH crossing (EARFOB/FAH, EARHOB/HAH, EARNOB/NAH). Stuck with my initial swag of B. But isn't an EARBOB what they do to Doberman Pinschers?
Hello everybody. When I got FOXX, DOGG, and WOLFF, I kept looking for more canine names for the others. Nope.
Really really fun puzzle. Loved the clever cluing. For some reason, like Barry G, I always want to spell SERAPE as sarape.
Had IDLING at first.
Immediately thought of Husker Gary at MUSER.
Wanted IOWA instead of IONA, but knew NWE is an invalid compass direction.
Yellowrocks, thanks for the verses. Best wishes to you all.
My earlier comment seems to have disappeared, so I'll repeat it. PK gave me a chuckle with John Phillip Susan as did DO with unsitey.
I was once asked if I ever used "canine" pepper. No, I never have but I bet rascally CED has!
The area surrounding Lincoln is quite rural and farm equipment is frequently encountered on the roads. I Realtor friend told me about having a showing of an acreage property to a couple moving here from another, more urban part of the country. They were late....but when they finally arrived, they said the reason was that they came up over a hill and were blocked by a concubine in the road.
The penultimate "Burn Notice" is on tonight. You may email me if you want to get up to speed. Up till last week, it was mostly filler but last week's end is key.
As an interested lurker/observer, let me ask this: When you're with people, and someone says they miss so-and-so who maybe moved away, do you automatically assume they must not like you? Seems a touch insecure to me.
Liked the puzzle today and yesterday.Never saw the animal connection 'til Marti pointed it out.
My nit is Señorita's shawl SERAPE.
Lucina, or anyone who speaks Spanish, would you call it a SERAPE?
SERAPE
SPANISH MANTON
Joe: That concubine may have been my high school girlfriend.
Since the other 2 "boys" have issued their "fake" apologies, I feel I would be depriving my personal anon his/her little schadenfreude moment if I didn't do likewise. As both said, if we disliked or looked down upon the current group we'd vote with our feet. No offense was meant, sorry same was taken.
Some of my favorite posts and posters, including the original complaintant, are relatively new. And as one who only posts sporadically these days, I have little standing to criticize content. The only hierarchy I see or recognize is that there is one final arbiter of any dispute: the blog owner.
Someone referred to the blog as (little d) "democratic". It isn't, of course, but if it were, it would devolve into the name-calling and flaming that is rampant elsewhere. I miss the former atmosphere, but like Dennis and Lemon, I'm still here, and plan to hang around. I'm sure my Anons would miss me terribly if I left.
A nice challenge from Mr. Poole. I had a lot of rewrites, sometimes going back to my original guess.
I had to Google to break the SE corner with LYNN SWANN. The perps weren't sufficient, and Super Bowl X was so long ago....
I gave myself a hard time with the "Perot" clue. I kept reading it as a VAR. of "Pierrot" and so entered CLOWN. It took me near forever to realize H. Ross Perot was intended, and although CLOWN may still have been right, it was merely TEXAN that was wanted.
Blue Iris, I visited the Hermitage year before last on a trip with my inlaws to the Smoky Mountains. I agree totally with your assessment.
On the same trip we spent a half day at Shakertown in Kentucky. Interesting history that I never knew.
Montana
Anonymous @1:41,
Once or twice is OK, but three, four, five times? I'll be very annoyed, as I was this morning.
PK is not one who's easily offended. Some comments are simply insensitive. Not just last night.
I'm tired of hearing "how I miss the old DF times" comments. This is getting too old.
Move on!!
Pas de Chat:
Re: SERAPE
Interestingly, my Larousse lists it as SARAPE and an American variant, SERAPE. There's no separate entry for SERAPE.
I have always heard it and myself pronounced it as SARAPE.
I'm glad you asked as that precipitated a search.
I had CHRISTOPH for a while as the "'Django Unchained' co-star." The term "co-star" is usually used to suggest a star of slightly lesser rank than the full-fledged star. I take JAMIE FOXX, portrayer of the title role, to be the star. I also out-foxed myself by reading the single name "Django" in the title as a hint that only one name was wanted, ergo, CHRISTOPH.
Our brains are wonderful deceivers, are they not?
Kf
PS. On another track altogether, I admire Christoph Waltz enormously. From a Viennese Burgtheater family, he is making a real name as a smooth tongued sharp witted Continental star. His breakthrough role was as the Nazi colonel in "Inglorious Basterds (sic)," reminding us once again that at the end of WWII, all the German-speaking actors said farewell to Shakespeare and Schiller. "From now on," said the classically trained Gustaf Gründgens, "we'll just play Nazi scoundrels."
A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.
C.C. is a rock star!!
You go girl.
Pas de Chat & Lucina,
Once I had to remove SARAPE from a grid. Rich only accepts SERAPE.
Time for a little math puzzle. Well, it looks like a math puzzle but really involves almost no math at all. (E-mail answers por favor so as not to spoil it for anybody still thinking about it.)
Make one change to make this equation correct:
8 + 8 = 91
Remember, almost no math is involved.
Musings from well west of Fremont: What if I got reincarnated as an attractive young woman? (See SEXPOT in the puzzle.) I'm guessing I would get even less done than I do now 'cause I would be spending much of the day looking at myself in a full-length mirror.
YR, I forgot to thank you for the octopi poems; enjoyed both.
Also, Happy Birthday to Truman.
Moving on;
Montana, I'm glad you enjoyed Shakertown. It's only a few miles downstream (on the Kentucky River) from my farm. The Shakers were very interesting and industrious people. Unfortunately celibacy is not a good long term plan for sustaining a community. But they were able to survive for a long time through prosyletizing and recruiting, and left a lasting legacy in the area they settled. Too bad you only had half a day, the paddle wheel boat trip to view the Palisades of the Ky. River is well worth the time. Maybe on a return trip.
Bill G.,
I'm guessing you want us to turn the 91 upside down to get 16. That would be a fine answer if we weren't at the mercy of the font that won't allow an upside down "1."
But I'll wait to see if there's another answer.
Keith,
I hope you did not miss his interview with Fresh Air.
Lucina and C.C.
Thanks for the response. My nit was the "clue" for SERAPE.
It is NOT a young lady's SHAWL. It's a blanket, LOL.
The clue should have been something like, "Pablo's cover-up" or well, that's why I'm not a crossword editor.
I just caught up on Sun-Wed. comments.Sorry I missed Lemonade and Vidwan's birthdays. Hope they were swell!
CED mystery solved! GREAT pictures, CED. Enjoyed ALL of your links. I thought Lemon's birthday lemonade was cool.
Don't really understand all the talk about past bloggers and newbies. Don't really remember how long I've been here, but it's a great blog. If the posts were mostly off-color, I wouldn't visit. Geez, isn't there enough of that everywhere else?
This is a blog for crossword solvers, not knuckle-dragging morons with one thing on their mind.
I come away with so much knowledge that I would otherwise not be aware of if not for C.C.'s Corner. Each one of you contribute knowledge, expertise, the arts, humor, and pathos. OK, down from the soapbox.
BlueIris@12:47:
Most of us know those artists, JAMIE FOXX, Alicia Keys, et al from an entertainment perspective, but in fact, many of them are involved in serious philanthropic causes. JF heads his own foundation against HIV and works for children throughout the world especially Africa.
Some of them are in union with other artists and use their enormous wealth and influence for health, education and other world issues. I am an admirer of that and believe they can and have the right to be the new bearers of the civil rights torch.
I've seen some of them principally on Charlie Rose discussing their various causes.
Moving on indeed.
Just got back from my first real golf lesson. If golf was baseball, I'd be known as a 'spray hitter'. Seems I swing too hard; the distance is great, but it may be at 90 degrees (or more) to the intended target.
To all who've done well at this game, my compliments. I've always been decent at sports, but damn, this looks like it gonna be frustrating. And it looks so easy!
PK, if you would be so kind, pleae email me.
Talking about concubines -
I just read Windhover's post ' on the Shakers,
"But they were able to survive for a long time through prostitution and recruiting, and left a lasting legacy in the area they settled."
It just sounded so interesting and fascinating, and I had visions of sugar plums in my heads. I would have converted right then and there.
I know, mea culpa.
The eye sees what is there, but the mind sees what it wanted to see in the first place.
Garlic Girl and Dennis, it's great to have other "Newsroom" fans on the blog!
Marti, I missed you CNET link because I usually don't check links until later in the day. But to my great relief the NY Times came back on my own and my husband's computers just an hour ago. Whew, what a relief!
DF seer: "in my heads"?
I think many of us have had that "two brains" problem.
And that ,folks, is an example of what used to pass for "off color" on this blog. Not exactly xxx, eh?
Now let's move on.
DNF ... not on David's wavelength.
Would have needed 20 perps to get TOBAIS WOLFF and BRYAN BATT.
Argyle @1:29
FYI ... The penultimate "Burn Notice" is on NEXT Thursday, Sept. 5.
No booze in the grid ... just the dreaded DUI.
Cheers!!!
CC @ 2:49,
Thanks for this! I saw Charlie Rose's interview with Waltz, but I hadn't seen this.
What most impressed me in the Rose interview was Waltz telling of an encounter with a famous agent early in his career when he was praised for his wonderful talent--and sternly warned that his talent wouldn't make a bit of difference in making a successful career.
Such indeed is "life upon the wicked stage...."
Keith, I would love to see you perform live. You have such a wonderfully rich background and training. Any chance that you ever would be in Boston? Shakespeare would be especially appreciated!! (I can just hear your - what I imagine - deeeeep basso voice reciting Hamlet's soliloquy...)
I generally struggle more with Thurs - Sat
Puzzles but this one was easier than most. Loved the Icarus clue!
Like Ms, Bergman, my brother also died on his birthday and I learned it was not UNCOMMON .
I envy you Tanglewood this time of year; wonderful venue. I went to school in New Lebanon, N.Y. on the site of an abandoned Shaker Village. I lived in Ann Lee cottage. It was not too far from Lenox. We also went there to play them in various sports.
JzB: I went to your SEXPOT link and it looked so good, I decided to order me some in a last ditch effort to regain my lost ute. Alas, it says "out of stock". LOL!
Iris & Montanna: I toured the Hermitage in 2001. Very interesting to see the graves in the front yard and the kitchen house in the back.
Enjoyed the other "malaprops".
Evening all,
Thought this was a tad easy for a Thursday puzzle. Got Jamie Foxx right away cause I just watched Django Unchained last weekend.
SADD again for clue or answer, I guess MADD is due for tomorrow. Just once I would like see to DAMM ( Drunks Against Mad Mothers ) Clued.
It's just a joke!
Now off to see if I can find something to ruffle CED's tail feathers.
DO & Gary: "Unsitey". I am in the process of protesting along with other landowners a proposal to build an electric transmission line across our farms to carry wind generated power to somewhere back east from a now non-existent wind farm in the western part of our state.
My beef is that there is already one huge electric transmission tower on the property on which the lines might be "piggybacked". Two more towers will cause hazards for my tenant who uses large machinery to farm. Loss of the parcels of land will also cut into his income.
They dangle a carrot of big bucks to us landowners, but the land is ruined if the project fails. We Americans are so well fed now, we can't see that choice farm land should be protected to feed future generations. The state corporation commission will decide eventually on this public domain case.
Lemonade, as you have so expertly linked and have rightly pointed out, - people do die on their birthdays.
The starred entries at the bottom of the Wiki list, include Shakespeare (?), Moses, the Prophet, ; King David and the Prophet Mohamed / Muhammad. ( But not all in the same year -).
So, it's kinda auspicious, and if I have to die, as we all do, might as well die on our birthdays. One less day for our surviving relatives to grieve for. Hopefully it'll make a three day weekend for them.
Probability, I would guess is. = 1 / 365 x 1 / 365.
Or
about 0.000 007 50609. Or 0.000 750 609 %
Or. 7.506. Persons per million. Or ppm ( lol). Will die on their birthdays.
Leap years may cause its reduction by a further 0.3% ( 1 / 366).
Still, not that common. So, we should NOT be worried about dying on our birthdays.
Now, the rest of the days in the year - that's a whole different ball game. Thats much more risky. The whole rest of the people died on "those other", days. Those are the days you have to really watch out for.
Since you just had your birthday, you have to watch for out for the rest of the days of the year, until your birthday rolls around, next year.
I would be careful and move around with due diligence, if I were you. Meant humorously, not meant as a general or a specific threat. Lol. Speaking for myself, since I'm going to die sometime, I'd just do away with the whole calendar.
Dennis @ 11:59 I enjoyed your new definitions, especially
omnishambles. That is why I did not post at all on Tue. and only acknowledged birthdays and maladies on Wednesday.
In June we asked the powers that be to continue access to our square dance venue for Sept. through Aug. in the coming dance season. On August 1 they denied us stating that only groups from their town, not from the surrounding area would be welcome. Kicked out with scant notice. Dealing with potential venue personnel on vacation and our own long reserved vacations, we finally found a hall at a reasonable price. On August 1, advertising in our trade magazine, including their atlas of maps of dance locations, had been put to bed. All callers and their dates had been contracted, flyers were made for the old address, insurance was secured for the old address etc. etc. What a mad scramble!
Then this week an officious officer of our parent association has been nit picking insignificant details.
Omnishambles!!
I am the geek, my co president is the coach, and our VP is the schmoozer. So computer work and details are all mine.
I see light at the end of the tunnel. I am back to posting again. There is hope for a fine coming season.
Keith Fowler @4:29 Hope you see this.
Child actress Anna Kendrick, (who's all grown up now) singing
LIFE UPON THE WICKED STAGE
with the Kit Kat girls from Cabaret.
Odds maker -The odds of dying on your birthday are the same as dying on any given day: 1 in 365.
So many choices... So little space.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
These are for CED only so nobody peek!
Just b-cuz there's nothin' else going on tonight, I offer this adorable kitty...
Windhover, (from last night) if I was some guy in a basement, I'd certainly dream up a sexier better on-line self than what I now project. Sorry, what you get is what I've unfortunately got.
Speaking of old timers, whatever happened to Seen?
I bet he would have linked this video by Iron Maiden - Flight of Icarus.
Bill G @ 2:38 -
Funny (in fact, even funnier because it's so out of character for you), but Steve Martin mentions this very dilemma in LA Story. Great movie, if you haven't seen it. Even if you have.
[dealthbo]
HeartRX @ 4:57 pm,
You're very kind in your assessment of my as-yet-unheard voice! I don't believe I'll be heading east again, not anytime soon. But you hit the nail re my current hope. I used to host an NPR radio program, and now, because I'm no longer able (physically) to tread the boards, my aim next year is to revive our campus' radio drama hour. There are some great old-time radio scripts ready to be aired!
-- and pas de chat @ 7:15 pm,
Thanks for the delightful Anna Kendrick clip. She was/is wonderful!
PK:
I didn't use that reference to insult you, but to point out that on the Internet you can "be" anyone. As I've related to Dennis (who is a 'Nam vet; my only military experience was a year of compulsory ROTC) I know a guy who corresponded with another "vet" for some time about their common experiences in Southeast Asia. He eventually learned that his pen pal was a very well read 15 year old boy.
You've chosen to remain mostly anonymous, and I'm sure you have your reasons, and that I have no standing to criticize that. That said, I've enjoyed reading of your farm experiences and I can read your very grounded worldview shaped by those experiences. I'm guessing that you are not a young woman, and I'm sure as hell by any measure an old man, though I have a lot of life and energy left in me, and neither of us needs to be diminished by the fact that that there are more years behind us than in front.
I again offer my apology for any offense, and it's not a fake apology, as alleged by yet another ahole anon with no guts. I hope we can move beyond this little ado (xword staple) and go back to the occasional repartee I've enjoyed.
And you still have that "Post of the month" award.
OK?
I cannot get my kindle to accept my linking so please cut and paste if your interested in a study about birthday deaths.
http://www.inquisitr.com/252600/dying-on-your-own-birthday-likelier-than-other-days-study-finds/
Todays puzzle was tough for me, I do not do well with names I never heard of, & thingamabobs on ears. I understand that now they even have ear cuffs!
Manac @ 6:31pm, you never ruffle my tail feathers, (& I especially enjoyed #5,) However I was shocked at Irish Miss' (of all people) comment at 1:11pm. While I love cayenne, & just about anything spicy, I could never use canine pepper!!! How could anyone harm that cute face!
Anyway Manac, this cat/dog thing is no contest. ( unless you are talking cuteness...)
Anywho, Windhover does have a point that we really could be talking to anybody. What matters to me is the content of a post. Is it civil, informative, interesting? 99% of what I see here is all those things, the content is very much a reflection of the individual posting...
Hmm, which makes me wonder,,, all these stupid cat pics,,,Manac, is that you?
CED, you are still suspect amongst the dog lovers on the blog. What can I say? Meow, meow! That darn cat!
Windhover & Dennis, apologies accepted.
Marti, that kitty is adorable. I would have a house full of adopted kittens if I didn't have a normal amount of self control.
Lemon, interesting birthday article.
CED, great picture of doggie porn!
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